NewzIntel.com

Category: Education

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Development Asia: Exploring Challenges and Opportunities of PPPs in Health Care

    Source: Asia Development Bank

    A public–private partnership (PPP) is a long-term contract between a private entity and a government entity, for providing a public asset or service. It has emerged as a strategic approach in health care, enabling governments to deliver quality medical services efficiently by leveraging private sector expertise, financial resources, and technological advancements. The public partner is typically responsible for project development and planning, providing access to land and utilities, ensuring regulatory compliance, and conducting contract monitoring. On the other hand, the private partner is typically responsible for design, construction, and infrastructure development, bringing in investment and operational expertise, and driving innovation to enhance service efficiency and quality.

    PPPs help address challenges facing health care systems, such as inadequate infrastructure, workforce shortages, financial constraints, and service delivery gaps, by bridging critical gaps in infrastructure, service delivery, and management.

    Different countries have tailored PPP models to address their unique health care needs. The impact of PPPs is particularly significant in addressing the challenges faced by low- and middle-income countries, where health care access and quality are constrained by financial and human resource limitations. For instance, India has demonstrated significant progress in PPP-based health care service delivery, particularly in areas like super specialty hospital development, dialysis services, diagnostic networks, telemedicine initiatives, and medical institutes. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan is actively exploring PPP models to strengthen its health care infrastructure and service provision, with growing emphasis on leveraging private sector participation in tertiary care, diagnostics, and hospital management. The following case studies highlight key lessons from health care PPPs in India and Uzbekistan, showcasing successful models and practical insights for effective implementation

    Upgradation of district hospitals to medical college and hospitals, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Uttar Pradesh, the most populus state of India, faced a critical shortage of medical professionals and tertiary care facilities, particularly in underserved districts. Of the 39 districts lacking medical colleges, 23 were established with state funding. To further bridge the gap, the government launched the “One District, One Medical College” initiative that involves the upgrading of district hospitals to 16 new medical colleges under a PPP model. Of these facilities, four medical colleges are being developed under state incentive schemes, while the development of three medical colleges (based on Design-Build-Finance-Operate and Transfer PPP Model) is supported through Viability Gap Funding.

    Figure 1: Project Structure Using the Design-Build-Finance-Operate and Transfer Model

    Source: Compiled by the Author Team based on NITI Aayog, Government of India. Public Private Partnership in Medical Education Concession Agreement – Guiding Principles. Guidelines for Financial Support to Public Private Partnerships in Infrastructure Viability Gap Funding Scheme, Project Tender Documents. 
    DH = District Hospital, NMC = National Medical Commission, VGF = Viability Gap Funding.

    Over the next 5 years, the project is expected to

    • improve access to medical education, addressing the shortage of trained professionals; 

    • expand tertiary care services in underserved regions;
    • enhance healthcare infrastructure by adding 6,700 beds;
    • enhance workforce availability by adding 1,600 doctors and more than 10,000 clinical workforce; and
    • provide affordable care by providing free inpatient department beds for underserved patients, free essential medicines for government-supported patients, and free outpatient department-related diagnostics; and ensured affordable rates for other patients.

    NephroPlus Dialysis Project in Uzbekistan

    Uzbekistan faced a severe shortage of dialysis centers, leading to high patient mortality and limited access to treatment, especially in remote areas. Existing facilities were overburdened and patients often had to travel long distances for care. To address this, dialysis services are being implemented through a PPP model across three regions in Uzbekistan (Karakalpakstan, Khorezm, and Tashkent), ensuring high-quality care, advanced technology, and cost-effective treatment for patients with renal diseases. The project follows a Build-Operate-Transfer model with a concession period of 10 years.

    From 2021 to 2025, the project achieved the following:

    • provided over 300,000 treatments across three regions;

    • reduced patient mortality by 40% since May 2021;

    • trained and recruited more than 300 clinical nurses and doctors through the NephroPlus Academy;

    • enabled a total savings of $9.8 million for the government; and

    • reduced by 15% country-level Hepatitis C patient count.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: HA pools resources to strengthen nursing education and cultivate next generation of nursing talent

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    HA pools resources to strengthen nursing education and cultivate next generation of nursing talent 
         The HA Nursing School will co-ordinate various nursing training programmes. Students will be able to share the teaching resources and facilities currently available at the four nursing schools, which will help provide a more diversified teaching and training model as well as more flexible clinical placement arrangements. It will also leverage the unique strengths of each school to design programmes and subjects that suit their own characteristics, providing students and teaching staff with more comprehensive training and development opportunities.
     
         Speaking at today’s inauguration ceremony of the HA Nursing School, the Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Tony Ko, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to nursing education. He said, “The HA attaches great importance to the professional training and development of nurses. I believe that the HA Nursing School will lead our nursing training programmes to a new level through curriculum innovation and enhanced teaching quality to cultivate competent, compassionate, and patient-centred healthcare professionals who can meet the evolving healthcare needs.”
     
         The Head of the HA Academy, Dr David Sun, said, “We anticipate four major advantages following the integration of the HA’s nursing schools. We will be able to facilitate flexible management and allocation of teaching resources to prepare for providing more nursing education opportunities, offering more continuous learning opportunities for both aspiring nurses and existing nursing staff. The integration will help streamline administrative work by reducing duplicative or unnecessary procedures while further enhancing teaching standards. It will also promote exchanges and collaboration with universities, specialty colleges, the Nursing Council of Hong Kong, and nursing schools worldwide. Furthermore, this will provide students and teaching staff with more diverse opportunities for learning, exchanges, and broadening horizons as well as a more enriching campus life.”
     
         The same day, the HA also held a graduation ceremony for the Professional Diploma in Nursing (PDN) Programme 2025. About 300 graduates from the HA Nursing School completed their 3.5-year training and qualified as registered nurses, ready to join the healthcare workforce.
     
         In his address, the Chief Manager (Nursing) of the HA, Dr Danny Tong, encouraged the graduates to uphold the spirit of people-centred care. He said, “The HA has always been dedicated to nurturing nursing talents. We value not only clinical expertise but also the fostering of their core nursing values. Remember to stay true to your aspirations and serve the community with empathy, professionalism and dedication.”
     
         Three outstanding graduates, Mr Lo Ming Laam (CMC), Miss Zoe Chan (QEH) and Mr Leung Kin Lok (TMH), shared that their learning experiences at the HA Nursing School had been very rewarding. They pointed that the Programme emphasised both theoretical knowledge and practical application, which deepened their understanding of holistic care. They pledged on behalf of all graduates to apply their knowledge and provide high-quality nursing services to patients and the community.
     
         The HA’s 3.5-year full time PDN Programme is currently open for enrollment, offering 300 places. On completion of the PDN Programme, graduates are eligible to apply for registration as a Registered Nurse (General) under the Nursing Council of Hong Kong. The deadline for applications is August 8. For details, please visit the HA’s website
    www.ha.org.hk/visitor/ha_visitor_index.asp?Content_ID=251613&Lang=ENG&Dimension=100Issued at HKT 17:47

    NNNN

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • First women cadets graduate from NDA in historic passing out parade

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    In a major step towards gender inclusivity in the Indian Armed Forces, the National Defence Academy (NDA) conducted its 148th Passing Out Parade on Friday, marking a historic milestone as the first batch of women cadets graduated. Held at the NDA campus in Khadakwasla, Pune, the event highlighted the growing role and representation of women in the nation’s military leadership.

    The event was reviewed by General Vijay Kumar Singh (Retd), the Governor of Mizoram and former Chief of the Army Staff (COAS). The ceremony saw attendance from proud families, senior military officials, and dignitaries from across the country.

    Calling it a “significant and historic” occasion, General VK Singh praised the pioneering spirit of the graduating women cadets. “This marks a historic milestone in our collective journey towards inclusivity and empowerment. These women represent ‘Nari Shakti’—not just in women’s development, but in women-led development,” he said.

    The parade signifies a turning point in the NDA’s 75-year history, where for the first time, women will join the ranks of commissioned officers after rigorous training alongside their male counterparts.

    A day earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commended the increasing role of women in the armed forces while addressing a gathering in Goa at the flag-in ceremony of the Indian Navy sailing vessel INSV Tarini. The event celebrated the return of Lt Commander Dilna K and Lt Commander Roopa, who successfully completed a circumnavigation of the globe in double-handed mode as part of the ‘Navika Sagar Parikrama II’ mission. The duo became the first Indian women to achieve this feat with only two crew members on board.

    The Defence Minister also highlighted the contribution of women during recent military operations, notably Operation Sindoor. “Women pilots and other female soldiers played a crucial role in India’s decisive actions against terrorism in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” Singh said.

    Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives and injured many more. The operation targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the elimination of over 100 militants affiliated with groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.

    “From the heights of Siachen to the depths of the ocean, Indian women are serving the nation with distinction. Today, the gates of Sainik Schools are open to girls, and 17 women cadets have graduated from the NDA this month. Their achievements have strengthened the security fabric of our country,” the Defence Minister added.

    (With ANI inputs)

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Another step towards innovative technologies: GUU and SPb FRC RAS signed a cooperation agreement

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    On May 27, 2025, Rector of the State University of Management Vladimir Stroyev and Director of the St. Petersburg Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences Andrey Ronzhin signed an agreement on cooperation in the educational and scientific fields.

    St. Petersburg Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences is a leading scientific institution with advanced scientific groundwork in fundamental research and engaged in interdisciplinary research in the field of information technology, automation, environmental management and environmental safety.

    Vice-Rector Maria Karelina and Director of the Engineering Project Management Center Vladimir Filatov also took part in the meeting on behalf of the State University of Management. The Director of the St. Petersburg Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences was given a tour of the State University of Management and the Engineering Project Management Center, where specialists presented the projects being implemented. These included developments in the field of unmanned aircraft systems and work within the framework of a large scientific project being carried out at the State University of Management. Representatives of the State University of Management’s Student Design Bureau demonstrated a project to restore the LuAZ-967M (TPK) vehicle and create its electrified version.

    Within the framework of the signed agreement, the State University of Management and the St. Petersburg Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences will carry out joint research projects in the field of high-tech innovative technologies, develop and update educational programs for higher and additional professional education, and conduct expertise in the field of research and experimental activities.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Marat Khusnullin: More than 3 thousand km of roads to educational and leisure institutions will be updated this year thanks to the national project “Infrastructure for Life”

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    In 2025, under the national project “Infrastructure for Life”, about 3 thousand km of regional and local roads to kindergartens, schools and other educational and leisure institutions will be brought into compliance with the regulations. Most of the facilities are planned to be commissioned by the beginning of the new school year.

    “High-quality and safe roads leading to schools, kindergartens and universities are a necessary condition for the comfortable life of children, parents and teachers. Good road surfaces, well-thought-out pedestrian crossings, lighting and necessary signs reduce the risk of accidents. In addition, a convenient route makes the work of school buses easier. This year, under the national project “Infrastructure for Life”, we plan to bring 854 road facilities up to standard – this is more than 3 thousand km of regional and local roads leading to educational institutions,” said Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin.

    Repair, reconstruction and construction of roads to educational institutions is, first and foremost, the creation of a safe space for children.

    “When carrying out work, we implement comprehensive solutions: this is the installation of lighting, speed bumps, pedestrian barriers, and marking. All these measures reduce the risks on the path of a schoolchild. This approach has already proven itself well. Let me remind you that in 2024, under the national project “Safe High-Quality Roads”, 920 road facilities leading to educational institutions were brought into compliance with the standard, their total length was more than 3.1 thousand km,” said Minister of Transport Roman Starovoit.

    The issue of reducing the risk of road accidents near children’s educational and leisure institutions has been a priority since the very beginning of the implementation of the national project “Safe High-Quality Roads”.

    “Children are the most vulnerable road users. Their safety depends on our attention and responsibility, as well as on the good transport and operational condition of the roads. Over the six years of implementing the national project “Safe High-Quality Roads”, we have managed to bring more than 5,000 facilities near schools, kindergartens, higher education institutions, etc. into compliance with the regulations. This work continues in the new national project “Infrastructure for Life”. At the same time, together with regional project offices, we are trying to maintain the principle of an integrated approach: if an educational institution is built or modernized in a region, the road to it is also updated,” emphasized Igor Kostyuchenko, Deputy Head of the Federal Road Agency.

    Thus, in the village of Chigiri in the Amur Region, construction continues on a section of Krasnaya Street, which will become the access road to the new school. The three-story building of the new educational institution for 528 students was built at the end of last year. The completion of the work was eagerly awaited by residents not only of the village of Chigiri, but also of neighboring settlements.

    In Chelyabinsk, a section of Kharis Yusupov Street is also under construction, about 0.4 km long. In the immediate vicinity is the school building and preschool department of Educational Center No. 2. This is one of the largest comprehensive schools in Chelyabinsk and the Ural Federal District – over 3.8 thousand people study here.

    In the Chechen Republic, in 2025, under the national project “Infrastructure for Life”, five road facilities leading to schools and higher education institutions, with a total length of over 6.5 km, will be brought into compliance with the regulations. In particular, in Grozny, the reconstruction of a section of A. Sheripov Street, where the Chechen State University named after A.A. Kadyrov is located, continues. It was founded in 1938 and is now one of the leading centers of education and science in the North Caucasus Federal District. 15 thousand students receive education here.

     

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Young men on South Africa’s urban margins: new book follows their lives over 10 years

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Hannah J. Dawson, Senior Lecturer, Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Johannesburg

    South Africa’s young people, aged 15 to 34, who make up more than 50% of the country’s working age population, bear a disproportionate burden of unemployment. They have done so for more than a decade. Of this group, those aged 15-24 face the highest barriers to the job market, according to data from Statistics South Africa. The majority of these young people live in the townships and informal settlements.

    A new book, Making a Life: Young Men on Johannesburg’s Urban Margins, examines how young people in Zandspruit, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Johannesburg, make a life. Anthropologist Hannah Dawson explains why she chose Zandspruit for her research and shares her findings about the sociopolitical landscape of urban settlements.

    Why the choice of Zandspruit for your research?

    It started with my arrival there in 2011 to study a wave of political protests during local elections. This sparked a much longer research journey spanning more than a decade, which this book traces.

    The settlement was established in the early 1990s and has grown into a densely populated area of around 50,000 people, across 14 pieces of land.

    The expansion of Zandspruit reflects broader trends in post-apartheid South Africa: rapid urbanisation, inadequate urban housing, rising unemployment and underemployment — including a shift from permanent to casual work, and from formal to informal employment.

    What sets Zandspruit apart is its location. It is near post-apartheid economic hubs such as Kya Sands, with its light industries and business parks, and Lanseria Airport, a growing freight and logistics hub earmarked for expansion under the Greater Lanseria Masterplan. It also borders affluent suburbs and golf estates. This makes it distinct from older, more isolated settlements in Johannesburg’s south. Its proximity to shopping malls, townhouse complexes, warehouses and commercial zones makes it a destination of choice for migrants. They include people seeking a foothold in the urban market from rural areas of South Africa as well as people from other parts of the African continent.

    This proximity makes Zandspruit a case study for understanding how residents access urban job markets, and the connections between wage and non-wage economic activities.

    What do your findings tell us about the lives of young people?

    The book draws on research primarily with young men, whose work and lives I followed over ten years. It shows how young men on the urban margins navigate structural unemployment and inequality by forging social ties, asserting belonging, and pursuing alternative livelihoods within what I call Zandspruit’s “redistributive economy”. I use the phrase “making a life” to move beyond survival or income generation. A life is not only about securing food and shelter. It involves the pursuit of social connection, identity, place and dignity.

    For many of the young men I came to know, this often involved turning down demeaning jobs in favour of self-initiated income strategies that offered greater autonomy. These included renting out shacks, running internet cafes or car washes, or operating as mashonisas (unregistered loan sharks). Such efforts reflect more than personal resilience – they reveal how men’s social position and connections within the settlement shape access to the more lucrative niches of the local economy.

    These dynamics point to a broader condition facing young people in South Africa: deep and persistent material insecurity. Yet, they also show the ways in which young people, especially young men, are actively building lives in the face of profound uncertainty. They are crafting meaning and striving for something more in a context marked by chronic unemployment and inequality.

    What did you learn about urban inequality and living on the urban margins?

    The residents of Zandspruit are not equally poor or marginalised. A focus of the book is the division between “insiders” – long-term residents with access to property who earn rental income – and “outsiders” – new arrivals and immigrants who, as tenants, are more dependent on low-paid jobs. These distinctions shape access to land, housing, livelihoods and local recognition.

    Most immigrants form a precarious tenant class, while landlords tend to be established residents with long-standing ties to the settlement. Zandspruit is a deeply stratified space where social connections, property access and local citizenship determine who belongs and who benefits. By tracing men’s positions as insiders or outsiders, the book shows how these inequalities shape their economic strategies and capacity to build a life on the urban margins.

    What do you recommend in terms of public policy?

    The book doesn’t make policy recommendations. However, it speaks to key public and policy debates. Media and policy narratives often portray unemployed youth as idle and disconnected from society, ignoring the complex, often invisible, economic activities and arrangements that structure their lives. While informal and unstable, these pursuits reflect resourcefulness, local knowledge, and a conscious rejection of degrading labour.

    It challenges the idea that informal entrepreneurship can solve youth unemployment. Most enterprises are too precarious to lift young people out of poverty. It also questions the notion that informal settlements are simply ghettos of exclusion and poverty. Instead, it highlights the inequalities within the settlement and calls for greater attention to be paid to the local economies and social orders being forged within these spaces. Understanding these dynamics is crucial to rethinking how we respond to unemployment, the urban housing crisis and inequality in South Africa.

    Hannah J. Dawson received funding from the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and the National Research Foundation.

    – ref. Young men on South Africa’s urban margins: new book follows their lives over 10 years – https://theconversation.com/young-men-on-south-africas-urban-margins-new-book-follows-their-lives-over-10-years-257026

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dialogue between descendants of Lu Xun and M. Gorky took place in Hangzhou

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    BEIJING, May 30 (Xinhua) — A Sino-Russian cultural exchange event, “Dialogue Between Masters – Lu Xun and Maxim Gorky,” was held in Qiantang District of Hangzhou City, east China’s Zhejiang Province, on Thursday. Descendants of the two brilliant literary figures, experts and scholars from China and Russia, as well as teachers and students from primary and middle schools in Hangzhou gathered to promote cultural exchanges through poetry and fiction readings, the Zhejiang Daily reported.

    Zhou Lingfei, Lu Xun’s eldest grandson and also the chairman of the Lu Xun Cultural Foundation, said that Lu Xun’s critical spirit is like a scalpel that dissects both others and himself. And the works of M. Gorky are like a beacon that has played an important role in the development and cultural renewal of China.

    “Young people need to have reasonable doubts and to look for different ways to achieve scientific and technological innovation. All this is connected with the spirit of criticism,” he added.

    Timofey Peshkov, great-great-grandson of M. Gorky and executive director of the M. Gorky Foundation, in turn expressed hope that in the future, Lu Xun’s descendants will be invited to give lectures in Moscow to strengthen cultural exchanges between the two countries.

    Let us recall that 2024-2025 have been declared the Years of China-Russia Culture, and this year’s international exchange event “Dialogue between Masters: Lu Xun and Famous World Writers” is being held for the twelfth time.

    It was organized by Hangzhou High School, where the author once worked. The current dialogue is also part of an important poetry education project in Zhejiang Province. -0-

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Chinese students recited works by classics of Russian poetry

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    BEIJING, May 30 (Xinhua) — The 8th Russian poetry reading event entitled “I Remember a Wonderful Moment” and the 3rd Russian Classical Poetry Recitation Competition among Beijing University Students were held at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) as part of the closing ceremony of the 19th BFSU Russian Culture Festival.

    The event featured speeches by the Third Secretary of the Russian Embassy in China A. I. Druzhinin and the Deputy Director of the Institute of Russian Language of PULIN, Professor He Fang. PULIN Professor Liu Guangzhun, who initiated the event, Professor Huang Suhua of Capital Normal University and other distinguished guests were also present at the event.

    The competition involved 13 teams from 9 Beijing universities. Based on the results of the competition, prizes were awarded for first, second and third places, as well as the audience award. The first place was won by PUJI student Xu Jin.

    The 19th Festival of Russian Culture of the PUL also included a competition for dubbing films into Russian among students of Beijing universities and many other interesting events. This year, for the first time, a new form of cultural exchange was added – joint dubbing of works by students from China and Russia, which became an innovative format for deepening interaction between the youth of the two countries. -0-

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Young men on South Africa’s urban margins: new book follows their lives over 10 years

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Hannah J. Dawson, Senior Lecturer, Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Johannesburg

    South Africa’s young people, aged 15 to 34, who make up more than 50% of the country’s working age population, bear a disproportionate burden of unemployment. They have done so for more than a decade. Of this group, those aged 15-24 face the highest barriers to the job market, according to data from Statistics South Africa. The majority of these young people live in the townships and informal settlements.

    A new book, Making a Life: Young Men on Johannesburg’s Urban Margins, examines how young people in Zandspruit, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Johannesburg, make a life. Anthropologist Hannah Dawson explains why she chose Zandspruit for her research and shares her findings about the sociopolitical landscape of urban settlements.

    Why the choice of Zandspruit for your research?

    It started with my arrival there in 2011 to study a wave of political protests during local elections. This sparked a much longer research journey spanning more than a decade, which this book traces.

    The settlement was established in the early 1990s and has grown into a densely populated area of around 50,000 people, across 14 pieces of land.

    The expansion of Zandspruit reflects broader trends in post-apartheid South Africa: rapid urbanisation, inadequate urban housing, rising unemployment and underemployment — including a shift from permanent to casual work, and from formal to informal employment.

    What sets Zandspruit apart is its location. It is near post-apartheid economic hubs such as Kya Sands, with its light industries and business parks, and Lanseria Airport, a growing freight and logistics hub earmarked for expansion under the Greater Lanseria Masterplan. It also borders affluent suburbs and golf estates. This makes it distinct from older, more isolated settlements in Johannesburg’s south. Its proximity to shopping malls, townhouse complexes, warehouses and commercial zones makes it a destination of choice for migrants. They include people seeking a foothold in the urban market from rural areas of South Africa as well as people from other parts of the African continent.

    This proximity makes Zandspruit a case study for understanding how residents access urban job markets, and the connections between wage and non-wage economic activities.

    What do your findings tell us about the lives of young people?

    The book draws on research primarily with young men, whose work and lives I followed over ten years. It shows how young men on the urban margins navigate structural unemployment and inequality by forging social ties, asserting belonging, and pursuing alternative livelihoods within what I call Zandspruit’s “redistributive economy”. I use the phrase “making a life” to move beyond survival or income generation. A life is not only about securing food and shelter. It involves the pursuit of social connection, identity, place and dignity.

    For many of the young men I came to know, this often involved turning down demeaning jobs in favour of self-initiated income strategies that offered greater autonomy. These included renting out shacks, running internet cafes or car washes, or operating as mashonisas (unregistered loan sharks). Such efforts reflect more than personal resilience – they reveal how men’s social position and connections within the settlement shape access to the more lucrative niches of the local economy.

    These dynamics point to a broader condition facing young people in South Africa: deep and persistent material insecurity. Yet, they also show the ways in which young people, especially young men, are actively building lives in the face of profound uncertainty. They are crafting meaning and striving for something more in a context marked by chronic unemployment and inequality.

    What did you learn about urban inequality and living on the urban margins?

    The residents of Zandspruit are not equally poor or marginalised. A focus of the book is the division between “insiders” – long-term residents with access to property who earn rental income – and “outsiders” – new arrivals and immigrants who, as tenants, are more dependent on low-paid jobs. These distinctions shape access to land, housing, livelihoods and local recognition.

    Most immigrants form a precarious tenant class, while landlords tend to be established residents with long-standing ties to the settlement. Zandspruit is a deeply stratified space where social connections, property access and local citizenship determine who belongs and who benefits. By tracing men’s positions as insiders or outsiders, the book shows how these inequalities shape their economic strategies and capacity to build a life on the urban margins.

    What do you recommend in terms of public policy?

    The book doesn’t make policy recommendations. However, it speaks to key public and policy debates. Media and policy narratives often portray unemployed youth as idle and disconnected from society, ignoring the complex, often invisible, economic activities and arrangements that structure their lives. While informal and unstable, these pursuits reflect resourcefulness, local knowledge, and a conscious rejection of degrading labour.

    It challenges the idea that informal entrepreneurship can solve youth unemployment. Most enterprises are too precarious to lift young people out of poverty. It also questions the notion that informal settlements are simply ghettos of exclusion and poverty. Instead, it highlights the inequalities within the settlement and calls for greater attention to be paid to the local economies and social orders being forged within these spaces. Understanding these dynamics is crucial to rethinking how we respond to unemployment, the urban housing crisis and inequality in South Africa.

    – Young men on South Africa’s urban margins: new book follows their lives over 10 years
    – https://theconversation.com/young-men-on-south-africas-urban-margins-new-book-follows-their-lives-over-10-years-257026

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI China: Integrated data market high on agenda

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

    China is studying and formulating policy documents to cultivate a national integrated data market in accordance with new characteristics related to the development of the data market as part of a broader push to fully unleash the value of its massive data resources, said the National Data Administration, the country’s top data governance regulator.

    More efforts should be made to bolster the development and utilization of public data, and encourage enterprises to innovate by leveraging data to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency, so as to nurture new quality productive forces and empower high-quality economic and social development, said the NDA.

    To promote the use of data as a factor of production in more fields and tap the potential of data, the administration is ramping up efforts to compile a guideline on the application scenarios of data elements.

    China has issued a three-year action plan to expand the application of data in 12 key fields, including manufacturing, modern agriculture, logistics and financial services.

    The country will take steps to promote the high-level application of data, ensure the quality of data supply, improve the environment of data circulation and strengthen data security, said the action plan.

    Luan Jie, deputy head of the policy and planning department at the NDA, said nearly 500 digital tech companies have been established by centrally administered State-owned enterprises, and about 66 percent of leading enterprises in various industries have purchased data, adding that the extensive participation of social entities has laid a solid foundation for unleashing the value of data.

    Luan said data has been increasingly applied into a diverse range of sectors, such as industry, agriculture and transportation, giving rise to new business forms and models and generating a multiplier effect in boosting the economy.

    Looking ahead, the administration will accelerate steps to roll out a guideline on the construction of data infrastructure and establish comprehensive experimental zones for data elements, while strengthening the top-level design of the data market and establishing rules, facilities and governance systems related to a unified national data market to create a fairer and more dynamic market environment.

    The nation’s total data output reached 41.06 zettabytes last year, up 25 percent year-on-year, while the added value of core industries of the digital economy accounted for about 10 percent of the GDP, said the NDA.

    “Data elements have been rapidly integrated into various areas like production, circulation, consumption and social services, and are playing an increasingly vital role in bolstering industrial upgrades,” said Ouyang Rihui, assistant dean of the China Center for Internet Economy Research at the Central University of Finance and Economics.

    The in-depth integration of data with traditional industries will improve production efficiency, optimize the allocation of resources and create novel business models, Ouyang said, while stressing the need to bolster the circulation and transaction of data, explore a data pricing mechanism and value assessment system, ensure data security and strengthen privacy protection.

    Data have the attributes of commodities, which could be effectively allocated through market evaluation and trading, so as to create huge economic and social value, he said.

    Jiang Xiaojuan, a professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the nation’s accelerated push to nurture a national integrated data market and create more abundant applications of data in various sectors is conducive to driving the transformation and upgrade of industries, facilitating the development of digital economy, and giving full play to the value of data to foster new growth drivers.

    The National Industrial Information Security Development Research Center said revenue derived from China’s data elements market is projected to rise to 198.9 billion yuan ($27.7 billion) in 2025, with the compound annual growth rate surpassing 25 percent during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • India working towards becoming food bank of the world: Shivraj Singh

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    India is working towards becoming the “food bank of the world” under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Thursday.

    He was speaking at the launch of the Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan at the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) in Bhubaneswar.

    The nationwide campaign, launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), will run from May 29 to June 12. As part of the initiative, agricultural scientists will visit villages across over 700 districts to engage with farmers and offer scientific advice aimed at transforming agriculture and securing India’s food future.

    “The farmers of India are not just Annadata (food providers), they are Jeevandata (life providers). Our goal is to empower them to feed not only 145 crore Indians but also export food grains and vegetables across the globe,” said Chouhan. He emphasized that the government is committed to making India self-reliant in agriculture through innovation, technology, and grassroots participation.

    Chouhan highlighted that government schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana have been launched to provide compensation for crops affected by climate change. The central government is also providing an interest subsidy up to 4 per cent on agricultural loans through Kisan Credit Cards.

    The Union Minister will travel across 20 states during the 15-day campaign to mobilize support and engagement. He also urged farmers in Odisha to actively participate in the initiative, noting that over 16,000 agricultural scientists are being connected with farmers as part of the campaign.

    Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed pride that the campaign is being launched from the state.

    Also present at the event were Odisha Deputy Chief Minister and Agriculture Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, senior agriculture department officials, and leading agricultural scientists.

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Presentation of the book “Xi Jinping on public administration” in Kazakh language held in Astana

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    ASTANA, May 30 (Xinhua) — A presentation of the Kazakh version of the four-volume collection “Xi Jinping on Public Administration” was held in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, on Thursday.

    China is a reliable strategic partner for Kazakhstan. Friendly exchanges and a high level of trust between the leaders of the two countries have given a powerful impetus to the development of bilateral relations, noted Aida Balayeva, Minister of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan, in her speech. Rich in content, profound in meaning and practical in significance, the book “Xi Jinping on Public Administration” is an important work that will help readers in Kazakhstan better understand China.

    The participants of the event noted that this book is an important work of the President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, which embodies his profound reflections on the issues of Chinese governance and global governance and opens a “window of ideas” for the international community to understand China. The publication and distribution of the Kazakh version of the book is a new important achievement of cooperation between the publishing and translation circles of China and Kazakhstan, as well as a clear evidence of the exchange of experience between the two countries and mutual learning in the field of governance, which will certainly contribute to mutual understanding and closeness between the two peoples and give a new powerful impetus to the construction of a Chinese-Kazakh community with a common future.

    According to the event organizers, since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), under the strong leadership of Chairman Xi Jinping, the CPC has united and led the Chinese people, successfully promoted and expanded Chinese-style modernization, and achieved remarkable achievements in development. China and Kazakhstan are fellow travelers on this path of modernization. After reading the Chinese leader’s book, friends from all walks of life in Kazakhstan will be able to gain useful experience in independently mastering the development path according to their national conditions. The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China is a great undertaking that brings together the consensus and cooperation of the international community, and all participating countries will benefit from it. This event will serve as an opportunity to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of China and Kazakhstan, further deepen exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in poverty alleviation and reduction, green development and the search for a path of modernization, so as to inject more positive energy into the peace, stability and development of the region and the world.

    At the presentation ceremony, Chinese and Kazakh guests jointly presented the four-volume collection “Xi Jinping on Public Administration” in the Kazakh language, China presented new books to the Kazakh side, and experts and scholars from the two countries exchanged views on the experience of China and Kazakhstan in public administration.

    The event was organized by the Information Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, the National Affairs Committee of the People’s Republic of China, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Kazakhstan, the Office of the People’s Republic of China for Publication and Distribution of Literature in Foreign Languages, and the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan, and was implemented by the Nationalities Publishing House of China, the Foliant Publishing House of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Eurasian Center of the Office of the People’s Republic of China for Publication and Distribution of Literature in Foreign Languages, and the Kazakhstan branch of Beijing Language and Culture University. The event was attended by about 300 representatives of political parties, media, think tanks, and universities of China and Kazakhstan.

    The Kazakh edition of the book “Xi Jinping on Public Administration” was translated and published by the “Nationalities Publishing House” of China and the “Foliant” Publishing House of the Republic of Kazakhstan. To date, the book has been translated and published in 42 languages. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Shock NSW Senate result as One Nation beats Labor to win final seat

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne

    The button was pressed to electronically distribute preferences for the New South Wales Senate today. All analysts expected Labor to win the final seat, for a three Labor, two Coalition, one Green result. Instead, One Nation won the final seat, for a two Labor, two Coalition, one Green and one One Nation result. This is a One Nation gain from the Coalition.

    Six of the 12 senators for each state and all four territory senators were up for election on May 3. Changes in state senate representation are measured against 2019, the last time these senators were up for election. State senators elected at this election will start their six-year terms on July 1.

    Senators are elected by proportional representation in their jurisdictions with preferences. At a half-Senate election, with six senators in each state up for election, a quota is one-seventh of the vote, or 14.3%. For the territories, a quota is one-third or 33.3%.

    Final primary votes in NSW gave Labor 2.63 quotas, the Coalition 2.06, the Greens 0.78, One Nation 0.42, Legalise Cannabis 0.24, Trumpet of Patriots 0.17, the Libertarians 0.13 and Family First 0.11. One Nation defeated Labor’s third at the final count by 0.89 quotas to 0.87.

    Labor was hurt by the Greens being well short of quota, and getting preferences from left sources that would otherwise have gone to Labor, while right-wing parties united behind One Nation. The Greens only crossed quota at the second last count, and their small surplus wasn’t enough for Labor to catch One Nation.

    I covered Senate results from other states and territories earlier and this week.

    In the later piece, I talked about the two-party count. This isn’t finished yet in NSW or Victoria, but one side of politics usually needs about 57% of the two-party vote in a state to win four of the six senators (four quotas). This is very difficult to achieve.

    In Tasmania, Labor won the two-party count by over 63–37, but missed out on three senators owing to Jacqui Lambie. In South Australia, Labor won by over 59–41 and the left won a 4–2 Senate split. In Victoria, Labor leads by nearly 57–43, and the left won a 4–2 Senate split. In Western Australia and NSW, Labor won by less than 56–44 and the Senate was tied 3–3 between left and right.

    Out of the 40 Senate seats that were up at this election, Labor won 16 (up three), the Coalition 13 (down five), the Greens six (steady), One Nation three (up two) and Lambie and David Pocock one each (both steady). The Coalition lost senators in all mainland states, with Labor gaining in Victoria, South Australia and Queensland, and One Nation in NSW and WA.

    The 36 state senators elected in 2022 won’t be up for election until 2028. For the whole Senate, Labor has 28 out of 76, the Coalition 27, the Greens 11, One Nation four and there are six others. Labor will need either the Greens or the Coalition to reach the 39 votes needed for a Senate majority.

    In 2022, the United Australia Party (UAP) won a seat in Victoria. During the last term, Lidia Thorpe defected from the Greens, Fatima Payman from Labor and Tammy Tyrrell from the Jacqui Lambie Network. The six others are these four, Pocock and Lambie.

    Counting Thorpe, Payman and Pocock as left and the UAP as right, the left overall has a 42–32 Senate majority, with two others (Lambie and Tyrrell).

    National Senate primaries and results by state

    Nationally, Labor won 35.1% of the Senate vote (up 5.0% since 2022), the Coalition 29.9% (down 4.4%), the Greens 11.7% (down 0.9%), One Nation 5.7% (up 1.4%), Legalise Cannabis 3.5% (up 0.2%), Trumpet of Patriots 2.6% and Family First 1.5%.

    Labor won 34.6% nationally in the House of Representatives, so their Senate vote was 0.5% higher than in the House. It’s likely the lack of a Teal option helped Labor in the Senate.

    This table shows the senators elected in each state and territory in 2025, with the seat share and vote share at the bottom. Despite the losses in NSW and WA, Labor and the Greens are overrepresented in the Senate relative to vote share.

    Others are greatly underrepresented, but this is because most other parties are either left or right-wing, and their preferences go to Labor, the Greens, the Coalition or One Nation rather than to more others.

    For the combined left to lose control of the Senate in 2028, they would need to lose four seats. The only seat that looks vulnerable is the WA seat won by Payman for Labor in 2022. Even if the Coalition wins in 2028, the Senate is likely to be hostile to the Coalition.

    At a double dissolution election, all senators are up for election at the same time. If the Coalition wins in 2028, a double dissolution would be an option to seek to change a hostile Senate.

    Preference distributions for WA and Queensland

    Final WA primary votes gave Labor 2.53 quotas, the Liberals 1.86, the Greens 0.90, One Nation 0.41, Legalise Cannabis 0.28, the Nationals 0.25 and Australian Christians 0.19.

    One Nation defeated Labor’s third at the final count by 0.90 quotas to 0.86. When the Nationals were excluded, the Liberals got a large surplus. As in Victoria, Liberal preferences heavily favoured One Nation over Labor and Legalise Cannabis.

    But Legalise Cannabis preferences were not as good for Labor as in Victoria, with Labor winning these preferences by 13 points over One Nation, rather than 24 points in Victoria.

    Final Queensland primary votes gave the Liberal National Party 2.17 quotas, Labor 2.13, the Greens 0.73, One Nation 0.50, Gerard Rennick 0.33, Trumpet of Patriots 0.26 and Legalise Cannabis 0.25.

    Both the Greens and One Nation easily reached a quota on the distribution of preferences, with Rennick finishing far behind on 0.55 quotas.

    Adrian Beaumont 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. Shock NSW Senate result as One Nation beats Labor to win final seat – https://theconversation.com/shock-nsw-senate-result-as-one-nation-beats-labor-to-win-final-seat-257888

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: NSU awarded the most active volunteers

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    Each faculty and almost every division of NSU has volunteers who are ready to help in important events of the university, such as Open Day, Interweek, Mayovka and many others. On May 29, the most active volunteers of NSU were awarded in the student creative center.

    — Today, there are several student associations here: NSU Volunteers, NSU Medical Volunteers, and volunteer pre-psychologists of the You Are Not Alone service. We are summing up the work for the academic year and would like to thank the guys for always being ready to help. A volunteer is a person with a big heart who is ready to give more than to receive. It seems to me that this is a very important feature of any person who takes part in the volunteer movement. And in general, volunteers are amazing people who are ready to share their resources and time to help others and the university. I would especially like to note the volunteers of the You Are Not Alone movement, because in order to provide support to another person, you yourself need to be in a stable psychological and emotional state, — said Elena Krasilova, Head of the Department of Youth Policy and Educational Work at NSU.

    Darya Kolomnikova became a volunteer in her second year of undergraduate studies, and is now a first-year master’s student. Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of NSU. Organizers of the Olympics and other large events always need help, so the girl decided to become a volunteer. For example, this year she contributed to the organization of such events as Mayovka, Donor Days, the Voice of Generations forum and Career Days.

    — I like this activity, and I am very grateful to the university that our work is so highly appreciated here. In addition to studying at NSU, I look for volunteer opportunities, because it is completely different from the work you do every day. It gives you a new charge of energy and emotions, — shared Daria Kolomnikova.

    The platform has been operating in the Russian Federation for several years now. Good.ru. On this site, the university is represented by a verified account — “NSU Volunteers”. The organizer of any event can create a card for their event, and the guys who are registered on this platform can click the “Ready to help” button and become a volunteer. Later, this event and the hours worked will be displayed in their volunteer book. At any time, they can download it and attach it to their portfolio. Also, the results of volunteer activities can be submitted for an increased state academic scholarship on the scale of “Achievements of students in social activities”.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: International cooperation: GUU at the General Assembly of the Peoples of Eurasia and Africa

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    On March 28, 2025, the State University of Management took part in a meeting of the General Assembly of the Peoples of Eurasia and Africa, which was held in the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation.

    The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Grigory Karasin, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Nationalities Ildar Gilmutdinov, Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation Oleg Kobyakov, Plenipotentiary Minister with the rank of Ambassador – Deputy Head of Mission of the Republic of Cuba to the Russian Federation Enrique Horta Gonzalez, Minister Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Nicaragua Claudio Antonio Arana.

    Our university was represented by the Head of the International Cooperation Department Inessa Bogatyreva and graduate students from the Institutes of the State University of Management: Nguyen Thi Hai Anh (Socialist Republic of Vietnam), Moncef Nasrullah (Afghanistan), Umar Bretil Hissein Bretil Hissein (Republic of Chad).

    In their reports, the speakers paid special attention to the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War and noted that this year has been declared the Year of Peace and Unity in the CIS in the fight against Nazism. The participants presented such large-scale projects as the International Public Forum “Preserving the Memory of the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War”, the initiatives “Immortal Memory”, “Road of Life – Road of Military Glory”, “Panfilov’s Men: Our Pride, Our Glory”, etc.

    It is worth noting that within the framework of the Assembly’s work, significant projects are being implemented that contribute to strengthening spiritual and cultural ties between the states of Eurasia and Africa. Among them are the “Caravan of Friendship”, “Road of Life”, “Song of Peace”, “Children of Eurasia”, “Angels of Peace”, “Discover Eurasia”, the 1st International Sports Games of National and Non-Olympic Sports “Towards Eurasiada”.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: GPs will be a great help for managing ADHD medications. But many patients will still need specialists

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Guastella, Professor and Clinical Psychologist, Michael Crouch Chair in Child and Youth Mental Health, University of Sydney

    The New South Wales government this week announced reforms that will allow some GPs to treat and potentially diagnose attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

    This aims to make ADHD care more accessible and less expensive and follows changes in Western Australia and Queensland, which have increased GPs’ role in diagnosing and prescribing for ADHD.

    Previously, only specialists (usually paediatricians and psychiatrists) could diagnose ADHD and prescribe the most commonly used ADHD stimulant medications.

    This reform comes on the back of evidence of extensive wait times for ADHD care and costs too high for many people.

    But while up-skilling GPs to treat ADHD will benefit many patients, some people with more complex cases will still need to see a specialist.

    What’s planned for NSW?

    Under this new framework, the NSW government proposes a two-stage plan.

    In phase one, around 1,000 GPs will be trained to support the ongoing prescribing of ADHD medications.

    In phase two a smaller number, about 100 GPs, will receive more intensive training to conduct ADHD assessments, make diagnoses and initiate ADHD medications.

    For phase two the initial focus will be on children and adolescents and then the trial will extend to adults.

    Why a diagnosis is crucial for people with ADHD

    The recent Senate inquiry into ADHD highlighted growing awareness about the daily struggles of people with ADHD across Australia.

    People with ADHD have serious difficulties with attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity, which impact across the lifespan and many settings where people live, learn, work and play.

    ADHD is linked to many poor outcomes and is even associated with higher rates of accidental injury and death.

    ADHD treatments, such as stimulant medication, has been shown be safe, effective and to substantially lower risks of negative outcomes. But to receive these treatments, a person needs to first receive a diagnosis.

    GPs can play an important role managing ADHD

    There is also no question that GPs are more accessible than specialists, both in terms of availability and cost.

    They already provide ongoing management for a wide range of chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. They are highly skilled in monitoring outcomes and adjusting treatments.

    With the right training, they bring many transferable skills to ADHD care. Increasing their ability to take over ongoing prescribing for people diagnosed and stabilised on treatment is low risk and has shown to be effective in a range of studies.

    However, although the proposal to increase the role of GPs in ADHD care is a step in the right direction, it is not without challenges.

    GPs may struggle to assess complex patients

    Collaborative care involves general practitioners working with specialists and specialist teams to provide care. If GPs don’t have specialists to rely on for expert advice about ongoing management, many will choose not to provide ADHD care. Ongoing support and strong links between specialist and primary care services will be essential.

    GPs may also struggle to assess and diagnose complex cases.

    The vast majority of people with ADHD will have other mental health conditions, but some of these other conditions (such as anxiety conditions) can also result in symptoms that appear like ADHD.

    For these complex situations, specialist services with multidisciplinary teams of doctors and allied health providers (such as psychologists and occupational therapists) will still be needed.



    Read more:
    Wondering about ADHD, autism and your child’s development? What to know about getting a neurodevelopmental assessment

    To ensure high-quality care and reduce the potential for misdiagnosis and incorrect treatment, it will be even more important that specialists are available to provide additional services when required.

    There is little detail currently in the NSW proposal about how specialist multidisciplinary services will be supported to ensure this happens. And funding models for this will need to be established to support existing guidelines.

    Bringing GPs into the assessment and diagnosis to initiate treatment is positive but comes with added pressures to manage assessment and treatment.

    There are many cases in the media of poor diagnostic process, where patients were misdiagnosed with conditions such as ADHD after inadequate assessments. These practices may be driven by financial rewards and a poor application of evidence-based guidelines.

    Sometimes teams of clinicians and allied health providers will be needed for a diagnosis.
    Alex and Maria photo/Shutterstock

    Could this lead to over-diagnosis? Or correct under-diagnosis?

    In Australia, the debate about whether ADHD is under- or over-diagnosed is ongoing. There reality is that there is almost certainly a mixture of both.

    The real rates of ADHD are estimated at around 7% in Australian children and 2.5% in adults. While these rates have remained stable for many years, the rates of clinical diagnosis and treatment have increased dramatically, particularly in young women.

    Around 6% of children and adolescents currently receive ADHD medications, similar to the actual rates of ADHD in the population. For adults, the rates of ADHD medication use remain low for those over 45 years. For those between 18 and 44 years, rates now sit at around 2%.

    One interpretation of these figures is that most children, adolescents and adults with ADHD are now getting the support they need.

    However, if we remember the strong evidence that many Australians are struggling to access ADHD care, particularly in under-resourced, regional and remote areas, the more likely answer is that a combination of “misdiagnosis” and “missed diagnosis” means that sometimes diagnoses are not done correctly.

    This highlights the importance of focusing on the need for accurate assessment as the cornerstone of high quality ADHD care. In its answer to the question of who should assess and diagnose ADHD, the Australian ADHD guideline focuses on training and skills rather than which profession conducts the assessment.

    There is no reason that GPs cannot develop these skills, but they will require adequate training and ongoing support to do so, and they will need time to commit to these assessments.

    Finally, we need to make sure medication is not the only option available. Research shows ADHD medications provide effective treatment. But they should never be the only form of treatment offered.

    Sadly, reports show medical treatments are relied upon more frequently in more disadvantaged communities where access to other supports can be difficult.

    These reforms will do little to increase access to psychological and allied health supports to ensure the right care can be provided to people with ADHD.



    Read more:
    GPs could improve access to ADHD treatment. But we still need specialists to diagnose and start medication

    Adam Guastella receives funding from the NSW Government for the evaluation of mental health supports provided to children and families in health services. He has received funding from research agencies (ARC, NHMRC, MRFF) for the evaluation of assessment and supports related to neurodevelopmental conditions and for independent and sponsored clinical trials for the evaluation medical and psychological therapies. He is affiliated with Neurodevelopment Australia.

    David Coghill has been a consultant for with Takeda, Medice, Servier, Novartis. He receives research funding from the NHMRC and royalties from Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. He is the president of Australasian ADHD Professional Association.

    – ref. GPs will be a great help for managing ADHD medications. But many patients will still need specialists – https://theconversation.com/gps-will-be-a-great-help-for-managing-adhd-medications-but-many-patients-will-still-need-specialists-257610

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • Caste-Based Enumeration In The Upcoming Decadal Census Will Be A Transformative Step; Will Bring About Social Justice: Vice-President

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (2)

    lign=”center”>Thoughtfully Collected Caste Data Will Be An Instrument Of Integration, Like An MRI Of The Body, Says VP
    Effective Policy Planning Without Robust Statistics Can Be Compared To Surgery In The Dark, Stresses VP
    The Future Belongs To Those Who Master The Art Of Reading Societies And Statistical Signatures, Urges VP
    The Path To A Developed India Is Built With Statistical Insights Marked By Evidence-Based Milestones, Highlights VP
    Understanding Statistics From The Perspective Of Demographic Variation Will Help Policymakers Address The Security Of The Nation, Says VP
    We Must Create A Nation That Thinks Empirically, Says VP
    Our Languages Can Never Be A Source Of Divisiveness; Our Languages Are A Unifying Force, Says VP
    Vice-President Addresses The Indian Statistical Service (ISS) Probationers Of the 2024 and 2025 Batches in New Delhi

    The Vice-President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, today said, “The Government has made a great decision. And the decision is to include caste-based enumeration in the upcoming decadal census. It will be a transformative step, game-changing. It will help bring about social justice. It will be an eye-opener. It will satisfy people’s aspirations. It’s a very broad decision of the government. There was a caste-based census earlier. Last time, I think it was conducted in 1931. I looked up to that census many times to know about my caste. I therefore realise the importance of caste-based enumeration.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1928028421285642516

    Addressing the Indian Statistical Service (ISS) Probationers of the 2024 and 2025 batches in New Delhi today, Shri Dhankhar said, “Far from being divisive,  thoughtfully collected caste data will be an instrument of integration. Some people are debating it. We are mature minds. How can information collected by itself be a source of the problem? It is like getting your body MRI. You will know about it when you stand. People will realise. And this mechanism will transform abstract constitutional commitments to equality into measurable,  accountable policy outcomes.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1928012739328311432

    The Vice-President drew a vivid analogy to highlight the value of precise and current data in governance, saying, “Effective policy planning without robust statistics you can compare it like a surgery in the dark. You can imagine how relevant your work is. Every digit in our national database represents a human story. Every trend line charts the trajectory of things. Let me give you a small illustration.”

    “And what it portends for our future, you will have rich experiences every moment of your service career. What you took for granted, you will find, is on a fragile premise. It’s a mirage, because data does not lie”, he noted.

    The Vice-President reiterated that India’s aspirations for becoming a developed nation are firmly rooted in evidence-based planning. He said, “We, as a nation, are looking for ‘Viksit Bharat,’ which is not our dream. It is our objective, defined destination, our goal. Bharat is no longer a nation with potential. It’s a nation on the rise, and the rise is unstoppable. And therefore, the path to a developed India is built with statistical insights marked by evidence-based milestones. In togetherness, we must create a nation that thinks empirically, as I indicated earlier, but is driven by hardcore evidence.”

    He urged timely and relevant data collection and usage for informed policymaking, saying, “Statistics is not merely about numbers. It is much more than numbers. It is about identifying patterns and drawing insights that inform wise policy decisions. Now, there is always urgency. If your data, data must be in sync with contemporaneous situations. Otherwise, it has a tendency to be stale. How detailed? It is about identifying patterns and growing insights. Have informed policy decisions based on data that is currently acceptable. A delayed or misguided policy can have serious consequences, and a timely intervention. Well-informed decisions can yield results that are exponential, not just incremental.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1928026458213208084

    Affirming the human-centric nature of statistics, he stated, “Numbers are not cold abstractions; they are warm testimonies to our collective aspirations. These are the numbers. The future belongs to those who master the art of reading societies,  statistical signatures. And only you make those signatures available. In the convergence of statistical science and democratic values lies the secret to India’s continued rise.”

    The Vice-President emphasized that statistical accuracy empowers governments to shift from reactive measures to strategic foresight, saying, “This diagnostic precision transforms reactive governance into proactive stewardship. Otherwise, we will always be in reaction mode. Reaction mode is a weakness of policy—it reveals a void in foresight. But proactive stewardship is fundamental.”

    He further said, “We are also required to use data to address demographic trends. Demographic trends are beyond statistics. They are dependent on the analysis of statistics. In several ways, these variations define the pulse of the nation’s transformation. And therefore, understanding statistics from the perspective of demographic variation will help policymakers address the security of the nation. Preserve our sovereignty also. Analyse the threat perception. Help us devise policies. You come to know more about demography only from statistical analysis of raw figures. It’s a compass that will guide the nation’s journey for sustainable development.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1928027482726486049

    Encouraging the young officers to see themselves as agents of equality, he reflected on their role in democratizing access and opportunities. Shri Dhankhar said, “You are probationers. Statistical cartography reveals the hidden geometries of inequality. I stressed—I reiterated on a number of occasions—democracy has meaning only if those who cannot help themselves are helped. They don’t have to question others that I need help, which means you must bring about equality and sublimity. Your cartography helps. Governance is enabled by your efforts to craft targeted interventions, where interventions are most needed.”

    He then reflected on the vital role of civil servants in India’s journey, saying, “In the vast canvas of India’s progress, civil servants functioned as the silent yet formidable architects contributing to the socio-economic development and progress of our dynamic nation. Thanks to the vision of the Prime Minister, his mission, that execution has been place by the bureaucracy. The performance of our bureaucracy will always be optimal if the political leadership is in the right framework. With the right policies, we are living in those times where the political framework is indicating hope and optimism. We are on the right path.  And that is why India is a nation at the moment with an unprecedented economic upsurge, phenomenal infrastructure growth. This is a mix of political vision and bureaucratic execution. I therefore say that India takes pride in its bureaucracy. It is the finest in the world. And that is why our aspirations get fructified.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1928021046009155729

    Concluding his address, the Vice-President touched upon India’s linguistic diversity and its role in national unity, “India is uniquely positioned in the world when it comes to languages. We have multiple languages that make us proud — Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bangla, Sanskrit, Hindi, several others (I may forget some), all of them, including Odia and other languages. Eight of them are classical languages. Our languages generate unity. Some of them have a global impact; their literature is a goldmine of knowledge. Our inclusivity is reflected in our languages, and if you go to the constitutional scheme of things, it is provided in the Constitution that for official work, there will be a progressive decline in the use of the English language and, similarly, an incremental trajectory for Hindi. Our National Education Policy stands out for giving primacy to the mother tongue. Technical subjects like medicine and engineering, the education is now being imparted in the vernacular. Our languages are our spinal strength. Our languages can never be a source of divisiveness. Our languages are a unifying force. I appeal to everyone in the country to have a soothing approach with wholesome motivation toward this fundamental cultural aspect of our nation.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1928021786941345885

    Dr. Saurabh Garg,  Secretary, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, Shri. P. R. Meshram, Director General, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation And other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Helan: Duanwu Festival Traditions Blend Harmoniously into Children’s Day

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian –

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

    On May 28, Yinguang Primary School in Jingui Town, Helan County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region held a series of activities themed “Loving the Duanwu Festival, Sharing Zongzi on June 1st”. The traditional customs of the Duanwu Festival were seamlessly combined with Children’s Day through artistic performances, introduction to intangible cultural heritage, and folk games, immersing children in a joyful atmosphere.

    On May 28, Yinguang Primary School in Jingui Town, Helan County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region held a series of activities themed “Loving the Duanwu Festival, Sharing Zongzi on June 1st”. The traditional customs of the Duanwu Festival were seamlessly combined with Children’s Day through artistic performances, introduction to intangible cultural heritage, and folk games, immersing children in a joyful atmosphere.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • India’s All-Party Delegation concludes anti-terror mission in Saudi Arabia

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    An All-Party Parliamentary delegation from India concluded its three-day diplomatic mission to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, emphasizing India’s unwavering stance against terrorism in the wake of recent cross-border attacks. Led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda, the delegation held extensive interactions with Saudi think tanks and the Indian diaspora as part of a broader global outreach initiative following India’s military response to the devastating April terrorist attack.

    The delegation’s visit comes in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack, where five armed terrorists killed 26 people, including 25 tourists and a local resident, in one of the deadliest attacks in Kashmir in decades. The incident prompted India to launch Operation Sindoor, which the delegation described as establishing “a new benchmark in India’s fight against terrorism.”

    During their Saudi visit, the Indian representatives met with Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman of the Gulf Research Centre in Riyadh, and Dr. Abdulmajeed Albanyan, President of the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences. The discussions focused on India’s three-decade struggle with cross-border terrorism and explored potential collaboration in emerging technologies including artificial intelligence and quantum computing for counter-terrorism efforts

    .The delegation emphasized that the Pahalgam attack was designed to undermine economic progress in Jammu and Kashmir and incite communal tensions across India. They highlighted how the nation’s unified response demonstrated India’s collective resolve against such threats, noting that all attempts to divide the country were met with popular resistance.

    This Saudi Arabia mission represents part of a comprehensive diplomatic offensive, with seven All-Party delegations comprising 59 members visiting 32 countries to convey India’s zero-tolerance approach to terrorism. The initiative aims to build international support for India’s position while countering narratives that might justify terrorist activities.

    The delegation’s engagement with the Indian diaspora in Saudi Arabia underscored the community’s role in India’s development and acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s consistent support in condemning terrorism. The visit reinforced the growing security cooperation between the two nations, particularly in areas of counter-terrorism and regional stability.The broader diplomatic campaign follows India’s military strikes against alleged terrorist camps across the border, marking what officials describe as a shift toward a ‘new normal policy’ in addressing cross-border terrorism threats.

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Supercharging science to inspire next generation

    Source: New Zealand Government

    The Government is ensuring all Year 0 to 8 students have access to high quality, hands-on science kits through Budget 2025, helping pave the way for New Zealand’s future scientists, problem-solvers, and innovators.

    “We want students to love learning about science. Hands-on learning improves critical thinking and science understanding, which are essential for student success in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics). This investment will help lift science engagement and achievement in classrooms across the country and inspire our future meteorologists, marine biologists and software engineers,” Education Minister Erica Stanford says.

    Budget 2025 is investing $39.9 million over four years into developing and delivering science kits for schools nationwide. The kits will be designed to support teachers to confidently deliver practical science learning, aligned with the new science curriculum. Teachers using the kits will also have access to professional development modules to support the use of the new resources in their classrooms.  

    “These practical resources, include hands on experiments and engaging equipment for each year level of the Year 0-8 curriculum.  The kits will help students build their foundational knowledge and skills early and help bring science to life.

    The kits will undergo development and begin to be available from the start of the 2026 school year. They will also be available in te reo Maori, with dedicated pūtaiao kits and bilingual resources available to meet the needs of all learners. 

    “This initiative directly supports the Government’s economic growth agenda by investing in the future talent pipeline that will drive productivity, boost wages and power a more competitive and resilient economy. These benefits will positively impact sectors like agritech, clean energy, biotech and advanced manufacturing, where kiwi innovation already leads the world. 

    “We want our children to be excited by science, to be captured by hands on learning so that we are inspiring the next generation of creators, inventors and great problem solvers,” Ms Stanford says.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: A LEGO-lover’s guide to Canberra

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    Join Roundabout Canberra, with special thanks to Goodies Junction, for the Great LEGO Sale 2025.

    In brief:

    • There are lots of things for LEGO and block enthusiasts to do in Canberra.
    • This article includes a list of upcoming events and activities for all ages.

    Does your child love blocks and LEGO?

    Young builders can find plenty of options right here in Canberra.

    From epic exhibitions to rainy-day activities, we’ve gathered some ideas to satisfy every brick-head.

    Of course, many of these are just as relevant to Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOLs) too.

    Libraries ACT Brick Club Challenge

    Libraries ACT run a Brick Club Challenge.

    It’s a great option for some school holiday fun or rainy-day activity.

    Kids can find inspiration in online story time videos. There’s a list of fun ideas to get their creative juices flowing. Once they’ve chosen, it’s time to get stuck into their LEGO, or other building materials.

    Keen builders can have their grown-up share a photo of their handiwork on the Libraries ACT Facebook page.

    Find the Challenge on the Libraries ACT website.

    The Canberra Brick Show

    The Canberra Brick Show is Canberra’s ultimate LEGO fan event.

    Hosted by the Canberra LEGO User Group, this year’s event will be on 1–2 November at Thoroughbred Park.

    Grab a ticket to see over 300 tables of amazing displays, exhibits and vendors from around Australia.

    LEGO fans of all ages are welcome at this weekend of brick-filled fun.

    Learn more about the event.

    Join the Canberra LEGO User Group (CLUG)

    CLUG is a non-profit association which aims to share techniques and ideas for building LEGO projects.

    Members also showcase projects at local and interstate Lego exhibitions.

    Join the CLUG private Facebook group.

    The Roundabout Canberra Great LEGO Sale 

    Looking to add to your collection while supporting Canberra families in need?

    Each year, Roundabout Canberra runs its Great LEGO Sale.

    Organised in partnership with Goodies Junction, the sale is at the Albert Hall.

    Every dollar raised goes directly to Roundabout Canberra. This helps them provide essential baby and children’s items to families in need.

    Visit the Roundabout Canberra website for more details.

    Bricks @ Woden School

    The Bricks @ Woden School takes place each year to wow LEGO lovers young and old.

    This family-friendly event is held at the school. Funds go towards important projects for students with special needs.

    Visit to see amazing LEGO displays of all sizes.

    This event is coordinated by the Woden School in association with the Canberra Lego User Group and the Woden School Parents & Citizens Association.

    Find out on The Woden School website.

    A different type of block: BlocHaus Bouldering

    BlocHaus Fyshwick has a dedicated space for kids aged 5–12 years. This area allows kids and their families to enjoy climbing together.

    The gym also runs facilitated kids’ programs. Kids learn to get the most from bouldering and their developing skills.

    As with every LEGO build, every climb is a puzzle. The key is experimenting with how your body moves to figure it out.

    BlocHaus’s Mitchell gym is for visitors aged 12+.

    Find out more about BlocHaus.

    The family-friendly Bricks @ Woden School event is held annually.

    Read more like this

    Get ACT news and events delivered straight to your inbox, sign up to our email newsletter:


    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: P1 allocation results to be released

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    The Education Bureau today said that it will inform parents about the results of the Central Allocation for Primary One Admission 2025 on June 4 and 5.

     

    A total of 19,489 children took part in the central allocation this year, with 15,538 being allocated to schools of their first three choices.

     

    Taking into account discretionary places and the number of children allocated to schools of their first three choices in the allocation exercise, the overall satisfaction rate is 90%.

     

    Parents who have activated their Primary One Admission e-Platform account via iAM Smart or iAM Smart+ can check the allocation results through the platform from 10am on June 4.

     

    Meanwhile, parents who have provided a mobile phone number on the Choice of Schools Form and indicated their consent to receive the allocation results via the mobile phone number will be notified via SMS on June 4.

     

    Parents will also receive the Primary One Registration Form with the allocation results, which will be delivered on June 4 and 5 through Hongkong Post’s Local CourierPost service. If parents have not received the documents or a Mail Collection Notification Card issued by Hongkong Post by June 6, they can collect the Primary One Registration Form at a designated collection centre on June 7 or 8.

     

    The Education Bureau reminded parents that they are required to register their child with the school allocated on June 10 or 11 during school hours.

     

    For enquiries, call 2832 7610 (Hong Kong Island and Islands), 2832 7620 (Kowloon), 2832 7635 (New Territories West), 2832 7659 (New Territories East).

     

    For general enquiries, call 2832 7700 or 2832 7740.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Museum exhibition showcases novel landscape sculptures

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

    The National Art Museum of China in Beijing is currently hosting an exhibition of unique landscape sculptures by Zhang Xinyu until June 17. 

    Having graduated from the China Academy of Art, Zhang Xinyu is now dean of the Institute of Art Innovation and Design at Zhejiang University of Technology. As an acclaimed artist, he has established a unique approach to creating sculptures and public art works. His work conveys the aesthetics of traditional landscape paintings through the techniques of modern formative arts, bringing out a sense of dynamism and a poetic quality with smooth, flowing lines. 

    A metal sculpture (2024) depicting landscape views by Zhang Xinyu on display at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, May 28, 2025. [Photo by Liu Sitong/China.org.cn]

    1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   >  

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: NSU students took all the prize places at the city programming championship

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University – On May 24, Novosibirsk hosted a personal championship among university students in programming. Over the course of three hours, participants solved algorithmic problems of varying levels of complexity – from basic calculations to non-trivial problems on tiling figures.

    All the prize places were taken by students Faculty of Information Technology (FIT) and Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics (MMF) NSU, demonstrating a high level of preparation and confident work under limited time conditions:

    1st degree diploma: – Sofia Lylova, FIT.

    Second degree diploma: – Danil Aleshkov, MMF, – Vyacheslav Shalunov, FIT, – Dmitry Stolyarov, FIT.

    Diploma of the 3rd degree: – Stepan Kulakov, MMF, – Bogdan Martynov, FIT, – Vladislav Gaev, FIT.

    For the winner of the championship, Sofia Lylova, participation was both training and an opportunity to take a break from her thesis.

    — I wanted not only to switch, but also to practice. It was a great opportunity to take a break from intense work and at the same time maintain my skills in another area. When I found out that I had become the winner, I felt calm confidence, since this was the result that was most expected. Therefore, there is joy, but it is light and restrained, — Sofia shared.

    According to her, the most difficult moment was choosing the next task: when obvious solutions are already behind us, we have to carefully evaluate the strategy and risks.

    Bogdan Martynov noted that he perceived participation as an opportunity to compete in good company:

    — The championship was dedicated to programming, so I decided: why not? Especially since there will be something to discuss with my comrades. And when I found out that I was among the prize winners, I was pleasantly surprised, — said Bogdan.

    The city programming championship became not only a test of knowledge, but also another confirmation: NSU produces strong programmers who know how to win – both in studies and in competitions.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Will elections for judges make Mexico the ‘most democratic country in the world’? Critics fear the opposite

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Luis Gómez Romero, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, University of Wollongong

    On Sunday, Mexico will hold an unprecedented election, becoming the first country in the world to allow voters to elect judges at every level.

    Voters will elect approximately half the judges in the country on June 1 – from the nine members of the Supreme Court down to 850 federal judges and thousands more at lower levels. In 2027, a second vote will see the rest of Mexico’s judiciary elected.

    As part of the overhaul, the country’s merit-based, career judiciary system will be abolished. Instead, all judges will serve nine-year terms, renewable by popular vote.

    The election had been championed by former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador and embraced by his successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office in October.

    Sheinbaum has proclaimed Mexico will be “the most democratic country in the world” because the people will now choose all three branches of government.

    Critics are not so sure. Some are calling the process a cynical farce. Others warn it will concentrate power in Morena, the ruling party, and its political allies, dismantling the country’s system of checks and balances.

    Critics also warn that inexperienced judges could be elected, or those who could be influenced by organised crime. Some candidates themselves have been investigated for crimes, and at least two are former defence attorneys for drug cartels.

    Former president Ernesto Zedillo, currently director at the Yale Centre for the Study of Globalisation, has gone so far as to declare that democracy itself “has come to an end” in Mexico.

    Why reform the judiciary?

    During his time in office from 2018–2024, López Obrador waged a rhetorical battle with Mexico’s courts, accusing judges of serving the elites and blocking his agenda.

    In truth, what irked López Obrador was the fact the courts wielded the power to review and restrain his actions through constitutional oversight.

    Sheinbaum seems to share his hostility towards the judiciary. Arturo Zaldívar, a former Supreme Court chief justice who designed the judicial reform system and later joined Sheinbaum’s cabinet, has accused the outgoing chief justice, Norma Piña, of being “a force of opposition allied with the oligarchy”.

    In September 2024, Morena used its congressional super-majority to ram through a series of constitutional amendments to enact the judicial reform.

    In response, judges walked off the job. Court staff, lawyers and law students took to the streets in support of their strike, some carrying banners reading “justice is not a popularity contest”.

    Experts note the reform does nothing to fix Mexico’s real justice problems – the rampant corruption and abuse that plagues the system. The institutions that allow criminals to act with impunity are not the courts, but the prosecutors and police.

    Human Rights Watch reports that nearly half of Mexicans have “little or very little confidence” in the country’s justice authorities. Nine in ten Mexicans don’t even bother to report crimes.

    The perils of judicial elections

    Electing judges is an idea fraught with peril. International human rights law treats an independent judiciary as a basic human right. Article 8 of the 1978 American Convention on Human Rights – an international treaty for North, Central and South America – guarantees every person “a hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal.”

    Popular elections invite precisely the opposite. As UN experts caution, election campaigns will inevitably inject “political loyalty or alignment with party interests” into judge selection, rather than competence and impartiality.

    In addition, leading legal theorists have long warned that politicising the judiciary undermines the rule of law.

    US jurist Ronald Dworkin argued judges must decide according to principles – not political winds. Italian jurist Luigi Ferrajoli’s notion of a “guarantee-based” democracy – which is hugely influential in Latin America – likewise insists judges be insulated from party bargaining.

    Even in the United States, where some states hold judicial elections, scholars lament their corrosive effects.

    As one study notes:

    Wealthy people and corporations can pump lots of money […] to elect and reelect judges who decide cases the way they want.

    Opponents of billionaire Elon Musk critiqued his decision this year to pour US$21 million (A$33 million) into the campaign of a conservative candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In a comment he posted on X, Musk said he didn’t expect to win but “there is value to losing a piece for positional gain.”

    Bolivia offers another cautionary tale. Beginning in 2011, Bolivia has held elections for the judges on its top courts in an effort to “decolonise” the justice system and fight corruption.

    In practice, though, only judges pre-approved by the ruling party’s congressional majority make the ballot. Voters, too, know little about the candidates. Turnout is very low.

    Courts increasingly under attack

    Mexico’s justice system, indeed, needs reform. But its multiple problems will not be solved with the wholesale politicisation of the courts.

    As Argentine scholar Roberto Gargarella bluntly observes, electing judges in this way is “one of the greatest institutional tragedies of our time.”

    Mexico’s reform effort threatens to turn the courts into just another party apparatus. In that sense, Mexico joins a disturbing global trend. From Washington to Brasília, populist leaders are increasingly attacking the courts as the enemies of the people.

    With courts in Mexico potentially beholden to the government or influenced by organised crime, neutral judges may become much harder to find. If history teaches anything, it’s that the night of authoritarianism grows darker when the last judges are gone.

    Luis Gómez Romero 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. Will elections for judges make Mexico the ‘most democratic country in the world’? Critics fear the opposite – https://theconversation.com/will-elections-for-judges-make-mexico-the-most-democratic-country-in-the-world-critics-fear-the-opposite-257730

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Check it out: Auckland Council Libraries trial board game lending

    Source: Auckland Council

    Auckland Council Libraries have announced a new offering – board games lending, giving Aucklanders the opportunity to borrow popular tabletop games like Catan and Ticket To Ride: Europe to ramp up their game night.

    Launched as a trial across 10 library branches, the board game lending programme gives Aucklanders the opportunity to connect, play and learn together, with modern strategy games that appeal to a wide range of adults.

    Councillor Julie Fairey, deputy chair of the Community Committee, says the new initiative shows how libraries are evolving to meet our community’s changing needs.

    “Our libraries are so much more than just books – they’re places for fun and connection, and they are always looking for new ways to serve Aucklanders,” says Councillor Fairey.

    “My whānau loves board games and we will definitely be accessing this new collection now available through our public libraries.  Often these games are quite expensive to buy and this is a way people can play a wide range of games and find new favourites to enjoy.”

    The popular titles, which include games such as Exploding Kittens and Wingspan are available for borrowing by any library card holder aged 18+ for a two-week loan.

    While the games are on display at 10 sites, customers can place holds, collect and return the board games from any of our 56 libraries across Tāmaki Makaurau.

    Auckland Council’s Head of Library and Learning Services, Catherine Leonard, says the new offering is an exciting way to welcome more Aucklanders into libraries.

    “International trends show board games are booming, especially among 20–30-year-olds – a group we don’t see as often in our libraries,” says Ms Leonard.

    “Board games are a fantastic tool for learning, collaboration and fun – but above all, they bring people together. We’d love to see more Aucklanders heading into our libraries and taking home a sought-after title to level up their next game night.”

    This initiative aligns with the Belonging and Participation aspect of the Auckland Plan by increasing educational achievement, lifelong learning and training.

    As with books, there are no late fees for board games, and borrowers won’t be charged for the occasional missing piece — but if a game is returned unplayable, a replacement fee will apply.

    The trial will run for 12 months with a view to rolling it out to more libraries and adding more board games in the future.

    To find out more about the board game collection and reserve a game, go to Auckland Council Libraries website.

    Love this initiative and want the best for Auckland’s future? Stand for council in Auckland’s Local Elections 2025. Nominations open 4 July 2025 and close 1 August 2025, midday. If you’d like to learn more about what’s involved in standing, visit Vote Auckland.

    Available board games:

    • 7 Wonders: Duel 
    • Betrayal at House on the Hill
    • Catan
    • Codenames: Pictures
    • Exploding Kittens
    • Root
    • Ticket to Ride: Europ
    • The Resistance: Avalo
    • Tokaido
    • Wingspan (Oceania Expansion)

    Participating libraries:

    North/West Region

     

    Glenfield Library

    East Coast Bays Library

    Waitākere Central |
    Te Kōpua

    Central/East Region

     

    Central City Library

    Mt Albert Library

    Onehunga Library

    Botany Library
     

    South Region

     

    Māngere Bridge Library

    Manurewa Library

    Papatoetoe Library

     

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • Judge blocks Trump ban on Harvard’s international students

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    A federal judge said on Thursday she would extend an order blocking President Donald Trump’s administration from immediately revoking Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, a victory for the Ivy League school that is entangled in multiple battles with the administration.

    U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston announced her intention to issue a preliminary injunction, six days after she first granted Harvard a temporary order blocking the Trump administration’s move.

    As the court hearing unfolded on Thursday morning, thousands of Harvard students were receiving their degrees at the school’s commencement ceremony on campus about 5 miles (8 km) away.

    University President Alan Garber, who received a standing ovation, welcomed graduating students “from down the street, across the country and around the world,” drawing applause for the last words.

    “Around the world – just as it should be,” he added.

    The Trump administration has launched a multifront attack on the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university, freezing billions of dollars in grants and other funding, proposing to end its tax-exempt status and opening an investigation into whether it discriminated against white, Asian, male or straight employees or job applicants.

    Revoking Harvard’s ability to enroll international students would be damaging, the school says. More than a quarter of the student body is international; nearly 60% of the graduate students at the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School hail from other countries.

    The attack on Harvard is part of the administration’s broader effort to pressure higher education institutions to align with its policy agenda.

    On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration would start “aggressively” revoking visas issued to Chinese students attending U.S. schools, including those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party and those studying in critical fields, which he did not specify.

    More than 275,000 Chinese students are enrolled in hundreds of U.S. colleges, providing a major source of revenue for the schools and a crucial pipeline of talent for U.S. technology companies. The decision prompted despair and frustration among students who have offers to attend next year.

    Prior to Rubio’s announcement, the offensive against U.S. colleges had largely been confined to Ivy League schools such as Harvard, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania, which it has accused of left-wing bias and antisemitism.

    Lynn Pasquerella, president of the advocacy group American Association of Colleges and Universities, said the Trump administration’s targeting of international students would have negative consequences for schools and the U.S.

    “Chinese students, in particular, now that they’re being faced with hyper-scrutiny, are looking elsewhere,” she said. “That is a huge loss for us. It’s a brain drain.”

    JUDGE SKEPTICAL

    The court hearing before Burroughs took place shortly after the administration softened its stance in an apparent effort to refute Harvard’s legal arguments in advance.

    Late Wednesday night, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent a notice to Harvard saying it would now give the university 30 days to submit evidence contesting the administration’s plan to revoke Harvard’s right to enroll non-U.S. students.

    The notice signaled a change in course for DHS, which had said last week that the revocation was effective immediately. In its lawsuit challenging the move, Harvard argued that DHS had violated federal administrative procedure.

    During the court hearing, U.S. Department of Justice attorney Tiberius Davis argued there was now no need for a court order blocking the administration’s actions, since Harvard could challenge them via an administrative process.

    But Burroughs, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama, said she believed a broad preliminary injunction protecting Harvard and students was necessary while that process played out.

    She expressed skepticism that Harvard’s fate would be any different at its conclusion, saying, “Aren’t we still going to end up back here at the same place?”

    She also questioned whether the administration had fully complied with her temporary restraining order, pointing to a declaration Harvard submitted on Wednesday that said visas for incoming students had been recently revoked.

    Burroughs said the temporary order would remain in effect while lawyers for both sides negotiate over the terms of the injunction.

    Harvard has called DHS’s action part of an “unprecedented and retaliatory attack on academic freedom.” The school is pursuing a separate lawsuit challenging the administration’s decision to terminate nearly $3 billion in federal research funding.

    Harvard argues the Trump administration is retaliating against it for refusing to accede to its demands to control the school’s governance, curriculum and the ideology of its faculty and students.

    In announcing the initial decision to revoke Harvard’s certification, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, without providing evidence, accused the university of “fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party.”

    She accused the school of refusing to comply with wide-ranging requests for information on its student visa holders, including whether they engaged in any activity that was illegal, violent or subjected them to discipline.

    The department’s move would prevent Harvard from enrolling new international students and require existing ones to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI Russia: NSU football players win silver at Universiade

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    The Zarya stadium hosted the final football games, which determined the top three winners of the 48th Universiade among students of higher educational institutions of the Novosibirsk Region. The NSU team achieved unprecedented success – having won against the NSTU team, our guys took second place!

    Silver team composition: Ruslan Abdulatypov, MMF Fedor Brykin, FIT Maxim Ermolaev, FIT Artemy Ilyichev, GGF Artem Kadimyan, MMF Mikhail Korotkov, FIT Dmitry Kravchuk, FIT Lev Marus, EF Danil Merzaev, EF Sergey Netesov, FIT Nikita Neupokoev, MMF Saveliy Nekhoroshev, IFP Ni Yuxian, Yaroslav Peshkov, EF Sergey Polyakov, MMF Nikita Pyatakov, IFP Alexander Svetlichny, GGF Mikhail Sukhanov, IIR Arseniy Tihanchik, IFP Stepan Tolokolnikov, EF Gleb Fedotov, EF Dmitry Kharin, EF Stepan Yurov, EF Yan Deshuai

    We congratulate our football players and their coach Sergey Mezentsev on the excellent completion of the final stage of the Universiade!

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI China: NHC vice-minister visits Hong Kong, Macao

    Source: People’s Republic of China Ministry of Health

    Cao Xuetao, vice-minister of the National Health Commission (NHC), led a delegation to the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions from May 25 to 28.

    During his stay in Hong Kong, Cao addressed the opening ceremonies of the 2025 Hospital Authority Convention and the Asia Summit on Global Health. In his speeches, he focused on latest developments and priorities for the health sector on the Chinese mainland as well as achievements in participating in global health governance. He said he hoped to deepen practical cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong in professional fields, and promote scientific and technological innovation and the development of the health industry so as to jointly build a Healthy China and address global health challenges. The delegation also visited the State Key Laboratory of Translational Oncology and the State Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

    In Macao, Cao met with Sam Hou-fai, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region, and O Lam, secretary for social affairs and culture of Macao. Discussions focused on advancing practical health cooperation projects between the mainland and Macao, supporting the development of Macao’s big health industry and jointly participating in global health governance. Cao also conducted on-site research on the operations of the Macao Medical Center of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, an islands healthcare complex, acknowledging its current achievements and offering suggestions for future development.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Will elections for judges make Mexico the ‘most democratic country in the world’? Critics fear the opposite

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luis Gómez Romero, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, University of Wollongong

    On Sunday, Mexico will hold an unprecedented election, becoming the first country in the world to allow voters to elect judges at every level.

    Voters will elect approximately half the judges in the country on June 1 – from the nine members of the Supreme Court down to 850 federal judges and thousands more at lower levels. In 2027, a second vote will see the rest of Mexico’s judiciary elected.

    As part of the overhaul, the country’s merit-based, career judiciary system will be abolished. Instead, all judges will serve nine-year terms, renewable by popular vote.

    The election had been championed by former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador and embraced by his successor, Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office in October.

    Sheinbaum has proclaimed Mexico will be “the most democratic country in the world” because the people will now choose all three branches of government.

    Critics are not so sure. Some are calling the process a cynical farce. Others warn it will concentrate power in Morena, the ruling party, and its political allies, dismantling the country’s system of checks and balances.

    Critics also warn that inexperienced judges could be elected, or those who could be influenced by organised crime. Some candidates themselves have been investigated for crimes, and at least two are former defence attorneys for drug cartels.

    Former president Ernesto Zedillo, currently director at the Yale Centre for the Study of Globalisation, has gone so far as to declare that democracy itself “has come to an end” in Mexico.

    Why reform the judiciary?

    During his time in office from 2018–2024, López Obrador waged a rhetorical battle with Mexico’s courts, accusing judges of serving the elites and blocking his agenda.

    In truth, what irked López Obrador was the fact the courts wielded the power to review and restrain his actions through constitutional oversight.

    Sheinbaum seems to share his hostility towards the judiciary. Arturo Zaldívar, a former Supreme Court chief justice who designed the judicial reform system and later joined Sheinbaum’s cabinet, has accused the outgoing chief justice, Norma Piña, of being “a force of opposition allied with the oligarchy”.

    In September 2024, Morena used its congressional super-majority to ram through a series of constitutional amendments to enact the judicial reform.

    In response, judges walked off the job. Court staff, lawyers and law students took to the streets in support of their strike, some carrying banners reading “justice is not a popularity contest”.

    Experts note the reform does nothing to fix Mexico’s real justice problems – the rampant corruption and abuse that plagues the system. The institutions that allow criminals to act with impunity are not the courts, but the prosecutors and police.

    Human Rights Watch reports that nearly half of Mexicans have “little or very little confidence” in the country’s justice authorities. Nine in ten Mexicans don’t even bother to report crimes.

    The perils of judicial elections

    Electing judges is an idea fraught with peril. International human rights law treats an independent judiciary as a basic human right. Article 8 of the 1978 American Convention on Human Rights – an international treaty for North, Central and South America – guarantees every person “a hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal.”

    Popular elections invite precisely the opposite. As UN experts caution, election campaigns will inevitably inject “political loyalty or alignment with party interests” into judge selection, rather than competence and impartiality.

    In addition, leading legal theorists have long warned that politicising the judiciary undermines the rule of law.

    US jurist Ronald Dworkin argued judges must decide according to principles – not political winds. Italian jurist Luigi Ferrajoli’s notion of a “guarantee-based” democracy – which is hugely influential in Latin America – likewise insists judges be insulated from party bargaining.

    Even in the United States, where some states hold judicial elections, scholars lament their corrosive effects.

    As one study notes:

    Wealthy people and corporations can pump lots of money […] to elect and reelect judges who decide cases the way they want.

    Opponents of billionaire Elon Musk critiqued his decision this year to pour US$21 million (A$33 million) into the campaign of a conservative candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In a comment he posted on X, Musk said he didn’t expect to win but “there is value to losing a piece for positional gain.”

    Bolivia offers another cautionary tale. Beginning in 2011, Bolivia has held elections for the judges on its top courts in an effort to “decolonise” the justice system and fight corruption.

    In practice, though, only judges pre-approved by the ruling party’s congressional majority make the ballot. Voters, too, know little about the candidates. Turnout is very low.

    Courts increasingly under attack

    Mexico’s justice system, indeed, needs reform. But its multiple problems will not be solved with the wholesale politicisation of the courts.

    As Argentine scholar Roberto Gargarella bluntly observes, electing judges in this way is “one of the greatest institutional tragedies of our time.”

    Mexico’s reform effort threatens to turn the courts into just another party apparatus. In that sense, Mexico joins a disturbing global trend. From Washington to Brasília, populist leaders are increasingly attacking the courts as the enemies of the people.

    With courts in Mexico potentially beholden to the government or influenced by organised crime, neutral judges may become much harder to find. If history teaches anything, it’s that the night of authoritarianism grows darker when the last judges are gone.

    Luis Gómez Romero 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. Will elections for judges make Mexico the ‘most democratic country in the world’? Critics fear the opposite – https://theconversation.com/will-elections-for-judges-make-mexico-the-most-democratic-country-in-the-world-critics-fear-the-opposite-257730

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –