NewzIntel.com

Category: housing

  • MIL-OSI Russia: IMF Executive Board Concludes 2025 Article IV Consultation with Luxembourg

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    June 5, 2025

    • Luxembourg’s fundamentals remain strong and economic recovery is projected to slowly gain pace amidst external headwinds. Downside risks prevail in the short term.
    • Surprising on the upside, the fiscal balance improved to a surplus of 1 percent of GDP in 2024, boosted by one-off revenues. Given structurally high revenue volatility, prudent fiscal policy should be based on a more efficient use of fiscal space.
    • The financial sector is resilient, with well-capitalized and liquid banks. While the risks are manageable, the housing market, and other pockets of vulnerabilities should continue to be closely monitored.

    Washington, DC: On May 30, 2025, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the 2025 Article IV Consultation[1] with Luxembourg, and considered and endorsed the staff appraisal without a meeting on a lapse-of-time basis.[2]

    Luxembourg’s fundamentals remain strong, but its economic performance has been lackluster. Public debt is low and the 2024 FSAP found the financial sector sound and well-diversified. After contracting by 0.7 percent in 2023, GDP growth turned positive at 1 percent in 2024, mainly driven by public consumption. Private domestic demand though remained lackluster amidst tight financial conditions and a lack of confidence in the real estate sector. The labor market is cooling, following a sizeable increase in labor costs in past years. While the headline fiscal deficit showed a large improvement from one-off revenues, the underlying structural deficit has widened, reflecting a shift from temporary to permanent support. Financial conditions remain tight, and the financial cycle has not yet decisively turned. Despite some deterioration in asset quality, the financial sector remains resilient overall.

    An economic recovery is projected to slowly gain pace amidst external headwinds. Growth is projected to increase to 1.6 percent in 2025 and accelerate in 2026–27 supported by improved confidence and a gradual recovery in external demand. The unwinding of labor hoarding and lingering uncertainty would weigh on job creation and unemployment is likely to rise in the near term, before slowly declining to its historical average. Inflation is projected to decline to about 2 percent in 2025 and stay at that level over the medium term. Downside risks prevail in the short term, with headwinds from weaker external demand and tighter and/or more volatile financial conditions triggered by trade policy uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and possibly higher interest rates for longer. Risks to growth are more balanced over the medium term, but fiscal risks are assessed to be high.

    Executive Board Assessment[3]

    Luxembourg’s recent economic performance has been lackluster and a projected recovery faces headwinds. Anchored in strong economic fundamentals, the economy is expected to gradually recover from a protracted slowdown. Yet, the global situation is fluid, and there are risks of setbacks stemming from weaker external demand and higher financial market volatility, alongside domestic challenges in the real estate sector and the labor market. Moreover, productivity has been declining, and Luxembourg faces fiscal pressures and risks. While Luxembourg’s current external position is assessed to be substantially stronger than the level implied by medium-term fundamentals, the assessment is subject to several limitations. The country’s specific economic features—a small open economy with a global financial center and a large share of cross-border workers —make the external position subject to significant volatility. This, together with the long-term challenges due to aging costs, call for more prudent policies while incentivizing private sector investment.

    Prudent fiscal policy calls for a more efficient use of fiscal space. For 2025, a less expansionary fiscal stance would have been welcome, given low fiscal multipliers and the need to make room for more private sector-led growth. There is scope for reviewing the effectiveness and targeting of current measures, while preserving possible savings from revenue overperformance or budget execution. The authorities’ medium-term expenditure path is broadly appropriate to accommodate future spending pressures, but should be underpinned by measures, which will require containing the growth of the wage bill, enhancing spending efficiency, and avoiding any further erosion of the tax base.

    There is scope for increasing revenue resilience. Luxembourg’s revenue performance depends to a large extent on a concentrated and volatile revenue base. Tax reforms should thus aim at diversifying revenue sources. This will help reduce volatility and uncertainty of fiscal receipts.

    Fiscal policies should be better anchored in a medium-term perspective. The public consultations on pension reform are welcome, as there is a need for early reforms, including reducing the generosity of benefits—the highest in Europe, increasing both the effective and statutory retirement ages, and a well-calibrated increase in contributions to minimize the negative impact on the labor market. Strengthening the medium-term fiscal framework would enhance policy predictability. The planned implementation of a national fiscal rule is welcome and should combine a debt anchor with a net spending ceiling that consider revenue uncertainty and allow appropriate flexibility. Additional reforms of the budgeting framework and strengthening of the fiscal council are necessary to make the new framework more effective.

    Risks in the financial sector, while manageable, should continue to be closely monitored. The financial sector appears broadly resilient. However, persistent solvency and liquidity risks in the corporate sector—especially in real estate—and the potential impact of rising financial market volatility warrant close monitoring. The authorities should continue ensuring adequate provisioning, collateral valuation, and loss absorption capacity. At the same time, continued oversight of the large nonbank financial sector—notably pockets of liquidity mismatches and leverage—and a better understanding of the intermediation role of the OFI sector should be prioritized.

    Macroprudential policy should remain agile. The current CCyB level is appropriate. Should the recovery firm up, the authorities should strengthen releasable capital buffers and address still elevated household indebtedness by introducing income-based measures in line with FSAP recommendations. In the event of continued credit pressure, some loosening of the CCyB could be envisaged. Capitalizing on the commendable progress in implementing the 2024 FSAP recommendations in the supervision of banks and investment funds, the authorities should strengthen the macroprudential policy framework.

    Structural reforms are needed to boost private sector-led growth and sustain living standards. Wage indexation has become a key constraint on competitiveness, and more labor market flexibility is called for. The authorities should also aim at boosting productivity and containing the cost of living by streamlining the regulatory and administrative burden, removing barriers to entry in some sectors, and addressing housing and infrastructure supply bottlenecks. Efforts should continue to capitalize on the country’s comparative advantages in AI adoption and financial sector development while minimizing potential costs of the transition. Recent measures to enhance technology diffusion and ongoing upskilling programs are welcome.   

    Table 1. Luxembourg: Selected Economic Indicators, 2023–26

    Est.

    Proj.

     

     

    2023

    2024

    2025

    2026

    Real Economy (percent change)

    Gross domestic product

    -0.7

    1.0

    1.6

    2.2

        Total domestic demand

    1.1

    0.1

    1.7

    2.6

        Foreign balance 1/

    -1.4

    1.1

    0.0

    0.4

    Labor Market (thousands, unless indicated)

        Unemployed (average)

    16.2

    18.0

    19.5

    20.1

             (Percent of total labor force)

    5.2

    5.7

    6.1

    6.2

        Total employment

    512.0

    517.8

    524.8

    533.9

             (Percent change)

    2.1

    1.1

    1.4

    1.7

    Prices and costs (percent change)

        GDP deflator

    6.3

    5.2

    2.6

    1.2

        CPI (harmonized), p.a.

    2.9

    2.3

    2.2

    2.1

        CPI core (harmonized), p.a.

    3.9

    2.5

    2.1

    2.1

        CPI (national definition), p.a.

    3.7

    2.1

    2.1

    2.0

    Public finances (percent of GDP)

        General government revenues

    46.2

    47.9

    47.4

    47.6

        General government expenditures

    47.0

    46.9

    48.3

    49.0

        General government balance

    -0.8

    1.0

    -0.8

    -1.3

        General government cyclically-adjusted balance

    0.0

    0.8

    -1.0

    -1.3

        General government structural balance

    1.8

    0.8

    -0.7

    -1.3

        General government gross debt

    25.0

    26.3

    26.7

    27.6

    Balance of Payments (percent of GDP)

    Current account

    11.2

    13.8

    8.8

    7.8

    Balance on goods

    0.4

    1.7

    1.8

    1.6

    Balance on services

    43.5

    43.6

    42.9

    42.0

    Net factor income

    -31.5

    -31.1

    -35.5

    -35.4

    Balance on current transfers

    -1.1

    -0.4

    -0.4

    -0.4

    Exchange rates, period averages

        U.S. dollar per euro

    1.08

    1.08

    …

    …

        Nominal effective rate (2010=100)

    105.3

    106.3

    …

    …

        Real effective rate (CPI based; 2010=100)

    98.7

    98.5

    …

    …

    Credit growth and interest rates

        Nonfinancial private sector credit (eop, percent change) 2/

    -2.9

    -4.7

    1.6

    3.8

        Government bond yield, annual average (percent)

    3.1

    2.7

    …

    …

    Potential output and output gap

    Output gap (percent deviation from potential)

    -1.4

    -2.0

    -2.1

    -1.6

    Potential output growth

    1.6

    1.7

    1.7

    1.7

      Sources: Luxembourg authorities; IMF staff estimates and projections.

      1/ Contribution to GDP growth.

      2/ Including a reclassification of investment companies from financial to non-financial institutions in 2015.

    [1] Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepare a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.

    [2] Under the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, publication of documents that pertain to member countries is voluntary and requires the member consent. The staff report will be shortly published on the www.imf.org/luxembourg page.

    [3] At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chairman of the Board, summarizes the views of Executive Directors, and this summary is transmitted to the country’s authorities. An explanation of any qualifiers used in summings up can be found here: http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm.

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Eva-Maria Graf

    Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/06/04/pr-25177-luxembourg-imf-concludes-2025-art-iv-consultation

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Coral Springs Man Charged with Operating $158 Million Ponzi Scheme Through His Trucking Company, Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison

    Source: US FBI

    MIAMI – Sanjay Singh, 45, of Coral Springs, Florida, has been sentenced to 23 years in a federal prison for a $158 million investment fraud (Ponzi) scheme run through his over-the-road trucking company, Royal Bengal Logistics, Inc. (“RBL”).

    In November, a jury convicted Singh on all 8 counts of an indictment that alleged that he violated federal laws criminalizing conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and engaging in transactions in unlawful proceeds.

    According to the indictment, Singh, RBL’s founder and president, organized and ran a substantial Ponzi scheme with co-conspirators. The conspiracy began in January 2020 and was ongoing at the time of his arrest. Singh and his co-conspirators held RBL out to potential investors as a thriving and successful trucking business, all while RBL’s actual trucking business lost money. In the process, Singh and his co-conspirators made material misrepresentations and material omissions about the riskiness of investing in RBL, the profitability of RBL’s trucking operations, how RBL would pay its investors, and how RBL would use investor funds. Through these material misrepresentations and omissions, Singh and his co-conspirators raised over $158 million from investors, which Singh and his co-conspirators then used in part to pay existing investors promised returns.

    The indictment also alleged that Singh misappropriated millions of dollars of investor funds to renovate his home, make mortgage payments, pay for personal expenses, and trade stocks on margin.

    U.S. Attorney Hayden O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida; Acting Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI, Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Joseph Harris of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (“DOT-OIG”), Southern Region; and Russell C. Weigel, III, Commissioner, Florida Office of Financial Regulation (“OFR”), made the announcement.

    U.S. Attorney O’Byrne commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, DOT-OIG, and OFR in this matter. He thanked the United States Securities and Exchange Commission Miami Regional Office for their assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert F. Moore and Roger Cruz prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling asset forfeiture.

    Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-cr-60117.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Humbolt, Iowa, Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Sexual Exploitation of a Child

    Source: US FBI

    Paul William Flett, age 44, from Humbolt, Iowa, was sentenced in federal court in Sioux City, Iowa, on June 3, 2025.  Flett pled guilty January 23, 2025, to one count to sexual exploitation of a child. 

    Evidence in the case showed that Flett sent links and images of child pornography to underage girls and asked them to send images and videos of themselves to him.  On June 6, 2024, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Flett’s home and in a consensual interview, Flett admitted to the conduct and that he threw his phone in a closet when law enforcement arrived because he knew they were there for him.  Forensic analysis of Flett’s electronics and Kik account discovered a total of 16 videos and 60 images of child pornography including several that Flett had asked children to record of themselves.  The images and videos contained material that portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct, as well as prepubescent children, infants, and toddlers.        

    Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Flett was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment, ordered to pay $3,600 in restitution and assessments, and ordered to serve a term of supervised release of 5 years following imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Flett remains in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until he can be transported to a federal prison. 

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

    The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Cyber-Crime Unit, and Webster County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit. 

    Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

    The case file number is 24-CR-03036.  

    Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Apple Arcade welcomes nine new games

    Source: Apple

    Headline: Apple Arcade welcomes nine new games

    June 5, 2025

    UPDATE

    Apple Arcade welcomes nine new games

    UNO: Arcade Edition is a new take on the global card game phenomenon, and Angry Birds Bounce is an exciting addition to the legendary mobile franchise

    Exciting new additions are expanding Apple Arcade’s dynamic catalog of more than 200 games, all without ads or in-app purchases. Today, a new take on Mattel’s classic card game UNO is available on the service with UNO: Arcade Edition. The game features three modes where fans can enjoy solo matches with classic UNO rules in Single Player, play with others in Quick Match, or turn up the heat in Custom Games that feature special twists like Wild Swap Hands and Color Showdown. Also released today are: WHAT THE CAR? for Apple Vision Pro, a spatial adaption of the 2024 D.I.C.E. Awards’ Mobile Game of the Year; physics-based racing game LEGO Hill Climb Adventures+; wholesome interactive adventure Lost in Play+; and hit 3D arcade game Helix Jump+.

    Next month, four fun games bring even more reason to jump in and play. Launching exclusively on Apple Arcade on July 3, Angry Birds Bounce is a new take on one of the most iconic mobile game series of all time with over 5 billion lifetime downloads. The new game blends Angry Birds’ classic slingshot gameplay with arcade-style brick-breaker mechanics, creating an all-new adventure full of chaotic charm and action-packed fun.

    “Angry Birds Bounce reinvents the classic Angry Birds formula with a vertical twist, refreshing the gameplay while staying true to the brand’s DNA,” said Bryan Cook, Angry Birds Bounce game lead at Rovio. “We are thrilled to bring this new experience exclusively to Apple Arcade, featuring the largest roster of Angry Birds characters ever, and we can’t wait to see our players’ reactions to this new title.”

    Three more popular games will also be added from the App Store on July 3: Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance TD+, the most recent entry in the acclaimed tower defense franchise; Suika Game+, a delightful fruit-merging puzzle game; and Crayola Scribble Scrubbie Pets+, which transforms Crayola’s favorite kids’ pet toys into digital companions.

    Angry Birds Bounce by Rovio
    Join Red, Chuck, Bomb, and the rest of the gang on a brand-new adventure. Angry Birds Bounce combines the classic charm of Angry Birds with an innovative arcade brick-breaker twist. When the pigs take over their islands, the birds must bounce back — literally — combining into powerful flocks and launching themselves to defeat an army of piggies and reclaim their home. With strategic rogue-lite gameplay, each level is a new challenge where players will master precision shots, unlock exciting power-ups, and build unique combos during each run.

    Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance TD+ by Ironhide Game Studio
    The latest game in the award-winning tower defense saga builds upon the lightning-paced and captivating gameplay of its predecessors, but raises the stakes with more power, chaos, and strategy than ever before. For the first time in the series, players can command two heroes in each stage. With 15 epic heroes to choose from, 17 unique towers, 32 upgradable characters, 22 detailed campaign stages, and over 40 types of enemies, Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance TD+ offers thrilling gameplay, the signature humor that fans love, and endless replay. The game includes all DLCs and is playable across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

    Suika Game+ by XGIMI
    The viral puzzle game where players drop fruits into a box is coming to Apple Arcade. The goal of Suika Game – Aladdin X+ is to combine matching fruits into bigger creations, culminating into the ultimate fruit: a watermelon. The game’s energetic physics add a fun challenge. When dropping and merging bouncing fruits, players must strategically keep them from overflowing out of the box. They will compete with other players around the world and aim for the top of the daily, monthly, or all-time leaderboards.

    Crayola Scribble Scrubbie Pets+ by Red Games Co.
    Creativity meets responsibility as players immerse themselves in vibrant 3D worlds to color, care, and play with over 90 adorable digital pets. Inspired by the top-selling Crayola toy, this game lets young players nurture empathy and responsibility through interactive pet care activities like grooming, feeding, and washing, while also boosting attention and memory skills with detail-oriented play. With endless creative fun using digital Crayola art tools and imaginative journeys across colorful 3D environments, Crayola Scribble Scrubbie Pets+ transforms the traditional pet toy into an engaging digital experience.

    In addition to new games, players can also look forward to brand-new updates to their favorite Arcade games, playable across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro.

    • Fruit Ninja Classic+ by Halfbrick Studios: On June 19, Bluey takes over Fruit Ninja Classic+ in this limited-time, Apple Arcade-exclusive crossover event. Featuring special Bluey-themed wands, wand powers, dojos, and many easter eggs, players of all ages will slice fruits and unlock exclusive rewards.
    • Bloons TD 6+ by Ninja Kiwi: On June 19, the popular tower defense game adds the all-new Desperado monkey tower, map, and legend.
    • WHAT THE CLASH? by Triband: On June 26, 50 new golf mini-games, cosmetics, missions, and achievements based on Triband’s other Arcade hit title, WHAT THE GOLF?, are introduced to the game.

    This month also brings updates to highly rated games like Sonic Dream Team, Crayola Create and Play+, Katamari Damacy Rolling LIVE, Tomb of the Mask+, Disney Dreamlight Valley Arcade Edition, Asphalt 8: Airborne+, and more.

    Pricing and Availability

    • Apple Arcade is available for $6.99 (U.S.) per month with a one-month free trial. Customers who purchase a new iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV receive three months of Apple Arcade for free.1
    • Apple Arcade is part of Apple One’s Individual ($19.95 U.S.), Family ($25.95 U.S.), and Premier ($37.95 U.S.) monthly plans, with a one-month free trial.2
    • Arcade Originals are playable across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro. App Store Greats are available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro.
    • An Apple Arcade subscription gives a family of up to six unlimited access to all the games in its catalog.
    • Availability for the 200+ games across devices varies based on hardware and software compatibility. Some content may not be available in all areas.
    1. This offer is available to new subscribers only. One subscription covers one Family Sharing group. The offer is good for three months after eligible device activation. The plan automatically renews until cancelled. Restrictions and other terms apply.
    2. The Apple One free trial includes only services that are not currently used through a free trial or a subscription. The plan automatically renews after the trial until cancelled. Restrictions and other terms apply.

    Press Contacts

    Peter Nguyen

    Apple

    pete_nguyen@apple.com

    Jennifer Tam

    Apple

    jennifer_tam@apple.com

    Apple Media Helpline

    media.help@apple.com

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: People killed by landmines in Deir ez-Zor Syria

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    Amsterdam/Deir ez-Zor – People returning to their war-torn homes and villages in Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, are being wounded or even killed after encountering unexploded devices. Between 28 May and 1 June, four incidents resulted in eight casualties, including the deaths of four children, highlighting the urgent need for the area to be cleared of explosive remnants of war and landmines. As Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams supported the reopening of the emergency room at Deir ez-Zor National hospital in response to a high number of injuries caused by explosive devices, we call for the scale-up of landmine clearance, and for medical care in response to be bolstered.

    “Since 7 April, our teams working in the emergency room in Deir ez-Zor hospital have been seeing around one patient per day who has been wounded by explosions of landmines, unexploded ordnance, and booby traps,” says Will Edmond, MSF head of mission in Syria. “People have been injured mostly in the fields or on the road.”

    “Of the people who have arrived to our emergency room, nearly two-thirds have life-threatening or severe injuries, and nearly a quarter have traumatic amputations,” says Edmond. “Shockingly, two out of five of the people we’ve seen have been children.”

    Abdulrazzaq Mustafa Saeed, seen here with his mother, was injured while herding sheep in the desert area of the town of Al-Asharah in the Deir ez-Zor countryside. His right leg was amputated below the knee as a result. Syria, May 2025.
    Asmar Al-Bahir/MSF

    Years of armed conflict have destroyed critical infrastructure in Deir ez-Zor governorate, including healthcare facilities. Streets and fields across the governorate are contaminated with mines and explosive devices, making daily life hazardous for returnees and hampering rehabilitation efforts. MSF teams have already discovered four unexploded devices in health facilities we had planned to support, with more likely hidden underground.

    In Syria, Deir ez-Zor governorate has the highest number of recorded incidents with explosive remnants of war; in the five months to 6 May 2025, just over one-quarter – 26 per cent – of the 471 incidents recorded in the country occurred in Deir ez-Zor.

    Ahmad, a teenage boy from Hawaij, 50 kilometres southeast of Deir ez-Zor city, lost his right leg and part of his left foot while herding sheep in the desert.

    “I feel sad now because I can’t run anymore,” says Ahmad. “But I like playing marbles and riding a motorbike.”

    “He is not the only one from Hawaij,” his mother, Umm Mohammad, added. “The same thing happened to one of his friends, and to other people in the village.”

    Between 8 December 2024 and 14 May 2025, 91 children were killed and 289 injured in accidents involving explosive ordnance across the country, according to Mine Action Area of Responsibility. Many of these tragic cases involve children who come across mines while collecting truffles, herding sheep, or playing in contaminated areas.

    Ali Abd Khalaf, a former wheat farmer, also stepped on a landmine near Az-Zabari, close to Al-Mayadin.

    “Two months ago, I was travelling with my brother on our motorbike,” says Ali. “We decided to stop along the way, so I stepped off the motorbike, took just a few steps, and the explosion happened – I stepped on a landmine.”

    Ali received initial care in a private clinic and was later transported to Deir ez-Zor National hospital, where he underwent two surgeries and had his left leg amputated above the ankle.

    A view of Deir ez-Zor, which has suffered huge destruction throughout more than a decade of armed conflict. Syria, May 2025.
    Asmar Al-Bahir/MSF

    Patients have reported severe challenges in accessing healthcare. Most are forced to rely on expensive private transportation due to an overstretched ambulance network; as a result, many patients from remote towns do not return for follow-up care. Others speak of the high cost of private care.

    “We hurried Ali to a private clinic in Al-Mayadin, where we were required to pay an upfront fee of US$80 to initiate his treatment,” said Ali Abd Khalaf’s relatives. “Though it was a considerable amount, we paid it. Afterwards, we swiftly moved him to the hospital in Deir ez-Zor, where he received comprehensive medical care, free of charge.”

    Urgent funding is needed to support mine action organisations, to scale-up explosive device and landmine clearance, and improve mapping of contaminated areas. This is essential for people to safely return, rebuild their lives, and recover from conflict.

    We also urge the government of Syria, donors, and medical organisations to bolster emergency care capacity, referral systems, and blood banks. Supporting physical rehabilitation, mental health, and psychosocial services is crucial for helping survivors recover as fully as possible.

    Since the fall of the previous Syrian government in December 2024, MSF has been able to gain access to new areas, including Deir ez-Zor governorate where we support public health facilities. In Deir ez-Zor city, MSF is supporting the emergency department of Deir ez-Zor National hospital. In Al-Bukamal, MSF has opened an emergency room in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and is planning obstetric and newborn care services, while rehabilitating a medium-size hospital that will offer additional services.

    MSF was able to support the reopening of the emergency room at Deir ez-Zor National hospital on 7 April after needed rehabilitations were complete and the emergency room in Al-Bukamal on 28 May.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: EPIC FIVE-YEAR BRIAN FRIEL CENTENARY CELEBRATION BEGINS THIS AUGUST WITH 35 PERFORMANCES OF FIVE

    Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

    EPIC FIVE-YEAR BRIAN FRIEL CENTENARY CELEBRATION BEGINS THIS AUGUST WITH 35 PERFORMANCES OF FIVE

    5 June 2025

    Audiences to experience Brian Friel’s award winning plays – Dancing at Lughnasa, Transla1ons Faith Healer – in the places that inspired them and two rarities, Volunteers (a co-production with The Playhouse Derry) on its 50th anniversary and The Home Place on its 20th anniversary .

    Special Closing 50th anniversary performances of Friel’s Volunteers and the poetry collection North by close friend and colleague Seamus Heaney across Derry~Londonderry

    Festival spreads into a 19th century ghost village in Donegal’s Gaeltacht (Friel’s Transla1ons), Derry’s Bogside (Heaney’s North) and Ebrington Keep (Friel’s Volunteers) and the school by the house in Glenties which became the setting for Dancing at Lughnasa.

    Dancing at Lughnasa to open on the festival day of Lughnasa, 1 August, complemented by a four-day community led-festival for the beginning of the harvest season in Glenties.

    FrielDays features 365 performances in 100 productions of 29 Brian Friel plays from 2025 until 2029, the centenary of Brian Friel’s birth in Omagh Northern Ireland.

    Friel is the ultimate ‘shared island’ dramatist, the 86 years of his life shared almost equally between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

    LAST DAYS OF EARLY BIRD TICKETS: ON SALE AT WWW.ARTSOVERBORDERS.COM . For tickets and full information please visit www.artsoverborders.com

    An unprecedented five-year theatrical celebra5on building to the centenary of one of Ireland’s great literary figures, Brian Friel (1929-2015), will begin this summer.

    FrielDays – A Homecoming will begin with a 35th anniversary production of his most celebrated play, Dancing at Lughnasa, staged just metres from the house in which it is set, and close with a combined 50th anniversary celebration of the work of Ireland’s greatest poet – and Friel’s close friend – Seamus Heaney.

    Curated by Ireland’s Arts Over Borders, FrielDays will bring 29 plays to loca5ons of resonance across Brian Friel’s homeland of the three north-west border coun5es of Donegal, Tyrone and Derry, a part of Ireland he rarely left.

    FrielDays will build each year adding new plays and places, so that by 2029, the centenary of Friel’s birth, all 29 plays will be performed across the full calendar year Five anniversary plays will be rolled out this August, with each opening at the time of year in which it was set by Friel and taking place in resonant settings which will become a newly chosen ‘Ballybeg’ and ‘Ballymore’, the fictional towns at the heart of 14 of Friel’s 29 plays.

    On its 35th anniversary, Dancing at Lughnasa will be presented at St Columba’s School in Glenties, Co. Donegal, close to The Laurels, the home of Friel’s grandparents and the five daughters who inspired the play’s central characters, the Mundy sisters. In 1990, Dancing at Lughnasa opened to widespread acclaim and, soon after garnered multiple theatrical awards, and received further plaudits when it was adapted for a film starring Meryl Streep in 1998.

    This August’s production, with a commissioned score by electro-acoustic composer John D’Arcy, will be the first multi-racial reading of the play in Ireland and the UK, as a series of stage and screen actors reads the role of The Narrator, Michael. During the run of Dancing at Lughnasa, Faith Healer will also take place in Glenties and west Donegal, with audiences boarding the FrielDays bus for unique site-specific readings in three west Donegal community halls and the Highlands Hotel, an area that was the boyhood summer idyll for Friel.

    Over four acts, Faith Healer weaves an unreliable narrative about the life and death of the charismaticc Frank Hardy, apparently gifted in his ability to perform healing miracles. A play about language, colonialism and identity, Translations will be performed on its 45th anniversary at the Dunlewey Centre in north-west Donegal, a Gaeltacht, Irish-speaking area. The play is set in Donegal in the 1830s, a time when place names were being translated into English for Ordnance Survey maps. While the FrielDays presentation will be in English, the Irish roles will be taken by actors who can also speak Gaelic, while the two English soldier roles will be filled by English actors coming to Donegal for the first time. As part of their ticket, audiences will take a short trip across Lake Dunlewey to visit Glentornan, an early 19th century ghost village, where they will experience a Seanchaí, traditional Gaelic storyteller and music.

    2025 marks the 50th golden anniversary of Volunteers, which premiered in 1975 at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. Friel’s tale of excavation by political prisoners is reflected by its FrielDays stage setting of an archaeological site overlooking the River Foyle in the Keep area at Ebrington Square, a former British army barracks in Derry~Londonderry.

    The first professional production this century of Friel’s most contentious play, is a co-production with The Playhouse Derry~Londonderry, staged by Kabosh Theatre in a specially constructed outdoor ‘dig’ set. The opening night on August 29th will be the whole performance in one sitting, while the performances on August 30 and 31 will follow Friel’s scenography with Act 1 at 8.30am and Act 2 at 4.30pm. Between Acts 1 & 2, FrielDays will celebrate the power of Seamus Heaney’s poetry collection, North, in its 50th anniversary year with a series of community-led readings across four city venues in Derry, weaving together diverse voices from across the city and emphasising the links between the works of Friel and his great friend. Tickets for North will be on sale from 9 June at www.artsoverborders.com.

    Rounding off this year’s programme is The Home Place; Friel’s final full-length play will be staged at Sion Stables Heritage Education Centre in Co. Tyrone, close to his own childhood home in Killyclogher, in a building constructed at the time when the play takes place. The 42 cast members spanning all five plays will be announced through June and July.

    Please visit www.artsoverborders.com for latest news.

    FRIELDAYS – A HOMECOMING 2025 SCHEDULE AND INFORMATION

    Dancing at Lughnasa (35th anniversary production): 1-23 August at St. Columba’s Comprehensive School, Glenties, Co. Donegal.

    Faith Healer: 8-10 & 15-17 August at Edeninfagh, Portnoo, Ardara and Glenties, west Donegal.

    Translations (45th anniversary production): 22-25 August at Gweedore, Co. Donegal

    The Home Place (20th anniversary production): 23-25 August at Sion Stables Heritage Education Centre, Co. Tyrone.

    Volunteers (50th anniversary co-production with The Playhouse): 29-31 August at The Keep, Ebrington Square, Derry~Londonderry.

    North (50th anniversary production) 30-31 August in Derry~Londonderry. Brian Friel had a transnational outlook, having been born, in Omagh, Co. Tyrone, NI, soon after the partition of Ireland and spending the first half of his life in Northern Ireland. For the last 43 years of his life, when most of his work was written, he lived in the Inishowen Peninsula, the most northerly part of Ireland, in the Republic. FrielDays is conceived and produced by Arts Over Borders, Ireland’s leading producer of cross-border arts festvals. It follows the recent comple5on of Arts Over Borders’s largest project to date, the pan-European ULYSSES European Odyssey 2022-2024 project (hkps://ulysseseurope.eu/) which celebrated James Joyce’s masterpiece in 18 European cities.

    Seán Doran and Liam Browne (DoranBrowne) of Arts Over Borders said: “We are on the eve of arguably the largest and most ambitious cross border cultural initiative celebrating the work of a single Irish artist and his relationship with the landscape and communities he grew up in and worked within. Brian Friel was very particular about the seasons, months, days and times of day in which his plays took place, so we will present each play in a setting relevant to its theme and at the time, of year and day, in which it was set. Friel is Ireland’s preeminent dramatist of the late 20th century. He is the ultimate ‘shared island’ dramatist, the 86 years of his life shared almost equally between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Therefore, FrielDays is a truly transnational cross-border project, bringing the stories and characters of Friel’s life’s work to the very locations that inspired their creation.”

    Friel Days – A Homecoming 2025 is funded by Donegal County Council Arts Office, Donegal County Council Tourism Office, the NI Executive, The Playhouse Derry and Fáilte Ireland. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Flip-Flopping David Jolly Enters Florida’s Gubernatorial Race

    Source: US Republican Governors Association

    The following text contains opinion that is not, or not necessarily, that of MIL-OSI –

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – As David Jolly announces he’s throwing his hat into the Florida gubernatorial race, the Republican Governors Association (RGA) issued the following statement:

    “David Jolly has spent his flailing political career leaning whichever way the wind blows in an attempt at political opportunity and relevancy. Floridians have seen this show before, and they won’t buy it,” said RGA Communications Director Courtney Alexander. “There is no appetite among Florida voters to turn the successful leadership of state government over to a failed, out-of-touch swamp creature who just found religion in MSNBC’s green room.”

    David Jolly’s Record: 

    • In 2015, while in the process of losing another campaign, Jolly called for President Trump to get out of the presidential race.
    • Jolly lost his congressional race in 2016 to his future mentor and personal idol, Charlie Crist (R-I-D).
    • Jolly subsequently left the GOP and joined the ranks of MSNBC as a contributor, writing “the fight for the heart and soul of the Republican party has been lost to darker angels — to a darker leader.”
    • Since then Jolly has been a reliable Democrat mouthpiece, even defending Biden’s candidacy after his disastrous debate performance.
    • In 2022, Jolly even praised the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act that drove up costs and encouraged Joe Biden to take a victory lap.
    • In 2025 Jolly completed the “Full Crist” by changing his voter registration to Democrat – formalizing a conversion that was already evident to anyone unfortunate enough to be subjected to his appearances on MSNBC.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General James Defends Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan Immigrants 

    Source: US State of New York

    EW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today co-led a coalition of 17 attorneys general in defending hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants who have had their legal status threatened after the Trump administration attempted to eliminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelan immigrants. The TPS program is a critical humanitarian lifeline established by Congress in 1990 that protects immigrants from being returned to certain countries deemed unsafe, allowing them to work and build a life in the United States. In an amicus brief filed in National TPS Alliance v. Noem, Attorney General James and the coalition urge the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to uphold a lower court’s decision postponing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s early termination of TPS for Venezuelan immigrants. The attorneys general support the lower court’s finding that the termination is likely arbitrary and unlawful.  

    “The Department of Homeland Security’s decision to strip TPS from Venezuelan immigrants is an affront to our nation’s core values and a dangerous attempt to undermine the rule of law,” said Attorney General James. “I will not sit idly by while this administration undermines the safety of hundreds of thousands of people and violates the rights of those seeking a better life for their families while contributing to our communities.”  

    New York is a safe home to approximately 56,800 TPS holders from all countries. Nationwide, more than 600,000 Venezuelan immigrants were residing in the United States with TPS as of January 2025. The termination of TPS for Venezuelan immigrants will force hardworking people to make a devastating choice between:

    • Returning to their country of origin alone, leaving their families behind;
    • Taking their family members, some of whom are American citizens, with them to a dangerous country that they do not know; or
    • Staying in the United States and retreating into the shadows, knowing that they cannot work legally and could be ripped from their families at any time.

    Attorney General James and the coalition previously filed an amicus brief in this case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The court sided with the coalition, postponing the mass cancellation of TPS for Venezuelan immigrants while the case could be argued. Attorney General James and the coalition are now urging the Ninth Circuit to affirm the District Court’s decision, which the Supreme Court stayed on May 19. The brief argues that terminating TPS for Venezuelan immigrants will:  

    • Harm states’ economies and workforces because immigrants with TPS, including those from Venezuela, are dynamic contributors to the states’ economies;
    • Raise health care costs and pose substantial risks to public health by eliminating TPS holders’ work authorization and thereby jeopardizing employer-sponsored health insurance for many families;
    • Create challenges in protecting public safety for jurisdictions nationwide. 

    Attorney General James and the coalition emphasize that when former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Mayorkas extended Venezuela’s TPS designation in January of this year, he cited 52 sources indicating that Venezuela remained in a state of “humanitarian emergency.” When current DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced the termination of Venezuela’s TPS designation, she baselessly claimed there have been “notable improvements in several areas” in Venezuela. The brief notes that Venezuela remains on the U.S. Department of State’s list of “Level 4: Do Not Travel” countries.  

    Attorney General James and the coalition also argue that TPS enhances public safety by allowing immigrants to contact law enforcement without jeopardizing their immigration status. As the brief notes, immigrants who lack legal status are less likely to report crime, and ending TPS protections for Venezuelan immigrants would make it harder for states to keep their communities safe. TPS applicants must meet specific criteria to be granted protection, including screenings for criminal history and background checks, and can lose their status if convicted of certain crimes.

    Joining Attorney General James and California Attorney General Rob Bonta in filing the brief are the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Homeless Veterans in America Relief Foundation Receives the SBB Research Group Foundation Grant 

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, June 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Homeless Veterans in America Relief Foundation received a $5,000 grant from the SBB Research Group Foundation, which awards monthly grants to support impactful organizations.

    Chicago-based Homeless Veterans in America Relief Foundation (HVIARF) supports Veterans who are at-risk of, or who are experiencing homelessness by providing them essential products and connecting them with long-term services. From the streets to stability, HVIARF works to restore dignity, hope, and direction to those who have served, ensuring they are not forgotten once their military service ends.

    U.S. Navy Veteran Michael Pedroza founded HVIARF to bring greater awareness to the issue of Veteran homelessness and to advocate for more effective solutions to address and prevent it. His firsthand understanding of the struggles service members face when transitioning back to civilian life drives his mission to ensure no Veteran is left behind.

    “We don’t wait for Veterans to come to us, and we’re not just roaming the streets hoping to stumble upon someone in need,” Pedroza explains. “We depend on everyday people—neighbors, friends, community members—to help us locate homeless Veterans so we can step in and make that critical connection to resources and support.”

    With a Veteran-first mission, HVIARF addresses both urgent survival needs and the deeper challenges tied to homelessness. Volunteers regularly distribute essentials such as food, clean water, and clothing—items crucial for those living exposed to harsh conditions.

    But the organization’s mission goes beyond immediate relief. HVIARF is committed to linking Veterans with resources that can change the trajectory of their lives. Whether it’s securing temporary shelter, accessing housing programs, or connecting Veterans to job training and health services, HVIARF’s goal is to help every Veteran build a path toward stability, independence, and renewed self-worth. HVIARF also plays a role in advocacy and awareness, amplifying the voices of homeless Veterans, raising public consciousness about Veterans facing unique challenges, and transitioning service members as they reenter civilian life.

    By addressing the unique needs of each Veteran and partnering with the community, the Homeless Veterans in America Relief Foundation offers not just support—but a renewed sense of hope and direction for those who have served our nation.

    “Supporting those who have served is a responsibility we share, and we’re proud to help the Homeless Veterans in America Relief Foundation make a lasting impact,” said Matt Aven, co-founder and board member of the SBB Research Group Foundation.

    About the SBB Research Group Foundation

    The SBB Research Group Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that furthers the philanthropic mission of SBB Research Group LLC (SBBRG), a Chicago-based investment management firm led by Sam Barnett, Ph.D., and Matt Aven. The Foundation provides grants to support ambitious organizations solving unmet needs with thoughtful, long-term strategies. In addition, the Foundation sponsors the SBBRG STEM Scholarship, which supports students pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics degrees.

    Contact: Erin Noonan
    Organization: SBB Research Group Foundation
    Email: grants@sbbrg.org
    Address: 450 Skokie Blvd, Building 600, Northbrook, IL 60062, United States
    Phone: 1-847-656-1111
    Website: https://www.sbbrg.org

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Databricks and Noma Security Announce Partnership to Accelerate Enterprise AI Security

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TEL AVIV, Israel, June 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Noma Security, the unified AI security and governance platform, today announced a strategic partnership with Databricks, the Data and AI company, to address the challenge of balancing rapid enterprise AI innovation and adoption with robust AI security and governance.

    Noma Security also announced today a strategic investment from Databricks Ventures. This investment comes after Noma Security launched from stealth with a $32M Series A funding round led by Ballistic Ventures and Glilot Partners.

    “Many Databricks customers are already using Noma Security for security and governance across the AI lifecycle. The Noma Security platform directly addresses the AI security uncertainties that often hinder enterprise AI adoption,” said Andrew Ferguson, Vice President of Databricks Ventures. “Our partnership and investment underscore our commitment to equipping Databricks customers with trusted, secure AI solutions that accelerate innovation.”

    The partnership integrates the Noma Security end-to-end AI security and governance platform directly into Databricks AI environments, creating a comprehensive solution that secures AI systems from initial development through production deployment. This integration helps Fortune 500 organizations accelerate AI adoption while maintaining security, compliance, and governance standards required by emerging regulations like the EU AI Act.

    The integrated Noma Security and Databricks solution delivers value to innovative organizations and enterprise CISOs in these four categories:

    • AI discovery and governance for complete visibility into AI assets generating an AI bill of materials;
    • Secure AI by design through proactive vulnerability detection and automated policy enforcement through AI infrastructure and supply chain scanning, and AI red teaming;
    • AI runtime protection against prompt attacks and data leakage;
    • AI agent security covering complex AI agent architectures and MCP server scanning.

    “As enterprise organizations race to deploy AI at scale, security and governance is at the top of every CISOs priority list,” said Niv Braun, CEO and co-founder of Noma Security. “Our partnership with Databricks creates a comprehensive and secure AI environment for enterprise organizations – from supply chain protection to runtime monitoring to AI agent governance. Together, we’re enabling confident and responsible AI innovation.”

    The partnership also supports alignment with leading AI security frameworks including OWASP Top 10 for LLMs, MITRE ATLAS, and Databricks AI Security Framework (DASF 2.0), helping organizations prepare for evolving regulations such as the EU AI Act and achieve certifications like ISO 42001.

    Connect at Databricks Data + AI Summit next week
    Join Noma Security and Databricks at the Databricks Data + AI Summit in San Francisco, June 9-12, 2025, to see the integrated solution in action. Contact us to schedule time with our experts on site or if you can’t attend in person, request a demo.

    Attend the Databricks and Noma Security webinar on June 26
    Learn the top best practices to secure and govern AI using Databricks and Noma Security by registering for this joint webinar titled, “AI Security Best Practices to Confidently Accelerate Enterprise AI Adoption.” Register today and join Databricks and Noma Security experts on Thursday, June 26, 2025, at 11:00pm Eastern.

    About Noma Security
    Noma Security is the AI security and governance platform giving enterprise organizations the confidence to rapidly build and deploy AI at scale. Noma Security uniquely provides cybersecurity teams with control of AI risk through continuous discovery and inventory, supply chain security, red teaming, and runtime protection to ensure compliance and risk mitigation. Backed by Ballistic Ventures, Glilot Capital, Cyber Club London, Databricks Ventures and SVCI, Noma Security is widely adopted by Fortune 500 customers and has been recognized by Gartner as a leading AI TRiSM solution. For more information visit https://noma.security

    About Databricks
    Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 10,000 organizations worldwide — including Block, Comcast, Condé Nast, Rivian, Shell and over 60% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform to take control of their data and put it to work with AI. Databricks is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices around the globe, and was founded by the original creators of Lakehouse, Apache Spark™, Delta Lake and MLflow. To learn more visit www.databricks.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: A new observatory is assembling the most complete time-lapse record of the night sky ever

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Noelia Noël, Senior Lecturer, School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Surrey

    On 23 June 2025, the world will get a look at the first images from one of the most powerful telescopes ever built: the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

    Perched high in the Chilean Andes, the observatory will take hundreds of images of the southern hemisphere sky, every night for 10 years. In doing so, it will create the most complete time-lapse record of our Universe ever assembled. This scientific effort is known as the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).

    Rather than focusing on small patches of sky, the Rubin Observatory will scan the entire visible southern sky every few nights. Scientists will use this rolling deep-sky snapshot to track supernovae (exploding stars), asteroids, black holes, and galaxies as they evolve and change in real time. This is astronomy not as a static snapshot, but as a cosmic story unfolding night by night.

    At the heart of the observatory lies a remarkable piece of engineering: a digital camera the size of a small car and weighing over three tonnes. With a staggering 3,200 megapixels, each image it captures has enough detail to spot a golf ball from 25km away.

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

    Each image is so detailed that it would take hundreds of ultra-high-definition TV screens to display it in full. To capture the universe in colour, the camera uses enormous filters — each about the size of a dustbin lid — that allow through different types of light, from ultraviolet to near-infrared.

    The observatory was first proposed in 2001, and construction at the Cerro Pachón ridge site in northern Chile began in April 2015. The first observations with a low-resolution test camera were carried out in October 2024, setting up the first images using the main camera, to be unveiled in June.

    Big questions

    The observatory is designed to tackle some of astronomy’s biggest questions. For instance, by measuring how galaxies cluster and move, the Rubin Observatory will help scientists investigate the nature of dark energy, the mysterious force driving the accelerating expansion of the Universe.

    As a primary goal, it will map the large-scale structure of the Universe and investigate dark matter, the invisible form of matter that makes up 27% of the cosmos. Dark matter acts as the “scaffolding” of the universe, a web-like structure that provides a framework for the formation of galaxies.

    The observatory is named after the US astronomer Dr Vera Rubin, whose groundbreaking work uncovered the first strong evidence for dark matter – the very phenomenon this telescope will explore in unprecedented detail.

    As a woman in a male-dominated field, Rubin overcame numerous obstacles and remained a tireless advocate for equality in science. She died in 2016 at the age of 88, and her name on this observatory is a tribute not only to her science, but to her perseverance and her legacy of inclusion.

    Closer to home, Rubin will help find and track millions of asteroids and other objects that come near Earth – helping warn astronomers of any potential collisions. The observatory will also monitor stars that change in brightness, which can reveal planets orbiting them.

    And it will capture rare and fleeting cosmic events, such as the collision of very dense objects called neutron stars, which release sudden bursts of light and ripples in space known as gravitational waves.

    What makes this observatory particularly exciting is not just what we expect it to find, but what we can’t yet imagine. Many astronomical breakthroughs have come from chance: strange flashes in the night sky and puzzling movements of objects. Rubin’s massive, continuous data stream could reveal entirely new classes of objects or unknown physical processes.

    The observatory is equipped with the world’s largest digital camera.
    RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/DOE/NSF/AURA

    But capturing this “movie of the universe” depends on something we often take for granted: dark skies. One of the growing challenges facing astronomers is light pollution from satellite mega-constellations – a group of many satellites working together.

    These satellites reflect sunlight and can leave bright streaks across telescope images, potentially interfering with the very discoveries Rubin is designed to make. While software can detect and remove some of these trails, doing so adds complexity, cost and can degrade the data.

    Fortunately, solutions are already being explored. Rubin Observatory staff are developing simulation tools to predict and reduce satellite interference. They are also working with satellite operators to dim or reposition spacecraft. These efforts are essential – not just for Rubin, but for the future of space science more broadly.

    Rubin is a collaboration between the US National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, with global partners contributing to data processing and scientific analysis. Importantly, much of the data will be publicly available, offering researchers, students and citizen scientists around the world the chance to make discoveries of their own.

    The “first-look” event, which will unveil the first images from the observatory, will be livestreamed in English and Spanish, and celebrations are planned at venues around the world.

    For astronomers, this is a once-in-a-generation moment – a project that will transform our view of the universe, spark public imagination and generate scientific insights for decades to come.

    Noelia Noël 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. A new observatory is assembling the most complete time-lapse record of the night sky ever – https://theconversation.com/a-new-observatory-is-assembling-the-most-complete-time-lapse-record-of-the-night-sky-ever-258231

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Video: President Lagarde presents the latest monetary policy decisions – 5 June 2025

    Source: European Central Bank (video statements)

    Today our Governing Council decided on monetary policy, determining what’s needed to return inflation to our 2% goal in a timely manner.

    Listen to President Christine Lagarde present today’s decisions. The statement also covers:
    • how the economy is performing
    • how we expect pri¬ces to develop
    • the risks to the economic outlook
    • the dynamics behind financial and monetary conditions

    Our monetary policy statement at a glance, 5 June 2025 https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/press_conference/visual-mps/2025/html/mopo_statement_explained_june.en.html

    Christine Lagarde, Luis de Guindos: Monetary policy statement, 5 June 2025 https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/press_conference/monetary-policy-statement/2025/html/ecb.is250605~f00a36ef2b.en.html

    Monetary policy decisions, 5 June 2025 https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2025/html/ecb.mp250605~3b5f67d007.en.html

    Combined monetary policy decisions and statement, 5 June 2025 https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/press_conference/monetary-policy-statement/shared/pdf/ecb.ds250605~dc79b630e3.en.pdf?1ae87c3b33214537469188411c6fec52

    Macroeconomic projections, 5 June 2025 https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/projections/html/ecb.projections202506_eurosystemstaff~16a68fbaf4.en.html

    European Central Bank
    https://www.ecb.europa.eu/home/html/index.en.html

    Published and recorded during our press conference on 5 June 2025

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX9VdQfDRbA

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: The Lord Provost McManus Citizenship Award 2025

    Source: Scotland – City of Dundee

    Dundee S6 pupils who have proved to be truly community-spirited though their efforts at home and school have been recognised at a special ceremony.   

    The annual presentation of the Lord Provost McManus Citizenship Award was made in the City Chambers.   

    The scheme is designed to encourage and celebrate young people’s hard work and contribution to their school and the wider community. It was named after Maurice McManus who served as Lord Provost of Dundee between 1960 and 1968.  

    Current Lord Provost Bill Campbell hosted the ceremony attended by nominated pupils, along with their families and school staff.  

    The winner of the Lord Provost McManus Citizenship award is Alyssa Tait from Cragie High School. 

    Alyssa is a dedicated volunteer, supporting various initiatives including the school of sport first year classes throughout the academic year. She has earned her Sport Leader Award and has also contributed to primary and breakfast sports clubs. 

    Beyond school, Alyssa volunteers at Douglas Community Centre as part of the East Youth Team, supporting range of groups including Positive Minds, P7 Drop In, Healthy Transitions and an S1 Health and Wellbeing girls’ group. 

    Second place was awarded to Mia McKell from Morgan Academy. Mia has been instrumental in organising events to raise money from charity. This year she organised a Macmillan coffee morning which raised over £1,500. Through the Career Ready Programme, Mia has been giving her time to volunteer as a sports coach four days a week.  

    Third place went to Eva Day from Harris Academy. Through her work on the Children, Families and Communities Committee Eva advocates for all young people in the city. Within school Eva is a Prefect, House Captain, leads the pupil voice initiative and has taken lead in pupil voice and launched the school’s journey towards achieving their Silver Rights Respecting School Award. 

    Lord Provost Bill Campbell said: “It was a pleasure to gather to celebrate the outstanding individuals who have shown their impressive commitment to the spirit of citizenship and have made a significant contribution to their school and their community.  

    “All of the nominees would, no doubt, be first to say that the support they get from their parents/carers and staff within their schools has given them the opportunity to participate in the activities which have led them here today.  

    “Our city is well known for having a strong sense of community and we are lucky to have many people who look out for one another. All of today’s nominees have followed in these proud footsteps.”  

    “Dundee thrives because of the efforts of its citizens—those who volunteer, support their neighbours and those in their community, and work tirelessly to create a more inclusive society.” 

    Full list of finalists: Cole Anderson-McGuiness, Baldragon Academy, Eva Dey, Harris Academy, Mia McKell, Morgan Academy, Elsie Mills, Harris Academy, Nabeeha Saber, St John’s RC High School, Casey Stewart, Braeview Academy, Alyssa Tait, Craigie High School. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Marine Economy Satellite Account, 2023

    Source: US Bureau of Economic Analysis

    The Marine Economy Satellite Account statistics released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis show the marine economy accounted for $511.0 billion, or 1.8 percent, of current-dollar U.S. gross domestic product in 2023, an increase from $482.4 billion in 2022 (tables 2 and 3). The marine economy accounted for $826.6 billion, or 1.7 percent, of current-dollar gross output in 2023 (table 8).

    Real (inflation-adjusted) gross domestic product (GDP) for the marine economy increased 2.9 percent from 2022 to 2023 (table 1), compared with a 2.9 percent increase for the overall U.S. economy. Marine economy compensation increased 9.4 percent, or $19.1 billion, and employment increased 4.5 percent, or 111,000 full- and part-time employees.

    Today’s release also reflects updated statistics for 2014–2022. Gross output, value added, employment, and compensation were updated to include the results of the 2023 comprehensive update and the 2024 annual update of the National Economic Accounts, which includes the Industry Economic Accounts. The updated statistics reflect newly available and revised source data.

    Marine economy by activity

    To estimate the marine economy by activity, this satellite account reorganizes industry value added (or GDP) and gross output statistics and presents the data in a framework that reflects marine-related activities. Marine economy activities fall into the following 10 general categories:

    1. Living resources, marine
    2. Construction, coastal and marine
    3. Research and education, marine
    4. Transportation and warehousing, marine
    5. Professional and technical services, marine
    6. Minerals, offshore
    7. Utilities, coastal
    8. Ship and boat building, nonrecreational
    9. Tourism and recreation, coastal and offshore
    10. National defense and public administration

    Marine economy real gross output—principally a measure of the marine economy’s inflation-adjusted sales or receipts, which includes sales to final users in the economy (GDP) and sales to other industries (intermediate inputs)—increased 3.5 percent, or $22.7 billion, in 2023 (tables 7 and 9). Marine economy activity highlights for 2023 include the following:

    • Tourism and recreation, coastal and offshore increased $8.6 billion, or 4.0 percent, to a level of $225.1 billion, making it the largest contributor to the growth in 2023 marine economy real gross output.
    • Minerals, offshore increased $6.8 billion, or 9.6 percent, to $77.2 billion, making it the second-largest contributor to the overall growth.
    • Living resources, marine increased $1.7 billion, or 5.1 percent, to $34.4 billion.
    • Ship and boat building, nonrecreational decreased $68 million, or 0.3 percent, to $19.5 billion, making it the largest offset to the overall growth in 2023 marine economy real gross output.

    Marine economy by industry

    Industry statistics show the contributions of industries to the marine economy, including their impact on value added (or GDP by industry), gross output, employment, and compensation.

    Marine economy industry highlights for 2023 include the following:

    • Government, as a share of marine economy current-dollar value added, was the largest industry group and accounted for 32.6 percent, or $166.4 billion (table 6), and was the largest industry group for compensation ($101.3 billion) and for employment (about 793,000 full- and part-time jobs).
    • Finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing was the second-largest industry group as a share of the marine economy and accounted for 12.7 percent, or $64.7 billion, of current-dollar value added.
    • Transportation and warehousing accounted for 10.7 percent, or $54.7 billion, of marine economy value added.
    • Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services accounted for 10.3 percent, or $52.6 billion, of value added and was the second-largest industry group for employment (about 652,000 full- and part-time jobs) in 2023, with the second-largest level of compensation ($26.8 billion).

    The Marine Economy Satellite Account Estimation Methods

    The Marine Economy Satellite Account (MESA) measures the economic activity associated with the marine economy, identifies the industries responsible for producing these goods and services, and measures the output, value added, compensation, and employment associated with that production. Like other BEA satellite accounts, the MESA was built on BEA’s comprehensive supply and use framework. The supply and use tables (SUTs) provide a detailed look at the relationships among industries and how each industry contributes to GDP. In practice, the MESA is a rearrangement of the published SUTs with new estimation methods that isolate marine-related spending and production. A variety of private and public data sources were used to identify marine-related spending and production to develop the MESA estimates.

    An important feature of the MESA is the presentation of estimates of gross output and value added by marine economic activity, in addition to the standard presentation of estimates by industry. This allows for the marine economy to be better analyzed in areas where significant economic activity occurs across a variety of industries.

    The geographic scope of the MESA includes the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans within the Exclusive Economic Zone (approximately 200 nautical miles off the U.S. coast) as well as marginal seas, such as the Chesapeake Bay, Puget Sound, Long Island Sound, San Francisco Bay, and others. Also included is the U.S. shoreline directly along these bodies of water. Furthermore, the Great Lakes are included up to the international boundary with Canada.

    For additional information on the marine economy statistics as well as the data sources and methodology that underlie their preparation, refer to “Defining and Measuring the U.S. Ocean Economy.”

    The Marine Economy Satellite Account was produced in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

    Data Availability

    The complete set of detailed annual statistics for 2014–2023 are available on BEA’s website. Statistics include data on marine economy gross output and value added presented by both industry and activity as well as employment and compensation presented by industry.

    For Marine Economy Satellite Account definitions and more, visit “Additional Information.”

    Next release: Spring 2026
    Marine Economy Satellite Account, 2024

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: “AI 2.0 Has Arrived”: James Altucher Warns of Major U.S. AI Shift from Inside Musk’s New Supercomputer Facility

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    BALTIMORE, June 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In a newly released briefing, tech entrepreneur and bestselling author James Altucher reveals details of an advanced artificial intelligence project quietly developed by Elon Musk — with the backing of the U.S. government.

    According to Altucher’s report, the U.S. has entered what he calls a “second wave” of artificial intelligence — and at the center of it is Project Colossus, a secretive facility operated by Musk’s xAI out of Memphis, Tennessee.

    Unlike anything the public has seen before, Project Colossus is designed to scale beyond current AI tools and into a new phase Altucher refers to as Artificial Superintelligence — or AI 2.0.

    A Quiet Presidential Push

    Altucher points to a key moment that set everything in motion: the repeal of Biden-era regulations on AI development.

    “In one of his FIRST acts as President… Donald Trump overturned Executive Order #14110.”

    The executive reversal, Altucher says, cleared the path for Musk to accelerate his most ambitious project yet.

    Inside Project Colossus

    Altucher claims Musk’s supercomputer is already live, housed in a discreet facility loaded with more than 200,000 high-performance AI chips.

    “Right here, inside this warehouse in Memphis, Tennessee… lies a massive supercomputer Musk calls ‘Project Colossus.’”

    He also reports that further upgrades are coming within weeks — including the addition of next-generation hardware that could dramatically increase Colossus’ capabilities.

    From Chatbots to Conscious Machines?

    According to Altucher, most people are still thinking in terms of consumer-facing AI — like ChatGPT. But this next generation, he says, is something entirely different.

    “AI 2.0… gives that knowledge to intelligent machines that I believe will solve our problems for us.”

    He warns that a major upgrade could be revealed as early as July 1, marking what he calls a “breakthrough moment” for American AI leadership.

    About James Altucher

    James Altucher is a computer scientist, entrepreneur, and bestselling author. He previously helped develop IBM’s Deep Blue supercomputer and built early AI-based trading systems on Wall Street. His latest work explores the rapid emergence of Artificial Superintelligence and its implications for national strategy and technological control.

    Media Contact:
    Derek Warren
    Public Relations Manager
    Paradigm Press Group
    Email: dwarren@paradigmpressgroup.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Fueling the Future of Finance: Bectran Launches a Mission-Critical AR Command Center

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, June 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bectran, Inc., the connected intelligence platform for end-to-end credit, collections, and AR management, has introduced a new Accounts Receivable (AR) Homepage — designed to meet the demands of modern receivable specialists who need clarity, speed, and control at every turn.

    The new homepage brings real-time visibility, task urgency, and risk signals into a single, centralized view. Built as a command post, it empowers finance professionals with the infrastructure necessary to act quickly, prioritize what matters, and stay ahead of risk.

    “We didn’t set out to redesign a screen — we set out to make accounts receivable more deliberate,” said Ali Kidwai, Bectran’s Head of Product & Engineering. “This homepage turns data into direction. It cuts the clutter, flags the risks, and sharpens focus on the tasks that matter most — helping every user operate with the urgency and precision today’s AR demands.”

    An Interface Designed for Action

    In today’s environment, the cost of disjointed systems and delayed action compounds quickly. Teams are often forced to work across various interfaces, pulling reports from one place, resolving disputes in another, and managing follow-ups through separate tools. As a result, critical insights are missed, handoffs are delayed, and the urgency of collections and approvals becomes overwhelming to manage at scale.

    To address these operational blind spots, Bectran has consolidated key receivable workflows into a single command center, providing clarity to both the state of the portfolio and the actions it demands. The AR Homepage presents two primary views: a live dashboard of portfolio activity, and a task feed organized by urgency. Performance signals — collections, claims, payments, order holds — are displayed alongside time-sensitive actions such as account reviews, failed payments, and pending approvals.

    By combining operational metrics with task-level visibility, teams gain immediate context without switching views or piecing together information from disparate systems. Each element is structured to reduce manual legwork in the decision-making process — whether releasing a hold, resolving a dispute, or identifying risk in the portfolio.

    “Rather than building another tool, we created a data-driven workspace that helps AR teams act faster and smarter,” said Louis Ifeguni, CEO of Bectran. “It streamlines decision-making without sacrificing control.”

    About Bectran 

    Bectran is the creator of Intelligent CreditOps — an enterprise-grade solution that modernizes the core of credit, collections, and receivables. While most finance tools are fragmented or retrofitted, Bectran offers a unified foundation purpose-built to automate routine and deeply analytical processes, connect real-time data, and scale credit operations with confidence.

    Trusted by finance teams at every stage of growth — from mid-market leaders to Fortune 100 enterprises — Bectran replaces manual, error-prone processes with intelligent, adaptable workflows across the order-to-cash cycle, giving companies the clarity, control, and confidence to drive growth without increasing risk.

    Contact

    Adam Coyner
    Marketing Specialist
    Bectran Inc
    (888) 791-6620
    PR@Bectran.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Reform leads in voting intentions – but where does their vote come from?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Whiteley, Professor, Department of Government, University of Essex

    Recent voting intention polling from YouGov (May 27) shows Reform UK in first place, 8% ahead of Labour and 10% ahead of the Conservatives, who are now in third place.

    The rising popularity of Nigel Farage’s party is an unprecedented threat to the major parties. This was driven home in recent local elections in England, where Reform won 677 seats and took control of 10 local authorities. But where does this support come from?

    The survey compares respondent voting intention to their votes in the 2024 general election.

    If we look at Conservative voters, 27% of them have switched to Reform in their voting intentions while 66% remain loyal. Alarmingly for Labour, only 60% of their 2024 voters have remained loyal and 15% intend to vote for Reform, while 12% switched to the Liberal Democrats and 9% to the Greens.

    Labour has been squeezed from both sides of the political spectrum, but the loss to the left is significantly larger than the loss to the right.

    In contrast, 73% of Liberal Democrat voters have remained loyal to the party with only 7% switching to Reform and 8% going to Labour. Not surprisingly, 91% of Reform voters have remained loyal, with 5% going to the Conservatives and 3% going to the Greens. None of the Reform voters have switched to Labour or the Liberal Democrats.

    Reform’s rise has led the Labour government to take more hardline stances on key issues, particularly immigration and asylum – which around half of YouGov respondents say is the most important issue facing the country.

    And with small boat crossings on the rise again, it remains to be seen whether the government’s recent proposals to reduce net migration will be enough to hold onto wavering supporters.



    Read more:
    What do MPs really think about immigration? We surveyed them to find out

    Social backgrounds and party support

    If we probe a bit further into the social characteristics of voters, only 8% of 18 to 24-year-olds support Reform, compared with 35% of 50 to 64-year-olds and 33% of the over-65s. Some 34% of the younger group support Labour, 12% the Conservatives, 15% the Liberal Democrats and 25% the Greens.

    As far as the 50 to 64-year-olds are concerned, 19% support Labour, 16% the Conservatives, 16% the Liberal Democrats and 9% the Greens. There is currently a significant age divide when it comes to party support.

    With respect to class (or “social grade” as it is described in contemporary surveys), 23% of the middle-class support Reform compared with 38% of the working class. The latter were the bedrock of Labour support a couple of generations ago, but now only 19% support Labour, with 17% supporting the Conservatives and 12% the Liberal Democrats.

    Current support for the parties among middle-class voters apart from Reform is 22% for Labour, 21% for the Conservatives and 17% for the Liberal Democrats. Again, the middle class used to be the key supporters of the Conservative party, but at the moment the party is running third behind its rivals in this group.

    Finally, the relationship between gender and support for the parties is also interesting. Some 35% of male respondents support Reform compared with only 24% of female respondents.

    In contrast, 21% of both men and women support Labour. The figures for the Conservatives are 16% of men and 22% of women, and Liberal Democrat support is 14% support from men and 16% from women.

    There is also notable support for Reform among those who voted Leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum in the YouGov survey. Altogether 53% of Leave voters in the EU Referendum opted for Reform and 24% supported the Conservatives, with 8% supporting Labour, 8% the Liberal Democrats and 4% the Greens. In the case of Remain voters, 10% chose Reform, 17% went for the Conservatives, 30% for Labour, 23% for the Liberal Democrats and 14% for the Greens.

    Not surprisingly, Reform takes the largest share of Brexit voters, but just over half of them – indicating that a lot of change has occurred in support since the 2016 referendum and Farage’s role in the Leave campaign. The fact that 10% of Remain voters switched to Reform and 20% of Leave voters have switched to Labour, the Liberal Democrats or the Greens shows that it is not just a simple case of support for Brexit leading to support for Reform.

    Voting and volatility

    Before Nigel Farage starts picking out curtains for Number 10, it is worth looking at another volatile moment in British political history. The chart below shows the effects of the split in the Labour party in 1981, when the Social Democratic Party was formed by the “gang of four” breakaway Labour politicians, Shirley Williams, Roy Jenkins, David Owen and Bill Rodgers.

    The newly formed party agreed an electoral pact with the Liberals, which continued until the 1983 election. A Gallup poll published in December 1981 shows a massive lead for the SDP-Liberal Alliance.

    And yet, Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives won that election. Labour came second by a small margin ahead of the SDP-Liberal Alliance and remained the main opposition party.

    The point of this example is that a massive lead in the polls for the SDP-Liberal Alliance shortly after it was established did not provide a breakthrough in the general election two years later. Reform may be in the lead now, but this does not mean that it will win the general election of 2028-29.

    That said, there is a real risk for Labour continuing to lose support to both the left and the right – something which it needs to rapidly repair. Rachel Reeves’s “iron chancellor” strategy, in which the government announces fiscal rules which it claims to stand by at all costs, is no longer credible.

    As the Institute of Government points out, every single fiscal rule adopted since 2008 has subsequently been abandoned. A strategy of continuing austerity by making significant cuts in the welfare budget to calm financial markets is likely to fail, both in the economy and with voters.

    Paul Whiteley has received funding from the British Academy and the ESRC.

    – ref. Reform leads in voting intentions – but where does their vote come from? – https://theconversation.com/reform-leads-in-voting-intentions-but-where-does-their-vote-come-from-257754

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale failed as feminist television

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Roberta Garrett, Senior Lecturer in Literature and Cultural Studies, University of East London

    Warning: this article contains spoilers for all seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale.

    Hulu’s television adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s landmark 1985 feminist novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, has now come to an end.

    The series focused on female oppression within the imagined future religio-fascist state of Gilead. So, in light of the Donald Trump-led Republican party’s infringements on the reproductive rights of women, it seems appropriate that the first series launched in 2017, a year after Trump was elected, and the final series aired shortly after his current tenure began.

    Following Trump’s first election, the iconography of the handmaids’ costumes – hooded scarlet cloaks and white bonnets – were adopted as symbols of resistance at women’s rights protests around the world.

    The adaptation has been a popular and critical success. However, as I argue in The Routledge Handbook of Motherhood on Screen, despite its strong association with women’s protest movements, Hulu’s adaptation misrepresents the themes of Atwood’s biting feminist dystopia. In fact, it reinforces certain attitudes that Atwood, and other feminist writers and thinkers, have been criticising for decades.

    In particular, the series idealises white biological mothers, while demonising or marginalising other female figures. Here are three examples of how it does this.

    Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

    1. Childless women are bitter spinsters or wicked stepmothers

    Atwood’s novel focuses chiefly on the horror of the rape and forced impregnation of the handmaids. But Hulu’s adaptation gives more weight to the theme of maternal loss and the handmaids’ desire to keep their biological offspring.

    The characters of the television show evolve over six series. This means they require extended character arcs, backstories and more emphasis on psychology than the novel. Hulu’s adaptation evolved into a dark maternal melodrama, where the moral worth of female characters is tied to their ability to bear children.

    Like a traditional fairy tale, the adaptation depicts infertile women, older spinsters and adoptive mothers in an overwhelmingly negative light. They are frequently shown to be unfit mothers, or cruel women.

    Atwood’s novel uses relatively flat characterisation in order to accentuate Gilead’s authoritarian structure, rather than individual psychology or motivations. In contrast, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale develops the character of Aunt Lydia (one of the older, childless women who train, bully and discipline the handmaids) and Serena Joy (the commander’s wife in the household that June is sent to) as central characters.

    The trailer for season six of The Handmaid’s Tale.

    Aunt Lydia’s (Ann Dowd) backstory in season three reveals that in her pre-Gilead life, she was a lonely, ageing school teacher who suffers sexual rejection. She responds to this by spitefully removing a child from the care of his loving but overworked young, single mother.

    The moral worth attached to fertile and infertile women in the series is even more evident in the treatment of Serena (Yvonne Strahovski). In the novel Serena is an outspoken advocate for traditional female roles. The series takes this further. It shows baby‑crazed Serena actively creating the laws of Gilead – and the handmaid system – to obtain a child. She was apparently made infertile after being shot by a protester during a speaking engagement.

    Serena is the series’ chief antagonist throughout the first four seasons. This changes in season five. Now pregnant, Serena finds herself at the mercy of another angry infertile woman who wants to steal her baby. Once pregnant, Serena mellows and becomes a more sympathetic character. This evolution can be seen to reinforce the idea that infertile women are unfulfilled, unhappy women who can only be redeemed through pregnancy and childbirth.

    In its overall view, the series presents the spinsterish aunts as sadists who delight in punishing the fertile handmaids, and the infertile commanders’ wives as cold and shallow. Unlike the sisterly handmaids, the latter secretly loathe one another. They appear to only value children as status symbols.

    2. It endorses intensive, ‘natural’ mothering

    As many feminist critics have pointed out, the model of child-rearing currently favoured by society is “intensive”, and endorses so-called “natural” practices and behaviour (such as unmedicated birth and extended breastfeeding). These place considerable pressure on new mothers.

    This mode of mothering is displayed by handmaid heroines June (Elisabeth Moss) and Janine (Madeline Brewer). They show no difficulty in bonding with babies produced through rape, breastfeed with ease, have an innate ability to comfort their offspring and – in June’s case – even successfully give birth entirely alone.

    In contrast, the adoptive mothers are cack-handed with their babies and quickly resent their maternal duties. This suggests that good mothering is the preserve of biological mothers, to whom it comes naturally.

    A recap of seasons one to five of The Handmaid’s Tale.

    3. It consigns black women to side roles

    Series one to three focuses largely on white handmaids. Although June’s husband (O-T Fagbenle) and best friend Moira (Samira Wiley) are black, they escape to Canada in the first season, so feature only minimally in the drama that follows. Black characters occupy minor roles as servants or nannies (known as “Marthas”), who are readily sacrificed by June in her child-saving crusade.

    June casually causes the execution of the Martha who cares for her first daughter by pestering her to allow her to make contact. The Martha pleads with her to stop, but June responds with her usual maternal piety: “You know I can’t stop.” As the audience barely knows the Martha, their sympathies are directed towards June. Her desire to see her daughter is presented as a legitimate reason to endanger the life of a black non-mother.

    Only Rita (Amanda Brugel), the Martha assigned to June’s household, has a consistent, if marginal, onscreen presence. Rita is a key part of the resistance movement, but her role as resistance fighter diminishes when June assumes leadership. As communications professor Meredith Neville-Shepard argues, Rita spends much of the later episodes thanking “white saviour” June for facilitating her escape to Canada.

    For these reasons, although The Handmaid’s Tale succeeds as a compelling female-centered drama, unlike Atwood’s novel, it foregrounds the rights of biological mothers over the issue of women’s reproductive choice. While Atwood criticised forced impregnation, Hulu’s Handmaid’s tale became increasingly invested in an idealised view of white “natural mothers” that is oppressive to many women.

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

    – ref. Why Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale failed as feminist television – https://theconversation.com/why-hulus-the-handmaids-tale-failed-as-feminist-television-258122

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How to design landscapes that enhance natural sounds and minimise noise pollution

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Carlos Abrahams, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Assessment – Director of Ecoacoustics, Nottingham Trent University

    Superblocks in Barcalona, Spain, keep traffic noise to the periphery of residential areas. David Alf/Shutterstock

    Sounds are integral parts of any landscape. Think of the calls of grouse and curlew on the Pennine Moors. Wind sieving through reed beds in the Norfolk Broads. Church bells chiming out over the hustle and bustle of central London. Every locale across the Earth, beneath our oceans, lakes and rivers, and even underground, has its own distinctive “soundscape”.

    Soundscapes are created by a combination of biological sounds – the voices of birds, bats and insects – alongside environmental sounds from rainfall, waves crashing on the shore and low-frequency seismic rumbles. Layered over these natural sound sources are human-made noises from planes, trains, traffic and other elements of 21st-century life.

    This human-made noise can be so loud and so pervasive in some areas that it blocks the natural sounds that would otherwise be audible. This affects the behaviour and life cycles of wildlife, because many species rely on sound for breeding activity, social communication and predator detection. Masking these important signals can reduce breeding success and drive populations away from the disturbed habitats.

    Noise pollution also reduces our own health and wellbeing. Chronic noise exposure is linked to elevated stress levels, impaired cognitive function and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The damaging soundscapes of European urban areas contribute to 12,000 premature deaths and cost €40 billion (£34 billion) every year.

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

    As soundscape researchers, we are trying to both understand and learn how to minimise the effects of noise on both wild nature and humans. Part of the solution involves adapting landscape design to build towns and cities that don’t just limit adverse noise pollution, but produce beneficial soundscapes. These can help people and wildlife engage with their surroundings and navigate more easily through them.

    For example, people might be drawn to vibrant chatter from a nearby street or use the sound of a river to place ourselves within the mental map of our neighbourhood. Paying attention to soundscapes within the landscape design process can create a stronger sense of place, linking us more closely to our surroundings.

    Many cities tackle noise at its source through urban design. In Barcelona, 57% of people are regularly exposed to excessive noise levels. The “superblocks” initiative – where motorised traffic is limited to peripheral roads around groups of buildings in the city – has allowed the pedestrianised inner streets to be opened up for people, planting and wildlife. This has created tranquil and rich local soundscapes and improved the population’s health in these areas.

    Landscape interventions, such as tree buffers, earth banks and noise walls, can limit noise propagation through the environment. At Buitenschot Park in the Netherlands, landscape architects have designed ridges or earth banks that absorb and disperse ground-level noise from the nearby Schiphol airport. These sculptural landforms were inspired by local observations that noise reduced with the ploughing of fields near the airport. The similar use of noise reduction surfaces, such as the low-noise asphalt currently being tested in Paris, also help to limit the spread of unwanted sound.

    Changes to the landscape also alter the perception of noise by the listener. Adding favourable sounds, such as flowing water, can draw attention away from traffic noise. Soundscape projects that include green spaces help increase biodiversity and engage citizens at the heart of the city. Some UK initiatives such as Bristol soundwalks and London’s Sounder City strategy involve the mapping of such quiet spaces to explain their purpose and encourage their use.

    Noise beyond cities

    Noise is not just an urban issue. Rural landscapes are adversely affected by agriculture, quarrying and tourism. Historically, rural landscapes have been afforded greater protection from noise than their urban counterparts. The UK national parks were originally designated to allow for the “quiet enjoyment”
    of countryside areas, while the tranquillity maps published two decades ago by the countryside charity Campaign to Protect Rural England sought to protect peaceful areas across the country.

    Today, rewilding and habitat restoration can play an important role in returning more natural soundscapes with a better balance of non-human and human soundmakers. Restoring wetlands, woodlands and grasslands increases vocalising species, like birds. This benefits both wildlife and people, enabling nature connection and improving environmental quality. By considering sound as a key element of sustainability and resilience, spaces can support biodiversity while enhancing the wellbeing and quality of life of the people in these communities.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Carlos Abrahams works for the ecological consultancy Baker Consultants Ltd and owns shares in Soil Acoustics Ltd. He has received research funding from Innovate UK in leration to soil ecoacoustics.

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

    – ref. How to design landscapes that enhance natural sounds and minimise noise pollution – https://theconversation.com/how-to-design-landscapes-that-enhance-natural-sounds-and-minimise-noise-pollution-252859

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Saint Francis Man Sentenced to 2 1/2 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing a Firearm As a Felon

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PIERRE – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte has sentenced a Saint Francis, South Dakota, man convicted of Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm. The sentencing took place on May 27, 2025.

    Randy Harlan Arcoren Jr., age 42, was sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

    Arcoren was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2024. He pleaded guilty on February 26, 2025.

    The conviction stems from an incident that occurred in January 2024 in the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. On January 4, 2024, law enforcement was called to Arcoren’s home for an unrelated matter. Once inside the home, law enforcement located two firearms in Arcoren’s bedroom: a revolver and a shotgun. Law enforcement also found a small amount of methamphetamine and other drug paraphernalia in the bedroom.

    Arcoren was convicted in U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota of Robbery in 2006 and Prohibited Person in Possession of Ammunition in 2015. As a result of these felony convictions, it is illegal for Arcoren to possess firearms or ammunition. Arcoren will forfeit ownership of the firearms to the United States.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    This case was investigated by Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Dilges prosecuted the case.

    Arcoren was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: CNB keeps mortgage lending rules and countercyclical and systemic risk buffer rates unchanged

    Source: Czech National Bank

    The Czech financial sector is stable and resilient to potential adverse effects, according to the conclusions of the Czech National Bank (CNB) Bank Board’s financial stability meeting today. In addition to domestic risks related to mortgage lending and the financial cycle, the Bank Board assessed risks stemming from global economic developments.

    The Czech economy is in the growth phase of the financial cycle. “Transaction activity on the mortgage market is returning to its long-term average, and growth in residential property prices has picked up considerably. We therefore still consider it necessary to leave the LTV limit at 80% (or 90% for applicants under 36 years),” said CNB Bank Board member Jakub Seidler following the Bank Board meeting on financial stability issues today. The DTI and DSTI ratios remain deactivated, as banks are not easing credit standards for mortgage loans across the board for the time being, and the related systemic risks are not increasing.

    The Bank Board also evaluated the resilience of the banking sector in the context of domestic and global economic developments and decided to leave the countercyclical capital buffer rate at 1.25%. In its decision, it took into account the level of cyclical risks in the sector’s balance sheet. The CNB expects these risks to increase slightly over the outlook horizon of the spring forecast, but the current buffer rate is sufficient to cover this increase. “Potential adverse developments in the global economy and uncertainties in international trade may increase some structural risks in the Czech economy, so the banking sector’s resilience should continue to be strengthened using the systemic risk buffer, which has been applied at 0.5% since 1 January 2025,” said Jakub Seidler.

    The banking sector is well capitalised. As a whole, it passed a stress test based on an adverse scenario used by the European Banking Authority to test the EU banking sector in 2025. “The profitability, capital buffers and asset quality of the banking sector create favourable conditions for absorbing the shocks considered in the stress test,” said Libor Holub, Executive Director of the CNB’s Financial Stability and Resolution Department.

    In its Financial Stability Report, the CNB regularly assesses the soundness of the domestic financial sector and its resilience to adverse shocks. The report forms the foundation for configuring macroprudential policy tools, in particular bank capital buffers and borrower-based measures. The CNB will publish the latest Financial Stability Report – Spring 2025 on 23 June 2025. The minutes of today’s Bank Board meeting on financial stability issues, including the votes cast by the individual Bank Board members on macroprudential policy measures and also attributed arguments, will be published the same day.

    Jakub Holas
    Director, Communications Division

    Notes for journalists:

    Financial stability has been a key objective of the Czech National Bank alongside price stability since 2013. Maintaining financial stability is defined in Act No 6/1993 Coll., on the Czech National Bank. The Act requires the CNB to set macroprudential policy by identifying, monitoring and assessing risks jeopardising the stability of the financial system and, in order to prevent or mitigate these risks, to contribute by means of its powers to the resilience of the financial system and the maintenance of financial stability. Since the second half of 2021, the CNB has had the statutory power to set upper limits on the LTV, DTI and DSTI ratios (borrower-based measures). Compliance with the limits must be legally binding in order to ensure a level playing field on the market.

    The Bank Board discusses financial stability issues twice a year – in the spring in May or June, and in the autumn in November. The aim of the Financial Stability Report is to identify the risks to the financial stability of the Czech Republic in the near future on the basis of previous and expected developments in the real economy and the financial system.

    The main macroprudential policy tools applied in the Czech Republic are the countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB), the capital conservation buffer (CCoB), the capital buffer for other systemically important institutions (O-SIIs) set only for systemically important banks, the systemic risk buffer, upper limits on the LTV, DTI and DSTI credit ratios set for all mortgage lenders, and the Recommendation on the management of risks associated with the provision of consumer loans secured by residential property.

    Countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) – This instrument is aimed at increasing the resilience of the banking sector to risks associated with fluctuations in lending activity. The CCyB should enable banks to lend to households and firms even at a time of recession or financial instability.

    Systemic risk buffer (SyRB) – This buffer is intended to mitigate the potential impacts of systemic risks identified on the financial system and the real economy. If their level poses a risk to financial stability, the application of the SyRB enhances the capitalisation of the banking sector and increases its resilience to adverse shocks. At the same time, it may help reduce the growth or concentration of the relevant exposures in banks’ balance sheets, although this is not its primary purpose.

    Capital conservation buffer (CCoB) – This instrument is aimed at preserving a bank’s capital. Under the Act on Banks, all banks are obliged to maintain this buffer. The CCoB rate is 2.5% and does not change over time.

    Capital buffer for other systemically important institutions (O-SIIs) – This instrument is aimed at mitigating risks connected with the potential destabilisation of systemically important institutions, which could have significant adverse effects on the financial system and the economy as a whole. The CNB is required to draw up a list of O-SIIs and calibrate the buffer for individual O-SIIs at least once a year.

    Combined capital buffer – the sum of the capital conservation buffer (CCoB), the countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB), the systemic risk buffer (SyRB) and the capital buffer for other systemically important institutions (O-SII).

    LTV (loan-to-value) – the ratio of the value of a mortgage loan to the value of collateral.

    DTI (debt-to-income) – the ratio of the applicant’s total debt to their net annual income.

    DSTI (debt-service-to-income) – the ratio of the sum of the applicant’s monthly repayments to their net monthly income.

    MIL OSI Economics –

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

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

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

    Source: Apple

    Headline: Global App Store helps developers reach new heights

    June 5, 2025

    UPDATE

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

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

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

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

    Developers Experience Global Growth Across the App Store

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

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

    Regional Growth Trends Around the World

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

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

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

    Apple’s Investment in Developers

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Press Contacts

    Apple Media Helpline

    media.help@apple.com

    MIL OSI Economics –

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

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

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

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

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

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

    The quantity problem

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Selling stolen data online

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

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

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

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

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

    Cybercriminals and customers

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

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

    The goods

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

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

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

    Illicit payments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

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

    Source: US Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

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

    US Senate News:

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

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: New Traliant training empowers retail and hospitality teams to defuse conflict, protect themselves and improve guest experiences

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, June 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Traliant, a leader in online compliance training, today announced new de-escalation training specifically tailored for the retail and hospitality sectors. Designed to provide front-line employees with the skills and confidence to defuse conflict, the interactive courses create safer, more respectful workplaces.

    From overbooked hotel rooms to irate guests disputing charges, customer conflicts are becoming more frequent and more intense — and employees are often left to manage them without the tools they need. Traliant’s de-escalation courses empower retail and hospitality employees to effectively manage tense or challenging moments safely and confidently. Through short, relatable training rooted in real-world scenarios, employees learn how to stay calm, recognize the early signs of escalation, set boundaries and respond with empathy — even when a customer is being unreasonable.

    “In hospitality and retail ─ industries where service and guest experiences are top priorities ─ de-escalation training empowers employees to handle high-pressure, challenging situations with professionalism, empathy and care,” said Mike Dahir, CEO of Traliant. “Giving employees the tools to defuse tense situations makes them feel better supported in their roles, reducing burnout, mistakes and turnover.”

    Traliant’s training is short — just 10 minutes — but packed with actionable techniques for transforming high-stress encounters into loyalty-building moments. By providing employees with the skills to avoid customer conflicts, physical confrontation or viral incident, the training enhances workforce safety and brand reputation.

    To learn more about Traliant, visit: https://www.traliant.com/.

    About Traliant
    Traliant, a leader in compliance training, is on a mission to help make workplaces better, for everyone. Committed to a customer promise of “compliance you can trust, training you will love,” Traliant delivers continuously compliant online courses, backed by an unparalleled in-house legal team, with engaging, story-based training designed to create truly enjoyable learning experiences.
      
    Traliant supports over 14,000 organizations worldwide with a library of curated essential courses to broaden employee perspectives, achieve compliance and elevate workplace culture, including sexual harassment training, inclusion training, code of conduct training, and many more.  
      
    Backed by PSG, a leading growth equity firm, Traliant holds a coveted position on Inc.’s 5000 fastest-growing private companies in America for four consecutive years, along with numerous awards for its products and workplace culture. For more information, visit http://www.traliant.com and follow us on LinkedIn. 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: American Rebel Light Beer Completes Production Run to Meet Surging National Customer and Consumer Demand

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • American Rebel Light Beer Expanded Presence in Nashville, Motorsports (NHRA) & Music Events—Fueling Surging Demand for America’s Patriotic Beer

    NASHVILLE, TN, June 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — American Rebel Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AREB) (“American Rebel” or the “Company”), creator of American Rebel Beer (americanrebelbeer.com) and a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of branded safes, personal security and self-defense products and apparel (americanrebel.com), proudly reports that American Rebel Premium Light Lager Beer (“Rebel Light”) American Rebel Light Beer, America’s Patriotic Beer, continues to see surging consumer and customer demand driven by its strategic presence at major events and iconic establishments in Nashville, motorsports partnerships, and music sponsorships. This rising demand has led to the completion of another production run, with additional runs planned throughout the year to support expanding retail placements, distributor partnerships, and new market entries.

    “American Rebel Holdings and American Rebel Light Beer remain committed to supporting military events, motorsports, and music festivals—bringing Americans together under one shared belief: Good beer, great moments, and unwavering patriotism.” Andy Ross, CEO – American Rebel Holdings. “We are experiencing unstoppable momentum. Motorsports, music, and Nashville’s patriotic culture are fueling our expansion. With more production runs planned, retail growth accelerating, and new distributors coming on board, American Rebel Light Beer is quickly becoming a dominant force in the market. Our continued partnership with AlcSource and City Brewing ensures we can scale at speed and meet the growing demand nationwide.”

    Strategic Positioned for Continued Growth & Market Expansion

    • Production Scaling Success – American Rebel Light Beer recently completed another production run to meet increasing consumer and retail demand. The company is well-positioned to scale rapidly thanks to its key partnerships with AlcSource and City Brewing, with the ability for production capacity of up to 2M+ annual cases.

    American Rebel Light Beer is brewed in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, using 100% natural ingredients for a refreshing, better-for-you domestic light lager with 100 calories, 3.2 carbs, and 4.3% ABV per 12oz serving.

    • Recent Retail Expansion Announcement – American Rebel Light Beer to expand into 62 Total Wine & More locations across seven states, further cementing its presence in the U.S. market. This strategic retail placement reinforces the brand’s rapid growth, fueled by increasing consumer demand, patriotic branding, and key distributor partnerships. As America’s Patriotic Beer, American Rebel Light Beer continues its mission to bring high-quality domestic light lager to new audiences through music, motorsports, and retail expansion.

    For the full press release, visit: American Rebel Light Beer Expands into Total Wine & More.

    Todd Porter, President of American Rebel Beverages, emphasized the beer’s meteoric rise. “I believe that American Rebel Beer will be the fastest-growing beer in U.S. history. I’ve been in the beverage industry for much of my professional life, and I’ve never seen consumers so aligned with a beverage brand. American Rebel Light Beer delivers a refreshing, all-natural taste that stands out in the domestic light beer market. With no corn, rice, or added sweeteners, it’s a clean, crisp lager that resonates with consumers looking for a high-quality, better-for-you beer option.”

    • Nashville Momentum – American Rebel Light Beer continues to thrive in high-profile venues, offering millions of visitors and locals a true American beer experience.

      CEO Andy Ross often refers to Nashville as the heartbeat of America, embodying the nation’s spirit of resilience and tradition. The American Rebel Light Beer’s epic launch at Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk (https://www.kidrockshonkytonkandsteakhouse.com/) on Broadway packed the American Rebel Light Beer Suite, as fans enjoyed music by legendary Broadway icon John Stone (https://johnstonecountry.com), with a special appearance by Ross himself.

      Since its launch, American Rebel Light Beer has secured premier Nashville accounts and is now an official sponsor of the summer-long Loser’s (Midtown) Parking Lot Concert Series, further solidifying its presence in Music City’s vibrant scene and ensuring that visitors experience the beer as part of their Nashville experience.

    For information on Loser’s Parking Lot Concert Series visit Loser’s Original

    • Motorsports Impact – Key partnerships with TSR Nitro Racing and the NHRA have connected the brand with influential distributors and retail accounts at the track, proving that beer and motorsports are a proven winning combination.

      CEO Andy Ross, presented by American Rebel Beer will be performing this weekend on Saturday June 6th at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, TN.

      Andy Ross is scheduled to perform at the American Rebel Light Virginia NHRA Nationals at North Dinwiddle, VA on June 20 – 22. In addition to being the title sponsor American Rebel Light Beer will also be the primary sponsor for the Tony Stewart Top Fuel Dragster and the Matt Hagan Funny Car.

    • Event & Music Partnerships – Sponsorship of Loser’s Midtown Parking Lot Concert Series, CMA Fest, and other major events further solidifies American Rebel’s presence in entertainment-driven consumer markets.

      Special Announcement: American Rebel Light Beer Joins Week of the Eagles Celebration Honoring the 250th Birthday of the U.S. Army at Fort Campbell, KY

      American Rebel Light Beer, America’s Patriotic Beer, is proud to be a key sponsor of the Week of the Eagles celebration at Fort Campbell, honoring the 250th Birthday of the U.S. Army. This special event brings together the soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division, veterans, and patriotic Americans to pay tribute to the legacy, sacrifice, and strength of our nation’s military.

      On Saturday June 14th, 2025, American Rebel CEO Andy Ross, a passionate advocate for American values and patriotism, will headline the Week of the Eagles Concert, delivering a performance that embodies the spirit of freedom and patriotic rock and roll. His presence reinforces American Rebel’s deep commitment to honoring the men and women who serve and celebrating the traditions that make our country great.

      The event is free and open to the public, welcoming soldiers, veterans, and civilians to honor the legacy of the 101st Airborne Division and the 250th Birthday of the U.S. Army.

    About American Rebel Light Beer

    American Rebel Light is more than just a beer—it’s a celebration of freedom, passion, and quality. Brewed with care and precision, our light beer delivers a refreshing taste that’s perfect for every occasion.

    Since its launch in September 2024, American Rebel Light Beer has rolled out in Tennessee, Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Florida and Indiana and is adding new distributors and territories regularly. For more information about the launch events and the availability of American Rebel Beer, please visit americanrebelbeer.com or follow us on our social media platforms.

    Produced in partnership with AlcSource, American Rebel Light Beer (americanrebelbeer.com) is a domestic premium light lager celebrated for its exceptional quality and patriotic values. It stands out as America’s Patriotic, God-Fearing, Constitution-Loving, National Anthem-Singing, Stand Your Ground Beer.

    American Rebel Light is a Premium Domestic Light Lager Beer – All Natural, Crisp, Clean and Bold Taste with a Lighter Feel. With approximately 100 calories, 3.2 carbohydrates, and 4.3% alcoholic content per 12 oz serving, American Rebel Light Beer delivers a lighter option for those who love great beer but prefer a more balanced lifestyle. It’s all natural with no added supplements and importantly does not use corn, rice, or other sweeteners typically found in mass produced beers.

    For more information about American Rebel Light Beer follow us on social media @AmericanRebelBeer

    For more information, visit americanrebelbeer.com

    About American Rebel Holdings, Inc.

    American Rebel Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AREB) has operated primarily as a designer, manufacturer and marketer of branded safes and personal security and self-defense products and has recently transitioned into the beverage industry through the introduction of American Rebel Light Beer.. The Company also designs and produces branded apparel and accessories. To learn more, visit www.americanrebel.com and www.americanrebelbeer.com. For investor information, visit www.americanrebel.com/investor-relations.

    Watch the American Rebel Story as told by our CEO Andy Ross visit The American Rebel Story

    Media Inquiries:
    Matt Sheldon
    Matt@Precisionpr.co
    917-280-7329

    American Rebel Holdings, Inc.
    info@americanrebel.com
    ir@americanrebel.com

    American Rebel Beverages, LLC
    Todd Porter, President
    tporter@americanrebelbeer.com

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. American Rebel Holdings, Inc., (NASDAQ: AREB; AREBW) (the “Company,” “American Rebel,” “we,” “our” or “us”) desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words “forecasts” “believe,” “may,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “should,” “plan,” “could,” “target,” “potential,” “is likely,” “expect” and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, and financial needs. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements include benefits of our continued sponsorship of high profile events, continued scheduled placements in Total Wine & More locations, success and availability of the promotional activities, our ability to effectively execute our business plan, and the Risk Factors contained within our filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2025. Any forward-looking statement made by us herein speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: KraneShares Launches First Global Humanoid & Embodied Intelligence ETF (Ticker: KOID) On Nasdaq

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, June 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Krane Funds Advisors, LLC (“KraneShares”), an asset management firm known for its global exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced the launch of the KraneShares Global Humanoid and Embodied Intelligence Index ETF (Ticker: KOID). KOID represents the first US-listed thematic equity ETF that captures the global humanoid opportunity.1

    Thanks to breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, advanced materials, and robotics manufacturing, commercial and retail applications of humanoid robotics and embodied intelligence are now a reality. Humanoid robots—including Tesla’s Optimus, Figure AI, and Unitree—are already demonstrating impressive performance in human tasks, including in both factory and home settings. The Morgan Stanley Global Humanoid Model projects there could be 1 billion humanoids and $5 trillion in annual revenue by 2050.2

    KOID seeks to capture the global humanoid and embodied intelligence ecosystem, which refers to AI systems integrated into physical machines that can sense, learn, and interact with the real world. Humanoid robotics, a key subset of embodied intelligence, focuses on robots with human-like forms and capabilities designed to work seamlessly in environments built for people, like factories, hospitals, and homes. The acceleration of bringing robots to the commercial and retail markets stems from the need to address urgent global challenges like labor shortages, aging populations, and greater efficiency and safety across industries.

    “Soon, the cost of a humanoid robot could be less than a car3,” said KraneShares Senior Investment Strategist Derek Yan, CFA. “We see compelling investment opportunities among the humanoid enablers and supply-chain partners that will bring humanoid robots into our daily lives at scale.”

    Unlike legacy robotics‐focused ETFs, KOID focuses exclusively on humanoid robotics and embodied AI, positioning itself at the forefront of the next generation of robotics innovation. KOID aims to capture the full spectrum of enabling technologies that form the foundation of humanoid development, including humanoid integration & manufacturing, mechanical systems, sensing & perception, actuation systems (the “muscle” of the robot), semiconductors & technology, and critical materials. KOID offers global exposure to companies based primarily in the United States, China, and Japan within the information technology, industrial, and consumer discretionary sectors.

    “We are excited to bring the Humanoid opportunity to global investors through KOID, the latest addition to our suite of innovative global thematic ETFs,” said KraneShares CEO Jonathan Krane. “At KraneShares, our core goal is to launch strategies like KOID to capture emerging megatrends, giving our clients access to powerful growth opportunities as they accelerate.”

    The KOID ETF will track the MerQube Global Humanoid and Embodied Intelligence Index, which is designed to capture the performance of companies engaged in humanoid and embodied intelligence-related business.

    For more information on the KraneShares Global Humanoid and Embodied Intelligence Index ETF (Ticker: KOID), please visit https://kraneshares.com/koid or consult your financial advisor.

    About KraneShares

    KraneShares is a specialist investment manager focused on China, Climate, and Alternatives. KraneShares seeks to provide innovative, high-conviction, and first-to-market strategies based on the firm and its partners’ deep investing knowledge. KraneShares identifies and delivers groundbreaking capital market opportunities and believes investors should have cost-effective and transparent tools for attaining exposure to various asset classes. The firm was founded in 2013 and serves institutions and financial professionals globally. The firm is a signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI).

    Citations:

    1. Data from Bloomberg as of 5/27/2025.
    2. “Humanoids: 1bn Robots and $5tn Revenues by 2050, China is in Pole Position” Morgan Stanley Research, 4/28/2025.
    3. “Could AI Robots Help Fill the Labor Gap?” Morgan Stanley Research, 8/13/2024.

    Carefully consider the Funds’ investment objectives, risk factors, charges and expenses before investing. This and additional information can be found in the Funds’ full and summary prospectus, which may be obtained by visiting https://kraneshares.com/koid. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

    Risk Disclosures:

    Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. There can be no assurance that a Fund will achieve its stated objectives. Indices are unmanaged and do not include the effect of fees. One cannot invest directly in an index.

    This information should not be relied upon as research, investment advice, or a recommendation regarding any products, strategies, or any security in particular. This material is strictly for illustrative, educational, or informational purposes and is subject to change. Certain content represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events or a guarantee of future results; material is as of the dates noted and is subject to change without notice.

    Humanoid and embedded intelligence technology companies often face high research and capital costs, resulting in variable profitability in a competitive market where products can quickly become obsolete. Their reliance on intellectual property makes them vulnerable to losses, while legal and regulatory changes can impact profitability. Defining these companies can be complex, and some may risk commercial failure. They are also affected by global scientific developments, leading to rapid obsolescence, and may be subject to government regulations. Many companies in which the Fund invests may not currently be profitable, with no guarantee of future success.

    A-Shares are issued by companies in mainland China and traded on local exchanges. They are available to domestic and certain foreign investors, including QFIs and those participating in Stock Connect Programs like Shanghai-Hong Kong and Shenzhen-Hong Kong. Foreign investments in A-Shares face various regulations and restrictions, including limits on asset repatriation. A-Shares may experience frequent trading halts and illiquidity, which can lead to volatility in the Fund’s share price and increased trading halt risks. The Chinese economy is an emerging market, vulnerable to domestic and regional economic and political changes, often showing more volatility than developed markets. Companies face risks from potential government interventions, and the export-driven economy is sensitive to downturns in key trading partners, impacting the Fund. U.S.-China tensions raise concerns over tariffs and trade restrictions, which could harm China’s exports and the Fund. China’s regulatory standards are less stringent than in the U.S., resulting in limited information about issuers. Tax laws are unclear and subject to change, potentially impacting the Fund and leading to unexpected liabilities for foreign investors. Fluctuations in currency of foreign countries may have an adverse effect to domestic currency values.

    The Japanese economy depends heavily on international trade and is vulnerable to economic, political, and social instability, which could affect the Fund. The yen is volatile, influenced by fluctuations in Asia, and has historically shown unpredictable movements against the U.S. dollar. Natural disasters, such as earthquakes and tidal waves, also pose risks. Furthermore, government intervention and an unstable financial services sector can negatively impact the economy, which relies significantly on trade with developing nations in East and Southeast Asia.

    The Fund invests in non-U.S. securities, which can be less liquid and subject to weaker regulatory oversight compared to U.S. securities. Risks include currency fluctuations, political or economic instability, incomplete financial disclosure, and potential taxes or nationalization of holdings. Foreign trading hours and settlement processes may also limit the Fund’s ability to trade, and different accounting standards can add complexity. Suspensions of foreign securities may adversely impact the Fund, and delays in settlement or holidays may hinder asset liquidation, increasing the risk of loss.

    The Fund may invest in derivatives, which are often more volatile than other investments and may magnify the Fund’s gains or losses. A derivative (i.e., futures/forward contracts, swaps, and options) is a contract that derives its value from the performance of an underlying asset. The primary risk of derivatives is that changes in the asset’s market value and the derivative may not be proportionate, and some derivatives can have the potential for unlimited losses. Derivatives are also subject to liquidity and counterparty risk. The Fund is subject to liquidity risk, meaning that certain investments may become difficult to purchase or sell at a reasonable time and price. If a transaction for these securities is large, it may not be possible to initiate, which may cause the Fund to suffer losses. Counterparty risk is the risk of loss in the event that the counterparty to an agreement fails to make required payments or otherwise comply with the terms of the derivative.

    Large capitalization companies may struggle to adapt fast, impacting their growth compared to smaller firms, especially in expansive times. This could result in lower stock returns than investing in smaller and mid-sized companies. In addition to the normal risks associated with investing, investments in smaller companies typically exhibit higher volatility.

    A large number of shares of the Fund is held by a single shareholder or a small group of shareholders. Redemptions from these shareholder can harm Fund performance, especially in declining markets, leading to forced sales at disadvantageous prices, increased costs, and adverse tax effects for remaining shareholders.

    The Fund is new and does not yet have a significant number of shares outstanding. If the Fund does not grow in size, it will be at greater risk than larger funds of wider bid-ask spreads for its shares, trading at a greater premium or discount to NAV, liquidation and/or a trading halt. Narrowly focused investments typically exhibit higher volatility. The Fund’s assets are expected to be concentrated in a sector, industry, market, or group of concentrations to the extent that the Underlying Index has such concentrations. The securities or futures in that concentration could react similarly to market developments. Thus, the Fund is subject to loss due to adverse occurrences that affect that concentration. KOID is non-diversified.

    Neither MerQube, Inc. nor any of its affiliates (collectively, “MerQube”) is the issuer or producer of KOID and MerQube has no duties, responsibilities, or obligations to investors in KOID. The index underlying the KOID is a product of MerQube and has been licensed for use by Krane Funds Advisors, LLC and its affiliates. Such index is calculated using, among other things, market data or other information (“Input Data”) from one or more sources (each such source, a “Data Provider”). MerQube® is a registered trademark of MerQube, Inc. These trademarks have been licensed for certain purposes by Krane Funds Advisors, LLC and its affiliates in its capacity as the issuer of the KOID. KOID is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by MerQube, any Data Provider, or any other third party, and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in KOID particularly, nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the Input Data, MerQube Global Humanoid and Embodied Intelligence Index, or any associated data.

    Neither MerQube nor the Data Providers make any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the shares of KOID or to any member of the public, of any kind, including regarding the ability of the MerQube Global Humanoid and Embodied Intelligence Index to track market performance or any asset class. The MerQube Global Humanoid and Embodied Intelligence Index is determined, composed and calculated by MerQube without regard to Krane Funds Advisors, LLC and its affiliates or the KOID. MerQube and Data Providers have no obligation to take the needs of Krane Funds Advisors, LLC and its affiliates or the owners of KOID into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the MerQube Global Humanoid and Embodied Intelligence Index. Neither MerQube nor any Data Provider is responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the prices or amount of KOID or the timing of the issuance or sale of KOID or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which KOID is to be converted into cash, surrendered or redeemed, as the case may be. MerQube and Data Providers have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of KOID. There is no assurance that investment products based on the MerQube Global Humanoid and Embodied Intelligence Index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. MerQube is not an investment advisor. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by MerQube to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.

    NEITHER MERQUBE NOR ANY OTHER DATA PROVIDER GUARANTEES THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE MERQUBE GLOBAL HUMANOID AND EMBODIED INTELLIGENCE INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO (INCLUDING DATA INPUTS) OR ANY COMMUNICATION WITH RESPECT THERETO. NEITHER MERQUBE NOR ANY OTHER DATA PROVIDERS SHALL BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. MERQUBE AND ITS DATA PROVIDERS MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND THEY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY KRANE FUNDS ADVISORS, LLC AND ITS AFFILIATES, OWNERS OF THE KOID, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE MERQUBE GLOBAL HUMANOID AND EMBODIED INTELLIGENCE INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL MERQUBE OR DATA PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THE FOREGOING REFERENCES TO “MERQUBE” AND/OR “DATA PROVIDER” SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO INCLUDE ANY AND ALL SERVICE PROVIDERS, CONTRACTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AND AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE REFERENCED PARTY.

    ETF shares are bought and sold on an exchange at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. However, shares may be redeemed at NAV directly by certain authorized broker-dealers (Authorized Participants) in very large creation/redemption units. The returns shown do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times. Shares may trade at a premium or discount to their NAV in the secondary market. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Beginning 12/23/2020, market price returns are based on the official closing price of an ETF share or, if the official closing price isn’t available, the midpoint between the national best bid and national best offer (“NBBO”) as of the time the ETF calculates the current NAV per share. Prior to that date, market price returns were based on the midpoint between the Bid and Ask price. NAVs are calculated using prices as of 4:00 PM Eastern Time.

    The KraneShares ETFs and KFA Funds ETFs are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Company (SIDCO), 1 Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, PA 19456, which is not affiliated with Krane Funds Advisors, LLC, the Investment Adviser for the Funds, or any sub-advisers for the Funds.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Cloudera Joins AI-RAN Alliance to Drive Real-Time Data Innovation and AI-Native Telecommunications

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cloudera, the only true hybrid platform for data, analytics and AI, today announced it has joined the AI-RAN Alliance, a global consortium committed to integrating AI into telecommunications infrastructure. Cloudera joins a pioneering group of innovative telecommunication providers that has joined forces with data and AI companies all focused on driving the AI-RAN agenda and transforming telecommunication networks into intelligent, revenue-generating platforms with real-time data and AI.

    As telecommunication providers race to optimize the cost of network operations through virtualization and next generation infrastructure and architectures, AI provides a unique opportunity. AI drives better business outcomes through network service efficiency while at the same time opening up significant opportunities for services innovation. The complexity of deploying AI across distributed edge environments is not trivial and telecommunication providers will have to drive strategic enterprise-wide efforts to operationalize AI at scale across the radio access network (RAN) to unlock its full commercial potential.

    The AI-RAN Alliance—which counts NVIDIA as a founding member and Dell, SoftBank, T-Mobile, KT and LG U+ as members—was created to solve these issues while driving innovation at the intersection of AI and telecommunications. Together, the AI-RAN Alliance members are standardizing the integration of AI into existing and new networks, enabling shared infrastructure for AI optimization, accelerating the development of edge AI applications, and establishing real-world proof points to help telecommunications deploy AI reliably and profitably.

    As a recognized leader in enterprise AI and modern data architecture, Cloudera brings a powerful combination of scalable data management, edge-to-AI orchestration, and an open-source-first approach that complements the AI-RAN Alliance’s mission. Cloudera is uniquely positioned to enable telecommunication providers to deploy, manage, and scale AI workloads across hybrid, edge, and on-premises environments.

    As the newest member of the AI-RAN Alliance, Cloudera will:

    • Participate in the new ‘Data for AI-RAN’ working group, aimed at standardizing data orchestration, LLM-driven network automation, and hybrid-enabled MLOps across telecommunications and AI workloads. Cloudera’s involvement will bring data and AI platform expertise to the AI-RAN Alliance, and help align data and AI pipelines with telecom operational needs—unlocking faster innovation and deployment of AI-native use cases.
    • Support the AI-RAN Alliance’s three core objectives, including AI-for-RAN, AI-and-RAN, and AI-on-RAN.
    • Accelerate real-world AI use cases with AI-RAN Alliance members to pilot and deploy AI applications, such as SLA-driven network availability and real-time anomaly detection. This includes building and validating reference architectures that telecommunications operators can deploy against in live environments, shortening the path from innovation to implementation, and maximizing model reusability and collaboration.
    • Leverage the Cloudera platform to demonstrate real-time decision-making at the edge, enabling scalable training data preparation/MLOps, and operationalizing AI inference at scale while ensuring governance, observability, and edge-to-core orchestration.

    “Cloudera is proud to bring its data and AI expertise to the AI-RAN Alliance. The network is the heart of the telecom business, both in driving margin growth and in service transformation, and AI can unlock substantial value across those dimensions,” said Abhas Ricky, Chief Strategy Officer at Cloudera. “Given our leadership in the domain — having powered data and AI automation strategies for hundreds of telecommunications providers around the world, we now look forward to accelerating innovation alongside fellow AI-RAN Alliance members, and bringing our customers along. Our goal is to help define the data standards, orchestration models, and reference architectures that will power intelligent, adaptive, and AI-native networks of the future.”

    “We are proud to collaborate with Cloudera and fellow AI-RAN Alliance members in the ‘Data for AI-RAN’ working group,” said Jemin Chung, VP Network Strategy, KT. “As AI becomes increasingly central to next-generation networks, the ability to harness data securely and at scale will be a key differentiator. Through this initiative, we look forward to defining best practices that enable AI-centric RAN evolution and improve operational intelligence.”

    “Cloudera is an incredible addition to the AI-RAN Alliance, which has grown rapidly as demand for improved AI access and success increases across the industry,” said Dr. Alex Jinsung Choi, Principal Fellow, SoftBank’s Research Institute of Advanced Technology, and Chair of the AI-RAN Alliance. “The company’s leadership in data and AI, combined with their extensive telecommunications footprint, will play a vital role in advancing our shared vision of intelligent, AI-native networks.”

    To learn more about Cloudera’s role in the AI-RAN Alliance and how it’s enabling next-generation telecommunications, visit www.cloudera.com/solutions/telecommunications.html.

    About Cloudera
    Cloudera is the only true hybrid platform for data, analytics, and AI. With 100x more data under management than other cloud-only vendors, Cloudera empowers global enterprises to transform data of all types, on any public or private cloud, into valuable, trusted insights. Our open data lakehouse delivers scalable and secure data management with portable cloud-native analytics, enabling customers to bring GenAI models to their data while maintaining privacy and ensuring responsible, reliable AI deployments. The world’s largest brands in financial services, insurance, media, manufacturing, and government rely on Cloudera to use their data to solve what seemed impossible—today and in the future.

    To learn more, visit Cloudera.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X. Cloudera and associated marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cloudera, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

    Contact
    Jess Hohn-Cabana
    cloudera@v2comms.com

    The MIL Network –