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Category: Middle East

  • MIL-OSI USA: VIDEO: Senator Rosen Blasts Secretary Rubio for Complicity in Trump Administration’s Disastrous Foreign Policies

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
    Watch the full exchange HERE.
    WASHINGTON, DC – During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) blasted Secretary of State Marco Rubio for his complicity in the Trump Administration’s disastrous approach to U.S. foreign policy. Under Secretary Rubio’s leadership, the Administration has slashed development and humanitarian programs critical to our national security, including programs that then-Senator Rubio supported. In her line of questioning, Senator Rosen pressed Secretary Rubio about plans to eliminate the State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues, the Office of the Security Coordinator in Israel, and international vaccines through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
    Below is an excerpt from Senator Rosen’s introduction:
    Senator Rosen: Secretary Rubio, I’m going to embrace my Jewish mother instincts for a moment.
    As a mother, a senator, and a fellow human being, I can tell you that I’m not even mad anymore about your complicity in this Administration’s destruction of U.S. global leadership. I’m simply disappointed. 
    And I wonder if you’re proud of yourself in this moment when you go home to your family because I have always found you, Senator Rubio, to be a bipartisan pragmatic partner, a true believer that the U.S. is stronger when we lead with diplomacy and development. You have a strong record on this. 
    But I don’t recognize Secretary Rubio. A stalwart supporter of Israel, you have watched this Administration abandon Saudi normalization with Israel in order to pursue business deals. You were once a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin but you sat idly by as the President berated the elected leader of Ukraine for not capitulating to Russia. And worst of all, you’ve kneecapped foreign assistance, including programs that you previously championed and made America less safe, less strong, less prosperous in doing so. 
    I know you know this in your heart and I can’t make this point any better than you did yourself in 2019 when you said “Anybody who tells you that we can slash foreign aid and that will bring us to balance is lying to you.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Gaza – Aid instrumentalised, health system under fire: Gaza is being deliberately asphyxiated by Israeli forces – MSF

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)

    Jerusalem, 21 May 2025 – An insufficient amount of aid is being allowed into the Strip, merely a smokescreen to pretend the siege is over. 

    Meanwhile, at least 20 medical facilities in Gaza have been damaged, or forced partially or completely out of service in the past week by advancing Israeli ground operations, intensified airstrikes, and widespread evacuation orders. 

    As people remain in desperate need of medical care and aid, Israeli authorities must stop the deliberate asphyxiation of Gaza and the annihilation of its healthcare system, that is underpinning their campaign of ethnic cleansing, says Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

    “The Israeli authorities’ decision to allow a ridiculously inadequate amount of aid into Gaza after months of an air-tight siege signals their intention to avoid the accusation of starving people in Gaza, while in fact keeping them barely surviving”, says Pascale Coissard, MSF emergency coordinator in Khan Younis. “This plan is a way to instrumentalise aid, making it a tool to further Israeli forces’ military objectives.”

    Before October 2023, 500 aid trucks were entering Gaza every day, according to the UN. The current authorisation for 100 per day, when the situation is so dire, is woefully inadequate.

    Meanwhile, evacuation orders are continuing to uproot the population, while Israeli forces are still subjecting health facilities to intensive attacks.

    On 19 May, between 6am to 6.30, MSF teams reported hearing almost one strike per minute in Khan Younis. One of these strikes hit Nasser hospital compound, 100 metres away from the intensive care unit and the inpatient department that are run by MSF. This is the third time in two months that Nasser hospital compound has been struck, once again depriving people of treatment and care. To reduce exposure, our teams were forced to temporarily close both the outpatient department and sedation room for patients awaiting or recovering from surgery, as well as suspend physiotherapy and mental health activities, which are essential for burn patients – most of whom are children.

    Yesterday’s strike also severely damaged the Ministry of Health pharmacy store in Nasser Hospital. This puts additional pressure on supplies at a time when medical stocks are running critically low due to the siege.

    As part of the expansion of their ground operations, Israeli forces have issued widescale evacuation orders, further limiting people’s access to medical care and MSF’s ability to provide it. On 19 May, for example, an evacuation order covering almost the entire eastern part of Khan Younis, at the edge of Nasser hospital, forced people to immediately move towards Al Mawasi area.

    The Site Management Cluster estimates that over 138,900 people were forcibly displaced between 15-20 May. The intensified Israeli bombardments and evacuation orders across Khan Younis have forced MSF to maintain only lifesaving activities in the emergency rooms of Al Attar and Al Mawasi clinics. Since yesterday, Al Hakker clinic, in Deir Al Balah, has also been closed. Before that, MSF teams had been providing more than 350 consultations per day for paediatric, antenatal and post-natal care, psychological first aid and ambulatory nutritional treatment among other things.

    A few days earlier, on 15 May, Israeli authorities issued an evacuation order to Sheikh Radwan basic healthcare centre in Gaza City, which led to the closure of the facility. Before that, with MSF’s support, the Ministry of Health teams were providing around 3000 consultations per day in an area with estimated 250,000 people. This was the last fully functional public basic healthcare clinic in the area.

    According to the Ministry of Health, following the besiege of the Indonesian Hospital, all public hospitals in North Gaza are now out of service The MSF field hospital in Deir Al Balah has seen its bed capacity rise to 150 per cent over the last few days, forcing them to add additional staff and increase their baseline by 20 beds. According to the UN, there are currently around 1,000 functional hospital beds across the Strip, while previously to the war the bed capacity was 3500.

    Attacks on civilians and healthcare must stop now and aid must enter Gaza in sufficient quantities and in a way that allows it to reach those who need it. Israel’s allies must exert all their pressure to make this happen as a matter of extreme urgency. Every day that is lost reinforces their complicity in the annihilation of the people of Gaza.

    MSF is an international, medical, humanitarian organisation that delivers medical care to people in need, regardless of their origin, religion, or political affiliation. MSF has been working in Haiti for over 30 years, offering general healthcare, trauma care, burn wound care, maternity care, and care for survivors of sexual violence. MSF Australia was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF sections committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to people in crisis. In 2022, more than 120 project staff from Australia and New Zealand worked with MSF on assignment overseas. MSF delivers medical care based on need alone and operates independently of government, religion or economic influence and irrespective of race, religion or gender. For more information visit msf.org.au  

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: 10 tips on self-advocacy from the Breaking Barriers Conference

    Source: US State of Oregon

    embers of Oregon’s intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) community gathered at the Breaking Barriers: Life Beyond Labels conference in late April. The Central Oregon Disability Support Network (CODSN) hosts the annual event in Redmond. The network’s executive director, Dianna Hansen, said, “It’s important for us as families, people with disabilities, service providers and educators to come together and learn from each other.”

    I went with coworkers from the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (ODDS). We enjoyed learning from 58 presenters. They included self-advocates, family members, care professionals and other allies of the I/DD community. They shared their experiences at 32 sessions. Seventy-five vendors had exhibition tables. Twelve vendors were self-advocates who sold their art.

    Hansen said attendance was at full capacity: 600 attendees! The top four words people used on their evaluations to describe their experience were encouraged, connected, excited and inspired. If you want to go next year, save the date for April 21, 2026.

    Here are 10 takeaways from the conference:

    1. Words matter.

    Ramonda Olaloye is the assistant superintendent of the Oregon Department of Education’s Office of Enhancing Student Opportunities (OESO). She opened the conference with a speech. Olaloye works to create an education system where every child reaches their full potential.

    Olaloye spoke about some challenges of I/DD service system. She has two daughters. Her youngest has autism. One day at school, a teacher asked her, “Why can’t you be like your older sister?” After that, Olaloye noticed her daughter acting out at school. A self-described “ferocious advocate” for her daughters, Olaloye spoke to the teacher. Reflecting on this experience, she said:

    “Educators shape experiences with their words. Because their words — our words — carry weight. Our children deserve to be recognized as individuals, not compared and not dismissed. Breaking barriers means challenging the way we communicate, the assumptions we make and the systems we uphold. And, it starts with seeing each child for who they are, not who we expect them to be.”

    2. Presume competence in everyone you meet.

    Hansen spoke to me about a similar experience. Her daughter has Down syndrome. When they’re out at a restaurant, servers often ignore her daughter and ask Hansen, “What does she want?”

    Her daughter is a second-year culinary student. She cooks her own meals. She graduated high school with honors.

    People often presume someone who experiences I/DD can’t speak for themselves. Hansen encourages everyone to presume competence in people. This is one of the main values she hopes people took from the conference: “Giving that dignity to people — that they are able to answer and make their own decisions.”

    3. Forget the traditional meaning of independence.

    Keynote speaker Alva Gardner challenged people’s understanding of independence. “Independence doesn’t always mean doing everything yourself,” she said. “We, as a system, need to forget about that traditional definition of independence. No one lives a life that is 100 percent independent of other people 100 percent of the time. We are all interdependent in some way throughout our life.”

    Gardner has been a public speaker since she was 8 years old. She runs her own company, The 4*3 Perspective LLC. She works with organizations to make systemic changes that support all people, especially people with disabilities. She was the first person with a developmental disability to become a certified person-centered thinking (PCT) trainer.

    Gardner has cerebral palsy. She spoke about the supports she gets. She works with personal attendants for 100 percent of her personal care. The supports that she uses free her to go about her day, care for her family, and run her business. She asked attendees what kind of supports they use in their lives: haircuts, car services, childcare, doctor visits, etc. Then, she redefined independence.

    “Independence comes from living a self-directed life and utilizing the supports that are available to you in order to do that,” she said. “In the person-centered thinking training, we ask people to identify what is important to them and how they want to be best supported, and get really specific on how they define supports for themselves. As a system, when truly taking a person-centered approach, I believe we need to start by being intentional about how people define independence for themselves. What does independence look like and mean for that person?”

    4. Teach self-advocacy at a young age.

    Both keynote speakers encouraged parents to teach independence and self-advocacy to their children.

    Olaloye gave her daughter age appropriate roles in her Individual Support Planning (ISP) meetings. This is a meeting where individuals plan their services and supports each year. In elementary school, her daughter was part of a conversation about moving from one-on-one instruction into a classroom where an aide helped the entire class. Olaloye has been using the ISP process to help her daughter learn to express her needs. She has given her daughter bigger roles in her ISP meetings as she aged. Now a sophomore in high school, Olaloye’s daughter is prepared to manage her own supports when she goes to college.

    5. Make advocating for yourself easier. This takes preparation.

    Gardner spoke about the challenge of constantly advocating for oneself: “Having to share our preferences with all of the various DSPs [direct support professionals], case managers, personal care attendants, etc. that come in and out of our lives … It gets incredibly tiring and incredibly draining, and frankly boring. I don’t want to have to repeat the same thing over and over again. I have better things to do.”

    One way she eases this burden is by creating one-page descriptions for each aspect of her life. She has different versions for home, work, and other situations. On them, she describes her support needs, preferences and what’s important to her about that aspect of her life. She said that doing this “is especially important when you might just be learning what those [preferences and desires] are and how to communicate those for the first time.” She recommends updating this information as one’s needs change.

    6. Use the new Self-Advocate Guide to Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) Services to help plan your services.

    ODDS and the Oregon Self-Advocacy Coalition (OSAC) shared a new tool: the Self-Advocate Guide for I/DD Services. They created it to make planning easier.

    The guide is a workbook. It takes self-advocates through the service planning process. It asks questions to help people communicate their desires, needs and goals. It helps people lead their service planning.

    OSAC Executive Director Gabrielle Guedon spoke about the planning process: “It’s about looking at what you really want or don’t want in your life. We’re going to continuously change. Every year you have an opportunity to change. I know it’s a hard process that we have to do, but there are opportunities to put in what you want and don’t want. Be honest and clear.”

    Find the guide on the ODDS website. You can download it. It’s available in a number of languages. Parents, family members and case managers can also use the guide to improve their support of self-advocates.

    7. Don’t let the bullies stop you from pursuing your goals and dreams.

    Felicity Woods, a self-advocate and CODSN board member, also spoke about the Self-Advocate Guide. Woods shared how some at her school misunderstood disability. She, like many children with I/DD, was bullied in elementary school. She said learning to share one’s story — the successes and barriers one faces — is an important part of self-advocacy. She encouraged people to use the Self-Advocate Guide.

    “I want to make my own choices and decisions about what I want,” Woods said. “It’s up to me and you, individuals, to make the choices for what we want.”

    Speaking of bullies, Guedon added, “Don’t let a bad experience stop you. Let it fuel you.”

    8. Help organize other self-advocates.

    Felicity Woods and Jordan Ohlde are members of High Desert Self Advocacy. This is a peer group of self-advocates in the Bend/Redmond area. They presented, “Growing Stronger and Time to Thrive.” ODDS employee Ryley Newport joined them. They spoke about how to expand and empower self-advocacy. To do this, High Desert Self Advocacy created a Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATH) plan.

    PATH is a creative planning tool. Two trained facilitators from ODDS led the group through the PATH process. They used graphics and discussion to help the group envision their future. Then, they worked backwards from that vision to form a plan to reach their goals.

    As a result, High Desert Self Advocacy spoke at Breaking Barriers. They will also be at the Oregon State Capital on June 12 to lobby for disability rights. They are presenting at The Arc Oregon’s Self-Advocacy Convention that week.

    Woods and Ohlde encouraged self-advocates to reach out to them at High Desert Self Advocacy. They want to help their peers form self-advocacy groups around the state. Connect with them via their Facebook page.

    9. Model accessibility.

    CODSN modeled accessibility at the conference. Hansen said CODSN made the conference accessible to people of all financial means. CODSN provided scholarships for 176 self-advocates and 130 families. They also made the space physically accessible to all. A sensory room gave people a space free from the noise and crowd. A changing room gave attendees a private space for personal care.

    The conference also modeled how to provide language access for Spanish speakers. Interpreters Isabel Ramirez and Joy Christian, a team from Grapevine Aliados, provided Spanish and English interpretation for the last three conferences. They said the conference offers a full track of sessions in Spanish. Attendees can sign up for the Spanish track when they register. They can also request Spanish interpretation for English-language sessions.

    10. Self-advocacy never stops.

    Self-advocate Jordan Ohlde was one of eight individuals that sued the Oregon Department of Transportation. They wanted to make a crosswalk in their neighborhood accessible to all, including those who use wheelchairs. It took time and perseverance, but in the end, they won. The street is now passable to all.

    “Self-advocacy never stops. There’s aways a different start, another path. Your job never stops,” Ohlde said. “A lot of kids are told, your voice doesn’t matter, when really, your voice does matter. You just have to figure out how it matters to you.”

    Upcoming self-advocacy conferences in Oregon

    MIL OSI USA News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Peters Supports Resolution Condemning Trump’s Acceptance of Qatari Jet “Gift”

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Scott Peters (52nd District of California)

    Washington, D.C. — Today, Representative Scott Peters (CA-50) signed onto Rep. Jamie Raskin’s (MD-8), resolution to condemn President Donald Trump’s effort to accept a $400 million luxury private jet from the royal family of Qatar without obtaining Congress’s approval, in violation of the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause.

    “President Trump continues to flout the Constitution and the rule of law,” said Rep. Peters. “It is so plainly obvious that this ‘gift’ is a means to curry favor and improperly influence U.S. foreign policy. Just because this corrupt act is taking place out in the open does not mean we should not call it out. Rather, it is more important than ever to hold the President accountable so that such unconstitutional behavior does not become normalized.”

    On May 11, an ABC News report revealed that President Trump planned to accept a $400 million private jet from the Qatari royal family—a lavish and unconstitutional gift that would become the property of his personal presidential library foundation at the conclusion of his term. In a news conference on May 12, when asked about this reported gift, Trump stated, “I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer… I could be a stupid person and say, ‘no, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’” In 2016, then-candidate Trump criticized Hillary Clinton for donations the Clinton Foundation accepted from Qatar.

    While Trump claimed that this extravagant gift from a foreign government would result in “big savings [that] will be spent, instead, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT,” it in fact would require potentially billions of dollars in taxpayer funds to retrofit and debug the plane.

    Click here to read the resolution.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-Evening Report: Starvation of Gaza – a distressing continuation of a decades-old plan

    SPECIAL REPORT: By Jeremy Rose

    Reading an NBC News report a couple of days ago about a Trump administration plan to relocate 1 million Gazans to Libya reminded me of a conversation between the legendary Warsaw Ghetto leader Marek Edelman and fellow fighter and survivor Simcha Rotem that took place more than quarter of a century ago.

    In the conversation, first reported in Haaretz in 2023, Rotem said the Jews who walked into the gas chambers without a fight did so only because they were hungry.

    Edelman disagreed, but Rotem insisted. “Listen, man. Marek, I’m surprised by your attitude. They only went because they were hungry. Even if they’d known what awaited them they would have walked into the gas chambers. You and I would have done the same.”

    Edelman cut him off. “You would never have gone” [to the gas chamber.] Rotem replied, “I’m not so sure. I was never that hungry.”

    Edelman agreed, saying: “I also wasn’t that hungry,” to which Rotem said, “That’s why you didn’t go.”

    The NBC report claims that Israeli officials are aware of the plan and talks have been held with the Libyan leadership about taking in 1 million ethnically cleansed Palestinians.. The carrot being offered is the unfreezing of billions of dollars of Libya’s own money seized by the US more than a decade ago.

    The Arabic word Sumud — or steadfastness — is synonymous with the Palestinian people. The idea that 1 million Gazans would agree to walk off the 1.4 percent of historic Palestine that is Gaza is inconceivable.

    Equally incomprehensible
    But then the idea that my great grandmother and other relatives walked into the gas chambers is equally incomprehensible. But we’ve never been that hungry.

    The people of Gaza are. No food has entered Gaza for 76 days. Half a million Gazans are facing starvation and the rest of the population (more than 1.5 million people) are suffering from high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the UN.

    Last year, Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was widely condemned when he suggested starving Gaza might be “justified and moral”.

    The lack of outrage and urgency being expressed by world leaders — particularly Western leaders — after nearly 11 weeks of Israel actually starving the inhabitants of what retired IDF general Giora Eiland has called a giant concentration camp — is an outrage.

    As far as I’m aware there’s been no talk of cutting off diplomatic relations, trade embargos or even cultural boycotts.

    Israel — which last time I looked wasn’t in Europe — just placed second in Eurovision. “I’m happy,” an Israeli friend messaged me, “that my old genocidal homeland (Austria) won and not my current genocidal nation.”

    A third generation Israeli, she’s one of a tiny minority protesting the war crimes being committed less than 100km from her apartment.

    Honourable exceptions
    Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Irish President Michael Higgins are honourable exceptions to the muted criticism being expressed by Western leaders, although this criticism has finally been stepped up with the threatened “concrete actions” by the UK, France and Canada, and the condemnation of Israel by 22 other countries — including New Zealand.

    Sanchez had declared Israel a genocidal state and said Spain won’t do business with such a nation.

    And peaking at a national famine commemoration held over the weekend Higgens said the UN Security Council had failed again and again by not dealing with famines and the current “forced starvation of the people of Gaza”.

    He cited UN Secretary-General António Guterres saying “as aid dries up, the floodgates of horror have re-opened. Gaza is a killing field — and civilians are in an endless death loop.”

    Nobel Prize winning economist Amartya Sen argued in his 1981 book Poverty and Famines that famines are man-made and not natural disasters.

    Unlike Gaza, the famines he wrote about were caused by either callous disregard by the ruling elites for the populations left to starve or the disastrous results of following the whims of an all-powerful leader like Chairman Mao.

    He argued that a famine had never occurred in a functioning democracy.

    A horrifying fact
    It’s a horrifying fact that a self-described democracy, funded and abetted by the world’s most powerful democracy, has been allowed by the international community to starve two million people with no let-up in its bombing of barely functioning hospitals and killing of more than 2000 Gazans since the ban on food entering the strip was put in place. (Many more will have died due to a lack of medicine, food, and access to clean water.)

    After more than two months of denying any food or medicine to enter Gaza Israel is now saying it will allow limited amounts of food in to avoid a full-scale famine.

    “Due to the need to expand the fighting, we will introduce a basic amount of food to the residents of Gaza to ensure no famine occurs,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained.

    “A famine might jeopardise the continuation of Operation Gideon’s Chariots aimed at eliminating Hamas.”

    If 19-months of indiscriminate bombardment, the razing to the ground of whole cities, the displacement of virtually the entire population, and more than 50,000 recorded deaths (the Lancet estimated the true figure is likely to be four times that) hasn’t destroyed Hamas to Israel’s satisfaction it’s hard to conceive of what will.

    But accepting that that is the real aim of the ongoing genocide would be naïve.

    Shamefully indifferent Western world
    In the first cabinet meeting following the Six Day War, long before Hamas came into existence, ridding Gaza of its Palestinian inhabitants was top of the agenda.

    “If we can evict 300,000 refugees from Gaza to other places . . .  we can annex Gaza without a problem,” Defence Minister Moshe Dayan said.

    The population of Gaza was 400,000 at the time.

    “We should take them to the East Bank [Jordan] by the scruff of their necks and throw them there,” Minister Yosef Sapir said.

    Fifty-eight years later the possible destinations may have changed but the aim remains the same. And a shamefully indifferent Western world combined with a malnourished and desperate population may be paving the way to a mass expulsion.

    If the US, Europe and their allies demanded that Israel stop, the killing would end tomorrow.

    Jeremy Rose is a Wellington-based journalist and his Towards Democracy blog is at Substack.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Palestinians in Gaza are being deliberately asphyxiated by Israeli forces News May 20, 2025

    Source: Doctors Without Borders –

    While the war and blockade continue to wreak havoc on Palestinians’ health and leave them in desperate need of medical care and food, water, and other necessities, at least 20 medical facilities in Gaza have been damaged or forced partially or completely out of service in the past week alone amid increasing Israeli military operations, intensified airstrikes, and widespread evacuation orders.

    Israeli authorities must stop the deliberate asphyxiation of Palestinians in Gaza and the annihilation of their health care system—actions that are underpinning their campaign of ethnic cleansing.

    “The Israeli authorities’ decision to allow a ridiculously inadequate amount of aid into Gaza after months of an air-tight siege signals their intention to avoid the accusation of starving people in Gaza, while in fact keeping them barely surviving,” said Pascale Coissard, MSF emergency coordinator in Khan Younis. “This plan is a way to instrumentalize aid, making it a tool to further Israeli forces’ military objectives.”

    On May 19, Israeli forces struck the Nasser Hospital compound in Khan Younis, hitting just 100 meters away from the intensive care unit and inpatient department, which are both run by MSF. It’s the third time in two months that the hospital compound has been struck, yet again depriving people of treatment and care. | Palestine 2025 © MSF

    Nasser Hospital compound struck multiple times

    On May 19, between 6 and 6:30 a.m., MSF teams reported hearing almost one strike per minute in Khan Younis. One of these strikes hit the Nasser Hospital compound, 100 meters away from the hospital’s intensive care unit and the inpatient department, which are run by MSF. This is the third time in two months that the Nasser Hospital compound has been struck, once again depriving people of treatment and care. 

    To reduce the risks, our teams were forced to temporarily close both the outpatient department and sedation room for patients awaiting or recovering from surgery, as well as suspend physiotherapy and mental health activities, which are essential for burn patients—most of whom are children. This strike also severely damaged the Ministry of Health’s pharmacy store in Nasser Hospital. This puts additional pressure on supplies at a time when medical stocks are already running critically low due to the siege.

    The strike on May 19 severely damaged the Ministry of Health’s pharmacy store in Nasser Hospital, putting additional pressure on supplies at a time when medical stocks are already running critically low due to the siege. | Palestine 2025 © MSF

    Ongoing bombings and evacuation orders further limit access to care  

    As part of the expansion of their ground operations, Israeli forces have issued widescale evacuation orders, further limiting people’s access to medical care and MSF’s ability to provide it. On May 19, for example, an evacuation order covering almost the entire eastern part of Khan Younis, at the edge of Nasser Hospital, forced people to immediately move toward the Al-Mawasi area.

    The UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ Site Management Cluster estimates that over 138,900 people were forcibly displaced between May 15-20. The intensified Israeli bombardments and evacuation orders across Khan Younis have forced MSF to maintain only lifesaving activities in the emergency rooms of Al-Attar and Al-Mawasi clinics. Since yesterday, Al-Hekker clinic in Deir al-Balah has also been closed. Before that, MSF teams had been providing more than 350 consultations per day for pediatric, prenatal and post-natal care, psychological first aid, and outpatient nutrition treatment, among other medical issues.

    A few days earlier, on May 15, Israeli authorities issued an evacuation order to Sheikh Radwan basic health care center in Gaza City, which led to the closure of the facility. Before that, with MSF’s support, Ministry of Health teams were providing around 3,000 consultations per day in an area with an estimated 250,000 people. This was the last fully functional public basic health care clinic in the area.

    According to the Ministry of Health, following the besiegement of the Indonesian Hospital, all public hospitals in North Gaza are now out of service. The MSF field hospital in Deir al-Balah has seen its bed capacity rise to 150 percent over the last few days, forcing it to add additional staff and increase their baseline by 20 beds. According to the UN, there are currently around 1,000 functional hospital beds across the Strip, while prior to the war the bed capacity was 3,500. 

    Attacks on civilians and health care must stop now.

    MIL OSI NGO –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: 10 consejos para abogar por sí mismo de la conferencia Breaking Barriers

    Source: US State of Oregon

    iembros de la comunidad de personas con discapacidades intelectuales y del desarrollo (I/DD) de Oregon se reunieron a finales de abril en la conferencia Breaking Barriers: Life Beyond Labels (Rompiendo Barreras: La Vida Más Allá de las Etiquetas). La Red de Apoyo a las Personas con Discapacidades de Oregon Central (CODSN, por sus siglas en inglés) organiza este evento anual en Redmond. La directora ejecutiva de la red, Dianna Hansen, afirmó: “Es importante que las familias, las personas con discapacidades, los proveedores de servicios y los educadores nos reunamos y aprendamos unos de otros”.

    Fui a la conferencia con compañeros de trabajo del Programa para Discapacidades Intelectuales y del Desarrollo (ODDS, por sus siglas en inglés). En la conferencia, disfrutamos de las presentaciones de 58 ponentes, que incluían personas que abogan por sí mismas, familiares, profesionales de la atención y otros aliados de la comunidad de personas con I/DD. Todos ellos compartieron sus experiencias en 32 sesiones. Setenta y cinco expositores mostraron sus productos en mesas de exposición. Doce de los expositores eran personas que abogan por sí mismas que vendían sus obras de arte.

    Hansen dijo que el evento alcanzó su capacidad máxima: ¡600 asistentes! Las cuatro palabras más utilizadas por los asistentes en sus evaluaciones para describir su experiencia fueron: motivados, conectados, emocionados e inspirados. Si desea asistir el año que viene, apunte la fecha: 21 de abril del 2026.

    Aquí hay 10 puntos clave de la conferencia:

    1. Las palabras importan.

    Ramonda Olaloye es la asistente del superintendente de la Oficina de Mejora de las Oportunidades Estudiantiles (Office of Enhancing Student Opportunities, OESO) del Departamento de Educación de Oregon. Ella abrió la conferencia con un discurso. Olaloye trabaja para crear un sistema educativo en el que todos los niños alcancen su máximo potencial.

    Olaloye habló sobre algunos retos del sistema de servicios para personas con I/DD. Ella tiene dos hijas. La menor tiene autismo. Un día, en la escuela, una maestra le preguntó: “¿Por qué no puedes ser como tu hermana mayor?”. Después de eso, Olaloye notó que su hija alteró su comportamiento en la escuela. Olaloye, quien se describe a sí misma como una “defensora feroz” de sus hijas, habló con la maestra. Reflexionando sobre esta experiencia, dijo:

    “Los educadores moldean las experiencias con sus palabras. Porque sus palabras — nuestras palabras — tienen peso. Nuestros hijos merecen ser reconocidos como individuos, no comparados ni menospreciados. Romper barreras significa cuestionar nuestra forma de comunicarnos, nuestras suposiciones y los sistemas que defendemos. Y eso empieza por ver a cada niño tal y como es, no como esperamos que sea”.

    2. Asume que todas las personas que conoces son competentes.

    Hansen me contó una experiencia similar. Su hija tiene síndrome de Down. Cuando salen a un restaurante, los meseros suelen ignorar a su hija y le preguntan a Hansen: “¿Qué quiere ella?”

    Su hija es estudiante de segundo año de gastronomía. Ella misma se cocina sus comidas. Se graduó de la escuela preparatoria con honores.

    La gente suele asumir que las personas con discapacidad intelectual o del desarrollo no pueden hablar por sí mismas. Hansen anima a todo el mundo a asumir que las personas son competentes. Este es uno de los principales valores que espera que la gente haya aprendido en la conferencia: “Dar esa dignidad a las personas — que son capaces de responder y tomar sus propias decisiones”.

    3. Olvidar el significado tradicional de independencia.

    La ponente principal, Alva Gardner, sugirió a los asistentes que reflexionaran con respecto a su concepto de independencia. “La independencia no siempre significa hacer todo por uno mismo”, afirmó. “Como sistema, debemos dejar de lado esa definición tradicional de independencia. Nadie vive una vida 100 % independiente de los demás el 100 % del tiempo. Todos dependemos de alguien de alguna manera a lo largo de nuestra vida”.

    Gardner se dedica a dar conferencias desde los 8 años. Dirige su propia empresa, The 4*3 Perspective LLC (enlace en inglés). Trabaja con organizaciones para llevar a cabo cambios sistémicos que apoyen a todas las personas, especialmente a aquellas con discapacidad. Fue la primera persona con una discapacidad del desarrollo en convertirse en instructora certificada en pensamiento centrado en la persona (PCT, por sus siglas en inglés).

    Gardner tiene parálisis cerebral. Habló sobre los apoyos que recibe. Trabaja con asistentes personales que le brindan el 100% de su cuidado personal. Los apoyos que utiliza le dan la libertad para hacer su vida diaria, cuidar a su familia y manejar su negocio. Preguntó a los asistentes qué tipo de apoyos utilizan en sus vidas: servicios de peluquería, transporte, cuidado de niños, visitas al médico, etc. A continuación, redefinió el concepto de independencia.

    “La independencia proviene de llevar una vida dirigida por uno mismo y utilizar los apoyos disponibles para lograrlo”, dijo. “En los cursos de capacitación sobre el enfoque centrado en la persona, pedimos a los participantes que identifiquen qué es importante para ellos y cómo desean recibir el mejor apoyo, y que sean muy específicos sobre cómo definen los apoyos para sí mismos. Como sistema, cuando se adopta un enfoque verdaderamente centrado en la persona, creo que debemos empezar por ser conscientes de cómo definen las personas la independencia para sí mismas. ¿Cómo es y qué significa la independencia para esa persona?”.

    4. Enseñar a abogar por uno mismo desde una edad temprana.

    Ambos ponentes principales animaron a los padres a enseñar a sus hijos a ser independientes y a abogar por sí mismos.

    Olaloye le asignó a su hija roles apropiados para su edad en sus reuniones de Planificación de Apoyo Individual (ISP, por sus siglas en inglés). Esta es una reunión en la que las personas planifican sus servicios y apoyos cada año. En la escuela primaria, su hija participó en una conversación sobre el paso de la enseñanza individualizada a un salón de clases en el que un asistente ayudaba a toda la clase. Olaloye ha estado utilizando el proceso ISP para ayudar a su hija a aprender a expresar sus necesidades. A medida que su hija ha ido creciendo, le ha dado un papel más importante en las reuniones del ISP. Ahora, en segundo año de preparatoria, la hija de Olaloye está preparada para manejar sus propios apoyos cuando vaya a la universidad.

    5. Hacer que abogar por usted mismo sea más fácil. Para ello, es necesario prepararse.

    Gardner habló sobre el reto que significa abogar por uno mismo constantemente: “Tener que compartir nuestras preferencias con todos los diferentes profesionales de apoyo directo, administradores de casos, asistentes de cuidado personal, etc., que entran y salen de nuestras vidas… Es increíblemente agotador y, francamente, aburrido. No quiero tener que repetir lo mismo una y otra vez. Tengo cosas mejores que hacer”.

    Una de las formas en que ella aliviana esta carga es creando descripciones de una página para cada aspecto de su vida. Tiene versiones diferentes para su hogar, su trabajo y otras situaciones. En ellas, describe los apoyos que necesita y que prefiere, y lo que es importante para ella sobre ese aspecto de su vida. Ella dice que hacer esto “es especialmente importante cuando está aprendiendo cuáles son esas preferencias y deseos y cómo comunicarlos por primera vez”. Recomienda actualizar esta información al ir cambiando sus necesidades.

    6. Utilizar la nueva Guía de Autodefensa para los Servicios de Discapacidades Intelectuales y del Desarrollo (I/DD) para ayudarle a planificar sus servicios.

    ODDS y la Coalición de Autodefensa de Oregon (Oregon Self-Advocacy Coalition, OSAC por sus siglas en inglés) compartieron una nueva herramienta: la Guía de Autodefensa para los Servicios de Discapacidades Intelectuales y del Desarrollo. La crearon para que la planificación sea más fácil.

    La guía es un libro de trabajo. Guía a las personas que abogan por sí mismas a través del proceso de planificación de servicios. Hace preguntas para ayudar a las personas a comunicar sus deseos, sus necesidades y sus objetivos. Ayuda a las personas a ser los líderes de su planificación de servicios.

    La directora ejecutiva de OSAC, Gabrielle Guedon, se refirió al proceso de planificación: “Se trata de pensar en lo que realmente quiere o no quiere en su vida. Estamos cambiando todo el tiempo. Cada año usted tiene una oportunidad para cambiar. Sé que es un proceso difícil por el cual tenemos que pasar pero hay oportunidades para incluir lo que quiere y lo que no quiere. Sea honesto y sea claro.”

    Puede encontrar la guía en el sitio web de ODDS. La puede descargar. Está disponible en varios idiomas. Los padres, los parientes y los administradores de casos también pueden utilizar la guía para mejorar su apoyo para las personas que abogan por sí mismas.

    7. No dejar que los “bullies” lo detengan para buscar lograr sus metas y sueños.

    Felicity Woods, una persona que aboga por sí misma y que es miembro de la junta directiva de la CODSN, también habló sobre la Guía de Autodefensa. Woods compartió cómo algunas personas en su escuela no entendían bien la discapacidad. Ella, al igual que muchos niños con discapacidades intelectuales y del desarrollo (I/DD), sufrió “bullying” en la escuela primaria. Dijo que aprender a compartir nuestra historia – los éxitos y las barreras que uno enfrenta – es una parte importante de abogar por uno mismo. Ella anima a las personas a utilizar la Guía de Autodefensa.

    “Quiero hacer mis propias elecciones y decisiones sobre lo que yo quiero,” Woods dijo. “Depende de ti y de mí, como individuos, elegir lo que queremos.”

    Hablando de los “bullies”, Guedon agregó, “No dejes que una mala experiencia te detenga. Haz que te motive.”

    8. Ayudar a organizar a otras personas que abogan por sí mismas.

    Felicity Woods y Jordan Ohlde son miembros de High Desert Self Advocacy (la Autodefensa de High Desert). Este es un grupo de pares de las personas que abogan por sí mismas en el área de Bend/Redmond. Ellos presentaron “Creciendo con Fortaleza y Listos para Prosperar”. Ryley Newport, un empleado del ODDS, se les unió. Hablaron sobre cómo ampliar y fortalecer la autodefensa. Para lograr esto, High Desert Self Advocacy creó un plan de Planificación de un Mañana Alternativo con Esperanza (Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope, PATH por sus siglas en inglés – enlace en inglés).

    PATH es una herramienta para la planificación creativa. Dos facilitadores capacitados de ODDS guiaron al grupo a través del proceso de PATH. Utilizaron los gráficos y la discusión para ayudar al grupo a visualizar su futuro. Luego, iniciando desde esa visión, trabajaron hacia atrás para crear un plan que los ayudara a alcanzar sus metas.

    Como resultado, High Desert Self Advocacy habló en Rompiendo Barreras. También estarán en la capital del Estado de Oregon el 12 de junio para abogar por los derechos de las personas con discapacidades. Tendrán una presentación en la Convención de Autodefensa de The Arc Oregon (enlace en inglés) esa misma semana.

    Woods y Ohlde animaron a las personas que abogan por sí mismas a comunicarse con ellos en High Desert Self Advocacy. Quieren ayudar a sus pares a formar grupos de autodefensa en todo el estado. Conéctese con ellos a través de su página de Facebook (enlace en inglés).

    9. Ser un ejemplo de accesibilidad.

    CODSN fue un ejemplo de accesibilidad en la conferencia. Hansen dijo que CODSN hizo que la conferencia fuera accesible para las personas de todos los niveles económicos. CODSN les dio becas a 176 personas que abogan por sí mismas y a 130 familias. También hicieron que el lugar fuera físicamente accesible para todos. Una habitación sensorial les dio a las personas un espacio libre del ruido y de la gente. Una habitación para cambiarse les dio a los asistentes un lugar privado para sus cuidados personales.

    La conferencia también fue un ejemplo de cómo brindarle acceso al idioma a las personas que hablan español. Los intérpretes Isabel Ramirez y Joy Christian, un equipo de Grapevine Aliados, brindaron interpretación en español y en inglés para las últimas tres conferencias. Dijeron que la conferencia ofrece una serie completa de sesiones en español. Los asistentes pueden inscribirse en el programa en español cuando se registran. También pueden pedir la interpretación en español para las sesiones en inglés.

    10. La autodefensa nunca se detiene.

    El autodefensor Jordan Ohlde fue una de las ocho personas que demandaron al Departamento de Transporte de Oregon. Querían que un cruce peatonal en su vecindario fuera accesible para todos, incluyendo las personas que utilizan silla de ruedas. Les tomó tiempo y perseverancia, pero al final, ganaron. Ahora, la calle es accesible para todos.

    “La autodefensa no se detiene. Siempre hay un lugar nuevo dónde iniciar o un camino nuevo para tomar. Su trabajo nunca termina,” Ohlde dijo. “A muchos niños se les dice que su voz no importa cuando, realmente, su voz sí importa. Solamente tiene que descubrir por qué es importante para usted.”

    Próximas conferencias sobre la autodefensa en Oregon

    MIL OSI USA News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Fish Fund Steering Committee advances work on Call for Proposals, welcomes new members

    Source: World Trade Organization

    The agreement on next steps brings the Steering Committee closer to opening its first Call for Proposals. The Fund will receive funding requests for project grants that will support developing and least developed country (LDC) members to implement the Agreement provided they have ratified it.

    The Committee welcomed Barbados, The Gambia, Haiti, Mauritius, Peru, the Philippines, Seychelles, and Sierra Leone as new members to represent beneficiary members while acknowledging the contributions of Djibouti, Fiji, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Peru, Saint Lucia, and Senegal, who served on the Committee since January 2024.

    Donor representatives to the Fish Fund will rotate at a later stage. Both donors and beneficiaries may rotate their delegates at any time, provided that at least two LDC members remain on the Committee. All Steering Committee members are required to serve a minimum term of one year.

    Eligible and interested members will be able to submit calls for proposals when 101 WTO members have deposited their instruments of ratification. Currently, 99 WTO members have deposited their instruments. After the Call for Proposals is launched, the Secretariat of the Fish Fund will receive proposals for a period of approximately three months, after which all applications will be reviewed and submitted to the Steering Committee.

    Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard said:

    “It is a pleasure to open today’s meeting and see the tremendous progress made as we near entry into force. Everyone’s hard work – donors, beneficiaries, and partners – has paid off.

    The Fund is ready to support the members that have deposited their instruments of ratification and, in so doing, committed to a more environmentally and economically sustainable future and healthier oceans.”

    The Steering Committee also approved the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Framework for the Fish Fund, a key tool to support the effective implementation of future projects.

    Known as the Fish Fund, the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Funding Mechanism was established under Article 7 of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which was adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference in 2022. Developing and LDC members that have ratified the Agreement are eligible to submit projects supporting implementation of the Agreement. The Fish Fund will operate in cooperation with relevant international organizations, such as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Bank.

    This was the Steering Committee’s fifth meeting since the Fish Fund became ready to accept voluntary contributions from WTO members in November 2022. The contributing members thus far are Australia, Canada, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

    A total of 111 ratifications from WTO members are needed for the Agreement to enter into force. So far,99 instruments of acceptance of the Agreement have been received. The full list is available here.

    More information on the Fish Fund is available here.

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    MIL OSI Economics –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: EU/ ISRAEL: Review of the EU’s relations with Israel welcome but devastatingly late

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Reacting to the EU’s decision to initiate a review of Israel’s compliance with its obligations under international law under the EU-Israel Association Agreement, Eve Geddie the Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office said:

    “While this is a welcome first step, it also comes devastatingly late. The extent of human suffering in Gaza for the past 19 months has been unimaginable. Israel is committing genocide in Gaza with chilling impunity.

    “Emboldened by EU inaction – and even backed by some EU states- Israeli leaders have flaunted their genocidal aims. The EU’s unofficial policy of appeasement towards Israel is contrary to its member states’ obligations and will forever be judged in the annals of history.

    “There is no time to lose, every delay costs human lives in Gaza. The EU and its member states must ban trade and investment that could contribute to the commission of genocide and other grave violations of international law.

    “The EU must suspend all trade with Israeli settlements, while the member states that transfer arms to Israel must suspend such transfers. This is critical if EU member states are to meet their responsibility to prevent genocide and avoid complicity in it.

    “The stakes are too high. If the EU fails to live up to these obligations as a bloc, and seeks to shield itself from its clear legal obligations, its member states must unilaterally suspend all forms of cooperation that may contribute to violations of international law. Amnesty International will now push for a meaningful review which takes evidence and international standards into account.”

    Background

    On 20 May 2025, the European Commission acting on the request supported by 17 member states agreed to conduct a long overdue review to determine whether Israel has violated its obligations under article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, namely the respect for human rights and democratic principles.

    Amnesty International has long called for EU leaders to review the Association Agreement in line with EU member states’ obligations to prevent trade and investment that contributes to maintaining Israel’s unlawful occupation of the OPT, as set out by the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024 and obligations not to render aid or assistance to the commission of crimes under international law.

    MIL OSI NGO –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Syria: New urgency to end unlawful detention system holding tens of thousands of people following Islamic State defeat

    Source: Amnesty International –

    • Ongoing chaos caused by US humanitarian funding cuts creates dangerous uncertainty
    • New Syrian government and autonomous authorities must address inhumane detention system
    • UN and US-led coalition must support efforts to reduce numbers in camps and facilities

    The mayhem created by recent haphazard US funding cuts must prompt the rapid reduction in the number of people arbitrarily and indefinitely detained in north-east Syria for their perceived affiliation to the Islamic State (IS) armed group, Amnesty International said.

    More than six years after the territorial defeat of IS, the Autonomous Authorities of the North and East Syria Region (autonomous authorities), with the support of the US-led coalition to defeat IS, continue to unlawfully detain tens of thousands of men, women, and children with perceived affiliation to IS in over two dozen detention facilities and in Al-Hol and Roj detention camps. Some of these individuals are survivors of crimes under international law, and trafficking in persons committed by IS. Most people have not been charged or given the opportunity to challenge their detention, and some detainees have been subjected to torture and other ill treatment.

    The Trump administration’s sudden and unprepared funding cuts have created what can only be described as a chaotic situation, characterized by weakened basic services in the camps. As stop-gap resources run out and further cuts loom, camp residents face increased turmoil. Amnesty International’s report last year documented how people in the camps already faced grossly inhumane and life-threatening conditions, with inadequate access to sustenance and healthcare. They have been forced to endure an unstable and often unsafe existence, rife with violence and other criminality. As one 28-year-old woman told Amnesty International: “We are living in terror.”

    It is unconscionable that the Trump administration would further weaken one of the world’s most volatile camps by abruptly terminating funding 

    Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General

    “The chaos created by the Trump administration’s funding cuts could have catastrophic effects on the tens of thousands of children, women and men detained in north-east Syria,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

    “It is unconscionable that the Trump administration would further weaken one of the world’s most volatile camps by abruptly terminating funding for essential services, leaving an extreme burden on the autonomous authorities and humanitarian actors.”

    In March 2025, Amnesty International spoke with 27 individuals – including humanitarian and non-governmental organizations, representatives of the autonomous authorities, and residents of Al-Hol and Roj camps – regarding the future of the detention system.

    US funding cuts

    On 20 January, the Trump administration announced a pause in foreign assistance. The arbitrary, abrupt, and unpredictable issuing of stop-work orders by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio led to chaos in Al-Hol.

    The camp is coordinated by Blumont, a US-based NGO which receives US foreign assistance. On the morning of 25 January, Jihan Hanan, a representative of the autonomous authorities and the camp’s manager, discovered that none of the approximately 300 US-funded Blumont staff had arrived to work, including security staff who guarded offices and warehouses.

    A repatriation trip for about 600 Iraqis in Al-Hol had been scheduled with the Iraqi authorities that day. As Blumont manages a database on camp residents, Hanan was forced to break in to the Blumont offices to facilitate the repatriations. Warehouses containing items such as gas for cooking and bread were reportedly looted.

    In order to continue delivery of food and water, the autonomous authorities relied on help from other NGOs, and hired an estimated 40 security guards to protect offices in the camp. Blumont was granted a waiver by the US government a few days after the freeze, restoring some of its funding. In April, however, the US also cut funding for 24 hours to an NGO delivering food to the camp, an action the Trump administration later called a mistake.

    As of 4 March, the latest figures available, the US government had cut at least $117 million worth of humanitarian assistance allocated to projects in north-east Syria, although some funding has since been reinstated.  Interviewees told Amnesty International they were concerned about decreasing health services in Al-Hol, including the closure of health centres and fewer ambulances for emergency services; and the loss of programming in so-called rehabilitation facilities for boys forcibly separated from their families in the camps.

    Programmes supporting people leaving Al-Hol, including within Syria, were also affected. Before the funding cuts, the autonomous authorities and humanitarian groups already struggled to meet the needs of camp residents.

    Five projects in Roj were also terminated in early March after funding cuts. One camp resident said they had received double their food rations from the World Food Programme and were told it had to last a while, in case of further cuts.

    Some interviewed by Amnesty International expressed significant concerns that IS could recruit within the camps. One humanitarian representative explained: “As services go down in these two camps and people are increasingly hungry, increasingly unable to access basic services, the cry coming from… the inhabitants from Al-Hol and Roj is [to IS], ‘Come and get us’.” Highlighting the threat, in mid-April the autonomous authorities carried out a security campaign in Al-Hol camp because of what they described as an “increase in attempts to smuggle Daesh [IS] families [and] continued [IS] recruitment operations”.

    Even as some funding for Al-Hol is reinstated, the uncertainty created by the cuts has caused irreparable harm to various projects. One humanitarian representative explained that once staff contracts are terminated, the process of re-hiring and bringing programmes back is challenging. US funding cuts have also precipitated the loss of key staff from the NES Forum, the region’s humanitarian coordinating structure, resulting in some fundamental coordination gaps.

    The UN is gradually taking over some coordination activities, which may raise the visibility of ongoing human rights issues and concerns in the detention system. However, the UN is also facing very large funding challenges, and many NGOs are still unable to access UN funds because they are required to register with the Syrian government in Damascus through a process some groups oppose due to onerous registration requirements.

    Accelerating repatriation and returns from camps

    After years of failing to find a durable solution to the crisis in north-east Syria, the turmoil created by the funding cuts must finally spur urgent action. Recent events – including the fall of the Bashar al-Assad government, growing UN presence in north-east Syria, and increasing diplomatic ties between the Syrian government and states with nationals still detained – could help accelerate an end to the unlawful system of detention.

    Recognizing this change in environment, the autonomous authorities have started work on a plan, in coordination with the UN, to empty the camps of Iraqis and Syrians in 2025. These groups comprise about 80% of the 36,000 people in Al-Hol, with the remainder from an estimated 60 other countries.

    In January 2025, the autonomous authorities announced that they would facilitate the voluntary return of Syrians detained in Al-Hol to their hometowns. Most of the remaining 16,000 Syrians in the camp are from areas that previously were under control of the Assad government or armed opposition groups.

    In the last year Iraq’s government has significantly increased the pace of repatriations, and, as of March 2025, returned over 5,600 individuals from Al-Hol camp – close to half the people Iraq has repatriated from Al-Hol since 2021.

    The departure of camp residents from Al-Hol is welcome. However, people should not simply be transferred from one detention centre to another, such as to the Al-Jed’ah Centre in Iraq, where Amnesty International last year documented torture and enforced disappearance.

    Recommendations

    The new Syrian government, autonomous authorities, US-led coalition, and the UN must identify long-overdue solutions to the crisis.

    Among the most urgent priorities is the need to downsize the camps. Before families can leave the camps, children and young adults separated from their families should be reunited. There should be investment in programmes in Iraq and Syria to support the voluntary return, rehabilitation, and reintegration of Iraqis and Syrians, who are not suspected perpetrators of crimes under international law, in their areas of origin. 

    It’s time to finally put an end to this unlawful system of detention

    Agnès Callamard

    “It’s time to finally put an end to this unlawful system of detention. As the US prepares to downsize its military presence in Syria, the people still living in these camps must not be abandoned,” said Agnès Callamard.

    “States with nationals in north-east Syria should immediately charter flights to finally bring home child citizens, their carers, and potential victims of trafficking.

    Any remaining adults should be screened to identify which individuals should be investigated and prosecuted for crimes committed under international law or serious crimes under domestic law. Everyone else should be released, and the Syrian government and other countries should help resettle those unable to return home.”

    Victims of crimes committed by IS deserve justice. Even if individuals are repatriated for trials, a residual group of Syrians and foreigners who cannot return home will remain. The new Syrian government, with the support of the autonomous authorities and international community, must initiate a plan for trials that meet international standards.

    Background

    About 46,500 Syrians, Iraqis, and other foreign nationals remain in the detention camps and facilities. The majority are women and children. Among the men held in the detention facilities, between 2,000 to 3,100 foreigners and about 2,000 Syrians have yet to be tried.

    Following the fall of al-Assad and the establishment of an interim government in Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces, one of the groups that make up the autonomous authorities, signed an agreement on 10 March 2025 that “all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria” should be merged “into the administration of the Syrian state”. This merger may include administration of the detention camps and facilities in the north-east.

    MIL OSI NGO –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: UK: New Government response a step forward but still inadequate in the face of Israel’s genocide, occupation, and apartheid

    Source: Amnesty International –

    20 May 2025, 05:37pm

    In response to the UK government’s announcement that it will suspend free trade agreement negotiations with Israel and impose sanctions on settlers, Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive, said:

    “Stronger language and some new measures announced today are welcome albeit long overdue, but the UK government’s response is still inadequate to compel Israel to change course.          

    “Pausing trade negotiations, which Israel claims weren’t progressing anyway, will sadly not pressure Israel to alter its illegal actions. Similarly, sanctioning a few individual settlers, instead of banning all settlement goods, will do little to shift Israel’s approach. 

    “The UK must immediately stop all arms transfers to Israel, including components for F-35 fighter jets currently decimating Gaza. It should also ban investment in companies and banks that maintain Israel’s unlawful occupation and apartheid system and prohibit imports from illegal settlements.

    “For countless Palestinians, this may be the final breath of freedom. This is a moment for the UK government to use every political, judicial, and diplomatic lever at its disposal to help bring an end to the Israeli government’s genocide, apartheid, and occupation.”

    View latest press releases

    MIL OSI NGO –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: 20 May 2025 News release Global leaders reaffirm commitment to WHO with at least US$ 170 million raised at World Health Assembly 2025 pledging event

    Source: World Health Organisation

    World leaders pledged at least an additional US$ 170 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) at a high-level pledging event Tuesday at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly in Geneva. Amid rising global health challenges, leaders reaffirmed their support for multilateral cooperation through these contributions to WHO’s Investment Round (IR). Earlier in the day, Member States approved an increase in Assessed Contributions, adding a separate US$ 90 million a year of income, and marking another important step on WHO’s journey towards sustainable financing.

    The IR is raising funds for WHO’s strategy for global health, the  Fourteenth General Programme of Work, which can save an additional 40 million lives over the next four years. The pledges made today represent significant contributions from both governments and philanthropic partners.

    “I am grateful to every Member State and partner that has pledged towards the investment round. In a challenging climate for global health, these funds will help us to preserve and extend our life-saving work,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “They show that multilateralism is alive and well.”

    Both long-standing allies and new contributors stepped up at today’s pledging event, broadening WHO’s donor base with fresh voluntary funding. Moderated by Mr Moazzam Malik, CEO of Save the Children UK, the event and the World Health Assembly featured pledges from Angola, Cambodia, China, Gabon, Mongolia, Qatar, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, ELMA Philanthropies (with the WHO Foundation), Fondation Botnar, Laerdal Global Health (with the WHO Foundation), the Nippon Foundation and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation announced an additional US$ 13 million and committed to further increases in funding.

    Among the announcements at least US$ 170 million is for the Investment Round, meaning that the funding supports WHO’s base budget from 2025–2028. Eight of the donors included a flexible contribution to WHO, the most valuable sort of funding, and four were first time donors.

    WHO’s fundraising reach has also been extended through individual giving. Through the One World Movement, almost 8000 people from across the world have signed on as ‘Member Citizens’, contributing almost US$ 600 000 in donations, many monthly – a powerful expression of global solidarity and an affirmation that every voice counts.

    The event’s speakers emphasized not only the need for continued investment, but the strategic value of flexible and diversified financing to keep WHO responsive, country-focused, and aligned with national health priorities – as it evolves into a leaner, more agile institution. The event was a pivotal moment in WHO’s journey to more sustainable funding.

    As the IR continues, today’s event is a testament to the role of partnership in times of uncertainty. Contributions from each donor made at today’s pledging event can be found below. Each contribution to WHO brings us one step closer to better health for all united in the mission of “One World for Health”.

    Contributor Additional amount for WHO Investment Round
    Angola US$ 8 million
    Cambodia US$ 400 000
    China Contribution to Investment Round to be confirmed.
    Gabon US$ 150 000
    Mongolia US$ 100 000
    Qatar US$ 6 million
    Sweden €12 million = US$ 13.5 million
    Switzerland Sw.fr. 33 million = US$ 40 million
    Tanzania US$ 500 000 (in addition to US$ 500 000 already announced)
    CIFF US$ 13 million and commitment to further increase
    ELMA Philanthropies US$ 2 million
    Foundation Botnar Sw.fr. 8 million = US$ 9.6 million
    Laerdal Global Health US$ 12.5 million 
    Nippon Foundation, Mr. Sasakawa, (Chairman) US$ 9.2 million
    Novo Nordisk Foundation DKK 380 million = US$ 57 million

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Turkish military ‘Sea Wolf’ exercise threatens peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean – E-001912/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001912/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Geadis Geadi (ECR)

    As part of the Turkish military ‘Sea Wolf’ exercise, operational movements with live fire are being carried out in maritime areas that fall within the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus. According to what has been publicly released by both the newspaper ‘Simerini’ and many official Turkish websites, based on the coordinates of the exercise, this activity extends from Thrace to the maritime zones near the coasts of the Republic of Cyprus, at a distance of under 20 nautical miles.

    Given the European Union’s commitment to promoting peace, security and respect for international law:

    • 1.What is the Commission’s official position on the legal basis of Turkish military actions taking place in areas where the Republic of Cyprus has declared an EEZ?
    • 2.How does the Commission intend to ensure respect for international law and the protection of the sovereign rights of Member States against such military challenges?
    • 3.Does the Commission condemn these actions, which may threaten peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean?

    Submitted: 13.5.2025

    Last updated: 20 May 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Takata and illegal charges in Cyprus – P-001974/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Priority question for written answer  P-001974/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Giorgos Georgiou (The Left)

    According to Regulation (EU) 2018/858 on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles, national authorities must implement adequate corrective measures and the cost of repairs must not be passed on to vehicle owners.

    In Cyprus, two representatives of manufacturing companies, whose vehicles constitute the majority of the recalled vehicles, are indirectly passing on the cost of repairs by charging for mandatory diagnostic tests prior to replacement. The competent national authority was informed by the manufacturers themselves that the vehicles in question had defective airbags and, in turn, informed the vehicle owners.

    Despite 57 warnings from the EU and the Commission’s recommendations to Member States, the Government in Cyprus refuses to comply with the relevant regulation and put in place corrective or restrictive measures. Today, around 56 000 vehicles are on the road at risk of having faulty airbags, which can be activated even without the vehicle being involved in an accident. Cyprus already has two confirmed deaths from faulty airbags.

    What measures does the Commission intend to put in place to ensure that the Government in Cyprus takes all corrective measures and ends illegal charging, as required by Regulation (EU) 2018/858?

    Submitted: 16.5.2025

    Last updated: 20 May 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Awareness campaign on ‘investment’ scams using Artificial Intelligence (AI) – E-001920/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001920/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Costas Mavrides (S&D)

    Based on complaints from Cypriot citizens and the Cyprus Consumers Association, there has been an alarming increase in cases of fraud through misleading videos and other content created using Artificial Intelligence (AI). The material in question includes fake interviews, advertisements and videos, in which prominent and trustworthy individuals appear – without their knowledge or consent – presenting purported ‘investment opportunities’. These are essentially organised digital scams aimed at extorting money from unsuspecting citizens.

    Given that this is a rapidly evolving threat with cross-border dimensions, requiring immediate and long-term measures:

    • 1.Does the Commission intend to proceed with the design and implementation of an effective European cooperation framework, as well as the legal harmonisation of the Member States, to tackle such forms of digital fraud more effectively?
    • 2.Does the Commission intend to proceed immediately with information campaigns at EU level or otherwise, given that this concerns all European citizens, with the aim of properly informing, forewarning and protecting citizens from such misleading practices?

    Submitted: 14.5.2025

    Last updated: 20 May 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ricketts Discusses Communist China, Threats to American Way of Life with Secretary Rubio

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Pete Ricketts (Nebraska)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) discussed Communist China’s threats to the American way of life and the importance of maintaining peace through strength. Ricketts underscored that Communist China is the greatest external threat we face as a nation.
    “We need an all-of-government and all-of-society approach on how we face Communist China,” said Ricketts. “This was illustrated in a recent tabletop exercise that we did with Senator Coons and others, talking about a contingency where Beijing tries to do an energy quarantine on Taiwan to force capitulation. Obviously, unlocking America’s energy is one of the ways we can help counter this with LNG and biofuels which are some of our strongest tools to help our allies and partners. Cutting red tape, unleashing American energy in the private sector, we’re positioned to be an energy supplier of choice. But we need the infrastructure in place and that includes a West Coast LNG terminal.”
    Ricketts also stressed the need for complete nuclear disarmament in Iran.
    “Iran is a theocracy with brutal mullahs and corrupt military: They chant ‘death to America’ and ‘death to Israel,’” said Ricketts. “I think you framed it best Secretary Rubio, when you said earlier this month that they have to walk away from sponsoring terrorists, they have to walk away from helping the Houthis, they have to walk away from building long-range missiles which have no purpose other than use for nuclear weapons. And they have to walk away from enrichment.”
    Ricketts’ comments were made in a hearing of the Committee on Foreign Relations: “Review of the FY26 State Department Budget Request.” The witness was Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
    BACKGROUND:
    Last month, Senator Ricketts led a congressional delegation (CODEL) trip to Taiwan and the Philippines with Senators Coons and Ted Budd (R-NC). During the trip, the three senators met with senior Taiwanese officials including President Lai and Vice President Hsaio. Senators Ricketts and Coons are working as chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations East Asia Subcommittee to support our allies and partners in the region against Communist China’s aggression, including conducting a recent tabletop exercise and introductions of the PORCUPINE Act and COUNTER Act.
    Last week, Senator Ricketts led a letter to President Trump regarding the administration’s ongoing negotiations with Iran. The letter supports the Trump administration’s efforts to secure a deal that results in the full dismantlement of the Iranian nuclear program, including permanently ending the regime’s capacity to enrich uranium. The letter was signed by 52 Senate Republicans.
    Watch the hearing HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Video: Maritime Security, Pandemic Agreement & other topics – Daily Press Briefing | United Nations

    Source: United Nations (Video News)

    Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

    ———————————

    Highlights:

    Security Council
    ECOSOC
    World Health Organization
    Cyprus
    Occupied Palestinian Territory
    Lebanon/Israel
    Yemen
    Libya
    Chad
    Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Haiti
    Afghanistan
    International Labour Organization
    World Bee Day

    ———————————
    SECURITY COUNCIL
    This morning, the Security Council held a meeting on Maintenance of international peace and security: Strengthening maritime security through international cooperation for global stability. Briefing Council members, the Secretary-General noted that today’s debate shines a light on a fundamental fact: Without maritime security, there can be no global security. But maritime spaces are increasingly under strain, he said, from both traditional threats and emerging dangers, adding that no region is spared and that the problem is getting worse.
    The Secretary-General said that looking ahead, action is needed in three key areas. First — respect for international law, second — we need to intensify efforts to address the root causes of maritime insecurity, and third — throughout, we need partnerships, involving everyone with a stake in maritime spaces.
    He called on all to take action to support and secure maritime spaces, and the communities and people counting on them.

    ECOSOC
    The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Operational Activities for Development Segment opens today. The three-day meeting will focus on activities of the United Nations development system (UNDS) and will include a high-level dialogue with the Secretary-General at 3 pm today. We’ll share his remarks with you.
    Tomorrow morning, the Deputy Secretary-General will present the annual report on the work of the Development Coordination Office and the Resident Coordinator system. The report highlights the critical role of the revitalized Resident Coordinator system in making the UN development system more effective, efficient and responsive, to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The full report and its interactive version are available on the UNSDG website (unsdg.un.org) and the meeting will be webcast on UN Web TV.

    Full Highlights:
    https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=20%20May%202025

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A1ycNx0Cb4

    MIL OSI Video –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Armenian Prime Minister Meets with Chairman of House of Representatives of Cyprus

    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

    Yerevan, May 20 (Xinhua) — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday received a delegation led by Cypriot House of Representatives (parliament) Speaker Annita Demetriou, the press service of the head of the Armenian government reported.

    N. Pashinyan stated that Cyprus is a friendly country for Armenia, with which deep historical, cultural and value-based ties have been formed. In this context, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of consistently developing bilateral political dialogue and deepening inter-parliamentary cooperation.

    A. Dimitriou pointed out that Cyprus supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia and the democratic reforms implemented by the country’s government.

    The parties discussed a number of topical issues of bilateral cooperation between Armenia and Cyprus, including the development of economic ties and investment opportunities, as well as the expansion of multi-sectoral cooperation. In addition, an exchange of views took place on the progress of the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Religious persecution and sectarian violence in Syria – E-001081/2025(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    Since 2011, the EU and its Member States have mobilised nearly EUR 7 billion in humanitarian aid in response to the Syrian crisis. EU humanitarian aid in Syria seeks to respond to life-saving emergencies such as health, protection, shelter, and strictly adheres to the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence , as outlined in the EU Treaties and the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid[1]. The EU provides humanitarian aid to all people in need in Syria, without discrimination.

    Gravely alarmed by the violence in Syria’s coastal region, on 11 March 2025, the High Representative/Vice-President issued a statement[2] on behalf of the EU, strongly condemning the horrific crimes committed against civilians, many of which were allegedly perpetrated by armed groups supporting the security forces of the transitional authorities. The EU called for a swift, transparent and impartial investigation to be conducted to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice. It welcomed the transitional authorities’ commitments, in particular the establishment of an investigative committee. It further called on them to allow the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic to investigate all violations. Everything must be done to prevent any such crimes from happening again.

    The EU remains attentive to the actions of the new authorities in ensuring the protection of all Syrians without any kind of discrimination and continues to call for an inclusive, peaceful, Syrian-owned and Syrian-led political transition grounded on international law and upholding the universality and indivisibility of human rights and the principles of equality and non-discrimination.

    • [1] See Joint Statement by the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission, OJ C 25, 30.1.2008, p. 1-12, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A42008X0130%2801%29.
    • [2] https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2025/03/11/syria-statement-by-the-high-representative-on-behalf-of-the-european-union-on-the-recent-wave-of-violence/.
    Last updated: 20 May 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Press release – Press briefing on the 21 – 22 May plenary session

    Source: European Parliament

    European Parliament’s spokespersons will hold a last-minute briefing on the 21 – 22 May plenary session on Wednesday at 14.30.

    When: Wednesday 21 May at 14.30

    Where: Anna Politkovskaya press room in Brussels and via Interactio

    Key topics next week include:

    • Debate on the EU’s response to the Israeli government’s plan to seize the Gaza Strip, and how to provide effective humanitarian support and secure the hostages’ release
    • Debate and vote on simplifying the EU’s carbon leakage instrument
    • Debate on the phasing-out of Russian gas, nuclear energy and oil imports
    • Vote on imposing new tariffs on fertilisers and additional ones on other agricultural products imported from Russia and Belarus
    • Debate on the new single market strategy
    • Debate on ways to make Europe more attractive to scientists
    • Formal sitting: Address by Nataša Pirc Musar, President of the Republic of Slovenia

    Interpretation of the press briefing will be available in English and French.

    Journalists wishing to participate actively and ask questions, please connect via Interactio using this link: https://ep.interactio.eu/link/pressconfp1611820

    You can follow it live from 14.30 on Friday in Parliament’s Anna Politkovskaya press room or via Parliament’s webstreaming and EbS+.

    Information for the media – Use of Interactio to ask questions

    Interactio is only supported on iPads (with the Safari browser) and Mac/Windows (with the Google Chrome browser).

    When connecting, enter your name and the media you are representing in the first name / last name fields. For better sound quality, use headphones and a microphone. Interpretation is only possible for questions asked on video.

    Journalists who have never used Interactio before are asked to connect 30 minutes before the start of the press conference to perform a connection test. IT assistance can be provided if necessary. When connected, open the chat window (upper right corner) to be able to see the service messages.

    For more details, check the connection guidelines and recommendations for remote speakers.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy Grills Secretary Of State Marco Rubio On Trump Meme Coin Dinner, USAID, Corrupt Deals With Foreign Governments

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

    [embedded content]

    WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Tuesday questioned U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a hearing on President Trump’s fiscal year 2026 budget request for the U.S. Department of State. Murphy challenged Rubio on the administration’s misleading foreign aid claims and raised serious concerns about Trump’s ongoing business ties with foreign governments, warning they undermine U.S. national security.

    Murphy called out Rubio for downplaying the harm caused by shutting down USAID and misrepresenting key facts in his opening statement: “It would certainly shock Americans to hear that only 12% of our foreign aid reaches needy recipients on the ground – the people who need the help. That is not actually an accurate number. That is the amount of our aid that goes directly to local groups on the ground, but as you know, most of our aid runs through bigger international organizations, like Save the Children. Those entities are [giving] somewhere around 80%, 85% of the aid we give them directly to recipients on the ground. So I think that what you have done to shutter USAID is illegal, but I also think it is bad policy, and I do think it is important for us to all be operating with the same set of facts. The fact is not that only 12% of taxpayer dollars are ending up in the hands of the people who really need it on the ground.”

    Murphy condemned Trump for abandoning his pledge to keep family business separate from foreign deals, warning the reversal creates dangerous conflicts between national security and personal profit: “During his first term, [Trump] made the decision to not enter into any new business deals during his presidency – that Trump-affiliated businesses would not enter into any foreign business arrangements. And that made sense, because obviously it can be confusing for foreign governments to know how to try to win favor with the U.S. government if they have one route – making concessions that are good for U.S. national security – and they also have another route – which is perhaps helping the President’s business interests. The President obviously changed that policy, and in this administration, his business interests are announcing new agreements and new investments into those business interests by foreign governments. And I think it stands to reason that that creates a real problem for foreign policy. It creates a problem for foreign governments in which they don’t exactly know what the best way is to try to get on good terms with the U.S. government and with the White House. Is it to do what’s right for American national security, or might it also be to do a business deal with the President of the United States and the entities he controls?”

    After Rubio denied knowing about Trump’s upcoming meme coin dinner, a closed-door gala promising exclusive access to the President in exchange for anonymous multi-million dollar investments in Trump’s meme coin, Murphy concluded: “I think that represents a real problem for this Committee, because there is clearly a way around the State Department for foreign individuals of significant influence and wealth, to be able to directly lobby the President of the United States. And so, if your answer is that you don’t know this is happening, that in and of itself is a problem. These are individuals who just bought their way into a meeting with the President. I think you should endeavor to get your hands on the list to make sure that there aren’t individuals there who are perhaps contravening national security interests that the Department of State is prioritizing.”

    A full transcript of Murphy’s exchange with Rubio can be found below:

    MURPHY: “Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for being here. 

    “Before I ask my questions, I just ask that after this hearing you go back and reconsider a claim that you made in your opening statement. It would certainly shock Americans to hear that only 12% of our foreign aid reaches needy recipients on the ground– the people who need the help. That is not actually an accurate number. That is the amount of our aid that goes directly to local groups on the ground, but as you know, most of our aid runs through bigger international organizations, like Save the Children. Those entities are getting somewhere around 80%, 85% of the aid we give them directly to recipients on the ground. So I think that what you have done to shutter USAID is illegal, but I also think it is bad policy, and I do think it is important for us to all be operating with the same set of facts. The fact is not that only 12% of taxpayer dollars are ending up in the hands of the people who really need it on the ground.

    “Mr. Secretary, I wanted to talk to you about the President’s personal business interests. During his first term he made the decision to not enter into any new business deals during his presidency– that Trump-affiliated businesses would not enter into any foreign business arrangements. And that made sense, because obviously it can be confusing for foreign governments to know how to try to win favor with the U.S. government if they have one route – making concessions that are good for U.S. national security – and they also have another route – which is perhaps helping the President’s business interests. The President obviously changed that policy, and in this administration, his business interests are announcing new agreements and new investments into those business interests by foreign governments. And I think it stands to reason that that creates a real problem for foreign policy. It creates a problem for foreign governments in which they don’t exactly know what the best way is to try to get on good terms with the U.S. government and with the White House. Is it to do what’s right for American national security, or might it also be to do a business deal with the President of the United States and the entities he controls? Just to clarify, when the President’s businesses are engaged in negotiations, for instance with the UAE on their stable-coin business – there was this big investment announced recently – you are not part of those negotiations. Those are being done by the President’s family or those representing the President’s businesses?”

    RUBIO: “I am not aware the President is involved in managing any business, other than the presidency of the United States. His family is allowed to make business deals. They continue to operate the enterprises that his family ran. I also don’t accept the notion that these deals – for example in Saudi Arabia, or the UAE or Qatar – had anything to do with the President. For example, Qatar bought $200 billion worth of airplanes from Boeing. The President’s not – as far as I know– a shareholder of Boeing. He certainly does not own Boeing. The overwhelming – if you look at the deals that were structured, they were involved with investments in the United States, that’s the deals he signed, and/or investments in, for example, the UAE or Saudi Arabia, involving artificial intelligence.”

    MURPHY: “UAE did announce a massive investment in World Liberty Financial, and World Liberty Financial is controlled by the President. And the President does actively engage in these businesses. He uses his social media to market the businesses that are being run by his family. I mean, just go on to his social media feed and you will see him marketing his meme coin. That is the President of the United States, that is not his sons doing it.”

    RUBIO: “But just to be clear, that was not an announcement as part of this trade visit that was conducted into the Middle East.”

    MURPHY: “Well, whether or not it was made during the time the President was there, there are obviously business deals being done between Trump entities and these countries.

    “Let me ask you about the one that is probably most confusing to this Committee, which is the planned gift of a plane to either the United States government or the President. Is it your understanding that this luxury plane that Qatar has offered the President – and the President has announced he is willing to accept – is a gift to the United States government? Or is it a gift, ultimately, to the President himself that he can use in his library?”

    RUBIO: “Well you would have to talk to the Department of Defense because this is a replacement, or at least a temporary bridge plane, for Air Force One – the new Air Force One – which is way off of its delivery schedule. And so that would have to be with the Air Force. They operate Air Force One. My understanding of it basically has been from the very beginning that this is a plane that was identified after talking to Boeing about what other planes around the world would fit the bill – that are out there, that could be used now – they identified the ones the Qataris had as an opportunity for one, and the ones the UAE had as an opportunity for one, and that’s how that–“

    MURPHY: “And it’s not your understanding that the plane ultimately will belong to the President, or to the President’s library, after?”

    RUBIO: “I’m not involved at that level of it. I’ve never heard that before. What I’ve heard is that that plane will replace Air Force One which is an Air Force plane.”

    MURPHY: “Let me ask you about the dinner that’s happening this Thursday night. The President has offered access to him to the 200 top purchasers of his meme coin. Reports are that maybe about half or more of those individuals, who will be meeting with him, many in a VIP reception, are foreigners. Do you have a list of those foreign individuals who will be meeting with the President?”

    RUBIO: “I don’t. I don’t know anything about it. I didn’t even know there was a dinner on Thursday night, so I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”

    MURPHY: “So you don’t know whether any of the foreign individuals who are going to be meeting with the President this Thursday night, for instance, are on our list of sanctioned individuals, or whether any of those individuals have connections to, let’s say, terrorist organizations abroad?”

    RUBIO: “Well I think if they had terrorist links the Department of Homeland Security probably would not have allowed them into the country. But, again, I don’t even know there is a dinner on Thursday. You’re asking me about something I don’t know about.”

    MURPHY: “Listen, this is a dinner that the President is having. It is likely going to involve some very significant foreign interests. You have to be pretty wealthy in order to be able to get inside this dinner. Isn’t that a relevant question for the Secretary of State–”

    RUBIO: “I’m not the Social Secretary.”

    MURPHY: “–which foreign interests are going to be speaking to the President?”

    RUBIO: “No.”

    MURPHY: “I mean, it’s kind of naive to believe they aren’t going to be in that room talking about national security matters.”

    RUBIO: “I don’t think that that’s the case at all, because I would be aware if it was the case. The truth of the matter is I interact with government officials and others in governments of other countries. You’re asking about a dinner I don’t know anything about. I can’t answer you because I don’t know anything about this dinner. It’s the first I heard of it. Like I said, I don’t keep the President’s social schedule. It’s not on my phone. It’s not in my pocket. I can’t comment on a dinner I know nothing about.”

    MURPHY: “I think that represents a real problem for this Committee, because there is clearly a way around the State Department for foreign individuals of significant influence and wealth, to be able to directly lobby the President of the United States. And so if your answer is that you don’t know this is happening, that in and of itself is a problem.”

    RUBIO: “I don’t think that’s fair. I don’t know that there’s a dinner, and I don’t know what the guest list is, but I can tell you I’ve run into the President of FIFA from the World Cup. He’s here all the time. I see him. He’s a private individual, it’s not a government entity, and he’s met with the President and is friendly with the President. He doesn’t have to go through me to meet with the President. The President has relationships and friends and people he’s known for a long time. Some of them are foreigners. That’s not unusual. But you’re asking me about a specific dinner and implying nefarious impact. I can’t comment on a dinner.”

    MURPHY: “Yeah, but those are people that he’s known for a long time. These are individuals who just bought their way into a meeting with the President. I think you should probably endeavor to get your hands on the list to make sure that there aren’t individuals there who are perhaps contravening national security interests that the Department of State is prioritizing.”

    RUBIO: “I don’t have any concern about that. I don’t have any concern that the President having dinner with someone is going to contravene the national security of the United States.”

    MURPHY: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: ESET Research APT Report: Russian cyberattacks in Ukraine intensify; Sandworm unleashes new destructive wiper

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • ESET has released its latest advanced persistent threat (APT) report.
    • Russian APT groups intensified attacks against Ukraine and the EU, exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities and deploying wipers.
    • China-aligned groups like Mustang Panda and DigitalRecyclers continued their espionage campaigns targeting the EU government and maritime sectors.
    • North Korea-aligned groups expanded their financially motivated campaigns using fake job listings and social engineering.

    BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, May 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ESET Research has released its latest APT Activity Report, which highlights activities of select APT groups that were documented by ESET researchers from October 2024 through March 2025. During the monitored period, Russia-aligned threat actors, notably Sednit and Gamaredon, maintained aggressive campaigns primarily targeting Ukraine and EU countries. Ukraine was subjected to the greatest intensity of cyberattacks against the country’s critical infrastructure and governmental institutions. The Russia-aligned Sandworm group intensified destructive operations against Ukrainian energy companies, deploying a new wiper named ZEROLOT. China-aligned threat actors continued engaging in persistent espionage campaigns with a focus on European organizations.

    Gamaredon remained the most prolific actor targeting Ukraine, enhancing malware obfuscation and introducing PteroBox, a file stealer leveraging Dropbox. “The infamous Sandworm group concentrated heavily on compromising Ukrainian energy infrastructure. In recent cases, it deployed the ZEROLOT wiper in Ukraine. For this, the attackers abused Active Directory Group Policy in the affected organizations,” says ESET Director of Threat Research Jean-Ian Boutin.

    Sednit refined its exploitation of cross-site scripting vulnerabilities in webmail services, expanding Operation RoundPress from Roundcube to include Horde, MDaemon, and Zimbra. ESET discovered that the group successfully leveraged a zero-day vulnerability in MDaemon Email Server (CVE-2024-11182) against Ukrainian companies. Several Sednit attacks against defense companies located in Bulgaria and Ukraine used spearphishing email campaigns as a lure. Another Russia-aligned group, RomCom, demonstrated advanced capabilities by deploying zero-day exploits against Mozilla Firefox (CVE 2024 9680) and Microsoft Windows (CVE 2024 49039).

    In Asia, China-aligned APT groups continued their campaigns against governmental and academic institutions. At the same time, North Korea-aligned threat actors significantly increased their operations directed at South Korea, placing particular emphasis on individuals, private companies, embassies, and diplomatic personnel. Mustang Panda remained the most active, targeting governmental institutions and maritime transportation companies via Korplug loaders and malicious USB drives. DigitalRecyclers continued targeting EU governmental entities, employing the KMA VPN anonymization network and deploying the RClient, HydroRShell, and GiftBox backdoors. PerplexedGoblin used its new espionage backdoor, which ESET named NanoSlate, against a Central European government entity, while Webworm targeted a Serbian government organization using SoftEther VPN, emphasizing the continued popularity of this tool among China-aligned groups.

    Elsewhere in Asia, North Korea-aligned threat actors were particularly active in financially motivated campaigns. DeceptiveDevelopment significantly broadened its targeting, using fake job listings primarily within the cryptocurrency, blockchain, and finance sectors. The group employed innovative social engineering techniques to distribute the multiplatform WeaselStore malware. The Bybit cryptocurrency theft, attributed by the FBI to TraderTraitor APT group, involved a supply-chain compromise of Safe{Wallet} that caused losses of approximately USD 1.5 billion. Meanwhile, other North Korea-aligned groups saw fluctuations in their operational tempo: In early 2025, Kimsuky and Konni returned to their usual activity levels after a noticeable decline at the end of 2024, shifting their targeting away from English-speaking think tanks, NGOs, and North Korea experts to focus primarily on South Korean entities and diplomatic personnel; and Andariel resurfaced, after a year of inactivity, with a sophisticated attack against a South Korean industrial software company.

    Iran-aligned APT groups maintained their primary focus on the Middle East region, predominantly targeting governmental organizations and entities within the manufacturing and engineering sectors in Israel. Additionally, ESET observed a significant global uptick in cyberattacks against technology companies, largely attributed to increased activity by North Korea-aligned DeceptiveDevelopment.

    “The highlighted operations are representative of the broader threat landscape that we investigated during this period. They illustrate the key trends and developments, and contain only a small fraction of the cybersecurity intelligence data provided to customers of ESET APT reports,” adds Boutin.

    Intelligence shared in the private reports is primarily based on proprietary ESET telemetry data and has been verified by ESET researchers, who prepare in-depth technical reports and frequent activity updates detailing activities of specific APT groups. These threat intelligence analyses, known as ESET APT Reports PREMIUM, assist organizations tasked with protecting citizens, critical national infrastructure, and high-value assets from criminal and nation-state-directed cyberattacks. More information about ESET APT Reports PREMIUM and its delivery of high-quality, actionable tactical and strategic cybersecurity threat intelligence is available at the ESET Threat Intelligence page.

    Make sure to follow ESET Research on Twitter (today known as X), BlueSky, and Mastodon for the latest news from ESET Research.

    About ESET

    ESET® provides cutting-edge digital security to prevent attacks before they happen. By combining the power of AI and human expertise, ESET stays ahead of emerging global cyberthreats, both known and unknown — securing businesses, critical infrastructure, and individuals. Whether it’s endpoint, cloud, or mobile protection, our AI-native, cloud-first solutions and services remain highly effective and easy to use. ESET technology includes robust detection and response, ultra-secure encryption, and multifactor authentication. With 24/7 real-time defense and strong local support, we keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. The ever-evolving digital landscape demands a progressive approach to security: ESET is committed to world-class research and powerful threat intelligence, backed by R&D centers and a strong global partner network. For more information, visit www.eset.com or follow our social media, podcasts and blogs.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at:
    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/916569c8-b3c1-41ce-bc7a-dfd407156187

    The MIL Network –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: 20 May 2025 Note for Media Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly – Daily update: 20 May 2025

    Source: World Health Organisation

    World Health Assembly adopts historic Pandemic Agreement to make the world more equitable and safer from future pandemics

    • Agreement’s adoption follows three years of intensive negotiation launched due to gaps and inequities identified in national and global COVID-19 response.
    • Agreement boosts global collaboration to ensure stronger, more equitable response to future pandemics.
    • Next steps include negotiations on Pathogen Access and Benefits Sharing system.

    Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) today formally adopted by consensus the world’s first Pandemic Agreement. The landmark decision by the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly culminates more than three years of intensive negotiations launched by governments in response to the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and driven by the goal of making the world safer from – and more equitable in response to – future pandemics.

    Related documents

    A78/10 Add.1, Outcome of informal consultations of Member States, Draft resolution on the WHO Pandemic Agreement

    World Health Assembly commits to historic 20% increase in Assessed Contributions (membership fees), approves WHO’s Base Programme Budget for 2026–2027 of US $4.2 billion

    Delegates at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly (WHA78) approved the base programme budget of US$ 4.2 billion for 2026–2027, the first to be fully developed based on the Fourteenth General Programme of Work, 2025–2028 (GPW 14), the global health strategy for the next four years. GPW 14 prioritizes advancing health equity and strengthening health systems resilience. 

    The budget presented to WHA78 committee A was decreased from the initial US$ 5.3 billion presented to the executive board in February given the challenging financial context. While decreasing some regional budgets and headquarters budgets, Member States agreed to try to preserve country level budgets to the extent possible. The budget will allocate resources to enhance technical cooperation, foster partnerships and support the achievement of national and global health targets. The proposed programme budget 2026–2027 also reaffirms the indispensable role of multilateralism in addressing today’s complex and interconnected health challenges. 

    Member States also approved the gradual second 20% increase of the assessed contributions (AC), or membership fees which had been previously adopted by the Member State Working Group on sustainable financing. This ensures that WHO funding is not only predictable, but also resilient and flexible, which is critical given the rapidly changing financial landscape. 

    Member States also had the opportunity to review the implementation of governance reform. In a time of geopolitical tension and rising inequalities, WHO remains a vital platform for cooperation, solidarity and coordination in global health

    World leaders pledged significant contributions to the WHO Investment Round at a high-level pledging event Tuesday evening, another key step in WHO’s journey to sustainable financing. 

    Related documents

    A78/6, Proposed programme budget 2026–2027 (Corrigendum 1) (Add.1)

    A78/37, Report of the Programme, Budget and Administration Committee of the
    Executive Board to the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly

    A78/INF./8, General Programme of Work, 2025–2028: baselines and
    targets for outcome and output indicators

    A78/4, Consolidated report by the Director-General

    A78/5, Governance reform (Add.1)

    A78/39, Governance reform, Process of handling and investigating potential allegations against WHO Directors-General

    High Level Segment and Director-General Awards

    During the high-level segment, delegates heard from H.E. João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, President of Angola and Chairperson of the African Union; H.E. Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia; and H.E. Liu Guozhong, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China. Video statements were made by a number of world leaders across the globe.

    Egyptian opera singer Farrah El-Dibany and Soprano singers Elaine Vidal and Eunice Miller of the Philippines performed at the Health Assembly on Tuesday morning.

    The Director-General also presented Global Health Leader’s awards to Professor Sir Brian Greenwood and Professor Awa Marie Coll Seck for their pivotal work in malaria control and beyond. 

    The Assembly started on Monday 19 May 2025 under the theme “One World for Health”.

    The election of officials took place on Monday morning. Dr Teodoro Herbosa of the Philippines became the President of the Health Assembly. The elected Vice-Presidents are Dr Jalila bint Al Sayyed Jawad Hassan of Bahrain, Dr Sayedur Rahman of Bangladesh, Mr Jaime Hernán Urrego Rodríguez of Colombia, Dr Judit Bidlo of Hungary and Dr Louise Mapleh Kpoto Liberia.

    H.E. Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, Federal Councilor of the Swiss Confederation, addressed the Health Assembly on behalf of the host country.

    Dr Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, WHO Director-General, delivered his report to the Assembly.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Britain suspends trade talks with Israel over Gaza blockade

    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

    LONDON, May 20 (Xinhua) — Britain has suspended talks with Israel on a free trade agreement over Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Tuesday, adding that Israel’s ambassador to Britain has been summoned to the ministry.

    Speaking in the House of Commons, the lower house of the British parliament, David Lammy stressed that Israel’s blockade of Gaza is “morally wrong, unjustifiable and must end.”

    The diplomat noted that, in his opinion, all parliamentarians “must strongly condemn the Israeli government for depriving hungry children of food.” –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Lawmakers Raise Alarm Over Trump’s Middle East AI Giveaway

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC  — President Donald Trump’s efforts to curry favor from several wealthy royal families that rule over countries in the Middle East and cut artificial intelligence deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could threaten U.S. national security and put American economic interests at risk.

    Today. U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) along with Congressmen Jim Himes (D-CT) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) issued the following joint statement in response to President Trump’s artificial intelligence deals that were announced with Saudi Arabia and the UAE this week:

    “Democrats and Republicans have long agreed that American companies must remain the undisputed leader in AI, a rapidly developing technology critical to the future of everything from our national security to manufacturing, finance to health care. We have worked hard to ensure the most powerful AI systems are built here, and we have fought to restrict the most sophisticated chips from reaching China – or those who would grant remote access to China – given Beijing’s use of AI to strengthen its military, crack down on domestic dissent, and compete with the U.S.

    “President Trump announced deals to export very large volumes of advanced AI chips to the UAE and Saudi Arabia without credible security assurances to prevent U.S. adversaries from accessing those chips. These deals pose a significant threat to U.S. national security and fundamentally undermine bipartisan efforts to ensure the United States remains the global leader in AI. Rather than putting America first, this deal puts the Gulf first.

    “The volume of AI chips Trump is offering for export would deprive American AI developers of highly sought-after chips needed here and slow the U.S. AI buildout. Under this deal, data centers and AI systems that would otherwise be built in America will be built in the Middle East – at the exact time that President Trump says he wants to bring jobs and key industries back home. This deal would incentivize U.S. firms to build the factories of the future overseas, creating significant vulnerabilities in our AI supply chain. If our leading AI firms offshore their frontier computing infrastructure to the Middle East, we could become as reliant on the Middle East for AI as we are on Taiwan for advanced semiconductors – and as we used to be on the Middle East for oil. We should not foster new dependencies on foreign countries for this premier technology.

    “Additionally, these deals will provide our highest end chips to G42, a company with a well-documented history of cooperation with the People’s Republic of China. We applaud the administration’s efforts to limit exports of advanced AI chips to China, including recent actions to further restrict exports of Nvidia chips. However, these efforts will be for nothing if G42 or other companies with ties to China are given large quantities of our most advanced chips.

    “Proponents of the deal argue that China will fill the gap if we do not sell substantial quantities of advanced chips to these countries. This is false. China cannot and will not because China makes fewer chips as a nation than these deals offer, and each is inferior to their U.S.-designed equivalent. This is thanks to the bipartisan efforts under both the Trump and Biden administrations to cut off China’s access to advanced chip manufacturing equipment. These efforts have worked, and we should double down on this success rather than squander the leverage we have won.

    “If this deal succeeds, the offshoring of frontier American AI will be recorded as an historic American blunder. People around the world deserve to enjoy the benefits we will reap from AI. However, AI chips must only be exported to trusted companies, in reasonable numbers, and in concert with credible security standards and assurances. We welcome the opportunity to work with the administration to meet these objectives and urge our colleagues in Congress to do the same.”

    Senator Reed is Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.  Senator Coons is Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. Senator Shaheen is Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senator Warner is Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Senator Kelly is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Congressman Himes is Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee. Congressman Krishnamoorthi is Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Kaanch Network Surpasses $1.12M in Presale as RWA Tokenization Heats Up Ahead of Exchange Listing

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, May 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As real-world asset (RWA) tokenization gains momentum across global markets, Kaanch Network is capturing investor attention with a presale that has already raised over $1.12 million. Now in Stage 5, Kaanch is offering tokens at $0.16 — marking one of the final opportunities for early participants before its upcoming centralized exchange (CEX) listing.

    With institutions, governments, and enterprises racing to digitize real-world assets such as real estate, bonds, certificates, and credentials, blockchain infrastructure is under pressure to evolve. Purpose-built for this shift, Kaanch Network stands out as a next-generation Layer 1 blockchain designed to meet the legal, technical, and compliance requirements of large-scale RWA adoption.

    Why RWA Tokenization Needs Purpose-Built Infrastructure

    Tokenizing real-world assets isn’t just about issuing tokens — it requires:

    • Compliance-ready smart contracts
    • Final, traceable, real-time settlement
    • Low transaction fees for scalable use
    • Built-in decentralized identity layers
    • Cross-chain interoperability
    • DAO-based governance mechanisms

    Kaanch Network delivers on all fronts — setting the stage for seamless tokenization of both physical and financial assets.

    Kaanch Network: Ready for Real-World Scale

    Key infrastructure highlights include:

    • 1.4 Million TPS – High throughput for real-time issuance, trading, and workflows
    • 0.8-Second Finality – Instant settlement for asset transfers and financial operations
    • 3600 Validators – Deep decentralization ensures resilience and trust
    • .knch Domains – Native decentralized identity for agents, wallets, and registries
    • RWA Framework – Built-in standards for tokenizing real estate, bonds, certifications, and more
    • Interoperability Bridges – Seamless asset flows with Ethereum, Solana, and BNB
    • DAO Governance – Token holders vote on upgrades, funding, and proposals
    • Live Staking – Up to 119% APY for early supporters and stakers

    Final Presale Rounds Before Listing

    The Kaanch token ($KNCH) has entered Stage 5 of its presale at $0.16, with limited availability before the project officially hits exchanges. The presale offers an early entry point into one of the few Layer 1 platforms specifically engineered for the RWA era.

    “With over $1.12M raised and infrastructure built for institutional-grade asset tokenization, we believe Kaanch is one of the most strategically positioned blockchains heading into the next wave of adoption,” said a spokesperson for Kaanch Network.

    Presale access is currently open via the official portal: https://presale.kaanch.com

    As global financial systems begin integrating blockchain into core asset management, the demand for compliant, high-performance infrastructure is set to soar. With a real-world-ready framework and growing momentum, Kaanch Network aims to be at the center of this transformation.

    Contact:
    Ved Singh
    info@kaanch.com

    Disclaimer: This is a paid post and is provided by Kaanch Network. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice.Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector—including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining—complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed.Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility.Globenewswire does not endorse any content on this page.

    Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.

    Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/db1988a7-96b7-4809-a2d2-b6a1616f4588

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/31a1f81c-9270-4e00-816c-3e900689c5a0

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/627d82e5-53b7-4265-9747-eee8518826da

    The MIL Network –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI:NPR’s Morning Edition: Sen. Peter Welch calls on Trump administration to get Israel to end Gaza aid blockade

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)

    40+ Senators co-sponsor Welch’s resolution calling for an immediate end to the blockade of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza
    WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today joined Leila Fadel on National Public Radio’s (NPR) Morning Edition to discuss the starvation crisis in Gaza and his new Senate Resolution demanding the Trump Administration uses all diplomatic tools at its disposal to bring an end to the blockade of food and lifesaving humanitarian aid.

    “It is absolutely appalling what is happening to innocent Palestinians in Gaza. There are 14,000 babies, according to the U.N., that could die in the next 48 hours if aid is not getting in. Children are now literally dying of starvation while being held by their mother or their father. And the 72 days of blockade by the Netanyahu government—of no food, no water, no medicine—is catastrophic. And the famine that people are experiencing is also catastrophic, and it’s a very brutal process and a terrifying way to die. And Israel, as having control over Gaza, has an obligation internationally, to get food and medicine in to the people that need it.”

    ■■■

    “This is not about practical and political reason—this is about people who are starving, needing food and needing water. And the notion that the Netanyahu government can use starvation—withholding food and water, withholding medicine—as a tool of the military campaign, violates international law. It’s completely wrong. We should condemn it, just as I condemn Hamas for what it’s done.  Starvation is not a legitimate tool of warfare.”

    ■■■

    “I want aid to flow. It’s really very, very simple…The United States has a role to play here, and Congress has a role to play. The idea that we’re accepting this, we’re turning our head the other way as if this is not happening, is wrong.”

    Listen here:

    Last week, Senator Welch led his Senate colleagues in introducing a resolution calling on the Trump Administration to use all diplomatic tools at its disposal to bring an end to the blockade of food and lifesaving humanitarian aid to address the needs of civilians in Gaza. In their resolution, the Senators express grave concern about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including the imminent starvation of tens of thousands of children. The resolution now has the support of more than 40 Senators.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Starmer says migrants should speak English – but all of the UK’s languages are important for integration

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Mike Chick, Senior Lecturer in TESOL/English, University of South Wales

    William Perugini/Shutterstock

    When Keir Starmer said: “If you want to live in the UK, you should speak English”, it laid bare an assumption – that English is the only language that counts in the UK.

    This view not only overlooks the UK’s rich linguistic diversity, but also runs counter to the language policies being developed across the devolved nations.

    While the UK government’s latest proposals on immigration treat English proficiency as the main pathway to integration, governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are taking different approaches.

    Immigration is a matter controlled by Westminster. But integration, including language education, is devolved. That means each UK nation sets its own direction.

    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.

    England

    Despite frequent political emphasis on English language learning and testing as key to integration, England does not have a national strategy for migrant or refugee integration. It also does not have an England-wide policy for teaching English for speakers of other languages (Esol).

    Instead, decisions about language classes are made locally but provision is uneven. In some areas, support is well-organised and accessible. In others, it’s barely there.

    Despite the lack of national leadership, the Esol sector in England has long benefited from grassroots activism. Organisations like the National Association for Teaching English and Community Languages to Adults and English for Action have been vocal in campaigning for better funding. Researchers and teachers also continue to call for a joined-up strategy for migrant and refugee integration.

    Wales

    By contrast, the Welsh government has made language education a core part of its progressive integration policies. Its ambition to become the world’s first “nation of sanctuary” is backed up by practical measures. This includes a dedicated language education policy for migrants, focused primarily on Esol – the only one of its kind in the UK.

    The first national Esol strategy was published in 2014, revised in 2018, and will be updated this year following a review.

    The introduction of Welsh as an element of migrant language education is helping to build a more inclusive, multicultural society too. It shows learners that all languages, including their mother tongue, have a role to play in a modern, multilingual nation.

    Scotland

    Since 2014, Scotland has implemented three refugee integration strategies. The new Scots refugee integration strategy has been internationally recognised as a model of good practice. It adopts a multilingual, intercultural approach, emphasising that language learning should include home languages and the language or languages of the new community, which may include Gaelic, Scots and English.

    Scotland had two successive adult Esol strategies from 2007 to 2020. These were developed in consultation with Esol learners and detailed clear progression routes into further training, education and employment. But they were discontinued in favour of a broader adult learning strategy in 2022 which covers all adult learners rather than just the needs of migrants.

    It was a decision criticised by some due to concerns about losing focus on the specific needs of Esol learners, and reducing the voice of Esol learners and teachers in Scotland.

    Northern Ireland

    In Northern Ireland, there is no dedicated migrant language policy yet. But its draft refugee integration strategy does at least acknowledge the importance of language in helping migrants feel “valued and respected”.

    In 2022, the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act granted official status to the Irish language, and to Ulster-Scots as a minority language. Nevertheless, the Northern Ireland refugee integration strategy focuses solely on English language classes as the primary language education provision.

    Welsh for speakers of other languages.

    What all UK nations share, however, is chronic underfunding. Adult education, where Esol funding sits across all four nations, now faces yet more cuts meaning many language learners will continue to face long waiting lists for classes.

    But how language education for migrants, especially migrants seeking sanctuary in the UK is perceived, organised and provided is critical to fostering inclusion, promoting integration and bestowing a sense of belonging. Developing competency in the dominant language or languages of the host nation can enable migrants to navigate health, housing or social security systems. It can help them cope with the needs of daily life and to use their skills and knowledge to enter work or education.



    Read more:
    How the Welsh language is being promoted to help migrants feel at home

    Many people seeking sanctuary have experienced trauma from undergoing forced migration. This makes it vital that language provision is trauma-informed and recognises a learner’s existing multilingual skills. It’s also important that it is shaped around their needs, not just on externally imposed assessments of English proficiency.

    The value of multilingualism

    Multilingual education is more than just a nice thing to have.
    There is growing evidence that valuing the languages refugees already speak, and recognising their linguistic skills as assets, improves wellbeing, builds confidence and enhances social inclusion.

    Too often in the UK, language learning is treated as a condition for acceptance, rather than a right that can enable belonging. That risks undermining the very integration that policymakers claim to support.

    If the UK is serious about being a modern, inclusive and multicultural state, it must embrace the reality that it is also multilingual, and that different nations may choose different routes to welcome those seeking sanctuary.

    The authors wish to thank their respective universities for the support they have received in researching this issue. They would also like to thank their co-researchers Sylvia Warnecke and Mel Engman and their co-authors on their recently published policy briefing.

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

    – ref. Starmer says migrants should speak English – but all of the UK’s languages are important for integration – https://theconversation.com/starmer-says-migrants-should-speak-english-but-all-of-the-uks-languages-are-important-for-integration-255286

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is Donald Trump doing the world a favour by isolating the United States?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Shaun Narine, Professor of International Relations and Political Science, St. Thomas University (Canada)

    United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs against most of the world tanked stock markets, disrupted the U.S. bond market and destabilized the global economy.

    Trump has economically and politically threatened American allies, shattering the unity of the western world. But Trump’s chaos may have inadvertently produced an opportunity to create a better world.

    Some western commentators argue that the U.S. has been a benevolent superpower.

    That may have been true for a small group of mostly western states that have benefitted from American domination. But much of the Global South was victimized by American military, economic and political interventions.

    Losing dominance?

    The West could be in the midst of losing its dominant position in the global order. This is probably inevitable, but it may not be the tragedy some western commentators assume it to be.

    In most of the world, there is a desire for a more equitable world order that doesn’t feature the moral, racial and cultural double standards of the western-dominated system. A world where American and western power is limited and contained could not only end up being more peaceful but, over time, more prosperous.

    Without the co-operation of the allies alienated by Trump, it may be harder for the U.S. to initiate conflict around the world as it often has since the end of the Cold War.

    In a recent Foreign Affairs article, American political scientist Stacie Goddard argues the emerging multipolar, post-American world will be one in which great powers — primarily the U.S., Russia and China — will divide the globe into “spheres of influence.”

    The U.S. is seeking to maintain disproportionate power in Asia. Closer to home, neighbours of the U.S. have reason to fear American expansionism.

    By contrast, even if it has imperialist ambitions, Russia doesn’t have the military might to dominate Europe. It’s a country of 144 million people with one-sixth the GDP of the European Union. Russia can cause trouble within countries with sizable Russian minorities, but its ability to project power is limited, as demonstrated by its grinding war in Ukraine.



    Read more:
    After another call with Putin, it looks like Trump has abandoned efforts to mediate peace in Ukraine

    China’s stance

    The Chinese have scored a win against Trump’s tariffs with a 90-day tariff pause that’s being hailed as vindication of China’s defiant negotiating strategy. China called Trump’s bluff and won as global stocks soared.



    Read more:
    China-US trade war: the next 90 days are a big deal for Beijing as it seeks long-term solutions

    This has bolstered China’s goal to have a sphere of influence. However, Chinese foreign policy is largely non-interventionist and, compared to the U.S., remarkably restrained.

    China may intimidate its rivals in the South China Sea, Senkaku Islands, and Taiwan, but it does not easily resort to military force. China has not resorted to military force since its war with Vietnam in 1979.

    China is committed to most of the guiding structures of the current international system and values a stable and mutually beneficial global economic order that enables it to focus on and improve its domestic development.

    Its export-oriented economic sectors need customers abroad. Unlike the West, China has a vested interest in helping the Global South develop and prosper in order to create those customers.

    Asian trade alliance?

    The Chinese are using their resources to promote economic and technological development in the Global South.

    As China spreads its renewable energy technologies globally, some of the poorest countries may leapfrog carbon-based fuels and go directly to renewable energy to make development affordable and attainable, and to mitigate climate change.



    Read more:
    What Canada can learn from China on effectively engaging with Africa

    In response to Trump’s tariffs, China, South Korea and Japan have discussed a renewed free-trade arrangement. President Xi Jinping has toured Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia to encourage a common front against American actions.

    Asian states are wary of China, but they remain committed to global trade. The U.S. may be retreating from globalization, but the rest of the world is not, though China’s manufacturing dominance concerns many states.

    Emerging international order

    New institutions may help to manage the evolving world order. The BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates — have created the New Development Bank (NDB). China has created the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

    The United Nations remains the favoured instrument of global diplomacy, even if western states have been accused of undermining its authority and efficacy.

    The European Union will continue as a major global power in the emerging international order, but on a more even footing with the rest of the world.

    Europe is reconsidering its trade war with China. In the words of Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission: “The West as we knew it no longer exists.”

    Western states will undoubtedly continue to try to exercise disproportionate global influence. Canada has suggested that “like-minded states” form an alliance to promote international trade and institutions that remain dominated by western interests. This idea seems designed to continue marginalizing the Global South in the international decision-making process.

    Most Global South states are not high-functioning liberal democracies. Many struggle with the legacies of colonialism while managing an international system dominated by the West that keeps them subservient. Others have created governments that fit their particular circumstances, cultures and levels of development.

    But many weaker countries generally share a commitment to international law that is seemingly stronger than the West. They need a stable, predictable, fairly applied set of global rules more than stronger nations. Ironically, the decline of the U.S. may facilitate a much more genuine and legitimate rules-based international order.

    America’s loosening grip

    Readjusting the world economy away from the U.S. to a more diverse, evenly distributed economic model will be difficult and disruptive.

    Nonetheless, loosening the American grip on global power is an essential first step towards achieving a more just and balanced international order.

    For putting this process in motion, the world may owe Trump a measure of thanks.

    Shaun Narine is affiliated with Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East and Jewish Voice for Peace.

    – ref. Is Donald Trump doing the world a favour by isolating the United States? – https://theconversation.com/is-donald-trump-doing-the-world-a-favour-by-isolating-the-united-states-252671

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    May 21, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Global action is needed to tackle the growing threats that face our seas, people and shared prosperity: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Speech

    Global action is needed to tackle the growing threats that face our seas, people and shared prosperity: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on maritime security.

    The United Kingdom, like Greece, has a long maritime history and is deeply committed to global maritime security.

    And global action is needed to tackle the growing threats we now face to our seas, our peoples and our shared prosperity.

    That is why the United Kingdom is strongly committed to our partnership within NATO and the Joint Expeditionary Force, and with wider friends and partners, as a means to contribute to our collective security.

    That includes working together with States across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean to address threats wherever they occur.

    Our Carrier Strike Group’s deployment to the Indo-Pacific is a sign of our commitment to work with our partners in a region of fundamental importance to global peace and prosperity.

    In the Black Sea, we are supporting the protection of Ukraine’s maritime Black Sea corridor along with our partners.  

    We are also leading the Maritime Capability Coalition alongside Norway, supporting Ukraine’s defence of its sovereign waters.

    That’s alongside efforts to confront the so-called shadow fleet operation.

    In the Middle East, we have acted to prevent Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, including through Operation Prosperity Guardian with the United States and others.

    Our European colleagues have joined these efforts through Operation ASPIDES.  

    We thank Greece for its leading role, including the hosting of the command from Larissa.

    We also call for collective efforts to ensure that the arms embargo as set out in resolution 2216 is upheld, and to support Yemen’s Coast Guard.

    We equally need to ensure the implementation of the arms embargo off the coast of Libya, and we call for the renewal of the mandate this month for Operation Irini.

    More broadly, our partnership with Greece is an example of how cooperation can protect our countries from maritime threats, including illegal migration and drug smuggling.

    Alongside this, we are delivering legal changes at home to tackle people-smuggling rings and starve them of income.

    And the UK also remains strongly committed to upholding freedom of navigation and the primacy of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

    President, in the face of such diverse threats, we must redouble our shared efforts, including by broadening collaboration on strategic challenges within the International Maritime Organisation, which the UK is proud to host.

    And as we look to the future, we must strengthen our work together, both in this Council and through our bilateral partnerships, to secure our seas for future generations.

    Updates to this page

    Published 20 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    May 21, 2025
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