NewzIntel.com

Category: Natural Disasters

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Death toll in Eastern Cape floods rises to 90

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    The Eastern Cape Provincial Government says the number of fatalities from this week’s devastating floods has risen from 88 to 90.

    In a statement on Sunday, the provincial government said it remained committed to a “coordinated compassionate response that unites government, non-governmental organisations and local leadership” as communities continue to grapple with the aftermath of the floods.

    “In partnership with NGOs and faith-based organisations, the province has been and continues to provide emergency relief to affected households following the recent floods that left several fatalities, displaced households, caused significant infrastructure damage, and disrupted livelihoods across the province, with OR Tambo and Amathole District Municipalities bearing the brunt. 

    “The latest report has indicated an increase in the number of fatalities from 88 to 90, as previously reported yesterday,” said the provincial government.

    Out of the 90 fatalities, 60 are adults and 30 children, while 48 are male and 42 females. 

    Through the Department of Health, post-mortems have been completed with 80 bodies having been positively identified and 77 bodies released to families. 

    The provincial government said it remained in close contact with affected families to provide necessities and psychosocial support, with the Council of Churches also providing spiritual healing to the grieving families. 

    The provision of emergency relief to thousands of the displaced residents in the OR Tambo and Amathole District Municipalities is still in progress. 

    “About 2686 residents were left homeless and are currently accommodated in various shelters and provided with three meals a day and all the essential necessities. 

    “Progress has been made in restoration of basic services in the affected areas. In the  Amathole District, water provision has resumed, with the full pumping system still being restored. 

    “However, water supply in some communities is still limited, and residents are urged to continue using water sparingly, as water will not return to all affected places at once, as the system may take time to fully recover.”

    In OR Tambo, water has partially been restored in various areas, with some areas expected to get water supply by the end of Sunday. 

    Water tankers from both municipalities, Department of Water and Sanitation, and the Gift of the Givers continue with the provision of water in affected communities. 

    Day of mourning

    The provincial government said plans were underway to hold a Provincial Day of Mourning on Thursday, 19 June 2025, in Decoligny Village, in Mthatha.

    Residents have been urged to report persons who went missing in the areas that were affected by the floods to law enforcement. 

    This as rescue operations continue. 

    “The provincial government continues to monitor the situation. Our rescue and recovery teams continue to comb the affected areas.”

    President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the area on Friday to offer support and assess the damage. He was accompanied by government officials, key Ministers, the Premier, and local government representatives.

    READ I President Ramaphosa expresses sadness over tragic loss of life during recent floods in E Cape

    The President offered his condolences to those who had lost loved ones. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Relief Still Available to Alaska Private Nonprofits Affected by August Flooding

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding eligible private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Alaska of the July 16, 2025 deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by flooding occurring Aug. 5‑6, 2024.

    The disaster declaration covers the City and Borough of Juneau in Alaska.

    Under this declaration, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to PNPs providing non-critical services of a governmental nature who suffered financial losses directly related to the disaster. Examples of eligible non-critical PNPs include, but are not limited to, food kitchens, homeless shelters, museums, libraries, community centers, schools and colleges.

    EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills not paid due to the disaster.

    “SBA loans help eligible small businesses and private nonprofits cover operating expenses after a disaster, which is crucial for their recovery,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “These loans not only help business owners get back on their feet but also play a key role in sustaining local economies in the aftermath of a disaster.”

    The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 3.25% and terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.

    The SBA encourages applicants to submit their loan applications promptly. Applications will be prioritized in the order they are received, and the SBA remains committed to processing them as efficiently as possible.

    Applicants may apply online and receive additional disaster assistance information at sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

    Submit completed loan applications to the SBA no later than July 16.

    ###

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Mexican Drug Trafficker Caught with Tens of Thousands of Fentanyl Pills, Cocaine, Heroin, and Stolen Guns Sentenced to Federal Prison in Washington State

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Spokane, Washington – Acting United States Attorney Richard R. Barker announced that Jose Efrain Gonzalez-Rodriguez, age 24, of Mexico, who was unlawfully present in the United States, was sentenced after pleading guilty to drug trafficking and firearm charges. United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice imposed a sentence of 120 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.                              

    According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, in May and June of 2024, the Drug Enforcement Administration developed information that Gonzalez-Rodriguez was working for a drug trafficking organization out of Mexico that was responsible for transporting drugs from California to Spokane and distributing them across Eastern Washington.

    On June 24, 2024, after execution of a search warrant on Gonzalez-Rodriguez’s vehicle, agents located almost 2 pounds of methamphetamine and 6,855 fentanyl pills. Investigators also executed a search warrant at Gonzalez-Rodriguez’s apartment in Spokane where they located an additional 59,529 fentanyl pills, almost 3 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 1 pound of cocaine, and a quantity of heroin. Additionally, 4 four pistols were found in the kitchen wrapped in tape and plastic for transport. Two of the firearms had been reported stolen.

    “Fentanyl is killing people across Eastern Washington. Those who traffic in this poison—along with other deadly drugs and illegal firearms—will be held accountable,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard R. Barker. “Mr. Gonzalez-Rodriguez brought significant quantities of poison and stolen weapons into our community, putting lives at risk. This sentence reflects the seriousness of his crimes and the commitment of our office and law enforcement partners to disrupt violent drug trafficking networks.”

    “This case highlights the intersection of drug trafficking, firearms, and illegal immigration,“ said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “Mr. Gonzalez Rodriguez endangered our community on all three of these fronts and this sentence ensures his accountability, thanks to DEA and our partners.”

    This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from the Spokane Regional Anti-Violence Enforcement and Narcotics (RAVEN) task force and the United States Border Patrol.

    Case 2:24-cr-00091-TOR

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Nine Members of Lopez Human Smuggling Organization Plead Guilty to Federal Charges

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ALBUQUERQUE – Nine of the 10 members of the Lopez Human Smuggling Organization indicted in June 2023 have pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from a multi-year investigation into their roles in an extensive alien smuggling conspiracy. All nine defendants admitted to conspiring to bring, harbor, and transport groups of undocumented individuals into and within the United States for financial gain.

    The defendants are identified as Rosa Adriana Lopez-Escobar, 43, illegal residing in Phoenix, Arizona; Deysi Marisela Lopez-Ambrosio, 27, illegal residing in Long Beach, California; Franklin Leonardo Chilel-Ramirez, 39, illegal residing in Phoenix, Arizona; Junior Vanegas Portillo, 22, illegal residing in Phoenix, Arizona; Jose Denilson Lopez Chilel, 26, illegal residing in Phoenix, Arizona; and Mildred Yanira Lopez-Ambrosio, 23, illegal residing in Long Beach, California, all citizens of Guatemala, as well as Jose Gianluca Lopez-Perez, 21, of Phoenix, Arizona, Sebastian Rolando Cortez, 22, of Tempe, Arizona, and Carlos Chavez-Hernandez, 22, of Avondale, Arizona.

    According to court records, between October 2021 and April 2023, these individuals operated in Luna County, New Mexico, and elsewhere, coordinating and executing the transportation and harboring of undocumented aliens. The organization used peer-to-peer money transfer apps to facilitate payments among co-conspirators and instructed others to pick up and move groups of undocumented individuals in exchange for money.

    The organization coordinated pick-ups near the U.S.-Mexico border, including attempts to move individuals from Animas, New Mexico, to Phoenix, Arizona. In one instance, a defendant was apprehended by Border Patrol while en route to pick up a group of undocumented aliens.

    To date, four defendants have been sentenced. Junior Vanegas Portillo was sentenced to 37 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Sebastian Rolando Cortez was sentenced to one year of probation. Carlos Chavez-Hernandez was sentenced to time served and two years of supervised release. Jose Denilson Lopez Chilel was sentenced to 45 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Sentencing for the remaining defendants is pending.

    As part of his plea agreement, Jose Denilson Lopez Chilel agreed to forfeit several items used in furtherance of the conspiracy. These include two firearms, ammunition, a 2017 Chevrolet Camaro, a 2017 Ford Mustang, a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado and a 2020 Polaris Can-Am Side by Side UTV.

    Ronaldo Galindo Lopez-Escobar, 47, of Guatemala City, Guatemala, the alleged leader of the Lopez Crime Family, remains a fugitive.

    U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens of U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso, made the announcement today.

    HSI New Mexico led U.S. investigative efforts, with enforcement assistance from HSI in Arizona and the Central District of California. HSI received investigative assistance from U.S. Border Patrol Deming, Lordsburg, Blythe, El Centro, Yuma, and Tucson, as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center/Operation Sentinel, and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department. The Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division also provided support in this matter.

    The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy Castellano and Alyson Hehr as part of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been elevated with a mandate to target cartels and transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border, including the Southern District of California, District of Arizona, District of New Mexico, and Western and Southern Districts of Texas. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by HRSP and supported by MLARS; Office of Enforcement Operations; and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, DEA, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 380 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 340 U.S. convictions; more than 290 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Israel, Iran and the US: why 2025 is a turning point for the international order

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Brian Brivati, Visiting Professor of Contemporary History and Human Rights, Kingston University

    Israel’s large-scale attack against Iran on June 13, which it conducted without UN security council approval, has prompted retaliation from Tehran. Both sides have traded strikes over the past few days, with over 200 Iranians and 14 Israelis killed so far.

    The escalation has broader consequences. It further isolates institutions like the UN, International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ), which have found themselves increasingly sidelined as Israel’s assault on Gaza has progressed. These bodies now appear toothless.

    The world appears to be facing an unprecedented upending of the post-1945 international legal order. Israel’s government is operating with a level of impunity rarely seen before. At the same time, the Trump administration is actively undermining the global institutions designed to enforce international law.

    Other global powers, including Russia and China, are taking this opportunity to move beyond the western rules-based system. The combination of a powerful state acting with impunity and a superpower disabling the mechanisms of accountability marks a global inflection point.

    It is a moment so stark that we may have to rethink what we thought we knew about the conduct of international relations and the management of conflict, both for the Palestinian struggle and the international system of justice built after the second world war.

    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.

    The Israeli government is, in addition to its preemptive air campaign against Iran’s nuclear programme, advancing with impunity on three other fronts. It is tightening its hold on Gaza, with the prospect of a lasting occupation increasingly possible.

    Senior Israeli ministers have also outlined plans for the annexation of large parts of the occupied West Bank through settlement expansion. This is now proceeding unchecked. Israel confirmed plans in May to create 22 new settlements there, including the legalisation of those already built without government authorisation.

    This is being accompanied by provocative legislation such as a bill that would hike taxes on foreign-funded non-governmental organisations. The Israeli government is also continuing its attempts to reduce the independence of the judiciary.

    Hardline elements of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet say they will collapse the government if he changes course.

    The ICJ moved with urgency in response to Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank. In January 2024, it found evidence that Palestinians in Gaza were at risk of genocide and ordered Israel to implement provisional measures to prevent further harm.

    Then, in May 2024, as Israeli forces pressed an offensive, the ICJ issued another ruling ordering Israel to halt its military operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah immediately. It also called on Israel to allow unimpeded humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip.

    The court went further in July, issuing a landmark advisory opinion declaring Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal. The ICC took bold action by issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and the leaders of Hamas.

    Disregarding international law

    These dramatic attempts to enforce international law failed. Israel only agreed to a temporary ceasefire in Gaza in January 2025 when Washington insisted, demonstrating that the only possible brake on Israel remains the US.

    But the second Trump administration is even more transactional than the first. It prioritises trade deals and strategic alliances – particularly with the Gulf states – over the enforcement of international legal norms.

    In January, Trump issued an executive order authorising sanctions on the ICC over the court’s “illegitimate” actions against the US and its “close ally Israel”. These sanctions came into effect a little over a week before Israel launched its strikes on Iran.

    Trump then withdrew the US from the UN human rights council and extended a funding ban on Unrwa, the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees.

    A further executive order issued in February directed the state department to withhold portions of the US contribution to the UN’s regular budget. And Trump also launched a 180-day review of all US-funded international organisations, foreshadowing further exits or funding cuts across the multilateral system.

    In May 2025, the US and Israel then advanced a new aid mechanism for Gaza run by private security contractors operating in Israeli-approved “safe zones”. Aid is conditional on population displacement, with civilians in northern Gaza denied access unless they relocate.

    This approach, which has been condemned by humanitarian organisations, contravenes established humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality.

    In effect, one pillar of the post-war order is attacking another. The leading founder of the UN is now undermining the institution from within, wielding its security council veto to block action while simultaneously starving the organisation of resources. The US vetoed a UN security council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza on June 4.

    The implications of this turning point in the international order are already playing out across the globe. Russia is continuing its war of aggression in Ukraine despite rulings from the ICJ and extensive evidence of war crimes. It knows that enforcement mechanisms are weak and fragmented and the alternative Trumpian deal making can be played out indefinitely.

    And China is escalating military pressure on Taiwan. It is employing grey-zone tactics, that do everything possible in provocation and disinformation below the threshold of open warfare, undeterred by legal commitments to peaceful resolution.

    These cases are symptoms of a collapse in the credibility of the post-1945 legal order. Israel’s policy in Gaza and its attack on Iran are not exceptions but the acceleration. They are confirmation to other states that law no longer constrains power, institutions can be bypassed, and humanitarian principles can be used for political ends.

    Brian Brivati is executive director of the Britain Palestine Project. He is writing this article in a personal capacity.

    – ref. Israel, Iran and the US: why 2025 is a turning point for the international order – https://theconversation.com/israel-iran-and-the-us-why-2025-is-a-turning-point-for-the-international-order-258044

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: AI is gobbling up water it cannot replace – I’m working on a solution

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Muhammad Wakil Shahzad, Associate Professor and Head of Subject, Mechanical and Construction Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle

    Data centres are the invisible engines of our digital world. Every Google search, Netflix stream, cloud-stored photo or ChatGPT response passes through banks of high-powered computers housed in giant facilities scattered across the globe.

    These datacentres consume a staggering amount of electricity and increasingly, a surprising amount of water. But unlike the water you use at home, much of the water used in datacentres never returns to the water reuse cycle. This silent drain is drawing concern from environmental scientists. One preprint study (not yet reviewed by other scientists) from 2023 predicted that by 2027 global AI use could consume more water in a year than half of that used by the UK in the same time.

    Datacentres typically contain thousands of servers, stacked and running 24/7. These machines generate immense heat, and if not properly cooled, can overheat and fail. This happened in 2022 when the UK endured a heatwave that saw temperatures reach a record-breaking 40° Celsius in some areas, which knocked off Google and Oracle datacentres in London.

    To prevent this, datacentres rely heavily on cooling systems, and that’s where water comes in.

    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.

    One of the most common methods for cooling datacentres involves mechanical chillers, which work like large fridges. These machines use a fluid called a refrigerant to carry heat away from the servers and release it through a condenser. A lot of water is lost as it turns into vapour during the cooling process, and it cannot be reused.

    A 1 megawatt (MW) datacentre (that uses enough electricity to power 1,000 houses) can use up to 25.5 million litres annually. The total data centre capacity in the UK is estimated at approximately 1.6 gigawatts (GW). The global data centre capacity stands at around 59 GW.

    Unlike water used in a dishwasher or a toilet, which often returns to a treatment facility to be recycled, the water in cooling systems literally vanishes into the air. It becomes water vapour and escapes into the atmosphere. This fundamental difference is why data centre water use is not comparable to that of typical household use, where water cycles back through municipal systems.

    As moisture in the atmosphere that can return to the land as rain, the water datacentres use remains part of Earth’s water cycle – but not all rain water can be recovered.

    The water is effectively lost to the local water balance, which is especially critical in drought-prone or water-scarce regions – where two-thirds of datacentres since 2022 have been built. The slow return of this water makes its use for cooling datacentres effectively non-renewable in the short term.

    The rise of AI tools like ChatGPT, image generators and voice assistants has made datacentres work much harder. These systems need a lot more computing power, which creates more heat. To stay cool, data centres use more water than ever.

    This growing demand is leading to a greater reliance on water-intensive cooling systems, driving up total water consumption even further. The International Energy Agency reported in April 2025 that datacentres now consume more than 560 billion litres of water annually, possibly rising to 1,200 billion litres a year by 2030.

    What’s the alternative?

    Another method, direct evaporative cooling, pulls hot air from datacentres and passes it through water-soaked pads. As the water evaporates, it cools the air, which is then sent back into server rooms.

    While this method is energy-efficient, especially in warmer climates, the added moisture in the air can damage sensitive server equipment. This method requires additional systems to manage and control humidity, which necessitates more complex datacentre design.

    My research team and I have developed another method which separates moist and dry air streams in datacentres with a thin aluminium foil, similar to kitchen foil. The hot, dry air passes close to the wet air stream, and heat is transferred through the foil without allowing any moisture to mix. This cools the server rooms in datacentres without adding humidity that could interfere with the equipment.

    Trials of this method at Northumbria University’s datacentre have shown it can be more energy-efficient than conventional chillers, and use less water. Powered entirely by solar energy, the system operates without compressors or chemical refrigerants.

    As AI continues to expand, the demand on datacentres is expected to skyrocket, along with their water use. We need a global shift in how we design, regulate and power digital infrastructure.

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

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

    Muhammad Wakil Shahzad is the founder of EcoTechX.
    EcoTechX received PoC funding from Northern Accelerator.

    – ref. AI is gobbling up water it cannot replace – I’m working on a solution – https://theconversation.com/ai-is-gobbling-up-water-it-cannot-replace-im-working-on-a-solution-258518

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich: the Netanyahu government extremists sanctioned by the UK

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Leonie Fleischmann, Senior Lecturer in International Politics, City St George’s, University of London

    The UK’s decision to impose sanctions on two far-right Netanyahu government ministers has put it at loggerheads with the Trump administration over Israel. Announcing on June 10 that Britain would join Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway in sanctioning Israel’s minister for national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and minister of finance, Bezalel Smotrich, the UK foreign secretary David Lammy said the pair had “incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights”.

    US secretary of state Marco Rubio criticised the decision, releasing a statement the same day saying the sanctions did not “advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home, and end the war”. He added: “We remind our partners not to forget who the real enemy is. The United States urges the reversal of the sanctions and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel.”

    Britain and its allies also called on the Netanyahu government to respond to extremist Israeli settler violence in the West Bank and to “cease the expansion of illegal settlements which undermine a future Palestinian state”. This has brought the spotlight back to the West Bank, where decades of settler violence towards Palestinians and a planning system which favours the Israeli settlers, have led to the gradual displacement of Palestinian communities.



    Read more:
    Israeli plan to occupy all of Gaza could open the door for annexation of the West Bank

    The announcement seemed to signal a possible breach in relations between the UK government and the Netanyahu government. But with conflict escalating between Israel and Iran, the UK’s chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves, has said the government may be willing to provide military support for Israel.

    Smotrich responded to the sanctions, speaking on his “contempt” at Britain’s decision and referring to Britain’s history of administration of what he called “our homeland”. He said: “Britain has already tried once to prevent us from settling the cradle of our homeland, and we will not allow it to do so again. We are determined to continue building.”

    In retaliation for the sanctions, Smotrich pledged to collapse the Palestinian Authority, by taking measures to prevent Israeli banks for corresponding with Palestinian banks. This has been vital for sustaining the Palestinian economy.

    UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, explains why the government has sanctioned the two Israeli ministers.

    Ben-Gvir and Smotrich and their ultra-nationalist followers actually represent a relatively small fraction of Israeli society, but they hold the balance of power in Netanyahu’s coalition, controlling 20 seats in Netanyahu’s 67-seat coalition. This has enabled them to consolidate decades of settler activity outside of parliamentary legitimacy into influencing government policy.

    Itamar Ben-Gvir

    Ben-Gvir is an admirer of the late racist rabbi Meir Kahane, who founded the far-right Kach party which was labelled a terrorist organisation in 2008 having been banned from running in parliamentary elections. In 2007 he was convicted for incitement to racism and being a supporter of a terrorist organisation.

    He subsequently told an event to honour Kahane that, while he admired Kahane, he would not try to pass laws to expel all Arabs from Israel and the West Bank or to create a regime which involved ethnic segregation. But Kahane’s violent anti-Arab ideology and desire to establish a theocratic Jewish state has influenced the next generation of ultra-nationalists.

    The national security minister has been convicted eight times for offences that include racism and support for a terrorist organisation. He gained prominence as a successful defence lawyer for Jews accused of violence against Palestinians. The political party he heads, Otzma Yehudit, advocates for the annexation of the entire West Bank without granting Palestinians Israeli citizenship.

    Ben-Gvir has become infamous for his provocative statements. In August 2023, he declared in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, that his rights trump those of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

    “My right, and my wife’s and my children’s right to get around on the roads in Judea and Samaria, is more important than the right to movement for Arabs,” he said, effectively advocating for a regime of apartheid. He has consistently pushed Netanyahu to maintain the war in Gaza, blocking past attempts to reach a ceasefire.

    Bezalel Smotrich

    Smotrich also has a history of making inflammatory statements. In February 2023, three days after settler vigilantes rampaged through the West Bank town of Huwara, he called for Israel to wipe the town off the map. He later apologised for this comment after being criticised by both the opposition leader, Yair Lapid, and the US government, saying he hadn’t meant it to be a call for vigilante violence.

    Smotrich believes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are part of the biblical land of Israel and rightfully belong to the Jewish people. He has dedicated his career to ensuring the establishment of Jewish settlements.

    In 2006, he helped establish a non-governmental organisation called Regavim as a pressure group to increase settlement of the West Bank. The left-leaning Israeli newspaper Haaretz has criticised Regavim as “an organisation waging a total war on Palestinian construction in the West Bank”.

    Since Smotrich was given increased control over civil affairs on the West Bank in early 2023, the building of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank has accelerated. He is reported to have recently directed his office to “formulate an operational plan for applying sovereignty” over the West Bank.

    He told a group touring new settlements approved by the Israeli government that: “”We will not stop until the entire area receives its full legal status and becomes an inseparable part of the State of Israel. We are changing the face of the settlement enterprise not just as a slogan, but through real action.”

    Rightward shift

    The prominence of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich reflects a rightward shift in the Israeli electorate that has brought ultra-nationalist settler ideology into the mainstream. However, their meteoric rise is also due to their holding the balance of power, which has enabled Netanyahu to remain in office. That Netanyahu remains prime minister is widely believed to be partly responsible for the slow progress of his trials for bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

    Before the November 2022 Knesset election, Netanyahu reportedly brokered a deal whereby Smotrich’s Religious Zionism Party and Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Home party joined forces. This ensured they won enough seats to ensure Netanyahu could form a coalition. And so these two extremists bent on thwarting any hope for Palestinian independence became kingmakers.

    While they have such influence over the Netanyahu government, there is no possibility for a Palestinian state. Instead it is more likely that the violence towards Palestinians and the dispossession of their land will continue to increase.

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

    – ref. Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich: the Netanyahu government extremists sanctioned by the UK – https://theconversation.com/itamar-ben-gvir-and-bezalel-smotrich-the-netanyahu-government-extremists-sanctioned-by-the-uk-258644

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEWS: Sanders Calls for Bipartisan Investigation into Secretary Kennedy’s Vaccine Committee Firings at CDC

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders

    WASHINGTON, June 16 – After Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired every member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an unprecedented decision that will make it harder for Americans to access safe and effective vaccines, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), wrote a letter to HELP Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-La.) calling for an immediate bipartisan investigation into these terminations and Kennedy’s efforts to mislead the American people about vaccine safety. 

    “Secretary Kennedy’s reckless decision to fire these non-partisan scientific experts and replace them with ideologues with limited expertise and a history of undermining vaccines will not only endanger the lives of Americans of all ages, it directly contradicts a commitment he made to you before he was confirmed that he would not make any significant changes to this important Committee,” Sanders wrote. 

    Sanders cited Cassidy’s own public remarks following the firings: “Now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion.” 

    ACIP is a federal advisory group of medical and public health experts who make evidence-based recommendations on which vaccines should be administered to whom and when. Those recommendations guide coverage by private insurers, Medicaid, Medicare and other government programs.

    Last week, Secretary Kennedy gutted ACIP and has begun appointing replacements who include a former professor who made comparisons between the COVID vaccine and Nazi medical experiments, a board member of an anti-vaccine organization, and a private equity firm leader. Kennedy also replaced the official at CDC who oversaw ACIP, a 20-year veteran of the agency, with a scheduling staffer. 

    Sanders’ letter follows an emergency resolution passed last week by the American Medical Association urging the HELP Committee to investigate the firings. 

    “While Secretary Kennedy’s actions are deeply disappointing they are not surprising,” Sanders continued. “For decades, Secretary Kennedy has spread lies and dangerous conspiracy theories about safe and effective vaccines that have saved millions of lives. Unfortunately, since he has been confirmed I am very concerned that Secretary Kennedy is doubling down on his war on science and disinformation campaign that will lead to preventable illness and death.” 

    Read the letter here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Kehoe Applauds Accomplishments of Joint Recovery Effort One Month After EF-3 Tornado Devastated St. Louis

    Source: US State of Missouri

    JUNE 16, 2025

    Jefferson City — Today, Governor Mike Kehoe praised the united recovery effort in St. Louis that is moving the community forward following the devastating May 16 EF-3 tornado that destroyed or damaged thousands of homes and businesses, killed five people, and impacted the lives of tens of thousands of St. Louisans.

    The State of Missouri’s response began immediately, with the Missouri State Highway Patrol surging troopers to St. Louis to assist with law enforcement and traffic control and the Missouri Department of Transportationdeploying emergency response trucks and barricading impacted ramps and routes to assist with cleanup efforts. Governor Kehoe activated the state’s Urban Search and Rescue team, Missouri Task Force 1, which responded to the city and began search operations on May 16. The Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) also began initial damage assessments on May 16 and conducted joint damage assessments with city counterparts of thousands of buildings within days that have allowed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to begin approving FEMA assistance funding to residents last week.

    “From the moments immediately after the EF-3 tornado struck and each day since, Missourians have shown they will come to the aid for their neighbors, no matter how daunting the task before them,” Governor Kehoe said. “In our many visits to St. Louis over the last month, we have seen people come together to support one another. We could not control what occurred on the afternoon of May 16, but we are proving that we can control the path forward as we rebuild lives and homes in the months and years to come. We have directed our state disaster recovery agencies to continue to build on what they have already accomplished and do everything possible to assist in St. Louis. We are confident in St. Louis’s future because of the great work that has already been accomplished as we’ve worked as a united team.”

    SEMA’s team has worked around the clock to support the St. Louis response effort and continues to tirelessly assist in the St. Louis Emergency Operations Center and across the damage area, supplying support in emergency management command, operations, logistics, planning, finance and administration, transportation, and medical care, through the Missouri Disaster Medical Assistance Team (MO DMAT-1) and the Operations Division. Approximately 35% of the SEMA workforce has worked in St. Louis or supported tornado recovery efforts from SEMA headquarters over the last month. With the exception of a few days, SEMA Director Jim Remillard and Deputy Director Terry Cassil have spent the last month in St. Louis to support the recovery effort.

    “I have never been more impressed with the performance, professionalism, and dedication of any group of public servants than with SEMA’s effort to support the people of St. Louis,” Missouri Department of Public Safety Director Mark James said. “Their commitment, alongside additional state agencies, has been tireless, and they have integrated incredibly well working with St. Louis City Government, the St. Louis Fire Department, and all our other partners, playing an essential role in the progress that has been made in the community.”

    The State of Missouri’s response and recovery assistance over the last month has included:

    Missouri Task Force 1 (MO-TF1)

    MO-TF-1 was activated by Governor Kehoe and SEMA on May 16 and deployed an 88-person Type 1 Urban Search and Rescue Task Force and a 5-person Disaster Situation Awareness and Reconnaissance (DSAR) team to St. Louis. The team integrated with the St. Louis Fire Department and other search and rescue teams. MO-TF-1 searched and evaluated over 2,150 structures using state-of-the-art technological resources from May 16 to 18 and utilized drone technology to provide real-time situational awareness.

    SEMA Missouri Disaster Medical Assistance Team (MO DMAT-1)

    DMAT provided medical team members at St. Louis shelters housing people displaced by the tornado and Emergency Human Services staffing in the St. Louis Emergency Operations Center. In addition, DMAT team members have provided essential support to the St. Louis EOC in the areas of Operations, Planning, Logistics, and Finance and Administration. DMAT Logistics personnel also transported supplies and equipment to support the Disaster Assistance Center and the Multi-Agency Recovery Warehouse.

    SEMA Operations Division

    The SEMA Troop C – Urban regional coordinator responded immediately after the tornado hit on May 16 and continues to work out of the St. Louis Emergency Operations on a daily basis. Other SEMA regional coordinators from across the state have supported the St. Louis Emergency Operations Centers over the last month. The Operations Division also participated in initial damage assessments with local officials while response efforts were still ongoing. 

    SEMA Recovery Division

    The Recovery Division began conducting initial damage assessments with the local officials while response efforts were ongoing. A formal request to FEMA to conduct joint FEMA/SBA/SEMA/Local preliminary damage assessments for the Individual Assistance Program was submitted on May 19. The joint preliminary damage assessments for the were conducted May 21-24 and identified at least 512 homes destroyed, 1,321 homes sustaining major damage and 195 homes sustaining minor damage, totaling at least $17 million in expected FEMA and State of Missouri assistance to homeowners and renters. A request for a Major Presidential Disaster Declaration for designation of the Individual Assistance Program was signed by Governor Kehoe and submitted to FEMA on May 25. A formal request to FEMA to conduct joint FEMA/SEMA/Local preliminary damage assessments for the Public Assistance Program was submitted on May 23. Joint preliminary damage assessments for the Public Assistance Program were conducted May 28-June 3. A formal request was submitted to FEMA on June 6 for designation of the Public Assistance Program be added to the Major Presidential Disaster Declaration request for Individual Assistance submitted on May 25. These were approved by the President on June 9. FEMA had begun approving financial assistance to residents by June 12.

    SEMA Emergency Human Services

    SEMA’s Emergency Human Services Branch has been coordinating with local officials and faith-based and volunteer organizations, beginning with emergency sheltering needs since the May 16 tornado. SEMA has worked collaboratively with its partners to ensure the needs of those impacted by the tornado were met, including:

    • The American Red Cross has opened 21 shelters, providing 453 individuals with shelter for a total of 5,515 of shelter stays. ARC and its partners have been working to transition residents to longer-term sustainable housing solutions.
    • An array of charitable groups has provided over 285,000 hot meals.
    • The St. Louis Area Food bank has distributed over 350,000 pounds of food to organizations providing meals to storm survivors. It is also supplying community members with 500 food, water, and hygiene kits weekly at points of distribution in the impacted zone.
    • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has assembled and delivered 5,500 meal kits to those impacted.
    • The Urban League donated over 7,000 box meals to disaster survivors.
    • A 140,000 square-foot Multi-Agency Warehouse, operated for the City of St. Louis by Adventist Community Services Disaster Response, has opened to support long-term recovery operations by accepting donated supplies, including PPE and construction materials. The warehouse received its first delivery on June 8 and sent out its first truckload of supplies for distribution on June 13. The warehouse receives in-kind donated goods from companies, corporations and community collection drives and provides inventory and fair market value tracking to support FEMA’s local match disaster assistance funding requirements. Its inventory will supply an approved partner network within the impact zone to support long-term recovery.
    • United Way and AmeriCorps St Louis are coordinating the Volunteer Reception Center and to date have connected over 5,200 volunteers to disaster-related opportunities.
    • Convoy of Hope has distributed over 389,000 pounds of essential supplies to 20,379 individuals.
    • The Disaster Assistance Center (DAC) opened June 9 at Chaifetz Arena and will operate for three weeks,  providing a one-stop-shop where disaster survivors received financial assistance, information, referrals, and emergency supplies from over 30 state agencies, non-governmental organizations, faith-based organizations, St. Louis city government, and community organizations. The DAC served 1,276 households reaching 3,325 family members in its first four days of operation. State agencies involved include the Department of Social Services, which refilled SNAP benefits and signed up those eligible for SNAP benefits; Department of Commerce and Industry, which has been providing guidance and information to residents who are having insurance issues; Department of Revenue, which has had its License Office on Wheels at the DAC replacing driver licenses, motor vehicle titles, and providing all services available at fixed license offices. Missouri Department of Mental Health team members are serving as ambassadors at the DAC, providing emotional support and guidance to survivors going through the DAC process. The Attorney General’s Office has been on site advising residents about potential scams and scammers.

    Missouri Structural Assessment and Visual Evaluation (SAVE) Coalition

    From May 21-24 and June 7-10, the SAVE Coalition (a mobile reserve unit of SEMA) assisted the St. Louis Building Division with evaluating residences and businesses for structural integrity. Over 100 volunteer engineers, architects, and building officials from across Missouri spent more than 3,000 hours assisting St. Louis inspectors evaluate 6,748 structures, categorizing 2,136 as unsafe and 1,529 as restricted because of extensive damage. City inspectors went through SAVE’s standard one-day training class on rapid exterior building evaluations. They utilized mapping software to compile digital reports, to help guide city rebuilding efforts. “Without [the SAVE Coalition’s] assistance St. Louis would, I feel, be struggling with the task of trying to catalog the tremendous damage that occurred on May 16th,” said Ed Ware, St. Louis Building Commissioner.

    Missouri State Highway Patrol

    Troop C troopers began to assist the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department immediately after the tornado struck on May 16, with 25 troopers assisting through May 17. The Patrol also provided additional assistance May 22-May 30, after receiving an additional request.  

    Missouri National Guard

    The Guard provided a Liaison Officer to St. Louis on May 20, which resulted in a request from the city for a Guard mission to support debris removal through an Engineer Task Force that provided a comprehensive debris clearance package. Engineer Teams deployed to St. Louis on May 28 and established and operated four debris collection sites and assisted with sorting, loading, transporting, and removing debris to designated landfills beginning on May 29. Operations involved close partnership with St. Louis Parks, Recreation and Forestry, and other city agencies. In its release letter to the Guard, the City of St. Louis called the Guard’s service “remarkable and exemplary.” The letter further noted that “the support enabled the city and its residents to remove the equivalent of well over 200 football fields piled one foot high with debris.” The debris drop-offs concluded at the Guard managed sites on June 8.

    Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS)

    DHSS has deployed staff to the St. Louis EOC and the Disaster Assistance Center to support public health partners, health care efforts and survivors. DHSS has sent more than 20 pallets of PPE and supplies to the St. Louis region, totaling 207,658 goggles, N95 masks, protective coveralls, gloves, disinfectant wipes, and hand sanitizer. DHSS, in collaboration with state and local partners, provided guidance on environmental cleanup efforts and PPE recommendations for debris removal crews and citizen cleanup efforts.

    DHSS issued two important state regulatory waivers: facilitating the rapid deployment of meals to impacted senior living sites; and allowing pharmacists to fill controlled substance prescriptions for patients in impacted areas without a written prescription when they deemed it necessary. DHSS staff also received and disseminated a USDA Food and Nutrition Service waiver for replacement of the current month food benefits for WIC participants who had damaged food from the storms.

    DHSS has also assisted with data analysis from air sampling efforts in the St. Louis area and is continuing to monitor for any concerning health trends at local hospitals.

    Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI)

    DCI continues to provide consumer support and guidance for those navigating insurance policies and the post-disaster claims process, including at the ongoing Disaster Assistance Center. DCI has assisted over 360 families at the DAC as of June 13. Consumer Affairs has also fielded hundreds of calls and is currently processing insurance complaints as a result of the storms. DCI leadership has met with industry partners and community leaders on key insurance matters. To assist tornado survivors with major damage to their homes, on June 12, DCI issued a bulletin to the insurance industry that for properties with 50% or more damage the City of St. Louis had waived its mandatory claim holdback ordinance, which limited the ability to receive payment for insured losses. For insurance help, consumers can call DCI’s Consumer Hotline at 800-726-7390 or visit insurance.mo.gov for more information.

    Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

    DNR has waived certain requirements related to the disposal of yard waste and appliances, burning of woody vegetation, asbestos abatement and the discharge of wastewater. These actions were taken to expedite cleanup and minimize the risk to human health and the environment. DNR team members are participating at the Disaster Assistance Center events to answer questions related to storm recovery, including debris disposal, drinking water systems, water quality issues, and hazardous materials.

    Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS)

    On May 27,  the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) approved DSS’s request to waive the 10-day reporting requirement for food purchased with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits that was lost as a result of the May 16 tornado. The waiver applies to specific ZIP Codes in the City of St. Louis City and is in effect through June 16. DSS sent an additional request for FNS to approve a second extension for Missourians in impacted areas. If approved, those in impacted areas would have until July 16 to report their loss to DSS Family Support Division (FSD) for SNAP replacement benefits.

    Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DOLIR)

    Once Missouri received a federal Major Disaster Declaration, DOLIR’s updated the state’s unemployment claims application to allow for filing of claims for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits and claims are already being received. DUA applications will be accepted through August 8. Individuals may file a DUA claim online 24/7 by visiting uinteract.labor.mo.gov/benefits. The department has also been providing claim filing assistance and information to storm survivors at the Disaster Assistance Center. 

    Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT)

    On May 16 and 17, the MoDOT deployed emergency response trucks and barricaded impacted ramps and routes to assist with tornado cleanup efforts, as well as staffing the State Emergency Operations Center to assist with transportation and infrastructure needs. In the month since, MoDOT has remained involved in the infrastructure recovery efforts, performing damage assessments, and providing detailed inspection reports.

    Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (DHEWD)

    On May 29, DHEWD dedicated $750,000 in federal workforce funds to provide temporary wages to eligible individuals interested in helping with storm cleanup in St. Louis and southeast Missouri. The department is partnering with Local Workforce Development Boards, including the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE), local elected officials, and community organizations, such as the Urban League, to find eligible participants and provide an hourly wage for time spent assisting with removing debris and repairing infrastructure. DHEWD has also hosted jobs fairs to assist unemployed St. Louisans.

    The federal Major Disaster Declaration means DHEWD will be able to apply for a $5 million National Dislocated Worker Grant through the U.S. Department of Labor within the next few weeks. If approved, this grant will provide supplemental funding to support the community as it continues to recover.

    Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR)

    Since June 9, the DOR Mobile License Office has operated at the entrance of Chaifetz Arena to assist tornado survivors who lost licenses or other DOR documents, with the normal $6 transaction fee being waived. Through June 12, 97 individuals have been served. The mobile office is equipped to handle all license office functions, including ID card processing or replacement. The unit will continue to be available Monday, June 16, through Tuesday, June 17, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Wednesday, June 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. DOR has also extended certain deadlines for those in the federal disaster declaration area until November 3, 2025, to align with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

    Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH)

    The DMH Office of Disaster Services and DMH’s Behavioral Health Strike Team (BHST) were deployed to St. Louis to help deliver crisis counseling to those impacted by the May 16 tornado. They will be deployed through June to help provide crisis counseling at the Disaster Assistance Center, shelters, and in the community. They will also provide crisis counseling once FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers open. DMH is also applying for the FEMA crisis counseling program to provide continued mental health support to the community for an extended period of time.

    Photos of the State of Missouri response in St. Louis can be found at this link. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Relief Still Available to Alaska Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by Flooding

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Alaska of the July 16, 2025 deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by flooding occurring Aug. 5-6, 2024.

    The disaster declaration covers the Chatham Regional Educational Attendance Area (REAA), Haines Borough, City and Borough of Juneau and Petersburg Borough.

    Under this declaration, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs with financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises.

    EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills not paid due to the disaster.

    “SBA loans help eligible small businesses and private nonprofits cover operating expenses after a disaster, which is crucial for their recovery,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “These loans not only help business owners get back on their feet but also play a key role in sustaining local economies in the aftermath of a disaster.”

    The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for PNPs with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.

    To apply online, visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

    Submit completed loan applications to the SBA no later than July 16.

    ###

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Haiti on the brink: Gangs fill power vacuum as current solutions fail a nation in crisis

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Greg Beckett, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Western University

    Haiti is facing a multifaceted crisis unlike any in the country’s modern history.

    Haiti recently marked the one-year anniversary of Haiti’s Presidential Transitional Council’s (CPT) new government — an internationally backed effort to restore governance in the country after Prime Minister Ariel Henry was ousted by gangs.

    But rather than charting a path to stability, the CPT remains mired in dysfunction as Haiti’s crisis deepens with no end in sight. Armed gangs now control most of the capital, more than a million Haitians have been displaced and half the country faces acute food insecurity.

    Criminal gangs have taken control of most of the capital city of Port-au-Prince and significant parts of the country. Since 2021, gangs have killed more than 15,000 people and forcibly displaced over a million people.

    Beyond the security situation, there is a dire humanitarian emergency as more than half the country faces severe food insecurity.

    The United Nations says the country may be reaching a point of no return and risks falling into “total chaos.”

    Haitian friends tell me their whole country feels as blocked as the barricaded streets and choke points used by the gangs to control the capital.

    A security crisis paralyzing everything

    The impasse is undoubtedly shaped by entrenched gang violence. Armed groups have been used by political players for political ends in Haiti for decades.

    But now, new, well-organized armed gangs have emerged as political entities in their own right.

    For example, the G9 Alliance, the most notorious of gangs — actually a federation of gangs — is led by former police officer Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier.

    Chérizier presents himself on social media as a revolutionary figure fighting the elites, but in the streets of Port-au-Prince most, see him as a violent criminal.

    Last year, the G9 merged with rivals to form a coalition called Viv Ansamn (Live Together). Led by Chérizier and others, the group forced Prime Minister Ariel Henry from power. Henry had become prime pinister after the assassination of Haiti’s last elected head of state, President Jovenel Moïse, in July 2021, despite himself being implicated in the assassination.

    Both Henry and Moïse were accused of paying gangs to maintain control.

    Viv Ansamn’s takeover of the capital confirms gangs have become an autonomous political force. They have since expanded their power through their control over fuel supplies, critical infrastructure and key choke points.

    It’s telling that the gangs have become so powerful despite the presence of a UN-approved, Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission. The mission has been in Haiti since shortly after Henry was forced out of power.

    But with limited scope and funding from donor countries, including the United States, Canada and Ecuador, the mission has failed to achieve any major successes. Indeed, by the UN’s own estimates, gang violence continues to have a “devastating impact” on the population, despite the presence of the mission.

    Last month, the U.S. government designated Viv Ansamn and Gran Grif, Haiti’s two most powerful armed gangs, as terrorist organizations. Canada and others have also imposed sanctions on politicians and gang leaders, and perhaps this could lead to more sanctions against those who most directly benefit from the crisis. But for residents of Port-au-Prince, little has changed on the ground, where many feel the gangs are holding the country hostage.

    Democratic vacuum with no clear path forward

    A common saying in Haiti goes like this: peyi’m pa gen leta, my country has no state. Once a criticism of a particular government, it now feels literal. Haiti has no elected national officials.

    The CPT was established by the Organization of American States after Henry’s ousting, but has has done little to restore democracy. Elections are impossible under the current security conditions.

    Instead, the CPT has become another obstacle to resolution. Mired in internal conflict, some members have been accused of bribery. With no framework for political compromise, the council reflects a system where some key players actually benefit from the political impasse.

    Governing structures that can’t govern

    Haiti is now in uncharted territory. The CPT operates in a legal vacuum, making decisions without a clear mandate or authority.

    Still, the council is moving forward with a controversial plan to rewrite the Haitian constitution. The proposed changes will fundamentally alter Haiti’s government structure, including abolishing the senate and the prime minister, allowing presidents to hold consecutive terms, changing election procedures and allowing dual citizens and Haitians living abroad to run for office.

    This constitutional reform highlights the paradox at the heart of Haiti’s crisis: an institution with questionable legitimacy is attempting to redesign the very framework that would determine its own authority.

    These aren’t just procedural problems: they represent fundamental questions about who has the authority to govern and how decisions get made in a country where democratic institutions have always been fragile.

    International responses miss the mark

    International groups, including the UN, the Organization of American States and the Core Group that includes the United States, Canada and France, have overseen Haiti’s politics for decades. But their influence has often backfired. Many in Haiti see the international community as directly responsible for the current crisis.

    Whatever internal problems have given rise to the current crisis, the role played by the international community in Haiti has undoubtedly contributed to the impasse.

    The MSS mission is a stop gap at best and a liability at worst. It is insufficient for the scale of the crisis.

    Some observers have called for a full UN peacekeeping mission, but there is little support for it and such a mission would likely face resistance within Haiti given the country’s fraught history with international interventions.

    Can the international community undo the damage it has already done? And can Haiti make it through the impasse without the international community?

    Beyond the impasse: What needs to change

    There are no easy solutions. Addressing gang violence without legitimate governing institutions won’t create lasting stability. Yet the path to a legitimate government remains unclear as organizing elections without basic security is unrealistic.

    The international community must stop treating Haiti as a series of separate crises requiring separate responses. The current piecemeal approach treats symptoms while ignoring the underlying causes that block political resolutions.

    For Haitians, the stakes could not be higher. The question isn’t whether change is needed, but whether the international community and Haitian leaders can move beyond the impasse before the situation deteriorates even further.

    Greg Beckett receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    – ref. Haiti on the brink: Gangs fill power vacuum as current solutions fail a nation in crisis – https://theconversation.com/haiti-on-the-brink-gangs-fill-power-vacuum-as-current-solutions-fail-a-nation-in-crisis-257948

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI USA: New 3D Elevation Program Fact Sheet for Connecticut

    Source: US Geological Survey

    High-resolution elevation data are critical to Connecticut’s economy, enabling state and local governments, as well as academic and nongovernmental organizations, to make informed decisions on coastal zone management, flood risk, natural resource conservation, and much more.

    Quality level 2 or better lidar is available across the State as a result of partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey through the 3D Elevation Program. Quality level 1 lidar was also collected statewide in 2023.

    Download the new 3DEP State Fact Sheet to learn about available lidar and the many beneficial uses of the data. You can access the fact sheet through the linked button above and at the USGS publication page. Fact sheets for other states are also available in the 3DEP State Fact Sheet repository. 

    To view and access 3DEP lidar data, please visit the USGS LidarExplorer. To download these and other National Map products, please visit The National Map Downloader.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Why Canada’s Strong Borders Act is as troublesome as Donald Trump’s travel bans

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Benjamin Muller, Professor & Program Coordinator in Migration and Border Studies, King’s University College, Western University

    Was it just a coincidence that within days of Canada’s Liberal government announcing Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act, Donald Trump’s administration in the United States released its long anticipated travel ban?

    Perhaps. But the timing also highlights the longtime shared border saga between Canada and the U.S. — and should compel Canada to carve its own path.

    Like Trump’s 2017 travel ban, his 2025 directives significantly prevent or limit access to the U.S. for citizens from 12 mostly African and Middle Eastern countries, with more possibly on the horizon. It’s likely to face judicial challenges and may not survive for long.

    In contrast, Bill C-2 could lead to several significant and broad statutory changes that Canadians will contend with for years to come.

    Data privacy concerns

    Days before Trump’s announcement, the Canadian government advanced the controversial Strong Borders Act covering a wide swath of proposed legislative changes, from intensified border security measures to more restrictive immigration and asylum policies.

    Embedded within the proposed legislation, as Canadian law professor Michael Geist and others have pointed out, are significant risks to digital privacy, along with increased executive authority — also known as “warrantless” powers — without judicial or civilian oversight.

    In these respects, the proposed Canadian legislation could be considered more worrisome than Trump’s travel bans.

    In the fog of the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and Canada, the focus is on American tariffs and their economic impact. But little attention is being paid to Canada’s longstanding co-ordination and co-operation with the U.S. in terms of border management.

    Unfortunately, Canada has a history of appeasing the U.S. on the border. The period following 9/11 is worth noting.

    Increased co-ordination post 9/11

    Successive Canada-U.S border agreements have brought about significant institutional change and reform. These include the Smart Border Declaration — signed shortly after 9/11 — and Beyond the Border, inked a decade later between the Barack Obama and Stephen Harper governments.

    These agreements included greater reliance on biometric and surveillance technology, binational information-sharing and accelerated, robust co-ordinated and co-operative border enforcement (specifically the Shiprider program and the Integrated Border Enforcement Team or IBET).

    The early 2000s saw the rise of new institutions such as the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), along with significant policy changes that included prolific and more robust American pre-clearance of people and goods, and authorizing CBSA agents to carry firearms (which was once controversial).

    Frequently, these reforms were in response to American pressure or reactionary U.S. policies. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), for example, is an American policy that has compelled travellers to produce passports when crossing the U.S. border for almost 20 years.

    In contrast to the “elbows up” rhetoric of the last several months, Canada hastily made changes to its border policies.

    The narrative of co-operative and collaborative Canada-U.S. border management, however, has not always been as it appeared. Frequently, negotiations and co-operation were difficult, and not without cost to some autonomy in Canada’s border management.

    Asylum seekers

    In the past year, there have been increasing concerns about the impact of potential increases in asylum claims in Canada because of American policies. Those raising concerns often make reference to Roxham Road, the unofficial border crossing that thrived during the last Trump administration due to a loophole in the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA).



    Read more:
    Roxham Road: Asylum seekers won’t just get turned back, they’ll get forced underground — Podcast

    Such gaps in legislation were modestly addressed, including in the proposed Bill C-2, which will require arriving migrants to claim asylum within 14 days of arrival. After that time, claimants will not receive a hearing and be subject to deportation.

    It’s troubling to contemplate deporting asylum seekers amid the ongoing deportation spectacle in the U.S. being carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the Trump administration

    Amid renewed American pressures under Trump and a history of border co-operation, it’s not surprising Prime Minister Mark Carney is following his predecessor in trying to appease the U.S. president via Canadian border policy. And because asylum claimants often languish for up to two years in Canada’s immigration and asylum system, it’s clear there are problems.

    But that doesn’t preclude the need to think critically about the sweeping powers proposed in Bill C-2.

    In particular, enhanced executive powers — in many cases by institutions that have no civilian oversight — must be scrutinized.

    Many of these changes are reminiscent of the kind of co-operative — and sometimes coercive — border policies that emerged in the post-9/11 years. It could be argued that Canadians should have expressed “elbows up” responses to American pressures to reimagine our border almost 25 years ago.

    Furthermore, these changes serve as reminder that co-operative and co-ordinated management of our border is increasingly “baked in,” and despite tariff rhetoric, that’s unlikely to change dramatically without significant pushback from Canadians.

    Revisionist history

    It’s worth reflecting on the nostalgic and revisionist accounts of the coercive — not truly co-operative and collaborative — post-9/11 era of border security management, especially in the heat of the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade war.

    Canadians should remember they live during a time of deep integration in border management — but Canada can always assert its own interests and marshal its own resources to manage borders and those who cross it.

    In the long Canada-U.S. relationship, coercion has often masqueraded as co-operation. There are far fewer coincidences in border policy than we might think, possibly including the timing of the Strong Border Act. But Canada must always evaluate its policies in terms of whether they serve Canadian, not American, interests.

    Unlike the Trump administration’s travel bans and deportations, Bill C-2 introduces a wide swath of changes Canadians could grapple with for decades.

    Benjamin Muller receives funding from SSHRCC and King’s University College at Western University.

    – ref. Why Canada’s Strong Borders Act is as troublesome as Donald Trump’s travel bans – https://theconversation.com/why-canadas-strong-borders-act-is-as-troublesome-as-donald-trumps-travel-bans-258366

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Security: North Fort Myers Man Sentenced To 5 Years In Federal Prison For Child Sexual Abuse And Firearm Offenses

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber today sentenced Samuel Villarreal III (25, North Fort Myers) to five years in federal prison for possessing and accessing with intent to view images depicting the sexual abuse of children and possessing an unregistered firearm. He was also sentenced to a life term of supervised release and ordered to register as a sex offender. Villarreal entered a guilty plea on March 4, 2025.

    According to court documents, from on or about December 29, 2022, through on or about June 29, 2023, Villarreal knowingly possessed and accessed with intent to view images of children being sexually abused that he sought out and downloaded from the internet. 

    In December 2022, the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a cybertip from an electronic service provider reporting that Villarreal had uploaded files that depicted child sexual abuse material (CSAM). A subsequent search warrant for Villarreal’s social media account revealed CSAM.

    On June 29, 2023, the FBI executed a search warrant at Villarreal’s residence in North Fort Myers, Florida, and seized Villarreal’s laptop and cellphones.  Villarreal agreed to speak with agents and admitted that he used his computer to access CSAM on the internet and that he had a folder on his computer where he stored CSAM images. He also admitted that he had also used his cellphone to view CSAM and having used the social media application. 

    During the search of Villarreal’s residence, agents located Villarreal’s unregistered short-barreled rifle, which they seized. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted a record check of the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Records database and found no records of the firearm being registered, as required since the barrel was less than 16 inches. Villarreal admitted that he got the firearm as a rifle and modified it himself by putting a shorter barrel on it. He told agents that he never applied to have it registered with ATF, and that he was aware of the requirement before replacing the barrel with a shorter one.

    The subsequent forensic examination of Villarreal’s cellphones and laptop revealed images of CSAM.

    This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fort Myers Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, with assistance from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yolande G. Viacava.

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

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: North Fort Myers Man Sentenced To 5 Years In Federal Prison For Child Sexual Abuse And Firearm Offenses

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber today sentenced Samuel Villarreal III (25, North Fort Myers) to five years in federal prison for possessing and accessing with intent to view images depicting the sexual abuse of children and possessing an unregistered firearm. He was also sentenced to a life term of supervised release and ordered to register as a sex offender. Villarreal entered a guilty plea on March 4, 2025.

    According to court documents, from on or about December 29, 2022, through on or about June 29, 2023, Villarreal knowingly possessed and accessed with intent to view images of children being sexually abused that he sought out and downloaded from the internet. 

    In December 2022, the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a cybertip from an electronic service provider reporting that Villarreal had uploaded files that depicted child sexual abuse material (CSAM). A subsequent search warrant for Villarreal’s social media account revealed CSAM.

    On June 29, 2023, the FBI executed a search warrant at Villarreal’s residence in North Fort Myers, Florida, and seized Villarreal’s laptop and cellphones.  Villarreal agreed to speak with agents and admitted that he used his computer to access CSAM on the internet and that he had a folder on his computer where he stored CSAM images. He also admitted that he had also used his cellphone to view CSAM and having used the social media application. 

    During the search of Villarreal’s residence, agents located Villarreal’s unregistered short-barreled rifle, which they seized. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted a record check of the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Records database and found no records of the firearm being registered, as required since the barrel was less than 16 inches. Villarreal admitted that he got the firearm as a rifle and modified it himself by putting a shorter barrel on it. He told agents that he never applied to have it registered with ATF, and that he was aware of the requirement before replacing the barrel with a shorter one.

    The subsequent forensic examination of Villarreal’s cellphones and laptop revealed images of CSAM.

    This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fort Myers Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, with assistance from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yolande G. Viacava.

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

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Leader of Multi-Million Dollar International Money Laundering and Drug Trafficking Ring Convicted

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ATLANTA – Monica Dominguez Torres, 36, of Mexico, pleaded guilty on June 13, 2025, to federal charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Dominguez led a transnational criminal organization that operated methamphetamine conversion laboratories in the Atlanta area and laundered millions of dollars of drug proceeds to Mexico.

    “Dominguez’s elaborate criminal operation has been dismantled, and more than $3.5 million of illicit drug proceeds have been seized as a result of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners’ diligent work,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Our office will continue to aggressively prosecute individuals like Dominguez who seek an undeserved life of luxury by trafficking deadly drugs in our community.”

    Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division stated, “Through hard work, this drug trafficking and money laundering network has been removed from our streets. This criminal organization had no regard for the destructive impact on our communities.”

    “This conviction sends a strong message to those who think they can live a life of luxury funded by illegal activities,” said Steven N. Schrank, the Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama. “Thanks to the dedicated collaboration between HSI and our law enforcement partners at the federal, state, and local levels, we were able to dismantle Monica Dominguez Torres’s multi-million dollar drug trafficking and money laundering ring, seizing millions in illicit proceeds and bringing her to justice.”

    “Monica Torres led a transnational organized crime organization, which like others of its nature, threatens the national and economic security of the United States,” said Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation special agents, along with our other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners of the Atlanta Strike Force are working together to find, investigate, and bring to justice those who endanger American citizens lives through their drug trafficking and other illicit crimes.”

    According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges and other information presented in court: Monica Dominguez Torres’s organization operated methamphetamine conversion laboratories where liquid methamphetamine, obtained from sources in Mexico, was converted into hundreds of kilograms of crystal methamphetamine to be sold in the Atlanta area and elsewhere. Dominguez and her associates also used residences in the Atlanta area to collect and count millions of dollars in cash from these drug sales. The proceeds were laundered and sent to coconspirators in Mexico. 

    As part of the criminal operation, Dominguez and her associates purchased millions of dollars’ worth of real estate, vehicles, and luxury goods – all designed to conceal the illicit source of their wealth. The investigation revealed that Dominguez purchased five separate residences, including a seven-bedroom waterfront home in Jonesboro, Georgia. Three of these residences were purchased with bulk cash brought directly to the transaction. Dominguez and others also purchased nine luxury vehicles worth approximately $780,000. Dominguez also spent lavishly on high-end goods, including nearly $400,000 at Louis Vuitton and more than $425,000 at Burberry over roughly four and a half years. 

    During the investigation, agents seized nearly $3.6 million in cash from Dominguez’s residences, stash locations, and associates. When agents arrested Dominguez at her Conyers, Georgia home in February 2024, they seized more than $1.7 million in cash, five firearms, and three vehicles.

    Dominguez is scheduled to be sentenced on September 15, 2025, at 1:30 pm, before Chief United States District Judge Leigh Martin May. Regarding her drug trafficking conviction, Dominguez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, up to life in prison, a maximum $10,000,000 fine, and a minimum of five years of supervised release. The money laundering conviction carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a maximum $500,000 fine or twice the value of the laundered funds, up to three years of supervised release, and forfeiture of property involved in the offense. 

    This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, with valuable assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, Georgia State Patrol, the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office, and the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office.

    Assistant United States Attorneys John T. DeGenova, Deputy Chief of the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section, and Nicholas L. Evert are prosecuting the case.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to eliminate the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

    The specific mission of the David G. Wilhelm Atlanta OCDETF Strike Force (Atlanta Strike Force) is to eliminate transnational organized crime syndicates and major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the Northern District of Georgia. To accomplish this mission, the Atlanta Strike Force will target these organizations’ leaders, focusing on targets designated as Consolidated Priority Organization Targets, Regional Priority Organization Targets, and their associates. The Atlanta Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from ATF, DEA, FBI, HSI, USMS, USPIS, and IRS, as well as numerous state and local agencies; and the prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

    For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: ROTH to Host 15th Annual London Conference on June 24-26, 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LONDON, June 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via IBN – Roth Capital Partners, LLC (“ROTH”), www.roth.com, will host the 15th Annual Roth London Conference on June 24-26, 2025, at the Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane in London, UK.

    This event offers institutional investors an exclusive opportunity to engage directly with C-suite leaders and senior executives from approximately 80 companies with a strong focus on the Sustainability and Technology sectors. Designed to foster meaningful dialogue, the conference facilitates 1-on-1 and small group meetings in an intimate setting allowing investors to evaluate various businesses, assess market trends, and identify compelling investment opportunities.

    Throughout the event, ROTH’s team of Senior Research Analysts will be on hand to offer expert insights and facilitate introductions. Participating analysts include:  

    Sustainability: Justin Clare, CFA; Craig Irwin; Chip Moore, CFA; Philip Shen; Gerry Sweeney.

    Technology: Darren Aftahi; Richard Baldry, CFA; Suji DeSilva, CFA; Rohit Kulkarni; and Scott Searle, CFA.

    On June 25th, during the lunch session, Michael Darda, ROTH’s Chief Economist and Macro Strategist, will lead a discussion on Markets and Economics, covering key topics such as the US business cycle, inflation, interest rates, and asset allocation strategies across equities and fixed income.

    This will be followed by the Keynote Presentation by Dan Shugar, CEO and Founder of Nextracker, Inc. (NXT), exploring the technological, policy, and cost dynamics driving PV adoption. The session will be moderated by Philip Shen.

    Later that day, Suji DeSilva, CFA, will moderate a fireside chat with Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave Quantum Inc. (QBTS). The discussion will focus on D-Wave’s approach to quantum computing, its unique technology platform, and the growing market opportunities as AI compute accelerates industry demand.

    On June 26th, Suji DeSilva, CFA, will return to moderate a fireside chat with Waseem Shiraz, SVP of Strategic Initiatives & Chief of Staff at Quantinuum (PRIVATE). The conversation will cover Quantinuum’s advancements in quantum computing, the competitive landscape, and the anticipated impact of quantum technologies on AI and enterprise applications.

    Following will be JC O’Hara, CAIA, CMT, ROTH’s Chief Technical Strategist, presenting insights on portfolio allocation in a globally connected yet increasingly fragmented world.

    “We look forward to hosting the 15th edition of our flagship London conference,” said Byron Roth, Executive Chairman of ROTH. “This event creates a unique environment for our corporate clients to engage directly with international financial professionals on a personal level.”

    Sagar Sheth, CEO of ROTH, added, “Given the current macroeconomic headwinds and geopolitical tensions, this year’s conference is especially timely. We’re proud to present nearly 80 innovative spanning sustainability, technology, media, and the consumer sector, each addressing some of today’s most critical global challenges.”

    AGENDA

    TUESDAY | June 24, 2025 – All Times are listed in British Summer Time (BST)
    4:00pm – 6:00pm – Pre-Conference Registration
    6:00pm – 10:00pm – ROTH Summer Social  

    WEDNESDAY | June 25, 2025
    8:00am – 9:00am – Registration and Morning Coffee
    9:00am – 12:00pm – 1-on-1 / Small Group Meetings
    12:00pm – 1:30pm – Lunch

    12:15pm – 12:45pm – Market Overview with Michael Darda – ROTH Chief Economist and Macro Strategist

    12:45pm – 1:25pm – Keynote Presentation with Dan Shugar – CEO and Founder of Nextracker, Inc. (NXT)

    1:30pm – 5:15pm – 1-on-1 / Small Group Meetings
    4:30pm – 5:10pm – Fireside Chat with D-Wave Quantum Inc. (QBTS) by Suji DeSilva, CFA – ROTH Senior Research Analyst

    6:00pm – Cocktail Soiree 

    THURSDAY | June 26, 2025
    8:00am – 9:00am – Registration and Morning Coffee
    8:45am – 12:30pm – 1-on-1 / Small Group Meetings
    10:15am – 10:55am – Fireside Chat with Quantinuum (PRIVATE) by Suji DeSilva, CFA – ROTH Senior Research Analyst
    12:30pm – 1:25pm – Lunch
    12:45pm – 1:15pm – Presentation – Portfolio Allocation in a Connected yet Divided Global Landscape by JC O’Hara, CAIA, CMT – ROTH Chief Technical Strategist

    1:30pm – 3:40pm – 1-on-1 / Small Group Meetings

    Participating Companies & Sectors (As of 06/12/2025 – subject to change)
    This is not an offer or solicitation of the securities herein.

    ACM Research, Inc. (ACMR) – Technology & Media
    Allot Ltd. (ALLT) – Technology & Media
    Ameresco, Inc. (AMRC) – Sustainability
    American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) – Sustainability
    Angel Studios (PRIVATE) – Technology & Media
    Applied Digital Corporation (APLD) – Technology & Media
    Arbe Robotics Ltd. (ARBE) – Technology & Media
    Arq, Inc. (ARQ) – Sustainability
    Array Technologies, Inc. (ARRY) – Sustainability
    Bitdeer Technologies Group (BTDR) – Technology & Media
    Blue Bird Corporation (BLBD) – Sustainability
    Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (BWMN) – Engineering & Construction
    Byrna Technologies, Inc. (BYRN) – Consumer
    Cadiz, Inc. (CDZI) – Sustainability
    Canadian Solar (CSIQ) – Sustainability
    CECO Environmental Corp. (CECO) – Sustainability
    Ceragon Networks Ltd. (CRNT) – Technology & Media
    CEVA Inc. (CEVA) – Technology & Media
    ChargePoint Holdings, Inc. (CHPT) – Sustainability
    Cognyte Software Ltd. (CGNT) – Technology & Media
    CPI Card Group Inc. (PMTS) – Financial Technology
    Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd (CRDO) – Technology & Media
    CSG Systems International, Inc. (CSGS) – Technology & Media
    D-Wave Quantum Inc. (QBTS) – Technology & Media
    Drilling Tools International Corporation (DTI) – Energy (Oil & Gas)
    Electrovaya Inc. (ELVA) – Sustainability
    Energy Vault Holdings, Inc. (NRGV) – Sustainability
    EnerSys (ENS) – Sustainability
    Enphase Energy, Inc. (ENPH) – Sustainability
    EVgo Inc. (EVGO) – Sustainability
    EZCORP, Inc. (EZPW) – Technology & Media
    FingerMotion, Inc. (FNGR) – Technology & Media
    First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) – Sustainability
    FTC Solar, Inc. (FTCI) – Sustainability
    Gambling.com Group Limited (GAMB) – Technology & Media
    Genius Sports Limited (GENI) – Technology & Media
    GigaCloud Technology Inc. (GCT) – Consumer
    Green Plains, Inc. (GPRE) – Sustainability
    HealWell AI Inc. (TSX:AIDX) – Technology & Media
    Hudson Technologies, Inc. (HDSN) – Sustainability
    indie Semiconductor, Inc. (INDI) – Technology & Media
    Innventure, Inc. (INV) – Sustainability
    InterDigital, Inc. (IDCC) – Technology & Media
    IREN (IREN) – Technology & Media
    KITS Eye Care Ltd.  (TSX:KITS) – Consumer
    Lakeland Industries, Inc. (LAKE) – Sustainability
    Magnachip Semiconductor Corp. (MX) – Technology & Media
    Marti Technologies, Inc. (MRT) – Technology & Media
    Nextracker Inc. (NXT) – Sustainability
    Niagen Bioscience, Inc. (NAGE) – Consumer
    Odysight.ai Inc. (ODYS) – Technology & Media
    Opera Limited (OPRA) – Technology & Media
    Ormat Technologies, Inc. (ORA) – Sustainability
    Perpetua Resources Corp. (PPTA) – Metals & Mining
    Plug Power, Inc. (PLUG) – Sustainability
    Powell Industries, Inc. (POWL) – Sustainability
    Quantinuum (PRIVATE) – Technology & Media
    RedCloud Holdings (RCT) – Technology & Media
    Redwire Corporation (RDW) – Technology & Media
    Rezolve AI Limited (RZLV) – Technology & Media
    Rimini Street, Inc.  (RMNI) – Technology & Media
    Riot Platforms, Inc. (RIOT) – Technology & Media
    Roth Quantitative Survey Group (QSG) – QSG Research
    Sandisk Corporation (SNDK) – Technology & Media
    Shimmick Corporation (SHIM) – Sustainability
    Shoals Technologies Group, Inc. (SHLS) – Sustainability
    Sivers Semiconductors AB (OM:SIVE) – Technology & Media
    SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (SEDG) – Sustainability
    SoundThinking, Inc. (SSTI) – Technology & Media
    Sunrun Inc. (RUN) – Sustainability
    Tecogen Inc (TGEN) – Sustainability
    TeraWulf Inc. (WULF) – Technology & Media
    Terra Innovatum / GSR III Acq. Corp. (GSRT) – Sustainability
    The Elmet Group (PRIVATE) – Sustainability
    USA Rare Earth, Inc. (USAR) – Technology & Media
    W&T Offshore, Inc. (WTI) – Energy (Oil & Gas)
    Willdan Group, Inc. (WLDN) – Sustainability

    B2I DIGITAL, Inc. is a marketing sponsor of the 15th Annual Roth London Conference. Company Profiles by b2i

    Thank you to the event sponsors:

    Lowenstein Sandler LLP
    The Blueshirt Group
    B2I DIGITAL, Inc.
    InvestorBrandNetwork

    NGO Sustainability
    PV Tech Research

    For more information and how to register, please visit: www.roth.com/london2025

    The conference is intended for qualified investors, companies, service providers, and members of the media/press related to ROTH.

    About ROTH:
    ROTH is a relationship-driven investment bank focused on serving growth companies and their investors. Our full-service platform provides capital raising, high impact equity research, macroeconomics, sales and trading, technical insights, derivatives strategies, M&A advisory, and corporate access. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, ROTH is a privately held, employee-owned organization and maintains offices throughout the U.S. For more information on Roth, please visit www.roth.com.

    Investor Contact
    ROTH
    Isabel Mattson-Pain
    Managing Director, Chief Marketing Officer
    imattson-pain@roth.com | 949.720.7117

    Media Contact
    IBN
    Austin, Texas
    www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com
    512.354.7000 Office
    Editor@InvestorBrandNetwork.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Iran-Israel ‘threshold war’ has rewritten nuclear escalation rules

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Farah N. Jan, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Pennsylvania

    Smoke rises from locations targeted in Tehran amid the third day of Israel’s waves of strikes against Iran, on June 15, 2025. Photo by Khoshiran/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

    Israel’s conflict with Iran represents far more than another Middle Eastern crisis – it marks the emergence of a dangerous new chapter in nuclear rivalries that has the potential to reshape global proliferation risks for decades to come.

    What began with Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and other targets on June 13, 2025 has now spiraled into the world’s first full-scale example of what I as an expert in nuclear security call a “threshold war” – a new and terrifying form of conflict where a nuclear weapons power seeks to use force to prevent an enemy on the verge of nuclearization from making that jump. As missiles continue to rain down on both Tehran and Tel Aviv – with hundreds dead in Iran and at least 24 killed in Israel – the international community is witnessing the collapse of traditional deterrence frameworks in real time.

    Unlike traditional nuclear rivalries where both sides possess declared arsenals – like India and Pakistan, who despite their tensions operate under mutual deterrence – this new threshold dynamic creates an inherently unstable escalation spiral. Iran increasingly believes it cannot deter Israeli aggression without nuclear weapons, yet every step toward acquiring them invites more aggressive Israeli strikes. Israel, for its part, cannot permanently eliminate Iran’s nuclear knowledge through military means – it can only delay it through means that would seemingly guarantee future Iranian determination to acquire the ultimate deterrent.

    Under this dynamic, neither side can step back without accepting an intolerable outcome: for Israel, an Iran more determined than even in becoming a nuclear weapons nation capable of deterring Israeli action and ending its regional military dominance; for Iran, the risk of regime change through devastating Israeli strikes. The consequences of this deadly logic extend far beyond the Middle East.

    Flames rise from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, on June 15, 2025.
    AP Photo/Vahid Salemi

    The preventive strike precedent

    The stakes could not be higher, as Iranian officials have called the attack “a declaration of war” and vowed that destroyed nuclear facilities “would be rebuilt.” Israel, meanwhile has warned its campaign will continue “for as many days as it takes.”

    Most ominously, the scheduled nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran were called off, with Tehran dismissing any such dialogue as “meaningless.” This may suggest diplomacy’s window – which opened for just a few months under Trump’s second administration, after being closed during his first – was deliberately slammed shut.

    More broadly, the Israeli strikes mark a dangerous evolution in international norms around preventive warfare. While Israeli officials called this a “preemptive strike,” the legal and strategic reality is different. Preemptive strikes respond to imminent threats – like Israel’s 1967 Six-Day War against Arab armies preparing to attack. Preventive strikes, by contrast, target distant future threats when conditions seem favorable – like Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

    Israel justified its action by claiming Iran could rapidly assemble up to 15 nuclear bombs. Yet, as the International Atomic Energy Agency director, Rafael Grossi, warned beforehand, an Israeli strike could solidify rather than deter Iran’s nuclear ambitions, potentially prompting withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. True to that warning, on June 16, Iran announced it was preparing a parliamentary bill that would see the country leave the 1968 treaty.

    Israel’s calculations in opting to strike build on the same erosion of international legal frameworks that has legitimized preemptive warfare since the United States’ military action in Afghanistan and Iraq after the Sept. 11, 2001 attack. America’s “war on terror” fundamentally challenged sovereignty norms through practices like drone strikes and preemptive attacks. More recently, operations in Gaza and elsewhere have demonstrated that violations of international humanitarian law carry limited consequences in practice. For Israel, this permissive environment has seemingly created both opportunity and justification regarding striking Iran – something that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pursuing for decades.

    Already, Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant demonstrated nuclear facilities’ vulnerability in modern warfare. I believe Israel’s actions further risk normalizing attacks on nuclear infrastructure, potentially legitimizing similar preventive actions by India, China or the U.S. against emerging nuclear programs elsewhere.

    From strikes to regional conflagration

    Israel’s initial strike quickly triggered inevitable escalation. Iran’s retaliation came in waves: first hundreds of drones and missiles on June 13, then sustained barrages throughout the following days. By the morning of June 15, both countries were trading strikes on energy infrastructure, military bases and civilian areas, with no immediate end in sight.

    The Houthis in Yemen have since joined the fight, by launching ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv. Notably absent are Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran’s Iraqi militias – all significantly damaged by recent action by Israel. This degradation of Iran’s “axis of resistance” – its traditional forward deterrent – fundamentally alters Tehran’s strategic calculations. Without strong proxies to threaten retaliation, Iran is more exposed to Israeli strikes, making nuclear weapons seem like the only reliable deterrent against future attacks.

    The escalation pattern illustrates what can happen when when a government casts aggression as prevention. Having initiated the recent escalation of hostilities, Israel now faces the consequences. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s vow that destroyed facilities “would be rebuilt” underscores that Israeli action designed to prevent nuclearization may instead result in Iran pursuing it with renewed determination.

    The commitment trap

    This creates what strategists call the “commitment trap” – a dynamic where both sides face escalating costs but cannot back down. Israel faces its own strategic dilemma. The strikes may ultimately accelerate rather than prevent Iranian nuclearization, yet backing down would mean accepting a nuclear Iran. Netanyahu’s promise that current strikes are “nothing compared to what they will feel in coming days” shows how quickly strikes sold as preventative escalate toward total war.

    Missiles fired from Iran are pictured in the night sky over Jerusalem on June 14, 2025.
    Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images

    Unlike established nuclear powers that can negotiate from positions of strength, threshold states, such as Iran, face a stark choice: remain vulnerable to preventive strikes and regime change or race toward the protection that nuclear deterrence provides.

    North Korea offers the clearest example of this dynamic. Despite decades of sanctions and military threats, Pyongyang’s nuclear program has made it essentially immune to preventive strikes. Iranian leaders understand this lesson well – the question is whether they can reach the same protected status before suffering decisive preventive action.

    Traditional nuclear deterrence theory assumes rational actors operating under mutual vulnerability. But threshold wars break these assumptions in fundamental ways. Iran cannot fully deter Israeli action because it lacks confirmed weapons, while Israel cannot rely on deterrence to prevent Iranian weaponization because Iran’s nuclear program continues advancing.

    This creates “use it or lose it” dynamics: Israel faces shrinking windows to act preventively as Iran approaches weaponization; Iran faces incentives to accelerate its program before suffering additional strikes.

    The absence of effective external mediation compounds these risks. U.S. President Donald Trump’s response to the strikes reveals this dynamic starkly. Initially opposing military action and preferring diplomacy to “bombing the hell out of” Iran, Trump pivoted dramatically after the strikes began, and warned that “there’s more to come. A lot more.”

    His post on Truth Social – “Two months ago I gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’ They should have done it!” – demonstrates how quickly diplomatic efforts can collapse once threshold wars begin.

    Global implication

    The international response reveals how thoroughly Israel’s Operation Rising Lion has normalized aggression against nuclear facilities. While European leaders called for “maximum restraint,” none condemned Israel’s initial attacks. Russia and China condemned the attacks but took no concrete action. The U.N. Security Council produced only statements of “concern” about “escalation.”

    This normalization sets what I believe to be a catastrophic precedent. The threshold war model threatens to unravel decades of nuclear governance based on deterrence rather than preemption.

    Indeed, the Iran-Israel threshold war sets dangerous precedents for other regional nuclear competitions. Successful preventive strikes could incentivize similar actions elsewhere, eroding diplomatic nonproliferation efforts. Conversely, rapid nuclearization by Iran could encourage other threshold states, like Saudi Arabia, to pursue nuclear capabilities swiftly and secretly.

    When preventive strikes become the enforcement mechanism for nonproliferation norms, the entire architecture of nuclear governance begins to crumble. Without these frameworks, the world faces an unstable future defined by cycles of preventive strikes and accelerated nuclear proliferation – far more dangerous than the Cold War-era standoffs that shaped nuclear governance.

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

    – ref. Iran-Israel ‘threshold war’ has rewritten nuclear escalation rules – https://theconversation.com/iran-israel-threshold-war-has-rewritten-nuclear-escalation-rules-258965

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Iran-Israel ‘threshold war’ has rewritten nuclear escalation rules

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Farah N. Jan, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Pennsylvania

    Smoke rises from locations targeted in Tehran amid the third day of Israel’s waves of strikes against Iran, on June 15, 2025. Photo by Khoshiran/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

    Israel’s conflict with Iran represents far more than another Middle Eastern crisis – it marks the emergence of a dangerous new chapter in nuclear rivalries that has the potential to reshape global proliferation risks for decades to come.

    What began with Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and other targets on June 13, 2025 has now spiraled into the world’s first full-scale example of what I as an expert in nuclear security call a “threshold war” – a new and terrifying form of conflict where a nuclear weapons power seeks to use force to prevent an enemy on the verge of nuclearization from making that jump. As missiles continue to rain down on both Tehran and Tel Aviv – with hundreds dead in Iran and at least 24 killed in Israel – the international community is witnessing the collapse of traditional deterrence frameworks in real time.

    Unlike traditional nuclear rivalries where both sides possess declared arsenals – like India and Pakistan, who despite their tensions operate under mutual deterrence – this new threshold dynamic creates an inherently unstable escalation spiral. Iran increasingly believes it cannot deter Israeli aggression without nuclear weapons, yet every step toward acquiring them invites more aggressive Israeli strikes. Israel, for its part, cannot permanently eliminate Iran’s nuclear knowledge through military means – it can only delay it through means that would seemingly guarantee future Iranian determination to acquire the ultimate deterrent.

    Under this dynamic, neither side can step back without accepting an intolerable outcome: for Israel, an Iran more determined than even in becoming a nuclear weapons nation capable of deterring Israeli action and ending its regional military dominance; for Iran, the risk of regime change through devastating Israeli strikes. The consequences of this deadly logic extend far beyond the Middle East.

    Flames rise from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, on June 15, 2025.
    AP Photo/Vahid Salemi

    The preventive strike precedent

    The stakes could not be higher, as Iranian officials have called the attack “a declaration of war” and vowed that destroyed nuclear facilities “would be rebuilt.” Israel, meanwhile has warned its campaign will continue “for as many days as it takes.”

    Most ominously, the scheduled nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran were called off, with Tehran dismissing any such dialogue as “meaningless.” This may suggest diplomacy’s window – which opened for just a few months under Trump’s second administration, after being closed during his first – was deliberately slammed shut.

    More broadly, the Israeli strikes mark a dangerous evolution in international norms around preventive warfare. While Israeli officials called this a “preemptive strike,” the legal and strategic reality is different. Preemptive strikes respond to imminent threats – like Israel’s 1967 Six-Day War against Arab armies preparing to attack. Preventive strikes, by contrast, target distant future threats when conditions seem favorable – like Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

    Israel justified its action by claiming Iran could rapidly assemble up to 15 nuclear bombs. Yet, as the International Atomic Energy Agency director, Rafael Grossi, warned beforehand, an Israeli strike could solidify rather than deter Iran’s nuclear ambitions, potentially prompting withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. True to that warning, on June 16, Iran announced it was preparing a parliamentary bill that would see the country leave the 1968 treaty.

    Israel’s calculations in opting to strike build on the same erosion of international legal frameworks that has legitimized preemptive warfare since the United States’ military action in Afghanistan and Iraq after the Sept. 11, 2001 attack. America’s “war on terror” fundamentally challenged sovereignty norms through practices like drone strikes and preemptive attacks. More recently, operations in Gaza and elsewhere have demonstrated that violations of international humanitarian law carry limited consequences in practice. For Israel, this permissive environment has seemingly created both opportunity and justification regarding striking Iran – something that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pursuing for decades.

    Already, Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant demonstrated nuclear facilities’ vulnerability in modern warfare. I believe Israel’s actions further risk normalizing attacks on nuclear infrastructure, potentially legitimizing similar preventive actions by India, China or the U.S. against emerging nuclear programs elsewhere.

    From strikes to regional conflagration

    Israel’s initial strike quickly triggered inevitable escalation. Iran’s retaliation came in waves: first hundreds of drones and missiles on June 13, then sustained barrages throughout the following days. By the morning of June 15, both countries were trading strikes on energy infrastructure, military bases and civilian areas, with no immediate end in sight.

    The Houthis in Yemen have since joined the fight, by launching ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv. Notably absent are Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran’s Iraqi militias – all significantly damaged by recent action by Israel. This degradation of Iran’s “axis of resistance” – its traditional forward deterrent – fundamentally alters Tehran’s strategic calculations. Without strong proxies to threaten retaliation, Iran is more exposed to Israeli strikes, making nuclear weapons seem like the only reliable deterrent against future attacks.

    The escalation pattern illustrates what can happen when when a government casts aggression as prevention. Having initiated the recent escalation of hostilities, Israel now faces the consequences. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s vow that destroyed facilities “would be rebuilt” underscores that Israeli action designed to prevent nuclearization may instead result in Iran pursuing it with renewed determination.

    The commitment trap

    This creates what strategists call the “commitment trap” – a dynamic where both sides face escalating costs but cannot back down. Israel faces its own strategic dilemma. The strikes may ultimately accelerate rather than prevent Iranian nuclearization, yet backing down would mean accepting a nuclear Iran. Netanyahu’s promise that current strikes are “nothing compared to what they will feel in coming days” shows how quickly strikes sold as preventative escalate toward total war.

    Missiles fired from Iran are pictured in the night sky over Jerusalem on June 14, 2025.
    Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images

    Unlike established nuclear powers that can negotiate from positions of strength, threshold states, such as Iran, face a stark choice: remain vulnerable to preventive strikes and regime change or race toward the protection that nuclear deterrence provides.

    North Korea offers the clearest example of this dynamic. Despite decades of sanctions and military threats, Pyongyang’s nuclear program has made it essentially immune to preventive strikes. Iranian leaders understand this lesson well – the question is whether they can reach the same protected status before suffering decisive preventive action.

    Traditional nuclear deterrence theory assumes rational actors operating under mutual vulnerability. But threshold wars break these assumptions in fundamental ways. Iran cannot fully deter Israeli action because it lacks confirmed weapons, while Israel cannot rely on deterrence to prevent Iranian weaponization because Iran’s nuclear program continues advancing.

    This creates “use it or lose it” dynamics: Israel faces shrinking windows to act preventively as Iran approaches weaponization; Iran faces incentives to accelerate its program before suffering additional strikes.

    The absence of effective external mediation compounds these risks. U.S. President Donald Trump’s response to the strikes reveals this dynamic starkly. Initially opposing military action and preferring diplomacy to “bombing the hell out of” Iran, Trump pivoted dramatically after the strikes began, and warned that “there’s more to come. A lot more.”

    His post on Truth Social – “Two months ago I gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’ They should have done it!” – demonstrates how quickly diplomatic efforts can collapse once threshold wars begin.

    Global implication

    The international response reveals how thoroughly Israel’s Operation Rising Lion has normalized aggression against nuclear facilities. While European leaders called for “maximum restraint,” none condemned Israel’s initial attacks. Russia and China condemned the attacks but took no concrete action. The U.N. Security Council produced only statements of “concern” about “escalation.”

    This normalization sets what I believe to be a catastrophic precedent. The threshold war model threatens to unravel decades of nuclear governance based on deterrence rather than preemption.

    Indeed, the Iran-Israel threshold war sets dangerous precedents for other regional nuclear competitions. Successful preventive strikes could incentivize similar actions elsewhere, eroding diplomatic nonproliferation efforts. Conversely, rapid nuclearization by Iran could encourage other threshold states, like Saudi Arabia, to pursue nuclear capabilities swiftly and secretly.

    When preventive strikes become the enforcement mechanism for nonproliferation norms, the entire architecture of nuclear governance begins to crumble. Without these frameworks, the world faces an unstable future defined by cycles of preventive strikes and accelerated nuclear proliferation – far more dangerous than the Cold War-era standoffs that shaped nuclear governance.

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

    – ref. Iran-Israel ‘threshold war’ has rewritten nuclear escalation rules – https://theconversation.com/iran-israel-threshold-war-has-rewritten-nuclear-escalation-rules-258965

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: “Resilience isn’t enough”: why the growth of women’s football could lead to player burnout

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Helen Owton, Lecturer in Sport and Fitness, The Open University

    Millie Bright (Chelsea Fcw) of England shooting to goal during the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup in France Jose Breton- Pics Action/Shutterstock

    Women’s football has exploded onto the global stage. Record-breaking crowds, major sponsorships, elite athletes and huge media deals have transformed the sport into a fast-growing spectacle. Its rise may be inspiring, but behind the success, many players are struggling with the growing physical and mental demands of the modern game.

    As the game becomes faster and more physically intense, players are expected to deliver top performances across crowded domestic seasons, international tournaments and growing commercial commitments.

    Recovery windows are shrinking, while the pressure to remain at peak performance only grows. Physiotherapists have already warned that many female players face burnout, overtraining and a rising risk of injuries due to inadequate rest and recovery time.

    With growing visibility also comes increasing scrutiny. Female players now live under the spotlight of social media, where they are expected not only to perform, but to lead, inspire and remain endlessly positive – often while facing online abuse.

    Chelsea and England star Fran Kirby has spoken openly about the criticism she has received about her body, especially after injuries or illness when she wasn’t at peak fitness.

    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.

    “I get called fat all the time,” she has said, highlighting how online abuse adds another layer of psychological strain that isn’t always visible, but can be deeply harmful.

    Mental health is increasingly part of the conversation around women’s football, but real support remains patchy. After the tragic suicide of Sheffield United’s 27-year-old midfielder Maddy Cusack in 2023, the FA commissioned a report into mental health support across the Women’s Super League (WSL).

    More players are speaking publicly about the pressures of anxiety, burnout and emotional distress, but access to professional psychological care still depends largely on the resources of individual clubs.

    For some players, the psychological toll deepens even further after injury. One study found that professional female footballers are nearly twice as likely to experience psychological distress after undergoing surgery. Yet mental health support during injury recovery remains inconsistent across the WSL.

    Millie Bright’s story offers a recent example. The Chelsea and England defender missed much of the 2023-24 season due to injury and, in 2025, withdrew from the England squad citing burnout. She eventually underwent knee surgery and chose to prioritise her rehabilitation over international duty, highlighting the difficult choices players face when balancing physical and emotional wellbeing.

    Governing bodies and clubs have a crucial role to play in safeguarding players’ wellbeing. Yet Uefa has come under fire for putting commercial growth ahead of player welfare with its expansion of the women’s Champions League into the new “Swiss model” format.

    Instead of facing three opponents twice, teams will now play six different teams during the league phase, splitting those matches home and away. While the extra fixtures may boost visibility and revenue, they also add to an already punishing schedule, heightening the risk of fatigue, injury and burnout for players who are already stretched to the limit.

    Financial security remains another major challenge. Some WSL players reportedly earn as little as £20,000 a year, forcing many to juggle full-time jobs or academic studies alongside football.

    For mothers in the game, the demands are even higher, as they manage childcare, training, travel and recovery with little institutional support. Maternity policies remain inconsistent, and many players face intense pressure to return quickly to peak form after pregnancy.

    Extraordinary resilience

    Despite these enormous challenges, female players continue to demonstrate extraordinary resilience, paving the way for the next generation. But as a 2024 Health in Education Association report notes, resilience alone isn’t enough. Without proper investment in both physical and mental health services, the long-term wellbeing and careers of these athletes remain at risk.

    While mental toughness is often celebrated, research shows that resilience depends heavily on the support structures available. In the WSL, access to mental health care and sports psychology varies dramatically between clubs.

    The FA has announced plans to make wellbeing and psychology roles mandatory in WSL licensing, which is a positive step. But for many players, consistent, high-quality support remains far from guaranteed.

    There is no doubt that women’s football has finally gained the attention it deserves. But progress must not come at the cost of player welfare. A sustainable future for the sport means investing not just in performance, but in protection: standardised access to physiotherapy, sport psychology and wellbeing professionals for all players, across all clubs.

    If the game truly wants to thrive long-term, it must create a culture where players aren’t just expected to perform, but are supported to rest, recover and speak openly about their mental health – without fear, stigma or consequence.

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

    – ref. “Resilience isn’t enough”: why the growth of women’s football could lead to player burnout – https://theconversation.com/resilience-isnt-enough-why-the-growth-of-womens-football-could-lead-to-player-burnout-258432

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: One dead, six missing after explosion at fireworks factory in central China

    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

    CHANGSHA, June 16 (Xinhua) — One person was killed, six were missing and nine were injured as of 5 p.m. Monday in an explosion at a fireworks factory in central China’s Hunan Province on the same day.

    The blast occurred at Shanzhou Fireworks Co., Ltd. in Linli County, Changde City, at around 8:23 a.m., the county party committee said. All the victims have been given medical treatment and their condition is not life-threatening, it said.

    The explosion occurred in a one-story reinforced concrete building. The company, founded in July 2017, employs more than 150 people, most of whom were outside the blast zone at the time of the accident.

    Emergency rescue teams of various levels arrived at the scene immediately after the accident. The rescuers’ efforts are focused on searching for missing persons, providing assistance to victims, evacuating nearby residents and investigating the causes of the accident. -0-

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Sleep loss rewires the brain for cravings and weight gain – a neurologist explains the science behind the cycle

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse, Associate Professor of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh

    Getting enough sleep is one of the most effective ways to restore metabolic balance in the brain and body. SimpleImages/Moment via Getty Images

    You stayed up too late scrolling through your phone, answering emails or watching just one more episode. The next morning, you feel groggy and irritable. That sugary pastry or greasy breakfast sandwich suddenly looks more appealing than your usual yogurt and berries. By the afternoon, chips or candy from the break room call your name. This isn’t just about willpower. Your brain, short on rest, is nudging you toward quick, high-calorie fixes.

    There is a reason why this cycle repeats itself so predictably. Research shows that insufficient sleep disrupts hunger signals, weakens self-control, impairs glucose metabolism and increases your risk of weight gain. These changes can occur rapidly, even after a single night of poor sleep, and can become more harmful over time if left unaddressed.

    I am a neurologist specializing in sleep science and its impact on health.

    Sleep deprivation affects millions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of U.S. adults regularly get less than seven hours of sleep per night. Nearly three-quarters of adolescents fall short of the recommended 8-10 hours sleep during the school week.

    While anyone can suffer from sleep loss, essential workers and first responders, including nurses, firefighters and emergency personnel, are especially vulnerable due to night shifts and rotating schedules. These patterns disrupt the body’s internal clock and are linked to increased cravings, poor eating habits and elevated risks for obesity and metabolic disease. Fortunately, even a few nights of consistent, high-quality sleep can help rebalance key systems and start to reverse some of these effects.

    How sleep deficits disrupt hunger hormones

    Your body regulates hunger through a hormonal feedback loop involving two key hormones.

    Ghrelin, produced primarily in the stomach, signals that you are hungry, while leptin, which is produced in the fat cells, tells your brain that you are full. Even one night of restricted sleep increases the release of ghrelin and decreases leptin, which leads to greater hunger and reduced satisfaction after eating. This shift is driven by changes in how the body regulates hunger and stress. Your brain becomes less responsive to fullness signals, while at the same time ramping up stress hormones that can increase cravings and appetite.

    These changes are not subtle. In controlled lab studies, healthy adults reported increased hunger and stronger cravings for calorie-dense foods after sleeping only four to five hours. The effect worsens with ongoing sleep deficits, which can lead to a chronically elevated appetite.

    Sleep is as important as diet and exercise in maintaining a healthy weight.

    Why the brain shifts into reward mode

    Sleep loss changes how your brain evaluates food.

    Imaging studies show that after just one night of sleep deprivation, the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision-making and impulse control, has reduced activity. At the same time, reward-related areas such as the amygdala and the nucleus accumbens, a part of the brain that drives motivation and reward-seeking, become more reactive to tempting food cues.

    In simple terms, your brain becomes more tempted by junk food and less capable of resisting it. Participants in sleep deprivation studies not only rated high-calorie foods as more desirable but were also more likely to choose them, regardless of how hungry they actually felt.

    Your metabolism slows, leading to increased fat storage

    Sleep is also critical for blood sugar control.

    When you’re well rested, your body efficiently uses insulin to move sugar out of your bloodstream and into your cells for energy. But even one night of partial sleep can reduce insulin sensitivity by up to 25%, leaving more sugar circulating in your blood.

    If your body can’t process sugar effectively, it’s more likely to convert it into fat. This contributes to weight gain, especially around the abdomen. Over time, poor sleep is associated with higher risk for Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, a group of health issues such as high blood pressure, belly fat and high blood sugar that raise the risk for heart disease and diabetes.

    On top of this, sleep loss raises cortisol, your body’s main stress hormone. Elevated cortisol encourages fat storage, especially in the abdominal region, and can further disrupt appetite regulation.

    Sleep is your metabolic reset button

    In a culture that glorifies hustle and late nights, sleep is often treated as optional. But your body doesn’t see it that way. Sleep is not downtime. It is active, essential repair. It is when your brain recalibrates hunger and reward signals, your hormones reset and your metabolism stabilizes.

    Just one or two nights of quality sleep can begin to undo the damage from prior sleep loss and restore your body’s natural balance.

    So the next time you find yourself reaching for junk food after a short night, recognize that your biology is not failing you. It is reacting to stress and fatigue. The most effective way to restore balance isn’t a crash diet or caffeine. It’s sleep.

    Sleep is not a luxury. It is your most powerful tool for appetite control, energy regulation and long-term health.

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

    – ref. Sleep loss rewires the brain for cravings and weight gain – a neurologist explains the science behind the cycle – https://theconversation.com/sleep-loss-rewires-the-brain-for-cravings-and-weight-gain-a-neurologist-explains-the-science-behind-the-cycle-255726

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: New ServiceTrade Inspections Delivers Unprecedented Efficiency and Revenue Growth Opportunities for Commercial Fire Contractors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DURHAM, N.C., June 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ServiceTrade, Inc., the industry-leading provider of field service management solutions that enable commercial service contractors to build stronger, more profitable businesses, today announced ServiceTrade InspectionsTM.   ServiceTrade Inspections is the only solution for fire inspection and compliance management that is fully integrated within a field service management platform. The expanded functionality streamlines every aspect of the inspection workflow through a single, mobile user interface, enabling greater efficiency, increased revenue, and superior customer service.

    “We’ve been in the trenches with commercial fire service providers for over a decade––we understand their challenges, and we know how integrated inspections functionality can streamline operations and add efficiency to improve their business performance,” said William Chaney, CEO of ServiceTrade. “We’re excited to bring the next generation of inspection technology to them within ServiceTrade.” 

    Fully integrated within ServiceTrade’s field service management platform, the new functionality consolidates essential inspection management capabilities in a seamless experience that accelerates inspections and maximizes technician productivity. Rather than dealing with administrative paperwork, technicians can focus on performing inspections, testing, and maintenance work. ServiceTrade captures inspection data once and puts it to work everywhere—automating deficiency creation, updating asset information, and creating polished customer-ready reports in less time. ServiceTrade Inspections includes:

    • A Unified Mobile App for Service and Inspections: Technicians perform inspections via the ServiceTrade mobile application, designed specifically to meet the demands of fire protection work—streamlined, accurate, and easy to use in the field. The app boosts speed, reduces training time, and improves field adoption. 
    • A Comprehensive Mobile Inspection Forms Library: ServiceTrade Inspections offers an extensive library of NFPA and AES forms. The library includes forms required by joint commission-accredited organizations, such as major healthcare providers, hospitals, schools, Class A office buildings, apartment complexes, high-rises, and industrial facilities.
    • Intelligent Inspection Report Generation: Inspection results are automatically transformed into polished, customer-ready compliance reports that can be reviewed, approved, and delivered without delay.
    • Automated Deficiency Management: ServiceTrade streamlines the entire lifecycle of deficiency management—from the moment a technician in the field identifies an issue, to generating revenue from the repair. Technicians can easily document deficiencies, which are instantly added to the NFPA report and converted into ready-to-quote records in ServiceTrade. Duplicate data entry is eliminated, enabling quicker customer approvals, ensuring full compliance, and accelerating repair revenue.
    • Integrated field-to-office workflow: ServiceTrade Inspections improves field-to-office coordination with real-time status tracking, transparent revision history, and seamless in-platform form editing.  

    “Inspection and deficiency repair work is an engine of predictable revenue and growth for fire protection contractors,” said Brook Bock, CPO at ServiceTrade. “ServiceTrade’s new built-in inspections functionality makes it easier for contractors to take advantage of this desirable work without compromising on capabilities or implementing multiple software products to support both inspections and operations. ServiceTrade’s all-in-one service capabilities include inspections, quotes, repairs, and compliance reporting. It is purpose-built to help fire service contractors build stronger, more efficient, and more profitable businesses.”

    ServiceTrade Inspections combines state-of-the-art technology with deep expertise in the fire protection industry in a single, complete solution. ServiceTrade enables contractors to:

    • Win and retain premium customers by delivering superior, code-compliant inspection services.
    • Drive additional revenue by identifying more deficiencies and performing more repairs.
    • Mitigate risk through accurate inspections and a comprehensive digital record.
    • Streamline technician workflows with fingertip access to digital, code-compliant inspection forms.
    • Eliminate manual data entry and lost paperwork. 
    • Boost technician productivity and confidence with intuitive digital tools and AI assistants that enable every technician to sound like a professional.
    • Simplify cross-organizational workflows, including sales, field service delivery, and office operations. 
    • Provide end-customer with proactive and detailed information that fosters trust and strengthens customer satisfaction.

    Unlike general inspection management solutions, which often lack industry-specific features, forms, and integrations, ServiceTrade Inspections is specifically designed for fire protection contractors.  

    Joshua Gilbert, Vice President of Operations of Desert Fire, commented: “ServiceTrade does three things simultaneously – it creates the report and maps everything for compliance, tracks all deficiencies so we can generate quotes and send work acknowledgments to customers, all from one mobile interface. Once we started tracking how quickly we moved from deficiency to quote to job to invoice, our revenue skyrocketed because nothing was getting missed anymore.”

    ServiceTrade Inspections is now available for purchase, with implementations beginning this Fall.

    To learn more about ServiceTrade:

    ABOUT SERVICETRADE

    ServiceTrade helps commercial service contractors build stronger, more profitable businesses. With over a decade of category leadership and more than 1,300 customers, ServiceTrade’s end-to-end platform streamlines operations from the field to the back office, improves technician productivity, and strengthens customer relationships from contract to invoice. ServiceTrade powers the modern commercial contractor. Learn more at www.servicetrade.com.

    Contact:

    media@ktcmarketingandpr.com

    The MIL Network –

  • Israel says Tehran residents to ‘pay price’ after Tel Aviv, Haifa attacks

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (2)

    srael and Iran kept up their attacks, killing and wounding civilians and raising concern among world leaders at a G7 meeting in Canada this week that the biggest battle between the two old enemies could lead to a broader regional conflict.

    The Iranian death toll in four days of Israeli strikes, carried out with the declared aim of wiping out Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, had reached at least 224, with 90% of the casualties reported to be civilians, an Iranian health ministry spokesperson said.

    Early on Monday, the Israeli military said it had detected more missiles launched from Iran towards Israel.

    “At this time, the (Israeli Air Force) is operating to intercept and strike where necessary to eliminate the threat,” the Israeli Defence Forces said. Live video footage showed several missiles over Tel Aviv and Reuters witnesses said explosions could be heard there and over Jerusalem.

    At least 10 people in Israel, including children, have been killed so far, according to authorities there.

    Group of Seven leaders began gathering in the Canadian Rockies on Sunday with the Israel-Iran conflict expected to be a top priority.

    German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his goals for the summit include for Iran to not develop or possess nuclear weapons, ensuring Israel’s right to defend itself, avoiding escalation of the conflict and creating room for diplomacy.

    “This issue will be very high on the agenda of the G7 summit,” Merz told reporters.

    Before leaving for the summit on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump was asked what he was doing to de-escalate the situation. “I hope there’s going to be a deal. I think it’s time for a deal,” he told reporters. “Sometimes they have to fight it out.”

    Iran has told mediators Qatar and Oman that it is not open to negotiating a ceasefire while it is under Israeli attack, an official briefed on the communications told Reuters on Sunday.

    FIRST DAYLIGHT ATTACK ON ISRAEL

    Explosions shook Tel Aviv on Sunday during Iran’s first daylight missile attack since Israel’s strike on Friday. Shortly after nightfall, Iranian missiles hit a residential street in Haifa, a mixed Jewish-Arab city, and in Israel’s south.

    In Bat Yam, a city near Tel Aviv, residents braced on Sunday evening for another sleepless night after an overnight strike on an apartment tower.

    “It’s very dreadful. It’s not fun. People are losing their lives and their homes,” said Shem, 29.

    Images from Tehran showed the night sky lit up by a huge blaze at a fuel depot after Israel began strikes against Iran’s oil and gas sector – raising the stakes for the global economy and the functioning of the Iranian state.

    Brent crude futures were up $1.04, or 1.4%, to $75.39 a barrel by 0115 GMT, having jumped as much as $4 earlier in the session. While the spike in oil prices has investors on edge, stock and currency markets were little moved in early trading in Asia on Monday.

    “It’s more of an oil story than an equity story at this point,” said Jim Carroll, senior wealth adviser and portfolio manager at Ballast Rock Private Wealth. “Stocks right now seem to be hanging on.”

    TRUMP VETOES PLAN TO TARGET KHAMENEI, OFFICIALS SAY

    In Washington, two U.S. officials told Reuters that Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

    When asked about the Reuters report, Netanyahu told Fox News on Sunday: “There’s so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I’m not going to get into that.”

    “We do what we need to do,” he told Fox’s “Special Report With Bret Baier.”

    Israel began the assault with a surprise attack on Friday that wiped out the top echelon of Iran’s military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and says the campaign will escalate in the coming days.

    The intelligence chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Kazemi, and his deputy were killed in attacks on Tehran on Sunday, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said.

    Iran has vowed to “open the gates of hell” in retaliation.

    TRUMP WARNS IRAN NOT TO ATTACK

    Trump has lauded Israel’s offensive while denying Iranian allegations that the U.S. has taken part and warning Tehran not to widen its retaliation to include U.S. targets.

    Two U.S. officials said on Friday the U.S. military had helped shoot down Iranian missiles that were headed toward Israel.

    The U.S. president has repeatedly said Iran could end the war by agreeing to tough restrictions on its nuclear program, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes but which Western countries and the IAEA nuclear watchdog say could be used to make an atomic bomb.

    The latest round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the U.S., due on Sunday, was scrapped after Tehran said it would not negotiate while under Israeli attack.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI Europe: ASIA/MYANMAR – The Vicar of Mandalay: “We thank Pope Leo for his words and his attention to the suffering of the civilian population”

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Archdiocese of Mandalay

    Mandalay (Agenzia Fides) – “Throughout Myanmar, there are areas where fighting is taking place, where people are displaced, where civilians are suffering great hardship while fleeing the conflict. In our Diocese of Mandalay, in particular, the Sagaing area is the most affected by clashes, bombings, and immense suffering of the civilian population,” Fr. Peter Sein Hlaing Oo, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Mandalay in north-central Myanmar, told Fides. The Vicar General and the entire local Church appreciate the words of Pope Leo XIV, who, during the Sunday Angelus prayer yesterday, June 15, recalled the ongoing fighting in Myanmar. “We thank him for his words and his attention to the suffering of the civilian population,” he said. The Catholic priest tells Fides about the situation in Sagaing: “Many villages have been abandoned or reduced to rubble due to the constant bombing. The helpless people do not know where to find refuge. There are Catholic churches and parishes in this area, and all of them are in serious difficulty. We have Catholic believers in both the regime-controlled areas and those controlled by the resistance. And there are believers who are caught in the crossfire. The people are helpless and defenseless. But our priests are courageously working for the people, especially the elderly, women, and children, who often lack even the bare necessities to support themselves. Together with religious and catechists, they are providing social services in areas that are very dangerous because they have been affected by the firefights.” “We continue to pray every day, hold Masses and prayer vigils for our people, for peace, for the future of the nation,” the Vicar General concluded. “We continue to trust in God in this terrible situation. And let us not forget that in Mandalay, in addition to the war, we are also experiencing the devastating effects of the earthquake.” Also speaking to Fides, Joseph Kung, a Catholic from Yangon, who is active in the local Church and teaches at a private university, added: “As the Pope has noted, civilian infrastructure continues to be attacked and destroyed by the army throughout the country. The most painful thing is when schools are attacked, when pupils and students are attacked, young people who only wanted to continue their education.” “There is still so much pain and outrage over the massacre a month ago, when an airstrike on the village of Oe Htein Kwin in the Sagaing region killed 20 pupils and two teachers,” he emphasized.”Among the areas most affected by the conflict are Sagaing, Rakhine State, and areas in Chin and Kachin States. We are constantly receiving reports from the dioceses of Bamaw and Myitkyina, both in Kachin, where many villages have been destroyed and civilians continue to be displaced,” he continues. Kung concludes: “We are grateful to Pope Leo for his appeals. When the Pope mentions Myanmar, it gives us hope because we know we are not alone and abandoned. The population is exhausted and scarred by four years of civil war. We wait and pray every day, placing our suffering in the hands of God and the Virgin Mary.” (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 16/6/2025)
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  • MIL-OSI Europe: ASIA/MYANMAR – The Vicar of Mandalay: “We thank Pope Leo for his words and his attention to the suffering of the civilian population”

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Archdiocese of Mandalay

    Mandalay (Agenzia Fides) – “Throughout Myanmar, there are areas where fighting is taking place, where people are displaced, where civilians are suffering great hardship while fleeing the conflict. In our Diocese of Mandalay, in particular, the Sagaing area is the most affected by clashes, bombings, and immense suffering of the civilian population,” Fr. Peter Sein Hlaing Oo, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Mandalay in north-central Myanmar, told Fides. The Vicar General and the entire local Church appreciate the words of Pope Leo XIV, who, during the Sunday Angelus prayer yesterday, June 15, recalled the ongoing fighting in Myanmar. “We thank him for his words and his attention to the suffering of the civilian population,” he said. The Catholic priest tells Fides about the situation in Sagaing: “Many villages have been abandoned or reduced to rubble due to the constant bombing. The helpless people do not know where to find refuge. There are Catholic churches and parishes in this area, and all of them are in serious difficulty. We have Catholic believers in both the regime-controlled areas and those controlled by the resistance. And there are believers who are caught in the crossfire. The people are helpless and defenseless. But our priests are courageously working for the people, especially the elderly, women, and children, who often lack even the bare necessities to support themselves. Together with religious and catechists, they are providing social services in areas that are very dangerous because they have been affected by the firefights.” “We continue to pray every day, hold Masses and prayer vigils for our people, for peace, for the future of the nation,” the Vicar General concluded. “We continue to trust in God in this terrible situation. And let us not forget that in Mandalay, in addition to the war, we are also experiencing the devastating effects of the earthquake.” Also speaking to Fides, Joseph Kung, a Catholic from Yangon, who is active in the local Church and teaches at a private university, added: “As the Pope has noted, civilian infrastructure continues to be attacked and destroyed by the army throughout the country. The most painful thing is when schools are attacked, when pupils and students are attacked, young people who only wanted to continue their education.” “There is still so much pain and outrage over the massacre a month ago, when an airstrike on the village of Oe Htein Kwin in the Sagaing region killed 20 pupils and two teachers,” he emphasized.”Among the areas most affected by the conflict are Sagaing, Rakhine State, and areas in Chin and Kachin States. We are constantly receiving reports from the dioceses of Bamaw and Myitkyina, both in Kachin, where many villages have been destroyed and civilians continue to be displaced,” he continues. Kung concludes: “We are grateful to Pope Leo for his appeals. When the Pope mentions Myanmar, it gives us hope because we know we are not alone and abandoned. The population is exhausted and scarred by four years of civil war. We wait and pray every day, placing our suffering in the hands of God and the Virgin Mary.” (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 16/6/2025)
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  • MIL-OSI Europe: AMERICA/CHILE – Curacautín, arson attack: San Francisco chapel destroyed again

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Monday, 16 June 2025

    Diocesi Temuco

    Santiago de Chile (Agenzia Fides) – “With deep sorrow”, the Diocese of Temuco joins the Catholic community of Curacautín, where “another arson attack has devastated the San Francisco chapel, in the town of Radalco”. What happened in recent days, in the middle of the night, is the second attack on the chapel of the parish of San Pedro de Curacautín: already in 2023, in fact, the structure had been destroyed and immediately rebuilt, but now only ashes remain of this place of worship.In response to this latest act of violence, according to a statement released by the diocese, Bishop Jorge Concha Cayuqueo has expressed his closeness, inviting all believers to join in prayer for peace: “The fire at the San Francisco Chapel is a serious blow to the life of the Christian community and the local people, because it is a place of worship for Catholics for many years and because the chapel has also served the entire community in many ways, regardless of religious beliefs.”“This is a very hard-working community that had united in recent months to rebuild its chapel. Today, once again, they suffer a total loss. But we trust in faith”, said the parish priest of Curacautín, Father Víctor Núñez.The area of Temuco is at the center of the so-called “Mapuche conflict”, a conflict between the Mapuche communities and the Chilean state. The origin of the conflict are issues related to land, autonomy and indigenous culture. The statement released by the diocese concludes with a call for peace: “We raise our voice to reject all acts of violence that threaten spaces of faith, encounter, and prayer. We call on the entire diocesan community and people of good will to join in prayer for our brothers and sisters in Radalco, for peace in Araucanía and for the mutual respect that allows us to live together in fraternity. May Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint of this chapel, intercede for his community and inspire us with his spirit of peace, reconciliation and love for all creation”. (Agenzia Fides, 16/6/2025)

    Diocesi Temuco

    Diocesi Temuco

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  • MIL-OSI Europe: AMERICA/CHILE – Curacautín, arson attack: San Francisco chapel destroyed again

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Monday, 16 June 2025

    Diocesi Temuco

    Santiago de Chile (Agenzia Fides) – “With deep sorrow”, the Diocese of Temuco joins the Catholic community of Curacautín, where “another arson attack has devastated the San Francisco chapel, in the town of Radalco”. What happened in recent days, in the middle of the night, is the second attack on the chapel of the parish of San Pedro de Curacautín: already in 2023, in fact, the structure had been destroyed and immediately rebuilt, but now only ashes remain of this place of worship.In response to this latest act of violence, according to a statement released by the diocese, Bishop Jorge Concha Cayuqueo has expressed his closeness, inviting all believers to join in prayer for peace: “The fire at the San Francisco Chapel is a serious blow to the life of the Christian community and the local people, because it is a place of worship for Catholics for many years and because the chapel has also served the entire community in many ways, regardless of religious beliefs.”“This is a very hard-working community that had united in recent months to rebuild its chapel. Today, once again, they suffer a total loss. But we trust in faith”, said the parish priest of Curacautín, Father Víctor Núñez.The area of Temuco is at the center of the so-called “Mapuche conflict”, a conflict between the Mapuche communities and the Chilean state. The origin of the conflict are issues related to land, autonomy and indigenous culture. The statement released by the diocese concludes with a call for peace: “We raise our voice to reject all acts of violence that threaten spaces of faith, encounter, and prayer. We call on the entire diocesan community and people of good will to join in prayer for our brothers and sisters in Radalco, for peace in Araucanía and for the mutual respect that allows us to live together in fraternity. May Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint of this chapel, intercede for his community and inspire us with his spirit of peace, reconciliation and love for all creation”. (Agenzia Fides, 16/6/2025)

    Diocesi Temuco

    Diocesi Temuco

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  • MIL-OSI: American Rebel Light Beer Expands into Virginia with Valley Distributing – Distribution Momentum Accelerates Nationwide

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    With a New Agreement for Southwestern Virginia and Active Distribution across 11 States Since Launching in September 2024, American Rebel Light Beer – America’s Patriotic Beer Continues its Rapid Rise as America’s Fastest Growing Beer

    NASHVILLE, TN,, June 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — American Rebel Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AREB) (“American Rebel” or the “Company”), creator of American Rebel Beer (americanrebelbeer.com) and a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of branded safes, personal security and self-defense products and apparel, proudly reports that American Rebel Beer has signed a distribution agreement with Valley Distributing Corporation (valleydist.net). Through this agreement, American Rebel Light Beer will now be available in Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, Roanoke, Montgomery, Giles, Pulaski, Floyd, Franklin, and Bedford counties, proudly reaching more patriotic Americans who believe in great taste and greater values.

    Founded by David Hutchinson Sr. in 1974 after years as a brewery rep with Stroh Brewery, Valley Distributing began operations in Salem, VA in January 1975. What started with distribution rights to Salem, Roanoke, and ten nearby counties quickly grew into one of the region’s most successful wholesalers. After securing the Coors Brewing Company portfolio in 1983, Valley hit its stride, expanding further with brands like Schlitz, Old Milwaukee, Guinness, Dos Equis, Yuengling, and craft favorites such as Flying Dog and Highland Brewing. Today, under the leadership of Jeff and Patrick Hutchinson, Valley remains a powerhouse rooted in service, expertise, and an unwavering commitment to quality.

    “This partnership with Valley Distributing is a perfect match,” said Todd Porter, President of American Rebel Beverage. “They understand what we stand for: quality, community, and country. Together, we are raising a toast to the American spirit – one cold can at a time.”

    “Valley Distributing is excited to partner with American Rebel Beverages and add another quality brand to our expanding portfolio in Southwestern Virginia,” said John Swanson, Sales Manager at Valley Distributing. “We’re confident that American Rebel Light Beer will resonate with consumers who value both a great-tasting beer and the values behind it.”

    “American Rebel Light Beer is brewed with pride and purpose – to celebrate this country and the people who make it great,” said Andy Ross, CEO of American Rebel. “Partnering with Valley Distributing gives us a strong, respected ally in getting our patriotic message and our beer into more hands across Virginia. We have spent some time with the Valley Distributing team and they understand what America’s Patriotic, God Fearing, Constitution Loving, National Anthem Singing, Stand Your Ground Beer is all about. Four-time NHRA World Champion and American Rebel Beer sponsored driver Matt Hagan and his family are based out of Virginia and adding Virginia to our list of states that we are available in was very important to us. This is more than business, it’s a movement.”

    American Rebel Light Beer is gearing up for a summer packed with bold flavor, proud moments, and all-American refreshment.– with a bold national ad campaign, key event sponsorships, and rapidly growing demand – Valley’s heritage and hometown strength ensure that the crisp refreshment of American Rebel Light Beer will make a powerful mark in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

    Let Freedom Pour – Celebrate the 4th of July with Free Shipping!

    Now through the end of June, American Rebel Light Beer is offering Free Shipping so our Patriotic Consumers can taste freedom this Fourth of July! Whether you’re grilling with family, watching fireworks, or raising a toast to our great nation, enjoy the crisp, clean, bold taste of America’s Patriotic Beer – delivered right to your door at no extra cost.

    Stock up today and let freedom ring with every sip!
    Purchase now at: https://shop.americanrebelbeer.com

    About American Rebel Light Beer

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

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

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

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

    For more information, visit americanrebelbeer.com.

    About American Rebel Holdings, Inc.

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

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

    Media Inquiries:

    Matt Sheldon
    Matt@Precisionpr.co
    917-280-7329

    American Rebel Holdings, Inc.

    info@americanrebel.com

    ir@americanrebel.com

    American Rebel Beverages, LLC

    Todd Porter, President
    tporter@americanrebelbeer.com

    Forward-Looking Statements

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

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Dominican National Sentenced to 10 years on Drug Trafficking Charges

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    St. Thomas, USVI – Acting U.S. Attorney Adam F. Sleeper announced today that Yeral Marrero Reynoso, 29, of the Dominican Republic, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Robert A. Molloy to 10 years’ imprisonment for possession with intent to distribute 75 kilograms of cocaine and three firearms.
    According to court documents, on August 28, 2024, at approximately 2:30 p.m., while patrolling the area of Haulover Bay, St. John, Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine (CBP-AMO) agents, along with Border Patrol (BP) agents, detected two males walking the beach trail towards the beach at Haulover Bay. One male was carrying an assault-style long gun. Minutes later, the males were observed carrying three black duffel bags up the trail towards a small parking area. A lone gray Acura RDX was then seen leaving the area. Federal agents, with the assistance of the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD), were able to locate the vehicle suspected of containing the two males seen walking the trail. The vehicle was stopped. Rivera Palmer was one of two occupants in the car who matched the description of the two men seen on the trail. As federal agents approached the vehicle, two assault-style rifles were seen on the rear passenger floorboard. A third firearm, a Glock .40 caliber pistol with an extended magazine, was found on the driver side floorboard. Neither of the two assault-style rifles had serial numbers. In the rear of the vehicle, agents recovered three duffle bags containing 61 brick-like packages containing approximately 75 kilograms of cocaine.
    The investigation was conducted by CBP-AMO, BP, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with the assistance of FBI and VIPD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Payne prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of the Virgin Islands.
    This effort was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    MIL Security OSI –