Category: Natural Disasters

MIL-OSI Analysis: How a popular sweetener could be damaging your brain’s defences

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Havovi Chichger, Professor, Biomedical Science, Anglia Ruskin University

Found in everything from protein bars to energy drinks, erythritol has long been considered a safe alternative to sugar. But new research suggests this widely used sweetener may be quietly undermining one of the body’s most crucial protective barriers – with potentially serious consequences for heart health and stroke risk.

A recent study from the University of Colorado suggests erythritol may damage cells in the blood-brain barrier, the brain’s security system that keeps out harmful substances while letting in nutrients. The findings add troubling new detail to previous observational studies that have linked erythritol consumption to increased rates of heart attack and stroke.

In the new study, researchers exposed blood-brain barrier cells to levels of erythritol typically found after drinking a soft drink sweetened with the compound. They saw a chain reaction of cell damage that could make the brain more vulnerable to blood clots – a leading cause of stroke.

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Erythritol triggered what scientists call oxidative stress, flooding cells with harmful, highly reactive molecules known as free radicals, while simultaneously reducing the body’s natural antioxidant defences. This double assault damaged the cells’ ability to function properly, and in some cases killed them outright.

But perhaps more concerning was erythritol’s effect on the blood vessels’ ability to regulate blood flow. Healthy blood vessels act like traffic controllers, widening when organs need more blood – during exercise, for instance – and tightening when less is required. They achieve this delicate balance through two key molecules: nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, and endothelin-1, which constricts them.

The study found that erythritol disrupted this critical system, reducing nitric oxide production while ramping up endothelin-1. The result would be blood vessels that remain dangerously constricted, potentially starving the brain of oxygen and nutrients. This imbalance is a known warning sign of ischaemic stroke – the type caused by blood clots blocking vessels in the brain.

Even more alarming, erythritol appeared to sabotage the body’s natural defence against blood clots. Normally, when clots form in blood vessels, cells release a “clot buster” called tissue plasminogen activator that dissolves the blockage before it can cause a stroke. But the sweetener blocked this protective mechanism, potentially leaving clots free to wreak havoc.

The laboratory findings align with troubling evidence from human studies. Several large-scale observational studies have found that people who regularly consume erythritol face significantly higher risks of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes. One major study tracking thousands of participants found that those with the highest blood levels of erythritol were roughly twice as likely to experience a major cardiac event.

However, the research does have limitations. The experiments were conducted on isolated cells in laboratory dishes rather than complete blood vessels, which means the cells may not behave exactly as they would in the human body. Scientists acknowledge that more sophisticated testing – using advanced “blood vessel on a chip” systems that better mimic real physiology – will be needed to confirm these effects.

The findings are particularly significant because erythritol occupies a unique position in the sweetener landscape. Unlike artificial sweeteners such as aspartame or sucralose, erythritol is technically a sugar alcohol – a naturally occurring compound that the body produces in small amounts. This classification helped it avoid inclusion in recent World Health Organization guidelines that discouraged the use of artificial sweeteners for weight control.

Erythritol has also gained popularity among food manufacturers because it behaves more like sugar than other alternatives. While sucralose is 320 times sweeter than sugar, erythritol provides only about 80% of sugar’s sweetness, making it easier to use in recipes without creating an overpowering taste. It’s now found in thousands of products, especially in many “sugar-free” and “keto-friendly” foods.

Erythritol can be found in many keto-friendly products, such a protein bars.
Stockah/Shutterstock.com

Trade-off

Regulatory agencies, including the European Food Standards Agency and the US Food and Drug Administration, have approved erythritol as safe for consumption. But the new research adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that even “natural” sugar alternatives may carry unexpected health risks.

For consumers, the findings raise difficult questions about the trade-offs involved in sugar substitution. Sweeteners like erythritol can be valuable tools for weight management and diabetes prevention, helping people reduce calories and control blood sugar spikes. But if regular consumption potentially weakens the brain’s protective barriers and increases cardiovascular risk, the benefits may come at a significant cost.

The research underscores a broader challenge in nutritional science: understanding the long-term effects of relatively new food additives that have become ubiquitous in the modern diet. While erythritol may help people avoid the immediate harms of excess sugar consumption, its effect on the blood-brain barrier suggests that frequent use could be quietly compromising brain protection over time.

As scientists continue to investigate these concerning links, consumers may want to reconsider their relationship with this seemingly innocent sweetener – and perhaps question whether any sugar substitute additive is truly without risk.

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

– ref. How a popular sweetener could be damaging your brain’s defences – https://theconversation.com/how-a-popular-sweetener-could-be-damaging-your-brains-defences-261500

MIL OSI Analysis –

July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: Afreximbank Annual Meetings record project preparation deals expected to unlock about US$ 1.0 billion in investments

Source: APO

The 32^nd Annual Meetings of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com), also known as AAM2025, witnessed a flurry of deal signings with four project preparation transactions signed between the Bank and various entities that are expected to unlock investments valued at about US$ 1.0 billion.

In an agreement signed by Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development, for Afreximbank, and Mrs. Temwani Simwaka, CEO, for NBS Bank Plc (NBS), Malawi, the two institutions executed a Joint Project Preparation Facility Framework Agreement under which they will pool resources to provide early project preparatory financing to progress projects in Malawi from pre-feasibility stage to bankability in a timely manner.

As set out in the agreement, Afreximbank and NBS will support public and private sector investors by availing financing and technical support services to de-risk projects in priority sectors, including energy, transport and logistics, logistical platforms (such as special economic zones and industrial parks), manufacturing, agro-processing, hospitality and tourism, extractives, solid minerals, and services (such as ICT, healthcare, and creative economy). Embedded in the framework agreement is a capacity building programme that will empower NBS staff to undertake project preparation activities in the medium term.

Afreximbank and NBS expect to bring onstream investments of about US$ 300 million in Malawi in the near term.

In another transaction, Afreximbank signed a US$ 4.4-million Project Preparation Facility Agreement in favour of Med Aditus Pharmaceutical Kenya Limited. The facility will be deployed to finance the preparation of feasibility and bankability studies towards the development of a state-of-the-art fill and finish pharmaceutical manufacturing plant, with a production capacity of at least two billion tablets and capsules per annum, located in Kibos, Kisumu County, Kenya.

The project will improve access to quality, affordable life-saving medicines across the Great Lakes region, contributing to better health outcomes in a region that contends with heavy loads of infectious and other diseases. The project will also facilitate medical and manufacturing blockchain technology transfer to Africa, supporting the long-term growth and strengthening the wider region’s health sector. The project preparation facility will bring onstream assets of about US$ 40 million.

Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development, signed the agreement on behalf of Afreximbank while Dr. Dhiren Thakker, Founder and CEO of Med Aditus Pharma, signed for his company.

Afreximbank also signed a Heads of Terms agreement for a US$4.4-million project preparation facility in favour of Green Hybrid Power Private Limited. The facility will be deployed towards the preparation of bankability and feasibility studies and procurement of transaction advisors for a 1-Gigawatt (GW) hybrid floating solar photovoltaic power system on Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe.

The project, to be implemented in two phases, includes a pilot phase targeting a generation capacity of 500 MW to be sold wholly to the Intensive Energy Users Group, a consortium of blue-chip industrial and mining energy users in Zimbabwe, under a “take-or-pay” 20-year power purchase agreement with a cost-reflective tariff. The project is expected to supply affordable and reliable power that will support value-addition and beneficiation of Zimbabwe’s minerals, thereby boosting the country’s foreign exchange earnings.

The project preparation facility will unlock an investment estimated at US$ 350 million.

Signing the agreement were Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development, on behalf of Afreximbank, and Mr. Eddie Cross, Chairman, for Green Hybrid Power Private Limited.

Afreximbank, in addition, signed a Project Preparation Facility Heads of Terms Agreement of US$ 4.0 million in favour of Proton Energy Limited, a Nigerian independent power producer. The facility will be deployed towards financing the preparation of feasibility studies and procurement of transaction advisory services for the development of a grid-connected gas-fired power plant with a nameplate capacity of 500 MW in Sapele, Nigeria. The project will commence with an initial generation capacity of 150 MW.

The project will evacuate the electricity generated primarily to Eko Electricity Distribution Company under a 20-year power purchase agreement with a cost-reflective tariff.

The facility is expected to bring on stream assets estimated at US$ 300 million.

Signing the agreement were Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development, on behalf of Afreximbank, and Mr. Oti Ikomi, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, for Proton Energy Limited.

AAM2025 took place from 25 to 28 June and attracted an estimated 8,000 participants, including presidents, prime ministers, ministers and business leaders, from across Africa, the Caribbean and beyond. It ended with the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders where Dr. George Elombi was appointed the next President of the Bank who succeeds Prof. Benedict Oramah whose tenure is ending after two five-year terms in the position.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

Media Contact:
Vincent Musumba
Communications and Events Manager (Media Relations)
Email: press@afreximbank.com

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About Afreximbank:
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade. For over 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialisation and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank has set up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2024, Afreximbank’s total assets and contingencies stood at over US$40.1 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$7.2 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa2), China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co., Ltd (CCXI) (AAA), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB-). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its equity impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.

For more information, visit: www.Afreximbank.com

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MIL OSI Africa –

July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Three reasons buffets can be a recipe for a health disaster – and how to keep diners safe
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kimon-Andreas Karatzas, Associate Professor of Food Microbiology, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading

Perfect Wave/Shutterstock

You pile your plate high at the buffet, savouring the freedom to try a little bit of everything. But while your tastebuds might be celebrating, your gut could be at risk.

From shared serving spoons to lukewarm lasagne, buffets can be a breeding ground for bacteria – and a hotbed for food poisoning. In the UK alone, millions of cases go unreported each year. So what makes buffets so risky, and what can be done to stay safe?

Food poisoning is a serious issue in the UK and around the world. While most cases are mild and don’t require treatment, some can lead to hospitalisation or even death. Official figures suggest approximately 2.4 million people in the UK fall ill each year due to food-borne illness – mostly caused by viruses, bacteria or toxins in contaminated food. But because many people recover at home without reporting their symptoms, the real figure is likely much higher.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) estimates that there are closer to 18 million cases of food poisoning in the UK each year. That’s almost one in four people. And buffets – particularly all-you-can-eat venues – are a common setting for outbreaks.

So, what is it about buffets that makes them such a hotspot for illness? Here are the key reasons these self-serve spreads carry higher risks:

1. Cross-Contamination

One of the biggest concerns at buffets is cross-contamination, when harmful bacteria, viruses or allergens are transferred from one food to another. This can happen in any kitchen, but buffets are particularly vulnerable.

Why? Because dozens of dishes are often displayed close together, customers serve themselves (sometimes without washing their hands), utensils are shared between people and dishes and food are exposed to the air for extended periods.

If just one dish becomes contaminated – say, with under-cooked meat juices or bacteria from unwashed hands – they can spread to other foods, affecting many people. Sneezes over platters and untrained customers handling food directly all increase the risk.

Even something as simple as using the same spoon for multiple dishes can be enough to transfer bacteria. With many hands touching the same utensils and food being moved or mixed between containers, even a well-run buffet can become a hazard zone as it is difficult to monitor and control that all customers abide to food safety rules.

2. Allergens

For people with food allergies, buffets can be particularly dangerous. Cross-contamination means that allergen-free foods can become unsafe through even minimal contact with allergenic ingredients.

For example, a spoon used in a nut-containing salad and then placed into a nut-free one can be enough to trigger a reaction. To reduce this risk, check that buffet venues clearly label all dishes with allergen information, use separate serving utensils for different foods, keep allergen-free dishes physically separate from others and train staff on allergen safety and cross-contamination risks.

Despite best intentions, busy buffet settings don’t always allow for these precautions to be enforced perfectly, putting allergic diners at greater risk.

3. Temperature trouble

One of the main food safety challenges at buffets is temperature control. Harmful bacteria multiply rapidly in what experts call the “danger zone”: the temperature range between 8°C and 63°C. If food sits within this range for too long, it becomes an ideal breeding ground for microbes.

Several types of bacteria are commonly responsible for food-borne illness in buffet settings.

Salmonella is often found in under-cooked poultry, eggs, and dairy products. It can cause diarrhoea, fever, and abdominal cramps, and it spreads easily if hot food is not kept at a safe temperature.

E. coli, typically linked to under-cooked beef and raw vegetables, can cause severe gastrointestinal illness and, in some cases, lead to kidney failure.

Listeria monocytogenes can grow in chilled foods like soft cheeses, pâté, and pre-packed sandwiches. It poses serious risks to pregnant women, older adults, and those with weakened immune systems.

Clostridium perfringens thrives in food that has been left warm for too long – especially items like stews, casseroles and roasts. It can cause sudden stomach cramps and diarrhoea.

Norovirus, also called the winter vomiting bug, is a stomach bug that causes vomiting and diarrhoea. Infected customers can pass this virus on the food with direct contact and cause disease to others that will consume it.

Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium commonly found on the skin of humans and when it grows on food produces toxins that can cause nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhoea. This bacterium can easily end up on the food through contact with utensils or customers and grow if the temperature of food is not within the correct range.

Maintaining safe food temperatures is essential to prevent these pathogens from multiplying. According to food safety guidelines, hot food should be kept above 63°C, and cold food below 8°C. However, in many buffet settings, food is left sitting out for extended periods – sometimes in ambient room temperatures, and sometimes without adequate heating or refrigeration equipment. This allows bacteria to flourish.

To minimise risk, hot food should not be left out for more than two hours, and cold food should be consumed within four. After these limits, leftover items should be discarded and not mixed with fresh batches. Reusing food that’s been sitting out not only compromises freshness but also risks spreading bacteria from old to new dishes.

Unfortunately, in busy all-you-can-eat environments, it’s common for staff to top up half-empty trays instead of replacing them. While this may reduce food waste, it increases the likelihood of contamination, especially during high-traffic service times. Without strict hygiene protocols in place, even small lapses in temperature control can lead to widespread illness.

Staying safe

Buffets don’t have to be a recipe for disaster – but safety depends on both the venue’s hygiene practices and diners’ own behaviour. Here’s what to look for:
- dishes should be steaming hot or chilled, not lukewarm
- clean utensils should be available for each item
- clear allergen labels should be visible
- staff should be monitoring and maintaining food stations
- diners should wash their hands before serving themselves.
If in doubt, it’s safer to skip questionable dishes, especially those that look like they’ve been sitting out too long, are unlabelled, or have been clearly mixed with other items.

Buffets can be a delicious way to explore new flavours and enjoy variety. But without proper precautions, they can also pose serious food safety risks. Whether you’re tucking into a carvery, grazing a hotel breakfast, or piling your plate at an all-you-can-eat spread, it’s worth keeping an eye on hygiene – and knowing when to walk away from the buffet table.

Kimon-Andreas Karatzas receives funding from the EU, BBSRC, EPSRC and private companies (Future Biogas, Natureseal and AB Mauri)

– ref. Three reasons buffets can be a recipe for a health disaster – and how to keep diners safe – https://theconversation.com/three-reasons-buffets-can-be-a-recipe-for-a-health-disaster-and-how-to-keep-diners-safe-260754
MIL OSI Analysis –
July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: A new framework for guiding management decisions for amphibians in an uncertain future
Source: US Geological Survey
Breadcrumb

News
A new framework for guiding management decisions for amphibians in an uncertain future
Amphibians face an uncertain future in the Southern Rocky Mountains. Disease, such as the deadly amphibian chytrid fungus, habitat loss, and drought are all considerable threats to amphibians in the region. A recently developed decision framework aims to assist resource managers in reducing these threats to amphibians.

FORT researchers, in collaboration with Conservation Science Partners, Inc., developed a decision support framework for managing amphibians in an uncertain future. They used boreal toads, a relatively data rich species, as a case study to develop an occupancy model that incorporates multiple threats, including disease and changes in hydrology. The model relies on novel metrics that describe changes in drying patterns of >150 historical boreal toad breeding sites in the Southern Rocky Mountain Region (SRMR). The changes in drying patterns of breeding sites were derived via an analysis of >30 years of Landsat imagery. The model outputs form the basis of a web-based decision support tool that allows managers to visually and quantitatively assess tradeoffs between disease, habitat suitability, and fire risk.

The associated web tool provides information on the probabilities of occupancy, colonization, and extinction under current and future environmental conditions for both boreal toads and the amphibian chytrid fungus at multiple spatial scales (individual breeding pond, toad management units within the SRMR, and across the SRMR as whole). It also includes spatial information on current fire risk, and changes in hydrological patterns at the watershed level over the last thirty years.

Screenshot of the Map tab in the Boreal Toad Dashboard. The Boreal Toad Dashboard is a decision-support tool that allows researchers to explore current and future occupancy trends of the boreal toad and amphibian chytrid fungus at breeding sites throughout the Southern Rocky Mountains. In the Map tab, users can explore site level occupancy probabilities, historical and future wetland drying trends, as well as current drying trends and burn probability for watersheds suitable for boreal toads. Note that site-level data are not displayed here as they are considered sensitive data, but are available to toad managers from state and federal agencies (e.g., Colorado Parks and Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service) in a password protected version of the dashboard. In other tabs, users can explore graphs of occupancy and colonization trends for individual breeding sites, mountain ranges, and the Southern Rocky Mountains as a whole.

The tool was co-created with the Boreal Toad Conservation Team to help inform decisions regarding habitat management/restoration and reintroduction strategies for populations of boreal toads in the SRMR. USGS researchers also demonstrated the utility of their hydrologic modeling framework to be applied to other amphibians of management concern in the region with sparse data: the wood frog and Great Basin spadefoot toad.

For more information, check out the comprehensive report and the interactive, web-based decision support tool that allows users to engage with the model outputs. The corresponding code and model outputs are also available via a software release and data release, respectively.

Related

December 31, 2020

A Framework for Guiding Management Decisions for Amphibians in an Uncertain Future

Amphibians are a group of animals facing especially severe declines due to many factors including climate change and a common pathogen, the amphibian chytrid fungus. To make informed decisions about amphibians, wildlife managers need to identify species facing the greatest threats and the actions that will most effectively minimize impacts of those threats. Although some amphibian…

Amphibians are a group of animals facing especially severe declines due to many factors including climate change and a common pathogen, the amphibian chytrid fungus. To make informed decisions about amphibians, wildlife managers need to identify species facing the greatest threats and the actions that will most effectively minimize impacts of those threats. Although some amphibian species are rela

Learn More

MIL OSI USA News –
July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: AI in universities: How large language models are transforming research
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ali Shiri, Professor of Information Science & Vice Dean, Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies, University of Alberta

Generative AI, especially large language models (LLMs), present exciting and unprecedented opportunities and complex challenges for academic research and scholarship.

As the different versions of LLMs (such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity.ai and Grok) continue to proliferate, academic research is beginning to undergo a significant transformation.

Students, researchers and instructors in higher education need AI literacy knowledge, competencies and skills to address these challenges and risks.

In a time of rapid change, students and academics are advised to look to their institutions, programs and units for discipline-specific policy or guidelines regulating the use of AI.

Researcher use of AI

A recent study led by a data science researcher found that at least 13.5 per cent of biomedical abstracts last year showed signs of AI-generated text.

Read more:
AI-detection software isn’t the solution to classroom cheating — assessment has to shift

Large language models can now support nearly every stage of the research process, although caution and human oversight are always needed to judge when use is appropriate, ethical or warranted — and to account for questions of quality control and accuracy. LLMs can:
- Help brainstorm, generate and refine research ideas and formulate hypotheses;
- Design experiments and conduct and synthesize literature reviews;
- Write and debug code;
- Analyze and visualize both qualitative and quantitative data;
- Develop interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological frameworks;
- Suggest relevant sources and citations, summarize complex texts and draft abstracts;
- Support the dissemination and presentation of research findings, in popular formats.
However, there are significant concerns and challenges surrounding the appropriate, ethical, responsible and effective use of generative AI tools in the conduct of research, writing and research dissemination. These include:
- Misrepresentation of data and authorship;
- Difficulty in replication of research results;
- Data and algorithmic biases and inaccuracies;
- User and data privacy and confidentiality;
- Quality of outputs, data and citation fabrication;
- And copyright and intellectual property infringement.
AI research assistants, ‘deep research’ AI agents

There are two categories of emerging LLM-enhanced tools that support academic research:

1. AI research assistants: The number of AI research assistants that support different aspects and steps of the research process is growing at an exponential rate. These technologies have the potential to enhance and extend traditional research methods in academic work. Examples include AI assistants that support:
- Concept mapping (Kumu, GitMind, MindMeister);
- Literature and systematic reviews (Elicit, Undermind, NotebookLM, SciSpace);
- Literature search (Consensus, ResearchRabbit, Connected Papers, Scite);
- Literature analysis and summarization (Scholarcy, Paper Digest, Keenious);
- And research topic and trend detection and analysis (Scinapse, tlooto, Dimension AI).
2. ‘Deep research’ AI agents: The field of artificial intelligence is advancing quickly with the rise of “deep research” AI agents. These next-generation agents combine LLMs, retrieval-augmented generation and sophisticated reasoning frameworks to conduct in-depth, multi-step analyses.

Research is currently being conducted to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of deep research tools. New evaluation criteria are being developed to assess their performance and quality.

Criteria include elements such as cost, speed, editing ease and overall user experience — as well as citation and writing quality, and how these deep research tools adhere to prompts.

The purpose of deep research tools is to meticulously extract, analyze and synthesize scholarly information, empirical data and diverse perspectives from a wide array of online and social media sources. The output is a detailed report, complete with citations, offering in-depth insights into complex topics.

In just a short span of four months (December 2024 to February 2025), several companies (like Google Gemini, Perplexity.ai and ChatGPT) introduced their “deep research” platforms.

The Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, a non-profit AI research institute based in Seattle, is experimenting with a new open access research tool called Ai2 ScholarQA that helps researchers conduct literature reviews more efficiently by providing more in-depth answers.

Emerging guidelines

Several guidelines have been developed to encourage the responsible and ethical use of generative AI in research and writing. Examples include:
- The Government of Canada Guide on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence. This counsels federal institutions and academics to explore potential uses of generative AI tools, and follow a recommended framework for decision-making about them, including responsible communication and transparency.
- Guidance from publicly funded federal agencies — collectively known as the Tri-Council Agency — offering research grants and programs covering different research disciplines.
- The Observatory in AI Policies in Canadian Post-Secondary Education, run by the firm Higher Education Strategy Associates, lists AI policies and guidelines developed by more than 30 Canadian higher education institutions.
LLMs support interdisciplinary research

LLMs are also powerful tools to support interdisciplinary research. Recent emerging research (yet to be peer reviewed) on the effectiveness of LLMs for research suggests they have great potential in areas such as biological sciences, chemical sciences, engineering, environmental as well as social sciences. It also suggests LLMs can help eliminate disciplinary silos by bringing together data and methods from different fields and automating data collection and generation to create interdisciplinary datasets.

Helping to analyze and summarize large volumes of research across various disciplines can aid interdisciplinary collaboration. “Expert finder” AI-powered platforms can analyze researcher profiles and publication networks to map expertise, identify potential collaborators across fields and reveal unexpected interdisciplinary connections.

This emerging knowledge suggests these models will be able to help researchers drive breakthroughs by combining insights from diverse fields — like epidemiology and physics, climate science and economics or social science and climate data — to address complex problems.

Read more:
The world is not moving fast enough on climate change — social sciences can help explain why

Research-focused AI literacy

Canadian universities and research partnerships are providing AI literacy education to people in universities and beyond.

The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute offers K-12 AI literacy programming and other resources. The institute is a not-for profit organization and part of Canada’s Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy.

Many universities are offering AI literacy educational opportunities that focus specifically on the use of generative AI tools in assisting research activities.

Collaborative university work is also happening. For example, as vice dean of the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies at the University of Alberta (and an information science professor), I have worked with deans from the University of Manitoba, the University of Winnipeg and Vancouver Island University to develop guidelines and recommendations around generative AI and graduate and postdoctoral research and supervision.

Considering the growing power and capabilities of large language models, there is an urgent need to develop AI literacy training tailored for academic researchers.

This training should focus on both the potential and the limitations of these tools in the different stages of the research process and writing.

Ali Shiri 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. AI in universities: How large language models are transforming research – https://theconversation.com/ai-in-universities-how-large-language-models-are-transforming-research-260547
MIL OSI Analysis –
July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Second Criminal Illegal Alien with Lengthy Rap Sheet Arrested for Involvement in Ambush and Shooting CBP Officer in New York City
Source: US Department of Homeland Security

Both criminal illegal aliens involved in the attempted armed robbery were released into the country under the Biden Administration and NYC sanctuary politicians ignored detainer

NEW YORK – Today, the Department of Homeland Security arrested Cristian Aybar Berroa, a criminal illegal alien, and the second suspect involved in the attempted armed robbery of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer who was off duty in New York City in Fort Washington Park under the George Washington Bridge on July 19. The first suspect, Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, also a criminal illegal alien, who shot the CBP officer, was arrested yesterday.

A witness of the attack stated that she and the victim were sitting on the rocks by the water when two subjects on a scooter drove up to them, dismounted the scooter and approached them with a firearm drawn. The off-duty CBP officer responded by withdrawing his own firearm in self defense. The CBP officer was shot in his right arm and left cheek. Thankfully, the officer is in stable condition at the hospital.

Cristian Aybar Berroa, a criminal illegal alien from the Dominican Republic, illegally entered the United States on June 19, 2022, and was released into the country on interim parole pending his immigration hearing. New York City ignored his detainer.

This criminal illegal alien’s rap sheet includes:
- On May 10, 2023, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) arrested Berroa for 2nd degree reckless endangerment.
- On March 26, 2024, NYPD arrested Berroa for 4th degree felony grand larceny and petit larceny.
- On April 5, 2024, NYPD arrested him 4th degree felony grand larceny and petit larceny. Despite an active ICE detainer, the New York City Department of Corrections released Berroa back onto NYC streets.
- On February 20, 2025, NYPD arrested Berroa for 2nd degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving, and for driving without a license.
- On June 12, 2025, Berroa pled guilty to petit larceny at the Bronx County Supreme Court. This plea was made in consolidation of all his previous arrests, and he was conditionally discharged and allowed to roam the streets of NYC.
A judge ordered Berroa a final order of removal on January 3, 2023.

The other assailant in the attack is Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, a criminal illegal alien from the Dominican Republic. He illegally entered the United States on April 4, 2023, and was released by the Biden Administration into the country.

This criminal illegal alien’s rap sheet includes:
- On October 11, 2023, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) arrested and charged Nunez with felony grand larceny, petit larceny, and reckless driving.
- On October 1, 2024, the NYPD arrested and charged Nunez with 2^nd and 3^rd degree assault.
- On November 30, 2024, the NYPD arrested Nunez for criminal contempt. On January 13, 2025, he was again attested for criminal contempt.
- On February 21, 2025, the Leominster Police Department in Massachusetts issued a criminal warrant for Nunez for armed robbery with a firearm.
After failing to show up for his immigration hearing a judge issued Nunez a final order of removal on November 6, 2024.

“These violent thugs had committed a smorgasbord of crimes and been arrested multiple times and yet New York continued to release them, ignore an ICE detainer and allow them to continue to prey on Americans and terrorize our streets. How many people have to die, how many lives have to be changed forever for Mayor Adams and his sanctuary politician ilk to end these performative politics?” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

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MIL Security OSI –
July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI: ALRMiner multi-currency mining upgrade: SOL and DOGE support added, AI deployment is more efficient!

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

New York City, NY, July 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As the crypto market gradually recovers, mainstream digital assets such as Solana (SOL) and Dogecoin (DOGE) are becoming increasingly popular. In this wave, ALR Miner, a long-established cloud mining platform from the UK, once again leads the industry trend. It recently announced a comprehensive upgrade of multi-currency cloud mining services and officially launched smart cloud mining contracts for SOL and DOGE. Relying on AI technology empowerment, users can achieve one-click participation, daily income, transparent funds, and a safe and controllable mining experience.

Leading the trend: SOL and DOGE officially join the ALR Miner smart mining system
As a compliant platform that has been deeply involved in the cloud mining industry for 7 years, ALR Miner has always kept up with market trends and is committed to providing global users with the most growth potential for currency mining options. The newly added Solana (SOL) and Dogecoin (DOGE) not only have extremely high market activity and community support, but also have shown strong growth potential in the past year.

SOL (Solana): Known for its high-speed chain performance, suitable for long-term holding and stable growth;

DOGE (Dogecoin): Strong community drive, high liquidity, suitable for short-term income strategy.

Through intelligent algorithm scheduling computing power, ALR Miner maximizes the income potential of different currencies, bringing users a truly efficient, diversified, and stable income combination.

The mining process is simple and clear, and 0 devices can easily earn daily income

Users do not need to configure any mining machines or technical background, and only need 3 steps to start the cloud mining journey

Register an account: Visit the official website https://alrminer.com to quickly create an account

Get $12 bonus: Register and get $12 computing power funds, you can directly participate in mining

Select a contract to start mining: You can choose different mining contracts according to the currency (SOL, DOGE, BTC, ETH, XRP, etc.) and cycle. The system will AI allocate the optimal computing power path and automatically start income settlement.

All income is automatically distributed to the account balance every day, and you can withdraw or reinvest to purchase other contracts at any time to achieve rolling compound growth.

Mining income test display

The income is clear and transparent, and it is credited daily. It also supports automatic principal refund or reinvestment after the contract expires, so as to achieve steady asset appreciation.

Legal, safe and transparent, guaranteed by the old British cloud mining platform
ALR Miner was established in 2017 and is a UK registered entity company (Private Limited Company) with complete company information and compliant SIC business code (62090/63110). The platform fully complies with the UK Company Law, international anti-money laundering regulations (AML), KYC certification process, and has completed the compliance deployment of servers in multiple countries/regions.

Different from the exaggerated false platforms on the market, ALR Miner always adheres to the following core principles:

Real computing power + real settlement

Fixed daily income model

All income can be checked and withdrawn

It is precisely with the concept of “compliance, transparency, safety and stability” that ALR Miner can stand in the fiercely competitive market for 7 years and become a cloud mining brand trusted by users.

Multi-currency income is fully upgraded, and you can enjoy $12 bonus immediately after registration!
ALR Miner is now promoting a multi-currency smart mining plan, adding support for SOL and DOGE, and will expand to more popular assets in the future. Register now to receive a $12 bonus to experience mining benefits, and you can start without investment!

Official website address: https://alrminer.com
New user benefits: Register and get $12 mining power
Customer service support: 7×24 hours online, no language barriers

Attachment

The MIL Network –

July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Ville de Québec Completes Rearmament in Australia while participating in Exercise TALISMAN SABRE 25

Source: Government of Canada News (2)

July 21, 2025 – Ottawa – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

Today, His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Ville de Québec completed the forward rearmament of Block II Harpoon Missiles while participating in Exercise TALISMAN SABRE 25 in Australia. The rearmament, conducted at the port of Darwin, Australia, was a joint Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and Australian Defence Force effort, demonstrating the continued military interoperability between Canada and Australia.

This rearmament follows the forward rearmament of HMCS Vancouver in the port of Broome, Australia, in 2024, which was the first of its kind for a Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) ship outside of North America. The 2025 rearmament builds on important lessons learned from the inaugural iteration in 2024 and further develops an important logistical capability that ensures the CAF can be agile when deploying RCN ships to the Indo-Pacific region.

The rearmament took place ahead of, and immediately after, a live-fire missile shoot of a Block II Harpoon Missile during Exercise TALISMAN SABRE, where the missile engaged a ground-based target.

MIL OSI Canada News –

July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s remarks to the High-level Political Forum [bilingual as delivered, scroll down for all-English and all-French]
Source: United Nations secretary general

This year’s High-Level Political Forum arrives at a time of profound challenge – but also real possibility.

Despite enormous headwinds, we have seen just in the last two months what can be achieved when countries come together with conviction and focus.

We saw it in Geneva, where the World Health Assembly adopted the Pandemic Agreement — a vital step toward a safer, more equitable global health architecture.

We saw it in Nice at the Third UN Ocean Conference, where governments committed to expand marine protected areas and tackle plastic pollution and illegal fishing.

And we saw it in Sevilla at the Fourth International Financing for Development Conference, where countries agreed on a new vision for global finance — one that expands fiscal space, lowers the cost of capital, and ensures developing countries have a stronger voice and participation in the organizations that shape their future.

These are not isolated wins.

They are signs of momentum.

Signs that multilateralism can deliver.

Signs that transformation is not only necessary — it is possible.

And that is the spirit we bring to this High-Level Political Forum.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

This Forum is about renewing our common promise — to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all.

We also recognize the deep linkages between development and peace.

We meet against the backdrop of global conflicts that are pushing the Sustainable Development Goals further out of reach.

That’s why we must keep working for peace in the Middle East.

Over the weekend in Gaza, we saw yet more mass shootings and killings of people seeking UN aid for their families – an atrocious and inhumane act which I utterly condemn.

We need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of all hostages, and unimpeded humanitarian access as a first step to achieve the two-State solution.

We need the ceasefire between Iran and Israel to hold.

We need a just and lasting peace in Ukraine based on the UN Charter, international law and UN resolutions.

We need an end to the horror and bloodshed in Sudan.

And the list goes on, from the DRC to Somalia, from the Sahel to Myanmar.

At every step, we know sustainable peace requires sustainable development.

The Sustainable Development Goals are not a dream.

They are a plan.

A plan to keep our promises — to the most vulnerable people, to each other, and to future generations.

People win when we channel our energy into development.

Since 2015, millions more people have access to electricity, clean cooking, and the internet.

Social protection now reaches over half the world’s population — up from just a quarter a decade ago.

More girls are completing school.

Child marriage is declining.

Women’s representation is growing — from the boardrooms of business to the halls of political power.

But we must face a tough reality:

Only 35 per cent of SDG targets are on track or making moderate progress.

Nearly half are moving too slowly.

And 18 per cent are going backwards.

Meanwhile, the global economy is slowing.

Trade tensions are rising.

Inequalities are growing.

Aid budgets are being decimated while military spending soars.

And mistrust, division and outright conflicts are placing the international problem-solving system under unprecedented strain.

We cannot sugarcoat these facts. But we must not surrender to them either.

The SDGs are still within reach — if we act with urgency and ambition.

This year’s Forum focuses on five critical Goals: health, gender equality, decent work, life below water, and global partnerships.

All are essential. All are interconnected. All can spur change across other goals.

On health, COVID-19 exposed and deepened inequalities – and today, far too many people still lack access to basic care.
We know what works.

We must boost investment in universal health coverage, rooted in strong primary care and prevention, reaching those furthest behind first.

On gender equality, gaps remain wide.

Women and girls face systemic barriers — from violence and discrimination to unpaid care and limited political voice.

But we also see growing momentum: from grassroots movements to national reforms.

Now is the time to turn that momentum into transformation — with rights-based policies, accountability, and real financing into programmes that support inclusion and equality for women and girls.

On decent work, the global economy is leaving billions behind.

Over 2 billion people are in informal jobs. Youth unemployment is stubbornly high.

But we have tools to change this.

The Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection is helping countries invest in expanded social protection initiatives, skills training, and the creation of sustainable livelihoods — including in growing industries like clean energy.

Tomorrow, I will deliver an address on the enormous opportunities of the renewables revolution.

The upcoming World Summit on Social Development can help spur further progress.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

On life below water, our ocean and the communities that count on it are paying the price of overfishing, pollution, and climate change.

We must deliver on the commitments of the Nice Ocean Conference — to protect marine ecosystems and support the millions who depend on them.

And, finally, on global partnerships — SDG 17 — we need to strengthen all the elements that can support progress.

This means investing in science, data, and local capacity.

And harnessing digital innovation — including artificial intelligence — to accelerate progress, not deepen divides.

Throughout, we must recognize the need to reform the unfair global financial system, which no longer represents today’s world or the challenges faced by developing countries.

We must ensure a reform for developing countries to have a stronger voice and greater participation to help advance the Sustainable Development Goals on the ground.

The Sevilla Commitment that emerged from the Conference on Financing for Development includes important steps:

Through new domestic and global commitments that can channel public and private finance to the areas of greatest need.

By increasing the capacity of governments to substantially mobilize domestic resources, including through tax reform.

And by establishing a more effective framework for debt relief and tripling the lending capacity of multilateral development banks to the benefit of developing countries.

Excellences,

Au cours de l’année à venir, nous devons continuer à construire.

Nous devons renforcer et élargir les partenariats qui portent leurs fruits – y compris avec le secteur privé et les organisations de la société civile et les pouvoirs locaux.

Nous devons faire en sorte que chaque décision s’inscrive dans une réflexion à long terme, comme nous nous y sommes engagés dans la Déclaration sur les générations futures.

Et nous devons continuer d’apprendre les uns des autres.

Les Examens nationaux volontaires, qui constituent la clé de voûte de ce forum, sont bien plus que de simples rapports.

Ce sont des actes de responsabilité.

Ce sont de véritables parcours d’introspection, que les pays suivent à mesure qu’ils se développent et se construisent.

Et ce sont des modèles que les autres pays peuvent suivre et dont ils peuvent s’inspirer.

À la fin de ce forum politique de haut niveau pour le développement durable, nous aurons dépassé les 400 examens, et plus de 150 pays en auront présenté plus d’un.

Il s’agit là d’un signal fort d’engagement.

Une preuve indéniable que des solutions existent et qu’elles peuvent être reproduites et étendues.

À cinq ans de l’échéance, le temps est venu de convertir ces prémices de transformation en un puissant élan de progrès – qui bénéficie à tous les pays.

Agissons avec détermination, justice et vision.

Et concrétisons le développement – pour les personnes et pour la planète.

Je vous remercie.

****
[all-English]

This year’s High-Level Political Forum arrives at a time of profound challenge – but also real possibility.

Despite enormous headwinds, we have seen just in the last two months what can be achieved when countries come together with conviction and focus.

We saw it in Geneva, where the World Health Assembly adopted the Pandemic Agreement — a vital step toward a safer, more equitable global health architecture.

We saw it in Nice at the Third UN Ocean Conference, where governments committed to expand marine protected areas and tackle plastic pollution and illegal fishing.

And we saw it in Sevilla at the Fourth International Financing for Development Conference, where countries agreed on a new vision for global finance — one that expands fiscal space, lowers the cost of capital, and ensures developing countries have a stronger voice and participation in the organizations that shape their future.

These are not isolated wins.

They are signs of momentum.

Signs that multilateralism can deliver.

Signs that transformation is not only necessary — it is possible.

And that is the spirit we bring to this High-Level Political Forum.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

This Forum is about renewing our common promise — to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all.

We also recognize the deep linkages between development and peace.

We meet against the backdrop of global conflicts that are pushing the Sustainable Development Goals further out of reach.

That’s why we must keep working for peace in the Middle East.
Over the weekend in Gaza, we saw yet more mass shootings and killings of people seeking UN aid for their families – an atrocious and inhumane act which I utterly condemn.

We need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of all hostages, and unimpeded humanitarian access as a first step to achieve the two-State solution.

We need the ceasefire between Iran and Israel to hold.

We need a just and lasting peace in Ukraine based on the UN Charter, international law and UN resolutions.

We need an end to the horror and bloodshed in Sudan.

And the list goes on, from the DRC to Somalia, from the Sahel to Myanmar.

At every step, we know sustainable peace requires sustainable development.

The Sustainable Development Goals are not a dream.

They are a plan.

A plan to keep our promises — to the most vulnerable people, to each other, and to future generations.

People win when we channel our energy into development.

Since 2015, millions more people have access to electricity, clean cooking, and the internet.
Social protection now reaches over half the world’s population — up from just a quarter a decade ago.

More girls are completing school.

Child marriage is declining.

Women’s representation is growing — from the boardrooms of business to the halls of political power.

But we must face a tough reality:

Only 35 per cent of SDG targets are on track or making moderate progress.

Nearly half are moving too slowly.

And 18 per cent are going backwards.

Meanwhile, the global economy is slowing.
Trade tensions are rising.

Inequalities are growing.

Aid budgets are being decimated while military spending soars.

And mistrust, division and outright conflicts are placing the international problem-solving system under unprecedented strain.

We cannot sugarcoat these facts. But we must not surrender to them either.

The SDGs are still within reach — if we act with urgency and ambition.

This year’s Forum focuses on five critical Goals: health, gender equality, decent work, life below water, and global partnerships.

All are essential. All are interconnected. All can spur change across other goals.

On health, COVID-19 exposed and deepened inequalities – and today, far too many people still lack access to basic care.
We know what works.

We must boost investment in universal health coverage, rooted in strong primary care and prevention, reaching those furthest behind first.

On gender equality, gaps remain wide.

Women and girls face systemic barriers — from violence and discrimination to unpaid care and limited political voice.

But we also see growing momentum: from grassroots movements to national reforms.

Now is the time to turn that momentum into transformation — with rights-based policies, accountability, and real financing into programmes that support inclusion and equality for women and girls.

On decent work, the global economy is leaving billions behind.

Over 2 billion people are in informal jobs. Youth unemployment is stubbornly high.

But we have tools to change this.

The Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection is helping countries invest in expanded social protection initiatives, skills training, and the creation of sustainable livelihoods — including in growing industries like clean energy.

Tomorrow, I will deliver an address on the enormous opportunities of the renewables revolution.

The upcoming World Summit on Social Development can help spur further progress.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

On life below water, our ocean and the communities that count on it are paying the price of overfishing, pollution, and climate change.

We must deliver on the commitments of the Nice Ocean Conference — to protect marine ecosystems and support the millions who depend on them.

And, finally, on global partnerships — SDG 17 — we need to strengthen all the elements that can support progress.

This means investing in science, data, and local capacity.

And harnessing digital innovation — including artificial intelligence — to accelerate progress, not deepen divides.

Throughout, we must recognize the need to reform the unfair global financial system, which no longer represents today’s world or the challenges faced by developing countries.

We must ensure a reform for developing countries to have a stronger voice and greater participation to help advance the Sustainable Development Goals on the ground.

The Sevilla Commitment that emerged from the Conference on Financing for Development includes important steps:

Through new domestic and global commitments that can channel public and private finance to the areas of greatest need.

By increasing the capacity of governments to substantially mobilize domestic resources, including through tax reform.

And by establishing a more effective framework for debt relief and tripling the lending capacity of multilateral development banks to the benefit of developing countries.

Excellencies,

In the coming year, we must keep building.

We must strengthen and scale up partnerships that deliver — including with the private sector and civil society organizations and local authorities.

We must embed long-term thinking into every decision, as we committed in the Declaration on Future Generations.

And we must continue to learn from each other.

Voluntary National Reviews — the backbone of this Forum — are more than reports.

They are acts of accountability.

They are journeys of self-discovery as countries develop and build.

And they are templates for other countries to follow and learn from.

By the end of this HLPF, we will have surpassed 400 reviews — with over 150 countries presenting more than once.

That is a powerful signal of commitment.

A clear demonstration that solutions exist and can be replicated and expanded.

With five years left, it’s time to transform these sparks of transformation into a blaze of progress — for all countries.

Let us act with determination, justice and direction.

And let’s deliver on development — for people and for planet.

Thank you.

[all-French]

Cette année, le forum politique de haut niveau pour le développement durable se tient à une période marquée par de profondes remises en question, mais également par de réelles perspectives.

Malgré de très puissants vents contraires, nous avons vu, ces deux derniers mois, ce qu’il est possible d’accomplir lorsque les pays s’unissent avec conviction et détermination.

Nous l’avons vu à Genève, où l’Assemblée mondiale de la Santé a adopté l’Accord sur les pandémies, étape essentielle vers l’établissement d’une architecture mondiale de la santé plus sûre et plus équitable.

Nous l’avons vu à Nice lors de la troisième Conférence des Nations Unies sur l’océan, où les gouvernements se sont engagés à étendre les aires marines protégées et à lutter contre la pollution plastique et la pêche illicite.

Nous l’avons vu à Séville lors de la quatrième Conférence internationale sur le financement du développement, où les pays se sont mis d’accord sur une nouvelle conception de ce que doit être le financement mondial : une conception qui donne une plus grande marge de manœuvre budgétaire, qui réduise le coût du capital et qui permette aux pays en développement de mieux se faire entendre et la participation aux organisations qui partagent leur avenir.

Ce ne sont pas là que des victoires isolées.

Ce sont des signes qu’une dynamique se crée.

Des signes que le multilatéralisme peut fonctionner.

Des signes que, mieux que nécessaire, la transformation est possible.

Et c’est l’esprit dans lequel nous abordons ce forum politique de haut niveau.

Excellences,
Mesdames et Messieurs,

Le but de cette édition du forum est de renouveler l’engagement que nous avons pris ensemble : celui d’éliminer la pauvreté, protéger la planète et garantir la prospérité pour tous et toutes.

Et nous sommes bien conscients des liens étroits qui existent entre le développement et la paix.

Nous nous réunissons aujourd’hui dans le contexte de conflits mondiaux qui mettent les objectifs de développement durable encore plus hors de portée.

C’est pourquoi nous devons continuer d’œuvrer à la paix au Moyen-Orient.

Au cours du week-end à Gaza, nous avons assisté à de nouvelles fusillades et à de nouveaux meurtres de personnes cherchant l’aide de l’ONU pour leurs familles – un acte atroce et inhumain que je condamne catégoriquement.

La solution des deux États doit se réaliser, mais pour cela, à titre préliminaire, il nous faut un cessez-le-feu immédiat à Gaza, une libération immédiate de tous les otages et un accès humanitaire sans entrave.

Le cessez-le-feu entre l’Iran et Israël doit tenir.

Il nous faut une paix juste et durable en Ukraine – une paix fondée sur la Charte des Nations Unies, le droit international et les résolutions des organes des Nations Unies.

L’horreur et le bain de sang doivent cesser au Soudan.

Au Soudan comme en RDC, en Somalie, au Sahel ou au Myanmar – et la liste est encore longue.

Et toujours, nous devons nous souvenir qu’il n’y a pas de paix durable sans développement durable.

Les objectifs de développement durable ne sont pas qu’un idéal.

Ils portent tout un projet.

Un projet qui doit nous aider à tenir nos promesses : les promesses faites aux personnes les plus vulnérables, celles que nous nous sommes faites mutuellement et celles que nous avons faites aux générations futures.

Tout le monde est gagnant lorsque nous appliquons notre énergie au développement.

Depuis 2015, des millions de personnes supplémentaires ont accès à l’électricité, à des solutions de cuisson propre et à Internet.

Plus de la moitié de la population mondiale bénéficie désormais de la protection sociale ; ce n’était le cas que d’un quart de la population il y a dix ans.

Davantage de filles achèvent leur scolarité.

Les mariages d’enfants sont en baisse.

Les femmes sont de plus en plus représentées, que ce soit dans les conseils d’administration des entreprises ou dans les sphères du pouvoir politique.

Pourtant, nous devons reconnaître une dure réalité :

Seuls 35 % des cibles des objectifs de développement durable sont en voie d’être atteints, ou du moins, enregistrent des progrès modérés dans ce sens.

Ces progrès sont trop lents pour près de la moitié des cibles.

Et c’est un recul qui est enregistré pour 18 % d’entre elles.

Pendant ce temps, l’économie mondiale ralentit.

Les tensions commerciales s’accentuent.

Les inégalités augmentent.

Les budgets consacrés à l’aide sont amputés alors que les dépenses militaires explosent.

Et, comme jamais, la défiance, les divisions et les conflits ouverts mettent le système international de règlement des problèmes à rude épreuve.

Cette réalité ne peut être édulcorée, mais elle ne doit pas nous faire fléchir.

Nous pouvons toujours atteindre les objectifs de développement durable, si nous agissons de toute urgence et avec ambition.

Cette année, le forum porte sur cinq objectifs fondamentaux : la santé, l’égalité des sexes, le travail décent, la vie aquatique et les partenariats mondiaux.

Tous sont essentiels. Tous sont interdépendants. Tous sont porteurs de changement dans des domaines relevant d’autres objectifs.

En ce qui concerne la santé, la COVID-19 a révélé et aggravé les inégalités, et aujourd’hui, beaucoup trop de personnes n’ont toujours pas accès aux soins de base.

Nous savons ce qui fonctionne.

Nous devons intensifier les investissements en faveur d’une couverture sanitaire universelle fondée sur un système solide de soins primaires et de prévention, qui servirait en premier lieu les personnes les plus laissées-pour-compte.

En ce qui concerne l’égalité des sexes, le fossé reste immense.

Les femmes et les filles se heurtent à des obstacles systémiques, qui vont de la violence et de la discrimination aux travaux domestiques non rémunérés et à un manque de représentation sur la scène politique.

Nous assistons toutefois également à l’amorce d’une nouvelle dynamique, dans les mouvements locaux, les réformes nationales.

Le moment est venu de transformer cette dynamique en véritable transformation, en faisant en sorte que des politiques fondées sur les droits, des dispositifs de responsabilité effective et des financements concrets soient mis au service de programmes qui favorisent l’inclusion et l’égalité pour les femmes et les filles.

En ce qui concerne le travail décent, des milliards de personnes ne profitent pas de l’économie mondiale.

Elles sont plus de 2 milliards à occuper des emplois informels. Le chômage des jeunes est obstinément élevé.

Mais nous disposons d’outils pour changer la donne.

L’Accélérateur mondial pour l’emploi et la protection sociale aide les pays à investir dans des initiatives de protection sociale élargies, dans la formation professionnelle et dans la création de moyens de subsistance durables, notamment dans des secteurs en forte croissance tels que les énergies propres.

Demain, je prononcerai un discours sur l’immense potentiel que recèle la révolution des énergies renouvelables.

Le prochain Sommet mondial pour le développement social peut aussi contribuer à accélérer les progrès.

Excellences, mesdames et messieurs

En ce qui concerne la vie aquatique, notre océan et les populations qui en dépendent paient le prix de la surpêche, de la pollution et des changements climatiques.

Nous devons honorer les engagements qui ont été pris lors de la Conférence de Nice sur l’océan, à savoir protéger les écosystèmes marins et soutenir les millions de personnes qui en sont tributaires.

Enfin, en ce qui concerne les partenariats mondiaux (l’objectif de développement durable no 17), nous devons consolider tous les facteurs de progrès potentiels.

Autrement dit, il faut investir dans la science, les données et les capacités locales.

Et exploiter l’innovation numérique – notamment l’intelligence artificielle – pour accélérer le progrès, et non creuser la fracture.

Ce faisant, nous devons tenir compte de la nécessité de réformer le système financier mondial : un système inéquitable qui n’est plus représentatif du monde d’aujourd’hui ni des problématiques auxquelles font face les pays en développement.

Nous devons mettre en œuvre une réforme permettant aux pays en développement de mieux se faire entendre et de participer davantage à la réalisation des Objectifs de développement durable sur le terrain.

L’Engagement de Séville, adopté à l’occasion de la Conférence sur le financement du développement, prévoit un certain nombre de mesures majeures vers :
- de nouveaux engagements nationaux et mondiaux susceptibles de diriger les financements publics et privés vers les secteurs où les besoins sont les plus importants ;
- un renforcement de la capacité des États à mobiliser des ressources nationales en grandes quantités, notamment au moyen d’une réforme fiscale ;
- une réforme de l’architecture financière mondiale, visant à permettre aux pays en développement, qui comptent sur ce système pour mieux servir et soutenir leurs populations, de mieux se faire entendre et de participer davantage ;
- l’établissement d’un cadre plus efficace pour l’allégement de la dette et le triplement des capacités de prêt des banques multilatérales de développement au profit des pays en développement.
Excellences,

Au cours de l’année à venir, nous devons continuer à construire.

Nous devons renforcer et élargir les partenariats qui portent leurs fruits – y compris avec le secteur privé et les organisations de la société civile et les pouvoirs locaux.

Nous devons faire en sorte que chaque décision s’inscrive dans une réflexion à long terme, comme nous nous y sommes engagés dans la Déclaration sur les générations futures.

Et nous devons continuer d’apprendre les uns des autres.

Les Examens nationaux volontaires, qui constituent la clé de voûte de ce forum, sont bien plus que de simples rapports.

Ce sont des actes de responsabilité.

Ce sont de véritables parcours d’introspection, que les pays suivent à mesure qu’ils se développent et se construisent.

Et ce sont des modèles que les autres pays peuvent suivre et dont ils peuvent s’inspirer.

À la fin de ce forum politique de haut niveau pour le développement durable, nous aurons dépassé les 400 examens, et plus de 150 pays en auront présenté plus d’un.

Il s’agit là d’un signal fort d’engagement.

Une preuve indéniable que des solutions existent et qu’elles peuvent être reproduites et étendues.

À cinq ans de l’échéance, le temps est venu de convertir ces prémices de transformation en un puissant élan de progrès – qui bénéficie à tous les pays.

Agissons avec détermination, justice et vision.

Et concrétisons le développement – pour les personnes et pour la planète.

Je vous remercie.

MIL OSI United Nations News –
July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Congresswoman Harriet Hageman Votes in Favor of Historic Rescissions Package
Source: United States House of Representatives – Wyoming Congresswoman Harriet Hageman

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Harriet Hageman joined her Republican colleagues in passing a historic rescission package, sending it to President Trump’s desk. This measure removes $1.1 billion in annual federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (PBS & NPR), and $7.9 billion from USAID foreign aid programs, totaling $9 billion in reclaimed taxpayer dollars.

The Congresswoman released the following statement:

“For too long, American families have been forced to subsidize liberal-leaning media under the guise of ‘public service.’ When NPR/PBS were started, there were few options available. There are now so many different outlets that need for government funded media has been replaced by the free market, and public media now prioritizes far-left narratives over balanced journalism. This federal funding should not support woke indoctrination in children’s programming, including, drag queen story hours, political lectures from popular characters, and anti-American messaging, when parents can choose from a vast, private media landscape,” said Congresswoman Hageman.

“In emergency situations like the recent Texas floods, taxpayers discovered private broadcasters stepped up with immediate alerts and lifesaving updates, while NPR affiliates lagged behind, remaining silent for hours. This proves that public safety is not uniquely tied to taxpayer-funded media.

This rescission marks our first major strike against federal waste, fraud, and abuse, and it is just the beginning. We will continue to scrutinize every dollar the federal government claims it needs. American families deserve a government that is lean, accountable, and focused on results, not politicized media subsidies.”

Examples of what we are defunding:
- PBS programming includes “Real Boy,” a program about a trans teen, and “Our League” about a trans woman returning to her hometown
- $1 million for voter ID in Haiti
- $3 million for Iraqi Sesame Street
- $1 million for programs to strengthen the resilience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer global movements
- PBS shows that indoctrinate children such as, “Drag Queen Story Hour”
- $33,000 for “Being LGBTI in the Caribbean”
- NPR requested and received a $1.9 million grant commitment from CPB to hire more “moderate” Editors and journalists, as they recognized their complete leftist bias
- $130 million from other IOP programs, which includes programs like UN Women, UN Panel on Climate Change, Int’l Conservation Programs, etc.
###

MIL OSI USA News –
July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Russia and Ukraine’s ceasefire memoranda are diametrically opposed – Russian President’s press secretary

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

Moscow, July 21 /Xinhua/ — The delegations of Russia and Ukraine at the talks on the Ukrainian settlement have a lot of diplomatic work ahead of them, since the memorandums on a ceasefire proposed by the countries are diametrically opposed, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

“There is our draft memorandum, there is a draft memorandum that was submitted by the Ukrainian side. There is an exchange of opinions and, in fact, negotiations on these two projects, which are currently absolutely diametrically opposed. Therefore, a lot of diplomatic work is ahead,” TASS quotes D. Peskov as saying.

Commenting on media reports that a new round of talks between Russia and Ukraine could take place this week, he noted that the Kremlin would inform about this as soon as there is an understanding of the dates. “We are in favor of holding a third round. As soon as there is a final understanding of the dates, we will inform you immediately,” the Russian president’s press secretary assured. –0–

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

.

MIL OSI Russia News –

July 22, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Why has a bill to relax NZ foreign investment rules had so little scrutiny?

ANALYSIS: By Jane Kelsey, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

While public attention has been focused on the domestic fast-track consenting process for infrastructure and mining, Associate Minister of Finance David Seymour has been pushing through another fast-track process — this time for foreign investment in New Zealand.

But it has had almost no public scrutiny.

If the Overseas Investment (National Interest Test and Other Matters) Amendment Bill becomes law, it could have far-reaching consequences. Public submissions on the bill close tomorrow.

A product of the ACT-National coalition agreement, the bill commits to amend the Overseas Investment Act 2005 “to limit ministerial decision making to national security concerns and make such decision making more timely”.

There are valid concerns that piecemeal reforms to the current act have made it complex and unwieldy. But the new bill is equally convoluted and would significantly reduce effective scrutiny of foreign investments — especially in forestry.

A three-step test
Step one of a three-step process set out in the bill gives the regulator — the Overseas Investment Office which sits within Land Information NZ — 15 days to decide whether a proposed investment would be a risk to New Zealand’s “national interest”.

If they don’t perceive a risk, or that initial assessment is not completed in time, the application is automatically approved.

Transactions involving fisheries quotas and various land categories, or any other applications the regulator identifies, would require a “national interest” assessment under stage two.

These would be assessed against a “ministerial letter” that sets out the government’s general policy and preferred approach to conducting the assessment, including any conditions on approvals.

Other mandatory factors to be considered in the second stage include the act’s new “purpose” to increase economic opportunity through “timely consent” of less sensitive investments. The new test would allow scrutiny of the character and capability of the investor to be omitted altogether.

If the regulator considers the national interest test is not met, or the transaction is “contrary to the national interest”, the minister of finance then makes a decision based on their assessment of those factors.

Inadequate regulatory process
Seymour has blamed the current screening regime for low volumes of foreign investment. But Treasury’s 2024 regulatory impact statement on the proposed changes to international investment screening acknowledges many other factors that influence investor decisions.

Moreover, the Treasury statement acknowledges public views that foreign investment rules should “manage a wide range of risks” and “that there is inherent non-economic value in retaining domestic ownership of certain assets”.

Treasury officials also recognised a range of other public concerns, including profits going offshore, loss of jobs, and foreign control of iconic businesses.

The regulatory impact statement did not cover these factors because it was required to consider only the coalition commitment. The Treasury panel reported “notable limitations” on the bill’s quality assurance process.

A fuller review was “infeasible” because it could not be completed in the time required, and would be broader than necessary to meet the coalition commitment to amend the act in the prescribed way.

The requirement to implement the bill in this parliamentary term meant the options officials could consider, even within the scope of the coalition agreement, were further limited.

Time constraints meant “users and key stakeholders have not been consulted”, according to the Treasury statement. Environmental and other risks would have to be managed through other regulations.

There is no reference to te Tiriti o Waitangi or mana whenua engagement.

Forestry ‘slash’ after Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 . . . no need to consider foreign investors’ track records. Image: Getty/The Conversation

No ‘benefit to NZ’ test
While the bill largely retains a version of the current screening regime for residential and farm land, it removes existing forestry activities from that definition (but not new forestry on non-forest land). It also removes extraction of water for bottling, or other bulk extraction for human consumption, from special vetting.

Where sensitive land (such as islands, coastal areas, conservation and wahi tapu land) is not residential or farm land, it would be removed from special screening rules currently applied for land.

Repeal of the “special forestry test” — which in practice has seen most applications approved, albeit with conditions — means most forestry investments could be fast-tracked.

There would no longer be a need to consider investors’ track records or apply a “benefit to New Zealand” test. Regulators may or may not be empowered to impose conditions such as replanting or cleaning up slash.

The official documents don’t explain the rationale for this. But it looks like a win for Regional Development Minister Shane Jones, and was perhaps the price of NZ First’s support.

It has potentially serious implications for forestry communities affected by climate-related disasters, however. Further weakening scrutiny and investment conditions risks intensifying the already devastating impacts of international forestry companies. Taxpayers and ratepayers pick up the costs while the companies can minimise their taxes and send profits offshore.

Locked in forever?
Finally, these changes could be locked in through New Zealand’s free trade agreements. Several such agreements say New Zealand’s investment regime cannot become more restrictive than the 2005 act and its regulations.

A “ratchet clause” would lock in any further liberalisation through this bill, from which there is no going back.

However, another annex in those free trade agreements could be interpreted as allowing some flexibility to alter the screening rules and criteria in the future. None of the official documents address this crucial question.

As an academic expert in this area I am uncertain about the risk.

But the lack of clarity underlines the problems exemplified in this bill. It is another example of coalition agreements bypassing democratic scrutiny and informed decision making. More public debate and broad analysis is needed on the bill and its implications.

Dr Jane Kelsey is emeritus professor of law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

July 22, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Why has a bill to relax NZ foreign investment rules had so little scrutiny?

ANALYSIS: By Jane Kelsey, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

While public attention has been focused on the domestic fast-track consenting process for infrastructure and mining, Associate Minister of Finance David Seymour has been pushing through another fast-track process — this time for foreign investment in New Zealand.

But it has had almost no public scrutiny.

If the Overseas Investment (National Interest Test and Other Matters) Amendment Bill becomes law, it could have far-reaching consequences. Public submissions on the bill close tomorrow.

A product of the ACT-National coalition agreement, the bill commits to amend the Overseas Investment Act 2005 “to limit ministerial decision making to national security concerns and make such decision making more timely”.

There are valid concerns that piecemeal reforms to the current act have made it complex and unwieldy. But the new bill is equally convoluted and would significantly reduce effective scrutiny of foreign investments — especially in forestry.

A three-step test
Step one of a three-step process set out in the bill gives the regulator — the Overseas Investment Office which sits within Land Information NZ — 15 days to decide whether a proposed investment would be a risk to New Zealand’s “national interest”.

If they don’t perceive a risk, or that initial assessment is not completed in time, the application is automatically approved.

Transactions involving fisheries quotas and various land categories, or any other applications the regulator identifies, would require a “national interest” assessment under stage two.

These would be assessed against a “ministerial letter” that sets out the government’s general policy and preferred approach to conducting the assessment, including any conditions on approvals.

Other mandatory factors to be considered in the second stage include the act’s new “purpose” to increase economic opportunity through “timely consent” of less sensitive investments. The new test would allow scrutiny of the character and capability of the investor to be omitted altogether.

If the regulator considers the national interest test is not met, or the transaction is “contrary to the national interest”, the minister of finance then makes a decision based on their assessment of those factors.

Inadequate regulatory process
Seymour has blamed the current screening regime for low volumes of foreign investment. But Treasury’s 2024 regulatory impact statement on the proposed changes to international investment screening acknowledges many other factors that influence investor decisions.

Moreover, the Treasury statement acknowledges public views that foreign investment rules should “manage a wide range of risks” and “that there is inherent non-economic value in retaining domestic ownership of certain assets”.

Treasury officials also recognised a range of other public concerns, including profits going offshore, loss of jobs, and foreign control of iconic businesses.

The regulatory impact statement did not cover these factors because it was required to consider only the coalition commitment. The Treasury panel reported “notable limitations” on the bill’s quality assurance process.

A fuller review was “infeasible” because it could not be completed in the time required, and would be broader than necessary to meet the coalition commitment to amend the act in the prescribed way.

The requirement to implement the bill in this parliamentary term meant the options officials could consider, even within the scope of the coalition agreement, were further limited.

Time constraints meant “users and key stakeholders have not been consulted”, according to the Treasury statement. Environmental and other risks would have to be managed through other regulations.

There is no reference to te Tiriti o Waitangi or mana whenua engagement.

Forestry ‘slash’ after Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 . . . no need to consider foreign investors’ track records. Image: Getty/The Conversation

No ‘benefit to NZ’ test
While the bill largely retains a version of the current screening regime for residential and farm land, it removes existing forestry activities from that definition (but not new forestry on non-forest land). It also removes extraction of water for bottling, or other bulk extraction for human consumption, from special vetting.

Where sensitive land (such as islands, coastal areas, conservation and wahi tapu land) is not residential or farm land, it would be removed from special screening rules currently applied for land.

Repeal of the “special forestry test” — which in practice has seen most applications approved, albeit with conditions — means most forestry investments could be fast-tracked.

There would no longer be a need to consider investors’ track records or apply a “benefit to New Zealand” test. Regulators may or may not be empowered to impose conditions such as replanting or cleaning up slash.

The official documents don’t explain the rationale for this. But it looks like a win for Regional Development Minister Shane Jones, and was perhaps the price of NZ First’s support.

It has potentially serious implications for forestry communities affected by climate-related disasters, however. Further weakening scrutiny and investment conditions risks intensifying the already devastating impacts of international forestry companies. Taxpayers and ratepayers pick up the costs while the companies can minimise their taxes and send profits offshore.

Locked in forever?
Finally, these changes could be locked in through New Zealand’s free trade agreements. Several such agreements say New Zealand’s investment regime cannot become more restrictive than the 2005 act and its regulations.

A “ratchet clause” would lock in any further liberalisation through this bill, from which there is no going back.

However, another annex in those free trade agreements could be interpreted as allowing some flexibility to alter the screening rules and criteria in the future. None of the official documents address this crucial question.

As an academic expert in this area I am uncertain about the risk.

But the lack of clarity underlines the problems exemplified in this bill. It is another example of coalition agreements bypassing democratic scrutiny and informed decision making. More public debate and broad analysis is needed on the bill and its implications.

Dr Jane Kelsey is emeritus professor of law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Senator Marshall: America is Now the Hottest Country in the World

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall

Senator Marshall Joins Newsmax to Discuss the First Six Months of President Trump’s Second Term & the Booming Economy
Washington – On Monday, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), joined Marc Lotter and Sharla McBride on Newmax’s Wake Up America to discuss the first six months of President Trump’s second term, future spending cuts in Congress, DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s recent report, and the MAHA legislative package he is introducing.

Click HERE or on the image above to watch Senator Marshall’s full interview.
On the first six months of President Trump’s second term:
“Exactly. I told my wife this morning, you know, we’re part of the Trump chain gang. Let’s get to work up here. Congress doesn’t have any idea what it’s like out in the real world, where, as a physician, I worked every weekend. I didn’t take days off for years at a time. So, I’m used to this pace. I’m used to Trump Time.
“But I’m calling this economy the Lazarus Economy. A year ago, as President Trump said, the economy was dead, and now we’re the hottest country in the world. Trillions of dollars are being invested, jobs are growing, inflation is down, the price of gasoline is down, and the border is secure. And our military is being taken care of. We just passed the largest tax cut in American history and the largest cut in federal government spending as well. This was a bill that’s going to help middle-income Americans and small businesses. Very proud of the work we’ve done these last six months.”
On future spending cuts from the Senate:
“Well, we certainly need to prioritize them, and Congress needs to develop this memory. This is the first time… since President Bush, the first, we’ve actually done a rescissions package. So, this was a good start to learn. You know, the backdrop of this $37 trillion of national debt right now. We’re going to spend a trillion dollars on interest this year. This is the number one threat to my grandchildren’s future: this national debt.
“Look, I think what your listeners need to understand is the Government Accounting Office, the Office of Inspector General, has been saying for over a decade now that there is systemic risk for fraud, waste, and abuse in USAID. And that’s why I asked Elon to burn it to the ground and start over.
“Just give you a few more examples here… in Tanzania, Zambia … $50 million of medical equipment theft. In New Guinea, $100 million of scandals are going on. More recently, $500 million here in the United States, where people were skimming and taking bribes back; all USAID programs. Go back to an earthquake in Haiti. We gave them a billion dollars decades ago. They never did anything with it. They did not build the energy plant they were supposed to. So, we have a president standing up identifying fraud. Now Congress needs to do her job with 50 votes. We can continue this on the Senate side.”
On DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s report about Russia misinformation:
“Well, look, this is absolutely believable. This is new information that in the Oval Office, with the highest members of the FBI and the Intelligence Agency under Obama, they cooked up a plan to continue this ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ hoax. You know, this is kind of the second chapter of the FISA court abuse that was done under the Obama administration as well. Those people never paid the price they should have paid as well. Judges should have been fired, and people within the FBI should have been fired over that. Maybe one person held accountable.
“So, this is the next chapter. We need total transparency. I think that’s what, you know, the beauty of President Trump’s cabinet is, they’re going to show America the whole truth here, nothing but the truth, and let the Justice Department do its job. And by the way, you’ll see Congress probably having more hearings on this as well.”
On the Make America Healthy Again package:
“Well, look, what I believe is that healthy soil meets healthy food, meets healthy people. That when agriculture can focus on soil health by growing more with less, by using less pesticides, using less water, and using modern-day agriculture, precision agriculture practices, we can make the soil healthier. That’s going to make the food more nutrient-rich, and that’s going to lead to healthier people.
“Look, 90% of the money spent on health care in this country is spent on seven chronic diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer’s, those types of things. So, we need to focus in on those chronic diseases, try to prevent them with healthy food, and then treat them with healthy food as well. And I’m so proud to work with Secretary Kennedy and Secretary Rollins to get this job done.”

MIL OSI USA News –

July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Tough new laws to make online marketplaces safer
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Press release

Tough new laws to make online marketplaces safer

New laws to make online marketplaces safer and protect the public from dangerous products
Person using computer with caption reading making online marketplaces safer

As part of the Plan for Change the Government is taking action to protect customers ensuring online marketplaces are held to same high standards as bricks and mortar stores

Landmark Product Regulation and Metrology Act boosts powers to tackle unsafe products sold online

Measures aimed to hold online marketplaces to account and help with growing safety concerns over fires caused by lithium-ion batteries, and e-bikes

Tougher powers to make online marketplaces safer and protect the public from dangerous products as part of the Government’s Plan for Change, have moved a step closer following Royal Assent of the Product Regulation and Metrology Act.

The new legislation will provide powers to target new and emerging dangers and hold online marketplaces to account for dangerous products sold through their platforms, creating a level playing field with bricks and mortar stores.

The rising popularity of e-bikes and e-scooters has brought with it an increase in safety incidents – the Office for Product Safety and Standards in 2024 received reports on 211 fires involving e-bikes or e-scooters – equivalent to a fire every 1.7 days.

Most of these reports (175) were from London Fire Brigade, and many were caused by unsafe lithium-ion batteries purchased through online marketplaces.

To help address the sale of unsafe products like these by online marketplaces, the Government intends to introduce requirements for online marketplaces at the earliest opportunity to update their responsibilities.

These will create a proportionate regulatory framework where online marketplaces are expected to:

prevent unsafe products from being made available to consumers

ensure that sellers operating on their platform comply with product safety obligations

provide relevant information to consumers;

and cooperate closely with regulators. 

Product Safety Minister Justin Madders said:

By giving regulators the teeth to clamp down on unsafe products, we’re ensuring people can shop with confidence whether online or on the high street.

This will establish a level playing field and mean online marketplaces are held to the same high standards as bricks and mortar shops, ensuring we back businesses and protect consumers as part of our Plan for Change.

The new measures will ensure clarity for the approximately 300,000 UK businesses operating in regulated product markets with a combined estimated turnover of £490 billion.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards will continue its targeted programme to tackle dangerous products, including the threats from button batteries and small magnets, and building on successful initiatives like the “Buy Safe, Be Safe” campaign launched last October and recent guidelines on lithium-ion battery safety introduced in December.

This balanced approach protects consumers while supporting economic growth across all nations of the UK.

Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said: 

Which? has campaigned for years to hold online marketplaces to the same standards as high street retailers. For too long, consumers have been exposed to dangerous – and in some cases lethal – products. 

The Product Regulation and Metrology Act has the potential to be a game changer for consumer safety. It paves the way for new laws to clarify and strengthen responsibilities for online marketplaces, which is crucial in the fight against the sale of dangerous products online. 

Following the bill’s Royal Assent, the government must act fast to tighten definitions of online marketplaces, introduce a clear duty so that online marketplaces are accountable for product safety, and empower regulators to issue heavy fines for those that fall short of the required standards.

London Fire Brigade Deputy Commissioner Charlie Pugsley said: 

We are pleased that the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill (PRAM) has been granted Royal Assent.

London Fire Brigade sees one e-bike or e-scooter fire every two days and we have long called for regulation to improve product safety and safeguards on online marketplaces to protect people from buying dangerous products that pose a fire risk. 

We welcome this new piece of legislation, which will better regulate unsafe products being sold and help to protect the public from unsafe products and particularly poor quality or non-compliant lithium battery products, which can present unique fire safety challenges.

John Herriman, Chief Executive at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, said:

Alongside the coalition, which included the British Toy and Hobby Association and Electrical Safety First, we welcome the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill gaining Royal Assent as a positive step forward in ensuring the UK maintains strong, modern protections for consumers.

This legislation supports the vital work Trading Standards does in keeping unsafe and non-compliant products off the market, creating a fairer and safer trading environment for businesses and consumers alike. We look forward to working closely with government and stakeholders to ensure that the laws that follow, after further consultation, are implemented effectively and contributes to a robust, future-facing regulatory system that will support economic growth in the UK.

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Published 21 July 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Terror and chaos for Gaza’s people now entering the ‘death phase’

Source: United Nations 2

In an alert, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, relayed desperate testimonies from its colleagues who are also struggling to survive in the war-torn enclave.

“We’re in the death phase,” one UNRWA worker said. “Everything around people at the moment is death, whether it’s bombs or strikes, children wasting away in front of their eyes from malnourishment, from dehydration, and dying.”

Doctors and nurses who continue to work in the UN agency’s clinics and medical centres “are watching children disappear and die in front of their eyes, and there’s absolutely nothing that they can do about it,” the worker continued.

Civilians ‘faced sniper and tank-fire’

The development comes after desperate Gazans seeking aid came under fire at the weekend “from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire”, according to the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

In a detailed statement after the incident on Sunday 20 July, it explained that a 25-truck lorry convoy crossed the Zikim border point in northern Gaza “destined for starving communities”.

Shortly after passing the final checkpoint after the Zikim crossing point, the convoy encountered large crowds of civilians waiting to access food supplies. This was when the shooting began, leaving “countless” Gazans dead, WFP said, echoing reports by the health authorities.

Condemning the incident, WFP noted that the victims “were simply trying to access food to feed themselves and their families on the brink of starvation”.

The UN agency said furthermore that the violence had happened “despite assurances from Israeli authorities that humanitarian operational conditions would improve; including that armed forces will not be present nor engage at any stage along humanitarian convoy routes.”

Without such fundamental guarantees, it will not be possible to continue providing life-saving support across the Gaza Strip, WPF said, its reaction coming a day after a reported 36 people seeking aid were reportedly killed close to a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation hub run by the Israeli and US in the south of the Strip.

Deir Al-Balah evacuation shock

In central Gaza’s Deir Al-Balah, meanwhile, 50,000 to 80,000 people have been impacted by a mass displacement order issued by the Israeli military – the first since war erupted on 7 October 2023.

“The new order cuts through Deir Al-Balah all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, further splintering the Strip,” OCHA said. “It will limit the ability of the UN and our partners to move safely and effectively within Gaza, choking humanitarian access when it is needed most.”

UN staff remain in Deir Al-Balah across “dozens of premises” whose coordinates have been shared with the warring parties. “These locations – as with all civilian sites – must be protected, regardless of displacement orders,” OCHA insisted, as Israeli tanks reportedly moved into southern and eastern areas of the city.

According to reports, this may be where some of the remaining hostages seized in Hamas-led terror attacks on 7 October 2023 in Israel may still be held.

Gaza cut in two

The latest evacuation order means that almost 88 per cent of Gaza is impacted by displacement orders or falls within Israeli-militarized zones. Some 2.1 million civilians who have been uprooted multiple times are now squeezed into the little remaining space, where essential services have collapsed.

“There’s nowhere for [Gazans] to escape. They are trapped,” said UNRWA Senior Emergency Officer Louise Wateridge. “They cannot leave the Gaza Strip. They’re trying to keep their children alive. They’re trying to keep themselves alive.”

In comments to UN News, the veteran humanitarian explained that no food is available and only very limited water, explaining why so many desperate Gazans risk their lives to fetch aid from the few distribution centres and arrival points still operational.

“Children are malnourished, they’re dehydrated, they are dying in front of their [parents’] eyes,” Ms. Wateridge continued. “The bombs and the strikes are continuing; there’s no way to run, there’s nowhere to hide. There’s no way to escape there.”

MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Joint statement on behalf of 26 partners on the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Source: Government of Canada News

July 21, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

The Foreign Ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the European Union Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, today issued the following statement:

“We, the signatories listed below, come together with a simple, urgent message: the war in Gaza must end now.

“The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity. We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food. It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid. The Israeli Government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law.

“The hostages cruelly held captive by Hamas since 7 October 2023 continue to suffer terribly. We condemn their continued detention and call for their immediate and unconditional release. A negotiated ceasefire offers the best hope of bringing them home and ending the agony of their families.

“We call on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and to urgently enable the UN and humanitarian NGOs to do their life-saving work safely and effectively.

“We call on all parties to protect civilians and uphold the obligations of international humanitarian law. Proposals to remove the Palestinian population into a “humanitarian city” are completely unacceptable. Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law.

“We strongly oppose any steps towards territorial or demographic change in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The E1 settlement plan announced by Israel’s Civil Administration, if implemented, would divide a future Palestinian state in two, marking a flagrant breach of international law, and critically undermine the two-state solution. Meanwhile, settlement building across the West Bank and East Jerusalem has accelerated while settler violence against Palestinians has soared. This must stop.

“We urge the parties and the international community to unite in a common effort to bring this terrible conflict to an end, through an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire. Further bloodshed serves no purpose. We reaffirm our complete support to the efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt to achieve this.

“We are prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region.”

This statement has been signed by:
- The Foreign Ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK
- The EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management
MIL OSI Canada News –
July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Gosar Seeks Answers to Devastating Dragon Bravo Wildfire at the Grand Canyon
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Paul A Gosar DDS (AZ-04)

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-09), issued the following statement in response to the devastating Dragon Bravo Wildfire at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon:

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon continues to burn out of control, with nearly 9,000 acres ablaze and over 70 structures destroyed, including the historic Grand Canyon Lodge.

As the dean of the Arizona congressional delegation and the Chair of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, I have a responsibility to obtain answers to questions related to the policy and resource mismanagement decisions that led to the Dragon Bravo Wildfire to burn uncontrolled.

Today, I sent a letter to United States Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum requesting prompt collaboration to identify the policies that exacerbated the rapid spread of the Dragon Bravo Wildfire, and the immediate actions needed to correct any improper resource management that may have intensified the wildfire rather than it being extinguished. In that regard, I am seeking answers from the Department of Interior to the following questions:
- Which federal agencies are involved in the response to the Dragon Bravo Wildfire?
- Who made the decision to treat the Dragon Bravo Wildfire as a controlled burn versus deploying the assets to immediately extinguish it?
- What is the projected economic impact of the closure of the North Rim, loss of the Grand Canyon Lodge, and temporary closure of recreational trails?
- Had hazard mitigation and fuel reduction operations been conducted at the North Rim prior to the start of wildlife seasons?
- Are new hazard mitigation techniques being considered, including logging on park lands?
- Who was responsible for monitoring atmospheric and weather changes that facilitated the rapid spread of the flames?
- When was the North Rim Water Treatment Facility identified as a risk for loss of fire retardant prior to its capture in the fire?
I cannot be silent as the wildfire continues to burn uncontrolled. I have an obligation to conduct congressional oversight and obtain answers for all Arizonans including the brave firefighters risking their lives to control this inferno,” concluded Congressman Paul Gosar.

A copy of the full text of the letter can be read by clicking here.

MIL OSI USA News –
July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: José Adolfo “Fito” Macías Villamar, Leader of Los Choneros Transnational Criminal Organization Extradited to Brooklyn Federal Court to Face International Drug and Gun Charges

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

BROOKLYN, NY – José Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known as “Fito,” a citizen of Ecuador, will be arraigned today at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn for crimes committed as the leader of Los Choneros, a transnational criminal organization based in Ecuador that is responsible for significant drug trafficking into the United States, firearms trafficking from the United States, and acts of extreme violence. Macías Villamar will be arraigned on a seven-count superseding indictment charging him with international cocaine distribution conspiracy; international cocaine distribution; using firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking; smuggling firearms from the United States; and straw purchasing of firearms conspiracy. Macías Villamar will be arraigned before United States Chief Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon after being extradited yesterday from Ecuador to the Eastern District of New York.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Robert Murphy, Acting Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); L.C. Cheeks, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Field Division (ATF); and Jonathan Carson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office (OEE), announced the extradition and arraignment.

“As alleged, the defendant served for years as the principal leader of Los Choneros, a notoriously violent transnational criminal organization, and was a ruthless and infamous drug and firearms trafficker. The defendant and his co-conspirators flooded the United States and other countries with drugs and used extreme measures of violence in their quest for power and control,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “This case demonstrates our Office’s commitment to identifying and targeting the leadership of such organizations, wherever they may be located, and bringing them to face justice here in the United States.”

“José ‘Fito’ Macias thought he could traffic poison into our country, smuggle American weapons back to his killers, and further his criminal enterprise using chaos and bloodshed. He was wrong,” stated DEA Acting Administrator Robert Murphy. “Today, the kingpin of Los Choneros faces justice on U.S. soil for his crimes.”

“ATF remains dedicated to working with our local, state, and federal partners to disrupt the shooting cycle by focusing on those individuals and criminal organizations responsible for the gun violence that plagues our neighborhoods,” stated ATF Special Agent in Charge Cheeks. “ATF will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to address violent gang and drug-related activity that endangers the safety of our communities. Our joint efforts are essential in bringing accountability to violent offenders, combatting threats to the public, and reducing violent crime.”

As alleged in the indictment and other public filings, from at least 2020 to 2025, Macías Villamar was the principal leader of Los Choneros, the most violent and powerful transnational criminal organization in Ecuador. As the principal leader of Los Choneros, Macías Villamar employed members of the organization to carry out serious acts of violence on the organization’s behalf. At Macías Villamar’s direction, Los Choneros committed violent acts toward Ecuadorean law enforcement, Ecuadorian politicians, attorneys, prosecutors, and civilians. Los Choneros obtained many of its firearms and weapons by illegally trafficking and exporting them from the United States to Ecuador. As alleged, the defendant specifically employed individuals who purchased firearms, firearms components, and ammunition in the United States and then illegally smuggled them to Ecuador for use by Los Choneros.

In 2011, Macías Villamar went to prison in Ecuador on murder, robbery, weapons possession, and drug trafficking charges. He escaped in 2013 before being recaptured months later. During his second imprisonment in Ecuador, Macías Villamar used contraband cell phones and the internet to continue to direct the activities of Los Choneros and publish external communications and threats on Los Choneros’ behalf. In January 2024, he escaped from Ecuadorian prison a second time—just two days ahead of his planned move to a maximum-security facility. In response to his escape, Ecuador erupted in violence—including prison riots, gang attacks, kidnappings, and bombings—and the government of Ecuador declared a state of emergency. Ecuadorian authorities recaptured Macías Villamar on June 25, 2025, and he was extradited from Ecuador yesterday.

Macías Villamar and members and associates of his organization used firearms in furtherance of their weapon and drug trafficking activities, including machine guns, AK-47 assault rifles, and grenades. Macías Villamar and the Los Choneros organization have also been sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and Ecuadorian authorities provided substantial assistance to secure the extradition of Macías Villamar. This marks Ecuador’s first extradition of an Ecuadorian national since an April 2024 popular referendum amended Ecuador’s constitution to allow for the extradition of Ecuadorian nationals.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The charges in the superseding indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and up to life.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section, and as part of the work of the Office’s Transnational Criminal Organizations Strike Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Chand Edwards-Balfour, Lorena Michelen, and David Berman are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

JOSÉ ADOLFO MACÍAS VILLAMAR (also known as “Fito”)
Age: 45
Ecuador

E.D.N.Y. Docket No.: 25-CR-114 (FB)

MIL Security OSI –

July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: ICE Arrests Murderers, Pedophiles, and Rapists Over the Weekend
Source: US Department of Homeland Security

Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE is working around-the-clock to remove the worst of the worst from American communities

WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the names and rap sheets of criminal illegal aliens arrested over the weekend—including murderers, pedophiles, and rapists.

“Over the weekend, our brave ICE agents arrested more depraved criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, and three child pedophiles. These are the types of barbaric criminals our ICE law enforcement is arresting and removing from American communities every day,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Despite an 830 percent surge in assaults against our ICE law enforcement officers, they continue to put their lives on the line to make American communities safer every day.”

Below are some of the criminal illegal aliens arrested over the weekend:
- ICE Dallas arrested Jose Arinaga-Ramirez, a 58-year-old illegal alien from Mexico, convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child in San Antonio, TX.
- ICE Los Angeles arrested Chue Vue, a 37-year-old illegal alien from Laos, convicted of attempted murder and seven counts of assault with deadly weapon/instrument non-firearm that produced great bodily injury in Riverside, CA.
- ICE Philadelphia arrested Gil Salinas-Anaclo, a 35-year-old illegal alien from Peru, convicted of larceny in Northampton County, PA.
- ICE Houston arrested Gilmer Vertiz-Bustemante, a 37-year-old illegal alien from Mexico convicted of murder in Tarrant County, TX.
- ICE Buffalo arrested Andra Adams Scott, a 30-year-old illegal alien from Jamaica, convicted of attempted robbery in Queens County, NY.
- ICE Los Angeles arrested Henry Jose Marquez, a 55-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela, convicted of smuggling cocaine in Tampa, FL.
- ICE Boston arrested Jovinnel Giron Meneses, a 29-year-old illegal alien from the Philippines convicted of aggravated rape of a child, rape of a child with force, four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 in Middlesex, MA.
- ICE Philadelphia arrested Juan Ramirez-Velasquez, a 27-year-old illegal alien from Guatemala, convicted of rape of a victim under 12 years old in Dover, DE.
- ICE Atlanta arrested Emmanuel Evariste, a 39-year-old illegal alien from Haiti, convicted in the United States District Court, Boston District of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
- ICE Buffalo arrested Sakir Akkan, a 22-year-old illegal alien from Turkey, convicted of rape three: anal sexual contact with a person incapable consent in Albany County, NY.
- ICE St. Louis arrested Nodir Negmatov, an illegal alien from Uzbekistan, who was attempting to pick up U.S. Department of State International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) controlled Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits, which convert unguided bombs into all-weather precision-guided munitions, at a Boeing plant in St. Charles, Missouri.
###

MIL Security OSI –
July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Johannesburg’s creative hubs are booming: how artists are rejuvenating a failing inner city

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Mariapaola McGurk, Lecturer in Innovation & Entrepreneurship, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

Johannesburg is weathering a storm of crises. Nowhere is its complex tangle of challenges more visible than in the inner city, where crime, overcrowding, and infrastructure collapse – such as roads literally exploding – paint a grim picture. Cultural institutions haven’t been spared either, with long-standing landmarks like the Johannesburg Art Gallery caught in cycles of neglect and crisis.

Read more:
South Africa doesn’t need new cities: it needs to focus on fixing what it’s got

Yet, while many avoid the inner city or speak only of its decline, the creative and cultural practitioners of Johannesburg never left. In fact, artists, architects, fashion designers, animators, musicians and the like have been hard at work. They’re building, dreaming and shaping a new urban reality that could become the beacon of hope this city needs.

As a researcher and visual artist, I recently completed a PhD study that focused on Johannesburg’s cultural and creative industries. My research revealed that a clear understanding of the existing structures and dynamics within this industry is essential for developing effective strategies to strengthen its role in local economic development.

Here I explore one such opportunity: creative hubs. I argue that they represent a low-hanging fruit for the inner city’s growth and revitalisation.

Urban renewal

Numerous articles have explored strategies for the city’s economic development and urban renewal. One group of scholars recently outlined four critical focus areas: coordinated efforts across government levels; an active civil society; a shift in political culture; and restored leadership in a revitalised administration.

These are vital interventions, but they still beg a deeper question. What is the new “gold” of the “City of Gold”, the mining town founded in 1886 and on track to become a megacity by 2030?

What is it that truly sets Johannesburg apart, nationally and globally? What strengths already exist that, if nurtured, could help address the city’s challenges? The answer may not lie in building something entirely new, but in recognising and investing in what already thrives. The city’s people, its culture, and its extraordinary creativity.

In 2004, Unesco launched the Creative Cities Network. Today it comprises 246 cities in 80 member states. South Africa has three cities in the network: Cape Town (design), Durban (literature) and Overstrand (gastronomy). Johannesburg has never applied to belong.

Cities are acknowledging the economic and social value of the cultural and creative industries, particularly in addressing challenges such as youth unemployment, micro-enterprise growth, equity and community development.

Yet cities globally are grappling with how to retain creative professionals. This is the case in cities like Toronto, Sydney, Los Angeles, Cologne or Barcelona. Rising property prices, the redevelopment of industrial areas into commercial or luxury spaces, and short-term rental agreements are displacing these professionals from the urban cores they help energise. Cities are coming up with incentives and programmes to correct this.

A recent World Cities Cultural Forum report offers a solution in the form of Creative Land Trusts. These permanently hold land and assets at affordable rates for creatives. They take property out of speculative real estate markets. They’re designed to support not galleries or theatres, but the studios and workspaces where creative production actually happens.

Similar initiatives are happening in London, Helsinki and San Francisco.

Mapping Johannesburg’s creative hubs

Unlike cities that are trying to reverse the exodus of creatives, Johannesburg’s inner city has seen a recent surge in creative hub development.

A creative hub is a physical or digital space (in this case physical) designed to bring together cultural and creative professionals for studio space, collaboration, networking and the exchange of ideas.

Over the last year, 21 creative hubs have been mapped in the city, the majority newly established. Notable examples include Transwerke Studios, Asisebenze Art Atelier, Victoria Yards and Oovookoo. Remarkably, 19 of the 21 hubs identified in my open-source mapping process are in the inner city. Only two are government run – Transwerke and Downtown Music Hub.

Across Johannesburg, creative hubs buzz with independent activity, yet share a common commitment to cultivating talent, business support and community impact. They are evidence of innovative partnerships between creatives and property developers.

Inside these spaces, artists and creatives get opportunities through gallerist and investor visits (access to markets). They build practical and entrepreneurial skills through tailored workshops. And they collaborate on projects that place social upliftment at their heart.

Some hubs focus on offering studio spaces, while others extend their reach beyond their walls, blending artistic expression with community development and public engagement.

By actively building community and opportunity, creative hubs are becoming

lighthouses for the new urban economy.

They are small business incubators, urban beautification engines and potential cultural tourism hotspots. An event like Contra Fair opens the doors of art studio hubs once a year. Entrepreneur and social activist Tebogo Moalusi has now taken the lead in the establishment of Creative20. This will become a platform for revitalising Johannesburg’s creative cities campaign.

Neglected by the city

And yet the cultural and creative industries remain almost entirely absent from the city’s strategic planning. The Johannesburg 2040: Growth and Development Strategy fails even to mention the sector.

This is despite Gauteng, the province that houses Johannesburg, being the epicentre of South Africa’s creative economy. It contributes 46.3% of the industry’s gross domestic product and generates the highest employment impact. Johannesburg hosts the majority of creative businesses in the province.

Read more:
The real Johannesburg: 6 powerful photos from a gritty new book on the city

The Gauteng 2030 Strategy highlights three high-growth sectors: agro-processing, cultural and creative industries, and high-tech/knowledge sectors, including digital and gaming. Two of these directly involve the creative economy. Yet there’s been little effort to integrate them into Johannesburg’s urban development agenda.

If Johannesburg is serious about inclusive economic development and sustainable urban growth, it must recognise and invest in the cultural and creative industries which are already thriving within its borders.

Mariapaola McGurk consults to Creative20 Organisation

– ref. Johannesburg’s creative hubs are booming: how artists are rejuvenating a failing inner city – https://theconversation.com/johannesburgs-creative-hubs-are-booming-how-artists-are-rejuvenating-a-failing-inner-city-260224

MIL OSI Analysis –

July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: Johannesburg’s creative hubs are booming: how artists are rejuvenating a failing inner city

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Mariapaola McGurk, Lecturer in Innovation & Entrepreneurship, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

Johannesburg is weathering a storm of crises. Nowhere is its complex tangle of challenges more visible than in the inner city, where crime, overcrowding, and infrastructure collapse – such as roads literally exploding – paint a grim picture. Cultural institutions haven’t been spared either, with long-standing landmarks like the Johannesburg Art Gallery caught in cycles of neglect and crisis.

Read more: South Africa doesn’t need new cities: it needs to focus on fixing what it’s got

Yet, while many avoid the inner city or speak only of its decline, the creative and cultural practitioners of Johannesburg never left. In fact, artists, architects, fashion designers, animators, musicians and the like have been hard at work. They’re building, dreaming and shaping a new urban reality that could become the beacon of hope this city needs.

As a researcher and visual artist, I recently completed a PhD study that focused on Johannesburg’s cultural and creative industries. My research revealed that a clear understanding of the existing structures and dynamics within this industry is essential for developing effective strategies to strengthen its role in local economic development.

Here I explore one such opportunity: creative hubs. I argue that they represent a low-hanging fruit for the inner city’s growth and revitalisation.

Urban renewal

Numerous articles have explored strategies for the city’s economic development and urban renewal. One group of scholars recently outlined four critical focus areas: coordinated efforts across government levels; an active civil society; a shift in political culture; and restored leadership in a revitalised administration.

These are vital interventions, but they still beg a deeper question. What is the new “gold” of the “City of Gold”, the mining town founded in 1886 and on track to become a megacity by 2030?

Work by artist Candice Kramer at Bag Factory Artists Studios. Mark Straw

What is it that truly sets Johannesburg apart, nationally and globally? What strengths already exist that, if nurtured, could help address the city’s challenges? The answer may not lie in building something entirely new, but in recognising and investing in what already thrives. The city’s people, its culture, and its extraordinary creativity.

In 2004, Unesco launched the Creative Cities Network. Today it comprises 246 cities in 80 member states. South Africa has three cities in the network: Cape Town (design), Durban (literature) and Overstrand (gastronomy). Johannesburg has never applied to belong.

Cities are acknowledging the economic and social value of the cultural and creative industries, particularly in addressing challenges such as youth unemployment, micro-enterprise growth, equity and community development.

Artist Mankebe Seakoe at Contra Fair. Mark Straw

Yet cities globally are grappling with how to retain creative professionals. This is the case in cities like Toronto, Sydney, Los Angeles, Cologne or Barcelona. Rising property prices, the redevelopment of industrial areas into commercial or luxury spaces, and short-term rental agreements are displacing these professionals from the urban cores they help energise. Cities are coming up with incentives and programmes to correct this.

A recent World Cities Cultural Forum report offers a solution in the form of Creative Land Trusts. These permanently hold land and assets at affordable rates for creatives. They take property out of speculative real estate markets. They’re designed to support not galleries or theatres, but the studios and workspaces where creative production actually happens.

Similar initiatives are happening in London, Helsinki and San Francisco.

Mapping Johannesburg’s creative hubs

Unlike cities that are trying to reverse the exodus of creatives, Johannesburg’s inner city has seen a recent surge in creative hub development.

A creative hub is a physical or digital space (in this case physical) designed to bring together cultural and creative professionals for studio space, collaboration, networking and the exchange of ideas.

Some creative hubs offer gallery spaces. Mark Straw

Over the last year, 21 creative hubs have been mapped in the city, the majority newly established. Notable examples include Transwerke Studios, Asisebenze Art Atelier, Victoria Yards and Oovookoo. Remarkably, 19 of the 21 hubs identified in my open-source mapping process are in the inner city. Only two are government run – Transwerke and Downtown Music Hub.

Across Johannesburg, creative hubs buzz with independent activity, yet share a common commitment to cultivating talent, business support and community impact. They are evidence of innovative partnerships between creatives and property developers.

Mapping Johannesburg’s creative hubs. Google Maps/Mariapaola McGurk

Inside these spaces, artists and creatives get opportunities through gallerist and investor visits (access to markets). They build practical and entrepreneurial skills through tailored workshops. And they collaborate on projects that place social upliftment at their heart.

Some hubs focus on offering studio spaces, while others extend their reach beyond their walls, blending artistic expression with community development and public engagement.

By actively building community and opportunity, creative hubs are becoming

lighthouses for the new urban economy.

They are small business incubators, urban beautification engines and potential cultural tourism hotspots. An event like Contra Fair opens the doors of art studio hubs once a year. Entrepreneur and social activist Tebogo Moalusi has now taken the lead in the establishment of Creative20. This will become a platform for revitalising Johannesburg’s creative cities campaign.

Neglected by the city

And yet the cultural and creative industries remain almost entirely absent from the city’s strategic planning. The Johannesburg 2040: Growth and Development Strategy fails even to mention the sector.

Bag Factory Artists Studios hosting a public event. Mark Straw

This is despite Gauteng, the province that houses Johannesburg, being the epicentre of South Africa’s creative economy. It contributes 46.3% of the industry’s gross domestic product and generates the highest employment impact. Johannesburg hosts the majority of creative businesses in the province.

Read more: The real Johannesburg: 6 powerful photos from a gritty new book on the city

The Gauteng 2030 Strategy highlights three high-growth sectors: agro-processing, cultural and creative industries, and high-tech/knowledge sectors, including digital and gaming. Two of these directly involve the creative economy. Yet there’s been little effort to integrate them into Johannesburg’s urban development agenda.

If Johannesburg is serious about inclusive economic development and sustainable urban growth, it must recognise and invest in the cultural and creative industries which are already thriving within its borders.

– Johannesburg’s creative hubs are booming: how artists are rejuvenating a failing inner city
– https://theconversation.com/johannesburgs-creative-hubs-are-booming-how-artists-are-rejuvenating-a-failing-inner-city-260224

MIL OSI Africa –

July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Smithfield man sentenced to over two years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm

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

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Smithfield man was sentenced yesterday to two years and four months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on May 25, 2024, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on Ahmod Keshawn Finney, 24, and placed him in custody pursuant to outstanding state arrest warrants. While Finney was being detained, officers observed and recovered a loaded handgun from the vehicle. The handgun was stolen and was equipped with an extended magazine and a machinegun conversion device.

As a previously convicted felon, Finney cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Anthony A. Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; Col. Matthew D. Hanley, Superintendent of Virginia State Police; and Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Jamar K. Walker.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter G. Osyf prosecuted the case.

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.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:24-cr-86.

MIL Security OSI –

July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney’s Office Filed 84 Border-Related Cases This Week
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 84 border-related cases this week, including charges of assault on a federal officer, bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).

In addition to reactive border-related crimes, the Southern District of California also prosecutes a significant number of proactive cases related to terrorism, organized crime, drugs, white-collar fraud, violent crime, cybercrime, human trafficking and national security. Recent developments in those and other significant areas of prosecution can be found here.

A sample of border-related arrests this week:
- On July 11, Nicolas Duarte-Moreno, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain. According to a complaint, Duarte-Moreno was arrested by Customs and Border Protection officers after he attempted to enter the U.S. in a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder through a Sentri lane at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry with an undocumented immigrant hiding in the vehicle. Officers found the immigrant from Guatemala concealed in the cargo area where the convertible top retracts. While CBP officials dismantled the cargo area by removing bolts and speakers to find and extricate the immigrant, he complained that he could not breathe. He was immediately taken to a hospital.
- On July 15, Luis Angel Galvez Alvarez, Julio Cesar Oros Castro and Francisco Javier Castro Acosta, all Mexican citizens, were arrested and charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance. According to a complaint, the trio attempted to enter the U.S. about the same time, each driving a Freightliner tractor through the Otay Mesa Commercial Facility. Customs and Border Protection officers stopped each vehicle; they found about 29 pounds of cocaine concealed in the walls behind the beds of each tractor. The complaint said all three drivers admitted they were employed by the same trucking company.
- On July 16, Jorge Ismael Valencia-Julian, a Mexican citizen, was arrested and charged with Deported Alien Found in the United States. According to a complaint, Valencia-Julian was arrested by a Border Patrol agent who tracked his footprints for five hours as the defendant tried to escape in rough terrain. Valencia-Julian was previously deported in March 2024 at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
Also recently, a number of defendants with criminal records were convicted by a jury or sentenced for border-related crimes such as illegally re-entering the U.S. after previous deportation. Here are a few of those cases:
- On July 11, 2025, Ricardo Velez-Torres, a Mexican National who was previously convicted of Burglary in the First Degree in 2006 and Illegal Reentry in 2002, was sentenced in federal court to 21 months in custody for again entering the U.S. illegally.
- On July 18, Julio Leyva-Solis, a Mexican national who was previously convicted of the felony facilitation of human smuggling, felony theft of property on three occasions, and felony possession of methamphetamine, was sentenced in federal court to 12 months plus one day in custody for again entering the U.S illegally.
Pursuant to the Department’s Operation Take Back America priorities, federal law enforcement has focused immigration prosecutions on undocumented aliens who are engaged in criminal activity in the U.S., including those who commit drug and firearms crimes, who have serious criminal records, or who have active warrants for their arrest. Federal authorities have also been prioritizing investigations and prosecutions against drug, firearm, and human smugglers and those who endanger and threaten the safety of our communities and the law enforcement officers who protect the community.

The immigration cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the support and assistance of state and local law enforcement partners.

Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

MIL Security OSI –
July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Pierre Man Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Federal Prison for Distributing Methamphetamine in Central South Dakota

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

PIERRE – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte has sentenced a Pierre, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person. The sentencing took place on July 14, 2025.

Scott Reiners, age 37, was sentenced to 12 years and four months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Reiners was further ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.

Reiners was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2024 . He pleaded guilty on April 3, 2025.

The conviction stemmed from a drug conspiracy between September 2022 and April 2023 in which Reiners and several other individuals conspired to distribute methamphetamine in and around the central South Dakota area, including within the Crow Creek and Lower Brule Sioux Indian Reservations. As part of the conspiracy, Reiners was involved in distributing between 5 kilograms and 15 kilograms of methamphetamine. Reiners was also involved in a traffic stop where law enforcement seized 254 grams of 97% pure methamphetamine and a handgun. Reiners is prohibited from possessing firearms due to three prior felony convictions.

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

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Dilges prosecuted the case.

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

MIL Security OSI –

July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Idi Amin made himself out to be the ‘liberator’ of an oppressed majority – a demagogic trick that endures today

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Derek R. Peterson, Ali Mazrui Professor of History & African Studies, University of Michigan

Idi Amin addresses the United Nations General Assembly in 1975. Bettmann/Getty Images

Fifty years ago, Ugandan President Idi Amin wrote to the governments of the British Commonwealth with a bold suggestion: Allow him to take over as head of the organization, replacing Queen Elizabeth II.

After all, Amin reasoned, a collapsing economy had made the U.K. unable to maintain its leadership. Moreover the “British empire does not now exist following the complete decolonization of Britain’s former overseas territories.”

It wasn’t Amin’s only attempt to reshape the international order. Around the same time, he called for the United Nations headquarters to be moved to Uganda’s capital, Kampala, touting its location at “the heart of the world between the continents of America, Asia, Australia and the North and South Poles.”

Amin’s diplomacy aimed to place Kampala at the center of a postcolonial world. In my new book, “A Popular History of Idi Amin’s Uganda,” I show that Amin’s government made Uganda – a remote, landlocked nation – look like a frontline state in the global war against racism, apartheid and imperialism.

Doing so was, for the Amin regime, a way of claiming a morally essential role: liberator of Africa’s hitherto oppressed people. It helped inflate his image both at home and abroad, allowing him to maintain his rule for eight calamitous years, from 1971 to 1979.

The phony liberator?

Amin was the creator of a myth that was both manifestly untrue and extraordinarily compelling: that his violent, dysfunctional regime was actually engaged in freeing people from foreign oppressors.

The question of Scottish independence was one of his enduring concerns. The “people of Scotland are tired of being exploited by the English,” wrote Amin in a 1974 telegram to United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim. “Scotland was once an independent country, happy, well governed and administered with peace and prosperity,” but under the British government, “England has thrived on the energies and brains of the Scottish people.”

Even his cruelest policies were framed as if they were liberatory. In August 1972, Amin announced the summary expulsion of Uganda’s Asian community. Some 50,000 people, many of whom had lived in Uganda for generations, were given a bare three months to tie up their affairs and leave the country. Amin named this the “Economic War.”

In the speech that announced the expulsions, Amin argued that “the Ugandan Africans have been enslaved economically since the time of the colonialists.” The Economic War was meant to “emancipate the Uganda Africans of this republic.”

“This is the day of salvation for the Ugandan Africans,” he said. By the end of 1972, some 5,655 farms, ranches and estates had been vacated by the departed Asian community, and Black African proprietors were queuing up to take over Asian-run businesses.

Ugandan Asian refugees arrive at an airport in the U.K. after being expelled from Uganda.
P. Felix/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

A year later, when Amin attended the Organization of African Unity summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, his “achievements” were reported in a booklet published by the Uganda government. During his speech, Amin was “interrupted by thunderous applauses of acclamation and cheers, almost word for word, by Heads of State and Government and by everybody else who had a chance to hear it,” according to the the report.

It was, wrote the government propagandist, “very clear that Uganda had emerged as the forefront of a True African State. It was clear that African nationalism had been born again. It was clear that the speech had brought new life to the freedom struggle in Africa.”

Life at the front

Amin’s policies were disastrous for all Ugandans, African and Asian alike. Yet his war of economic liberation was, for a time, a source of inspiration for activists around the world. Among the many people gripped by enthusiasm for Amin’s regime was Roy Innis, the Black American leader of the civil rights organization Congress of Racial Equality.

In March 1973, Innis visited Uganda at Amin’s invitation. Innis and his colleagues had been pressing African governments to grant dual citizenship to Black Americans, just as Jewish Americans could earn citizenship from the state of Israel.

Over the course of their 18 days in Uganda, the visiting Americans were shuttled around the country in Amin’s helicopter. Everywhere, Innis spoke with enthusiasm about Amin’s accomplishments. In a poem published in the pro-government Voice of Uganda around the time of his visit, Innis wrote:

“Before, the life of your people was a complete bore,

And they were poor, oppressed, exploited and economically sore.

And you then came and opened new, dynamic economic pages.

And showered progress on your people in realistic stages.

In such expert moves that baffled even the great sages,

your electric personality pronounced the imperialists’ doom.

Your pragmatism has given Ugandans their economic boom.”

In May 1973, Innis was back in Uganda, promising to recruit a contingent of 500 African American professors and technicians to serve in Uganda. Amin offered them free passage to Uganda, free housing and free hospital care for themselves and their families. The American weekly magazine Jet predicted that Uganda was soon to become an “African Israel,” a model nation upheld by the energies and knowledge of Black Americans.

Roy Innis, national director of the Congress of Racial Equality, in 1972.
Bettmann/Getty Images

As some have observed, Innis was surely naive. But his enthusiasm was shared by a great many people, not least a great many Ugandans. Inspired by Amin’s promises, their energy and commitment kept institutions functioning in a time of great disruption. They built roads and stadiums, constructed national monuments and underwrote the running costs of government ministries.

Patriotism and demagoguery

Their ambitions were soon foreclosed by a rising tide of political dysfunction. Amin’s regime came to a violent end in 1979, when he was ousted by the invading army of Tanzania and fled Uganda.

But his brand of demagoguery lives on. Today a new generation of demagogues claim to be fighting to liberate aggrieved majorities from outsiders’ control.

In the 1970s, Amin enlisted Black Ugandans to battle against racial minorities who were said to dominate the economy and public life. Today an ascendant right wing encourages aggrieved white Americans to regard themselves as a majority dispossessed of their inheritance by greedy immigrants.

Amin encouraged Ugandans to regard themselves as frontline soldiers, engaged in a globally consequential war against foreigners. In today’s America, some people similarly feel themselves deputized to take matters of state into their own hands. In January 2021, for instance, a right-wing group called “Stop the Steal” organized a rally in Washington. Vowing to “take our country back,” they stormed the Capitol building.

The racialized demagoguery that Idi Amin promoted inspired the imagination of a great many people. It also fed violent campaigns to repossess a stolen inheritance, to reclaim properties that ought, in the view of the aggrieved majority, to belong to native sons and daughters. His regime is for us today a warning about the compelling power of demagoguery to shape people’s sense of purpose.

Derek R. Peterson receives funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Andrew Mellon Foundation.

– ref. Idi Amin made himself out to be the ‘liberator’ of an oppressed majority – a demagogic trick that endures today – https://theconversation.com/idi-amin-made-himself-out-to-be-the-liberator-of-an-oppressed-majority-a-demagogic-trick-that-endures-today-256969

MIL OSI Analysis –

July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Occupied Palestinian Territories: joint statement, 21 July 2025
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

News story

Occupied Palestinian Territories: joint statement, 21 July 2025

The UK and 25 international partners gave a joint statement on the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Joint statement by:

foreign ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK

EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management

We, the signatories listed below, come together with a simple, urgent message: the war in Gaza must end now.

The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity. We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food. It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid. The Israeli Government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law.

The hostages cruelly held captive by Hamas since 7 October 2023 continue to suffer terribly. We condemn their continued detention and call for their immediate and unconditional release. A negotiated ceasefire offers the best hope of bringing them home and ending the agony of their families.

We call on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and to urgently enable the UN and humanitarian NGOs to do their life saving work safely and effectively.

We call on all parties to protect civilians and uphold the obligations of international humanitarian law. Proposals to remove the Palestinian population into a “humanitarian city” are completely unacceptable. Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law.

We strongly oppose any steps towards territorial or demographic change in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The E1 settlement plan announced by Israel’s Civil Administration, if implemented, would divide a Palestinian state in two, marking a flagrant breach of international law and critically undermine the two-state solution. Meanwhile, settlement building across the West Bank including East Jerusalem has accelerated while settler violence against Palestinians has soared. This must stop.

We urge the parties and the international community to unite in a common effort to bring this terrible conflict to an end, through an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire. Further bloodshed serves no purpose.  We reaffirm our complete support to the efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt to achieve this.

We are prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region.

This statement has been signed by:

The Foreign Ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK

The EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management

Media enquiries

Email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

Telephone 020 7008 3100

Email the FCDO Newsdesk (monitored 24 hours a day) in the first instance, and we will respond as soon as possible.

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Updates to this page

Published 21 July 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Russia makes group raids on Ukraine

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

Russian forces launched an overnight group strike on Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and the infrastructure of military airfields, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.

The raid involved long-range high-precision weapons launched from air, land and sea-based platforms, including “Kinzhal” air-launched hypersonic ballistic missiles and combat drones, the ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Russia’s air defense intercepted 74 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 23 in the Moscow Region, it added.

Airports in Moscow introduced air restrictions in the early hours of Monday for flight safety reasons, which were subsequently lifted, according to Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency.

Downed drone debris caused a fire on the roof of the railway station in the village of Kamenolomni in the Rostov Region, and more than 50 trains were delayed, said Russian Railways.

MIL OSI China News –

July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Submissions: How a popular sweetener could be damaging your brain’s defences – new study

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Havovi Chichger, Professor, Biomedical Science, Anglia Ruskin University

Found in everything from protein bars to energy drinks, erythritol has long been considered a safe alternative to sugar. But new research suggests this widely used sweetener may be quietly undermining one of the body’s most crucial protective barriers – with potentially serious consequences for heart health and stroke risk.

A new study from the University of Colorado suggests erythritol may damage cells in the blood-brain barrier, the brain’s security system that keeps out harmful substances while letting in nutrients. The findings add troubling new detail to previous observational studies that have linked erythritol consumption to increased rates of heart attack and stroke.

In the new study, researchers exposed blood-brain barrier cells to levels of erythritol typically found after drinking a soft drink sweetened with the compound. They saw a chain reaction of cell damage that could make the brain more vulnerable to blood clots – a leading cause of stroke.

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.

Erythritol triggered what scientists call oxidative stress, flooding cells with harmful, highly reactive molecules known as free radicals, while simultaneously reducing the body’s natural antioxidant defences. This double assault damaged the cells’ ability to function properly, and in some cases killed them outright.

But perhaps more concerning was erythritol’s effect on the blood vessels’ ability to regulate blood flow. Healthy blood vessels act like traffic controllers, widening when organs need more blood – during exercise, for instance – and tightening when less is required. They achieve this delicate balance through two key molecules: nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, and endothelin-1, which constricts them.

The study found that erythritol disrupted this critical system, reducing nitric oxide production while ramping up endothelin-1. The result would be blood vessels that remain dangerously constricted, potentially starving the brain of oxygen and nutrients. This imbalance is a known warning sign of ischaemic stroke – the type caused by blood clots blocking vessels in the brain.

Even more alarming, erythritol appeared to sabotage the body’s natural defence against blood clots. Normally, when clots form in blood vessels, cells release a “clot buster” called tissue plasminogen activator that dissolves the blockage before it can cause a stroke. But the sweetener blocked this protective mechanism, potentially leaving clots free to wreak havoc.

The laboratory findings align with troubling evidence from human studies. Several large-scale observational studies have found that people who regularly consume erythritol face significantly higher risks of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes. One major study tracking thousands of participants found that those with the highest blood levels of erythritol were roughly twice as likely to experience a major cardiac event.

However, the research does have limitations. The experiments were conducted on isolated cells in laboratory dishes rather than complete blood vessels, which means the cells may not behave exactly as they would in the human body. Scientists acknowledge that more sophisticated testing – using advanced “blood vessel on a chip” systems that better mimic real physiology – will be needed to confirm these effects.

The findings are particularly significant because erythritol occupies a unique position in the sweetener landscape. Unlike artificial sweeteners such as aspartame or sucralose, erythritol is technically a sugar alcohol – a naturally occurring compound that the body produces in small amounts. This classification helped it avoid inclusion in recent World Health Organization guidelines that discouraged the use of artificial sweeteners for weight control.

Erythritol has also gained popularity among food manufacturers because it behaves more like sugar than other alternatives. While sucralose is 320 times sweeter than sugar, erythritol provides only about 80% of sugar’s sweetness, making it easier to use in recipes without creating an overpowering taste. It’s now found in thousands of products, especially in many “sugar-free” and “keto-friendly” foods.

Erythritol can be found in many keto-friendly products, such a protein bars.
Stockah/Shutterstock.com

Trade-off

Regulatory agencies, including the European Food Standards Agency and the US Food and Drug Administration, have approved erythritol as safe for consumption. But the new research adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that even “natural” sugar alternatives may carry unexpected health risks.

For consumers, the findings raise difficult questions about the trade-offs involved in sugar substitution. Sweeteners like erythritol can be valuable tools for weight management and diabetes prevention, helping people reduce calories and control blood sugar spikes. But if regular consumption potentially weakens the brain’s protective barriers and increases cardiovascular risk, the benefits may come at a significant cost.

The research underscores a broader challenge in nutritional science: understanding the long-term effects of relatively new food additives that have become ubiquitous in the modern diet. While erythritol may help people avoid the immediate harms of excess sugar consumption, its effect on the blood-brain barrier suggests that frequent use could be quietly compromising brain protection over time.

As scientists continue to investigate these concerning links, consumers may want to reconsider their relationship with this seemingly innocent sweetener – and perhaps question whether any sugar substitute additive is truly without risk.

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

– ref. How a popular sweetener could be damaging your brain’s defences – new study – https://theconversation.com/how-a-popular-sweetener-could-be-damaging-your-brains-defences-new-study-261500

MIL OSI –

July 22, 2025
MIL-OSI Submissions: Three types of drought – and why there’s no such thing as a global water crisis

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Filippo Menga, Visiting Research Fellow, Professor of Geography, University of Reading

Lithium fields in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Freedom_wanted/Shutterstock

Hosepipe bans have been announced in parts of England this summer. Following the driest spring in over a century, the Environment Agency has issued a medium drought risk warning, and Yorkshire Water will introduce restrictions starting Friday, 11 July. It’s a familiar story: reduced rainfall, shrinking reservoirs and renewed calls for restraint: take shorter showers, avoid watering the lawn, turn off the tap while brushing your teeth.

These appeals to personal responsibility reflect a broader way of thinking about water: that everyone, everywhere, is facing the same crisis, and that small individual actions are a meaningful response. But what if this narrative, familiar as it is, obscures more than it reveals?

In my new book, Thirst: The global quest to solve the water crisis, I argue that the phrase “global water crisis” may do more harm than good. It simplifies a complex global reality, collapsing vastly different situations into one seemingly shared emergency. While it evokes urgency, it conceals the very things that matter: the causes, politics and power dynamics that determine who gets water and who doesn’t.

What we call a single crisis is, in fact, many distinct ones. To see this clearly, we must move beyond the rhetoric of global scarcity and look closely at how drought plays out in different places. Consider the UK, the Horn of Africa, and Chile: three regions facing water stress in radically different ways.

UK: a crisis of infrastructure

Drought in the UK is rarely the result of absolute water scarcity. The country receives relatively consistent rainfall throughout the year. Even when droughts occur, the underlying issue is how water is managed, distributed and maintained.

Roughly a fifth of treated water is lost through leaking pipes, some of them over a century old. At the same time, privatised water companies have come under growing scrutiny for failing to invest in infrastructure while paying billions in dividends to shareholders. So calls for households to use less water often strike a dissonant note.

The UK’s droughts are not just the product of climate variability. They are also shaped by policy decisions, regulatory failures and eroding public trust. Temporary scarcity becomes a recurring crisis due to the structures meant to manage it.

Horn of Africa: survival and structural vulnerability

In the Horn of Africa, drought is catastrophic. Since 2020, the region has endured five consecutive failed rainy seasons – the worst in four decades. More than 30 million people across Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya face food insecurity. Livelihoods have collapsed and millions of people have been displaced.

Climate change is a driver, but so is politics. Armed conflict, weak governance and decades of underinvestment have left communities dangerously exposed. These vulnerabilities are rooted in longer histories of colonial exploitation and, more recently, the privatisation of essential services.

Adaptation refers to how communities try to cope with changing climate conditions using the resources they have. Local efforts to adapt to drought (such as digging new wells, planting drought-resistant crop or rationing limited supplies) are often informal or underfunded.

When prolonged droughts strike in places already facing poverty, conflict or weak governance, these coping strategies are rarely enough. Framing climate-induced drought as just another chapter in a global water crisis erases the specific conditions that make it so deadly.

Drought in Africa can be catastrophic.
Dieter Telemans/Panos Pictures, CC BY-NC-ND

Chile: extraction and exclusion

Chile’s water crisis is often linked to drought. But the underlying issue is extraction. The country holds over half of the world’s lithium reserves, a metal critical to electric vehicles and energy storage.

Lithium is mined through an intensely water-consuming process in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, often on Indigenous land. Communities have seen water tables drop and wetlands disappear while receiving little benefit.

Chile’s water laws, introduced under the Pinochet regime, allow private companies to hold long-term rights regardless of environmental or social cost. Here, water scarcity is driven less by rainfall and more by law, ownership and global demand for renewable technologies. Framing Chile’s situation as just another example of a global water crisis overlooks the deeper political and economic forces that shape how water is managed – and who gets to benefit from it.

No single crisis, no single solution

While drought is intensifying, its causes and consequences vary. In the UK, it’s about infrastructure and governance. In the Horn of Africa, it’s about historical injustice and systemic neglect. In Chile, it’s about legal frameworks and resource extraction.

Labelling this simply as a global water crisis oversimplifies the issue and steers attention away from the root causes. It promotes technical solutions while ignoring the political questions of who has access to water and who controls it.

This approach often favours private companies and international organisations, sidelining local communities and institutions. Instead of holding power to account, it risks shifting responsibility without making meaningful changes to how power and resources are shared.

In Thirst, I argue that the crisis of water is a cultural and political one. Who controls water, who profits from it, who bears the cost of its depletion: these are the defining questions of our time. And they cannot be answered with generalities. We don’t need one big solution. We need many small, just ones.

This article features a reference to a book that has been included for editorial reasons. If you click on one of the links to bookshop.org and go on to buy something, The Conversation UK may earn a commission.

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Filippo Menga 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. Three types of drought – and why there’s no such thing as a global water crisis – https://theconversation.com/three-types-of-drought-and-why-theres-no-such-thing-as-a-global-water-crisis-260723

MIL OSI –

July 22, 2025