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  • MIL-OSI Economics: Press Briefing Transcript: Julie Kozack, Director, Communications Department, March 27, 2025

    Source: International Monetary Fund

    March 27, 2025

    SPEAKER:  Ms. Julie Kozack, Director of the Communications Department, IMF

    MS. KOZACK: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to today’s IMF Press Briefing. It’s great to see you all, those of you here in person and, of course, our colleagues online as well.

    I am Julie Kozak, Director of Communications at the IMF.  And as usual, this program press briefing is embargoed until 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time in the United States.  I will start with two short announcements and then I’ll take your questions in person, on Webex, and via the Press Center. 

    First, the 2025 Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group will take place from Monday, April 21st, to Saturday, April 26th.  The press registration to attend these meetings in person in Washington is now open, and you can register through www.imfconnect.org. 

    And second, I would like to announce that the Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, will be delivering her Curtain Raiser speech outlining the key issues facing the world economy.  The speech and a related fireside chat will be held here at IMF headquarters on Thursday, April 17th.  It will be open to registered media and via live streaming on our Press Center and IMF social media channels.  And we will provide more details closer to the date.

    And with that, I will now open the floor for your questions.  For those connecting virtually, please turn on both your camera and microphone when you are speaking.  And I’m now over to you.

    All right, let’s start with you.  Thank you.  Microphone here in the front. 

    QUESTIONER: Thank you very much, Julie.  Minister Luis Caputo announced this morning in Argentina that the Argentine government had agreed with the IMF staff amount of $20 billion for the new program.  I’m sure you know this was a very highly unusual announcement.  I wanted to know first if this was coordinated with the IMF, if you had agreed with Mr. Caputo to release this information?  Second, if you can confirm that the actual amount of the program that’s been discussed is $20 billion.  Then the IMF has a lot of internal processes before a program is actually announced, so could this number change through that process?  And if you can give us a sense of the timing before the actual staff-level agreement announcement and eventually the board meeting and that’s all.  Thanks. 

    MS. KOZACK: Okay, very good. Thank you. Other questions on Argentina. 

    QUESTIONER: Mr. Caputo said the disbursement will be $20 billion.  Will it be a single disbursement, just one single disbursement?  Thank you, Julie.

    MS. KOZACK: Okay, thank you. Let’s go online.

    QUESTIONER: Hi, good morning.  Well, we are all referring to the speech of Caputo, which was a big surprise in Argentina at least.  So one of the rumors that Minister Caputo denied was that the IMF was demanding a 30 percent devaluation.  My question is, does the IMF believe an exchange rate correction is necessary?  Thank you, Julie. 

    MS. KOZACK: Thank you.

    QUESTIONER: Yes.  Hi, Julie.  Thank you.  So my question is, first of all, if you can confirm how much of the $20 billion dollars are going to be freely available?  And second, if there is any certainty at this stage of the negotiations whether the new program will include modifications to the current exchange rate regime, as the market and private sector seem to have considered in recent days?  Thank you.

    QUESTIONER: Good morning.  Well, I would like to know if a scheme of exchange rate bands is being considered in this agreement and if the agreement implies an increase in depth with the IMF?  And finally, if there is a technical agreement already done?

    MS. KOZACK: Okay, thank you. Anybody else want to come in on Argentina? Okay, let me go ahead and take these questions. 

    So first I want to just start by saying, and this is consistent with our previous statements, that Argentina has embarked on a truly impressive stabilization program.  And the country has shown that it’s determined to steer the — the authorities have shown that they are determined to steer the economy toward a more sustainable path. 

    Since the end of 2023, inflation has declined thanks to a very large fiscal consolidation and steps to heal the Central Bank’s balance sheet.  These measures have been complemented by deregulation, market reforms, and the elimination of distortions and some controls.  The reforms are starting to bear fruit.  Despite the sharp macroeconomic adjustment, economic activity is recovering strongly, real wages are increasing and poverty is declining.  This decline in poverty also reflects, of course, a significant increase in social assistance to vulnerable groups.  There is also a shared recognition between the Fund and the authorities that now is the time to move to the next steps of the authority’s stabilization plan. 

    In this regard, significant progress has been made in reaching understandings toward a new IMF supported program.  And this has followed intense and productive discussion, and those include in-person meetings in Buenos Aires and also here in Washington, D.C.  And at the Fund we have engaged at all levels. 

    What I can say now is that discussions on a new Fund supported program are very advanced and those discussions include discussions around a sizable financing package.  The size of that package is ultimately to be determined by our Executive Board, but I can confirm that discussions are focusing on a sizable package. 

    As for our processes, we do have a set of processes that we always follow when engaging with country authorities on a program.  And as part of these routine internal processes, we have also been engaging with our Executive Board.  With respect to the policies that will be covered under the program, as we’ve noted in the past here, discussions are still ongoing on the specific policies that will be covered under the program. 

    What I can say is that to sustain the gains that have been achieved so far by the authorities, there is a shared recognition about the need to continue to adopt a consistent set of fiscal, monetary, and foreign exchange policies while fostering further and furthering growth enhancing reforms.  And what I can also say is that we will keep you updated as discussions continue. 

    QUESTIONER: What about the amount?

    MS. KOZACK: So with respect to the amount, the amount or the size of the program will be determined ultimately by our Executive Board. What I can say today is that discussions are focused on a sizable financing program.

    And in terms of your question about single disbursement versus a phased disbursement, as with all of our programs, disbursements will come in tranches over the life of the program.  But the exact phasing and the size of each tranche is also, of course, part of the discussions that are underway. 

    QUESTIONER: The number is okay?

    MS. KOZACK: All I’m saying now is that the discussion is around a sizable financing program. That’s what I can say today.

    QUESTIONER: Thank you, Julie. 

    MS. KOZACK: Okay. Let’s go here.

    QUESTIONER: Thank you so much, Julie.  So I would like to ask you about the IMF prospects on the Russian economy.  Does the IMF plan to update its outlook on Russian GDP growth in 2025 during its next review?  What is the overall perspective on inflation easing signs?  Does the IMF plan to highlight any changes in potential monetary policy from the Central Bank?  And what is, from the IMF perspective, the current level of business activity in the Russian economy?  Thanks. 

    MS. KOZACK: Okay, thank you. On Russia.

    QUESTIONER: The Central Bank of Russia has maintained its key interest rate at 21 percent since October 2024 to combat inflation.  How does the IMF assess the effectiveness of this high-interest rate policy in controlling inflation?  And what are the IMF’s projections for Russia’s inflation trajectory in 2025 and what factors are expected to influence these trends?  Thank you. 

    MS. KOZACK: Great. Thank you very much. Are there any other questions on Russia?  Okay. 

    What I can say about the Russian economy is that our assessment is that the Russian economy was affected by overheating in 2024 and growth was driven by private consumption, which was supported by a tight labor market, fast-growing wages, and buoyant credit from the banking system into the economy.  This overheating also reflected strong corporate investment.  Fiscal policy did play a role in driving growth. 

    In 2025, what I can say is, and here I’m quoting from the January WEO, and I can confirm that we will be updating the projections for Russia, as with all countries for the April WEO.  But in January, we said we expected a slowdown in 2025 as the impact of tighter monetary policy took hold and the cyclical recovery ran its course, meaning that the boost to growth waned into 2025.  So in January, we had growth slowing from 3.8 percent in 2024 to 1.4 percent in 2025.  And again, that assessment will be updated as part of the WEO. 

    Now, with respect to inflation in particular, inflation in Russia remains high.  It is well above the Central Bank of Russia’s target, which is 4 percent.  And this partly reflects the tight labor market and also strong wage growth.  Currently, we are not seeing signs of an easing of inflation, although the projections that we had in the January WEO did suggest an easing of price pressures in the coming year.  And of course, just to reiterate that our assessment of Russia, the Russian economy, will be updated as part of the WEO. 

    QUESTIONER: Thank you, Julie.  My question is on the inflation expectation at the global level, not only U.S. but also in Japan recently, inflation expectation raised substantially up.  And how much are you concerned about such movement translating into the real inflation and, in the near future, given the tariff policies conducted by U.S. Administrations?  Thank you. 

    MS. KOZACK: Thank you. So what I can say on inflation at the global level, and this is, again, I’m going to be quoting here from our January and October WEOs. So what we expected at the time of our January WEO update was that global inflation would continue to decline.  We expected in January that it would reach 4.2 percent in 2025 and 3.5 percent in 2026.  And at that time, we expected that advanced economies would achieve their inflation targets earlier than emerging market economies. 

    Now, since that January update, what we have seen is greater than expected persistence in inflation.  And so this is a key factor that will be taken into account as we are updating not only our growth projections in the April WEO, but also our inflation projections.  And what this means for central banks and policymakers is, of course, that agile and proactive monetary policy is going to be needed to ensure that inflation expectations remain well anchored.  And of course, we’ll have a full discussion of inflation developments at the time of the WEO. 

    QUESTIONER: Hi.  Thanks, Julie.  I’m wondering if you can weigh in a bit on President Trump’s announcement yesterday of universal car tariffs of 25 percent.  This is going to send shock waves through a production system throughout the world that provides employment to millions of people, and supports economies all over.  I know it’s early to gauge the exact impact of what this would mean, but I’m wondering if you can talk directionally about how this could start to impact countries, particularly emerging markets that are in that supply chain.  Thanks. 

    MS. KOZACK: Thank you. Same topic, right?

    QUESTIONER: Thank you.  We have seen the impacts of the — sorry, let me start over again.  So following up on what David said regarding the tariff, how do you see the impact on these on economies — on the African continent in particular?  And also, you know, we are seeing more of nationalism and protectionism.  It’s from the U.S., and it’s spreading around the world as well.  So how concerned is the IMF regarding these. 

    QUESTIONER: Just to follow up.  In terms of the WEO that you’re preparing, how will these tariff actions be filtered into that in terms of inflation projections as it raises costs, does the IMF sort of see these as a one-time jump up in price level or is it going to contribute to ongoing inflation?  Thank you. 

    MS. KOZACK: Same topic?

    QUESTIONER: Thank you, Julie.  As a result of all the policy that we are witnessing right now, can the IMF rule out any risk of recession in the United States in 2025, 2026, or if we are not talking about annual decline, could you see any risks in quarter estimates? 

    MS. KOZACK: Okay, so let me say a few — respond to this set of questions.

    What I can say today is, we’ve seen several new developments on the trade front over the past several weeks and of course yesterday we had announcements about tariffs on the auto sector.  And the U.S. administration has also noted and announced that it will — that there will be new announcements coming next week on April 2nd. 

    What  I can say today is that we are in the process of assessing the impact of all of these announcements, and we will continue to do that work in the context of our World Economic Outlook that will be released as I noted in April. 

    We have previously noted that for countries like Mexico and Canada that if sustained tariffs could have a significant effect on Mexico and Canada, a significant adverse impact on Mexico and Canada.  For other regions and groups of countries, we’re in the process of undertaking that analysis at the moment. 

    What I can say about the way or the process by which this will be incorporated into the WEO, the way the process works is we will look at all of the announcements and economic developments and data up until as far as we can into the process.  But at some point, there will need to be sort of a cutoff date after which we’re no longer able to incorporate new information.  We’re not there yet.  But at some point in the process there will be a date after which we just for production processes, need to kind of stop the churning of the data. 

    What the WEO will then have is a very clear exposition of what is incorporated into our baseline forecast, our main forecast.  We’ll talk about the assumptions that are included and any policy announcements and actions that are included in the baseline forecast.  Anything that occurs after our cut-off date will be discussed in qualitative terms or as part of the risks section of the report.  But we will aim, of course, in that report to be very clear about what is incorporated into the forecast and what is not incorporated into the forecast.  And of course, you will have an opportunity the week of the Annual Meetings to not only read the WEO, but we will have a press conference led by our Economic Counselor to answer detailed questions around the forecast.  And we will also have the press conferences of our regional area department heads to talk to answer specific regional questions. 

    And just maybe on the question about the U.S. economy, just to say perhaps a few words.  What I can say now is that the performance of the U.S. economy has been remarkably strong throughout the recent monetary policy tightening cycle.  Activity and employment exceeded expectations, and the disinflation process proved less costly than most feared.  And this was our assessment at the time of our January WEO.  Since then, of course, there have been many developments.  Large policy shifts have been announced, and the incoming data is signaling a slowdown in economic activity from the very strong pace in 2024.  All of this said, recession is not part of our baseline. 

    Let’s now move online. 

    QUESTIONER: Thank you, Julie, for taking my questions.  My question is on Sri Lanka.  Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor has hinted, also suggested that the heavily indebted state-owned enterprises should be listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange as part of a program to perform these enterprises.  What is the IMF’s take on such a proposal given that the program also calls for extensive reforms in SEOs — I beg your pardon, SOEs? At the same time, $334 million was approved by the IMF Executive Board recently.  Has that tranche been given to Sri Lanka?  If not, why?  Thank you. 

    MS. KOZACK: Okay. Any other questions on Sri Lanka online? Okay, let me take this question on Sri Lanka. 

    So first, let me just step back on Sri Lanka.  First, I’ll say that on Friday, February 28th, the IMF Executive Board approved the Third Review under the EFF (Extended Fund Facility) arrangement for Sri Lanka.  And this provided the country with immediate access to $334 million of support.  So, yes, once the Board approved that Third Review, the $334 million was made available to Sri Lanka to support its economic policies and reforms.  And with this $334 million, it brings total financial support from the IMF to Sri Lanka to $1.34 billion. 

    What I can also add is that reforms in Sri Lanka are bearing fruit.  The economic recovery is gaining momentum.  Inflation remains low in Sri Lanka, revenue collection on the fiscal side is improving, and international reserves are continuing to accumulate.  Economic growth reached 5 percent in 2024, and that was after two years of economic contraction.  And we do expect the recovery to continue in 2025 in Sri Lanka.  These are all very positive developments for Sri Lanka and for the people of Sri Lanka. 

    All of this said, the economy still does remain vulnerable, and therefore it is critical that the reform momentum be sustained to ensure that macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability are durably achieved. 

    And with respect to your specific question, I don’t have anything for you on that regarding the SOEs, but we’ll come back to you bilaterally. 

    I have one question here online from Shoaib Nizami from ARY News TV.  And the question is, when will Pakistan receive Climate Resilience Funds?  So before I turn to this, are there any other questions on Pakistan?  Okay, let me talk a little bit about Pakistan then. 

    So again, just stepping back to explain where we are with Pakistan.  On September 25th of 2024, the Executive Board approved a 37-month EFF arrangement for Pakistan, and it was for $7 billion.  The First Review took place… the First Review mission took place recently, and a staff-level agreement on the First Review was reached on March 25th.  And in addition to reaching a staff-level agreement on the EFF arrangement for the First Review, there was also a staff-level agreement reached on an RSF, a Resilience and Sustainability Facility, that was also reached on March 25th.

    Under the EFF part – so I’m going to talk about both of them.  So the EFF part, which is the First Review under the program, once approved by the IMF’s Executive Board, that would enable Pakistan to have access of about $1 billion for that disbursement.  For the RSF over the length of the arrangement, again subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board, the staff-level agreement references an amount of $1.3 billion and that access will be over the life of the RSF, delivered in tranches. 

    Okay.  Kyle, you had a question in the room. 

    QUESTIONER: Good morning.  Kyle Fitzgerald with the National.  So, following the recent staff visit to Lebanon, the IMF and Lebanon agreed to remain in close contact on a new economic reform program.  I was just wondering if you could provide more clarity on what the next steps are and what a potential timeline for this looks like.  Thank you. 

    MS. KOZACK: Okay, very good. With respect to Lebanon, I also have another question online which I am going to read out loud. It is from Sabine Oawais from Annahar (phonetic).  There are two questions here.  The first is when does the IMF anticipate the signing of a program with Lebanon?  What prior actions must the Lebanese government take before reaching final agreement?  The second is, given Lebanon’s ongoing economic challenges, what specific reforms does the IMF see as critical for stabilizing the country’s financial system and securing a sustainable recovery? 

    Before I respond on Lebanon, are there any other questions on Lebanon?  Okay.

    So on Lebanon, an IMF fact-finding mission visited Lebanon from March 10th to 13th.  And on that mission, the staff welcomed the authority’s request for a new IMF-supported program to support the authority’s efforts to address Lebanon’s significant economic challenges.  We have received, obviously, this request for a new program.  We’re working with the authorities to help them develop their comprehensive economic reform program.  The engagement and discussions with the Lebanese authorities are ongoing. 

    And in terms of what is needed, what I can say is that first and foremost what is needed is a comprehensive strategy for economic rehabilitation.  This is going to be critical to restore growth, reduce unemployment and improve social conditions.  The authority’s reform program is going to need to be focused on fiscal and debt sustainability, financial sector restructuring, international reserves are continuing to accumulate.  Economic growth reached 5 percent in 2024, and that was after two years of economic contraction.  And we do expect the recovery to continue in 2025 in Sri Lanka.  These are all very positive developments for Sri Lanka and for the people of Sri Lanka. 

    All of this said, the economy still does remain vulnerable, and therefore it is critical that the reform momentum be sustained to ensure that macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability are durably achieved. 

    And with respect to your specific question, I don’t have anything for you on that regarding the SOEs, but we’ll come back to you bilaterally. 

    I have one question here online . And the question is, when will Pakistan receive Climate Resilience Funds?  So, before I turn to this, are there any other questions on Pakistan?  Okay, let me talk a little bit about Pakistan then. 

    So again, just stepping back to explain where we are with Pakistan.  On September 25th of 2024, the Executive Board approved a 37-month EFF arrangement for Pakistan, and it was for $7 billion.  The First Review took place… the First Review mission took place recently, and a staff-level agreement on the First Review was reached on March 25th.  And in addition to reaching a staff-level agreement on the EFF arrangement for the First Review, there was also a staff-level agreement reached on an RSF, a Resilience and Sustainability Facility, that was also reached on March 25th.

    Under the EFF part – so I’m going to talk about both of them.  So the EFF part, which is the First Review under the program, once approved by the IMF’s Executive Board, that would enable Pakistan to have access of about $1 billion for that disbursement.  For the RSF over the length of the arrangement, again subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board, the staff-level agreement references an amount of $1.3 billion and that access will be over the life of the RSF, delivered in tranches. 

    QUESTIONER: Good morning. So, following the recent staff visit to Lebanon, the IMF and Lebanon agreed to remain in close contact on a new economic reform program.  I was just wondering if you could provide more clarity on what the next steps are and what a potential timeline for this looks like.  MS. KOZACK: Okay, very good.  With respect to Lebanon, I also have another question online which I am going to read out loud.  There are two questions here.  The first is when does the IMF anticipate the signing of a program with Lebanon?  What prior actions must the Lebanese government take before reaching final agreement?  The second is, given Lebanon’s ongoing economic challenges, what specific reforms does the IMF see as critical for stabilizing the country’s financial system and securing a sustainable recovery? 

    Before I respond on Lebanon, are there any other questions on Lebanon?  So on Lebanon, an IMF fact-finding mission visited Lebanon from March 10th to 13th.  And on that mission, the staff welcomed the authority’s request for a new IMF-supported program to support the authority’s efforts to address Lebanon’s significant economic challenges.  We have received, obviously, this request for a new program.  We’re working with the authorities to help them develop their comprehensive economic reform program.  The engagement and discussions with the Lebanese authorities are ongoing. 

    And in terms of what is needed, what I can say is that first and foremost what is needed is a comprehensive strategy for economic rehabilitation.  This is going to be critical to restore growth, reduce unemployment and improve social conditions.  The authority’s reform program is going to need to be focused on fiscal and debt sustainability, financial sector restructuring, governance improvements, and reforms to state owned enterprises.  And critically, it’s going to be important to enhance data provision, to improve transparency and to inform policymaking.  And that is the latest update that I have on Lebanon.  We’ll of course keep you updated and I just want to reassure that we are fully committed to working with the Lebanese authorities and the engagement is ongoing and constructive. 

    Let me go online.  We have a few online before I come back to the room.  And I have another question to read here, which is on Egypt.  The question on Egypt is how do you assess the Egyptian economy right now, taking into consideration the impact of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East region? 

    So let me say a few words on Egypt, but before I do so, are there any other questions on Egypt?  So on Egypt, first, I just want to start by saying that on March 10th, the IMF’s Executive Board concluded the 2025 Article IV consultation and completed the Fourth Review under the EFF arrangement.  This enabled the authorities to draw $1.2 billion.  The Executive Board at that time also approved the RSF arrangement, which paves the way for Egypt to access about $1.3 billion over the life of the RSF. 

    Now, with respect to the specific question, our projections for growth, and this is the question about the impact on the Egyptian economy of tensions, our projections for growth in inflation for the next fiscal year — Egypt uses fiscal year, so it’s a 2025-2026 fiscal year — indicate a growth rate of 4.1 percent.  And this is an increase from 3.6 percent in the previous fiscal year.  And on the inflation side, we expect inflation to continue a downward trajectory and reach 13.4 percent by the end of this period.  We’ll be looking to update these projections for Egypt as part of our update in April of the World Economic Outlook.  And of course, those projections will take into account any recent developments. 

    What I can say more broadly for Egypt is that the main economic impact on Egypt of the tensions in the region has been through disruptions in the Red Sea and the disruptions to revenues through the Suez Canal.  Trade disruptions in the Red Sea in Egypt since December of 2023 have reduced foreign exchange inflows from the Suez Canal by about $6 billion in 2024 alone for Egypt.  And the volume of transit trade is about one third of pre conflict levels.  And so this has of course, adverse spillovers to growth in Egypt and also to fiscal revenues in Egypt.  That is the main area that we’re focused on in terms of how Egypt is being affected by the tensions in the region.  And of course, we’ll continue to closely monitor that as part of our deep and constructive engagement with Egypt. 

    QUESTIONER: Yes, thank you, Julie.  Can you hear me all right? 

    MS. KOZACK: Yes, we can hear you.

    QUESTIONER: Just a quick follow up on Argentina.  You mentioned the amount of discussion will be sizable.  I appreciate we can’t discuss what a final figure might be at this point, but can you confirm that Argentina has requested a loan package of around $20 billion or at least discussed a similar figure as Minister Caputo said this morning. 

    MS. KOZACK: Look, I’m not — just as with the other questions in terms of the ongoing discussions, I’m not going to get into the details of those discussions. They are ongoing. And I can simply confirm that the size of the final package for Argentina will be determined by our Executive Board and that the discussions are for a sizable financing package. 

    QUESTIONER: I want to look at the Caribbean specifically on this one.  With the U.S. proposing to tariff Chinese vessels to the tune of $1.5 million docking to an extent in the U.S., what recommendations or how does the — what does the IMF foresee in terms of potential economic fallouts for Small Island States within the Caribbean region going forward?  And this is in keeping with the tone of questions in the room there.  Do you foresee any potential — or what recommendation would the IMF give to Small Island States, especially those in the Caribbean region, about potential inflation as you look towards the future and tariffs “here is the name of the game” from the United States?

    MS. KOZACK: I’d say like with all of the other impacts of recent developments, we will be discussing this in our World Economic Outlook. But also, I think importantly for the Caribbean, we will have a discussion around regional developments by our Western Hemisphere Department.  And that discussion will, of course, cover the specific impacts on the Caribbean. 

    What I can say today about the Caribbean is to just give a sense of where we stood in our latest forecast, which was in January of 2025.  At that time we expected that growth in the region would be normalized.  So, what we saw in the Caribbean was a kind of rapid recovery after the Pandemic.  And now we’re seeing a normalization phase, or at least that was our assessment in January.  And we expected real GDP growth to reach 2.4 percent in 2025, which would have been about the same as in 2024.  What we saw on inflation again in January was that it had moderated significantly in 2023 and 2024 and that inflation in the Caribbean had returned to pre-Pandemic levels.  So of course, we will then incorporate any of the recent developments in our revised forecast, which will be coming out in April, and we can have a — we’ll have a fuller picture at that time. 

    But just to say a few words on the policy advice, our policy advice for the Caribbean has been more broadly to continue to pursue sustainable fiscal policies to continue to rebuild policy buffers and to strengthen the resilience of domestic economies and institutions.  We also encouraged Caribbean economies to accelerate investment in infrastructure and to implement necessary reforms to boost growth.  And again, we will have a fuller update in January — I mean, sorry, in April. 

    I see some more questions coming online for me to read.  I have a question online on Kenya.  And the question says at the end of the Eighth Review, and I assume under the program, Ms. Gita Gopinath stated, Kenya’s economy remains resilient with growth above the regional average, inflation decelerating and external inflows supporting the shilling and a buildup of external buffers despite a difficult socioeconomic environment.  What has changed since then that has prevented completion of the Final Review under the program? 

    So, before I move to Kenya, are there other questions on Kenya?  QUESTIONER: Thank you, Julie.  Yes, on Kenya, if there’s any details on, on why that last review was ditched as, as my colleague asked, and did they fail to meet any of their targets?  And can we expect any update on, on a request of a new program?  MS. KOZACK: Okay.  I don’t see anything else on Kenya.  So let me give this update on Kenya. So we did recently have an IMF staff team recently visited Kenya for a staff visit.  We did issue a statement on March 17th and in that statement, what was noted is that the Kenyan authorities and the IMF reached an understanding that the Ninth Review under the EFF and ECF programs would not proceed. 

    Where we — what I can say more generally is that the authorities, policy, agenda, and reform programs have been supported by the IMF and they have helped improve Kenya’s economic resilience.  As was stated in the first question, the external position has indeed strengthened over the past year and inflation has eased. 

    All of this said, fiscal challenges do remain amid continued revenue shortfalls and the materialization of additional spending pressures.  And what this is going to require is a reassessment of the medium-term fiscal consolidation strategy to ensure that fiscal sustainability can be preserved.  These challenges will require more time to resolve, and the IMF has therefore received a formal request for a new program from the authorities.  And we are going to — we are, our team is engaging on this request of the authorities, and they remain closely in contact with the authorities.  We’ll provide additional details as we have them.  I can just add that we do remain committed to supporting Kenya’s efforts to realize its full economic potential. 

    QUESTIONER: So I was wondering if you could provide an update on Nigeria, Senegal, and Zambia.  I know the Managing director met with the Finance Minister of Zambia yesterday.  So if you have any update that you could provide regarding the debt restructuring.  And on Senegal, there was a release that was issued yesterday by the IMF defining, confirming that there was a significant underreporting of the fiscal deficit.  How did the IMF miss that information and how do you plan to ensure that it doesn’t happen?  And are you looking to change your methodology? 

    MS. KOZACK: So, on Nigeria, what I can say is [that] the first Deputy Managing Director, Gita Gopinath, traveled to Abuja and Lagos on March 3rd and 4th. She met with Finance Minister Edun, Central Bank Governor Cardoso, as well as civil society groups and private sector leaders. And she also participated in an event with students at the University of Lagos.  Our staff are planning to travel to Nigeria next week in preparation for the 2025 Article IV Consultation.  The authorities’ policies to stabilize the economy and to promote growth are welcome, and they will, of course, need to be accompanied by targeted social transfers to support the most vulnerable populations. 

    We do recognize the extremely difficult situation that many Nigerians face.  And for that reason, I just want to emphasize that completing the rollout of cash transfers to vulnerable households is an important priority for Nigeria, as is improving revenue mobilization domestically. 

    And that is the latest that I have on Argentina and not will — not Argentina, I’m looking at Rafael — on Nigeria, and we will have, of course, more after the mission completes its work.

    MS. KOZACK: Now on Senegal, what I can say on Senegal is, you know, we are actively engaged with the Senegalese authorities and a staff team, which included experts from several different IMF departments, visited Senegal on March 18th through 26th. And they released the statement, of course, that you referred to at the end of that mission. The purpose of the mission was to advance efforts to resolve the recent misreporting case. 

    I think, as we have discussed here before, Senegal’s Court of Auditors released its final report on February 12.  The Court confirmed that the fiscal deficit and public debt were under-reported over the period 2019 to 2023.  And we’re also, our team is also working closely with the authorities to resolve those — that misreporting case and to look at what measures can be taken to ensure, of course, that it doesn’t happen going forward, what are the root causes, and what needs to be done to support Senegal as it seeks to move forward.

    What I can also add is that we collaborate.  The IMF collaborates closely with member countries in all of our engagements, but at the end of the day, it is the member country that is responsible for providing us with accurate and comprehensive data.  While we are partners in the process, it is really the primary responsibility of the country authorities to ensure that the credibility and the quality of the data is accurate.  And we do, of course, for countries that are finding shortcomings in data quality or data accuracy or who want to improve their data reporting, we do offer technical assistance through our experts to help support countries that are interested in improving their data provision. 

    QUESTIONER: Can I quickly ask, regarding that, about the technical support that you provide?  How much — how many African countries are taking advantage of? 

    MS. KOZACK: It is a good question. I do not have the numbers in front of me, but we can certainly come back to you bilaterally. Overall, the continent of, you know — well, Sub-Saharan Africa, the region of Sub-Saharan Africa, is a heavy user of technical assistance services.  How [many] of those are in the area of data and statistics, I do not know.  But we can certainly come back to you bilaterally with that information

    And then on Zambia, I don’t have an update here for you, but we can come back to you bilaterally on Zambia. 

    QUESTIONER: Okay.  Thank you very much.

    MS. KOZACK: Last question.

    QUESTIONER: Thank you, Julie.  And I am sorry for bothering you a third time in a row.  It is about the Black Sea Grain Initiative.  I presume that it is too early to assess, but from the IMF perspective, how can potential moratorium on strikes on the Black Sea between Russia and Ukraine contribute to global trade, food security, and overall, does the IMF monitor the current ongoing discussions on this topic?  MS. KOZACK: Okay, very good.  So, on this one, what I can say is, of course, we are closely monitoring the discussions around the Black Sea.  I do not have a full assessment, of course, now.  What I can say is that there is quite a bit of global trade that goes through the Black Sea.  I think the number is about 7 percent.  And also, we know that some of that global trade is concentrated in key food commodities like wheat.  And to the extent that there is a, let us say, improvement in the ability for transit through the Black Sea, particularly with respect to important global food commodities, that should help ease food shortages globally. 

    With that, I’m going to bring this Press Briefing to a close.  Thank you all for joining us today.  As a reminder, the briefing is embargoed until 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time in the United States.  A transcript will be made available later on IMF.org and as always, in the case of clarifications or additional queries, please do not hesitate to reach out to my colleagues at media@imf.org.

    This concludes our Press Briefing for today, and I wish everyone a wonderful day.  I look forward to seeing you next time and, of course, at the Spring Meetings.  Thank you. 

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Brian Walker

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

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hagerty Introduces Luke Pettit, Trump’s Nominee to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Tennessee Bill Hagerty

    Pettit has served as Hagerty’s Senior Policy Advisor for more than three years

    WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today introduced his Senior Policy Advisor, Luke Pettit, at his nomination hearing to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions.

    *Click the photo above or here to watch*

    Partial Transcript:

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

    And again, I hope everybody that is sitting along the walls here today takes special note, because all of the staff does such a wonderful job of supporting our efforts. And today, it’s my great privilege to introduce one of my staff [members], someone who I think the world of, Luke Pettit.

    For more than three years, Luke has been an indispensable member of my staff on so many levels.

    He’s not only been a great advisor, but a wonderful friend. His service at the Federal Reserve and in the United States Senate has given him a deep understanding of financial institutions and our policies to unlock our economy’s full potential.

    We need leaders who will maximize the competitiveness of our financial system. For this task, there is no one better suited than Luke Pettit.

    Beyond his many qualifications, Luke is a leader in the truest sense. And Luke, from a very personal level, I want to thank you for the leadership that you have provided to my sons. They think this guy walks on water.

    He’s admired, not merely for what he knows, but for how he carries himself. He carries himself with humility, with selfless dedication to the mission at hand. This kind of leadership is exactly what our government needs.

    Luke will bring his exceptional commitment and capability to the role that he’s being brought before this committee for today, and I urge my colleagues to support his confirmation.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As Elon Musk’s DOGE Targets Social Security, Baldwin Calls on Trump Admin to Reverse Decision That Makes Accessing Benefits More Difficult

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is demanding that the Trump Administration reverse its plan that will make it harder for Americans to get their Social Security benefits. The Trump Administration plans to take away over-the-phone services and stop Americans from being able to verify their identity over the phone, creating huge barriers and chaos for seniors, people who live in rural communities, and veterans who are trying to access their benefits.

    “There is no way around it: this latest action by the Trump Administration is a direct attack on Social Security,” wrote Senator Baldwin in a letter to Social Security Administration (SSA) Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek. “Millions of older and low-income Americans, including people who live in rural communities and veterans, will have no choice but to use an online system of verification, many of whom will be unable to do so, or make arrangements to visit a shrinking number of offices with already long wait times and stretched thin workforce. I ask that you take these concerns seriously and reconsider your decision to remove this longstanding identity verification option for Social Security recipients.”   

    On March 18, the Social Security Administration announced that it will only allow for online and in-person identity proofing, removing the often-used option for individuals to verify their identity over the phone. Just eight days later, the agency updated its plan to specifically target individuals applying for Retirement, Survivors, or Auxiliary (Spouse or Child) benefits, removing these individuals’ ability to verify their identity over the phone. Based on news reports, the confusion created by SSA’s recent and rapid changes may have actually increased the risk of fraud as scammers attempt to take advantage of the uncertainty they have created. This comes at an especially frustrating time for those attempting to contact SSA because the agency has also announced its plan to significantly reduce the Social Security Administration’s workforce. Earlier this month, Senator Baldwin called on the Trump Administration to take immediate action to reverse cuts to the Social Security workforce which threaten benefits for millions of Americans.

    A full version of this letter is available here and below.

    Dear Acting Commissioner Dudek,

    I write to urge you to reconsider the Social Security Administration’s plan to prevent Americans from signing up for Social Security benefits over the phone beginning April 14th. This change will create unnecessary barriers to access for millions of older and low-income Americans, including people who live in rural communities and veterans, who are trying to access their Social Security earned benefits.

    On March 18, 2025, the Social Security Administration first announced that it would only allow for online and in-person identity proofing, eliminating the option for individuals to verify their identity over the phone. Just eight days later, the agency updated its plan to specifically target individuals applying for Retirement, Survivors, or Auxiliary (Spouse or Child) benefits, removing these individuals’ ability to verify their identity over the phone. The Social Security Administration continues to make sweeping decisions without due diligence to vet its plans or consider the impacts on Social Security beneficiaries, and this latest slew of announcements is just another example of the Trump Administration putting Elon Musk’s demands before the needs of Americans.

    While SSA must ensure that it has measures in place to protect against fraud, it does not appear that SSA has conducted any kind of analysis weighing the risk of fraud in these specific cases to the additional burden this will place on Americans seeking to claim the benefits they have earned. Based on news reports, the confusion created by SSA’s recent and rapid changes may have actually increased the risk of fraud as scammers attempt to take advantage of the uncertainty they have created. Moreover, this ill-considered change comes at an especially frustrating time for those attempting to contact SSA because the agency has also announced its plan to significantly reduce the Social Security Administration’s workforce.

    In addition to mass layoffs, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is targeting Social Security offices across the country to close. From staff reductions and office closures to the recently announced changes to identity verification at the agency, the most vulnerable Americans will pay the price of poor decisions made by people like Elon Musk, who has publicly referred to Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme.”

    SSA’s administrative expenses are largely paid for by payroll taxes Americans pay into Social Security. Americans have earned their Social Security benefits through a lifetime of work and deserve timely and convenient customer service; they have literally paid for that. SSA’s administrative expenses represent less than 1 percent of benefits paid. Cutting SSA’s workforce and closing offices will not meaningfully reduce the deficit or make the government more efficient. But to be clear, making it harder for millions of Americans to file for Social Security, and delaying the processing of benefits, is simply another way of cutting benefits, and that appears to be the goal of this Administration. This attack on seniors is being done to make room in the budget for new tax breaks for big corporations and the wealthiest.

    There is no way around it: this latest action by the Trump Administration is a direct attack on Social Security. Millions of older and low-income Americans, including people who live in rural communities and veterans, will have no choice but to use an online system of verification, many of whom will be unable to do so, or make arrangements to visit a shrinking number of offices with already long wait times and stretched thin workforce. I ask that you take these concerns seriously and reconsider your decision to remove this longstanding identity verification option for Social Security recipients. 

    I look forward to your response.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEWS: Sanders Statement on Trump’s Firing of 10,000 HHS Workers

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders

    WASHINGTON, March 27 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement after Elon Musk and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced they would gut the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by recklessly firing 10,000 employees who work to improve the health of American families:

    Let’s be clear: Arbitrarily firing over 10,000 workers at the Department of Health and Human Services will not make Americans healthier. It will make Americans sicker and less secure.

    At a time when the cost of health insurance and prescription drugs is soaring, these outrageous cuts will make it more difficult for seniors to receive the health care they desperately need. At a time when over 60,000 Americans die because they can’t afford to go to a doctor, these cuts will make it more difficult for 32 million Americans to get the primary care they need at community health centers all over our country. At a time when the cost of child care is out of reach for millions of American families, these cuts will make a bad situation even worse. All of us want to make the government more efficient. But you don’t do that by slashing the agency in charge of the health and well-being of tens of millions of seniors, children, working families, and the most vulnerable people in America down to less than half the size of Tesla.

    As the Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, I will do everything I can to reverse these disastrous cuts and finally make health care in America a human right for all, not a privilege.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Consumer NZ urges New Zealand to learn from Australia’s supermarket enquiry

    Source: Consumer NZ

    Consumer NZ calls for stronger action in New Zealand following the ACCC supermarket report, particularly on pricing and promotional practices.

    The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC’s) inquiry into the Australian supermarket sector has led to 20 key recommendations aimed at improving competition, pricing transparency and fairness in the supermarket sector. Consumer NZ urges the New Zealand government and regulators to take note.

    “We continue to see significant issues in New Zealand’s supermarket sector. With fewer players in the market, our situation is, in many ways, worse than Australia’s, meaning we need a stronger response to address the issues shoppers face,” says Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy.

    “It’s been more than three years since the Commerce Commission’s market study into the grocery sector in New Zealand, and while we’ve seen some action, including the appointment of a Grocery Commissioner and the introduction of a grocery code of conduct, as yet, there’s been no meaningful improvements for shoppers.

    “The Commission told supermarkets they should sort their pricing and promotional practices, but this feels more like a feather than a stick – with New Zealanders losing tens of millions of dollars to pricing errors annually. Recommendations alone haven’t been effective, and, while the Commission is prosecuting some supermarkets and investigating others, given the low level of fines the courts can impose, further regulation might be the only way forward.”

    Consumer’s Sentiment Tracker survey has revealed that the cost of food and groceries remains a top financial concern for New Zealanders.  

    “The ACCC report points to the need for rigorous reforms, many of which would also benefit New Zealand consumers if they were adopted here.”

    Key recommendations from the ACCC report

    Clearer pricing through regulation of promotional practices including publishing the discounted price, the previous price and unit prices of both

    Notification when shrinkflation occurs on shelves and product webpages

    Transparency regarding supply forecasts, weekly tendering processes and wholesale fresh produce prices between supermarkets and suppliers to promote more favourable terms for suppliers

    A review of loyalty programmes’ value in 3 years to ensure consumer benefits

    Australian state governments adopting measures to address planning and zoning issues to target resource management issues over land banking.

    New Zealand’s Commerce Commission recommendations

    Grocery retailers should ensure their pricing and promotional practices are simple and easy to understand.

    Grocery retailers should cooperate with price comparison services.

    Develop a mandatory grocery code of conduct to govern relationships between grocery retailers and suppliers. (The Commission has since said this code isn’t working as intended.)

    Improve the availability of sites for retail grocery stores under planning laws, with parliament introducing the Commerce (Grocery Sector Covenants) Amendment Act, which prohibits anti-competitive land covenants.  

    The Commission has not recommended a review of loyalty programmes. Instead, it recommended that supermarkets ensure disclosure relating to loyalty programmes, data collection and use practices is clear and transparent.

    Consumer’s own research into supermarket loyalty schemes has shown that 84% of New Zealanders use loyalty cards, but ‘specials’ and discounts don’t always reflect the lowest prices available at the check-out.

    The ACCC report states it took the German multinational discount supermarket chain Aldi more than 20 years to gain its current Australian market share of 9%.

    “We are at a crucial point where more must be done to tackle the structural and systemic issues in our supermarket sector. Consumers are facing persistently high prices, and the ACCC report shows that, without additional regulation, a third entrant in the grocery sector is not the silver bullet it is often presented as,” Duffy says.

    Consumer urges stronger regulation and enforcement to address ongoing concerns around supermarket pricing and market power in New Zealand.

    Notes

    Read the full ACCC supermarket report: https://consumernz.cmail19.com/t/i-l-fddtjdy-ijjdkdttjk-j/

    The report highlights significant market concentration in Australia, with major players Aldi, Coles and Woolworths growing profits beyond some global peers.

    The term ‘recommendations’ refers to a range of potential legislative and policy reforms and other actions. The ACCC believes these measures are necessary to collectively address aspects of markets. There would be three desired outcomes: to improve competition, make a difference for shoppers and give suppliers fairer bargaining conditions.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Powers leads new compliance and training initiatives

    Source: US International Brotherhood of Boilermakers

    Our job is to keep everyone complying with the law and our Constitution and following best practices. Our job is to help our locals.

    Gary Powers, Director of Compliance and Training

    International President Tim Simmons has named Gary Powers as Director of Compliance and Training. The new role is part of measures to ensure U.S. International Reps and local lodges have the information and support they need to properly conduct local lodge business in compliance with the Office of Labor-Management Standards recordkeeping and reporting requirements, the Boilermakers’ Constitution and general best practices.

    “The purpose was to create a department that works directly with local lodges in compliance with government reporting and International bylaws and provide training, guidance and tools so lodge leaders and those who support them can fulfill their duties,” Powers said.

    Through the new Compliance and Training Department, IBB has hosted several training sessions for International Reps and lodge leaders. The sessions, which have taken place at IBB headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri, the Great Lakes and Southeast Sections and online, have been conducted by Dr. John Lund, professor emeritus of the University of Wisconsin School for Workers and former Director of the Office of Labor-Management Standards for the U.S. Department of Labor, and author of “Auditing Local Union Financial Records: A Guide for Local Union Trustees”.

    “The OLMS training was eye opening and game changing for me. I was glued to the screen,” said Scott Widdicombe, BM-ST for Local 242 (Spokane, Washington), who attended a virtual session. “There are things I just didn’t know I should be doing or shouldn’t be doing.”

    In the past, much information on how to conduct lodge business was passed down from lodge leader to lodge leader; and sometimes, the information was incorrect. That, said Powers, has been a problem. With no formal training, lodge leaders only learned how their predecessors’ handled things, for good or bad.

     “There’s a lot I wasn’t aware of, because no one ever told me, and I don’t know any different if no one tells me,” Widdicombe said. He said grateful for the training and plans to attend any time it’s offered, and he noted that L-242’s office assistant attended the session with him—something he and Powers recommend to other lodges.

    “We recommend lodges have their clerical staff participate as well, because they’re going to be helping fulfill duties,” Powers said. “They’re often the ones handling the day-to-day. It’s important they know proper record keeping, how to handle credit cards, etc.”

    In addition to the compliance training sessions with Lund, Powers and staff from IBB’s Auditing Department are conducting in-person audits at local lodges. The audits are an overall look at how locals operate. The auditors examine finances, meeting minutes, union meeting practices and more, as well as compare lodge bylaws with the Boilermakers Constitution.

    “This is not meant to be authoritarian,” Powers said, noting the audits—and their findings—have been overwhelmingly met with gratitude from lodge leaders like Widdicombe.  

    “We’ve had nothing but good feedback. It’s a chance to work with local lodge leaders, take a closer look at locals’ financial records and see where they can improve processes or put new policies in place to better manage in a positive way.”

    When the audits are complete, a report is provided to the local lodge recommending possible improvements to practices. When the team finds something egregious, they strongly recommend changes. The team also provides tools to help make lodge leadership and compliance a little easier and more consistent, and Powers has plans for templates to make financial record-keeping reporting consistent for everyone.

    “Our job is to keep everyone complying with the law and our Constitution and following best practices. Our job is to help locals,” said Powers.

    “Everyone’s been very open to this. They’re not pushing back, and most say they wish we’d had this when they first became lodge leaders.”

    Widdicombe agreed: “I thought I was doing everything right, and now I know what I have to do and what I can’t do. I look at my local and what I’m doing now in a different light. I’m more aware now, and I’m looking at everything.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: New Jersey Woman Sentenced for Investment Fraud

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Diana Mae Fernandez, age 38, of Bergenfield, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 33 months in federal prison for an investment scheme in which victims from West Virginia and elsewhere lost more than $300,000.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, Fernandez, also known as “Diana Fernandez Koporan,” “Dana Fernandez,” and “Dajana Ko,” operated purported investment firms known as “The Self Made Success” and “Diana Mae K., LLC.” She used social media to advertise her services as “no risk” or offering “guaranteed” profit returns. Multiple victims, including an individual from Marion County, West Virginia, were defrauded of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Fernandez used the money she stole for her own benefit.

    Fernandez was ordered to pay $330,144.00 in restitution to the victims. She will serve three years of supervised release following her prison sentence.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod Douglas prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

    The FBI investigated the case.

    Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Joseph Nigro Appointed to Eos Energy Enterprises Board of Directors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    EDISON, N.J., March 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: EOSE) (“Eos” or the “Company”), America’s leading innovator in designing, manufacturing, and providing zinc-based long duration energy storage systems sourced and manufactured in the United States, today announced that Joseph Nigro, former CFO of Exelon Corporation (NADSDAQ: EXC) and CEO of Constellation Energy (then operating division of Exelon), has been appointed to the Eos Board of Directors, effective March 26, 2025. Nigro’s extensive leadership across both competitive and regulated energy markets is instrumental as Eos advances its mission to deliver safe, sustainable, and American-made energy storage.

    “We are thrilled to welcome Joe to the Eos board,” said Russ Stidolph, Chairman of Eos. “His decades of experience leading some of the most significant players in the energy industry, along with his deep financial and operational expertise, will be incredibly valuable as we continue to scale our operations and build long-term value for our stakeholders.”

    With three decades of experience in the energy industry, Nigro brings a wealth of knowledge and executive leadership to the board. His distinguished career includes serving as Chief Financial Officer of Exelon, overseeing the financial strategy for the company’s entire utility and generation portfolio. Nigro also served as Chief Executive Officer of Constellation Energy, a then Exelon Corporation operating division and their largest, where he successfully led efforts to strengthen the company’s market position and operational efficiency. Nigro’s career began at PECO Energy, now an Exelon Corporation company, in the 1990s and spent seven years prior with Phibro Energy, Inc., an independent oil trading and refining company. His extensive background spans across trading, operating, and financial strategy, providing a deep understanding of the full energy value chain.

    “Joe’s experience in the power industry brings a unique perspective that make him a natural fit for our board,” said Joe Mastrangelo, Eos Chief Executive Officer. “He understands what it takes to lead at scale, and his insight will help guide our execution and strengthen our position as America’s battery.”

    Currently, Nigro serves on the board of Talen Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: TLN), a leading independent power producer and energy infrastructure company with a diverse generation fleet. He is also an advisor to Blackstone’s energy transition practice and serves on the board of Kindle Energy, a portfolio company focused on generation assets. His extensive governance expertise across both mature and growth-oriented companies strengthens Eos’ leadership and complements its strategic vision.

    “I am honored to join the Eos board at such a dynamic moment for the Company and the energy industry at large,” said Nigro. “Eos is addressing a critical need for long-duration storage with a highly flexible American-made solution, and I’m excited to help guide the Company’s global growth.”

    Nigro’s appointment reflects Eos’ ongoing commitment to maintaining a world-class board with the expertise necessary to advance its strategic priorities and position the Company for accelerated growth.

    About Eos Energy Enterprises

    Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc. is accelerating the shift to American energy independence with positively ingenious solutions that transform how the world stores power. Our breakthrough Znyth™ aqueous zinc battery was designed to overcome the limitations of conventional lithium-ion technology. It is safe, scalable, efficient, sustainable, manufactured in the U.S., and the core of our innovative systems that today provides utility, industrial, and commercial customers with a proven, reliable energy storage alternative for 3 to 12-hour applications. Eos was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Edison, New Jersey. For more information about Eos (NASDAQ: EOSE), visit eose.com.


    Forward-Looking Statements

    Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our expected revenue, for the fiscal years December 31, 2025, our path to profitability and strategic outlook, statements regarding orders backlog and opportunity pipeline, statements regarding our expectation that we can continue to increase product volume on our state-of-the-art manufacturing line, statements regarding our future expansion and its impact on our ability to scale up operations, statements regarding our expectation that we can continue to strengthen our overall supply chain, statements regarding our expectation that our new comprehensive insurance program will provide increased operational and economic certainty, statements that refer to the delayed draw term loan with Cerberus, milestones thereunder and the anticipated use of proceeds, statements that refer to outlook, projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are based on our management’s beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, them. Because such statements are based on expectations as to future financial and operating results and are not statements of fact, actual results may differ materially from those projected.

    Factors which may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: changes adversely affecting the business in which we are engaged; our ability to forecast trends accurately; our ability to generate cash, service indebtedness and incur additional indebtedness; our ability to achieve the operational milestones on the delayed draw term loan; our ability to raise financing in the future; risks associated with the credit agreement with Cerberus, including risks of default, dilution of outstanding Common Stock, consequences for failure to meet milestones and contractual lockup of shares; our customers’ ability to secure project financing; the amount of final tax credits available to our customers or to Eos pursuant to the Inflation Reduction Act; the timing and availability of future funding under the Department of Energy Loan Facility; our ability to continue to develop efficient manufacturing processes to scale and to forecast related costs and efficiencies accurately; fluctuations in our revenue and operating results; competition from existing or new competitors; our ability to convert firm order backlog and pipeline to revenue; risks associated with security breaches in our information technology systems; risks related to legal proceedings or claims; risks associated with evolving energy policies in the United States and other countries and the potential costs of regulatory compliance; risks associated with changes to the U.S. trade environment; our ability to maintain the listing of our shares of common stock on NASDAQ; our ability to grow our business and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain our management and key employees; risks related to the adverse changes in general economic conditions, including inflationary pressures and increased interest rates; risk from supply chain disruptions and other impacts of geopolitical conflict; changes in applicable laws or regulations; the possibility that Eos may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; other factors beyond our control; risks related to adverse changes in general economic conditions; and other risks and uncertainties.

    The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to additional risks, uncertainties, and factors, including those more fully described in the Company’s most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Further information on potential risks that could affect actual results will be included in the subsequent periodic and current reports and other filings that the Company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Moreover, the Company operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment, and new risks and uncertainties may emerge that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

    Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and, except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: NextNRG Reports Strong Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Financial Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Stronger Revenue, Improved Margins, and Expanded Volumes

    — FY 2024 Revenue Increased 20% to $27.8 Million from $23.2 Million in 2023 —
    — FY 2024 Gross Profit Grew 64% to $2.3 Million, Up from $1.4 Million in 2023 —

    — Q4 2024 Revenue Increased 21% to $6.9 Million from $5.7 Million in Q4 2023 —
    — Q4 2024 Gross Profit Grew 97% to $652 Thousand, Up from $330 Thousand in Q4 2023 —

    Conference Call Scheduled March 31stat 4:30 PM ET

    MIAMI, March 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NextNRG, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXXT), a pioneer in AI-driven energy innovation—transforming how energy is produced, managed, and delivered through its advanced Utility Operating System, smart microgrid technology, wireless EV charging, and on-demand mobile fuel delivery solutions— today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, and provided a strategic update on its key growth initiatives.

    The Company will hold a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2024 financial results on March 31st at 4:30 pm ET. Dial in and webcast details are below.

     
    Selected Financial & Operational Highlights
     
    Metric Q4 2024
    (unaudited)    		 Q4 2023
    (unaudited)    		 FY 2024 FY 2023
    Revenue $6.9M $5.7M $27.8M $23.2M
    Gross Profit $652K $330K $2.3M $1.4M

    “We entered 2024 with the clear goal of laying the groundwork for long-term growth—and we believe we delivered on that vision,” said Michael D. Farkas, CEO of NextNRG. “Through enhanced operating efficiency and higher-margin fuel delivery, we increased revenues by 20%, expanded gross profit, while investing in transformative technologies. Our pipeline in microgrids and EV infrastructure is larger than ever, and we believe we are just beginning to unlock the full value of our platform. Additionally, our expanding footprint in mobile fueling is set to open significant opportunities to convert these fleets to electric, aligning with our commitment to sustainable energy solutions”

    Strategic and Operational Milestones

    • Corporate Rebranding: Completed transition from EzFill Holdings to NextNRG, Inc. in Q1 2025, aligning with the Company’s expanded clean energy vision.
    • Fueling Platform Growth: Delivered 7.2 million gallons in 2024 (+22% YOY), supported by 140 operational trucks across six states.
    • Smart Microgrid Pipeline: Company expects to put out guidance on expanded microgrid pipeline in the next quarter.
    • EV Innovation: Advanced static and dynamic wireless EV charging solutions (grid to vehicle and vehicle to grid capabilities) through exclusive technology licenses from Florida International University.
    • Capital Raise: Completed $15 million public offering in February 2025 to support scale and strengthen the balance sheet.

    Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Highlights

    • Revenue increased 20% year-over-year to $27.8 million, compared to $23.2 million in 2023, driven by volume growth and improved fuel margin.
    • Gross profit rose to approximately $2.3 million, a 44% increase from the prior year.
    • Cash balance at year-end was $438,299, up from $226,985 at the end of 2023.

    Fourth Quarter 2024 Performance

    • Revenue for Q4 2024 totaled $6.9 million, an increase of 21% compared to $5.7 million in Q4 2023, driven by higher fuel volumes and improved margin per gallon.
    • Gallons delivered during the quarter rose to 1.8 million, up from 1.5 million in the prior-year period, reflecting new fleet accounts and increased market penetration.
    • Average fuel margin per gallon expanded to $0.71, compared to $0.65 in Q4 2023, reflecting a continued focus on pricing optimization and operational discipline.
    • Gross profit for the quarter more than doubled year-over-year to $652,000, compared to $330,000 in Q4 2023.

    Looking Ahead

    NextNRG enters 2025 with a clear mandate: to scale its AI/ML-powered energy solutions through a combination of SaaS contracts, infrastructure deployment, and recurring mobile fueling revenue. The Company is targeting sustainable long-term growth across multiple verticals.

    “We believe NextNRG’s integrated platform—combining mobile fueling, wireless EV charging, and AI-optimized Utility Operating System and smart microgrids—is uniquely positioned to power the distributed energy future.”

    Teleconference and Webcast Information

    To participate, domestic callers may dial 1-866-524-3160 and international callers may dial 1-412-317-6760 at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call and ask to join the NextNRG call.

    A simultaneous webcast of the call may be accessed here: https://event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=YHcg0e4d

    A replay of the call will be available at 1-877-344-7529 or 1-412-317-0088, access code 1610449, through April 7, 2025. The call will also be available for replay on the Company’s website at www.nextnrg.com.

    About NextNRG, Inc.

    NextNRG Inc. (NextNRG) is Powering What’s Next by implementing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into renewable energy, next-generation energy infrastructure, battery storage, wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging, and on-demand mobile fuel delivery to create an integrated ecosystem.

    At the core of NextNRG’s strategy is its Utility Operating System which leverages AI and ML to help make existing utilities’ energy management as efficient as possible; and the deployment of NextNRG Smart Microgrids, which utilize AI-driven energy management alongside solar power and battery storage to enhance energy efficiency, reduce costs, and improve grid resiliency. These microgrids are designed to serve commercial properties, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, parking garages, rural and tribal lands, recreational facilities, and government properties, expanding energy accessibility while supporting decarbonization initiatives.

    NextNRG continues to expand its growing fleet of fuel delivery trucks and national footprint, including the acquisition of Yoshi Mobility’s fuel division and Shell Oil’s trucks, further solidifying its position as a leader in the on-demand fueling industry. NextNRG is also integrating sustainable energy solutions into its mobile fueling operations. The company hopes to be an integral part of assisting its fleet customers in their transition to EV supporting more efficient fuel delivery while advancing clean energy adoption. The transition process is expected to include the deployment of NextNRG’s innovative wireless EV charging solutions.

    To find out more visit: www.nextnrg.com

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statement describing NextNRG’s goals, expectations, financial or other projections, intentions, or beliefs is a forward-looking statement and should be considered an at-risk statement. Words such as “expect,” “intends,” “will,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those related to NextNRG’s business and macroeconomic and geopolitical events. These and other risks are described in NextNRG’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. NextNRG’s forward-looking statements involve assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove correct, could cause its results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although NextNRG’s forward-looking statements reflect the good faith judgment of its management, these statements are based only on facts and factors currently known by NextNRG. Except as required by law, NextNRG undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for any reason. As a result, you are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements.

    Investor Relations Contact

    NextNRG, Inc.
    Sharon Cohen
    SCohen@nextnrg.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Intermap Announces 2024 Results and 2025 Guidance

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Company reports 2024 revenue of $17.6 million, net income of $2.5 million

    Company projects 2025 revenue of $30 – 35 million and an adjusted EBITDA margin of ~28%

    Conference call today at 5:00 pm ET to discuss results and guidance

    DENVER, March 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Intermap Technologies (TSX: IMP; OTCQB: ITMSF) (“Intermap” or the “Company”), a global leader in 3D geospatial products and intelligence solutions, today announced 2024 results and 2025 guidance.

    For the full year ending December 31, 2024 (unaudited)

    • Revenue of $17.6 million, compared with $6.2 million in 2023
    • Acquisition Services revenue of $10.5 million versus nil in 2023
    • Value-added Data revenue of $3.1 million, compared with $1.9 million in 2023
    • Software and Solutions revenue of $4.0 million, compared with $4.3 million in 2023
    • 23% adjusted EBITDA margin
    • Net income of $2.5 million, compared with net loss of $3.7 million in 2023

    For the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2024 (unaudited)

    • Revenue of $7.4 million, compared with $1.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2023
    • Acquisition Services revenue of $5.5 million versus nil in the fourth quarter of 2023
    • Value-added Data revenue of $1.0 million versus $0.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2023
    • Software and Solutions revenue of $1.0 million, compared with $.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2023
    • 27% adjusted EBITDA margin
    • Net income of $1.5 million, compared with a net loss of $1.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2023

    “2024 reflects a significant inflection point for Intermap. We secured major contract wins and reported revenue and EBITDA at the high end of our guidance,” said Patrick A. Blott, Intermap Chairman and CEO. “Our 2025 guidance reinforces our commitment to sustainable growth and market leadership, and the C$12 million equity financing that we closed in February gives us the balance sheet to execute on our existing government contracts and advance new opportunities in our pipeline.”

    2024 government wins

    2024 commercial achievements

    Subsequent to December 31, 2024

    2025 Guidance

    • Revenue of $30 – 35 million
    • Adjusted EBITDA margin of ~28%

    Intermap experienced significant growth in 2024, including increasing its total assets by 2.6x to $12.0 million and expanding its shareholder base in Canada, the United States and internationally through the completion of various private placements and its Listed Issuer Financing offerings. The Company now has more than 2,000 shareholders and a market capitalization greater than U.S. $75 million. Due to this significant increase in assets and its number of shareholders, Intermap will register under and become subject to the reporting requirements of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (as amended, the Exchange Act). Because Intermap qualifies as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, the Company will be subject to a lesser disclosure regime than domestic U.S. companies and will be filing its registration statement on Form 40-F. In the future, investors will be able to access Intermap’s securities filings on both EDGAR and SEDAR+.

    Intermap’s audited annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024, the annual management discussion and analysis for the corresponding period, related management certifications of annual filings and its annual information form will be filed and available on SEDAR+ www.sedarplus.ca on March 31, 2025.

    Learn more about Intermap at intermap.com/investors.

    Conference Call Details
    Intermap’s CEO Patrick A. Blott, CFO Jennifer Bakken and COO Jack Schneider will host a live webinar today, at 5:00 pm ET to review the results, provide Company updates and answer investor questions following the presentation.

    Intermap invites shareholders, analysts, investors, media representatives and other stakeholders to attend the earnings webinar to discuss the fourth quarter and full year of 2024 results.

    DATE: Thursday, March 27, 2025
    TIME: 5:00 pm ET
    WEBCAST: Register

    Intermap Reader Advisory 
    Certain information provided in this news release, including reference to revenue growth, constitutes forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate”, “expect”, “project”, “estimate”, “forecast”, “will be”, “will consider”, “intends” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Although Intermap believes that these statements are based on information and assumptions which are current, reasonable and complete, these statements are necessarily subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Intermap’s forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties pertaining to, among other things, cash available to fund operations, availability of capital, revenue fluctuations, nature of government contracts, economic conditions, loss of key customers, retention and availability of executive talent, competing technologies, common share price volatility, loss of proprietary information, software functionality, internet and system infrastructure functionality, information technology security, breakdown of strategic alliances, and international and political considerations, as well as those risks and uncertainties discussed Intermap’s Annual Information Form and other securities filings. While the Company makes these forward-looking statements in good faith, should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary significantly from those expected. Accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits that the Company will derive therefrom. All subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to Intermap or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the forward-looking statements made herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities law.

    About Intermap Technologies
    Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Intermap (TSX: IMP; OTCQB: ITMSF) is a global leader in geospatial intelligence solutions, focusing on the creation and analysis of 3D terrain data to produce high-resolution thematic models. Through scientific analysis of geospatial information and patented sensors and processing technology, the Company provisions diverse, complementary, multi-source datasets to enable customers to seamlessly integrate geospatial intelligence into their workflows. Intermap’s 3D elevation data and software analytic capabilities enable global geospatial analysis through artificial intelligence and machine learning, providing customers with critical information to understand their terrain environment. By leveraging its proprietary archive of the world’s largest collection of multi-sensor global elevation data, the Company’s collection and processing capabilities provide multi-source 3D datasets and analytics at mission speed, enabling governments and companies to build and integrate geospatial foundation data with actionable insights. Applications for Intermap’s products and solutions include defense, aviation and UAV flight planning, flood and wildfire insurance, disaster mitigation, base mapping, environmental and renewable energy planning, telecommunications, engineering, critical infrastructure monitoring, hydrology, land management, oil and gas and transportation. 

    For more information, please visit www.intermap.com or contact:
    Jennifer Bakken
    Executive Vice President and CFO
    CFO@intermap.com
    +1 (303) 708-0955

    Sean Peasgood
    Investor Relations
    Sean@SophicCapital.com
    +1 (647) 260-9266

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cantwell Grills Aviation Safety Heads on Near-Misses Before Fatal DCA Collision: ‘Why Did the FAA Not Act?’

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell
    03.27.25
    Cantwell Grills Aviation Safety Heads on Near-Misses Before Fatal DCA Collision: ‘Why Did the FAA Not Act?’
    NTSB preliminary crash report shows that in the 3-year period leading up to January collision, commercial planes flew within 400 feet of helicopters 15,000+ times; Cantwell on CNN this morning: Turning off live location transmitting for military helicopters “was a loophole that, in my opinion, should never have been given”
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, grilled Acting Federal Aviation Administrator Chris Rocheleau, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy, and Director of Army Aviation Brigadier General Matt Braman on the cause of the Jan. 29 collision between a commercial flight and a military helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people.
    “As we seek answers, the NTSB’s preliminary report has alarming facts. First, in the three-year period leading up to the collision, commercial airplane and helicopters got within 400 feet of each other on 15,214 occasions, within 200 feet on 85 occasions. FAA’s air traffic managers approve helicopter route charts annually, so if the data raised questions about the safety of these routes, the ball clearly falls into the FAA’s court as to whether to act on this data or make changes where the helicopters can fly in DCA,” Sen. Cantwell said.
    “Acting Administrator Rocheleau, I want to know: Why did the FAA not act on 15,000 reports of dangerous proximity? How were these helicopter routes allowed to remain when alarm bells were literally going off in the towers? This lack of oversight must change.” 
    READ MORE:
    The Washington Post: Senators grill FAA chief on missed warning signs before deadly crash
    Reuters: US senators blast FAA for failing to act earlier on helicopters near airplanes
    Ahead of this morning’s hearing, Sen. Cantwell joined CNN’s Kate Bolduan to discuss the findings of the NTSB and the need for more oversight at the FAA.
    “I think we do have a lot of data at the FAA. I just don’t know that anybody is paying close attention to it. But this was a loophole that, in my opinion, should never have been given. And once the loophole was given, then people should have monitored the situation,” Sen. Cantwell said on CNN.
    That interview can be watched in full HERE.
    The Black Hawk helicopter involved in the Jan. 29 was not transmitting Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out. ADS-B Out is a crucial safety feature that, when activated, automatically sends a beacon out from an operating flight to provide air traffic control towers a picture of an aircraft’s precise location without relying solely on radar.
    In 2010, FAA under the Obama Administration issued a rule to require all aircraft equipped with ADS-B Out to operate in “transmit mode” at all times. But in 2019, shortly before that rule went into effect, the first Trump Administration created an exemption for “sensitive operations conducted by Federal, State and local government entities in matters of national defense, homeland security, intelligence and law enforcement,” with the caveat that exemptions “will not be routinely used.” Then, in a June 2023 letter to D.C. Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton, the Department of Defense (DOD) stated that in the National Capital Region, “the Army Aviation Brigade at Fort Belvoir and Marine Helicopter Squadron One execute 100 percent of their missions with the ADS-B off.”
    During a Q&A portion of today’s hearing, Sen. Cantwell pressed Acting Administrator Rocheleau on the inconsistent policies around ADS-B Out usage.
    “Acting Administrator, you’re not building faith in this system of oversight of the FAA,” she said. “These poor families have lost loved ones! This is not their day job. It is your day job.”
    Earlier this month, Sen. Cantwell sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth requesting that the DOD clarify how often and why it operates aircraft in the National Capital Region without ADS-B Out activated. Secretary Hegseth has not substantively responded. Instead, today – nearly three weeks after Sen. Cantwell sent the letter and as the hearing was nearly over – a lower-level DOD official sent a short letter acknowledging her letter.  That response said DOD “anticipates providing a response by [the] end of May 2025,” yet another two months from now and four months after the accident.
    Video of Sen. Cantwell’s opening remarks in today’s hearing is available HERE; video of her first round of Q&A is HERE; video of her second round of Q&A is HERE; and a transcript is HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Elisapie’s Juno-nominated album: Promoting Inuktitut through music

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Richard Compton, Professor, Department of Linguistics, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

    Singer Elisapie’s fourth album, Inuktitut, has been nominated for album of the year at the 2025 Juno Awards being held this weekend in Vancouver.

    The album features covers of 10 pop and classic rock songs, including the Rolling Stones’s “Wild Horses” and Metallica’s “The Unforgiven,” re-imagined in Inuktitut. Inuktitut is the first language of 33,790 Inuit in Canada, according to the 2021 Census.

    Elisapie’s nomination offers a good opportunity to reflect on the situation of Inuktitut and how creative work, including music, helps promote it.

    Our work touches on the inter-generational transmission of Inuktitut. We share perspectives as a Qallunaaq (non-Inuk) linguist (Richard) and as an Inuk school teacher (Sarah) in Nunavik, with Sarah’s personal experiences in the community highlighted.

    Together, we have co-taught courses for Inuit teachers in Puvirnituq and Ivujivik. We are also both affiliated with a research group focused on Indigenous education based at Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

    Elisapie’s ‘Isumagijunnaitaungituq’ (The Unforgiven)

    Music in Inuktitut

    Sarah notes that:

    I was amazed that [Elsipasie] could make the long words in Inuktitut fit with the rhythm of the music; she did it so precisely. It took me back to the 1980s, when I was growing up. It would have been nice if songs like these had been interpreted back then. It’s been a long time coming, but it shows that nothing is impossible. The songs sound so natural in Inuktitut.

    On the day we talked about this story, Sarah remembered:

    I was at the Snow Festival yesterday [in Puvirnituq], and some of the teenagers knew all the words to her songs and were singing along. We didn’t have that when I was growing up.

    She remembers first seeing Elisapie sing in the early 1990s at one of the first snow festivals in Puvirnituq.

    Elisapie’s album has also sparked interest outside of Canada, with stories in such venues as Rolling Stone, Vogue and Le Monde.

    Beyond how Elisapie beautifully interprets the songs, creative choices like using throat singing on the first track, “Isumagijunnaitaungituq (The Unforgiven),” and stunning music videos showcasing life in the North brings the language to a wider audience.

    The album’s cover art features the word Inuktitut, ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ, in syllabics — a writing system originally use for Cree and adapted to Inuktitut, where the individual symbols represent consonants and the way they point represents vowels.

    Elisapie’s ‘Taimangalimaaq’ (Time After Time)

    Diversity of the Inuit language

    The word Inuktitut itself means “like the Inuit,” and is the name for part of a wider language continuum spoken across the North American Arctic. This language continuum includes Iñupiaq in Alaska, Uummarmiutun, Sallirmiutun and Inuinnaqtun in the Western Canadian Arctic, Inuktitut in the Eastern Arctic, Inuttut in Labrador and Kalaallisut in Greenland.

    This abundance of names reflects a diversity of varieties, each with their own pronunciations and differences in grammar and vocabulary stretching across Inuit Nunangat, the Inuit homeland.

    Speakers in each community look to their Elders as models of how the language should be spoken. While this multiplicity of dialects poses challenges for translation and creating teaching materials, each variety marks local identity and links generations.

    This diversity also fascinates linguists, as each variety attests to a different way of organizing the unconscious rules of grammar in the human mind.

    For instance, Inuktitut has a rich system of tense markers on verbs, signalling events that just happened, happened earlier today, before today or long ago. Inuinnaqtun, to the west, lacks most of these tense markers, but instead allows more complex combinations of sounds.

    A role model for youth

    Sarah stresses the importance of Elisapie’s music for the language:

    It’s so impressive that people like Elisapie are doing such amazing things with the language. She grew up around the same time as me and when I was in school there were so few teaching materials in Inuktitut, and we focused more on speaking than reading and writing. Even if her main goal might not have been to promote the language, she’s doing it, because kids listen to her. More teenagers are willing to sing in Inuktitut now because they have role models like her and Beatrice Deer.

    Deer is an Inuk and Mohawk musician from Quaqtaq, Nunavik, who also sings in Inuktitut, as well as English and French.

    Indigenous language education rights

    In Canada, all levels of government have failed to provide adequate access to education in Indigenous languages, even in regions where Indigenous Peoples form the majority.

    In Nunavik, where Elisapie is from, 90 per cent of the population (12,590 out of 14,050) identifies as Inuit and 87 per cent (12,245 out of 14,050) report Inuktitut as their first language. And yet Inuktitut is only the primary language of instruction up until Grade 3.

    About promoting Inuktitut, Sarah says:

    We’re lucky that in most of the villages in Nunavik, the language is still strong. But it’s still concerning that some people have started speaking in English to their kids. What we really need to promote it is to have school in Inuktitut from kindergarten to the end of high school [secondary 5 in Québec]. That’s why a group of Inuit teachers, including me, visited Greenland to learn more about their education system. They’ve had schools in their language for almost 200 years. We just started in the ‘50s.

    While bilingualism may bring economic benefits, the lack of support for Indigenous languages often results in a situation where bilingualism robs children of the chance to fully develop in their first language.

    Right to education in Indigenous language

    In addition to violating Indigenous Peoples’ inherent right to get an education in their language (see the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples), current education policies also go against recommendations of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

    UNESCO recommends that Indigenous minority languages be taught as the primary language in school for the first six to eight years, as this has been shown to contribute to children’s well-being and self-esteem.

    Unfortunately, Canada’s official language laws continue to place the two colonial languages of English and French above Indigenous languages, particularly in education funding.



    Read more:
    Ancestral languages are essential to Indigenous identities in Canada

    New challenges have also emerged for maintaining and extending the domains in which Inuktitut is used. Once cut off from high-speed internet, new satellite technology has brought access to more Inuit communities, along with new economic opportunities.

    However, this connectivity also brings an avalanche of English content, from viral videos and streaming platforms to social networks and mobile games.

    Vital for promoting Inuktitut

    It is in this changing linguistic and media landscape where Inuktitut language and cultural production, like Elisapie’s album, are vital for promoting Inuktitut.

    Children and teenagers need content that speaks to them — things they see as new, fun, cool and representing their generation. This includes music, comic books, novels, video games and even Hockey Night in Canada in Inuktitut.

    So whether Elisapie’s music is being played in community radio stations, featured in an episode of CBC’s North of North or streamed as a music video on social media, it serves the added role of taking up a little more space for Inuktitut in people’s daily lives.

    Richard Compton receives funding in the form of research grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He holds the Canada Research Chair in Transmission and Knowledge of the Inuit Language.

    Sarah Angiyou 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. Elisapie’s Juno-nominated album: Promoting Inuktitut through music – https://theconversation.com/elisapies-juno-nominated-album-promoting-inuktitut-through-music-251774

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: UN Mission urges restraint as South Sudan crisis deepens

    Source: United Nations – Peacekeeping

    The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has called on all parties to exercise restraint and uphold the peace agreement as violence escalates and reports emerge of the detention of First Vice President Riek Machar.

    “Tonight, the country’s leaders stand on the brink of relapsing into widespread conflict or taking the country forward towards peace, recovery and democracy in the spirit of the consensus that was reached in 2018 when they signed and committed to implementing a Revitalized Peace Agreement,” UNMISS Head Nicholas Haysom said in a statement issued late on Wednesday.

    Mr. Haysom, who is also the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan, cautioned that any unilateral amendments could reverse seven years of fragile progress and risk plunging South Sudan back into war.

    “This will not only devastate South Sudan but also affect the entire region,” he added.

    UNMISS urged all parties to immediately cease hostilities and engage in constructive dialogue that prioritizes the well-being of the South Sudanese people at this critical juncture

    The world’s youngest country has been mired in conflict which erupted shortly after independence from Sudan in 2011, between Government forces led by President Salva Kiir, and fighters loyal to his rival Riek Machar, who has served as First Vice President since 2020 in a broad-based governing coalition.

    Clashes intensify

    Fighting has escalated over the past 24 hours, with clashes reported between Government troops of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition near Rejaf, just south of the capital Juba, and in Wunaliet, to the west.

    The situation in Upper Nile, in the north of the country, also remains volatile. Earlier this month the so-called White Army – a youth militia – overran South Sudanese army barracks in Nasir. In response, Government forces launched retaliatory aerial bombardments on civilian areas, using barrel bombs that allegedly contained highly flammable accelerants.

    An UNMISS helicopter – attempting to evacuate wounded SSPDF soldiers – in Nasir, region was also attacked this month, killing a crew member as well as several South Sudanese soldiers, including an injured General.

    Children at extreme risk

    Virginia Gamba, UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, also warned that the surge in fighting is putting children at grave risk of violations, including killing, sexual violence and recruitment into armed groups.

    “I am deeply concerned over the escalating violence, particularly in the Upper Nile province, and I urge all parties to silence their weapons and comply with their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law,” she said.

    “The stability of the country and a lasting peace for all, including new generations, is at stake.”

    Repeated warnings

    Earlier this week, Mr. Haysom warned that South Sudan was “teetering on the brink of civil war,” citing indiscriminate attacks on civilians, forced displacement and ethnic tensions.

    Renewed fighting “would devastate not only South Sudan but the entire region, which simply cannot afford another war,” he said.

    Fragile peace at stake

    Civil war erupted in 2013 between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those aligned with First Vice President Machar. The war – marked by ethnic violence, mass atrocities and a widespread humanitarian crisis – lasted until a fragile peace deal was signed in 2018.

    Though the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement brought a degree of stability, delays in its implementation and continued political rivalries have kept tensions simmering.

    Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in South Sudan remains dire, with over nine million people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, including two million internally displaced persons.
     

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: SRSG Kamal Kishore’s speech at the High-Level Policy Forum on Accelerated Financing for Disaster Risk Reduction to Build Resilience in Oslo, Norway

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    Your Excellency, Åsmund Aukrust, Minister of International Development,

    Excellencies and Colleagues,

    It is a great honour for the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction to be organizing this high-level forum with the Kingdom of Norway. I would like to start by expressing my deep appreciation to Norway for hosting this forum and for its leadership on the topic of finance – both for disaster risk reduction and for sustainable development, especially in the context of the ongoing negotiations ahead of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development. 

    I am also thankful to Norway for serving as co-chair of the Group of Friends for Disaster Risk Reduction, which is critical to supporting the work of UNDRR as we race towards the 2030 deadline of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

    Indeed, as we look around the world, it is clear that we must accelerate the implementation of the Sendai Framework to protect people and sustainable development from the growing impacts of disasters.

    Countries, rich and poor, are facing disasters that are larger and more destructive. This is partially driven by an increase in extreme weather events, but it is also driven by risk-blind investments, which increase the exposure and vulnerability of people and assets. The end result is more expensive disasters, which are a threat to economic prosperity and sustainable development.

    Over the last five years, global economic losses from disasters have increased on average by 25%. This increase represents tens of billions of additional losses each year.

    We have seen this manifest on one end of the spectrum with the recent California wildfires, which were reportedly the most expensive disaster in the history of the United States. 

    On the other end of the spectrum, we have seen war-ravaged Syria suffer approximately $5 billion US dollars in damages as a result of the 2023 earthquakes, and the Libyan city of Derna largely swept into the Mediterranean as a result of severe floods. This is on top of the loss of life, which was in the thousands, and continues to be felt most acutely by the Least Developed Countries. 

    When we add on top of these direct costs, the cost of slow-onset events and the indirect impacts of disasters, such as productivity losses, compromised health, and disrupted education, the total cost of disasters is likely in excess of a trillion US dollars a year.

    Moreover, as disaster costs increase, insurance companies are pulling out of high-risk markets, even in developed economies. For instance, “nonrenewal notices” of home insurance in the United States surged by nearly 30% from 2018 to 2022 to more than 600,000 a year.  And in developing countries, much of the losses, are not even covered by insurance, driving more people into poverty. 

    Even humanitarian assistance, which is a measure of last resort for many affected countries, is becoming scarcer. In 2024, only 43% of the budgeted needs were funded.  This year, the gap will likely be higher.

    Therefore, to reduce the burden of disasters, avoid a spiral of decreasing insurability, and limit humanitarian needs, it is essential that we invest in disaster risk reduction. 

    This means increasing dedicated funding to disaster risk reduction, while also ensuring that all other development investments are risk-informed. 

    At this Forum, we will dive into this issue in detail. And to help set the stage, I would like to briefly review where these investments could come from, starting first with domestic resources. 

    Domestic public funds are the primary source for investments in DRR. Early warning systems, resilient hospitals, and other DRR investments tend to have a public good nature, meaning that they benefit society but are difficult for investors to capture direct financial returns. 

    Yet, our research shows that only a limited share of the public budget, less than 1%, is allocated to DRR and that current spending only meets in most countries 10 to 25% of the needs, leaving a significant gap. 

    Although resources are limited, countries have an opportunity to make public spending more efficient and impactful by further integrating disaster risk reduction in public finance. This requires a conscious effort to create a ring-fenced budget allocation for DRR to empower responsible agencies, while also mainstreaming DRR in sectoral plans. To that end, we recommend the use of appropriate accountability mechanisms, including budget tagging and tracking of DRR-related expenditures. 

    We also need to reinforce synergies across government, for instance between the Ministries of Environment and National Disaster Management Authorities, to break silos and optimize the use of climate and DRR-related financing. Similarly, we need to ensure that finance is available both at the national and sub-national levels, as many investments happen locally.

    That said, it is important to consider that many developing countries face unique challenges that constrain their ability to scale up investment in DRR – and that is high levels of debt. 

    Since 2010, debt in developing countries has grown twice as fast as in developed countries, and they face much higher borrowing costs. 

    At the same time, disasters fuel debt in affected countries. For example, a recent study from the Inter-American Development Bank shows that debt levels in the Caribbean are 18% higher three years after a severe storm than normally expected. 

    These outcomes can be mitigated by pre-arranging financing mechanisms ahead of disasters, such as contingency credit lines, disaster-related clauses in sovereign debt instruments, and risk-transfer instruments. These mechanisms allow for a quicker recovery, thus limiting the impact on growth and the economy. 

    The second primary source of finance is the private sector. 

    On average, the private sector is responsible for about 75% of a country’s investment in assets, such as factories and real estate. If those investments are risk-blind, they will lead to the creation of new disaster risks and exacerbate existing ones. We see this, for instance, through the expansion of urban development into hazard-prone areas or the construction of infrastructure that is not disaster-resilient. 

    This can be avoided through regulatory frameworks, risk information, and financial incentives to make private investment risk-informed and to create markets for resilience-building solutions. 

    We should also better leverage the financial sector, which has played a limited role thus far in DRR financing. For example, the rapid rise in the green bond markets has only had a limited impact on driving investments into adaptation and resilience, in part due to the lack of market standards and taxonomies. These market standards are necessary for the emergence of financial instruments, such as resilience bonds, and to guide investor decisions. 

    Similarly, the local banking sector can play a role in supporting small and medium businesses to access finance for investment in resilience-building, including through blended finance mechanisms. 

    In this regard, I am happy to report that UNDRR has been pioneering some work in this area, including the development of a “Resilience Taxonomy,” in partnership with the Climate Bond Initiative, and the launch of a guide for adaptation and resilience finance, which we developed with Standard Chartered Bank and KPMG.

    The third and final major source of finance is the international community, specifically through the provision of Official Development Assistance. This is an area that is currently under stress but remains critical for many developing countries, and its promotion is one of the seven targets of the Sendai Framework.

    Looking at the data, we see that, between 2019 and 2023, only 2% of ODA projects had DRR as an objective. And within the humanitarian sector, we find that the amount of funding for disaster prevention and preparedness has actually gone down over the years – from an already low level of 3.6% between 2015 and 2018, to 3.3% between 2019 and 2023. 

    These trends show an imbalance between the increase in disaster risks around the world and the limited international funding being allocated to Disaster Risk Reduction.

    Such funding is critical to protecting development gains and reducing humanitarian needs, and for some of the most vulnerable countries, they are unable to invest in DRR without international assistance.

    With that overview, I believe we at this Forum have a unique opportunity to address some of the biggest challenges around DRR financing. And to help guide our discussions, I would like to suggest that we aim to make progress on three main objectives:

    First, the development of a national-level Roadmap for DRR financing systems to help countries raise the funds they need. 

    Some of the questions we would need to answer are: what key elements should be included in such a roadmap and what has worked, or not worked, in countries? 

    Second, explore international actions that we can commit to together. 

    For example, what initiatives or partnerships can emerge from this Forum on DRR Financing? How can we better leverage existing international cooperation to strengthen DRR? And how can we ensure the integration of DRR in the global discourse on financing, in particular, in the upcoming 4th International Conference on Financing for Development? 

    And third, what more can be done to ensure that all investments are risk-informed and do not lead to disasters

    For public sector investments, how can we encourage the alignment of economic development plans with DRR strategies to avoid the creation of new risks? And what reforms or changes are needed to encourage risk-informed investing in the private sector?

    I think it is fair to say that this is a lot to cover over two days. That said, given the calibre of the participants, and the leadership of our host, I am confident that we can achieve concrete outcomes. 

    In closing, I want to again thank Norway for making this Forum possible at a critical time when financing is the single challenge that unites the disaster, climate, development, and humanitarian domains. The unique advantage of disaster risk reduction is that it can simultaneously strengthen all the other domains because of its emphasis on reducing vulnerabilities and building resilience.

    I am grateful for your participation in this Forum, and I look forward to our discussions.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Office of the Governor — News Release — Governor Green Makes Key Announcements for Water Resource Management and the Judiciary

    Source: US State of Hawaii

    Office of the Governor — News Release — Governor Green Makes Key Announcements for Water Resource Management and the Judiciary

    Posted on Mar 27, 2025 in Latest Department News, Newsroom, Office of the Governor Press Releases

    STATE OF HAWAIʻI 
    KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI 

    JOSH GREEN, M.D. 
    GOVERNOR
    KE KIAʻĀINA 

    GOVERNOR GREEN MAKES KEY ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND THE JUDICIARY

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    March 27, 2025

    HONOLULU — Governor Josh Green, M.D., has appointed Hannah Kihalani Springer to the Commission on Water Resource Management (CWRM), effective immediately.

    Springer will serve through June 30, 2028, pending confirmation by the Hawaiʻi State Senate. She has been appointed to the Loea seat on the commission, which is reserved for a member with substantial experience or expertise in traditional Hawaiian water resource management techniques and in traditional Hawaiian riparian usage.

    A kamaʻāina of Kaʻūpūlehu in North Kona, Springer has served on numerous advisory councils, nonprofit boards and state commissions focused on environmental protection, cultural heritage and community-based resource management. She previously served as a member of both the Hawaiʻi County Planning Commission and the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission, as well as the Board of Trustees for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Her leadership spans organizations such as the Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests, Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo and the Kaʻūpūlehu Marine Life Advisory Committee. Through her work, Springer has championed the integration of traditional knowledge and community voices into decisions affecting Hawaiʻi’s land and water.

    “Hannah Springer’s lifelong commitment to ʻāina stewardship, cultural wisdom and public service makes her an invaluable addition to the Commission on Water Resource Management,” said Governor Green. “Her perspective will help ensure that our approach to managing water resources reflects the values and priorities of Hawaiʻi’s people and places. I am proud to appoint her to this important role.”

    Springer expressed humility and enthusiasm upon learning of the appointment. “If confirmed, I look forward to bringing the sensibility of a kamaʻāina of a water-scarce and fire-prone region, to the work of the commission,” she said.

    In his newest Judicial selection, Governor Green has nominated Kauanoe A. D. Jackson to serve as a Circuit Court Judge in the Circuit Court of the Third Circuit (island of Hawaiʻi) for a term of 10 years, in accordance with Article VI, Section 3 of the Hawaiʻi State Constitution. The nomination is subject to Senate confirmation.

    Jackson currently serves as the Supervising Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in the Hawaiʻi County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney – West Hawaiʻi office, where she oversees felony prosecutions, supervises attorneys and staff and contributes to administrative leadership. Since joining the office in 2007, she has served in progressively senior roles, including as Circuit Court Co-Supervising Deputy and as a lead prosecutor in several high-profile felony trials. Her 18-year legal career also includes specialized assignments in narcotics and traffic safety, reflecting both breadth and depth in criminal law.

    “Kauanoe Jackson’s extensive courtroom experience, steady leadership and unwavering commitment to public safety and justice make her exceptionally qualified to serve on the bench,” said Governor Green. “Her deep understanding of Hawaiʻi Island’s communities and legal landscape will be a tremendous asset to the Third Circuit.”

    “I am deeply honored by Governor Green’s nomination and grateful for the opportunity to continue serving our community in this new capacity. I look forward to upholding justice with fairness, integrity and a steadfast commitment to the people of Hawai‘i Island.”

    A photo of CWRM Loea appointee Springer can be found here.
    A photo of Judicial nominee Jackson can be found here.

    # # #

    Media Contacts:   
    Erika Engle
    Press Secretary
    Office of the Governor, State of Hawai‘i
    Office: 808-586-0120
    Email: [email protected]

    Makana McClellan
    Director of Communications
    Office of the Governor, State of Hawaiʻi
    Cell: 808-265-0083
    Email: [email protected]

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Steve Waugh appointed to Centre for Australia-India Relations Advisory Board

    Source: Australia’s climate in 2024: 2nd warmest and 8th wettest year on record

    I am pleased to announce the appointment of Steve Waugh AO to the Centre for Australia-India Relations Advisory Board.

    The Centre works across government, industry, academia and the community to build greater understanding within the Australia-India relationship and encourage business to seize the opportunities of our economic partnership.

    The Advisory Board helps set the strategic priorities for the Centre’s programs and activities, supporting partnerships in business, the arts, education, health, science, technology and sport.

    Mr Waugh is a former Australian men’s cricket captain and has long been a champion of strengthening ties between Australia and India. He has made significant philanthropic contributions over the past 20 years through the Steve Waugh Foundation. Mr Waugh has also recently published a photography book on India titled, ‘The Spirit of Cricket: India’.

    I would like to thank outgoing board member Adam Gilchrist AM for his valuable contribution to the Centre since its establishment, and to the broader relationship with India. 

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Members stress importance of boosting LDCs’ participation in agricultural supply chains

    Source: World Trade Organization

    LDCs’ participation in agricultural supply chains

    The Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) outlined its current work in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guinea and Senegal aimed at improving LDCs’ agricultural export capacity. Members also heard from the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), which directs close to 60 per cent of its support towards LDCs. STDF activities have helped increase product quality, reduce the use of chemicals and fertilizers and increased awareness of post-harvest practices, it said.

    Speakers noted that the evolving regulatory environment, informal trade and climate change are some of the main challenges to sanitary and phytosanitary capacity building in these countries.

    To address agricultural export inefficiencies, speakers underscored the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration, including among government authorities, the private sector and academic representatives. The role of market intelligence, skills transfer, innovation and South-South cooperation were also highlighted as key drivers of agricultural trade competitiveness. Digitalization and regional integration were identified as opportunities for LDCs to enhance market access.

    Small-scale farm producers in LDCs are particularly affected by the costs of certification, laboratory testing and regulatory compliance, speakers noted. Women face gender-related barriers, such as difficulties to access land, financial resources and export opportunities, they said.  Referring to the dried mango value chain in Burkina Faso and the peppercorn value chain in Lao PDR, speakers underscored challenges associated with high tariffs, complex sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, limited awareness of best agricultural practices, financial constraints and infrastructure barriers.

    At the same time, innovative approaches are being developed in Lao PDR, such as certification processes involving several stakeholders to ensure the quality of organic food and knowledge sharing.

    Speakers stressed the need for strengthening partnerships and targeting support to harness LDCs’ potential in the agricultural sector and improve economic diversification.

    Sub-Committee on LDCs

    In the Sub-Committee on LDCs, the International Trade Centre presented its Global Trade Helpdesk. A presentation on the WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism provided information on its monitoring, evaluation and learning framework. The chair of the Sub-Committee on LDCs, Ambassador Ib Petersen of Denmark, provided an update of the progress made in the discussions on graduation from LDC status since the beginning of the year.

    Members heard from the WTO Secretariat that the LDCs’ share in world trade of goods and commercial services has nearly doubled in the past 30 years, from 0.59 per cent in 1995 to 1.17 per cent in 2023. At the same time, most LDCs continue to rely on a small range of products. “Further efforts are needed to enhance LDCs’ participation in world trade and take advantage of emerging trade opportunities,” Ambassador Petersen said. A video of the latest trends in LDCs’ trade can be watched here.

    Members also considered a new communication on strengthening the implementation of the Guidelines for the Accession of LDCs and its Addendum, submitted by Djibouti on behalf of the LDC Group and India.

    There are currently 44 LDCs, of which 37 are WTO members. Four are in the process of joining the WTO. These are Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.

    More information about the experience-sharing session is available here.

    More information on the Sub-Committee on LDCs can be found here.

    Share

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Isabel Schnabel: Financial literacy and monetary policy transmission

    Source: European Central Bank

    Speech by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the 2025 Mais Lecture at Bayes Business School

    London, 27 March 2025

    According to our latest public opinion survey, more than 90% of respondents are aware of the European Central Bank.[1][2] But when asked about our tasks, only 43% said they know that the ECB is responsible for maintaining price stability, despite inflation continuing to be the most important issue for European citizens.[3]

    These findings are part of a broader societal phenomenon: the widespread lack of financial literacy.

    Financial literacy is the ability to understand and apply basic financial concepts. It empowers individuals to make informed financial choices, mitigate investment risks and make provisions for old age.

    In my lecture today, I will argue that financial literacy also matters for the transmission of monetary policy. I will show that financially literate individuals react more strongly to interest rate changes, are more willing to take on risk and are more forward-looking when forming inflation expectations.

    Together, these factors suggest that greater financial literacy tends to strengthen the transmission of central bank policies to the real economy. Therefore, it can make monetary policy more effective in achieving its objectives and lower the sacrifice ratio – that is, the cost of reducing inflation in terms of lost output or higher unemployment.

    For this reason, central banks, including the ECB, have increased their efforts to foster financial literacy. Such initiatives strengthen trust in central banks and support broader policy goals, including progress on the European savings and investment union.

    Financial literacy varies widely across socio-economic groups

    In 2021 G20 finance ministers and central bank governors recognised financial literacy as an essential skill for empowering people and supporting individual and societal well-being.[4] It is defined as the ability to understand and effectively use basic financial concepts to take personal financial decisions.

    Such decisions are taken at various stages of life. People have to decide how much of their income they want to spend and to save, how to best invest their savings, how to finance big purchases like an apartment or a house, and how to make provisions for old age or emergencies. This requires an understanding of how interest rates and inflation affect the return on various financial products and the cost of borrowing.

    The sharp economic fluctuations over the past few years have underscored how important financial literacy is for the well-being of households. The surge in inflation in the aftermath of the pandemic and the sharp rise in interest rates after a decade of low rates have highlighted the need for individuals to properly understand and react to a changing inflation and interest rate environment.

    Economists Annamaria Lusardi and Olivia Mitchell developed the “Big Three” financial literacy questions, which have become a widely used measure of financial literacy (Slides 2 to 4).[5]

    These questions assess basic knowledge in three areas that are of key importance for households’ financial decision-making: the concept of compound interest, the importance of inflation for the purchasing power of savings, and the benefits of diversifying a portfolio across different assets.[6] People are usually considered to be financially literate if they can answer all these three questions correctly.

    Numerous surveys collect information about the level of financial literacy across various countries and socio-economic groups, and the ECB has contributed to this effort by including questions on financial literacy in its consumer expectations survey.

    These surveys show that many people struggle to answer all three questions correctly. In the euro area, less than half of respondents, around 48%, managed to get all three questions right (Slide 5).

    Moreover, financial literacy varies widely across socio-economic groups.

    First, financial literacy is lower for younger people. Those aged below 50 display below-average financial literacy, which could negatively affect their ability to build up long-term wealth or their decisions about major purchases.[7]

    Second, women have on average significantly lower financial literacy than men. This could lead to a higher risk of financial hardship and could explain why women are more often at risk of old-age poverty.[8]

    Third, financial literacy increases with educational attainment and income, potentially reinforcing inequality as, on average, financially literate people take better financial decisions.[9]

    Finally, there is considerable variation across countries, also within the euro area. Financial literacy tends to be higher in northern European countries.

    Financial literacy matters for monetary policy transmission

    These differences have important implications for individuals, but they may also have an impact on the effectiveness of macroeconomic policies.

    Monetary policy is a case in point. The effectiveness of monetary policy relies on the smooth transmission of policy decisions – especially changes to key policy rates – to financing conditions and, from there, to economic activity and inflation.

    Today I will focus on three key channels through which financial literacy can influence the transmission of our monetary policy: the interest rate channel, the risk-taking channel and the inflation expectations channel.[10]

    Financially literate households react more strongly to interest rate changes

    In standard macroeconomic models, monetary policy works mainly through the interest rate channel: an increase in interest rates shifts intertemporal trade-offs in the direction of higher savings and less consumption due to a substitution effect. Higher interest rates dissuade firms from investing and households from purchasing houses or durable goods.

    Policymakers frequently use these models to derive policy prescriptions, thereby implicitly assuming that households react in an optimal way to changes in interest rates by adjusting their borrowing and saving.

    However, a lack of financial literacy in part of society could be one reason that not all people behave in the way that models with rational expectations assume. Consequently, policymakers may make mistakes in predicting household behaviour, affecting the way monetary policy is transmitted to the real economy.[11]

    For example, survey evidence suggests that financially literate households are more responsive to changes in interest rates.

    On the one hand, this reflects the fact that these households are more attentive to interest rate developments. Among financially literate households, 62% report paying “some”, “much” or “a great deal” of attention to the level of interest rates. For households with low financial literacy, this share is only 49% (Slide 6).[12]

    On the other hand, a financially literate person has a better understanding of how interest rate changes will affect their financial situation and how they should best respond.

    The experience of recent years is a good example. When the ECB raised its policy rates in 2022 to fight inflation, financially literate individuals understood that this created more beneficial conditions for saving and less attractive conditions for borrowing, strengthening policy transmission. By contrast, less financially literate people reacted much less strongly to the dramatic change in the interest rate environment (Slide 7).

    In other cases, the impact on transmission is less clear.

    Households with high levels of financial literacy preferred fixed-rate loans when interest rates were low, but less so when interest rates were high (Slide 8). This behaviour tends to slow down policy transmission, as it insulates these households from changes in the interest rate environment. By contrast, less financially literate households did not significantly adjust their preferences when interest rates increased sharply.[13]

    The financial literacy of borrowers and depositors may also affect how swiftly and strongly banks pass through changes in policy rates to financing conditions. This is a key step in monetary policy transmission.

    The more attentive households are to interest rates, the more likely they are to search for the best possible interest rate for both loans and deposits. Indeed, according to the consumer expectations survey, financially literate households are more likely to “shop around” for the best terms of debt products (Slide 9, left-hand side).

    The same is true for deposits. During the recent hiking cycle, banks had to increase deposit rates to prevent a deposit flight as depositors shifted from low-yielding deposits to higher-yielding investments.[14]

    Such behaviour is likely linked to financial literacy. In fact, during the recent tightening cycle, cash accounts of corporates, which are managed by finance professionals, received higher interest rates for both overnight and term deposits than those of households (Slide 9, right-hand side).

    Higher funding costs for banks then also translate into higher bank lending rates, strengthening the transmission of policy rates to financing conditions.

    Financial literacy increases risk-taking and stock market participation

    A second important transmission channel of monetary policy operates through investors’ risk appetite. This is the risk-taking channel.

    Monetary policy influences people’s willingness to take risks, with looser monetary policy being associated with greater risk-taking, as investors have an incentive to switch from safe assets to higher‑yielding alternatives.[15] Increased risk-taking, particularly through greater stock market participation, amplifies the aggregate effects of monetary policy adjustments.[16]

    Research indicates that financial literacy plays a crucial role in determining the extent to which households engage in risk-taking by investing in the stock market or other risk assets.[17] Financially literate households are much more likely to invest in stocks or mutual funds, thereby strengthening monetary policy transmission (Slide 10, left-hand side).

    Differences can also be found in the mortgage market.

    A higher share of financially literate households take out mortgages and other loans than is the case for households with low financial literacy, although the difference is quantitatively much smaller than for stocks (Slide 10, right-hand side). Changes in aggregate consumption in response to interest rate adjustments are to a large extent driven by households with mortgages.[18]

    Higher risk-taking may also affect monetary policy indirectly by mobilising private capital for riskier and more productive investments. More risk capital should lead to higher productivity growth and hence a higher natural interest rate, r-star, giving central banks greater scope to stimulate the economy through lower interest rates due to a greater distance to the zero lower bound.[19]

    The effects of higher risk-taking can be self-reinforcing. If a larger share of the population rebalances their portfolios by switching from savings products or bonds to stocks in response to looser monetary policy, this may encourage firms to make additional investments. The increase in investment leads to higher aggregate income, in turn leading to more investment in the stock market.[20] Through this channel, stock market participation can magnify the investment response to monetary policy shocks.[21]

    Wealth effects provide another amplifying channel, as looser monetary policy tends to go hand-in-hand with a better performance of riskier assets, increasing household wealth and fostering consumption, with important distributional consequences. However, as shown over the recent tightening cycle, asset prices may behave differently. Over this period, the dampening effect of higher rates on stock prices was more than offset by stronger risk sentiment, leading to a surge in stock prices. Such wealth effects weakened monetary policy transmission in the most recent hiking cycle.

    Lastly, financially literate households have been shown to be more likely to build up precautionary savings, making them better able to cope with financial shocks and smooth their consumption.[22] This may slow monetary transmission, as these households can initially draw on cash buffers when the cost of borrowing increases through policy tightening. Hence, the impact of financial literacy on risk-taking may also go in the opposite direction.

    Financially literate households are more forward-looking when forming inflation expectations

    A third key transmission channel of monetary policy is the inflation expectations channel.

    Since consumption and investment decisions as well as price and wage-setting processes reflect expectations about the future pace of price changes, household inflation expectations shape inflation dynamics. A growing body of research suggests that consumers’ expectations matter greatly for the transmission of monetary policy, possibly more than those of financial market participants.[23]

    Research by the International Monetary Fund shows that, over the recent inflation episode, near-term inflation expectations became an increasingly important driver of inflation in advanced economies (Slide 11, left-hand side).[24]

    In turn, factors that can reduce the sensitivity of inflation expectations to actual inflation developments can contribute to bringing inflation down more quickly. And the lower the sensitivity, the lower the sacrifice ratio, allowing for swift disinflation without causing high unemployment or a deep recession.

    It is therefore crucial that central banks understand how households form these expectations.

    Research shows that policy tightening has a stronger dampening effect on near-term inflation expectations and inflation when a greater share of people in the economy are forward-looking (Slide 11, right-hand side).[25]

    Forward-looking households form their expectations on the basis of a broader set of information, including central bank policies and their expected impact on the economy, while backward-looking households base their expectations to a larger degree on past inflation experience.

    Therefore, a higher share of backward-looking households means that the central bank must tighten monetary policy more to achieve the same drop in inflation.

    The degree to which households are forward-looking likely depends on their level of financial literacy.

    Survey evidence indicates that households with higher financial literacy pay more attention to inflation.

    52% of financially literate households pay “much” or “a great deal” of attention to inflation. This share stands at just 45% for the less financially literate (Slide 12, left-hand side). Higher attention also implies that these people are easier to reach through central bank communication.[26]

    However, these data also suggest that even for financially literate people, almost one half do not pay much attention to inflation. This may explain why inflation perceptions are often very persistent, adapting slowly to actual inflation dynamics. While headline inflation in the euro area dropped by almost 8 percentage points from its peak in October 2022 until the end of 2023, inflation perceptions fell by much less (Slide 12, right-hand side).

    Again, there is some difference of inflation perceptions across different levels of financial literacy: while the inflation perceptions of both groups were similar when inflation had reached its peak, those of financially literate people are now 1.6 percentage points lower than those of less financially literate people.

    Inflation expectations paint a similar picture. The one-year ahead inflation expectations of financially literate households have dropped much more quickly than those of the less financially literate (Slide 13, left-hand side).

    These two findings are linked and reflect the fact that individuals’ inflation perceptions have a substantial impact on their expectations of future inflation.[27]

    Overall, the share of consumers with inflation expectations broadly anchored around 2% – meaning that three-year inflation expectations are between 1.5% and 2.5% – has fluctuated around a level of only 17%, indicating a low degree of anchoring.

    Again, there are notable differences in inflation expectations linked to financial literacy. The share of consumers with medium-term inflation expectations anchored around 2% is significantly higher for financially literate households. However, these households have also been more responsive to actual inflation developments, with the share of consumers with medium-term inflation expectations around 2% declining more sharply when inflation surged and rising more strongly when it came down (Slide 13, right-hand side).[28]

    The observed differences in the formation of inflation expectations translate into lower deviations of individual one-year ahead forecasts from inflation perceptions at that time for more financially literate people, implying a lower subjective forecast error (Slide 14). In other words, households with higher levels of financial literacy tend to have more accurate inflation expectations.[29]

    Financial literacy also affects household perceptions of real, i.e. inflation-adjusted, incomes, with implications for monetary policy transmission. Over the past three years, real private consumption has increased more slowly than real disposable income. This can be partly explained by household misperceptions of their real income developments.[30]

    While over 50% of households in the euro area experienced positive real income growth in 2024, only 11% perceived that their real income had increased (Slide 15, left-hand side). The net percentage of pessimistic households is highest for the bottom half of the income distribution, and it is also higher for households with low financial literacy (Slide 15, right-hand side).

    This implies that lower inflation due to restrictive monetary policy generally had a weaker impact on consumption due to such misperceptions, dampening the recovery.

    The need for enhanced financial education initiatives

    The evidence presented explains why central banks have a keen interest in promoting financial literacy and improving financial knowledge.

    In our 2021 monetary policy strategy review, we acknowledged that communication to broader audiences is key for monetary policy. That is why we have put more emphasis on explaining our monetary policy decisions to the general public in an accessible way.[31]

    Since President Lagarde took office, the Governing Council has made significant progress in making communication more accessible. For example, the introductory statement to the press conference after our monetary policy decisions has been replaced with the monetary policy statement, which offers a more concise and compelling narrative, while significantly reducing the textual complexity of monetary policy announcements, thereby increasing readability (Slide 16). To reach audiences beyond experts, the statement has been complemented by highly accessible, visualised statements, available in all EU languages.[32]

    When people understand how monetary policy works, they tend to trust central banks more.[33] And people’s trust in the central bank and in its ability to maintain price stability has been shown to help anchor inflation expectations and increase the share of forward-looking people in the economy.[34]

    Knowledge about the ECB is linked to financial literacy. Financially literate households tend to be significantly more knowledgeable about the ECB and its inflation objective (Slide 17).

    This has implications for the ECB’s credibility. In the most recent inflationary episode, the share of households with high financial literacy that trusted the ECB to maintain price stability over the next three years rose notably after the ECB had embarked on its hiking cycle and inflation had come down significantly (Slide 18).

    By contrast, households with low financial literacy lost confidence in the ECB’s ability to maintain price stability as interest rates rose. Even when inflation had already come down significantly, the share of households that trusted the ECB’s ability to maintain price stability remained low. This is in line with recent evidence from the United States, where 60% of survey respondents believe that high interest rates cause high inflation.[35]

    Therefore, to maintain and improve their credibility, central banks should help people understand their policy actions and their economic effects through communication and enhance their efforts to improve financial literacy.[36]

    At the ECB, we are taking active steps to do this. We have expanded our communication efforts towards the general public by offering explainers on YouTube (through our “Espresso Economics” channel), by speaking more frequently on TV, by engaging on social media and by producing regular podcasts.

    Earlier this month, on International Women’s Day, the ECB took another step in promoting financial literacy by committing to five joint actions with national central banks, also aimed at closing the gender gap in financial literacy.[37]

    These include raising awareness, establishing a central bank financial literacy network, collaborating with national authorities for consumer protection, developing a harmonised financial literacy dataset across Europe, and focusing communication efforts on key moments in life, such as early education, taking out a major loan or building a pension.

    Of course, such efforts can only complement, not replace, much broader efforts needed from governments and the education system. And it requires a long-term effort, with progress likely to be incremental.

    Financial literacy is also an important cornerstone of the savings and investment union, one of the European Commission’s flagship projects.[38]

    Under its first pillar, it aims to encourage citizens to invest in capital markets, which can contribute to financing part of the massive investments needed for the green and digital transitions.[39] As I said before, financial literacy increases the willingness to make such investments. Therefore, an improvement in financial literacy is seen as essential to achieving the stated objectives. That is why the European Commission will adopt a financial literacy strategy, in line with the ECB’s efforts.

    Conclusion

    Let me conclude.

    Financial literacy is an essential life skill that not only empowers individuals to make informed financial decisions but can also make monetary policy more effective.

    Financially literate individuals respond more strongly to interest rate changes, are more willing to take on risk and are more forward-looking when forming inflation expectations. This tends to strengthen the transmission of central bank policies to the real economy.

    However, significant differences in financial literacy across socio-economic groups highlight the need for continued educational initiatives.

    Fostering financial literacy can support policy effectiveness, enhance public trust in central banks and help people make better financial decisions, ultimately contributing to a stronger economy and individual well-being.

    As Benjamin Franklin, who spent more than 16 years here in London, once said, “an investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Russia: Anti-war activist Maria Ponomarenko’s prison sentence extended in escalating repression

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Reacting to the Shipunovsky District Court ruling to extend the six-year sentence of Maria Ponomarenko, Russian journalist and anti-war activist, for speaking out against Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Russia Director, said:

    “The Russian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Maria Ponomarenko. Sentencing her to six years imprisonment for merely speaking out against the war, condemning the Russian bombing of the drama theatre in Mariupol, and mourning the loss of innocent lives was already unconscionable. Extending that sentence under spurious charges of attacking two guards – clearly a smokescreen to punish her for not changing her views and for standing up for justice – represents a new low in the authorities’ treatment of Maria.”

    Extending that sentence under spurious charges of attacking two guards – clearly a smokescreen to punish her for not changing her views and for standing up for justice – represents a new low in the authorities’ treatment of Maria

    Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Russia Director

    “Since the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine, the Russian authorities have routinely and brazenly used tactics to silence dissent, using spurious charges to imprison critics on politically motivated grounds. The Russian authorities must stop the war against Ukraine, stop the repression of their own people, repeal the ‘war censorship’ legislation and release all those imprisoned under it.”

    Background

    On 27 March, the Shipunovsky District Court granted an additional one year and 10 months to Maria Ponomarenko and ordered her to undergo outpatient psychiatric treatment upon her release. Taking into account the partial concurrence of sentences, the 22-month sentence will not be automatically added to Maria Ponomarenko’s previous term of imprisonment, meaning her combined prison term is less than seven years and 10 months.

    Maria Ponomarenko is a journalist with the online RusNews media and an activist from Barnaul, Altai Krai. On 15 February 2023, she was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment under Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code (“disseminating knowingly false information about the Russian Armed Forces”). The charges stemmed from her social media post about the bombing of the drama theatre in Mariupol, where hundreds of civilians were reportedly sheltering.

    She is serving her term in penal colony IK-6, in Shipunovo, a village 175 km from Barnaul. Throughout her imprisonment, she has faced ill-treatment, including solitary confinement in a punishment cell (SHIZO) – a harsh, cramped and isolating detention unit used to break prisoners’ spirits through severe restrictions and deprivation – where she had been placed multiple times on spurious grounds, and denied adequate health care, including for her deteriorating mental health.

    In November 2023, just months after Maria Ponomarenko’s transfer to IK-6, the authorities initiated another criminal case against her. This time it was under Article 321(2) of the Russian Criminal Code, for allegedly attacking two male penal colony officers, charges she firmly denies. Her additional criminal prosecution continues the trend whereby the Russian authorities impose additional penitentiary sanctions on those who are imprisoned on politically motivated charges, as the case of Aleksei Gorinov, another powerful anti-war voice, demonstrates.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Pakistan: Systematic attacks and relentless crackdown on Baloch activists must end

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Responding to the unlawful detention and harassment of Baloch activists in Quetta and Karachi over the past week in Pakistan, Babu Ram Pant, Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International, said:

    “The Pakistani authorities’ relentless crackdown on Baloch activists over the last week and continued detention of several protesters and Baloch activists, including Mahrang Baloch, Sammi Deen Baloch, and Bebarg Zehri, speaks of a systematic attack on the rights of Baloch community. Amnesty International is concerned by reports from family members that Mahrang and Bebarg – who is a person with disabilities, are not being given access to medical assistance despite their health severely deteriorating during custody.”

    “The weaponization of the legal system, through multiple bogus First Information Reports (FIRs) and preventative detentions under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, despite activists being granted bail, is a gross violation of their right to due process and fair trial. It shows wanton disregard by the law enforcement agencies for the rights of Baloch people under Pakistan’s Constitution and the country’s obligations under international human rights law.”

    The Pakistani authorities’ relentless crackdown on Baloch activists over the last week and continued detention of several protesters and Baloch activists, including Mahrang Baloch, Sammi Deen Baloch, and Bebarg Zehri, speaks of a systematic attack on the rights of Baloch community.

    Babu Ram Pant, Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International

    “Pakistani authorities must immediately release all Baloch activists being detained simply for exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Amnesty reiterates its call for a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the use of unlawful force during the 21 March peaceful protests and ensure those responsible are held to account and the violations are effectively remedied.”

    BACKGROUND

    Baloch activists, Bebarg Zehri and his brother Hammal Zehri, were taken by Counter Terrorism Department officials from their home in Quetta on 20 March 2025 following a press conference by the Baloch Yakjethi Committee (BYC) at the Quetta Press Club over their long-standing demand is for justice for families of victims of enforced disappearances. During a protest by BYC on 21 March calling for their release, three protesters were killed through use of unlawful force by law enforcement as per reports from local activists. Mobile network signals were completely shut down in the lead up to and following the protest.

    Central leader of the Baloch Yakjethi Committee, Mahrang Baloch, along with 17 other protesters, was detained the next day. Mahrang and Bebarg remain under preventative detention under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO), with separate terrorism charges also brought against Mahrang.

    On 24 March, at least six activists, including Sammi Deen Baloch a key leader in BYC, were detained for disregarding a blanket ban on assemblies in the city, following a protest in Karachi in Sindh province.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Serbia: BIRN journalists targeted with Pegasus spyware 

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Two journalists from Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), an award-winning Serbian network of investigative journalists, were targeted with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware last month, a new Amnesty International investigation reveals.   

    Journalists Bogdana (not her real name) and Jelena Veljkovic received suspicious messages on the Viber messaging app from an unknown Serbian number linked to Telekom Srbija, the state-telecommunications operator. 

    Suspecting that their smartphones were being targeted by a spyware attack, they approached Amnesty International’s Security Lab, whose forensic analysis confirmed their suspicions.  

    “We discovered that the text messages contained hyperlinks to a Serbian language domain name which we have determined with high confidence to be associated with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware,   

    Donncha Ó Cearbhaill, the Head of Amnesty International’s Security Lab.

    This is the third time in two years that Amnesty International’s Security Lab has found NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware being used against civil society in Serbia. In November 2023, Amnesty International, Access Now, SHARE Foundation and Citizen Lab documented how two Serbian civil society members where targeted by a zero-click spyware attack, which Amnesty International later attributed as Pegasus attack attempts.   

    On 14 February 2025, Bogdana received a message on Viber with a link to a news article and a message asking: “Do you have info that he is next? I heard something completely different.” 

    At the time she was working on an article about foreign investments and state-linked corruption cases. The previous day she had met sources for her story including individuals close to the government. 

    Bogdana did not click the Pegasus infection link, and a forensic analysis of her device did not indicate that Pegasus spyware had been installed on her phone. Amnesty International’s Security Lab later found that, if clicked, the infection link redirected to a decoy page on a Serbian media website, a technique previously seen in a Pegasus attempt targeting a Serbian protest leader in July 2023. 

    NSO Group stated in a letter to Amnesty International that “all sales of our systems are to vetted government end-users”. Amnesty International believes that the continued use of Serbian language Pegasus infection domain names, and the targeting of Serbian civil society with a consistent methodology are indicative of these attacks being carried out by a Serbian state entity.  

    Bogdana said: “When I found out that the link on my phone was Pegasus, I was absolutely furious. This was the phone registered to my name, and I felt as if I had an intruder in my own home. This is an unnerving feeling…. I was extremely concerned about my sources who could be at risk because they communicated with me.” 

    Jelena Veljkovic received a similar Viber message to the one sent to Bogdana from the same Serbian phone number on 14 February and deleted it without clicking it. Amnesty International concluded that, based on the nature of the attempt, this was also a Pegasus 1-click infection attempt. 1-click attacks require action from the target to enable the infection of their device, typically the opening of a malicious link. 

    “When I found out that I was a target of a Pegasus attack, I was not particularly scared but found it quite unsettling. This was my private telephone, which I also use for work, and a virus like Pegasus, which is not selective at all and can access everything on one’s phone, can have repercussions on my family too. 

    “This was a targeted attack on investigative journalists – a form of pressure and a warning. Whether it was an attack on me personally or on BIRN, as a media outlet, I am not sure,  

    Jelena. 

    BIRN and its staff face frequent threats, harassment and Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation (SLAPPs), including by senior government officials, for their investigative journalism. Currently it is fighting four SLAPP suits, mostly filed by public officials, including the current mayor of Belgrade, or others with known links to the authorities. 

    Amnesty International shared its findings with NSO Group who responded saying: “We cannot comment on specific existing or past customers. Additionally, as a matter of policy, we are unable to disclose any information regarding our technical specifications, functionality or operational features of our products.” 

    Repeated attempts to engage the Serbian Security Information Agency (BIA, Bezbednosno-informativna Agencija) were unanswered. 

    These findings provide further evidence that Serbian authorities are abusing highly invasive spyware products and other digital surveillance technologies to target journalists, activists, and other members of civil society amid widespread student protests that have gripped the country since November 2024.  

    Serbian authorities must stop using highly invasive spyware and provide effective remedy to victims of unlawful targeted surveillance and hold those responsible for the violations to account. NSO Group must stop selling Pegasus and the use of its products in Serbia. 

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Russia: Anti-war activist Maria Ponomarenko’s prison sentence extended ‘under spurious charges’

    Source: Amnesty International –

    In 2023, Maria was sentenced to six years in prison for speaking out against the war in Ukraine

    An additional one year and 10 months has been added to Maria’s prison sentence

    Maria has faced ill-treatment including solitary confinement

    Extending the sentence is ‘clearly a smokescreen to punish her for not changing her views and for standing up for justice’ – Natalia Zviagina

    Reacting to the Shipunovsky District Court ruling to extend Russian journalist and anti-war activist Maria Ponomarenko’s six-year sentence, for speaking out against Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Russia Director, said:

    “The Russian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Maria Ponomarenko.

    “Sentencing Maria to six years imprisonment for merely speaking out against the war, condemning the Russian bombing of the theatre in Mariupol and mourning the loss of innocent lives was already unconscionable. Extending that sentence under spurious charges of attacking two guards – clearly a smokescreen to punish her for not changing her views and for standing up for justice – represents a new low in the authorities’ treatment of Maria.

    “Since the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine, the Russian authorities have routinely and brazenly used tactics to silence dissent, using false charges to imprison critics on politically motivated grounds. The Russian authorities must stop the war against Ukraine, stop the repression of their own people, repeal the ‘war censorship’ legislation and release all those imprisoned under it.”

    Jailed for highlighting Mariupol killings

    On 27 March, the Shipunovsky District Court added a further one year and 10 months to Maria Ponomarenko’s sentence bringing up to nearly eight years and ordered her to undergo outpatient psychiatric treatment upon her release.

    Maria Ponomarenko is a journalist with the online RusNews media and an activist from Barnaul, Altai Krai. On 15 February 2023, she was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment under Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code (“disseminating knowingly false information about the Russian Armed Forces”). The charges stemmed from her social media post about the bombing of the theatre in Mariupol, where hundreds of civilians were reportedly sheltering.

    She is serving her term in penal colony IK-6, in Shipunovo, a village 175 km from Barnaul. Throughout her imprisonment, she has faced ill-treatment, including solitary confinement in a punishment cell, a harsh, cramped and isolating detention unit used to break prisoners’ spirits through severe restrictions and deprivation – where she had been sent multiple times on false grounds, and denied adequate health care, including for her deteriorating mental health.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Happy Birthday Radio Davos! What we learned from 5 years of Forum podcasts

    Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

    Radio Davos is 5 years old – and a lot has happened in that time – the end of COVID, the dawn of gen-AI, geopolitical upheaval. We look back on highlights from the Forum’s weekly podcast that looks for solutions to the world’s biggest challenges.

    This episode includes clips from the very first episode, and interviews with actor Matt Damon on getting water to the poorest; musician Nile Rodgers on generative AI; and an astronaut speaking to us from space. Episodes featured:

    World Water Day with Matt Damon and Gary White: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/world-water-day-with-matt-damon-and-gary-white/

    Space – how advances up there can help life down here: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/space-how-advances-up-there-can-help-life-down-here/

    Don’t Look Up: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/dont-look-up/

    In the age of the ‘manosphere’, what’s the future for feminism? With Jude Kelly of the WOW Festival: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/jude-kelly-wow-foundation/

    The promises and perils of AI – Stuart Russell on Radio Davos: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/ai-stuart-russell/

    AI vs Art: Will AI rip the soul out of music, movies and art, or help express our humanity?: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/ai-vs-art-nile-rodgers-hollywood/

    Check out all our podcasts on wef.ch/podcasts:  YouTube: – https://www.youtube.com/@wef/podcasts Radio Davos – subscribe: https://pod.link/1504682164 Meet the Leader – subscribe: https://pod.link/1534915560 Agenda Dialogues – subscribe: https://pod.link/1574956552 Join the World Economic Forum Podcast Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wefpodcastclub
       

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILn_pvU5APM

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Denis Manturov presented the Government prizes in the field of quality

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    Denis Manturov presented the Government awards in the field of quality.

    First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov awarded the winners of the 2024 government quality award. The ceremony was also attended by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Gennady Abramenkov, head of Roskachestvo Maxim Protasov, head of Rosstandart Anton Shalaev, as well as leading experts of the award and representatives of Roskachestvo.

    “We need to expand the perimeter of companies that are ready to set ambitious goals for themselves. This is the approach that is needed for the successful implementation of national projects, for strengthening our resource, scientific, technological and production potential, as well as for solving the problems of developing human capital,” Denis Manturov noted.

    The winners of the 2024 Government Quality Award were 12 organizations from the following constituent entities of the Russian Federation:

    · Republic of Bashkortostan, Ufa;

    · Sverdlovsk region, Yekaterinburg;

    · Chelyabinsk region, Trekhgorny city;

    · Novosibirsk region, Novosibirsk city;

    · Nizhny Novgorod region, Nizhny Novgorod city;

    · Kemerovo region – Kuzbass, Kemerovo city;

    · Chelyabinsk region, Miass;

    · Leningrad region, Kingisepp district, industrial zone “Phosphorit”;

    · Tula region, Tula urban district, Inshinsky settlement;

    · Moscow;

    · Saint Petersburg.

    Applications for the 2024 competition were submitted by enterprises from 70 regions. The most active participating regions include Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Tula and Sverdlovsk regions. The winners represent the following industries:

    · healthcare;

    · medical industry;

    · education;

    · automotive industry;

    · oil refining industry;

    · mining and coal industry;

    · chemical industry;

    · metallurgy.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Chernyshenko: State funding distributed to leading engineering schools of the second wave

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    Universities participating in the second wave of the Advanced Engineering Schools project reported on the work done over the year. All 20 schools created at the end of 2023 remained in the project. Based on the results of their defenses, they will receive funding from the federal budget in the amount of more than 4 billion rubles.

    “Advanced engineering schools, in close cooperation with partner companies, make an important contribution to the training of highly qualified engineering personnel and the creation of developments to achieve technological leadership – the national goal set by President Vladimir Putin. In our country, the development of advanced engineering schools is carried out within the framework of the national project “Youth and Children”. In total, there are currently 50 advanced engineering schools in 23 regions. By 2030, on the instructions of the head of state, their number should be increased to 100. Based on the results of the defenses, 20 Russian universities, on the basis of which advanced engineering schools were opened, will receive more than 4 billion rubles in 2025,” said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

    The head of the Ministry of Education and Science, Valery Falkov, noted that the project “Advanced Engineering Schools” found a great response from representatives of the real sector of the economy.

    “If at the start of the implementation of our flagship project, the schools had about 80 industrial partners, now their number has increased by 3.5 times – now there are more than 280. Among the partners of advanced schools in different regions of the country are such large companies as, for example, Rosatom, Roscosmos, Rostec, Sibur Holding, Gazprom Neft. It is important that business does not just finance the development programs of advanced engineering schools, it participates in the development of educational programs, organizes internships for students, sends specialists as mentors to universities and facilitates the employment of students,” the minister emphasized.

    In 2024, leading engineering schools managed to attract 1.2 rubles from extra-budgetary sources for every budget ruble. This year, schools plan to raise the bar.

    The reports on the implementation of the development programs of the PIS are assessed by the Council for the Review of Issues and Coordination of Activities of Advanced Engineering Schools according to a number of criteria, including the ambitiousness of the goals and the results of their implementation (including compliance with the Strategy for Scientific and Technological Development of Russia), work with high-tech companies and the amount of funds that enterprises have invested in the school.

    Participants of the Advanced Engineering Schools project of the second selection wave are divided into three groups. Thus, schools from the first group have been allocated 311.8 million rubles for 2025. Participants of the second group – 210.1 million rubles. The third group – 88.1 million rubles.

    The first group consists of:

    — National Research University “Moscow Institute of Electronic Technology”,

    — Almetyevsk State Technological University “Higher School of Oil”,

    — Kazan National Research Technical University named after A.N. Tupolev – KAI,

    — MIREA – Russian Technological University,

    — Rybinsk State Aviation Technical University named after P.A.Soloviev.

    Composition of the second group:

    — South Ural State University (National Research University),

    — Togliatti State University,

    — Saint Petersburg State University,

    — Grozny State Oil Technical University named after Academician M.D. Millionshchikov,

    — Tula State University,

    — Russian University of Transport,

    — Saint Petersburg State Electrotechnical University “LETI” named after V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin),

    — Ulyanovsk State University,

    — Moscow State University named after. M.V. Lomonosov,

    — Emperor Alexander I St. Petersburg State University of Railway Engineering.

    Composition of the third group:

    — Cherepovets State University,

    — Sakhalin State University,

    — Voronezh State University,

    — Omsk State Technical University,

    — Moscow State Technological University “Stankin”.

    The first wave (30 PISs created in 2022) will report on their activities in April and continue to operate using funds from industrial partners.

    The Advanced Engineering Schools project was developed by the Ministry of Education and Science as one of 42 strategic initiatives approved by the Government and was part of the state program “Scientific and Technological Development of the Russian Federation”. As part of the implementation of the Decree of the President of Russia dated May 7, 2024 No. 309 “On the national development goals of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2030 and for the future up to 2036”, since 2025 the continuity of the activities of the PISH project was ensured by including them in the federal project “Universities for the Generation of Leaders” of the national project “Youth and Children”.

    The goal of the project is to train highly qualified engineering personnel capable of ensuring the country’s achievement of technological sovereignty.

    In 2024, 6,000 people studied in 50 advanced engineering schools, more than 1,500 students completed practical training and internships, more than 13,500 engineers and more than 14,000 teachers improved their qualifications. More than 1,200 new educational programs for advanced training of engineering personnel were developed, more than 400 special educational spaces equipped with modern equipment were created. 81 thousand schoolchildren took part in the activities of the PISH.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Why Muslims often don’t celebrate Eid on the same day – even within one country

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zuleyha Keskin, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies, Charles Sturt University

    Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

    Eid is a special time for Muslims. There are two major Eid celebrations each year: Eid al-Fitr is celebrated at the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting, and Eid al-Adha is connected to the dates of Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

    Eid, which means “festival” or “feast” in Arabic, is a celebratory occasion for more than one billion Muslims worldwide. However, in some countries, especially multicultural ones like Australia, Muslims don’t always celebrate Eid on the same day. Here’s why.

    Worshippers pray outside the Taj Mahal on Eid al-Fitr. Muslim emperor Shah Jahan commissioned the mausoleum in 1631 to hold his wife’s tomb.
    Wikimedia, CC BY-SA

    Eid comes 10-12 days earlier each year

    Beyond different groups celebrating on different days, the timing of Eid celebrations also shift as a whole each year. That’s because Islam follows the lunar calendar, based on the moon’s cycles – unlike the Gregorian calendar, which follows the sun.

    As such, dates on the Islamic calendar come 10–12 days earlier each year. This means the dates of both Eids also move about 11 days forward each year.

    In terms of the Islamic calendar:

    • Eid al-Fitr happens on the 1st of the month of Shawwal (the 10th month), which comes right after the month of Ramadan.
    • Eid al-Adha happens on the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah (the 12th month), during Hajj.

    What about local discrepancies?

    Since Islam follows the lunar calendar, determining the start of each Islamic month, and the dates of both Eids, requires sighting the new crescent moon, which comes directly after the new moon (the phase in which the moon is invisible).

    But there are different methods for doing this, and different scholarly interpretations regarding what method is best. These variations are the reason one group in a community might celebrate on a Sunday, while others may celebrate on a Monday.

    The Islamic month of Ramadan lasts 29 to 30 days, from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next. Moon sighting approaches can vary between countries, communities and even households.
    Shutterstock

    Some Muslims believe each country should rely on its own local moon sighting.

    This means if the new crescent moon is visible in neighbouring countries, but not in Australia (such as if it’s hidden behind clouds), then Australia should celebrate a day after its neighbours. The organisation Moonsighting Australia follows this method, only declaring Eid when the moon is seen locally.

    However, others argue if the moon has been sighted anywhere in the world, it should be accepted by all Muslims as the start of the new Islamic month. Some Muslims in Australia opt for this “global moon sighting” approach, following Saudi Arabia’s Eid announcement even when the moon is not sighted locally.

    As far back as the early centuries AD, people in the Arab world used astrolabes to survey the skies. This instrument belonged to Yemeni sultan, mathematician and astronomer Al-Ashraf Umar II (circa 1242-1296).
    Metropolitan Museum of Art

    Apart from the question of where the crescent moon is sighted, there are also different views over how it should be sighted. Many scholars believe in physically sighting it with the eyes, as was practised during the time of Prophet Muhammad.

    But some Muslim countries, such as in Turkey and parts of Europe, use astronomical calculations to predict the new moon’s birth. This allows them to pre-set the date of Eid months, or even years, in advance.

    Australia versus majority-Muslim countries

    In Muslim-majority countries, deciding the day of Eid happens at a government level.

    For example, in Saudi Arabia, the Supreme Court officially declares the date based on moon sighting reports. This decision sets the timing for Eid prayers and public holidays for the entire nation, allowing for unified celebrations across the country.

    But Muslims in Australia come from diverse cultural backgrounds, and hold varying views regarding how the moon should be sighted. Some may follow the Eid announcement from their country of origin. Others may rely on local announcements, or on dates set by peak bodies such as the Australian National Imams Council.

    One 2023 report published by the ISRA Academy surveyed more than 5,500 Muslims in Australia to understand how they determined the date of Eid.

    The findings reveal notable differences across communities. Respondents from the Arab community were almost evenly split between following their local mosque (28.5%) and the Australian National Imams Council (28.0%), with a slightly lower percentage (23.9%) following Moonsighting Australia. Only 0.6% followed their country of origin.

    Among the Turkish community, 16.1% followed their country of origin, while the largest proportion (28.5%) relied on a local mosque or Islamic organisation. But given Turkish mosques tend to follow Turkey’s state religious institution, Diyanet, most Australian Turks (44.6%) ultimately align with Turkey’s decision on Eid.

    Of the others, 18.8% followed Moonsighting Australia and 14.6% following the national imams’ council.

    In the African Muslim community, 48.4% followed Moonsighting Australia, while 32.8% relied on a local mosque, and 11.7% on the imams’ council.

    Eid celebrations will keep evolving

    While celebrating Eid on different days may seem divisive and fragmenting, there are positive aspects to this.

    For one thing, it means Australian Muslims actively seek out information from various religious authorities. This reflects a high level of public engagement in religious decisions – rather than following blindly.

    The strong influence of organisations such as the Australian National Imams Council and Moonsighting Australia also suggests local religious institutions are a trusted source for guidance.

    Moreover, the high percentage of Muslims now following Moonsighting Australia indicates a trend towards a localised determination of Eid. And this trend will likely become stronger with the emergence of third- and fourth- generation Australian Muslims who are less connected with their ancestral homelands.

    Only time will tell whether most Australian Muslims will eventually celebrate Eid on the same day. In the meantime, families and communities continue to navigate these differences with understanding and respect.

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

    – ref. Why Muslims often don’t celebrate Eid on the same day – even within one country – https://theconversation.com/why-muslims-often-dont-celebrate-eid-on-the-same-day-even-within-one-country-248227

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: 25 years into a new century and housing is less affordable than ever

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Coates, Program Director, Housing and Economic Security, Grattan Institute

    Of all the problems facing Australia today, few have worsened so rapidly in the past 25 years as housing affordability.

    Housing has become more and more expensive – to rent or buy – and home ownership continues to fall among poorer Australians of all ages.

    Housing makes up most of Australia’s wealth, so more expensive homes concentrated in fewer hands means growing wealth inequality, with a marked generational divide.

    To unwind inequality, we need to make housing cheaper, and that means building much more of it.

    Housing has become more expensive

    The price of the typical Australian home has grown much faster than incomes since the turn of the century: from about four times median incomes in the early 2000s, to more than eight times today, and nearly 10 times in Sydney.

    Housing has also become more expensive to rent, especially since the pandemic.

    Rental vacancy rates are at record lows and asking rents (that is for newly advertised properties) have risen fast – by roughly 20% in Sydney and Melbourne in the past four years, and by much more in Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.

    Home ownership is falling fast among the young

    Rising house prices are pushing home ownership out of reach for many younger Australians.

    In the early 1990s it took about six years to save a 20% deposit for a typical dwelling for an average household. It now takes more than 12 years.

    Unsurprisingly, home ownership rates are falling fastest for younger people. Whereas 57% of 30–34 year-olds owned their home in 2001, just 50% did so by 2021. And just 36% of 25–29 year olds own their home today, down from 43% in 2001.

    And home ownership is falling fastest among the poorest 40% of each age group.

    Fewer homeowners means more inequality

    People on low incomes, who are increasingly renters, are spending more of their incomes on housing.

    The real incomes of the lowest fifth of households increased by about 26% between 2003–04 and 2019–20. But more than half of this was chewed up by skyrocketing housing costs, with real incomes after housing costs increasing by only 12%.

    In contrast, the real incomes for the highest fifth of households increased by 47%, and their after-housing real incomes by almost as much: 43%.

    Wealth inequality in Australia is still around the OECD average but has been climbing for two decades, largely due to rising house prices.

    In 2019–20, one-quarter of homeowning households reported net wealth exceeding $1 million. By contrast, median net wealth for non-homeowning households was $60,000.

    Since 2003–04, the wealth of high-income households has grown by more than 50%, much of that due to increasing property values. By contrast, the wealth of low-income households – mostly non-homeowners – has grown by less than 10%.

    The growing divide between the housing “haves” and “have nots” is largely generational. Older Australians who bought their homes before prices really took off in the early 2000s have seen their share of the country’s wealth steadily climb.

    This inequality will get baked in as wealth is passed onto the next generation.

    Some Australians will be lucky enough to inherit one or more homes. Others – typically those on lower incomes – will receive none.

    To unwind inequality, we need to make housing less expensive

    We haven’t built enough

    Australians’ demand for housing since the turn of the decade is a story of historically low interest rates, increased access to finance, tax and welfare settings that favour investments in housing, and a booming population.

    But one widely-blamed villain – the introduction of the 50% capital gains tax discount in 1999, together with negative gearing – is likely to have played only a small part in rising house prices.

    That’s because the value of these tax advantages – about $10.9 billion a year – is tiny compared to Australia’s $11 trillion housing market.

    Instead, the biggest problem is that housing construction in recent years hasn’t kept up with increasing demand.

    Strong migration over the past two decades has seen Australia’s population rise much faster than most other wealthy countries in recent decades, boosting the number of homes we need. Rising incomes, and demographic trends such as rising rates of divorce and an ageing Australia, have further increased housing demand.

    Yet Australia has one of the lowest levels of housing per person of any OECD country, and is one of only four OECD countries where the amount of housing per person went backwards over the past two decades.

    This is largely a failure of housing policy. Australia’s land-use planning rules – the rules that dictate what can get built where – are highly restrictive and complex. Current rules and community opposition make it very difficult to build new homes, particularly in the places where people most want to live and work.

    More homes would mean less inequality

    Fixing this will allow mores home to get built, moderate house price growth, and reduce barriers to home ownership. In turn, this will reduce the inequalities created by our broken housing system.

    Easing planning restrictions is hard for governments, because many residents don’t want more homes near theirs.

    The good news is that the penny has started to drop and state governments – particularly in Victoria and New South Wales – are making meaningful progress towards allowing more homes in activity centres and on existing transport links.

    But now the real test begins: how will governments respond to the backlash from people who would prefer their communities to stay the same?

    How well governments hold the line against the so-called NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard) will tell us a lot about what we can expect to happen to inequality in Australia in the future.

    Grattan Institute began with contributions to its endowment of $15 million from each of the federal and Victorian governments, $4 million from BHP Billiton, and $1 million from NAB. In order to safeguard its independence, Grattan Institute’s board controls this endowment. The funds are invested and contribute to funding Grattan Institute’s activities. Grattan Institute also receives funding from corporates, foundations, and individuals to support its general activities, as disclosed on its website.

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

    – ref. 25 years into a new century and housing is less affordable than ever – https://theconversation.com/25-years-into-a-new-century-and-housing-is-less-affordable-than-ever-250067

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The Coalition wants to increase Medicare psychology rebates from 10 to 20 sessions. Here’s what happened last time

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanne Enticott, Associate Professor, Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, Monash University

    Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock

    The most disadvantaged Australians have long experienced higher rates of mental illness than the broader population. But they also access fewer mental health services.

    Increasing everyone’s access to mental health care led to the creation of the Better Access initiative, which subsidised psychology sessions under Medicare. Officially called Better Access to Psychiatrists, Psychologists and General Practitioners through the Medicare Benefits Schedule, the Howard government launched the initiative in November 2006.

    During COVID, the former Morrison Coalition government temporarily expanded the yearly cap on the number of psychology sessions, from ten to 20. The Labor Albanese government reverted to ten sessions at the end of 2022.

    Now the Coalition says if elected at this year’s polls, it will take the number of sessions back to 20.

    But did capping sessions at 20 increase access to mental health care, especially for disadvantaged Australians? Or are there more effective ways to achieve this?

    How does it work?

    Australians can access up to ten rebated psychology sessions annually. Patients need to have a mental health treatment or management plan from their GP or psychiatrist.


    The Australian Psychological Society recommends consultation fees of around $311 for a standard 46- to 60-minute consultation.

    The typical Medicare rebate is $141.85 per session with a clinical psychologist and $96.65 with other registered psychologists. (All psychologists are university qualified mental health professionals, but clinical psychologists have more qualifications.)

    Psychologists can choose their own fees. They can bulk bill (no out of pocket cost for patients) or charge consultation fees, leaving some patients hundreds of dollars out of pocket for each session.

    How did access change during COVID?

    To assess the changes during COVID, we need to consider three components: number of people accessing services, service use rates (number of sessions per population) and the average number of sessions per patient.

    1. Number of people accessing services

    In 2020-21, all states saw a 5% jump in the number of people accessing Medicare mental health services, coinciding with the first year of the COVID pandemic.

    In the three years prior to this, there was an average yearly increase of about 3% more people.

    However, a 2022 independent evaluation of the Better Access initiative showed that between 2018 and 2021, new users declined from 56% to 50%, with the steepest drop between 2020 and 2021.

    This reduction in new users coincided with the temporary increased cap to 20 sessions.

    Australians from disadvantaged backgrounds continued to have poorer access to psychologists than those from wealthier population groups, despite an increase in the number of sessions.

    2. Service use rates (number of sessions per population)

    Service use rates tell us how much a particular service is being used each year. To compare service use rates between different years, and because the Australian population is growing yearly, we report service use rates per 1,000 people in the population.

    In 2020-21, service use rates for clinical psychologists and other psychologists increased by 18%. This was a large increase compared to the typical 5% increases in previous years. This persisted in the next two years.

    When the cap on number of sessions was reduced to ten sessions, there was a small drop in service use rates, but it didn’t return to the pre-pandemic levels.

    Most clients use ten or fewer sessions a year.
    Ben Bryant/Shutterstock

    3. Average number of sessions people used

    The increase in services occurring in the first two years of the COVID pandemic (and around the time as the cap temporarily increased from ten to 20 sessions), resulted in a small increase in the average number of sessions per patient.

    In the ten years between 2013-14 and 2022-23, average number of sessions with a clinical psychologist increased from five to six sessions whereas the average number of sessions with other psychologists increased from four to five sessions.

    Importantly, more than 80% of people received fewer than ten sessions.

    What does this tell us?

    Overall, most people used ten or fewer sessions, even when up to 20 sessions were available.

    Some extra services were provided to existing clients during COVID and this may have actually prevented new people from receiving services.

    So the evidence suggests simply increasing the number of rebated psychology sessions from ten to 20 for everybody isn’t the most effective approach.

    What should Labor and the Coalition do instead?

    We don’t limit the number of chemotherapy sessions for cancer patients, so why do we cap evidence-based psychological treatments for mental illness?

    Instead of capping access to Medicare rebates for mental health care, access should be based on a person’s needs and treatment outcomes. The number of sessions should be determined collaboratively between the person and the provider, ensuring people receive the appropriate level of evidence-based care for their condition.

    Measure outcomes

    Currently in Australia for Medicare-funded mental health services, we only measure service activity. Patient outcomes are not collected, which hinders the development of value-based mental health care.

    Without collecting outcomes, current initiatives to address inequities are only partially informed and may not work as intended.

    We urgently need to establish a set of outcomes (patient-reported outcome measures and experience measures) through consensus with the community, providers, professional organisations and governments.

    Address affordability

    We should also address inequities, such as gap fees that act as barriers to accessing services.

    Greater rebates and bulk billing incentives for vulnerable people can assist those with less money.

    Offer other evidence-based support

    Evidence also suggests people with mild to moderate mental health problems can benefit from psychological and social supports provided by people who are non-health-care professionals, such as the Friendship Bench and digital mental health programs.

    We need to develop and invest in a range of services that cater to differing levels of need. This would ensure more specialised services are available for those with higher complexity or severity.

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

    – ref. The Coalition wants to increase Medicare psychology rebates from 10 to 20 sessions. Here’s what happened last time – https://theconversation.com/the-coalition-wants-to-increase-medicare-psychology-rebates-from-10-to-20-sessions-heres-what-happened-last-time-249606

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Video: South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo & other topics – Daily Press Briefing | United Nations

    Source: United Nations (Video News)

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

    Highlights:
    – Secretary-General’s Town Hall
    – South Sudan
    – Sudan
    – Security Council
    – Democratic Republic of the Congo
    – Occupied Palestinian Territory
    – Haiti
    – Financial Contribution

    SECRETARY-GENERAL’S TOWN HALL
    This morning, the Secretary-General held a global town hall meeting with UN staff.
    He thanked staff members for their service and encouraged them to continue and persevere with their work despite various political and budget pressures.
    He underscored that it’s important to stay fixed on the fundamentals and emphasized that the United Nations has never been more needed, our values have never been more relevant, and the demands have never been greater.
    He also updated staff members on the financial situation of the Organization and on cash conservation measures and added that he would continue to appeal to donors to reconsider and for Member States to pay up their budget dues.
    The Secretary-General reiterated his support to doing everything possible to support people in need around the world, to exercise our mandate, and to honour staff.

    SOUTH SUDAN
    The Secretary-General is following with deep concern the alarming situation in South Sudan.
    The peacekeeping mission on the ground has called on all Parties in the country to exercise restraint and uphold the Revitalized Peace Agreement. The peacekeeping mission is also joining other regional and international peace partners in expressing alarm at the detention under house arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar.
    The UN warns that this action takes the country yet one step closer to the edge of a collapse into civil war and the dismantling of the peace agreement.
    The peacekeeping mission is, again, urging the President and First Vice President to resolve grievances, end the military confrontation, uphold the Revitalized Peace Agreement and take the country forward together towards the peaceful and democratic future their people deserve.
    It should be clear to all that the people of South Sudan can ill afford to endure the consequences of the civil war.
    As a stark reminder, 9.3 million people are already in need of some form of humanitarian assistance, with conflict, climate and the economic crisis keeping too many people on the very edge of survival.
    It’s vital that the leaders of the country put the interest of the people first and foremost.

    SUDAN
    Turning to Sudan, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is following the situation in Khartoum closely, amidst the latest shifts of control in the city. They continue to receive alarming reports of reprisals by armed groups against civilians.
    The UN reiterates that civilians are not a target and that all parties must adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Serious violations must be investigated, with perpetrators held to account.
    Meanwhile, the UN and its humanitarian partners are seizing every opportunity to reach people in need with vital support.
    The World Food Programme says that today 1,200 metric tonnes of food and nutrition assistance were distributed to about 100,000 people in Bahri and Omdurman localities of Khartoum state. These are the first WFP aid trucks to get through to these specific areas within Khartoum since the latest round of hostilities started.
    And the International Organization Migration reports that nearly 400,000 internally displaced people have recently returned to their towns and villages of origin across Al Jazirah, Sennar, and Khartoum states. However, many are returning to areas with little – to no access to – basic services, including shelter, food, and healthcare. Unfortunately, displacement from North Darfur and White Nile states has increased due to heightened insecurity.

    Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=27%20March%202025

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqsfYzw4frE

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Luján, Min Introduce Legislation to Hold Special Government Employees Accountable, Prevent Them From Using Position for Financial Gain

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico)

    Special Government Employees – Like Elon Musk – Have Personal Business Interests Intertwined with Official Government Work

    Bill Would Prevent Special Government Employees From Acting in Their Own Financial Interest

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Congressman Dave Min (D-CA) introduced the Special Government Employees Transparency Act of 2025, legislation that would create transparency and accountability for special government employees (SGE). Senator Luján and Congressman Min’s bill would ensure that certain SGEs are subject to public financial disclosures and would ensure they abide by the same ethics rules as federal employees after 130 days. 

    “Accountability is critical in government, that is why special government employees should be held to ethical standards that prevent them from using their position for their own financial gain,” said Senator Luján. “This legislation would boost transparency and accountability necessary to ensure special government employees don’t abuse their power. I’m proud to partner with Congressman Min on this important legislation to make certain that special government employees, like Elon Musk, are held to the highest ethical standards and don’t use their position to line their pockets.”

    “Elon Musk and DOGE are operating without any accountability or oversight, and that is unacceptable. This legislation would increase transparency, holding Musk and his cronies responsible to the American people,” said Rep. Min. “I am grateful to work with Senator Lujan on this necessary legislation. No one is above the law, and no one should be using the federal government for their personal gain.”

    An SGE is an officer or employee in the executive branch of the federal government who is appointed to perform limited, services to the government, with or without compensation, for a period not to exceed 130 days during any period of 365 consecutive days. The Special Government Employees Transparency Act of 2025 would provide additional transparency and accountability regarding SGEs:

    1. 130-day limit: The bill would automatically convert any individual serving as an SGE to regular employee status after the individual has served 130 days in any 365-day period. 
    2. Public disclosures: The bill would require public release of the financial disclosure reports of all but the lowest-level SGEs.
    3. Public database: The bill would require the executive branch to maintain a public database of individuals serving with potentially problematic SGE designations.

    The legislation is cosponsored by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

    The legislation is supported by the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), State Democracy Defenders Action, Public Citizen, and the Campaign Legal Center.

    Full bill text is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –