NewzIntel.com

Category: Politics

  • MIL-OSI USA: Justice Department Files Statement of Interest in Challenge to the Constitutionality of Solitary Confinement of Children in Juvenile Justice Settings

    Source: US State of California

    The Justice Department filed a statement of interest yesterday in a lawsuit brought in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois alleging that conditions in a juvenile detention facility violate the Constitution. The statement explains that the 14th Amendment protects children from illegitimate or excessive use of isolation in juvenile justice and adult correctional settings. It further explains how placing children in isolation seriously harms them, and how a lack of access to essential services while in isolation exacerbates that harm.

    “The federal government recognizes that children are developmentally and constitutionally different than adults and that excessive isolation causes children unique and significant harm,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Harmful conditions of confinement, including isolation, undermine the very purpose of the juvenile justice system, which is to provide children with rehabilitative treatment so they may return to their communities as productive, law-abiding citizens. State and local institutions must ensure that children in institutions are safe from harmful conditions that violate their constitutional rights and undermine that purpose. We are committed to enforcing this obligation.”

    Plaintiffs in J.B.H. v. Knox County allege that the Mary Davis Detention Home (MDH) in Knox County, Illinois, routinely subjects children, including children with mental health conditions and histories of trauma, to prolonged periods of harmful isolation in violation of the Constitution. While in isolation, MDH allegedly deprives children of basic needs, such as education, mental health services, sleep and human contact, exacerbating the harm that children suffer.

    Over the past year, the Justice Department secured a settlement agreement with Connecticut to address unconstitutional conditions for children in the Manson Youth Institution, issued a findings report regarding conditions at five post-adjudication facilities for children in Texas and opened an investigation of conditions at nine juvenile justice facilities in Kentucky. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division’s work protecting children’s rights in the juvenile justice system is available at www.justice.gov/crt/rights-juveniles.

    For more information on the Civil Rights Division and the Special Litigation Section, please visit www.justice.gov/crt/special-litigation-section. Complaints about unlawful confinement practices may be reported to the Civil Rights Division through its internet reporting portal at civilrights.justice.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Georgia Woman Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for $30M COVID-19 Unemployment Fraud Scheme and Firearms Charge

    Source: US State of California

    A Georgia woman was sentenced yesterday for her role in a scheme to defraud the Georgia Department of Labor (GaDOL) out of tens of millions of dollars in benefits meant to assist unemployed individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Tyshion Nautese Hicks, 32, of Vienna, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in an amount to be determined at a later date. Hicks’ total sentence includes a penalty of three consecutive years in prison, imposed yesterday in relation to a separate charge of illegal possession of a machine gun prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.

    According to court documents and evidence presented in court, from March 2020 through November 2022, Hicks and her co-conspirators caused more than 5,000 fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) claims to be filed with the GaDOL, resulting in at least $30 million in stolen benefits.

    “In one of the largest COVID fraud schemes ever prosecuted, the defendant and her coconspirators filed more than 5,000 fraudulent COVID unemployment insurance claims using stolen identities and unlawfully obtained more than $30 million in benefits,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “In doing so, the defendant and her co-conspirators exploited a program designed to alleviate pandemic-related economic hardship to enrich themselves at the expense of federal taxpayers. Yesterday’s sentence underscores the department’s commitment to investigating and prosecuting those who steal from the public fisc.”

    To execute the scheme, Hicks and others created fictitious employers and fabricated lists of purported employees using personally identifiable information (PII) from thousands of identity theft victims and filed fraudulent unemployment insurance claims on the GaDOL website. The co-conspirators obtained PII for use in the scheme from a variety of sources, including by paying an employee of an Atlanta-area health care and hospital network to unlawfully obtain patients’ PII from the hospital’s databases, and by purchasing PII from other sources over the internet. Using victims’ PII, Hicks and her co-conspirators caused the stolen UI funds to be disbursed via prepaid debit cards mailed to addresses of their choice, many of which were in and around Cordele and Vienna. Hicks additionally paid a local U.S. Postal Service (USPS) carrier to unlawfully divert mail containing debit cards loaded with over $512,000 in fraud proceeds to her and coached another co-conspirator on how to create her own fictitious employer account via Facebook Messenger.

    In February, Hicks pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Seven of Hicks’ co-conspirators have previously pleaded guilty or been sentenced in the investigation.

    “Tyshion Nautese Hicks and her co-conspirators used the stolen PII of unwitting victims to file numerous fraudulent claims for UI benefits with the Georgia Department of Labor,” said Special Agent in Charge Mathew Broadhurst of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG) Southeast Regional Office. “We will continue to work with our federal and state law enforcement partners to safeguard UI benefit programs for those who need them.”

    “The sentence received by the defendant is the outcome of IRS Criminal Investigation’s commitment to investigating and prosecuting those who attempt to defraud various agencies by filing fraudulent claims using another person’s identifying information,” said Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Atlanta Field Office.

    “Postal Inspectors will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold individuals accountable for engaging in fraudulent schemes to manipulate the COVID-19 program for their own financial gain,” said Inspector in Charge Tommy D. Coke of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Atlanta Division. “The sentencing should serve as a deterrence and shows that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.”

    “Yesterday’s sentencing underlines our commitment to holding those who exploit federal relief programs for personal gain accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Ulrich of the USPS Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG). “As proven in this case, our criminal investigators along with our law enforcement partners will work together and diligently pursue anyone who attempts to exploit programs created to help legitimate people and businesses affected by the global pandemic.”

    “Hicks chose to commit fraud, further depleting limited funds designated to help individuals struggling to survive during the pandemic,” said Special Agent in Charge Frederick D. Houston of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Atlanta Field Office. “She and her co-conspirators also stole the personally identifiable information, caring only about self-enrichment, not the lives adversely affected. This case signifies our commitment to protect citizens and businesses from fraud and identity theft. We will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to prosecute those who abuse these programs.”

    “Homeland Security Investigations will aggressively pursue those who exploit unemployment benefits meant for those in need, ensuring that justice is served, and resources are preserved for legitimate claimants,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Steven N. Schrank of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Atlanta Office.

    “Yesterday’s sentencing sends a clear message that those committing fraud will be held accountable,” said Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari of the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS-OIG). “DHS-OIG and our law enforcement partners will continue to prioritize protecting our country from these kinds of schemes.”

    DOL-OIG, IRS-CI, USPS-OIG, USPIS, USSS, HSI, and DHS-OIG investigated the case.

    Trial Attorneys Lyndie Freeman, Siji Moore, Matthew Kahn, and Andrew Jaco of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the fraud case.

    On May 17, 2021, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Justice Department in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

    Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Justice Department to Monitor Compliance with Federal Voting Rights Laws in Prince George’s County, Maryland

    Source: US State of California

    The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in Prince George’s County, Maryland, during the early voting period and on Election Day.  

    The Justice Department enforces the federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all citizens to access the ballot. The department regularly deploys its staff to monitor for compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections in communities all across the country. In addition, the department also deploys federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, where authorized by federal court order.

    The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section, working with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, enforces the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote, including the Voting Rights Act, National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, Civil Rights Act and Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. Pursuant to the Voting Rights Act, Prince George’s County must provide voting materials and assistance in both English and Spanish.

    Complaints about any possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be submitted through the Civil Rights Division’s internet reporting portal at www.civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931. More information about voting and elections, including guidance documents for language minority voters and other resources, is available at www.justice.gov/voting. Learn more about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws at www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Foreign National Convicted of Conspiring to Export US-Made Drill Rigs to Iran in Violation of US Sanctions Laws

    Source: US State of California

    A federal jury convicted Brian Assi, also known as Brahim Assi, yesterday of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR), attempted unlawful export of goods from the United States to Iran without a license, attempted smuggling goods from the United States, submitting false or misleading export information, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

    “The defendant schemed to unlawfully export U.S.-origin mining drills to Iran, while deceiving his employer into believing that they were being sent to Iraq,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “This conviction affirms the Justice Department’s resolve to disrupt and hold accountable those who evade our sanctions against Iran, wherever in the world they may be.”

    “As this verdict makes clear, no matter how hard you try to obfuscate your scheme to send restricted U.S. items to Iran, we will work tirelessly to bring your conduct to light and ensure you face justice,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod of the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). “We take action whenever we uncover attempts to evade our sanctions, especially when those efforts are designed to support adversaries like Iran.”

    “Efforts to conceal impermissible transactions and circumvent imposed sanctions represent a threat to both the United States economic and national security interests,” said U.S. Attorney Jason R. Coody for the Northern District of Florida. “Today’s verdict demonstrates our collective resolve to hold those who violate regulatory restrictions accountable for their criminal conduct.”

    According to evidence presented at trial, Assi was a Middle East-based salesman of a multinational heavy machinery manufacturer with a U.S.-based subsidiary and production plant located in northern Florida. Assi conspired with individuals affiliated with Sakht Abzar Pars Co. (SAP-Iran), based in Tehran, Iran, to export U.S.-made heavy machinery indirectly to Iran without first obtaining the required licenses from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

    Assi and his Iranian co-conspirators orchestrated the scheme by locating an Iraq-based distributor to serve as the forward-facing purchaser of two U.S.-origin blasthole drills from the U.S. subsidiary of Assi’s employer. The drills are a type of heavy machinery used to create holes in the ground that are then filled with controlled explosives for mining.

    Assi facilitated the sale of the drills and attempted to export them to Iran and used freight forwarding companies to ship the heavy equipment from the U.S. to Turkey. In doing so, Assi concealed any Iranian involvement in the transaction from his employer, claiming the drills were ultimately destined for use in Iraq. But in truth, Assi intended for his Iranian co-conspirators to transship or reexport those items from Turkey to Iran, in circumvention of U.S. export control and sanctions laws.

    In furtherance of the conspiracy, Assi concealed his activities with his Iranian co-conspirators by causing false information to be entered into the Automated Export System (AES), a U.S.-government database containing information about exports from the United States. The U.S.-based plant hired a U.S. freight forwarder to arrange the drill’s export from the United States to Iraq. As part of the shipping process, the freight forwarder submitted information to AES about the shipment, including the ultimate consignee’s name and the ultimate delivery destination. Assi misled his employer by claiming that the Iraqi distributor was the ultimate consignee, and that the ultimate delivery destination was Iraq. In fact, Assi knew that his coconspirators in Iran were the true intended recipients, and Iran was the ultimate intended delivery destination.

    In furtherance of the illicit transaction, Assi and his coconspirators caused the transfer of approximately $2.7 million from Turkey to pass through the United States.

    Sentencing for Brian Assi is scheduled for Jan. 7, 2025.

    The BIS is investigating the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew J. Grogan and Harley W. Ferguson for the Northern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Ahmed Almudallal of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: World Bank/IMF Development Committee selects Elisabeth Svantesson, Sweden’s Minister for Finance, as New Chair

    Source: Government of Sweden

    World Bank/IMF Development Committee selects Elisabeth Svantesson, Sweden’s Minister for Finance, as New Chair – Government.se

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    Press release from Ministry of Finance

    Published

    The World Bank Group and IMF member states have selected Sweden’s Minister for Finance, Ms. Elisabeth Svantesson as chair of the joint World Bank Group and IMF Development Committee for a term of two years

    The Development Committee is the World Bank Group and IMF’s highest advisory body for development issues. It is the first time a Swedish national and the first time that a European Minister for Finance holds this prestigious role. Ms. Svantesson will succeed Mr. Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs of United Arab Emirates who has chaired the Development Committee since October 2022. 

    Minister Svantesson is a senior politician who prior to serving as Minister for Finance has held the office of Minister for Employment and was a member of the Swedish Parliament for 16 years. Minister Svantesson has also been a doctoral student and a teacher in economics at Örebro University. During the Swedish EU presidency in 2023 Minister Svantesson chaired the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union. 

    “I am honored to have been selected as Chair. The Development Committee is an important arena for international economic cooperation and there are many issues on the agenda that will shape this cooperation for years to come. During my chairpersonship I hope to positively contribute to international economic collaboration by leading the Development Committee in an inclusive, constructive, and efficient manner,” says Minister for Finance Elisabeth Svantesson.

    “We are very pleased that our Governors have selected Elisabeth Svantesson to chair the Development Committee,” says World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. “With countries around the globe facing unprecedented challenges, Minister Svantesson’s background in finance, politics, and education will serve the Committee well. I look forward to working with Minister Svantesson to help us deliver innovative solutions for our partner countries,” says Banga.  

    Press contact

    Background Development Committee

    The Committee’s mandate is to advise the Boards of Governors of the Bank and the Fund on critical development issues and on the financial resources required to promote economic development in developing countries. Over the years, the Committee has interpreted this mandate to include trade and global environmental issues in addition to traditional development matters.

    The Committee has 25 members, usually Ministers of Finance or Development, and who represent the full membership of the Bank and Fund. They are appointed by each of the countries, or groups of countries, represented on the Boards of Executive Directors of the Bank and Fund. The Chair is selected from among the Committee’s members and is assisted by an Executive Secretary who is elected by the Committee.

    The Development Committee meets twice a year; in the spring and in the fall at the time of the joint Bank-Fund Annual Meetings. Its meetings are held in tandem with the meetings of the International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC) of the Fund.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Global Anti-Racism Champions Awards

    Source: United States of America – Department of State (video statements)

    These phenomenal civil society leaders demonstrate extraordinary courage, strength, leadership, and commitment in the fight against racism and discrimination worldwide. This year’s Global Anti-Racism Champions from Bolivia, Ghana, Mexico, Nepal, the Netherlands, and North Macedonia share their advice for creating a better world.

    The six awardees this year include:
    Dintie Sule Tayiru:  A human rights advocate for the Fulbe community from Ghana
    Elvis Shakjiri:  A Roma human rights activist from North Macedonia
    Urmila Chaudhary:  A Dalit and labor rights activist from Nepal
    Tanya Duarte:  An Afro-Mexican feminist and anti-racism activist from Mexico
    Tomasa Yarhui Jacomé:  An Indigenous political leader and human rights advocate from Bolivia   
    John Leerdam:  A Black Dutch activist and former parliamentarian from the Netherlands  

    To learn more, visit https://www.state.gov/garc2024/

    ———-
    Under the leadership of the President and Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of State leads America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance by advancing the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity. On behalf of the American people we promote and demonstrate democratic values and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world.

    The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the President’s chief foreign affairs adviser. The Secretary carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State Department, which includes the Foreign Service, Civil Service and U.S. Agency for International Development.

    Get updates from the U.S. Department of State at www.state.gov and on social media!
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    #StateDepartment #DepartmentofState #Diplomacy

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAQ7m_gNMVY

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The results of the work of the Bank of Russia Basic Department at the HSE for the past academic year have been summed up

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

    On October 23, the results of the work were summed up Basic Department of the Bank of Russia at the Higher School of Economics for the 2023/24 academic year. The event was opened by Andrey Afonin, Director of the Bank of Russia University.

    He emphasized that over three years of operation, the basic department has become the Bank of Russia’s center of competence in one of the country’s leading universities. The regulator’s employees teach courses and supervise projects; this year, a joint master’s program “Information Security in the Credit and Financial Sphere” was launched – the first such initiative in the history of the Bank of Russia, it was prepared over the course of two years.

    Andrey Afonin reported that more than 40 employees of the Bank of Russia will teach at the HSE this academic year.

    According to the curator of the basic department, advisor to the Chairman of the Bank of Russia Ksenia Yudaeva, the transfer of knowledge to HSE students is a contribution to public welfare, part of the mission of the Bank of Russia. Teachers contribute to a better understanding of its policy, the development of financial literacy, and the reduction of inflation expectations. Students are taught to conduct research and engage in practical activities using data and building theoretical models.

    “It is important that our staff at the Higher School of Economics not only teach, but also conduct research,” added Ksenia Yudaeva.

    First Vice-Rector of the National Research University Higher School of Economics Vadim Radaev told the event participants that there are more than 60 basic departments operating at the university.

    “Their level of activity varies, and your department is one of the most active at the moment,” he noted. “You have many courses and projects, you collaborate with different departments – the faculties of economic sciences, world economy and world politics, MIEM, and now also with the faculty of computer science, the Institute of Media. What you do is impressive.”

    According to the First Vice-Rector, this work is important for the university and for the students to whom the Bank of Russia employees transfer their competencies.

    The event participants also discussed current issues in modern education, including the use of online technologies.

    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 Canada: Strengthening self-governance, Anishinabek-led education

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    News release

    October 25, 2024 —North Bay, Ontario — Kinoomaadziwin Education Body and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

    The Kinoomaadziwin Education Body (KEB) and the Government of Canada are taking important steps to strengthen education self-governance and support better education outcomes for Anishinabek First Nations students.

    Today, KEB Vice-Chairperson Lise Kwekkeboom, alongside Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige and the Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, announced new funding of more than $20 million per year to support education infrastructure and governance. This means that Anishinabek Education System (AES) participating First Nations will be able to make sure their schools are in the best shape to support students.

    This funding will help ensure communities, including approximately 2,000 students, have the resources they need to succeed while remaining connected to Anishinabek culture and language. Communities know what their kids need, and this funding will ensure they can execute that for the next generation.

    Working collaboratively based on the affirmation of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership is key to achieving reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

    Quotes

    “We are excited to gain access to funding that will assist Anishinabek Education System First Nation communities in self-governance of education for their students. While this funding is an amazing step forward in supporting communities to take control of their own education, we look forward to continuing to work with Canada on how we continue supporting our First Nations in language, culture and academic learning, improving and promoting student success and wellness whether they attend First Nation schools or within the provincial education systems.”

    Lise Kwekkeboom
    Director of Education, Chippewas of Rama First Nation and Secretary, Kinoomaadziwin Education Body

    “The Anishinabek Education System First Nations have been largely operating and supporting their education system though programs and services funding. The increased allocation of governance funding creates more opportunities for the First Nations to hire key education positions and to utilize all programs and services funding for initiatives that directly benefit Anishinabek students.”

    Nancy O’Donnell
    Kinoomaadziwin Education Body, Director of Education

    “All kids deserve a worldclass education, and Indigenous communities know best how to deliver that for their students. This federal funding will support and improve self-governing education. In partnership with Kinoomaadziwin Education Body, we are making sure that Anishinabek Education System (AES) schools are in the best shape to support 2000 students.”

    The Honourable Gary Anandasangaree
    Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations

    Quick facts

    • The Kinoomaadziwin Education Body serves 23 of the 39 Anishinabek First Nations in Ontario.

    • The funding provided to the Kinoomaadziwin Education Body is the result of new fiscal policy approaches applied to education sectoral self-governments under Canada’s collaborative self-government fiscal policy, which was co-developed with First Nations partners and implemented in 2019 to better reflect the costs of self-government.

    • Education sectoral self-government agreements provide Indigenous governments with the ability to establish an education system that meets the needs of students in participating communities and is reflective of the educational and cultural priorities of these communities.

    • Strengthening self-governing education aligns with Canada’s efforts to achieve the objectives set out in Article 14 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

    Associated links

    Contacts

    For more information, media may contact:

    Bahoz Dara Aziz
    Director, Communications and Issues Management
    Office of the Honourable Gary Anandasangaree
    Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
    bahoz.daraaziz@rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca

    Media Relations
    Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
    819-934-2302
    RCAANC.media.CIRNAC@sac-isc.gc.ca

    Eva Brown
    Communications Manager
    Kinoomaadziwin Education Body
    705-333-9732
    Eva.Brown@a-e-s.ca

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    Join the conversation about Indigenous Peoples in Canada:

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    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Chair’s Statement Fiftieth Meeting of the IMFC – Mr. Mohammed Aljadaan, Minister for Finance of Saudi Arabia

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    October 25, 2024

    In the context of the Fiftieth Meeting of the IMFC that took place in Washington, D.C. on 24th and 25th October, several IMFC members discussed the global macroeconomic and financial impact of current wars and conflicts, including with regard to Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, and in other places. IMFC members underscored that all states must act in a manner consistent with the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter in its entirety. They acknowledged, however, that the IMFC is not a forum to resolve geopolitical and security issues which are discussed in other fora.

     

    ****

    IMFC members agreed on the following text:

     

    Securing a soft landing and breaking from the current low growth-high debt path are the policy priorities for the global economy. We welcome the IMF’s efforts to enhance its surveillance, lending toolkit, and capacity development, and become more representative. Looking ahead, we remain committed to multilateral cooperation to promote global prosperity and address shared challenges.

     

    1. The global economy has moved closer to a soft landing. Economic activity has proven resilient, with global growth steady and inflation continuing to moderate. However, this masks important divergences across countries. Uncertainty remains significant and some downside risks have increased. Ongoing wars and conflicts continue to impose a heavy burden on the global economy. Medium-term growth prospects remain weak, and global public debt has reached record highs.
    1. We will work to further secure a soft landing while stepping up our reform efforts to shift away from a low growth-high debt path and address other medium-term challenges. Fiscal policy should pivot toward consolidation, where needed, to ensure debt sustainability and rebuild buffers. Consolidation should be underpinned by credible medium-term plans and institutional frameworks while protecting the vulnerable and supporting growth-enhancing public and private investments. Monetary policy must ensure inflation returns durably to target, consistent with central bank mandates, remain data-dependent, and be well communicated. Financial sector authorities should continue to closely monitor risks in banks and non-banks, including from property markets. We will continue to enhance financial regulation and supervision, including via timely finalization and implementation of internationally agreed reforms, and harness the benefits of financial and technological innovation, while mitigating the risks. We will pursue well-calibrated and sequenced growth-enhancing structural reforms to ease binding constraints to economic activity, boost productivity, increase labor market participation, promote social cohesion, and support the climate and digital transitions.
    1. We remain committed to international cooperation to improve the resilience of the global economy and build prosperity, while ensuring the smooth functioning of the international monetary system. We reiterate our commitments on exchange rates, addressing excessive global imbalances, and our statement on the rules-based multilateral trading system, as made in April 2021, and reaffirm our commitment to avoid protectionist measures.
    1. We will continue to support countries as they undertake reforms and address debt vulnerabilities and liquidity challenges. We welcome the progress made on debt treatments under the G20 Common Framework (CF) and beyond. We remain committed to addressing global debt vulnerabilities in an effective, comprehensive, and systematic manner, including stepping up the CF’s implementation in a predictable, timely, orderly, and coordinated manner, and enhancing debt transparency. We look forward to further work at the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable on ways to address debt vulnerabilities and restructuring challenges. We encourage the IMF and the World Bank to develop further their proposal to support countries with sustainable debt but experiencing liquidity challenges.
    1. We welcome the policy priorities set out in the Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda, and welcome the start of Ms. Kristalina Georgieva’s second five-year term as Managing Director.
    1. We support the IMF’s surveillance focus on country-tailored advice to help members assess risks, bolster policy and institutional frameworks, and calibrate macrofinancial and macrostructural policies to enhance resilience, ensure debt sustainability, and boost inclusive and sustainable growth. We look forward to the Comprehensive Surveillance Review that will set future surveillance priorities.
    1. We welcome the recent reforms to the lending toolkit. We welcome the completion of the review of PRGT facilities and financing that aims to bolster the IMF’s capacity to support low-income countries in addressing their balance of payments needs, mindful of their vulnerabilities, while restoring the self-sustainability of the Trust. We welcome the Review of Charges and the Surcharge Policy, which will alleviate the financial cost of Fund lending for borrowing countries, while preserving their intended incentives and safeguarding the Fund’s financial soundness. We welcome the enhanced cooperation with the World Bank on climate action, and with the World Bank and the World Health Organization on pandemic preparedness, which will further enhance the effectiveness of IMF support through the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST). We look forward to the Review of the GRA Access Limits, the Review of Program Design and Conditionality, the Review of the Short-term Liquidity Line, and the comprehensive Review of the RST. We continue to invite countries to explore voluntary channeling of SDRs, including through MDBs, where legally possible, while preserving their reserve asset status.
    1. We support the IMF’s efforts to strengthen capacity development and to secure appropriate financing. We welcome the ongoing work with the World Bank on the Domestic Resource Mobilization Initiative.
    1. We reaffirm our commitment to a strong, quota-based, and adequately resourced IMF at the center of the global financial safety net. We have secured, or are working to secure, domestic approvals for our consent to the quota increase under the 16th General Review of Quotas (GRQ) by mid-November this year, as well as relevant adjustments under the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB). As a safeguard to preserve the Fund’s lending capacity in case of a delay in securing timely consent to the quota increase, creditors for Bilateral Borrowing Agreements are working to secure approvals for transitional arrangements for maintaining IMF access to bilateral borrowing. We acknowledge the urgency and importance of realignment in quota shares to better reflect members’ relative positions in the world economy, while protecting the quota shares of the poorest members. We welcome the Executive Board’s ongoing work to develop by June 2025 possible approaches as a guide for further quota realignment, including through a new quota formula, under the 17th
    1. We welcome the new 25th chair on the Executive Board for Sub-Saharan Africa, strengthening the voice and representation of the region. We also welcome Liechtenstein as a new member. We appreciate staff’s high-quality work and dedication to support the membership. We encourage further efforts to improve staff diversity and inclusion. We reiterate our commitment to strengthen gender diversity at the Executive Board and will continue to work to achieve the voluntary objectives to increase the number of women in Board leadership positions.
    1. We reiterate our strong commitment to the Fund on its 80th anniversary and look forward to further discussing at our next meeting ways to ensure the Fund remains well-equipped to meet future challenges, in line with its mandate, and in collaboration with partners and other IFIs. We ask our Deputies to prepare for this discussion.
    1. Our next meeting is expected to be held in April 2025.

    Chair

    Mohammed Aljadaan, Minister of Finance, Saudi Arabia

    Managing Director

    Kristalina Georgieva

    Members or Alternates

     

    Ayman Alsayari, Governor of the Saudi Central Bank, Saudi Arabia (Alternate for Mohammed Aljadaan, Minister of Finance, Saudi Arabia)

    Mohammed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, United Arab Emirates

    Antoine Armand, Minister of Economy, Finance, and Industry, France

    Luis Caputo, Minister of Economy, Argentina

    Jim Chalmers, Treasurer of Australia

    Carlos Cuerpo, Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, Spain

    Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Canada

    Giancarlo Giorgetti, Minister of Economy and Finance, Italy

    Fernando Haddad, Minister of Finance, Brazil

    Eelco Heinen, Minister of Finance, The Netherlands

    Robert Holzmann, Governor of the Austrian National Bank, Austria

    Katsunobu Kato, Minister of Finance, Japan

    Karin Keller-Sutter, Minister of Finance, Switzerland

    Lesetja Kganyago, Governor, South African Reserve Bank, South Africa

    Christian Lindner, Federal Minister of Finance, Germany

    Mays Mouissi, Minister of Economy and Participations, Gabon

    Changneng Xuan, Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China (Alternate for Gongsheng Pan, Governor of the People’s Bank of China)

    Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, H.M. Treasury, United Kingdom

    Ivan Chebeskov, Deputy Minister of Finance, Russian Federation (Alternate for Anton Siluanov, Minister of Finance, Russian Federation)

    Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance, India

    Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, Governor, Bank of Thailand

    Salah-Eddine Taleb, Governor, Bank of Algeria

    Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, Minister for Finance, Norway

    Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury, United States

    Observers

    Agustín Carstens, General Manager, Bank for International Settlements (BIS)

    Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Chair, Development Committee (DC) and Minister of State for Financial Affairs, United Arab Emirates

    Christine Lagarde, President, European Central Bank (ECB)

    Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for Economy, European Commission (EC)

    Klaas Knot, Chair, Financial Stability Board (FSB) and President of De Nederlandsche Bank

    Richard Samans, Director, Research Department, International Labour Organization (ILO)

    Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

    Mohannad Alsuwaidan, Economic Analyst, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

    Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Assistant Administrator, United Nations (UN)

    Penelope Hawkins, Officer-in-Charge, Debt and Development Finance Branch, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

    Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group, The World Bank (WB)

    Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO)

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Randa Elnagar

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

    @IMFSpokesperson

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/10/25/pr24396-chairs-statement-fiftieth-meeting-of-the-imfc

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: DHS Conducts Removal Flight to the Republic of India

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: DHS Conducts Removal Flight to the Republic of India

    DHS continues to enforce U.S. immigration laws and deliver tough consequences for those who enter unlawfully. This includes swiftly returning those without a legal basis to remain in the United States, while encouraging the use of lawful pathways. Since June 2024, when the Securing the Border Presidential Proclamation and accompanying Interim Final Rule went into effect, encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border have decreased by 55%. In Fiscal Year 2024, DHS removed or returned over 160,000 individuals and operated more than 495 international repatriation flights to more than 145 countries—including India. 

    “Indian nationals without a legal basis to remain in the United States are subject to swift removal, and intending migrants should not fall for the lies of smugglers who proclaim otherwise,” said Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Kristie A. Canegallo. “The Department of Homeland Security will continue to enforce our nation’s laws.”  

    DHS regularly engages with foreign governments throughout the hemisphere and around the world to accept repatriations of their nationals without a legal basis to remain in the United States. This is one tool among many DHS uses to reduce irregular migration, promote the use of safe, lawful, and orderly pathways, and hold transnational criminal networks accountable for smuggling and exploitation of vulnerable people. Over the last year, DHS has removed individuals to a range of countries around the world, including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Egypt, Mauritania, Senegal, Uzbekistan, the PRC, and India. As a result of these efforts, DHS removed or returned more individuals in FY2024 than any year since FY2010, and DHS continues to expand removal flights operations. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: DHS Conducts Removal Flight to the Republic of India

    Source: US Department of Homeland Security

    WASHINGTON – On October 22, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), conducted a large-frame charter removal flight to the Republic of India of Indian nationals who did not establish legal basis to remain in the United States. This week’s flight demonstrates the Department’s continued commitment to pursuing sustained cooperation with the Indian government and other international partners to reduce and deter irregular migration and jointly work to counter human smuggling.    

    DHS continues to enforce U.S. immigration laws and deliver tough consequences for those who enter unlawfully. This includes swiftly returning those without a legal basis to remain in the United States, while encouraging the use of lawful pathways. Since June 2024, when the Securing the Border Presidential Proclamation and accompanying Interim Final Rule went into effect, encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border have decreased by 55%. In Fiscal Year 2024, DHS removed or returned over 160,000 individuals and operated more than 495 international repatriation flights to more than 145 countries—including India. 

    “Indian nationals without a legal basis to remain in the United States are subject to swift removal, and intending migrants should not fall for the lies of smugglers who proclaim otherwise,” said Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Kristie A. Canegallo. “The Department of Homeland Security will continue to enforce our nation’s laws.”  

    DHS regularly engages with foreign governments throughout the hemisphere and around the world to accept repatriations of their nationals without a legal basis to remain in the United States. This is one tool among many DHS uses to reduce irregular migration, promote the use of safe, lawful, and orderly pathways, and hold transnational criminal networks accountable for smuggling and exploitation of vulnerable people. Over the last year, DHS has removed individuals to a range of countries around the world, including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Egypt, Mauritania, Senegal, Uzbekistan, the PRC, and India. As a result of these efforts, DHS removed or returned more individuals in FY2024 than any year since FY2010, and DHS continues to expand removal flights operations. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Podcast: Tackling the world’s toughest problems with AI

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Podcast: Tackling the world’s toughest problems with AI

    MOLLY WOOD: Juan, thanks so much for joining me.  

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: Thank you, Molly, for the invitation.  

    MOLLY WOOD: So when you think about the reason you have the Microsoft AI for Good Lab, what would you say is the high-level mission?   

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: So our mission is to help the world with AI, help organizations around the world on some of the world’s greatest challenges. We are not experts on the problems that we’re solving. Our expertise is in AI. And the reason why it’s important, today, a majority of the expertise works in the financial sector or in the tech industry. The organizations that work with us across the world, these organizations typically do not have the structural capacity to hire the AI talent that is needed to solve this problem—not to hire, not to attract, not to retain. And that’s why, for us, it’s so critical, like, we believe that by donating our time it would make a bigger impact than just a philanthropic donation, and hope that some of these organizations could hire, because it’s going to be difficult for them to hire. So we’re trying to fill that gap, and along those lines try to help these researchers understand how they can use AI and do a knowledge transfer to them.  

    MOLLY WOOD: And as the capabilities of large language model AI expand, are you widening the aperture of ways you offer help to these organizations?   

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: With large language models, we are now being able to solve problems we couldn’t solve before. A lot of the data, a lot of the problems—whenever, like, organizations store data, a significant amount of data is unstructured data, whether it’s images or video or text. And until very recently, specifically text, that was a very difficult problem to solve. And even if the information was in text, it didn’t mean that you could do something with it. Now, thanks to large language models, that is changing because suddenly you have a new tool in your toolbox.   

    MOLLY WOOD: Tell us how you first started to see that potential in data science and AI.  

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: Before coming to Microsoft, I used to work in the Inter American Development Bank, and part of my job was to evaluate projects, and these projects can expand from health to water and sanitation, with a focus in Latin America and developing countries. And that’s the first time that I saw how technology could potentially help these countries and organizations within those countries. Then I moved to Microsoft. I started working in Bing, I worked with Xbox, with Windows, and at one point in my career, a person very dear to me had lost a child to SIDS. SIDS is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and it’s the number one cause of death of babies in the US between one month and one year old. And, basically, SIDS is when your baby dies and doctors don’t know why. He was doing an amazing job raising awareness. I asked, I would love to see if we could help, not just with raising awareness, but could we actually help on the data science side? And that was kind of a crazy idea, but he put us in contact with the people at Seattle Children’s Hospital. We found online, there’s an open data set that the CDC has. It’s a data set that has every single baby that has been born, that was born in the US, for the last more than 20, 30 years. And it’s a cohort of those babies that died before one year. Using that data, we were able to find some insights about SIDS, and then we share those insights with these doctors. This is just basically using AI algorithms on top of that data. A lot of these insights, these doctors were aware, but some of the insights the doctors were not aware, and immediately after talking to these doctors, we realized two or three things. The first one is, these researchers didn’t have enough knowledge to work with the data that we were using. So just helping them, and this is not a huge data set, you have 4 million babies that are born in the US every year. So like 10 years worth of data is 40 million rows. So it wasn’t a huge data set, but it was difficult enough for them to work with it. But more important, they were not aware too much about the algorithms that we would be using. So they immediately saw a lot of value. And that started this relationship, this collaboration, between us and these doctors about SIDS. And at one point we were invited to share this with Satya and with Brad.   

    MOLLY WOOD: Satya Nadella and Brad Smith, I should say, the CEO and president of Microsoft.    

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: Correct. Yes. And they saw the value of the things that we were doing.  

    MOLLY WOOD: And then, what is your day-to-day job at the AI for Good Lab?   

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: My background is the combination between healthcare and AI. So I usually tend to work a lot in healthcare-related projects, but some of my favorite projects that I have done over the years myself has been on giraffes, which are very dear to me. We still work with this amazing organization out of Tanzania, and basically it’s using AI models to identify—this is not just identifying a giraffe, this is identifying giraffe number 45. How is this giraffe related from a social network, like, giraffes live in social networks. How have these social networks changed over time? What is the difference between genders on giraffes? And this information is critical to understand for conservation efforts.  

    MOLLY WOOD: Okay, first of all, giraffes are my favorite animal, so thank you for doing that. And I want to hear more about that idea of tech transfer, knowledge transfer. I know that’s central to what you wrote about in the book you recently released, right? It’s called AI for Good: Applications in Sustainability, Humanitarian Action, and Health.  

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: Yeah, so we started thinking about the book because anytime that we wanted to work with teams, teams on the ground, it was difficult to explain what they could do with AI. But one recipe that worked really well for us is, we wanted to showcase what other problems we were solving, even if these problems have nothing to do with the type of projects that they had. It was useful for them to understand what else the tool can do, correct? To give you an example, one of the early projects was working with NOAA on detecting and tracking beluga whales underwater in Alaska.   

    MOLLY WOOD: Let me jump in here, that’s NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.   

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: Yes, that is an AI project where you get acoustic data and you try to find a particular beluga whale. When working with another organization out of California, their job was to help on trying to find war crimes. They asked, when we show that example, could you use this for detecting a certain type of weapons that makes a very distinct sound. And basically we told them, well, if it makes a very distinct sound and you have these in recordings, they have millions of videos, the answer is likely yes. Because these problems are basically the same problem. You have what is called an acoustic fingerprint. Long story short, it became really easy for us to explain AI by example. And these examples have a lot of variants. Like, you go from projects about disaster response. You have projects on climate change, for example, on trying to measure how climate change is affecting the Himalayas and how dangerous that could be. You have these lakes on top of the mountains that if they don’t, like, they could actually go down and that could kill people, basically. So, this organization out of Nepal uses these models to measure these.   

    MOLLY WOOD: Okay, so far you’ve covered pretty much two of my three favorite animals in giraffes and whales, and if you say that you’re also working on hummingbirds, I’m going to apply for a job at your lab…   

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: We are working with a lot of birds in the Amazon, that includes hummingbirds…    

    MOLLY WOOD: I will have my resume in your inbox by the end of the day. I know also AI for good is a broad remit, and can you tell us how you’ve also applied it to arts and culture?  

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: Yeah, so, AI is very broad. It can, as a general purpose technology, can be used for many things. So one project that we did was a collaboration between Microsoft and Iconem, that is a company out of France, and the French government, was to, on the anniversary, the 80th anniversary for D-Day, was to use vision models to do a description of the pictures. Also leverage a large language model to make searches. This was a website that we launched. And this information could help historians. It also could help people that wanted to learn more about the D-Day. We are working on a few other projects. One of the best scenarios for, if you ask me, for cultural heritage, is the power of vision models to make descriptions, particularly for blind people. This has been used in museums now. And we are using for a few other projects where, given a picture or given even a video, you can make a very accurate description of what you see there. That is certainly a game changer for a lot of these low-vision and blind individuals.   

    MOLLY WOOD: Clearly there is tech transfer and knowledge transfer and value in the work itself. And also it seems like there must be some extrapolations from a business lens about how to make do with limited resources, right? This is the situation that nonprofits are always in, but many businesses are too. I wonder if you can talk about what learnings you’ve gotten.    

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: I think in general, a lot of the problems that we work with nonprofits are problems that could be working, like you said, in multiple industries. When we see the same problem being asked by multiple organizations, we try to focus on those projects. And let me give you a great example of that. That is our disaster assessment tools. Whenever there is a natural disaster, a lot of organizations need to have an understanding of what is happening on the ground. How many people were affected? Where are those people affected? And when we talked to multiple organizations, like from UN agencies to the international organization of migration, to American Red Cross, to different Red Crosses across the world, everybody was looking for something like that. That’s why we decided to say, hey, this is going to be a pillar for us. This is going to be an area of investment. Let’s build tools. So we’re not just at the beginning, we are going to help you do these disaster assessment maps, but ideally we will give you the tools so you can do it yourself. And that’s an area that for us has been an area of priority. So we work with these organizations on the ground and we provide them with these disaster assessment AI models to generate disaster assessment maps.  

    MOLLY WOOD: One of the central tenets of doing good is also mitigating harm or avoiding harm. I want to ask you about AI responsibility and how you define and think about responsible AI.  

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: Responsible AI is at the core of the projects we do. And this is also a place where I think Microsoft was much ahead of other organizations. And this is, for the last five years, we have our Office of Responsible AI. We have Natasha Crampton, who’s our Chief Responsible AI Officer, does an amazing job and has an amazing team try to help us, not just us, but multiple teams across Microsoft and even influence the industry in many ways on how we can use AI in a responsible way. So for every project we have, it goes through a responsible AI process to try to make sure that we mitigate as much as possible any potential harms from these models. When we’re working with, for example, people that are losing their voice through degenerative diseases like ALS. When you work with them, you realize that their tone of voice that eventually they will lose. And, eventually, they will use machines to speak. But the tone of voice is critical to their identity. It’s very important. And thanks to AI, thanks to generative AI models today, you can clone a person’s voice and you can use a machine that will speak on your same tone of voice, which is a game changer for people that suffer from these diseases. But at the same time, you can use the same technology to clone someone else’s voice and do scams. And that is also happening today. So, and of course, if you want to use some of this technology, Microsoft is really restrictive in that technology for good reasons, because that technology could be used for bad purposes, particularly scamming.  

    MOLLY WOOD: In your book, you talk about how AI can better analyze data without human bias and remedy pattern recognition deficits, which also seems key to sort of imagining these unintended consequences. Can you give us some examples of how that works?   

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: Bias is a great issue and it’s something that as a society we need to make sure that we address. There’s different types of biases. There was a study that was published a few years ago, it was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. That is the most prestigious medical journal in the world. And what they found was, they took a random sample of people in California that died and asked their family members whether they were left-handed or right-handed. And what they found, what the researchers found, was that left-handed people were dying nine years younger than right-handed people. This is really disturbing. Like, that’s the equivalent of smoking 120 cigarettes per day. And the study claimed that the issue, the reason why this was happening is because we live in a world that is made for right-handed people, not for left-handed people, whether you’re driving, or the tools, and that’s why these individuals were dying nine years younger. What the researchers didn’t fully realize is that for a long period of time, there was a discrimination against left-handed people because parents would force their kids to be right-handed. I know that because my grandfather was one of them. He was forced to be right-handed. Eventually, they stopped doing that, and this generated this artificial increase in the left-handed population to the right level, that is roughly 10 percent. So 10 percent of the population is left-handed. But if you look at 1920s, 1950s, 1930s, those numbers were like 3 percent, 3.5 percent. So that generated this artificial increase, this artificial increase is the one that gives us the illusion that left-handed people die younger, when in reality, that’s not the case. The challenge from an AI perspective is that if you have a life insurance company, and you have that data set, and one of your features in the data set is if the person is left-handed or right-handed, what the model will tell you is that you need to charge more to the left-handed people because they will die younger, when in reality that’s not the case.  

    MOLLY WOOD: Right.   

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: So, a majority of the data we collect has some biases. It’s critical to understand those biases to make sure that we don’t perpetuate those biases. Not all the biases are generated by changes in culture, like the left-handed. Some type of biases could happen just because we have an unconscious bias in the way we hire. There was another example a few years ago where a company decided to use AI models to do the screening process in HR. And even though gender was not one of the features, the model learned that the chances of being hired was affected by gender because that was some of the behaviors of that company before. And the problem is that once you train a model with that data, the model will perpetuate that bias and will just continue. So we need to understand that the data that we’re using to train AI models is the code of that model. So if the data has issues because it has some bias, the model will learn those biases and will perpetuate those biases. And working to solve bias is not an easy problem. In some cases we can at least detect it and try to work with it, but it’s not an easy problem.   

    MOLLY WOOD: I want to switch gears a little bit. WorkLab is, of course, a podcast for business leaders who want to get a handle on how work is changing. And it feels to me like what the AI for Good Lab is doing also lets those business leaders think maybe more creatively about how to deploy and use AI in their organizations, and I wonder if you can speak to that based on the experiences you’ve had. How can AI help people grapple with the bigger challenges they face?   

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: Yeah, again, I think the book describes that in the sense that like a lot of the examples that we have could be used for other purposes. The techniques we use, like computer vision techniques, they can be applied for multiple scenarios in different industries. Even, for example, the disaster assessment tools. So every time there’s a big natural disaster, we use these disaster assessment tools to build the maps and share these maps with organizations on the ground. But even insurance companies have reached out to us, saying, hey, could we use that same technology? We don’t work with those companies, but they are solving the same problem, basically. So I would say, in general, the answer is yes. I would say a majority of the programs that we work for, these nonprofit organizations, could be applied to other areas.   

    MOLLY WOOD: I grew up in and around nonprofits. This is the work that my mom did my whole life and, like any business, the backend, the operations of things are really crucial. And sometimes you have organizations that are understaffed, they’re underfunded, and it feels to me like a key component of being able to use AI to do good at a nonprofit is, frankly, the simple ability to make better spreadsheets, to operate more efficiently, to have summaries of emails to just move more quickly in the world. Has that been your experience?   

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: That is definitely my experience. And there’s a whole group in Microsoft that works specifically in those scenarios. This is the Tech for Social Impact that is also within Microsoft philanthropies. They do an amazing job helping on some of those scenarios. And like you said, this is particularly affecting the nonprofits where every single person, we need to make sure that they’re as productive as possible. A lot of these scenarios, from reviewing to sending emails to—my wife runs a nonprofit, she runs a bilingual school, and from communications to notifications to applying for grants, these tools help them a lot. So yes, the answer is yes. There’s a whole group in Microsoft, like a lot of folks in a lot of those scenarios that, like I mentioned, that Microsoft takes for social impact.   

    MOLLY WOOD: What is next for the lab? What are you most excited about?   

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: So we’ve been working a lot in the Amazon. We’re going to be in Cali, in Colombia, for COP, biodiversity [summit]. And we are working with organizations, nonprofit organizations, and some government agencies in Colombia to use our models to measure and sometimes even alert on potential deforestation. Deforestation is something that’s critical for the Amazon, it’s critical for Colombia, it’s critical for any, all the countries that are within the Amazon. So we want to make it easy for these countries to be able to measure deforestation and to detect deforestation.   

    MOLLY WOOD: Okay, I want to ask you before I let you go a couple of lightning round, quick questions. How do you use AI yourself, at work or in your personal life?   

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: So I use AI every day for doing our job in many ways. But for me, what has been a game changer, particularly in large language models, have been the ability to edit my English, as you likely realize by my perfect English accent, I’m not a native speaker of English. So when you’re either publishing or you’re working in an organization, it’s expected to have very good English. And it would take a lot of effort for me to edit my English. And I think in many ways, large language models are helping me a lot on that end. I use it a lot for research, for helping to find things. I think it’s a great research assistant. It sometimes makes a mistake, and that’s something that we always need to be conscious about, but it’s an amazing tool that can help on the research side. And yes, I’m using it more and more, I would say.   

    MOLLY WOOD: In your experience, what is the use case for AI that seems to be the biggest unlock for people that really gives them kind of an aha moment?   

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: I think there’s a lot of scenarios, but having friends and working with people with disabilities, I think this technology is a true game changer. I have friends that are blind that are using vision models to help them navigate the world and help them understand and see pictures or see where they are, to help them with their life. And I think anybody that wants to know how AI is changing the world should talk with people with disabilities. We live in a world where 1.3 billion people suffer from disabilities. And I would say for a lot of those communities, this is really a huge game change. I’m also very passionate, like I mentioned, about healthcare. I think that there’s a huge potential on how we can use this technology to help better understand the disease and the diagnostics.  

    MOLLY WOOD: And then finally, if you wouldn’t mind, fast forward 3 to 5 years. And what do you think will be the most profound change in the way we work?   

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: It’s difficult to talk about the future in many ways. But I think these AI models will help us, have the huge potential to help with the digital divide in many ways. It can also exacerbate for those people that do not have access to the technology, and this is something that, like, the human computer interaction will become much easier, much more natural. And that is something that is going to change the way a lot of people live and work. I am concerned that in order to use this technology, you first need to have access to electricity. We live in a world where 750 million people do not have access to electricity. You actually have to be connected. You have 2.3 billion people that are not connected. So I’m concerned that this technology is great as long as you have access. So, I think that one of the critical aspects of the world is to make sure that we provide them the tools for having that accessibility.  

    MOLLY WOOD: Thank you again to Juan Lavista Ferres, Microsoft Chief Data Scientist and the director of the AI for Good Lab at Microsoft. I really appreciate the time.   

    JUAN LAVISTA FERRES: Thank you very much, Molly. 

    [Music]  

    MOLLY WOOD: Please subscribe if you have not already, and check back for the rest of season 7, where we will continue to explore how AI is transforming every aspect of how we work. If you’ve got a question or a comment, please drop us an email at worklab@microsoft.com, and check out Microsoft’s Work Trend Indexes and the WorkLab digital publication, where you’ll find all our episodes, along with thoughtful stories that explore how business leaders are thriving in today’s new world of work. You can find all of it at microsoft.com/worklab. As for this podcast, please, if you don’t mind, rate us, review us, and follow us wherever you listen. It helps us out a ton. The WorkLab podcast is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of work, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own, and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft’s own research or positions. WorkLab is produced by Microsoft with Godfrey Dadich Partners and Reasonable Volume. I’m your host, Molly Wood. Sharon Kallander and Matthew Duncan produced this podcast. Jessica Voelker is the WorkLab editor.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI USA: October 25th, 2024 N.M. Delegation Files Amicus Brief Urging Ninth Circuit Court to Affirm that Federal Law Requires Hospitals to Provide Emergency Care, Including Abortion

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich

    After the Supreme Court dismissed Idaho v. United States, returning it to the Ninth Circuit Court, 259 Members of Congress ask the Ninth Circuit to affirm that federal law ensures abortion care qualifies as “emergency stabilizing care” under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), and hospitals participating in Medicare must provide “emergency stabilizing treatment” to patients, including abortion care, when necessary.

    The N.M Delegation joins the brief as New Mexico’s highly impacted health system continues to serve patients from neighboring states with restrictions on reproductive health care.

     “In this case, respecting the supremacy of federal law is about more than just protecting our system of government; it is about protecting people’s lives.”

    WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States, two consolidated cases concerning the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) under consideration by the en banc Ninth Circuit. EMTALA is a federal law that requires hospitals that receive Medicare funding to provide necessary “stabilizing treatment” to patients experiencing medical emergencies, which includes abortion care.

    After the Dobbs decision in 2022, an anti-abortion law in Idaho went into effect, making it a felony for a doctor to terminate a patient’s pregnancy unless it is “necessary” to prevent the patient’s death. The United States sued the State of Idaho, arguing that the state’s law is preempted by existing federal law in those circumstances in which abortion may not be necessary to prevent imminent death, but still constitutes the “necessary stabilizing treatment” for a patient’s emergency medical condition. The district court agreed; it held that in those limited, but critically important situations, EMTALA requires Medicare-participating hospitals to provide abortion as an emergency medical treatment. Idaho Republicans appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court.

    In March, 258 lawmakers, including the N.M. Congressional Delegation, filed an amicus brief, asking the Supreme Court to affirm the district court decision. In June, the Supreme Court dismissed the case but without a ruling on the merits, sending the case back to the Ninth Circuit Court and reinstating the district court’s injunction.

    In their brief in support of the Justice Department, the lawmakers state “he 99th Congress passed EMTALA to ensure that every person who visits a Medicare-funded hospital with an ‘emergency medical condition’ is offered stabilizing treatment.” The lawmakers continued in their amicus brief, “Congress chose broad language for that mandate, requiring hospitals that participate in the Medicare program to provide ‘such treatment as may be required to stabilize the medical condition.’… That text—untouched by Congress for the past three decades—makes clear that in situations in which a doctor determines that abortion constitutes the ‘ecessary stabilizing treatment’ for a pregnant patient, federal law requires the hospital to offer it. Yet Idaho has made providing that care a felony, in direct contravention of EMTALA’s mandate.”

    The lawmakers point to numerous reports of OB/GYNs leaving Idaho en masse since the state’s abortion ban went into effect — Idaho has since lost fifty-five percent of its maternal-fetal medicine specialists, and three rural hospitals have shut down maternity services altogether.

    “These are not hypothetical scenarios. Because Idaho’s abortion ban contains no clear exceptions for the “emergency medical conditions” covered by EMTALA, it forces physicians to wait until their patients are on the verge of death before providing abortion care. The result in other states with similar laws has been ‘significant maternal morbidity,’” wrote the lawmakers, pointing to harrowing reports of pregnant women with severe health complications being denied necessary abortion care. The lawmakers’ brief also counters an argument from Idaho and its amici that the Supremacy Clause does not apply in this case because EMTALA was passed using Spending Clause authority, and therefore acts only as a condition on Medicare funding. The lawmakers make clear that alllaws passed by Congress are entitled to preemption — regardless of their source of constitutional authority — and states cannot pass laws that make it impossible for private parties to accept federal funding, inhibiting the purpose of the federal law.

    “EMTALA requires abortion when necessary to stabilize a patient with an emergency medical condition, Idaho’s near-total abortion ban is preempted to the extent that it prevents doctors from providing that care,” the lawmakers wrote. “This Court should reject Appellants’ novel theory that EMTALA is not entitled to preemptive effect because it was enacted pursuant to Congress’s spending power.  Under the Supremacy Clause, all‘the constitutional laws enacted by congress,’ constitute ‘the supreme Law of the Land,’. As the Supreme Court has repeatedly held, the principle of federal supremacy applies to laws passed pursuant to Congress’s spending authority no less than it does to laws effectuating other enumerated powers.”

    “In sum, EMTALA plainly requires hospitals that participate in the Medicare program to provide abortion care when, in a doctor’s medical judgment, it constitutes the ‘ecessary stabilizing treatment’ for a patient’s ‘emergency medical condition.’”

    The amicus brief was led by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and U.S. Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.).

    The lawmakers’ amicus brief to the Supreme Court can be read in full here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Shaheen, Hassan Join Ribbon Cutting for Affordable Housing Development Made Possible by the American Rescue Plan

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Maggie Hassan
    (Concord, NH) – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) delivered remarks to community members and local advocates at the ribbon cutting ceremony for CATCH Neighborhood Housing’s Davis Ridge development, which will offer 48 units of affordable housing in Concord. The project was funded in part by Invest NH, which is supported by funding Senators Shaheen and Hassan helped secure in the American Rescue Plan. Photos from today’s event can be found here. 
    “Far too many Granite Staters are struggling with affordable housing and anything we can do to build more housing units to help lower costs for the workforce is worth doing, which is why developments like Davis Ridge are critical to addressing this challenge,” said Senator Shaheen. “I’m proud to have helped secure the federal funds needed to support this project, and I’ll continue fighting in Congress to ensure New Hampshire has the resources we need to tackle the housing crisis and bring costs down for Granite Staters.” 
    “The housing crisis affects every corner of our state, as families struggle to afford their rent and businesses are unable to grow because workers can’t find housing that they can afford,” said Senator Hassan. “Developments like the Davis Ridge Apartments demonstrate the role that federal funding can play in addressing the housing shortage in New Hampshire. I will keep working to expand federal funding to build more housing here in NH, help more Granite State individuals and families afford their rent, and strengthen our economy.” 
    The Davis Ridge development was built with the support of Invest NH, a $100 million program to accelerate affordable workforce housing construction funded through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) secured by Shaheen and Hassan. The project is also supported by federal funding from the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), which Shaheen and Hassan are working to expand. 
    Shaheen is a leader in the Senate on efforts to tackle the housing affordability crisis, including by helping to ensure Granite Staters have the resources they need to thrive. In May, Shaheen and Hassan celebrated more than $30 million in federal grants for New Hampshire to build more affordable housing across the Granite State.  
    As a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee and Chair of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee, Shaheen worked to include key provisions from her Strategy and Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act in the FY24 Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations Act which was signed into law in March. Shaheen’s standalone legislation would ensure that hundreds of thousands of low-income tenants in rural areas are able to maintain access to safe and affordable housing. Another Shaheen-led bipartisan bill to increase access to rural housing was signed into law the same day. Together, the two bills will bolster existing rural housing options, make new construction easier and protect renters across the Granite State.   
    Shaheen also helped introduced the Fighting Homelessness Through Services and Housing Act to help local governments reduce homelessness as well as a bicameral bill that would protect the rights of residents of manufactured housing communities. Shaheen secured over $22 million in Congressionally Directed Spending in the FY24 government funding bills to address New Hampshire’s housing, transportation and urban development needs. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Commemoration for Governor Richard Caswell Living History Program Nov. 16

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: Commemoration for Governor Richard Caswell Living History Program Nov. 16

    Commemoration for Governor Richard Caswell Living History Program Nov. 16
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    The life and accomplishments of Governor Richard Caswell, North Carolina’s first state governor, will be commemorated Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Governor Richard Caswell Memorial in Kinston, N.C.

    To highlight Caswell’s long service as a political and military leader of both the British colony and the fledgling state of North Carolina, a living history event will occur from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Members of the Dobbs County Militia and the 3rd North Carolina Continental Line reenactment groups will portray camp life and present musket and cannon firing demonstrations of the Revolutionary War period along with 18th-century physicians.

    The Governor Caswell Memorial is dedicated to North Carolina’s first governor. The memorial includes Revolutionary War-era artifacts, Caswell family heirlooms, and exhibits about Caswell’s life. It is located on property once owned by the Caswell family.

    The Governor Richard Caswell Memorial is located at 2612 West Vernon Avenue, Kinston, N.C., and open Friday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is free.

    For additional information, please call the site at (252) 526-9600 x221. The CSS Neuse Center and the Richard Caswell Memorial are within the Division of State Historic Sites in the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

    About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
    The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.
    The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.
    Oct 25, 2024

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: National Register Adds 15 North Carolina Historic Places

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: National Register Adds 15 North Carolina Historic Places

    National Register Adds 15 North Carolina Historic Places
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    The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is pleased to announce that three historic districts and twelve individual properties across the state have been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The following properties were reviewed by the North Carolina National Register Advisory Committee and subsequently nominated by the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Officer and forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register for consideration for listing in the National Register.

    “Preserving our history is vital to understanding who we are and shaping where we’re headed,” said Reid Wilson, secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. “The newest additions from North Carolina to the National Register of Historic Places demonstrate our commitment to safeguarding our heritage, enriching our shared story, and strengthening local economies.”

    The listing of a property in the National Register places no obligation or restriction on a private owner using private resources to maintain or alter the property. Over the years, various federal and state incentives have been introduced to assist private preservation initiatives, including tax credits for the rehabilitation of National Register properties. As of Jan. 1, 2024, there have been 4,308 historic rehabilitation projects with private investments of almost $3.6 billion completed.

    In Central North Carolina

    Copland Fabrics, Burlington, Alamance County, listed 8/1/2024
    Copland Fabrics is significant at the local level and listed in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A in the area of Industry. Alamance County was a locus of fabric production starting with water-powered mills along the Haw River in the nineteenth century. The extant buildings reflect industrial architecture of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the changes in production of textiles. Copland Fabrics and its CEO, J. R. Copland, shifted production here to rayon in 1941. Innovations in techniques and machinery developed and implemented at this facility allowed Copland Fabrics to produce good quality rayon economically. Additional expansion to fabric finishing gave the conglomerated Copland companies vertical integration as well as fee-based services to other mills. The mill buildings show the evolution of fabric production from the late nineteenth to the late twentieth century in a county noted for its leadership in textiles. The complex has a period of significance from 1941, the date of the purchase of the complex by the Coplands, to 1973, the date of the last plant expansion that is over 50 years of age.

    Geer Cemetery, Durham, Durham County, listed 8/5/2024
    Geer Cemetery is significant at the local level under Criterion A in the areas of Social History and Black Ethnic Heritage as the oldest extant community burial ground for African Americans in Durham. It contains an estimated 1,825 graves densely organized in north–south rows with the graves oriented east–west. The ephemeral nature of wood grave markers, which were used extensively in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and were documented in period newspaper articles at Geer Cemetery, has left many graves unmarked today. Extant marker types include tab-in-socket and die-on-base headstones, pedestal tombs, and obelisks. Geer Cemetery’s period of significance begins in 1877, the year in which the Board of Trustees acquired the first 2 acres of land from white farmer Jesse Geer for use as a community cemetery for Durham’s people of color. It ends in 1945, when the last burial occurred in the cemetery. Geer Cemetery meets National Register Criteria Consideration D for cemeteries as its significance is derived from its historic associations under Criterion A.

    One Center Plaza, High Point, Guilford County, listed 4/10/2024
    One Plaza Center is listed in the National Register of Historic Places at the local level of significance under Criterion A in the area of Community Planning and Development and under Criterion C in the area of Architecture. During the mid-twentieth century, the City of High Point and the High Point Redevelopment Commission (HPRC) carried out an urban renewal program that reshaped the city. One Plaza Center is one of the few remaining mid-twentieth-century office buildings in downtown High Point. The resulting Brutalist style office building, designed by prominent North Carolina architect James Norman Pease, Jr., is an integral piece of the fabric of downtown High Point and served as the physical and visual center of the mid-twentieth century commercial district. Its development and construction represent the effective use of Urban Renewal funds and served as an impetus to a broader shift in community planning and development in High Point. One Plaza Center’s period of significance begins in 1970, when construction on the building commenced through 1974, when construction was completed, and tenants began moving into the building.

    R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Buildings 82 and 83, Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, listed 8/7/2024
    R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Buildings 82 and 83, erected in 1919 to provide tobacco leaf storage, are in the National Register of Historic Places listed under Criterion A due to their local industrial significance. The company fueled Winston-Salem’s economic prosperity as the concern grew to become the nation’s largest tobacco manufacturer in 1922. Due to spatial constraints at its downtown plant, RJRTC steadily acquired acreage in north Winston-Salem in proximity to the railroad corridor. Buildings 82 and 83 are the earliest identified extant tobacco storage warehouses in the city constructed per standard RJRTC specifications. Original features include large skylights and twelve-over-twelve double-hung wood windows that provide ample light and ventilation, sliding metal-clad and flat-panel metal doors at most entrances, and the concrete loading platform that spans Building 83’s west elevation. The period of significance begins in 1919 with the buildings’ construction and continues to 1973. Although RJRTC owned the warehouses until 1992, their function after 1973 is not of exceptional significance.

    Sidney Cotton Mill, Graham, Alamance County, listed 8/2/2024
    The Sidney Cotton Mill is listed in the National Register under Criterion C as a largely intact example of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century, Italianate-style, industrial architecture and of slow-burn industrial construction. Developed in the late-nineteenth century and codified by insurance companies, slow-burn construction was developed to as a cost-effective means of protecting textile mills from loss due to fire. The Sidney Cotton Mill was among the earliest steam-powered mills to be constructed in Alamance County and was only the second steam-powered mill, of at least five mills in total, to be constructed within the town of Graham. The architecture of the Sidney Cotton Mill is typical of turn-of-the-twentieth-century textile mills constructed in the North Carolina piedmont; it features Italianate-style detailing, including segmental-arch window openings and corbelled brick cornices, as well as an intact, three-story tower on the south elevation. The period of significance extends from 1886, the date of the earliest part of the mill, to ca. 1945 to incorporate its last addition.

    Warrenton Historic District (Additional Documentation, Boundary Increase, and Boundary Decrease), Warrenton, Warren County, listed 4/4/2024
    The nomination provides Additional Documentation for the 1976 Warrenton Historic District, a Boundary Increase to include early-to-mid-twentieth century buildings and African American resources, and a Boundary Decrease to remove vacant lots, recent construction, and substantially altered properties on the periphery of the Historic District. Additional Documentation for the Warrenton Historic District includes an updated inventory for the district with full written descriptions and a contributing status given for all resources within the district boundary. It clarifies the beginning of the period of significance for the Warrenton Historic District to begin c.1783, corresponding with the construction of the Peter Davis Store, the earliest extant above-ground resource, and extends the end of the period of significance to extend to 1971 to include Warrenton’s period of racial conflict related to the Civil Rights Movement and integration of the schools. The Additional Documentation also clarifies the areas of significance for the Warrenton Historic District.

    West End Cemeteries Historic District, Durham, Durham County, listed 8/6/2024
    The West End Cemeteries Historic District is a collection of four contiguous cemeteries across 26 acres in the historically residential and primarily African American West End neighborhood. Consisting of the 23.71-acre Maplewood Cemetery, 0.9-acre Hebrew Cemetery, 1.14-acre Henderson Family Cemetery, and 0.25-acre Fitzgerald Family Cemetery, the historic district contains a wide range of burial and marker types illustrative of the socio-economic backgrounds of the groups it represents. The West End Cemeteries Historic District is listed in the National Register of Historic Places at the local level under Criteria A and C. The Henderson and Fitzgerald family cemeteries are significant under Criterion A in the areas of Social History and Black Ethnic Heritage, the Hebrew Cemetery is significant under Criterion A in the areas of Social History and Jewish Ethnic Heritage, and the Maplewood cemetery is significant under Criterion C in the area of Art for its distinctive collection of mausoleums, monuments, and grave markers that express high artistic values; therefore, the West End Cemeteries Historic District meets Criteria Consideration D as a cemetery whose significance is derived from its historical associations and high artistic merit.

    In Eastern North Carolina

    Elizabeth City Cotton Mills, Elizabeth City, Pasquotank County, listed 8/6/2024
    The Elizabeth City Cotton Mills is listed in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A in the area of industry for its local, long term industrial significance, its prominent role in the local economy, and as the last remaining, large, nineteenth century industrial complex in Elizabeth City. The Elizbeth City Cotton Mills facility was largely complete by 1896. It was the only cotton mill in the county, and one of two textile mills in the county. The large, one-story complex itself is highly intact and tells a clear story of the physical development of the mill from its initial construction through its last significant additions. The exterior of the main factory building retains strong architectural integrity of design, materials, and workmanship. Additionally, the mill retains its original site with a strong link to its historical setting, including the railroad line which served the mill for its entire existence and still runs parallel to the front of the mill. The period of significance for the Elizabeth City Cotton Mills complex begins with the completion of the initial phase of the mill construction in 1896, and continues until 1967, the completion of the last notable additions and expansions.

    Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association Warehouse, Nashville, Nash County, listed 8/1/2024
    The Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association Warehouse is significant at the local level under Criterion A in the area of Agriculture for its association with a brief but powerful movement to change the tobacco buying process in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina in the 1920s. The Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association was established in 1920 to unite farmers within a single, large organization that would have the power to challenge the prevailing warehouse auction system of sales and undermine the capacity of a handful of large buyers to dominate the terms of sales. The multi-state, nonprofit organization subscribed thousands of farmer members and controlled dozens of warehouses by buying extant buildings, securing leases, or spurring new construction. The Nashville warehouse is one of an unknown number of buildings erected specifically to serve the cooperative movement. As quickly as the cooperative grew, so did it decline. The warehouse’s period of significance is from 1922, the year of its construction, to 1927 when it was sold to Nashville Building Supply.

    In Western North Carolina

    Samuel James and Jessie McCune Childs House, Hendersonville, Henderson County, listed 4/2/2024
    The Samuel James and Jessie McCune Childs House, with a period of significance of ca. 1923, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places at the local level under Criterion C in the area of Architecture. The house embodies the characteristics of the locally significant architectural history of 1920s residential design in Henderson County where the Craftsman and Rustic Revival styles accentuated the mountain aesthetic sought by Southern vacationers. Samuel Childs, a real estate developer, began purchasing land for a family home, a farm, and a resort development in 1922. He hired local Hendersonville contractor Ervin J. Anders and stonemason Lee Dewey Wright to build the house, and they completed construction in 1923. The house exhibits excellent craftsmanship and embodies the characteristics of Henderson County architecture from the 1920s. The landscape surrounding the house includes numerous several-hundred-year-old evergreen and deciduous trees, along with stone pathways and a patio, likely also constructed by Wright. The tract is approximately 2.62 acres, a portion of the acreage purchased by Childs in 1922.

    Clinchfield Manufacturing Company Mill No. 2, Marion, McDowell County, listed 4/23/2024
    The Clinchfield Manufacturing Company Mill No. 2 is listed in the National Register under Criterion A in the area of industry. As one of the earliest textile manufacturers in Marion, it helped establish textile manufacturing as an important local industry and grew to be the largest employer and textile producer in the county. The company hired noted industrial architect Joseph E. Sirrine to design two textile manufacturing plants—the first completed in 1915 (no longer standing) and the second, Mill No. 2, built 1917-1918. Mill No. 2 occupies a residual 19-acre tract that includes the mill building, boiler house and chimney, a cotton warehouse, security gatehouse, water tower, and multiple small hose houses and hydrants that were part of the plant’s fire suppression system. The original mill evolved over the years with the addition of air conditioning and bricked-in window openings. The period of significance begins in 1915 with the initial development of the Clinchfield Manufacturing Company site and construction of the water tower and ends in 1974 with the continued operation of the mill into the late twentieth century.

    Downtown Taylorsville Historic District, Taylorsville, Alexander County, listed 8/6/2024
    Located at the center of largely rural Alexander County in the western Piedmont region of North Carolina, the Downtown Taylorsville Historic District, in the county’s only incorporated town, has historically served as the county’s administrative and commercial seat. The buildings that compose the Downtown Taylorsville Historic District were constructed incrementally over the course of the early to mid-twentieth century, primarily as brick replacements of frame structures. The locally significant Downtown Taylorsville Historic District meets National Register Criterion A in the area of Commerce and Criterion C for its generally well-preserved grouping of early- to mid-twentieth-century commercial, civic, and religious buildings in the blocks around the Alexander County Courthouse. There are 39 resources in the district, of which 30 are contributing. The period of significance for the district is 1906 to 1970. Although additions were made to Taylorsville’s commercial center after 1970, the town’s architectural and commercial development since that time is not of exceptional significance.

    Seven Gables, Shelby, Cleveland County, listed 8/1/2024
    Seven Gables is listed in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C for architecture as an intact and locally significant Tudor Revival-style residence. Although abodes influenced by nationally popular architectural styles are found throughout Shelby’s early- to mid-twentieth-century subdivisions, Seven Gables is distinguished by its scale, sophisticated execution, and setting. The expansive house, designed by prominent Charlotte architect Franklin Gordon, is situated on an approximately two-acre tract that provides estate-like surroundings. Although a July 1935 fire caused extensive destruction, damaged elements were repaired or replicated by November 1935 using the 1929 drawings. Many historical features remain including gable windows with diamond-pane casement sash, oak floors; smooth plaster walls and ceilings; paneled wood doors; and built-in cabinets. Historic secondary resources include a stable, garage-apartment, and fieldstone-bordered pond with a pyramidal fieldstone fountain erected in 1929; a circa 1950 stone fireplace/grill; and a circa 1950 pool updated around 1970. The period of significance is 1929 and 1935, the dwelling’s construction and fire damage repair dates.

    Stepp’s Mill, Hendersonville vicinity, Henderson County, listed 8/2/2024
    Stepp’s Mill and its associated buildings provided the essential service of food processing and functioned as a social center for the rural community of Saconon in southeastern Henderson County. Built in 1913 by Benjamin and Alice Stepp Merrell, the grist mill ground grain for local farmers and, along with the adjacent post office, served as a hub of news and information for rural families. The post office closed in 1923 and later served as an office for the milling operation. The small grist mill complex is listed in the National Register under Criterion A in the areas of industry and social history. The grist mill reflects the traditions of self-sufficiency and early industry that brought together families in rural, agricultural-based communities across the region. The post office, in combination with the mill, served as a social center for the community of farm families that came together to process food, conduct business, and exchange information. The period of significance for Stepp’s Mill begins in 1913 when the Merrells constructed the buildings and began operations, and it ends in ca. 1955 when T. D. Stepp ceased regular production at the mill.

    Walker Top Baptist Church, Morganton vicinity, Burke County, listed 8/1/2024
    Walker Top Baptist Church was constructed around 1845. An associated cemetery is adjacent to the church where members are buried. The building is a rare survivor of a one-room, log church, which was a once-common building type, and it is historically significant under National Register Criterion C in the area of Architecture. Because the building derives its primary significance from its antebellum architecture, it meets Criteria Consideration A: Religious Properties. Its period of significance is its date of construction, circa 1845. The church retains all seven aspects of integrity: location, setting, materials, design, workmanship, association, and feeling. While some interior materials have been repaired or replaced over time and original windows have been replaced with modern sash, the building continues to convey its historic significance.

    NOTE TO EDITORS — The above images are available in a higher resolution on Dropbox Site.

    About the National Register of Historic Places
    The National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of buildings, structures, objects, sites, and districts worthy of preservation for their significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, and culture. The National Register was established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 to ensure that as a matter of public policy, properties significant in national, state, and local history are considered in the planning of federal undertakings, and to encourage historic preservation initiatives by state and local governments and the private sector. The Act authorized the establishment of a State Historic Preservation Office in each state and territory to help administer federal historic preservation programs.

    In North Carolina, the State Historic Preservation Office is a unit of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Dr. Darin Waters, the Department’s Deputy Secretary of Archives, History, and Parks, is North Carolina’s State Historic Preservation Officer. The North Carolina National Register Advisory Committee, a board of professionals and citizens with expertise in history, architectural history, and archaeology, meets three times a year to advise Dr. Waters on the eligibility of properties for the National Register and the adequacy of nominations.

    The National Register nominations for the recently listed properties may be read in their entirety on the NC Listings in the National Register of Historic Places page of the State Historic Preservation Office website. For more information on the National Register, including the criteria for listing, visit the NC State Historic Preservation Office National Register page.

    About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
    The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.
    The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.
    Oct 25, 2024

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Valadao Introduces Resolution to Recognize Sikh Genocide

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman David G. Valadao (California)

    WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-22), co-chair of the Sikh American Congressional Caucus, introduced a resolution to formally recognize and commemorate the Sikh Genocide of 1984. California is home to the largest Sikh population in the U.S., with the majority residing in the Central Valley.

    “Sadly, many Sikhs have been targeted for their religious beliefs throughout history, including during the 1984 genocide,” said Congressman Valadao. “The Central Valley is home to a vibrant Sikh community and I’m proud to stand with them in demanding recognition and accountability for this horrific event in their history. This resolution is a small but important step to commemorate this tragedy and honor the innocent victims who lost their lives while practicing their faith.”

    “As we mark the 40th anniversary of the Sikh Genocide, we remember a dark chapter in history that inflicted pain on Sikh families and communities. This is not just a distant tragedy—it hits home for us here in the San Joaquin Valley, where so many of our Sikh neighbors have shared their stories of loss, survival, and resilience. This resolution is more than a symbol — it’s a time to recognize this horrific time that our Sikh community experienced,” said Congressman Costa.

    Reps. Valadao and Costa were joined in introduction by Reps. Josh Harder (CA-09), Vince Fong (CA-20), and John Duarte (CA-13).

    The resolution is supported by American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, American Sikh Caucus Committee, Ensaaf, Jakara Movement, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), Sikh Coalition, Sikh Coordination Committee East Coast (SCCEC), and the United Sikhs.

    “This resolution marks a pivotal moment in our ongoing quest for justice and truth. The American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, representing Sikh religious institutions across the nation, has long advocated for the recognition of the atrocities committed during the 1984 Sikh Genocide. We thank Congressman Valadao for his courageous leadership and reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that the stories of our martyrs are preserved, and that justice is pursued relentlessly,” said Gudev Singh, Acting President, American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (AGPC).

    “This resolution is a turning point in our community’s decades-long pursuit of justice and recognition. For too long, the horrors of 1984 have been hidden from the global stage. Today, we honor the memory of those who suffered and ensure their voices will never be silenced. We extend our deepest gratitude to Congressman David Valadao for his leadership of the American Sikh Congressional Caucus, and in championing this cause, marking a momentous step toward accountability and healing for Sikh Americans and Sikhs worldwide,” said Dr. Pritpal Singh, Founder, American Sikh Caucus Committee.

    “This resolution marks a crucial victory in the battle for truth and justice for the victims of the 1984 Sikh Genocide. It stands as a testament to the resilience of our community, which has sought justice for decades. While we still have a long road ahead in terms of accountability, this first step of recognition in the U.S. House of Representatives gives us hope that justice one day will prevail,” said Sukhman Dhami, Co-Director, Ensaaf

    “The introduction of this resolution is not just about acknowledging the past but ensuring that future generations understand the truth about the 1984 Sikh Genocide. For Sikh youth and activists, this is more than a political milestone—it’s a validation of the pain our elders endured and a commitment to never allow history to forget. The Jakara Movement looks forward to working alongside Congressman Valadao to continue shining a light on this dark chapter and to ensure that justice for the victims remains a priority for all,” said Naindeep Singh, Executive Director, Jakara Movement.

    “This resolution is a historic acknowledgment of the deep scars the Sikh genocide of 1984 has left on our community. It not only honors the memory of those we lost but also empowers Sikh Americans and allies who have been fighting for decades to ensure that these atrocities are not forgotten. We are especially grateful to Congressman David Valadao for his unwavering support and for bringing this issue to the forefront of American consciousness. Today, we see a step toward justice and the validation of our truth,” said Kiran Kaur Gill, Executive Director, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF)

    “This is the first time a federal resolution has been introduced to recognize the 1984 Sikh Genocide, and it sends a powerful message: the world is watching, and the atrocities committed against Sikhs will not go unnoticed. We are deeply thankful to Congressman David Valadao for his leadership in this effort, and we look forward to building a broad coalition of support to ensure its ultimate passage. Today’s recognition fuels our resolve to continue advocating for justice and accountability,” said Harman Singh, Executive Director, Sikh Coalition.

    “The introduction of this resolution is a significant step forward for Sikhs worldwide, especially for those of us who have been tirelessly advocating for the truth to be recognized. The Sikh Coordination Committee East Coast stands united with our brothers and sisters in the continued pursuit of justice for the victims of 1984. This resolution acknowledges not only our pain but our perseverance, and we are grateful to Congressman Valadao for standing with us in this cause,” said Himmat Singh, Sikh Coordination Committee East Coast (SCCEC).

    “As a global humanitarian organization, United Sikhs has long championed the cause of justice and human rights for the Sikh community. The introduction of this resolution in the U.S. Congress is a watershed moment for our community’s struggle for truth and justice. It is an acknowledgment that the international community is listening, and it reinforces our collective resolve to ensure that the horrors of 1984 are neither ignored nor repeated. We extend our deepest gratitude to Congressman Valadao for his leadership and solidarity,” said Hardayal Singh, United Sikhs.

    Background:

    In June 1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered a military assault on Sri Darbar Sahib, a sacred place of worship more commonly known as The Golden Temple. During Operation Blue Star, the Indian Army used heavy artillery and tanks to lay siege on The Golden Temple complex, murdering thousands of civilians as an attempt to suppress Sikh religious rights and freedoms. This tragedy is considered by many as the beginning of the Sikh Genocide.

    Following the death of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, the Indian government launched a multi-day campaign of state-sponsored violence and repression against Sikhs that included disappearances, targeted killings, and coordinated mass violence. Political unrest in India throughout 1984 resulted in the loss of thousands of Sikh lives. Today, transnational repression is still a widespread issue impacting the Sikh community.

    Read the full text of the resolution here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Destacado de la NASA: Felipe Valdez, un ingeniero inspirador

    Source: NASA

    Read this story in English here.
    Felipe Valdez es una persona que aprovechó todas las oportunidades posibles en la NASA, trabajando desde que inicio como pasante universitario hasta su trabajo actual como ingeniero de controles de vuelo. 
    Nacido en los Estados Unidos pero criado en México, Valdez enfrentó grandes desafíos mientras crecía.    
    “Mi madre trabajaba por largas horas, mi padre batallaba contra la adicción, y eventualmente la escuela se volvió inaccesible,” dijo Valdez. 
    Determinado a continuar su educación, Valdez tomó la difícil decisión de dejar a su familia y regresar a EE. UU. Pero en su adolescencia, aprender inglés y adaptarse a un nuevo ambiente fue un choque cultural para él. A pesar de estos cambios, su curiosidad por materias como las matemáticas y la ciencia nunca decayó.
    “De niño, siempre se me ha facilitado trabajar con los números y me fascinaba cómo funcionaban las cosas. La ingeniería combinó ambas cosas,” dijo Valdez. “Eso despertó mi interés.”
    Mientras estudiaba ingeniería mecánica en la Universidad Estatal de California en Sacramento, la orientación de su profesor, José Granda, resultó fundamental.  
    “Él me animó a solicitar una pasantía en la NASA,” dijo Valdez. “Él había sido portavoz en español para una misión de transbordador [espacial], así que al escuchar que alguien con mis antecedentes tuvo éxito me dio la confianza que yo necesitaba para dar ese paso”. 
    El esfuerzo de Valdez valió la pena – él fue seleccionado como pasante en la Oficina de STEM de la NASA en el Centro Espacial Johnson en Houston. Allí, él trabajó en el desarrollo de software para la dinámica de vehículos, actuadores y modelos de controladores para una cápsula espacial en simulaciones por computadora.
    “No podía creerlo,” dijo Valdez. “Conseguir esa oportunidad cambió todo.”
    Esta pasantía abrió la puerta a una segunda oportunidad con la NASA, esta vez en el Centro de Investigación de Vuelo Armstrong de la agencia en California. Tuvo la oportunidad de trabajar en el desarrollo de computadoras de vuelo para el Diseño Aerodinámico de Investigación Preliminar para Disminuir la Resistencia, un diseño experimental de ala volante.  
    Después de estas experiencias, fue aceptado como un pasante en el Programa Pathways de la NASA, un programa de trabajo y estudio que ofrece la posibilidad de trabajar a tiempo completo en la NASA después de graduarse. 
    “Eso fue el comienzo de mi carrera en la NASA, donde realmente despego mi pasión por la aeronáutica,” dijo Valdez. 
    Valdez fue el primero en su familia en seguir una educación superior, obteniendo su licenciatura en la Universidad Estatal de Sacramento y su maestría en ingeniería mecánica y aeroespacial en la Universidad de California, Davis.
    Hoy en día, trabaja como ingeniero de controles de vuelo de la NASA en la rama de Dinámica y Controles del centro Armstrong. La mayor parte de su experiencia se ha centrado en el desarrollo de simulaciones de vuelo y diseño de sistemas de control, particularmente para aviones de propulsión eléctrica distribuida. 
    “Es gratificante formar parte de un grupo que se centra en hacer que la aviación sea más rápida, más silenciosa, y más sostenible,” dijo Valdez. “Como ingeniero de controles, trabajar en conceptos avanzados de aeronaves como la propulsión eléctrica distribuida me permite diseñar algoritmos para controlar directamente múltiples motores, mejorando la seguridad, la controlabilidad y la estabilidad, al tiempo que permite operaciones más limpias y silenciosas que amplían los límites de la aviación sostenible.”
    A lo largo de su carrera, Valdez se ha sentido orgulloso de su herencia. “Siento un fuerte orgullo de saber que la inclusión es uno de nuestros valores fundamentales aquí en la NASA y que las oportunidades están abiertas para todos.” 
    Crédito: NASA / Charles Genaro Vavuris
    Entrevistadora: NASA/ Lupita L Alcala

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Parson Announces Six Judicial Appointments, Appoints Ray County Presiding Commissioner

    Source: US State of Missouri

    OCTOBER 25, 2024

    Jefferson City — Today, Governor Mike Parson announced judicial appointments to the 3rd, 12th, 25th, 30th, and 43rd Judicial Circuits and appointed a new Ray County Presiding Commissioner.

    Alex T. Van Zandt, of Bethany, will be appointed as Associate Circuit Judge for Mercer County in the 3rd Judicial Circuit.

    Mr. Van Zandt is the Harrison County Prosecuting Attorney. He holds Bachelors of Arts in political science and business from the University of Missouri–Columbia and a Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri–Kansas City. He will fill the vacancy created by the election of the Honorable Matthew M. Krohn as Circuit Judge who is unopposed in the 2024 general election.

    Jonathan A. Yelton, of Jefferson City, will be appointed as Associate Circuit Judge for Warren County in the 12th Judicial Circuit.

    Mr. Yelton is deputy general counsel for the Office of Missouri Governor Michael L. Parson. He holds a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from Sterling College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Kansas. He will fill the vacancy created by the election of the Honorable Richard L. Scheibe as Circuit Judge who is unopposed in the 2024 general election.

    Kevin S. Hillman, of Waynesville, will be appointed as Associate Circuit Judge for Pulaski County in the 25th Judicial Circuit.

    Mr. Hillman is the Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in history and government from Centre College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati. He will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable Colin P. Long.

    Cynthia R. Black, of Marshfield, will be appointed as Associate Circuit Judge for Webster County in the 30th Judicial Circuit.

    Ms. Black owns Cynthia R. Black, Attorney at Law, LLC. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Missouri State University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri­–Columbia. She will fill the vacancy created by the appointment of the Honorable D. Charles Replogle as Circuit Judge.

    The Honorable D. Charles Replogle, of Marshfield, will be appointed as Circuit Judge for the 30th Judicial Circuit.

    Judge Replogle is the associate circuit judge for Mercer County in the 30th Judicial Circuit. He holds a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from Missouri Southern State University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Tulsa. He will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable Michael O. Hendrickson.

    Micha L. Dixon, of Jamesport, will be appointed as Associate Circuit Judge for Daviess County in the 43rd Judicial Circuit.

    Ms. Dixon is the attorney for the 43rd Judicial Circuit Juvenile Office and an assistant prosecuting attorney in the 43rd Judicial Circuit. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice and criminology and a Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri–Kansas City. Ms. Dixon will fill the vacancy created by the election of the Honorable Daren L. Adkins as Circuit Judge who is unopposed in the 2024 general election.

    Sheila Tracy, of Richmond, was appointed Ray County Presiding Commissioner.

    Ms. Tracy currently serves as a realtor at ReeceNichols Real Estate. She previously served as president of the Northland Regional Chamber of Commerce, vice president of membership for the Independence Chamber of Commerce, and as executive director of the Richmond Area Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Tracy further serves as a member of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the American Chamber of Commerce Executives. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: N.M. Delegation Files Amicus Brief Urging Ninth Circuit Court to Affirm that Federal Law Requires Hospitals to Provide Emergency Care, Including Abortion

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Senator for New Mexico Ben Ray Luján
    After the Supreme Court dismissed Idaho v. United States, returning it to the Ninth Circuit Court, 259 Members of Congress ask the Ninth Circuit to affirm that federal law ensures abortion care qualifies as “emergency stabilizing care” under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), and hospitals participating in Medicare must provide “emergency stabilizing treatment” to patients, including abortion care, when necessary. 
    The N.M Delegation joins the brief as New Mexico’s highly impacted health system continues to serve patients from neighboring states with restrictions on reproductive health care. 
     “In this case, respecting the supremacy of federal law is about more than just protecting our system of government; it is about protecting people’s lives.”
    WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States, two consolidated cases concerning the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) under consideration by the en banc Ninth Circuit. EMTALA is a federal law that requires hospitals that receive Medicare funding to provide necessary “stabilizing treatment” to patients experiencing medical emergencies, which includes abortion care. 
    After the Dobbs decision in 2022, an anti-abortion law in Idaho went into effect, making it a felony for a doctor to terminate a patient’s pregnancy unless it is “necessary” to prevent the patient’s death. The United States sued the State of Idaho, arguing that the state’s law is preempted by existing federal law in those circumstances in which abortion may not be necessary to prevent imminent death, but still constitutes the “necessary stabilizing treatment” for a patient’s emergency medical condition. The district court agreed; it held that in those limited, but critically important situations, EMTALA requires Medicare-participating hospitals to provide abortion as an emergency medical treatment. Idaho Republicans appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court. 
    In March, 258 lawmakers, including the N.M. Congressional Delegation, filed an amicus brief, asking the Supreme Court to affirm the district court decision. In June, the Supreme Court dismissed the case but without a ruling on the merits, sending the case back to the Ninth Circuit Court and reinstating the district court’s injunction. 
    In their brief in support of the Justice Department, the lawmakers state “he 99th Congress passed EMTALA to ensure that every person who visits a Medicare-funded hospital with an ‘emergency medical condition’ is offered stabilizing treatment.” The lawmakers continued in their amicus brief, “Congress chose broad language for that mandate, requiring hospitals that participate in the Medicare program to provide ‘such treatment as may be required to stabilize the medical condition.’… That text—untouched by Congress for the past three decades—makes clear that in situations in which a doctor determines that abortion constitutes the ‘ecessary stabilizing treatment’ for a pregnant patient, federal law requires the hospital to offer it. Yet Idaho has made providing that care a felony, in direct contravention of EMTALA’s mandate.” 
    The lawmakers point to numerous reports of OB/GYNs leaving Idaho en masse since the state’s abortion ban went into effect — Idaho has since lost fifty-five percent of its maternal-fetal medicine specialists, and three rural hospitals have shut down maternity services altogether. 
    “These are not hypothetical scenarios. Because Idaho’s abortion ban contains no clear exceptions for the “emergency medical conditions” covered by EMTALA, it forces physicians to wait until their patients are on the verge of death before providing abortion care. The result in other states with similar laws has been ‘significant maternal morbidity,’” wrote the lawmakers, pointing to harrowing reports of pregnant women with severe health complications being denied necessary abortion care. The lawmakers’ brief also counters an argument from Idaho and its amici that the Supremacy Clause does not apply in this case because EMTALA was passed using Spending Clause authority, and therefore acts only as a condition on Medicare funding. The lawmakers make clear that all laws passed by Congress are entitled to preemption — regardless of their source of constitutional authority — and states cannot pass laws that make it impossible for private parties to accept federal funding, inhibiting the purpose of the federal law. 
    “EMTALA requires abortion when necessary to stabilize a patient with an emergency medical condition, Idaho’s near-total abortion ban is preempted to the extent that it prevents doctors from providing that care,” the lawmakers wrote. “This Court should reject Appellants’ novel theory that EMTALA is not entitled to preemptive effect because it was enacted pursuant to Congress’s spending power.  Under the Supremacy Clause, all ‘the constitutional laws enacted by congress,’ constitute ‘the supreme Law of the Land,’. As the Supreme Court has repeatedly held, the principle of federal supremacy applies to laws passed pursuant to Congress’s spending authority no less than it does to laws effectuating other enumerated powers.” 
    “In sum, EMTALA plainly requires hospitals that participate in the Medicare program to provide abortion care when, in a doctor’s medical judgment, it constitutes the ‘ecessary stabilizing treatment’ for a patient’s ‘emergency medical condition.’” 
    The amicus brief was led by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and U.S. Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). 
    The lawmakers’ amicus brief to the Supreme Court can be read in full here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Luján Statement on Historic Formal Apology by President Biden for Traumatic Federal Indian Boarding School Policies

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Senator for New Mexico Ben Ray Luján
    Luján Previously Introduced Legislation to Establish a Truth and Healing Commission
    Santa Fe, N.M. – U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, issued the following statement regarding President Biden’s historic formal apology for the past injustices of the federal government’s Indian Boarding School Policies:  
    “Today’s long-awaited apology is a step in the right direction to heal from the intergeneration trauma inflicted by the federal government’s Indian Boarding School Policies. Across our Native communities and Tribal Nations, many continue to bear the scars from this dark time in our nation’s history. I applaud President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Secretary Haaland for fully acknowledging the harms of the past and for this effort to begin on the road toward healing Tribal families.
    “Acknowledging the injustices of the boarding school era is just the first step toward reconciliation. I was honored to introduce the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States Act – legislation that seeks healing for stolen Native children and their communities, and I will continue to fight to get this, and similar legislation passed and signed into law.
    “Let us never forget the scars inflicted on our Native brothers and sisters. Today, we are entering a chapter in the reconciliation process, and we must continue to right the wrongs of the boarding school era and ensure it is never repeated.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Manitoba Government Celebrates Recipients of 2024 Manitoba Healthy Aging Awards

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    October 25, 2024

    Manitoba Government Celebrates Recipients of 2024 Manitoba Healthy Aging Awards

    The Manitoba government is honouring Manitobans aged 65 and older at the annual Manitoba Healthy Aging Awards to celebrate people who have dedicated their time to improving the health and well-being of older adults as they age in their homes and communities, Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced today.

    “Seniors have made this province what it is today: a wonderful place to live,” said Asagwara. “These awards are well-deserved, and I want to congratulate each outstanding individual for their dedication to supporting safe and healthy aging in their communities.”

    The minister will present awards in three categories:

    • Older Adult of the Year Award – recognizing older adults who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in advocating for seniors in their communities;
    • Healthy and Active Living Ambassador Award – recognizing older adults helping their peers stay physically active and healthy; and
    • Intergenerational Impact Award – recognizing voluntary contributions of Manitobans that have created innovative solutions to improve the health of older adults in the community through meaningful intergenerational activities.

    The ceremony will be held today at the Manitoba Legislative Building to coincide with Seniors and Elders Month, the minister noted.

    For more information about the awards and award recipients, visit www.gov.mb.ca/seniors/index.html.

    – 30 –

    BACKGROUND INFORMATION ATTACHED

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressional Taiwan Caucus Co-Chairs Express Concern Over South Africa’s Request to Relocate Taiwan Liaison Office

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (25th District of FLORIDA)

    CategoriesMIL OSI

    WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Today, U.S. Representatives Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA), Andy Barr (R-KY), and Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Co-Chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, issued a statement expressing concern over South Africa’s request to relocate Taiwan Liaison Office:

    “South Africa’s demand that Taiwan relocate its liaison office from Pretoria raises serious concerns about the extent of the PRC’s influence in South Africa’s affairs. We urge the South African government to reconsider this decision and reconfirm its commitment to its democratic partner Taiwan.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Joint Statement: 7th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC)

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 25 OCT 2024 8:25PM by PIB Delhi

    Growing Together with Innovation, Mobility and Sustainability

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz co-chaired the seventh round of India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (7th IGC) on 25 October 2024 in New Delhi. The Delegation included Ministers of Defence, External Affairs, Commerce & Industries, Labour & Employment, Science & Technology (MoS) and Skill Development (MoS) from the Indian side and Ministers of Economic Affairs & Climate Action, Foreign Affairs, Labour & Social Affairs and Education & Research from the German side along with Parliamentary State Secretaries for Finance; Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection; and Economic Cooperation and Development from the German side, as well as senior officials from both sides.

    2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi warmly welcomed Chancellor Olaf Scholz on his third visit to India as Chancellor. Both leaders sincerely appreciated the renewed momentum in bilateral engagement across government, industry, civil society and academia that has played an instrumental role in advancing and deepening the Strategic Partnership between India and Germany.

    3. Both leaders emphasised the importance of the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business (APK), which takes place in New Delhi in parallel to the 7th IGC, in strengthening economic ties and strategic partnerships between Germany, India and the Indo-Pacific region as a whole. The decision to host the 2024 conference in India underscores India’s political weight in the Indo-Pacific and globally.

    4. Under the motto “Growing Together with Innovation, Mobility and Sustainability”, the 7th IGC placed particular emphasis on technology and innovation, labour and talent, migration and mobility, climate action, green and sustainable development as well as economic, defence and strategic cooperation. Both sides agree that the aforementioned domains will be the key drivers of our ever more multi-faceted partnership that spans trade, investment, defence, science, technology, innovation, sustainability, renewable energy, emerging technologies, development cooperation, culture, education, sustainable mobility, sustainable resource management, biodiversity, climate resilience and people-to-people ties.

    5. The year 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Inter – Governmental Agreement on Cooperation in Scientific Research and Technological Development which institutionalized the framework of Indo-German cooperation in Science & Technology, research and innovation. In this context, the 7th IGC presented an opportunity to renew the close relationship between India and Germany in this regard and to prioritize the advancement of technology and innovation as a key pillar of cooperation.

    6. During the 6th IGC, both governments had announced the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP), which serves as an umbrella for bilateral formats and joint initiatives in this field. Subsequently, both sides signed the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement (MMPA) in December 2022 and launched the “India-Germany Vision to Enhance Cooperation in Innovation and Technology” in February 2023. Recalling the outcomes of the 6th IGC and various agreements concluded by the two sides thereafter, both governments launched the “India-Germany Innovation and Technology Partnership Roadmap” and introduced the “Indo-German Green Hydrogen Roadmap”, whose aim is to promote the market ramp-up of Green Hydrogen.Growing Together for Peace, Security and Stability

    7. The two leaders noted the Pact for the Future and reaffirmed their commitment to upholding shared values and principles including democracy, freedom, international peace and security and a rules-based international order in line with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Both governments also underscored their commitment to strengthen and reform the multilateral system including expansion of both permanent and non-permanent categories of membership of the UN Security Council to reflect contemporary realities, address current and future challenges and to support and preserve peace and stability across the world. The two leaders called for text-based negotiations at the IGN within a fixed timeframe.

    8. India and Germany agreed that the difficulties of the UN Security Council to effectively address regional and global crises offer a compelling reminder of the urgent need for reform. As members of the “Group of Four (G4)”, India and Germany reiterated their call for a Security Council that is efficient, effective, transparent and reflective of 21st century realities.

    9. The leaders expressed their deepest concern over the war raging in Ukraine including its terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences. They reiterated the need for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in line with international law, consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. They also noted the negative impacts of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, especially for developing and least developed countries. In the context of this war, they shared the view that the use, or threat of use, of nuclear weapons is unacceptable. They underscored the importance of upholding international law, and in line with the UN Charter, reiterated that all states must refrain from the threat of or use of force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state.

    10. The leaders expressed their shared interest in achieving peace and stability in the Middle East. They unequivocally condemned the Hamas’ terror attacks on October 7, 2023 and expressed concern over the large-scale loss of civilian lives and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. They called for the immediate release of all hostages taken by Hamas and an immediate ceasefire as well as the urgent improvement of access and sustained distribution of humanitarian assistance at scale throughout Gaza. The leaders underscored the need to prevent the conflict from escalating and spilling over in the region. In this regard, they called on all regional players to act responsibly and with restraint. Both sides also emphasized the urgent need to protect the lives of civilians and facilitate safe, timely and sustained humanitarian relief to civilians, and in this regard urged all parties to comply with international law. The leaders were also deeply concerned about the rapidly deteriorating situation in Lebanon, called for an urgent cessation of hostilities and agreed that a solution to the conflict in Gaza and in Lebanon can only be reached by diplomatic means. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 outlines the path towards a diplomatic solution along the Blue Line. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a negotiated two-state solution, leading to the establishment of a sovereign, viable and independent State of Palestine, living within secure and mutually recognized borders, side by side in dignity and peace with Israel, taking into account Israel’s legitimate security concerns.

    11. The leaders underscored that as the world’s two largest democracies, India and the EU have a common interest in ensuring security, prosperity and sustainable development in a multi – polar world. They emphasized the importance of deepening the India-EU Strategic Partnership which would not only benefit both sides but also have a far-reaching positive impact globally. The leaders also expressed their strong support to the India-EU Trade and Technology Council that would serve as an innovative platform towards closer engagement in the critical areas of trade, trusted technologies and security. They agreed to coordinate efforts, both bilaterally and at the EU level, to take forward key connectivity initiatives including India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor in which India, Germany and EU are members as well as the EU Initiative Global Gateway.

    12. Both leaders underscored the crucial importance of a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, Investment Protection Agreement and an Agreement on Geographical Indications between the European Union and India, while calling for an early conclusion of the negotiations.

    13. Both leaders unequivocally condemned terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including the use of terrorist proxies and cross-border terrorism. Both sides agreed that terrorism remains a serious threat to international peace and stability. They further called for concerted action against all terrorist groups, including groups proscribed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) 1267 Sanctions Committee. Both sides also called upon all countries to continue to work towards eliminating terrorist safe havens and infrastructure as well as to disrupt terrorist networks and financing in accordance with international law.

    14. Both leaders noted with concern the emerging threats from the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes such as unmanned aircraft systems, use of virtual assets by terrorists and terrorist entities and the misuse of information and communication technologies for radicalization. In this regard they welcomed the adoption of Delhi Declaration on Countering the use of New and Emerging Technologies for Terrorism Purposes adopted during the conduct of UNCTC meetings in India in 2022.

    15. Recognizing a shared commitment to combat terrorism and strengthen the framework for global cooperation in this regard, both leaders emphasized the importance of upholding international standards on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism by all countries, including in FATF. Both sides called for bringing the perpetrators of terrorist acts to justice. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to hold regular consultations of the Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism to strengthen channels for real time sharing of intelligence and coordination of counter-terrorism efforts. Both sides also committed to continued exchange of information about sanctions and designations against terror groups and individuals, countering radicalism, and terrorists’ use of the internet and cross-border movement of terrorists.

    16. With a view to ensuring closer collaboration to prevent, suppress, investigate and prosecute criminals, including crime related to terrorism, India and Germany concluded the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Criminal Matters (MLAT). Both leaders agreed that the India-Germany MLAT is an important milestone in strengthening security cooperation between the two countries that will enable sharing of information and evidence, mutual capacity building and sharing of best practices between the two countries.

    17. As strategic partners with a shared interest in deepening security cooperation, both sides concluded the Agreement on the Exchange and Mutual Protection of Classified Information thereby creating a legal framework for cooperation and collaboration between Indian and German entities and providing guidance on how classified information should be handled, protected and transmitted.

    18. With a view to better appreciating foreign policy perspectives in key regions across the world, both governments decided to establish an India-Germany Dialogue on West Asia and North Africa (WANA) between the respective Foreign Ministries, which would be in addition to long-standing dialogue mechanisms on Africa and East Asia. Both governments also expressed satisfaction with regular consultations on key thematic issues of mutual concern including policy planning, cyber-security, cyber issues and United Nations.

    19. Recognizing the need for a deeper understanding of each other’s perspectives, including amongst think tanks and foreign and security policy experts, both governments underscored the usefulness of India-Germany Track 1.5 dialogue between Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) and MEA from the Indian side and German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) and the German Federal Foreign Office. The next meeting of this dialogue format is planned for November 2024. Both governments also appreciated the launch of a Track 1.5 Dialogue on East Asia and agreed that these exchanges help both sides better align and coordinate their outreach. With a view to sustaining this momentum, both sides agreed to convene the next edition of the Track 1.5 Dialogue Mechanisms at the earliest opportunity.

    20. Both sides are committed to promoting a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific built on international law, mutual respect for sovereignty, and peaceful resolution of disputes, and underpinned by effective regional institutions. Both sides reaffirmed their unwavering support for ASEAN’s unity and centrality. The Government of India welcomed Germany’s leadership in the capacity-building pillar of the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and its commitment of up to 20 Million EUR via a competitive call for ideas under its International Climate Initiative in 2022 to strengthen the resilience of Pacific Island States against climate-related loss and damage.

    21. Germany congratulated India on its successful G20 Presidency which brought the development agenda to centre stage in G20. Both Leaders acknowledged that from initiating a platform on Compact with Africa (CwA) during the German G20 Presidency to inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 during India’s Presidency, the G20 has come a long way to ensure that the voice of the Global South is amplified. India and Germany expressed their support to the priorities set by the Brazilian G20 Presidency, especially Global Governance Reforms.Strengthening Defence and Strategic Cooperation

    22. Recognizing the shared goal of intensifying defence ties between the two countries, the Government of India welcomed the efforts of the German Federal Government to facilitate faster export clearances, including through favourable regulatory decisions such as the General Authorisation/General Licences (AGG) regime. Both sides committed to supporting strategic exports to India and encouraged co-development, co-production and joint research between the respective defence industries. Both governments appreciated the defence roundtable held in New Delhi on 24 October, to strengthen the defense industrial partnership between India and Germany.

    23. In addition to regular visits and increasing interactions between the armed forces, both sides look forward to the next High Defence Committee (HDC) meeting to be held in India next year with a view to developing defence cooperation as a key pillar of the Strategic Partnership between India and Germany. India and Germany also agreed to finalize cooperation in peacekeeping related training between the Centre for UN Peacekeeping (CUNPK), New Delhi and its counterpart in Germany, the Bundeswehr United Nations Training Centre in Hammelburg (GAFUNTC) and looked forward to the Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting in Berlin in 2025.

    24. Both sides stressed the importance of the Indo-Pacific for prosperity and security as well as for addressing global challenges. Germany will enhance its engagement with the region in line with the Federal Government’s policy guidelines for the Indo-Pacific. Both sides also highlighted the importance of freedom of navigation and of unimpeded maritime routes in accordance with International Law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, in all maritime domains including in the Indo-Pacific. In this context, both governments declared their joint intent to conclude a Memorandum of Arrangement regarding mutual logistics support and exchange between the armed forces of India and Germany to further intensify defence and security ties and to establish a basis for provision of mutual logistics support including in the Indo-Pacific theatre. With a view to deepening cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, Germany will permanently deploy a Liaison Officer in the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) at Gurugram to monitor the marine traffic in IOR, further augmenting close cooperation in this region.

    25. Both sides welcomed Germany’s growing engagement in the Indo-Pacific region in the field of security and defence cooperation and appreciated the successful cooperation of the Indian and German air forces during exercise TARANG SHAKTI in August 2024 as well as the port call in Goa and joint naval exercises between the German Naval Frigate “Baden-Württemberg” along with the Combat Support Ship “Frankfurt Am Main” and the Indian Navy. Germany also welcomed the port call of Indian naval ship INS TABAR to Hamburg in July 2024.

    26. Both governments agreed to intensify bilateral exchanges on security and defence issues also through enhancing research, co-development and co-production activities bilaterally, under EU mechanisms and with other partners. In this regard, both sides will support enhanced industry level cooperation in the defence sector with a specific focus on technology collaboration, manufacturing/co-production and co-development of defence platforms and equipment. Germany also welcomes India’s application for observer status in the Eurodrone Programme of OCCAR (Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation).Partnering for Critical and Emerging Technologies, Science and Innovation

    27. Both leaders expressed their appreciation on the successful 50 years of long standing collaboration in science and technology between the two countries and reaffirmed their support to expand it further through launching the ‘India-Germany Innovation and Technology Partnership Roadmap’ which will serve as a guideline to the public and private sectors and research institutions of the two countries to take forward our cooperation in the areas of renewable energy, start-ups, semiconductors, AI and quantum technologies, climate risk and sustainable resource management, climate change adaptation as well as agroecology Both leaders further identified space and space technologies as an important and promising area for future prosperity, development, and possible cooperation.

    28. The two leaders expressed their satisfaction at the growing exchanges between the two countries in the field of research & education and growing number of Indian students studying in Germany. Both leaders also acknowledged the flagship role of the Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC) in promoting bilateral industry-academia strategic research and development partnerships. Both leaders welcomed the recent initiatives of IGSTC and signing of Joint Declaration of Intent to support 2+2 projects in the field of advanced materials. Understanding the importance of IGSTC, both leaders expressed their desire to expand and forge new partnerships anchored in shared values and driven by innovation led technology development and manufacturing.

    29. Both Leaders acknowledged the launching of the first ever basic research consortia model between the two countries namely, International Research Training Group (IRTG), jointly by Department of Science and Technology (DST) & German Research Foundation (DFG) with the involvement of first group of researchers from IISER Thiruvananthapuram and Würzburg University on Photoluminescence in Supramolecular Matrices. Underpinning science and innovation landscape, they expressed their desire to initiate an Indo-German Innovation and Incubation Exchange Programme to leverage collective expertise and capacity for fostering scientific innovation and incubation ecosystems of academic & research institutions.

    30. Both Leaders also expressed their appreciation and satisfaction over the high level of engagement as exemplified by India’s participation in mega-science facilities at Facility for Anti-Proton and Ion Research (FAIR) and Deutsche Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY) in Germany. They extended their commitment including financials to ensure timely execution of the FAIR facility. The two leaders also acknowledge the continuation of the cooperation at the synchrotron radiation facility PETRA-III and the free-electron laser facility FLASH at DESY.

    31. Both governments welcomed the steadily increasing partnerships in Higher Education which facilitate dual and joint degrees and intensify collaborative research and academic and institutional exchanges between Universities and Institutions of Higher Education. In particular, both sides expressed their appreciation and full support for the first ever Indo-German joint Masters degree programme in “Water Security & Global Change”, a joint initiative of TU Dresden, RWTH-Aachen and IIT-Madras (IITM) funded by DAAD as well as a new initiative of TU Dresden and IITM to conclude an agreement establishing a “transCampus” to deepen bilateral cooperation in teaching, research, innovation and entrepreneurship. Both governments also welcomed the signing of the MoU between IIT Kharagpur and the DAAD, which will enable joint funding for Indo-German university cooperation projects. Both sides expressed their strong support for the dedicated call of the “German Indian Academic Network for Tomorrow” (GIANT) under SPARC (Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration) highlighting cooperation between Indian and German universities.

    32. With a view to further strengthening digital and technology partnerships between India and Germany, both governments agreed to share experience and expertise in digital public infrastructure (DPI), e.g. to explore ways in which Germany can leverage India’s expertise in DPI and the strengths of the Indian IT industry to drive innovation and digital transformation in both countries. As an important forum for exchanges on digital topics such as internet governance, tech regulations, digital transformation of economy, and emerging digital technologies, both sides welcomed the finalization of the Work Plan for 2023-24 formulated by the Indo-German Digital Dialogue (IGDD).

    33. Both sides will endeavour to leverage AI to advance the SDG, recognizing the need for an innovation-friendly, balanced, inclusive, human-centric and risk-based approach to the governance of AI. Digital solutions such as image detection and AI are playing an important role in revolutionising agriculture by assisting farmers and enhancing agricultural productivity, climate resilience, carbon sinks and sustainability. Both countries are running national programmes to facilitate the growth of digital agriculture and have agreed to intensify their Cooperation in Digital Agriculture, AI and IoT to foster ongoing cooperation, innovation and exchanges for modernising agriculture.

    34. Both governments underlined the strategic importance of collaboration in the field of critical and emerging technologies, innovation and skill development. Reaffirming the priorities for bilateral cooperation, as laid down in the Innovation and Technology Partnership Roadmap, both governments agreed to focus on collaboration in innovation, skill development and critical and emerging technologies. Forging closer linkages between the industry and academia of the two countries in key technology areas would be prioritized, in recognition of a shared commitment to ensuring an open, inclusive and secure technology architecture, built on mutual trust and respect, and reflecting shared values and democratic principles. Based on that, the two countries would achieve outcome oriented and mutually beneficial technology collaboration in identified sectors.

    35. In furthering cooperation in the field of research in disaster mitigation, tsunami warnings, coastal hazards, early warning systems, disaster risk reduction and oceanography, polar sciences, biology and biogeochemistry, geophysics and geology, both Governments welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam – Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum, and between National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) and AlfredWegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung (AWI).

    36. Both Governments also welcomed the bilateral agreement in the biological, physical and mathematical sciences between National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) and International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS), both centres of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), India and Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG), Germany. This agreement will facilitate the exchange of scientists, including students and research staff, between the various Max Planck Institutes with ICTS and NCBS.

    37. Both Leaders noted with appreciation the collaboration between M/s New Space India Ltd and M/s GAF AG for upgrading the international ground station at Neustrelitz, Germany for the reception and processing of data from OceanSat – 3 and RISAT – 1A satellites. Partnership for a Green and Sustainable Future

    38. Both sides acknowledged the need for green, sustainable, climate resilient and inclusive development to achieve net zero emissions. Both governments aim to substantially enhance bilateral, trilateral and multilateral cooperation in climate action and sustainable development. Both sides acknowledged the progress achieved thus far under the Indo-German Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP). This partnership, guided by shared commitments, seeks to accelerate the implementation of the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement and the SDGs. In this context, both sides stressed the need to work jointly for an ambitious outcome of the upcoming UNFCCC COP29, in particular on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). Both sides will respond positively to the outcomes of COP28, including the first Global Stocktake, in light of national circumstances.

    39. Both sides appreciated the stocktaking of progress during the Ministerial meeting on the GSDP objectives. To contribute to the implementation of the GSDP, both sides are committed to regular dialogue within the existing working groups and other bilateral formats and initiatives. The next meeting of the Ministerial Mechanism shall take place at the latest within the framework of the next India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations, to conduct a stocktaking of the progress on GSDP objectives to achieve the Paris Agreement goals and SDGs. Both sides reaffirmed their intention to closely cooperate on combatting climate change and therefore expressed their intention to hold a meeting of the Indo-German Climate Working Group in the near future.

    40. Under the umbrella of the GSDP, both sides inter alia:

    a. Launched the Indo-German Green Hydrogen Roadmap. The Leaders agreed that the Roadmap will help support India’s ambition for production, usage and export of Green Hydrogen while also contributing to a swifter adoption of Green Hydrogen as a sustainable source of energy in both countries

    b. Launched the GSDP Dashboard, a publicly accessible online tool, which showcases the intensive cooperation between Germany and India under the GSDP. It gives an overview of key innovations and the broad range of experience covered by India-Germany cooperation. It facilitates stocktaking of the joint progress towards achieving GSDP objectives, and provides key information to relevant stakeholders on innovative solutions for global challenges.

    c. Signed a Joint Declaration of Intent to renew and further elevate the partnership in accordance with a shared vision to promoting in India sustainable urban mobility for all, recognizing the importance of green and sustainable urbanization for inclusive social and economic development and the strong results of the Green Urban Mobility Partnership since its establishment in 2019.

    d. Highly appreciated the achievements and vision for the future of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and agreed to intensify our cooperation within ISA.

    e. Appreciated the cooperation in the area of halting deforestation and degradation and reversing the trend by restoring forest landscapes in support of the implementation of the Rio Conventions and the SDGs.

    41. The leaders acknowledged that the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF), through its various activities, has played a pivotal role in strengthening the general bilateral economic relations between Germany and India, promoting economic growth, and addressing global climate change challenges.

    42. Both sides underscored the role of the 4th Global RE-INVEST Renewable Energy Investors Meet & Expo, held in September 2024 in Gandhinagar with Germany as a partner country, in bringing together key stakeholders in the renewable energy sector. Both governments recalled the ‘India-Germany Platform for Investments in Renewable Energy Worldwide’ which was launched during RE-INVEST as a key initiative to fast-track renewable energy investments, foster business collaborations and expand global supply chains. The platform will accelerate the expansion of renewable energy in India and worldwide through exchanges on green financing, technology and business opportunities.

    43. Both governments expressed their wish to continue to strengthen the cooperation through the Joint Working Group on Biodiversity and acknowledged that CBD COP 16 marks a crucial moment in the global effort to implement the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework.

    44. Recalling the deliberations and outcomes of the Joint Working Group on Waste management and Circular Economy which has created opportunities by intensifying exchanges on experiences and technologies between the two countries, both sides agreed to explore the possibility of deepening cooperation within these structures, for instance, focusing future work on inter alia Solar Waste recycling. They appreciated the Indo-German environment cooperation on the effective and efficient implementation of ambitious objectives and policies in order to prevent waste, especially plastics, from entering the marine environment. India and Germany agreed to closely cooperate towards establishing a global legally binding agreement on plastic pollution.

    45. Both leaders acknowledged the progress made under the Triangular Development Cooperation (TDC), which pools mutual strengths and experiences to offer sustainable, viable and inclusive projects in third countries as per their priorities to support the achievement of SDGs and climate targets in Africa, Asia and beyond. Both sides welcomed the encouraging results of the pilot projects in Cameroon, Ghana and Malawi, and the progress made in the ongoing initiatives with Benin and Peru. In view of the successful implementation of the aforementioned initiatives, both governments have agreed to commence upscaling of the pilot projects with Cameroon (agriculture), Malawi (women entrepreneurship) and Ghana (horticulture) in 2024 and beyond. Furthermore, both sides welcomed the start of the three millet related pilot projects: two with Ethiopia and one with Madagascar. Additionally, both sides have launched the institutional mechanism to reach out to the partners, select and implement their joint initiatives on a full scale and to this end, both governments established a Joint Steering Committee and a Joint Implementation Group.

    46. The leaders reaffirmed that Gender Equality is of fundamental importance and investing in the empowerment of women and girls has a multiplier effect in implementing the 2030 Agenda. They reiterated their commitment to encourage women-led development and enhancing womens’ full, equal, effective and meaningful participation as decision-makers for addressing global challenges inclusively while noting Germany’s Feminist Foreign and Development Policies in this regard. Both sides reaffirmed their desire to strengthen Indo-German cooperation on promoting the critical role of women in green and sustainable development.

    47. In addition, both sides welcomed the milestones already achieved with respect to the existing initiatives and new commitments for financial and technical cooperation under the framework of the GSDP, as follows:

    a.New commitments in all core areas of the GSDP of more than 1 billion EUR as agreed during the negotiations on development cooperation between the Government of India and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany in September 2024, adding up to accumulated commitments of around 3.2 billion EUR since beginning of the GSDP in 2022;

    b.Under the Indo-German Renewable Energy Partnership, the cooperation focused on innovative solar energy, green hydrogen, other renewables, grid integration, storage and investments in the renewable energy sector to facilitate an energy transition and to address the need for a reliable, round the clock renewable power supply.

    c.The “Agroecology and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources” cooperation benefits the vulnerable rural population and small-scale farmers in India by fostering income, food security, climate resilience, soil health, biodiversity, forest ecosystems and water security.

    d.Both sides reiterated their intention to continue their successful collaboration on sustainable urban development.

    Building resilience through Trade and Economic collaboration

    48. Both leaders hailed the consistent high performance in terms of bilateral trade between the two countries in the recent years and encouraged stakeholders in India and Germany to further strengthen trade and investment flows. The leaders also noted the strong two-way investments between India and Germany and the positive impacts of such investments in diversifying the global supply chains. In this context, the leaders expressed confidence that the APK 2024, the bi-annual flagship forum of German Business with participation of top-level business executives from Germany, is a crucial platform to showcase the immense opportunities available in India for German businesses.

    49. Both sides underlined the long-standing presence of German businesses in India and Indian businesses in Germany and agreed to work towards deepening economic and trade linkages between the two countries. In this context, both sides welcomed the holding of the meeting of the India-Germany CEO Forum which serves as a high-level platform to engage business and industry leaders from India and Germany. They also underlined the achievements of the Indo-German Fast Track Mechanism to resolve trade and investment related issues, and are ready to continue its operation.

    50. In recognition of the importance of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)/Mittelstand in economic growth and job creation, both sides acknowledged the growth in bilateral investment and the success of the ‘Make in India Mittelstand’ Programme, which supports German Mittelstand enterprises seeking to invest and do business in India. In a similar vein, both governments also recognised the key role played by start-ups in fostering innovation, and commended the German Accelerator (GA) for successfully facilitating start-ups to address the Indian market, and welcomed plans to establish its presence in India. Both sides noted that a corresponding programme to assist Indian start-ups in gaining market access in Germany could further enhance economic cooperation between the two countries.

    Strengthening Labour Markets, Mobility and People-to-People Ties

    51. As bilateral cooperation on skilled migration expands across multiple fronts, involving collaboration between federal and state governments, as well as private sector stakeholders, both sides committed to full implementation of the provisions of the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement (MMPA). In line with the commitments outlined in the MMPA both sides remain dedicated to promoting fair and legal labor migration. This approach is guided by international standards that ensure migrant workers are treated with dignity and respect, including fair recruitment practices, transparent visa processes, and the protection of workers’ rights. By focusing on these principles, both countries aim to facilitate the mobility of skilled workers in a manner that benefits all parties while safeguarding against exploitation and ensuring compliance with international labor standards.

    52. Building on the MMPA, the two sides concluded a JDI in the field of Employment and Labour, to enhance bilateral cooperation and exchange in areas of mutual interest between the respective ministries. The German side informed that it will support a feasibility study on international reference classification, a G20 commitment undertaken by the Indian G20 presidency in 2023. Both leaders look forward to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in the field of occupational diseases, rehabilitation and vocational training of workers with disabilities between the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), the Directorate General of Employment (DGE) and the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV).

    53. Both leaders noted that Indian professionals comprise over 1/4th of all blue card holders in Germany and that Indian students now represent the largest cohort of international students in Germany. Regarding this, they recognized the complementarities that exist between the requirements of skills and talents in Germany and the vast reservoir of young, educated and skilled persons in India, who can be an asset to the German labour market. The Federal Employment Agency will deepen the existing exchange with the National Skill Development Council, India (NSDC) and other similar Government agencies at national and state levels. Both sides welcomed the launch of the new national strategy of the German Federal government to promote skilled migration from India.

    54. Both leaders also expressed satisfaction on the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Skill Development and Vocational Education and Training which would leverage the strengths of India and Germany towards creating a pool of skilled workforce in India and strengthening the participation of women, especially in the areas of green skills. Both sides agreed to include elements of facilitating international mobility of labour.

    55. Both sides remain committed to the goal of expanding the teaching of the German language in India, including in secondary schools, universities and vocational education centers. They encouraged Indian and German States, culture centers and educational institutions to further promote the teaching of each other’s languages in India and Germany, including the training of language teachers. Both sides welcomed the joint efforts of the DAAD and the Goethe Institute to develop a format for the formalized training and further education of German teachers leading to a university certificate recognized in India.

    56. Both sides reaffirmed the contribution of highly skilled professionals for economic growth, noted with satisfaction the results achieved under the programme “Partnering in Business with Germany”, and renewed the JDI on advanced training of corporate executives and junior executives from India.

    57. With the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement (MMPA), both sides also agreed to address irregular migration. For this purpose, both sides established a cooperation in the field of return since the entry into force of the MMPA. Both sides welcomed the progress achieved so far and underline the importance of further developing and streamlining cooperation through appropriate procedural arrangements.

    58. The leaders welcomed the growing ties between the two sides and their respective nationals. They acknowledged the wide range of Consular issues stemming from these growing ties and the need for dialogue on all matters related to Consular issues. They agreed to work towards early establishment of an appropriate format for a bilateral dialogue on various Consular, Visa and other issues affecting nationals of the other side residing in their respective territories.

    59. Both sides acknowledged the role of their youth as cultural ambassadors and catalysts for innovation and promoting people – people linkages between the two countries. In this context, both leaders stressed on the importance of youth cooperation and noted the proposal for establishing forum for youth exchanges and delegations between both sides. Both sides also agree to facilitate student exchanges on a mutual basis.

    60. Both sides noted with satisfaction the substantial work being done in the field of culture and welcomed efforts towards expanding scope of the Memorandum of Understanding on Museum Cooperation between Indian and German national museums such as the Prussian Heritage Foundation and the National Gallery of Modern Art, India.

    61. In line with the G20 New Delhi Leader’s Declaration (2023), both leaders underscored the intention to cooperate closely with regards to the restitution and protection of cultural goods and the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property at national, regional and state levels to enable its return and restitution to the country and community of origin as relevant, and called for sustained dialogue and action in that endeavour.

    62. Both Governments also appreciated substantial cultural and academic exchanges made possible via initiatives such as the establishment of Indian academic chairs at universities in Germany.

    63. Both leaders expressed satisfaction at the deliberations held at the 7th IGC and reaffirmed their commitment to further expand and deepen the Indo-German Strategic Partnership. Chancellor Scholz thanked Prime Minister Modi for his warm hospitality and conveyed that Germany looks forward to hosting the next IGC.

     

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: ‘IndiaAI’ and Meta announces the establishment of the Center for Generative AI, Shrijan (सृजन) at IIT Jodhpur

    Source: Government of India (2)

    ‘IndiaAI’ and Meta announces the establishment of the Center for Generative AI, Shrijan (सृजन) at IIT Jodhpur

    Meta commits funds & its In house research support to सृजन (Srijan)

    Srijan to encourage students & young developers in India to use open-source AI models to solve real-world problems and drive positive social and economic impact

    CoE to focus researches in education, mobility and healthcare domains vis a vis the global advancements in Generative AI

    Posted On: 25 OCT 2024 8:14PM by PIB Delhi

     ‘IndiaAI’ and Meta today announced the establishment of the Center for Generative AI, Shrijan (सृजन) at IIT Jodhpur and the launch of the “YuvAI initiative for Skilling and Capacity Building”, in partnership with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). This is aimed at propelling the advancement of open source artificial intelligence (AI) in India.

    Establishment of the Center for Generative AI, Shrijan (सृजन)

    The CoE will Identify & empower the next generation of AI innovators and entrepreneurs using open-source AI & exploring possibilities in Large Language Model LLMs. The research under its aegis will be shared with students via AICTE and via direct connect with colleges. Srijan will engage young developers to deploy open-source LLMs across India & unearth indigenous use cases through Hackathons.

    It will conduct Master Training activation workshops for select colleges, data labs, and ITIs, introducing them to foundations of LLMs to ignite interest. It will help support in creation of Student-led Startups experimenting with Open Source LLMs by identifying the young developers.

    Highlighting the power of collaborative innovation, Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), emphasized the significance of the partnership between IndiaAI, IIT Jodhpur, AICTE and Meta. He stated “These initiatives are pivotal in creating a robust ecosystem for groundbreaking research, skill development, and open-source innovation, advancing AI technology while ensuring its responsible and ethical deployment.”

    The initiative will support India’s ambitious goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy by equipping the nation’s youth to lead in the global AI arena, securing India’s position as a leader in technological advancement and economic growth.

    Also commenting on the partnership, Sh. Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, MeitY said, “The Indian government is supporting the vision of AI innovation, skilling, and technological advancement to drive inclusive growth under the IndiaAI initiative. Our collaboration with industry leaders like Meta is vital to realizing this vision. By fostering a culture of open source innovation in AI, advancing research and skill development in emerging technologies, we are bridging the talent gap and ensuring that our youth are equipped to lead in the AI revolution, ultimately securing India’s position as a global leader in responsible development and contributing to a robust AI ecosystem.”

    The Centre of excellence was announced under the aegis of Meity on July 27th, 2023. Srijan will ensure long-term sustainability of the GenAI research beyond the initial phase supported by seed funding of Meta & support from IndiaAI. IIT Jodhpur will devise a comprehensive plan that encompasses diverse revenue streams, strategic partnerships & continuous innovation. Its progress will be yearly monitored annually by the joint committee of MeitY and Meta for the duration of the funding support.

    Srijan will nurture the startup ecosystem of AI & other Emerging Technologies. In doing so, IIT Jodhpur will enhance accessibility to AI compute resources for researchers, startups, and all the other organizations with limited resources. It will also enable knowledge sharing and collaboration through workshops, seminars, conferences, and similar platforms. Programs developed and initiatives taken by Srijan will enhance AI & Emerging Technologies skills and expertise among researchers, professionals and students in India, contributing to the growth of AI talent in the country with a focus on developing responsible AI through a collaborative development of comprehensive tools and guidelines.

    Meta has committed to invest up to INR 750 Lakhs (as donation) over the period of three years. The IndiaAI will support the researcher working in the CoE being setup at IIT Jodhpur’s Centre Srijan. The GenAI Centre of Excellence, Srijan, (सृजन) aims to foster a collaborative ecosystem in the field of Generative AI through groundbreaking research and application development to address current national challenges in education, mobility and healthcare domains. This research will contribute to global advancements in Generative AI. Through education, capacity building, and policy advisory, the center will be empowering the next generation of researchers, students, and practitioners with the knowledge and tools necessary for the responsible development and deployment of GenAI technologies. Funding will be used by IIT Jodhpur towards activities of the GenAI CoE.

    Shivnath Thukral, Vice President and Head of Public Policy, Meta India said, “By emphasizing the importance of open-source AI, Meta is committed to nurturing an ecosystem where indigenous solutions can flourish. Today’s partnership is testament to our deep commitment to furthering the advancement of emerging technologies in India, while aligning seamlessly with IndiaAI mission. These initiatives will empower the next generation of innovators and equip them with the tools to address pressing real-world challenges, ultimately propelling India to be at the forefront of global AI advancements.”

    The key objective of IIT Jodhpur’s Centre of Excellence, Srijan is to foster indigenous research ecosystem is the country. It aims to nurture 1 lakh youth developers & entrepreneurs in AI skills over next 3 years. The idea is to remain future ready in our Development of innovative indigenous AI solutions in key areas like healthcare, education, agriculture, smart cities, smart mobility, sustainability, financial and social inclusion. IIT Jodhpur COE Srijan will collaborate with academic, government & industry stakeholders both national & global to advance GenAI research and technology. This includes Open science innovation, Develop and transfer technology solutions, Education & capacity building besides Policy advisory and governance.

    The CoE will have an academic research team comprising of faculty members, post-doctoral fellows, doctorate, graduate students, and administrative staff from IIT Jodhpur to be coordinated by the center director, who will also be the Principal Investigator of the project. The team will interface with the Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya for railways, PGI Chandigarh, AIIMS Jodhpur, and IHBAS Delhi for the healthcare vertical.

    Launch of the “AI for Skilling and Capacity Building” Initiative as part of India’s YuvaAI (Youth for Unnati and Vikas with AI) initiative

    Meta, in collaboration with MeitY and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), also launched the “YuvaAI initiative for Skilling and Capacity Building” . This program aims to bridge the AI talent gap in the country by empowering 100,000 students and young developers aged 18-30 to leverage open-source large language models (LLMs) to address real-world challenges. It aims to build capacity in generative AI skills, utilizing open-source LLMs while fostering AI innovation across key sectors. Over the next three years, the initiative will train one lakh  youth, developers, and entrepreneurs, contributing significantly to India’s AI ecosystem across critical sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture, smart cities, and financial inclusion.

    This will include the establishment of a Gen AI Resource Hub with courses, case studies, and open datasets; an LLM for Young Developers Course designed by Meta; and Master Training Activation Workshops to introduce participants to foundational AI concepts. The program also features Unleash LLM Hackathons, where students will submit AI solutions to address real-world problems, with top ideas receiving mentoring, seed grants, and market support. Additionally, the AI Innovation Accelerator will identify and support 10 student-led startups experimenting with open-source AI models, offering incubation and visibility​.

    Commenting on the partnership, Mayank Vatsa, Professor, IIT Jodhpur said,  “Srijan, meaning ‘Creation,’ will be a leading center for Foundation Models and Generative AI research in India whose goal is to drive innovation in AI technology while ensuring ethical and responsible use. With the support from Meta and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Srijan is aligned with the IndiaAI mission to strengthen the country’s AI ecosystem. We aim to contribute to building a robust, indigenous research ecosystem, promoting open science, nurturing the next generation of AI talent, and working with agencies to shape AI policies and standards in India.”

    Commenting on the partnership, Prof. T. G. Sitharam, Chairman, AICTE, said, “The AI for Skilling and Capacity Building initiative represents a pivotal step in realizing India’s AI potential. This initiative is mobilizing institutions nationwide and fostering collaboration between academia, industry, and government, to create a robust ecosystem for AI innovation.”

    Last year, Meta partnered with ‘India AI’ to advance AI & Emerging Technologies in India.  Further, Meta also partnered with the Ministry of Education to empower students and educators via programs with CBSE and AICTE.

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: The 34th Capacity Building Programme for the Civil Servants of Maldives successfully completed at NCGG, New Delhi

    Source: Government of India

    The 34th Capacity Building Programme for the Civil Servants of Maldives successfully completed at NCGG, New Delhi

    This was the Second programme of the second phase post signing of MoU between NCGG and CSC, Maldives to Train 1,000 Civil Servants over next five years (2024-2029)

    35 civil servants from Key Departments and Ministries participated in the Programme

    Posted On: 25 OCT 2024 7:33PM by PIB Delhi

    The National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) successfully completed the 34th Capacity Building Programme (CBP) for Civil Servants of Maldives today in New Delhi. The two-week program, was organized from 14th to 25th October, 2024, in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Notably, this is the second program under the second phase for civil servants of Maldives following the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to train 1,000 Maldivian civil servants. The MoU was signed by India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar, and the Maldives’ Foreign Minister, Mr. Moosa Zameer, for the period 2024-2029. The current program was attended by 35 civil servants from the Maldives, including Directors, Assistant Director, Senior Administrators, Dy. Principal, Senior Human resource Officer, Council Executive Officers, representing key ministries and departments from Maldives.

    The valedictory session was chaired by Shri V. Srinivas, Director General of NCGG and Secretary of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Government of India. In his address, he reflected on the achievements of the first phase capacity building programmes (2019-2024), during which over 1,000 Maldivian civil servants visited the NCGG. In his address he highlighted how technology has been used in the country to transform institutions and bring citizens closer to the government. He discussed about use of technology in Direct Benefit Transfers, Health, Education and Secretariat and use of Aadhar to bring about governance. He asked the participants to take the learnings from the programme as most of the challenges are common and apply them to bring about greater transparency and efficiency in government processes.

    During the Valedictory the participants also presented three insightful presentations on Leveraging Technology for Better Delivery of Services, Effective Governance Process in School Education System and India Maldives Relation: Status and Future Areas for Collaboration during the programme.

    Mrs. Fathimath Hilmy from Department of Education, Maldives and head of delegation expressed her gratitude to the Indian government and the NCGG for the opportunity. She stated that all of them learnt and gained extensively from the program.

    Dr. B S Bisht, Associate Professor, NCGG and Course Coordinator of the programme while giving the welcome address and summary of the programme highlighted how the focus of the capacity building programme was to share India’s good governance models and best practices from various development schemes among others. He also shared that the second week of the programme had visits planned to Forest Research Institute (FRI) Dehradun, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), National Science Institute (NSI), Exposure visit to Indira Prayavaran Bahwan: India’s first Zero Energy Building, PM Sangrahalaya and visit to Taj Mahal to give a firsthand view of India’s rich culture and heritage.

    The NCGG has till now trained civil servants from 33 countries including Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania, Tunisia, Seychelles, Gambia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Laos, Vietnam, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, South Africa, Indonesia, Madagascar, Fiji, Mozambique, Cambodia, Madagascar, Fiji, Indonesia, South Africa among others.

    The programme was supervised and coordinated by Dr. B. S. Bisht, Course Coordinator, Dr. Sanjeev Sharma, Co-Course Coordinator, Shri. Brijesh Bisht, Training Assistant along with the capacity building team of NCGG.

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    NKR/AG/KS

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel inaugurates “17th Urban Mobility India Conference & Expo-2024” at Gandhinagar

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 25 OCT 2024 7:30PM by PIB Delhi

    The Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Bhupendra Patel inaugurated today the 17th Urban Mobility India Conference & Expo-2024 at Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Shri Harsh Sanghavi, The Minister of State for Home and Transport,  Government of Gujarat, Shri Srinivas R Katikithala, Secretary, MoHUA, Government of India; Shri Raj Kumar, Chief Secretary, Gujarat were present on the occasion along with senior officials from Central and State governments, policy makers, Managing Directors of Metro Rail Companies, Chief Executives of transport undertakings, international experts. More than 2000 professionals and academicians are taking part in this conference.

    Shri Patel in his address said that India being the 5thlargest economy in the World has progressed tremendously, particularly during the last 10 years. Social, economic and urban sector have provided enough opportunities for sustainable urban transport and making the cities liveable. It has made efforts in improving the infrastructure for making urban transport efficient and effective.

    On this occasion, Shri Harsh Sanghavi, Hon’ble Minister of State for Home & Transport elaborated on the efforts being made in urban transport system by following the triple S principal such as Sustainable, Sensitive and Smart.

    On the occasion Secretary, MoHUA Shri Srinivas R Katikithala,  said “This flagship event has developed and gained significance in accordance with the National Urban Transport Policy 2006. It is a recognised international level forum for sharing best practices in urban mobility both nationally and globally and to deliberate on challenges involved and the way forward.” The Secretary also remarked that the conference will provide opportunities to delegates and urban mobility experts tio come up with recommendations on the various sections to be covered under the overall theme of standardization and optimisation of urban transport solutions.

    The 17thUMI Conference & Exhibition 2024 is being organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs through the Institute of Urban Transport (India) and with the support of Government of Gujarat and Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. from 25thto 27thOctober, 2024.

    This year, the theme of Conference is “Standardisation and Optimisation of Urban Transport Solutions”. It will emphasize on harmonising standards for Optimising urban mobility particularly in the Indian context. It will deliberate on the framework for integration of various modes in urban mobility, multilateral and bilateral funding in view of the Make in India policy, importance of big data for transport planning, E-Bus Eco-system in India, benchmarking of cost in Metro system, digital public infrastructure principles in relation to E-Bus transition, innovative financing and other issues and challenges in Urban transport.  It will also dwell on vision for clean air cities, urban freight, urban transport solutions for small and middle towns in India, the need of the hour is to optimise and standardise the urban transport solutions to have efficient and effective system.

    The closing ceremony of this conference will be held on October 27,2024 under the chairmanship of Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Shri Manoharlal Khattar and in the presence of Union Minister of State Shri Tokhan Sahoo and Gujarat Transport Minister Shri Harsh Sanghvi. During the closing ceremony, the winners of “Best Practices Project in Urban Transport” will be awarded to state and city authorities in a total of 9 categories.

     

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    JN/SK

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: PRESIDENT OF INDIA GRACES CONVOCATION OF NIT RAIPUR

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 25 OCT 2024 7:26PM by PIB Delhi

    The President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu graced and addressed the 14th convocation of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Raipur today (October 25, 2024).

    Speaking on the occasion, the President said that the development of technology depends on science. She noted that Nobel Prize winners of Physics and Chemistry for the year 2024, have been selected for their work related to Artificial Intelligence. She said that from artificial neural networks to exploration of micro-RNA and prediction of protein structure, such tasks based on the use of Artificial Intelligence could be done only by rising above the traditional boundaries of science and technology. She stated that the interdisciplinary approach would encourage innovation in the field of engineering too.

    The President said that the whole world is giving priority to the subject of Artificial Intelligence. India is a founding member of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence. She noted that AI would have a deep impact in social, political, economic, strategic and many other areas. She said that AI would open many new avenues for our young engineers.

    The President said that developing low-cost solutions to local problems should be the priority of management, faculty and students of all higher education institutions. Their professional perspective should be global but local people should also benefit from their expertise. The ‘Think Global, Act Local’ policy is very relevant for the students and faculty of higher education institutions.

    The President advised students to decide their priorities and determine their life values. She asked them if they would work only for their personal development and success or would also worry about society and country. If they want to move ahead alone in the race for success or they would take along those who are left behind. If they would compromise moral values for material success. She said that working for the welfare of others makes personal life meaningful and improves social life. The more they expand the scope of their contribution, the greater their personal growth will be.

    Please click here to see the President’s Speech – 

     

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    MJPS/SR

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: National Centre for Good Governance held 2nd Webinar on Public Policy and Good Governance in Collaboration with IIT Kanpur

    Source: Government of India (2)

    National Centre for Good Governance held 2nd Webinar on Public Policy and Good Governance in Collaboration with IIT Kanpur

    Professors from IIT Kanpur delivered insights on Challenges in Public Policy & Scope of Digitization in Networking

    Posted On: 25 OCT 2024 7:06PM by PIB Delhi

    NCGG concluded its 2nd Webinar of webinar series on Public Policy and Good Governance in collaboration with IIT Kanpur on 24th October 2024. The webinar was chaired by Shri V. Srinivas, Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) & Director General, National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG).

    There were two esteemed speakers for the webinars. The first speaker for the webinar was Dr. Ajay Kumar, former Defence Secretary, Government of India & Distinguished Visiting Professor at IIT Kanpur and the second speaker for the webinar was Prof. Vimal Kumar, Head, Dept of Economic Sciences, IIT Kanpur.

    Dr. Ajay Kumar delivered lecture on Challenges in Public Policy highlighting the role of govt of India in Policy making and how over the time it has changed its approach in policy making. His lecture further highlighted that changes in public policies should be calibrated in phases, the impact of digitization in mitigating the challenges faced while making new policies by highlighting the digitization of land records. He also highlighted on using data in decision making. He emphasized that difference in approach to policy as per the bureaucrats and politicians. For instance, the politicians are election foreseeing and bureaucrats as the risk averse. The process of policy making should involve diverse stakeholders. While discussing the challenges in public policy he also suggested the solutions such as incentivizing the progressive policies.

    The second speaker for the webinar was Prof. Vimal Kumar, Head of Economic Sciences, IIT Kanpur delivered his lecture on Platform Business Model & their regulation in Digital Economy. He started his lecture by discussing a quick history of Business in India from artisans producing single product to mass production.  His lecture also suggested the importance of network and platform creation for any successful business model. He emphasized on diverse usage of various business platforms including payment networks, social media, traditional media such as newspaper, e-commerce platforms like Amazon & Flipkart, Apple’s App store and others. He also highlighted network on a platform within the group and cross-group wherein he explained attraction loop and attraction spill over. He concluded his lecture with the importance of digital platform using the comparison between BMW and Uber as case studies.

    The webinar was concluded by the vote of thanks given by Dr. Himanshi Rastogi, Associate Professor, NCGG. Dr. Rastogi, expressed her heartfelt thanks to all participants, from Institutes of National Importance and Central Universities. She also thanked Shri V. Srinivas, Secretary, DARPG & Director General, NCGG for chairing the webinar.

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    NKR/AG/KS

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Structured Use of Charity to Influence Faith of the Beneficiary Has Serious Consequences in a Democracy, says Vice-President

    Source: Government of India (2)

    The Vice-President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, today said that structured use of charity to influence faith of the beneficiary has serious consequences in a democracy. He remarked that assistance to the needy, marginalized, and vulnerable should be without any strings attached.

    Reflecting on India’s civilizational ethos, he stated, Charity, assistance, or such handholding needs to be with no strings attached. Our civilizational ethos tells us, never speak of charity. Charity is never to be claimed. You do it, and you forget about it.

    Addressing students at Adichunchanagiri University in B.G. Nagara, Mandya, Karnataka, today he emphasized that Charity putting freedom of faith in captivity is a cause of concern, he remarked. When you influence the faith of the needy, the marginalized, the vulnerable, things become really very critical, he added, warning that such actions could have serious consequences on the spirit of nationalism and constitutional values.

    The Vice-President emphasized that Bharat as a nation can give guidance to everyone and anyone on the planet on what is inclusivity. Surely, we don’t need lessons in something we have lived through for more than 5,000 years, he remarked. This philosophy alone is sustainable and makes for global peace and harmony, but some people have a different concept of inclusivity that is destructive of a sense of inclusivity. We have to be extremely cautious and careful.

    Shri Dhankhar said that with 26 Shakha Maths across the world and over 500 educational institutions under the Sri Adichunchanagiri Shikshana Trust—including schools for the Blind, Deaf, and Dumb—this institution’s service to the marginalized is exemplary. Indeed, a befitting response to critics of Sanatan Dharma.

    The Vice-President highlighted the role of religious institutions during crisis saying, in the societal sector, the footprint of religious institutions in times of natural calamities and other similar challenges complements governmental efforts. I need not make any other reference. It was demonstrated in full exemplification during COVID. And both the government and such organizations acted hand in hand for the betterment of the people.

    Shri Dhankhar said, One thing I need to tell you is your opportunity basket is increasing day by day. I expect you to get out of the silos. Some of you think the only way out is a government service. No. Look around, and you’ll find opportunities as India rises on sea, land, in the sky, and in space.

    The Vice-president cautioned the youth saying there are elements in the country who engage extensively in the dissemination of misinformation, disinformation. This dissemination is very injurious to national health. You as young people have to neutralize these tendencies that do not augur well for our nationalism.

    Praising the leadership of the Adichunchanagiri Math, the Vice-President said, it was indeed a far-sighted visionary step to have an institution nestled in the verdant landscapes of foothills, an ideal Aranyak for modern-day learners, philosophers, and seekers, a perfect setting for optimal exploitation of human resource, talent, energy, and for chosen pursuits.

    Shri H.D. Devegowda, Former Prime Minister of India; His Holiness Jagadguru Sri Sri Sri Dr. Nirmalanandanatha Mahaswamiji; HH Jagadguru Swami Parmatmananda Saraswati Ji, Dr. M.A. Shekhar, Vice Chancellor of Adichunchanagiri University, and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

    Read full text here : https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2068185

     

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