NewzIntel.com

Category: Politics

  • MIL-OSI Global: A two-state solution is gaining momentum again for Israel and the Palestinians. Does it have a chance of success?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Andrew Thomas, Lecturer in Middle East Studies, Deakin University

    As Israel’s devastating war in Gaza has ground on, the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was thought to be “dead”. Now, it is showing signs of life again.

    French President Emmanuel Macron is reportedly pressing other European nations to jointly recognise a Palestinian state at a UN conference in mid-June, focused on achieving a two-state solution. Macron called such recognition a “political necessity”.

    Countries outside Europe are feeling the pressure, too. Australia has reaffirmed its view that recognition of Palestine should be a “way of building momentum towards a two-state solution”.

    During Macron’s visit to Indonesia in late May, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto made a surprising pledge to recognise Israel if it allowed for a Palestinian state.

    Indonesia is one of about 28 nations that don’t currently recognise Israel. France, Australia, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and South Korea are among the approximately 46 nations that don’t recognise a Palestinian state.

    The UN conference on June 17–20, co-sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia, wants to go “beyond reaffirming principles” and “achieve concrete results” towards a two-state solution.

    Most countries, including the US, have supported the two-state solution in principle for decades. However, the political will from all parties has faded in recent years.

    So, why is the policy gaining traction again now? And does it have a greater chance of success?

    What is the two-state solution?

    Put simply, the two-state solution is a proposed peace plan that would create a sovereign Palestinian state alongside the Israeli state. There have been several failed attempts to enact the policy over recent decades, the most famous of which was the Oslo Accords in the early 1990s.

    In recent years, the two-state solution was looking less likely by the day.

    The Trump administration’s decision in 2017 to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the US embassy there signalled the US was moving away from its role as mediator. Then, several Arab states agreed to normalise relations with Israel in the the Abraham Accords, without Israeli promises to move towards a two-state solution.

    The Hamas attacks on Israel – and subsequent Israeli war on Gaza – have had a somewhat contradictory effect on the overarching debate.

    On the one hand, the brutality of Hamas’ actions substantially set back the legitimacy of the Palestinian self-determination movement in some quarters on the world stage.

    On the other, it’s also become clear the status quo – the continued Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank following the end of a brutal war – is not tenable for either Israeli security or Palestinian human rights.

    And the breakdown of the most recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the return of heavy Israeli ground operations in May and reports of mass Palestinian starvation have only served to further isolate the Israeli government in the eyes of its peers.

    Once-steadfast supporters of Israel’s actions have become increasingly frustrated by a lack of clear strategic goals in Gaza. And many now seem prepared to ignore Israeli wishes and pursue Palestinian recognition.

    For these governments, the hope is recognition of a Palestinian state would rebuild political will – both globally and in the Middle East – towards a two-state solution.

    Huge obstacles remain

    But how likely is this in reality? There is certainly more political will than there was before, but also several important roadblocks.

    First and foremost is the war in Gaza. It’s obvious this will need to end, with both sides agreeing to an enduring ceasefire.

    Beyond that, the political authority in both Gaza and Israel remains an issue.

    The countries now considering Palestinian recognition, such France and Australia, have expressly said Hamas cannot play any role in governing a future Palestinian state.

    Though anti-Hamas sentiment is becoming more vocal among residents in Gaza, Hamas has been violently cracking down on this dissent and is attempting to consolidate its power.

    However, polling shows the popularity of Fatah – the party leading the Palestinian National Authority – is even lower than Hamas at an average of 21%. Less than half of Gazans support the enclave returning to Palestinian Authority control. This means a future Palestinian state would likely require new leadership.

    There is almost no political will in Israel for a two-state solution, either. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not been shy about his opposition to a Palestinian state. His cabinet members have mostly been on the same page.

    This has also been reflected in policy action. In early May, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved a plan for Israel to indefinitely occupy parts of Gaza. The government also just approved its largest expansion of settlements in the West Bank in decades.

    These settlements remain a major problem for a two-state solution. The total population of Israeli settlers is more than 700,000 in both East Jerusalem and the West Bank. And it’s been increasing at a faster rate since the election of the right-wing, pro-settler Netanyahu government in 2022.

    Settlement is enshrined in Israeli Basic Law, with the state defining it as “national value” and actively encouraging its “establishment and consolidation”.

    The more settlement that occurs, the more complicated the boundaries of a future Palestinian state become.

    Then there’s the problem of public support. Recent polling shows neither Israelis nor Palestinians view the two-state solution favourably. Just 40% of Palestinians support it, while only 26% of Israelis believe a Palestinian state can “coexist peacefully” alongside Israel.

    However, none of these challenges makes the policy impossible. The unpopularity of the two-state solution locally is more a reflection of previous failures than it is of future negotiations.

    A power-sharing agreement in Northern Ireland was similarly unpopular in the 1990s, but peace was achieved through bold political leadership involving the US and European Union.

    In other words, we won’t know what’s possible until negotiations begin. Red lines will need to be drawn and compromises made.

    It’s not clear what effect growing external pressure will have, but the international community does appear to be reaching a political tipping point on the two-state solution. Momentum could start building again.

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

    – ref. A two-state solution is gaining momentum again for Israel and the Palestinians. Does it have a chance of success? – https://theconversation.com/a-two-state-solution-is-gaining-momentum-again-for-israel-and-the-palestinians-does-it-have-a-chance-of-success-257890

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Kenya’s ride-hailing drivers say their jobs offer dignity despite the challenges

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Julie Zollmann, Digital Planet Fellow, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

    Many argue that gig work involves exploitation, as research and media coverage have highlighted. But that doesn’t seem to deter ride hailing drivers on platforms like Uber and Bolt.

    In Kenya, in fact, many new drivers continued to join platforms even as fares were slashed starting in 2016.

    As a PhD student studying the role of digitalisation in development, I spent several years trying to understand how digital drivers experienced the quality of their work. My research found that in 2019, a typical digital driver in Nairobi worked about 58 hours a week and earned well below the minimum wage on an hourly basis. What made this work attractive? Why did drivers stay?

    In a new paper, I draw on a 2019 survey of 450 drivers in Nairobi and 38 subsequent qualitative interviews in Nairobi and Kenya’s second largest ride hailing market, Mombasa, in 2021 that explored drivers’ experiences in detail.

    In addition to measuring working hours and incomes, my survey team asked drivers if they considered their work “dignified”. Nearly eight in ten (78%) of our survey participants said yes. While that specific share of drivers may have changed since then, the underlying reasons drivers found the work dignified remain unchanged.

    In the global north, scholars have rung alarm bells about what “gig work” means for the erosion of standard jobs with legal protections around working hours, minimum wage and other benefits. But the drivers my team and I spoke with in Kenya felt that digital driving was a step towards formalisation rather than a drift away from an ideal formal job. Driving had diginity in contrast to the indignities of low-wage work and the vast informal sector, which was their realistic alternative for making a living.

    My findings highlight that workers’ experiences on global platforms like Uber are not universal and that digitisation may deliver some improvements in work quality relative to informal work in African contexts.

    How did digital work deliver dignity?

    Drivers explained that app companies imposed rules and structure that provided “discipline” in a transport sector more broadly associated with rudeness, unruliness, and disrespect towards passengers. Requirements for things like driving licences, proof of insurance, and ratings seemed to make drivers feel more professional and make passengers see them as such.

    Drivers felt proud to be part of a driver community that behaved professionally under these conditions. A 38-year-old male driver in Nairobi who had been working on the platforms for three years told us:

    We are very respected … Everyone trusts you to carry them. It’s not like the old days, when the taxi driver might rob you and dump you or even kill you. We are getting attraction from the society, even in the slums. They know you are an app driver, and they trust you because app drivers are good people. They know you can deliver, that you will be honest.



    Read more:
    Zimbabwe’s economy crashed — so how do citizens still cling to myths of urban and economic success?

    On platforms, drivers were matched digitally with riders. Respondents said this brought dignity by ensuring drivers would receive a fairly steady stream of clients. This meant that a driver could rest assured he would earn money every day.

    The alternative was to “hustle” in the informal economy to shake loose opportunities and constantly solicit those who might use their labour and beg for payment after a job was done. Constant solicitation and bargaining were exhausting and degrading.

    One driver explained:

    Most of us are poor. I have never walked out every morning sure that I would do a job. But now I know that if my car has been serviced and my phone is charged and working, I am going to work and not to some charity job. I used to wait at the base all day without getting a customer. Now, ….. at least two, three days are going to be good for you.

    Digital matchmaking also meant that drivers were not limited to serving the few clients they already knew or who happened to pass them at a fixed base. They found themselves serving new parts of the city and carrying important people, including business people, celebrities and local politicians. Serving these high-end customers made them feel proud and important. Wealthy neighbourhoods, luxury hotels and high-end restaurants felt more open to them in otherwise exclusionary and segregated cities.

    Some drivers felt that digitalisation had removed barriers to entry for taxi driving, like paying to join a parking base and building a client list.

    The app did away with parking bases, and about half of drivers joined the system through a “partner”, paying a fixed weekly fee to rent their car instead of buying it themselves.

    In efforts to make rides cheaper, in 2018 app companies in Kenya allowed smaller, less expensive cars on their platforms, lowering costs of ownership. Drivers in our survey showed that both formal and informal financiers were willing to offer loans to digital drivers, knowing they would have regular revenue to service their debt.

    Buying a car was seen as a huge, dignifying accomplishment. One driver in the survey told us:

    Growing up, I thought vehicles were owned only by the rich, but now digital driving has provided a means for me to own one and earn the respect of society.

    David Muteru, then chairman of the Digital Taxi Association of Kenya, echoed this sentiment: “Owning a vehicle, that’s an asset”.

    Dignity not always guaranteed

    The dignifying value of order was only possible when app companies enforced their own rules and did so fairly. Drivers preferred the stringent rule enforcement of one major app over the lax enforcement of another, which made for more stressful and undignified interactions with riders.

    When the rules were enforced, drivers could be sure that the app company would help if a rider refused to pay or if there was a dispute with the client. Drivers felt the stricter environment kept bad actors out.

    Over time, though, app companies slashed prices, competing for market share. Drivers felt less respected by riders who saw them as desperate for money. Low fares pressed drivers to negotiate with riders for offline trips and higher rates, reintroducing the indignity of haggling.

    Lessons for the future

    Digitally mediated work raises many questions about labour standards.

    This research shows how important it is to keep local context in mind. Digital driving is not the same experience for drivers in every context. Where people suffer indignities and deprivations in the informal sector, digitalisation may offer gains. But this potential depends on rule enforcement and pay. Material and subjective dignity are intertwined.

    Julie Zollmann received funding from Mastercard Foundation.

    – ref. Kenya’s ride-hailing drivers say their jobs offer dignity despite the challenges – https://theconversation.com/kenyas-ride-hailing-drivers-say-their-jobs-offer-dignity-despite-the-challenges-257845

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Crawfish consultation 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Crawfish consultation 2025

    Fishers with an interest in the crawfish fishery in English waters of ICES area 7 are being urged to respond to a new consultation on a potential closure in 2025/2026. The consultation closes at midnight on 20 July 2025

    Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is seeking the views of stakeholders on a seasonal fishing ban prohibiting the retaining and landing of crawfish (Palinurus app) for all UK and EU vessels with all gear types.

    The purpose of the seasonal closure would be to:

    • offer protection for breeding and spawning opportunities   

    • reduce the risk of high mortality rates from catching fish that are in poor condition and from the potential of long net soak times or net loss in poor weather, and  

    • support future growth in the population by allowing settlement of juvenile stock

    There are 2 options being consulted on for the potential seasonal closure in 2025/2026. These options are:

    • option 1: no closure.
    • option 2: closure from 19 December 2025 to 31 May 2026 (inclusive).

    Further information 

    For more information and to access the consultation read here.

    Updates to this page

    Published 5 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Government announces preferred candidate for Chair of Equality and Human Rights Commission

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Government announces preferred candidate for Chair of Equality and Human Rights Commission

    Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson is the government’s preferred candidate for Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

    • Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson announced as the government’s preferred candidate for the next Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
    • Preferred candidate to appear in front of 2 Parliamentary committees – Women and Equalities Select Committee (WESC) and the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JHCR) – ahead of appointment confirmation.
    • Current chair Baroness Falkner’s term is due to end on 30 November 2025.

    The government’s preferred candidate for the new chair of the independent Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has been identified as Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson. This follows a full and open competition to recruit a new chair, in line with the Governance Code for Public Appointments.

    The current chair Baroness Kishwer Falkner’s term is due to end on 30 November 2025, after being extended an additional year to provide stability while a full recruitment campaign was undertaken.

    Dr Stephenson will appear before WESC and JCHR as part of pre-appointment hearings. The committees will provide advice to ministers before she is formally appointed. 

    The appointment of Dr Stephenson will not impact the timelines or process for the updated statutory code of practice for services currently being developed by the EHRC.

    Minister for Women and Equalities Bridget Phillipson said:

    This government is clear that equality and opportunity are at the heart of our programme of national renewal.

    With the depth of her expertise in human rights and equality, Dr Stephenson is exceptionally suited to leading the EHRC and ensuring it continues to uphold the equalities framework in this country.

    I want to thank Baroness Falkner for her continued work throughout this time.

    Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson said:

    I am honoured to be named the Government’s preferred candidate to be the new chair for the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

    The EHRC plays an integral role in protecting and advancing equalities and I am deeply committed to furthering this work as chair. With over 30 years working on equalities and human rights, I am confident that I will bring a breadth of experience and insight to the role. 

    I look forward to working with the team in the EHRC as well as stakeholders and the government to ensure equalities are upheld and all people are treated with respect and dignity.

    The government is committed to ensuring that people of all backgrounds can thrive. The EHRC plays a vital role in upholding and promoting equality and human rights across England and Wales.

    The EHRC is independent of the government and makes its own enforcement decisions, including about any inquiries and investigations it decides to conduct.

    The EHRC has launched a consultation on its updated draft statutory code of practice for services, public functions and associations. This opened on 20 May and will close on 30 June. The final draft code will be sent to ministers for approval before laying in Parliament. 

    Notes to editors

    Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson has 30 years of experience working on equality and human rights issues within the UK and internationally, over 20 of these at Board and CEO level. She also holds a PhD in equality law.

    Positions she has held include:

    • Director of the Women’s Budget Group
    • Director of the Fawcett Society
    • Chair of Early Education and Childcare Coalition
    • Board member of Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (CRASAC)  
    • Board member of Coventry Police and Crime Board

    Updates to this page

    Published 5 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Solar power switch-on at Riverside Leisure Centre marks major green milestone

    Source: City of Norwich

    Published on Thursday, 5th June 2025

    A major new solar installation at Riverside Leisure Centre is now live, delivering renewable energy to one of the city’s busiest public facilities and marking a huge step towards a greener Norwich.

    More than 700 solar panels have been fitted across the centre’s roof and car park, cutting carbon emissions and expected to reduce electricity bills by around a third. The project also included a new roof and a modernised building management system to boost overall energy efficiency.

    Crucially, the initiative secures the future of the city’s public leisure centre and swimming pool, which received more than 350,000 visits last year. Its estimated social value is at least £2.5million per year, providing a range of swimming lessons, supporting the Go4Less scheme and offering exercise referrals including cancer rehabiliation, Age UK and Special Educational Needs.

    Funded by Norwich City Council,  the UK Government’s Swimming Pool Support Fund and lottery funding made available by Sport England, the work reflects a shared commitment to the sustainability of public swimming pools and long-term energy savings.

    Local firms RenEnergy and ECS Power & Control carried out the installations, supporting jobs and delivering added social value for the community.

    Councillor Emma Hampton, portfolio holder for climate change and environment, said:
    “This project is a shining example of how we’re investing in a Net Zero Norwich. By harnessing solar power, we’re not only cutting emissions—we’re making vital public facilities more resilient and cost-effective.”

    The Riverside upgrade builds on similar improvements at other council-owned sites and supports the city’s ambition to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2045.

    Background information

    Funding of £520,000 has been secured from the government and Sport England’s £60m Swimming Pool Support Fund, while the remaining £300,000 is being paid for by the city council.

    Riverside Leisure Centre is owned by Norwich City Council and managed by Places Leisure.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Norcross Fights to Increase Funding for Faith-Based Security Amid Antisemitic Violence

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Donald Norcross (1st District of New Jersey)

     WASHINGTON, DC — Last week, Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01) joined 45 of his congressional colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump urging him to increase funding for faith-based security measures. Congressman Norcross has long been a supporter of this increase, and the recent violent attacks on our Jewish community have made this even more urgent.  The letter was a response to the recent shooting of two Israeli Embassy staff members, Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, who were murdered outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. last month. A few weeks after the two were murdered, another horrific attack fueled by antisemitism occurred, this time in Boulder, Colorado. Twelve people were injured.  

    In the letter to President Trump, the lawmakers request $500 million for the Non-Profit Security Grant Program (NSGP), one of the most effective programs for protecting faith-based communities from attack. They also request increased funding for the FBI to investigate acts of domestic terrorism and for programs that support state and local efforts to combat hate crimes. 

    The full text of the letter sent to President Trump can be found here and below: 

    The Honorable Donald J. Trump  

    President of the United States  

    The White House  

    1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW  

    Washington, DC 20500  

     

    Dear President Trump, 

    We are writing to express our concern regarding the sharp rise in threats to the Jewish community as evidenced by and following the recent murder of two Israeli Embassy staff members, Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, here in Washington, D.C. In 2023, there were 2,699 reported religious-motivated hate crimes, of which sixty-three percent were driven by antisemitism — the highest number ever recorded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) since it began collecting data in 1991. At a time when hate and violence against the Jewish community is at historic levels, it is imperative that the federal government take the necessary steps to increase funding for enhanced security measures. From bollards to prevent vehicular attacks, reinforced doors to keep intruders out, to the hiring of additional security personnel, the federal government must increase funding to ensure that the Jewish community is equipped with the necessary tools to prevent loss of life in the case of an attack. We ask that you include these necessary funding increases in your Administration’s FY2026 Discretionary Budget Request. 

    The Non-Profit Security Grant Program (NSGP) is one of the most effective and critical programs for protecting the Jewish community and all faith-based communities from attack. There are many examples available that demonstrate the direct return on investment for communities under threat. For example, in July 2023, when an armed gunman attempted to breach the Margolin Hebrew Academy in Memphis, NSGP-funded access control doors prevented the shooter from entering the school. In 2021, when gunfire struck the Jewish Family Service building in Denver, impact-resistant window filming, purchased with NSGP funds, stopped the bullets from penetrating into the facility, protecting those inside. It is no wonder that in FY2023, for the first time in the history of the program, all 55 eligible states and territories applied. Nevertheless, only forty-three percent of applicants received funding. Therefore, we ask that you request $500 million for the NSGP in FY2026. 

    As you know, the FBI has lead responsibility for federal domestic terrorism investigations and domestic intelligence efforts. Domestic terrorism investigations have more than doubled since 2020, according to the FBI. Pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020, the FBI and DHS, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, are required to report on the domestic terrorism threat in the U.S. and actions taken to combat this threat. Given the significant increase in the number of domestic terrorism investigations, we urge you to increase funding for the FBI, especially its intelligence capabilities. 

    Although the role of federal law enforcement agencies is critical with regards to responding to antisemitic hate crimes, local law enforcement are on the front lines when these attacks occur. It is local police departments that build relationships and trust with Jewish communities. These relationships are imperative to ensure that hate crimes do not go unreported. Nevertheless, year after year, multiple law enforcement agencies serving populations greater than 100,000, in addition to many other jurisdictions, fail to share hate crimes data with the FBI. It is impossible to address hate crimes when the FBI does not understand their extent. We urge you to increase funding for local law enforcement, including for grant programs that support state and local efforts to combat hate crimes such as the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Program, Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act, and the Community-based Approaches to Prevent and Address Hate Crimes Program, to ensure that antisemitic hate crimes are addressed and prosecuted in a timely manner. 

    Finally, although Jewish institutions can use the NSGP to hire additional security personnel, the majority of Jewish institutions have either not been recipients of these grants or cannot afford the additional costs incurred. Given that your Administration has made clear its goal to respond to the rise in hate crimes, we urge you to explore opportunities, in cooperation with the House Appropriations Committee, to include dedicated assistance in FY2026 for faith-based organizations to hire additional security personnel. In light of recent events, it is more clear than ever that Jewish institutions are in desperate need of additional personnel support. 

    Thank you for your time and attention to these urgent requests as you finish drafting your FY2026 Discretionary Budget Request.  

    ### 

     

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: DHS initiative uncovers widespread abuse, exploitation of unaccompanied kids placed with previously improperly vetted sponsors

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    WASHINGTON — In the past four years, the United States saw a record surge in the number of unaccompanied alien children crossing its southern border. In many cases, these vulnerable children were released to sponsors in the United States without proper vetting — some of the sponsors had paid smugglers to bring the children into the country or fraudulently claimed familial relationships. As a result, these children were subjected to physical abuse and sexual and labor exploitation.

    In February 2025, the Department of Homeland Security and its federal and state partners launched a national child welfare initiative to locate and verify these at-risk kids’ safety.

    “Children’s safety and security is nonnegotiable,” said ICE spokesperson Laszlo Baksay. “The previous administration’s failure to implement meaningful safeguards has allowed vulnerable kids to fall into the hands of criminals. Our special agents are working tirelessly to locate these alien children, ensure their protection, and hold accountable those who have abused the system.”

    Since the effort’s launch, agents have uncovered alarming instances of abuse and exploitation. Special agents discovered sponsors in possession of child sexual abuse material, those who had forced minors into labor, and those who subjected them to living conditions that constituted neglect. They also discovered numerous sponsors who committed serious crimes, including offenses of hit-and-run, aggravated assault, larceny, counterfeiting, drug trafficking, prostitution and even attempted murder.

    In some of the most disturbing cases, girls were pregnant with children fathered by their alleged sponsors — which highlights the grave failures of previous vetting procedures and the dangerous consequences of placing minors in unsafe environments.

    “Our agents are doing what should’ve been done all along: protecting children, not pushing them into the shadows,” said Baksay. “This is the responsibility of any government, Republican or Democrat, but it was the Trump administration that insisted on rigorous sponsor screening and biometric verification. Those guardrails were dismantled, and we’re now seeing the consequences.”

    To ensure unaccompanied alien children’s well-being, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations special agents have been conducting welfare checks. These visits are designed to assess whether children are receiving appropriate care, attending school, complying with immigration proceedings, and — most critically — not being trafficked, exploited or abused.

    These welfare checks are not primarily immigration enforcement focused, but if ICE agents or officers encounter individuals who are in the United States illegally, they take them into custody and process them for removal in accordance with federal immigration law. Likewise, unaccompanied children in the U.S. illegally are transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s custody.

    “Media outlets should focus less on political spin and more on the facts,” Baksay concluded. “This is about the lives of children, and it’s time we treat it with the seriousness its demands.”

    DHS takes its responsibility to protect children seriously. Parents who are here illegally can take control of their departure. Through the CBP Home App, the Trump administration is giving parents illegally in the country a chance to take full control of their departure and self-deport with the potential ability to return the legal, right way and come back to live the American dream. It is free and available for all mobile devices.

    Under the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is required to assume custody of and provide care for all unaccompanied alien children from the time they are transferred to HHS from the Department of Homeland Security or other federal entity until they are released to a vetted sponsor. To learn more, visit https://acf.gov/orr.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: H.R. 884, a bill to prohibit individuals who are not citizens of the United States from voting in elections in the District of Columbia and to repeal the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022

    Source: US Congressional Budget Office

    H.R. 884 would prohibit noncitizens from voting in District of Columbia elections. The bill also would repeal D.C. Law 24-242, the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022, which permits noncitizens to vote in the District’s local elections. Enacting the bill would not change federal responsibilities; thus, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 884 would not affect the federal budget.

    H.R. 884 would impose an intergovernmental mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by repealing D.C. Law 24-242. The bill also would impose a private-sector mandate by prohibiting noncitizen permanent residents from voting in District elections and ballot initiatives. CBO estimates that the cost of the mandates would not exceed the annual intergovernmental or private-sector threshold established in UMRA ($103 million and $206 million in 2025, respectively, adjusted annually for inflation).

    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are David Rafferty (for federal costs) and Andrew Laughlin (for mandates). The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.

    Phillip L. Swagel

    Director, Congressional Budget Office

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Coram Woman Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges

    Source: US FBI

    GREAT FALLS – A Coram woman accused of possessing methamphetamine on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation admitted to charges today, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

    The defendant, Heather Marie Kushmaul, 37, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Kushmaul faces a mandatory minimum term of 10 years to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release.

    Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided and will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is set for October 8, 2025, Kushmaul was released on conditions pending further proceedings.

    The government alleged in court documents that law enforcement learned that beginning in May 2024, Heather Marie Kushmaul and her co-defendant were coming from their home in Coram, Montana, to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation to deliver large amounts of methamphetamine. In October 2024, law enforcement arranged three controlled purchases of large amounts of methamphetamine from the defendants. During each of these controlled purchases, Kushmaul and her co-defendant traveled from their home in Coram to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and exchanged methamphetamine for money.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Kalah Paisley prosecuted the case. The FBI, BIA, DEA, Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services, and the Glacier County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.

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

    XXX

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Habitual Offender Sentenced to Over Four Years in Prison for Domestic Assault on Fort Belknap Indian Reservation

    Source: US FBI

    GREAT FALLS – A Harlem man who assaulted his domestic partner was sentenced today to 51 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

    Nicholas Dee Birdtail, 53, pleaded guilty in January 2025 to one count of domestic assault by habitual offender. 

    Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

    The government alleged in court documents that Birdtail and Jane Doe had been in a dating relationship for over three years and were married in tribal court in 2022. On September 2, 2023, Birdtail slapped Jane Doe across the face. The responding law enforcement officers saw a fresh handprint on the left side of Doe’s face. Doe also showed the officer bruises on her arms from the night before that were caused by Birdtail. At the time of the assault, Birdtail was released on bond for previous domestic violence charges against Doe. A condition of his bond was to have no contact with Doe.

    Prior to September 2, 2023, Birdtail was convicted of multiple misdemeanor domestic assaults in Billings municipal court, and he was convicted of felony partner family member assault in Yellowstone County District Court. He also has a misdemeanor conviction for partner family member assault from Idaho.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Kalah Paisley prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the FBI and Fort Belknap Law Enforcement Services.

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

    XXX

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Government condemns acts of violence at WSU

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Thursday, June 5, 2025

    Government has strongly condemned the violent scenes that have unfolded at the Walter Sisulu University (WSU) Nelson Mandela Drive campus in Mthatha, Eastern Cape. 

    This follows protests by students against the release on bail of the acting residence manager, Manelisi Mampana, who is facing charges relating to the fatal shooting of a student during an earlier protest.

    The WSU was forced to close its doors for students at all its campuses and residences due to aggressive student protests.

    “While government recognises the right of students to protest and express their dissatisfaction, the acts of violence and destruction of property, including the barricading of the N2 highway with burning tyres are strongly condemned,” Acting Government spokesperson Nomonde Mnukwa said. 

    Such actions endanger lives, disrupt essential services, and undermine the very cause that students seek to highlight.

    “Government calls on all students and stakeholders to remain calm and engage in peaceful, constructive dialogue. Student leaders and university management must work with law enforcement to restore calm and ensure that justice takes its course. 

    “The rule of law must be respected, and due legal processes must be allowed to unfold without interference or intimidation,” Mnukwa said. 

    Government reiterates its commitment to upholding justice and ensuring that institutions of higher learning remain safe spaces for all. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Greenpeace activists disrupt industrial fishing operation ahead of UN Ocean Conference

    Source: Greenpeace Statement –

    PACIFIC OCEAN, Thursday, 5 June 2025 – Greenpeace activists have disrupted an industrial longlining fishing operation in the South Pacific Ocean, seizing almost 20 kilometers of fishing gear and freeing nine sharks, including an endangered mako[1], near Australia and New Zealand.

    WATCH: PHOTO AND VIDEO HERE

    Crew aboard Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior retrieved the entire longline and more than 210 baited hooks from a EU-flagged industrial fishing vessel. An expert team on a small boat, releasing more than a dozen animals, including an endangered longfin mako shark, eight near-threatened blue sharks[2] and four swordfish. The crew also documented the vessel catching endangered sharks during its longlining operation.

    Greenpeace intercepted the vessel after it had left the Lord Howe Rise and South Tasman Sea region, where it had fished for more than 160 days over the last 12 months.

    The at-sea action follows new Greenpeace Australia Pacific analysis exposing the extent of shark catch from industrial longlining in parts of the Pacific Ocean. Latest fisheries data showed that almost 70% of EU vessels’ catch was blue shark in 2023 alone[3]. It comes ahead of next week’s UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, where world leaders will discuss ocean protection and the Global Ocean Treaty. 

    Georgia Whitaker, Senior Campaigner, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: 

    “These longliners are industrial killing machines. Greenpeace Australia Pacific took peaceful and direct action to disrupt this attack on marine life. We saved important species that would otherwise have been killed or left to die on hooks.” 

    “The scale of industrial fishing – still legal on the high seas – is astronomical. These vessels claim to be targeting swordfish or tuna, but we witnessed shark after shark being hauled up by these industrial fleets, including three endangered sharks in just half an hour. Greenpeace is calling on world leaders at the UN Ocean Conference to protect 30 percent of the world’s oceans by 2030 from this wanton destruction.”

    Greenpeace Australia Pacific is calling on Environment Minister Murray Watt to ratify the Global Ocean Treaty in the first 100 days of government, and to propose large marine sanctuaries, including in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand. Australia signed the treaty in 2023.

    More than two-thirds of sharks worldwide are endangered, and a third of those are at risk of extinction from overfishing[4]. Over the last three weeks, the Rainbow Warrior has been documenting longlining vessels and practices off Australia’s east coast, including from Spain and China. 

    —ENDS—

    Greenpeace Australia Pacific media team: +61 407 581 404 or [email protected]

    Greenpeace International Press Desk: +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), [email protected]

    Notes to Editor

    High res images and footage can be found here

    A new report in Nature overnight has outlined the importance of protecting the high seas

    [1] https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/39341/2903170

    [2] https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/39381/2915850

    [3] https://meetings.wcpfc.int/node/22532

    [4] https://iucn.org/press-release/202412/third-sharks-rays-and-chimaeras-are-threatened-extinction-new-report-narrows

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Tributes for late jazz promoter Rashid Lombard

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    The Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport says it is deeply saddened by the passing of Rashid Lombard at the age of 74. 

    Born on 10 April 1951 in Gqeberha, Lombard moved to Cape Town in 1962.  

    The provincial department described the late Lombard as the heart, soul, and mind behind the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and one of the country’s most remarkable photographers. 

    “Rashid made a huge impact in the cultural and music spaces, and his presence will be greatly missed. Our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, and all who knew him. His legacy will live on for many generations to come,” a statement read. 

    According to the family spokesperson, Benny Gool, Lombard was originally an architectural draftsman who began his career at Murray & Roberts. 

    He married Colleen Rayson in 1970 and they had three children – Chevan, Shadley and Yana. 

    “His childhood experiences during apartheid, along with the influence of the Black Consciousness Movement, fuelled his political activism,” Gool said. 

    Working as a freelance photographer during the anti-apartheid struggle, Lombard documented pivotal moments for international media. 

    With the advent of democracy, he embraced his passion for jazz, becoming station manager at Fine Music Radio and later programming manager at P4 Smooth Jazz Radio. 

    He founded the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in 2000, directing it until 2014.  

    As tributes pour in for the legendary figure, the Artscape Theatre Centre has paused to salute the stalwart. 

    It said he was an unwavering activist and a promoter of the arts in ways that some can only dream of doing.

    Marlene le Roux, CEO of Artscape Theatre Centre said: “The beauty of Rashid and his years of ploughing back to the communities in and around Cape Town as well as internationally is this: he was one of the most unassuming, humble, modest advocates for the arts…whether it was through his photography, his involvement in music, jazz in particular, or whether it was through his development and creation of work opportunities.” 

    Le Roux said the arts world was poorer now that he is gone. 

    “But his legacy lives on in people whose lives he touched, the work he created, and in the immaculate images only he could see through his lenses.” 

    The theatre centre said it would be burning a candle for him at the stage door in remembrance of this truly great soul.

    The President Cyril Ramaphosa has also paid tribute to Lomboard, calling him a cultural icon.

    “Rashid Lombard’s fearless depiction of apartheid’s endemic inhumanity and violence and his compassionate focus on the lives of oppressed communities and disadvantaged individuals is a powerful record of our struggle for basic human rights and dignity,” he said in a statement.

    President Ramaphosa offered his deep condolences to the Lombard family and his extensive network of friends, comrades, and creatives nationally and internationally. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Work underway to eliminate waste in government spending

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    In an ongoing effort to ensure that government manages its finances efficiently, the state is currently consulting on options for a formal fiscal anchor.

    This was outlined in the March 2025 discussion document issued by the National Treasury to prevent a recurrence of the cycle of high spending, large deficits, and rising debt.

    “Efficiency reforms continue to underpin our broader agenda. We are closing underperforming programmes, eliminating ghost workers through improved payroll systems, and establishing a centralised state-owned entity holding company to strengthen governance. 

    “Our tax administration continues to improve, with enhanced data systems and compliance measures supporting higher revenue performance,” Finance Deputy Minister, Ashor Sarupen, said on Thursday in Johannesburg.

    He was addressing the launch of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) research on South Africa’s economy.

    The OECD Economic Survey of South Africa is an independent and internationally peer-reviewed assessment of South Africa’s macroeconomic trends, structural reforms, and policy challenges.

    It suggested, among the other recommendations, that South Africa introduce stricter spending controls, reinforce spending rules and improve governance and administrative efficiency and reform state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to reduce fiscal transfers.

    The Deputy Minister noted the OECD’s recommendations while asserting that South Africa was already working towards achieving sustainable public finances.

    “We find strong alignment between our national reform agenda and the OECD Survey’s five priority recommendations for South Africa, which include enhancing fiscal sustainability while promoting inclusive growth, maintaining low and stable inflation, expanding job creation and workforce integration, enabling a just climate transition, and reforming the electricity sector.

    “Our commitment to inclusive economic growth and development remains firm, with 61% of non-interest spending being directed toward the social wage. 

    “Even as baseline spending has been reduced, we have shielded frontline services and protected the most vulnerable, focusing priority support on health, education, and social protection,” the Deputy Minister said.

    At the same time, government is investing boldly to drive growth and economic transformation. 

    Over R1 trillion has been allocated to infrastructure over the medium term, with a focus on energy, transport and water. Inclusive growth also requires labour market integration to spur job creation. 

    Government is scaling up youth employment programmes, technical training, and informal sector support.

    Operation Vulindlela

    Furthermore, government launched Phase 2 of Operation Vulindlela as a step toward further accelerating structural reform.

    Phase 2 focuses on digital infrastructure, dynamic cities, and improved basic services. 

    This work complements government’s broader strategy to build a capable state and reduce regulatory and infrastructure bottlenecks – priorities the OECD has rightly emphasised.

    Operation Vulindlela is a joint initiative between The Presidency and National Treasury which focuses on accelerating structural reforms to enable economic growth and job creation.

    With the OECD’s recommendations to revise municipal funding models and better align electricity revenues with infrastructure investment, the Deputy Minister highlighted work that was already taking place.

    “As part of Operation Vulindlela Phase 2, we are working to shift both water and electricity services to a utility model. This will help ensure that municipal services are financially sustainable and better managed. 

    “A broader review of the local government funding model is also underway to strengthen how infrastructure is funded and delivered at the local level.

    “Nowhere is the impact of reform more visible – or more necessary – than in the electricity sector. Load shedding has declined markedly, supported by improvements in generation capacity and the growing participation of the private sector. Investments in embedded generation are rising, and procurement has accelerated, helping to unlock new capacity and diversify the energy mix,” he said.

    The operationalisation of the National Transmission Company (NTCSA) marks a major milestone in the unbundling of Eskom. 

    “It lays the foundation for a more competitive and transparent electricity market. Independent power producers are expanding their footprint. At the same time, we are scaling up investment in the transmission network and addressing long-standing weaknesses in distribution. 

    “Restoring energy security remains essential to unlocking growth and enabling a just transition. A sentiment echoed by both ourselves and the OECD.

    “Looking ahead, we will deepen these reforms by prioritising the full restructuring of Eskom, establishing an independent transmission system operator, and creating a wholesale electricity market under Operation Vulindlela Phase 2,” Sarupen said. –SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: SA’s plan to shield coastal assets from climate change

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    With the impact of climate change intensifying globally, government has launched a plan that aims to effectively manage South Africa’s coastal assets.

    This as the country’s coastline or coastal cities are at the frontline of climate change, facing severe and multifaceted complexities that threaten livelihoods, communities, economies, infrastructure, and ecosystems.

    “With climate change projected to increase the frequency and intensity of coastal storms, accelerate sea-level rise, and compound vulnerabilities due to population growth, the risks to infrastructure and ecosystems are escalating. 

    “Our coastal future rests on our ability to innovate and to act with unity and urgency. By investing in nature-based solutions, strengthening climate governance, and unlocking sustainable finance, we can shield our people and ecosystems from the harshest impacts of climate change,” Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Dr Dion George said on Thursday in Pretoria.

    The Climate Change Coastal Adaptation Response Plan builds on the National Coastal Management Programme – the department’s guiding instrument for coastal governance – by prioritising climate-focused interventions that protect natural heritage, support sustainable livelihoods, and foster inclusive economic growth. 

    This year’s celebrations of the World Environment Day (commemorated annually on 5 June) take place concurrently with the launch of the Climate Change Coastal Adaptation Response Plan to support the country’s commitment to the Group of Twenty (G20) Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group, that is being led by South Africa. 

    South Africa assumed the Presidency of the G20 group of countries, which comprises many of the world’s largest developing and developed economies, on 1 December 2024.

    “South Africa contributes to global discussions on biodiversity conservation, sustainable land and ocean management, circular economy, and pollution reduction,” George said.

    This milestone initiative aligns with this year’s World Environment Day global theme, “Ending Plastic Pollution”.

    “It also underscores the importance of implementation support for developing economy countries, ensuring that climate and environmental targets are not only ambitious but also achievable. 

    “As the G20 increasingly focuses on aligning economic recovery with green development, South Africa continues to advocate for a balanced approach – one that upholds the principles of equity, common but differentiated responsibilities, and respective capabilities,” the Minister said.

    Having a robust Climate Change Coastal Adaptation Response Plan is essential to supporting South Africa’s Operation Phakisa efforts to achieve a sustainable oceans economy. 

    Operation Phakisa aims to unlock the full potential of South Africa’s ocean economy—spanning sectors such as marine transport, aquaculture, tourism, and offshore resources.

    “As climate change increasingly threatens coastal infrastructure, ecosystems, and livelihoods through rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and extreme weather events, adaptation measures ensure that economic activities in the ocean space remain viable and resilient.

    “However, without integrating climate resilience into planning and development, these gains are at risk. The Coastal Adaptation Response provides the necessary framework to manage risks, guide climate-smart investment, and ensure that coastal growth does not come at the cost of long-term sustainability. 

    “Together, these initiatives promote a balanced approach—driving economic development while safeguarding coastal ecosystems and livelihoods against the growing risks of climate change,” the Minister said. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Kenya’s ride-hailing drivers say their jobs offer dignity despite the challenges

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Julie Zollmann, Digital Planet Fellow, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

    Many argue that gig work involves exploitation, as research and media coverage have highlighted. But that doesn’t seem to deter ride hailing drivers on platforms like Uber and Bolt.

    In Kenya, in fact, many new drivers continued to join platforms even as fares were slashed starting in 2016.

    As a PhD student studying the role of digitalisation in development, I spent several years trying to understand how digital drivers experienced the quality of their work. My research found that in 2019, a typical digital driver in Nairobi worked about 58 hours a week and earned well below the minimum wage on an hourly basis. What made this work attractive? Why did drivers stay?

    In a new paper, I draw on a 2019 survey of 450 drivers in Nairobi and 38 subsequent qualitative interviews in Nairobi and Kenya’s second largest ride hailing market, Mombasa, in 2021 that explored drivers’ experiences in detail.

    In addition to measuring working hours and incomes, my survey team asked drivers if they considered their work “dignified”. Nearly eight in ten (78%) of our survey participants said yes. While that specific share of drivers may have changed since then, the underlying reasons drivers found the work dignified remain unchanged.

    In the global north, scholars have rung alarm bells about what “gig work” means for the erosion of standard jobs with legal protections around working hours, minimum wage and other benefits. But the drivers my team and I spoke with in Kenya felt that digital driving was a step towards formalisation rather than a drift away from an ideal formal job. Driving had diginity in contrast to the indignities of low-wage work and the vast informal sector, which was their realistic alternative for making a living.

    My findings highlight that workers’ experiences on global platforms like Uber are not universal and that digitisation may deliver some improvements in work quality relative to informal work in African contexts.

    How did digital work deliver dignity?

    Drivers explained that app companies imposed rules and structure that provided “discipline” in a transport sector more broadly associated with rudeness, unruliness, and disrespect towards passengers. Requirements for things like driving licences, proof of insurance, and ratings seemed to make drivers feel more professional and make passengers see them as such.

    Drivers felt proud to be part of a driver community that behaved professionally under these conditions. A 38-year-old male driver in Nairobi who had been working on the platforms for three years told us:

    We are very respected … Everyone trusts you to carry them. It’s not like the old days, when the taxi driver might rob you and dump you or even kill you. We are getting attraction from the society, even in the slums. They know you are an app driver, and they trust you because app drivers are good people. They know you can deliver, that you will be honest.

    Read more: Zimbabwe’s economy crashed — so how do citizens still cling to myths of urban and economic success?

    On platforms, drivers were matched digitally with riders. Respondents said this brought dignity by ensuring drivers would receive a fairly steady stream of clients. This meant that a driver could rest assured he would earn money every day.

    The alternative was to “hustle” in the informal economy to shake loose opportunities and constantly solicit those who might use their labour and beg for payment after a job was done. Constant solicitation and bargaining were exhausting and degrading.

    One driver explained:

    Most of us are poor. I have never walked out every morning sure that I would do a job. But now I know that if my car has been serviced and my phone is charged and working, I am going to work and not to some charity job. I used to wait at the base all day without getting a customer. Now, ….. at least two, three days are going to be good for you.

    Digital matchmaking also meant that drivers were not limited to serving the few clients they already knew or who happened to pass them at a fixed base. They found themselves serving new parts of the city and carrying important people, including business people, celebrities and local politicians. Serving these high-end customers made them feel proud and important. Wealthy neighbourhoods, luxury hotels and high-end restaurants felt more open to them in otherwise exclusionary and segregated cities.

    Some drivers felt that digitalisation had removed barriers to entry for taxi driving, like paying to join a parking base and building a client list.

    The app did away with parking bases, and about half of drivers joined the system through a “partner”, paying a fixed weekly fee to rent their car instead of buying it themselves.

    In efforts to make rides cheaper, in 2018 app companies in Kenya allowed smaller, less expensive cars on their platforms, lowering costs of ownership. Drivers in our survey showed that both formal and informal financiers were willing to offer loans to digital drivers, knowing they would have regular revenue to service their debt.

    Buying a car was seen as a huge, dignifying accomplishment. One driver in the survey told us:

    Growing up, I thought vehicles were owned only by the rich, but now digital driving has provided a means for me to own one and earn the respect of society.

    David Muteru, then chairman of the Digital Taxi Association of Kenya, echoed this sentiment: “Owning a vehicle, that’s an asset”.

    Dignity not always guaranteed

    The dignifying value of order was only possible when app companies enforced their own rules and did so fairly. Drivers preferred the stringent rule enforcement of one major app over the lax enforcement of another, which made for more stressful and undignified interactions with riders.

    When the rules were enforced, drivers could be sure that the app company would help if a rider refused to pay or if there was a dispute with the client. Drivers felt the stricter environment kept bad actors out.

    Over time, though, app companies slashed prices, competing for market share. Drivers felt less respected by riders who saw them as desperate for money. Low fares pressed drivers to negotiate with riders for offline trips and higher rates, reintroducing the indignity of haggling.

    Lessons for the future

    Digitally mediated work raises many questions about labour standards.

    This research shows how important it is to keep local context in mind. Digital driving is not the same experience for drivers in every context. Where people suffer indignities and deprivations in the informal sector, digitalisation may offer gains. But this potential depends on rule enforcement and pay. Material and subjective dignity are intertwined.

    – Kenya’s ride-hailing drivers say their jobs offer dignity despite the challenges
    – https://theconversation.com/kenyas-ride-hailing-drivers-say-their-jobs-offer-dignity-despite-the-challenges-257845

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI USA: King Calls for Answers on Cancellation of Protected Status for Afghans Living in U.S.

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and long a fierce advocate to protect Afghans who supported and protected American troops, joined 28 of his Senate colleagues to call on the White House for answers on the cancellation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for those who served alongside America’s military. In a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Senators note the devastating impact of this decision, including on the many Afghans who supported the U.S. military during the war in Afghanistan and who face significant danger upon their return.
    “We write with deep concern about the Department of Homeland Security’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghanistan, which is scheduled to take effect on July 14, 2025. This decision is devastating for resettled Afghan nationals in the United States who have fled widespread violence, economic instability, challenging humanitarian conditions, and human rights abuses in their home country. Many of these Afghans fearlessly served as strong allies to the United States military during the war in Afghanistan, and we cannot blatantly disregard their service. We respectfully ask that you redesignate Afghanistan for TPS to ensure Afghan nationals in the U.S. are not forced to return to devastating humanitarian, civic, and economic conditions,” the lawmakers began.
    They continued, “The Secretary of Homeland Security ‘may designate a foreign country for TPS due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately.’  This is why, following the withdrawal of American troops and the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, in May 2022 the U.S. designated Afghanistan for TPS.”
    “The grave conditions that forced Afghan nationals to flee and seek refuge in the U.S. following the return of the Taliban to power remain. Because of this harsh reality, forcing Afghan nationals in the U.S. to return to Afghanistan would be reckless and inhumane, and would threaten the safety and well-being of thousands of individuals and families, especially women and girls,” the lawmakers concluded.
    In addition to King, the letter was signed by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Corey Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
    Senator King has long supported the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program for America’s Afghan allies who assisted the U.S. government during the war in Afghanistan. More specifically, he cosponsored the Afghan Allies Protection Act to increase the number of authorized visas for Afghan civilians who risked their lives to support the U.S. mission, remove extraneous paperwork requirements and improve the program’s efficiency during the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. 
    The full text of the letter is available here and below.
    +++
    Dear Secretary Noem and Secretary Rubio:
    We write with deep concern about the Department of Homeland Security’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghanistan, which is scheduled to take effect on July 14, 2025. This decision is devastating for resettled Afghan nationals in the United States who have fled widespread violence, economic instability, challenging humanitarian conditions, and human rights abuses in their home country. Many of these Afghans fearlessly served as strong allies to the United States military during the war in Afghanistan, and we cannot blatantly disregard their service. We respectfully ask that you redesignate Afghanistan for TPS to ensure Afghan nationals in the U.S. are not forced to return to devastating humanitarian, civic, and economic conditions.
    The Secretary of Homeland Security “may designate a foreign country for TPS due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately.”  This is why, following the withdrawal of American troops and the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, in May 2022 the U.S. designated Afghanistan for TPS.  In September 2023, the U.S. extended and redesignated TPS for Afghanistan. The Administration’s decision to terminate TPS for Afghanistan negatively impacts approximately 9,000 Afghan nationals.
    In your announcement, you state that “there are notable improvements in the security and economic situation such that requiring the return of Afghan nationals to Afghanistan does not pose a threat to their personal safety due to armed conflict or extraordinary and temporary conditions.”  But you also concede that threats of violence and terrorism, as well as humanitarian concerns, remain.  The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State (ISIS), continues to launch attacks against ethnic and religious minorities and against the Taliban, leading to innocent civilian casualties. If Afghan nationals are forced to return to Afghanistan, they will be caught in the crossfire between the Taliban and ISKP.  According to Human Rights Watch, in 2024, Taliban authorities intensified their crackdown on human rights, especially against women and girls. Women and girls are banned from attending secondary school or university and are unable to move freely. The Taliban also continues to detain and torture journalists, curtailing free speech and media. The 2023 U.S. State Department Human Rights Report covering Afghanistan found that women’s rights rapidly declined and restrictions on freedom of expression increased. The horrific human rights conditions in Afghanistan are unsafe for Afghan nationals to return to and returning would put their personal safety at immediate risk.
    We are also deeply concerned about the State Department Human Rights Report finding that widespread arbitrary and unlawful killings against officials associated with the pre-August 2021 government have occurred. Afghan nationals who assisted the U.S. military should not be put in harm’s way because they supported the U.S. in its fight against the Taliban. This would be a betrayal of those who bravely served alongside our servicemembers for nearly two decades.
    Afghan civilians still face devastating humanitarian and economic conditions. Over half of the population in Afghanistan needs urgent humanitarian assistance. Human Rights Watch reports that in 2024, 12.4 million people were facing food insecurity and 2.9 million were at emergency levels of hunger.  The World Bank also found that in Afghanistan, as of May 2025, “per capita income has stagnated, while poverty and food insecurity remain pressing challenges, exacerbated by high unemployment and restrictions on women’s economic participation.” 
    The grave conditions that forced Afghan nationals to flee and seek refuge in the U.S. following the return of the Taliban to power remain. Because of this harsh reality, forcing Afghan nationals in the U.S. to return to Afghanistan would be reckless and inhumane, and would threaten the safety and well-being of thousands of individuals and families, especially women and girls.
    In August 2021, Americans welcomed Afghan nationals at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia with open arms, and we refuse to turn our backs on them now.  We strongly urge you to reconsider your decision to terminate TPS for Afghanistan and ask that you respond to the following requests no later than two weeks of receipt of this letter:
    Please provide any reports that credibly determine that conditions have improved in Afghanistan since 2023. 
    The TPS termination announcement stated that “there are recipients who have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security.” Please provide additional details on how the Administration made this determination and how widespread these allegations of fraud and threats are.
    Describe the collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State to reach the determination that Afghanistan no longer meets the conditions for designation for TPS.
    Please provide any reports that indicate the Taliban is no longer a threat to Afghan nationals that assisted the United States military during the war in Afghanistan.
    What steps are you taking to ensure that Afghan nationals who previously had TPS will not be sent back to persecution or torture in Afghanistan?
    Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter and we hope to receive your responses soon.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Experts Explain | Daniel Susskind | How can we rethink growth?

    Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

    Given the overlapping crises facing the world today—widening inequality, accelerating climate change, rising political instability, and slowing progress in poverty reduction—it’s no longer enough to ask whether economies are growing. We need to ask at what costs and in what ways.

    In our latest episode of Experts Explain, Oxford professor and author Daniel Susskind discusses how we found ourselves in today’s growth dilemma and why confronting today’s challenges demands a total rethink of prosperity, how we measure it and what we truly value.

    The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.

    World Economic Forum Website ► http://www.weforum.org/
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    #WorldEconomicForum

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr0_u_YpVeg

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congresswoman Tenney Introduces the Freedom to Frack Act

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22)

    Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) today reintroduced the Freedom to Frack Act to withhold certain federal grants from states that issue statewide hydraulic fracturing bans. 

    Much of Central New York, Western New York, and the Southern Tier lie above the Marcellus Shale and the deeper Utica Shale formations. These tremendous resources alone could support the state’s energy needs for decades and create hundreds of thousands of jobs for New Yorkers. Unfortunately, despite this, in 2014, New York implemented a statewide ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The ban was then officially established in 2015 by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and codified in 2020 by the New York State Legislature.

    New York’s statewide fracking ban directly opposes environmental science and basic economics. American natural gas is the cleanest in the world, and its exportation has been the single greatest force behind the reduction in global CO2 emissions. The ban has also been a disaster for New York’s economy, as despite its abundant natural resources, New Yorkers pay some of the highest prices in the country for energy. While Pennsylvania has become the second largest natural gas producer in the United States, New York continues to fall behind. Albany Democrats must reverse course on their disastrous fracking ban so New Yorkers can rightfully take advantage of the liquid gold lying beneath their feet.   

    “President Trump has taken bold action to unleash American energy production through multiple Executive Orders, and it’s time for states like New York to follow suit. I introduced the Freedom to Frack Act to push back against Albany’s anti-science, politically motivated ban on hydraulic fracturing. States that refuse to comply with these federal energy directives should face the consequences, including the loss of federal funding. Albany’s baseless, anti-American energy policies have blocked access to valuable local resources for too long. By lifting these restrictions, we can stimulate economic growth, create thousands of good-paying jobs, and fully unlock the potential of American energy,” said Congresswoman Tenney.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Bassetlaw representatives explore West Burton’s fusion future

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Bassetlaw representatives explore West Burton’s fusion future

    STEP hosted delegates on a visit to UKAEA’s Culham Campus, to learn about the scale of opportunity presented by the UK’s prototype fusion energy plant programme

    Councillors and staff from Bassetlaw District Council – Image credit: UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd.

    A delegation of councillors and staff from Bassetlaw District Council recently visited the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) at Culham Campus, gaining first-hand insight into the cutting-edge fusion energy research that underpins the future of clean energy in the UK.

    The visit included tours of the world-renowned Joint European Torus (JET) and MAST (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak) Upgrade facilities – two of the UK’s most advanced fusion research programmes. These pioneering projects form the scientific and technological foundation for the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme, which is set to be developed at the site of the former West Burton Power Station, between Retford and Gainsborough.

    The STEP programme is the UK’s flagship initiative to design and build the world’s first prototype fusion power plant by the early 2040s. The West Burton site was selected in 2022 as the future home of this ambitious project, positioning the Retford and Gainsborough area at the heart of a global energy revolution. The West Burton development is expected to bring thousands of high-skilled jobs, new infrastructure, and global scientific collaboration to the region. A recent report by Amion, commissioned by Local Councils in the area, suggested that the project could create between 5,500 and 8,500 jobs in and around the site (as well as additionally bringing further new industry, jobs and investment to the wider area), adding an average of over £500m a year to the UK economy over the coming decades.

    Fusion energy, often described as the “holy grail” of clean power, replicates the process that powers the sun – fusing hydrogen atoms to release vast amounts of energy. Fusion could provide a virtually limitless, safe, and carbon-free energy source for generations to come. The STEP programme aims to demonstrate the commercial viability of this technology and to develop a UK fusion industry capable of delivering commercial fusion power plants around the world in the second half of the century. 

    The UKAEA, headquartered at Culham Campus in Oxfordshire, is a world leader in fusion research and development. Its work supports the UK government’s commitment to reducing emissions and securing long-term energy independence. During the visit, Bassetlaw representatives were able to see the scale of investment and innovation already underway at Culham, offering a glimpse into the transformative potential of the STEP programme for the local economy. The intention of STEP is to create a similar science and engineering focused campus on the Nottinghamshire/Lincolnshire border. 

    Bassetlaw District Council’s Deputy Leader, Cllr Jonathan Slater said:

    It was good to see first-hand the scale of investment and innovation underway at the UKAEA headquarters in Culham in Oxfordshire, where it provided a real glimpse into the opportunities and potential of the STEP programme in West Burton.

    As well as creating over 16,000 related employment opportunities it will also improve transport links, help bring major investment to the area and significantly boost our local economy.

    STEP’s Head of Communications and Engagement, Ben Bradley, said:

    The STEP team is working really hard to engage with local communities and stakeholders around West Burton, and we’re hugely grateful for the support that we’ve received for the programme. The ambition is to build on this area’s legacy of power generation and bring huge investment to this part of the world, in a way that is truly transformational for local people. I hope that, by visiting the existing campus in Oxfordshire, Bassetlaw Council colleagues were able to get a sense of the scale of its opportunity, as our investment shifts towards West Burton in the years ahead.

    Notes to Editors

    UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd (UKIFS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) Group, responsible for the STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) programme to deliver the UK’s prototype fusion energy plant.  

    Targeting first operations in 2040, UKIFS will lead STEP’s integrated delivery team to design and build the prototype fusion energy plant at West Burton, a former coal-fired power station site in Nottinghamshire.

    To sign-up for updates about STEP, visit: step.ukaea.uk or follow our social channels @STEPtoFusion.

    Updates to this page

    Published 5 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: IMF Executive Board Concludes 2025 Article IV Consultation with Luxembourg

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    June 5, 2025

    • Luxembourg’s fundamentals remain strong and economic recovery is projected to slowly gain pace amidst external headwinds. Downside risks prevail in the short term.
    • Surprising on the upside, the fiscal balance improved to a surplus of 1 percent of GDP in 2024, boosted by one-off revenues. Given structurally high revenue volatility, prudent fiscal policy should be based on a more efficient use of fiscal space.
    • The financial sector is resilient, with well-capitalized and liquid banks. While the risks are manageable, the housing market, and other pockets of vulnerabilities should continue to be closely monitored.

    Washington, DC: On May 30, 2025, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the 2025 Article IV Consultation[1] with Luxembourg, and considered and endorsed the staff appraisal without a meeting on a lapse-of-time basis.[2]

    Luxembourg’s fundamentals remain strong, but its economic performance has been lackluster. Public debt is low and the 2024 FSAP found the financial sector sound and well-diversified. After contracting by 0.7 percent in 2023, GDP growth turned positive at 1 percent in 2024, mainly driven by public consumption. Private domestic demand though remained lackluster amidst tight financial conditions and a lack of confidence in the real estate sector. The labor market is cooling, following a sizeable increase in labor costs in past years. While the headline fiscal deficit showed a large improvement from one-off revenues, the underlying structural deficit has widened, reflecting a shift from temporary to permanent support. Financial conditions remain tight, and the financial cycle has not yet decisively turned. Despite some deterioration in asset quality, the financial sector remains resilient overall.

    An economic recovery is projected to slowly gain pace amidst external headwinds. Growth is projected to increase to 1.6 percent in 2025 and accelerate in 2026–27 supported by improved confidence and a gradual recovery in external demand. The unwinding of labor hoarding and lingering uncertainty would weigh on job creation and unemployment is likely to rise in the near term, before slowly declining to its historical average. Inflation is projected to decline to about 2 percent in 2025 and stay at that level over the medium term. Downside risks prevail in the short term, with headwinds from weaker external demand and tighter and/or more volatile financial conditions triggered by trade policy uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and possibly higher interest rates for longer. Risks to growth are more balanced over the medium term, but fiscal risks are assessed to be high.

    Executive Board Assessment[3]

    Luxembourg’s recent economic performance has been lackluster and a projected recovery faces headwinds. Anchored in strong economic fundamentals, the economy is expected to gradually recover from a protracted slowdown. Yet, the global situation is fluid, and there are risks of setbacks stemming from weaker external demand and higher financial market volatility, alongside domestic challenges in the real estate sector and the labor market. Moreover, productivity has been declining, and Luxembourg faces fiscal pressures and risks. While Luxembourg’s current external position is assessed to be substantially stronger than the level implied by medium-term fundamentals, the assessment is subject to several limitations. The country’s specific economic features—a small open economy with a global financial center and a large share of cross-border workers —make the external position subject to significant volatility. This, together with the long-term challenges due to aging costs, call for more prudent policies while incentivizing private sector investment.

    Prudent fiscal policy calls for a more efficient use of fiscal space. For 2025, a less expansionary fiscal stance would have been welcome, given low fiscal multipliers and the need to make room for more private sector-led growth. There is scope for reviewing the effectiveness and targeting of current measures, while preserving possible savings from revenue overperformance or budget execution. The authorities’ medium-term expenditure path is broadly appropriate to accommodate future spending pressures, but should be underpinned by measures, which will require containing the growth of the wage bill, enhancing spending efficiency, and avoiding any further erosion of the tax base.

    There is scope for increasing revenue resilience. Luxembourg’s revenue performance depends to a large extent on a concentrated and volatile revenue base. Tax reforms should thus aim at diversifying revenue sources. This will help reduce volatility and uncertainty of fiscal receipts.

    Fiscal policies should be better anchored in a medium-term perspective. The public consultations on pension reform are welcome, as there is a need for early reforms, including reducing the generosity of benefits—the highest in Europe, increasing both the effective and statutory retirement ages, and a well-calibrated increase in contributions to minimize the negative impact on the labor market. Strengthening the medium-term fiscal framework would enhance policy predictability. The planned implementation of a national fiscal rule is welcome and should combine a debt anchor with a net spending ceiling that consider revenue uncertainty and allow appropriate flexibility. Additional reforms of the budgeting framework and strengthening of the fiscal council are necessary to make the new framework more effective.

    Risks in the financial sector, while manageable, should continue to be closely monitored. The financial sector appears broadly resilient. However, persistent solvency and liquidity risks in the corporate sector—especially in real estate—and the potential impact of rising financial market volatility warrant close monitoring. The authorities should continue ensuring adequate provisioning, collateral valuation, and loss absorption capacity. At the same time, continued oversight of the large nonbank financial sector—notably pockets of liquidity mismatches and leverage—and a better understanding of the intermediation role of the OFI sector should be prioritized.

    Macroprudential policy should remain agile. The current CCyB level is appropriate. Should the recovery firm up, the authorities should strengthen releasable capital buffers and address still elevated household indebtedness by introducing income-based measures in line with FSAP recommendations. In the event of continued credit pressure, some loosening of the CCyB could be envisaged. Capitalizing on the commendable progress in implementing the 2024 FSAP recommendations in the supervision of banks and investment funds, the authorities should strengthen the macroprudential policy framework.

    Structural reforms are needed to boost private sector-led growth and sustain living standards. Wage indexation has become a key constraint on competitiveness, and more labor market flexibility is called for. The authorities should also aim at boosting productivity and containing the cost of living by streamlining the regulatory and administrative burden, removing barriers to entry in some sectors, and addressing housing and infrastructure supply bottlenecks. Efforts should continue to capitalize on the country’s comparative advantages in AI adoption and financial sector development while minimizing potential costs of the transition. Recent measures to enhance technology diffusion and ongoing upskilling programs are welcome.   

    Table 1. Luxembourg: Selected Economic Indicators, 2023–26

    Est.

    Proj.

     

     

    2023

    2024

    2025

    2026

    Real Economy (percent change)

    Gross domestic product

    -0.7

    1.0

    1.6

    2.2

        Total domestic demand

    1.1

    0.1

    1.7

    2.6

        Foreign balance 1/

    -1.4

    1.1

    0.0

    0.4

    Labor Market (thousands, unless indicated)

        Unemployed (average)

    16.2

    18.0

    19.5

    20.1

             (Percent of total labor force)

    5.2

    5.7

    6.1

    6.2

        Total employment

    512.0

    517.8

    524.8

    533.9

             (Percent change)

    2.1

    1.1

    1.4

    1.7

    Prices and costs (percent change)

        GDP deflator

    6.3

    5.2

    2.6

    1.2

        CPI (harmonized), p.a.

    2.9

    2.3

    2.2

    2.1

        CPI core (harmonized), p.a.

    3.9

    2.5

    2.1

    2.1

        CPI (national definition), p.a.

    3.7

    2.1

    2.1

    2.0

    Public finances (percent of GDP)

        General government revenues

    46.2

    47.9

    47.4

    47.6

        General government expenditures

    47.0

    46.9

    48.3

    49.0

        General government balance

    -0.8

    1.0

    -0.8

    -1.3

        General government cyclically-adjusted balance

    0.0

    0.8

    -1.0

    -1.3

        General government structural balance

    1.8

    0.8

    -0.7

    -1.3

        General government gross debt

    25.0

    26.3

    26.7

    27.6

    Balance of Payments (percent of GDP)

    Current account

    11.2

    13.8

    8.8

    7.8

    Balance on goods

    0.4

    1.7

    1.8

    1.6

    Balance on services

    43.5

    43.6

    42.9

    42.0

    Net factor income

    -31.5

    -31.1

    -35.5

    -35.4

    Balance on current transfers

    -1.1

    -0.4

    -0.4

    -0.4

    Exchange rates, period averages

        U.S. dollar per euro

    1.08

    1.08

    …

    …

        Nominal effective rate (2010=100)

    105.3

    106.3

    …

    …

        Real effective rate (CPI based; 2010=100)

    98.7

    98.5

    …

    …

    Credit growth and interest rates

        Nonfinancial private sector credit (eop, percent change) 2/

    -2.9

    -4.7

    1.6

    3.8

        Government bond yield, annual average (percent)

    3.1

    2.7

    …

    …

    Potential output and output gap

    Output gap (percent deviation from potential)

    -1.4

    -2.0

    -2.1

    -1.6

    Potential output growth

    1.6

    1.7

    1.7

    1.7

      Sources: Luxembourg authorities; IMF staff estimates and projections.

      1/ Contribution to GDP growth.

      2/ Including a reclassification of investment companies from financial to non-financial institutions in 2015.

    [1] Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepare a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.

    [2] Under the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, publication of documents that pertain to member countries is voluntary and requires the member consent. The staff report will be shortly published on the www.imf.org/luxembourg page.

    [3] At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chairman of the Board, summarizes the views of Executive Directors, and this summary is transmitted to the country’s authorities. An explanation of any qualifiers used in summings up can be found here: http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm.

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Eva-Maria Graf

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

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/06/04/pr-25177-luxembourg-imf-concludes-2025-art-iv-consultation

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Violent McKees Rocks Felon Sentenced to 17.5 Years in Prison for Possession of Firearm and Violation of Federal Supervised Release

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 17-and-a-half years in prison on his conviction of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and violating his federal supervised release, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

    Chief United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Ernest Lee Terry, 46, on June 4, 2025.

    According to information presented to the Court, on May 12, 2024, Terry opened fire on another individual in broad daylight in McKees Rocks. Based on recovered evidence and surveillance video, Terry fired at least seven rounds at a vehicle as it fled from him. Two days later, when arrested for the shooting, Terry had a firearm in his waistband, which was later confirmed to be the same firearm Terry used during the May 12 shooting. Terry was on federal supervised release for a prior federal firearms conviction at the time of the offense. Federal law prohibits possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon.

    “After a 15-year federal prison sentence for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and while still serving a term of supervised release for that conviction, defendant Terry pulled a gun and fired at least seven rounds at a fleeing individual,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Rivetti. “Upon his arrest two days later for this egregious conduct, Terry had the same gun tucked into his waistband. We commend the Allegheny County Police Department for their outstanding work in apprehending this dangerous felon. This sentencing demonstrates that we remain committed to working with our law enforcement partners at all levels to prosecute violent recidivist offenders like Terry to the fullest extent of the law.”

    “ATF’s highest priority is reducing violent gun crime, and keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous career criminals like Ernest Terry is a key means to protect public safety,” said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Philadelphia Field Division. “We work tirelessly with our local, state and federal partners to prosecute the criminals that endanger our communities.”

    Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Hornak stated that Terry’s conduct was “exceptionally serious,” and emphasized Terry’s significant criminal history. Judge Hornak described Terry’s conduct in committing the shooting as “calculated” and observed that Terry had “engaged in conduct that created a high risk of serious harm or death to other people.”

    Assistant United States Attorney Douglas C. Maloney prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

    Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Allegheny County Police Department, McKees Rocks Police Department, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Terry.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Pittsburgh Felon Pleads Guilty to Possession of Multiple Firearms and Ammunition

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal firearms laws, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

    Morisee Williams, 41, pleaded guilty to Count One of an Indictment before United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan.

    In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, on May 7, 2024, the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant at Williams’ residence in the Knoxville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. During that search, law enforcement recovered four firearms (two of which were stolen), approximately seven ammunition magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and a firearm mount and rifle grip. As a previously convicted felon, Williams is prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

    Judge Horan scheduled sentencing for September 24, 2025. The law provides for a total sentence of up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.

    Assistant United States Attorneys Katherine C. Jordan and Kelly M. Locher are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Williams.

    This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: California Resident Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Methamphetamine

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Long Beach, California, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of violating federal narcotics laws, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

    Derrick Polk, 62, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan to Counts One and Three of the Superseding Indictment on June 4, 2025.

    In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, from in and around April 2019 to July 2021, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Polk conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture of methamphetamine. Further, in and around April 2021, Polk possessed with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture of methamphetamine. Polk was intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of the drugs that he distributed to others.

    Judge Horan scheduled sentencing for September 24, 2025. The law provides for a total sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $10 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

    Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Polk. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Pennsylvania State Police, Cambria County District Attorney’s Office, Indiana County District Attorney’s Office, Cambria County Sheriff’s Office, Cambria Township Police Department, Indiana Borough Police Department, Johnstown Police Department, Upper Yoder Township Police Department, Richland Police Department, Ferndale Police Department, and other local law enforcement agencies.

    This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: People killed by landmines in Deir ez-Zor Syria

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    Amsterdam/Deir ez-Zor – People returning to their war-torn homes and villages in Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, are being wounded or even killed after encountering unexploded devices. Between 28 May and 1 June, four incidents resulted in eight casualties, including the deaths of four children, highlighting the urgent need for the area to be cleared of explosive remnants of war and landmines. As Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams supported the reopening of the emergency room at Deir ez-Zor National hospital in response to a high number of injuries caused by explosive devices, we call for the scale-up of landmine clearance, and for medical care in response to be bolstered.

    “Since 7 April, our teams working in the emergency room in Deir ez-Zor hospital have been seeing around one patient per day who has been wounded by explosions of landmines, unexploded ordnance, and booby traps,” says Will Edmond, MSF head of mission in Syria. “People have been injured mostly in the fields or on the road.”

    “Of the people who have arrived to our emergency room, nearly two-thirds have life-threatening or severe injuries, and nearly a quarter have traumatic amputations,” says Edmond. “Shockingly, two out of five of the people we’ve seen have been children.”

    Abdulrazzaq Mustafa Saeed, seen here with his mother, was injured while herding sheep in the desert area of the town of Al-Asharah in the Deir ez-Zor countryside. His right leg was amputated below the knee as a result. Syria, May 2025.
    Asmar Al-Bahir/MSF

    Years of armed conflict have destroyed critical infrastructure in Deir ez-Zor governorate, including healthcare facilities. Streets and fields across the governorate are contaminated with mines and explosive devices, making daily life hazardous for returnees and hampering rehabilitation efforts. MSF teams have already discovered four unexploded devices in health facilities we had planned to support, with more likely hidden underground.

    In Syria, Deir ez-Zor governorate has the highest number of recorded incidents with explosive remnants of war; in the five months to 6 May 2025, just over one-quarter – 26 per cent – of the 471 incidents recorded in the country occurred in Deir ez-Zor.

    Ahmad, a teenage boy from Hawaij, 50 kilometres southeast of Deir ez-Zor city, lost his right leg and part of his left foot while herding sheep in the desert.

    “I feel sad now because I can’t run anymore,” says Ahmad. “But I like playing marbles and riding a motorbike.”

    “He is not the only one from Hawaij,” his mother, Umm Mohammad, added. “The same thing happened to one of his friends, and to other people in the village.”

    Between 8 December 2024 and 14 May 2025, 91 children were killed and 289 injured in accidents involving explosive ordnance across the country, according to Mine Action Area of Responsibility. Many of these tragic cases involve children who come across mines while collecting truffles, herding sheep, or playing in contaminated areas.

    Ali Abd Khalaf, a former wheat farmer, also stepped on a landmine near Az-Zabari, close to Al-Mayadin.

    “Two months ago, I was travelling with my brother on our motorbike,” says Ali. “We decided to stop along the way, so I stepped off the motorbike, took just a few steps, and the explosion happened – I stepped on a landmine.”

    Ali received initial care in a private clinic and was later transported to Deir ez-Zor National hospital, where he underwent two surgeries and had his left leg amputated above the ankle.

    A view of Deir ez-Zor, which has suffered huge destruction throughout more than a decade of armed conflict. Syria, May 2025.
    Asmar Al-Bahir/MSF

    Patients have reported severe challenges in accessing healthcare. Most are forced to rely on expensive private transportation due to an overstretched ambulance network; as a result, many patients from remote towns do not return for follow-up care. Others speak of the high cost of private care.

    “We hurried Ali to a private clinic in Al-Mayadin, where we were required to pay an upfront fee of US$80 to initiate his treatment,” said Ali Abd Khalaf’s relatives. “Though it was a considerable amount, we paid it. Afterwards, we swiftly moved him to the hospital in Deir ez-Zor, where he received comprehensive medical care, free of charge.”

    Urgent funding is needed to support mine action organisations, to scale-up explosive device and landmine clearance, and improve mapping of contaminated areas. This is essential for people to safely return, rebuild their lives, and recover from conflict.

    We also urge the government of Syria, donors, and medical organisations to bolster emergency care capacity, referral systems, and blood banks. Supporting physical rehabilitation, mental health, and psychosocial services is crucial for helping survivors recover as fully as possible.

    Since the fall of the previous Syrian government in December 2024, MSF has been able to gain access to new areas, including Deir ez-Zor governorate where we support public health facilities. In Deir ez-Zor city, MSF is supporting the emergency department of Deir ez-Zor National hospital. In Al-Bukamal, MSF has opened an emergency room in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and is planning obstetric and newborn care services, while rehabilitating a medium-size hospital that will offer additional services.

    MSF was able to support the reopening of the emergency room at Deir ez-Zor National hospital on 7 April after needed rehabilitations were complete and the emergency room in Al-Bukamal on 28 May.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: EPIC FIVE-YEAR BRIAN FRIEL CENTENARY CELEBRATION BEGINS THIS AUGUST WITH 35 PERFORMANCES OF FIVE

    Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

    EPIC FIVE-YEAR BRIAN FRIEL CENTENARY CELEBRATION BEGINS THIS AUGUST WITH 35 PERFORMANCES OF FIVE

    5 June 2025

    Audiences to experience Brian Friel’s award winning plays – Dancing at Lughnasa, Transla1ons Faith Healer – in the places that inspired them and two rarities, Volunteers (a co-production with The Playhouse Derry) on its 50th anniversary and The Home Place on its 20th anniversary .

    Special Closing 50th anniversary performances of Friel’s Volunteers and the poetry collection North by close friend and colleague Seamus Heaney across Derry~Londonderry

    Festival spreads into a 19th century ghost village in Donegal’s Gaeltacht (Friel’s Transla1ons), Derry’s Bogside (Heaney’s North) and Ebrington Keep (Friel’s Volunteers) and the school by the house in Glenties which became the setting for Dancing at Lughnasa.

    Dancing at Lughnasa to open on the festival day of Lughnasa, 1 August, complemented by a four-day community led-festival for the beginning of the harvest season in Glenties.

    FrielDays features 365 performances in 100 productions of 29 Brian Friel plays from 2025 until 2029, the centenary of Brian Friel’s birth in Omagh Northern Ireland.

    Friel is the ultimate ‘shared island’ dramatist, the 86 years of his life shared almost equally between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

    LAST DAYS OF EARLY BIRD TICKETS: ON SALE AT WWW.ARTSOVERBORDERS.COM . For tickets and full information please visit www.artsoverborders.com

    An unprecedented five-year theatrical celebra5on building to the centenary of one of Ireland’s great literary figures, Brian Friel (1929-2015), will begin this summer.

    FrielDays – A Homecoming will begin with a 35th anniversary production of his most celebrated play, Dancing at Lughnasa, staged just metres from the house in which it is set, and close with a combined 50th anniversary celebration of the work of Ireland’s greatest poet – and Friel’s close friend – Seamus Heaney.

    Curated by Ireland’s Arts Over Borders, FrielDays will bring 29 plays to loca5ons of resonance across Brian Friel’s homeland of the three north-west border coun5es of Donegal, Tyrone and Derry, a part of Ireland he rarely left.

    FrielDays will build each year adding new plays and places, so that by 2029, the centenary of Friel’s birth, all 29 plays will be performed across the full calendar year Five anniversary plays will be rolled out this August, with each opening at the time of year in which it was set by Friel and taking place in resonant settings which will become a newly chosen ‘Ballybeg’ and ‘Ballymore’, the fictional towns at the heart of 14 of Friel’s 29 plays.

    On its 35th anniversary, Dancing at Lughnasa will be presented at St Columba’s School in Glenties, Co. Donegal, close to The Laurels, the home of Friel’s grandparents and the five daughters who inspired the play’s central characters, the Mundy sisters. In 1990, Dancing at Lughnasa opened to widespread acclaim and, soon after garnered multiple theatrical awards, and received further plaudits when it was adapted for a film starring Meryl Streep in 1998.

    This August’s production, with a commissioned score by electro-acoustic composer John D’Arcy, will be the first multi-racial reading of the play in Ireland and the UK, as a series of stage and screen actors reads the role of The Narrator, Michael. During the run of Dancing at Lughnasa, Faith Healer will also take place in Glenties and west Donegal, with audiences boarding the FrielDays bus for unique site-specific readings in three west Donegal community halls and the Highlands Hotel, an area that was the boyhood summer idyll for Friel.

    Over four acts, Faith Healer weaves an unreliable narrative about the life and death of the charismaticc Frank Hardy, apparently gifted in his ability to perform healing miracles. A play about language, colonialism and identity, Translations will be performed on its 45th anniversary at the Dunlewey Centre in north-west Donegal, a Gaeltacht, Irish-speaking area. The play is set in Donegal in the 1830s, a time when place names were being translated into English for Ordnance Survey maps. While the FrielDays presentation will be in English, the Irish roles will be taken by actors who can also speak Gaelic, while the two English soldier roles will be filled by English actors coming to Donegal for the first time. As part of their ticket, audiences will take a short trip across Lake Dunlewey to visit Glentornan, an early 19th century ghost village, where they will experience a Seanchaí, traditional Gaelic storyteller and music.

    2025 marks the 50th golden anniversary of Volunteers, which premiered in 1975 at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. Friel’s tale of excavation by political prisoners is reflected by its FrielDays stage setting of an archaeological site overlooking the River Foyle in the Keep area at Ebrington Square, a former British army barracks in Derry~Londonderry.

    The first professional production this century of Friel’s most contentious play, is a co-production with The Playhouse Derry~Londonderry, staged by Kabosh Theatre in a specially constructed outdoor ‘dig’ set. The opening night on August 29th will be the whole performance in one sitting, while the performances on August 30 and 31 will follow Friel’s scenography with Act 1 at 8.30am and Act 2 at 4.30pm. Between Acts 1 & 2, FrielDays will celebrate the power of Seamus Heaney’s poetry collection, North, in its 50th anniversary year with a series of community-led readings across four city venues in Derry, weaving together diverse voices from across the city and emphasising the links between the works of Friel and his great friend. Tickets for North will be on sale from 9 June at www.artsoverborders.com.

    Rounding off this year’s programme is The Home Place; Friel’s final full-length play will be staged at Sion Stables Heritage Education Centre in Co. Tyrone, close to his own childhood home in Killyclogher, in a building constructed at the time when the play takes place. The 42 cast members spanning all five plays will be announced through June and July.

    Please visit www.artsoverborders.com for latest news.

    FRIELDAYS – A HOMECOMING 2025 SCHEDULE AND INFORMATION

    Dancing at Lughnasa (35th anniversary production): 1-23 August at St. Columba’s Comprehensive School, Glenties, Co. Donegal.

    Faith Healer: 8-10 & 15-17 August at Edeninfagh, Portnoo, Ardara and Glenties, west Donegal.

    Translations (45th anniversary production): 22-25 August at Gweedore, Co. Donegal

    The Home Place (20th anniversary production): 23-25 August at Sion Stables Heritage Education Centre, Co. Tyrone.

    Volunteers (50th anniversary co-production with The Playhouse): 29-31 August at The Keep, Ebrington Square, Derry~Londonderry.

    North (50th anniversary production) 30-31 August in Derry~Londonderry. Brian Friel had a transnational outlook, having been born, in Omagh, Co. Tyrone, NI, soon after the partition of Ireland and spending the first half of his life in Northern Ireland. For the last 43 years of his life, when most of his work was written, he lived in the Inishowen Peninsula, the most northerly part of Ireland, in the Republic. FrielDays is conceived and produced by Arts Over Borders, Ireland’s leading producer of cross-border arts festvals. It follows the recent comple5on of Arts Over Borders’s largest project to date, the pan-European ULYSSES European Odyssey 2022-2024 project (hkps://ulysseseurope.eu/) which celebrated James Joyce’s masterpiece in 18 European cities.

    Seán Doran and Liam Browne (DoranBrowne) of Arts Over Borders said: “We are on the eve of arguably the largest and most ambitious cross border cultural initiative celebrating the work of a single Irish artist and his relationship with the landscape and communities he grew up in and worked within. Brian Friel was very particular about the seasons, months, days and times of day in which his plays took place, so we will present each play in a setting relevant to its theme and at the time, of year and day, in which it was set. Friel is Ireland’s preeminent dramatist of the late 20th century. He is the ultimate ‘shared island’ dramatist, the 86 years of his life shared almost equally between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Therefore, FrielDays is a truly transnational cross-border project, bringing the stories and characters of Friel’s life’s work to the very locations that inspired their creation.”

    Friel Days – A Homecoming 2025 is funded by Donegal County Council Arts Office, Donegal County Council Tourism Office, the NI Executive, The Playhouse Derry and Fáilte Ireland. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Flip-Flopping David Jolly Enters Florida’s Gubernatorial Race

    Source: US Republican Governors Association

    The following text contains opinion that is not, or not necessarily, that of MIL-OSI –

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – As David Jolly announces he’s throwing his hat into the Florida gubernatorial race, the Republican Governors Association (RGA) issued the following statement:

    “David Jolly has spent his flailing political career leaning whichever way the wind blows in an attempt at political opportunity and relevancy. Floridians have seen this show before, and they won’t buy it,” said RGA Communications Director Courtney Alexander. “There is no appetite among Florida voters to turn the successful leadership of state government over to a failed, out-of-touch swamp creature who just found religion in MSNBC’s green room.”

    David Jolly’s Record: 

    • In 2015, while in the process of losing another campaign, Jolly called for President Trump to get out of the presidential race.
    • Jolly lost his congressional race in 2016 to his future mentor and personal idol, Charlie Crist (R-I-D).
    • Jolly subsequently left the GOP and joined the ranks of MSNBC as a contributor, writing “the fight for the heart and soul of the Republican party has been lost to darker angels — to a darker leader.”
    • Since then Jolly has been a reliable Democrat mouthpiece, even defending Biden’s candidacy after his disastrous debate performance.
    • In 2022, Jolly even praised the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act that drove up costs and encouraged Joe Biden to take a victory lap.
    • In 2025 Jolly completed the “Full Crist” by changing his voter registration to Democrat – formalizing a conversion that was already evident to anyone unfortunate enough to be subjected to his appearances on MSNBC.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How a postwar German literary classic helped eclipse painter Emil Nolde’s relationship to Nazism

    Source: The Conversation – France – By Ombline Damy, Doctorante en Littérature Générale et Comparée, Sciences Po

    Emil Nolde, _Red Clouds_, watercolour on handmade paper, 34.5 x 44.7 cm. Emil Nolde/Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, CC BY-NC-ND

    Paintings by German artist Emil Nolde (1867-1956) were recently on display at the Musée Picasso in Paris as part of an exhibition on what the Nazis classified as “degenerate art”. At first glance, his works fit perfectly, but recent research shows that Nolde’s relationship to Nazism is much more nuanced than the exhibition revealed.

    The German Lesson: a postwar literary classic

    While Nolde was one of the many victims of the Third Reich’s repressive responses to “degenerate art”, he was also one of Nazism’s great admirers. The immense popularity of The German Lesson (1968) by author Siegfried Lenz, however, greatly contributed to creating the legend of Nolde as a martyr of the Nazi regime.


    The cover of the French edition, which was on sale in the Musée Picasso bookstore, subtly echoes one of Nolde’s works, Hülltoft Farm, which hung in the exhibition.

    Set against the backdrop of Nazi policies on “degenerate art”, the novel is about a conflict between a father and son. It addresses in literary form the central postwar issue of Vergangenheitsbewältigung, a term referring to the individual and collective work of German society on coming to terms with its Nazi past.

    The German Lesson was met with huge success upon publication. Since then, it has become a classic of postwar German literature. Over 2 million copies have been sold across the world, and the novel has been translated into more than 20 languages. It is still studied in Germany as part of the national school curriculum. Adding to its popularity, the book was adapted for the screen in 1971 and in 2019. More than 50 years after its publication, The German Lesson continues to shape the way we think about Nazi Germany.

    Max Ludwig Nansen, a fictional painter turned martyr

    Set in Germany in the 1950s, the novel is told through the eyes of Siggi, a young man incarcerated in a prison for delinquent youths. Asked to pen an essay on the “joys of duty”, he dives into his memories of a childhood in Nazi Germany as the son of a police officer.

    He remembers that his father, Jens Ole Jepsen, was given an order to prevent his own childhood friend, Max Ludwig Nansen, from painting. As a sign of protest against the painting ban, Nansen created a secret collection of paintings titled “the invisible pictures”. Because he was young enough to appear innocent, Siggi was used by his father to spy on the painter.

    Siggi found himself torn between the two men, who related to duty in radically opposite ways. While Jepsen thought it his duty to follow the orders given to him, Nansen saw art as his only duty. Throughout the novel, Siggi becomes increasingly close to the painter, whom he sees as a hero, all the while distancing himself from his father, who in turn is perceived as a fanatic.

    The novel’s point of view, that of a child, demands of its reader that they complete Siggi’s omissions or partial understanding of the world around him with their adult knowledge. This deliberately allusive narrative style enables the author to elude the topic of Nazism – or at least to hint at it in a covert way, thus making the novel acceptable to a wide German audience at the time of its publication in 1968.

    Nevertheless, the book leaves little room for doubt on the themes it tackles. While Nazism is never explicitly named, the reader will inevitably recognize the Gestapo (the political police of the regime) when Siggi speaks of the “leather coats” who arrest Nansen. Readers will also identify the ban on painting issued to Nansen as a part of Nazi policies on “degenerate art”. And, what’s more, they will undoubtedly perceive the real person hiding behind the fictional character of Max Ludwig Nansen: Emil Nolde, born Hans Emil Nansen.


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    Emil Nolde, a real painter become legend

    Much like his fictional counterpart Max Ludwig Nansen, the painter Emil Nolde fell victim to Nazi policies aimed at artists identified as “degenerate”. More than 1,000 of his artworks were confiscated, some of which were integrated into the 1937 travelling exhibition on “degenerate art” orchestrated by the regime. Nolde was banned from the German art academy, and he was forbidden to sell and exhibit his work.

    A photograph of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels’ visit to the exhibition titled Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) in Munich, 1937. At left, from top, two paintings by Emil Nolde: Christ and the Sinner (1926) and the Wise and the Foolish Virgins (1910), a painting that has disappeared.
    Wikimedia

    After the collapse of the Nazi regime, the tide turned for this “degenerate” artist. Postwar German society glorified him as a victim and opponent of Nazi politics, an image which Nolde carefully fostered. In his memoirs, he claimed to have been forbidden to paint by the regime, and to have created a series of “unpainted pictures” in a clandestine act of resistance.

    Countless exhibits on Nolde, in Germany and around the world, served to perpetuate the myth of a talented painter, fallen victim to the Nazi regime, who decided to fight back. His works even made it into the hallowed halls of the German chancellery. Helmut Schmidt, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1974 to 1982, and Germany’s former chancellor Angela Merkel decorated their offices with his paintings.

    The popularity of The German Lesson, inspired by Nolde’s life, further solidified the myth – until the real Nolde and the fictional Nansen became fully inseparable in Germany’s collective imagination.

    Twilight of an idol

    Yet, the historical figure and the fictional character could not be more different. Research conducted for exhibits on Nolde in Frankfurt in 2014 and in Berlin in 2019 revealed the artist’s true relationship to Nazism to the wider public.

    Nolde was indeed forbidden from selling and exhibiting his works by the Nazi regime. But he was not forbidden from painting. The series of “unpainted pictures”, which he claimed to have created in secret, are in fact a collection of works put together after the war.

    What’s more, Nolde joined the Nazi Party as early as 1934. To make matters worse, he also hoped to become an official artist of the regime, and he was profoundly antisemitic. He was convinced that his work was the expression of a “German soul” – with all the racist undertones that such an affirmation suggests. He relentlessly tried to convince Goebbels and Hitler that his paintings, unlike those of “the Jews”, were not “degenerate”.

    Why, one might ask, did more than 70 years go by before the truth about Nolde came out?

    Yes, the myth built by Nolde himself and solidified by The German Lesson served to eclipse historical truth. Yet this seems to be only part of the story. In Nolde’s case, like in many others that involve facing a fraught national past, it looks like fiction was a great deal more attractive than truth.

    In Lenz’s book, the painter Nansen claims that “you will only start to see properly […] when you start creating what you need to see”. By seeing in Nolde the fictional character of Nansen, Germans created a myth they needed to overcome a painful past. A hero, who resisted Nazism. Beyond the myth, reality appears to be more complex.

    Ombline Damy received funding from la Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (National Foundation of Political Sciences, or FNSP) for her thesis.

    – ref. How a postwar German literary classic helped eclipse painter Emil Nolde’s relationship to Nazism – https://theconversation.com/how-a-postwar-german-literary-classic-helped-eclipse-painter-emil-noldes-relationship-to-nazism-258310

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: A new observatory is assembling the most complete time-lapse record of the night sky ever

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Noelia Noël, Senior Lecturer, School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Surrey

    On 23 June 2025, the world will get a look at the first images from one of the most powerful telescopes ever built: the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

    Perched high in the Chilean Andes, the observatory will take hundreds of images of the southern hemisphere sky, every night for 10 years. In doing so, it will create the most complete time-lapse record of our Universe ever assembled. This scientific effort is known as the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).

    Rather than focusing on small patches of sky, the Rubin Observatory will scan the entire visible southern sky every few nights. Scientists will use this rolling deep-sky snapshot to track supernovae (exploding stars), asteroids, black holes, and galaxies as they evolve and change in real time. This is astronomy not as a static snapshot, but as a cosmic story unfolding night by night.

    At the heart of the observatory lies a remarkable piece of engineering: a digital camera the size of a small car and weighing over three tonnes. With a staggering 3,200 megapixels, each image it captures has enough detail to spot a golf ball from 25km away.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Each image is so detailed that it would take hundreds of ultra-high-definition TV screens to display it in full. To capture the universe in colour, the camera uses enormous filters — each about the size of a dustbin lid — that allow through different types of light, from ultraviolet to near-infrared.

    The observatory was first proposed in 2001, and construction at the Cerro Pachón ridge site in northern Chile began in April 2015. The first observations with a low-resolution test camera were carried out in October 2024, setting up the first images using the main camera, to be unveiled in June.

    Big questions

    The observatory is designed to tackle some of astronomy’s biggest questions. For instance, by measuring how galaxies cluster and move, the Rubin Observatory will help scientists investigate the nature of dark energy, the mysterious force driving the accelerating expansion of the Universe.

    As a primary goal, it will map the large-scale structure of the Universe and investigate dark matter, the invisible form of matter that makes up 27% of the cosmos. Dark matter acts as the “scaffolding” of the universe, a web-like structure that provides a framework for the formation of galaxies.

    The observatory is named after the US astronomer Dr Vera Rubin, whose groundbreaking work uncovered the first strong evidence for dark matter – the very phenomenon this telescope will explore in unprecedented detail.

    As a woman in a male-dominated field, Rubin overcame numerous obstacles and remained a tireless advocate for equality in science. She died in 2016 at the age of 88, and her name on this observatory is a tribute not only to her science, but to her perseverance and her legacy of inclusion.

    Closer to home, Rubin will help find and track millions of asteroids and other objects that come near Earth – helping warn astronomers of any potential collisions. The observatory will also monitor stars that change in brightness, which can reveal planets orbiting them.

    And it will capture rare and fleeting cosmic events, such as the collision of very dense objects called neutron stars, which release sudden bursts of light and ripples in space known as gravitational waves.

    What makes this observatory particularly exciting is not just what we expect it to find, but what we can’t yet imagine. Many astronomical breakthroughs have come from chance: strange flashes in the night sky and puzzling movements of objects. Rubin’s massive, continuous data stream could reveal entirely new classes of objects or unknown physical processes.

    The observatory is equipped with the world’s largest digital camera.
    RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/DOE/NSF/AURA

    But capturing this “movie of the universe” depends on something we often take for granted: dark skies. One of the growing challenges facing astronomers is light pollution from satellite mega-constellations – a group of many satellites working together.

    These satellites reflect sunlight and can leave bright streaks across telescope images, potentially interfering with the very discoveries Rubin is designed to make. While software can detect and remove some of these trails, doing so adds complexity, cost and can degrade the data.

    Fortunately, solutions are already being explored. Rubin Observatory staff are developing simulation tools to predict and reduce satellite interference. They are also working with satellite operators to dim or reposition spacecraft. These efforts are essential – not just for Rubin, but for the future of space science more broadly.

    Rubin is a collaboration between the US National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, with global partners contributing to data processing and scientific analysis. Importantly, much of the data will be publicly available, offering researchers, students and citizen scientists around the world the chance to make discoveries of their own.

    The “first-look” event, which will unveil the first images from the observatory, will be livestreamed in English and Spanish, and celebrations are planned at venues around the world.

    For astronomers, this is a once-in-a-generation moment – a project that will transform our view of the universe, spark public imagination and generate scientific insights for decades to come.

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

    – ref. A new observatory is assembling the most complete time-lapse record of the night sky ever – https://theconversation.com/a-new-observatory-is-assembling-the-most-complete-time-lapse-record-of-the-night-sky-ever-258231

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Wolverhampton Council first to use contactless technology for taxi and private hire driver licence checks

    Source: City of Wolverhampton

    Contactless technology has been introduced into driver’s ID cards, meaning passengers can view a digital version of their driver’s private hire or taxi driver licence simply by tapping the card with a Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled smartphone.

    This will provide reassurance about the driver’s identity and confirm to passengers whether their private hire or taxi licence is current and valid.

    Details of all taxi and private hire driver licences are held on the council’s driver database. The database is checked and revised every day, meaning information sent to the passenger will be accurate and up to date.

    Existing identity cards, used by taxi and private hire drivers across the country, are susceptible to being copied and used fraudulently which can pose a risk to passengers.

    But the new contactless ID cards, which will be used by the council’s licensed private hire and black cab drivers, contain a range of security features which make them extremely difficult to fake.

    These features include a hologram, optically variable inks and guilloche patterns, similar to those seen on banknotes and passports, as well as a number of other forensic features.  

    Most importantly, the technology they contain will enable passengers, police and other councils to verify the identity of the driver as well as their licence status.

    Many modern smartphones support NFC technology. It is most commonly used in contactless payments, to make secure transactions, exchange digital content, and to connect electronic devices. But this is believed to be the first time the contactless technology is being used to digitally verify a driver’s licence status.

    The new contactless ID cards have already been issued to around 15,000 drivers licensed by the council and have been tapped more than 40,000 times. Those renewing their licences over the next 3 years will receive their new ID cards in the post.

    Passengers are encouraged to tap their driver’s ID card, positioned in the front windscreen on the passenger’s side of the vehicle. The card can be tapped through the glass, before customers get in.

    Instant results will be available on the passenger’s smartphone. If the licence status shows as invalid, they are advised not to get in the vehicle and report the driver to the council.

    If passengers are unable to use the NFC function, they can check the driver against the council’s online registers at Online Licence Registers. 

    The cards have been developed in partnership with UK based firm Euclid, which specialises in contactless cards and ID cards. The company works with governments around the world on national identity and passport schemes.

    Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “Once again, Wolverhampton is leading the way by using cutting edge technology in taxi and private hire licensing.

    “We have worked with our supplier, Euclid, to create cards that use ingenious technology to improve the public’s trust in their drivers. This technology makes checking your driver’s licence and identity far simpler than calling the council and the security features in the card also make it much harder for potential fraudsters.

    “Not only do the new cards offer extra reassurance, they are also more environmentally friendly and prevent the need for tens of thousands of plastic licences to be printed every year.”

    Geoff Neal, managing director of Euclid Ltd, said: “Euclid has been delighted to offer their expertise in support of City of Wolverhampton Council on this exciting opportunity, bringing innovative enhancements to their Taxi Licensing service, especially in regard to improving safety for passengers, by giving them confidence that their driver is both genuine and licensed.” 

    If passengers have any concerns about their driver, they are encouraged to contact the council by calling 01902 55 TAXI (8294) or completing our webform at Taxi Complaints – Report a taxi driver.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –