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Category: Politics

  • MIL-OSI USA: On Earth Day, Congresswoman Betty McCollum Re-Introduces Mississippi River Restoration Legislation

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn)

    SAINT PAUL, Minn. — Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) reintroduced the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative (MRRRI) Act (H.R. 2977) on Tuesday, aiming to establish a non-regulatory initiative to coordinate restoration and resilience opportunities along the Mississippi River corridor. MRRRI is modeled on the highly successful Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). Upon reintroducing the legislation for the 119th Congress, Congresswoman McCollum issued the following statement:

     “I grew up along the Mississippi River in South St. Paul, where I learned to cherish this world-class waterway,” said Congresswoman McCollum. “The river was a vital channel for commerce then, and it still is today. But back then, nobody cared for the Mississippi – and the quality of the water suffered, as did the ecosystem that relies on it. Thanks to those who stepped up to protect it, the Mississippi River remains a working river for the wildlife, families, recreationists, and businesses that depend on it.

    “Earth Day is the ideal time to assess the great progress we’ve made, but at the same time, understand the growing risks. From the northernmost headwaters in Lake Itasca to the Middle Mississippi where it meets the Ohio River, and all the way down to the Mississippi Delta, the health of this great river continues to be at risk. Just days ago, the Mississippi River was named ‘America’s Most Endangered River’ by conservation organization American Rivers.

    “Flooding and other extreme weather events, pollution, and runoff threaten the river and surrounding communities. The health of the river is critical not just for the sake of the natural beauty, wildlife, and climate change-fighting capabilities of these resources, but for our economy and so our communities can thrive as well. That’s why I’m proud to introduce the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Act. Future generations are counting on us. We must act with urgency.”

    The Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative would:

    • Improve community resilience to climate change and reduce flood risk by restoring floodplains, riverine wetlands, delta and coastal wetlands, and backwaters
    • Improve drinking water quality in the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico by reducing polluted runoff
    • Protect and restore wildlife habitat throughout the river corridor
    • Prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species in the river system

    Background:

    McCollum first introduced the MRRRI Act in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 117th Congress.

    The Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative (MRRRI) would invest in building resilience to increased flooding and storms, improving water quality, restoring wildlife habitat, and stopping the spread of aquatic invasive species. MRRRI would also improve coordination at the federal level around the challenges of protecting and improving the Mississippi River and make additional federal investments all along the Mississippi River Corridor. The initiative would fund community-driven projects, guided by an action plan that is shaped by state, tribal, and local government partners with the input of stakeholders working together to improve the health of America’s River and the communities that rely on it.

    The changes to the bill for the 119th Congress are:

    • Adding reference to the Hypoxia Task Force as a consulting entity and making clear that MRRRI is not to supplant the functions of the Hypoxia Task Force;
    • Removal of the findings section
    • Changing the wording of eligible activity (xi) to emphasize building capacity within communities to undertake MRRRI projects
    • Removal of funding set-asides and related definitions
    • Changing the number of Mississippi River Science Centers to 3 (A National, Upper, & Lower center).

    Additional Resources:

     

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: MATSUI AND COLLEAGUES URGE PRESIDENT TRUMP TO REVERSE AMERICORPS CUTS

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA)

    WASHINGTON, D.C – Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-07), Co-Chair of the bipartisan National Service Caucus, led 149 lawmakers in sending a letter to President Donald Trump defending AmeriCorps and NCCC AmeriCorps members and calling on him to reverse cuts to the program made last week by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

    The letter was also led by U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), Co-Chair of the bipartisan National Service Caucus, U.S. Senator  Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Vice Chair of the bipartisan National Service Caucus, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12), Ranking Member of the Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development. 

     The Trump Administration placed a majority of AmeriCorps employees on leave last week as part of DOGE’s broader spending cuts. Programs such as AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors deploy more than 200,000 Americans annually to carry out results-driven projects at over 35,000 locations across the country. Working in partnership with thousands of non-profit, faith-based, and community organizations, these dedicated volunteers and workers help promote employment opportunities, strengthen the workforce, and support those in need.  

    “We are deeply concerned these actions will prevent the agency from continuing to deliver critical services, which include supporting veterans, fighting wildfires, tutoring in schools, combatting the fentanyl epidemic, and much more,” the lawmakers wrote. 

    The lawmakers highlighted the program’s benefits to society, to AmeriCorps members, and to the federal government—pointing to a non-partisan study showing that there are an estimated $17 in benefits returned for every taxpayer dollar spent. Additionally, the recently passed Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2025 maintains AmeriCorps funding at its Fiscal Year 2024 level and serves as a continuing resolution to extend federal government funding through the end of Fiscal Year 2025. The lawmakers emphasized that the administration is expected to implement the law in a manner consistent with the funding levels enacted in Fiscal Year 2024. Failure to do so would be a violation of the law.

     “If not reversed, these recent actions will both stop current programs and prevent timely and efficient execution of the agency’s Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations, delaying or even halting the recruitment and deployment of new AmeriCorps members around the country,” the lawmakers continued.

     AmeriCorps programs serve communities nationwide, including in California, where roughly 7,000 AmeriCorps members provide intensive service at AmeriCorps programs in over 1,000 locations, including schools, non-profits, public agencies, and community centers across the state. If the Trump Administration’s actions aren’t reversed, these critical services could come to a halt.

     “We are deeply concerned that this is the goal: to eliminate AmeriCorps, in direct conflict with recently enacted appropriations. However, even delays will disrupt programs Americans rely on for their health, education, and safety. We urge you to reverse these actions and instead work with Congress on bipartisan improvements to AmeriCorps so that more Americans have the opportunity to serve their communities,” the lawmakers concluded. 

      You can read the full text of the letter here and below.

    Dear President Trump:

    We write to express our strong support for AmeriCorps and urge you to reverse both the recall of all NCCC AmeriCorps members and the recently implemented drastic reductions in force across the AmeriCorps agency. We are deeply concerned these actions will prevent the agency from continuing to deliver critical services, which include supporting veterans, fighting wildfires, tutoring in schools, combatting the fentanyl epidemic, and much more.

    For more than thirty years, AmeriCorps has been our nation’s leading provider of grants that support and promote national service and volunteerism. Through programs like AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors, more than 200,000 Americans participate in results-driven service projects at more than 35,000 locations across the country each year. Working hand in hand with thousands of nonprofit, faith-based, and community organizations, these dedicated Americans recruit and manage millions of additional volunteers as they work to promote employment opportunities, prepare a better-trained workforce, and provide essential services to veterans, children, and seniors. AmeriCorps’ track record of delivering for Americans has earned broad and longstanding support from business leaders, mayors, and governors of both parties.

    AmeriCorps is a public-private partnership that leverages approximately $1 billion in matched resources from the private sector, foundations, and local agencies to support organizations across the country working in creative ways to tackle our most persistent and costly challenges. While it is important the agency continues to make measurable progress toward an improved audit performance, federal investments in AmeriCorps already deliver returns for the American people. A 2020 study found that for every one dollar that Congress appropriates to AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors programs, they return over $17 in benefits to society, program members, and the government. Further, the AmeriCorps programs are a smart investment in our country’s future. AmeriCorps service allows members to gain marketable job skills in high-demand fields and pursue higher education, preparing more Americans to succeed in the workforce.

    We have seen firsthand the critical impact these programs have across the states we represent. We urge the administration to continue implementing the statutory requirements of the national service laws:

    • Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, Public Law 93-113.
    • National and Community Service Act of 1990, Public Law 101-610.
    • National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993, Public Law 103-82.
    • Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 2009, Public Law 111-13.

    Additionally, Congress recently passed the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2025, which maintained funding for AmeriCorps at its Fiscal Year 2024 level. We expect that the administration will implement this law in a manner consistent with the allocations enacted in Fiscal Year 2024. However, we have grave concerns that significant reductions in force will prevent AmeriCorps from being able to effectively and efficiently award appropriated funding to programs operating in communities across the country.

    We are deeply concerned by reports that a majority of AmeriCorps staff have been placed on administrative leave and that more than 750 NCCC members have already been recalled from their field assignments. Many of these volunteers were working in disaster response roles, including building homes for individuals who lost theirs in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. If not reversed, these recent actions will both stop current programs and prevent timely and efficient execution of the agency’s fiscal year 2025 appropriations, delaying or even halting the recruitment and deployment of new AmeriCorps members around the country. We are deeply concerned that is the goal: to eliminate AmeriCorps, in direct conflict with recently enacted appropriations. However, even delays will disrupt programs Americans rely on for their health, education, and safety. We urge you to reverse these actions and instead work with Congress on bipartisan improvements to AmeriCorps so that more Americans have the opportunity to serve their communities.

    # # #

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: World Intellectual Property Day, 2025

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    class=”has-text-align-center”>BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION
           More than 200 years ago, our Founding Fathers recognized the profound importance of intellectual property, enshrining government-granted legal protections in the Constitution to safeguard American innovation.  On World Intellectual Property Day, we renew our resolve to protect and secure the creative triumphs of American inventors and artists as they work to pull the future into the present and turn their dreams into our reality.     Americans have always been leaders in the realms of technology and ideas — and under my Administration, we are driving innovation in every sector, including emerging digital technologies like artificial intelligence.  I recently signed an Executive Order on Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence to slash red tape and ensure our continued leadership in this and other critical industries like automation, blockchain, data analytics, and cybersecurity.     For this reason, I established the Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, which is bringing together the best and brightest to shape the United States’ innovation policy and ensure our continued technological leadership.  My Administration will not waver in protecting and securing emerging, next-generation technologies that will drive progress and growth in the 21st century.     My Administration is taking strong action to protect the promise of American innovation.  For too long, our adversaries and allies alike have sapped our strength and exploited American advancements.  Through the strategic use of tariffs, we are recentering our trade policy and securing stronger intellectual property protections in new and existing trade deals.  Just as we protect our physical property, we will not tolerate the theft of our intellectual property, and we will defend our businesses and people from those who are seeking to steal American jobs and wealth.     As President Calvin Coolidge once said in an immortal maxim that remains true to this day, “The business of America is business.”  Our economy is the greatest in the world because we, more than any other country, incentivize individuals to dream big, take risks, and make the impossible possible.  Through our promotion and protection of intellectual property, we are empowering musicians, writers, authors, scientists, and inventors to focus on what they do best.     The future of our great Nation depends on the continued safeguarding of our intellectual property, which fuels economic growth, technological progress, and global competitiveness.  This World Intellectual Property Day, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to protecting and promoting the innovative spirit that continues to make America great.     NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 26, 2025, as World Intellectual Property Day.  I encourage Americans to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of our creators and inventors and the contributions they have made and will continue making to our country.     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.
    DONALD J. TRUMP

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Parliamentary secretary’s statement about Prevention of Violence Against Women Week

    Jennifer Blatherwick, parliamentary secretary for gender equity, has released the following statement in recognition of Prevention of Violence Against Women Week:

    “This week, we recognized Prevention of Violence Against Women Week and the pervasive and devasting impacts of gender-based violence throughout Canada.

    “Gender-based violence leaves too many in B.C. unsafe in their own communities. Women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people are disproportionately targeted by violence – particularly Indigenous and racialized women, newcomers, women with disabilities and 2SLGBTQIA+ people. Our government’s commitment is to prevent violence against all women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people in B.C.

    “Our Gender-Based Violence Action Plan is helping prevent and respond to gender-based violence and ensure survivors of violence can access the care and supports they need. We are supporting survivors by boosting resources for services and building more women’s transition housing.

    “We also know that children and youth benefit from learning about healthy relationships, boundaries and regulating emotions. That’s why we support age-appropriate educational and awareness programs in K-12, such as the Violence is Preventable program. As part of the program, counsellors go to schools to deliver presentations about intimate-partner violence and help connect students experiencing violence to these counsellors. We also created consent-awareness campaigns, which are promoted at all public post-secondary institutions.

    “We continue to support Indigenous self-determination and healing through programs like the Path Forward Community Fund and new Indigenous-led initiatives that promote safety planning, capacity building and culturally safe approaches and solutions to gender-based violence.

    “I encourage all British Columbians to join the effort to build a province that is safe and welcoming for everyone.”

    Learn More:

    For more information about Safe and Supported, B.C.’s Gender-Based Violence Action Plan and supports available for survivors: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/british-columbians-our-governments/services-policies-for-government/gender-equity/safe-and-supported-gender-based-violence-action-plan-december-2023.pdf

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Homage paid to Pope Francis at NZ street theatre rally for Palestine

    Asia Pacific Report

    Activists for Palestine paid homage to Pope Francis in Aotearoa New Zealand today for his humility, care for marginalised in the world, and his courageous solidarity with the besieged people of Gaza at a street theatre rally just hours before his funeral in Rome.

    He was remembered and thanked for his daily calls of concern to Gaza and his final public blessing last Sunday — the day before he died — calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian enclave.

    Several speakers thanked the late Pope for his humanitarian concerns and spiritual leadership at the vigil in Auckland’s “Palestinian Corner” in Te Komititanga Square, beside the Britomart transport hub, as other rallies were held across New Zealand over the weekend.

    “Last November, Pope Francis said that what is happening in Gaza was not a war. It was cruelty,” said Catholic deacon Chris Sullivan. “Because Israel is always claiming it is a war. But it isn’t a war, it’s just cruelty.”

    During the last 18 months of his life, Pope Francis had a daily ritual — he called Gaza’s only Catholic church to see how people were coping with the “cruel” onslaught.

    Deacon Sullivan said the people of the church in Gaza “have been attacked by Israeli rockets, Israeli shells, and Israeli snipers, and a number of people have been killed as a result of that.”

    In his Easter message before dying, Pope Francis said: “I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace.”

    ‘We lost the best man’
    Also speaking at today’s rally, Dr Abdallah Gouda said: “We lost the best man. He was talking about Palestine and he was working to stop this genocide.

    “Pope Francis; as a Palestinian, as a Palestinian from Gaza, and as a Moslem, thank you Pope Francis. Thank you. And we will never, never forget you.

    “As we will always talk about you, the man who called every night to talk to the Palestinians, and he asked, ‘what do you eat’. And he talked to leaders around the world to stop this genocide.”


    Pope Francis called Gaza’s Catholic parish every night.   Video: AJ+

    In Rome, the coffin of Pope Francis made its way through the city from the Vatican after the funeral to reach Santa Maria Maggiore basilica for a private burial ceremony.

    It arrived at the basilica after an imposing funeral ceremony at St Peter’s Square.

    The Vatican said that more than 250,000 people attended the open-air service that was held under clear blue skies

    Dozens of foreign dignitaries, including heads of state, were also in attendance.

    Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re eulogised Pope Francis as a pontiff who knew how to communicate to the “least among us” and urged people to build bridges and not walls.

    In Auckland at the “guerrilla theatre” event, several highly publicised examples of recent human rights violations and war crimes in Gaza were recreated in several skits with “actors” taking part from the crowd.

    Palestinian Dr Faiez Idais role played the kidnapping of courageous Kamal Adwan Hospital medical director Dr Hussam Abu Safiya by the Israeli military last December and his detention and torture in captivity since.

    Palestinian Dr Faiez Idais (hooded) during his role play for courageous Kamal Adwan Hospital medical director Dr Hussam Abu Safiya held prisoner by Israeli forces since December 2024. Image: APR

    Another Palestinian, Samer Almalalha, role played Columbia University student leader Mahmoud Khalil, who is also Palestinian and is a US permanent resident with an American wife and child.

    Khalil was seized by ICE agents from his university apartment without a warrant and abducted to a remote immigration prison in Louisiana but the courts have blocked his deportation in a high profile case.

    He is one of at least 300 students who have been captured ICE agents for criticising Israel and its genocide.

    A one-and-a-half-year-old child holds a “peace for all children” in Gaza placard at today’s rally. Image: APR

    The skits included a condemnation of the US corporation Starbucks, the world’s leading coffee roaster and retailer, with mock blood being kicked over fake bodies on the plaza.

    The backlash against the brand has caused heavy losses and 100 outlets in Malaysia have been forced to shut down.

    Singers and musicians Hone Fowler, who was also MC, Brenda Liddiard and Mark Laurent — including their dedicated “Make Peace Today” inspired by Jesus’ “Blessed are the peacemakers” — also lifted the spirits of the crowd.

    Protesters call for an end to the genocide in Palestine, both in Gaza and the West Bank. Image: APR

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Election Diary: Albanese promises around-the-clock health line, with leaders to hold rallies in Victoria

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will launch another push on health on Sunday, announcing a re-elected Labor government would set up a free around-the-clock 1800MEDICARE advice line and afterhours GP telehealth service.

    The service would be launched from January 1 and cost A$204.5 million over the forward estimates.

    Albanese will tell a Melbourne rally that people would be able to call at any time to get advice from a nurse. If the problem couldn’t wait for their regular GP, they would be connected to a free GP telehealth consultation.

    “Life isn’t 9 to 5. Neither is health care,” Albanese will say in his speech, an extract of which was released ahead of delivery.

    People with a sick child late at night or an unwell elderly parent would know there was trained expert advice at the end of the phone.

    “This will take pressure off people – and off public hospitals.

    “And in conjunction with our plan to open 50 more Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, it will ensure that free urgent care is within a 20 minute drive away for four out of every five Australians and just a phone call away for every Australian.”

    The present telehealth service is patchy depending on which part of Australia people live and doesn’t provide a weekend GP service.

    With a number of Victorian seats in strong contention, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also has a rally in Melbourne on Sunday. Federal Labor’s vote in Victoria has been volatile, first collapsing under the unpopularity of the state Allan government but recently reviving.



    Read more:
    50 new urgent care clinics are on the cards. But are the existing ones working? Here’s what we know so far

    Several men land in northern Australia

    A small group of men from a boat that arrived illegally in remote northern Australia has been apprehended by Border Force. The men were first discovered by a commercial helicopter pilot.

    They had written “SOS” in the sand and put up a flag. It is not known where they came from, or their circumstances.

    Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement on Saturday, “We do not confirm , or comment on, operational matters.

    “There has never been a successful people smuggling venture under our government, and that remains true.

    “When someone arrives without visa they are detained and then deported.”

    In 2022 the Liberals tried to exploit a boat interception on election day, by publicising it and sending text messages to voters.

    Michelle Grattan 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. Election Diary: Albanese promises around-the-clock health line, with leaders to hold rallies in Victoria – https://theconversation.com/election-diary-albanese-promises-around-the-clock-health-line-with-leaders-to-hold-rallies-in-victoria-254991

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Press Briefing Transcript: Western Hemisphere Department, Spring Meetings 2025

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    April 26, 2025

    Participants:

    Mr. Rodrigo Valdes, Director of Western Hemisphere Department, International Monetary Fund

    Ms. Ana Corbacho, Deputy Director of Western Hemisphere Department, International Monetary Fund

    Mr. Nigel Chalk, Deputy Director Western Hemisphere Department, International Monetary Fund

    Moderator: 

    Ms. Julie Ziegler, Senior Communications Officer, International Monetary Fund

     

     

    MS. ZIEGLER: Good afternoon and welcome.  This is the press briefing for the Regional Economic Outlook for the Western Hemisphere.  I am Julie Ziegler with the Communications Department.  And let me start by introducing our panel today.  To my left is Rodrigo Valdes, who is the Director of the Western Hemisphere Department, and he is joined by Deputy Directors in the Western Hemisphere Department as well, Ana Corbacho and Nigel Chalk. 

    We are going to begin with opening remarks from Rodrigo before taking your questions.  So, Rodrigo, the floor is yours. 

    MR. VALDES: Well, thank you, Julie.  Good afternoon, everybody.  Welcome to this briefing on Latin America and the Caribbean.  Before starting, let me express my sympathy to all the affected people by the recent earthquake in Ecuador. 

    So, I will frame my remarks today around two key themes.  Okay.  One is the uncertainties that we have to navigate, and second, the certainties that we can build upon.  Importantly, these two topics, these two themes, converge in one single message: and that it’s imperative for the countries in the region to continue strengthening economic resilience. 

    Let me first summarize how we see the economic outlook for the region.  In line with the changes that you have seen in the global context since our last Regional Economic Outlook in October last year, we expect average growth in the region to moderate.  Specifically, for Latin America and the Caribbean, on average, we expect growth to slow down from 2.4 percent last year to 2 percent this year, 2025 — against 2.5 that we were expecting six months ago.  After that, we expect growth will edge back to 2.4 percent. 

    Activity has remained largely driven by consumption in the region amid resilient labor markets.  However, slower global growth, elevated uncertainty, the impact of tariffs and tighter domestic policies in some countries will weight on growth.

    Behind this average, there is significant heterogeneity.  Following tight macro policies and, of course, being more affected by U.S. trade policies, Mexico’s GDP is expected to decline slightly this year.  We also continue to expect a relevant deceleration in Brazil driven by, let me underscore, appropriate tighter policies in Argentina and Ecuador, which have programs supported by the IMF, we expect an important rebound this year.

    On the inflation front, convergence to targets last year was relatively slow, slower than before.  Fading global disinflation was behind this and also effects in the region that was depreciating.  We expect though that the declining inflation should continue, although most countries will not reach their targets before 2026. 

    Today, as you know, we have a landscape that is shaped by very complex phenomena that are interplaying, and tariffs, value chains, disruptions, commodity price movements, financial market volatility and policy uncertainty are all together.  The impact of these factors on growth is relatively clear; it is negative, although a few countries may enjoy some trade diversion and cushion this. 

    However, although [that] part of [the] activity is clear, the inflation outcome is quite ambiguous and will depend on how these factors unfold in each country’s specific context.  [It] also depends on domestic risks, such as potential fiscal slippages.  For example, while tariffs are a negative demand shock in tariff countries or the region, pushing prices down, value chain disruptions create negative supply shocks for the world economy with an opposite effect on prices.  And even though tariffs to the region are relatively low in comparison to the rest, the acceleration in global growth could affect commodity demand, prices, and, indirectly, inflation through exchange rate depreciation.  With this in mind, we see downside risks to growth and upside risks to inflation, although the balance on the latter or inflation will depend on how global developments play out. 

    Let me move to policies, what countries can do in this environment.  In our last Regional Economic Outlook, we called for the need to rebalance the policy mix.  That meant basically tighter fiscal to make space for looser monetary policy.  This remains broadly relevant, although with greater emphasis on the need to strengthen public finances.  At the margin, certainty is very important in this juncture.  This is not the moment to alter policy frameworks or abandon fiscal plans.  Many countries have very good policy frameworks.  It is the moment to stick with them. 

    It is important to allow exchange rates to absorb shocks when fundamentals move, and also to use the IMF Integrated Policy Framework as a guide, perhaps, for interventions to address financial stability risks from disorderly market movements.  Thus far, the regional markets have continued to function effectively. 

    Now, in terms of monetary policy, in the last few quarters we have seen quite a bit of a heterogeneity in the region.  Some central banks are hiking, some other central banks are being easing.  Future actions should carefully strike a balance between durably bringing inflation back to targets, but at the same time trying to avoid an undue economic contraction.  Incoming data will be critical, while central bank independence, as you have seen throughout this week, remains a key anchor to inflation expectations.

    What remains certain is the imperative to rebuild fiscal buffers and policy buffers in general.  There is high public debt in several places and an unfavorable combination of rising financing cost and low growth.  Thus, we believe that fiscal consolidation should continue without delays, at least for now, while protecting priority public spending and social spending. 

    And, of course, there is this long challenge of lifting the very low potential growth that we have in the region.  So structural reforms continue to be urgent.  This will require first strengthening governance and security.  Security has been a topic in the region for long.  Second, enhancing productivity by improving the business environment, striving for policy predictability, and reducing informality.  And third, fostering greater intraregional trade. 

    I would also like to mention that since the last time we met in October, Suriname successfully completed the last review of its program.  It wasn’t an easy program at the beginning but was a very successful one and ended very well.  And we launched new programs with El Salvador and Argentina.  We continue supporting a number of other countries with either precautionary or drawing arrangements. 

    Before finishing, let me go back to my starting point.  In a world marked by uncertainty, the case for reinforcing macroeconomic frameworks that work well and increasing economic resilience and growth opportunities is clear.  For our part, we will continue supporting countries in the region, closely engaging through policy advice, capacity development, and financial support if needed. 

    With this, we are happy to take your questions. 

    MS. ZIEGLER: Thank you, Rodrigo.  So, before we take your questions, let me quickly run through some housekeeping items.  First, just a reminder that this is on the record and that we also have simultaneous translation in Spanish and Portuguese.  And second, if you do ask a question and if you are called on, please make sure to state your name and your affiliation before asking your question.  Third, if you are joining us online, please keep your camera on.  We won’t be able to take your question if we cannot see you.  And finally, please keep your questions brief.  We will try to get to as many as we can in the time that we have today. 

    And so now we are going to kick it off with questions, and let’s start with questions, groups of questions on the region.  That would be questions on Latin America, the Caribbean, or the entire Western Hemisphere.  And we will come to country specific questions after that. 

    So, may I ask, does anyone have a question on the region?  Woman in the red. 

    QUESTIONER: Hi, Mr. Rodrigo.  Can you share with us if the authorities of U.S. have been participating in the meeting committee?  Have the members spoken with Mr. Vincent?  And I had another question. 

    MS. ZIEGLER: Is that a question for the region though?  We’re starting with the — with the region first.  Not country specific questions. 

    QUESTIONER: I thought that I could do it for all the — it’s for all the regions.  But if you don’t think —

    MS. ZIEGLER: It’s okay.  Do you have a broader question there for the region? 

    QUESTIONER: Yes, I had another question.  I want to know your outlook about the immigration policies in U.S. and the impact on the remittances to our region.  Thank you.

    MS. ZIEGLER: And I have a question.  While we are on that, let me just go to a question that we had online from Efe, which is, you’ve said that this is not the moment to alter policy frameworks or abandon fiscal plans.  Is this message addressed to any country in particular?  And you also consider that what remains certain is the imperative to build policy buffers.  Is the region lagging behind in this respect? 

    So, is there any other?  I’ll take one more on the region.  On the region? 

    QUESTIONER: It is on the region, but it’s with a little country in it.  I wanted to know what role does the IMF see Guyana and Suriname, major oil-producing countries, now playing in ensuring Caribbean economic growth and stability while satisfying the demands by ordinary people in those oil-producing nations for increased wages and salaries?  And at the same time, what advice would you give to temper spending and borrowing using that resource as leverage? 

    MR. VALDES: Okay, so let me start by what authorities met, et cetera.  I think it is a question for the authorities, not for us.  So, I would prefer that you go directly to the authorities. 

    Your question on immigration is very important.  Our baseline considers an important decline on immigration, of immigration towards the U.S, okay.  Basically, that undocumented immigration goes basically to zero.  There is documented immigration still, and there are some people being sent back.  That has an effect first for the U.S. economy that maybe Nigel would like to add a bit of color on that.  What is the implication?  But also has, as you mentioned, an effect in the region.  And this is particularly important for Central America and Mexico, and if I have to say, more Central America than Mexico, given the relative size. 

    And here one issue is remittances.  We expect remittances to decline going forward.  How much is a very open question.  In the short run, we’re seeing the opposite.  Remittances are increasing, but we see that mostly as temporary.  So this will be a challenge for the economists to manage.  Since this is a shock that is probably more persistent, probably you will have to adjust to that shock.  It will have effects on consumption and probably also in economic activity. 

    There is also a challenge of absorbing people who would have migrated otherwise or that are coming back.  That’s also an opportunity.  There are countries which there is a shortage of people to work, but labor. rkets will be attuned to this.  There are a few countries that already have programs to reinsert people, that is correct.  We support that view. 

    Let me move to the second question and at the end I will go to Nigel, on basically the immigration question in the U.S.  Look, this message is not for any particular country.  I would put it the opposite.  It doesn’t apply to very few countries.  I don’t want to mention those.  But in general, in the region, we have seen some delays in fiscal consolidation in the last couple of years.  In many, many countries we have debt levels, debt ratios that are back to the peak after COVID.  So, after one year, when they decline, then they are back.  So, there is an important case to continue, at least in the short run, with this.  Are countries lagging the rest of the world?  The issue of fiscal is very generalized in many, many countries, not only Latin America, but I would say that that doesn’t make the homework less important and less urgent. 

    Finally, on the Caribbean and the questions, let me phrase it, and perhaps Ana would like to add on this.  But Suriname and Guyana are two countries that are living through important discoveries of oil, and that is a very challenging situation.  You probably know that there are lessons in history that these discoveries, or more generally natural resources, can be a blessing or can be a curse depending on how you manage that. 

    We are seeing very good management in Guyana.  Now. Suriname has to establish the framework for this to work well for them.  And for the region in general, of course, two countries, one country is already growing double digits and more, and the other one will be growing fast.  And those, of course, will be important for the region. 

    With that, let me go to Nigel, and perhaps Ana would like to add something on the Caribbean too. 

    MR. CHALK: On the immigration question in the U.S.  So, we have built into our forecast a significant decline in immigration flows into the U.S.  To give you a sense of magnitude, around the last couple of years, we have seen somewhere between three and three and a half million new foreign workers coming, foreign individuals coming into the U.S.  Only around 20 percent of those come through the formal immigration channels, green cards, and formal visas.  So our expectation, judging by what we can see on the statistics so far in border encounters, is that there’ll be a significant drop of that group that’s not coming through those formal channels.  And we essentially assume that’s going to go close to zero on a net basis. 

    So, what does that do to the U.S. economy?  I would point to a couple of things.  Probably the first important thing is in labor markets.  That inflow of foreign workers over the past few years has been very important in terms of helping the U.S. labor markets equilibrate, reducing wage growth, and then ultimately bringing down inflation.  So, it’s been an important disinflationary force that’s helped the Federal Reserve move inflation back towards their target.  That disinflationary force is going to go away, we expect, in the next couple of years. 

    Secondly, that group of individuals contributes to demand in the U.S. economy.  So, they come here, they need housing, they consume.  So that is going to provide a drag as a headwind on the demand side.  We think the supply-side forces are going to probably be the more dominant ones.  And we particularly see that a lot of that immigrant foreign labor group is concentrated in a few sectors.  So, you can think about retail, construction, agriculture.  And so, we are expecting we’ll probably see more tight labor markets in many of those sectors.

    MS. CORBACHO: Let me make a few specific remarks on Guyana.  Guyana has been the fastest-growing economy not only in the Caribbean but in the whole world, with average growth rates of 47 percent between 2022 and 2024.  We expect Guyana to continue to have very fast growth rates in an environment of macroeconomic stability.  In the current global uncertain environment, maintaining this macroeconomic stability is very critical, as well as continuing to strengthen resilience to shocks.  This includes shocks from oil prices, as well as continue to build very strong institutions so that the benefits of the oil wealth can be shared across generations.  Currently, all revenues are already helping Guyana address very significant development needs.  The Sovereign Wealth Fund has about 13 percent of GDP in buffers, and this is going to be very crucial to mitigate the impact of any global shocks.  And over time, we have emphasized the need to gradually close fiscal deficits again to preserve that wealth for the future.  Thank you.

    MS. ZIEGLER: Great.  So any other, just maybe a question or two.  Anyone?  Last in the region?  Okay, the gentleman in the blue shirt in the aisle. 

    QUESTIONER: Good afternoon.  Eastern Caribbean related questions.  Regarding tariffs, what recommendation would the IMF give to the small island states in the OECS, more specifically, or small island states in the Caribbean to mitigate against the potential fallout from the U.S. trade tariffs?  And a related question.  What should member states of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union do — considering the potential effect of the dollar failure — as the Eastern Caribbean currency is currently pegged to the U.S. dollar?  And finally, climate change.  What should these small island states within the Eastern Caribbean do to protect themselves in light of the United Nations, the United States, and other developed nations cutting back when it comes to climate change assistance? 

    MS. ZIEGLER: Okay, maybe one last question and then we can move on to country questions.  Does anybody else have a question on the region?  Yes, please.  The woman there.

    QUESTIONER: Of course, inflation it is a thing, but in the Western Hemisphere it’s not really versus other regions.  So, I would really want to know if we should concentrate on debt, fiscal risks, or we should concentrate on growth?  Of course, the ideal thing is that they come together.  But right now, sometimes it feels like it is one thing or another.  Thank you. 

    MS. ZIEGLER: Anyone else?  The gentleman there.  And then we will move on to country questions after this. 

    QUESTIONER: Hi, what challenges and opportunities does the IMF see for the Caribbean countries in light of the uncertainties created by the new administration in Washington, given the historic links between the United States and the Caribbean in trade remittances and as a major tourism source market. 

    MR. VALDES:  Okay, perhaps I can kind of start with a few ideas on the Caribbean and perhaps Ana would like to add some note.  But first, of course, tariffs.  And the global cycle is a headwind for tourism in the Caribbean.  So, what to do with this?  Basically, we think that it’s very important to keep the macroeconomy as stable as possible.  And that means that countries which have lot of homework in terms of rebuilding fiscal space, they have to continue doing it.  The risks of not doing that is to face at the end a disorderly macroeconomy.  And that at the end of the day is much worse.  We have to recognize that it may be raining, but it’s reality.  It is reality that we will have this cycle. 

    Now, the data we have seen and the authorities view on the same is that tourism is usually made reservations in advance, and we haven’t seen yet a change or cancellations of the size that could produce big problems.  Second point, we are not worried at all about the peg in the ECCU.  They have a very good ratio in reserves to money.  It is important to keep consistent policies for that.  Natural resources, sorry not natural.  The problem of climate change and the Caribbean. The MD said something very important.  And I would like just to mention that.  The Caribbean is special when you compare with other countries because basically natural disasters are macro-critical and very close every day.  Therefore, it is important to work towards building a structure of financing and infrastructure to be able to basically confront these problems.  Well, we are there to work with the countries on that. 

    Then I move to the question of supporting growth or adjusting.  The first thing is to notice that the way this shock is playing out is still very uncertain.  And I would say that part of the discussions we had with authorities is that before deciding actively what to do, we have to wait a bit more and understand better.  That is the very first point.  Second point, there are countries that may have some space to react fiscally if needed, but many others in reality do not have that space.  But working again in the fiscal risk side opens up space for monetary policy. 

    It is very different for a central bank to face an economy where fiscal risks are increasing, are becoming more and more complex compared to another one where the fiscal continues to adjust and there’s no problems of fiscal credibility.  Therefore, we see that this call that we had before of rebalancing monetary and fiscal policies continues to be very important.  Ana, would you like to add on the Caribbean? 

    MS. CORBACHO: Rodrigo addressed already the priorities of course to build fiscal buffers, stay the course on improving fiscal positions as well as continuing to work on addressing resilience to natural catastrophes and extreme weather events.  I wanted to touch on a third very important area of policy efforts.  When it has to do with structural reforms, we expect the Caribbean to converge to a level of medium-term growth or potential growth that is quite low.  This is an agenda that is long standing and the current conditions of uncertainty and the need to boost growth and productivity becomes even more urgent right now.  This has of course the area of resilience, growth and productivity, including enhancing human capital and expanding access to finance.  And particularly in the current environment seeking synergies from intra-regional cooperation and integration where the Caribbean can really expand scope for capacity by working together across states. 

    MS. ZIEGLER:  Let’s turn to country questions now.  The woman in the green in the middle there.

    QUESTIONER:  Thank you for having my question.  Rodrigo, you mentioned that level [inaudible] is being back to [inaudible] COVID.  This is the Brazilian case, right.  And given the complex global landscape, what are the IMF recommendations to Brazil regarding fiscal and monetary policies?  And do you believe that the early debate about the presidential election next year impacts, you know, policies, activity, or anything else?  Thank you.

    MS. ZIEGLER:  Okay, let me take another question.  So, I have two questions about my country and thank you for your condolence because of the earthquake today.  I would like to know is there any answer or did you finish already the revision of the program?  And we were waiting for that last week, I think because IMF says it’s going to be an answer after the elections.  So, is there any results?  Is it possible to have the money this week or this month, when it’s going to happen?  And the second one is about the Ecuadorian requests for RSF program.  I know we were waiting about that.  The government said it is going to be possible to have that this year.  But I don’t know if any updates on that.

    MS. ZIEGLER:  Okay, do we have any other in Ecuador in particular?  Anybody?  Okay, let us take those and we’ll move on to other countries in the next round. 

    MR. VALDES:  Okay, let me again, Ana, will may want to add on Brazil, but let me start from the following.  First, elections happen in all the countries of the region.  It is normal to have these cycles.  There is nothing special from that.  Second, as you mentioned, Brazil has a fiscal challenge.  The authorities are very well aware of this, and they are taking measures for that to stabilize debt and eventually also to have the debt ratio in a downward path in the future.  Of course, one thing is to have that and then is the measures.  And the discussions with them is always about whether we can have more measures for ensure that this will happen.  But I would like to say that they have been taking measures; their fiscal rule this year with the objective that they have on the primary is very important to be met and we support that. 

    In terms of monetary policy in Brazil, the central bank has been tightening policies appropriately basically to bring inflation back to target.  As I mentioned at the beginning, giving certainty in this environment is very important.  And part of the certainties that many countries have, Brazil included, is to have a central bank that is committed to its target and also acts with full independence. 

    On Ecuador, we had an election not long ago, two weeks ago.  So, it’s not that things are not as fast as we would like.  No.  So,we had to expect to wait for the election to happen.  We are in conversations with the authorities.  We have had many meetings these days here.  There’s good progress in the discussions, but we cannot give you a precise date of [the] next steps.  No, we are working on that.  We hope to move fast. ON RSF, the RSF was a possibility for the authorities, but they have decided to postpone it for a while. They haven’t decided to officially ask for it later, but it’s a possibility. But with the purpose of facilitating this review which comes on the heels of very good performance of the program. That is what I can say. The authorities have been implementing strongly their program. At the same time, we have news — the world, lower oil prices — which need to be factored in the program. And that is what we are doing.

    MS. CORBACHO:  Let me start with a brief addition on Ecuador that the dialogue with the authorities continues to be extremely productive and very close.  We are taking stock of the implications of global developments on the macroeconomic framework for Ecuador.  And we continue to advance in securing the second review of the EFF arrangement.  We will come back on specific dates as soon as we have more information to give you to.

    MS. ZIEGLER: I am going to read a question online that we have from Ion Group.  It is on El Salvador.  Is El Salvador shifting around bitcoin from one account to the next?  Is that how they are adding to its bitcoin reserves versus straight out purchases?  And maybe we’ll take one other question from the, from the audience on a country matter. Okay, go ahead.  I know that’s Argentina over there.  We’ll come to Argentina.  You’ll get your own section. 

    QUESTIONER:  Thank you everyone.   Why the contribution the Monetary Fund to Honduras and the other country of the region in the context confusion and trade tension.  Additionally, what is the factor we leverage economic growth this year and the Honduras economy. 

    MS. ZIEGLER:  Okay, let us take those and [the] next round will be Argentina. 

    MR. VALDES:  So first let me start from Honduras.  Honduras just had a staff-level agreement with the Fund.  That means that we are ready to go to the Board for the review of the program, the second review.  Things have moved very well for the country.  It is an example of an old say of the Fund that is you repair your roof when it’s sunny outside.  And they took advantage of times that things were calmer, and they moved policies, both structural aspects and importantly macro aspects.  And today are in a much better position to withstand the global cycle. 

    They improve their reserves that they have, they mobilize resources from other IFIs.  They were able to lower inflation, and they have been growing pretty fast and also making progress in their fiscal adjustments.  So, I would say it’s a good case of preparedness.  So, the country is in a much better position now than it was before.

    In terms of El Salvador, let me say that I can confirm that they continue to comply with their commitment of non-accumulation of bitcoin by the overall fiscal sector, which is the performance criteria that we have.  But on top of that, I think this is very important for the discussion in El Salvador.  The program of El Salvador is not about bitcoin.  It’s much more, much deeper in structural reforms, in terms of governance, in terms of transparency.  There is a lot of progress there.  And also, on fiscal.  And authorities have been making a lot of progress implementing the reform. 

    We are preparing the first review of the program now.  This is, as you know, a 40-month program with 1.4 billion but what the money that they can mobilize from other IFIs, it is about $3.5 billion.  It has an important fiscal adjustment that the authorities are implementing.  At the end, this program is expected to create the conditions for stronger private investment and stronger growth in El Salvador.  Taking advantage, basically, or a much better macro on top of the dividends that the immense improvement in security will yield.

    MS. ZIEGLER: And now we will move to Argentina and we are going to take.  We are going to compile questions, and I will also, once we go into the — the questions in the room.  I am going to take a question online from [Liliana] as well.  So please feel free. Whoever would like, I will start on the aisle here. 

    QUESTIONER: The Argentina staff report mentions contingency planning in case of an external shock.  Wondering if you are expecting an external shock this year.  And in that case, what are the policy changes that you would expect Argentina to take to mitigate?

    QUESTIONER:    There’s been reports of pressure from the management to some of the Board directors in order to approve the IMF new program.  I was wondering if you could comment on that and also on the remarks that were made yesterday by Ms. Georgieva.  She said that Argentina should not derail from change, speaking about the elections.  And the opposition has accused her of meddling with the national elections. 

    MS. ZIEGLER:  Okay, any more Argentina questions in the room?  We are going to go to Webex, and we will take a question. 

    QUESTIONER:  Thank you for taking my questions.  And I have two — what inflation rates does the IMF project for this year?  I mean end of period and for the next year.  And the second question is, what are the potential risks facing Argentina’s economy program?

    MS. ZIEGLER: Okay, we’ll leave it there. 

    MR. VALDES: Okay, thank you.  Look, from the first questions and the two last questions, I will invite you to look at the Staff Report.  Really, I don’t have anything to add on.  We don’t work, we don’t change the view in a week of a country.  So, what is there really is the contingencies plans and the inflation forecast that we have not changed and are part of the WEO.  And also, the official documents of the program. 

    I want to say a few words on this article on the pressure to the Board and the words from our Managing Director.  Let me start from the second part.  Today the MD said something about this and said something very simple.  Elections are for the Argentine people, not for us. So, it’s very clear to me, the message.  I also can say that what she was underscoring was the importance of policy continuity to support Argentina’s stability and recovery.  Her comments reflect the economic opportunities ahead and the importance for the government to stay the course implementing those.  It’s not a view on the political process or its outcome.  In fact, the Fund never takes positions on this. 

    In terms of this article, what I can say basically is that all the decisions that the IMF-supported programs are taking on — are done by the Executive Board based on what staff, technical assessment and in line with Fund policies produce.  The program for Argentina was approved by the Executive Board following a very rigorous evaluation.  Lot of engagement from staff to the Board throughout the process and also reflecting the authorities very strong track record and commitment to the stabilization and to reform.   

    MS. ZIEGLER:  Okay, we are going to take a final question, and it will be online. 

    QUESTIONER:  Mr. Valdez, you talk about the fiscal consolidation in some countries in this year.  In Chile, the Ministry of Finance, despite the fact that the Ministry committed to a new adjustment this year, say that it will not meet the selling cost fiscal target again and they have to change it.  Is this a concern for you?  The fiscal situation in Chile, how well prepared do you see Chile today for this scenario, global slowdown and mainly worsening in the next years?  Thank you. 

    MR. VALDES: The view from the Fund is that after the slight widening of the fiscal deficit in Chile last year, it will be very important to decisively bring the deficit back to a downward path.  The authorities’ commitment to do this in 2025 and their medium-term strategy and also adhering to their debt ceiling is very commendable.  Now, given the worst starting position for this year, it looks appropriate to smooth the adjustment.  Okay, so to move a bit the calendar.  Nevertheless, we see that with the new target of 1.5 percent, they will need measures of around 0.5 percent to be identified. 

    They just announced yesterday measures.  We have been discussing with authorities those measures.  But we need some time to fully understand the size and the timing of those effects.  These announcements of corrective fiscal actions are clearly a step towards this goal and are welcome.  But at the same time, we need to assess them more carefully.  And also given the context of uncertainty, it will be important for fiscal policy to remain very agile and respond further if the revenue and expenditure measures that are being taken disappoint.

     MS. ZIEGLER:  Those are all the questions that we have time for today.  I want to thank you, Rodrigo, Ana, and Nigel.  If you have any other questions and thank everyone for joining us in person and on the line.  And if you have any other questions, please be sure to send them by email to media@imf.org.  Thank you again and have a good afternoon. 

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Julie Ziegler

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

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/04/26/tr042525-western-hemisphere-press-briefing-transcript

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: 80 years after Benito Mussolini’s death, what can democracies today learn from his fascist rise?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Matthew Sharpe, Associate Professor in Philosophy, Australian Catholic University

    Hitler and Mussolini in Munich, Germany, June 18, 1940. Everett Collection/Shutterstock

    This Monday marks 80 years since Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was killed in an Italian village towards the end of the Second World War in 1945. The following day, his body was publicly desecrated in Milan.

    Il Duce, as Mussolini was known, was Hitler’s inspiration.
    State Library of Victoria

    Given the scale of Adolf Hitler’s atrocities, our image of fascism today has largely been shaped by Nazism. Yet, Mussolini preceded Hitler. Il Duce, as Mussolini was known, was Hitler’s inspiration.

    Today, as commentators, bloggers and scholars are debating whether the governments of US President Donald Trump, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin are “fascist”, we can learn from Il Duce’s career about how democracies fail and dictators consolidate autocratic rule.

    The early years

    The term “fascist” itself originated around the time of Mussolini’s founding in 1914 of the Fasci d’Azione Rivoluzionaria, a militaristic group promoting Italy’s entry into the First World War.

    Mussolini had been raised in a leftist family. Before WWI, he edited and wrote for socialist newspapers. Yet, from early on, the young rebel was also attracted to radically anti-democratic thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche, George Sorel, and Wilfred Pareto.

    When WWI broke out, Mussolini broke from the socialists, who opposed Italy’s involvement in the conflict. Like Hitler, he fought in the war. Mussolini considered his front-line experience as formative for his future ideas around fascism. His war experience led him to imagine making Italy great again – an imperial power worthy of the heritage of ancient Rome.

    In March 1919, Mussolini formed the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento in Milan. This group brought together a motley collection of war veterans, primarily interested in fighting the socialists and communists. They were organised in squadristi (squads), which would become known for their black shirts and violence – they forced many of their targets to drink castor oil.

    The political success of Mussolini’s fascist ideals, however, was neither instant nor inevitable. In the 1919 Italian elections, Mussolini received so few votes, communists held a mock funeral march outside his house to celebrate his political death.

    The rise to power and the march on Rome

    Fascism became a part of national political life in 1920-21, following waves of industrial and agricultural strikes and worker occupations of land and factories.

    As a result, rural and industrial elites turned to the fascist squadristi to break strikes and combat workers’ organisations. Fascist squads also overturned the results of democratic elections in Bologna and Cremona, preventing left-wing candidates from assuming office.

    Mussolini’s political capital, remarkably, was boosted by this violence. He was invited to enter Prime Minister Ivanoe Bonomi’s first government in July 1921.

    The following October, fascists occupied the towns of Bolzano and Trento. The liberals, socialists and Italian monarchy were indecisive in the face of these provocations, allowing Mussolini to seize the moment. Mustering the fascist squads, he ordered the famous “march on Rome” in late October 2022 to demand he be appointed prime minister.

    All the evidence suggests if the government had intervened, the march on Rome would have disbanded. It was a bold piece of political theatre. Nevertheless, fearing civil war — and the communists more than the black shirts — King Victor Emmanuel III caved in without a shot being fired.

    Mussolini was made leader of a new government on October 31, 1922.

    The consolidation of dictatorship

    Like Hitler in 1933, Mussolini’s rule started as the head of a coalition government including non-fascist parties. Yet, with the repressive powers of the state now at his disposal, Mussolini exploited the division among his rivals and gradually consolidated power.

    In 1923, the communist party was targeted with mass arrests and the fascist squads were brought under official state control as a paramilitary force. Mussolini began to use state powers to surveil all non-fascist political parties.

    In the 1924 general election, with fascist militia menacingly manning the polls, Il Duce won 65% of the vote.

    Then, in June, socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti was kidnapped and murdered by black shirts. When investigations pointed to Mussolini’s responsibility, he at first denied any knowledge of the killing. Months later, however, Mussolini proudly admitted responsibility for the deed, celebrating the fascists’ brutality. He faced no legal or political consequences.

    The last nail in the coffin of Italy’s enfeebled democracy came in late 1926. Following an assassination attempt in which Mussolini’s nose was grazed (he wore a bandage for a time afterwards), Mussolini definitively banned all political opposition.

    The “lesser evil”

    Following his death in April 1945, Mussolini’s dictatorship was often portrayed as “dictatorship-lite”, a “lesser evil” compared to Nazism or Stalinist Russia. This narrative, bolstered by German crimes against Italians in the last months of the war, has understandably been embraced by many Italians.

    Yet, Mussolini’s was the first regime to advertise itself as totalitarian. Styling himself as a “man of destiny”, Mussolini claimed that fascism embodied the “spiritual renewal” of the Italian people.

    His goal of making Italy a power again required total control of the state. His 1932 “Doctrine of Fascism” describes the need “to exercise power and to command” all administrative, policing, and judicial institutions. This included censorship of the press and educational institutions.

    Mussolini announcing Italy’s declaration of war on France and Britain in 1940.
    Australian War Memorial

    While portraying fascism as a “populist” movement, Mussolini also shut down independent trade unions, bailed out big banks, and prevented the right to strike. As a result, economic inequality between Italians actually grew wider under his rule.

    Mussolini also pursued an imperialist dream by invading Ethiopia. Defying international conventions, Il Duce’s troops used chemical weapons and summary executions to quell acts of resistance. Over 700,000 Ethiopians are estimated by scholars to have been killed by the invaders, with around 35,000 forced into internment camps.

    Italian Ca-111 bombers over Ethiopia in the 1930s.
    Getty Images/Wikimedia Commons

    Mussolini’s fascists ran over 30 concentration camps from 1926–45, almost all of them offshore. Some 50–70,000 Libyans alone died in camps set up under Italy’s brutal colonial regime from 1929–34. Many more died through executions, starvation and ethnic cleansing.

    When the notorious SS leader Heinrich Himmler visited Libya in in 1939, he deemed the Italian colony a successful model to emulate.

    And after Mussolini’s forces aided the Axis invasions of Yugoslavia, Albania and Russia in the Second World War, more than 80,000 more prisoners were interned in camps. At the camp on the Croatian Island of Rab, more than 3,000 prisoners died in grossly inhumane conditions in 1942–43, at a mortality rate higher than the Nazi camp at Buchenwald.

    Slovenian prisoner of the Italian Rab concentration camp.
    Archives, Museum of Modern History, Ljubljana/Wikimedia Commons

    From late 1943, Italian fascists also participated in the rounding up of over 7,000 Italian Jews to transfer to Auschwitz. Almost all of them were murdered.

    Following the war, even with Il Duce dead, few perpetrators faced justice for these atrocities.

    Lessons for democracies after 80 years

    The infamy of the crimes associated with the word “fascism” has meant that few people today claim the label – even those attracted to the same kinds of authoritarian, ethnonationalist politics.

    Mussolini, even more than Hitler, can seem a bombastic fool, with his uniform, theatrical gestures, stylised hyper-masculinity and patented steely jaw.

    Yet, one of the lessons of Mussolini’s career is that such political adventurists are only as strong as the democratic opposition allows. To fail to take them seriously is to enable their success.

    Mussolini pushed his luck time and again between 1920 and 1926. As the wonderful recent teleseries of his ascent, Mussolini, Figlio del Seculo shows, time and again, the opposition failed to concertedly oppose the fascists’ attacks on democratic norms and institutions. Then it was too late.

    Democracies mostly fall over time, by a thousand cuts and shifts of the goalposts of what is considered “normal”. Fascism, moreover, depends in no small measure on shameless political deception, including the readiness to conceal its own most radical intentions.

    Fascist “strongmen” like Mussolini accumulate power thanks to people’s inabilities to believe that the barbarisation of political life – including open violence against opponents – could happen in their societies.

    And there is a final, unsettling lesson of Mussolini’s career. Il Duce was a skilled propagandist who portrayed himself as leading a popular revolt to restore respectable values. He was able to win widespread popular support, including among the elites, even as he destroyed Italian democracy.

    Yet, if the monarchy, military, other political parties and the church had attempted a principled, united opposition to fascism early enough, most of Mussolini’s crimes would likely have been avoided.

    Matthew Sharpe has in the past (2013-17) received funding from the ARC to study religion and politics in the contemporary world.

    – ref. 80 years after Benito Mussolini’s death, what can democracies today learn from his fascist rise? – https://theconversation.com/80-years-after-benito-mussolinis-death-what-can-democracies-today-learn-from-his-fascist-rise-251154

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: CLARKE ISSUES STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF FORMER LABOR SECRETARY ALEXIS HERMAN

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Yvette D Clarke (9th District of New York)

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

    April 26, 2025

    MEDIA CONTACT: 

    e: jessica.myers@mail.house.gov

    c: 202.913.0126

    Washington, DC – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) issued the following statement on the passing of Alexis Herman, the first African American to serve as U.S. Secretary of Labor:

    “I am truly saddened to learn of the passing of my friend and Soror, Secretary Alexis Herman. Alexis was a faithful public servant, who devoted her entire being to the preservation and economic development of the Black community.

    “Herman defied all odds, growing up in the segregated Jim Crow South to parents who were civil rights activists and educators, who helped lay the foundation for Alexis to become a change agent of social justice and a vocal opponent of inequality. She fought to desegregate schools in Mobile, Alabama, and worked with the Southern Regional Council to assist Black women to obtain managerial or technical jobs, and she would later become the youngest director of the U.S. Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau under the Carter administration. Before the term DEI, Herman would use her position to encourage large corporations, such as Coca Cola and Toyota, to diversify their workforce by hiring Black women.

    “Alexis went on to become the first Black Secretary of Labor under the Clinton administration. During her time as Secretary, she was praised for handling the USPS labor strike, addressing child exploitation and labor laws, and increasing the minimum wage.

    “Herman’s contributions to politics and the advancement of women are legendary. Her work alongside presidential candidates, her leadership under various administrations, and her tenacity to break gender and race barriers within the workplace have cemented Alexis Herman’s name in American History.

    “My heartfelt prayers and condolences are with her family and friends, as well as the countless others she inspired over her lifetime of service and advocacy.” 

    “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” – Matthew 25:23

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Press Briefing Transcript: Western Hemisphere Department, Spring Meetings 2025

    Source: International Monetary Fund

    April 26, 2025

    Participants:

    Mr. Rodrigo Valdes, Director of Western Hemisphere Department, International Monetary Fund

    Ms. Ana Corbacho, Deputy Director of Western Hemisphere Department, International Monetary Fund

    Mr. Nigel Chalk, Deputy Director Western Hemisphere Department, International Monetary Fund

    Moderator: 

    Ms. Julie Ziegler, Senior Communications Officer, International Monetary Fund

     

     

    MS. ZIEGLER: Good afternoon and welcome.  This is the press briefing for the Regional Economic Outlook for the Western Hemisphere.  I am Julie Ziegler with the Communications Department.  And let me start by introducing our panel today.  To my left is Rodrigo Valdes, who is the Director of the Western Hemisphere Department, and he is joined by Deputy Directors in the Western Hemisphere Department as well, Ana Corbacho and Nigel Chalk. 

    We are going to begin with opening remarks from Rodrigo before taking your questions.  So, Rodrigo, the floor is yours. 

    MR. VALDES: Well, thank you, Julie.  Good afternoon, everybody.  Welcome to this briefing on Latin America and the Caribbean.  Before starting, let me express my sympathy to all the affected people by the recent earthquake in Ecuador. 

    So, I will frame my remarks today around two key themes.  Okay.  One is the uncertainties that we have to navigate, and second, the certainties that we can build upon.  Importantly, these two topics, these two themes, converge in one single message: and that it’s imperative for the countries in the region to continue strengthening economic resilience. 

    Let me first summarize how we see the economic outlook for the region.  In line with the changes that you have seen in the global context since our last Regional Economic Outlook in October last year, we expect average growth in the region to moderate.  Specifically, for Latin America and the Caribbean, on average, we expect growth to slow down from 2.4 percent last year to 2 percent this year, 2025 — against 2.5 that we were expecting six months ago.  After that, we expect growth will edge back to 2.4 percent. 

    Activity has remained largely driven by consumption in the region amid resilient labor markets.  However, slower global growth, elevated uncertainty, the impact of tariffs and tighter domestic policies in some countries will weight on growth.

    Behind this average, there is significant heterogeneity.  Following tight macro policies and, of course, being more affected by U.S. trade policies, Mexico’s GDP is expected to decline slightly this year.  We also continue to expect a relevant deceleration in Brazil driven by, let me underscore, appropriate tighter policies in Argentina and Ecuador, which have programs supported by the IMF, we expect an important rebound this year.

    On the inflation front, convergence to targets last year was relatively slow, slower than before.  Fading global disinflation was behind this and also effects in the region that was depreciating.  We expect though that the declining inflation should continue, although most countries will not reach their targets before 2026. 

    Today, as you know, we have a landscape that is shaped by very complex phenomena that are interplaying, and tariffs, value chains, disruptions, commodity price movements, financial market volatility and policy uncertainty are all together.  The impact of these factors on growth is relatively clear; it is negative, although a few countries may enjoy some trade diversion and cushion this. 

    However, although [that] part of [the] activity is clear, the inflation outcome is quite ambiguous and will depend on how these factors unfold in each country’s specific context.  [It] also depends on domestic risks, such as potential fiscal slippages.  For example, while tariffs are a negative demand shock in tariff countries or the region, pushing prices down, value chain disruptions create negative supply shocks for the world economy with an opposite effect on prices.  And even though tariffs to the region are relatively low in comparison to the rest, the acceleration in global growth could affect commodity demand, prices, and, indirectly, inflation through exchange rate depreciation.  With this in mind, we see downside risks to growth and upside risks to inflation, although the balance on the latter or inflation will depend on how global developments play out. 

    Let me move to policies, what countries can do in this environment.  In our last Regional Economic Outlook, we called for the need to rebalance the policy mix.  That meant basically tighter fiscal to make space for looser monetary policy.  This remains broadly relevant, although with greater emphasis on the need to strengthen public finances.  At the margin, certainty is very important in this juncture.  This is not the moment to alter policy frameworks or abandon fiscal plans.  Many countries have very good policy frameworks.  It is the moment to stick with them. 

    It is important to allow exchange rates to absorb shocks when fundamentals move, and also to use the IMF Integrated Policy Framework as a guide, perhaps, for interventions to address financial stability risks from disorderly market movements.  Thus far, the regional markets have continued to function effectively. 

    Now, in terms of monetary policy, in the last few quarters we have seen quite a bit of a heterogeneity in the region.  Some central banks are hiking, some other central banks are being easing.  Future actions should carefully strike a balance between durably bringing inflation back to targets, but at the same time trying to avoid an undue economic contraction.  Incoming data will be critical, while central bank independence, as you have seen throughout this week, remains a key anchor to inflation expectations.

    What remains certain is the imperative to rebuild fiscal buffers and policy buffers in general.  There is high public debt in several places and an unfavorable combination of rising financing cost and low growth.  Thus, we believe that fiscal consolidation should continue without delays, at least for now, while protecting priority public spending and social spending. 

    And, of course, there is this long challenge of lifting the very low potential growth that we have in the region.  So structural reforms continue to be urgent.  This will require first strengthening governance and security.  Security has been a topic in the region for long.  Second, enhancing productivity by improving the business environment, striving for policy predictability, and reducing informality.  And third, fostering greater intraregional trade. 

    I would also like to mention that since the last time we met in October, Suriname successfully completed the last review of its program.  It wasn’t an easy program at the beginning but was a very successful one and ended very well.  And we launched new programs with El Salvador and Argentina.  We continue supporting a number of other countries with either precautionary or drawing arrangements. 

    Before finishing, let me go back to my starting point.  In a world marked by uncertainty, the case for reinforcing macroeconomic frameworks that work well and increasing economic resilience and growth opportunities is clear.  For our part, we will continue supporting countries in the region, closely engaging through policy advice, capacity development, and financial support if needed. 

    With this, we are happy to take your questions. 

    MS. ZIEGLER: Thank you, Rodrigo.  So, before we take your questions, let me quickly run through some housekeeping items.  First, just a reminder that this is on the record and that we also have simultaneous translation in Spanish and Portuguese.  And second, if you do ask a question and if you are called on, please make sure to state your name and your affiliation before asking your question.  Third, if you are joining us online, please keep your camera on.  We won’t be able to take your question if we cannot see you.  And finally, please keep your questions brief.  We will try to get to as many as we can in the time that we have today. 

    And so now we are going to kick it off with questions, and let’s start with questions, groups of questions on the region.  That would be questions on Latin America, the Caribbean, or the entire Western Hemisphere.  And we will come to country specific questions after that. 

    So, may I ask, does anyone have a question on the region?  Woman in the red. 

    QUESTIONER: Hi, Mr. Rodrigo.  Can you share with us if the authorities of U.S. have been participating in the meeting committee?  Have the members spoken with Mr. Vincent?  And I had another question. 

    MS. ZIEGLER: Is that a question for the region though?  We’re starting with the — with the region first.  Not country specific questions. 

    QUESTIONER: I thought that I could do it for all the — it’s for all the regions.  But if you don’t think —

    MS. ZIEGLER: It’s okay.  Do you have a broader question there for the region? 

    QUESTIONER: Yes, I had another question.  I want to know your outlook about the immigration policies in U.S. and the impact on the remittances to our region.  Thank you.

    MS. ZIEGLER: And I have a question.  While we are on that, let me just go to a question that we had online from Efe, which is, you’ve said that this is not the moment to alter policy frameworks or abandon fiscal plans.  Is this message addressed to any country in particular?  And you also consider that what remains certain is the imperative to build policy buffers.  Is the region lagging behind in this respect? 

    So, is there any other?  I’ll take one more on the region.  On the region? 

    QUESTIONER: It is on the region, but it’s with a little country in it.  I wanted to know what role does the IMF see Guyana and Suriname, major oil-producing countries, now playing in ensuring Caribbean economic growth and stability while satisfying the demands by ordinary people in those oil-producing nations for increased wages and salaries?  And at the same time, what advice would you give to temper spending and borrowing using that resource as leverage? 

    MR. VALDES: Okay, so let me start by what authorities met, et cetera.  I think it is a question for the authorities, not for us.  So, I would prefer that you go directly to the authorities. 

    Your question on immigration is very important.  Our baseline considers an important decline on immigration, of immigration towards the U.S, okay.  Basically, that undocumented immigration goes basically to zero.  There is documented immigration still, and there are some people being sent back.  That has an effect first for the U.S. economy that maybe Nigel would like to add a bit of color on that.  What is the implication?  But also has, as you mentioned, an effect in the region.  And this is particularly important for Central America and Mexico, and if I have to say, more Central America than Mexico, given the relative size. 

    And here one issue is remittances.  We expect remittances to decline going forward.  How much is a very open question.  In the short run, we’re seeing the opposite.  Remittances are increasing, but we see that mostly as temporary.  So this will be a challenge for the economists to manage.  Since this is a shock that is probably more persistent, probably you will have to adjust to that shock.  It will have effects on consumption and probably also in economic activity. 

    There is also a challenge of absorbing people who would have migrated otherwise or that are coming back.  That’s also an opportunity.  There are countries which there is a shortage of people to work, but labor. rkets will be attuned to this.  There are a few countries that already have programs to reinsert people, that is correct.  We support that view. 

    Let me move to the second question and at the end I will go to Nigel, on basically the immigration question in the U.S.  Look, this message is not for any particular country.  I would put it the opposite.  It doesn’t apply to very few countries.  I don’t want to mention those.  But in general, in the region, we have seen some delays in fiscal consolidation in the last couple of years.  In many, many countries we have debt levels, debt ratios that are back to the peak after COVID.  So, after one year, when they decline, then they are back.  So, there is an important case to continue, at least in the short run, with this.  Are countries lagging the rest of the world?  The issue of fiscal is very generalized in many, many countries, not only Latin America, but I would say that that doesn’t make the homework less important and less urgent. 

    Finally, on the Caribbean and the questions, let me phrase it, and perhaps Ana would like to add on this.  But Suriname and Guyana are two countries that are living through important discoveries of oil, and that is a very challenging situation.  You probably know that there are lessons in history that these discoveries, or more generally natural resources, can be a blessing or can be a curse depending on how you manage that. 

    We are seeing very good management in Guyana.  Now. Suriname has to establish the framework for this to work well for them.  And for the region in general, of course, two countries, one country is already growing double digits and more, and the other one will be growing fast.  And those, of course, will be important for the region. 

    With that, let me go to Nigel, and perhaps Ana would like to add something on the Caribbean too. 

    MR. CHALK: On the immigration question in the U.S.  So, we have built into our forecast a significant decline in immigration flows into the U.S.  To give you a sense of magnitude, around the last couple of years, we have seen somewhere between three and three and a half million new foreign workers coming, foreign individuals coming into the U.S.  Only around 20 percent of those come through the formal immigration channels, green cards, and formal visas.  So our expectation, judging by what we can see on the statistics so far in border encounters, is that there’ll be a significant drop of that group that’s not coming through those formal channels.  And we essentially assume that’s going to go close to zero on a net basis. 

    So, what does that do to the U.S. economy?  I would point to a couple of things.  Probably the first important thing is in labor markets.  That inflow of foreign workers over the past few years has been very important in terms of helping the U.S. labor markets equilibrate, reducing wage growth, and then ultimately bringing down inflation.  So, it’s been an important disinflationary force that’s helped the Federal Reserve move inflation back towards their target.  That disinflationary force is going to go away, we expect, in the next couple of years. 

    Secondly, that group of individuals contributes to demand in the U.S. economy.  So, they come here, they need housing, they consume.  So that is going to provide a drag as a headwind on the demand side.  We think the supply-side forces are going to probably be the more dominant ones.  And we particularly see that a lot of that immigrant foreign labor group is concentrated in a few sectors.  So, you can think about retail, construction, agriculture.  And so, we are expecting we’ll probably see more tight labor markets in many of those sectors.

    MS. CORBACHO: Let me make a few specific remarks on Guyana.  Guyana has been the fastest-growing economy not only in the Caribbean but in the whole world, with average growth rates of 47 percent between 2022 and 2024.  We expect Guyana to continue to have very fast growth rates in an environment of macroeconomic stability.  In the current global uncertain environment, maintaining this macroeconomic stability is very critical, as well as continuing to strengthen resilience to shocks.  This includes shocks from oil prices, as well as continue to build very strong institutions so that the benefits of the oil wealth can be shared across generations.  Currently, all revenues are already helping Guyana address very significant development needs.  The Sovereign Wealth Fund has about 13 percent of GDP in buffers, and this is going to be very crucial to mitigate the impact of any global shocks.  And over time, we have emphasized the need to gradually close fiscal deficits again to preserve that wealth for the future.  Thank you.

    MS. ZIEGLER: Great.  So any other, just maybe a question or two.  Anyone?  Last in the region?  Okay, the gentleman in the blue shirt in the aisle. 

    QUESTIONER: Good afternoon.  Eastern Caribbean related questions.  Regarding tariffs, what recommendation would the IMF give to the small island states in the OECS, more specifically, or small island states in the Caribbean to mitigate against the potential fallout from the U.S. trade tariffs?  And a related question.  What should member states of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union do — considering the potential effect of the dollar failure — as the Eastern Caribbean currency is currently pegged to the U.S. dollar?  And finally, climate change.  What should these small island states within the Eastern Caribbean do to protect themselves in light of the United Nations, the United States, and other developed nations cutting back when it comes to climate change assistance? 

    MS. ZIEGLER: Okay, maybe one last question and then we can move on to country questions.  Does anybody else have a question on the region?  Yes, please.  The woman there.

    QUESTIONER: Of course, inflation it is a thing, but in the Western Hemisphere it’s not really versus other regions.  So, I would really want to know if we should concentrate on debt, fiscal risks, or we should concentrate on growth?  Of course, the ideal thing is that they come together.  But right now, sometimes it feels like it is one thing or another.  Thank you. 

    MS. ZIEGLER: Anyone else?  The gentleman there.  And then we will move on to country questions after this. 

    QUESTIONER: Hi, what challenges and opportunities does the IMF see for the Caribbean countries in light of the uncertainties created by the new administration in Washington, given the historic links between the United States and the Caribbean in trade remittances and as a major tourism source market. 

    MR. VALDES:  Okay, perhaps I can kind of start with a few ideas on the Caribbean and perhaps Ana would like to add some note.  But first, of course, tariffs.  And the global cycle is a headwind for tourism in the Caribbean.  So, what to do with this?  Basically, we think that it’s very important to keep the macroeconomy as stable as possible.  And that means that countries which have lot of homework in terms of rebuilding fiscal space, they have to continue doing it.  The risks of not doing that is to face at the end a disorderly macroeconomy.  And that at the end of the day is much worse.  We have to recognize that it may be raining, but it’s reality.  It is reality that we will have this cycle. 

    Now, the data we have seen and the authorities view on the same is that tourism is usually made reservations in advance, and we haven’t seen yet a change or cancellations of the size that could produce big problems.  Second point, we are not worried at all about the peg in the ECCU.  They have a very good ratio in reserves to money.  It is important to keep consistent policies for that.  Natural resources, sorry not natural.  The problem of climate change and the Caribbean. The MD said something very important.  And I would like just to mention that.  The Caribbean is special when you compare with other countries because basically natural disasters are macro-critical and very close every day.  Therefore, it is important to work towards building a structure of financing and infrastructure to be able to basically confront these problems.  Well, we are there to work with the countries on that. 

    Then I move to the question of supporting growth or adjusting.  The first thing is to notice that the way this shock is playing out is still very uncertain.  And I would say that part of the discussions we had with authorities is that before deciding actively what to do, we have to wait a bit more and understand better.  That is the very first point.  Second point, there are countries that may have some space to react fiscally if needed, but many others in reality do not have that space.  But working again in the fiscal risk side opens up space for monetary policy. 

    It is very different for a central bank to face an economy where fiscal risks are increasing, are becoming more and more complex compared to another one where the fiscal continues to adjust and there’s no problems of fiscal credibility.  Therefore, we see that this call that we had before of rebalancing monetary and fiscal policies continues to be very important.  Ana, would you like to add on the Caribbean? 

    MS. CORBACHO: Rodrigo addressed already the priorities of course to build fiscal buffers, stay the course on improving fiscal positions as well as continuing to work on addressing resilience to natural catastrophes and extreme weather events.  I wanted to touch on a third very important area of policy efforts.  When it has to do with structural reforms, we expect the Caribbean to converge to a level of medium-term growth or potential growth that is quite low.  This is an agenda that is long standing and the current conditions of uncertainty and the need to boost growth and productivity becomes even more urgent right now.  This has of course the area of resilience, growth and productivity, including enhancing human capital and expanding access to finance.  And particularly in the current environment seeking synergies from intra-regional cooperation and integration where the Caribbean can really expand scope for capacity by working together across states. 

    MS. ZIEGLER:  Let’s turn to country questions now.  The woman in the green in the middle there.

    QUESTIONER:  Thank you for having my question.  Rodrigo, you mentioned that level [inaudible] is being back to [inaudible] COVID.  This is the Brazilian case, right.  And given the complex global landscape, what are the IMF recommendations to Brazil regarding fiscal and monetary policies?  And do you believe that the early debate about the presidential election next year impacts, you know, policies, activity, or anything else?  Thank you.

    MS. ZIEGLER:  Okay, let me take another question.  So, I have two questions about my country and thank you for your condolence because of the earthquake today.  I would like to know is there any answer or did you finish already the revision of the program?  And we were waiting for that last week, I think because IMF says it’s going to be an answer after the elections.  So, is there any results?  Is it possible to have the money this week or this month, when it’s going to happen?  And the second one is about the Ecuadorian requests for RSF program.  I know we were waiting about that.  The government said it is going to be possible to have that this year.  But I don’t know if any updates on that.

    MS. ZIEGLER:  Okay, do we have any other in Ecuador in particular?  Anybody?  Okay, let us take those and we’ll move on to other countries in the next round. 

    MR. VALDES:  Okay, let me again, Ana, will may want to add on Brazil, but let me start from the following.  First, elections happen in all the countries of the region.  It is normal to have these cycles.  There is nothing special from that.  Second, as you mentioned, Brazil has a fiscal challenge.  The authorities are very well aware of this, and they are taking measures for that to stabilize debt and eventually also to have the debt ratio in a downward path in the future.  Of course, one thing is to have that and then is the measures.  And the discussions with them is always about whether we can have more measures for ensure that this will happen.  But I would like to say that they have been taking measures; their fiscal rule this year with the objective that they have on the primary is very important to be met and we support that. 

    In terms of monetary policy in Brazil, the central bank has been tightening policies appropriately basically to bring inflation back to target.  As I mentioned at the beginning, giving certainty in this environment is very important.  And part of the certainties that many countries have, Brazil included, is to have a central bank that is committed to its target and also acts with full independence. 

    On Ecuador, we had an election not long ago, two weeks ago.  So, it’s not that things are not as fast as we would like.  No.  So,we had to expect to wait for the election to happen.  We are in conversations with the authorities.  We have had many meetings these days here.  There’s good progress in the discussions, but we cannot give you a precise date of [the] next steps.  No, we are working on that.  We hope to move fast. ON RSF, the RSF was a possibility for the authorities, but they have decided to postpone it for a while. They haven’t decided to officially ask for it later, but it’s a possibility. But with the purpose of facilitating this review which comes on the heels of very good performance of the program. That is what I can say. The authorities have been implementing strongly their program. At the same time, we have news — the world, lower oil prices — which need to be factored in the program. And that is what we are doing.

    MS. CORBACHO:  Let me start with a brief addition on Ecuador that the dialogue with the authorities continues to be extremely productive and very close.  We are taking stock of the implications of global developments on the macroeconomic framework for Ecuador.  And we continue to advance in securing the second review of the EFF arrangement.  We will come back on specific dates as soon as we have more information to give you to.

    MS. ZIEGLER: I am going to read a question online that we have from Ion Group.  It is on El Salvador.  Is El Salvador shifting around bitcoin from one account to the next?  Is that how they are adding to its bitcoin reserves versus straight out purchases?  And maybe we’ll take one other question from the, from the audience on a country matter. Okay, go ahead.  I know that’s Argentina over there.  We’ll come to Argentina.  You’ll get your own section. 

    QUESTIONER:  Thank you everyone.   Why the contribution the Monetary Fund to Honduras and the other country of the region in the context confusion and trade tension.  Additionally, what is the factor we leverage economic growth this year and the Honduras economy. 

    MS. ZIEGLER:  Okay, let us take those and [the] next round will be Argentina. 

    MR. VALDES:  So first let me start from Honduras.  Honduras just had a staff-level agreement with the Fund.  That means that we are ready to go to the Board for the review of the program, the second review.  Things have moved very well for the country.  It is an example of an old say of the Fund that is you repair your roof when it’s sunny outside.  And they took advantage of times that things were calmer, and they moved policies, both structural aspects and importantly macro aspects.  And today are in a much better position to withstand the global cycle. 

    They improve their reserves that they have, they mobilize resources from other IFIs.  They were able to lower inflation, and they have been growing pretty fast and also making progress in their fiscal adjustments.  So, I would say it’s a good case of preparedness.  So, the country is in a much better position now than it was before.

    In terms of El Salvador, let me say that I can confirm that they continue to comply with their commitment of non-accumulation of bitcoin by the overall fiscal sector, which is the performance criteria that we have.  But on top of that, I think this is very important for the discussion in El Salvador.  The program of El Salvador is not about bitcoin.  It’s much more, much deeper in structural reforms, in terms of governance, in terms of transparency.  There is a lot of progress there.  And also, on fiscal.  And authorities have been making a lot of progress implementing the reform. 

    We are preparing the first review of the program now.  This is, as you know, a 40-month program with 1.4 billion but what the money that they can mobilize from other IFIs, it is about $3.5 billion.  It has an important fiscal adjustment that the authorities are implementing.  At the end, this program is expected to create the conditions for stronger private investment and stronger growth in El Salvador.  Taking advantage, basically, or a much better macro on top of the dividends that the immense improvement in security will yield.

    MS. ZIEGLER: And now we will move to Argentina and we are going to take.  We are going to compile questions, and I will also, once we go into the — the questions in the room.  I am going to take a question online from [Liliana] as well.  So please feel free. Whoever would like, I will start on the aisle here. 

    QUESTIONER: The Argentina staff report mentions contingency planning in case of an external shock.  Wondering if you are expecting an external shock this year.  And in that case, what are the policy changes that you would expect Argentina to take to mitigate?

    QUESTIONER:    There’s been reports of pressure from the management to some of the Board directors in order to approve the IMF new program.  I was wondering if you could comment on that and also on the remarks that were made yesterday by Ms. Georgieva.  She said that Argentina should not derail from change, speaking about the elections.  And the opposition has accused her of meddling with the national elections. 

    MS. ZIEGLER:  Okay, any more Argentina questions in the room?  We are going to go to Webex, and we will take a question. 

    QUESTIONER:  Thank you for taking my questions.  And I have two — what inflation rates does the IMF project for this year?  I mean end of period and for the next year.  And the second question is, what are the potential risks facing Argentina’s economy program?

    MS. ZIEGLER: Okay, we’ll leave it there. 

    MR. VALDES: Okay, thank you.  Look, from the first questions and the two last questions, I will invite you to look at the Staff Report.  Really, I don’t have anything to add on.  We don’t work, we don’t change the view in a week of a country.  So, what is there really is the contingencies plans and the inflation forecast that we have not changed and are part of the WEO.  And also, the official documents of the program. 

    I want to say a few words on this article on the pressure to the Board and the words from our Managing Director.  Let me start from the second part.  Today the MD said something about this and said something very simple.  Elections are for the Argentine people, not for us. So, it’s very clear to me, the message.  I also can say that what she was underscoring was the importance of policy continuity to support Argentina’s stability and recovery.  Her comments reflect the economic opportunities ahead and the importance for the government to stay the course implementing those.  It’s not a view on the political process or its outcome.  In fact, the Fund never takes positions on this. 

    In terms of this article, what I can say basically is that all the decisions that the IMF-supported programs are taking on — are done by the Executive Board based on what staff, technical assessment and in line with Fund policies produce.  The program for Argentina was approved by the Executive Board following a very rigorous evaluation.  Lot of engagement from staff to the Board throughout the process and also reflecting the authorities very strong track record and commitment to the stabilization and to reform.   

    MS. ZIEGLER:  Okay, we are going to take a final question, and it will be online. 

    QUESTIONER:  Mr. Valdez, you talk about the fiscal consolidation in some countries in this year.  In Chile, the Ministry of Finance, despite the fact that the Ministry committed to a new adjustment this year, say that it will not meet the selling cost fiscal target again and they have to change it.  Is this a concern for you?  The fiscal situation in Chile, how well prepared do you see Chile today for this scenario, global slowdown and mainly worsening in the next years?  Thank you. 

    MR. VALDES: The view from the Fund is that after the slight widening of the fiscal deficit in Chile last year, it will be very important to decisively bring the deficit back to a downward path.  The authorities’ commitment to do this in 2025 and their medium-term strategy and also adhering to their debt ceiling is very commendable.  Now, given the worst starting position for this year, it looks appropriate to smooth the adjustment.  Okay, so to move a bit the calendar.  Nevertheless, we see that with the new target of 1.5 percent, they will need measures of around 0.5 percent to be identified. 

    They just announced yesterday measures.  We have been discussing with authorities those measures.  But we need some time to fully understand the size and the timing of those effects.  These announcements of corrective fiscal actions are clearly a step towards this goal and are welcome.  But at the same time, we need to assess them more carefully.  And also given the context of uncertainty, it will be important for fiscal policy to remain very agile and respond further if the revenue and expenditure measures that are being taken disappoint.

     MS. ZIEGLER:  Those are all the questions that we have time for today.  I want to thank you, Rodrigo, Ana, and Nigel.  If you have any other questions and thank everyone for joining us in person and on the line.  And if you have any other questions, please be sure to send them by email to media@imf.org.  Thank you again and have a good afternoon. 

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Julie Ziegler

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

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: PM meeting with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine: 26 April 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    PM meeting with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine: 26 April 2025

    The Prime Minister met President Zelenskyy in Rome.

    The Prime Minister met President Zelenskyy in Rome this afternoon.

    They discussed positive progress made in recent days to secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. 

    They agreed to maintain momentum and continue working intensively with international partners to drive forward the next stages of planning. 

    The leaders agreed to speak again at the earliest opportunity.

    Updates to this page

    Published 26 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Quigley Statement on the Retirement of Democratic Whip and Senator Dick Durbin

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05)

    Chicago, Ill. – Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) released the following statement regarding the announcement that U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (IL) will not seek re-election:

    “After serving the people of Illinois for over 40 years in Congress, my colleague Senator Dick Durbin has shared that he plans to retire at the end of his term. 

    “From securing federal funds to extend Chicago’s Red Line and bolster anti-flooding infrastructure, to supporting full LGBTQ+ equality, Senator Durbin has been an essential partner in solving problems right here at home. As the Senate Democratic whip for two decades, Durbin has also mobilized my Democratic colleagues to vote for transformative legislation, including the Affordable Care Act, First Step Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In recent years, I have also been honored to work with Senator Durbin in advocating for Ukraine in the war against Russian aggression.

    “Senator Durbin’s decision to retire embodies the essence of public service—doing what is best even when it is difficult. I will miss his partnership and advocacy in the Senate, but I look forward to seeing him thrive in this next chapter.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Summons for the Annual General Meeting of P/F Atlantic Petroleum

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Summons for the Annual General Meeting of P/F Atlantic Petroleum

    The Annual General Meeting of P/F Atlantic Petroleum is hereby called. The meeting will be held at the premises of Advokatfelagið, Lucas Debesargøta 8, 100 Tórshavn, Faroe Islands.

    on Friday 23rdMay 2025 at 15:00 (Faroese time)

     with the following agenda:

    1.   Election of Chairman of the Meeting.

    2.   The Board of Directors’ statement of the Company’s activity during the previous accounting year.

    3.   Presentation of audited Annual Accounts for approval.

    3A Approval of the remuneration to the Board in 2024 and 2025.

         A. Approval of the remuneration to the Board in 2024.
         The Board proposes approval of the actual remuneration in 2024 of DKK 175.000,00.
         B. Approval of the basis for the remuneration to the Board in 2025.
         The Board proposes that the basis for the remuneration to the Board in 2025 will be:

    • The basic remuneration to the Board Members will be DKK 60.000,00.
      • The Chairman of the Board receives the basic remuneration x 2
      • The Deputy Chairman receives the basic remuneration x 1.5
      • An ordinary Board Member receives the basic remuneration x 1
      • The Chairman for the Audit Committee receives the basic remuneration x 0.5 in addition to his/her general Board remuneration.

    4.   Decision on how to use profit or cover loss according to the approved Accounts and Annual report.

    The Board of Directors recommends that the result according to the approved Accounts is carried forward to next year.

    5.   Election of Board of Directors.

    According to the Articles of Associations three members are to be elected to the Board of Directors. All Members of the Board are up for election for a period of one year, namely: Ben Arabo, Mourits Joensen and Mark T. Højgaard.

    These candidates are proposed for the election as board members:

    Ben Arabo, current chairman of the board, á Oyrareingjum 110, 415 Oyrareingir;
    Mourits Joensen, current deputy chairman, Heygsvegur 16, 100 Tórshavn; and
    Mark T. Højgaard, current boardmember, Hórheiðar 48, 480 Skáli.

    Three board members are to be elected.

    All the proposed candidates accept to be elected.

    More information on the proposed candidates can be found on the Company’s website www.petroleum.fo. 

    6.   Election of auditor, who will sit until the next Annual General Meeting is held.

    The present auditor of the Company is P/F Januar løggilt grannskoðaravirki, Óðinshædd 13, 100 Tórshavn. The Board proposes re-election of P/F Januar løggilt grannskoðaravirki, for the period to the next Annual General Meeting.

    7.        AOB

    – – – 0 – – –

    Quorum.

    Proposals on the agenda for the meeting can be adopted by majority vote.

    Requisition of admission card, voting paper and the voting procedure.

    The shareholder’s right to participate at the General Meeting and to vote according to his/her shares will be according to the number of shares, which the shareholder owns at the register date. The register date is Friday 16th May 2025.

    A shareholder, his/her proxy and the press can participate at the General Meeting on the condition that he/she has given notice to the Company hereof at the latest by Monday 19thMay 2025 via the website of the Company www.petroleum.fo or at the office of the Company, Lucas Debesargøta 8, 100 Tórshavn, or on telephone no. +(298) 59 16 01 or on the email address markh@petroleum.fo.

    If a shareholder cannot participate in the General Meeting he/she can in writing give a written proxy to a third person to represent him/her at the meeting. Proxy – forms to be used for this purpose are available on the website of the Company www.petroleum.fo and at the office of the Company, Lucas Debesargøta 8, 100 Tórshavn. Shareholders with access to the Investor Portal through the Company’s website can give their proxy instructions via this portal.  

    The voting – except the voting by letter ballot – will be executed at the General Meeting. The shareholder (or his/her proxy) who have in due time given notice that he/she wishes to attend the Annual General Meeting, will meet at the General Meeting and cast their votes. Admission cards and voting papers will be handed out at General Meeting entrance.

    Letter ballot.

    The shareholders can vote by letter ballot – that is cast their votes in writing prior to the day of the Annual General Meeting. On the Company’s website www.petroleum.fo shareholders can download a letter ballot form. Letter ballot must be received at the Company’s premises, Lucas Debesargøta 8, 100 Tórshavn or on the email address markh@petroleum.fo at the latest Thursday 22th May 2025.

    The shareholder’s right to bring forward questions.

    Shareholders can, prior to the General Meeting, bring forward to the Board/Management of the Company questions regarding matters that have relevance to the 2024 Annual Report and to the Company’s general position or are regarding the decisions that are to be made at the General Meeting. If a shareholder wishes to use this right he/she can send his question in a letter to P/F Atlantic Petroleum, Lucas Debesargøta 8, 100 Tórshavn, or to the email address markh@petroleum.fo.

    At the General Meeting shareholders can also bring forward questions to the Board/Management of the Company regarding the mentioned matters.

    Documents for the General Meeting, including the 2024 Annual Accounts and agenda with the complete proposals.

    Documents relevant for the General Meeting, including (1) the 2024 Annual Accounts with the Auditor’s Report and Annual Report (2) agenda, (3) complete proposals for the General Meeting (4) information on the Company’s total number of shares and votes at the day of the summons and (5) proxy documents and letter ballot form are available at the Company’s office at the address, Lucas Debesargøta 8, 100 Tórshavn (tel no. + (298) 59 16 01) at the latest 3 weeks prior to the General Meeting. The mentioned documents will also be available on the Company’s website www.petroleum.fo. 

    Share capital, voting rights and financial institute holding accounts on behalf of the Company.

    The share capital of the Company is DKK 3,697,860 divided into shares of DKK 1,- or multipla hereof. According to § 5 sub clause 1 of the Articles of Association of the Company, each shareholder has one vote for each DKK 1,- they hold in share capital.

    Number of shares is: 3,697,860 and number of votes is: 3,697,860.

    The Company has appointed P/F Betri Banki as holder of accounts. Shareholders can contact this financial institute at Yviri við Strond 2, 100 Tórshavn or on the website www.betri.fo or on telephone no. +298 348 000 to exercise their financial rights in the Company.

    Torshavn 26. April 2025

    P/F Atlantic Petroleum

    The Board of Directors

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Best Online Casinos UK 2025: JACKBIT Rated As Top UK Casino Site

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LARNACA, Cyprus, April 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The UK online gambling scene is thriving in 2025, with players seeking platforms that offer security, variety, and fast payouts. Amidst a sea of options, JACKBIT Casino stands out as the best online casino UK has to offer, earning a stellar 4.9/5 rating.

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    Our team rigorously evaluated countless UK casino sites, focusing on game diversity, bonuses, and user experience, to crown JACKBIT the top choice. Whether you’re spinning slots or betting on sports, JACKBIT delivers a seamless, privacy-focused experience tailored for UK players.

    In this review, we’ll explore why JACKBIT is the best UK casino online, detailing its features, pros and cons, joining process, selection criteria, and more. From its no KYC policy to instant crypto withdrawals, discover why it’s the best casino UK for 2025.

    A Closer Look At The Best Online Casino UK: JACKBIT

    JACKBIT Casino, launched in 2022 by Ryker B.V., has redefined the best online casino UK landscape with its player-centric approach. Licensed by Curacao eGaming, it offers a secure, regulated environment, though not under UKGC, appealing to privacy-focused UK players. It’s a KYC policy that allows anonymous play, a rarity among UK casino sites, ensuring quick registration without identity verification.

    With over 7,000 games, including slots, live dealers, and a robust sportsbook, JACKBIT caters to diverse tastes. Instant crypto withdrawals, processed in under 10 minutes, set it apart, while support for 17+ cryptocurrencies and fiat options like Visa ensures flexibility. The mobile-optimized site delivers seamless gaming on the go, making it a top best UK online casino.

    JACKBIT – Our Favorite Best Online Casino UK

    JACKBIT earns its title as the best online casino UK through a blend of generous bonuses, extensive games, and crypto-friendly features. New players receive a 30% rakeback and 100 free spins on their first deposit, with no wagering requirements—meaning winnings are instantly withdrawable. This offer, praised by UK players, boosts your bankroll for exploring slots or sports betting.

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    The no KYC policy is a game-changer, allowing anonymity, while its game library, powered by 85+ providers like NetEnt and Evolution Gaming, includes fan-favorite slots, live dealer tables, and sports betting on 140+ sports. Instant crypto withdrawals, under 10 minutes, align with UK players’ need for speed, making JACKBIT the best casino online UK.

    Pros And Cons Of JACKBIT – The Best UK Casino Site

    • Pros:
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      • Instant crypto withdrawals processed in under 10 minutes.
      • No KYC policy for enhanced privacy, ideal for UK players.
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      • 24/7 multilingual customer support, including English.
      • Generous bonuses, including 100 free spins with no wagering.
    • Cons:
      • Not regulated by UKGC, operating under Curacao license, which may concern some.
      • No dedicated mobile app, though the site is mobile-optimized.
      • Minor navigation issues reported on mobile by some users.

    While not UKGC-regulated, JACKBIT’s Curacao license ensures international standards, appealing to UK players seeking privacy and speed at the best UK casino.

    How To Join Jackbit – The Best Online Casino In UK

    Joining JACKBIT, the best online casino UK, is simple and privacy-focused:

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    This process makes JACKBIT a top UK casino site for quick, hassle-free access.

    How We Selected the Best Online Casino in the United Kingdom

    Our selection of JACKBIT as the best online casino UK involved a thorough evaluation, mirroring UK player needs:

    • Licensing and Security: Curacao license, SSL encryption, and provably fair games.
    • Game Variety: Over 7,000 games, from slots to live dealers, cater to all.
    • Payment Options: Crypto and fiat support, with instant withdrawals.
    • Bonuses: Generous, no-wager offers like 30% rakeback and free spins.
    • Customer Support: 24/7 live chat, responsive to UK players.
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    JACKBIT’s excellence in these areas, backed by user feedback, confirms its top spot.

    License And Security At JACKBIT – Ensuring A Safe Gaming Environment

    When choosing the best online casino UK, security is paramount, especially for UK players accustomed to the stringent standards of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). JACKBIT operates under a reputable Curacao Gaming License, a well-established authority in the global online gambling industry. This license mandates adherence to international standards for fairness, transparency, and player protection, ensuring a regulated environment that UK players can trust.

    The Curacao eGaming authority, one of the oldest licensing bodies, requires casinos to implement robust security measures. JACKBIT employs state-of-the-art SSL encryption to safeguard all data transmitted between players and the platform, protecting sensitive information like financial details and personal data from unauthorized access. This level of encryption is comparable to that used by major financial institutions, providing peace of mind for UK players.

    A standout feature for crypto enthusiasts is JACKBIT’s provably fair games, which allow players to independently verify the fairness of game outcomes using blockchain technology. This transparency is particularly appealing to those who prioritize trust and want assurance that games are not manipulated. Regular audits by third-party agencies further ensure compliance with fair gaming standards, reinforcing JACKBIT’s credibility.

    While JACKBIT is not UKGC-licensed, its Curacao license is widely recognized, and many reputable UK casino sites operate under similar offshore jurisdictions. The absence of UKGC oversight is offset by JACKBIT’s no KYC policy, which eliminates the need for identity verification, offering UK players enhanced privacy and faster account setup. This balance of robust security, regulatory compliance, and player anonymity makes JACKBIT a trusted best UK casino online for 2025.

    Bonuses And Promotions At JACKBIT – Unmatched Value For UK Players

    JACKBIT’s bonuses and promotions are a cornerstone of its appeal, positioning it as the best casino UK for value-driven players. Tailored to enhance the gaming experience, these offers provide UK players with significant opportunities to boost their bankroll and enjoy risk-free play.

    • Welcome Bonus: A Stellar Start
      New players are welcomed with a 30% rakeback and 100 free spins on their first deposit, with no wagering requirements. This means winnings from free spins or rakeback are instantly withdrawable, a rare feature among online casino in UK platforms. For example, a £100 deposit could yield £30 in rakeback plus spins on slots like Book of Dead, giving players a head start.
    • Weekly Giveaways: Ongoing Rewards
      JACKBIT keeps the excitement alive with weekly giveaways, offering a share of £8,000 ($10,000) in cash and 10,000 free spins. These promotions reward both new and regular players, ensuring continuous engagement and opportunities to win without additional deposits.
    • VIP Rakeback: Loyalty Pays Off
      The VIP program offers up to 30% rakeback, scaling with player activity. Loyal UK players benefit from personalized rewards, exclusive bonuses, and priority support, enhancing their experience at this top online casino UK.
    • Social Media Bonuses: Stay Connected
      By following JACKBIT on X, players can access exclusive bonuses and stay updated on limited-time offers. These social media promotions add an interactive element, appealing to tech-savvy UK gamblers.
    • Drops & Wins: Massive Prize Pools
      Partnering with Pragmatic Play, JACKBIT hosts Drops & Wins tournaments with a £1.6M (€2M) prize pool. Players can win random cash drops or compete in weekly slot and live casino tournaments, adding thrill to their gameplay.

    These promotions, praised across UK gambling forums, make JACKBIT a standout best online gambling site UK. The no-wager bonuses, in particular, set it apart, offering genuine value without restrictive terms, a key reason it’s the best UK casino site.

    CLAIM YOUR 30% RAKEBACK + 100 FREE SPINS + NO KYC!

    Casino Games At JACKBIT – A Diverse And Exciting Selection

    At the heart of any best online casino UK is its game library, and JACKBIT delivers with over 7,000 titles from leading providers, ensuring endless entertainment for UK players. Whether you’re a slot enthusiast, table game strategist, or sports betting fan, JACKBIT’s diverse offerings cater to all preferences.

    • Slots: A World of Themes and Features
      JACKBIT’s slot collection spans thousands of titles, from classic three-reel games to modern video slots with immersive graphics and bonus features. Popular picks include Book of Dead (96.21% RTP), Starburst (96.09% RTP), and Gates of Olympus (96.5% RTP), known for their high payouts and engaging mechanics like free spins and multipliers. Progressive jackpots like Mega Moolah offer life-changing win potential.
    • Table Games: Classic Casino Action
      For traditionalists, JACKBIT provides a robust selection of table games, including multiple variants of blackjack (e.g., Blackjack Classic, Multihand), roulette (European, French), baccarat, and poker (Texas Hold’em, Caribbean Stud). These games blend luck and strategy, appealing to UK players seeking skill-based challenges.
    • Live Dealer Games: Real-Time Thrills
      Powered by Evolution Gaming, JACKBIT’s live dealer section offers an authentic casino experience. Games like Lightning Roulette (with multipliers up to 500x), Infinite Blackjack, and game shows such as Crazy Time and Monopoly Live are streamed in HD, with professional dealers and interactive features that replicate a land-based casino vibe.
    • Sportsbook: Bet on Your Favorites
      JACKBIT’s sportsbook is a major draw, covering 140+ sports, including UK favorites like football (Premier League, Champions League), cricket, tennis, and eSports (CS:GO, Dota 2). With 82,000+ live events monthly and 75,000+ pre-match events, players enjoy competitive odds and diverse betting markets, from match winners to over/under bets.
    • Specialty Games: Quick and Fun
      For casual play, JACKBIT offers lottery games, scratch cards, and instant-win titles. These provide quick entertainment and the chance for instant prizes, ideal for breaks between intense gaming sessions.

    This extensive variety, regularly updated with new releases, positions JACKBIT as a leading casino online UK, catering to both casual and dedicated players.

    Casino Game Providers At JACKBIT – Partnering With Industry Leaders

    The quality of games at a best UK casino site hinges on its providers, and JACKBIT collaborates with over 85 industry leaders to deliver a premium gaming experience. These partnerships ensure fair, engaging, and visually stunning games for UK players.

    • NetEnt: Renowned for iconic slots like Starburst and Gonzo’s Quest, NetEnt delivers vibrant graphics, innovative features, and high RTPs, making their games a staple at top online casino UK platforms.
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    • Microgaming: Pioneers of progressive jackpots, Microgaming’s Mega Moolah and other slots offer life-changing wins, alongside a vast catalog of table games.
    • Play’n GO: Creators of Book of Dead, Play’n GO focuses on high-RTP slots optimized for mobile, ensuring seamless play on any device.

    Additional providers like Yggdrasil, Betsoft, and Red Tiger contribute to JACKBIT’s diverse library, ensuring cutting-edge graphics, fair outcomes, and regular updates. This collaboration solidifies JACKBIT’s status as the best casino online UK.

    Banking Methods at JACKBIT – Seamless Transactions for UK Players

    A crucial aspect of any best online casino UK is its banking system, and JACKBIT excels with a wide range of secure, convenient payment options tailored to UK players’ needs.

    • Cryptocurrencies: Speed and Privacy
      JACKBIT supports 17+ cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Tether, Solana, Cardano, Dogecoin, and more. Deposits and withdrawals are instant and fee-free, with no upper limits, ideal for high rollers. The no KYC policy ensures complete anonymity, a key draw for UK players seeking privacy at crypto gambling sites.
    • Fiat Methods: Trusted Options
      For traditionalists, JACKBIT accepts Visa, MasterCard, Bank Transfer, Google Pay, and Apple Pay. Deposits are processed instantly, while withdrawals may take 1-3 days, offering secure alternatives for those not using crypto. These methods align with UK preferences for familiar banking options.
    • Transaction Efficiency
      Crypto withdrawals, processed in under 10 minutes, are among the fastest in the industry, a standout feature for best UK casino online players. Fiat methods, while slower, maintain high security standards, with clear minimum and maximum limits to suit various budgets.

    JACKBIT’s hybrid banking system ensures flexibility, catering to both crypto enthusiasts and traditional players, making it a top UK casino.

    Customer Support At JACKBIT – Always There When You Need It

    Exceptional customer support is a hallmark of the best online casino UK, and JACKBIT delivers with a robust 24/7 service designed to meet UK players’ needs. Available via live chat in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and French, the support team is trained to handle inquiries ranging from account issues to game-specific questions.

    • Live Chat: Instant Assistance
      Live chat is the fastest way to get help, with agents typically responding within minutes. This immediacy ensures minimal disruption to gameplay, whether resolving deposit issues or clarifying bonus terms.
    • Email Support: Detailed Solutions
      For complex queries, email support provides thorough responses, usually within 24 hours. This channel is ideal for detailed account or payment concerns, offering personalized solutions.
    • Comprehensive Resources
      JACKBIT’s detailed FAQ section covers account management, payments, bonuses, and more, while guides help new players navigate the platform. These resources empower UK players to find answers independently.
    • User Feedback
      UK players on platforms like Reddit praise JACKBIT’s support for its efficiency and friendliness, reinforcing its reliability as a best UK casino site.

    This comprehensive support system ensures JACKBIT remains a trusted online casino in UK.

    Best Online Casino Games At JACKBIT – Top Picks For UK Players

    With over 7,000 games, selecting the best at JACKBIT can be daunting. Here are standout titles across categories, popular among UK players for their high RTPs and engaging gameplay:

    • Slots:
      • Book of Dead (96.21% RTP): Egyptian-themed with free spins and expanding symbols.
      • Starburst (96.09% RTP): Vibrant graphics, expanding wilds for big wins.
      • Gates of Olympus (96.5% RTP): Tumbling reels, multipliers up to 500x.
    • Table Games:
      • European Roulette: 2.7% house edge, ideal for strategic play.
      • Blackjack Classic: Low 0.5% house edge with optimal strategy.
    • Live Dealer:
      • Lightning Roulette: Multipliers up to 500x add excitement.
      • Infinite Blackjack: Unlimited players, side bets for variety.
    • Sportsbook:
      • Football: Premier League, Champions League betting.
      • eSports: CS:GO, Dota 2 with live markets.

    These games, with high RTPs and engaging features, make JACKBIT a favorite at the best casino UK platforms.

    Best UK Online Casino Payment Methods

    JACKBIT’s payment options are tailored for UK players:

    • Crypto: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin for instant, private transactions with no fees.
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    • Bank Transfer: Reliable for larger transactions, processed in 1-3 days.

    This flexibility ensures JACKBIT is a top UK casino for all players.

    Responsible Gambling at UK Casinos Online – Prioritizing Player Well-Being

    While JACKBIT operates under a Curacao license rather than UKGC, it prioritizes responsible gambling with robust tools to help UK players stay in control:

    • Deposit Limits: Set daily, weekly, or monthly caps to manage spending, preventing overspending and promoting financial discipline.
    • Session Reminders: Alerts notify players of play duration, encouraging breaks to avoid excessive gaming sessions.
    • Self-Exclusion: Options for temporary or permanent account suspension, allowing players to step back when needed.
    • Reality Checks: Pop-up notifications remind players of time spent, fostering mindful gaming habits.
    • Support Resources: Links to GamCare and BeGambleAware provide access to professional help for gambling concerns.

    These measures, combined with clear responsible gambling policies, demonstrate JACKBIT’s commitment to player safety, even without UKGC oversight. UK players can enjoy a secure, controlled gaming environment, reinforcing JACKBIT’s status as the best online casino UK.

    Winning Strategies At JACKBIT – Tips For Success

    Maximizing your success at JACKBIT, the best online casino UK, involves smart strategies tailored to its unique features. Here are expert tips to enhance your gaming experience:

    • Leverage No-Wager Bonuses: The 30% rakeback and 100 free spins have no wagering requirements, allowing immediate withdrawal of winnings. Use these to explore high-RTP slots like Book of Dead risk-free, boosting your bankroll.
    • Focus on High RTP Games: Prioritize slots like Starburst (96.09% RTP) or blackjack (99%+ with strategy) for better long-term returns, increasing your win potential.
    • Utilize Instant Withdrawals: JACKBIT’s crypto withdrawals, under 10 minutes, let you secure profits quickly, avoiding the temptation to reinvest winnings unwisely.
    • Research Sports Bets: For sportsbook fans, analyze team stats and form for informed bets on football or eSports, leveraging JACKBIT’s competitive odds for higher payouts.
    • Set Limits: Use deposit and session limits to manage your budget and playtime, ensuring gambling remains fun and sustainable.
    • Join Tournaments: Participate in Drops & Wins for a chance at £1.6M in prizes, adding excitement and potential rewards to your gameplay.

    These strategies, aligned with JACKBIT’s offerings, make it the best UK casino online for savvy players.

    JACKBIT Conclusion: The Best Online Casino UK

    After evaluating numerous UK casino sites, JACKBIT emerges as the best online casino UK for 2025. Its no KYC policy, instant crypto payouts, 7,000+ games, and no-wager bonuses set it apart. While not UKGC-regulated, its Curacao license, SSL encryption, and responsible gambling tools ensure a secure, rewarding experience. From slots to sports betting, JACKBIT caters to all UK players, making it the ultimate best casino UK.

    CLICK HERE TO JOIN JACKBIT

    FAQ: Best Online Casino UK – JACKBIT

    • Is JACKBIT legal for UK players?
      JACKBIT, licensed in Curacao, is accessible to UK players but not UKGC-regulated. Players should verify local laws to ensure compliance before joining.
    • What makes JACKBIT the best online casino in the UK?
      JACKBIT offers 7,000+ games, instant crypto payouts, no KYC, and no-wager bonuses, delivering a top-tier experience for UK players.
    • Does JACKBIT have a mobile app?
      No, but its mobile-optimized site provides seamless gaming on smartphones, with full access to games and features.
    • What payment methods are available?
      JACKBIT supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Visa, MasterCard, Google Pay, and more, ensuring fast, secure transactions for UK players.
    • Are there bonuses for new players?
      Yes, new players get 30% rakeback and 100 free spins with no wagering, boosting their start at JACKBIT.
    • How does JACKBIT ensure game fairness?
      Curacao license, SSL encryption, and provably fair games ensure transparent, fair outcomes for all players.
    • Can I play without verifying my identity?
      Yes, JACKBIT’s no KYC policy allows anonymous play, simplifying registration and enhancing privacy for UK users.
    • What games can I play at JACKBIT?
      Slots, table games, live dealers, and a sportsbook with 140+ sports offer diverse options for UK players.
    • Is customer support 24/7 at JACKBIT?
      Yes, 24/7 live chat in English and other languages provides prompt, reliable assistance for all inquiries.
    • Does JACKBIT offer responsible gambling tools?
      Yes, deposit limits, session reminders, and self-exclusion options promote safe, responsible gaming for UK players.

    Email: support@jackbit.com

    Disclaimer: This press release is provided by the Jackbit. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice.

    Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector—including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining—complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed.

    Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility.

    Legal Disclaimer

    This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Ensure compliance with local gambling laws. The publisher is not liable for losses or consequences from using this information.

    Affiliate Disclosure

    Some links may be affiliate links, earning a commission at no cost to you. Recommendations are based on objective evaluation.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/44a272fd-3055-44b6-a3dc-a649b2557bdb

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Video: ‘Wild-to-wild’ Jaguar Release & The Origin of Microfinance | WEF | Top Stories Week

    Source: World Economic Forum (video statements)

    This week’s top stories of the week include:

    0:14 These horses help prevent wildfires —The region of Galicia has always been prone to wildfires. It’s also home to ‘las bestas’. Europe’s largest herd of wild horses. These animals are deeply embedded in the local culture. The bestas also play a crucial role in curbing Galicia’s wildfires.

    2:31 How meditation can benefit workers — David Ko is the CEO of Calm, an app for meditation, sleep and stress management. It has been downloaded more than 175 million times worldwide. Meditation sounds like a big, weighty concept, Ko says but it doesn’t need to be.

    6:21 Argentina’s ‘wild-to-wild’ jaguar release — Mini is a 2-year-old jaguar born in the wild and the first ever to be ‘translocated’ or moved for conservation purposes. Mini was captured in late 2024 and she’s just been released in El Impenetrable National Park where rewilding experts hope to boost jaguar numbers and bridge the gap between scattered groups.

    7:53 The origin of microfinance — In 1974 Muhammad Yunus was an economics lecturer at Chittagong University. Yunus set out to help those affected by poverty and famine. Today, the bank he founded provides micro-loans to 10.7 million people from more than 2,500 branches across Bangladesh.

    _______________________________________________________________________

    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.

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    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oKToeJq7jI

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: EHRC guidance deeply troubling

    Source: Scottish Greens

    26 Apr 2025 Equality Human Rights LGBTQ+ Trans Rights are Human Rights

    Trans people just want to live their lives like anybody else.

    More in Equality

    Commenting on the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s interim update on the practical implications of the UK Supreme Court judgment, Scottish Greens Co-Leader Patrick Harvie MSP said:

    “This guidance is harsh, authoritarian and cruel. It is the polar opposite of what an equality and human rights body should be doing, and it’s deeply troubling to see the rights of some of the most marginalised people in our society being rolled back so easily.

    “This guidance raises far more questions than answers, for trans people, for anyone who doesn’t fit with widespread gender norms, and for people who run businesses, social groups and workplaces.

    “But the people most immediately frightened about how they can go about their lives today will be trans people and their loved ones, who have already endured an onslaught of prejudice.

    “Trans people just want to be able to live their lives like anybody else, without the fear of prejudice, discrimination or violence.

    “The EHRC appears to be going even further than the Supreme Court judgement did and is introducing new uncertainties rather than providing clarity.

    “We must not allow the UK government or anyone else to take a wrecking ball to longstanding rights or to remove all protections from a community that is already under fire.

    “The demonisation of trans people by politicians and large parts of the media echoes the homophobic rhetoric we heard in the 1980s and ‘90s.

    “It is a very worrying time and a lot of people are scared. But I want to remind everyone that the forces of prejudice were defeated before, and they can be defeated again.

    “The Scottish Greens will continue to stand up for trans and non-binary people’s rights today, tomorrow and always.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Rosanna Law to visit Middle East

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Secretary for Culture, Sports & Tourism Rosanna Law will depart tomorrow for a visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia to strengthen co-operation between Hong Kong and the Middle East in culture, sports and tourism.
         
    Miss Law will attend the Arabian Travel Market 2025 in the UAE and meet government officials, trade representatives, and cultural and tourism organisations there before proceeding to Saudi Arabia.
         
    She will return to Hong Kong on May 1. During her absence, Under Secretary for Culture, Sports & Tourism Raistlin Lau will be Acting Secretary.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK Gulf visit to enhance regional security and boost UK growth

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    UK Gulf visit to enhance regional security and boost UK growth

    The Foreign Secretary visits Oman and Qatar to commit to expand cooperation with Gulf countries on trade, defence, and security.

    • Visit to Oman and Qatar will commit to expand cooperation with Gulf countries on trade, defence, and security
    • Foreign Secretary to use visit to underscore need for de-escalation and security within region including countering the threat posed by Iran
    • Builds on mission to kickstart the economy and protect national security as part of Government’s Plan for Change

    The UK is set to strengthen ties with key partners in the Gulf as the Foreign Secretary travels to Oman and Qatar to unlock new opportunities and push the need for greater security and stability in the region.

    The Foreign Secretary’s first visit to Oman is an opportunity to celebrate 225 years of government to government relations, discuss how best to consolidate our shared efforts for green, sustainable growth and our cooperation on regional security challenges.

    The Foreign Secretary will also discuss the recent US – Iran talks held in Oman. Alongside international partners we are clear that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon which threatens international peace and security. We remain committed to seeking a negotiated solution to the issue and will use all diplomatic levers to make this happen.

    He will discuss UK-Omani joint work on wider regional security, including the Israel-Gaza conflict and Houthi threats to international shipping in the Red Sea, a vital trade route for UK exports to the rest of the world with over a $1 trillion worth of global goods passing through each year.

    In Qatar, the Foreign Secretary will build on the Government’s commitment to boosting the economy by overseeing the UK-Qatar Strategic Dialogue, a key forum which has assisted in fuelling previous investment into the UK in priority growth sectors including energy, real-estate and defence. This partnership builds on the success of the existing multi-billion pound Strategic Investment Partnership, helping to deliver on the Government’s growth mission and supporting Qatar’s own economic ambitions.

    Foreign Secretary, David Lammy said:

    The UK’s relationship with the Gulf continues to go from strength to strength. Our partnerships are unlocking huge investment opportunities in the UK and creating jobs in the industries of the future which is at the very heart of our Plan for Change.

    But boosting growth is reliant on building stability. It’s vital we engage closely with partners like Qatar and Oman to strengthen security in the region, this includes countering Iran’s malign activity in the region and bringing the war in Gaza to end.

    The Foreign Secretary will also discuss progress on the Free Trade Agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which could increase bilateral trade by up to 16%, adding an extra £8.6 billion a year to trade between the UK and GCC countries in the long run, as well as supporting job creation across Britain.

    As the impact of the devastating conflict in Gaza continues to be felt across the region,  the Foreign Secretary will use his visit to highlight that more bloodshed is in no-one’s interest, and the need for all parties in the conflict to return to a ceasefire. In meetings with counterparts, he will stress the need to build lasting peace in the region which is vital for security and prosperity in the Gulf and at home in the UK.

    The visit to Qatar will also be an opportunity to further cooperation on defence and security matters. This includes discussing the close partnership between the RAF and Qatar Amiri Joint Squadron which helps train the next generation of pilots who will patrol the skies and maintain UK security interests in the Middle East.

    Media enquiries

    Email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

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    Contact the FCDO Communication Team via email (monitored 24 hours a day) in the first instance, and we will respond as soon as possible.

    Updates to this page

    Published 26 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Senior NATO advisors meet in Kyiv to discuss priorities for joint NATO-Ukraine lessons learned centre

    Source: NATO

    The Senior Advisory Board (SAB) of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre (JATEC) met in Kyiv, Ukraine on 25 April 2025, to discuss key priorities. Since its opening in February 2025, the Centre has already carried out its first projects focused on air defence, protection of critical infrastructure, and resilience and total defence.

    For this second SAB meeting, NATO senior representatives were invited to Kyiv by Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Serhiy Boyev. Assistant Secretary General for Operations Tom Goffus chaired the meeting with representatives from Ukraine, NATO and Poland. ASG Goffus said that hosting the meeting in Kyiv not only highlighted JATEC’s importance but also demonstrates NATO’s continued and steadfast support to Ukraine.

    NATO leadership discussed JATEC’s Programme of Work, priorities and next steps. They agreed to deliver concrete and actionable combat lessons for both Ukraine and NATO, whilst embedding civilian-military aspects within the JATEC organisation. 

    NATO continues to provide political and practical support for Ukraine. In the first three months of 2025, Allies have already pledged over 20 billion euros in security assistance for Ukraine this year. In Wiesbaden, Germany, NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU) is coordinating the delivery of training and security assistance to Ukraine. And in Bydgoszcz, Poland, JATEC is analysing crucial lessons from the battlefield in Ukraine. The first civil-military organisation to be jointly run by NATO and Ukraine, JATEC and its work will help further strengthen Ukraine’s defence sector, enhance its deterrence and defence, and reach full interoperability with NATO.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Green MSP calls for review of buffer zone size in Glasgow

    Source: Scottish Greens

    26 Apr 2025 Health Buffer Zones

    Gillian Mackay MSP calls for review at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital

    More in Health

    Scottish Green MSP Gillian Mackay is calling for the government to review the size of the safe access zone, or ‘buffer zone’ around the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow with a view to extending it.

    This follows complaints from patients that dozens of anti-choice protestors have been gathering on the edge of the buffer zone, and on one of the main routes to the hospital.

    Ms Mackay introduced the bill that secured 200 metre wide safe access zones, or buffer zones, around clinical settings that offer abortion services to prevent intimidation from anti-choice protests across Scotland. The Act includes a provision to extend the zones if it is considered proportionate to do so.

    Ms Mackay has written to the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health, Jenni Minto, asking for Ministers to consider extending the zone in order to offer greater dignity, protection and privacy for people attending the QEUH for abortion and maternity services.

    Ms Mackay said: 

    “Safe access zones were introduced to protect patients and staff at our hospitals, and, for the most part, that is what they are doing. But at QEUH we have seen protests continuing on one of the main entry routes to the hospital.

    “The QEUH in Glasgow has quite unique challenges due to its location compared to other hospitals. From the correspondence that I and others have received, there are concerns about the patients and staff having no choice but to pass the protests.

    “My Act includes powers to extend buffer zones where necessary to offer better protections to patients and staff, and that is what I am asking our Government to look into around the QEUH.

    “Abortion services are vital healthcare. Nobody should have to pass graphic placards and intimidating groups on their way to hospital for any type of medical appointment.

    “I urge the dozens of protestors who have gathered over recent weeks to read the testimony of the many women who have felt intimidated by their presence and reconsider their actions going forward.

    “To anyone who has been impacted by recent anti-choice protests, please get in touch with myself or the Scottish Government, so that we can consider how to make these spaces even safer moving forward.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI China: Second China-Kazakhstan foreign ministers’ strategic dialogue held in Almaty

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

    Wang Yi (L), member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, holds the second China-Kazakhstan Foreign Ministers’ strategic dialogue with Murat Nurtleu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on April 25, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    ALMATY, April 25 — Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, held the second China-Kazakhstan Foreign Ministers’ strategic dialogue here with Murat Nurtleu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan.

    Wang stated that China and Kazakhstan are inseparable cooperative partners and genuine friends with an unbreakable bond. The traditional friendship between the two nations is deeply rooted and time-tested. Under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Tokayev, the permanent comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Kazakhstan has grown more substantial and enriched in content. Comprehensive cooperation between the two countries is accelerating and entering a fruitful phase. Bilateral trade volume continues to rise against global trends, setting new historical records. Numerous cooperation projects in fields such as new energy and connectivity have taken root. The positive effects of mutual visa exemption are being steadily released, and people-to-people exchanges have made breakthrough progress.

    China is willing to work with Kazakhstan to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, continuously strengthen strategic mutual trust, jointly build the high-quality Belt and Road Initiative, enhance multilateral international cooperation, and push China-Kazakhstan relations to open new horizons and achieve fresh outcomes.

    Wang Yi emphasized that the recent Central Conference on Work Related to Foreign Affairs with Neighboring Countries has clearly defined the direction of China’s neighborhood diplomacy in the coming period. China will adhere to the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness, as well as the vision of building a community with a shared future, to join hands with neighboring countries in building a common homeland, jointly pursuing development and prosperity, and creating a better future. China has always regarded Kazakhstan as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy and is willing to continue firmly supporting each other on issues concerning core interests, advancing the building of a China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future, and playing a leading and exemplary role in the region.

    Nurtleu said that Kazakhstan regards China as a trustworthy and reliable good neighbor, good friend, and good partner. Kazakhstan appreciates the proactive foreign policy direction established by China’s conference on neighborhood diplomacy. The all-weather friendship and high-level mutual trust between Kazakhstan and China remain unaffected by any geopolitical factors. Under the guidance of the two heads of state, the permanent comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries has reached unprecedented new heights, with expanding cooperation content and increasingly close interactions and frequent exchanges across various sectors and departments. China has become Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner, and bilateral trade volume has repeatedly hit new highs. Kazakhstan is full of confidence in the future of bilateral relations and is committed to deepening mutually beneficial cooperation to achieve common prosperity and greater well-being for both peoples, ushering in the next golden 30 years of Kazakhstan-China relations.

    The two foreign ministers conducted in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral and multilateral cooperation and reached a broad consensus.

    Both sides agreed that deepening the integration of interests and accelerating joint development aligns with the fundamental interests of the two peoples and the trend of the times. They will continue to expand economic and trade cooperation and strive to achieve at an early date the bilateral trade volume target set by the two heads of state. The two sides will also broaden energy cooperation, enhance collaboration across the entire industrial chain, strengthen connectivity cooperation, and accelerate the construction of cross-border infrastructure.

    Additionally, they will explore innovative cooperation in artificial intelligence and the digital economy to inject new momentum into their respective development, jointly combat the “three evil forces” of terrorism, extremism and separatism, and build a solid security barrier for the region.

    Both sides believe that China and Central Asian countries are connected by mountains and rivers and share a common destiny. They will work together to ensure the success of the upcoming China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, prepare well for the second China-Central Asia Summit, and promote China-Central Asia cooperation to reach new heights, building a China-Central Asia community with a shared future.

    The two sides will strengthen communication and coordination within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, support free trade and the multilateral trading system, oppose unilateral protectionism, uphold universally recognized international rules, safeguard international fairness and justice, and practice true multilateralism.

    Following the talks, the two sides signed documents, including a memorandum of understanding between the two foreign ministries.

    Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, holds the second China-Kazakhstan Foreign Ministers’ strategic dialogue with Murat Nurtleu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on April 25, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for April 26, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 26, 2025.

    80 years after Benito Mussolini’s death, what can democracies today learn from his fascist rise?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Sharpe, Associate Professor in Philosophy, Australian Catholic University Hitler and Mussolini in Munich, Germany, June 18, 1940. Everett Collection/Shutterstock This Monday marks 80 years since Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was killed in an Italian village towards the end of the Second World War in 1945. The

    Samoan nun tells of ‘like a blur’ awesome meeting with Pope Francis
    By Susana Suisuiki, RNZ Pacific presenter The doors of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican have now been closed and the coffin sealed, ahead of preparations for tonight’s funeral of Pope Francis. The Vatican says a quarter of a million people have paid respects to Pope Francis in the last three days. Sister Susana Vaifale

    Israel’s endgame for tormented Gaza is political and physical erasure
    COMMENTARY: By Nour Odeh There was faint hope that efforts to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza would succeed. That hope is now all but gone, offering 2.1 million tormented and starved Palestinians dismal prospects for the days and weeks ahead. Last Saturday, the Israeli Prime Minister once again affirmed he had no intention to

    Trump signs ‘deeply dangerous’ order to fast-track deep sea mining
    An ocean conservation non-profit has condemned the United States President’s latest executive order aimed at boosting the deep sea mining industry. President Donald Trump issued the “Unleashing America’s offshore critical minerals and resources” order on Thursday, directing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to allow deep sea mining. The order states: “It is the

    Election Diary: Dutton tops list of most distrusted, amid deepening voter cynicism about political leaders
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In this election, voters are more distrustful than ever of politicians, and the political heroes of 2022 have fallen from grace, swept from favour by independent players. A Roy Morgan survey has found, for the first time, that Australians are

    Pacific editor welcomes US court ruling in favour of Radio Free Asia
    By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor The former head of BenarNews’ Pacific bureau says a United States court ruling this week ordering the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to release congressionally approved funding to Radio Free Asia and its subsidiaries “makes us very happy”. However, Stefan Armbruster, who has played a key role in

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SENATOR: TRUMP TARIFFS ARE COSTING LI-ERS $5,000 MORE A YEAR; SENATOR REVEALS ICONIC LONG ISLAND FASHION BUSINESS COSTS HAVE JUMPED 30%—WITH NO END IN SIGHT; SENATOR STANDS WITH OWNER—WHO VOTED FOR…

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New York Charles E Schumer
    Schumer Stands With Long Island Trump Voters Who Love “MAGA” – But Hate Tariffs & Want White House To Get The Message That They Are Killing LI Economy, Consumers & Small Biz
    Senator Says If Trump Tariff War Continues Nassau Could Lose 10,900 Jobs & Suffolk Could Lose 24,400; LI Fashion Staple, TandyWear, Just Expanded Last Year But All This Success Could Be Snuffed Out & LI Could Suffer
    Schumer: Trump Tariffs Are Unraveling LI Fashion Company – And Things Could Get Worse If GOP Refuses To Put Big Boy/Girl Pants On & Help Dems End Tariffs
    Alongside self-described Trump voters at an iconic Long Island fashion brand company, TandyWear, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer addressed the issue of Trump tariffs that are costing Long Islanders nearly $5,000 a year, while squeezing small businesses and slashing local profits. Schumer and the owner of the company, who voted for President Trump, said the trade war is bad for business and consumers on Long Island. Schumer also revealed that TandyWear’s costs have jumped 30% since the trade war began, and this needless increase in costs comes at the same exact time the Long Island company was planning to expand and hire more employees.
    “TandyWear’s story, a Long Island company that was bouncing back from COVID, on the up, even expanding, but now is facing dramatically higher costs and overall uncertainty, is not their story alone—this is now the story of so many businesses across New York and the nation, and it is a needless harbinger of what might come if the President’s tariff war wages on,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. “This trade war will cost Long Islanders $5,000 more a year, and right here on Long Island, more than 35,000 jobs are at risk. For business owners like Tandy, costs are up 30% with no end in sight, so we have to try and fix this, not in the name of politics, but in the name of logic.”   
    Schumer detailed that more than 35,000 jobs across Long Island are at risk, and said this one story is part of a bigger narrative threatening the nation’s and New York’s economy. The owner of TandyWear said she is not passing her 30% increase in costs onto her consumers, but, instead, is absorbing them for the moment, because the Long Island economy is feeling ‘shaky’ already. She said her customers cannot afford to pay 30% more.
    Schumer also announced that next week he will force a vote in the Senate to end the Trump trade war. Schumer said the House must also act and that Long Island’s Republican members of Congress have real sway to pressure the GOP—and that they should use their voice. Schumer stood with Trump voters, the owner of TandyWear, her employees and an economics professor from Hofstra as he made the case to help improve the Long Island economy, not stifle it.  
    “Next week, I will force a vote in the Senate to end this trade war, because what’s happening right now is just bad business. No matter what your vantage: the business, the consumer, the industry—it is one giant mess, and my vote to try and fix this problem will likely get Republican support,” Schumer added. “If this trade war just goes on and on, Nassau could lose more than 10,000 jobs, and Suffolk could lose more than 24,000. This is not winning. It’s losing. But worse, it is Long Island suffering. We cannot sit back and do nothing while Trump’s tariffs unravel this Long Island fashion company, or any company for that matter.”  
    Schumer said in the early days of the trade war news, the fashion and garment industry was facing price increases of at least 10 to 17%.  Now, Schumer says, that number is much higher, much closer to the 30% being faced by TandyWear. Schumer also said NYC is a fashion and garment hub, from leathers to other textiles, and that the current tariff ‘plan’ will rip the threads out of the NYC and Long Island’s fashion and commerce economy.
    When the Senate returns, Schumer says he will force a vote on a bipartisan resolution that would terminate the emergency declared by Trump to authorize his global tariffs. If the resolution is enacted into law, the tariffs would be rescinded. The Senate also previously passed a bipartisan resolution terminating Trump’s national emergency that is justifying his destructive tariffs, which Schumer said the House needs to vote on and that Long Island Republicans have real sway over. Schumer has been a vocal supporter of both resolutions.
    Schumer explained how New York, Long Island and its metro area is especially vulnerable to the President’s needless tariff war because it is one of the world’s largest trade hubs. Schumer explained that the New York port and area import and export hubs hum with activity that pumps billions of dollars into the New York/Long Island economy each year.  
    Specifically, Schumer said that the President’s tariffs also put over 260,000 New York jobs tied to exports at, what he calls, a “direct hit” economic risk. Schumer explained that JP Morgan recently released data showing the nation’s chances of a recession are now at 60%—but Schumer says, in New York, the number is much higher.   
    Schumer also pointed to Barclays, and brokerages HSBC, Deutsche Bank and BofA warned last Thursday that the U.S. economy faces a higher risk of slipping into a recession this year if the President’s tariffs remain in place.
    Financial reports say that if the tariffs are sustained, “recession risks will likely rise materially,” Deutsche Bank said in a note, while BofA noted the economy could be pushed to “the precipice of recession,” according to reports. Both Deutsche Bank and BofA predicted tariffs could ‘potentially shave 1-1.5 percentage points from U.S. economic growth this year.’

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy, Blumenthal, 40 Colleagues Blast Trump Administration’s Attacks On Head Start, Demand RFK Jr. Release Funding And Reverse Firings

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy
    WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined 40 of their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. demanding answers on the administration’s actions undermining Head Start. The senators emphasized HHS’s legal obligation to administer the program and called on Kennedy to immediately release Head Start funding. They also urged HHS to reverse both the mass firing of Head Start staff and the gutting of offices that help ensure high-quality services are available for thousands of children and families across the country.
    “We write to express our strong opposition to the actions you have taken to directly attack and undermine the federal Head Start program,” the senators wrote. “Since day one, this Administration has taken unacceptable actions to withhold and delay funding, fire Head Start staff, and gut high-quality services for children. Already this year, this Administration has withheld almost $1 billion in federal grant funding from Head Start programs, a 37 percent decrease compared to the amount of funding awarded during the same period last year. It is abundantly clear that these actions are part of a broader effort to ultimately eliminate the program altogether, as the Administration reportedly plans to do in its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal.”
    The senators highlighted Head Start’s vital role in supporting kids and families: “Head Start provides early childhood education and comprehensive health and social services to nearly 800,000 young children every year in communities across this country, and employs about 250,000 dedicated staff. Head Start is a critical source of child care for working families, particularly in rural and Tribal communities, where Head Start programs are often the only option for high-quality child care services. Head Start programs ensure children receive appropriate health and dental care, nutrition support, and referrals to other critical services for parents, such as job training, adult education, nutrition services, and housing support.”
    The senators condemned the Administration’s assault on the program, detailing office closures and funds that were frozen for Head Start grants across the country: “Since the very start of this Administration, Head Start programs have been under attack. At one point, the National Head Start Association reported 37 programs serving nearly 15,000 children across the country could not access their federal funding. Head Start programs operate with thin margins and on short-term budgets from HHS, and without any communication from the Administration about the status of funding, programs were forced to temporarily close or to lay off staff.”
    “On April 1st, you abruptly closed five of the ten regional offices that help local grantees administer Head Start programs in 22 states,” they continued. “This left hundreds of programs without dedicated points of contact to address mission critical issues like approving grant renewals and modifications, investigating child health and safety incidents, and providing training and technical assistance to ensure high-quality services for children. While some grantees were assigned a new program specialist, we understand many have not been receiving responses to their inquiries. This is on top of the estimated 97 Office of Head Start central office staff that were terminated due to their probationary status and the recent reduction in force. You promised ‘radical transparency’ as Secretary, yet it is unclear how these actions will improve Head Start programs, and you and your staff refuse to respond to basic inquiries and requests for information.”
    The senators concluded: “The Administration has a legal and moral obligation to disburse Head Start funds to programs and to uphold the program’s promise to provide high-quality early education services to low income children and families across this country. There is no justifiable reason for the delay in funding we have seen over the last two months, and you have refused to offer any kind of explanation. […] “[W]e urge you to immediately reinstate fired staff across all Offices of Head Start, and cease all actions to delay the awarding and disbursement of funding to Head Start programs across this country.”
    U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Angus King (I-Maine), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) also signed the letter.
    Full text of the letter is available HERE and below:
    Dear Secretary Kennedy:
    We write to express our strong opposition to the actions you have taken to directly attack and undermine the federal Head Start program. Since day one, this Administration has taken unacceptable actions to withhold and delay funding, fire Head Start staff, and gut high-quality services for children. Already this year, this Administration has withheld almost $1 billion in federal grant funding from Head Start programs, a 37 percent decrease compared to the amount of funding awarded during the same period last year. It is abundantly clear that these actions are part of a broader effort to ultimately eliminate the program altogether, as the Administration reportedly plans to do in its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal.
    Head Start provides early childhood education and comprehensive health and social services to nearly 800,000 young children every year in communities across this country, and employs about 250,000 dedicated staff. Head Start is a critical source of child care for working families, particularly in rural and Tribal communities, where Head Start programs are often the only option for high-quality child care services. Head Start programs ensure children receive appropriate health and dental care, nutrition support, and referrals to other critical services for parents, such as job training, adult education, nutrition services, and housing support.
    You even acknowledged the value of Head Start following a recent visit to a Virginia Head Start center, where you said, “I had a very inspiring tour. I saw a devoted staff and a lot of happy children. They are getting the kind of education and socialization they need, and they are also getting a couple of meals a day.”
    However, as a result of your actions to withhold and delay funding and undermine the administration of this vital program, Head Start centers are in serious jeopardy and have already had their day to day operations impacted. Programs are increasingly worried that they will not be able to make payroll, pay rent, and remain open to serve the hundreds of thousands of children and families who depend on their services in communities across the nation.
    Since the very start of this Administration, Head Start programs have been under attack. On January 27th, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget issued a memo (M-25-13) that suddenly froze the disbursement of grant funding for federal programs and services government-wide, including Head Start. Despite the Administration’s clarification that Head Start programs would not be the target of the funding freeze, many Head Start programs across the country were unable to draw down their grant funds through the Payment Management System (PMS) for weeks. At one point, the National Head Start Association reported 37 programs serving nearly 15,000 children across the country could not access their federal funding. Head Start programs operate with thin margins and on short-term budgets from HHS, and without any communication from the Administration about the status of funding, programs were forced to temporarily close or to lay off staff. In Wisconsin, the National Centers for Learning Excellence, which serves more than 200 children and their families, shut down for a week and laid off staff due to the funding freeze.
    On April 1st, you abruptly closed five of the ten regional offices that help local grantees administer Head Start programs in 22 states. This left hundreds of programs without dedicated points of contact to address mission critical issues like approving grant renewals and modifications, investigating child health and safety incidents, and providing training and technical assistance to ensure high-quality services for children. While some grantees were assigned a new program specialist, we understand many have not been receiving responses to their inquiries. This is on top of the estimated 97 Office of Head Start central office staff that were terminated due to their probationary status and the recent reduction in force. You promised “radical transparency” as Secretary, yet it is unclear how these actions will improve Head Start programs, and you and your staff refuse to respond to basic inquiries and requests for information.
    On March 14th, 2025, the Office of Head Start (OHS) notified all Head Start programs that “the use of federal funding for any training and technical assistance or other program expenditures that promote or take part in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives” will not be approved and that any questions should be directed to regional offices. Programs have not received any guidance for what would be considered “DEI” but this policy is potentially in direct conflict with statutory and regulatory program requirements, such as providing culturally and linguistically appropriate instructional services for English learners. Many programs cannot direct questions to regional staff, as half of regional offices were abruptly closed, and as unprecedented actions are being taken to delay and withhold funding, Head Start programs have been intentionally left with little to no guidance.
    Head Start programs are now arbitrarily required to provide justifications for each draw down of funds that is necessary to operate their programs, despite already receiving a federal grant award for these purposes. As of April 14th, Head Start programs have reportedly received correspondence from an email address “defendthespend@hhs.gov” requiring programs to submit a “specific description of why the funds are necessary and why they are aligned to the award” before programs can have funding disbursed. It has been reported that political appointees must sign off on every draw down of funds. This creates an illusion of improving oversight but only serves to add unnecessary red tape by requiring the manual sign off on hundreds of thousands of individual actions annually across the Department based on two to three sentence justifications. Already some grantees have reported delays in receiving funds, and have reported that furloughs or closures are imminent if funds are not released. For an administration that purports to value local autonomy and efficiency in federally funded programs, your actions have achieved the exact opposite.
    Finally, Head Start grantees are still waiting on payments and grant renewals from the Office of Head Start, including programs whose grants end on April 30th, 2025. These notices should have gone out by now, yet we are concerned to hear programs report they have received little to no correspondence regarding their grant renewals. Additionally, because we started fiscal year 2025 under a short-term continuing resolution, as is usual, some grantees have only received partial funding for the first few months of the year. But with a full year funding bill in place, these grantees should have received full funding by now, yet some are reporting that they have not received the full amount of their grants and will run out of funds this month or next. On Wednesday, April 16th, the delays in Head Start funding led to the closure of Head Start centers serving more than 400 children in Sunnyside, Washington.
    The Administration has a legal and moral obligation to disburse Head Start funds to programs and to uphold the program’s promise to provide high-quality early education services to low income children and families across this country. The fiscal year 2025 appropriations act provided $12.3 billion for Head Start, the same as the fiscal year 2024 level. The Head Start Act includes an explicit formula for how appropriated funds should be allocated. There is no justifiable reason for the delay in funding we have seen over the last two months, and you have refused to offer any kind of explanation. However, this week leaked fiscal year 2026 budget documents indicated the Office of Management and Budget was directing the Department, consistent with the Administration’s proposal to eliminate Head Start in fiscal year 2026, to “ensure to the extent allowable FY2025 funds are available to close out the program.” If this explains any of the delay in awarding fiscal year 2025 funding, we want to be clear, no funds were provided in fiscal year 2025 to “close out the program,” and it would be wholly unacceptable and likely illegal if the Department tries to carry out this directive.
    Finally, the leaked budget documents provided a justification, albeit brief, for eliminating Head Start in fiscal year 2026 that makes this Administration’s priorities clear and puts the Department’s actions over the last several months in context. The Administration argues that eliminating Head Start, “is consistent with the Administration’s goals of returning education to the States and increasing parental choice.” It is shocking to see an argument that eliminating a program that provides comprehensive early childhood care and education to 800,000 children and their families would increase parental choice. It is particularly concerning to see that argument in the context of the significant delay in awarding fiscal year 2025 appropriated funds and what that indicates about the intent behind the Department’s actions. We believe it is obvious that eliminating Head Start would be detrimental to hundreds of thousands of children and families. Similarly, we believe it is obvious that delaying funding like we have seen over the last two months, forcing Head Start programs to close, and leaving families to scramble to find quality, affordable alternatives puts the education and well-being of some of the most vulnerable young children in America at risk. In our view, that is unacceptable.
    Therefore, we urge you to immediately reinstate fired staff across all Offices of Head Start, and cease all actions to delay the awarding and disbursement of funding to Head Start programs across this country.
    Please provide us with a written response to the questions below no later than 10 days from receipt:
    1. Will you reinstate the staff who administer Head Start programs and reopen the closed regional offices responsible for overseeing Head Start programs in 22 states?
    a) When is HHS going to share information on the reorganization plan for the consolidation of the regional offices?
    b) Please provide the contact information for each program specialist designated to the 22 states who lost their regional office.
    c) Who is responsible for ensuring there are no delays or lapses in funding, nor any disruptions to Head Start program operations now that these states do not have a regional office?
    2. How many employees at the Offices of Head Start have been terminated, including the five regional offices and the central office?
    a) Which officials at HHS were involved in the staffing reduction decisions for OHS and what planning, if any, was undertaken prior to these reductions? Please describe the events that unfolded and name each office that was involved in the decision. Further, please name the official(s) who approved the staffing reductions.
    3. Can you confirm that the Administration will distribute all Head Start funds appropriated by Congress to Head Start programs in FY 25, as required by the Head Start Act?
    4. Please provide a list of all grantees with 5-year Head Start grant renewals that start between now and the end of the fiscal year: May 1st, June 1st, July 1st, August 1st, and September 1st.
    a) Will any funding be delayed for grantees that are due to receive their annual funding on May 1st or beyond?
    5. Why are funding awards delayed for grantees that received partial awards during the first continuing resolution for FY25?
    a) When can HHS guarantee that all funds will be awarded for partially funded Head Start programs?
    6. What is the “Tier 2” department for review that is delaying drawn down for Head Start programs in the Payment Management System?
    a) When should programs expect to receive their funds?
    b) Please provide all communication that went to Head Start grantees on the new review process.
    7. What guidance and clarifications have been provided to Head Start grantees on DEI expenditures?
    a) How is HHS evaluating Head Start programs’ expenditures and grant awards for DEI?
    b) What justifications are being used to prohibit DEI?

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: 80 years after Benito Mussolini’s death, what can democracies today learn from his fascist rise?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Sharpe, Associate Professor in Philosophy, Australian Catholic University

    Hitler and Mussolini in Munich, Germany, June 18, 1940. Everett Collection/Shutterstock

    This Monday marks 80 years since Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was killed in an Italian village towards the end of the Second World War in 1945. The following day, his body was publicly desecrated in Milan.

    Il Duce, as Mussolini was known, was Hitler’s inspiration.
    State Library of Victoria

    Given the scale of Adolf Hitler’s atrocities, our image of fascism today has largely been shaped by Nazism. Yet, Mussolini preceded Hitler. Il Duce, as Mussolini was known, was Hitler’s inspiration.

    Today, as commentators, bloggers and scholars are debating whether the governments of US President Donald Trump, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin are “fascist”, we can learn from Il Duce’s career about how democracies fail and dictators consolidate autocratic rule.

    The early years

    The term “fascist” itself originated around the time of Mussolini’s founding in 1914 of the Fasci d’Azione Rivoluzionaria, a militaristic group promoting Italy’s entry into the First World War.

    Mussolini had been raised in a leftist family. Before WWI, he edited and wrote for socialist newspapers. Yet, from early on, the young rebel was also attracted to radically anti-democratic thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche, George Sorel, and Wilfred Pareto.

    When WWI broke out, Mussolini broke from the socialists, who opposed Italy’s involvement in the conflict. Like Hitler, he fought in the war. Mussolini considered his front-line experience as formative for his future ideas around fascism. His war experience led him to imagine making Italy great again – an imperial power worthy of the heritage of ancient Rome.

    In March 1919, Mussolini formed the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento in Milan. This group brought together a motley collection of war veterans, primarily interested in fighting the socialists and communists. They were organised in squadristi (squads), which would become known for their black shirts and violence – they forced many of their targets to drink castor oil.

    The political success of Mussolini’s fascist ideals, however, was neither instant nor inevitable. In the 1919 Italian elections, Mussolini received so few votes, communists held a mock funeral march outside his house to celebrate his political death.

    The rise to power and the march on Rome

    Fascism became a part of national political life in 1920-21, following waves of industrial and agricultural strikes and worker occupations of land and factories.

    As a result, rural and industrial elites turned to the fascist squadristi to break strikes and combat workers’ organisations. Fascist squads also overturned the results of democratic elections in Bologna and Cremona, preventing left-wing candidates from assuming office.

    Mussolini’s political capital, remarkably, was boosted by this violence. He was invited to enter Prime Minister Ivanoe Bonomi’s first government in July 1921.

    The following October, fascists occupied the towns of Bolzano and Trento. The liberals, socialists and Italian monarchy were indecisive in the face of these provocations, allowing Mussolini to seize the moment. Mustering the fascist squads, he ordered the famous “march on Rome” in late October 2022 to demand he be appointed prime minister.

    All the evidence suggests if the government had intervened, the march on Rome would have disbanded. It was a bold piece of political theatre. Nevertheless, fearing civil war — and the communists more than the black shirts — King Victor Emmanuel III caved in without a shot being fired.

    Mussolini was made leader of a new government on October 31, 1922.

    The consolidation of dictatorship

    Like Hitler in 1933, Mussolini’s rule started as the head of a coalition government including non-fascist parties. Yet, with the repressive powers of the state now at his disposal, Mussolini exploited the division among his rivals and gradually consolidated power.

    In 1923, the communist party was targeted with mass arrests and the fascist squads were brought under official state control as a paramilitary force. Mussolini began to use state powers to surveil all non-fascist political parties.

    In the 1924 general election, with fascist militia menacingly manning the polls, Il Duce won 65% of the vote.

    Then, in June, socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti was kidnapped and murdered by black shirts. When investigations pointed to Mussolini’s responsibility, he at first denied any knowledge of the killing. Months later, however, Mussolini proudly admitted responsibility for the deed, celebrating the fascists’ brutality. He faced no legal or political consequences.

    The last nail in the coffin of Italy’s enfeebled democracy came in late 1926. Following an assassination attempt in which Mussolini’s nose was grazed (he wore a bandage for a time afterwards), Mussolini definitively banned all political opposition.

    The “lesser evil”

    Following his death in April 1945, Mussolini’s dictatorship was often portrayed as “dictatorship-lite”, a “lesser evil” compared to Nazism or Stalinist Russia. This narrative, bolstered by German crimes against Italians in the last months of the war, has understandably been embraced by many Italians.

    Yet, Mussolini’s was the first regime to advertise itself as totalitarian. Styling himself as a “man of destiny”, Mussolini claimed that fascism embodied the “spiritual renewal” of the Italian people.

    His goal of making Italy a power again required total control of the state. His 1932 “Doctrine of Fascism” describes the need “to exercise power and to command” all administrative, policing, and judicial institutions. This included censorship of the press and educational institutions.

    Mussolini announcing Italy’s declaration of war on France and Britain in 1940.
    Australian War Memorial

    While portraying fascism as a “populist” movement, Mussolini also shut down independent trade unions, bailed out big banks, and prevented the right to strike. As a result, economic inequality between Italians actually grew wider under his rule.

    Mussolini also pursued an imperialist dream by invading Ethiopia. Defying international conventions, Il Duce’s troops used chemical weapons and summary executions to quell acts of resistance. Over 700,000 Ethiopians are estimated by scholars to have been killed by the invaders, with around 35,000 forced into internment camps.

    Italian Ca-111 bombers over Ethiopia in the 1930s.
    Getty Images/Wikimedia Commons

    Mussolini’s fascists ran over 30 concentration camps from 1926–45, almost all of them offshore. Some 50–70,000 Libyans alone died in camps set up under Italy’s brutal colonial regime from 1929–34. Many more died through executions, starvation and ethnic cleansing.

    When the notorious SS leader Heinrich Himmler visited Libya in in 1939, he deemed the Italian colony a successful model to emulate.

    And after Mussolini’s forces aided the Axis invasions of Yugoslavia, Albania and Russia in the Second World War, more than 80,000 more prisoners were interned in camps. At the camp on the Croatian Island of Rab, more than 3,000 prisoners died in grossly inhumane conditions in 1942–43, at a mortality rate higher than the Nazi camp at Buchenwald.

    Slovenian prisoner of the Italian Rab concentration camp.
    Archives, Museum of Modern History, Ljubljana/Wikimedia Commons

    From late 1943, Italian fascists also participated in the rounding up of over 7,000 Italian Jews to transfer to Auschwitz. Almost all of them were murdered.

    Following the war, even with Il Duce dead, few perpetrators faced justice for these atrocities.

    Lessons for democracies after 80 years

    The infamy of the crimes associated with the word “fascism” has meant that few people today claim the label – even those attracted to the same kinds of authoritarian, ethnonationalist politics.

    Mussolini, even more than Hitler, can seem a bombastic fool, with his uniform, theatrical gestures, stylised hyper-masculinity and patented steely jaw.

    Yet, one of the lessons of Mussolini’s career is that such political adventurists are only as strong as the democratic opposition allows. To fail to take them seriously is to enable their success.

    Mussolini pushed his luck time and again between 1920 and 1926. As the wonderful recent teleseries of his ascent, Mussolini, Figlio del Seculo shows, time and again, the opposition failed to concertedly oppose the fascists’ attacks on democratic norms and institutions. Then it was too late.

    Democracies mostly fall over time, by a thousand cuts and shifts of the goalposts of what is considered “normal”. Fascism, moreover, depends in no small measure on shameless political deception, including the readiness to conceal its own most radical intentions.

    Fascist “strongmen” like Mussolini accumulate power thanks to people’s inabilities to believe that the barbarisation of political life – including open violence against opponents – could happen in their societies.

    And there is a final, unsettling lesson of Mussolini’s career. Il Duce was a skilled propagandist who portrayed himself as leading a popular revolt to restore respectable values. He was able to win widespread popular support, including among the elites, even as he destroyed Italian democracy.

    Yet, if the monarchy, military, other political parties and the church had attempted a principled, united opposition to fascism early enough, most of Mussolini’s crimes would likely have been avoided.

    Matthew Sharpe has in the past (2013-17) received funding from the ARC to study religion and politics in the contemporary world.

    – ref. 80 years after Benito Mussolini’s death, what can democracies today learn from his fascist rise? – https://theconversation.com/80-years-after-benito-mussolinis-death-what-can-democracies-today-learn-from-his-fascist-rise-251154

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Deep sea mining ‘piracy in policy’: Greenpeace condemns Trump, The Metals Company for mining support

    Source: Greenpeace Statement –

    Washington/Sydney, Saturday 26 April 2025 — Greenpeace Australia Pacific has slammed Donald Trump’s support of deep sea mining as a ‘gross betrayal of the Pacific’ after the Trump administration signed an executive order advancing U.S. ambitions to launch deep sea mining in U.S. and international waters.

    This rogue action is highly politically controversial for appearing to bypass the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the regulatory body set up by the United Nations to protect the deep sea as the common heritage of humankind and decide whether deep sea mining can start in the international seabed. 

    The Metals Company (TMC) – a deep sea mining company – recently declared its intention to work with the Trump Administration outside of the UN-established regulatory framework, to try to start mining in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific – a region that sits outside jurisdiction. The Executive Order instructs the Secretary of Commerce to expedite the process for reviewing and issuing exploration and commercial recovery permits under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA), breaking the longstanding tradition of the US being a good-faith actor on UNCLOS (The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). 

    The order outlines that the Trump administration seeks to identify minerals for defence, infrastructure and energy purposes, and makes no mention of addressing the climate crisis.

    Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “By authorising deep sea mining outside of international law, the Trump Administration is dressing up a disaster in a suit and tie, signing policies in boardrooms that will drown Pacific nations in financial, economic, cultural and environmental disaster. It’s neocolonialism with a letterhead.

    “The Metals Company steam-rolled its way over multilateralism at the ISA and straight through the doors of Donald Trump, without a look back at the Pacific nations it is betraying. Pushing ahead with deep sea mining is a slap in the face to multilateralism, an insult to the UN’s regulatory body, and a gross betrayal of the Pacific.”

    If approved, the plans could allow TMC to start mining in the CCZ – a region known for an abundance of polymetallic nodules – and threaten to derail years of negotiations between TMC and its sponsoring states including Nauru, Tonga and Kiribati.

    “This move risks leaving Nauru, Kiribati and Tonga high and dry; TMC promised the people of Nauru jobs and prosperity from this agreement, saying that mining their waters would help fix the climate crisis. But it has taken the first chance it got to turn its back on Nauru and it will do the same to any other Pacific country. TMC is a money-hungry machine, using and abusing its Pacific partners without a care for the people, their cultural connection to the ocean, jobs, prosperity or the climate crisis,” Gounden said. 

    “Deep sea mining is piracy in policy – allowing governments to raid resources and leave wreckage behind. The Trump administration is looking for minerals to build weapons for America – not help the Pacific. This should be a warning to all Pacific leaders: the deep sea mining industry is not our friend, it is an industry of lies and betrayal. Pacific leaders must now unite to protect our Pacific Ocean and call for a moratorium on deep sea mining.”

    According to The Metals Company, it will apply for permits “in the second quarter of 2025”, with reports stating intent to commence mining operations as soon as 2027. Gerard Barron, the Australian CEO of The Metals Company, has gone on the record with his company’s willingness and desire to bypass internationally agreed regulations, stating in reference to the ongoing negotiations at the ISA “by all means, go ahead and sign your treaty…we’ll be out there”.

    Currently, 32 countries have backed a moratorium or precautionary pause on deep sea mining, including Tuvalu, Palau, Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Vanuatu and Samoa. Australia has not.

    —ENDS—

    For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Kimberley Bernard on +61 407 581 404 or [email protected]

    Photos available in the Greenpeace Media Library

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI USA: OEM Director Visits Douglas County to Support Local Flood Recovery Efforts

    Source: US State of Oregon

    strong>ROSEBURG, Ore. – Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) Director Erin McMahon visited Douglas County on Monday, April 21, to meet with local leaders, assess disaster-impacted areas, and support recovery efforts across the region. Director McMahon engaged with city officials, emergency managers, and long-term recovery partners in Myrtle Creek, Roseburg, and Drain.

    “Seeing these communities firsthand and hearing directly from local leaders underscores the importance of coordinated, sustained recovery support,” said Director McMahon. “OEM is committed to working alongside Douglas County and our state and federal partners to strengthen resilience and help communities recover from recent disasters.”

    The day began with a briefing at the Douglas County Emergency Management Building in Roseburg before traveling to Myrtle Creek for a meeting with City Manager Lonnie Rainville, Public Works Director Scott Adams, and Glide Revitalization Recovery Lead Kendall Melvin. Local officials discussed current recovery priorities and conducted site visits to observe ongoing challenges.

    Throughout the day, the OEM team toured several key sites including:

    • Garden Valley, Hubbard Creek, and Tyee Road, where landslides have disrupted access and infrastructure.
    • A major sinkhole location managed by the Roseburg Urban Sanitary Authority.
    • Residential areas in Sutherlin and Drain, highlighting local priorities for resilience and mitigation planning.

    The Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) coordinates statewide communication to support local jurisdictions during disasters. OEM also manages the processes required to request and access federal disaster assistance and does everything in its power to advocate for Oregonians to receive the maximum amount of federal support available. While OEM continues to work closely with Douglas County and community partners to assess damage and support recovery, it’s important to note that the decision to grant federal assistance ultimately rests with the federal government.

    OEM’s Southwest Regional Coordinator Heather De La Rosa participated in the daylong tour. For more information on OEM’s recovery efforts, visit www.oregon.gov/OEM.

    # # #

    It is the mission of Oregon Emergency Management to proactively develop emergency response, risk reduction and disaster recovery programs to better serve Oregonians during times of disaster. OEM prioritizes an equitable and inclusive culture of preparedness that empowers all Oregonians to thrive in times in crisis. The agency leads collaborative statewide efforts, inclusive of all partners and the communities we serve, to ensure the capability to get help in an emergency and to protect, mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies or disasters. For more information about the OEM, visit oregon.gov/oem.

    You can get this document in other languages, large print, braille, or a format you prefer. For assistance, email OEM_PublicInfo@oem.oregon.gov. We accept all relay calls, or you can dial 711.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Minister Ramokgopa to participate in Harvard Ministerial Forum

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Friday, April 25, 2025

    Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Maropene Ramokgopa has been invited to participate in the Harvard Ministerial Forum at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States.

    It will be held from Sunday, 27 April to Wednesday, 30 April 2025.

    “I am honoured to be invited to participate in the Harvard Ministerial Forum, which provides an excellent opportunity for high-level engagement, learning and exchange towards the advancement of national development, leadership and impactful governance,” Ramokgopa said.

    Led by senior Harvard faculty members and former Heads of Government and Ministers from around the world, the programme is designed for government leaders with whole-of-government coordinating roles in driving a national priority agenda. 

    The programme consists of learning and exchange opportunities for Ministers to develop concrete tools to undertake genuine transformational change in their tenure of office. 

    “Personally, this is also an opportunity for continued growth and development, which should always be encouraged in our society,” said the Minister.

    The Minister is looking forward to the forum.

    “I look forward to getting insights and mentorship from the likes of former President of Tanzania, His Excellency Jakaya Kikwete, former Mozambique Prime Minister Dr Luisa Diogo, and other former Heads of Government, and engaging fellow Ministers in this important programme which promotes collaboration and seeks to build a better world,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Global action needed to combat malaria

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) says revitalised efforts are urgently needed in the battle against malaria. 

    Today marks World Malaria Day, which is observed globally every year on 25 April to acknowledge the collective efforts to control malaria.

    In a statement released on Friday, WHO highlighted the importance of global collaboration, which has saved nearly 13 million lives since the year 2000.

    Despite the progress, the agency said it has certified 45 countries and one territory as malaria-free, while many countries with a low malaria burden continue to move steadily towards the goal of elimination. 

    Of the remaining 83 malaria-endemic countries, 25 reported fewer than 10 cases of the disease in 2023.

    WHO has warned that the fight against the disease is far from over, with nearly 600 000 lives lost to malaria in 2023, with African nations bearing the brunt of the burden.

    WHO’s Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has stressed the fragility of current gains. 

    “The history of malaria teaches us a harsh lesson that when we divert our attention, the disease resurges, taking its greatest toll on the most vulnerable.

    “But the same history also shows us what’s possible, that with strong political commitment, sustained investment, multisectoral action and community engagement, malaria can be defeated,” said Ghebreyesus.

    In a promising development, 20 African countries, including Mali, are set to introduce malaria vaccines to protect children from the disease.

    In addition, WHO said the use of advanced insecticide-treated nets is on the rise, significantly contributing to malaria prevention.

    The theme for this year’s campaign is: “Malaria ends with us: Reinvest, reimagine, reignite”.

    WHO urges governments, health organisations and communities to come together in a renewed commitment to eradicate malaria once and for all.

    Ghebreyesus has called for sustained commitment and investment at all levels, urging countries to enhance domestic healthcare spending. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: KZN Premier tables Budget Vote

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    The R817.875 million allocation for the Office of the Premier is a strategic investment to ensure that the provincial government remains agile, efficient, and people centred, says KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Thamsanqa Ntuli.

    “Our vision is clear. We are building a capable and ethical state that fosters inclusive development, safeguards the vulnerable, and delivers with excellence,” Ntuli said.

    The Premier tabled the Office of the Premier’s 2025/26 Budget Vote at the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature, in Pietermaritzburg, on Thursday, under the theme: “Accelerating Inclusive Growth and Service Delivery through Effective Governance”.

    The budget speech marked a step in driving socioeconomic transformation, improving public sector performance, and addressing the province’s most urgent challenges. It also reflected the province’s commitment to fast-tracking service delivery through innovation, interdepartmental coordination, and effective oversight.

    The key focus areas highlighted in the budget vote included:
    •    Youth empowerment and job creation: Enhanced support for the Youth Development Fund and expanded skills development initiatives, through the Moses Kotane Institute and Operation Vula.
    •    Fighting gender-based violence: Continued implementation of the provincial Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Strategy, with targeted programmes to protect women, children, and the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual) community.
    •    Digital transformation: The Office of the Premier will invest in modern ICT (Information and Communication Technology) infrastructure, to improve governance and streamline public service delivery.
    •    District Development Model: Strengthening the one-government, one-plan approach to tackle service delivery backlogs and build resilient local economies.
    The Premier also reaffirmed the provincial government’s stance on clean governance and zero tolerance for corruption.

    “Every rand spent must serve the people of this province. There will be no room for maladministration or ethical lapses,” Ntuli said.
     

    As KwaZulu-Natal continues to recover from the impact of past disasters and economic strain, the Premier said the 2025/26 budget is positioned as a catalyst for sustainable recovery, job creation, and a more just society.

    In his closing remarks, the Premier called for unity and collaboration with all stakeholders.

    “Let us work together – government, business, civil society and communities – to build the KwaZulu-Natal we all deserve,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
     

    MIL OSI Africa –