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Category: Science

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Kwame Akoto-Bamfo: the Ghanaian artist using work about slavery to find justice and healing

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Rachel Ama Asaa Engmann, Associate Professor and Director of Christiansborg Archaeological Heritage Project, Associate Graduate Faculty, Rutgers University

    Thousands of sculpted heads – captive African men, women, and children – meticulously created by the artist Kwame Akoto-Bamfo, emerge from the soil at the Nkyinkyim Museum, as a sacred gathering of ancestors. Together, they form a powerful monument to the horror, violence, and resistance to enslavement, as well as the ongoing work of remembrance and healing.

    Kwame Akoto-Bamfo.

    Kwame Akoto-Bamfo is a Ghanaian multidisciplinary artist who engages with the histories and legacies of the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism at home and, increasingly, internationally, on both sides of the Atlantic.

    As an archaeologist who works in the field of critical heritage studies, Akoto-Bamfo’s work is important for its powerful engagement with memory, material culture and restorative justice. I feature it in a chapter of a new book that I co-edited called Architectures of Slavery: Ruins and Reconstructions.

    Who is Kwame Akoto-Bamfo?

    Akoto-Bamfo studied at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. He obtained his bachelor’s and master of fine arts degrees, both in sculpture. After graduating, the artist worked as a school teacher and a university lecturer.

    In 2015, Akoto-Bamfo rose to international fame through a series of large-scale installations. He called it ‘Nkyinkyim’ (“twisting” in the Ghanaian Twi language, as in the proverb, “Life’s journey is twisted”).

    Read more: Book review: how Africa was central to the making of the modern world

    Four years later, he established the ‘Nkyinkyim Museum’, a non-profit organisation known as the ‘Ancestor Project’. This open-air museum is located in Nuhalenya-Ada, a two-hour drive from Accra. It has become a space for people of African descent to engage in restorative healing through art and education.

    Nkyinkyim Museum

    At the site’s entrance, three twenty-five-foot monuments are displayed. They are made of stone, concrete and wood. The first is inspired by North and Eastern Africa, and the second by Sudano-Sahelian architecture. The third is inspired by the Forest regions in Central and West Africa.

    Sculptures at the museum entrance. Kwame Akoto-Bamfo

    The collection includes multiple installations in collaboration with the local community. They illustrate “the diversity in our narratives surrounding history, philosophy, and religious beliefs”. The artist himself, demonstrates a mastery of multimedia art forms, working in cement, terracotta, brass, copper, and wood, noting “one can reach different heights with different technologies.”

    Today, the museum features a sacred healing space with a compelling display of thousands of unique concrete life size heads and 7,000 terracotta miniature sculpted heads. They include captive Africans abducted, sold and forcibly trafficked during the transatlantic slave trade.

    An installation of the heads of enslaved people. Kwame Akoto-Bamfo

    His sculptures capture captives’ shock, horror, anger, distress and fear—emotions. This is communicated through their facial expressions in an installation that is disturbingly evocative and profoundly haunting. It is inspired by ‘nsodie’, an Akan funerary sculpture tradition, that dates back to approximately the twelfth century. Akoto-Bamfo explains during our conversations relating to the research for book:

    I wanted to draw upon Akan belief in commemoration and remembrance after death in order to honour the young, old, men and women, who originated from various ethnic groups and who died in the Atlantic Ocean during the Middle Passage and did not get that chance.

    Each year, the annual ‘Ancestor Veneration’ ceremony takes place under the guidance of chiefs, priests, and priestess from various ethnic groups.

    The museum displays 7,000 terracotta sculpted heads. Kwame Akoto-Bamfo

    Visitors are invited to participate in certain Akan rites and ceremonies – free from photography and selfies that undermine or commercialise sacred funerary art practices. Says Akoto-Bamfo:

    I am Akan, so initially I began with Akan traditional rites, but now our ceremonies welcome other African ethnic groups including the Ga-Dangme, Ewe, and Yoruba, from Ghana and Nigeria, as well as African descendant people in the African diaspora.

    In contrast, the ‘Freedom Parade Festival’ allows participants to creatively express and contribute to an evolving heritage tradition, without the specified observances. For example, painted bodily adornment applied directly onto the skin, yet without the necessary spiritual rites.

    A protest monument

    Akoto-Bamfo’s sculptures have also gained recognition beyond Ghana’s borders. For instance, the permanent installation at the Legacy Museum and National Museum for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama in the US.

    More recently, in 2021, his Blank Slate Project Monument toured throughout the United States. This included stops at Times Square in New York and the King Center in Atlanta. It depicts an enslaved ancestor, bent forward with his hands behind his back, head turned sideways, face on the ground, with a booted foot on his head.

    The Blank Slate Monument in New York. Roshi Sariaslan

    Akoto-Bamfo describes this work as “a noisy one — a protest piece that speaks against racist Civil War monuments.” The work was completed prior to the police killing of George Floyd that led to widespread protests in the US in 2020. It was first unveiled in a private viewing in Ghana, prior to its shipment to the United States.

    He says:

    We had a lot of discussions among those involved in the project: some feared it might incite violence, others said that it was a prediction.

    The work is interactive. It holds a removable placard that invites viewers to inscribe their reactions to the statue, which are then exhibited. Akoto-Bamfo emphasises:

    I wanted ordinary people, both individuals and communities, to relate, and to contribute to, not only towards my artwork but also to the wider ongoing discussions. As an artist, I believe that I do not have the sole right to speak. I wanted ordinary Americans to add their voices because I am already contributing.

    In Europe too, his work is featured at the 169 Museum in Germany.

    The effects of enslavement are still felt today. Kwame Akoto-Bamfo

    In Ghana, Akoto-Bamfo’s work was initially seen as too controversial. The artist shares:

    At first, I had to be extremely resilient because my work was concerned with the slave trade, slavery, colonialism, racism, and human rights. I embraced uncomfortable dialogue. Yet these were difficult topics for galleries and the art world at that time in Ghana.

    He adds:

    Today, however, some even view me as a spiritual leader… but I have always had an innate antipathy towards injustice. My work is not only about the past but what is unfolding now.

    Akoto-Bamfo offers a closing reflection on why this kind of memory work matters:

    I just want to use the little knowledge that I have to contribute towards the work of restorative and transformative justice.

    – Kwame Akoto-Bamfo: the Ghanaian artist using work about slavery to find justice and healing
    – https://theconversation.com/kwame-akoto-bamfo-the-ghanaian-artist-using-work-about-slavery-to-find-justice-and-healing-259184

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: How Nuclear and Isotopic Techniques Help Countries Combat Soil Salinization

    Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

    The IAEA has a long history of helping countries adjust to salinized soils. In 1978, the IAEA helped develop climate smart agricultural practices to reclaim salt-affected soil that transformed saline soils in Pakistan into productive farmlands.

    IAEA support to the country has continued as the changing climate has caused even further soil salinization. In Pakistan, erratic rainfall patterns have pushed farmers to irrigate using groundwater with high levels of salt. With IAEA support, Pakistan’s Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) has developed and planted salt-tolerant crops and implemented soil nutrient and water management techniques. Today, NIAB is sharing its expertise by training scientists from other countries affected by soil salinization.

    The IAEA is also supporting countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, where scientists are using nuclear techniques to develop salt-tolerant crops, helping farmers grow food in degraded soils.

    Following IAEA regional projects, in which 60 researchers from 10 countries were trained in soil, nutrient and water management to combat soil salinity, the IAEA published an open-access book enabling experts in several countries to successfully grow crops under saline conditions such as millet in Lebanon, barley and safflower in Jordan and Kuwait, okra in Syria and quinoa in the United Arab Emirates. “Thanks to the joint work with the IAEA, our scientists applied the recommended climate-smart agricultural practices to successfully grow crops under saline conditions,” says Nabeel Bani Hani, Director of the National Agricultural Research Center in Jordan.

    “As the world faces increasing pressure to feed a growing population, restoring degraded land is more urgent than ever. The IAEA’s work shows that with the right tools—science, collaboration, and innovation—we can turn salty, barren soils into fertile ground for the future” said Mohammad Zaman, Head of the Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: IAEA Director General’s Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors

    Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

    (As prepared for delivery)

    As the armed conflict in Ukraine enters its fourth year, the nuclear safety and security situation throughout the country continues to be highly precarious. The presence of the IAEA at all Ukrainian nuclear facilities has been and continues to be an invaluable asset to the international community and must be preserved.

    The IAEA remains present at Ukraine’s nuclear power plant facilities. Difficult conditions have in the past month complicated and delayed one rotation of experts, which was safely completed in recent days. Back in December, a drone hit and severely damaged an IAEA official vehicle during a rotation. As I reported to you in the special Board meeting shortly afterward, staff survived this unacceptable attack unharmed, but the rear of the vehicle was destroyed. Other episodes followed, confirming the dangerous situation.

    Around Ukraine, the Khmelnitsky NPP, the Rivne NPP and the South Ukraine NPP, continue to operate amid serious challenges, including on the electricity infrastructure, a major risk to the reliable and stable supply of power crucial for the safe operation of NPPs. The electrical grid’s ability to provide a reliable off-site power supply to Ukrainian NPPs was further reduced by damage sustained following military attacks in November and December 2024, a mission of IAEA experts that visited and assessed seven critical electrical substations concluded late last year. Considering the seriousness of the situation, I visited the Kyivska electrical substation last month to observe the damage sustained first hand. On what was my 11th visit to Ukraine since the start of the war, I also met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reiterating the IAEA’s commitment to supporting nuclear safety and security in Ukraine and our readiness to support the country’s plans to expand nuclear power at Khmelnytskyy NPP. Consultations with Moscow have also taken place and will continue, in the interest of nuclear safety and security at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.

    At Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), where the 6 reactor units are in cold shutdown, the status of the off-site power supply remains extremely vulnerable. For about one week ZNPP had to rely on a single off-site power line following the loss of its only remaining back-up line, confirming the extremely fragile situation. 

    Last month at the Chornobyl site a drone caused significant damage to the structure built to prevent any radioactive release from the reactor damaged in the 1986 accident and to protect it from external hazards. Although this attack did not result in any radioactive release, it nevertheless underlines the persistent risk to nuclear safety during this military conflict.

    Since the Board gathered for its last regular meeting in November 2024, the Agency has arranged 31 deliveries of nuclear safety, security and medical equipment and supplies to Ukraine, bringing the total so far to 108 deliveries valued at more than EUR 15.6 million. The Agency also has initiated the first phase of its support on safety and security of radioactive sources in Ukraine.

    We are grateful to all 30 donor states and the European Union for their extrabudgetary contributions, and I encourage those who can, to support the delivery of the comprehensive assistance programme, for which EUR 22 million are necessary.

    As reflected in my latest report to the Board on Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards in Ukraine, I would like to reiterate that all the IAEA’s activities in Ukraine are being conducted in line with relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly and of the IAEA policy-making organs.

    Madame Chairperson,

    In February, I travelled to Fukushima to participate in collecting water samples off the coast of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. I did this together with scientists from China, Korea and Switzerland as part of additional measures to promote transparency and build trust in the region during the ongoing release of ALPS-treated water from the plant. Additional measures focus on expanding international participation and transparency, allowing hands-on independent measurements of the concentration level of the water. This work is conducted within agreed parameters set by the IAEA in its role as an independent, impartial and technical organization.  IAEA officials and experts from laboratories from China, France, the Republic of Korea, and Switzerland also sampled ALPS -treated water – prior to dilution – from measurement/confirmation tanks on the premises at the site. The IAEA has maintained its independent monitoring and analysis efforts, confirming that tritium concentrations in the discharged batches remain far below operational limits.

    In December 2024, an IAEA Task Force concluded that the approach TEPCO, and the Government of Japan are taking continues to align with international safety standards.

    While in Japan, I also visited facilities where soil removed after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident is safely stored, managed, and recycled, an effort the IAEA has been supporting by working to ensure it meets international safety standards.

    You have before you the Nuclear Safety Review 2025 and the Nuclear Security Review 2025. Both documents present, in their respective areas, an analytical overview, the global trends, and the Agency’s main activities in 2024. They also identify the top priorities for the years ahead.

    This month the inaugural meeting of the Nuclear Security Working Group established under the Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative’s Regulatory Track will identify nuclear security topics of common interest amongst participating States and share regulatory approaches, good practices and lessons learned in ensuring the security of SMRs.

    Our preparatory work in advance of the launch of Atomic Technology Licensed for Applications at Sea (ATLAS) later this year is progressing. ATLAS will provide a framework to enable the peaceful maritime uses of nuclear technology, a prospect that is generating significant interest.

    Contracting Parties to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (Joint Convention) later this month will participate in the 8th Review Meeting to study National Reports with the aim of improving safety in radioactive waste and spent fuel management.

    December saw the start of a new project supporting the establishment of sustainable regulatory infrastructure for radiation safety and the security of radioactive material in Central East Asia and the Pacific Islands.

    In June, Romania will host ConvEx-3, the IAEA’s highest level and most complex emergency exercise. In the event of an incident with transboundary implications, Member States will be called upon to implement a harmonized response and therefore this exercise will have a particular focus on regional collaboration.

    The International Conference on Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Preparedness and Response will be held in December in Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

    Madame Chairperson,

    Today, 417 nuclear power reactors operating in 31 countries make up almost 377 gigawatts of installed capacity, providing just under 10 per cent of the world’s total electricity and a quarter of its low-carbon supply.

    It is clear that countries are turning more and more to nuclear energy. In the IAEA’s high case scenario, global nuclear electricity generating capacity is seen increasing two and a half times by 2050.  Delivering on that promise will require public support. That is why the first IAEA International Conference on Stakeholder Engagement for Nuclear Power Programmes will gather governments, industry and practitioners from around the world in the final week of May. Mayors of municipalities with nuclear power facilities from around the world will share their experiences. No one is better placed to assess the impact and contribution to the community of nuclear facilities than those living there.

    Following our first Nuclear Stakeholder Engagement School, hosted by the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy last November, we are now planning two more later this year. In addition, we have also established a new Stakeholder Engagement Advisory Service, which will help countries assess and strengthen their stakeholder engagement programmes.

    The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving and growing in all spheres of life, including in nuclear science and technology. AI data centres require a lot of energy and nuclear reactors provide clean, reliable, and adaptable options, including in the form of SMRs and micro reactors.  Meanwhile, the integration of AI into the nuclear sector offers the chance to streamline operations across the nuclear power project life cycle. In this context the IAEA will host the International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear Energy this December. We look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible to this important and first-of-a-kind event here at the Agency’s headquarters.

    Within the Secretariat we are also intent on making the most of AI while mitigating its risks, therefore we have established official guidelines, a portal and a community of practice.

    Our work on fusion continues apace with the publication of Experiences for Consideration in Fusion Plant Design Safety and Safety Assessment.

    Madame Chairperson,

    The Nuclear Technology Review before you highlights key advancements in nuclear applications that support Member States in addressing critical priorities. This year’s review places particular emphasis on innovations in food safety and authenticity, energy security, early disease detection and cancer treatment, environmental sustainability, and advanced manufacturing.

    In November, the IAEA hosted the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Science, Technology and Applications and the Technical Cooperation Programme. The Ministerial Declaration recognized both the critical role of nuclear science, technology, and applications in tackling global challenges, and the important role of the Technical Cooperation programme as a key mechanism in transferring, expanding and further accelerating Member State access to nuclear technology, materials, equipment and expertise for peaceful purposes.

    I am pleased to report the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme achieved an implementation rate of 86% in 2024. We provided our emergency assistance to Türkiye and Syria, assessing damage to civil structures following the earthquakes and building the capacities of Turkish and Syrian experts in non-destructive testing. We initiated procurement to reinstate X-ray and laboratory services in Grenada and Honduras in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Sara, and we aided oil-spill clean-up efforts in Trinidad and Tobago.

    In 2024, the Rate of Attainment for contributions to the TC Fund was 95%, underscoring Member States’ commitment to our work. To ensure resources for the TC programme are sufficient, assured and predicable, I urge Member States to contribute on time, and in full, to the TC Fund.

    Our flagship initiatives are making progress across the globe. Under Atoms4Food, about 27 countries from all regions have officially requested support. Member States have pledged almost EUR 9 million, two thirds of which was contributed by Japan to support livestock production in Côte d’Ivoire, food safety in Mauritania, and molecular laboratories in Vietnam, among other projects.

    Our network of international partnerships has grown with Memoranda of Understanding having been signed with Anglo American, CGIAR, and the Inter-American Institute of Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA). The partnership with Anglo American focuses on combating soil salinization through climate-smart agricultural practices.

    While I was in Japan last month, I signed a partnership with Sumitomo Corporation, one of the world’s largest integrated trading companies, to cooperate particularly in the area of sustainable uses of nuclear related technologies for multiple areas, including healthcare, shipping, fusion and capacity building efforts.  

    Under Rays of Hope, the Anchor Centre in Argentina held its first capacity-building event to strengthen paediatric radiotherapy services in Latin America and the Caribbean, creating a regional network for knowledge exchange and support.

    In January 2025, the IAEA conducted its first national-level quality assurance audit in diagnostic radiology, reviewing 16 hospitals in Qatar.

    The International Conference on Advances in Radiation Oncology (ICARO-4) will take place in the first week of June, focusing on emerging radiotherapy techniques to address global health challenges.

    Under the Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC), a novel surveillance technology for high-risk pathogens was transferred to the IAEA’s Animal Production and Health Laboratory in November and will soon be passed on to Member States. New funding pledges from the Republic of Korea, Portugal, and Japan are supporting ZODIAC’s coordinated research projects in Asia and Africa, as well as the development of AI-driven platforms for zoonotic disease monitoring.

    Under NUTEC Plastics 104 Member States are engaged in microplastic monitoring, with 42 developing recycling technologies. Four countries in Asia-Pacific and Latin America have validated radiation-based upcycling technology at lab scale, with private sector collaboration helping to build up operations. China is developing a pilot-scale facility, bringing the total number of countries promoting the technology to nine.

    In November this year, the International High-Level Forum on NUclear TEChnology for Controlling Plastic Pollution (NUTEC-Plastics): Scaling Solutions and Partnerships for Global Impact will take place in the Philippines. I thank the Philippines Government for hosting this important milestone.

    The Global Water Analysis Laboratory Network (GloWAL) baseline survey has received 85 responses from 65 countries, informing future activities. Its first coordination meeting for the Spanish-speaking Latin America and the Caribbean is underway.

    Under ReNuAL 2, the construction of new greenhouses in Seibersdorf is nearing completion and the modernized laboratories will be ready to welcome staff soon.  

    Madame Chairperson,

    Regarding the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme, you have before you my latest report on verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015).

    Following my last report, Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60% U‑235 has increased to 275 kg, up from 182 kg in the past quarter. Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon State enriching to this level, causing me serious concern.

    It has been four years since Iran stopped implementing its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), including provisionally applying its Additional Protocol and therefore it is also four years since the Agency was able to conduct complementary access in Iran.

    You also have before you my report on the NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran says it has declared all nuclear material, activities and locations required under its NPT Safeguards Agreement. However, this statement is inconsistent with the Agency’s findings of uranium particles of anthropogenic origin at undeclared locations in Iran. The Agency needs to know the current location(s) of the nuclear material and/or of contaminated equipment involved.

    There is also a discrepancy in the material balance of uranium involved in uranium metal production experiments conducted at Jaber Ibn Hayan Mutlipurpose Laboratory, for which Iran has not accounted.

    Having stated it had suspended such implementation, Iran still is not implementing modified Code 3.1, which is a legal obligation for Iran.

    I am seriously concerned that the outstanding safeguards issues remain unresolved. They stem from Iran’s obligations under its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and need to be resolved for the Agency to be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.

    I deeply regret that Iran, despite having indicated a willingness to consider accepting the designation of four additional experienced Agency inspectors, did not accept their designation.

    There has been no significant progress towards implementing the Joint Statement of 4 March 2023. I call upon Iran urgently to implement the Joint Statement through serious engagement.

    In response to the Board’s request in its resolution of November 2024, I will produce a comprehensive and updated assessment on the presence and use of undeclared nuclear material in connection with past and present outstanding issues regarding Iran’s nuclear programme.

    High-level engagement is indispensable to making real progress. My visit to Tehran last November, and meetings with President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi indicate that there may be room for constructive compromises. I hope to see them again soon and pursue effective dialogue and tangible results.

    The Board has before it for approval a draft Additional Protocol for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

    I have made it a priority to strengthen the legal framework for safeguards. Since the last Board meeting in November, Oman, Mongolia, Cyprus, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Zambia have amended their original Small Quantities Protocols and Saudi Arabia has rescinded its original SQP. The number of States with safeguards agreements in force remains 191, and 143 of these States have additional protocols in force. I call upon the remaining three States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons without comprehensive safeguards agreements to bring such agreements into force without delay. I also encourage States that have not yet concluded additional protocols to do so as soon as possible, and I reiterate my repeated calls for the remaining 14 States with SQPs based on the original standard text to amend or rescind them as soon as possible. Let me assure you that I will continue to use my good offices to strengthen the indispensable legal framework on which the continued peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology rest.

    The IAEA continues to monitor the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s nuclear programme.

    The Agency has observed that the 5MW(e) reactor at Yongbyon resumed operation in mid-October 2024, following a shutdown period of approximately 60 days. This shutdown is assessed to be of sufficient length to refuel the reactor and start its seventh operational cycle. Strong indicators of preparations for a new reprocessing campaign, including the operation of the steam plant serving the Radiochemical Laboratory, have been observed.

    In late-January 2025, the DPRK released photographs of General Secretary Kim Jong Un visiting “the nuclear material production base and the Nuclear Weapons Institute”. The depicted centrifuge cascades and infrastructure are consistent with the layout of a centrifuge enrichment facility and with the structure of the Yongbyon Uranium Enrichment Plant. This development follows the DPRK’s publication in September 2024 of photographs of an undeclared enrichment facility at the Kangson Complex. The undeclared enrichment facilities at both Kangson and Yongbyon, combined with General Secretary Kim’s call for “overfulfilling the plan for producing weapons-grade nuclear materials,” are of serious concern. There are indications that the uranium enrichment plants at Kangson and Yongbyon continue to operate, and there are indications that the light water reactor (LWR) at Yongbyon continues to operate. Additions to the support infrastructure have been observed adjacent to the LWR.

    There were no indications of significant changes at the Nuclear Test Site at Punggye-ri, which remains prepared to support a nuclear test.

    The continuation and further development of the DPRK’s nuclear programme are clear violations of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and are deeply regrettable. I call upon the DPRK to comply fully with its obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions, to cooperate promptly with the Agency in the full and effective implementation of its NPT Safeguards Agreement and to resolve all outstanding issues, especially those that have arisen during the absence of Agency inspectors from the country. The Agency continues to maintain its enhanced readiness to play its essential role in verifying the DPRK’s nuclear programme.

    Concerning the safety of the LWR, we lack the necessary information to make an assessment. Safety should always be a paramount consideration when operating a reactor. Nuclear safety is a sovereign responsibility of the State and the IAEA supports the States in this area.

    Following the change of Government in the Syrian Arab Republic towards the end of 2024, I have written to the new Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates. I requested cooperation with the Agency to enable us to fulfill our obligation to verify nuclear material and facilities under Syria’s safeguards agreement. I conveyed the importance of continuing and reinforcing cooperation between Syria and the Agency to address unresolved issues. Clarifying these issues remains essential to Syria demonstrating its commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and international peace and security.

    I hope to be able to engage with the new government soon. Bringing total clarity to the situation regarding past activities in this field in Syria is indispensable to the realization of current efforts to modernize the country and put it on a firm path to peace and development.

    In April and May, the IAEA will participate in the Third Preparatory Meeting for the 2026 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in New York.

    Madame Chairperson,

    The IAEA’s Marie Sklodowska‑Curie Fellowship Programme has been expanding the talent base for the nuclear field since 2020 with 760 female students and graduates from 121 Member States so far having been supported in studying in 72 countries. In the current, fifth cycle, we selected 200 candidates from 109 countries. I would like to thank Member States that have contributed so far. For this programme to continue accepting new fellowship candidates it urgently needs further support. I ask those who can, to support this endeavor. 

    This year, we have planned three Lise Meitner Programme cohorts, in Argentina, Canada and Japan. They are focused on nuclear power, advanced nuclear technologies and research reactors.

    I am happy to report that we have reached parity, women now make up half the staff in the professional and higher categories. This is up from about 30% when I took office in 2019.

    I thank Member States who have paid their regular budget contributions, including some who paid in advance. It is important that all Member States pay their contributions in a timely manner. This will ensure liquidity of the regular budget throughout the year, allowing the Agency to carry out its activities effectively.

    You recently received for your consideration my proposed programme and budget for the 2026-2027 biennium.

    It has been prepared with due consideration of the constraints of the prevailing financial environment. Despite increasing demands and higher operational costs, I have decided for the third time in a row to propose a zero real growth budget. The proposal maintains balance among the different programmes and emphasises my commitment to ensuring our resources are managed with discipline, efficiency and restraint so that we maximize the impact of the Agency’s work.

    This being our first Board meeting of 2025, I want to conclude by saying that I look forward to making 2025 a successful year in which the IAEA benefits all Member States as we advance our common goals of peace and development.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: What is a ‘bunker buster’? An expert explains what the US dropped on Iran – and what might happen now

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Dwyer, Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania

    The jagged silhouette of a B2 stealth bomber seen during a 2015 flyover in the US. Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images

    Late on Saturday night, local time, the United States carried out strikes against Iranian nuclear enrichment sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, marking its open participation in the conflict between Iran and Israel.

    The US says it fired 30 submarine-launched missiles at the sites in Natanz and Isfahan, as well as dropping more than a dozen “bunker buster” bombs at Fordow and Natanz.

    The kind of bomb in question is the extremely destructive GBU-57 Massive Ordance Penetrator, or MOP, which weighs around 13.5 tonnes.

    The attacks raise a lot of questions. What are these enormous bombs? Why did the US feel it had to get involved in the conflict? And, going forward, what does it mean for Iran’s nuclear ambitions?

    What are ‘bunker busters’, and why are they used?

    Bunker busters are weapons designed to destroy heavily protected facilities such as bunkers deep underground, beyond the reach of normal bombs.

    Bunker busters are designed to bury themselves into the ground before detonating. This allows more of the explosive force to penetrate into the ground, rather than travelling through the air or across the surface.

    Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan are built deep underground. Estimates suggest that Fordow for example could be 80m beneath the surface, and capped with layers of reinforced concrete and soil.

    What is the MOP?

    The bunker buster used in this particular operation is the largest in the US arsenal. Leaving aside nuclear weapons, the MOP is the largest known buster buster in the world.

    Weighing some 13.5 tonnes, the MOP is believed to be able to penetrate up to 60 metres below ground in the right conditions. It is not known how many the US possesses, but the numbers are thought to be small (perhaps 20 or so in total).

    We also don’t know exactly how many were used in Iran, though some reports say it was 14. However, it is likely to be a significant portion of the US MOP arsenal.

    Why does only the US possess this capability?

    The US is not the only state with bunker-busting weaponry. However, the size of MOP means it requires very specialised bombers to carry and drop it.

    Only the B2 stealth bomber is currently able to deploy the MOP. Each B2 can carry at most two MOPs at a time. Around seven of America’s 19 operational B2s were used in the Iran operation.

    There has been some consideration whether large transport aircraft such as the C-130 Hercules could be modified to carry and drop the MOP from its rear cargo doors. While this would allow other countries (including Israel) to deploy the MOP, it is for now purely hypothetical.

    Why has the US (apparently) used them in Iran

    The Trump administration claims Iran may be only a few weeks from possessing a nuclear weapon, and that it needed to act now to destroy Iranian nuclear enrichment sites. This claim is notably at odds with published assessments from the US intelligence community.

    However, Israel lacks bunker busting weaponry sufficient to damage the deeply buried and fortified enrichment sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

    An F-15E Strike Eagle releases a GBU-28 ‘bunker buster’ laser-guided bomb, a smaller equivalewnt of the 13,600 kg GBU-57 ‘Massive Ordnance Penetrator’ believed to have been used in Iran.
    Michael Ammons / US Air Force

    Only the MOP could do the job (short of using nuclear weapons). Even then, multiple MOPs would have been required to ensure sufficient damage to the underground facilities.

    The US has claimed that these sites have been utterly destroyed. We cannot conclusively say whether this is true.

    Iran may also have other, undeclared nuclear sites elsewhere in the country.

    Iran’s reaction

    The US has reportedly reached out to Iran via diplomatic channels to emphasise that this attack was a one-off, not part of a larger project of regime change. It is hard to say what will happen in the next few weeks.

    Iran may retaliate with large strikes against Israel or against US forces in the region. It could also interrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which would affect a large portion of global oil shipments, with profound economic implications.

    Alternatively, Iran could capitulate and take steps to demonstrate it is ending its nuclear program. However, capitulation would not necessarily mean the end of Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

    The value of nuclear weapons

    Perhaps a greater concern is that the attack will reinforce Iran’s desire to go nuclear. Without nuclear weapons, Iran was unable to threaten the US enough to deter today’s attack.

    Iran may take lessons from the fate of other states. Ukraine (in)famously surrendered its stockpile of former Soviet nuclear weapons in the early 1990s. Russia has since felt emboldened to annex Crimea in 2014 and launch an ongoing invasion in 2022. Other potential nuclear states, such as Iraq and Gadaffi’s regime in Libya, also suffered from military intervention.

    By contrast, North Korea successfully tested its first nuclear weapon in 2006. Since then there has been no serious consideration of military intervention in North Korea.

    Iran may yet have the ability to produce useful amounts of weapons-grade uranium. It may now aim to buy itself time to assemble a relatively small nuclear device, similar in scale to the bombs used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

    Depending on what facilities and resources have survive the US strikes, the attack has likely reinforced that the only way the Iranian regime can guarantee its survival is to possess nuclear weapons.

    James Dwyer 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. What is a ‘bunker buster’? An expert explains what the US dropped on Iran – and what might happen now – https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-bunker-buster-an-expert-explains-what-the-us-dropped-on-iran-and-what-might-happen-now-259508

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Igor Sechin Presents Keynote Speech at SPIEF-2025 Energy Panel

    Source: Rosneft

    Headline: Igor Sechin Presents Keynote Speech at SPIEF-2025 Energy Panel

    As part of the XXVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, an Energy Panel organized with the support of Rosneft was held. Igor Sechin, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, presented the keynote speech “Odyssey Of The Global Economy In Search Of The Golden Fleece. The New Landscape Of Global Energy”.

    The head of Rosneft presented a detailed analysis of the current situation on the energy market.

    Special attention in the report was paid to the overdue transformation of the global energy sector. The development of high technologies requires a significant amount of natural resources, including energy resources. Training and use of artificial intelligence on the basis of large data processing centers is a highly energy-intensive process.

    Igor Sechin noted in his report that our civilization is at a critical juncture – the global energy industry is facing a large-scale transformation and the energy consumption model is changing. Against this backdrop, every country is facing the issue of the need to ensure energy security.

    Huge investments made in recent years to develop alternative energy sources have not yielded tangible results. Moreover, the inclusion of renewable energy sources in the energy systems of a number of countries has reduced reliability and even caused large-scale blackouts.

    The Energy Panel at SPIEF also brought together heads of major energy companies and leading market experts to discuss the prospects and new vectors of global energy development in the emerging multipolar world.

    The event was also attended by Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Chairman of Rosneft’s Board of Directors, Delcy Rodriguez, Executive Vice President of the Republic of Venezuela, Zhang Daowei, Vice President of CNPC, Panda Madhusudana Shiva Prasad, Executive Director of Reliance Industries, Simon Aloysius Mantiri, Chief Executive Officer of Pertamina, Alexander Dynkin, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Zhurabek Mirzamakhmudov, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Zhurabek Mirzamakhmudov, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Japanese Government’s non-profit initiative for the development of a new oil and gas industry in the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Japanese Government’s non-profit initiative for the development of a new oil and gas industry.

    The Energy Panel was moderated by Rick Sanchez, a renowned American journalist and host of the RT TV channel.

    THE NEW FACE OF GLOBAL ENERGY

    The current state of the global energy industry is at the stage of forming a new image due to the multiple growth of electricity consumption, the generation of which will be provided by both fossil fuels and renewable sources, said the head of Rosneft. In his report, Igor Sechin described the main factors influencing the change in this image, including: the need to ensure energy security and commercial efficiency of energy sources, budget deficit and avalanche growth of public debt, as well as the demography of developing countries.

    Another factor that, according to the head of Rosneft, affects both energy production and consumption growth is the digital revolution with the application of artificial intelligence and work with big data.

    The electric power sector will have a special role to play, as it will have to overcome the risk of shortages due to the surge in consumption growth in China, India, developing countries and the huge need for electricity to supply data centers and heavy industry. According to Sechin, already today the level of electricity generation in China is more than twice as high as in the U.S., whereas 20 years ago the situation was the opposite.

    In his opinion, investments in this sector will exceed investments in fossil fuels by 50% as early as 2025. ” Indeed, over the past 15 years, electricity consumption has grown at a faster pace, and according to IEA projections, electricity generation is set to nearly double over the next 25 years,” Igor Sechin added.

    At the same time, the largest contribution to this growth will also be made by the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, which will provide 60% of the consumption growth. “This trend is particularly evident in India, where peak demand on the power system has risen by nearly 70% over the past decade,” said the head of Rosneft.

    In his report, Igor Sechin quoted Vaclav Smil, one of the most respected scientists of our time and a proponent of a realistic approach to the transition to new energy sources: “Energy is the universal currency. One of its many forms must be transformed to get anything done.”

    The head of Rosneft noted that modern societies with high energy consumption prefer to use resources with the highest useful energy yield, primarily fossil fuels.

    “Those who can actually take part in shaping the new energy landscape will have the opportunity to achieve advanced economic and technological growth. This brings to mind the legend of the search for the Golden Fleece by the Argonauts who overcame enormous hurdles and troubles on the way to achieving happiness and prosperity,” Igor Sechin said.

    The synthesis of conventional and alternative energy sources is currently the optimal solution for the development of the global energy sector, the head of Rosneft is convinced.

    Igor Sechin emphasized that the search for new energy sources never stops, and today there is active work on the development of a number of promising technologies. However, their full-fledged implementation is still a long way off, as current technological solutions in this area are too expensive and inferior to traditional energy sources in terms of a number of parameters.

    CHINA: SMART APPROACH AND ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

    Igor Sechin noted that China is a unique example of a competent approach to the development of the energy system – the country now accounts for a third of global investments in the energy sector.

    “In my opinion, China, which has already ensured its energy security, is confidently moving towards complete energy independence, forming a stable energy balance based on its own resources. There is no doubt, taking into account the persistence and professionalism of the Chinese comrades, that in the foreseeable future they will achieve the desired result, which will turn China from an importer of energy resources into a major energy exporter,” Rosneft CEO said.

    In recent years, China has been commissioning the largest amount of new renewable energy capacity and is home to more than 70% of the world’s green economy equipment manufacturing capacity. This applies to the entire value chain: from critical minerals to the production of high-tech equipment that has no analogues in Western countries, Sechin emphasized.

    The head of Rosneft also noted China’s efforts in increasing investments in related infrastructure: investments in power grids increased by 15% last year and may double this year.

    At the same time, China has never abandoned fossil fuels. The country has outpaced the rest of the world in terms of commissioning new coal-fired generation capacity over the past five years. “Today, coal accounts for almost 60%  of China’s electricity generation. Last year alone, China issued permits for about 100 gigawatts of new coal-fired power generation , the highest in a decade, which should strengthen coal’s role in the grid,” the Rosneft head emphasized.

    Igor Sechin noted that an important part of the strategy to reduce dependence on energy imports is the processing of coal into synthetic fuels and chemical products.

    “Chinese companies are investing billions of dollars in the development of this industry. According to experts, today in China 40 million tons of coal is used to produce synthetic fuels and more than 260 mln tons for ammonia and methanol production,” Igor Sechin stressed.

    ROSNEFT SYNTHETIC OIL

    Rosneft has completed the development of proprietary technologies and catalysts throughout the entire chain of the GTL process and plans to introduce this technology in Taimyr, Igor Sechin said. He added that all stages of the technological process are covered by relevant patents.

    The head of the Company demonstrated to the participants of the energy panel a flask with the obtained fuel, noting that it is synthetic oil consisting of the purest hydrocarbon molecules with zero sulfur content.

    “To anyone who is interested, we are ready to provide samples,” he added, addressing the participants and audience of the Energy Panel.

    NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE

    The importance of nuclear power, which is a natural complement to fossil fuels, is growing, Igor Sechin noted.

    A few years ago, the nuclear power industry was in a deep crisis due to the decline in activity in the industry. However, then the situation started to change. “Over the past five years, global annual investments in nuclear energy have increased by 50%, reaching 70 billion dollars last year . China has become one of the leaders in nuclear power today. Over the past ten years, the installed capacity of nuclear generation in this country has increased fivefold and approached 60 GW. China plans to complete the construction of 32 more reactors in the coming years,” said Rosneft’s head.

    At the same time, Sechin called it important that China relies on the latest technological achievements of the leading nuclear powers – Russia, the United States and France – to develop its nuclear industry.

    He noted that Russia has many years of experience in building nuclear power plants. The cost of the most modern Russian VVER-1200 reactor is significantly lower than that of the American AP-1000. Today, such reactors are already operating in Russia and are planned to be commissioned in friendly countries.

    “Today, Russia is the only country in the world that has expertise in the entire technological chain of the nuclear fuel cycle, from uranium mining to nuclear fuel disposal. In total, 80 nuclear reactors have been built in the world using Russian technologies,” Igor Sechin said.

    Also, a sodium-cooled nuclear reactor belonging to the category of fast neutron reactors, the BN-800, has been successfully operating in our country for ten years, another latest-generation fast neutron reactor, the BN-1200, is under construction.

    The head of Rosneft expects further growth of investments in the nuclear sector: new technologies, such as small modular reactors, are now attracting increased attention from investors. While such reactors are more mobile, their implementation also requires investments in the development of power grids. In addition, special attention should be paid to their safety and security against terrorist threats.

    ENERGY – DRIVING FORCE OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION

    The energy sector is one of the main drivers of the new technological revolution, Igor Sechin believes.

    He noted that the digital revolution with the application of artificial intelligence and work with big data should become the basis for labor productivity growth. According to the assessment of investment bank Goldman Sachs, large-scale implementation of high technologies will increase labor productivity by 1.5 p.p. for developed countries and by 1 p.p. for developing countries within 10 years.

    “The development of advanced technologies requires substantial natural resources, as well as large-scale investments in infrastructure and human capital. This, in turn, means a multiple increase in energy consumption,” Rosneft CEO noted.

    He recalled that the use of artificial intelligence on the basis of big data processing centers is a highly energy-intensive process. Such centers, according to Sechin, will contribute more to the growth of global electricity demand than heavy industry or heat supply.

    Igor Sechin also cited the development of the cryptocurrency market as an example of the impact of digitalization on the global energy system. According to him, in less than ten years, cryptocurrency has become an independent industry that today consumes resources on a par with entire countries. For example, the energy consumption of the entire bitcoin network as of May 2025 has already exceeded the level of electricity consumption in Poland.

    “GREEN” TRANSITION TO REGRESSION

    Proponents of the “net zero” concept are leading mankind to energy regression, Igor Sechin believes.

    He recalled that whenever mankind switched to a new type of fuel, the efficiency of the energy system increased and its capabilities expanded. “This was due to the fact that the new energy source usually had a higher energy flux density,” the Rosneft head explained.

    Eminent scientist Pyotr Kapitsa proved – energy flow density is a key characteristic of any kind of energy. “By this indicator, such types of fossil fuels as coal (135.1 W/m2), oil (195 W/m2) and gas (482 W/m2), as well as nuclear energy (241 W/m2) are far ahead of both solar (6.6 W/m2) and wind energy (1.8 W/m2) . Thus, the concept of ‘net zero’ actually crosses out centuries of progressive development of society, offering mankind an energy regression,” said the head of Rosneft.

    At the same time, European politicians do not have the courage to publicly recognize this fact. “Their blind faith in the ‘green’ transition already resembles an addiction. As one of the classics of French literature aptly put: ‘A red nose is a sign of constancy of character’,” Igor Sechin emphasized. The ill-considered strategy of abandoning conventional generation has already resulted in the fact that the cost of electricity in Europe today is five times higher than in the US, he added.

    Sechin also reminded that the European Union continues to try to push through the reduction of the price cap on Russian oil to 45 dollars per barrel.

    “I believe that the real purpose of this is the EU’s desire to increase the efficiency of its purchasing from Russia, not to reduce Russian budget revenues, as was publicly declared. Figures confirm this: according to Western experts, since the beginning of 2023, Europe has purchased more than 20 billion euros worth of Russian oil, thus becoming the fourth largest buyer,” Sechin said.

    However, he thinks it is clear that the U.S. will not agree to lower the price cap because it would negatively affect the profitability of U.S. oil exports.

    THE DECLINE OF THE WEST

    Igor Sechin noted that interest payments on the U.S. government debt divert significant budgetary resources. He reminded that the predicament in which developed countries find themselves due to the growth of government debt is already reflected in the assessment of their creditworthiness. Thus, in May, Moody’s became the last of the three leading international rating agencies to strip the US of its highest credit rating.

    The Rosneft head explained that with the growing deficit, interest payments divert significant budget resources from social and defense spheres. “Last year, net interest payments on the national debt reached a trillion dollars, which accounted for 14% of all state budget expenditures, exceeded defense spending and is already approaching the amount of healthcare spending,” Sechin said.

    The head of Rosneft also recalled on history and gave an example of how great powers come to decline due to excessively high levels of government debt. ” By the late 18th century, French rulers had experienced firsthand how a fiscal guillotine could swiftly transform into a literal one,” Igor Sechin noted.

    By that time, France had accumulated so much debt that it took more than half of all government expenditures to service it, which led to an increase in taxes. According to the Rosneft CEO, this was one of the main reasons for the Great French Revolution, which, in essence, ensured the transition from a monarchy to a bourgeois parliamentary republic.

    INDUSTRY LEADERS

    The Energy Panel of the XXVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum continued with presentations by leading industry experts, politicians, scientists, government officials and heads of major international energy companies.

    Their assessments and forecasts largely coincided with the industry development concept presented by Igor Sechin, head of Rosneft.

    Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Chairman of Rosneft’s Board of Directors, opened the discussion of Igor Sechin’s report, noting the depth of his analysis. “It was comprehensive – the way you showed that progress and energy are inseparable,” Al-Sada addressed Sechin.

    The head of Rosneft’s Board of Directors drew the audience’s attention to the fact that despite the active promotion of the idea of transition to renewable energy sources, the share of fossil energy sources in the energy mix has not changed in recent decades. He recalled that Igor Sechin mentioned in his report that fossil fuels account for 80% of the global energy balance.

    “I would also like to take as a baton from Mr. Sechin, and pass my comment to you. It’s like food for thought: are we really moving from fossil fuels to renewable fuels?”,” Al-Sada addressed the audience.

    Zhang Daowei, Vice President of China’s CNPC, noted that he listened with interest to the report of Rosneft’s CEO. In his speech, the top manager of the Chinese company expressed similar assessments of the ways of global energy development, in particular, the need for synergy between traditional and new energy sources.

    According to the vice president, CNPC, on the one hand, continues to increase the exploration and development of oil and gas fields domestically and import high-quality resources from abroad, including strengthening long-term cooperation with Russia in hydrocarbon trade. On the other hand, CNPC is actively pursuing a “green” strategy, low-carbon development and realizing the development of a “three-step strategy” combining oil and gas projects with wind, solar, geothermal, hydrogen and carbon capture technologies.

    Simon Aloysius Mantiri, President and CEO of Pertamina Indonesia, said the company is pursuing a dual growth strategy that is based on both conventional resources and low-carbon solutions. At the same time, natural gas plays an important role in the country’s energy mix.

    The head of Pertamina doubled down on the thesis of Igor Sechin’s report and emphasized that by achieving a balance of energy sources and a comprehensive approach, the company is able to ensure high rates of economic growth and, in parallel, carbon neutrality.

    Reliance Industries executive director P.M.S. Prasad said India is not choosing between energy access and innovation. “India is integrating both. By developing scalable, context-specific solutions, India is addressing local priorities while making a significant contribution to global sustainability. From rural microgrids to energy efficient data centers, India is turning its potential into a strategic asset,” Prasad said.

    He also emphasized the significant role of nuclear power generation in the country’s energy balance and spoke about plans to build nuclear power plants in India, including modular ones.

    The renewed interest in investments in NPP construction was noted in the speech of the Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan Zhurabek Mirzamakhmudov. He told about joint plans with Russia to build two units of 55 megawatts each, and two units of WWR type reactors – water-water energetic reactor. The head of the ministry also said that gas-fired power plants are being installed in the country , hydropower is being developed, the share of renewable sources is increasing, and storage systems are being created at the same time.

    The Minister noted the substantial nature of Igor Sechin’s report, which contains a detailed analysis and reflects all trends in the development of global energy, science and economy.

    In her speech, Delcy Rodriguez, Executive Vice President of the Republic of Venezuela, supported the thesis expressed by the Head of Rosneft that energy security issues should come first and named the main components of a stable energy system of the future: energy security, reliable supplies, accessibility for all, and at the same time respect for nature – with minimal environmental impact.

    Speaking about the main threats to energy security, Rodriguez supported Igor Sechin’s assessment: illegal sanctions against producing countries and the hegemony of the dollar are the main threats.

    Nobuo Tanaka, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Japanese government’s non-profit Low Carbon Technology Initiative, for his part, said that the answer to energy security is always related to diversifying sources of supply, improving energy efficiency and seeking alternative energy sources, including renewable energy, nuclear energy and regulating the market through predictable policies.

    Igor Sechin’s thesis that the digital revolution opens a new era in the development of the oil and gas industry was warmly echoed by the audience. In particular, David Gadzhimirzaev, General Director of TOFS Oilfield Services Group, thanked Rosneft for supporting innovation and technology development. He emphasized the importance of ensuring the availability, stability and reliability of resources, which is exactly what new technologies that will reduce the cost of bringing barrels to the surface can provide.

    REPORT OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF ROSNEFT I.I. SECHIN AT THE SPIEF ENERGY PANEL

    PRESENTATION OF I.I. SECHIN`S REPORT AT THE SPIEF ENERGY PANEL

    Department of Information and Advertising
    Rosneft Oil Company
    June 21, 2025

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Global Energy Balance: Heads of Major Energy Companies, Experts Discuss Future of Energy Sector at SPIEF

    Source: Rosneft

    Headline: Global Energy Balance: Heads of Major Energy Companies, Experts Discuss Future of Energy Sector at SPIEF

    At the Energy Panel of the XXVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, leading industry experts, politicians, scientists, government officials and heads of major international energy companies discussed current trends in the global energy market.

    Their assessments and forecasts largely coincided with the visionary concept of industry development presented by Igor Sechin, Head of Rosneft. In his report “Odyssey of the Global Economy in Search of the Golden Fleece. The New Landscape a of the Global Energy Industry”, he announced that the current state of the global energy industry is at the stage of formation of a new image due to the multiple growth of electricity consumption, the generation of which will be provided by both fossil fuels and renewable energy sources. According to him, the optimal solution today is “synthesis of conventional and alternative energy sources”.

    The event, organized with the support of Rosneft, was addressed by Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Chairman of the Rosneft Board of Directors, Delcy Rodriguez, Executive Vice President of the Republic of Venezuela, Simon Aloysius Mantiri, Chief Executive Officer of Pertamina, Zhang Daowei, Vice President of CNPC, Shiva Prasad Panda Madhusudana, Executive Director of Reliance Industries, Alexander Dynkin, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Zhurabek Mirzamakhmudov, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Nobuo Tanaka, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Japanese government’s non-profit Low Carbon Technology Initiative, and David Gadzhimirzaev, President of TOFS.

    ENERGY TRANSITION WITHOUT TRANSITION

    Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada opened the discussion of Igor Sechin’s report, noting the depth of his analysis. “It was comprehensive – the way you showed that progress and energy are inseparable,” Al-Sada addressed Sechin.

    The head of Rosneft’s Board of Directors drew the audience’s attention to the fact that despite the active promotion of the idea of transition to RES, the share of fossil energy sources in the energy mix has not changed in recent decades. He recalled that Igor Sechin mentioned in the report that fossil fuels account for 80% of the global energy mix. “And this statistic has not changed for the last 20 years! We are fluttering around these 80% fossil fuels and energy sources, and so not much has changed!” exclaimed Al-Sada, describing the situation in the global energy sector.

    “In other words, we are essentially not making any transition away from hydrocarbons,” he concluded, emphasizing that the transition to renewables is being imposed on the industry and the public.

    “I would also like to take as a baton from Mr. Sechin, and pass my comment to you. It’s like food for thought: are we actually transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable fuels?“,” Al-Sada addressed the audience.

    The Rosneft Chairman also noted that energy demand does not always coincide with production growth for various reasons.

    “I would like to express two small thoughts in order to further enhance the valuable things we heard in Mr. Sechin’s words. <...> Lack of investment is already a reality in the hydrocarbon and energy sectors. This is something that could really bring us to a serious energy shortage. “If this trend continues we could face an energy shortage. This is not only my personal opinion, but also what a large number of analysts, including the International Energy Agency, and other respected experts, who in their reviews have emphasized the importance of having sufficient investment in the hydrocarbon sector. Otherwise, we will face the risk of a primary energy shortage!”, emphasized Al-Sada.

    FUTURE FOR SYNERGY

    Zhang Daowei, Vice President of China’s CNPC, remarked on the interest in the report by Rosneft’s CEO. In his speech, the top manager of the Chinese company expressed similar assessments of the ways of development of the global energy sector – in particular, the need for synergy between traditional and new energy sources.

    “We have always believed that in the context of the energy transition course, it is necessary to adhere to synergetic, integrated development of traditional and new energy sources, to take full account of the characteristics and degree of development of our countries’ markets, to properly link energy transition with energy security, and to promote a fair and sustainable model of energy transformation,” Daowei said.

    According to the vice president, under this philosophy, CNPC, on the one hand, continues to increase the exploration and development of oil and gas fields domestically and import high-quality resources from abroad, including strengthening long-term cooperation with Russia in the field of hydrocarbon trade. On the other hand, CNPC is actively pursuing a green, low-carbon development strategy and realizing the development of a “three-step strategy” combining oil and gas projects with wind, solar, geothermal, hydrogen and carbon capture technologies.

    Simon Aloysius Mantiri, President and CEO of Pertamina Indonesia, said that the company is pursuing a dual growth strategy that is based on both conventional resources and low-carbon solutions. Meanwhile, natural gas plays an important role in the country’s energy mix.

    “Natural gas is at the center of our strategy to transition to cleaner fuels. And today we are expanding our LNG capacity and capability for both domestic and export needs,” he said.

    The Pertamina chief virtually reiterated the point made in Igor Sechin’s report and emphasized that by achieving a balance of energy sources and a comprehensive approach, the company is able to ensure high economic growth and carbon neutrality in parallel.

    Reliance Industries CEO P.M.S. Prasad said India does not choose between energy access and innovation. “It is integrating both. By developing scalable, context-specific solutions, it is addressing local priorities while making a significant contribution to global sustainability. From rural microgrids to energy efficient data centers, India is turning its potential into a strategic asset,” Prasad said.

    He emphasized that international partnerships play a vital role in this ambitious effort. “Energy remains a key cornerstone of the strategic relationship between India and Russia. India values this trusted partnership and appreciates the cooperation forged over decades. The leadership of both countries is committed to take this partnership to an even higher bar in the future,” summarized Reliance Industries’ CEO.

    NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ARE NOT BEING WRITTEN OFF

    Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, in his keynote speech at the Energy Panel, noted the growing interest in nuclear power generation worldwide and, accordingly, the growth of investments in this area. According to him, this is happening against the backdrop of growing energy consumption and in future nuclear power will be in demand along with fossil sources and renewable energy sources.

    Reliance Industries CEO Panda Madhusudana Shiva Prasad, in turn, speaking on India’s energy outlook, emphasized the significant role of nuclear power generation.

    “Gas, renewables supported by energy storage systems and a robust transmission grid, and nuclear power will play a key role. India’s bold nuclear program, including small modular reactors, reflects its commitment to long-term energy security and decarbonization,” Prasad said.

    The renewed interest in investments in NPP construction was noted in the speech of Uzbek Minister of Energy Zhurabek Mirzamakhmudov. He spoke about joint plans with Russia to build two units of 55 megawatts each, and two units of VWR type reactors – water-water power reactor. The head of the ministry also said that gas-fired power plants are being installed in the country, hydropower is being developed, the share of renewable sources is increasing, and storage systems are being created at the same time.

    The Minister noted the substantial nature of Igor Sechin’s report, which contains a detailed analysis and reflects all trends in the development of global energy, science and economy.

    ENERGY SECURITY IN FIRST PLACE

    Delcy Rodriguez, Executive Vice President of the Republic of Venezuela, in her speech supported the thesis expressed by the head of Rosneft that energy security issues should come first.

    “We always advocate that the energy transition be carried out responsibly, taking into account reality, to avoid abrupt changes that could jeopardize energy security,” Rodriguez said.

    Venezuela’s Executive Vice President named the main components of a stable energy system of the future: energy security, reliable supply, accessibility for all, while respecting nature – with minimal environmental impact.

    Among the main threats to energy security, Rodriguez named illegal sanctions against producing countries and the hegemony of the dollar.

    Nobuo Tanaka, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Japanese government’s non-profit Low Carbon Technology Initiative, said the answer to energy security is always to diversify supply sources, improve energy efficiency and seek alternative energy sources, including renewable energy, nuclear energy and regulate the market with predictable policies.

    AGAINST LOGIC

    The panelists drew attention to the political events of recent decades and stated that geopolitics is now shaping the direction of economic cooperation. And often against the logic of market expediency and economic efficiency.

    Tanaka recalled how he discussed Germany’s energy policy with Chancellor Merkel in 2009: “I asked her why Germany does not use nuclear power. She answered like this: Mr. Tanaka, I am a scientist, I know how important it is to use nuclear power, but in order to use it in Germany, she said, give me votes in exchange. Yes, she’s a good scientist, but she’s also a very smart politician.”

    The professor is sure that despite her experience Merkel made a very serious mistake by changing the policy on the use of nuclear power plants under the pressure of public opinion. Another mistake was the refusal to use Russian energy carriers and Russian natural gas. “I think she was misled,” Tanaka said.

    “Geopolitics is a factor of the 21st century global economy. It is geopolitical interests that brought the BRICS countries together.  The criterion for membership is not to use sanctions against other members of the organization. But geopolitics has also become a kind of “trap” for Germany after Trump’s victory,” said Alexander Dynkin, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

    He noted that the European bureaucrats are concerned about the complete refusal of energy supplies from Russia by 2027. “They are not stopped by the growth of costs, undermining the competitiveness of the EU,” – said Dynkin and recalled that if in 2014, the U.S. GDP was ahead of the EU GDP. US GDP was only 12% ahead of EU GDP, last year the US economy was already 50% larger than the European one.

    “Although the German energy crisis is formally over, the country paid for it with three years of stagnation, deindustrialization, inflation, and migration crisis,” said the RAS academy member.

    DIGITAL REVOLUTION

    The thesis in Igor Sechin’s report that the digital revolution opens a new era in the development of the oil and gas industry was warmly echoed by the audience. In particular, David Gadzhimirzaev, General Director of TOFS Oilfield Services Group, thanked Rosneft for supporting innovation and technology development. He emphasized the importance of ensuring the availability, stability and reliability of resources, which is exactly what new technologies can provide, which will reduce the cost of bringing barrels to the surface.

    “We all know that just this year the Energy Strategy-2050 was approved, which includes the fact that by 2050 about 70% of the Russian Federation’s production will be from hard-to-recover reserves. Therefore, we are not only working on expertise, but also working on the production of new technologies,” Gadzhimirzaev said.

    Department of Information and Advertising
    Rosneft Oil Company
    June 21, 2025

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Global Energy Balance: Heads of Major Energy Companies, Experts Discuss Future of Energy Sector at SPIEF

    Source: Rosneft

    Headline: Global Energy Balance: Heads of Major Energy Companies, Experts Discuss Future of Energy Sector at SPIEF

    At the Energy Panel of the XXVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, leading industry experts, politicians, scientists, government officials and heads of major international energy companies discussed current trends in the global energy market.

    Their assessments and forecasts largely coincided with the visionary concept of industry development presented by Igor Sechin, Head of Rosneft. In his report “Odyssey of the Global Economy in Search of the Golden Fleece. The New Landscape a of the Global Energy Industry”, he announced that the current state of the global energy industry is at the stage of formation of a new image due to the multiple growth of electricity consumption, the generation of which will be provided by both fossil fuels and renewable energy sources. According to him, the optimal solution today is “synthesis of conventional and alternative energy sources”.

    The event, organized with the support of Rosneft, was addressed by Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Chairman of the Rosneft Board of Directors, Delcy Rodriguez, Executive Vice President of the Republic of Venezuela, Simon Aloysius Mantiri, Chief Executive Officer of Pertamina, Zhang Daowei, Vice President of CNPC, Shiva Prasad Panda Madhusudana, Executive Director of Reliance Industries, Alexander Dynkin, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Zhurabek Mirzamakhmudov, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Nobuo Tanaka, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Japanese government’s non-profit Low Carbon Technology Initiative, and David Gadzhimirzaev, President of TOFS.

    ENERGY TRANSITION WITHOUT TRANSITION

    Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada opened the discussion of Igor Sechin’s report, noting the depth of his analysis. “It was comprehensive – the way you showed that progress and energy are inseparable,” Al-Sada addressed Sechin.

    The head of Rosneft’s Board of Directors drew the audience’s attention to the fact that despite the active promotion of the idea of transition to RES, the share of fossil energy sources in the energy mix has not changed in recent decades. He recalled that Igor Sechin mentioned in the report that fossil fuels account for 80% of the global energy mix. “And this statistic has not changed for the last 20 years! We are fluttering around these 80% fossil fuels and energy sources, and so not much has changed!” exclaimed Al-Sada, describing the situation in the global energy sector.

    “In other words, we are essentially not making any transition away from hydrocarbons,” he concluded, emphasizing that the transition to renewables is being imposed on the industry and the public.

    “I would also like to take as a baton from Mr. Sechin, and pass my comment to you. It’s like food for thought: are we actually transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable fuels?“,” Al-Sada addressed the audience.

    The Rosneft Chairman also noted that energy demand does not always coincide with production growth for various reasons.

    “I would like to express two small thoughts in order to further enhance the valuable things we heard in Mr. Sechin’s words. <...> Lack of investment is already a reality in the hydrocarbon and energy sectors. This is something that could really bring us to a serious energy shortage. “If this trend continues we could face an energy shortage. This is not only my personal opinion, but also what a large number of analysts, including the International Energy Agency, and other respected experts, who in their reviews have emphasized the importance of having sufficient investment in the hydrocarbon sector. Otherwise, we will face the risk of a primary energy shortage!”, emphasized Al-Sada.

    FUTURE FOR SYNERGY

    Zhang Daowei, Vice President of China’s CNPC, remarked on the interest in the report by Rosneft’s CEO. In his speech, the top manager of the Chinese company expressed similar assessments of the ways of development of the global energy sector – in particular, the need for synergy between traditional and new energy sources.

    “We have always believed that in the context of the energy transition course, it is necessary to adhere to synergetic, integrated development of traditional and new energy sources, to take full account of the characteristics and degree of development of our countries’ markets, to properly link energy transition with energy security, and to promote a fair and sustainable model of energy transformation,” Daowei said.

    According to the vice president, under this philosophy, CNPC, on the one hand, continues to increase the exploration and development of oil and gas fields domestically and import high-quality resources from abroad, including strengthening long-term cooperation with Russia in the field of hydrocarbon trade. On the other hand, CNPC is actively pursuing a green, low-carbon development strategy and realizing the development of a “three-step strategy” combining oil and gas projects with wind, solar, geothermal, hydrogen and carbon capture technologies.

    Simon Aloysius Mantiri, President and CEO of Pertamina Indonesia, said that the company is pursuing a dual growth strategy that is based on both conventional resources and low-carbon solutions. Meanwhile, natural gas plays an important role in the country’s energy mix.

    “Natural gas is at the center of our strategy to transition to cleaner fuels. And today we are expanding our LNG capacity and capability for both domestic and export needs,” he said.

    The Pertamina chief virtually reiterated the point made in Igor Sechin’s report and emphasized that by achieving a balance of energy sources and a comprehensive approach, the company is able to ensure high economic growth and carbon neutrality in parallel.

    Reliance Industries CEO P.M.S. Prasad said India does not choose between energy access and innovation. “It is integrating both. By developing scalable, context-specific solutions, it is addressing local priorities while making a significant contribution to global sustainability. From rural microgrids to energy efficient data centers, India is turning its potential into a strategic asset,” Prasad said.

    He emphasized that international partnerships play a vital role in this ambitious effort. “Energy remains a key cornerstone of the strategic relationship between India and Russia. India values this trusted partnership and appreciates the cooperation forged over decades. The leadership of both countries is committed to take this partnership to an even higher bar in the future,” summarized Reliance Industries’ CEO.

    NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ARE NOT BEING WRITTEN OFF

    Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, in his keynote speech at the Energy Panel, noted the growing interest in nuclear power generation worldwide and, accordingly, the growth of investments in this area. According to him, this is happening against the backdrop of growing energy consumption and in future nuclear power will be in demand along with fossil sources and renewable energy sources.

    Reliance Industries CEO Panda Madhusudana Shiva Prasad, in turn, speaking on India’s energy outlook, emphasized the significant role of nuclear power generation.

    “Gas, renewables supported by energy storage systems and a robust transmission grid, and nuclear power will play a key role. India’s bold nuclear program, including small modular reactors, reflects its commitment to long-term energy security and decarbonization,” Prasad said.

    The renewed interest in investments in NPP construction was noted in the speech of Uzbek Minister of Energy Zhurabek Mirzamakhmudov. He spoke about joint plans with Russia to build two units of 55 megawatts each, and two units of VWR type reactors – water-water power reactor. The head of the ministry also said that gas-fired power plants are being installed in the country, hydropower is being developed, the share of renewable sources is increasing, and storage systems are being created at the same time.

    The Minister noted the substantial nature of Igor Sechin’s report, which contains a detailed analysis and reflects all trends in the development of global energy, science and economy.

    ENERGY SECURITY IN FIRST PLACE

    Delcy Rodriguez, Executive Vice President of the Republic of Venezuela, in her speech supported the thesis expressed by the head of Rosneft that energy security issues should come first.

    “We always advocate that the energy transition be carried out responsibly, taking into account reality, to avoid abrupt changes that could jeopardize energy security,” Rodriguez said.

    Venezuela’s Executive Vice President named the main components of a stable energy system of the future: energy security, reliable supply, accessibility for all, while respecting nature – with minimal environmental impact.

    Among the main threats to energy security, Rodriguez named illegal sanctions against producing countries and the hegemony of the dollar.

    Nobuo Tanaka, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Japanese government’s non-profit Low Carbon Technology Initiative, said the answer to energy security is always to diversify supply sources, improve energy efficiency and seek alternative energy sources, including renewable energy, nuclear energy and regulate the market with predictable policies.

    AGAINST LOGIC

    The panelists drew attention to the political events of recent decades and stated that geopolitics is now shaping the direction of economic cooperation. And often against the logic of market expediency and economic efficiency.

    Tanaka recalled how he discussed Germany’s energy policy with Chancellor Merkel in 2009: “I asked her why Germany does not use nuclear power. She answered like this: Mr. Tanaka, I am a scientist, I know how important it is to use nuclear power, but in order to use it in Germany, she said, give me votes in exchange. Yes, she’s a good scientist, but she’s also a very smart politician.”

    The professor is sure that despite her experience Merkel made a very serious mistake by changing the policy on the use of nuclear power plants under the pressure of public opinion. Another mistake was the refusal to use Russian energy carriers and Russian natural gas. “I think she was misled,” Tanaka said.

    “Geopolitics is a factor of the 21st century global economy. It is geopolitical interests that brought the BRICS countries together.  The criterion for membership is not to use sanctions against other members of the organization. But geopolitics has also become a kind of “trap” for Germany after Trump’s victory,” said Alexander Dynkin, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

    He noted that the European bureaucrats are concerned about the complete refusal of energy supplies from Russia by 2027. “They are not stopped by the growth of costs, undermining the competitiveness of the EU,” – said Dynkin and recalled that if in 2014, the U.S. GDP was ahead of the EU GDP. US GDP was only 12% ahead of EU GDP, last year the US economy was already 50% larger than the European one.

    “Although the German energy crisis is formally over, the country paid for it with three years of stagnation, deindustrialization, inflation, and migration crisis,” said the RAS academy member.

    DIGITAL REVOLUTION

    The thesis in Igor Sechin’s report that the digital revolution opens a new era in the development of the oil and gas industry was warmly echoed by the audience. In particular, David Gadzhimirzaev, General Director of TOFS Oilfield Services Group, thanked Rosneft for supporting innovation and technology development. He emphasized the importance of ensuring the availability, stability and reliability of resources, which is exactly what new technologies can provide, which will reduce the cost of bringing barrels to the surface.

    “We all know that just this year the Energy Strategy-2050 was approved, which includes the fact that by 2050 about 70% of the Russian Federation’s production will be from hard-to-recover reserves. Therefore, we are not only working on expertise, but also working on the production of new technologies,” Gadzhimirzaev said.

    Department of Information and Advertising
    Rosneft Oil Company
    June 21, 2025

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to a real-time rapid analysis of heat-related excess mortality for 19-22 June 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Scientists comment on a real-time forecast of heat related deaths during the 19-22 June 2025 heatwave.

    Prof Hannah Cloke, Professor of Hydrology, University of Reading, said:

    “This is a simple, rapid analysis that uses an already understood relationship between heat and excess mortality, and applies the numbers from the ECMWF forecast for average daily temperatures for this weekend. While this isn’t peer reviewed science, it does highlight something we already understand well, that hot weather over a long period kills people. Every one of these figures is an individual person, with a family and a community that will be devastated by their early death. This is no less a tragedy than a plane crash or an outbreak of a deadly disease.

    “Climate change is making heatwaves more common, longer and hotter in the UK, but no-one should die because they are unprepared for hot weather or because their home heats up and kills them. While we should urgently curb emissions to reduce the heating of our planet, saving lives in the future, we can save lives now by adapting our homes and practices so that people don’t die needlessly in hot weather. With better planning, building regulations, and early warnings leading to action, we can stop people from getting dangerously overheated and dying.

    “The study notes a limitation that it does not consider temporal attenuation of temperature. Hot weather is less dangerous if you are able to cool off. You could save a life by checking on a vulnerable or elderly person and helping them to cool down, if just for a few hours. Shading windows or changing your plans to avoid the fiercest daytime heat could be the difference between life and death.”

     

    Dr Chloe Brimicombe, Climate Scientist and Heat Specialist and Freelance Consultant, said: 

    “This real time analysis although alarming is accurate and can be taken into account through syndromic surveillance (real time tracking) by the health service. It is consistent with patterns we see with other UK heatwaves and is good to see this transparency. 

    “Heatwaves might be silent killers but they also subtly impact every part of our society from how we shop to hospital admissions to productivity and our pets and wildlife too. And we need a policy response that brings everyone together and tackles it across society not just the health sector.” 

    ‘Real-time forecast of heat-related excess mortality during the 19-22 June 2025 heatwave in England and Wales’ by Garyfallos Konstantinoudis et al. was published at 00:01 UK time on Saturday 21 June.

    Declared interests

    Prof Hannah Cloke: “works with and advises the Met Office and Environment Agency and a Fellow of ECMWF which provided the forecast data used in the study.”

    Dr Chloe Brimicombe: No disclosure. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Premier’s, minister’s statements on National Indigenous Peoples Day

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Premier David Eby has issued the following statement celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day:

    “Today, people throughout the province and country are coming together to celebrate the rich cultures and many contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples.

    “Indigenous Peoples have stewarded the lands and waters of this country for millennia. They have made important contributions to all areas of civic life, from arts and culture to science and law. They continue to create positive change in their communities and beyond. And they have done it all while healing from past harms.

    “National Indigenous Peoples Day is an opportunity to honour this strength, bravery and resilience. It is an invitation to learn more about the past, present and future of Indigenous Peoples. And it is a call to action to stand up against Indigenous-specific racism, including residential school denialism. We all have a role to play.

    “Our government is committed to working toward a future rooted in reconciliation, respect and the recognition of Indigenous rights.

    “In partnership with Indigenous Peoples, our government continues to lead Canada in our work to implement the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. We are also working together to advance shared priorities, such as improving access to health care, building more homes and growing a stronger, more diversified economy.

    “Today is also the summer solstice, which holds cultural significance for Indigenous Peoples who welcome the longest day of the year with traditional ceremonies and celebrations. Many Indigenous communities generously invite neighbouring communities to join them on this special day. From festivals and powwows to films and art exhibits, there are many family-friendly events to enjoy throughout the province.

    “As we celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day, I encourage everyone to take the opportunity to get out in their community and learn about the Indigenous Peoples who call it home. Today, as we enjoy the most daylight of the year, we can all help build a brighter future for everyone.”

    Christine Boyle, Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, said:

    “On this National Indigenous Peoples Day, we honour the many ways in which the leadership of Indigenous Peoples continues to shape B.C. for the better. From the celebrations at Royal Roads University on Vancouver Island to the community event at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park in Prince George to the block party at the Carnegie Community Centre in Vancouver, let’s come together in celebration and reflection. Today, let’s ask ourselves what each of us can do to advance, collectively, in a good way, now and for future generations.”

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Global energy balance: heads of major energy companies and experts at SPIEF discussed the future of energy

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Rosneft – Rosneft – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    At the Energy Panel of the XXVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, leading industry experts, politicians, scientists, government officials and heads of major international energy companies discussed current trends in the global energy market.

    Their assessments and forecasts largely coincided with the visionary concept of the industry development presented by Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin. In his report “The Odyssey of the World Economy in Search of the Golden Fleece. The New Image of World Energy,” he announced that the current state of world energy is at the stage of forming a new image, caused by the multiple growth of electricity consumption, the generation of which will be provided by both fossil fuels and renewable energy sources. According to him, the optimal solution today is “the synthesis of traditional and alternative energy sources.”

    The event, organized with the support of PJSC NK Rosneft, was attended by Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rosneft Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Executive Vice President of the Republic of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez, Chief Executive Officer of Pertamina Simon Aloysius Mantiri, Vice President of CNPC Zhang Daowei, Executive Director of Reliance Industries Panda Madhusudana Shiva Prasad, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Dynkin, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the non-profit initiative of the Japanese government for the development of low-carbon technologies Nobuo Tanaka, as well as President of TOFS Group David Gadzhimirzaev.

    ENERGY TRANSITION WITHOUT TRANSITION

    Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada opened the discussion of Igor Sechin’s report, noting the depth of his analysis. “It was comprehensive – the way you showed that progress and energy are inseparable,” Al-Sada addressed Sechin.

    The head of the board of directors of Rosneft drew the audience’s attention to the fact that, despite the active promotion of the idea of switching to renewable energy sources, the share of fossil energy sources in the energy balance has not changed in recent decades. He recalled that Igor Sechin mentioned in his report that fossil fuels account for 80% of the world’s energy balance. “And these statistics have not changed in the last 20 years! We flutter around these 80% of fossil fuels and energy sources, and, therefore, little has changed!” exclaimed Al-Sada, describing the situation in the global energy sector.

    “In other words, we are essentially not making any transition away from hydrocarbons,” he concluded, emphasizing that the transition to renewable energy sources is being imposed on the industry and the public.

    “I would also like to take the baton from Mr. Sechin and pass on my comment to you. This is food for thought: are we really moving from fossil fuels to renewables?” Al-Sada addressed the audience.

    The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rosneft also noted that the demand for energy for various reasons does not always coincide with the growth of production. “I would like to express two small thoughts in order to further color the valuable things that we heard in the words of Mr. Sechin. The lack of investment is already a reality in the hydrocarbon and energy sectors. This is what can really lead us to a serious shortage of energy. “If this trend continues, we may face a shortage of energy resources. This is not only my personal opinion, but also what a large number of analysts say, including the International Energy Agency and other respected experts, who in their reviews emphasize the importance of having sufficient investment in the hydrocarbon sector. Otherwise, we will face the risk of a shortage of primary energy!” Al-Sada emphasized.

    THE FUTURE IS SYNERGY

    Vice President of China’s CNPC Zhang Daowei noted that he listened with interest to the report of Rosneft’s Chief Executive Officer. In his speech, the top manager of the Chinese company expressed similar assessments of the development paths of the global energy sector – in particular, the need for synergy between traditional and new energy sources.

    “We have always believed that in the context of the energy transition course, it is necessary to adhere to the synergetic, comprehensive development of traditional and new energy sources, fully take into account the characteristics and level of development of our countries’ markets, properly link the energy transition with energy security, and promote a fair and sustainable model of energy transformation,” Daowei noted.

    According to the vice president, within the framework of this philosophy, CNPC, on the one hand, continues to increase the exploration and development of oil and gas fields at home and import high-quality resources from abroad, including strengthening long-term cooperation with Russia in the field of hydrocarbon trade. On the other hand, CNPC actively adheres to the strategy of “green”, low-carbon development and implements the development of the “three-step strategy” combining oil and gas projects using wind, solar, geothermal, hydrogen and carbon capture technologies.

    Indonesia’s Pertamina President and CEO Simon Aloysius Mantiri said the company is pursuing a dual growth strategy that relies on both traditional resources and low-carbon solutions, with natural gas playing a major role in the country’s energy mix.

    “Natural gas is at the center of our strategy to transition to cleaner fuels. And today we are expanding our capacity and ability to produce LNG for both domestic and export needs,” he said.

    The head of Pertamina essentially repeated the thesis voiced in Igor Sechin’s report, and particularly emphasized that by achieving a balance of energy sources and a comprehensive approach, the company is capable of ensuring high rates of economic growth and, at the same time, carbon neutrality.

    Reliance Industries CEO PMS Prasad said India does not choose between energy access and innovation. “It integrates both. By developing scalable, context-specific solutions, it addresses local priorities while making a significant contribution to global sustainability. From rural microgrids to energy-efficient data centres, India is turning its potential into a strategic asset,” Prasad said.

    He stressed that international partnerships play a vital role in this ambitious endeavour. “Energy remains a key cornerstone of the strategic relationship between India and Russia. India values this trusting partnership and appreciates the cooperation built over decades. The leadership of both countries is committed to taking this partnership to even higher levels in the future,” the Reliance Industries CEO concluded.

    NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ARE NOT WRITTEN OFF THE ACCOUNTS

    Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin noted in his keynote speech at the Energy Panel the growing interest in nuclear power generation worldwide and, accordingly, the growth of investments in this area. According to him, this is happening against the backdrop of growing energy consumption and in the future nuclear energy will be in demand along with fossil fuels and renewable energy sources.

    Reliance Industries CEO Panda Madhusudana Shiva Prasad, speaking in turn about the prospects for the development of India’s energy sector, particularly emphasized the significant role of nuclear power generation.

    “Gas, renewables supported by energy storage systems and a robust transmission grid, and nuclear power will play a key role. India’s ambitious nuclear programme, including small modular reactors, reflects its commitment to long-term energy security and decarbonisation,” Prasad said.

    The revival of interest in investment in the construction of nuclear power plants was noted in the speech of the Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov. He spoke about joint plans with Russia to build two units of 55 megawatts each, and two units of VVR-type reactors – water-cooled power reactors. The head of the ministry also reported that the country is installing power plants where gas is burned, hydropower is developing, the share of renewable sources is increasing, and storage systems are being created at the same time.

    The Minister noted the content of Igor Sechin’s report, which provided a detailed analysis and reflected all the development trends in global energy, science and economics.

    ENERGY SECURITY FIRST

    In her speech, the Executive Vice President of the Republic of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, supported the thesis expressed by the head of Rosneft that issues of ensuring energy security should be a top priority.

    “We always advocate that the energy transition be carried out responsibly, taking into account reality, in order to avoid abrupt changes that could threaten energy security,” Rodriguez said.

    The Executive Vice President of Venezuela named the main components of a stable energy system of the future: energy security, reliable supplies, accessibility for all, and at the same time respect for nature – with minimal impact on the environment.

    Among the main threats to energy security, Rodriguez named illegal sanctions against producing countries and the hegemony of the dollar.

    Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Japanese government’s non-profit initiative to develop low-carbon technologies Nobuo Tanaka, in turn, noted that the answer to energy security issues is always associated with diversification of supply sources, increasing energy efficiency and searching for alternative energy sources, including renewable energy sources, nuclear energy and regulating the market through predictable policies.

    CONTRARY TO LOGIC

    The participants in the discussion drew attention to the political events of the last decades and stated that today geopolitics shapes the directions of economic cooperation. Moreover, often contrary to the logic of market expediency and economic efficiency.

    Tanaka recalled in this regard how he discussed Germany’s energy policy with Chancellor Merkel in 2009: “I asked her why Germany does not use nuclear energy. She answered like this: Mr. Tanaka, I am a scientist, I know how important it is to use nuclear energy, but in order to use it in Germany, she said, give me the votes of the voters in exchange for it. Yes, she is a good scientist, but she is also a very smart politician.”

    The professor is sure that despite her experience, Merkel made a very serious mistake by changing her policy on the use of nuclear power plants under pressure from public opinion. Another mistake was the refusal to use Russian energy resources and Russian natural gas. “I think she was misled,” Tanaka said.

    “Geopolitics is a factor in the global economy of the 21st century. It is geopolitical interests that united the BRICS countries. The criterion for membership is not the application of sanctions against other members of the organization. But geopolitics has also become a kind of “trap” for Germany after Trump’s victory,” says academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Dynkin.

    He noted that Eurocrats are concerned about the complete rejection of energy supplies from Russia by 2027. “They are not stopped by the growth of costs, which undermines the competitiveness of the EU,” Dynkin noted and recalled that if in 2014 the US GDP was ahead of the EU GDP by only 12%, then last year the American economy was already 50% larger than the European one.

    “Although the German energy crisis is formally over, the country paid for it with three years of stagnation, deindustrialization, inflation, and a migration crisis,” said the member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

    DIGITAL REVOLUTION

    The thesis voiced in Igor Sechin’s report that the digital revolution is opening a new era in the development of the oil and gas industry received a warm response from the audience. In particular, David Gadzhimirzaev, CEO of the oilfield services company TOFS, thanked Rosneft for supporting innovation and developing technologies. He emphasized the importance of ensuring the availability, stability and reliability of resources, which can be provided by new technologies that will reduce the cost of lifting barrels to the surface.

    “We all know that literally this year the energy strategy-2050 was approved, which includes the fact that by 2050 about 70% of the Russian Federation’s production will be from hard-to-recover reserves. Therefore, we, in turn, are not only working on the expertise, but also working on the production of new technologies,” Gadzhimirzaev said.

    Department of Information and Advertising of PJSC NK Rosneft June 21, 2025

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Acting Commissioner for Census and Statistics officiates at prize presentation ceremony of 2024/25 Statistical Project Competition for Secondary School Students (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    The Acting Commissioner for Census and Statistics, Mr Tim Chau, officiated at the prize presentation ceremony of the 2024/25 Statistical Project Competition (SPC) for Secondary School Students of the Hong Kong Statistical Society today (June 21). Principal Assistant Secretary for Education Ms Edith Tse also attended as an officiating guest. The President of the Hong Kong Statistical Society, Professor Chan Ngai-hang; the Chief Adjudicator of the competition, Professor Cheung Ka-chun; the Chief Strategy Officer of Hang Seng Indexes Company Limited (sponsor of the competition), Ms Candy Lam; representative of the Department of Decision Analytics and Operations of the City University of Hong Kong (sponsor of the thematic prize), Ms Teresa Ng; and representative of the Division of Science, Engineering and Health Studies of the College of Professional and Continuing Education of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (sponsor of the thematic prize), Dr Anthony Loh, also presented prizes to the winning teams and extended their congratulations to every member of the teams.
     
    In his address at the prize presentation ceremony, Mr Chau emphasised that it is even more important for students to learn how to discern the reliability of statistical figures in today’s era of information explosion. Statistical knowledge not only helps students interpret data but also enables them to identify potential biases and misleading information within the data. He pointed out that quality statistical results are usually based on scientific statistical theories and methods, as well as logical analysis. He encouraged students to contribute to society by fully utilising their statistical knowledge as a valuable technical resource, and by harnessing their analytical capabilities and creative thinking.
     
         This edition of the competition received an encouraging response of 221 statistical projects from about 850 secondary school students, covering a broad spectrum of topics. Participating students were able to utilise official statistics as the main source of data to analyse and interpret social and economic issues in Hong Kong.
     
         The 2024/25 SPC, co-organised by the Hong Kong Statistical Society and the Education Bureau, is the 39th edition of the competition. The Commissioner for Census and Statistics is the patron of the competition. Over the past years, many statistician-grade staff members of the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) have actively participated in the organisation and professional adjudication of the SPC in the capacity of members of the Hong Kong Statistical Society, with the aim of improving statistical literacy among secondary school students and promoting the application and importance of statistics in society. This fully demonstrates that the C&SD attaches great importance and commitment to nurturing young talent.
     
         The key objectives of the competition are to promote the interest of secondary school students in research methods, statistics and statistical techniques; encourage students to understand the local community in a scientific and objective manner through the proper use of statistics; and promote a sense of civic awareness.
     
         Members of the public are welcome to visit the webpage of the competition for the list of winners this year (www.hkss.org.hk/index.php/spc$en).

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Increased funding for festivals

    Source: Scottish Government

    Record culture funding uplift to benefit 14 festivals in 2025-26.

    Fourteen major festivals across Edinburgh and Glasgow will receive funding increases this year, thanks to a record uplift in the Scottish culture budget.

    As part of an overall £4 million increase for festivals in 2025-26 Scottish Budget, this year’s Festival EXPO Fund has awarded a total of £2.8 million across the 14 festivals, up from £1.7 million the previous year.

    Festivals Edinburgh will also receive £200,000 via Creative Scotland to support their branding and marketing work to promote the Edinburgh festivals.

    Established in 2007, the Scottish Government’s Festival EXPO Fund is designed to support festival innovation and maximise national and international opportunities for the artists who contribute to them. The fund is managed by Creative Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government.

    Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said:

    “Scotland’s festivals are our cultural shopfront to the rest of the world. As well as offering performers and creatives an unrivalled international platform, they also deliver an annual economic uplift to businesses, jobs and livelihoods right across the country.

    “This year’s funding increase for the existing EXPO festivals cohort represents an increase of £1 million across the 14 festivals in Glasgow and Edinburgh, the first in 10 years. It recognises the success of festivals in shaping and supporting hundreds of commissions, enhancing the ambitions of thousands of Scottish artists and attracting audiences in the millions for EXPO-supported work since the fund’s creation in 2007.

    “From this foundation we will expand the reach of the EXPO fund across the whole of Scotland, and I am working with festivals across the country through the Strategic Festivals Partnership to realise this commitment.”

    Dana MacLeod, Executive Director of Arts, Communities and Inclusion at Creative Scotland said:

    “We welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to the Festivals EXPO Fund, providing invaluable support for Scotland’s world-class festivals. The EXPO Fund enables Scotland’s festivals to commission bold ideas, develop creative collaborations and present high-quality programmes for audiences in Scotland and internationally.”

    Lori Anderson, Director of Festivals Edinburgh said:

    “Today’s announcement is welcome news for our festivals and for Scotland’s cultural sector, ensuring that the guiding principle of the Scottish Government’s Festivals EXPO Fund – to showcase Scottish talent to the world on the country’s premier festival platforms – continues to successfully support creative careers.”

    Background:

    Strategic Partnership for Scotland’s Festivals – second open letter from Culture Secretary Angus Robertson – gov.scot

    Multi-Year Funding Outcome Announcement | Creative Scotland

    EXPO Fund 2025-26 recipients:

    • Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival: £195,000
    • Edinburgh International Film Festival: £193,000
    • Edinburgh Art Festival: £200,000
    • Edinburgh International Book Festival: £200,000
    • Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society (Made in Scotland 2026): £670,000
    • Edinburgh International Festival: £100,000
    • Scottish International Storytelling Festival: £200,000
    • Edinburgh’s Hogmanay: £180,000
    • Edinburgh Science Festival: £150,000
    • Imaginate: £188,000
    • Celtic Connections: £154,000
    • Glasgow Film Festival: £120,000
    • Glasgow International: £130,000
    • Sonica: £120,000

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Igor Sechin opened the Energy Panel at the SPIEF

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Rosneft – Rosneft – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Chief Executive Officer of PJSC NK Rosneft Igor Sechin presented the key report “Odyssey of the World Economy in Search of the Golden Fleece. New Image of World Energy” at the Energy Panel within the framework of the XXVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

    The event is attended by Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rosneft Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Executive Vice President of the Republic of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez, Vice President of CNPC Zhang Daowei, Executive Director of Reliance Industries Panda Madhusudana Shiva Prasad, CEO of Pertamina Simon Aloysius Mantiri, President of Schlumberger in Asia Sherif Shohdi, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Dynkin, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the non-profit initiative of the Japanese government for the development of low-carbon technologies Nobuo Tanaka, President of TOFS Group David Gadzhimirzaev, as well as representatives of government bodies, major Russian and foreign companies in various industries, scientists, academics, experts and analysts.

    The Energy Panel was moderated by the famous American journalist and RT TV channel host Rick Sanchez.

    Department of Information and Advertising of PJSC NK Rosneft June 21, 2025

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • World is becoming aware of India’s ancient knowledge, science and lifestyle: MP CM Mohan Yadav

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    On the occasion of International Yoga Day 2025, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav attended the celebrations in Bhopal on Saturday. CM Yadav was seen performing the prayer pose along with other participants.

    Speaking to reporters, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav extended his best wishes to everyone on International Yoga Day and highlighted the significance of the day, which also coincides with the longest day of the year.

    Yadav said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the entire country and the world are celebrating this day. He emphasised that the world is becoming increasingly aware of India’s ancient knowledge, science, and lifestyle.

    Yadav said, “On the occasion of #InternationalYogaDay, I extend my best wishes to everyone. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, the entire country and the world are celebrating this day. This is also the longest day of the year…As the days pass, the world is becoming more aware of India’s ancient knowledge, science, and lifestyle. With the efforts of PM Narendra Modi, the 11th International Yoga Day is being celebrated today. The message of yoga is unique.”

    The 11th International Day of Yoga witnessed widespread participation across states. The theme for this year is “Yoga for One Earth, One Health,” which reflects India’s vision of global wellness and its integrated view of well-being. It emphasises the interconnectedness of human and planetary health, drawing from the Indian ethos of “Sarve Santu Niramaya” (May all be free from disease).

    Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part in the 11th International Day of Yoga celebrations, where he hailed yoga as a gift “beyond age,” transcending all boundaries and uniting humanity in “health and harmony.” Prime Minister Modi urged the international community to embrace “inner peace” as a “global policy” and make yoga a collective global responsibility.

    Speaking at the celebrations in Visakhapatnam, PM Modi called upon countries to adopt yoga not merely as a personal or cultural practice, but as a unifying force for humanity. The event was held along the scenic Visakhapatnam coastline, with Indian Navy ships stationed near the shore, adding to the grandeur of the occasion.

    PM Modi was joined by lakhs of yoga enthusiasts, local residents, and dignitaries from Andhra Pradesh. The Prime Minister also reflected on India’s 2014 proposal at the United Nations to declare June 21 as International Yoga Day and noted that, in record time, over 170 countries supported the move. He said that yoga has since evolved into a worldwide practice symbolising peace, balance, and cooperation. This year’s celebrations witnessed participation from lakhs of people across states. 

    (ANI)

  • MIL-OSI China: Beijing powers China’s commercial space growth

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

    The CERES-1S Y2 carrier rocket lifts off from the Yellow Sea near Rizhao, east China’s Shandong province, May 29, 2024. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

    Beijing is cementing its position as a national leader in the commercial space sector, with local firms breaking records in rocket launches and satellite technology as the city pushes for global industry prominence.

    “Beijing’s commercial space ecosystem is among the best in China — certainly in the top tier,” said Xia Dongkun, executive president of Beijing-based launch service provider Galactic Energy, during a media tour of the company’s exhibition hall on June 18.

    Galactic Energy has completed 19 successful commercial missions, delivering 81 satellites with various functions into orbit. Its CERES-1 rocket holds the record for the most successful launches among China’s privately developed rockets, underscoring Beijing’s growing commercial space capabilities.

    As the birthplace of China’s space program, Beijing is implementing the 14th Five-Year Plan’s directive to promote the integrated development of strategic emerging industries. 

    The city has established a comprehensive commercial space supply chain, hosting more than half of the country’s core aerospace R&D institutions and over 300 high-tech commercial space enterprises. Of these, 46 were named to the 2024 China Top 100 Commercial Space Companies list, accounting for nearly half of the national total and highlighting Beijing’s leading position in the industry.

    The city has established a distinctive spatial layout known as “Southern Rockets, Northern Satellites.” In the south, areas such as E-Town and Fengtai district have become hubs for commercial rocket manufacturers, including industry leaders Landspace and Galactic Energy, representing more than 70% of China’s commercial launch vehicle companies.

    Meanwhile, Haidian district in the north has developed into the country’s most advanced cluster for satellite manufacturing, boasting a fully developed supply chain for spacecraft production.

    Beijing’s technological achievements continue to set new industry benchmarks. Landspace’s Zhuque-3 test vehicle completed a 10-kilometer vertical takeoff and landing, making it the first Chinese reusable rocket to demonstrate mid-air reignition.

    Galactic Energy launched seven missions in 2023, ranking third globally among commercial space firms. In satellite technology, Galaxy Space carried out Thailand’s first low-Earth orbit broadband satellite internet test in May 2024, marking China’s first overseas deployment of such services.

    On the international stage, Beijing is advancing the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ International Meridian Circle Program, which recently completed its second phase after securing cooperation with 13 overseas institutions. The city also uses platforms like the Zhongguancun Forum’s space sessions to promote global industry dialogue and expand space infrastructure partnerships under the Belt and Road Initiative.

    Following the 14th Five-Year Plan’s call to advance core technologies, the city has launched several initiatives, including establishing the Beijing Reusable Rocket Technology Innovation Center and supporting more than 30 research projects by firms such as Landspace. The city attracted 1 billion yuan ($139 million) in investment for seven commercial space and low-altitude economy firms in 2024 and released 10 initial application scenarios for technologies such as natural resource monitoring and emergency relief.

    Looking ahead, Beijing’s commercial space sector will focus on three key areas. For launch vehicles, the goal is to achieve orbital recovery and reuse of rockets by 2026 and to start developing a super heavy-lift rocket. For satellites, plans include research on a space computing constellation and advances in solar arrays and electric propulsion. The city also aims to boost commercial satellite services in areas such as mobile communications, insurance claims, smart cities and autonomous driving.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The Belarusian State University hosted a ceremony to present a special issue of the New Economy magazine dedicated to China

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    MINSK, June 21 /Xinhua/ — The Faculty of Economics of the Belarusian State University (BSU) held a ceremony on Wednesday to present a special issue of the New Economy magazine dedicated to the PRC, the faculty’s press service reported.

    This edition publishes the results of dissertation research in economic sciences. The special issue includes scientific articles by students, postgraduates and teachers of the economic faculty of BSU on Belarusian-Chinese economic relations. The authors of the studies included in it were awarded the first copies of the special issue.

    During the ceremony, the Dean of the Faculty of Economics of BSU Anna Koroleva emphasized the importance of academic interaction within the framework of international scientific cooperation and the development of applied research in the field of the Chinese economy.

    The Cultural Advisor of the Chinese Embassy in Belarus, Xia Guangyuan, congratulated the students, postgraduates and their academic supervisors on the publication. “The special issue, containing 35 in-depth scientific articles, is not only a comprehensive analysis of the complex modern economic picture, but also a rich fruit of the joint efforts of Chinese and Belarusian scientists in the intellectual sphere,” the diplomat noted.

    He stressed that the two countries are facing unprecedented pressures and choices in the face of global uncertainty, but it is precisely in the challenges that new opportunities for restructuring and development lie.

    The magazine’s editor-in-chief, Viktor Saevich, noted that the Chinese economy is open, inclusive and dynamic, and that studying the Chinese economic model is of reference value for all countries in the world.

    The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Faculty of Economics and the Rectorate of BSU, the Embassy of China in Belarus, the magazine “New Economy”, as well as partners of the faculty and the publication. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: $13-million investment reopens Boodjamulla National Park (Aboriginal Land)

    Source: Tasmania Police

    Issued: 20 Jun 2025

    One of Queensland’s most popular outback national parks will reopen on 4 July 2025, in a major boost for the local tourism industry.

    Boodjamulla National Park (Aboriginal Land) was closed following the impacts of an unprecedented flood event in March 2023.

    The Boodjamulla Cooperative Management Council (CMC), comprising the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) and the Waanyi Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, has been working hard to re-open the national park.

    Principal Ranger Marnie Augusteyn said the Queensland Government had invested almost $13 million to reopen the national park, and the tourism industry is thrilled.

    “The funding includes an investment of $6.7 million for repairs and the construction of new visitor infrastructure within the Lawn Hill Gorge section,” Ms Augusteyn said.

    “We’re also investing $6.1 million for reconstruction work on water treatment, sewage management, power supply and flood resilience work into our ranger residences.”

    Michael Miller CEO Waanyi Native Title Aboriginal Corporation said he was on Country recently to inspect the progress.

    “To assist with the staged reopening, Waanyi Elder Everyl Johnny will be based at Boodjamulla gorge to personally welcome visitors on behalf of all Waanyi people to the national park,” Mr Miller said.

    “She will provide inductions to visitors, giving insight into Waanyi culture and the impacts of the flooding.

    “On behalf of the Waanyi Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, we welcome visitors back to the national park.

    “This is our backyard, and please treat it with the same respect that you would your own backyard.

    “Please pay attention to restricted access areas for your own safety and pay respect to our culture.”

    CEO Tourism Tropical North Queensland Mark Olsen said the Lawn Hill Gorge section of Boodjamulla National Park is an iconic location.

    “Reopening Boodjamulla National Park for winter will provide a much needed boost to the northwest and the communities along the Savannah Way that have faced difficult times over past three years,” Mr Olsen said.

    “Our great thanks and appreciation to the Waanyi Native Title Corporation, the DETSI team and the QPWS team onsite that have made this possible, it is a huge boost for the region.”

    In June 2023, the national park was returned to the Waanyi People. Now dedicated as Boodjamulla National Park (Aboriginal Land), it is the first of its tenure class in Queensland.

    For more information on available tourism activities, visit Lawn Hill Gorge, Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park or Boodjamulla Cooperative Management Council.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Dumping disgrace discovered at lsla Gorge

    Source: Tasmania Police

    Issued: 20 Jun 2025

    Open larger image

    200 illegally dumped truck tyres in the Isla Gorge National Park

    Up to 200 illegally dumped truck tyres in the Isla Gorge National Park have prompted disgust and sparked a joint investigation to find the person or business responsible.

    During a bushfire in October 2024, the tyres were discovered in a deep ravine adjacent to the Leichhardt Highway.

    Located approximately 340km west of Bundaberg and 230km southwest of Rockhampton, Isla Gorge National Park features stunning gorges, sandstone outcrops and striking rock formations.

    Rangers from the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation and Banana Shire Council compliance officers launched an investigation.

    Senior Ranger Chris said the tyres posed a significant fire risk and had polluted a highly sensitive environment.

    “This shocking example of illegal dumping has delayed our planned burn program, and we are doing everything we can to remediate the site and find the person or business responsible,” Ranger Chris said.

    “We believe someone in the region knows who is responsible for dumping the tyres, and we are asking anyone with information to call us on 1300 130 372 or call the Banana Shire Council on (07) 4992 9500.”

    “Due to the remote location and the size of the tyres, rangers from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service were unable to remove them using conventional methods.

    “The complex clean-up operation involves a specialist contractor with a 130-tonne crane to remove and recycle the tyres.”

    “Visitors to our national parks don’t want to see illegally dumped waste, and that’s why we take a zero-tolerance approach to offenders.

    “People involved in illegally dumping waste can receive hefty fines, and they can be ordered to clean up the mess.

    Banana Shire Council Mayor Nev Ferrier said the dumping was unacceptable and showed no respect for the region’s natural environment.

    “It’s just disgraceful, whoever did this clearly has no regard for the land, our national parks, or the people who care for them,” Mayor Ferrier said.

    “The Isla Gorge is one of the most beautiful parts of our region, and to see it treated like this is heartbreaking.

    “I urge anyone who knows anything about this to do the right thing and come forward.”

    See it, Report it, Stop it — Everyone can play their part by reporting littering and illegal dumping via the Litter and Illegal Dumping Online Reporting System.

    People can also report littering and illegal dumping to their local council.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI: Global AI Spotlight: DataGlobal Hub Assembles Hundreds of Industry Leaders for GDAI 2025, The Largest Global Virtual AI & Data Conference

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    PHOENIX, June 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — DataGlobal Hub, a fast-growing global media platform at the forefront of Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) news and insights, is proud to officially unveil the top speakers for Global Data & AI Virtual Tech Conference (GDAI 2025), a highly anticipated global summit convening the brightest minds in technology, innovation, and data leadership.

    GDAI 2025 is scheduled for August 22nd to 24th, 2025, with the theme, “AI, Data, and the Future of Innovation,” bringing together thought leaders, professionals, and trailblazing creators from around the world to spotlight emerging technologies, transformative enterprise strategies, and the societal shifts shaping tomorrow’s workplace.

    One Global Conversation: Three Tracks

    GDAI 2025 will deliver practical value through three tailored conference tracks that reflect the evolving realities of data, business, and human potential:

    • AI and Data Innovation: Uncover the latest breakthroughs in tech—from advanced large language models and automation to the exciting frontier of generative AI.
    • Enterprise Data Strategy & Leadership: Delve into essential topics such as data governance, ROI, ethics, and data monetization, empowering you to lead with confidence in the digital age.
    • The Future of Work & AI in Society: Engage with thought leaders on the evolving landscape of work, the impact of AI regulation, and the creative shifts driving today’s job market.

    What to Expect at GDAI 2025

    • Visionary Keynotes: Hear from AI pioneers, business executives, and future-thinkers on the possibilities ahead
    • Breakout Panels & Fireside Chats: Candid conversations and debates on real-world challenges and emerging trends
    • Live Demos & Product Showcases: Get front-row access to the tools, platforms, and AI systems shaping the next decade
    • Hands-On Masterclasses: Expert-led workshops with real applications and live feedback
    • Global Networking & VIP Sessions: Curated virtual spaces to connect, collaborate, and grow

    Introducing conference speakers

    GDAI 2025 is a global platform for possibility.

    With over 100 top speakers expected, GDAI 2025 will feature dynamic keynotes, powerful panel discussions, and interactive tools designed to transform your thinking. Some of our speakers include industry leaders from top organizations like OpenAI, MetaAI, Nvidia, CNN, NBC and more

    • Vijaykumar Jangamashetti: Senior Google Cloud Consulting Architect, Trusted Advisor, Keynote Speaker & Research Scholar. 38k+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Sheena Yap Chan: Wall Street Journal & Publishers Weekly Bestselling Author, Keynote Speaker, featured on FOX, NBC News, MindValley, Manila Times, delivered speeches for NASA, Live Nation, UKG. 31k+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Brenton House: 519k+ Youtube Subscribers, Principal Cybersecurity & AI Advisor, IBM WebMethods, Keynote Speaker, LinkedIn TopVoice, 22k+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Shikhar Kwatra: Youngest Indian Master Inventor, Partner Solutions Architect at OpenAI, 500+ Patents. Former Senior AI/ML Partner Solutions Architect AWS, Former Data & AI Architect IBM, Author, Einstein Visa Green Card Recipient, 27k+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Chris McGraw: National Director for Permanent Placement Practice, Lorien, Cybersecurity & Cloud Infrastructure Expert, Speaker.
    • Pamela Paterson: Two Times International Best-Selling Author, Keynote Speaker, Business Systems Analyst, Project Manager. Pamela has worked with over 100 organizations globally and authored 10 books
    • Erich Archer: Emmy-Award Winning Producer, Founder, CGA Creative, AI Media Strategist & Storytelling Consultant. 15k+ LinkedIn Followers.
    • Khuyen Tran: Founder of CodeCut, Senior Developer Advocate at Nixtla, Ex-Senior Data Engineer at Accenture, Ex Technical Writer at NVIDIA. 109K+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Joe Perez: Amazon Best-Selling Author, Keynote Speaker, Executive Board Member, Digital Directors Network. 19K+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Queen Smith: Vice President & Enterprise Coach, Citibank, Founder & CEO AgileCentric, Former Senior Consultant, Deloitte
    • Jarrett Albritton: VP of Strategy at WriteSea, Ex Senior Enterprise Account Executive at IBM, Featured on Nasdaq, Conference Speaker, Soken at DIVERSITECH, AfroTech. 16K+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Sneha Singla: Director of Software Engineering at Salesforce. 4K+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Vishal Ganagarapu: Executive Director, Finance Data & Analytics at Mizhuo Financial Group, Fmr VP, Finance Data Architecture & Transformation at Goldman Sachs, Fmr Pricing Transformation Consultant at Dell Technologies
    • Mary Grygleski: Director of Emerging Technologies at Callibrity, TEDx Speaker, President of Chicago Java Users Group, Chicago Chapter Organizer- Gen AI Collective, Chicago Chapter Co-Lead-AICamp, Fmr Senior Developer Advocate at DataStax
    • Einat Orr: CEO & Co-Founder of LakeFS, Forbes Business Council Member. 19K+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Ritesh Modi: Principal AI Engineer at Microsoft, Best-Selling Author of 10 books, Public Speaker. 12K+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Arthur Kaza: Head of Tech Academy & Data Science at AKIENI, Google Developer Expert-AI, AI Research Scientist at Woxsen University 21K+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Isaac Agya Koomson: Founder & CEO of KIA-START UP CONSULT
    • Shankar Narayanan SGS: Principal Architect at Microsoft, Author, Top 10% of programmers on HackerEarth, ONCON ICON TOP 10 DATA & ANALYTICS PROFESSIONAL 2024, Snowflake Data Superhero, 8K+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Kamal Gupta: CNN’s Ex-Senior Staff Software Engineer, Software Development Engineer at Amazon.
    • Jayita Bhattacharyya: Data Scientist at Deloitte, Ex-Application Developer at IBM, Software Engineer, Hackathon Wizard, Spoken at NVIDIA AI Inference Day by Collabnix, Codebasics AI & Data Fest 2025, FOSS United Hyderabad 2025, GDG Durgapur Developer Summit 2024. 13K+ LinikedIn Followers
    • Siddharth Parakh: Director of Engineering at Medable, Ex-Software Development Manager III at Amazon, IEEE Sr Member and member of IEEE Computer Society, Author of 5+ books on Technology by Manning Publication, Judged Multiple Awards such as Globee, Business Intelligence etc…
    • Enudeme Jonathan: CEO & Founder of Zummit Africa, Co-Founder of Data Rango, Board Member International Law Association of Nigeria (ILA)- Committee on AI and Technology Law. Featured on Business Insider, Yahoo Finance and Arise News.
    • Vivekanandan Srinivasan: Senior Manager-GenAI Enablement at Verizon, Ex-BI Solutions Architect at Lumel, Top 1 percentile globally in Kaggle Kernels.
    • Ayoade Adegbite; Specialized Data Analytics Mentor at CareerFouny, Analytics Engineer, Ex-Data Analyst Engineer at WirePick.
    • Felipe Cabrini: Senior Software Architect & Specialist, Cloud Architect at Pagseguro Pagbank, JAVA Instructor at FIAP, Sao Paulo
    • Roisin Benett: Chief AI Officer, Founder & CEO MarketingMentors, Perplexity AI Business Fellow. Empowering Small Businesses to Grow Smarter with AI. 11K+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Etibar Aliyev: Team Lead – AI at Google, AI Expert & Leader Advisor at Packt, Member of Leaders Excellence at Harvard Square, AI Frontier Network, International Association of Algorithmic Auditors (IAAA), AI Consultant at AI IXX, AI Advisor at AlphaSense. 12K+ LinkedIn Followers.
    • Fatima-Bint Ibrahim: Bayobab Core Network Engineer, Organizer of Ghana Data Science Summit(IndabaX Ghana), Ex-Huawei Associate Core Network Engineer, Python Ghana Co-Lead User Groups, AI & ML Researcher.
    • Partha Pritam Deka: Senior Staff Engineer & Data Science Leader at Intel, Fmr Staff Data Scientist at General Electrics, Ex-Data Engineer at Cisco, Best-Selling Machine Learning Book Author, NeurIPS/ICML Reviewer, Keynote Speaker, CSCMP Innovation Award – AI Solution.
    • Mikhail Lvovskii: Founder & Principal Consultant at BonaMente, Chief Transformational Officer at Guidi Consulting, 12K+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Rahul PrasadFounder of RSTech Softwares, Public Speaker, Strategist.
    • Ferry Haris: CEO of FEHA & CyberSecurity Advocate.
    • Pooja RayChaudhuri: Software Engineer at C3 AI, Ex-Software Engineer at TikTok.
    • Samantha St-Louis(Allegrini): CEO & Technical Trainer at CloudFirst AI, CEO & Founder, AI Strategist at BeBaby, AI Engineer & Cloud Solutions Architect at Smarter Consulting, Public Speaker & Technical Writer
    • Knut Relbe-Moe: Chief Technology Officer at Dapt AS, Product Manager & Founder of DocsNode, Partner Relationship Manager at Lightning Tools, Microsoft MVP, Public Speaker.
    • Edward Morgan: “Founder & CTO at Gordian Knot, Ex-Associate Director of Engineering at Chewy, C100 Award Recipient, Recognized by the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.”
    • “Madhuri Koripalli: Software Engineer II at Microsoft, Ex-Senior Software Engineer Specialist at DELL EMC, Ex-Software Engineer at Verizon, Ex-Web Application Developer at TESLA
    • Alison Cossette: Data Science Strategist, Founder of Partrun Inc, Developer Advocate at Neo4j specializing in Graph Data Science. 6K+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Aquayemi-Claude Akinsanya: CEO & Founder of Garnetts Clothing Brand & Range, Public Relations Volunteer at United Nations, Inclusion Thematic Lead at The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, Regional & Country Representative of Global Network of Persons with Disabilities, Author, Environment Advocate, Ex-Jury Judge Panel Member of the Telly Awards. 5K+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Chinazor Vivian Kalu: UK Black Tech Resident Technologist, Senior Programme Manager at Niyo Group, Nominee 2023 50 Most Influential Women in UK Tech Award, Women in Data Science Ambassador at Stanford UniversityWorld’s Top 100 Chief Data Officers (2023, 2024), Top 100 Data Influencers (2024), and Top 40 Chief AI/Analytics Officers, Chief Hat at Data Hat AI, Ex-Chief Data Officer at OneFootball. 9K+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Rishi Nareshbhai Lad:
    • Kshitij Kumar: Principal Integration Engineer at ModernaTx, Inc, Recipient of Titan Business Technology Award for excellence in integration engineering, and the Globee Award for technological innovation in healthcare,
    • Barkha Herman: Founder of WiTVoices, South Florida Women in Technology, Ex-Developer Advocate at StarTree, Speaker, Technologist, Podcaster
    • Bhaskar Goyal: Software Engineer III at Google, Ex-Software Engineer II at Goldman Sachs, Expedia Group, AI & ML Specialist. Recipient of the IEEE Richard E. Merwin Award
    • Alfred Ojukwu: Senior Virtualization Specialist at Microsoft, Ex-chair of Blacks at Microsoft(BAM) worldwide 9K+ Followers on LinkedIn
    • Olubayo Adekanmbi: Founder & CEO Data Science Nigeria, CEO & CO-Founder EqualyzAI
    • Paula García Esteban: Top Voice LinkedIn Data Visualization, Data Visualization & AI Specialist, ML Instructor at LinkedIn Learning, 14K+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Lianne Potter: Award-Winning Digital and Cyber Anthropologist, Cybersecurity Operations and Technology Leader, Podcast Host, Author, Keynote Speaker. 15K+ LinkedIn Followers
    • Sharanya Vasudev Prasad: Cybersecurity, Networking and AI Product Manager at Cisco
    • Tarun Parmar: Principal Software Engineer at Skyworks Solutions, Ex-Senior Data Engineer at Tesla, Ex-Senior Engineer- Data Scientist at Samsung
    • Matthew Livesey: Principal, Lead Engineering & Analytics DK at ADC Consulting, Ex-Data Solutions Cloud Lead at Danske Bank
    • Aldan Creo: Technology Research Specialist at Accenture Lab, Grand Prize Winner, HackUPC(Biggest Hackathon in Europe) May 2024, Recipient of the Fulbright Foreign Student Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Institute of International Education- July 2024.
    • Angus Allan: “Senior Product Leader at CreateFuture, Governance Group Member of the Scottish AI Alliance, Keynote Speaker Featured on Forbes, WIRED, ITPro, LeadDev, Digital Leaders’ 2024 “”AI Experts of the Year”
    • Andrew Park: Founder of Edensoft Labs, VP- Software Engineering at G3 Technologies Inc
    • David Melamed: CTO & Co-Founder of Jit, Ex-Snr Tech Lead, CloudSecurity CTO Office at Cisco
    • Naveen Reddy Dendi: META’s Software Engineering Manager, Ex-Netflix Engineering Leader, Ex-Coinbase Engineering Manager, Ex-Facebook Software Engineer, Ex-Amazon Software Engineer.
    • Victor Agboli: PhD Researcher at the University of Florida, Public Health Data Scientist, Ex-Research Analyst at Bamboo. 5K+ LinkedIn Followers.
    • Vaishnavi Gudur: Senior Software Engineer at Microsoft, Ambassador of AI Frontier, Peer Reviewer.
    • Samuel Iheagwam: Senior Data Developer & DataBase Administrator at Qore Technologies
    • Er. Ms. Kritika: Gold & Silver Medallist, International Olympiad of Mathematics, Young Engineer Award 2024, Best researcher Award (2024) and the Young Researcher Award 2023, Cybersecurity Researcher, Author
    • Hridesh Sharma: Software Engineer at Brudite Private Limited, Principal Solution Architect, AWS & Python Specialist
    • Emmanuel Boniface: Machine Learning Mentor at Aifinite Learning, Machine Learning Researcher at University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Founder & President of Algorithmic Explorers
    • Simon Müller: Managing Director & CTO at watxx, Co-Founder of triebwerk, Lecturer at IU University of Applied Sciences
    • Mary Njoki Waweru; AI Trainer, Specialist & Strategist
    • Taeyang Kim: Machine Learning Engineer, Pattern Inc
    • Savi Grover: NBC’s Software Quality Assurance Engineer, Ex-Ford Senior Software Quality Engineer.
    • Shari Oswald: Microsoft 365 Solutions Architect & Consultant, LinkedIn Author & Instructor
    • Kayode Makinde: AI Researcher, Data Scientist
    • Shahzeb Akhtar: Director of IP Strategy & Technology at UnitedLex

    Be Part of the Future; Join the Movement

    GDAI 2025 invites organizations, researchers, students, AI practitioners, and data enthusiasts to contribute to this global dialogue by registering for the conference.

    Scholarship Award

    Jori Glover is one of our outstanding scholarship recipients, she’s the nation’s top-ranked track and field hurdler and a D1. Jori is also a celebrated Hackathon champion, blending athletic excellence with emerging tech leadership. She was awarded our prestigious tech scholarships at the University of Southern California (USC), where she plans to pursue a major in Robotics and Gaming starting in 2026 as part of the Class of 2030.

    About DataGlobal Hub

    DataGlobal Hub is a global media organization dedicated to advancing data literacy and AI awareness through compelling content, thought leadership, and world-class events. Our mission is to empower individuals and organizations to thrive in an AI-driven world by connecting them with the right tools, stories, and communities.

    Call to Action

    We invite speakers, organizations, students, enthusiasts, and professionals to be part of this global conversation.

    • Want to partner with us? Apply here: https://dataglobalhub.org/events/gdai/partnership
    • Registration: Secure your spot now: https://dataglobalhub.org/events/gdai/register

    Learn More About DataGlobal Hub:

    Website: https://dataglobalhub.org

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    Media Contact

    Company Name: DataGlobal Hub

    Website: https://www.dataglobalhub.org/

    Contact Person: Mojeed Abisiga, CEO

    Email: abisigadamilola@gmail.com

    Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5e28b935-621c-4851-ab49-5e358cd6edca

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cf8c05a0-628c-4563-8296-8874c14a1ea6

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Wicker, Cantwell Introduce the Reauthorization of Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Mississippi Roger Wicker

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., introduced the Reauthorization of Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act. The bill would reauthorize the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) for the next five years, maintaining its current funding level at $56 million annually. Additionally, the bill would bring continued support for ocean monitoring efforts that improve coastal communities, fisheries, and maritime industries.

    “IOOS is critical to keeping the Gulf Coast a great place to live, work, and raise a family. Reauthorizing this funding would continue the necessary ocean monitoring resources and improve our understanding of needs along the coast. This legislation would help secure U.S. leadership in ocean science and increase economic development. I look forward to seeing the continued success of this program and how it benefits our growing and vibrant maritime economy,” said Senator Wicker.

    “Everyone from ship captains to shellfish farmers rely on the weather forecasts, navigational safety alerts, and ocean acidification monitoring provided by the Integrated Ocean Observing System. Our bill would reauthorize the program so it can keep supplying life-saving information that coastal communities need,” said Senator Cantwell.

     

    “?Observations from our oceans and Great Lakes are vital to supporting a strong maritime economy, ensuring public safety, and safeguarding national security. The authorization of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) affirms the critical need for ocean data to improve weather forecasting, enhance navigational safety, strengthen coastal resilience, and much more. IOOS establishes a strong public-private partnership that efficiently serves a wide range of users—across sectors, applications, and regions—by delivering the reliable, actionable information they depend on.” said Kristen Yarincik, IOOS Association Executive Director.

     

    “The Gulf Coast—home to nearly 15 million people—anchors a robust maritime economy where commercial activity and offshore energy development intersect with naval operations and tourism. This dynamic region, however, is also highly vulnerable to hurricanes, flooding, and harmful algal blooms, all of which pose serious threats to both economic resilience and the well-being of coastal communities. The Gulf of America Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS), along with the ten other regional systems that make up the national Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), plays a critical role in enhancing disaster forecasting and preparedness, supporting safe navigation, aiding U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue missions, and informing daily decisions that keep our coasts safe and economically vibrant. The importance of this bill cannot be overstated—for the Gulf region and for the nation as a whole,” said Jorge Brenner, Executive Director of the Gulf of America Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS).

     

    “For twenty years, NANOOS has provided reliable data, tools, and forecasts to support the safety and livelihoods of residents in Washington and Oregon. NANOOS delivers actionable information tailored to local needs, whether that is helping ship operators navigate safely, enabling shellfish growers to remain competitive, identifying safe tsunami evacuation routes for communities, or assisting state and tribal managers in protecting public health from harmful algal blooms without disrupting coastal economies. This trusted relationship is possible because the U.S. supports the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), which sustains cost-effective, federally certified regional partnerships like NANOOS across the country,” said Jan Newton, Executive Director of the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing System (NANOOS).

    Full text of the resolution can be found here.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Crapo Welcomes Summer 2025 Interns

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo

    Washington, D.C.–Eight interns joined U.S. Senator Mike Crapo’s (R-Idaho) offices in Washington, D.C., and Boise for the Summer 2025 term.

    “These young individuals joining my office for the summer will directly experience the inner workings of the U.S. Senate during President Trump’s historic second term,” said Crapo.  “They will actively engage with Idaho’s constituents, expand their knowledge of the federal policymaking process and grow hard and soft skills important for their next career step.  I am delighted to have them on board for this summer and look forward to their success.”

    Five interns are serving in the Washington, D.C., Office:

    1. Erika Amaral-Pelayo is a native of Kuna, Idaho, entering her junior year at the University of Idaho.  She is majoring in political science with minors in Spanish and business economics. 
    1. Jaden Tilley is a native of Orofino, Idaho, and a student at Brigham Young University.  He is majoring in political science.
    1. Ethan Gilpin is a native of Montana and is currently attending Montana State University.  He is studying economics and finance.
    1. Kylie Keysor is a native of north California and is enrolled at Brigham Young University.  She is majoring in business.
    1. Catherine Lucia is a native of Virginia with family in Preston, Idaho.  She is a junior at Brigham Young University, studying communication disorders with a political science minor.

    Three interns are serving in the Boise Office:

    1. Lucy Ford is a native of Hailey, Idaho, starting her junior year at Boise State University.  She is studying government with aspirations of attending graduate school. 
    1. Michael McCurry is a native of Boise, Idaho, and a U.S. Army veteran, entering his senior year at Boise State University.  He is majoring in political science.
    1. Ryan Collins is a native of Kuna, Idaho, and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.  He earned his B.S. in political science from Arizona State University and is interested in attending law school.

    Crapo hosts interns in his Washington, D.C., office as well as in the various regional offices throughout Idaho.  The applications for the spring 2026 term close on October 15, 2025.  Students interested in positions for the spring, summer or fall semesters can find more information about the application process, internship expectations and deadlines for applying on the Senator’s official website at: https://www.crapo.senate.gov/services/for-students/internships.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Chernyshenko: Implementation of AI will give BRICS economies about 2-3 trillion dollars by 2030

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko held a plenary session entitled “AI Science: A New Path to Leadership.” Leading Russian and foreign scientists discussed how AI science and innovation are shaping Russia’s new technological path to global leadership.

    At the session, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the expected effect of introducing AI into the economies of the BRICS countries by 2030 will be around 2–3 trillion dollars:

    “According to various estimates, the expected effect of using AI technologies in the BRICS countries is between 2 and 3 trillion dollars. There is something to fight for – the share of advanced generative AI systems in this market is currently about 20%. Those who are the first to see the “golden” directions in the development of AI will discover a new Klondike, and if we conduct exploratory research in all areas, we will increase our chances of getting there.”

    The Deputy Prime Minister recalled that in December 2024, at the AI Journey conference, President Vladimir Putin proposed holding an international foresight in Russia – a strategic session on the future of artificial intelligence – in order to determine the directions of technology development together with scientists from around the world.

    The foresight is being implemented by the International AI Alliance Network, an organization that unites industry associations from 14 countries. The Russian part of the foresight is supervised by the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia and the Strategic Agency for Support and Formation of AI Developments (SAPFIR), a project office created on the basis of the Skolkovo Foundation, on behalf of the President of Russia.

    “In Russia, the President has set a national goal – ‘Technological Leadership’. One of the tasks is to form a new AI market for Russia. We are building a complete system – a foundation for Russia’s long-term leadership in AI science. At the same time, we understand that scientific leadership in AI is impossible without international cooperation and coordination of efforts. The future of AI should be built in cooperation, taking into account various scientific schools, cultures and approaches. For this reason, the results of the foresight are published openly, and every scientist in the world can make a contribution. The alliance plans to present the results to the UN and to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the annual AI Journey conference before November this year. This is our manifesto of openness, accessibility and trust for every member of the global AI community,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

    Last year, Russian experts identified 10 key areas of fundamental scientific research in the field of AI. They formed the basis for discussion at this year’s international foresight. Several sessions of the scientific dialogue on the global prospects of AI have already been held in Morocco, the UAE, Serbia and China. One of the foresight iterations took place at the Sber tech hub in St. Petersburg.

    Dmitry Chernyshenko emphasized that the state’s task is to ensure the completeness of research and competencies in the field of AI. To this end, within the framework of the federal project “Artificial Intelligence”, the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia is holding a grant competition among research centers, according to the results of which 13 teams were selected.

    “Investments in research centers have already demonstrated their success and effectiveness: 13 centers provide half of Russia’s entire scientific reserve in AI,” the Deputy Prime Minister noted.

    Dmitry Chernyshenko noted that the issue of personnel with knowledge of AI is also being addressed systematically.

    “Studying the effects of AI on humans, including dependence on AI decisions, is a meaningful scientific task, where major research is ahead. We are faced with a challenge: to provide not just education, but to cultivate a new type of thinking. To this end, a strategy for the development of education is being developed in Russia, which provides for the creation of a digital environment, individual educational, upbringing, career trajectories and assistants,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

    An important topic of the session was international foresight – a joint initiative aimed at identifying priority areas of research and development of AI at the global level. Participants also discussed current issues of artificial intelligence development, consolidation of efforts at the international level, tools for accelerating scientific progress and new forms of financing.

    The discussion was attended by Professor Ajit Abraham from India, who created a unique network of machine intelligence laboratories, uniting more than 1,000 researchers from 100 countries.

    Another participant was the CEO of the AIRI Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Ivan Oseledets, one of the leading experts in the field of machine learning, the second most cited Russian mathematician, professor at the Russian Academy of Sciences, and laureate of the Russian Presidential Prize.

    The speakers also included First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank PJSC Alexander Vedyakhin, Vice-Rector for Research at Serbia’s Singidunum University Nebojsa Bakanin, Professor at China’s Anhui University Ye Tian, Rector of Innopolis University Alexander Gasnikov, and Skoltech Professor Anhui Fan from Vietnam.

    Speakers focused on the role of fundamental science and support for research initiatives, including issues of task-oriented machine learning algorithms (narrow AI), as well as computation and data for AI, fundamental and generative models, human-machine interactions, optimization and mathematics.

    The results of the discussions at the session will form the basis of a foresight study to identify fundamental scientific problems in the field of AI.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Chernyshenko: Russian science is not faceless – it has faces.

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko greeted those gathered at the opening of the exhibition of portraits of leading Russian scientists “Science in Faces” as part of the XXVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2025).

    The event was also attended by the Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov, the head of the Talent and Success Foundation Elena Shmeleva, and the Chairman of the Board and General Director of Sibur LLC Mikhail Karisalov.

    The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the exhibition traditionally starts on the sidelines of the SPIEF, takes place in the regions of Russia and ends at the Congress of Young Scientists.

    “Russian science is not faceless – it is in faces. It is extremely important that such projects popularize our science through remarkable people – physicists, biologists, geneticists, mathematicians, who through their discoveries contribute to achieving technological leadership. This is a national goal set by President Vladimir Putin. We have excellent positions in the world, we see them,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko.

    The head of state instructed that Russia be among the top ten countries in terms of volume of scientific research, the Deputy Prime Minister added. Another task set by the President is to increase investments in science to 2% of GDP. The role of technology customers and enterprises is significant in this.

    In the fourth season of the exhibition “Science in Faces” the exposition included 23 portraits of laureates of key scientific awards. The heroes of the project represent 14 regions of the country: Moscow and the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, Belgorod, Voronezh, Murmansk, Nizhny Novgorod, Sverdlovsk, Tomsk, Tyumen regions, the Republic of Dagestan, the Republic of Tatarstan, Krasnodar Krai, the federal territory “Sirius”. The exhibition “Science in Faces” is held with the grant support of the Ministry of Education and Science as part of the Decade of Science and Technology announced by President Vladimir Putin, and is part of the “Science Nearby” initiative.

    “Behind every scientific victory there is a specific person who is in love with a particular discipline, a scientific field. It is important to have an idea of what attracted him to this work, to get acquainted with his biography. It is also important to talk about our contemporaries who are currently engaged in an amazing type of human activity – research and development,” said the head of the Ministry of Education and Science Valery Falkov.

    Dmitry Chernyshenko also assessed the stands of the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Sports, the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, St. Petersburg and the regions of the Volga Federal District.

    The Ministry of Education and Science’s stand demonstrates the ministry’s priority areas of activity. Interactive panels provide details about the national project “Youth and Children”, the Decade of Science and Technology, the development of human resources, and much more. Three agreements on cooperation in science and higher education were signed in the presence of Dmitry Chernyshenko. On the sidelines of the SPIEF, the head of the Ministry of Education and Science, Valery Falkov, concluded strategic partnerships with businesses and the government of the Altai Republic.

    The Ministry of Sports stand features the GTO and Sports Museum zones, a 3D avatar of the famous hockey player Alexander Ovechkin. The exhibits include awards, cups and sports uniforms. At the stand, Dmitry Chernyshenko, Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev and President of the Russian National Badminton Federation Andrey Antropov discussed cooperation in the field of sports with the Chairman of the Indonesian Badminton Association Mohammad Fadil Imran. As a reminder, on the eve, June 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto.

    In addition, Dmitry Chernyshenko, together with the head of Rosmolodezh Grigory Gurov, assessed the stand “Rosmolodezh. Entrepreneurship”. The space is divided into three thematic zones: “Past” (clothing and accessories with historical motifs), “Present” (products reflecting modern trends) and “Future” (developments in the field of robotics and medical technologies). The stand presents products of more than 45 participants of the “Youth Market” project from 18 regions of the country. One of the brands of the “Youth Market” was the Center for Prosthetics and Rehabilitation “Dinamika”, it specializes in the creation of modern prostheses of hands and feet.

    Deputy Prime Minister and Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of Russia in the Volga Federal District (VFD) Igor Komarov inspected the stands of five regions of the VFD: Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Kirov, Penza and Samara regions.

    At the St. Petersburg stand, Dmitry Chernyshenko was presented with information about the products of the company “Bionika 2.0” and the tourist cluster “Gorskaya”.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Tatyana Golikova moderated the session “Healthy Longevity Without Compromises” at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    As Tatyana Golikova noted, the discussion is devoted to a question that worries all of humanity: how to prolong an active and healthy life. This is a task not only for scientists and doctors, but also for society as a whole.

    Ensuring healthy longevity is a priority task set for the country by the President of Russia.

    These issues were discussed at the first forum “Russia and the World: Healthy Longevity Trends” held on May 27-28. The forum was organized by the Russian Government with the assistance of the Roscongress Foundation, the Moscow Region Government, and the Ministry of Education and Science. It was attended by over 1,500 specialists and experts from various fields: politicians and public figures, scientists, healthcare and cultural specialists, media representatives, bloggers, healthy food manufacturers, dietary supplements, medical products, and others. Following the discussion, the first resolution was approved and posted on the Roscongress website.

    “Everyone has different potential. A person’s biological clock can run faster or slower. A systematic approach to increasing healthy life expectancy requires coordinated efforts at the state and expert levels,” the Deputy Prime Minister noted.

    Tatyana Golikova spoke about some health-saving technologies used in Russia.

    The first is healthy longevity medicine – a comprehensive health-preserving strategy that combines innovative scientific research and its practical application.

    “The national project “New Health Preservation Technologies” has been implemented since 2025. It includes five federal projects. Currently, the main focus is on treating diseases and conditions that have already developed in humans. However, in recent years, preventive medicine has begun to actively develop, identifying risk factors for disease development. Healthy longevity medicine is aimed at identifying pre-risks for disease development and influencing them. And here we have a lot to do. At the moment, our system works to treat diseases. Such a reboot will help increase the quality of life of people and life expectancy,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

    The main areas of scientific medical research on the topic of healthy longevity, which are currently being conducted in Russia:

    — a combination of regenerative biomedicine, research on which began in 2023 as part of the federal project “Medical Science for Humans”;

    — development of biomarkers and panels that allow determining biological age, as well as drugs that allow preventing the aging process of cells;

    — genetic research: predictive genetics, pharmacogenetics and nutrigenetics.

    The national project also includes research aimed at combating age-associated diseases and their complications, including neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

    “We are creating an accessible medical infrastructure for healthy longevity based on health centers and medical prevention offices. Last year alone, more than 38 million people applied to them. We are changing the functions of health centers and reorienting them to work on identifying pre-risks for the development of diseases and eliminating them,” emphasized Tatyana Golikova.

    The second block of tasks in the area of healthy longevity is the social involvement of a person.

    “Numerous international studies have shown that strong social connections are directly related to increased life expectancy. An American study of 300,000 people showed that social isolation is a health risk and is comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Another study by British scientists, who observed 7,300 people for over 50 years, showed that 73% of people with good health met with friends at least once a week, visited public places, museums and theaters. It is important for healthy longevity to develop various types of relationships – family, friendship, professional, neighborly, as well as to participate in public organizations, volunteer activities, various communities,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

    In addition, Tatyana Golikova emphasized that a healthy living environment plays an important role in prolonging longevity, a combination of ecology, eating habits, physical activity, lifestyle and strong social connections. All of these are the main factors in the formation of the so-called blue zones – regions with the highest concentration of long-livers. The experience of studying the inhabitants of these zones at one time gave impetus to the development of genetic research in the field of aging biology. In Russia, such research was also launched within the framework of the national project “New Health Preservation Technologies”.

    The session was attended by Vladimir Dadali, professor at the North-West State Medical University named after I.I. Mechnikov of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, certified consultant in nutrition at the University of Natural Medicine (California, USA); Mikhail Kovalchuk, president of the National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”; Konstantin Kotenko, director of the Russian Scientific Center of Surgery named after Academician B.V. Petrovsky; Olga Krivonos, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Government of the Russian Federation; Elena Chichkanova, managing partner, communications director at Mayrveda.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Wrecking the future: The Trump war on the ocean, climate, and communities

    Source: Greenpeace Statement –

    During his first 100 days President Trump has been actively working to dismantle and weaken environmental protections and attack those who fight to protect nature and our shared climate, putting the corporate profits of his billionaire friends ahead of people and the planet. © Saf Suleyman / Greenpeace

    President Trump’s second term

    The first months of any administration are often dedicated to setting the tone of what constituents can expect for the next four years. For Trump’s second term, that message is clear: let it all burn. 

    Drastic agency cuts, reckless executive orders, and blatant industry giveaways promise devastating immediate and long-term consequences for our oceans, our climate, and our communities. 

    Dismantling climate defense 

    NOAA, the nation’s premier science agency for understanding, monitoring, and protecting our oceans, atmosphere, and climate, plays an essential role in safeguarding ecosystems and communities. Its data, forecasts, scientific expertise, and stewardship also support major sectors like tourism, transportation, food, and retail that rely on NOAA’s services to operate safely, efficiently, and sustainably.

    Yet the Trump Administration has moved aggressively to gut NOAA’s capacity–firing scientists, defunding critical research, and shutting down its extreme weather database, a vital tool that has tracked the financial toll of climate disasters since the 1980s. These cuts come as extreme weather events are becoming more intense and frequent. In 2024 alone, Americans faced at least $182.7 billion in damages from 27 weather and climate disasters. Undermining NOAA’s ability to forecast threats, inform the American and global public, and support disaster response endangers lives while ensuring greater loss and damage, higher costs, and deep suffering as the climate crisis accelerates.  

    Among NOAA Fisheries’ vital programs is the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), the nation’s primary line of defense against seafood linked to fraud, forced labor, and environmental harm. With more than 80% of the seafood consumed in the U.S. imported and the global seafood supply chain riddled with these problems, SIMP plays a crucial role in ensuring the integrity of what ends up on American plates. Cuts to NOAA directly harm domestic fisheries as well, which rely on the agency to provide weather and pollution alerts. 

    These efforts have been further supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), whose programs help combat child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking around the world. 

    So while Americans have made it clear that they want to know where their food comes from and to trust that it is safe, ethical, and sustainable, the Trump administration is undermining the very systems that deliver these safeguards. By weakening SIMP and cancelling $500 million in ILAB grants, it is putting seafood workers at greater risk of abuse and exploitation, and exposing Americans to products tainted by these harms.

    Endangering ocean futures

    While more countries move towards a ban, moratorium, or pause on deep sea mining, the Trump Administration is charging in the opposite direction– reviving a cold war-era law, the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act, to launch an unnecessary industry that threatens irreversible harm to fragile ecosystems we are only beginning to understand.

    Trump’s executive order “Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources” directs federal agencies to fast-track permits for seabed mining in both U.S. and international waters. Widely condemned as environmentally reckless and politically explosive, the move is a direct attempt to sidestep the International Seabed Authority (ISA)—the UN body charged with protecting the deep ocean as the “common heritage of humankind.” In doing so, it threatens to unravel global cooperation, weaken environmental oversight, and set a dangerous precedent for the exploitation of one of Earth’s last untouched frontiers. The order, while lining up another ‘get richer scheme’ for the billionaire broligarchy, also ignores calls from over 35 countries for a moratorium, disregards the voices of Pacific Island communities, and pushes forward despite overwhelming ecological, legal, and moral objections. 

    The push is further reinforced by a pair of sweeping executive orders that aim to bulldoze environmental safeguards in the name of “energy dominance.” One declares a so-called “national energy emergency,” suspending key regulatory safeguards under bedrock environmental laws like the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Water Act. 

    Together, these orders will not just fast-tack deep sea mining but also accelerate offshore drilling, fracking infrastructure, and fossil fuel exports. This isn’t just deregulation—it’s a declaration of open season on the ocean. 

    All this comes as cobalt and nickel prices are plummeting, further undermining the already shaky economic case for mining the seafloor. Meanwhile, safer, cleaner, and more cost-effective alternatives, such as mineral recycling and domestic refining efforts, many of which are backed by the U.S. Department of Defense, are gaining momentum. But instead of investing in these sustainable solutions, the White House is reaching into the past to gamble with the future of our oceans and our planet. 

    ‘Unleashing’ America’s fishing industry into collapse

    In another destructive move, the Trump Administration has targeted New England’s fishing industry by opening the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Marine Monument–the first and only National Marine Monument in the U.S. Atlantic–to commercial fishing. This follows similar rollbacks opening the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument–long considered off-limits due to its ecological significance–to commercial fishing and broader dismantling of domestic fishing regulations.  

    There is no evidence that these protected areas harmed the fishing economy. But opening them to industrial fishing will cause irreversible damage, from increased bycatch and habitat destruction to plastic pollution from fishing gear, undoing decades of progress to end overfishing, rebuild fish stocks, and restore America’s fisheries. 

    At the same time, the earlier-mentioned cuts to NOAA will also hurt domestic fishing by leaving fishers without vital scientific insight needed for planning and responding to changing ocean conditions. This approach paves the way for overfishing and fishery collapse–again, directly contradicting the Trump Administration’s stated goal of supporting American fishing communities. 

    Scientists agree that protecting at least 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 is essential to help marine ecosystems recover and thrive. When fish populations collapse, so do fishing jobs and fishing communities. Yet with these actions, the Trump Administration is again steering the US in the wrong direction—sidelining science, sustainability, and long-term economic resilience by jeopardizing the entire industry and the coastal communities it supports. 

    Taxing our health

    Trump’s chaotic tariff edicts have strained relationships with several key allies and raised costs for average Americans, all while giving fossil fuel interests a free pass. By exempting petrochemicals and polymers, the Administration has ensured that plastic packaging will remain cheap, abundant, and toxic. Companies like Coca-Cola, already the largest global producer of plastic packaging and the biggest source of branded plastic waste, are planning to ramp up plastic production in response to the tariffs on aluminum.  

    At the same time, the Administration issued yet another executive order, accompanied by a 36-page report, aimed at “bringing America back” to plastic straws. So, while more Americans struggle to make ends meet, they can be sure of one thing: there will be plenty of microplastics to go around.

    Plastics are not just a pollution problem; they are a public health crisis. Over 3,200 chemicals in plastics have been linked to a host of serious health conditions, including cancer, hormone disruption, reproductive problems, metabolic changes, obesity, premature births, neurological disorders, and learning disabilities. Toxic chemicals in plastic already cost Americans nearly $250 billion in healthcare expenses each year.

    And that burden is not shared equally. BIPOC and low-income communities face disproportionate exposure to pollution from plastic production, disposal, and incineration infrastructure, which are often located in or near their communities. These facilities poison the air, the water, and their bodies. While oil and gas companies rake in record profits and their billionaire CEO’s grow richer, these communities and working families across America are left paying the price. 

    Voters across the political spectrum – Democrats and Republicans alike– support strong action to reduce plastic pollution and protect public health. Yet, without pause at the staggering irony, the Trump Administration is slashing Medicaid, gutting personnel and budget from the Department of Health and Human Services, and increasing our exposure to toxic plastic— all while touting a “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. But even in an era of  “alternative facts” and the attempted erasure of diversity, equity, and inclusion, the truth is impossible to ignore. There is nothing left to sacrifice. 

    Time to resist 

    While the pace and scale of recent changes can seem overwhelming, it is worth remembering that part of this administration’s strategy is to flood the zone and try to get ahead of legal challenges and other obstacles to their agenda. The Trump Administration, like the “tech bros” who fell in line behind the President, is moving fast and breaking things. But there is growing resistance to their actions. In the last few weeks, especially, the number of new and successful legal challenges has been growing, with some law firms and academic institutions pushing back against the administration’s demands. This includes EarthJustice, Greenpeace, and allies in a joint litigation against Trump’s attempt to continue offshore drilling. 

    Meanwhile, millions of Americans—across generations, faiths, races, genders, and political ideologies—have been hitting the streets to defend their human rights, their environment, and their democracy. These peaceful protests have made one thing clear: We will not be silenced. We won’t back down. We won’t stop defending our communities in the face of government corruption and corporate greed. 

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Praise Ireland for Increasing Women’s Representation in Decision-Making, Raise Issues Concerning Historic Rights Violations and Sexual Violence

    Source: United Nations – Geneva

    The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today concluded its consideration of the eighth periodic report of Ireland, with Committee Experts praising the State’s efforts to increase women’s representation in decision-making and raising questions concerning redress for historic rights violations and measures to address sexual and gender-based violence.

    In the dialogue, several Committee Experts commended Ireland’s achievements in promoting women’s representation in decision-making, including its 40 per cent quota for female candidates in national elections.  Jelena Pia-Comella, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Ireland, said statistics on Irish women’s participation in diplomacy were outstanding.

    Ms. Pia-Comella said the Committee was deeply concerned that there had yet to be recognition that women and girls of the Magdalene Laundries had experienced degrading treatment and gender-based discrimination; that arbitrary barriers to redress persisted within the Mother and Baby Institutions payment scheme; and that the State had failed to adequately implement the 2014 O’Keeffe judgment.  How would these issues be addressed?

    Another Committee Expert said one in five women in Ireland reportedly experienced non-consensual sex in their lifetimes.  There was insufficient funding for measures to address sexual offences.  What measures would the State party take to increase protection for women victims of sexual violence?

    Introducing the report, Colm Brophy, Minister of State for Migration of Ireland and head of the delegation, said the national strategy for women and girls 2017-2021 put a spotlight on promoting greater gender balance in decision-making.  Ireland’s largest listed companies had now reached the key milestone of 40 per cent female directors overall.  Legislation was also introduced in 2012 requiring political parties to meet gender quotas for candidates in parliamentary elections or face financial penalties.  The quota for the most recent elections in 2024 was 40 per cent.

    The delegation added that women made up 49 per cent of senior management of Ireland’s Foreign Service, and 54 per cent of heads of foreign missions.

    In the context of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions, Mr. Brophy said the State repeatedly failed to protect vulnerable citizens, and to uphold their most fundamental rights.  The delegation added that the redress scheme established in 2013 regarding Magdalene Laundries was accessible for women living abroad.  The payment scheme was one of a large suite of actions implemented to redress the harms caused.  It was expected that legislation to implement the European Court of Human Rights decision on the O’Keeffe case would be implemented in coming weeks.

    Mr. Brophy also said the national strategy for women and girls prioritised action to combat domestic and gender-based violence.  Launched in 2022, the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence instituted fundamental structural reforms to Ireland’s approach to tackling the issue.  A new agency, Cuan, was established in 2024 to deliver services to victims.

    In closing remarks, Mr. Brophy said the Committee had invested significant time in understanding the issues facing women and girls in Ireland.  The State would develop measures in response to the Committee’s concluding observations.  Ireland was committed to its obligations under the Convention and to the United Nations.

    Nahla Haidar, Committee Chair, in concluding remarks, thanked the State party for its support to the treaty bodies, international law and the rule of law.  The dialogue had provided the Committee with further insight into the efforts made by Ireland to implement the Convention for the benefit of women and girls in the State.

    The delegation of Ireland consisted of representatives from the Department of Children, Disability and Equality; Department of Education and Youth; Department of Health; Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration; Office of the Attorney General; Department of Social Protection; Cuan, the Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency; Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment; and the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

    The Committee will issue the concluding observations on the report of Ireland at the end of its ninety-first session on 4 July. All documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage.  Meeting summary releases can be found here.  The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed via the UN Web TV webpage.

    The Committee will next meet at 3 p.m. on Monday, 23 June to meet with representatives from non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions who will brief the Committee on the situation of women in Afghanistan, San Marino, Chad and Botswana, the reports of which the Committee will review next week.

    Report

    The Committee has before it the eighth periodic report of Ireland (CEDAW/C/IRL/8).

    Presentation of Report

    COLM BROPHY, Minister of State for Migration of Ireland and head of the delegation, said Ireland had worked actively over the period since 2017 to promote equality for women and to address issues facing them.  A national strategy for women and girls was launched in 2017 as the whole of Government framework for action on gender equality.  Women’s organizations participated in the strategy committee, chaired at Ministerial level, which monitored implementation.  A successor strategy was currently being finalised, in consultation with women across Ireland.

    Travellers were recognised as an ethnic minority in a landmark decision of Ireland’s Parliament in March 2017, a decision supported by all political parties at the time. The Government was working on identifying and eliminating barriers to access to public services for Travellers. The Irish health system partnered with Traveller organizations to train Travellers to become community health peer workers.  The success of these projects was reflected in higher rates of uptake of screening amongst Traveller women relative to the general population for breast and cervical cancers.  In education, the Traveller and Roma education strategy 2024–2030 committed to supporting Traveller and Roma women on their educational journey.

    The needs of migrant women were addressed through a combination of mainstream public services and a wide range of targeted supports, funded by grants from various national and European integration funds.  These supports played a crucial role in improving outcomes for migrant women in areas of particular concern, including labour market access and housing. A national migration and integration strategy, due to be published next year, would provide a cohesive policy framework for recognising and addressing the integration challenges facing migrant women. 

    The national strategy for women and girls 2017-2021 put a spotlight on promoting greater gender balance in decision-making.  The Government launched a business-led initiative entitled Balance for Better Business in 2018 which spearheaded a series of initiatives contributing to a significant improvement in the percentage of women on corporate boards, particularly of publicly listed companies. Ireland’s largest listed companies had now reached the key milestone of 40 per cent female directors overall, compared to 18 per cent in 2018.  Ireland now ranked sixth in the European Union for female board representation and fifth for leadership teams.

    Legislation was introduced in 2012 requiring political parties to meet gender quotas for candidates in parliamentary elections or face financial penalties.  The quota for the most recent elections in 2024 was 40 per cent and this would apply for future national elections.  Maternity leave entitlements were introduced for elected members of local authorities in 2022, and for members of both chambers of Ireland’s parliament in 2024.  A funding scheme had also been in place since 2019 to incentivise political parties to increase the number of women candidates for local elections.  The Government also provided funding for civil society organizations providing support for women candidates, and the new national Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy 2024-2028 included a commitment to promote greater participation by Traveller and Roma women in political and public life, including in leadership positions.

    During the period under review, the Government introduced major initiatives to enable parents to access childcare and had increased public funding of early learning and childcare to unprecedented levels.  Government expenditure now exceeded 1.37 billion euros in 2025, a 200 per cent increase on investment since 2017.  The early childhood care and education programme provided two years of pre-school without charge and enjoyed participation rates of 96 per cent each year. The national childcare scheme, introduced in 2019, provided targeted and universal subsidies to reduce the costs for parents.  In addition, the equal start scheme introduced in 2024 was specifically targeted at enabling children from disadvantaged households to access early learning and childcare.

    Mr. Brophy introduced Government measures to increase family leave entitlements, including extending parental leave to 26 weeks under the parental leave (amendment) act 2019; establishing a statutory right to flexible work arrangements; establishing the right to five days of paid sick leave through the sick leave act 2022; increasing the national minimum wage by 46 per cent, from 9.25 euros per hour in 2017 to 13.50 euros in 2025; and requiring relevant organizations to report on their gender pay gaps and transpose the European Union pay transparency directive. The Government had focused on promoting greater participation by women and girls in science, technology, engineering and maths subjects.  Thanks to Government action, the number of female apprentices doubled between 2021 and 2025. 

    The national strategy for women and girls prioritised action to combat domestic violence and gender-based violence.  This was reflected in Ireland’s decision to ratify the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in 2019.  Ireland enacted the domestic violence act in 2018, which strengthened the protections available to those experiencing domestic violence and made coercive control a criminal offence. 

    Launched in 2022, the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence instituted fundamental structural reforms to Ireland’s approach to tackling the issue.  A new agency, Cuan, was established in 2024 to deliver services to victims and implement awareness raising campaigns on such violence.  Ireland also became one of the first countries to enable persons experiencing domestic violence to have five days of paid leave.  The Government had also introduced significant measures to combat trafficking.  The third national action plan to prevent and combat trafficking, launched in 2023, was working to implement a more victim-centred approach, while raising awareness among service providers of trafficking and providing appropriate training.

    Mr. Brophy also presented measures to address women’s health needs, including the establishment of the Women’s Health Taskforce in 2019; the women’s health action plans for 2022-2023 and 2024-2025, which ensured a continued focus and delivery of key women’s health actions; the allocation of over 180 million euros since 2020 in additional funding, including funding for free contraception for women from 17 to 35 years, in vitro fertilisation treatment, and public menopause clinics. 

    Ireland was the first county in the world to decide by referendum in 2015 that same-sex couples should be able to marry.  A referendum on removing the reference in article 41.2 of the Constitution to women’s place in the home was also held in March 2024, but this was defeated.  The people of Ireland voted in a referendum in May 2018 to amend the Irish Constitution to permit Ireland’s parliament to legislate for abortion.  All 19 maternity hospitals were now providing termination services, in accordance with legislation.  There had also been a sustained increase in community providers, which now stood at 455.

    In the context of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions, the State repeatedly failed to protect vulnerable citizens, and to uphold their most fundamental rights. The Government was conscious of the terrible hurt and pain caused, and the impact that this had had, and continued to have on many individuals and their families.  The Commission of Inquiry’s report, and the official State apology which followed, were a starting point for the further restorative measures now being progressed.  Six of the seven major commitments made by the Government to survivors were in place, while the seventh, a National Centre for Research and Remembrance, was in progress. 

    Ireland enacted the landmark birth information and tracing act 2022, which had provided clear rights of access to birth and early life information, and a Mother and Baby Institutions payment scheme opened to applications in March 2024 and provided payments and health benefits to survivors.  To date, more than 4,500 payments had been made totalling over 66 million euros.  Last Monday, work began to excavate at the site of the former Tuam Mother and Baby Home so as to ensure the dignified burial of any babies found to have been buried there.  In addition, many women who spent time in Magdalen Laundries had now benefited from the Government’s redress scheme, which remained open for any further applications.

    The Government aimed to make equality a lived reality for women and girls in all of their diversity. There were areas where further progress or change was needed, but the Government was committed to creating a better society for women and girls.

    Statement by the National Human Rights Institution of Ireland

    DEIRDRE MALONE, Director, Ireland’s Human Rights and Equality Commission, said Ireland played a leadership role in the global struggle for gender equality.  However, its international ambition for gender equality was not always matched with domestic action on gender equality.  There had been procrastination in ratifying key treaties and removing reservations; delay in incorporating international standards into national law; continuing failure to implement the recommendations of treaty bodies, including those of the Committee; and in the case of O’Keeffe, a continuing refusal to follow the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights regarding redress.

    In areas such as the needs of Traveller and Roma women and access to abortion, Ireland had clear and comprehensive policies and strategies which were not being implemented.  In those areas where there was progress, it was often frustratingly slow.  While domestic, sexual and gender-based violence policy had seen several positive reforms in recent years, it was necessary to bridge the gap between the progressive policies and legislation that Ireland had enacted and the reality on the ground. 

    Women suffered disproportionately from an inadequate, arbitrary, and overly bureaucratic social welfare system, which was not benchmarked against the cost of living or indexed against national wages.  Some 4.8 per cent of women lived in consistent poverty with lone parent households headed by women, and low-income families being more susceptible to poverty. The Gender Pay Gap and the Gender Pension Gap remained stark.

    In areas including the treatment of women in prison and women’s participation in politics, there had been regression.  Prison overcrowding worsened daily.  Given the impact of prison on women and family life, Irish penal policy needed to be reformed in line with the Bangkok Rules.

    More than 75 per cent of seats in parliament were held by men; only three out of 15 newly appointed cabinet Ministers were women.  Ireland had made a commitment to the principles of the Convention but was not matching that commitment with action that transformed the lived realities of its women and girls.  By investing in an equal future, the Irish State – one that prided itself on its adherence to human rights and rule of law – could show leadership to other nations, at a time when such leadership was so badly needed.

    Questions by a Committee Expert 

    JELENA PIA-COMELLA, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Ireland, congratulated Ireland on placing gender equality at the forefront of its agenda during its 2021-2022 tenure at the United Nations Security Council.

    The Committee regretted that, despite its previous recommendation, the State party did not intend to remove its reservations to the Convention and remained concerned that the Irish Constitution’s outdated language on women’s duties at home continued to discriminate against women’s rights in the economic and social spheres. Did the State party intend to devise a plan to implement the relevant recommendations of the gender equality bodies of the Citizen’s Assembly and Parliamentary Committee?  What was the status of review of the equality (miscellaneous provisions) bill of 2024?

    The Committee welcomed that State apologies had been issued for past human rights violations. However, it was deeply concerned that there had yet to be recognition that women and girls of the Magdalene Laundries had experienced degrading treatment and gender-based discrimination; that arbitrary barriers to redress persisted within the Mother and Baby Institutions payment scheme; and that the State had failed to adequately implement the 2014 O’Keeffe judgment. 

    What steps was the State party taking to provide up-front payment to women residing abroad; and to comprehensively address concerns raised regarding the operation of commissions of investigation?  Would the State overhaul the current model of investigations to embed human rights and equality principles in their operation?  Would the proposed commission of investigation into sexual abuse in day and boarding schools include non-religious schools, including the school Louise O’Keeffe attended?  What was the status of the National Centre for Research and Remembrance and how would it address the needs and views of affected persons?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said significant progress had been made in implementing the recommendations of the Citizen’s Assembly on Gender Equality.  Of 205 actions, 190 had been completed or were in progress.  The recommendations addressed sexual and gender-based violence, education in challenging gender stereotypes, and actions to improve the share of women in politics.

    The redress scheme established in 2013 regarding the Magdalene Laundries was accessible for women living abroad.  The State had worked actively to keep conditions under review.  Persons under 66 were entitled to a symbolic payment, which had been increased to 120 euros per week.  Women continued to receive payments under the scheme.  The payment scheme was one of a large suite of actions made to redress the harms caused in Mother and Baby County Home Institutions, including measures to support access to information.  Some 16,000 applications had been processed thus far.  The National Remembrance Centre would be in Dublin. A steering committee for the Centre was established in 2022 and development permission was received in 2025.

    To address shortcomings, a revised version of the O’Keeffe payment scheme was put in place in 2021, after which 128 applications were received.  It was expected that legislation to implement the decision of the European Court of Human Rights on this case would be implemented in coming weeks. A report into incidents of sexual abuse in residential institutions was published in 2024, and the Government was preparing measures to implement the recommendations of the report.

    A voluntary redress scheme had provided compensation to more than 375 women who had undergone symphysiotomy procedures.  The Government had fulfilled its obligations to women who had suffered due to these procedures.

    Equality legislation was currently being drafted and would be reviewed by a parliamentary committee over the summer.

    Questions by a Committee Expert 

    A Committee Expert asked about the timeline for the adoption of the new national strategy on women and girls?  How would it incorporate lessons from the previous cycle and align with Convention standards?  Would Traveller women’s needs be addressed in the strategy?  What measures were in place to monitor equality policies of Government bodies?  What training on gender equality was provided to Government officials?

    Ireland’s national human rights institution had “A” status under the Paris Principles and the appointment process for its commissioners was transparent.  Did the institution promote international and regional human rights frameworks?  Was the State party considering implementing the recommendation of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions to establish a fixed term for members?

    The Committee welcomed that political parties would have their funding reduced by 50 per cent if they failed to present at least 40 per cent female candidates.  It called for a quota of 50 per cent female representation to be established.  Efforts to implement gender quotas had not produced meaningful representation of Traveller women.  It was welcome that women represented 40 per cent of board members in the largest publicly listed companies.  However, the share of female executive directors remained low, at 11 per cent. None of these companies had a female chief executive officer.  How would this be addressed, and how would the State party increase the representation of Traveller women in Government?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said representatives from Government and civil society monitored the implementation of actions on gender equality.  The forthcoming national strategy for women and girls was close to finalisation.  Work was underway to embed a focus on Traveller women in the new strategy.  It also included measures to strengthen training on gender equality for Government officials.  Some 6,900 civil servants had enrolled in online training on gender equality. A professional diploma on human rights was offered for public officials, which covered gender equality.

    The national human rights institution had its own dedicated budget, provided on an annual basis. Its funding allocations had been increased substantially in recent years – its allocation in 2025 was 3.5 million euros higher than in 2015.  The Government did not play a role in the appointment of its commissioners.

    The Balance for Better Business programme monitored gender representation on the boards of Irish companies.  The average level of female representation on the boards of all publicly listed companies was now at 37 per cent.  A new five-year strategy had been developed which set targets for more than 40 per cent female representation on the boards of all companies by 2028.  It included measures to improve the recruitment of women and promote women’s career pathways.

    Amendments were made to the electoral act of 1997 that improved the gender balance in political parties, with the introduction of 40 per cent quotas for women candidates in national elections.  There were no plans to extend these quotas to local elections.  Policies had been developed to promote the representation of Traveller women in politics, and the Women for Election organization, which was funded by the Government, was working toward this goal.

    Questions by Committee Experts 

    A Committee Expert said that Ireland’s work towards gender equality on the boards of companies was very impressive.

    One Committee Expert recognised progress in addressing gender-based violence, including the adoption of the Istanbul Protocol and the national strategy to combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.  What further measures would be adopted to address gender stereotypes with an intersectional approach?  Forced sterilisation of women with disabilities was still practiced and hate crimes against women had risen by four per cent over the reporting period. When would the State party develop a national action plan to address hate crimes and adopt measures to ban forced sterilisation?  What measures were in place to ensure that victims of female genital mutilation had access to health services?  Would it increase the number of specialised female genital mutilation clinics?

    One in five women in Ireland reportedly experienced non-consensual sex in their lifetimes. There were delays in access to justice and insufficient funding for measures to address sexual offences. What measures would the State party take to increase access to legal aid and protection for women victims of sexual violence?  What resources would be provided to strengthen support structures?  Would the State party consolidate legislation on sexual violence into one law?

    A Committee Expert said Ireland had made considerable efforts to combat trafficking, including by developing a national action plan to combat trafficking and establishing an independent monitoring mechanism.  However, there were shortcomings in identifying victims, particularly girls.  Only five children were identified as victims of trafficking in 2023, and the training of officials reportedly did not lead to effective prosecutions.  How would the State party train the judiciary and increase the prosecution of trafficking offences?  What steps had been taken to improve the identification of victims and ensure that no victims were excluded from support?  The Committee welcomed that a trafficking specific shelter had been established in 2023, but it was not large enough; were there plans to extend it?  There had only been 15 convictions of consumers of sex services in 2023; were there plans to increase prosecutions? 

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said the national strategy for women and girls included measures to address gender stereotypes and to collect data on such stereotypes.  Ireland had taken measures to address gender stereotypes in the media, including through a media forum held in 2025, and measures to promote gender balance in the media.  A campaign on reporting harmful online content had also been developed.

    Women’s health services were trained on responding to victims of female genital mutilation, and management guidelines had been developed on caring for victims, who had access to free counselling services.  A project was underway to reduce waiting times for healthcare for victims of female genital mutilation.  Ireland had ratified the Council of Europe Convention that prohibited forced sterilisation.

    Work was ongoing to update legislation on hate crimes and to introduce a prohibition of the incitement of hatred online.  The Government had also drafted legislation on removing the guardianship rights of parents who killed their partners.  Ireland had comprehensive laws on sexual offences.  There had been a three-fold increase in funding for support for victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, and a body had been established to promote the collection and accessibility of data on sexual violence.

    Competent authorities, as well as non-governmental organizations, were now able to refer suspected victims of human trafficking.  The Government was looking at expanding the shelter for victims of trafficking.  It funded several non-governmental organizations to provide trauma-informed support to victims.  The Irish police forces had worked to increase prosecutions of organised crime cases, which had proven effective in preventing trafficking.  Ireland had recently decriminalised the sale of sex; there was no plan to change this legislation.  The Government was planning to introduce on-the-spot fines and mobile phone searches to increase prosecutions for the consumption of sex services.

    Questions by Committee Experts 

    JELENA PIA-COMELLA, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Ireland, welcomed the State party’s proactive efforts to address coercive practices.  Could it provide more information on the special measures it had developed to address rape?

    Another Committee Expert asked if legislation was planned to address drink spiking?  What services were provided to victims of gender-based violence in prisons?

    A Committee Expert asked how the State party was promoting the meaningful participation of women, including marginalised women, in the Foreign Service?  The Committee was concerned about online threats against women involved in politics and public life.  What monitoring mechanisms were in place?  There was no clear gender-responsive climate strategy.  How did the State party ensure that women and girls were included in decision-making processes on climate action?

    Another Committee Expert said there was no formal procedure for the determination of statelessness in Ireland.  How would the State party amend this deficiency?  What did the State party plan to do in response to the recent court decision on the right to guardianship for babies born through surrogacy?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said the Government was prioritising the drafting of legislation on coercive practices.  The prison service provided support to persons who had experienced domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.  An intervention model was also in place to prevent revictimisation upon release. Drink spiking was a criminal offence.

    Last year, of the 67 persons identified as victims of human trafficking, 10 were children.  The third national action plan on trafficking included measures to tackle trafficking in children.  A series of training programmes had been developed for prosecutors on sexual offences.

    Women made up 49 per cent of senior management in Ireland’s Foreign Service, and 54 per cent of heads of foreign missions.  A code of conduct on countering online hate speech had been developed, as had guidance for candidates who faced online harassment on lodging complaints.

    The Government was working to provide pathways to the parents of babies born through surrogacy to have their parental rights recognised.

    Questions by Committee Experts 

    JELENA PIA-COMELLA, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Ireland, said that the statics of female participation in diplomacy were outstanding.  The Committee welcomed the State party’s higher education authority act. The primary curriculum did not address gender equality; would it do so in future?  What measures were in place to promote equal access to education? How did the State party ensure that its sexual and reproductive health education addressed same-sex relationships, gender identity and abortion?

    Another Committee Expert said the Committee welcomed the reduction of the gender pay gap to 9.6 per cent in 2022. What enforcement mechanisms were in place to ensure private sector compliance with equal pay mechanisms? Women constituted 60 per cent of low paid workers.  How did the State party address the barriers faced by women in accessing decent work? Roma women had an estimated unemployment rate of 80 per cent; how was the State party addressing this issue? Were there plans to introduce a universal State pension to address the gender pension gap, which was currently at 36 per cent?

    The Committee was concerned about the unequal distribution of unpaid care work.  What measures were in place to ensure access to affordable childcare for all children and to encourage greater uptake of parental leave by men? How did the State party ensure effective redress in cases of workplace harassment?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said the sexual and reproductive health education curriculum was being reviewed, and the updated curriculum would be introduced from 2027.  It focused on promoting healthy relationships, gender equality and safety online, preventing harmful gender narratives, addressing the root causes of domestic and sexual violence, assessing responses to unplanned pregnancies and rape, and the harms of pornography.

    The accessibility and affordability of early learning and childcare had been improved since 2017.  Up to two years of preschool education was now offered at no cost.  Universal subsidies were provided to families.  More than two million children were covered by the national childcare scheme, which had a budget of 529 million euros in 2025.  The equal start scheme provided targeted support in disadvantaged areas for Traveller, Roma and refugee children.

    Reporting on the gender pay gap required employers to consider the reasons for the gap.  Guidelines were being developed for different sectors on addressing gender pay gaps.  Employees could lodge complaints when their employer did not report on gender pay gaps. Paid parental leave created individual, non-transferrable entitlements for each parent.  The Government planned to increase awareness of parents’ entitlements. 

    One of the actions in the national Roma and Traveller strategy promoted their employment and participation in internships.  The Government was reaching out to marginalised groups to encourage participation in voluntary employment services.

    Questions by a Committee Expert

    A Committee Expert said Ireland had made significant progress in terms of women’s health.  How did the State ensure free access to healthcare for marginalised women?  How did the roadmap for digital health to 2030 address the needs of women and girls, including persons who had difficulties accessing digital services? Could the delegation provide data on women who had accessed legal abortions in 2023 and 2024?  How many women had had to travel abroad to obtain abortions?  How was the State party combatting stigma related to abortions and conscientious objections?  Was the State party considering abolishing the mandatory three-day waiting period for abortions?

    How was free, prior and informed consent guaranteed for medical interventions on institutionalised women and transgender persons?  There were reported cases of forced sterilisations and forced abortions; how did the State sanction such harmful practices, and how many cases of such practices had been brought before the courts?  How was the State party ensuring that mental health services were community-based and gender sensitive?  What steps had been taken to ensure that victims of gender-based violence could benefit from free mental health services?  Would the State prohibit the use of confidential health data of victims in court cases?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said the parental leave scheme encouraged fathers to use it.  In 2024, over 66,000 parents had received parental benefits, of which 32 per cent were men.  Ireland’s State pension system recognised periods spent outside the workforce for caring requirements.  The long-term carers’ contribution supported the pensions of women who provided full-time care for long periods of time; over 7,000 women had been added to this scheme last year.  The difference in average pay to men and women was negligible in terms of the State pension.  The proposal of a universal pension could undermine progress made in recognising time spent by women providing care and would not resolve the pension issue. Ireland was in the process of adopting an auto-enrolment process for pensions which would particularly benefit women.

    The Government was considering ratifying International Labour Organization Conventions 156 and 183. The Workplace Relations Commission was responsible for deciding on workplace discrimination claims.  Some 63 claims had been received in 2024.  The Commission did not collect reasons for withdrawals of complaints.  It assisted all parties to reach a suitable outcome for a claim.

    The State party promoted collective bargaining to promote access to decent working conditions and wages. There was no legal impediment to collective bargaining.  The Government supported the rights of all workers to join and form trade unions. 

    Ireland was committed to gender transformative climate action.  Its delegation at the most recent Conference of the Parties in Baku was 50 per cent female. The Just Transition Commission had published a report that called for assessment of the gender implications of climate measures.

    Free hormone replacement therapy was provided to women experiencing the symptoms of menopause.  The Government was committed to ensuring safe and equitable access to pregnancy termination services for marginalised groups of society. In 2023, 10,033 women used termination services, while in 2022, 214 women went abroad to access such services. The free contraception scheme provided for the cost of contraception and related health consultations.  More than 200,000 women benefited from the scheme last year.  Since 2016, several million euros had been invested in maternity services, funding a large increase in maternity health staff.

    Women’s mental health remained a key priority in the national mental health strategy.  The State was providing mental health services to victims of violence that considered their gender and experience of trauma.  The State party was not aware of cases of forced sterilisation and forced abortion.

    Children could remain in the care of their mother in prison until 12 months of age.  High quality antenatal care was provided to women in prisons and there were mother and baby units in the State’s two women’s prisons.  Draft legislation had been developed that would limit the use of counselling records in court proceedings.  Banning disclosure of such records entirely could affect the right to a fair trial.  Measures were being developed to reduce revictimisation of survivors through disclosure hearings.

    The State was rolling out campaigns to encourage victims of sexual and gender-based violence to come forward and access support services, and was working with partners to ensure that frontline staff were delivering trauma-informed and culturally sensitive care to victims of violence.  The State was working to map the mental health needs of adolescent girls, which would inform the development of the national mental health strategy.

    Questions by Committee Experts

    A Committee Expert said Ireland had developed initiatives to promote the empowerment of women.  Some 32 per cent of start-ups were headed by women in 2022. There was a risk of poverty and exclusion for single, women-headed families – there had been a 171 per cent increase in the number of women who were unable to access housing in 2023. How was the State party addressing this? What progress had been made in developing a second action plan on business and human rights?  How did the State party ensure obligatory due diligence in human rights?

    One Committee Expert said Traveller women were disproportionately represented in prisons.  How were prison services aligned with the Bangkok Rules? The Traveller and Roma women national strategy did not address access to justice.  Would this be rectified?  How many women of colour were represented in decision-making bodies?  How was Ireland promoting unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance to women and girls on the frontlines of conflict, and how did the State party encourage consideration of intersectionality globally?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said single parents were a target of social benefit schemes, including school meals programmes and the child benefit scheme, which had been extended to children up to age 18 in full-time education.  Ireland had piloted equality budgeting measures, including for gender budgeting. It was designing a tagging framework that would ensure the recording of expenditure on equality issues.

    Ireland was working to increase female participation in entrepreneurial activity through a six-year action plan, which included schemes for financial support for high potential start-ups led by women.  Mentorship, training and networking programmes were offered to women entrepreneurs. There was double the number of women accessing such training compared to men.

    Ireland’s first national action plan on business and human rights had concluded in 2023, and a consultation process for developing the second plan was currently underway.  A working outline of the plan was presented in June 2024. The next plan was likely to finish in 2028 or 2029.  The Government planned to include gender responsive due diligence in the plan.

    The Government was committed to providing affordable social homes at scale.  There were more than 20,000 social housing solutions delivered in 2024. Several million euros would be invested in programmes to address homelessness in 2025.  Around 15,500 persons accessed emergency accommodation in April 2025, including 4,700 children.  A national homelessness action committee was established in 2021 to address the issue; it had developed a national support framework. 

    The zero-tolerance strategy sought to increase the number of refuge units and safe homes for victims of violence. There were 141 refuge units at the outset of the strategy; the current number was 159.  By the end of 2025, more than 200 would be established.  There had been investments of over 100 million euros in Traveller-specific accommodation.

    There was disproportionate representation of Travellers within the justice system.  The family support model for Traveller women in prison provided intensive support at all judicial stages.  Services were being extended to pre-sentencing and post-release stages. There were plans for the establishment of an open women’s prison.

    Ireland was consistent in its participation in multilateral fora addressing lethal autonomous weapons.  It was presenting a value-based message that addressed gender issues.

    Questions by a Committee Expert 

    A Committee Expert asked why the findings of the independent review of the legal aid scheme of 2021 were not published.  How could women who could not afford legal representation have access to justice? How was the right of access to justice of women with disabilities respected?

    The Committee welcomed efforts to support women’s access to child maintenance payments.  Could the State party provide statistics on fathers who did not pay child maintenance?  Why had the State party decided not to establish a child maintenance agency? How did it respond to non-payment of maintenance?  Would it publish the results of a study into the economic consequences of divorce on both parents?  Women with disabilities were reportedly discriminated against in child custody decisions.  Would the State party investigate this issue?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said the child maintenance review group was established in 2020 to assess whether to establish a State child maintenance agency; it had decided that such an agency should not be established.  Instead, it had called for a review of the enforcement of child maintenance orders to be undertaken and had issued 26 recommendations to ensure compliance with such orders.  Guidelines on the implementation of the recommendations were being developed. There had been significant increases in child support and working family payments recently.

    New legislation passed last year included provisions to make the family court process more accessible and less costly. The best interests of the child were a primary consideration in all family court proceedings.

    Frontline professionals across the justice sector were trained on identifying risks of sexual and gender-based violence and responding to such violence effectively.  Staff of the probation service were also trained on risk assessment and recognising cases of sexual and gender-based violence.

    The civil legal aid review was completed in May 2025 and the Government was now considering its results.  The judicial appointments act included provisions promoting equal numbers of men and women as members of the judiciary. The gender pay gap platform would allow for assessment of the pay gap in the legal sector.

    Concluding Remarks 

    COLM BROPHY, Minister of State for Migration of Ireland and head of the delegation, thanked the Committee for the constructive dialogue.  The Committee had invested significant time in understanding the issues facing women and girls in Ireland.  Ireland was committed to its obligations under the Convention and to the United Nations more broadly.  The State would develop measures in response to the Committee’s concluding observations, and brief civil society on them.  Mr. Brophy closed by thanking all those who had contributed to the dialogue. 

    NAHLA HAIDAR, Committee Chair, thanked the State party for its responses and its support to the treaty bodies, international law and the rule of law.  The dialogue had provided the Committee with further insight into the efforts made by Ireland to implement the Convention for the benefit of women and girls in the State.  The Committee would develop concluding observations to strengthen the implementation of the Convention in Ireland, including recommendations for immediate follow-up.  It looked forward to its next dialogue with the State party.

    ___________

    Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the media; 
    not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.

     

    CEDAW25.015E

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA’s LRO Views ispace HAKUTO-R Mission 2 Moon Lander Impact Site

    Source: NASA

    On June 11, NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) captured photos of the site where the ispace Mission 2 SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon (RESILIENCE) lunar lander experienced a hard landing on June 5, 2025, UTC.

    RESILIENCE was launched on Jan. 15 on a privately funded spacecraft.
    LRO’s right Narrow Angle Camera (one in a suite of cameras known as LROC) captured the images featured here from about 50 miles above the surface of Mare Frigoris, a volcanic region interspersed with large-scale faults known as wrinkle ridges.
    The dark smudge visible above the arrow in the photo formed as the vehicle impacted the surface, kicking up regolith — the rock and dust that make up Moon “soil.” The faint bright halo encircling the site resulted from low-angle regolith particles scouring the delicate surface.

    LRO is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Launched on June 18, 2009, LRO has collected a treasure trove of data with its seven powerful instruments, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge about the Moon. NASA is returning to the Moon with commercial and international partners to expand human presence in space and bring back new knowledge and opportunities.
    More on this story from Arizona State University’s LRO Camera website
    Media ContactKaren Fox / Molly WasserHeadquarters, Washington202-358-1600karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
    Lonnie ShekhtmanNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.lonnie.shekhtman@nasa.gov

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  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA Aircraft to Make Low-Altitude Flights in Mid-Atlantic, California

    Source: NASA

    From Sunday, June 22 to Wednesday, July 2, two research aircraft will make a series of low-altitude atmospheric research flights near Philadelphia, Baltimore, and some Virginia cities, including Richmond, as well as over the Los Angeles Basin, Salton Sea, and Central Valley in California.

    Pilots will operate the aircraft at altitudes lower than typical commercial flights, executing specialized maneuvers such as vertical spirals between 1,000 and 10,000 feet, circling above power plants, landfills, and urban areas. The flights will also include occasional missed approaches at local airports and low-altitude flybys along runways to collect air samples near the surface.
    The East Coast flights will be conducted between June 22 and Thursday, June 26 over Baltimore and near Philadelphia, as well as near the Virginia cities of Hampton, Hopewell, and Richmond. The California flights will occur from Sunday, June 29 to July 2.
    The flights, part of NASA’s Student Airborne Research Program (SARP), will involve the agency’s Airborne Science Program’s P-3 Orion aircraft (N426NA) and a King Air B200 aircraft (N46L) owned by Dynamic Aviation and contracted by NASA. The program is an eight-week summer internship program that provides undergraduate students with hands-on experience in every aspect of a scientific campaign.
    The P-3, operated out of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, is a four-engine turboprop aircraft outfitted with a six-instrument science payload to support a combined 40 hours of SARP science flights on each U.S. coast. The King Air B200 will fly at the same time as the P-3 but in an independent flight profile. Students will assist in the operation of the science instruments on the aircraft to collect atmospheric data.
    “The SARP flights have become mainstays of NASA’s Airborne Science Program, as they expose highly competitive STEM students to real-world data gathering within a dynamic flight environment,” said Brian Bernth, chief of flight operations at NASA Wallops.
    “Despite SARP being a learning experience for both the students and mentors alike, our P-3 is being flown and performing maneuvers in some of most complex and restricted airspace in the country,” said Bernth. “Tight coordination and crew resource management is needed to ensure that these flights are executed with precision but also safely.”
    For more information about Student Airborne Research Program, visit:
    https://science.nasa.gov/earth-science/early-career-opportunities/student-airborne-research-program/
    By Olivia LittletonNASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hubble Studies Small but Mighty Galaxy

    Source: NASA

    This portrait from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope puts the nearby galaxy NGC 4449 in the spotlight. The galaxy is situated just 12.5 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs). It is a member of the M94 galaxy group, which is near the Local Group of galaxies that the Milky Way is part of.
    NGC 4449 is a dwarf galaxy, which means that it is far smaller and contains fewer stars than the Milky Way. But don’t let its small size fool you — NGC 4449 packs a punch when it comes to making stars! This galaxy is currently forming new stars at a much faster rate than expected for its size, which makes it a starburst galaxy. Most starburst galaxies churn out stars mainly in their centers, but NGC 4449 is alight with brilliant young stars throughout. Researchers believe that this global burst of star formation came about because of NGC 4449’s interactions with its galactic neighbors. Because NGC 4449 is so close, it provides an excellent opportunity for Hubble to study how interactions between galaxies can influence the formation of new stars.
    Hubble released an image of NGC 4449 in 2007. This new version incorporates several additional wavelengths of light that Hubble collected for multiple observing programs. These programs encompass an incredible range of science, from a deep dive into NGC 4449’s star-formation history to the mapping of the brightest, hottest, and most massive stars in more than two dozen nearby galaxies.
    The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has also observed NGC 4449, revealing in intricate detail the galaxy’s tendrils of dusty gas, glowing from the intense starlight radiated by the flourishing young stars.
    Text Credit: ESA/Hubble

    Media Contact:
    Claire Andreoli (claire.andreoli@nasa.gov)NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA History News and Notes – Summer 2025

    Source: NASA

    In the summer 2025 issue of the NASA History Office’s News & Notes newsletter, examples of leadership and critical decision-making in NASA’s history form the unifying theme. Among the topics discussed are NASA’s Shuttle-Centaur program, assessing donations to the NASA Archives, how the discovery of the first exoplanet orbiting a sun-like star catalyzed NASA’s exoplanet program, and Chief of the Medical Operations Office Charles A. Berry’s decisions surrounding crew health when planning the Project Gemini missions.

    Volume 42, Number 2Summer 2025

    From the Chief Historian
    By Brian Odom
    NASA’s is a history marked by critical decisions. From George Mueller’s 1963 decision for “all up” testing of the Saturn V rocket to Michael Griffin’s 2006 decision to launch a final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, the agency has continually met key inflection points with bold decisions. These choices, such as the decision to send a crewed Apollo 8 mission around the Moon in December 1968, stand at the center of the agency’s national legacy and promote confidence in times of crisis.  Continue Reading
    Shuttle-Centaur: Loss of Launch Vehicle Redundancy Leads to Discord
    By Robert Arrighi
    “Although the Shuttle/Centaur decision was very difficult to make, it is the proper thing to do, and this is the time to do it.” With those words on June 19, 1986, NASA Administrator James Fletcher canceled the intensive effort to integrate the Centaur upper stage with the Space Shuttle to launch the Galileo and Ulysses spacecraft. The decision, which was tied to increased safety measures following the loss of Challenger several months earlier, brought to the forefront the 1970s decision to launch all U.S. payloads with the Space Shuttle. Continue Reading

    A View into NASA’s Response to the Apollo 1 Tragedy
    By Kate Mankowski
    On January 27, 1967, Mission AS-204 (later known as Apollo 1) was conducting a simulated countdown when a fire suddenly broke out in the spacecraft, claiming the lives of astronauts Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White, and Roger B. Chaffee. The disaster highlighted the risks that come with spaceflight and the work that still needed to be accomplished to meet President Kennedy’s challenge of going to the Moon before the end of the decade. With the complexity of the Apollo spacecraft, discerning the cause of the fire proved to be incredibly difficult. Continue Reading
    The Fight to Fund AgRISTARS
    By Brad Massey
    Robert MacDonald, the manager of NASA’s Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE), was not pleased in January 1978 after he read a draft copy of the U.S. General Accounting Office’s (GAO’s) “Crop Forecasting by Satellite: Progress and Problems” report. The draft’s authors argued that LACIE had not achieved its goals of accurately predicting harvest yields in the mid-1970s. Therefore, congressional leaders should “be aware of the disappointing performance of LACIE to date when considering the future direction of NASA’s Landsat program and the plans of the Department of Agriculture.” Continue Reading
    The Hubble Space Telescope: The Right Project at the Right Time
    By Jillian Rael
    This year, NASA commemorates 35 years of the Hubble Space Telescope’s study of the cosmos. From observations of never-before-seen phenomena within our solar system, to the discovery of distant galaxies, the confirmation of the existence of supermassive black holes, and precision measurements of the universe’s expansion, Hubble has made incredible contributions to science, technology, and even art. Yet, for all its contemporary popularity, the Hubble program initially struggled for congressional approval and consequential funding. For its part, NASA found new ways to compromise and cut costs, while Congress evaluated national priorities and NASA’s other space exploration endeavors against the long-range value of Hubble. Continue Reading

    Appraisal: The Science and Art of Assessing Donations to the NASA Archives
    By Alan Arellano
    The major functions of an archivist center include appraising, arranging, describing, preserving, and providing access to historical records and documents. While together these are pillars of archival science, they are more of an art than a science in their application, fundamentally necessitating skilled decision making. Throughout the NASA archives, staff members make these decisions day in and day out. Continue Reading
    Orbit Shift: How 50 Pegasi b Helped Pull NASA Toward the Stars in the 1990s
    By Lois Rosson
    On October 20, 1995, the New York Times reported the detection of a distant planet orbiting a Sun-like star. The star, catalogued as 51 Pegasi by John Flamsteed in the 18th century, was visible to the naked eye as part of the constellation Pegasus—and had wobbled on its axis just enough that two Swiss astronomers were able to deduce the presence of another object exerting its gravitational pull on the star’s rotation. The discovery was soon confirmed by other astronomers, and 51 Pegasi b was heralded as the first confirmed exoplanet orbiting a star similar to our own Sun. Continue Reading

    Four, Eight, Fourteen Days: Charles A. Berry, Gemini, and the Critical Steps to Living and Working in Space
    By Jennifer Ross-Nazzal
    In 1963, critical decisions had to be made about NASA’s upcoming Gemini missions if the nation were to achieve President John F. Kennedy’s lunar goals. Known as the bridge to Apollo, Project Gemini was critical to landing a man on the Moon by the end of the decade and returning him safely to Earth. The project would demonstrate that astronauts could rendezvous and dock their spacecraft to another space vehicle and give flight crews the opportunity to test the planned extravehicular capabilities in preparation for walking on the lunar surface on future Apollo flights. Perhaps most importantly, Gemini had to show that humans could live and work in space for long periods of time, a fiercely debated topic within and outside of the agency.  Continue Reading

    Imagining Space: The Life and Art of Robert McCall
    By Sandra Johnson
    As we walked into Bob McCall’s Arizona home, it quickly became obvious that two talented and creative people lived there. Tasked with interviewing one of the first artists to be invited to join the NASA Art Program, our oral history team quickly realized the session with McCall would include a unique perspective on NASA’s history. We traveled to Arizona in the spring of 2000 to capture interviews with some of the pioneers of spaceflight and had already talked to an eclectic group of subjects in their homes, including a flight controller for both Gemini and Apollo, an astronaut who had flown on both Skylab and Space Shuttle missions, a former NASA center director, and two former Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) who ferried airplanes during WWII. However, unlike most interviews, the setting itself provided a rare glimpse into the man and his inspiration.  Continue Reading
    Inside the Archives: Biomedical Branch Files
    By Alejandra Lopez
    The Biomedical Branch Files (1966–2008) in the Johnson Space Center archives showcase the inner workings of a NASA office established to perform testing to provide a better understanding of the impacts of spaceflight on the human body. Ranging from memos and notes to documents and reports, this collection is an invaluable resource on the biomedical research done with NASA’s Apollo, Skylab, Space Shuttle, and Space Station projects. Files in the collection cover work done by groups within the branch such as the Toxicology, Microbiology, Clinical, and Biochemistry Laboratories. It also reveals the branch’s evolution and changes in its decision-making process over the years. Continue Reading

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