NewzIntel.com

Category: Science

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cassidy, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Ban Federal Funding for Gender Transition Procedures

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) introduced the No Subsidies for Gender Transition Procedures Act to prohibit taxpayer funded gender transition procedures under Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Affordable Care Act. The bill would also prohibit the use of the medical expense tax deduction for gender transition procedures.
    “Americans don’t want tax dollars funding sex change operations for children,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Let’s use that money for real medical treatment, not to prop up gender ideology.”
    “Americans overwhelmingly agree that hard-earned taxpayer dollars should not go toward paying for harmful gender transition procedures,” said Senator Marshall. “This legislation delivers on President Trump’s promise, eliminates taxpayer-funded transgender procedures on both minors and adults, and defends our nation’s values. As the reconciliation process continues, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation and ensure it is included in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill.”
    “Trans ideology is anti-science, anti-truth, and anti-child – our government cannot make American families complicit in these controversial medical procedures, especially against young and vulnerable people in our society,” said Senator Lee. “Our necessary legislation prevents taxpayer dollars from funding the gender transition regime through reimbursements, Medicare, Medicaid, and other avenues.”
    “American tax dollars should not fund gender reassignment surgery,” said Senator Ricketts. “This bill ends the misuse of tax dollars on these procedures. It also stops federal healthcare facilities from providing these procedures.”
    U.S. Representative Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24) introduced the companion version of this bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.
    “Taxpayers should never be forced to fund dangerous and irreversible gender transition surgeries. The No Subsidies for Gender Transition Procedures Act sets a sweeping precedent by applying to both adults and minors and applying to as many federal funding streams as possible,” said Representative Tenney. “This will ensure that regardless of the age of the individual looking to mutilate themself, the American taxpayer will not be forced to subsidize it. We are working to ensure that not a dime of federal funds can be used to pay for gender transition procedures.”
    The legislation is supported by the American Principles Project.
    “Every year, the federal government subsidizes the transgender medical industry with our tax dollars, despite the vast majority of Americans opposing this horrific waste of taxpayer funding,” said Terry Schilling, President of American Principles Project. “The No Subsidies for Gender Transition Procedures Act would deal a serious blow to the woke trans agenda’s biological and fiscal insanity, and I am grateful for Senator Marshall’s leadership on this problem. It’s time for Congress to pass this important legislation.”
    Background
    By eliminating federal spending on transgender procedures, American taxpayers will save nearly $200 million. 25 states and D.C. have Medicaid policies that explicitly cover transgender-related health care. Over 276,000 of the 1.3 million transgender adults are enrolled in Medicaid.
    In March, Cassidy introduced the Defining Male and Female Act to codify President Trump’s executive order establishing legal definitions of male, female, and sex to ensure they are based on biological reality rather than radical, left-wing ideology.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Baird Announces Launch of 2025 Congressional App Challenge

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jim Baird (R-IN-04)

    Congressman Jim Baird (IN-04) announced that the 2025 Congressional App Challenge has officially launched.

    “I’m proud to announce that the 2025 Congressional App Challenge is now open,” said Congressman Baird. “As a Ph.D. scientist and a member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, I know the value of STEM education and computer science. I encourage every middle and high school student in our district to participate, and I hope this encourages more students to engage in STEM fields. I wish all of the students participating the best of luck, and I look forward to seeing the impressive apps our students create this year!”

    The deadline for students to register for the Congressional App Challenge and submit their app online is 12:00 PM ET on October 30, 2025.

    Students may use any programming language (C, C++, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, “block code,” etc.) and create an app for any platform (PC, web, tablet, robot, mobile, etc.). The winning apps are eligible to be featured in the Capitol Building and be put on House.gov. Students who create winning apps will also be invited to the #HouseofCode Capitol Hill Reception in Washington, D.C., where winners from across the nation will showcase their projects.

    Eligibility:

    • To be eligible to participate in the Congressional App Challenge, you must be a middle or high school student at the time of app submission.
    • Students may register as individuals or as teams of up to four. No more than four students are allowed to form a team.
    • Students may compete in the district they reside in or the district they attend school in.
    • If competing as a team, at least half of the teammates must be eligible to compete in the district in which they are participating.
    • All competing students must be U.S. residents at the time of submission.There is no citizen requirement for students.
    • If competing as a team, all members must submit their information on the registration form to participate.

    Please click here for the 2025 rules and guidelines for students.

    Please click here for the 2025 resources for teachers.

    To register and for more information, please visit congressionalappchallenge.us. For questions, please contact StudentSupport@CongressionalAppChallenge.us.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hickenlooper Introduces Legislation to Expand Family Leave Protections

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper
    Legislation would expand protections under the Family Medical Leave Act to include a wider range of caregivers
    WASHINGTON – Today, on the 32nd anniversary of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper joined nine of his Senate colleagues to introduce the Caring for All Families Act. The bill modernizes FMLA by updating the definition of family to include a broader range of caregiving relationships covered by FMLA’s protections and leave for small needs like doctor’s appointments.
    “We need to expand family medical leave to better support caregivers across the country,” said Hickenlooper. “Workers taking care of family members like siblings or grandchildren deserve the same protections as someone caring for a spouse.”  
    There are roughly 50 million unpaid family caregivers in the United States, 61 percent of which maintain a job outside of their caregiving duties. Notably, most family caregivers provide at least 20 hours of care each week, with many caregivers providing support to children as well as to aging family members. Women compose approximately 60 percent of family caregivers, and often face significant challenges including loss of retirement savings and lower potential lifetime earnings. 
    Specifically, the Caring for All Families Act would:
    Update FMLA’s definition of family to include a domestic partner, parent-in-law, aunt, uncle, sibling, adult child, grandparent, grandchild, son- or daughter-in-law, and other significant relationships
    Guarantee that parents and other family caregivers have the ability to take time off to attend a medical appointment or school function, such as a parent-teacher conference, without risk of losing their jobs.
    The Caring for All Families Act is endorsed by the following organizations:
    National Partnership for Women & Families, National Organization for Women, MomsRising, National Employment Law Project, National Women’s Law Center, Equal Rights Advocates, Center for WorkLife Law, Women Employed, Legal Aid at Work, A Better Balance, NJ Citizen Action, NJ Time to Care Coalition, The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), NC Families Care Coalition, Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition, Missouri Jobs with Justice, Paid Leave for All, Family Values @ Work Action, Caring Across Generations, Shriver Center on Poverty Law, United For Respect, Family Values @ Work, Mother Forward, MANA, A National Latina Organization, Family Forward Oregon, National Council of Jewish Women, Abortion Action Missouri, Center for American Progress, The Arc of the United States, National Education Association, Main Street Alliance, National Association of Social Workers, National Alliance for Caregiving, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Reproductive Freedom for All, AFT, American Association of University Women (AAUW), Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, and Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
    Full text of the bill is available HERE. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: The White House Office of Management and Budget Releases the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Skinny Budget

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    Washington, D.C.–Today, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent President Trump’s topline discretionary Budget request for fiscal year 2026 to the U.S. Congress.
    The Budget, which reduces non-defense discretionary by $163 billion or 23 percent from the 2025 enacted level, guts a weaponized deep state while providing historic increases for defense and border security.  The Budget also provides support for air and rail safety as well as key infrastructure and our Nation’s veterans and law enforcement.
    This is the lowest non-defense spending level since 2017.  Savings come from eliminating radical diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and critical race theory programs, Green New Scam funding, large swaths of the Federal Government weaponized against the American people, and moving programs that are better suited for States and localities to provide. 
    Defense spending would increase by 13 percent, and appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security would increase by nearly 65 percent, to ensure that our military and other agencies repelling the invasion of our border have the resources they need to complete the mission.  These increases will be made possible through the passage of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which will be enacted with a simple majority in the Congress, and not be held hostage by Democrats for wasteful spending increases that have been the status quo in Washington.
    “For decades, the biggest complaint about the Federal Budget was wasteful spending and bloated bureaucracy.  But over the last four years, Government spending aggressively turned against the American people and trillions of our dollars were used to fund cultural Marxism, radical Green New Scams, and even our own invasion.  No agency was spared in the Left’s taxpayer-funded cultural revolution.  At this critical moment, we need a historic Budget—one that ends the funding of our decline, puts Americans first, and delivers unprecedented support to our military and homeland security.  The President’s Budget does all of that,” said Russ Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
    Highlights of the President’s key priorities include the following:
    End Weaponization and Reduce Violent Crime.  The Budget ends the previous Administration’s weaponization of the Government by eliminating programs like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s disinformation offices that targeted and censored Americans, eliminating so-called Fair Housing programs that waged war on America’s suburbs, ending the Environmental Protection Agency’s unfair harassment of citizens over “environmental justice” directives, and halting the ATF’s criminalizing of gun-owning Americans and instead, focusing on stopping illegal firearms traffickers and violent gang members.
    The Budget prioritizes Department of Justice (DOJ) key functions—restoring law and order to America’s communities, fighting crime, and supporting America’s men and women in Blue.  To that end, the Budget proposes to eliminate more than 40 DOJ grant programs that fund things like a “feminist, culturally specific nonprofit” to address “structural racism and toxic masculinities” and training Fa’afafine advocates—an organization of biological men that describes themselves as a “third-gender” in Samoa.  The Budget also reflects the President’s priority of reducing violent crime in American cities and protecting national security by getting Federal Bureau of Investigation agents into the field. 
    Defund the Harmful Woke, Marxist Agenda.  Every single agency across the Federal Government was engaged in funding and advancing DEI and other radical, harmful ideologies such as:  $315 million for grant programs to push “intersectionality,” “racial equity,” and LGBTQIA+ programming for preschoolers; housing grants that funded activities such as an “Equity Audit” to reverse “land use patterns that have roots in systemically racist policies in L.A. County; and “addressing White Supremacy in the STEM profession.”  The Budget ends all of that.
    Secure the Border.  The Budget request empowers the Department of Homeland Security to implement the President’s mass removal campaign and secure the border.  This funding is in addition to historic investments in border security the Administration proposes to provide through mandatory funding, as part of the congressional Budget reconciliation process.  The discretionary request includes an additional $500 million for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to expedite the removal of illegal aliens through the support of 50,000 detention beds, $766 million to procure cutting-edge border security technology funding, and funding to maintain 22,000 Border Patrol Agents and hire additional Customs and Border Protection officers for a total of 26,383 officers.  The Budget also cuts off the flow of taxpayer funds that have been abused to facilitate migrant caravan invasions.  Departments whose task it was to prevent those invasions allocated billions in funding to non-governmental organizations running “border aid stations” and legal services to criminal aliens—all of which will be eliminated under this new budget.
    Realign Foreign Aid.  The Budget ensures that foreign aid spending is efficient and consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda.  The Budget reorganizes the U.S. Agency for International Development into the Department of State to meet current needs and eliminates non-essential staff that were hired based on DEI and preferencing practices.  The Budget also expands the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to support U.S. national security and American interests—generating returns to the taxpayer and reducing reliance on foreign aid.  This includes $3 billion for a new revolving fund to allow DFC to recycle any realized returns from its initial investments.
    Rebuild our Nation’s Military.  The Budget request for the Department of Defense builds on the President’s promise to achieve peace through strength by providing the resources to rebuild our military, re-establish deterrence, and revive the warrior ethos of our Armed Forces.  In combination with $119 billion in mandatory funding, the Budget increases Defense spending by 13 percent, and prioritizes investments to strengthen the safety, security, and sovereignty of the homeland, deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific, and revitalize our defense industrial base. 
    Achieve American Energy Dominance.  The Budget supports the President’s commitment to unleash America’s affordable and reliable energy and natural resources.  The Budget cancels over $15 billion in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Green New Scam funds provided to the Department of Energy for unreliable renewable energy, removing carbon dioxide from the air, and other costly technologies that burden ratepayers and consumers.  The Budget reorients Department of Energy funding toward research and development of technologies that could produce an abundance of domestic fossil energy and critical minerals, innovative concepts for nuclear reactors and advanced nuclear fuels, and technologies that promote firm baseload power.  The Budget also cancels an additional $5.7 billion in IIJA funding provided to the Department of Transportation for failed electric vehicle charger grant programs.
    Make America Healthy Again (MAHA).  The Budget request builds on the President’s MAHA Commission.  The Budget provides resources to the Department of Health and Human Services that would allow the Secretary to tackle issues related to nutrition, physical activity, healthy lifestyles, over-reliance on medication and treatments, the effects of new technological habits, environmental impacts, and food and drug quality and safety.  The Budget also supports the creation of MAHA food boxes, that would be filled with commodities sourced from domestic farmers and given directly to American households.  The Budget includes resources to ensure food safety nationwide, including support for increased production and demand for services.
    Support Our Veterans.  The Budget provides increased funding for healthcare services tailored to U.S. veterans’ needs, both at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers and in the community.  Combined with $50 billion in mandatory funding from the Toxic Exposures Fund, the Budget ensures that the Nation’s veterans are provided with the world-class healthcare that they deserve.  In addition, veterans who qualify for access to care with local community providers would be empowered to make the choice to see them, rather than having to drive in some cases hours to access the nearest VA facility.  The Budget includes $1.1 billion in new VA funding to make a down payment on President Trump’s commitment to eradicate veterans’ homelessness, the largest funding increase in the last decade.
    Preserve Social Security.  The Budget supports the President’s promise to not touch Social Security benefits.  It also includes sufficient resources for the Social Security Administration (SSA) to improve customer service by expanding and improving online services, and reducing customer wait times in field offices and on the phone.  The Budget also includes investments in program integrity, to reduce fraud and abuse in Social Security programs, and in investments in artificial intelligence to increase employee productivity and automate routine workloads.  These efforts would help ensure that SSA delivers timely and accurate Social Security services to the public.
    Streamline K-12 Education Funding and Promote Parental Choice.  The Budget continues the process of shutting down the Department of Education.  The Budget maintains full funding for Title I, that provides Federal financial assistance to school districts for children from low-income families, and special education funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  To limit the Federal role in education, and provide States with more flexibility, the Budget creates a new K-12 Simplified Funding Program that consolidates 18 competitive and formula grant programs into a new formula grant, and a Special Education Simplified Funding Program that consolidates seven IDEA programs into a single grant.  The Budget also invests $500 million, a $60 million increase, to expand the number of high-quality charter schools, that have a proven track record of improving students’ academic achievement and giving parents more choice in the education of their children.
    Make America Skilled Again (MASA).  The Budget proposes to give States and localities the flexibility to spend Federal workforce dollars to best support their workers and economies, instead of funneling taxpayer dollars to progressive non-profits finding work for illegal immigrants or focusing on DEI.  Under this proposal, States would now have more control and flexibility to coordinate with employers and would have to spend at least 10 percent of their MASA grant on apprenticeship, a proven model that trains workers while they earn a paycheck and offers a valuable alternative to college. 
    Support Space Flight.  The Budget refocuses the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) funding on beating China back to the Moon and on putting the first human on Mars.  By allocating over $7 billion for lunar exploration and introducing $1 billion in new investments for Mars-focused programs, it ensures that America’s human space exploration efforts remain unparalleled, innovative, and efficient.  To achieve these objectives, the Budget would streamline the NASA workforce, IT services, NASA Center operations, facility maintenance, and construction and environmental compliance activities.  The Budget also eliminates “green aviation” and other climate scam programs as well as failing space propulsion projects.
    Maintain Support for Tribal Nations.  The Budget preserves Federal funding for the Indian Health Service and supports core programs at the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education, sustaining the Federal Government’s support for core programs that benefit tribal communities.  The Budget also weeds out radical woke grants and programs and streamlines other programs for tribal communities that were ineffective.
    Address Drug Abuse.  The Administration is committed to combatting the scourge of deadly drugs that have ravaged American communities.  The Budget prioritizes Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) resources on traffickers of fentanyl and other dangerous drugs that are driving America’s overdose crisis.  This includes redirecting DEA’s foreign spending to regions with criminal organizations that traffic significant quantities of deadly drugs into the United States—Mexico, Central America, South America, and China. 
    Support Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Research.  The Budget amply funds research in artificial intelligence and quantum information science at key agencies to ensure the United States remains on the cutting edge of these critical technologies’ development and responsible use.
    Improve Wildland Firefighting.  Federal wildfire responsibilities currently are split across five agencies in two departments.  The Budget would consolidate firefighting responsibilities into a new Federal Wildland Fire Service at the Department of the Interior that would coordinate with non-Federal partners to combat the wildfire crisis.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Casten Blasts Trump’s Stoppage of the National Climate Assessment

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Sean Casten (IL-06)

    May 02, 2025

    Washington, D.C. — U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) released the following statement regarding reports that the Trump Administration has effectively halted the National Climate Assessment (NCA), a congressionally mandated report on the impacts of climate change on the United States:

    “The president can attempt to change the laws of the United States, but he cannot change the laws of physics. Climate change is real. It is impacting our health, economy, and national security. It is fueling extreme wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, and flooding, bringing home insurance markets around the country to the brink of collapse. Pretending otherwise isn’t just foolish, it’s dangerous and puts American lives at risk.

    “To effectively stop the work of the National Climate Assessment is to strip federal, state, and local governments of the insights necessary to implement targeted solutions that mitigate the climate crisis. The NCA provides an essential, comprehensive look at how climate change affects American communities, economies, and ecosystems. Gutting the NCA also harms US national security, limiting information available to the Department of Defense as to how climate change impacts military readiness, infrastructure, supply chain, and global stability. 

    “Cutting the nation’s premier tool for understanding the current and future impacts of a changing climate is like smashing the radar on a ship navigating into a growing storm—reckless, disorienting, and leaving everyone on board to navigate blind. This is among the most damaging actions the Trump Administration has taken against climate science to date.”

    The NCA is a congressionally mandated report under the Global Change Research Act, issued every four years. It’s coordinated by NASA and draws on contributions from 14 federal agencies and hundreds of academic, economic, and scientific experts. It provides:

    • High-resolution, county-level climate projections
    • Physical climate risk data essential to real estate, financial, and infrastructure planning
    • Sector-specific and economic impact assessments across a wide range of modeled futures

    Unlike the IPCC reports, which consider the global impacts of climate change, the NCA offers the most granular and policy-relevant science specific to the U.S.. Without it, policymakers lose a foundational tool for climate adaptation, planning, and economic risk assessment.

    On April 9th, 2025, the administration defunded the NCA and gutted the NASA team supporting it. This week, reports indicate the Trump Administration has dismissed all remaining non-governmental volunteers, putting the 2028 report in jeopardy.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senators Coons, Tillis, colleagues introduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation to restore American innovation

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Judiciary Committee’s Intellectual Property Subcommittee, and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, reintroduced the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA). This bipartisan, bicameral legislation will restore patent eligibility to important inventions across many fields while also resolving legitimate concerns over the patenting of mere ideas, the mere discovery of what already exists in nature, and social and cultural content that everyone agrees is beyond the scope of the patent system. It also affirms the basic principle that the patent system is central to promoting technology-based innovation.
    Representatives Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) and Scott Peters (D-Calif.) introduced a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.
    “When American innovators know their ideas are eligible for patent protection, they take the risks that push us into the future – whether that’s the next medical test or the latest AI technology,” said Senator Coons. “PERA restores clarity to the law on what can be patented and what cannot – guidance that federal courts have been requesting for years and that the Supreme Court has refused to provide. Congress must step up to provide America’s inventors with the stable legal foundation they need to produce the cutting-edge technologies that power our economy.”
    “Clear, reliable, and predictable patent rights are imperative to enable investments in the broad array of innovative technologies that are critical to the economic and global competitiveness of the United States, and to ensuring the national security of our great country,” said Senator Tillis. “Unfortunately, a series of Supreme Court decisions have rendered patent eligibility law unclear, unreliable, and unpredictable, resulting in U.S. inventors being unable to obtain patents in areas where our economic peers offer patent protection. This is particularly concerning in the economically critical areas of biotechnology and artificial intelligence. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation maintains the existing statutory categories of eligible subject matter, which have worked well for over two centuries, while addressing inappropriate judicially created eligibility limitations by creating clear rules for what is eligible. We cannot allow foreign adversaries like China to overtake us in key areas of technology innovation due to the current state of patent eligibility law. I look forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders on this important matter. Passing patent eligibility reform is one of my top legislative priorities.”
    “American innovators have been at a disadvantage in recent years because of the U.S. patent system,” said Representative Kevin Kiley. “Convoluted Supreme Court rulings and tests on subject matter eligibility have made it increasingly difficult for inventors to receive patents, leading to foreign companies overtaking our own. That’s why I’m proud to introduce the bi-partisan Patent Eligibility Restoration Act, which will dramatically reverse this trend, and unleash a tide of economic growth and job creation here at home.”
    “For more than two centuries, a U.S. patent has guaranteed inventions will be protected from theft, helping the U.S. become the innovation capital of the world. San Diego, in particular, is the proud home of a thriving life sciences and technology ecosystem that has benefited from these protections,” said Representative Peters. “Over the last 15 years, however, several Supreme Court decisions have created confusion about what exactly is eligible for a patent. Innovators, consumers, and even the judges who adjudicate patent law have called on Congress to provide clarity on what can be patented. I look forward to working with Congressman Kiley, Senator Coons, and Senator Tillis to advance our Patent Eligibility Restoration Act and protect American innovation.” 
    Due to a series of Supreme Court decisions, patent eligibility law in the United States has become confused, constricted, and unclear in recent years. This has resulted in a wide range of well-documented negative impacts – inconsistent case decisions, uncertainty in innovation and investment communities, and unpredictable business outcomes.
    In 2021, all 12 then-sitting judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit lamented the state of the law. Witnesses and stakeholders from a wide array of industries, fields, interest groups, and academia have testified and submitted comments confirming the uncertainty and detailing the detrimental effects of patent eligibility confusion in the United States. There is now widespread bipartisan agreement in Congress and across all recent administrations that reforms are necessary to restore the United States to a position of global strength and leadership in key areas of technology and innovation, such as medical diagnostics, biotechnology, personalized medicine, artificial intelligence, and 5G technology.
    The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act achieves this critical goal by restoring patent eligibility to important inventions across many fields, while also resolving legitimate concerns over patenting of mere ideas, the mere discovery of what already exists in nature, and social and cultural content that everyone agrees is beyond the scope of the patent system, which is a system aimed at promoting technology-based innovation. As a general approach, the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act maintains the existing statutory categories of eligible subject matter, which have worked well for over two centuries, but eliminates the overly malleable set of current judicial exceptions – replacing them with five specific and clear statutory exclusions. By eliminating and replacing the current judicial exceptions, the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act provides predictable patent eligibility for important computer-implemented technological developments and medical advances, creating a solid bedrock for America’s innovation future.
    The following organizations support the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act: Innovation Alliance, C4IP, AUTM, AIPLA, IEEE-USA, USIJ, MDMA, BIO, NCLifeSci, Adeia, Nokia, Sisvel, Conservatives for Property Rights, Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund, U.S. Business & Industry Council, Center for a Free Economy, Center for Individual Freedom, American Policy Center, Less Government, 60 Plus Association, American Association of Senior Citizens, Frontiers of Freedom, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, Center for American Principles, Prosperity for Us Foundation, Market Institute, Inventors Defense Alliance, Lauder Partners, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Heritage Action, 21C, Netlist, and FICPI.
    “Congress has not made substantive changes to what subject matter is patentable in the United States since the Patent Act of 1793, making it difficult for courts, inventors, and the public to understand how 21st-century technologies fit within an 18th Century patent statute,” said Andrei Iancu, board co-chair of C4IP and former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director from 2018 to 2021. “I commend Congress for advancing PERA in order to finally modernize our patent laws and promote U.S. global leadership in biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and other modern technologies.” 
    “PERA provides the clarity needed to unlock the full potential of cutting-edge technologies and solidify U.S. leadership in scientific and technological breakthroughs,” said David Kappos, board co-chair of C4IP and former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director from 2009 to 2013. “We cannot allow legal uncertainty to stall the next wave of American innovation.”
    “Patent Eligibility is an important issue for cancer patients – both for life-saving, early diagnosis and for promising new treatments.  PERA will provide the certainty needed to enable innovative breakthroughs to reach patients. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute applauds Congress for introducing and advancing this important bill – the patients are waiting,” said the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
    “Passing PERA is essential if the US is to catch up to Europe and Asia, especially China,” said Judge Paul Michel (retired). “They make eligible for patenting many classes of inventions held ineligible here. The very uncertainty of the zone of eligibility is itself an obstacle to companies getting the investments they need to compete both domestically and globally. Only Congress can fix this chaotic mess because the courts are trapped in their own harmful precedents.” 
    “In my former court, which hears patent cases on appeal, concurring and dissenting opinions in patent eligibly cases have proliferated,” said Judge Kathleen O’Malley (retired). “Veteran jurists have described the state of affairs as ‘incoherent,’ ‘unclear,’ ‘fraught,’ and ‘inconsistent.’ The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act would return clarity to patent eligibly law and encourage continued innovation in key emerging technologies – technologies that are central to the United States remaining the world’s innovation leader.”
    “NCLifeSci thanks Senator Tillis for reintroducing the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2025, which restores the confidence in our nation’s patent laws by bringing much needed clarity to Section 101 of the Patent Act. Confidence that the life sciences industry needs to robustly invest in the future of medicine. For too long, fields like diagnostics, precision medicine, cell and gene therapy, RNA medicine, and digital health have been threatened by unclear and uncertain patent-eligibility standards that put America’s innovators at a disadvantage, and that discourage local investment. Through this legislation, our members – which include leading innovators who operate cutting-edge gene therapy manufacturing facilities here in North Carolina and research potential treatments and cures for Alzheimer’s and cancer —will be able to continue to take the bold risks and make the high levels of investment necessary to take fields like these to their next level, with the confidence that our patent laws will continue to hold up through future waves of technological progress,” said the NC Life Sciences Organization.
    “The Innovation Alliance applauds Senators Tillis and Coons and Representatives Kiley and Peters for sponsoring the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act, which will provide much needed predictability and clarity to the hopelessly confused law of patent eligibility.  The Supreme Court has provided no workable framework to guide patent owners or the courts, and it has repeatedly refused to clarify the law, rejecting requests by the Federal Circuit and others to do so time and again. Investment dollars are flowing out of the United States as a result, jeopardizing the future of America’s innovation economy. It is past time for Congress to act,” said the Innovation Alliance.  
    “This bipartisan and much-needed bill would strike a decade of judicial tinkering that has needlessly turned the question of patent eligibility into a confusing mess and harmed the U.S. versus our economic competitors. While the U.S. has spent a decade holding back innovations in areas such as fintech, diagnostic solutions and medical devices trying to figure out whether they are ‘abstract’ or not, our competitors are moving forward and protecting these inventions. PERA would be particularly beneficial to American startups and innovators by providing the clarity needed to attract investment for new ventures in essential areas such as medical devices, diagnostics, manufacturing and a whole new range of advancements powered by software,” said the Alliance of U.S. Startups & Inventors for Jobs.
    “AUTM – the association representing technology transfer professionals – thanks Senators Tillis and Coons and others for their leadership in introducing PERA. This legislation is crucially needed to address the ambiguities that the courts have created about what is, and what is not, patent eligible. At a time when the U.S. is competing for innovation leadership, its patent system needs to clearly delineate this process so that it can move forward on numerous discoveries that otherwise would wither on the vine,” said AUTM.
    “The reintroduction of the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA) marks a pivotal move toward restoring clarity and consistency in U.S. patent law. By providing clear statutory guidelines, PERA offers inventors, entrepreneurs, and research institutions the certainty needed to innovate confidently. We commend Senator Tillis and Senator Coons for their leadership on this critical issue and remain committed to collaborating with Congress to support a patent system that fosters transparency and predictability,” said the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA).
    “The Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform applauds Congress for reintroducing PERA. This legislation represents a significant step forward in clarifying patent eligibility while maintaining necessary standards on what is ultimately patentable. 21C applauds these efforts as they will make sure that the United States remains the most attractive place in the world to invest, invent, and grow,” said the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform (21C).
    The text of the bill is available here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: President Trump’s FY26 Budget Revitalizes Human Space Exploration

    Source: NASA

    The Trump-Vance Administration released toplines of the President’s budget for Fiscal Year 2026 on Friday. The budget accelerates human space exploration of the Moon and Mars with a fiscally responsible portfolio of missions.
    “This proposal includes investments to simultaneously pursue exploration of the Moon and Mars while still prioritizing critical science and technology research,” said acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro. “I appreciate the President’s continued support for NASA’s mission and look forward to working closely with the administration and Congress to ensure we continue making progress toward achieving the impossible.”

    Increased commitment to human space exploration in pursuit of exploration of both the Moon and Mars. By allocating more than $7 billion for lunar exploration and introducing $1 billion in new investments for Mars-focused programs, the budget ensures America’s human space exploration efforts remain unparalleled, innovative, and efficient.
    Refocus science and space technology resources to efficiently execute high priority research. Consistent with the administration’s priority of returning to the Moon before China and putting an American on Mars, the budget will advance priority science and research missions and projects, ending financially unsustainable programs including Mars Sample Return. It emphasizes investments in transformative space technologies while responsibly shifting projects better suited for private sector leadership.
    Transition the Artemis campaign to a more sustainable, cost-effective approach to lunar exploration. The SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion capsule will be retired after Artemis III, paving the way for more cost-effective, next-generation commercial systems that will support subsequent NASA lunar missions. The budget also ends the Gateway Program, with the opportunity to repurpose already produced components for use in other missions. International partners will be invited to join these renewed efforts, expanding opportunities for meaningful collaboration on the Moon and Mars.
    Continue the process of transitioning the International Space Station to commercial replacements in 2030, focusing onboard research on efforts critical to the exploration of the Moon and Mars. The budget reflects the upcoming transition to a more cost-effective, open commercial approach to human activities in low Earth orbit by reducing the space station’s crew size and onboard research, preparing for the safe decommissioning of the station and its replacement by commercial space stations.
    Work to minimize duplication of efforts and most efficiently steward the allocation of American taxpayer dollars. This budget ensures NASA’s topline enables a financially sustainable trajectory to complete groundbreaking research and execute the agency’s bold mission.
    Focus NASA’s resources on its core mission of space exploration. This budget ends climate-focused “green aviation” spending while protecting the development of technologies with air traffic control and other U.S. government and commercial applications, producing savings. This budget also will ensure continued elimination any funding toward misaligned DEIA initiatives, instead designating that money to missions capable of advancing NASA’s core mission. NASA will continue to inspire the next generation of explorers through exciting, ambitious space missions that demonstrate American leadership in space.

    NASA will coordinate closely with its partners to execute these priorities and investments as efficiently and effectively as possible.
    Building on the President’s promise to increase efficiency this budget pioneers a focused, innovative, and fiscally-responsible path to America’s next great era of human space exploration.
    Learn more about the President’s budget request for NASA:

    Aero-Budget

    -end-
    Bethany StevensHeadquarters, Washington771-216-2606bethany.c.stevens@nasa.gov

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: With Medicaid Cut Details Looming, Cantwell Releases Snapshot Report Showing How WA’s Seniors Could Suffer

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell
    05.02.25
    With Medicaid Cut Details Looming, Cantwell Releases Snapshot Report Showing How WA’s Seniors Could Suffer
    In exclusive survey, 67 of 68 WA nursing homes say even a 5% Medicaid cut would force them to reduce long-term care services, nearly 2/3rds say they would consider closing Next week, Congressional Republicans are expected to release the details of their plan to cut $880B from the vital program
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, released a snapshot report highlighting the impact that Medicaid cuts would have on Washington state’s highly-ranked long-term care system for seniors and people with disabilities.
    “Medicaid pays for essential long-term care for over 100,000 seniors and people with disabilities in the State of Washington,” said Sen. Cantwell. “As this report shows, cuts to Medicaid could force nursing homes to consider closing, strip away access to home care for seniors who want to age at home, and put dangerous stress on emergency services.”
    Report highlights include:
    An exclusive new survey of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 775 WA home care workers—94% of the 3,787 respondents said that their clients would likely need care at an ER if their home care stopped.
    New information on how crucial Medicaid funding is for our state’s nursing homes—on average, WA nursing homes receive 52.3% of their revenue from Medicaid.
    An exclusive new survey of 68 WA nursing homes, which found that 67 of 68 would cut services if Medicaid were cut by 5% or more, and 65% would consider closing.
    Statewide data showing that 105,700 Washingtonians receive home-based long-term services and supports through Medicaid.
    In the coming weeks, Congressional Republicans are expected to release details of their plan to cut $880 billion from Medicaid, the federal program that insures many low-income adults and children, pregnant people, seniors, and people with disabilities.
    Medicaid is a crucial support for WA’s long-term care system, paying for home care workers that help seniors and people with disabilities stay in their homes. When these patients need a level of care that only a nursing home can provide, Medicaid can reimburse nursing homes for that care.
    Based on surveys, interviews, and data from nursing homes, home care workers, emergency services providers, and area agencies on aging, the report details how Medicaid cuts would endanger a long-term health care system that is ranked #2 in the nation by AARP.
    Cuts to Medicaid could devastate this system by creating a double-crisis: More people needing to go to a nursing home, combined with fewer nursing home beds. According to Lynn Kimball, Executive Director of Aging and Long Term Care of Eastern Washington, “there are not enough nursing home beds in our region or across the state to respond to the number of people who would end up needing support if Medicaid no longer funded home care.”
    Medicaid cuts would affect all Washingtonians by putting a greater burden on emergency services. Says Pat Songer, COO and Chief of EMS at Cascade Medical in Leavenworth: “Stripping Medicaid coverage from individuals in long-term or home care settings forces EMS providers to become the safety net of last resort. Without access to routine care, vulnerable patients are left with no option but to call 911 for basic health needs—putting additional pressure on an already strained emergency medical system. This policy shift doesn’t save money; it shifts cost and care to frontline responders, undermining patient outcomes and EMS sustainability, especially in rural communities.”
    The full snapshot report is available HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Commend Kyrgyzstan on Eradicating Statelessness, Ask about Measures to Prevent Hate Speech and Bride Kidnapping

    Source: United Nations – Geneva

    The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today concluded its consideration of the combined eleventh and twelfth periodic reports of Kyrgyzstan, with Committee Experts commending the State on resolving all known cases of statelessness, and asking about measures to prevent hate speech and the practice of bride kidnapping.

    Mazalo Tebie, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, and other Committee Experts commended Kyrgyzstan on having resolved all known cases of statelessness in 2019.  They asked how the State party was bringing its legislation on statelessness in line with international standards.

    Guan Jian, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, said conflicts between the country’s various ethnic groups had occurred in recent years.  The State party needed to consider early detection and preventative measures to prevent hate speech.  Could the delegation provide data on crimes motivated by racist hate speech occurring online and in the media?

    Ms. Tebie also said there was a phenomenon in Kyrgyzstan called “ala kachuu” (bride kidnapping), in which young women or girls from marginalised and vulnerable ethnic groups were abducted by men and forced into marriage.  How did the State ensure the effective implementation of laws prohibiting the practice?

    In opening remarks, Marat Tagaev, Deputy Minister of Culture, Information and Youth Policy of Kyrgyzstan and head of the delegation, said Kyrgyzstan fully adhered to its international obligations under the Convention.  The President had approved the national development strategy until 2040, one of the main priorities of which was to ensure interethnic harmony and strengthen the unity of the people.

    In addition, Mr. Tagaev said Kyrgyzstan continued systematic and continuous work on the issues of refugees, internally displaced persons and stateless persons.  In 2019, it became the first country in the world to resolve all known cases of statelessness.  It had also introduced a universal system that ensured 100 per cent registration of births.

    On measures to address hate speech, the delegation said a new bill on the media had been prepared in 2022 which prevented the spread of disinformation online.  In 2025, only 25 complaints related to online hate speech had been received by the State; the State had moved to block websites in response in seven cases.

    The delegation said bridal theft was a form of violence against women.  Persons who abducted women for the purpose of marriage were punished with up to seven years imprisonment, or up to 20 years for the abduction of minors. In 2022, courts found 42 individuals guilty of these crimes.  In all schools, a special subject was taught that addressed kidnapping and abductions, explaining that these actions were crimes.

    In concluding remarks, Michal Balcerzak, Committee Chair, said the dialogue had been very constructive, addressing many issues.  The information provided by the delegation would allow the Committee to develop targeted concluding observations.

    Mr. Guan, in concluding remarks, thanked the State party for its contributions to the dialogue, which had helped to make it a success.

    Mr. Tagaev, in his concluding remarks, said that the Committee’s comments and questions would help the State party to strengthen measures to promote equality and prevent discrimination. Kyrgyzstan would continue to take active steps to prevent racial discrimination and implement the Convention, working in collaboration with civil society.

    The delegation of Kyrgyzstan consisted of representatives of the Supreme Court; General Prosecutor’s Office; Ministry of Internal Affairs; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Labour, Social Security, and Migration; Ministry of Education and Science; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Economy and Commerce; Cabinet of Ministers; State Commission on Religious Affairs; Administration of the President; and the Permanent Mission of Kyrgyzstan to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

    The Committee will issue its concluding observations on the report of Kyrgyzstan after the conclusion of its one hundred and fifteenth session on 9 May.  The programme of work and other documents related to the session can be found here.  Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here.

    The Committee will next meet in public on Friday, 9 May at 4 p.m. to close its one hundred and fifteenth session.

    Report

    The Committee has before it the combined eleventh and twelfth periodic reports of Kyrgyzstan (CERD/C/KGZ/11-12).

    Presentation of Report

    MARAT TAGAEV, Deputy Minister of Culture, Information and Youth Policy of Kyrgyzstan and head of the delegation, said that since Kyrgyzstan gained independence, the human rights and freedoms of its citizens, regardless of their racial and ethnic affiliation, had remained absolute and unchanged in the State.  Kyrgyzstan fully adhered to its international obligations under the Convention.  It was a multi-ethnic State with representatives of more than 100 different ethnic groups, including Uzbeks, Russians, Dungans, Uyghurs, Tajiks and other ethnic groups.  The Constitution prohibited discrimination based on race, language, ethnicity, religion, origin, as well as other circumstances.  The commission of a crime based on racial, ethnic, national, religious or interregional enmity was an aggravating circumstance.

    Set up in 2013, the Coordinating Council on Human Rights aimed to improve the mechanisms for ensuring the protection of human and civil rights and freedoms, and the implementation of international obligations in the field of human rights.  The Council included the heads of key State bodies whose activities were related to the protection of human rights, and it was headed by the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan.

    Kyrgyzstan continued systematic and continuous work on the issues of refugees, internally displaced persons and stateless persons.  In 2019, it became the first country in the world to resolve all known cases of statelessness.  It had also introduced a universal system that ensured 100 per cent registration of births.  Draft laws on Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Reduction of Statelessness Convention had also been submitted for public discussion. 

    The courts of the country applied not only the laws of Kyrgyzstan but also international treaties that had entered into force.  The Convention was thus an integral part of the legal system.  The President had approved the national development strategy until 2040, one of the main priorities of which was to ensure interethnic harmony, strengthen the unity of the people, and protect the rights of citizens, regardless of their ethnicity.

    In November 2020, the President of Kyrgyzstan had approved the plan for the promotion of a civil identity Kyrgyz jarany (Kyrgyz citizen) for the period 2021-2026.  The purpose of the plan was to develop a favourable environment for the promotion of the civic identity of Kyrgyz jarany, including through forming of a conscious understanding of the civil identity of Kyrgyz citizens; strengthening the unity of the people of Kyrgyzstan, increasing tolerance and promoting diversity; developing and promoting the State language and preserving multilingualism; promoting equal access to decision making; and increasing confidence in political institutions and public authorities.  Various national and international stakeholders were involved in developing the plan. 

    The People’s Assembly, which included 30 ethnic associations, played an important role in strengthening interethnic harmony, and preserving languages, culture and traditions of ethnic groups living in Kyrgyzstan.  In April 2025, the National Agency for Religious Affairs and Interethnic Relations was established, which implemented State policy in the field of religious relations, strengthening interethnic harmony, providing early warning, and preventing interethnic conflicts.

    Public reception offices for interethnic relations operated in 23 multiethnic districts, carrying out preventive measures, monitoring work in places where multiethnic communities lived, and promoting effective interaction with the civil sector.  In 2024, these offices carried out more than 1,100 early warning and prevention measures regarding interethnic conflicts, and close to 4,000 measures over the past four years.  As a result of this work, the number of interethnic incidents had decreased four-fold.

    Kyrgyzstan had created a legal framework to prevent discrimination in the courts.  The constitutional principle of equality before the law and the courts was reflected in the Criminal Procedure Code and laws on the status and behaviour of judges, as well as on the Supreme Court and local courts.

    The State party supported members of all ethnic groups in Kyrgyzstan to preserve, study and develop their native languages. In 161 local schools, students had the opportunity to study in Uzbek.  In 22 of them, education took place only in Uzbek.  The State strove to implement a balanced language policy that would foster a new trilingual generation of Kyrgyz citizens who spoke the official languages and one foreign language, while ensuring guarantees for the preservation of the native languages of ethnic communities.  Kyrgyzstan had developed a regulatory framework for its multilingual and multicultural education programmes.

    Questions by a Committee Expert

    GUAN JIAN, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, said that the high-level delegation showed the great importance that the State party attached to the dialogue.

    The demographic data that the State party had provided was not sufficiently comprehensive or specific. How did the State party apply the principle of self-identification in data collection on ethnicity, and how would it implement the Committee’s recommendations on data collection as soon as possible?

    Mr. Guan commended the State party’s legislative work.  However, in its previous concluding observations, the Committee expressed concern about the persistent lack of anti-discrimination legislation, calling on the State party to adopt such legislation in line with the Convention, with assistance from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.  Had progress been made in this regard?  How did the Criminal Code of 2019 contribute to combatting racial discrimination?  A draft anti-discrimination law was submitted to Parliament in 2023 but was subsequently removed from its agenda for revision.  Why was this?

    The previous concluding observations also called for compliance with Convention obligations in the judicial field. During the reporting period, law enforcement units initiated 189 criminal cases related to incitement to ethnic, racial, religious or interregional hostility.  Were all these cases brought before the courts?  Did the judicial system have internal guidelines for handling cases involving racial discrimination?  Were there rules and procedures on cooperation between judicial bodies and the Office of the Ombudsperson on such cases?  Were regular training courses on anti-racial discrimination provided for judicial personnel?  Could the delegation provide examples of cases of racial discrimination where the provisions of the Convention had been invoked in, or applied by, domestic courts?

    Mr. Guan expressed appreciation for the State party’s policy efforts related to racial discrimination, including the national action plan on development of the civil identity of Kyrgyz jarany (Kyrgyz citizen) for the period 2021-2026 and the national development strategy for 2018-2040.  What preliminary achievements had been made by these policies, and by the State programme for the security and socioeconomic development of border areas, and what challenges remained?

    The Committee was concerned that the Office of the Ombudsperson was not in compliance with the Paris Principles and that it received a low number of complaints of racial discrimination. What measures had the State party taken to strengthen the mandate of the Office to effectively promote human rights and to independently monitor and evaluate progress in the implementation of the Convention, while ensuring adequate financial and human resources to carry out its mandate?  Had the State adopted a 2017 bill aiming to strengthen the independence of the institution? Why had its head been dismissed in 2023?

    Mr. Guan expressed appreciation for the State party’s endeavours to prohibit and punish racist hate speech and hate crimes, including in the media and over the internet, according to its Constitution, Criminal Code and other laws.  The State party had also reported that there were no recorded cases over the reporting period of racist statements in the media or incitement to hatred by politicians or public figures.  However, conflicts between the country’s various ethnic groups had occurred in recent years, and development gaps and uneven opportunities between different ethnic groups in some regions still existed. 

    The State party needed to consider early detection and preventative measures to prevent hate speech, including awareness raising campaigns, incentives for strengthening self-regulation of media, systematic monitoring of online hate speech, and capacity building for State authorities.  Could the delegation provide data on cases of hate speech and ethnic groups involved in conflict, and rates of completion of trials on such cases?

    The Committee had previously called on the State party to put an end to racial profiling by the police, undertake effective investigations into all allegations of racial profiling, hold those responsible accountable, and provide effective remedies to victims, as well as to develop training programmes for law enforcement officers on identifying, investigating and prosecuting racist incidents.  Mr. Guan welcomed educational seminars and training of citizens as part of the programme on Kyrgyz jarany (Kyrgyz citizen).  What measures were in place to ensure that law enforcement officers did not engage in racial profiling?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said Kyrgyzstan was committed to its obligations under the Convention and took every effort to prevent racial discrimination.  A bill on the rights of minorities had been prepared to strengthen legal mechanisms to prevent racial discrimination.  However, Parliament had called for the revision of this bill to consider different views and proposals; this process was ongoing.

    Kyrgyzstan was a poly-ethnic State. As of January 2025, the State had a population of 7.2 million.  The 2022 census revealed that Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Russians, Uyghurs and Kazakhs represented the largest ethnic groups.  Citizens had the right to voluntarily report their ethnic identity in the census.  The Constitution enshrined the equality of all citizens regardless of their nationality or ethnicity.

    Discrimination in all forms was prohibited in Kyrgyzstan.  No person could be discriminated against based on race, ethnicity or other characteristics.  The State provided judicial protection from all forms of discrimination.  Courts treated people equally regardless of their ethnicity.  All persons subjected to discrimination could file a complaint with the courts.  The Supreme Court had called on the State party to revise laws that contravened the Constitution.  In cases of serious crimes such as murder and ill-treatment, discriminatory motives based on race, ethnicity, religion, language or other grounds were considered to be aggravating circumstances and could be qualified as crimes against humanity.

    The Ministry of the Interior provided 1,000 hours of training for newly recruited law enforcement officers, which included classes on human rights, international human rights law, and preventing all forms of discrimination.  Disciplinary cases had been brought against 5,400 officials in recent years.  A service had been established for submitting complaints against law enforcement officers. There were 53 cases related to racial discrimination in 2023 and 47 in 2024.  The judicial academy, from 2019, had also trained 429 judges on international human rights standards.  There were judges of Russian, Tartar and Kurd ethnicity in the Supreme Court.

    The Office of the Ombudsperson provided oversight on human rights issues in the State.  A new constitutional law on increasing the independence and powers of the Office and bringing the Office in line with the Paris Principles had been developed.  Recently, the Office’s budget had been increased to allow it to carry out its activities more effectively.

    Follow-Up Questions by Committee Experts

    GUAN JIAN, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, asked whether the national statistics committee had a fixed term for carrying out the next census.  How many staff members did the Ombudsperson’s Office have and what were their roles?  What were the sources of its funding and what was its annual budget?  How did it work with courts and law enforcement?  Did the Office have branches in each region of the country?

    A Committee Expert said racist incidents in the country seemed to have increased over the years, but disciplinary measures against the police seemed to be decreasing.  In how many disciplinary cases had police officers been convicted?  What were the outcomes of disciplinary proceedings?

    One Committee Expert congratulated the State party on having completely eradicated statelessness.  Did the State party ensure the independence of the Council of Human Rights, which was under the President’s Office?  What findings had the Council made?  How did it cooperate with civil society?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said that currently, 115 persons worked for the Ombudsperson’s Office, which had branch offices in seven regions.  The Office’s financial resources had increased each year in recent years.  The Office had departments for oversight on human rights and children’s rights, a complaints department, and a department for judicial activities.  The Office monitored the rights and freedoms of citizens during both open and closed judicial proceedings.  It cooperated with law enforcement agencies and monitored the compliance of these agencies with their human rights obligations.

    All law enforcement agents underwent training activities on human rights.  Disciplinary offences for police officers were not administrative or criminal processes; they were internal processes.  Persons could submit complaints against officers via social media and email.  If investigations found that crimes had been committed, cases were transferred to the Prosecutor’s Office.  There had been an increase in complaints recently, which had led to an increase in disciplinary proceedings, but around half of complaints were found to be groundless.

    The Kyrgyz jarany (Kyrgyz citizen) project promoted respect for diversity, social cohesion and statehood. Under the project, some 23 regions had established offices that carried out monitoring and activities to prevent interethnic conflicts, including meetings with ethnic community representatives and training activities.

    The State programme on the development of border areas aimed at improving the living conditions of the population in these areas, strengthening the State border and reducing internal migration.  There were plans to develop infrastructure, agriculture and electrical supply, and reduce natural disasters in these areas.  The comprehensive programme of socio-economic development of regions was also in place, which included policies for the development of mountainous and border regions.

    Questions by a Committee Expert

    MAZALO TEBIE, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, said public offices responsible for interethnic issues had received 167 requests in 2022 related to preventing discrimination against ethnic groups.  What follow-up was given to these requests?  Could the delegation provide data on investigations into crimes motivated by racist hate speech and hate crimes occurring online and in the media? How did the State help victims to access legal aid and support services?

    Reportedly, women and girls belonging to ethnic minorities, such as Uzbeks, Tajiks and Dungans, and rural women remained underrepresented in the public and political sphere, and patriarchal norms and socio-economic barriers restricted their access to education and professional opportunities.  How were they encouraged to participate in public and private life?  What measures were in place to prevent gender and ethnic stereotypes?  Were there quotas or mechanisms to ensure fair representation of women from ethnic minorities in decision-making bodies?  How did the State party support access to basic social services for minority women?

    Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community had reportedly faced difficulties in accessing health services, and were frequently exposed to blackmail, intimidation, extortion, as well as arbitrary arrests and ill-treatment. What measures were in place to include these persons in awareness raising campaigns, prevent and investigate discrimination and violence against them, and ensure their access to legal protection?

    There were reports of restrictions of rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association and opinion in the State party.  Human rights defenders and journalists were frequently exposed to threats, stigmatisation, arrests, arbitrary detentions, and sanctions such as fines, expulsions or closures of entities.  Kyrgyzstan had fallen 50 places in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index, to 122nd out of 180 countries.  What was being done to prevent the intimation of human rights defenders, to guarantee freedom of expression and other fundamental freedoms, and to release detained journalists, human rights defenders and non-governmental organization leaders?

    In 2024, the President promulgated a law on “foreign agents”.  How would the State party address concerns related to this law, which seemingly could force some non-governmental organizations to close or self-censor?  What safeguards were in place to ensure that civil society organizations could operate freely, regardless of their foreign funding?  Many non-governmental organizations had reported an increase in negative attitudes to their work by State representatives.  What measures were in place to protect non-governmental organizations from interference and intimidation by public authorities?

    A general ban on public assemblies had been imposed in 2022 to prevent certain peaceful assemblies.  Why was this ban introduced?  How did the State party ensure that citizens could exercise their right to freedom of assembly?  What measures were planned to prevent abuses of this ban by the police? Were there any redress mechanisms for citizens sanctioned under this ban?

    New laws had been implemented that banned wearing of religious clothing, including the niqab, in public spaces, and proselytising outside places of worship.  Why had these new restrictions, which ran the risk of violating the right to freedom of religion, been introduced?  How did the State party protect the right to freedom of religion and prevent religious minorities from being marginalised by these laws?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said non-profit organizations played an important part in life in Kyrgyzstan, helping to solve societal problems.  Amendments were brought to the law on non-commercial organizations in 2024 that aimed to ensure transparency and accountability for these organizations. Inclusion of these organizations in the State register ensured transparency in their finances.

    The State party banned discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, who were guaranteed equal access to justice.  In one case, it was found that a television station had recorded a member of this community without their permission; the station was issued with a fine in response.

    There were 21,000 civil service employees, of which 35 per cent were women.  There were 340 members of minority groups in the civil service. There were no quotas for employment in the civil service.

    The draft bill on freedom of worship and religious associations sought to bring State legislation on religion in line with international norms.  It included regulations on registration of religious organizations and sites and labour relations in such organizations.  Freedom of worship was a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution and the legal system.  There was no ban specifically on religious clothing, only a ban on covering one’s face in public institutions.  Religious organizations could not proselytise, but there were no other bans on their activities.

    Under State law, no one had the right to restrict peaceful assemblies.  Laws prevented citizens from being forced to participate in meetings. Public authorities needed to ensure public safety, and could ban public meetings that threatened public order.

    A new bill on the media had been prepared in 2022.  The bill was now under review in the President’s Office.  Representatives of the media fully supported this bill, which prevented the spread of disinformation online.  In 2025, only 25 complaints related to online hate speech had been received by the State; the State had moved to block websites in response in seven cases.

    Questions by Committee Experts

    MAZALO TEBIE, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, said that the State party had established several measures to prevent discrimination against minorities.  How did it evaluate the effectiveness of these measures? Could women wear the niqab?  How did the State party ensure freedom of religion?

    There was a phenomenon in Kyrgyzstan called “ala kachuu” (bride kidnapping), in which young women or girls were abducted by men and forced into marriage.  This practice was said to mainly affect women and girls from rural communities, and from marginalised and vulnerable groups.  What actions had been taken to ensure the effective implementation of laws prohibiting the practice, and to raise awareness among rural communities about women’s rights?  What support services were available to abducted women and girls?  Did the State party have up-to-date data on the most affected ethnic groups or regions?

    Another Committee Expert asked whether there was a framework for the participation of minorities in all law-making processes.

    FAITH DIKELEDI PANSY TLAKULA, Committee Expert and Follow-Up Rapporteur, said that the Committee’s previous concluding observations had called on the State party to implement the views of the Human Rights Committee and pardon Azimjan Askarov, considering his poor health.  The Committee deeply regretted that he had passed away five days after the State party had reported that his health was improving.  What measures were in place to protect human rights defenders, journalists and non-governmental organizations working on the rights of ethnic minorities from reprisals?

    A Committee Expert welcomed that there were thousands of civil society organizations in the State party.  Did they take part in meetings preparing for the current dialogue?  How many of these organizations had been banned?

    Another Committee Expert said that in one court case concerning an attack against homosexual persons, the court had sent back the case to the prosecution.  What happened to the case after this?  Was the fine issued to the television station for recording a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community without their permission sufficient?

    GUAN JIAN, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, welcomed measures to promote the protection of equal rights for all ethnic groups.  The Committee had previously expressed concern about the low living standards of the Mughat, characterised by high unemployment and school dropout rates; land expropriation, home demolitions and forced evictions, disproportionately affecting Uzbeks from Osh and Jalalabad and frequently carried out in the absence of due process guarantees; discrimination against Uzbeks in access to work; and the absence of remedies for persons arbitrarily dismissed from their posts following the events of 2010.  What measures were implemented to address the Committee’s concerns?

    Parliamentary deputies’ seats had in 2021 been reduced from 120 to 90.  Representatives of minority ethnic communities had held 16 seats in 2021. What impact did the reduction of seats have on the representation of ethnic groups?  As of 2022, some 11 per cent of members of local councils and four per cent of State and municipal administration staff were members of minority ethnic groups, while 3.1 per cent of police officers were from minority groups. What measures were in place to increase minority representation in these bodies and the judiciary?

    Mr. Guan welcomed the State party’s efforts to promote multilingual education.  The law on education stated that educational services could be provided in a foreign language.  Were minority languages considered to be “foreign languages”?  What financing was provided for multilingual education? There were only 2,450 ethnic Uzbeks, 125 ethnic Tajiks, and 417 Dungans studying in their mother tongues in Kyrgyzstan in 2021.  Why were these numbers so low?

    Many institutions had been established by the State party to address interethnic tensions, such as the public advisory councils on interethnic relations; community liaison offices; the monitoring centre of the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sport and Youth Policy; and the interagency commission.  Were these organizations run by the State or non-governmental organizations?  What were each of their tasks, including in implementing the Kyrgyz jarany (citizens of Kyrgyzstan) plan?  What personnel did these institutions have, how were their powers divided, and how did they cooperate with law enforcement?

    Related to June 2010 ethnic violence in the south of the State, among a total of 5,642 criminal cases initiated by law enforcement agencies, proceedings had been suspended in 3,919 cases, a majority of the cases, while inquiries were being conducted.  What data could be provided on these suspended cases?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said bridal theft was a form of violence against women.  This crime was punished under criminal legislation and punishments had recently been strengthened.  Persons who abducted women for the purpose of marriage were punished with up to seven years imprisonment, or up to 20 years for the abduction of minors.  No amnesty was provided to perpetrators.  In 2022, courts found 42 individuals guilty of these crimes.  In all schools, a special subject was taught that addressed kidnapping and abductions, explaining that these actions were crimes.

    Some 97 per cent of children in the State party attended schools.  The State promoted education in native tongues and official languages.  More than 4,000 children were being taught in the Uzbek language, and there were also special schools teaching in other minority ethnic languages such as Tajik.

    Currently, there were around 1,500 members of ethnic minorities serving as civil servants, some 35 per cent of whom were women.  There were three representatives of minority ethnic groups currently serving in Parliament. Uzbeks, Dungans, Russians and Kazakhs were represented in parliamentary deputy seats, five per cent of which were held by women.

    After the events of June 2010, more than 5,300 criminal cases had been launched and more than 300 people had been brought to justice, including one life sentence conviction.  Investigations were based on respect for human rights and ethnicity was not a factor in the consideration of cases.  Kyrgyzstan was committed to carrying out fair trials in line with international standards.  There were some 42 cases involving murder, and several cases involving destruction of public and private property.  Some three billion som in damages were incurred by the State.

    Regarding the death in custody of Azimjan Askarov, the central prison hospital had diagnosed him with pneumonia and had provided him with treatment; however, he had rejected this treatment, leading to his death.  An investigation into the death was ongoing.

    The case of an alleged attack on homosexual people had been dropped after being returned to the prosecution. Regarding the case of a transgender girl recorded by a television station, courts provided financial compensation for moral damage, considering the degree of damage caused and the circumstances of the case.

    Questions by Committee Experts

    GUAN JIAN, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, called for more detailed information on public works undertaken in Osh city without the permission of local residents, and the situation of the Mughat community, some members of which were relocated after their lands were flooded.  Were affected people provided with compensation?

    A Committee Expert said that racial discrimination and climate change inhibited access to health for the Mughat community.  How did the State party promote access to health, safe food and drinking water for this community, and access to reproductive health rights for its women and children?

    Another Committee Expert asked whether parents who refused to send their children to school were criminally prosecuted by the Ministry of Justice.

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said the State party was implementing a project to digitally register all newborns, which had promoted 100 per cent registration of births in the Mughat community.  Some 95 per cent of the Kyrgyz population had access to drinking water.  The State party was building water pipelines to increase access to drinking water in remote communities, including to the Mughat community.

    Citizens had the inalienable right to healthcare services, regardless of their ethnicity or other characteristics. The programme on State guarantees approved in 2023 aimed to improve access to medical services for vulnerable groups and increase the quality of health services.

    Parents were required to send school age children to school.  They had the right to choose the language of education and between public and private schools or homeschooling.  A bill had been developed that called for fining of parents who refused to send their children to school.

    The State party had identified sites for demolition in Osh in a project to develop public roads.  Some 69 million som had been provided in compensation to persons whose homes or property were affected.  Persons who felt that their property rights had been infringed by State development projects could file complaints in court.

    The Coordinating Council on Human Rights was an advisory council that sought to improve the implementation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the State party.  Headed by the Deputy Prime Minister and including representatives of State authorities and the Ombudsperson, it coordinated the preparation of reports to international treaty bodies and implementation of these bodies’ recommendations.

    Parliament included representatives of national ethnic groups, who were involved in drafting legislation.  A web portal had also been set up that allowed citizens to make comments on legislative proposals.

    Questions by a Committee Expert

    MAZALO TEBIE, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, said the Committee welcomed the State’s initiatives regarding the protection of refugees, including planned accession to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, and the national action plan on migration management for 2022 to 2025. However, there was a high rate of rejection of applications for refugee status, and some refugees reportedly lived in precarious conditions, including in overcrowded temporary shelters with limited access to healthcare, clean water and education.  Uyghur, Uzbek and Chechen refugees and asylum seekers were reportedly extremely vulnerable.  What measures were in place to protect the rights of refugees and asylum seekers and promote access to residence?

    In 2024, protests against migrants had been held, leading to violence against foreigners with legal residence status.  What measures were in place to prevent violence against foreigners, including irregular migrants, and to provide victims with support? Migrants employed in the agricultural and construction sectors often faced precarious working conditions, with limited access to health and support services.  What measures were in place to protect the rights of migrant workers, establish clear standards for the employment of migrants, and promote their integration into society?  Were there institutions that assessed working conditions for migrants? 

    Nearly one in four Kyrgyz citizens migrated to neighbouring countries to work.  These emigrants reportedly struggled to access basic services in host countries.  Why did many women choose to emigrate?  What measures were in place to support them, including in Russia?  There were some Kyrgyz nationals in Syria and Iraq that were reportedly waiting to be repatriated.  How was the State party supporting their return?

    The Committee had received reports of numerous cases of extradition of refugees and asylum seekers, including Uyghurs from China and Uzbeks.  How did the State party prevent refoulement?  How many extradited migrants had been subjected to refoulement?

    The State party had implemented a law that guaranteed the civil registration of all children.  Kyrgyzstan was also the first country in the region to have resolved all known cases of statelessness; this was commendable. However, the Government had proposed amendments in 2023 to the citizenship law that prevented the conferral of Kyrgyz citizenship to the children of foreign parents born in Kyrgyzstan. This could lead to statelessness. How was the State party bringing its legislation on statelessness in line with international standards?

    What measures had been taken to provide continuous training to judges and lawyers on human rights, discrimination and the application of the Convention?  How many judges and lawyers had been trained?

    Responses by the Delegation

     

    The delegation said that in Kyrgyzstan, refugees had the right to health and education services and the right to freedom of movement.  The State assessed each application for refugee status in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and promoted the integration of refugees into society.  From 2019 to 2024, the State party had received around 300 appeals against decisions to refuse refugee status.  Around 140 of these cases had gone to the cassation court, which had decided to grant refugee status in some cases.

    Kyrgyzstan upheld the principle of non-refoulement.  Extraditions could not be carried out if there was suspicion of the person involved being subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Kyrgyzstan worked with international partners to assess risks in individual cases.  In 2024, the State party extradited 49 foreign citizens, including seven to the Russian Federation.  None of these persons had requested refugee status.

    Some 37 criminal cases had been initiated in response to violent incidents relating to 2024 protests against migrants.  The State party was carrying out activities to prevent broad-scale violations against foreign nationals, including ongoing informational activities.  Local populations now understood better the rights of foreign nationals.

    State laws regulated the situation of stateless persons in Kyrgyzstan.  Efforts to address statelessness were ongoing.  The State party had devised procedures for providing the children of stateless persons with identification documents, including the 2024 project that ensured 100 per cent issuance of birth certificates to newborns.

    Consular services provided for the protection of Kyrgyz citizens abroad, including migrant workers.  The Ombudsperson’s Office received complaints of rights violations from migrants and implemented response measures. Children of Kyrgyz migrants needed to be able to speak basic Russian to attend school in the Russian Federation; the State party thus provided Russian language courses to these children.

    The State party had trained 429 judges in 2025 on international human rights standards.  The judiciary was committed to promoting diversity and equality.

    In 2021, the State party repatriated more than 400 citizens from Iraq and Syria, including children.  Measures had been implemented to promote the reintegration and rehabilitation of these citizens and prevent their stigmatisation.

    Questions by Committee Experts

    MAZALO TEBIE, Committee Expert and Country Co-Rapporteur, asked whether only foreigners who did not have refugee status could be extradited.  The Committee hoped that the law implementing the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol would be adopted soon.  If foreign women who were married to Kyrgyz men divorced, did their children keep Kyrgyz nationality?  Why did the State party require foreigners to take HIV tests? The State party had developed a “compatriots of foreign nationality” card.  Who were these “compatriots of foreign nationality”?

    A Committee Expert said there had been a reported drop in teaching of the Uzbek language after the 2010 violence. Were nation-wide examinations conducted in the Uzbek language for students learning in that language?

    Another Committee Expert asked if training course for judicial officials addressed the application of the Convention in civil and criminal cases.  Were there examples of judicial decisions where the Convention was applied?

    A Committee Expert congratulated the State party on eradicating statelessness as of 2019, and for developing a statelessness determination procedure.  Kyrgyzstan needed to ratify the statelessness conventions and share its best practices with other nations.

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said that under national legislation, refugees could not be extradited.  The State party waited until processes considering applications for refugee status concluded before considering extradition.  Two draft bills on acceding to the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol were currently under consideration.

    If one parent had Kyrgyz nationality, children could receive Kyrgyz nationality, regardless of the location of their birth.  Children of stateless parents born in Kyrgyzstan were also granted Kyrgyz nationality.  Persons could lose Kyrgyz nationality if they served in the army of a foreign State or if they received citizenship after submitting falsified documents.  Kyrgyz citizens could change their citizenship only once; persons needed to submit documents proving their ethnic identity to change their citizenship.  Divorces were not grounds for changing citizenship.

    To enrol in universities in Kyrgyzstan, students needed to sit the General Republican Exam in either Kyrgyz or Russian.

    Kyrgyzstan did not required foreigners to submit a certificate showing that they were HIV-negative when applying for a visa.  Information related to HIV tests was not made public.  Forced tests were carried out in a confidential manner based on court decisions.

    Courts could apply international conventions directly.  All criminal cases related to the June 2010 events had been closed, but affected persons had the right to appeal cases and seek compensation.

    The children and grandchildren of Kyrgyz citizens who lived overseas had the right to apply for the “compatriots of foreign nationality” card, which allowed them to live and work in Kyrgyzstan without additional residence or work permits.

    Closing Remarks

    MICHAL BALCERZAK, Committee Chair, said the dialogue had been very constructive, addressing many issues.  The information provided by the delegation would allow the Committee to develop targeted concluding observations.

    GUAN JIAN, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, thanked the State party for its contributions to the dialogue, which had helped to make it a success.  He expressed hope that the State party would follow-up on remaining unanswered questions and closed by thanking all persons who had contributed to the dialogue.

    MARAT TAGAEV, Deputy Minister of Culture, Information and Youth Policy of Kyrgyzstan and head of the delegation, said that the Committee’s comments and questions would help the State party to strengthen measures to promote equality and prevent discrimination. Kyrgyzstan would continue to take active steps to prevent racial discrimination and implement the Convention, working in collaboration with civil society.  The State party would work to implement the Committee’s recommendations and to build an inclusive and just society.

    __________

    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.

     

    CERD.25.08E

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: “Stories that touch hearts Around the World” – WAVES 2025 propels a global Dialogue on the Future of Storytelling

    Source: Government of India

    “Stories that touch hearts Around the World” – WAVES 2025 propels a global Dialogue on the Future of Storytelling

    Streaming, Cinema and Literature intersect at WAVES 2025

    Posted On: 02 MAY 2025 7:40PM by PIB Mumbai

    Mumbai, 2 May 2025

     

    The second day of the maiden WAVES 2025 Summit featured an exceptional lineup of speakers in the Panel discussion on “Stories that touch hearts around the World”: Kaitlin Yarnall, Chief Storytelling Officer at National Geographic Society; Justin Warbrooke, EVP and Head of Corporate Development at The Walt Disney Company; Kelly Day, Vice President of International at Amazon Prime Video; Phil Hardman, Executive Vice President & General Manager of BBC Studios Asia; Rajkumar Hirani, one of India’s most celebrated film directors; and Amish Tripathi, bestselling author and diplomat, serving as the moderator.

    This session brought together visionary leaders and master storytellers from across the global media, entertainment, and literary landscapes to explore the transformative power of storytelling. From streaming platforms and broadcasting giants to cinema and literature, the panelists shared insights into how compelling narratives can transcend borders, shape cultures, and connect people worldwide. The discussion highlighted the strategic, creative, and emotional forces that drive global storytelling and its profound impact on perceptions, cultures, and social change.

    Kaitlin Yarnall (National Geographic) leads the strategic vision for creating powerful narratives that intertwine science, exploration, and visual storytelling to engage audiences worldwide. In the discussion, she emphasized the importance of authenticity and excellence in storytelling, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities involved in crafting content that truly resonates.

    Justin Warbrooke (Walt Disney) highlighted the Indian market as a top priority describing it as the world’s most populous and one of the fastest-growing media and entertainment markets. He also spoke about Disney’s collaborations with Indian companies, emphasizing how such partnerships are helping to bridge cultures and bring global audiences closer together through storytelling.

    Kelly Day (Amazon Prime Video) oversees global expansion and content strategy, working to bring diverse and locally resonant stories to audiences across continents. When asked how the platform determines which stories succeed financially in domestic and international markets, she clarified that there’s no set algorithm—success is rooted in strong storytelling, understanding local audiences, and choosing the right formats and genres.

    Phil Hardman (BBC Studio, Asia) leads the delivery of premium British content tailored for Asian audiences. He spoke about the enduring power of quality content, emphasizing the BBC’s core mission to educate and inform. He noted that their focus remains firmly on finding and sharing meaningful stories that align with that mission.

    Rajkumar Hirani, one of India’s most acclaimed film directors, Rajkumar Hirani is known for creating emotionally powerful and socially impactful films that resonate with audiences both in India and around the world. In the discussion, he highlighted that storytelling is inherently subjective—what resonates varies from person to person. He also shared his optimism about the potential of AI, calling it a valuable tool for filmmakers to enhance creativity and storytelling.

    Amish Tripathi, bestselling author and diplomat brings a unique fusion of mythological narrative and cultural depth to his storytelling. As moderator, he expertly guided the panel discussion, bridging diverse perspectives and emphasizing the universal power of stories to connect people across borders.

     

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Yoga Sangam embodies global solidarity for health — a powerful movement uniting humanity through Yoga and beyond: Shri Prataprao Jadhav

    Source: Government of India

    Yoga Sangam embodies global solidarity for health — a powerful movement uniting humanity through Yoga and beyond: Shri Prataprao Jadhav

    Yoga Sangam Portal Launched

    Nashik celebrates Grand Yoga Mahotsav, more than 6000 practice common yoga protocol in unison

    Posted On: 02 MAY 2025 12:51PM by PIB Mumbai

    Nashik/Mumbai, 2 May 2025

     

    Nashik, the land of Mahakumbh, witnessed a grand celebration of Yoga as over 6000 enthusiasts came together to mark the 50-day countdown to the International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2025 at the Yoga Mahotsav organised by Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), Ministry of Ayush. Held at the spiritually significant Gauri Maidan in Panchavati, the event not only celebrated India’s rich Yoga tradition but also marked the launch of the Yoga Sangam Portal — a digital platform for online registration towards facilitating the synchronized nationwide celebration of IDY 2025 on 21st June at more than 1,00,000 locations across India.

    The programme was inaugurated by Shri Prataprao Jadhav, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Ayush, and Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare. Addressing the gathering, the Union Minister emphasised the importance of Yoga and said that, “Nashik is a sacred city blessed by the presence of great souls, and visiting it filled me with pride and joy. Yoga, once an integral part of Indian tradition, is now flourishing within the international community.”

    He further added that the Government of India is leaving no stone unturned to make IDY a success and stated, “Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today, Yoga forms the foundation of life for millions around the world. As part of efforts to take its benefits to every individual, the International Day of Yoga 2025 is being celebrated as a decade-long global festival.”

    While launching the Yoga Sangam Portal, he said, “Today, on Nashik’s sacred soil, we’ve launched the ‘Yoga Sangam Portal’ for online registration, marking a significant step towards International Day of Yoga 2025. Yoga Sangam embodies global solidarity for health, and through initiatives like these, International Day of Yoga is becoming a powerful global movement that unites humanity, promoting Yoga and beyond.”

    “Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga and the Ministry of Ayush deserve heartfelt congratulations for their contributions to this decade-long journey of Yoga.” ” he added.

    It is to be noted that Yoga Sangam, one of the ten Signature Events of the International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2025, is a groundbreaking initiative unfolding a decentralised, yet synchronised mass Yoga performance at 1,00,000 locations across India. It will take place on 21st June 2025, the International Day of Yoga. This event will weave a harmonious tapestry of well-being nationwide, as hundreds of thousands of individuals unite under Yoga’s enabling shield. The sheer scale of participation in the event will create a powerful ripple effect of positive energy nationwide.

    Yog Mahostav at Nashik also witnessed the esteemed presence of  Shri Bhaskar Murlidhar Bhagare, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Nashik; Smt. Devyani Suhas Pharande, MLA, Nashik Central; Smt. Seema Hiray, MLA, Nashik West;  Shri Rahul Uttamrao Dhikale, MLA, Nashik East; Lieutenant General Dr. Madhuri Kanitkar, Vice Chancellor of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS); Dr. Vishwas Mandlik, Head, Yoga Vidya Gurukul, Nashik; and Ms. Monalisa Dash, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Ayush as distinguished guests.

    Ms. Monalisa Das, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Ayush, delivered the welcome address at the event. While extending her greetings to all the distinguished guests, she remarked that “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” — the world is one family — is one of India’s greatest guiding principles and a true symbol of global brotherhood and harmony.”

    A special emphasis was laid on the Common Yoga Protocol during today’s Yoga Mahotsav. Developed with inputs from leading Yoga experts, the CYP is designed to help individuals integrate day-to-day Yoga practices such as Pranayama and Dhyana into their lives enhancing flexibility, strength, balance, and overall harmony. The Government of India’s Yoga Portal serves as a valuable platform encouraging citizens to embrace, practice, and enjoy Yoga daily.

    Following the addresses, demonstrators from the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, led by Dr. Kashinath Samagandi, Director, MDNIY, performed a live demonstration of the Common Yoga Protocol. The session saw the active participation of more than 6000 Yoga enthusiasts, creating a vibrant atmosphere of collective energy and discipline. The event was streamed live across various social media platforms of the Ministry of Ayush, MDNIY, and other prominent Yoga institutions.

    The Yoga Mahotsav at Nashik marks a significant step in the run-up to IDY-2025, reaffirming the Government of India’s commitment to promoting holistic health, wellness, and environmental sustainability through Yoga.

    Before this, MDNIY and the Ministry of Ayush had organised a Yoga Mahotsav on March 13, 2025, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, marking the 100-day countdown to IDY-2025. Similarly, a grand event was organised on April 7, 2025, on the occasion of the 75-day countdown at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar.

    10 unique signature events to guide events to the International Day of Yoga 2025. This year, IDY activities will revolve around 10 unique signature events to mark the 11th edition of the global event, which makes it the most expansive and inclusive:

    • Yoga Sangam – A synchronised Yoga demonstration at 1,00,000 locations.
    • Yoga Bandhan – Global partnerships with 10 countries to host Yoga sessions at iconic landmarks.
    • Yoga Parks– Development of 1,000 Yoga Parks for long-term community engagement.
    • Yoga Samavesh – Special Yoga programs for Divyangjan, senior citizens, children, and marginalised groups.
    • Yoga Prabhav – A decadal impact assessment on Yoga’s role in public health.
    • Yoga Connect – A Virtual Global Yoga Summit featuring renowned Yoga experts and healthcare professionals.
    • Harit Yoga – A sustainability-driven initiative combining Yoga with tree planting and clean-up drives.
    • Yoga Unplugged- An event to attract young people to Yoga.
    • Yoga Maha Kumbh – A week-long festival across 10 locations, culminating in a central celebration led by the Prime Minister.
    • SamYogam – A 100-day initiative integrating Yoga with modern healthcare for holistic wellness.

    Yoga Sangam Portal can be accessed through the following link: https://yoga.ayush.gov.in/yoga-sangam

     

    Annexure

    The International Day of Yoga (IDY) has become a global wellness movement, uniting millions across countries. Here’s a brief look at its key milestones:

    • IDY 2015 – New Delhi: The first IDY at Rajpath saw 35,985 participants, setting two Guinness World Records.
    • IDY 2016 – Chandigarh: 30,000+ participants gathered at the Capitol Complex, including 150 Divyangjan performing Yoga Protocol for the first time. The Prime Minister emphasised Yoga’s role in treating ailments like diabetes.
    • IDY 2017 – Lucknow: 51,000 participants joined at Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan, with Yoga highlighted as affordable ‘health insurance’.
    • IDY 2018 – Dehradun: 50,000+ participants at Forest Research Institute, with the theme “Yoga for Public Health”. ISRO launched the BHUVAN-Yoga and Yoga Locator apps.
    • IDY 2019 – Ranchi: Focused on ‘Yoga for Heart Care’, with eco-friendly Yoga accessories benefiting Khadi artisans.
    • IDY 2020 – Virtual: Amid the pandemic, 12.06 crore people joined online. The “My Life, My Yoga” contest attracted entries from 130 countries.
    • IDY 2021 – Virtual: Themed “Yoga for Wellness”, reaching 496.1 million people globally. Iconic celebrations occurred at Times Square, the Eiffel Tower, and Tokyo Skytree.
    • IDY 2022 – Mysuru: 15,000 participants at Mysore Palace, with a ‘Guardian Ring’ global Yoga relay and VR-powered digital exhibition.
    • IDY 2023 – Jabalpur & UN HQ, New York: With 23.44 crore participants, this IDY set two Guinness World Records, including the most significant Yoga session (1.53 lakh participants in Surat). The ‘Ocean Ring of Yoga’ covered 35,000 km.
    • IDY 2024 – Srinagar: Held at SKICC, Srinagar, with 7,000 participants braving the rain. The ‘Yoga for Space’ initiative saw ISRO scientists join in. A Guinness World Record was set in Uttar Pradesh, with 25.93 lakh people pledging to Yoga. 24.53 crore global participants marked this as a historic celebration.

     

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: India’s Science Push Enters High Gear: Dr. Jitendra Singh Bats for Industry-Led Innovation on DST’s 55th Foundation Day

    Source: Government of India

    India’s Science Push Enters High Gear: Dr. Jitendra Singh Bats for Industry-Led Innovation on DST’s 55th Foundation Day

    India’s Science Strategy Shifts Focus: Innovation, Industry Collaboration, and Talent Retention in Spotlight

    India Gross Expenditure in R&D (GERD) has doubled in last one decade from Rs 60,196 Cr. to 1,27,38 Cr.

    ‘Digitalisation of Mind’ Marking India’s Quiet Socio-Scientific Shift: Dr. Jitendra Singh

    Posted On: 02 MAY 2025 5:21PM by PIB Delhi

    Marking the 55th Foundation Day of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology; Earth Sciences and Minister of State for PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh outlined India’s evolving scientific landscape, emphasizing the need for increased industry involvement to the extent of industry led innovation, changes in approach and long-term innovation to position the country among leading global players.

    Addressing a packed audience that included leading innovators, academicians, researchers and former Secretaries, Dr. Jitendra Singh traced the DST’s journey since its inception on May 3, 1971, crediting it with catalyzing India’s evolution into a science and technology powerhouse.

    “The founding of DST mirrors the march of post-independence India in the field of science,” he said, highlighting how the department has bridged research and governance, turning vision into verifiable outcomes’.

    The Minister hailed DST’s efforts in nurturing a nationwide research ecosystem, particularly through mission-mode programmes such as the National Supercomputing Mission, Cyber-Physical Systems, and the recent National Quantum Mission. Dr. Jitendra Singh emphasized that DST’s interventions have not only advanced science but also driven grassroots development, with focused efforts on women, children, and marginalized communities.

    The Minister spotlighted India’s rising global rankings as a measure of DST’s impact — from a dramatic leap in the Global Innovation Index (from 81st in 2015 to 39th in 2024), to securing the 3rd spot globally in start-up numbers, PhDs in science and engineering, and research publications. India is now also ranked 6th worldwide in intellectual property filings.

    But the core of Dr. Jitendra Singh’s message was forward-looking: science must align with market forces. Advocating for “industry-determined innovation research,” he argued that sustainable innovation must be both driven and funded by private players. “In India, knowledge partnerships alone don’t work — industry must have skin in the game,” he quipped, underlining that private sector buy-in is essential for enduring scientific success.

    He also highlighted the role of the newly formed statutory body, ANRF (Anusandhan National Research Foundation), as a transformative force aimed at democratizing research funding and boosting university participation. Two major schemes — the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Fund and the National Geospatial Mission — are now housed under DST’s leadership.

    Calling out a quiet revolution, Dr. Jitendra Singh pointed to the “digitalisation of mind” that has ignited India’s scientific temper, reshaped India’s socio-scientific fabric. “Even a semi-literate person today prefers WhatsApp over writing down a number — that’s the extent of behavioural change,” he said, stressing that the real transformation lies not only in numbers but in the rise of aspiration and confidence among ordinary Indians.

    The Minister didn’t shy away from calling for a strategic return of talent from abroad, urging scientists to plan their overseas journeys with a return timeline. “India today has everything to offer. It’s time we built a reverse pipeline for global talent,” he said.

    Concluding on a note of optimism, Dr. Jitendra Singh declared, “This is one of the best times for science and research in India — and the best is yet to come.” The Foundation Day celebrations saw participation from Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, DST Secretary Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Dr. Sharad Sharma of iSPIRT, and Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman, CBC reflecting a strong convergence of scientific, institutional, and industry leadership.

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  • MIL-OSI USA: Investing $62M in SUNY Nursing Simulation Centers

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul today announced that nursing simulation centers will be established on three SUNY campuses as part of her signature legislation to expand simulation-based education in SUNY nursing programs. The $62 million investment includes $35 million in direct SUNY capital awards, with the remaining funds contributed by campus matches. The three nursing simulation centers will be located on the University at Buffalo, SUNY Canton and Stony Brook University campuses.

    “By investing in nurses of the future, we’re investing in the talent of aspiring professionals across our state and in the health care workforce we all rely on,” Governor Hochul said. “The SUNY nursing simulation centers will make extraordinary strides toward preparing students and strengthening the pipeline of excellence in our SUNY system and beyond.”

    The University at Buffalo has been designated a SUNY System-Wide Nursing Simulation Center of Excellence, envisioned as a cutting-edge hub for simulation-based education and innovation across the system. SUNY Canton and Stony Brook University have been named SUNY Regional Nursing Simulation Centers, and will serve as critical resources for the North Country and Long Island regions.

    SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. said, “SUNY is committed to strengthening New York’s healthcare workforce, and today’s groundbreaking investment in nursing simulation is a testament to this commitment, and a reminder of the key role public higher education plays in health outcomes and workforce development. Following enactment of Governor Hochul’s 2023 law championed by Senators Stavisky and Fahy and Assemblymember Lupardo to establish nursing simulation, SUNY is at the forefront of simulation-based nursing education – transforming how we prepare our students to address the healthcare workforce shortage and evolving healthcare needs of New Yorkers.”

    SUNY Board Trustee Eric Corngold said, “This landmark investment takes us a step closer to providing nursing simulation centers across The Empire State and further advances our work with Governor Hochul and State leadership to address local and regional workforce shortages that are affecting many of our communities. We look forward to our continued progress in providing students interested in healthcare with the resources they need and deserve to obtain an excellent public education at the best value.”

    The selected campuses will provide high-quality, hands-on training for some of the most needed clinical practice areas in health care, such as labor and delivery, high acuity cases, and community health. With their investments, each campus has committed to significant prelicensure nursing program enrollment growth, leveraging the legislation Governor Hochul signed in May of 2023 permitting nursing students to complete up to one-third of their clinical training through high-quality simulation experiences.

    This further enhances the Governor’s other transformative initiatives to increase the state’s health care workforce, including Nurses and Healthcare Workers For Our Future Scholarships and free associate degrees at community colleges for students pursuing high-demand fields, including health care fields, all advancing Governor Hochul’s goal of growing New York’s health care workforce by 20 percent.

    SUNY’s goal to fully leverage nursing simulation aligns with recommendations from the SUNY Future of Health Care Workforce Task Force , a group convened to guide SUNY in addressing the critical health care workforce shortage. In its findings, the task force identified fully leveraging nursing simulation as one of its four priority areas for short-term action and investment. The $62 million investment will directly support prelicensure nursing program enrollment increases. Collectively, the three designated simulation centers are projected to add hundreds of new prelicensure nursing students annually, while also expanding training capacity at partner SUNY campuses across the State.

    The nursing simulation investment will have the following impact across participating campuses:

    • At the University at Buffalo, the new system-wide nursing simulation center will support a 34 percent increase in prelicensure nursing enrollment in the first-year post-project completion, with a projected 67 percent increase over the next decade. By leveraging cutting-edge simulation technology and telepresence robots, UB will enable expanded in-person and remote participation in hyper-realistic clinical scenarios while fostering collaboration across campuses.
    • At SUNY Canton, the new regional nursing simulation center will support significant growth across all levels of undergraduate nursing programs, including a 133 percent increase at the practical nursing level, a 160 percent increase at the associate’s level, and a 192 percent increase at the baccalaureate level within five years post-project completion. SUNY Canton’s simulation space will support nursing education in the North Country, where limited clinical placement opportunities present significant challenges in training future nurses, particularly in obstetrics, labor and delivery, and pediatric care.
    • At Stony Brook University, the new regional nursing simulation center will support a 19 percent increase in prelicensure nursing enrollment in the first-year post-project completion, with a projected 27 percent increase over the next five years. Stony Brook will significantly expand its simulation space footprint to enhance in-person nursing education while also leveraging advanced simulcast software technology to provide remote learning opportunities across Long Island.

    State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky said, “I am delighted to see SUNY continuing its significant investment in its nursing simulation program. The creation of three centers at University at Buffalo, SUNY Canton, and Stony Brook University will not only address the shortage of nurses but ensure that they receive first-class training. The capacity of nursing programs will hopefully increase dramatically across all SUNY campuses. No longer will schools have to turn away qualified applicants. This is exactly the result I envisioned when the Governor signed Assemblymember Lupardo and my nursing simulation bill into law in 2023.”

    State Senator April N. M. Baskin said, “This generous grant will have a profound impact on the lives of countless patients who will benefit from the training and expertise of the nurses that were fortunate to learn at the University at Buffalo, SUNY Canton, and Stony Brook University campuses. This cutting-edge medical simulation training can only improve clinical skills and enhance the professionalism of nursing students. Hands-on work by SUNY students will undoubtedly enhance actual clinical scenarios when patients’ lives are in their hands.”

    State Senator Anthony Palumbo said, “This critical funding to establish a Nursing Simulation Center at Stony Brook University will help New York’s flagship university remain on the cutting edge of medical advancements in the field of nursing and will provide students with the skills and experience needed to meet today’s growing healthcare challenges. As home to Long Island’s Regional Nursing Simulation Center, SBU will equip the next generation of nurses—helping them provide the highest quality of care to patients throughout Long Island and the greater metropolitan region.”

    Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said, “There is no experience quite like hands-on experience and with these investments, SUNY is ensuring that students in the nursing programs at the University at Buffalo, Canton and Stony Brook, are equipped with the very best tools to learn and fill in the gaps within our health care workforce.”

    Assemblymember Alicia Hyndman said, “This $62 million investment in SUNY’s nursing simulation centers is not only a victory for our students, but a critical step forward in building a more equitable and prepared healthcare workforce. As someone who proudly represents communities with some of the most dedicated future healthcare professionals, I know how transformative access to cutting-edge training can be. These new centers—from Buffalo to Canton to Stony Brook—will expand opportunity, increase enrollment, and prepare more nurses to serve in areas where they’re needed most. I applaud SUNY and Governor Hochul for this bold investment in the future of healthcare in New York State.”

    Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest said, “As a nurse and a SUNY graduate, I’m happy to see this year’s record investment in nursing simulation centers at SUNY. Sims are absolutely critical in any nurse’s training and I’m glad to see SUNY creating regional centers that can help educate future nurses across the SUNY system.”

    Assemblymember Rebecca Kassay said, “As SUNY Stony Brook’s representative in the New York State Assembly, I am thrilled to see this transformative investment in our region’s nursing education infrastructure. The establishment of a Regional Nursing Simulation Center at Stony Brook University is a critical step toward building a stronger, more resilient healthcare workforce on Long Island and across New York State. This initiative will not only expand access to high-quality, hands-on training for our aspiring nurses but will also support our hospitals, clinics, and communities by preparing more qualified professionals. I am grateful for SUNY’s leadership in pioneering innovative, simulation-based education that meets the moment and addresses our state’s urgent nursing shortage.”

    Assemblymember Scott A. Gray said, “This new regional nursing simulation center represents a game-changer for SUNY Canton and the North Country. We will not only see substantial growth across our nursing programs, but more importantly, we will be able to provide our students with critical training that limited clinical placement opportunities have hindered in the past, especially in high-demand specialties like obstetrics, labor, and delivery, and pediatric care. This will ultimately lead to better healthcare outcomes for our communities.”

    SUNY Canton President Zvi Szafran said, “This major and transformative investment further establishes SUNY Canton as the North Country’s regional nursing education simulation center. It also will allow us to more than double access to our quality programs at all levels, allowing us to help fill the local and state-wide need for highly qualified nurses. The new simulation center will augment our hands-on learning opportunities and further strengthen SUNY Canton’s commitment to offering affordable, accessible and applied experiences with the School of Science, Health and Criminal Justice.”

    University at Buffalo School of Nursing Dean Annette Wysocki said, “The School of Nursing at the University at Buffalo is grateful to Governor Hochul and honored to have been selected to establish the new SUNY System-Wide Nursing Simulation Center of Excellence that will be a major resource for SUNY system schools of nursing across New York State. The design and construction of a new simulation center will lead to educating faculty and the expert nursing workforce of the future where therapeutic advances are leading to new clinical challenges. This combined $34 million dollar investment to establish the SUNY System-Wide Nursing Simulation Center of Excellence at the University at Buffalo School of Nursing represents the largest investment ever made to develop resources for the School of Nursing and advance the future success of the nursing profession in New York state.”

    Stony Brook University School of Nursing Dean Dr. Patricia Bruckenthal said, “We are grateful to Governor Hochul, SUNY, and Stony Brook University for this opportunity to expand and enhance nursing education through simulation-based learning. The Stony Brook School of Nursing NEXUS Innovation Center epitomizes our commitment to advancing nursing education through innovation and collaboration. By integrating cutting-edge simulation technologies, we are not only enhancing the clinical competencies of our students and nursing students across our region but also fostering an environment where interdisciplinary teams can engage in transformative learning experiences. This center stands as a testament to our dedication to preparing nurse leaders who will shape the future of healthcare delivery.”

    Executive Vice President for Stony Brook Medicine Dr. William A. Wertheim said, “As Suffolk County’s only academic medical center, Stony Brook University is proud to be at the forefront of healthcare education and workforce development. This designation as a SUNY Regional Nursing Simulation Center reflects our long-standing commitment to preparing the next generation of nurses. Through this important partnership with SUNY, we will significantly expand access to high-quality, hands-on clinical training — helping to address the critical nursing shortage, grow the healthcare workforce and ensure our communities have the skilled professionals they need to thrive.”

    This announcement builds on a series of efforts by SUNY to expand and enhance nursing education through simulation-based learning. In October, Chancellor King announced the inaugural class of the SUNY Nursing Simulation Fellowship, a key initiative to further advance the integration of simulation into SUNY nursing programs. Additionally, SUNY has invested $3.7 million through its High Needs Nursing Fund to further advance simulation-based education across 40 of SUNY’s nursing programs. Over two consecutive years, the SUNY High Needs Nursing Fund has equipped SUNY campuses with the necessary tools, training, and resources to modernize and expand simulation experiences for students.

    To further support simulation-facing faculty and staff across the SUNY system, an additional SUNY System-Wide Nursing Simulation Center of Excellence dedicated to faculty training and professional development in nursing simulation is expected to be announced in the near future.

    About The State University of New York

    The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.16 billion in fiscal year 2024, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit www.suny.edu.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: DOE Announces New Leadership to Tackle Challenges of Growing Energy Demand

    Source: US Department of Energy

    WASHINGTON—The Department of Energy (DOE) today announced new leadership to tackle the challenge of strengthening and securing the U.S. energy system and ensuring America can lead the global race for AI leadership. To unleash American Energy Dominance, the systems and infrastructure that produce and deliver energy to the American people must be reliable, resilient, and secure. As energy demand continues to grow, the U.S. needs to upgrade both existing energy infrastructure and build new infrastructure – all of which must be done with resilience and security as priorities. 

    To advance these goals, today DOE is announcing that the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) will be led by DOE Chief of Staff Alex Fitzsimmons. Carl Coe, who currently leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at DOE, will assume the role of DOE Chief of Staff.

    “The race for global leadership in AI is the new Manhattan Project, and winning this race depends on our ability to increase access to abundant supplies of reliable, affordable energy and build secure infrastructure,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “The Department of Energy is focused on the need to meet growing energy demand while strengthening the resilience and security of U.S. energy infrastructure against all threats and hazards.  

    “Alex has served as a critical leader across the Department in our first 100 days, and his expertise and ability to take on complex problems make him the right person to spearhead this important office. I am grateful for his ongoing leadership within the Department, and I look forward to continuing to work with Carl Coe in his new role as Chief of Staff.”

    As Chief of Staff to the Secretary, Alex Fitzsimmons led the DOE beach-head team on day one and through the first 100 days of the Administration. He has an extensive background in energy technology policy, having served at DOE in the first Trump Administration. Alex has also completed a Master of Science in Cybersecurity from Georgia Tech.  

    Carl Coe joined the Department of Energy to lead DOGE efforts in 2025. In this role, he has worked closely with Secretary Wright and 40 key offices in DOE focused on process improvement and cost savings.

    Coe grew up in Ohio and graduated from Ohio State University. He spent 17 years with PTC in various senior roles, including positions in London, Brazil, and Americas. While at PTC, he worked extensively with the Department of Energy and the National Labs focused on product development and lifecycle management. In 2018, Coe acquired Mango Practice Management, and over the next 5 years with Coe serving as CEO, the company grew by over 700%.

                                                                                            ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Podcast: Jared Spataro on maximizing intelligence on tap

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Podcast: Jared Spataro on maximizing intelligence on tap

    MOLLY WOOD: That was Jared Spataro, Microsoft’s Chief Marketing Officer for AI at Work. Spataro and his team help companies understand how to use AI to solve unique business problems, reduce costs, and drive value. They also use sophisticated research and customer feedback to improve the company’s products and help customers deploy them in a relevant, productive, and secure way. Some of that research is on display in the new 2025 Work Trend Index report. It examines survey data from 31,000 workers across 31 countries, plus brings in LinkedIn hiring and labor market trends and trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals. It surfaced insights to help every leader and employee understand how knowledge work will evolve. And in his AI at Work newsletter on LinkedIn, Spataro predicts that soon all businesses will operate with collaborative teams of humans and AI agents, or what he calls “digital employees.” He notes that this evolution will require every leader to redefine how they think about their teams, so we talked about that, as well as how AI agents will transform workflows and team structures, and why the vital first step for companies is to hire that first digital employee. Here’s my conversation with Jared. Jared, thanks so much for joining me on WorkLab.  

    JARED SPATARO: It’s great to be here. Thanks for having me, Molly.  

    MOLLY WOOD: So a key phrase that comes up in the new Work Trend Index report is that leaders can now access “intelligence on tap.” How do you define intelligence on tap?  

    JARED SPATARO: Well, I think it’s worth pausing for a second just to recognize that, up to this point in human history, if you wanted intelligence to help you do something, you really had to hire a human. And today, we have reached the point with this technology, with the models that are out there powered by AI, that they can really think, reason, even do, at the level of a human. So what that means is you can start to buy intelligence without hiring humans, and you can buy it like you would purchase a commodity like electricity, any other input to a business. That means it goes from being something scarce and expensive, also kind of bundled up in a particular package, to something abundant and cheap and available on demand in a much smaller package that you can purchase. So from my perspective, it’s a really, really big thing. It’s a big deal for business. 

    MOLLY WOOD: Another key point in this report is that AI-forward companies, or the ones you call “Frontier Firms,” will have a real advantage in seizing the force-multiplying power of AI agents. Do you think all companies will have to become Frontier Firms?   

    JARED SPATARO: I think they’ll either become a Frontier Firm or they’ll end up being disrupted by someone who’s figured out how to use this intelligence on tap more effectively than they do. So you look at, for instance, the volatility in the market today. You look at how quickly companies have to now adapt to all sorts of different situations, and those that are able to combine human intelligence with artificial intelligence in the form of agents, I think they’re going to differentiate themselves for sure. 

    MOLLY WOOD: The question of course, in a time of uncertainty, or I guess really any time, is what timeline are we talking about? How soon do companies have to be ready for this?  

    JARED SPATARO: Well, let’s just look at the report for a second. Already, 82% of the people that we surveyed say they’re confident that they’ll use what they call “digital labor” to expand their workforce capacity in the next 12 to 18 months, Molly. So that’s kind of how companies are thinking about it. But at the same time, we look at this and say that it will be a process. There’s going to be a work-in period, but I’m confident that this calendar year, companies who are on it, who recognize, I’ve gotta be looking to the future, they’ll be experimenting with digital labor and digital employees.  

    MOLLY WOOD: Well, and of course, you must be interacting with customers who are already operating this way. Are there examples of companies who have taken the leap?  

    JARED SPATARO: For sure. You know, interestingly, what we find is that there’s kind of this barbell in the distribution. There are companies who are growing concerned, who look at this and say, Hey, I want to be on the forefront here. So, as an example, Dow, they’re an American multinational, they are already projecting that they’ll save millions in the first year with a supply chain agent that they have created to catch misapplied fees. It happens to literally save them millions of dollars. But on the other end of the distribution, the other end of the spectrum, we are definitely seeing AI-native firms that are really representative of these Frontier Firms that are leading the way. There’s an ad agency called Supergood that has folded decades of ad research into their platform to scale expertise across teams with AI. There’s another really interesting company. It’s an AI-powered staffing firm run by a single employee that’s on track to earn $2 million this year. So you look at both ends of the spectrum and you can see it. The tough place to be, the place I don’t think anybody wants to be, is in the middle, you know, where you’re not either someone kind of coming up and disrupting or someone who’s decided, Hey, I’m going to get ahead of this, because the middle is the place that will be disrupted. 

    MOLLY WOOD: Right. So for the business leaders who are trying to leave the middle as soon as possible, who are trying to recalibrate for this era, what should they focus on?   

    JARED SPATARO: One of the things that we are seeing in the report is that the companies who are taking the step forward are those who recognize that they have to first increase AI literacy across the entirety of the firm. Last year was a really interesting year because the WTI, when we released it, showed that employees were leading, they were the people out in front bringing AI into the workplace. Well, this year it’s kind of really flipped around. We now have managers who are leading the charge, and they’re recognizing they’re ahead of many of their employees. And so we have to have a way, I think, to help all employees start to improve their AI literacy. But then from there, once you improve AI literacy, you kind of have to change a mindset. You really have to think, well, what would I do if I had intelligence on tap? Where would I apply that first? You know, how would I structure everything from my teams to my processes to take advantage of that? And that’s maybe the two steps that we’d give, we’d encourage everybody to start with a broad base, and then second, look for very specific ways to apply the tech.  

    MOLLY WOOD: We’ve been talking about the potential of AI agents, or digital employees. I mean, what is that and how does that differ from AI, which we might think of as a personal assistant that can manage your calendar or write an email? 

    JARED SPATARO: This idea of a digital employee introduces a lot of really important concepts, but perhaps the most important concept is this idea of the digital employee is autonomous and can go off, kind of goal-seek in a very complex, not well-defined environment to get to an outcome that you’re looking to accomplish. That type of digital employee is just priceless because it could sort through all of the noise, sort through the systems, all the data that it has access to, in order to go grab what it needs, reason across that, and come back and say, Hey boss, I think I’ve got something here for you. And that’s the idea of hiring your first digital employee that can do that type of work.  

    MOLLY WOOD: I want that. I want that. Are you and your team at Microsoft already using digital employees like this day to day?  

    JARED SPATARO: We absolutely are just starting to do that. In fact, on my team there’s a data scientist, Alex Farach, who has created three agents to assist him with the Work Trend Index, which is really exciting. One agent goes online every day, scoops up some relevant new research. Another assists with statistical analysis. He has a third one that drafts really rich briefs to help him connect the dots. So imagine that, he has started to command, if you will, a team of agents that are helping him. These are digital employees to help him get the work done. So, pretty exciting, to see it come to life. I’m just starting to do that same thing. Typically, mine is much more oriented toward the interactions I’m having with customers as I’m starting to get up to speed or try to figure out how I can work with a particular customer. 

    MOLLY WOOD: What does this start to look like day to day for knowledge workers? What does a typical workday look like for someone who has AI agents performing tasks on their behalf? It’s like a view from the future, if you will.  

    JARED SPATARO: Well, let’s start with the present and then we’ll go to the future. You know, presently, we know through our telemetry that almost all professionals start and end their day in email or on Teams. So in other words, in communication tools. It makes a lot of sense, we’re kind of checking in with colleagues. But we think that the way this will happen is that people will have a personal assistant. We call that Copilot, and that personal assistant will be how you start and end your day, because it will be infinitely better than a single-threaded communication tool at providing you a view of all the work that you’re doing. That personal assistant also, most importantly, will essentially be your window into the world of digital labor, or the world of agents, if you will, and we believe that window, the ability of a Copilot, for instance, to orchestrate all of the agents that are getting work done on your behalf, that’s where the power will come in. 

    MOLLY WOOD: Stepping back, I think a lot of employees are wondering if digital employees are going to assist human employees or replace them. So the question on everyone’s mind, of course, is what happens to jobs?  

    JARED SPATARO: I see it this way. First off, 80% of the global workforce, both employees and leaders, say that they’re lacking enough time or energy to get their work done. So you have to look at it for a moment and recognize the moment that we’re in, the context in which we’re operating. So I believe we need intelligence on tap. And the way I think of it is, we have too many problems to solve, too many things to work through, too many challenges to tackle, and this is such an important time as you look at the history of business, as you look at the history of the world. So, we look at this and say, man, our brightest days are yet ahead. We look at the ability for digital employees to not only help us cut costs, but also help us innovate as we look at everything from energy to some of the most pressing problems that humanity faces. That’s where we get excited that these digital employees will really help us. 

    MOLLY WOOD: So how should leaders and employees think about their own agency as more and more work teams have humans and AI agents collaborating? Some people aren’t thinking of this in terms of business value and opportunities. They’re imagining, you know, scenarios from science fiction.  

    JARED SPATARO: That is certainly the narrative that I see often in the press, because it taps into Hollywood, it taps into, you know, I think it does tap into our fears. This technology is not something where you click a button and it’s wired into every one of your systems and it can do everything without your help. And so I think human agency here is incredibly important. You can hire your first digital employee, but you have to onboard the thing, you know, you have to connect it up to your systems, you have to tell it what it can and can’t do. You have to watch it ramp up into your organization. So I’m excited about this moment because I think it will all be guided by human agency. Nothing’s going to happen here without humans recognizing, wow, this is my opportunity to leave my mark on history, to leave my mark on humanity, to do something that will be a pattern that we’re going to follow for decades to come. So I hope people are energized by it. I hope they don’t think that it’s a fearful thing. Instead, I hope they really recognize that it’s an opportunity for leadership and for a lasting mark on the history of the world. 

    MOLLY WOOD: So you mentioned that in the past, some of the AI revolution has been driven from the bottom up, from employees bringing ideas in. Now it really is the role of leaders and managers to implement this change and bring people on board. How does this change the role of managers, not just from an adoption perspective, but also managing human and digital employees at the same time? 

    JARED SPATARO: Well, let’s start from the role of managers. I think the theory of the firm has been predicated on this idea that you organize around the labor and how it uses capital. You know, those are the economic basics. Now, all of a sudden, the theory of the firm actually changes because a manager is meant to allocate resources that now include this intelligence on tap to produce outputs. And that means that, literally, a manager has to learn a whole new skill set, not only depending on what you’re doing, how do you create kind of the processes, if you will, to get something done, but where do you stick human talent? Where do you stick this intelligence on demand? How do you coordinate between those things? I mean, there’s a whole new, I think it’s a whole new era that we’ll be opening up here. Very exciting.  

    MOLLY WOOD: I could imagine that that would apply to younger employees too.  

    JARED SPATARO: My theory is that really educational institutions are going to start to need to think about, how do we essentially produce early-in-career talent that works as well as mid-career talent used to? In other words, during their education, how do they learn to become the boss of agents, such that they are able to command a team, able to produce the same type of work a medium or large size team would produce. Because they know how to delegate, they know how to judge work, they know how to pull it back together. They know how to send things back to be done again. You know, that’s usually stuff that takes 10, 15 years in the workforce to learn just by practice. And we expect, I expect, that early-in-career folks will be able to do that work now with the aid of these tools. So in many ways, I think we’re making every employee a manager, every employee a leader. And that’s a very different change. Today, a lot of knowledge work happens at the leaf nodes, you know, people who have to kind of get the work done all on their own, whether they’re an analyst or a writer or a designer. And what we’re essentially saying is, all of those jobs are going to turn into managerial jobs where certainly you can do the work if you want to, but you’ll find you get more done, you produce better work, when you orchestrate agents to go get that work done.  

    MOLLY WOOD: In fact, one of our recent podcast guests, Harvard Business School professor Karim Lakhani, just co-authored a paper called “The Cybernetic Teammate.” You’ve said you’re pretty excited by some of its findings, right?  

    JARED SPATARO: Man, I love this study. You know, this is a study I can’t help but cite as I work with management teams. Probably the most important finding of the study from my perspective is that a single person equipped with AI can perform as well as an entire team of people not equipped with AI. And we’re just getting started. But it was specifically a field test, Molly, that was done with Procter and Gamble, so it’s real work in the real world, and I just think that finding is remarkable. I think we’ll come back to it, you know, in five, 10 years and say, yeah, that was the beginning. We saw it right there. We saw a spark of what the future was going to be.  

    MOLLY WOOD: You know, it strikes me that we’re talking about this in such a matter-of-fact way. There are digital employees, you have cybernetic teammates, intelligence is now on tap. Can you give us your perspective on the tech advancements that got us to the point where we’re discussing this in such a commonplace way?   

    JARED SPATARO: It’s caught so many of us by surprise because it’s happened so quickly. Go back to November of 2022, ChatGPT is introduced. Remember, at that point, we’re still not sure if technology can pass the Turing Test. In other words, could it respond to questions from humans in a way that we could not determine if there were a human or a machine on the other side? You know, that was the question in November of 2022. Well, we found it could. We also started to see the early glimmers of reasoning. It wasn’t just answering questions, but it looked like it was actually kind of, in a reasoning type of way, mimicking what humans do to answer questions. And that was exciting for us. Then fast-forward, the models continued to get more and more capable, but fast-forward essentially to December of last calendar year, of 2024, where OpenAI introduced the first reasoning model. This was a model that was trained on what we call chain-of-thought types of patterns, where we were literally saying, now we want to train you to reason. We actually want to show you what it looks like to do good analytical and mathematical reasoning and see if we can train you to do that. o1 was the first model that did that. It proved to be just kind of mind blowing for us. o3 is the current best tech out there. It is now outperforming and demonstrating what we call superhuman intelligence, Molly, meaning humans cannot outperform it in particular domains. And that’s I think why we’re all of a sudden, matter of fact. We saw the glimmers of reasoning come on. We saw the models get better, and then bang, over the last couple of months we’re in this place where, with our best thinking, we’re not sure we can outthink the machines. And that’s pretty exciting. I think it leads us to imagine what we can do with this technology to really further our dreams about what we can do for the human family. 

    MOLLY WOOD: I want to ask you about the ROI of AI. How are firms performing, particularly firms that are starting out with AI or really evolving into, or starting as Frontier Firms?  

    JARED SPATARO: Well, truly Frontier Firms are outperforming their peer group or their industry set in really exciting ways. One of the key measures that we see that just gets right to the heart of things is essentially revenue per employee. That’s an important measure for almost every industry, because you’re looking at how you’re deploying capital and people to get things done. And in some of these places, we’re starting to see them do 4x, 10x, or more per employee. And that’s just simply because it’s a really different setup. I mean, they start and say, well, why would you need these types of roles? I know of one of these Frontier Firms, for instance, that decided not to hire a CFO simply because they felt like they had enough analytical understanding, and using an agent to aid that they were able to get the specialized skills that they needed. I know another one that decided to not hire a CMO, but instead hire someone who was earlier in career and say, hey, we believe in you with these tools, we think you can perform as well as any seasoned veteran would be in marketing. Those types of decisions kind of lead you there. And then you start to get from revenue per employee to just some of the key measures in a particular industry. You know, I have seen the legal profession really start to undergo some big changes. Lawyers are all about essentially how much they can bill per hour. Well, all of a sudden when you have intelligence on tap, that doesn’t even make sense as a way of thinking about the business model any longer. And so there’s another place that we’re starting to see entire business models change. So it starts with the most basic of just looking at how much you’re driving per employee. But I think we’re going to start to see big changes even in the models that people use to monetize what value they produce. 

    MOLLY WOOD: It feels like that ability to quantify is so important. It’s so valuable to say, this is why you can’t stay in the middle.  

    JARED SPATARO: Well, here’s what’s happened that I think has been so interesting. I mean, all along the way I feel like I’ve learned things where I look backwards and say, of course I should have known that. So let me just trace Jared’s history here. You know, we came out with a digital assistant that was saving people first 20, then 30, then the good people can use Copilot 40 hours a month. But guess what? Most CFOs said, That’s cute, but I don’t really have a way of quantifying that to the bottom line. It doesn’t impact revenue and obviously as directly as I wish, Jared. That makes sense to me. So then we moved over to process re-engineering where people were like, Hey, pick a process, something like customer support. And with that process, can you use this technology to really impact costs in a measurable way? And they were, for sure. The biggest problem was you can only pick so many processes a quarter, in a year, and get that work done. The sweet spot that we found has been this idea of digital labor and digital employees, and that’s because I believe everything in a firm today is really tooled around an employee. We all get what it looks like to hire and onboard an employee. We know what the costs are. We call them a fully burdened cost for an employee. Everybody speaks that language. You tell me I can add the equivalent of five employees to my team without all of those costs, I know how to do the math on that. And that’s where I think we’ve hit a sweet spot of how we will be able to quantify, measure consistently in the frame and the system that we’ve already set up the impact of this technology. So I think it’s a really interesting maturity point in just the world absorbing the technology, measuring the impact of the technology.  

    MOLLY WOOD: You are someone who specifically has seen a lot of technology transformations. What can we learn from the times that we have been somewhere like this before?  

    JARED SPATARO: The one that I go back to that I have the most experience with is the internet. You know, it’s really fun to go back and look at people’s predictions as the internet started to move out of the laboratory, out of research, and into a commercial setting. And I would say the shape of what I have studied there, the impact on society, you know, I feel like we’re going to see that same thing happen here. I believe that, you know, when you look at the internet, no one would say the internet’s been bad for humanity. We all think, man, our lives are much better. At the same time, we can also look at some things that we should have done early on with the internet. I look at an example of something like social media. And so I think that some of those same patterns apply here. So I just think that going back to look at what’s happened, particularly with the internet, really provides us with a good model that’ll help guide some of what we need to do with this tech. 

    MOLLY WOOD: If you are willing, can you tell us how you’re starting to see AI be incorporated outside of work? I have heard, for example, you may have used it to help you learn Spanish.  

    JARED SPATARO: I have been using it to learn Spanish. I love this thing for language learning, because up to this point you’ve had to find a way to hire or become really good friends with a native speaker so that you can practice. I love just conversing with it. And then you can set it up and say, Hey, I want you to converse with me about these topics, but if I make mistakes, I want you to pause for a second, kind of pause the conversation that’s happening, just correct me and then we’ll go back to the conversation. So I ask it things about, you know, single-cell biology. I ask it about the finer points of dining. I mean, you can just ask any specialty topic and it comes back to you, which is really fun. But in general, I would say that that’s what I see outside of work. People starting to use it to learn about new things, to augment their understanding of the world, to create opportunities to expand what they think about and what they’re processing. I mean, all of that’s very exciting to me.   

    MOLLY WOOD: Knowing that we’re in this moment of profound change, what is your advice for business leaders today?  

    JARED SPATARO: Yeah, that’s pretty easy. I mean, I’d say hire your first digital employee this week. You need to get after this. The idea that this is, you know, months off, that was like last year. This year you can hire your first digital employee. So I’d say that’s the first one. Number two, what that introduces then is this idea of human-agent teams. And so I think you need to start thinking about your human-agent ratio. You know, that should be a really good measure. We don’t know exactly what that should look like, but it will be a measure of how you’re deploying this technology. And then the last thing I’d say is, once you start to see that pattern take shape, you’ve got your first digital employee, you’re starting to see them proliferate, you’ve got human-agent teams, you need to think about every team and every process. Like, don’t just have it be localized. You know, if you don’t do it, your competitor will be doing it. So there is a sense of urgency that I think is important for business leaders to feel at this moment here in the spring of 2025.  

    MOLLY WOOD: This is a high bar because a lot of exciting things are happening. What excites you the most about this moment? 

    JARED SPATARO: I feel like humanity’s hit a point where we have been facing some challenges that have been almost like brick walls. You know, whether that is how to cure cancer or how to truly eradicate poverty, how to really grow GDP around the world in a way that’s both sustainable and shareable. You know, some really important questions. And I think we’ve hit that brick wall because I think it’s fair to say that we’ve reached the limitations of our ability to work through them on our own. I think what excites me the most is with this technology, we can tackle those things. We can invent new drugs. We can invent new energy technologies. We can create ways for the people who have not traditionally had access to specialty training and education and capital. To create firms that flourish right out of the gate. I don’t know, you put those things together, they are very hopeful. You know, it does feel to me like a new chapter in the history of mankind. That is, I don’t know, if you don’t get inspired by that, I don’t know what I have to offer you to be inspired by.  

    MOLLY WOOD: Jared Spataro is Microsoft’s Chief Marketing Officer for AI at Work. For more of his insights, follow him on LinkedIn, subscribe to the LinkedIn newsletter AI at Work. Jared, thank you so much for the time today. 

    JARED SPATARO: Great to be here. 

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

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Want to walk the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage? Leave your phone at home

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Una Cunningham, Professor emerita, Department of Teaching and Learning, Stockholm University

    The yellow shell symbol that marks the path of the Camino de Santiago. Armando Oliveira/Shutterstock

    Pilgrimage offers a chance to disengage from the everyday and think deeply about what is important. Leaving home and spending some time on the move with no concerns other than putting one foot in front of the other can be life-changing.

    Pilgrimage has been described as a liminal experience, which means you are neither at home nor at your destination, caught between two existential levels. Many people return home feeling transformed.

    Since the mid-1990s, the numbers of people walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route to what the faithful believe to be the tomb of Saint James the Apostle in northwestern Spain have rocketed. And they continue to rise, probably approaching the numbers who made the pilgrimage in the middle ages, when up to 2 million people are believed to have walked each year.

    Medieval pilgrims prepared for pilgrimage by setting their financial and spiritual affairs in order: writing a will and going to confession. Pilgrimage was seen as a rite of passage, or an individual quest where social status and networks were traded for anonymity and poverty in constant mobility. Arrival conveyed salvation, or perhaps a cure or a mystical revelation.

    Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

    Contemporary, postsecular pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago is often undertaken at turning points in the pilgrim’s life, for psycho-existential motives. Pilgrimage allows you to take time out from your life. Authenticity and simplicity are valued and will show you that you actually need very little. Slow mobility facilitates introspection and may have transformative effects.

    At the same time, you can prepare for a pilgrimage as for any other activity, using the digital tools at your fingertips to gather information from official apps and online communities, possibly to learn some Spanish, and to make decisions in the planning of the route, accommodation, equipment and training. It is possible to arrange everything in advance, but you risk becoming hyper-informed, losing the opportunities for discovery, wonder and surprise that are part of pilgrimage.

    Technology during your pilgrimage

    I research online Camino forums. They are divided on the use of technology (such as smartphones) while actually on pilgrimage.

    Unbroken digital interaction with family and friends at home will thwart some of the goals of your journey. Instead of being fully in the moment you will remain socially present in a symbolic world somewhere else, with all the worries of that world close at hand.

    You’ll also miss opportunities to trust your intuition, and the community of pilgrims you meet on the Camino. You don’t need a map. The trail is blazed with yellow arrows and stylised scallop shells. Without a phone you can plan your next day’s walk using a guidebook and if you want to book a bed for the next day, the albergue (pilgrim hostel) staff can help.

    The Camino path is well signposted.
    Soloviova Liudmyla/Shutterstock

    Many see a Camino pilgrimage as an opportunity for a digital detox and attempt to at least regulate the amount of time spent with a smartphone. But even if you keep your phone in your backpack during the day and concentrate tech time to the evening, you will be interrupting the separation from your life at home that is necessary if your pilgrimage is to be a liminal experience. When you catch up on news, email and family, you step back into the everyday.

    Live blogging and vlogging from the Camino is encouraged by prospective pilgrims lurking in the Camino forums. Those who have already completed one or more Caminos comment to relate and vicariously relive their own Camino experiences. Live turn-by-turn reports are also appreciated by those undertaking virtual pilgrimage.

    After your return home you can join the ranks of veterans who retell their pilgrimage to the online community and contribute with advice to prospective pilgrims. But doing this while on the Camino focuses your attention to other people and places rather than the here and now.

    The liminal experience that was supposed to bring the pilgrim to insight does not always happen, due, at least partly, to digital distraction and incomplete extraction from the everyday environment. In the words of Camino anthropologist Nancy Frey, use the Camino as a chance for disconnection. If you must take a phone, keep it turned off in your backpack – strictly for emergencies.

    Una Cunningham 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. Want to walk the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage? Leave your phone at home – https://theconversation.com/want-to-walk-the-camino-de-santiago-pilgrimage-leave-your-phone-at-home-252676

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: From vigorous brushing to clear aligners, here’s what might be causing your gums to recede

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Flavio Pisani, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Periodontology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Central Lancashire

    sruilk/Shutterstock

    One of the most common concerns patients bring to the dental chair is receding gums. Often, the immediate assumption is: “I must have gum disease.” While this can be true, gum recession isn’t always a clear-cut sign of disease. In fact, many people don’t notice any problem until they begin to experience tooth sensitivity to cold, hot, or sweet foods – or they notice their smile changing, with more visible tooth surfaces or small gaps appearing between the teeth.

    Dentists often respond to this concern with a quick fix: applying white composite fillings near the gum line. While this may help with sensitivity in the short term, it can make the problem worse over time by contributing to further gum recession.

    Gum disease – also known as periodontitis – is a serious condition. Symptoms such as bleeding when brushing, drifting teeth, persistent bad breath, or tooth mobility should always be investigated. However, gum recession can have other causes, too.

    Even ex-fiances of Jennifer Lopez can develop gum disease.

    Perhaps surprisingly, one of the biggest culprits behind receding gums is actually overzealous brushing. Using too much force or brushing with the wrong tools – like a hard-bristled toothbrush – can gradually wear away gum tissue. Electric toothbrushes can help by reducing pressure, especially newer models that light up when you brush too hard. But in reality, many people focus more on how long they brush than how they brush. Even the smart apps that pair with these toothbrushes usually highlight brushing time in each area, rather than pressure applied.

    That’s why teaching proper brushing technique is so important. The best method will vary depending on a patient’s individual tooth and gum structure – and it should always aim to remove plaque effectively while using gentle, consistent pressure. If someone is doing well with a manual toothbrush and has a solid technique, there’s no reason to switch to an electric one.

    Another growing cause of gum recession is cosmetic tooth straightening with clear aligners. While aligners are effective for aligning teeth quickly, they’re often paired with fixed retainers – wires bonded behind the teeth to hold them in place. Over time, this can cause the roots to drift outside the natural bone housing of the jaw, resulting in gum tissue shrinking away from the teeth.

    Solutions

    The good news is that there are solutions. Every case is unique, but with the right knowledge and techniques, dentists can help patients restore both gum health and appearance.

    For cases where the gum tissue has receded significantly, there are several surgical options depending on the patient’s needs and goals.

    For functional concerns, a technique called the free gingival graft is commonly used. This involves transplanting a thin layer of tissue – usually taken from the roof of the mouth (the palate) – to create a band of tough, pink gum around the base of the teeth. This helps patients brush comfortably without irritating the soft tissue of the gum. While this procedure can slightly reduce recession, the main goal is improving durability and comfort, not aesthetics. The graft is often visibly different in colour and texture.

    For cosmetic concerns, more advanced “plastic surgery” techniques are available. One popular method involves carefully lifting the local gum tissue, inserting a tissue graft beneath it (again, typically taken from the palate), and stitching it in place. This “sandwich” approach thickens the gums and gives them a healthier appearance. The graft acts as a scaffold for the existing gum tissue to grow back over, improving both form and function.

    These procedures are safe, effective and minimally invasive. They’re typically performed under local anaesthetic in a dental practice and require only a few days of recovery with over-the-counter pain relief. For anxious patients, conscious sedation can also be used – a technique where medications are used to relax a patient during a medical procedure, allowing them to remain awake and alert while feeling less nervous and potentially less aware of what’s happening.

    Long-term studies show these techniques to be reliable, with a success rate of up to 93% and minimal relapse even five years after surgery.

    The most important step in managing gum recession is a comprehensive patient assessment. While cosmetic concerns matter, the real priority is making sure gum disease isn’t being overlooked. Periodontitis is a silent and progressive condition, leading to chronic inflammation, bone loss and eventually tooth loss.

    More importantly, research links periodontal disease to systemic health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even dementia. Protecting our gums isn’t just about maintaining a nice smile – it’s about safeguarding our overall health.

    Flavio Pisani 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. From vigorous brushing to clear aligners, here’s what might be causing your gums to recede – https://theconversation.com/from-vigorous-brushing-to-clear-aligners-heres-what-might-be-causing-your-gums-to-recede-255123

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Who gets to be called an astronaut? Private space travel has reignited debate over use of prestigious title

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ian Whittaker, Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University

    Copyright: Blue Origin

    The recent all-women spaceflight carried out on Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin vehicle has raised discussion of who gets to be called an astronaut. Sean Duffy, Donald Trump’s transportation secretary, disputed the astronaut title given to those on the flight, including singer Katy Perry and journalist Gayle King.

    The term astronaut was only rarely disputed until the first “celebrity” suborbital flight in 2021. In the 1960s, pilots flying the experimental, rocket-powered X-15 jet were awarded astronaut status by the US Air Force if they flew above 50 miles (80km).

    Sir Richard Branson’s 2021 flight aboard his Virgin Galactic vehicle reached 53 miles (85km) – an altitude recognised by some experts as being within outer space. Bezos followed a few days later, travelling on his Blue Origin New Shepard vehicle. This flight reached about 68 miles (106km) in altitude.

    Bezos has focused on reaching an altitude of about 62.1 miles (100km), one proposed boundary of space known as the Kármán line, named after the early 20th-century polymath Theodore von Kármán.

    A 2021 post on social media by Bezos’s Blue Origin capitalised on the fact that his New Shepard vehicle reached the higher boundary. The suggestion from the post was that those who travelled to the lower boundary on rival Virgin Galactic flights could have their “space traveller” status questioned, whereas those who travelled with Blue Origin could not.

    This particular post did not mention the question of who is an “astronaut”. However, this is how Blue Origin currently describes those who travel on New Shepard.

    Indeed, some definitions of “astronaut” simply state that it is a person who has been to space. Therefore, another implication of the post – intentional or not – might be that those who travel with Bezos’s company are more eligible for such a designation than those who have been to lower altitudes.

    While Blue Origin calls the Kármán line an “internationally recognised boundary” of space, it is far from universally accepted. Theodore von Kármán wanted to separate out aeronautics (the science of flying aircraft) and astronautics (the science of space travel).

    As a byproduct, he calculated the maximum altitude that an aircraft could go without reaching orbital velocity (where it would start orbiting the Earth) to be around 52 miles (84km).

    A researcher and associate of von Kármán called Andrew Haley was interested in space law. He established von Kármán’s calculation as the boundary of space. This was later raised to 62.1 miles (100km) by the world governing body for air sports, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.

    The Kármán line has very little scientific rationale, however. If you ask a geologist, an atmospheric scientist and a space physics expert where the definition of space is, you will get vastly different answers.

    For example, as somebody who specialises in magnetospheric physics and solar influence, I would say space properly starts at the plasmapause. This is a boundary around the Earth that’s based on differences in the charged particles that exist on either side of the division. The plasmapause sits at an altitude of around 35,000 miles (57,000km).

    Who is an astronaut?

    The recent Blue Origin flight understandably made a strong positive impression on the passengers. Gayle King compared the flight to the historic launch in 1961 that made Nasa astronaut Alan Shepard the first American in space.

    The effusive reactions from the passengers, along with King’s and Blue Origin’s use of the term “astronaut” to describe the team members prompted a backlash online. King noted that men on similar flights hadn’t been subjected to such criticism, and Katy Perry says she felt “battered and bruised” by the reaction.

    Among the critics was the US transport secretary, Sean Duffy, who stated that the participants could not be astronauts as they failed to meet the FAA astronaut criteria. The FAA requirements for an astronaut are for them to be a member of crew, to contribute to spaceflight safety and to demonstrate activities essential to public safety. Their minimum altitude for “space” is the 50 mile (80km) limit.

    As New Shepard is fully automated, none of the passengers could really be considered “crew members”. Similarly, if you buy a ticket on a plane, you are not crew unless employed by the airline to do a job.

    Would it be different if private space travellers were able to carry out scientific research during their journey? This might make them more than just passengers and potentially qualify them for the “crew” designation. Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are actually not suited for any sort of weightlessness research. Passengers experience around 3-4 minutes of weightlessness.

    By contrast, a flight on the Airbus A310 zero-G plane gives 25-30 seconds of weightlessness. When this is repeated 25-30 times, you get between 10 and 15 minutes of weightlessness in total. This avenue for carrying out research in microgravity is also open to anybody with a sensible scientific idea to test rather than just members of the rich elite.

    Why it matters

    Does it matter what space travellers actually call themselves? The FAA designation of “astronaut” is not the only one. Some dictionary definitions simply define an astronaut as a person trained to go into space or, as mentioned, a person who has flown in space. The passengers on Blue Origin’s New Shepard flights would probably qualify under both of these definitions.

    But let’s consider the legal dimension. Star Trek actor William Shatner flew with Blue Origin on a New Shepard vehicle in 2021. If Shatner had experienced a health-related incident during the flight, who would have been at fault?

    If Shatner was an “astronaut”, could it be argued that he held a greater level of responsibility for any adverse effects from the flight? If he was simply a passenger, might the company share more responsibility?

    Thankfully, such a situation has not yet occurred, which means that any associated legal arguments remain hypothetical. But as more paying passengers travel on flights to space, the chances of adverse incidents increase.

    Ultimately, everyone can have an opinion about whether just going into space – wherever the boundary may lie – makes you an astronaut. But there may be more to consider than a nice title.

    Ian Whittaker 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. Who gets to be called an astronaut? Private space travel has reignited debate over use of prestigious title – https://theconversation.com/who-gets-to-be-called-an-astronaut-private-space-travel-has-reignited-debate-over-use-of-prestigious-title-255630

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Can vitamin D help prevent colorectal cancer? The science is promising – but not straightforward

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Justin Stebbing, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University

    Yulia Furman/Shutterstock

    The potential role of vitamin D in preventing and treating colorectal cancer (CRC) has attracted growing research interest – especially as CRC rates are rising, particularly among younger adults. This isn’t a new area of study. Low vitamin D levels have long been linked to a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer.

    One large study involving over 12,000 participants found that people with low blood levels of vitamin D had a 31% greater risk of developing CRC compared to those with higher levels. Similarly, another study reported a 25% lower CRC risk among individuals with high dietary vitamin D intake.

    Data from the Nurses’ Health Study – a long-term investigation of American nurses – showed that women with the highest vitamin D intake had a 58% lower risk of developing colorectal cancer compared to those with the lowest intake.

    Now, a review highlights vitamin D’s promise in colorectal cancer prevention and treatment – but also underscores the complexity and contradictions in current research.

    While observational data, which follow people’s use of vitamin D, and mechanistic studies, to investigate how vitamin D works in the laboratory, suggest protective effects, this isn’t confirmed by larger trials.

    In fact, randomised controlled trials (RCTs), in which some people receive vitamin D and others don’t, the gold standard by which treatments are judged, reveal inconsistent outcomes. This highlights the need for a balanced approach to its integration into public health strategies.

    Vitamin D is synthesised in the skin in response to sunlight and exerts its biological effects through vitamin D receptors (VDRs) found throughout the body, including in colon tissue. When activated, these receptors help regulate gene activity related to inflammation, immune response and cell growth – processes central to cancer development and progression.

    Preclinical studies have shown that the active form of vitamin D (calcitriol) can suppress inflammation, boost immune surveillance (the immune system’s ability to detect abnormal cells), inhibit tumour blood vessel growth and regulate cell division – a key factor in cancer development, as demonstrated in my recent research.

    Epidemiological studies, which track health outcomes across large populations over time, consistently find that people with higher blood levels of vitamin D have a lower risk of developing CRC. This paints a hopeful picture, suggesting that something as simple as getting more vitamin D – via sun exposure, diet, or supplements – could lower cancer risk.

    But the story gets more complicated.

    Mixed results

    When it comes to medical decision-making, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are the gold standard. These studies randomly assign participants to receive either a treatment (like vitamin D) or a placebo, helping eliminate bias and isolate cause-and-effect relationships.

    Unfortunately, RCTs on vitamin D and CRC have produced mixed results.

    For example, the VITAL trial – a major RCT involving over 25,000 participants – found no significant reduction in overall colorectal cancer incidence with 2,000 IU/day of vitamin D supplementation over several years.

    However, a meta-analysis of seven RCTs did show a 30% improvement in CRC survival rates with vitamin D supplements, suggesting potential benefits later in the disease course rather than for prevention.

    On the other hand, the Vitamin D/Calcium Polyp Prevention Trial found no reduction in the recurrence of adenomas (pre-cancerous growths) with supplementation, raising questions about who benefits most, and at what dosage.

    Adding to the uncertainty is the question of causation. Does low vitamin D contribute to cancer development? Or does the onset of cancer reduce vitamin D levels in the body? It’s also possible that the observed benefits are partly due to increased sunlight exposure, which itself may have independent protective effects.

    The big picture

    These discrepancies highlight the importance of considering the “totality of evidence” – treating each study as one piece of a larger puzzle.

    The biologic plausibility is there. Observational and mechanistic studies suggest a meaningful link between vitamin D and lower CRC risk. But the clinical evidence isn’t yet strong enough to recommend vitamin D as a standalone prevention or treatment strategy.

    That said, maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels – at least 30 ng/mL – is a low-risk, cost-effective health measure. And when combined with other strategies like regular screening, a healthy diet, physical activity, and personalised care, vitamin D could still play a valuable role in overall cancer prevention.

    Vitamin D is not a miracle cure – but it is part of a much broader picture. Its role in colorectal cancer is promising but still being defined. While it’s not time to rely on supplements alone, ensuring adequate vitamin D levels – through sun exposure, diet, or supplements – remains a smart choice for your health.

    Colorectal cancer is a complex disease, and tackling it requires an equally nuanced approach. For now, that means focusing on evidence-based lifestyle changes, regular screenings, and staying informed as new research unfolds.

    Justin Stebbing 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. Can vitamin D help prevent colorectal cancer? The science is promising – but not straightforward – https://theconversation.com/can-vitamin-d-help-prevent-colorectal-cancer-the-science-is-promising-but-not-straightforward-255025

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Ms. María Angela Holguín Cuéllar of Colombia – Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus

    Source: United Nations MIL-OSI 2

    nited Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of María Angela Holguín Cuéllar of Colombia as his Personal Envoy on Cyprus.  Following the conclusion of the informal meeting in Cyprus in a broader format, held in Geneva on 17 and 18 March, the Secretary-General has asked Ms. Holguín to reengage with the parties in order to work on next steps on the Cyprus issue and advise him.  Ms. Holguín completed a previous assignment as Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General on Cyprus from January to July 2024.

    Ms. Holguín brings extensive diplomatic experience at the highest levels, including as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia (2010-2018).  She also served as delegate of the President of Colombia at the Peace Process Negotiation in Havana, Cuba (2015-2016), and was a member of the Cabinet for Post-Conflict (2017-2018).  Previous posts in her diplomatic career include the position of Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations, Ambassador to Venezuela and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

    Ms. Holguín holds a degree in Political Science from the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia.  She also studied at the Centre d´Études Diplomatiques et Stratégiques and at the Université Paris–Sorbonne in Paris, France.  In addition to Spanish, she speaks English and French.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Glitter’s sparkle hides a darker side – it can change the chemistry of our oceans

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Juan Diego Rodriguez-Blanco, Ussher Associate Professor in Nanomineralogy, Trinity College Dublin

    Glitter is festive and fun – a favourite for decorations, makeup and art projects. But while it may look harmless, beautiful even, glitter’s sparkle hides a darker side. Those shimmering specks often end up far from party tables and greeting cards. You can even spot them glinting on beaches, washed in with the tide.

    In our recent research, we discovered that glitter – specifically, the kind made from a common plastic polymer called polyethylene terephthalate (PET) – is not merely polluting the ocean. It could actively interfere with marine life as it forms shells and skeletons, which is a much bigger deal than it might sound.

    Put simply: glitter helps the formation of crystals that nature did not plan for. And those crystals can break the glitter into even smaller pieces, making the pollution problem worse and more long-lasting.

    We tend to think of microplastics as tiny beads from face scrubs or fibres from clothes, but glitter is in its own special category. It is often made of layered plastic film with metal coatings – the same stuff found in craft supplies, cosmetics, party decorations and clothing. It is shiny, colourful and durable – and extremely tiny. That makes it hard to clean up and easy for marine animals to eat, because it looks tasty.

    New research reveals that PET-based glitter microplastics in the sea can actively influence a process known as biomineralisation.

    However, our research paper in the journal Environmental Sciences Europe suggests that what really sets glitter apart from other microplastics is the way it behaves once it enters the ocean. It actively interacts with its surroundings; it’s not drifting passively.

    In our lab, we recreated seawater conditions and added glitter to the mix to explore whether glitter would affect how minerals – like the ones marine animals use to make their shells – form. What we saw was surprisingly fast and incredibly consistent: the glitter was kickstarting the formation of minerals such as calcite, aragonite and other types of calcium carbonates in a process known as “biomineralisation”.

    These minerals are the building blocks that many marine creatures – including corals, sea urchins and molluscs – use to make their hard parts. If glitter is messing with that process, we could be looking at a serious threat to ocean life.

    A crystal-growing machine

    Under the microscope, we saw that glitter particles acted like little platforms for crystal growth. Minerals formed all over their surfaces, especially around cracks and edges. It was not a slow build-up – crystals appeared within minutes.

    This can complicate natural processes. Marine creatures use very precise conditions to make their shells the right shape and strength. When something like glitter comes along and changes the rules – speeding up crystal growth, changing the types of crystals that form – it could mess with those natural processes. Like baking a cake and suddenly having the oven heat up to 1,000ºC, you might still get a cake – but it will not be the one you intended to cook.

    Worse still, as the crystals grow, they push against the layers of glitter, causing it to crack, flake and break apart. That means the glitter ends up turning into even smaller pieces, known as nanoplastics, which are more easily absorbed by marine life and nearly impossible to remove from the environment.

    Microplastics are eaten by marine life, from fish and turtles to oysters and plankton. This affects how animals feed, grow and survive. When we eat seafood, these microplastics become part of our own diet.

    But our findings show that glitter does not just get eaten. It changes the chemistry of the ocean in tiny but important ways. By promoting the wrong kind of mineral growth, glitter might interfere with how ocean animals form their shells or skeletons in the first place.

    This problem does not stop with wildlife. The ocean plays a key role in regulating Earth’s climate, and mineral formation is part of that equation. If calcium carbonate formation in the ocean changes, it could also affect how carbon moves through the planet.

    So, the next time you see glitter on a birthday card or in a makeup palette, remember this: it might look like harmless sparkle, but in the ocean, it behaves more like a flashy chemical troublemaker. What seems small and shiny to us could be a big, silent disruptor for the marine world.

    And once it is out there, it is not going away.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

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

    – ref. Glitter’s sparkle hides a darker side – it can change the chemistry of our oceans – https://theconversation.com/glitters-sparkle-hides-a-darker-side-it-can-change-the-chemistry-of-our-oceans-255155

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Three strategies to help European carmakers regain their edge

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Francesco Grillo, Academic Fellow, Department of Social and Political Sciences, Bocconi University

    sylv1rob1/Shutterstock

    Even before US president Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on all imported cars, European automakers had been facing a multitude of challenges. Sales have slumped and manufacturers face rising costs, while Chinese rivals have rapidly been gaining market share.

    The day before the tariffs announcement, the combined market capitalisation of Europe’s five major automakers (Volkswagen, Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Renault) stood at around US$212 billion (£159 billion). This total is less than a quarter of the value of Tesla alone.

    Yet the five European giants sell 25 million vehicles annually, accounting for a third of all cars purchased worldwide. Tesla, despite losing half of its market value since the beginning of the year, only just makes the top 15 automakers. It sells less than a third of what Stellantis alone delivers.

    This essentially means that financial markets no longer believe that European carmakers can make money out of a business they have been dominating for almost a century.

    The crisis does, in fact, stem from the obsolescence of the technology upon which the entire industrial model of the car was built.

    The invention of German engineer Karl Benz, later made widely accessible to millions of consumers by American entrepreneur Henry Ford, was far more than just a product.

    Cars enabled people to go anywhere whenever they wanted. This fuelled the last industrial revolution and one of the greatest leaps in human prosperity.

    However, more than 100 years after the first assembly lines appeared in Detroit, the dream has stalled. In a world where economic and environmental resources are increasingly scarce, an entire industrial model looks unsustainable.

    Why? Because it became inefficient.

    A privately owned car is used for only 5% of its potential lifetime. It remains idle and occupying valuable parking space for the other 95%. It carries an average of just 1.2 passengers, utilising only a quarter of its capacity.

    If an alien were to observe human civilisation, it might conclude that humans have lost that special ability that made them so different from all other species: to do more with less.

    Additionally, around 80% of cars are still powered by fossil fuels that cost significantly more than electricity per mile. This is despite economies of scale that are bringing down the price of purchasing a plug-in electric vehicle (EV).

    These issues have hit the European – and also the US – automotive industries hard. These regions were the birthplace of the industry itself. For CEOs and policymakers, who often belong to a generation (and a gender) steeped in traditional automotive culture, finding solutions has proven difficult. However, there could be a clear path forward.

    Here are three ideas to bring the European automotive industry in the 21st century.

    1. Become more competitive by attracting EV rivals

    China has already secured a technological advantage in this field – similar to the dominance once held by Volkswagen when it first established factories in Shanghai.

    In the same week when BYD announced that it has surpassed Tesla in terms of revenues of electric cars, the Chinese automaker also revealed that it had developed a system to charge an electric car with 400km (249 miles) of range in five minutes.

    BYD and other Chinese manufacturers export less than 10% of their products to the EU. They will survive any import duty that the EU imposes on them. Instead of fearing Chinese automakers, the EU should entice them to establish production facilities in the bloc, encouraging competition and innovation within its borders.

    2. Sell services and symbols

    New business models should focus on selling services as well as objects. This trend is prevailing in many industries, and carmakers should embrace it to develop partnerships with organisations that can make driving a less wasteful experience. Autonomous driving technology, for example, offers the chance to take vehicle-sharing to a much wider customer base.

    And European automakers should trade on their history as a symbol of expertise and longevity. This is not so different to what camera-maker Kodak has done to survive to the digital revolution. It is notable that Ferrari is now worth more than its bigger sister company Stellantis.

    3. Governments must get involved

    For the transformation to succeed, governments must play a role. It is not about propping up the European industry with subsidies or treating cars as the new steel industry. Rather, it is about designing and implementing the infrastructure that the future of mobility requires.

    The Fiat Topolino brought private transport to the masses.
    Dan74/Shutterstock

    A century ago, European cities were completely restructured to transition from horse-drawn carriages to the first Fiat Topolinos rolling out of the Mirafiori factory.

    Today, we need new charging networks and dedicated lanes for electric and autonomous vehicles. This is already happening in China clearly showing that without a significant modernisation of infrastructure innovation does not happen.

    The impact of tariffs

    Trump’s tariffs will hurt – badly. Volkswagen, which exports two thirds of its production outside western Europe, will suffer most after assuming that its “people’s cars” could be sold indiscriminately to different populations.

    However, the era of tariffs should serve as a wake-up call rather than a death sentence. The European automotive sector must use this challenge to reinvent itself, just as it did in the post-war era.

    In the 1960s, countries like Italy and France combined industrial strategy of the likes of Fiat and Renault with a vision of the future. This alignment of industrial ambition and pragmatic policymaking was a key part of post-war reconstruction.

    Now European leaders must embrace the same spirit of bold, forward-thinking innovation to build a transport system that is capable of setting global standards. The automotive crisis is not just an industry-specific issue. It demands a revival of both vision and pragmatism.

    Francesco Grillo is affiliated with Vision, an independent European Think Tank. Vision is the convenor of two global conferences: on “the Europe of the Future” (in Siena) and on “global governance of climate change” (in Trento).

    – ref. Three strategies to help European carmakers regain their edge – https://theconversation.com/three-strategies-to-help-european-carmakers-regain-their-edge-255259

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How dogs and cats are evolving to look alike and why it’s humans’ fault – new research

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Grace Carroll, Lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Welfare, School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast

    Africa Studio/Shutterstock

    Domestication has made cats and dogs more diverse, but also curiously alike – with serious implications for their health and welfare, new research shows.

    At first glance, Persian cats and pugs don’t seem like they’d have much in common. One’s a cat, the other’s a dog, separated by 50 million years of evolution. But when evolutionary biologist Abby Grace Drake and her colleagues scanned 1,810 skulls of cats, dogs and their wild relatives, they found something strange. Despite their distant histories, many breeds of cats and dogs show striking similarity in skull shape.

    In evolutionary biology, divergence is a common process. In simple terms, divergence is where two organisms that share a common ancestry become increasingly different over time, while convergence means becoming more similar. As populations of animals split and adapt to different environments, they gradually develop new traits, a process known as divergent evolution.

    This is one of the main ways new species form different traits, causing populations to evolve along separate paths. But sometimes, evolution can take a different direction. Convergence happens when unrelated species, shaped by similar pressures, independently evolve similar features.

    In the case of domestic cats, dogs and many other domesticated species, intentional and unintentional selection by humans seems to have created convergence, accidentally steering different species toward similar traits.

    Despite a long history of evolutionary separation, flat-faced breeds like the Persian cat and pugs share similar skull structures.

    Persian cats have a similar skull structure to pugs.
    Zanna Pesnina/Shutterstock

    To investigate how far domestication has reshaped skull structure, Drake and her colleagues analysed 3D scans of skulls from museum specimens, veterinary schools and digital archives. Their dataset included domestic cats such as Siamese, Maine coon and Persian breeds, as well as over 100 dog breeds from short-muzzled dogs like pugs, to long-muzzled breeds like collies.

    Their findings showed that domestication has not only increased skull shape diversity beyond that of wolves and wildcats, but also led some cat and dog breeds to resemble one another, with convergence towards either long or flat faces. Wild canids (the group of animals that includes dogs, wolves, foxes and jackals) tend to share a similar elongated skull, while wild felids (the group of animals that includes domestic cats, lions, tigers and jaguars) show more natural variation.

    Yet domestic breeds of both species now span a more extreme range at both ends of the scale. This trend can be seen in the emergence of cats bred to resemble XL bully dogs.

    Domestication has long shown that when humans intervene, even distantly related species can end up looking, and sometimes suffering, in similar ways.

    Selective breeding has exaggerated traits across species. Many other human-made changes can push animals beyond what their bodies can naturally support. For instance, some chickens bred for their meat carry 30% of their body weight in breast muscle, which often results in heart and lung problems.

    The human preference for flat-faced pets taps into some of our most fundamental instincts. Humans are hard-wired to respond to infant features like rounded heads, small noses and large, low set eyes. These traits, which are exaggerated in many flat-faced cat and dog breeds, mimic the appearance of human babies.

    Of all species, humans are among the most altricial, meaning that we are born helpless and dependent on caregivers for survival, a trait we share with puppies and kittens. In contrast, precocial animals are able to see, hear, stand and move shortly after birth. Because human infants rely so heavily upon adult care, evolution has shaped us to be sensitive to signals of vulnerability and need.

    These signals like the rounded cheeks and wide eyes of babies, are known as social releasers. They trigger caregiving behaviour in adults, from speaking in higher-pitched tones to offering parental care.

    Herring gulls (a type of seagull) are an example of this in non-human animals. Their chicks instinctively peck at a red spot on the parent’s beak, which triggers the adult to regurgitate food. This red spot acts as a social releaser, ensuring the chick’s needs are met at the right time. In a similar way, domesticated animals have effectively hijacked ancient caregiving mechanisms evolved for our own offspring.

    These traits may give pets an advantage in soliciting human care and attention, but they come at a cost.

    The UK government commissions its Animal Welfare Committee to provide independent expert advice on emerging animal welfare concerns. In reports they produced in 2024, the committee raised serious concerns about the effect of selective breeding in both cats and dogs.

    The reports highlighted that breeding for extreme physical traits, like flat faces and exaggerated skull shapes, has led to widespread health problems, including breathing difficulties, neurological conditions and birth complications.

    The committee argues that animals with severe hereditary health issues should no longer be used for breeding, and calls for tougher regulation of breeders. Without these reforms, many popular breeds will continue to suffer from preventable, life-limiting conditions.

    Selective breeding has shown how easily humans can bend nature to their preferences, and how quickly millions of years of evolutionary separation can be overridden by a few decades of artificial selection.

    In choosing pets that mimic the faces of our own infants, we have, often unwittingly, selected for traits that harm the animals. Understanding the forces that drive convergence between species is a reminder that we play a powerful and sometimes dangerous role in shaping it.

    Grace Carroll 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. How dogs and cats are evolving to look alike and why it’s humans’ fault – new research – https://theconversation.com/how-dogs-and-cats-are-evolving-to-look-alike-and-why-its-humans-fault-new-research-255260

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New PFAS hydrogeological report published02 May 2025 ​The Government of Jersey has published an independent hydrogeological report on the current state of PFAS in surface water and groundwater around Jersey Airport. The report by Arcadis, a world leading… Read more

    Source: Channel Islands – Jersey

    02 May 2025

    ​

    The Government of Jersey has published an independent hydrogeological report on the current state of PFAS in surface water and groundwater around Jersey Airport. 

    The report by Arcadis, a world leading environmental consultancy, assessed PFAS across the St Ouen’s Bay and Upper Pont Marquet areas, potential risks and possible clean up options. 

    There is no immediate risk to the health of the broader population, as the report confirms that Jersey Water do not draw water from these impacted catchment areas for public water supply. 

    Assessing a broad range of PFAS, the report found that the extent of affected groundwater near the airport, the “plume area”, is larger than previously understood. 

    PFAS is a global issue. PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a large group of over 12,000 man-made chemicals that have been used since the 1940s in everyday products. These chemicals don’t break down easily, so they can build up over time in the environment. Some types of PFAS have been linked to health risks. 

    In Jersey, the historic use of firefighting foam at the Airport has created a PFAS “hot spot”. To better understand this, the Government of Jersey commissioned an independent study and risk assessment by Arcadis. 

    Arcadis considered PFAS levels in the groundwater, water which lies below the surface, and the surface water, water which lies on the surface, such as in ponds and streams. The report evaluates and shortlists a wide range of remediation options for the affected soil, groundwater and surface water. 

    The Minister for the Environment will review the report’s findings over the next six weeks and produce a full response by 12 June, including details of how the Government will move remediation options forward. 

    The Minister for the Environment, Deputy Steve Luce said: “I want to thank Arcadis for this detailed and thorough report, which will help us chart the best way forward. 

    “PFAS is not just in Jersey, it’s everywhere. But we’re coming up with scientific, evidence-based solutions to deal with it. There are only a few other jurisdictions around the world who are doing as much as we are. 

    “We are following the evolving science. We commissioned this report to give us a better understanding of where PFAS is and what we can do about it. It is a detailed report on a complex matter and its findings deserve proper consideration. I will carefully review it and respond more fully, with details of how we plan to move forwards, on 12 June.”

    ​The Arcadis Hydrogeological Study and other PFAS information is available at Gov.je​.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sen. RaShaun Kemp Celebrates Signing of Legislation to Improve Student Literacy

    Source: US State of Georgia

    ATLANTA (May 2, 2025) —  Today, Sen. RaShaun Kemp (D–Atlanta) proudly announced that his first piece of legislation, Senate Bill 93, has officially been signed into law by Governor Brian P. Kemp. The law tasks the Georgia Professional Standards Commission with establishing rules requiring evidence-based reading instruction aligned with the science of reading.

    “I am incredibly honored to see my first bill signed into law,” said Sen. Kemp. “From day one, I’ve been laser-focused on addressing our state’s literacy crisis. With this law, we are taking meaningful steps to ensure our educators are equipped to teach every child to read, especially those who are English language learners or have learning disabilities. I want to thank Gov. Kemp for his support and for recognizing the urgency of ensuring our educator prep programs align with the state’s focus on the science of reading. Literacy is the foundation of all learning, and this law guarantees we are doing everything we can to give our students the strongest start possible.”

    Senate Bill 93 requires the Professional Standards Commission to adopt rules supporting effective and research-based reading instruction in teacher preparation programs. These new standards will help educators identify reading deficiencies earlier and use instructional approaches tailored to students’ diverse learning needs.

    More information on SB 93 can be found here.

    # # # #

    Sen. RaShaun Kemp represents the 38th Senate District, which includes a portion of Fulton County. He may be reached by phone at (404) 656-0105 or by email at rashaun.kemp@senate.ga.gov.

    For all media inquiries, please reach out to SenatePressInquiries@senate.ga.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Human rights group calls for probe into attack on Freedom Flotilla ship

    Asia Pacific Report

    A human rights agency has called for an investigation into the drone attacks on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla aid ship Conscience with Israel suspected of being responsible.

    The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said in a statement that the deliberate targeting of a civilian aid ship in international waters was a “flagrant violation” of the United Nations Charter, the Law of the Sea, and the Rome Statute, which prohibits the targeting of humanitarian objects.

    It added: “This attack falls within a recurring and documented pattern of force being used to prevent ships from reaching the Gaza Strip, even before they approach its shores.”

    The monitor is calling for an “independent and transparent investigation under Maltese jurisdiction, with the participation of the United Nations”.

    It is also demanding “guarantees for safe sea passage for humanitarian aid bound for Gaza”.

    “Any failure to act today will only encourage further attacks on humanitarian missions and deepen the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza,” said the monitor.

    A spokesperson for the Gaza Freedom Flotilla said the group blamed Israel or one of its allies for the attack, adding it currently did not have proof of this claim.

    Israeli TV confirms attack
    However, Israel’s channel 12 television reported that Israeli forces were responsible for the attack.

    The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) is a grassroots people-to-people solidarity movement composed of campaigns and initiatives from different parts of the world, working together to end the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.

    The organisation said its goals included:

    • breaking Israel’s more than 17-year illegal and inhumane blockade of the Gaza Strip;
    • educating people around the world about the blockade of Gaza;
    • condemning and publicising the complicity of other governments and global actors in enabling the blockade; and
    • responding to the cry from Palestinians and Palestinian organisations in Gaza for solidarity to break the blockade.

    The MV Conscience — with about 30 human rights and aid activists on board — came under direct attack in international waters off the coast of Malta at 00:23 local time.

    The Maltese government said everyone on the ship was safe following the attack. Although several New Zealanders have been on board past flotilla ships, none were on board this time.

    In May 2010, Israeli security forces attacked six vessels in a Freedom Flotilla mission carrying aid aid bound for Gaza.

    Nine of the flotilla passengers were killed during the raid, with 30 wounded — one of whom later died of his wounds.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI: Coalesce Honors Data Leaders Driving Innovation with 2025 GOAT Awards

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SAN FRANCISCO, May 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Coalesce, the AI-powered data transformation and governance company, announced the 2025 Greatest of All Transformers (GOAT) award recipients, honoring data professionals at the forefront of modern data management practices.

    In an industry that’s driving business analytics and AI innovation, it’s easy to forget that behind every breakthrough is a team of humans—data engineers, data architects, data scientists, data analysts, and data ops—who make the magic happen. At Coalesce, we call them Data Transformers.

    We created the Greatest of All Transformers (GOAT) program to honor the people doing the hard, often invisible work of building the foundation for business intelligence and AI innovation, ultimately transforming how organizations manage and deliver data.

    Now in its second year, the GOAT program recognizes members of Coalesce’s Data Transformers community—forward-thinking data engineers, data architects, and industry leaders, who share a passion for solving real-world challenges while redefining what is possible with data. These leaders represent a global community pushing the boundaries of innovation and shaping the future of business through cutting-edge data solutions, automation, and collaboration.

    2025 GOAT of the Year Award

    In addition to recognizing the full class of 2025 GOATs, Coalesce is proud to name Gu Xie, Head of Data at Group 1001, as the 2025 GOAT of the Year—a singular honor awarded to an individual who leads the way in innovation while upholding best practices in data engineering and data operations to ensure long-term success. Gu’s work exemplifies leadership in building future-ready data infrastructure, streamlining operations, and driving long-term strategic success across the enterprise.

    Under Gu’s leadership, the data team at Group 1001 Innovations has modernized its data stack, strengthened data quality, and built scalable systems that enable faster, smarter decision-making across the business.

    The Class of 2025 GOAT Honorees

    Alongside Gu, Coalesce is also recognizing the Class of 2025 GOAT Honorees—a cohort of standout contributors whose work drives the future of the data industry. The list includes data professionals from Fortune 500 enterprises, fast-moving startups, sports teams, and consulting firms from around the world. These GOATs demonstrate excellence in practice, leadership in community, and an unrelenting focus on solving complex data challenges.

    “The GOAT program is our way of recognizing the people who are actively shaping the future of the data industry through innovation and collaboration,” said Armon Petrossian, CEO and co-founder of Coalesce. “Gu Xie and the entire class of 2025 GOATs exemplify leadership in this ever-evolving space. We’re excited to support and celebrate their accomplishments now and in the future.”

    Class of 2025 GOAT Honorees

    North America

    • Frank Bell, ITS Consulting
    • Dane Bernhardt, HUB International
    • Ajay Bidani, Powell Industries
    • Patrick Buell, Hakkoda
    • Jimmy Ched’homme, TubeScience
    • Naveen Chidiri
    • Andrew Crisp, UCBI
    • Amanuel Dandena, Alterman
    • Blake Davidson, PetIQ
    • Lee Derks, DigBI Consulting
    • Brennan DiChiara, Tampa Bay Rays
    • Parker Dillon, 3STEP
    • Juan Dominguez, Tampa Bay Rays
    • Christopher Elliott, Denny’s
    • Matt Florian, Hakkoda
    • Jesse Fry, ECS Tuning
    • Munish Gandevia, 3STEP Sports
    • Jay Gimple, CDAO
    • Kent Graziano, The Data Warrior
    • Justin Grimme, Snowflake
    • Brandon Harris, Oshkosh Corporation
    • Joe Horton, WSECU
    • Susan Kolesnikov, Group 1001
    • Nicholas Mann, Stratos
    • Erik McConathy, CKE Restaurants
    • Shyam Nair, Texas Capital Bank
    • Hilda Olekangal, Q2
    • Deborah Reinagel, Alterman
    • Sarah Siron, PetIQ
    • Joel Stanley, ECS Tuning
    • Sam Stein, MERU
    • Matt Tischler, Blue Cardinal Home Services Group
    • Kelly White, UCBI

    Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA)

    • Chris DeVogel, Medtronic
    • Fabian Geist, Heraeus
    • Ivo Goudzwaard, Boels Rental
    • Ralph Knoops, Nextview Consulting
    • Lachlan Macpherson, N-Able
    • Christopher Rüge, RSG
    • Ronald Seinen, Medtronic
    • Chris Tabb, LEIT Data
    • Sojin Yoon, Heraeus

    Australia-New Zealand (ANZ)

    • John (JC) Cosgrove, Cloudwerx
    • Adam Courtier, Mitre 10
    • Ravi Nath, Esri Australia
    • Martin Norgrove, Qrious
    • Quintus van Wyk, Mitre 10

    About Coalesce
    Coalesce transforms how data teams work by simplifying data development and governance. The platform enables data practitioners of all skill levels to build, discover, and scale data projects with unprecedented speed and quality. Designed for flexibility, Coalesce empowers organizations to accelerate the delivery and consumption of trusted, enterprise-ready data—while reducing time and effort tenfold. Learn more at Coalesce.io.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: SCS visits Census & Statistics Dept

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung today visited the Census & Statistics Department (C&SD) to exchange views with staff representatives and learn more about how it applies artificial intelligence (AI) and data science in statistical work to enhance operational efficiency and service quality.

    Accompanied by Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service Clement Leung, Mrs Yeung met Commissioner for Census & Statistics Leo Yu and directorate staff for an update on the department’s latest developments and key initiatives.

    Starting from the 2026 Population Census, the C&SD will make more extensive and systematic use of the administrative data collected from various departments, including immigration records, public housing rentals and welfare payments to reduce the cost of data collection.

    It is estimated that the total cost incurred for the 2026 and 2031 population censuses will be reduced by about 40%, saving around $680 million.

    Mrs Yeung was then briefed on the department’s data science development strategy, which involves exploring and applying cutting-edge technologies such as image recognition, web scraping and computer vision technology for intelligent data collection and processing.

    Staff also introduced to her two sets of in-house developed AI models, one of which can accurately validate the classification and the unit value of commodities on import/export declarations within a short period of time, thereby enhancing the quality and efficiency of the data validation process.

    The other set of AI models is applied to the Electronic System for Cargo Manifests to assist in matching the corresponding import/export declarations and cargo manifests.

    The use of the two sets of AI models has reduced the department’s required manpower by nearly half. Some of the saved resources will be reallocated to further drive the development of data science and the statistical areas involving big data, with a view to enabling the department to provide higher-quality statistical services to the community.

    Mrs Yeung said: “As the expectations and demands of the community on the Government and the civil service have continuously grown, the workload of the Government has been increasing while all departments have to reduce expenditure and streamline manpower at the same time.

    “Innovative thinking and flexibility are key to keeping up with the complicated and ever-changing environment.”

    On the premise of maintaining efficient public services, Mrs Yeung requested the government departments to make good plans and review the necessity of all their posts, leverage technology, and optimise manpower arrangements through reorganisation and reprioritisation of work.

    The civil service chief encouraged the C&SD to continue applying innovative technology to further enhance the timeliness and accuracy of official statistics while streamlining the workflow to meet the demand for statistical information from the Government, the industrial and business sectors and the public.

    Concluding her visit, Mrs Yeung met staff representatives from various grades to exchange views on matters of concern.

    With the 2025 Voter Registration Campaign under way, she reminded colleagues to actively register as electors and cast their votes in the 2025 Legislative Council General Election at the end of this year. 

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: The Atlantic Council hosted French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot on Europe and the new world order.

    Source: France-Diplomatie – Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development

    Frederick Kempe: Good afternoon to those joining us in our headquarters, our relatively new global headquarters here in Washington today. Good evening to those watching online from Europe and the globe, to everyone joining us from throughout the world. My name is Frederick Kempe. I’m President and CEO of the Atlantic Council, and I’m delighted to welcome you to Atlantic Council Front Days. This is our premier platform for global leaders. And it’s an honor to host today the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic, Jean-Noël Barrot. Today’s discussion turns our attention to one of the most enduring and consequential bilateral relationships in U.S. history.

    In the nearly two and a half centuries since France became the first country to formalize diplomatic relations with the newly born United States. Next year, Mr. Minister, is the anniversary of the revolution here. France became the first country to formalize diplomatic relations with the newly born United States. Since that time, this pillar of the transatlantic relationship has seen moments of triumph and moments of trial. From Lafayette and Washington to the beaches of Normandy, the United States, and France have forged partnership unlike any other based on common values in history. However, this relationship goes beyond just sentiment. At each major inflection point in recent history, our countries have stood together, not just because of friendship, but because of shared interests. And now, facing a war on European soil, basing an unfolding trade war, potentially rapidly evolving technological disruptions, and more, the United States and France must consider how to recalibrate and perhaps how to reinvent its partnership and the broader Atlantic alliance with it in order to achieve our common goals of security, prosperity, and freedom.

    As we think through how best to address these challenges, we are delighted to welcome Minister Barrot for today’s event and on the occasion of his first visit to the United States in his current role. The Minister has held numerous positions in the French government, including most recently Minister Delegate for Europe and then Minister Delegate for Digital Affairs, making him well-placed to share the French perspective on the political dynamics at the EU level as well as critical issues of digital and tech policy, and it may help in these times also to be a policy. Minister, welcome to the Atlantic Council. Before we begin let me just say to our audience that we will be taking questions. First, the Minister will make some opening comments Then I will join him on the stage and ask a few questions and then turn to the audience for questions. For those in person, we’ll have a microphone to pass around. For those online, please go to askac.org, askac.org to send your question in virtually. Minister Barrot, it’s always a pleasure to have someone speak at the end of meetings in Washington instead of the beginning of the meetings in Washington. So we look very much forward to your attention.

    Jean-Noël Barrot : Thank you very much, Mr. President. Hello, everyone. One week from now, on May 8th, we mark an important anniversary, the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. This was the starting point of an extraordinary endeavor, a formidable building, a building of rule-based international order, a building of multilateralism. Who was the architect of this formidable building? Well, the architect of this building were the United States of America. They did not do this out of charity. They did this as out of enlightened self-interest. They collected substantial dividends from multilateralism throughout the eight decades that have just passed by. The dividends of multilateralism. Think about security. Thanks to the nonproliferation treaty, we collectively have avoided a raise to the nuclear bomb that would have caused so much instability and raised the cost of defense for all our countries.

    NATO has allowed the US, alongside its European partners, to ensure security in the North Atlantic, but also to offer major investment opportunities for its defense industry. Think about trade. WTO has allowed the US economy to grow, has allowed US services to thrive, digital services, financial services around the world. Think about currency. The Bretton Woods framework has made the dollar a global reserve currency. What does it mean to be a global reserve currency? It means that everyone wants to hold it. So that the yields on your treasury bonds are the lowest on earth. And even more than that, when there is a crisis, even when there is a crisis in the US, people rush to buy your treasury bonds, and the cost of borrowing goes down. This exorbitant privilege, as a French president coined it, is part of the dividends of multilateralism that the US brought to the world and that they also benefited from.

    This formidable building, the building of multilateralism, was designed 80 years ago for a unipolar world, where a benevolent hegemon, the United States of America, was the guarantor of rule-based international order. A world in which US leadership was unchallenged, untested. But eight years later, indeed, the world has changed. It has become multipolar, US leadership is challenged, And sometimes multilateralism seems powerless or unfit for power. And therefore, and gradually, a temptation arises for the US to perhaps let go of multilateralism, quit multilateralism, to pull back, to restrain it. This is our choice that belongs to the American people. But this would be a major shift, a major shift for the US, who would not be able to collect the dividends of multilateralism any longer, a major shift for the world, because the multilateralism will survive whether or not the US quits multilateralism. And so someone will fill the void starting with China, which was already getting ready to step up and to become the new hegemon of this new era of multilateralism, in the case where the US would decide to let them play this role.

    Now there is another route, there is an alternative route. Rather than quitting multilateralism, reshaping it, adjusting it, making it fit for the 21st century. The first step, and this is a difficult step, is accepting to share the power. in order not to lose it altogether. This means reforming the UN and its Security Council, reforming the financial infrastructure to make space for big emerging countries and share the burden with them, but also hold them responsible because they have part of the burden to share in handling the global issues and challenges. The second step when building multilateral for a multipolar world is to be ready to build coalitions of the willing to overcome obstruction in multilateral forum like the UN Security Council when they arise. It’s not because something won’t happen at the UN, at the IMF, or the World Bank, that you cannot design a coalition of the willing with willing and able countries in order to overcome this obstruction. This is the new era of multilateralism. This is the route that Europe is willing to take and that Europe is hoping to take alongside the United States of America.

    One week from now, we’ll celebrate another anniversary, not on May 8th, but on May 9th, the 75th anniversary of the birth of Europe. On May 9th of 1950, my distant predecessor, Robert Schuman, woke up in a country, France, that was five years past World War II, where tensions were rising with the neighbor and rival, Germany. Germany was recovering from the war faster than France was. And so what was the tendency in Paris on that day, in that year? Well, the tendency was protectionism, was raising tariffs, raising barriers to prevent Germans from thriving and fully recovered. And so Robert Schuman, as he was heading to the Council of Ministers, he had this crazy idea in mind to put in common steel and coal across France and Germany, swimming against the tide to favor cooperation over confrontation. At the Council of Ministers, he barely mentioned his initiative for his prime minister not to prevent him from announcing it. And at 6 p.m., in a one-minute and 30-second speech, he made this unilateral offer to create the European steel and coal community and make the foundation of a multilateral, cooperative European Union. So you see, when times are hard, and when the tendency is to restrain, pull back, raise barriers, Those visionary men that brought us prosperity and that brought us peace in the European continent, they swung against the tide and offered innovative models for cooperation. So let us find inspiration in the great work of these visionary people. Thank you very much.

    Frederick Kempe : I feel that was a very important statement and I’m gonna start with that. You see by the audience and standing room only that there was a lot of interest in this conversation and what you had to say : 75th anniversary of the birth of Europe, the 80th anniversary of the E.A., all next weekend, we’re calling attention to that. And it seemed really to be a call to your American allies and to the current administration to stay the course on multilateralism and transatlantic engagement, et cetera. So, A, do you intend to do that? And it’s no accident that no one in this audience who’s following the news, everyone knows that there are doubts right now in the transatlantic stream. Not all of them do I share, but I just wonder if you could give us a little bit more of the context of your statement.

    Jean-Noël Barrot : Well, we deeply care about the world-based international model of multilateralism. So I spent two days in New York at the Security Council as we were wrapping up our presence. You know, 15 members of the Security Council, they get one month’s presidency every 15 months. And so we try and make the most of your months-long presence. And to give you a sense of what our commitment is, I am, we are very committed to the three fundamental missions of the United Nations, peace and security, human rights, sustainable development. That’s why we had three bottom security meetings, Ukraine, Middle East, but also non-proliferation, in a closed-door Security Council meeting that was on proliferation. that was first convened in 15 years, or last convened in 15 years, 15 years ago. On human rights, we brought together, mentioning coalitions of the wing, international humanitarian law is under attack, let’s say. And we brought together countries from all around the world, east, south, west, and north, in a coalition of the willing to support politically and better implement in practice the rules of international humanitarian law. And then third, on sustainable development, we took this opportunity to bring together the countries that are the most committed, like we are, to the preservation of oceans, 40 days ahead of the third United Nations Conference on Oceans that will take place in Nice, south of France, and that is aimed to be the equivalent for ocean as what the Paris Accord has been for carbon emissions. So we’re very ambitious with this event as many countries as possible to rally some of the key deliverables of these countries. And so I decided I would spend some time at the UN talking about that.

    So we think this is the right way to go, adjusting multilateralism to make it more efficient in the multi-border world that we’re living in. And I hear that the new leadership in the US is considering what its course of action is going to be. And I think amongst friends that are actually oldest friends, we owe each other an honest discussion on what we see our common interest to be. And I think that was the sense of my introductory remarks. Thank you so much.

    Frederick Kempe : And I think you’ve seen a signal of commitment today, I think, toward the United Nations with the nomination of National Security Advisor Mike Walz to be the UN ambassador, so also an interesting piece of news. Speaking of news, you have had meetings here. We do have media, French, US, other here, and I wonder whether you could tell us your perspective on what do you take away from the conversations, Secretary Rubio, others, anything specific that we can take away from that? And then in that context, as you’re looking at what your greatest challenges are, what were the priorities in your conversations with U.S. leadership?

    Jean-Noël Barrot : Well, I mentioned the 9th of May and 75th anniversary of this declaration by Robert Truman. This year will be Ukraine, because I think a very important, significant chunk of our future, and I’m not talking about the future of Europeans only, depends on how this war of aggression is going to end. So we’ll be with my fellow European ministers of foreign affairs there to express our support to Ukraine and our willingness for this war to end in accordance with the UN Charter international rule. So that was clearly an important topic that I discussed with the US leadership at the State Department as well as Capitol Hill. But we also discussed Middle East, where France and the US have been leading the efforts to put an end to the war that was basically destroying Lebanon eight months ago. We managed to broker a ceasefire five months ago to monitor the ceasefire through a joint mechanism. We managed to bring the conditions for the end of the political crisis with the election of President Joseph Aoun. that then appointed the government, that is now at work trying to implement reforms that are long due in Lebanon. And we want to do the same thing, same food for cooperation in Syria, where this, after overturning the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad, there is an opportunity to build a strong sovereign country that will be a source of stability rather than instability for the region. I cannot let aside Gaza and the Israel-Palestinian conflict, where again, we converge on the necessity to bring back stability and peace to the region. We have praised the Arab accord logic, and we’re working in the same direction, bringing peace to the region. Muslim and Arabic countries in the region and Israel towards security architecture that would ensure the security of all peace and stability. We also discussed Africa, where the U.S. made a breakthrough in handling or in sort of moving towards a cessation of hostilities in the Great Lakes regions in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the second worst humanitarian crisis is happening right now. This is good. And after they were received or they were hosted by the Department of State, a few days ago, the DRC and Rwanda gathered in Qatar with France and with the United States. So as you can see, some of the major, major issues, major crises. France and the U.S. are working together in order to find the right solution. Sometimes it isn’t we. Sometimes we don’t start from the same point, but look at Lebanon. It’s because of our complementarity, because of different history in the region, because of the different nature of our partnership, relationship, friendship with the stakeholders of that crisis that we were able.

    Frederick Kempe : Thank you for that answer. Let’s start with Ukraine. News yesterday about critical minerals deal with Ukraine almost more interested in the political side of this than the economic side of this. Talking to Ukrainian officials over the last few months, they’ve been concerned that the U.S. gone more from being an actual partner of Ukraine in trying to counter Russian threat and the Russian attack, and more of an arbitrator, more of a moderator. This critical mineral deal, if you read the language of it, suggests a little bit of a change of direction. And I just wonder, and that is an area where France and the U.S. have not always been entirely singing from the same song sheet. What did you hear during your trip there? How do you assess this new agreement and its political meaning?

    Jean-Noël Barrot : Well, I think it’s a very good agreement. I think it’s a very good agreement for Ukraine and also for the U.S. But I also think that it tells us something very important about what’s happening right now. Let’s go back to the Oval Office when President Zelensky was there. What was the expectation by President Trump with respect to Ukraine? Well, actually, there were two expectations. Ceasefire and sign of a new deal. Since then, on March 9, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine accepted a comprehensive ceasefire. And yesterday night, they agreed to a mineral deal with the United States of America. They’ve done their part of the job. They’ve walked their part of the talk. But in the meantime, we haven’t seen Vladimir Putin send any signal, any sign of his willingness to comply with the requests of President Trump, to the very contrary. So let’s face it, right now, the main obstacle to peace is Vladimir Putin. So what I found very interesting in my meetings here in Washington is the efforts, the commendable efforts by Senator Lindsey Graham, who put together a massive package of sanctions that he collected bipartisan support for, with almost 70 senators now signing the bill which is aimed at threatening Russia into accepting a ceasefire, or else those sanctions will apply. And here again, we agree that we will try to coordinate because we, Europeans, are in the process of putting together the 17th sanction package that we are going to try, on substance and timing, to coordinate with Senator Graham’s own package. That was, perhaps, a bit of a long answer. But in summary, it’s good news that this deal was struck. It’s good news that the US, and I heard Secretary Besant express what he had in mind, the US was considering deep economic cooperation with Ukraine. It goes in the right direction. It’s the right course that they should, that should be taken.

    Frederick Kempe : And Secretary Bessent also said this is meant to be a signal to Putin. You see this as well.

    Jean-Noël Barrot : Yeah, put together this deal. The package by Lindsey Graham, who last time I checked is not a political adversary of President Trump, as well as the pressure that Europe is building up on Russia. And you get, the sense of the variant, it’s now basically Putin’s fault if we don’t yet have a ceasefire in the world.

    Frederick Kempe : So in recent discussions with US envoy Steve Witkoff, what divergences existed between France and the United States? And how do you hope to close those divergences? I guess part of this has to do with European troops, American backstop, but it also gets to the conditions behind a peace deal.

    Jean-Noël Barrot : If Ukraine was to capitulate, this would have long-lasting, wide-ranging consequences for the entire world. because it would basically replace rule-based international order by the law of the strongest. It would create massive incentives for countries around the world that that have border issues with their neighbors to consider that they can invade, that they can use military threats or force to obtain territorial concessions. This would be major, and this would be very costly for all of us, at least for responsible powers like the US and France that tend to get involved when there are issues around the world. When we would see issues exploding all around, it would be a major threat. In addition to that, should Ukraine capitulate after Ukraine has agreed to let go of its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees. This will send the signal that the only ultimate security guarantee is the possession of nuclear weapons. And there we have a nuclear proliferation crisis, which again raises global instability at levels that we haven’t seen for the past 80 years, and will increase the cost massively of security in the US, security in Europe. And I think this view is shared between the U.S. and France. But of course, there is one difference between the perspective of the U.S. and the European perspective of this crisis, which is that our own security is at stake because we are neighbors of Russia or because we don’t want to be neighbors of this Russia that is now spending 40% of its budget on its military spending, 10% of its GDP, that just conscribed 160,000 additional soldiers, the largest conscription in 14 years. I’ve heard many, many times Russia say that they don’t want NATO at their borders. Well, we don’t want this Russia at our borders either. And that’s why we are so serious about what’s happening and about how the war will end. And that’s why we’ve been insisting so much about the security guarantees. And I think our message went through. And I think the US are counting on us to build the security arrangements such that when the peace deal is struck, that we can provide those security arrangements in order for the peace to be lasting and durable. But I think it’s well understood, and I’ve heard President Trump, but also officials from the US, clearly saying that of course they want this peace to be lasting, and of course this means that there is security guarantee.

    Frederick Kempe : And can it work without an American backstop where you’re getting closer to a conversation about that? Or, alternatively, is this critical minerals deal a security guarantee in a different form?

    Jean-Noël Barrot : So you should put things in two perspectives. We have been supporters of the Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine. Namely, we said that we were open to extend an invitation, a NATO invitation to Ukraine. We understand that NATO members, not all NATO members, agree with our view, so we have to find an alternative path. The sense of this coalition of the able of the willing that France and the UK has been putting together in order to design those security arrangements. This is ongoing work. This starts with making the Ukrainian army strong enough to be able to deter any further aggression by Russia, but it also very likely means some form of military capacity as a second layer of sanction or guarantee. When those detailed discussions will have been wrapped up, they’re currently ongoing, it will appear whether or not and how much any contribution or backstop by the US is needed. It’s possible that it is needed. Why? Well, because as far as Europeans are concerned, we’ve been working. We’ve been working and planning for our defense. It’s a little bit different for France, the UK, and Poland. But for the rest of European armies, we’ve been working within NATO. So if you’re going to work on a security arrangement outside of NATO framework, then at some point, you might need some kind of NATO-like enablers or make items that are going to make sure that the security arrangements are robust. But that being said, in the same way, do we understand that the US have decided that they will likely reduce their commitment to. We also understand that they are counting on us to bear the burden of providing the security arrangements. But we also need to be honest with them once we’ve done our homework. If there are pieces of these security arrangements that cannot be found outside of US contribution, we’ll just be honest.

    Frederick Kempe : Thank you so much. The one thing you didn’t mention in your opening comments is you didn’t talk about tariffs. You knew I was going to say that. And I wondered if it came up at all in your discussions. And also, I wonder if you could talk a little bit about what this 90-day pause gives a potential for an agreement. What sort of agreement can you imagine, or what is the direction of agreement with the European Union and the United States? How concerned are you about the tariffs driving a more lasting wedge across the Atlantic?

    Jean-Noël Barrot : Well, the good thing when you’re a foreign minister or an FF minister from France is that you’re not in France working tariffs. That being said, you’re allowed to have your own view on things. And indeed, as an economist, I have to say, otherwise I would be a traitor to my profession, that tariffs are not a good idea. President Trump wants to bring jobs back to America, and this is a perfectly legitimate ambition. In fact, we have the same in Europe. We want to bring jobs back to Europe. But tariffs are probably not the best way to achieve this objective. Tariffs are a tax on our economy. It’s a tax on the middle class. And it will make us Europeans, as well as Americans, poor. We do have research on what happened during the last trade war, the 2018 trade war. What happened? Well, the effect on the economy on this side of the Atlantic was limited. It’s basically a $7 billion loss, $7 billion loss on the economy. That’s not big. But it led to a massive transfer from the US consumer, middle class, of $50 billion. So the loss for the US consumer of $50 billion transferred to producers, $9 billion, to the government, $35 billion. And the rest is what’s lost for the US economy. So it’s a mild loss. But it’s a massive transfer from the US consumers to the US government. That’s what happened last time around. And those numbers are small because the trade war at the time was very big. Multiply this by 10. And you’ll get the kind of effects that you’re going to see on European economies, U.S. economies, and so on. So our hope is to reach the same type of outcome that we got the last time around. The U.S. retaliated, we retaliated, and then at some point we suspended those who lifted those tariffs. It was not the same administration that did it, but still, those tariffs were lifted. And I really hope that we get to this objective because, again, we’re very closely intertwined economies, so we have a lot to lose, but we have major rivals, adversaries, competitors that are going to benefit massively from this framework if we sort of choose confrontation over cooperation.

    Frederick Kempe : So let me ask one more follow-up there, and then I’ll go to the audience. On the tariffs, didn’t you raise this issue when you were here, when you are the foreign minister, but it is a political as well as an economic issue. And did you get any indications of what direction ?

    Jean-Noël Barrot : Well, the good thing about being Marco Rubio is that you’re not in charge of terrorists either. But when we met in NATO, I told him that if there was only one positive aspect of those tariffs, is that by lowering GDPs, it would allow us to reach our NATO targets.

    First question from an author and journalist : We see re-entering a phase, a new intensive phase of big power rivalry with the United States retreating from security commitments in Europe, Russian military militarizing its society and having designs on other neighbors besides Ukraine and China seeking economic domination of the world. President Macron has spoken often about the need for Europe to achieve greater strategic autonomy. Do you think Europe should seek to constitute a fourth bloc, even at the risk of putting greater space with its principal ally, the United States? And a quick follow-up, you spoke about the need to share power in a multilateral context. In terms of UN Security Council reform, is France prepared to fold its seat into the European Union presence, or would you also agree to the idea of expanding the Security Council to have 10 to 12 nations? Thank you.

    Jean-Noël Barrot : So you mentioned Russia. You mentioned the four months. That was your first question. I wouldn’t go Russia a block. Russia has a GDP that is 20 times smaller than the EU. I wouldn’t call that a block. Russia is a big country geographically. It is one of the winning nations of the Second World War. So, there are a number of consequences coming with that, including the permanent seat of the Security Council. But I wouldn’t call Russia a block. And we don’t see ourselves, when we speak about strategic autonomy, we don’t see ourselves as entering into a logic of blocks or spheres of influence and stuff like that. We remain committed to multilateralism, rule-based international world order, balance. The only thing is that in a more brutal world, if you want to be heard and be respected, when you’re upholding the values that Europe and the EU upholding, freedom, democracy, free speech and so on, you’re going to need to be much stronger, much less dependent on other regions. And so we see our strategic autonomy as a way to defend the model, which is an open model, which is a balanced model, which is a multilateral model of governance for the world. And we see a lot of appetite for this approach, because since those trade wars started, we cannot count the number of countries that are knocking at EU’s door to strike a trade deal or even to become a candidate. And it’s not only Iceland and Norway that seem to be interested. I heard that on this side of the Atlantic, there are people considering. And you know that there is one geographical criteria. But I just want to mention that even though it’s a very, very, very, very tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, no one lives there. I think it’s like 20 meters long. But this island is split between Canada and Denmark, which gives Canada an actual border with the European Union. And the second question is about… I went quickly because I was told that we should not be long in the introduction of those conversations, but I really think that if we want to adjust those institutions, Security Council and so on, To the new era, we need to accept that others have grown over the past 18 years and they need to be represented, but they also need to take their responsibility. Some of them are no longer developing countries. They are actual major economies, major powers. So they should have a seat at the table, but they should also behave as major powers. So what’s our position? Our position is a permanent seat of the Security Council for India, Germany, Japan, Brazil, and two African countries with all associated priorities. This is what we want for the reform of the Security Council. But we also want the same kind of thing to happen with international financial institutions. And this is the spirit of what President Macron has called the Paris Act, or the Act for the People and the Planet, where the ideal is reform. No country in the south should have to choose between fighting against poverty and fighting against climate change. So it should be more balanced, more equal, equitable funding for southern countries. But those emerging countries from the South that are now developed economies should also bear their responsibilities with respect to the least developed countries, the poorest countries. Because right now, some of them are sort of bunching with the least advanced countries sort of take their responsibility with respect to the poor countries. So that’s the spirit in which we’re pushing. And in fact, I had a meeting dedicated to security council reform on Monday in New York with some of the African countries that were working on it.

    Frederick Kempe : Thank you for that good answer. While we’re open, we’ve got a lot of questions now. I saw this gentleman first. and then we’ll go, I’ll figure it out, we’ll figure it out. Anyone here that wants to, there we go, that’s what I’m gonna do next. There we go, please.

    Second question : In context with President Macron’s call to Prime Minister Modi of India in solidarity after the terror attack in Palgakush, India, do you see a justifiable response by India against this attack as another roadblock to ensuring the India-Middle East Corridor gets off the ground. Of course, it was set back after the Israel-Hamas war. And did that conversation come up in your discussion with Secretary Rubio today? And if not, then what do we need to do collectively as the international community to make sure this gets off the ground?

    Jean-Noël Barrot : Thank you, so President Macron has been in touch with Prime Minister Modi, I have been in touch two times with my fellow foreign minister from India. We expressed solidarity. We hope tensions not to escalate and I heard Secretary Rubio call Pakistan to formally recognize the terrorist nature of this attack and to condemn it in the strongest possible way. And I would happily join this call to Pakistan to recognize the terrorist nature of what happened. And we’ll keep in touch with Marco Rubio, but also with my fellow minister David Lamb from Great Britain, UK, and my Indian colleague, in order to ensure or to try and avoid procrastination in the region.

    Third question : Good afternoon, journalist from the French newspaper Le Monde. I have two questions, the first one regarding security guarantees for Ukraine. For months, France supported the idea of the deployment of some international monitoring force in Ukraine, but with a very strong American security guarantees. The Trump administration doesn’t seem to see eye to eye on this. They’re not inclined to offer any sort of serious security guarantees, so what’s the plan B? Have you given up on this two-fold idea or not? And the second question regarding Iran, there are currently very important discussions between the Trump administration directly and indirect with the Iranian representatives. For a very long time, France was in favor of putting on the table as well with Iran the ballistic issue. It doesn’t seem the case at all right now. The Trump administration is basically considering a sort of GCPOA revisited or maybe an interim agreement. So what’s your view exactly on the current discussions? Thank you.

    Jean-Noël Barrot : So on the first question, let me just clarify, because I think it’s important that everyone gets this right. There are two things. First, there is a ceasefire, and a ceasefire needs to be monitored. And the coalition of the able and willing put together by France and the UK have been working on proposals so that at the minute the ceasefire is broken, that the US have in their hands, because there will be that sort of origins of the ceasefire, solutions for this ceasefire to be monitored. And this might involve some European capacity just to check what’s happening in the line of contact and to be able to attribute violations. So that’s one thing. But the ceasefire is only one step towards what’s our end goal, which is a full-fledged peace treaty or peace agreement. This peace agreement that the Ukrainians and Russians will be discussing, but that was President Trump’s intuition, this discussion cannot happen while the war is happening in Ukraine. That’s why he did a ceasefire for the discussion. It will end up with discussions on territories and a discussion on security. And with the same question of the coalition of willing, we’re working on this second piece, which is security guarantee. But security guarantee has nothing to do with monitoring the ceasefire. Security guarantee is deterrence against any further aggression. How do you do that? As I was saying earlier, the first layer is to porcupine the Ukrainian army for it to be deterrent enough for anyone to try and invade. But then you probably have other layers, so military capacity deployed in Ukraine or around Ukraine, and that’s what we’re working on, and when the moment is right, we get to the Americans and ask them or tell them what is it we need for this security guarantee. And we’re working on this, and we’re confident, and again, as I was saying, I’ve heard President Trump in several occasions speak in a way that shows that he understands the importance of the security terms. And then on Iran, a very important topic that I should have mentioned in response to your first question, Mr. President, because this is a topic in which we’ve been coordinating with Marco Rubio from day one. We are supporting, encouraging the discussion that the U.S. opened with Iran. Why? Because Iran is posing a major threat to our security interests. Because we France, Marseille are within reach. And because our partners, close partners, in the region are also within reach. So we are very serious about this question. But we believe that there is no other route, no other path, and a diplomatic path to solve this issue. That there is no military solution to this issue and that any form of military attempt to solve this issue will have very large costs that we would not like to bear. So, in order for this discussion to be as successful as possible, we’ve been coordinating with the US on a substance and timing. substance because our teams have been working for the last few months ahead from the expiration of the GCP area, the nuclear agreement that was struck 10 years ago and that is expiring in the fall. So we were getting ready for this expiration a clear idea of indeed what might be a robust and protected field for us, and this would include indeed some of the ballistic components, but also the regional activities components. And the substance is sort of at the disposal of U.S. negotiators because it’s for free and there is no copyright. But we’re also coordinated on timing because we will not hesitate to reapply all the sanctions that we lifted in 10 years ago when GCPOA was struck. In the case where the IAEA confirms that Iran has violated its obligations under GCPOA, and if it happens that by the summer we will have a protected frontier that is sufficiently protected of our security interests.

    Frederick Kempe : So this has got to be the last question. I really apologize to others, but I saw that gentleman’s hand approach right through the middle. So, no, no. Yes, thank you. Yes. Thank you.

    Last question from a student from Sciences Po : I’d like to know what’s your opinion what’s your take on how france will balance its relationship with the U.S. and at the same time with China in light of the fact that France needs new partners and also in light of the fact that President Trump openly asked European leaders to direct ties with the PRC. Thank you.

    Frederick Kempe : And since this is the last question, let me add to it on the terror front because You know, in your conversations here, and you’ve spoken before about the relationship between the European Union and China on the trade front, does this terror policy drive Europe more into the hands of trade and economic relationships with China? And if you believe that, have you said that to your interlocutors here watching during your visit?

    Jean-Noël Barrot : I mean, it’s obvious, no? Whether you want it or not, look at one and read economic research. The numbers I quoted earlier are from a paper in the Portal Reform of Economics called the Returns to Protection. It’s the last paper on the 2018 trade war, last economic paper, research paper. But anyway, I will tell you that what happened last time is that during the 2018 trade war, it’s not like suddenly factories moved from one country to another. It was a reshuffling of international trade. So you’re going to see a lot of reshuffling. You mentioned, or you recall what I said, on China and filling the void. Listen to Chinese officials’ speeches now. And again, we take all of this with lots of grains of salt, but my colleague, Wang Li, now in all his speeches, he’s saying how much he cares about multilateralism. And I’m sure… No, seriously. And he will, I mean, I’m pretty sure that they will consider filling the void at the World Health Organization. I’m pretty sure that they will, anytime they will see some pullback, they will try to step in. Because they have two, there are two possible strategies. Either the U.S. are there, filling the void, then they will try to build sort of formats outside of the established formats that we’ve seen them do or they will see U.S. pull back and they will try fill the void. Now, what’s our relationship with China? As far as Europe is concerned. Again, we’re lucid. We’re not blind. And so we think there can be a trade agenda with China. So that’s some of the issues that we’ve are sold, which is not quite the case now. We’ve also had our trade war with China these past few years, with us sanctioning Chinese EVs and then sanctioning European cognac and armagnac. So this is dear to our hearts. And of course, it’s going to be difficult to engage into a natural trade agenda until those sort of contentious issues are solved. Then we can. But of course, our discussion cannot only touch upon trade. And when China is supporting Russia’s war on Russia, when China is on the side of DPRK, on the side of Iran, proliferating countries that are threatening this non-proliferation treaty and sort of the global stability, it’s difficult to build trust. If China was to establish a sort of trusted relationship with European countries, it will have to show also that it takes our security interests into account. Otherwise, it might be challenging.

    Frederick Kempe : Thank you. Do you have your answer? Yes, Fred, thank you. So, look, this, Minister Barrot, on behalf of the audience, on behalf of the Atlantic Council, thank you for three things. First of all, for your visit to the United States, a very timely visit, a very crucial moment. Second of all, for taking so much time with us at the Atlantic Council and talking so frankly and clearly in your opening statement and in this fascinating engagement, and then most of all for our enduring alliance. Thank you so much.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump and many GOP lawmakers want to end all funding for NPR and PBS − unraveling a US public media system that took a century to build

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Josh Shepperd, Associate Professor of Media Studies, University of Colorado Boulder

    Cast members of the children’s television show ‘Sesame Street’ pose with Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Grover, Ernie, Bert and Oscar the Grouch in 1969. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

    The Trump administration’s drive to slash government spending on everything from the arts to cancer research also includes efforts to carry through on the Republican Party’s long-standing goal of ending federal funding for NPR, the nation’s public radio network, and PBS, its television counterpart.

    Across the country, 1,500 independent stations affiliated with NPR and PBS air shows such as “Morning Edition,” “Marketplace,” “PBS NewsHour,” “Frontline” and “Nova.” Some 43 million people tune into public radio every week, and over 130 million watch PBS every year, according to the networks.

    Public media stations air local news and, when necessary, emergency information. Most also feature regional, national and global coverage of arts and culture. With commercial media divesting from local news reporting, audiences that have long relied on public media to inform their communities are even more dependent now on that service, as are audiences that got their local news from commercial sources.

    Investigating public media

    Public media is also under attack from the Republican majority in Congress and facing scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission, the government agency that regulates media.

    Brendan Carr, whom President Donald Trump appointed to lead the FCC, helped draft Project 2025. That’s the conservative blueprint that Trump distanced himself from during the 2024 campaign but has since embraced.

    As proposed in Project 2025, the FCC is examining NPR’s approach to underwriting. Through underwriting, financial support from sponsors is acknowledged on air without asking audiences to form an opinion about a product or make a specific purchase.

    The FCC is investigating whether those messages on NPR and PBS “cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements.”

    The top executives of NPR and PBS have denied that their underwriting practices violate any regulations or laws.

    At the same time, House Republicans are holding hearings regarding what they say is public media’s “liberal bias.” Their attention is primarily directed at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nonprofit corporation that stewards federal money that Congress appropriates for NPR and PBS.

    And in a separate move, Trump demanded that CPB “cancel existing direct funding to the maximum extent allowed by law” and “decline to provide future funding” in an executive order issued on May 1, 2025. Trump’s order accused NPR and PBS of bias in its “portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens.”

    I’m a media historian who wrote a book about the origins of public media in the U.S. and how NPR and PBS contribute to democratic participation. Both networks are designed to provide equal access to information for every listener and viewer.

    In my view, as these efforts to investigate and end the funding of public media proceed, it’s worth revisiting why the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was founded in the first place and to understand how it contributes to equal access to information today.

    Beginning with education

    U.S. public media took root in the 1920s, when public universities built radio stations so that rural communities could receive better access to the kind of education available in cities.

    The first programs consisted of professors and radio hosts giving lectures about history, finance and other subjects such as cooking, quilting and music appreciation.

    Some of those professors believed so strongly in democratic access to media that they built radio stations with their own hands, including one at the University of Wisconsin. In other cases, professors experimented with performing live drama. Ohio State University broadcast the first educational radio Shakespeare performances in the late 1920s.

    Many people liked the programming enough to tune in, but the quality of early educational broadcast experiments was inconsistent. Some professors didn’t understand how to talk with audiences and were criticized for their monotone deliveries.

    Amid threats to its federal funding, PBS reports on the history of U.S. public media.

    Running the ‘bicycle network’

    Interest in improving the quality of educational radio grew once radio ownership became more widespread. Over 500 U.S. stations were on the air in 1940. By 1945, when World War II ended, over 95% of families owned radio receivers.

    Every listener could take correspondence classes. And educators started to research how to make learning through the radio more compelling and fun.

    By the late 1940s, colleges and universities started to pay better attention to making education on the radio both entertaining and informative. They traded their best programs all around the country, through a system they called the “bicycle network.”

    Once national distribution was in place, producers of educational radio and TV shows came to an agreement about their best programs through a group called the National Association of Educational Broadcasters. They landed on formulas now associated with NPR and PBS. Home economics instruction evolved into cooking shows. Interviews with professors became public affairs programs.

    Radio stations started to combine different kinds of programs that spanned an entire school day. A half-hour children’s comedy show now weaved math, storytelling, music and civics. This format laid some of the groundwork for “Sesame Street.”

    In the 1950s a philosophy of public media emerged.

    The National Association of Educational Broadcasters’ members believed that everyone should have equal access to education no matter where they lived. They argued that information they presented should be held to rigorous standards, such as fact-checking and even peer review, the academic practice of verifying research validity.

    Educational broadcasters aired programs for all kinds of audiences, including in communities not served by commercial media.

    To stay focused on their mission, educational broadcasters decided to bar taking money from corporate advertisers. This meant that most money came from state and local governments instead of businesses.

    State authorities were able to make public announcements, quickly report emergencies and provide free airtime for political candidates. State lawmakers also thought that these media outlets could help their constituents learn trades at their own pace.

    Phasing in government funding

    Using broadcasting to provide equal access to education required a lot of new infrastructure.

    By the late 1950s the federal government started to fund the construction of radio towers, transmitters and buildings so that every person could access educational programs via broadcasts. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a law in 1958 that funded educational access because it could contribute to national defense.

    Nearly a decade later, in 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act. That law guaranteed a permanent stream of government funding for educational radio and television. Congress had pivoted from “education” to “public” broadcasting as the medium incorporated a wider array of programs, including BBC shows from the U.K.

    PBS first went live in 1970, and NPR’s first broadcast aired in 1971.

    To buffer NPR and PBS from the influence of political parties and commercial sponsors, the law called for the creation of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

    In addition to receiving and then disbursing to NPR and PBS the federal funds that Congress appropriates for public media, the CPB provides additional grants to stations across the country. Notably, federal funds help to pay for maintaining equipment and studios where public media programs are taped. That is, most government funding for public media is dedicated to maintaining the technology necessary to continue with its mission to provide equal access.

    The rest of the federal money supports the same program development and audience engagement research that started with the National Association of Educational Broadcasters’ “bicycle network.”

    NPR has gotten more sophisticated since it first went on the air in 1971, as CBS News reports.

    Establishing a strong track record

    The CPB model has succeeded by many measures. About 99% of Americans have access to public media through their television sets, car radios, computers and other devices.

    The CPB received $535 million in government funding in the 2025 fiscal year, equal to roughly $1.60 per American. About 70% of that money supports local radio and television stations. Public media costs taxpayers far more elsewhere. A 2022 study found that Germany spends around $142 per person, the U.K. spends $81, and Canada spends over $26 per year.

    The U.S. system is also unusual in that the local affiliates are nonprofits that have to pay for the NPR and PBS programs they run. Like the CPB, NPR and PBS are independent nonprofits, not government agencies.

    Rather than having the federal government foot the whole bill, in the U.S. public media also relies on $1.3 billion in annual charitable donations from viewers, listeners, corporations and foundations. Of that, public media receives $170 million in underwriting, according to a 2023 report.

    But should the federal government end all federal funding for the CPB, their NPR- and PBS-affiliated stations would have more trouble buying, repairing and replacing the transmitters, antennas and websites required to broadcast their programs.

    Losing access to local news

    The CPB has already sued the Trump administration over its attempt to oust three of its board members. The CPB asserts that because it is an independent organization and not a federal agency, the federal government can’t dictate who serves on its board. Trump’s executive order could also be challenged in court. And, as is the case with all executive orders, any future administration could rescind it.

    Most likely, the original target audience of educational radio − rural communities − would feel the biggest impact if the Trump administration does end federal funding of NPR and PBS. That’s because rural areas have few alternatives now that local journalism has been hit hard by corporate cuts to newsrooms.

    Public media’s first century inspired an alternative approach to media other than producing programs that tobacco companies, automakers and other businesses would want to sponsor. How Congress, the FCC and the courts proceed today will influence public media’s reach and practices for the next century.

    Josh Shepperd is under contract to co-author an update of the history of public broadcasting for Current, public media’s trade journal, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Josh is not a paid employee or vendor of either institution.

    – ref. Trump and many GOP lawmakers want to end all funding for NPR and PBS − unraveling a US public media system that took a century to build – https://theconversation.com/trump-and-many-gop-lawmakers-want-to-end-all-funding-for-npr-and-pbs-unraveling-a-us-public-media-system-that-took-a-century-to-build-253206

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –