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Category: Transport

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ever-changing universe revealed in first imagery from NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory

    Source: US Government research organizations

    From distant stars and galaxies to asteroids whizzing through the solar system, this next-generation facility unveils its first imagery and brings the night sky to life like never before

    The NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a major new scientific facility jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, released its first imagery today at an event in Washington, D.C. The imagery shows cosmic phenomena captured at an unprecedented scale. In just over 10 hours of test observations, NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory has already captured millions of galaxies and Milky Way stars and thousands of asteroids. The imagery is a small preview of Rubin Observatory’s upcoming 10-year scientific mission to explore and understand some of the universe’s biggest mysteries.

    “The NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory demonstrates that the United States remains at the forefront of international basic science and highlights the remarkable achievements we get when the many parts of the national research enterprise work together,” said Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “The Rubin Observatory is an investment in our future, which will lay down a cornerstone of knowledge today on which our children will proudly build tomorrow.”

    “NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory will capture more information about our universe than all optical telescopes throughout history combined,” said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. “Through this remarkable scientific facility, we will explore many cosmic mysteries, including the dark matter and dark energy that permeate the universe.”

    “We’re entering a golden age of American science,” said Harriet Kung, acting director of DOE’s Office of Science. “NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory reflects what’s possible when the federal government backs world-class engineers and scientists with the tools to lead. This facility will drive discovery, inspire future innovators and unleash American excellence through scientific leadership.”

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    Made from over 1,100 images captured by NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, the video begins with a close-up of two galaxies then zooms out to reveal about 10 million galaxies. Those 10 million galaxies are roughly .05% of the approximately 20 billion galaxies Rubin Observatory will capture during its 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time.Credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory

    The result of more than two decades of work, Rubin Observatory is perched at the summit of Cerro Pachón in Chile, where dry air and dark skies provide one of the world’s best observing locations. Rubin’s innovative 8.4-meter telescope has the largest digital camera ever built, which feeds a powerful data processing system. Later in 2025, Rubin will begin its primary mission, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, in which it will ceaselessly scan the sky nightly for 10 years to precisely capture every visible change.

    The result will be an ultrawide, ultra-high-definition time-lapse record of the universe. It will bring the sky to life with a treasure trove of billions of scientific discoveries. The images will reveal asteroids and comets, pulsating stars, supernova explosions, far-off galaxies and perhaps cosmic phenomena that no one has seen before.

    [embedded content]

    In about 10 hours of observations, NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory discovered 2,104 never-before-seen asteroids in our solar system, including seven near-Earth asteroids (which pose no danger). Annually, about 20,000 asteroids are discovered in total by all other ground and space-based observatories. Rubin Observatory alone will discover millions of new asteroids within the first two years of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time. Rubin will also be the most effective observatory at spotting interstellar objects passing through the solar system.Credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory

    Rubin Observatory is named in honor of trailblazing U.S. astronomer Vera C. Rubin, who found conclusive evidence of vast quantities of invisible material known as dark matter. Understanding the nature of dark matter, dark energy and other large-scale cosmic mysteries is a central focus of Rubin Observatory’s mission. Dark energy is what scientists call the mysterious and colossally powerful force that appears to be causing galaxies in the universe to move away from each other at an accelerating rate. Although dark matter and dark energy collectively comprise 95% of the universe, their properties remain unknown.

    Rubin Observatory will also be the most efficient and effective solar system discovery machine ever built. Rubin will take about a thousand images of the Southern Hemisphere sky every night, allowing it to cover the entire visible Southern sky every three to four nights. In doing so, it will find millions of unseen asteroids, comets and interstellar objects. Rubin will be a game changer for planetary defense by spotting far more asteroids than ever before, potentially identifying some that might impact the Earth or moon.

    Credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory

    This image combines 678 separate images taken by NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in just over seven hours of observing time. Combining many images in this way clearly reveals otherwise faint or invisible details, such as the clouds of gas and dust that comprise the Trifid nebula (top right) and the Lagoon nebula, which are several thousand light-years away from Earth.

    Explore this image in full resolution on the NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory website.
     

    The amount of data gathered by Rubin Observatory in its first year alone will be greater than that collected by all other optical observatories combined. This treasure trove of data will help scientists make countless discoveries about the universe and will serve as an incomparable resource for scientific exploration for decades to come.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: $250M in Food Assistance for Over Two Million NY Children

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul today announced that New York has begun issuing more than $250 million in food assistance to an estimated 2.2 million low-income children as part of the 2025 Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer, Summer EBT, program. New York State is sending $120 per child to eligible families to help pay for food during the summer, when students lose access to free school meals.

    “As New York’s first Mom Governor, I’m committed to doing everything in my power to help kids and families across the state,” Governor Hochul said. “At a time when federally funded nutrition programs are under attack in Washington, Summer EBT will help thousands of low-income families with school-aged children across our state afford to buy healthy food over the summer when many children lose access to free school meals.”

    Benefits will continue to be sent to families through the summer and into the fall. New Yorkers are encouraged to learn more about eligibility and apply, if necessary, before the Sept. 4 deadline. Most households will be paid based on available information and do not need to apply.

    New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Commissioner Barbara C. Guinn said, “By providing extra food assistance to low-income families during the summer months — when many school-aged children lose access to free or reduced-price school meals, Summer EBT is a very effective tool in helping us address food insecurity among New York’s most vulnerable children. We look forward to this summer’s rollout of the program, which, in its first year, provided $250 million in vital food assistance to more than two million school-aged children to help make sure they have access to healthy food during the summer. We are grateful to Governor Hochul for her unwavering commitment to reducing hunger and food insecurity in New York State and for prioritizing programs, like Summer EBT, that support the well-being of children and families in communities throughout our State.”

    In 2024, the first year of the program, Summer EBT provided $254 million in food assistance to more than 2.1 million low-income, school-aged children in New York State. Administered by the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Summer EBT is a federally funded program aimed at reducing hunger and food insecurity among children who are unable to access free and reduced-price school meals during the summertime when school is out. Eligible families with school-age children will receive a one-time payment of $120 per child as part of this summer’s program.

    Research has shown that providing families with summer food benefits reduces childhood hunger and promotes better nutrition. A demonstration project tested by the USDA during the pandemic found that Summer EBT decreased the number of kids with very low food security by one-third.

    Protecting New York’s Safety Net and Fighting for Food Access

    Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, New York State will continue to stand up to efforts at the federal level to cut funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and all federally funded nutrition and assistance programs that New Yorkers depend on to put food on the table and make ends meet.

    Congressional Republicans’ proposed changes to SNAP not only threaten the wellbeing of millions of New Yorkers who rely on SNAP to feed their families, but also New York’s farmers, farmers markets, grocers, retailers, and now increasingly restaurants, who recognize that SNAP is fundamental to the success of local economies across the state. SNAP spending supports jobs across New York’s food supply chain, in urban, suburban, and rural communities alike, underscoring how vital this resource is to the whole State.

    On Friday, Governor Hochul highlighted the devastating impact proposed federal cost shifts related to SNAP would have on New York State. In total, the cost shifts put forward by the GOP will cost New York State and local county governments up to $2.1 billion a year, which cannot be absorbed at the state or local level and would cause significant state and local budgetary impacts.

    It is estimated that over 300,000 households, including families with children, seniors, youth aging out of foster care, people experiencing homelessness, and veterans would be impacted by these changes, losing all or a portion of their SNAP benefits, resulting in a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in SNAP benefits for some of our most vulnerable New Yorkers on an annual basis.

    Beyond worsening food insecurity and malnutrition, cuts to the program would hurt local businesses and weaken SNAP’s ability to boost local economies in every state. Slashing families’ grocery budgets would reduce revenue for thousands of businesses in every state, with ripple effects throughout the food supply chain.

    Putting Money in Families Pockets

    In New York State, Governor Hochul is delivering on her affordability commitments and putting thousands of dollars back in the pockets of millions of families across New York State through the proposals enacted in SFY 2026 Enacted Budget. These wins include drastically expanding New York’s Child Tax Credit, cutting taxes for middle class New Yorkers, sending inflation refund checks directly to millions of households, and ensuring free school meals for over 2.7 million students statewide.

    New York State Senate Social Services Committee Chair Roxanne J. Persaud said, “Summer EBT is a vital resource for eligible families with children home from school for the summer. This program is a continuation of the resources I fought for at the onset of the pandemic to ensure that children do not experience hunger in the absence of school meals. I thank Governor Hochul and the Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance for their continued pursuit of critical federal funding to operate Summer EBT.”

    New York State Assembly Social Services Committee Chair Maritza Davila said, “I commend Governor Hochul for her commitment to combating food insecurity through the expansion of the Summer EBT program. Providing over $250 million in food assistance to more than two million children helps ensure that low-income families have the resources they need to keep their children healthy and nourished when school is out of session. As Chair of the Assembly Social Services Committee, I am proud to support initiatives that protect our most vulnerable — especially at a time when federal nutrition programs are under threat. This investment is not only a lifeline for families — it is also a reminder of New York’s commitment to the well-being of every child.”

    No Kid Hungry New York Director Rachel Sabella said, “Summer EBT is a transformative program for hundreds of thousands of families across New York State. By providing $120 in grocery benefits for each eligible child, it puts vital resources directly into the hands of families, helping them afford nutritious food for their children during the summer months. At the same time, it supports local economies by generating increased business for thousands of bodegas, supermarkets, and farmers statewide. I commend Governor Hochul and the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) for their swift action in delivering these benefits, and I urge all potentially eligible New Yorkers to visit OTDA’s website to check their status. These funds are meant for you — don’t miss out.”

    Eligible children are receiving Summer EBT food benefits on an EBT card that their families can use just like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Summer EBT food benefits can be used to buy food like fruits, vegetables, meat, whole grains, and dairy at authorized retail food stores, farmers markets, and anywhere else SNAP is accepted.

    The first batch of Summer EBT benefits will be issued to over 1 million children on June 18, and the next two batches will be issued a few weeks later to almost 500,000 additional children. Benefits will continue to be sent throughout the summer.

    All eligible households will be sent a letter before they receive their benefits. Eligible households who used their Summer EBT card in 2024 will receive their benefits on the same card as last year.

    Most children who are eligible — including recipients of SNAP, Public Assistance or Medicaid — will automatically receive Summer EBT and do not need to apply.

    Other eligible families may need to apply to receive benefits for their children. To be eligible, a child must attend a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program and meet the income requirements for free/reduced-price school meals.

    Summer EBT food benefits are available on Summer EBT food benefits cards for 122 days after the date they were issued. All unused benefits are removed from the card after this time. Recipients should use their benefits soon after they receive them.

    To learn more about Summer EBT benefits and eligibility or to apply, visit ny.gov/SummerEBT. Applications for summer 2025 benefits must be submitted by Sept. 4, 2025.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: LaLota, Vietnam Veterans Demand VA Cancer Action

    Source: US Representative Nick LaLota (NY-01)

    Rocky Point, NY – On Wednesday, June 18, 2025, Representative Nick LaLota (R-Suffolk County), Navy Veteran and member of the Military Construction & Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, was joined by Brookhaven Councilwoman Jane Bonner, Vietnam Veteran Gerald Wiggins, members of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 11, and members of Rocky Point VFW Post 6249 to call for urgent action to expand VA care and support for Vietnam Veterans suffering from bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) linked to their military service.

    The event followed the April 7, 2025 House passage of LaLota’s bipartisan Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act, which directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct a comprehensive study on the connection between liver fluke exposure during the Vietnam War and bile duct cancer in Vietnam Veterans compared to Veterans in other theaters. The bill passed the House unanimously, with a vote of 411–0.

    “The facts are clear: Vietnam War veterans who served in-theater are 30% more likely to develop bile duct cancer than those who served elsewhere. Yet the VA still refuses to acknowledge the connection. That must change.

    We’ve passed a corrective bill out of the House twice, but only after Gerald Wiggins walked into my office two years ago and said, ‘Nick, you’ve got to step up for the rest of us.’ And we did. Now it’s time for the Senate—and the VA—to do the same.

    The VA could fix this with the stroke of a pen. They don’t need another study. But if that’s what it takes, we’ll keep pushing until this bill becomes law and the VA finally does right by our Vietnam Veterans,” said LaLota.

    Gerald Wiggins, a Vietnam Veteran and Suffolk County resident in attendance, who has been instrumental in sparking legislative attention to this important issue, shared his personal story of delayed diagnosis, limited treatment options, and the emotional toll of navigating a system that has not formally recognized his illness as service-related.

    “The disease lasts for 30, 40, 50 years. They don’t know how or why in your bile duct. It releases, goes to your liver. By the time you know about it, you’re dead. They say, ‘Well, the Vietnam Veterans are alcoholics and drug addicts, so that’s why their liver went bad.’ There are 800,000 Veterans in New York State. There are 134,000 Veterans on Long Island. If you push this bill through, you’re a hero,” said Wiggins. “Can someone explain to me in the Senate now why you can’t pass this bill? If 800,000 Veterans come together in Washington, D.C., like they did in the ’60s and ’70s—maybe something will go through. I’m positive. I’m still positive. I have a disease in me that, once it hits another organ, I could die. Right now it’s in my body, but I’m still alive.” 

    To read the full text of the bipartisan Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act, click HERE.

    Background:

    LaLota initially introduced the Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act during the 118th Congress, and it passed the House in September 2024. The Senate failed to act. 

    The Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act seeks to address this gap by requiring the VA, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to conduct a comprehensive study on the prevalence of liver fluke infections among Vietnam Veterans. This legislation aims to ensure that Vietnam Veterans receive the care and recognition they deserve for this debilitating condition.

    To watch LaLota’s remarks ahead of the bill’s passage in the House, click HERE.

    In 2018, the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New York conducted a groundbreaking study on liver fluke infection among Vietnam Veterans, using a 50-Veteran sample size. Although the study was smaller than most, its findings highlighted an urgent need for a larger-scale investigation, the development of standardized treatment protocols, and expanded access to care for affected Veterans at VA facilities nationwide.

    Following this, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) initiated the Vietnam Era Veterans Mortality Study, comparing mortality rates from cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) between Veterans deployed to the Vietnam War theater and those who served elsewhere. The study suggests a potential link between exposure to parasitic infections, contracted through contaminated freshwater fish, and a heightened risk of cholangiocarcinoma among Vietnam Veterans.

    Despite this evidence, during a Legislative Hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) indicated that the VA does not support further research on the topic. Additionally, the VA has yet to designate cholangiocarcinoma as a service-connected condition, despite the findings of the Vietnam Era Veterans Mortality Study.

    LaLota recently sent a letter to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Doug Collins, urging him to designate cholangiocarcinoma as a presumptive, service-connected condition for Vietnam-era Veterans. Additionally, LaLota was successful in including language in the House Report attached to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee, directing the Department of Veterans Affairs to report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations within 180 days of enactment of the bill on steps taken to review existing evidence, update claims adjudication guidance if necessary, and enhance outreach to potentially impacted Vietnam-era Veterans.

     

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Sandbox solutions will transform marine licensing

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Sandbox solutions will transform marine licensing

    Ambitious new initiative between regulators and major ports operators

    A new initiative to streamline marine licensing to support sustainable growth, clean energy and the UK’s future infrastructure whilst safeguarding the seas around our shores, has been launched.

    The collaboration led by the UK Major Ports Group (UKMPG) and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) directly supports the government’s wider ambition to boost economic growth through smarter infrastructure delivery, as well as unlocking green investment supported by modern regulation, protecting long-term prosperity and managing the marine environment with care.

    Licensing discussions can appear to be top-down, to take place behind closed doors or to be overly complex and onerous for all involved but these issues could soon be a thing of the past, since MMO and UKMPG joined forces with leading ports operators to pilot an ambitious new approach to marine licensing. It’s one that puts collaboration, innovation and trust at the heart of the process.

    Geraint Evans, CEO of UKMPG said:

    A thriving port sector is absolutely essential to the UK’s net zero journey, coastal communities and economic growth.

    By working more closely than ever with the MMO, we’re laying the groundwork for a marine licensing process that’s not only faster and clearer – but also works for people and the planet.

    Michelle Willis, CEO of the MMO, said:

    This is about more than licences – it’s about transforming how we work with industry, learning together and shaping a system that unlocks growth while still protecting our natural environment.

    The core of the initiative is a new licensing ‘sandbox’ – a safe, real-world testing space where ports and regulators can come together to improve the way the process works for everyone involved. From streamlining applications to building trust through early engagement, this initiative is focused on transforming how the marine licensing process supports sustainable growth, clean energy and fosters UK’s future infrastructure investment.

    Unlike traditional policy consultations, the sandbox is fully hands-on and results-focused. It helps regulators and industry explore live case studies, test innovative ideas, and co-create practical changes rooted in practical needs. Already, two in-person workshops (hosted by global smart logistics provider DP World in London and Associated British Ports in Plymouth) have allowed open dialogue about what’s working, what isn’t, and how any shortfalls can be fixed.

    This early momentum is a sign of the MMO’s evolving approach, which is rooted in the idea that smarter regulation is built on listening and learning. The sandbox model reflects a shift in culture – not just in how licences are processed, but in how relationships across the system are built and improved.

    With the sandbox now up and running and more sessions planned, stakeholders across the sector are coming together to drive change through a licensing system ready for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

    Updates to this page

    Published 23 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Republicans are Providing Tax Relief to Working Families and Main Street

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo

    Washington, D.C.—In addition to making the 2017 Trump tax rates permanent, Republicans are working to deliver additional tax relief for American families, communities and small businesses. 
    Investments in workers and small businesses:
    No tax on tips for millions of tipped workers.
    No tax on overtime for millions of America’s hourly workers.
    No tax on auto loan interest for new cars made in the U.S.
    Repeals the Democrats’ onerous IRS reporting requirements on gig workers.
    Increases the 1099-MISC threshold, reducing the paperwork burden for small businesses and workers.
    Investments in families, seniors and children:
    Strengthens employer-provided childcare credit and boosts childcare assistance.
    Creates school choice tax credits to expand education freedom and opportunity for students.
    Provides a $6,000 bonus exemption to millions of low- and middle-income seniors, slashing their tax burden.
    Enhances 529 savings accounts to make education more affordable for families.
    Establishes savings accounts for newborns, building financial security for the next generation.  
    Click HERE for a bill overview.
    Click HERE to view text of the Finance reconciliation bill.
    Click HERE for a section-by-section.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: First RAF flight for British nationals leaves Israel

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    First RAF flight for British nationals leaves Israel

    As announced by the Foreign Secretary in the House of Commons, A RAF flight to take vulnerable British nationals and their dependents out of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) has departed this afternoon.

    • The RAF flight to transport vulnerable British nationals and their dependents out of Israel and the OPTs left today
    • Further flights will be based on demand and the latest security situation
    • British nationals should continue to register their presence in Israel and the OPTs to be contacted with further guidance on potential further flights

    Addressing the House of Commons today, the Foreign Secretary announced the first RAF flight to help vulnerable British nationals wanting to leave Israel and the OPTs has taken off this afternoon (23 Jun) from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. 

    The flight is for vulnerable British nationals plus their immediate family members who are eligible to travel. All passengers must hold a valid travel document and non-British immediate family members require valid visas/permission to enter or remain that was granted for more than six months. 

    The government has worked with partners in recent weeks to enable this flight to operate, with further flights to be considered depending on demand and the latest security situation on the ground. British nationals in Israel and the OPTs urged to continue to register their presence to be contacted with further guidance on any future flights. 

    Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:   

    Throughout the crisis, the safety of British Nationals in the region has been our top priority. That is why the UK Government is working with the Israeli authorities to arrange RAF and charter flights to help those wanting to leave. 

    Today’s flight will bring British nationals and their dependents safely back to the UK. While the situation in the Middle East remains volatile, we are working around the clock to secure more flights and bring more people home.

    Due to ongoing restrictions in Israeli airspace and the security situation on the ground, the government used an RAF A-400M aircraft for the flight from Tel Aviv to Cyprus – with passengers due to transfer on to a civilian charter aircraft for the onwards journey to the UK this afternoon. 

    Those eligible for the flights will be expected to pay for their seat – and payment will be taken on registration via the flight booking form. This fee will be refunded to those who are not allocated a seat – in line with the government’s approach to previous charter flights from the region. 

    UK Government officials have been working around the clock to keep British nationals safe, with consular officers deployed to the border in Jordan and extra consular support based near the border in Egypt. These officials are on hand to provide advice on onward travel to British nationals crossing and support to vulnerable British nationals.  FCDO Rapid Deployment Teams are working across the region to bolster the support offered by British Embassy officials.     

    British nationals should continue to register via the Register Your Presence portal that will be used to confirm any further details in due course. 

    Commercial flights are continuing to operate from Egypt and Jordan, and international land border crossings to these countries remain open. 

    The situation remains volatile and the government’s ability to run flights out of Israel and the OPTs could change at short notice. 

    Media enquiries

    Email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

    Telephone 020 7008 3100

    Email the FCDO Newsdesk (monitored 24 hours a day) in the first instance, and we will respond as soon as possible.

    Updates to this page

    Published 23 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: 23 June 2025 Departmental update International Day of Yoga 2025: “One Earth, One Health”

    Source: World Health Organisation

    WHO Assistant Director– General for Health Systems, Dr Yukiko Nakatani, addressed the meeting:  

    “In today’s world, self-care is not a luxury. It is a necessity and an important component of universal health coverage. As we face many global challenges, self-care offers a simple yet powerful way to protect our health and promote well-being. It combines the wisdom of traditional practices with science-based strategies and personal experience.” 

    The following morning, a vibrant yoga session took place on the lawns of Allée des Drapeaux, drawing participants from the diplomatic community, local residents, and international visitors.  

    Dr. Sylvie Briand, WHO Chief Scientist, shared her reflections on the day:

    “A systematic review on yoga reflects the latest science and confirms yoga’s positive effects on mental health, cardiovascular function, physical fitness and quality of life. Investment in and implementation of this type of rigorous science enables WHO to develop evidence-based guidance to support national policies and programmes that reflect the lived experiences, needs and benefits reported by millions of people worldwide.”

    In Delhi, WHO’s South-East Asia office hosted a virtual celebration on the morning of 21 June, allowing global participation through live streaming. The event featured guided yoga sessions and reflections on yoga’s global impact. 

    In her address, Saima Wazed, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, emphasized the broader significance of the day:

    “This year’s theme, ‘Yoga for One Earth, One Health,’ reminds us of the deep connection between our well-being and the health of our planet. Yoga is more than just physical exercise—it is a journey toward inner peace and harmony. In a world facing environmental challenges, yoga offers a path to sustainability. It encourages us to live simply, consume mindfully, and respect the natural world. When we care for the Earth, we care for ourselves.”

    She also highlighted compelling research: 

    • 77% of people report feeling physically stronger after regular yoga practice.

    • 82% of patients with chronic inflammation experienced nearly a 50% reduction in symptoms after six weeks of daily yoga.

    • A Harvard Medical School study found that 60% of participants with depression experienced significant symptom reduction after practicing yoga twice a week for eight weeks. 

    At the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO), colleagues marked the occasion with a practical and accessible approach. Diana Tawadros, a certified yoga instructor and EMRO staff member, led a session demonstrating simple stretches for the neck, arms, and shoulders— designed to reduce tension and improve posture and perfect for those spending long hours at their desks. 

    Diana’s sessions are supported by the EMRO Staff Association and are open to all colleagues. Those interested in joining can contact Diana Tawadros or Maha El Bakry via email. 

    To mark the occasion, WHO Regional Office for Europe (EURO) shared a calming 10-minute desk- yoga video to encourage everyone to take a mindful pause, showing that even a few minutes of movement and breath can support well-being—no mat or change of clothes required. 

    WHO continues to promote yoga as a powerful tool for health and well-being. Its mYoga app, launched in 2022, provides accessible, evidence-based yoga guidance for people of all ages and backgrounds. WHO is also developing a technical report on yoga training standards to ensure quality, safety, and inclusivity in yoga instruction worldwide. 

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    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Passaic County Man Pleads Guilty to Being a Felon in Possession of Ammunition

    Source: US FBI

    NEWARK, N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, man pled guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

    Justin Pope, 38, of Clifton, New Jersey, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition.

    According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in Court:

    On July 12, 2023, law enforcement officers responded to a report of shots fired in a public parking lot in Clifton, New Jersey. A review of the surveillance footage from the area showed Pope and a female individual engaged in an altercation while inside of a vehicle. As the female individual exited the vehicle, Pope pointed a handgun and fired multiple shots at the victim at close range.  Law enforcement subsequently recovered ammunition from the scene.

    The following day, on July 13, 2023, law enforcement reviewed a video on a social media account depicting Pope firing a gun in the air in which he stated, “Can’t find me . . . Police. Y’all never gonna find me.”  Law enforcement also recovered ammunition from the scene.

    Pope was arrested a few hours later after he attempted to board a bus in New York City and brandished a firearm to bus employees. At the time of his arrest, law enforcement recovered a firearm from Pope, which was later identified as a privately made 9mm firearm with a large capacity magazine attached, which was loaded with one round of 9mm ammunition.

    Pope had previously been convicted of aggravated assault in New Jersey in connection with the shooting of a child.

    U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark; officers of the Clifton Police Department, under the direction of Chief Thomas Rinaldi; officers of the Paterson Police Department, under Officer in Charge Patrick Murray; officers of the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department under Sheriff Thomas Adamo; officers of the Passaic Police Department, under Chief Luis Guzman; and officers of New York City Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Edward Caban, with the investigation leading to the charges.

    The charges of being a felon in possession of ammunition each carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

    Pope’s sentencing is scheduled for October 21, 2025.

    The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorney Rachelle M. Navarro of the Bank Integrity, Money Laundering, and Recovery Unit in Newark.

                                                                                                   ###

    Defense counsel for Pope: Georgina Pallitto, Esq.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III Attacked by a Salvadorian National with a Knife in Downtown Albany

    Source: US FBI

    Saul Morales-Garcia, an Illegal Alien, Charged with Attempted Second-Degree Murder

    ALBANY, NEW YORK – Tuesday June 17, after leaving his office in downtown Albany, United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III was the victim of a life-threatening incident.  Saul Morales-Garcia, an illegal alien from El Salvador, who entered the United States in 2021 after a prior deportation, lunged at Sarcone while brandishing a knife and yelling aggressively in a foreign language Sarcone could not readily identify.  Sarcone ran to the lobby of the Hilton Hotel and Morales-Garcia stopped and still shouting in a foreign language turned and started to walk away.  Sarcone immediately contacted Albany County Sheriff Craig D. Apple Sr.  Sarcone went back to the street and maintained a safe distance and yelled out to Garcia-Morales to gain his attention to prevent Morales-Garcia from disappearing as Sarcone believed an innocent person would be killed by Morales-Garcia.  Before law enforcement arrived, Morales-Garcia charged at Sarcone again screaming and yelling at Sarcone in a foreign language while wielding the knife to make a slitting-the-throat gesture at Sarcone. Sarcone again ran to the lobby of the Hilton where again Morales-Garcia stopped, turned and began to walk away but was apprehended when Sheriff’s deputies arrived.  Morales-Garcia was taken into custody and the knife was recovered.

    Sarcone was physically unharmed, but emotionally rattled and stated, “I felt an obligation to the public as the chief Federal law enforcement officer in the district that includes the city of Albany.  I feared for my life but I couldn’t let this individual harm and potentially kill others.”

    Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said: “U.S. Attorney John Sarcone’s selfless actions likely saved lives.”

    Morales-Garcia was charged with attempted second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, and menacing in the second degree and remanded without bail.  He made an appearance in Albany City Court yesterday and an order of protection was issued for Sarcone. Morales-Garcia may also face federal charges; the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Homeland Security Investigations are involved in the ongoing investigation. 

    Sarcone was appointed U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of New York by Attorney General Pamela Bondi in March.  “Public safety is our highest priority,” said U.S. Attorney Sarcone.  “I am relieved that no one was harmed.  I appreciated the swift response by the Albany County Sheriff’s office which was within minutes although it seemed like an eternity.”  Sarcone emphasized that such brazen and violent behavior underscores the importance of public vigilance and the need for a strong collaboration between federal and local authorities. At Sarcone’s request, his office is recused from prosecuting Morales-Garcia for illegal re-entry into the country, which is a felony, and the case has been assigned to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York for prosecution. 

    Sarcone stated, “I have spent the last three months going to 27 of the 32 counties thus far in my district conducting meetings with the District Attorneys, Sheriffs, State Police and local police Chiefs accompanied by the heads of all the Federal law enforcement agencies in the Northern District to offer assistance from federal law enforcement and my office to help combat the infiltration of gangs, drug, human traffickers, and sexual predators.  My offer of help has been well-received, and the results have been tremendous in helping these communities get rid of violent criminals. The citizens of Albany, and visitors who come to Albany, should be able to feel safe walking down our streets.”

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Convicted Sex Offender Illegally Present in the Country Assaults Federal Officer During Immigration Arrest

    Source: US FBI

    St. Paul, Minn. – Roberto Carlos Munoz-Guatemala, 39, a citizen of Mexico, has been charged federally with assault on a federal officer with a dangerous or deadly weapon and resulting in bodily injury, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.

    According to court documents, in December 2022, Munoz was charged with repeatedly sexually abusing a minor victim. He was ultimately convicted of Fourth-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, a felony offense.

    On June 17, 2025, multiple federal agencies attempted to effectuate an administrative warrant for Munoz’s arrest due to lack of legal status in the United States. Officers and agents—clearly identified as “POLICE”—pulled Munoz over for a traffic stop. Munoz repeatedly refused to comply with commands from law enforcement officers to lower the windows and open the door. Officers told Munoz they would break a window if Munoz continued to refuse. When Munoz refused to comply, the victim in this case, an ERO Officer, used a spring-loaded window punch to break the rear window of the car and then reached into Munoz’s car to attempt to unlock the door.

    While the ERO Officer’s arm was inside the car, Munoz put the vehicle in drive. Munoz drove up onto the curb and accelerated at a high rate of speed. The ERO Officer’s arm was caught in the car. As Munoz drove, the ERO Officer was dragged in the moving vehicle. The ERO Officer twice fired his taser at Munoz to get him to stop. Munoz was undeterred. He continued driving away as the ERO Officer screamed.

    With the ERO Officer’s arm caught in the broken window and the ERO Officer being dragged along the road, Munoz began weaving back and forth, in an apparent attempt to shake the ERO Officer from the car. Munoz drove back and forth, driving up on the curb and weaving past a vehicle, all while dragging the ERO Officer. When Munoz got off the curb and reentered the street, the force knocked the ERO Officer free from the car. Munoz continued his flight. In total, Munoz dragged the ERO Officer approximately 100 yards down the street.

    The ERO Officer was transported to the hospital, where he received treatment for injuries sustained from being dragged by Munoz. The ERO Officer suffered a significant cut to his right arm that required 20 stitches to close. He suffered a significant cut to his left hand that required 13 stitches. The ERO Officer also suffered abrasions to his left knee, elbows, and face.

    “Law enforcement officers deserve our respect, our gratitude, and our protection,” said Acting

    U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. “Defendant Munoz—a convicted sex offender illegally present in the country—violently assaulted a federal officer who was just trying to do his job. The injuries the officer sustained were severe but could have been so much worse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has no tolerance for violence against law enforcement officers.”

    “Munoz had no legal right to be in this country—and certainly not free in the community after a conviction for sexually abusing a minor,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis. “Instead of complying with a lawful immigration arrest, he chose to violently resist — dragging a deportation officer with his vehicle and putting that officer’s life at risk. The FBI takes any assault on a federal officer with the utmost seriousness, and we are committed to working alongside our law enforcement partners to ensure this individual is held fully accountable. There is no tolerance for this kind of violence—not against federal agents, not against local officers, not against anyone who wears a badge.”

    “This was a brazen and cowardly act by a criminal illegal alien who has complete disregard for the laws of our country and clearly places himself above the lives of others,” said Peter Berg, ICE ERO Field Office Director for St. Paul. “The deportation officer involved in this incident— someone who has dedicated his life to upholding the law and protecting this nation—was severely wounded by a fleeing suspect who should have never been in the United States in the first place.”

    These cases are a result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, ERO, and HSI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Raphael B. Coburn is prosecuting the case.

    An earlier version of this press release noted that defendant Munoz-Guatemala is a citizen of Guatemala. He is in fact a citizen of Mexico.

    A complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Money Launderer for Mexico-Based Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to Federal Prison

    Source: US FBI

    A Chicago‑area man who acted as a money launderer for a Mexico‑based drug trafficking organization was sentenced June 11, 2025 to nearly five years in federal prison.  

    Jose Eladio Medina Valenzuela, age 45, from Cicero, Illinois, received the prison term after a January 6, 2025 guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.   

    n a plea agreement, Medina Valenzuela admitted that, from May 2020 to October 2020, he worked with others to obtain proceeds from the sale of methamphetamine in Iowa and transfer those proceeds to individuals in Mexico to promote and facilitate the drug trafficking organization and operation.  Two drug traffickers obtained and distributed over 100 pounds of methamphetamine in Iowa, and they took a portion of those methamphetamine proceeds—over $335,000—to Medina Valenzuela in Cicero.  Medina Valenzuela then worked with others to get the methamphetamine proceeds to sources of supply in Mexico.  

    Medina Valenzuela was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Medina Valenzuela was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a two‑year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

    Medina Valenzuela is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

    The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force consisting of the Waterloo Police Department, Cedar Falls Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Department, Evansdale Police Department, Waverly Police Department, Hudson Police Department, La Porte City Police Department, and the Bremer County Sheriff’s Department; the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the United States Postal Inspection Service; and Homeland Security Investigations.  This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

    The case file number is 24-CR-02041-LTS.

    Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Five Charged Following Encounters with Federal Law Enforcement

    Source: US FBI

    United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that criminal charges have been filed in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska against five individuals following their encounters with federal law enforcement during the service of a civil search warrant on Glenn Valley Foods in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 10, 2025.

    Marvin Aleman Zepeda, age 37, is charged in a one-count Criminal Complaint. Count I alleges that Zepeda used a deadly or dangerous weapon to assault, resist, or impede a federal officer. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not more than 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not more than 3 years, and a special assessment of $100.

    Osmar Lorenzo-Genchi, age 20, is charged in a two-count Criminal Complaint. Count I alleges that Lorenzo-Genchi used a deadly or dangerous weapon to assault, resist, or impede a federal officer. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not more than 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not more than 3 years, and a special assessment of $100. Count II charges willfully injuring or committing any depredation against any property of the United States in excess of $1,000.00. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not more than 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not more than 3 years, and a special assessment of $100.

    Alejandra Lopez-Garcia, age 28, is charged in a two-count Information. Count I alleges that Lopez-Garcia assaulted, resisted, or impeded a federal officer. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not more than 1 year of imprisonment, a $100,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not more than 1 year, and a special assessment of $25. Count II charges willfully injuring or committing any depredation against any property of the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not more than 1 year of imprisonment, a $100,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not more than 1 year, and a special assessment of $25.

    Aliyah Reyna Lozano, age 18, is charged in a one-count Information. Count I alleges that Lozano assaulted, resisted, opposed, impeded, intimidated, and interfered with a federal officer. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not more than 1 year of imprisonment, a $100,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not more than 1 year, and a special assessment of $25.

    Aaron Urbanski, age 36, is charged in a two-count Information. Count I alleges that Urbanski assaulted, resisted, or impeded a federal officer. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not more than 1 year of imprisonment, a $100,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not more than 1 year, and a special assessment of $25. Count II charges willfully injuring or committing any depredation against any property of the United States. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not more than 1 year of imprisonment, a $100,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not more than 1 year, and a special assessment of $25.

    Criminal Complaints and Informations are charging documents that contain one or more individual counts that are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Omaha Field Office said, “The FBI is supporting ICE and working with all our DOJ partners in immigration enforcement operations across the country. Assaulting a law enforcement officer engaged in their lawful duties or damaging government property is not protected under the First Amendment — it is a criminal offense which we will investigate and apprehend those responsible. As part of our newly formed Homeland Security Task Force, we are working with our partners to protect our community by eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations operating in Nebraska and Iowa.”

    These cases are part of the Take Back America Task Force, led by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with support from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

    Contact Amy Donato at 402-661-3700 for further information.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Hickman Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud Conspiracy

    Source: US FBI

    United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Jesse T. Hill, 35, of Hickman, Nebraska, entered a plea of guilty to an Information alleging that he committed conspiracy to commit bank fraud in front of United States Magistrate Judge Jacqueline M. DeLuca. Judge DeLuca scheduled Hill’s sentencing for September 11, 2025, at 3 p.m. before United States District Court Judge Susan M. Bazis. Hill faces a maximum possible penalty of 30 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $ 1 million, and a mandatory special assessment of $100. Hill additionally has agreed to pay restitution and forfeit his interest, if any, in a property in Puerto Rico, a PC-12/47E Pilatus Aircraft, and funds in a Charles Schwab account.

    Individual 1 operated a real estate business in Nebraska. Individual 1 died on November 2, 2022.

    Hill was an investment advisor operating in Nebraska. In 2013, Hill organized JT Equity Trading, LLC which operated as a hedge fund until 2018. Hill then organized First SOJO Capital Group, LLC (“First SOJO”) in 2019. First SOJO was a Registered Investment Advisor in Nebraska that managed two pooled investment vehicles: Outlier Fund I, LP and Outlier Fund II, LP. First SOJO used the services of Piedmont Fund Services from late 2021 until April 2022, when Piedmont Fund Services terminated their relationship with Hill due to significant investment losses. At no point in time did Piedmont Fund Services provide services to Individual 1 or any of Individual 1’s controlled entities.

    Beginning in November 2020, Hill and Individual 1 began attempting to obtain loans from financial institutions throughout Nebraska and western Iowa. The loans were sought in the name of Individual 1 and/or Individual 1’s entities. It was represented that these loans were to be used for real estate investments and the alleged collateral for the loans was an investment account of Individual 1 and/or Individual 1’s entity that was managed by Hill. Hill and Individual 1 would grant a surety with the financial institution, typically in the form of a control agreement, a commercial security agreement, or an assignment of account. Hill would falsely claim that Individual 1 and/or Individual 1’s entities were clients of his through his own investment entities JT Equity or First SOJO. Hill would prepare and present fraudulent invoices from JT Equity or Piedmont Fund Services to the financial institutions. Hill would falsely represent values of alleged funds that Individual 1 and/or an entity of Individual 1 had in an account that Hill managed. Hill would falsely represent that no other financial institution had a security interest in these fictitious accounts. Throughout the process of obtaining or attempting to obtain the loans, Hill and Individual 1 would engage with each financial institution to facilitate the loan process to include meeting with the financial institution in person, communicating by telephone, communicating by text message, or communicating by email. Hill knew that the representations being made to the financial institutions in order to obtain loans by Individual 1 and/or Individual 1’s entity were false and were being done with the intent to defraud.

    As a result of this scheme, Hill and Individual 1 attempted to obtain at least $45,650,000.00 in loans from at least 19 different financial institutions.

    The majority of the funds that were fraudulently obtained went into a failed investment scheme. A portion of the proceeds from fraudulent loans obtained later in the scheme were used to pay off or pay down fraudulent loans obtained earlier in the scheme. Proceeds were deposited in a Charles Schwab account, were used to purchase a property in Puerto Rico, and were used to purchase an ownership interest in a PC-12/47E Pilatus Aircraft.

    This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of the Inspector General, Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of the Inspector General, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System – Office of the Inspector General with assistance from the Nebraska State Patrol, Lincoln Police Department, and the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Take Back America Task Force Operation in South Omaha

    Source: US FBI

    United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that a federal civil search warrant was executed on June 10, 2025, at an Omaha, Nebraska, business in relation to a Take Back America Task Force worksite enforcement operation. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and with other federal law enforcement partners entered the Glenn Valley Foods facility in search of workers who were not authorized to work in the United States.

    HSI performed an audit of Glenn Valley Foods’ employee I-9 Forms to verify the authenticity and validity of employee identity documents. The audit revealed a large number of suspected fraudulent identification documents or documents that did not authorize certain identified employees to legally work in the United States. The audit also revealed that multiple identities of United States citizens were being fraudulently used by workers at that location, and numerous victim complaints were received at HSI in connection with those stolen identities prior to the enforcement operation.

    During the operation, HSI encountered approximately 76 unlawfully present aliens at the facility.  These workers were using Social Security numbers that had not been issued to them. HSI referred several criminal allegations to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska.  Among the criminal allegations referred are allegations of fraudulent use of Social Security numbers, assaults on federal officers and damage to federal property, illegal reentry of previously deported aliens, and other criminal concerns.

    Possible charging determinations have not been made at this time as this is an active and ongoing investigation.

    This case is part of the Take Back America Task Force, led by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with support from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Which African countries are flourishing? Scientists have a new way of measuring well-being

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Victor Counted, Associate Professor of Psychology, Regent University

    What does it mean to live a good life? Psychologists and social scientists have been focusing on a new idea called flourishing – a sense of well-being that goes beyond just happiness or success. It’s about your whole life being good, including how you interact with other people and your community. So then, how do Africans fare when it comes to flourishing?

    Victor Counted is a psychological scientist whose research across 40 African countries offers a data-rich rethinking of flourishing on the continent. His findings challenge the dominant narrative that Africa is “lagging behind” in development by showing a more nuanced picture of what it means to live a good life. We asked him more.

    What is flourishing?

    Flourishing is more than economic growth or individual happiness. It’s a multidimensional state of being that reflects how people feel about their lives and how well their lives are actually going. So it also measures people’s values within their community.

    The idea of well-being often carries a Eurocentric emphasis on the individual – personal satisfaction, autonomy, achievement. Flourishing accounts for how whole a person is in relation to their environment.

    It includes the social, spiritual and ecological contexts in which one lives. So, it’s not just about how one feels, but how one lives – fully, meaningfully and in a satisfying relationship with the world around us.

    What’s the Global Flourishing Study?

    The Global Flourishing Study tries to measure global patterns of human flourishing. It’s an ongoing five-year longitudinal study in over 200,000 participants across 22 countries.

    I was one of the team of global scholars brought together to examine the trends on what it means to live well across cultures and life circumstances.



    Read more:
    What makes people flourish? A new survey of more than 200,000 people across 22 countries looks for global patterns and local differences

    The study identifies six key dimensions of flourishing:

    • Happiness and life satisfaction
    • Mental and physical health
    • Meaning and purpose
    • Character and virtue
    • Close social relationships
    • Financial and material stability

    Participants rate how they’re doing in each of these areas on a scale from 0 to 10. Further questions capture experiences related to trust, loneliness, hope, resilience, and other related well-being variables.


    CC BY-ND

    Of the 22 nations, five were African: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Egypt.

    While these countries didn’t top the global rankings (Indonesia and Mexico did), Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt all reported relatively high flourishing scores, especially when well-being was considered apart from financial status.

    Nigeria, for example, ranked 5th globally in flourishing scores that excluded financial indicators – ahead of many wealthier nations. Nigerians indicated strengths in social relationships, character and virtues (like forgiveness or helping others). But potential areas of growth included financial well-being, housing, ethnic discrimination and education.

    Overall, this suggests that while material resources matter, they’re not the only thing that determines well-being. Kenya ranked 7th, Egypt 10th, Tanzania 11th and South Africa 13th. Each showed unique strengths in areas like meaning, social connection or mental health.

    You did a separate study on flourishing in Africa. What did you find?

    In a 2024 study we analysed data from the Gallup World Poll (2020–2022) to explore 38 indicators of well-being across 40 African countries.

    This study offered a more detailed and culture-sensitive picture of how Africans experience and prioritise flourishing. The dimensions explored were derived from both local and universal sources, allowing for regionally relevant insights.

    We found that African populations often score high in meaning, character and social relationships – despite economic hardship. This offers an important corrective to western assumptions about well-being.

    Some of our key findings were:

    ● There is significant diversity between and within African countries. Mauritius consistently ranked highest in life evaluations (overall satisfaction with their lives), while countries like Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe scored lowest.

    ● East African countries such as Rwanda and Ethiopia showed strong performance in social well-being indicators (like feeling respected or learning new things daily) even when economic indicators were low.

    ● Countries in West Africa, such as Senegal and Ghana, scored high in emotional well-being, with many people reporting positive daily emotions like enjoyment and laughter.

    ● Southern African nations, despite challenges like income inequality, displayed resilience through strong community ties and cultural practices rooted in the philosophy of ubuntu.

    The results reinforced that flourishing in Africa cannot only be reduced to gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (a measure of the average economic output per person in a country) – nor to western norms of success.

    What can African countries focus on to flourish?

    In my view, the path to greater flourishing lies in embracing local knowledge and investing in culturally relevant development priorities. Instead of following western pathways – centred on individual advancement – Africa can model alternative flourishing pathways that reflect what matters most to African people.

    1. Prioritise local knowledge systems

    African ideas about a connected society – like ubuntu (southern Africa), ujamaa (east Africa), teranga or wazobia (west Africa), and al-musawat wal tarahum (north Africa) teach people to care for each other and live in peace. These values help people live meaningful lives and can inform leadership and legislation.

    2. Redefine development metrics

    Western development models focus on individual achievement, economic output and material consumption. GDP per capita fails to capture the everyday realities and aspirations of African communities. We should also measure things like how happy people are, how hopeful they feel about the future, how strong and resilient their communities are, and how clean, safe and dignifying their living environments are.

    This is not a new idea – for years development scholars have called for a shift away from narrow economic indicators toward a focus on human dignity, agency, and the real opportunities people have to pursue the lives they value. What’s new is the growing availability of data and the momentum to take these alternative metrics seriously in shaping national policies and priorities.

    3. Invest in education for character development

    Quality education is essential to unlocking the continent’s potential to flourish. But Africa needs more than just academic skills and workforce readiness – it needs a strategy for intentional development of values and habits that shape how a person thinks, feels, and acts with integrity.

    Part of the problem lies in how the humanities – fields like history, literature, philosophy, and religious studies – are often undervalued or underfunded in education systems. But it is precisely these disciplines that nurture moral imagination, critical reflection, and civic responsibility. We need educational models that form not just workers, but whole persons – people who can think ethically, act responsibly, and lead with character in their communities.



    Read more:
    What makes a person seem wise? Global study finds that cultures do differ – but not as much as you’d think

    What does Africa offer the world in terms of flourishing?

    Africa is not waiting to be saved. Across the continent, people are building communities of care, cultivating joy amid hardship, and passing on values of unity, faith, and compassion. This is what development looks like when rooted in human dignity.

    Africa flourishing goals offer an alternative vision for development – one that starts with what Africa already has, not what it lacks. These are locally emic aspirations for well-being. They are shaped by Africa’s indigenous knowledge systems, cultural values, and religious/spiritual traditions. Pursuing these goals means prioritising wholeness over wealth, community over consumption, and resilience over rescue.

    The continent has so much to offer the world: wisdom, strong community values, and ways of staying resilient and living fully even in hard times. But many of these local insights are missing in the global science of well-being.

    Victor Counted consults for Africa Flourishing Initiative

    – ref. Which African countries are flourishing? Scientists have a new way of measuring well-being – https://theconversation.com/which-african-countries-are-flourishing-scientists-have-a-new-way-of-measuring-well-being-257458

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Which African countries are flourishing? Scientists have a new way of measuring well-being

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Victor Counted, Associate Professor of Psychology, Regent University

    What does it mean to live a good life? Psychologists and social scientists have been focusing on a new idea called flourishing – a sense of well-being that goes beyond just happiness or success. It’s about your whole life being good, including how you interact with other people and your community. So then, how do Africans fare when it comes to flourishing?

    Victor Counted is a psychological scientist whose research across 40 African countries offers a data-rich rethinking of flourishing on the continent. His findings challenge the dominant narrative that Africa is “lagging behind” in development by showing a more nuanced picture of what it means to live a good life. We asked him more.

    What is flourishing?

    Flourishing is more than economic growth or individual happiness. It’s a multidimensional state of being that reflects how people feel about their lives and how well their lives are actually going. So it also measures people’s values within their community.

    The idea of well-being often carries a Eurocentric emphasis on the individual – personal satisfaction, autonomy, achievement. Flourishing accounts for how whole a person is in relation to their environment.

    It includes the social, spiritual and ecological contexts in which one lives. So, it’s not just about how one feels, but how one lives – fully, meaningfully and in a satisfying relationship with the world around us.

    What’s the Global Flourishing Study?

    The Global Flourishing Study tries to measure global patterns of human flourishing. It’s an ongoing five-year longitudinal study in over 200,000 participants across 22 countries.

    I was one of the team of global scholars brought together to examine the trends on what it means to live well across cultures and life circumstances.

    Read more: What makes people flourish? A new survey of more than 200,000 people across 22 countries looks for global patterns and local differences

    The study identifies six key dimensions of flourishing:

    • Happiness and life satisfaction
    • Mental and physical health
    • Meaning and purpose
    • Character and virtue
    • Close social relationships
    • Financial and material stability

    Participants rate how they’re doing in each of these areas on a scale from 0 to 10. Further questions capture experiences related to trust, loneliness, hope, resilience, and other related well-being variables.

    CC BY-ND

    Of the 22 nations, five were African: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Egypt.

    While these countries didn’t top the global rankings (Indonesia and Mexico did), Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt all reported relatively high flourishing scores, especially when well-being was considered apart from financial status.

    Courtesy Victor Counted

    Nigeria, for example, ranked 5th globally in flourishing scores that excluded financial indicators – ahead of many wealthier nations. Nigerians indicated strengths in social relationships, character and virtues (like forgiveness or helping others). But potential areas of growth included financial well-being, housing, ethnic discrimination and education.

    Overall, this suggests that while material resources matter, they’re not the only thing that determines well-being. Kenya ranked 7th, Egypt 10th, Tanzania 11th and South Africa 13th. Each showed unique strengths in areas like meaning, social connection or mental health.

    You did a separate study on flourishing in Africa. What did you find?

    In a 2024 study we analysed data from the Gallup World Poll (2020–2022) to explore 38 indicators of well-being across 40 African countries.

    This study offered a more detailed and culture-sensitive picture of how Africans experience and prioritise flourishing. The dimensions explored were derived from both local and universal sources, allowing for regionally relevant insights.

    We found that African populations often score high in meaning, character and social relationships – despite economic hardship. This offers an important corrective to western assumptions about well-being.

    Some of our key findings were:

    ● There is significant diversity between and within African countries. Mauritius consistently ranked highest in life evaluations (overall satisfaction with their lives), while countries like Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe scored lowest.

    ● East African countries such as Rwanda and Ethiopia showed strong performance in social well-being indicators (like feeling respected or learning new things daily) even when economic indicators were low.

    ● Countries in West Africa, such as Senegal and Ghana, scored high in emotional well-being, with many people reporting positive daily emotions like enjoyment and laughter.

    ● Southern African nations, despite challenges like income inequality, displayed resilience through strong community ties and cultural practices rooted in the philosophy of ubuntu.

    The results reinforced that flourishing in Africa cannot only be reduced to gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (a measure of the average economic output per person in a country) – nor to western norms of success.

    What can African countries focus on to flourish?

    In my view, the path to greater flourishing lies in embracing local knowledge and investing in culturally relevant development priorities. Instead of following western pathways – centred on individual advancement – Africa can model alternative flourishing pathways that reflect what matters most to African people.

    1. Prioritise local knowledge systems

    African ideas about a connected society – like ubuntu (southern Africa), ujamaa (east Africa), teranga or wazobia (west Africa), and al-musawat wal tarahum (north Africa) teach people to care for each other and live in peace. These values help people live meaningful lives and can inform leadership and legislation.

    2. Redefine development metrics

    Western development models focus on individual achievement, economic output and material consumption. GDP per capita fails to capture the everyday realities and aspirations of African communities. We should also measure things like how happy people are, how hopeful they feel about the future, how strong and resilient their communities are, and how clean, safe and dignifying their living environments are.

    This is not a new idea – for years development scholars have called for a shift away from narrow economic indicators toward a focus on human dignity, agency, and the real opportunities people have to pursue the lives they value. What’s new is the growing availability of data and the momentum to take these alternative metrics seriously in shaping national policies and priorities.

    3. Invest in education for character development

    Quality education is essential to unlocking the continent’s potential to flourish. But Africa needs more than just academic skills and workforce readiness – it needs a strategy for intentional development of values and habits that shape how a person thinks, feels, and acts with integrity.

    Part of the problem lies in how the humanities – fields like history, literature, philosophy, and religious studies – are often undervalued or underfunded in education systems. But it is precisely these disciplines that nurture moral imagination, critical reflection, and civic responsibility. We need educational models that form not just workers, but whole persons – people who can think ethically, act responsibly, and lead with character in their communities.

    Read more: What makes a person seem wise? Global study finds that cultures do differ – but not as much as you’d think

    What does Africa offer the world in terms of flourishing?

    Africa is not waiting to be saved. Across the continent, people are building communities of care, cultivating joy amid hardship, and passing on values of unity, faith, and compassion. This is what development looks like when rooted in human dignity.

    Africa flourishing goals offer an alternative vision for development – one that starts with what Africa already has, not what it lacks. These are locally emic aspirations for well-being. They are shaped by Africa’s indigenous knowledge systems, cultural values, and religious/spiritual traditions. Pursuing these goals means prioritising wholeness over wealth, community over consumption, and resilience over rescue.

    The continent has so much to offer the world: wisdom, strong community values, and ways of staying resilient and living fully even in hard times. But many of these local insights are missing in the global science of well-being.

    – Which African countries are flourishing? Scientists have a new way of measuring well-being
    – https://theconversation.com/which-african-countries-are-flourishing-scientists-have-a-new-way-of-measuring-well-being-257458

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Duckworth Statement on Trump’s Strikes Against Iran Nuclear Sites

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth

    June 21, 2025

    [CHICAGO, IL] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton today joined Chicago-area health care advocates, Medicaid recipients and their families to call out the Trump Administration and Republican’s dangerous, relentless attempts to slash Medicaid with their Big, Beautiful Betrayal. Duckworth spoke in support and defense of the millions of Americans who rely on Medicaid including pregnant women, children with disabilities as well as people in nursing homes—and demanded that Republicans put their constituents’ lives ahead of Trump’s ego by working with Democrats to protect the critical basic needs program. Photos from the press conference are available on Senator Duckworth’s website.

    “Republicans told us in Project 2025 that they’d come for Medicaid—and this is one of the rare times the GOP is actually keeping its word,” Duckworth said. “Make no mistake: there’s no way to pay for Trump’s $4 trillion tax break for billionaires without putting it on the backs of Americans who are already struggling to pay the bills. As Republicans threatened health care for 16 million Americans—including 3.4 million Illinoisans—to appease Trump and his billionaire buddies, I’ll keep working with Illinois health care advocates to protect and defend Medicaid.”

    “Since we saw the earliest versions of the Big Ugly Bill, it has been clear that Congressional Republicans have no intention of passing a budget that works for all, nor do they care about the harm that will fall on working families if they succeed. Nothing makes their priorities more obvious than the axe hovering over Medicaid.” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “Grandparents thrown out of nursing homes, farmers and rural families with no hospital to call in an emergency – that’s who the Trump administration is throwing under the bus to cover a tax cut for billionaires. That’s not who we are in Illinois. Everyone – no matter their zip code or who they voted for – deserves access to healthcare.”

    “Mental health is not optional. It is essential. And Medicaid is how we fund it. We must invest in the care that gives people a real chance at recovery,” said Sara Gray, Executive Director, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Illinois.

    “The proposed Medicaid cuts would have devastating consequences for older adults and the caregivers who support them. Medicaid is not just a safety net—it is a lifeline that provides access to home and community-based services, long-term care, and essential health coverage. These cuts would threaten the independence, dignity, and well-being of millions of older Americans. We urge lawmakers to prioritize the needs of aging adults and protect the integrity of Medicaid,” said Diane Slezak, President of AgeOptions.

    “We are facing some of the most dangerous threats the disability community has seen,” said Karen Tamley, President and CEO of Access Living, a disability service and advocacy center in Chicago. “Congress is considering budget proposals that would slash billions from Medicaid—the lifeline that makes it possible for disabled people to live, work, and thrive. These aren’t just numbers on a page—these cuts would take away life sustaining healthcare, personal care assistants, medical equipment, and essential therapies our community relies on.”

    Last month, Duckworth joined Caring Across Generations’ 24-hour Capitol Hill vigil to call out Donald Trump and Elon Musk for their heartless, relentless attempts to slash Medicaid funding.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: The UK unequivocally condemns the Taliban’s edict denying women their right to education: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    The UK unequivocally condemns the Taliban’s edict denying women their right to education: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan.

    President, since our last Council briefing on Afghanistan, another school year has begun with secondary schools and higher education remaining closed to women and girls.

    It is now over three years since the Taliban’s edict denying them their right to education. 

    The United Kingdom continues to unequivocally condemn this ban and urges its immediate reversal.

    Education is not the only sector from which half of Afghanistan’s population is barred. 

    We remain deeply concerned by the Taliban’s shortsighted ban on women’s medical education and by the challenges Afghan women and girls face in accessing life-saving healthcare, including sexual and reproductive health services.
    As we heard from Ms Bahous, nearly 8 in 10 young Afghan women are excluded from education, employment and training opportunities. 

    It is unacceptable that the Taliban’s restrictive edicts deny Afghan women and girls their rights and fundamental freedoms. 

    The United Kingdom supports calls for greater accountability efforts, including the referral of Afghanistan to the International Court of Justice for violations of CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

    The Taliban must also recognise the negative impact of their draconian policies on Afghanistan’s economic growth and long-term prosperity.

    As Director Bahous has highlighted, the Taliban’s ban on secondary education for girls is estimated to cost $1.5 billion by 2030

    During the last financial year, the UK distributed over $230 million in assistance to the Afghan people. 

    Last week, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation, we announced a new food security initiative, responding to climate-related challenges through the delivery of drought-resistant seeds and more nutritious crops, improved irrigation and training in sustainable farming practices. 

    Half a million Afghans are set to benefit from this UK-funded programme.
    The UK has also continued to engage constructively with the UN-led process, including the comprehensive approach. 

    But reliance on humanitarian assistance is not sustainable in the long term, and the UK’s continued engagement in a process in which the Taliban are not fully committed or willing to take meaningful steps towards meeting their international obligations is not guaranteed.

    We therefore urge the Taliban to reverse course and demonstrate their readiness to work towards an Afghanistan at peace with itself, its neighbours and the international community.

    Updates to this page

    Published 23 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Plymouth raises the flag, marking the start of Armed Forces Week

    Source: City of Plymouth

    The Armed Forces Flag was raised today following a ceremony outside Plymouth Guildhall, marking the start of Armed Forces Week.

    The ceremony was attended by the Lord Mayor of Plymouth, Councillor Kathy Watkin and Captain Iain Ritchie representing the Naval Base Commander, alongside other military and civic leaders.

    The flag will be flown all week, as events take place across the city, including the Strength of Spirit Games Rehabilitation Triathlon, hosted by the Royal Navy on Thursday 26 June and Armed Forces Day in association with Babcock International, on Saturday 28 June, both on Plymouth Hoe.

    Councillor Sally Haydon, Cabinet Member for Events, said: “Plymouth is incredibly proud of its military history and Armed Forces based in the city. Armed Forces Week is an opportunity to celebrate and say thank you to our military, from serving personnel to reservists, veterans and cadets, for all the admirable work they do.

    “On Thursday we are extremely privileged to be able to hold the Strength of Spirit Games, ahead of celebrating Armed Forces Day on Plymouth Hoe, which is looking to be a truly spectacular event.”

    Captain Iain Richie, HMNB Devonport’s Captain of the Base (COB) said: “Armed Forces Week in Plymouth is a celebration of the strong relationship between the Armed Forces based in and around the city and the community that supports us.  People will know that ships, submarines, Commandos, Gunners, and medical personnel from Plymouth are continually deployed to protect the UK and provide stability around the globe; none of that would be possible without the support of the people of Plymouth. Events this week will showcase our close bond with the city.”

    Visitors are encouraged to come along to Plymouth Hoe and watch the athletes compete in the Strength of Spirit Games Rehabilitation Triathlon, sponsored by AECOM and Defence Recovery. The event starts with the swim at Tinside Lido, followed by the cycle and static row, before crossing the all-important finish line!

    For the second year running the games will include the Plymouth School Sports Partnership Junior Rowing Challenge, sponsored by AECOM, from 10am to 11.15am, also on Plymouth Hoe. This will see children from military families will take part in their own thrilling rowing challenge, representing 24 local primary schools.

    Darren Carlile, Head of National Security UK&I AECOM, said: “AECOM is proud to stand behind the Armed Forces community, including serving personnel and veterans. As a former member of the Corps of Royal Engineers and a colleague to many fellow veterans, I witness daily the exceptional skills and value they bring to our organisation.

    “We’re honoured to once again support the Strength of Spirit Games, including the inspiring Rehabilitation Triathlon, and we’ll be cheering on all the remarkable athletes taking part. We’re also thrilled to back the Plymouth School Sports Partnership Junior Rowing Challenge and wish every student competing the very best of luck.”

    There will be plenty more interactive displays, military equipment, thrilling demonstrations, and entertainment to enjoy at Armed Forces Day, delivered in association with Babcock , on Saturday, from 10am. Visitors can get up close to the Merlin Mk4 helicopter and chat to the aircrew, and watch an air demonstration from 4pm, with the Swordfish W5856, Yak-52 and the Black Cats Helicopter Display. (Subject to weather).

    John Gane, Site Managing Director of Babcock’s Devonport facility, said: “Celebrating the significant contribution that our Armed Forces bring to the nation through this series of events is fantastic. As a proud signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, an employer of veterans and reservists, and one of the UK’s largest defence businesses, it is a privilege to support Plymouth Armed Forces Day again this year.

    “We’ve got an action-packed display planned on 28 June, featuring plenty of hands-on activities for all ages, including a variety of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) challenges to try, and where you can find out more about the wide range of career opportunities available, including our award-winning apprenticeships.”

    Armed Forces Day will see ‘villages’ set up across the Hoe, from each Military Service, Emergency Services and the Veterans Village supported by the Royal British Legion Devon County, which includes over 100 charities and organisations offering information and advice, plus lots of hands-on activities to try.

    There will be a range of live music performances throughout the day, finishing with a free evening concert, sponsored by C&G Catering, featuring: Company B, Not the Cowboys, Be Here Now and Good Times.

    Both military events are supported by sponsors and partners – thank you to Babcock International, Royal British Legion Devon County, C&G Catering, Foster for Plymouth, South West Highways, Plymouth Citybus and Ivor Dewdney for supporting Armed Forces Day. And AECOM, Defence Recovery with delivery partners: South West Highways, Plymouth Active Leisure and Samworth Brothers Cornwall for supporting the Strength of Spirit Games.

    For all the latest information about Plymouth Armed Forces Day including the full programme, and the Strength of Spirit Games, visit: plymoutharmedforcesday.co.uk.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Countdown begins for the Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart by-election

    Source: Scotland – City of Edinburgh

    There are only three days to go until the Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart by-election on Thursday, June 26.

    We’re urging residents in the ward to return their postal ballots, go to a polling station to cast their votes and be mindful of the accessibility arrangements in place this Thursday.  

    Any resident in the area aged 16 and over and who has registered can vote to elect one new councillor in the by-election. The current electorate is 18,945.

    Bringing a poll card, while not necessary, is strongly encouraged as it will make the voting process quicker. 

    Returning Officer for Edinburgh, Paul Lawrence said: 

    With the by-election fast approaching, I’d encourage all residents of the Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart ward to head to their local polling station this Thursday. Please remember to bring your poll card.

    The councillor you elect will represent your community on key issues both within the ward and across Edinburgh – so make sure you take this important opportunity to make your voice heard. 

    To make sure your vote is counted, if you’ve received a postal ballot, please return it as soon as possible.

    If you need any assistance when casting your vote in person, please speak to one of our colleagues at our polling stations.

    Our elections pages provide useful information on how the Single Transferable Vote system works – you can rank candidates in order of preference, choosing as many or few as you like.

    We’re also highlighting the accessibility arrangements in place at all polling stations to help everyone cast their votes:

    • Pencil grips
    • A dedicated phone line to hear the ballot paper read out on their phones (0131 392 8556)
    • Magnifying glasses
    • Additional lighting if needed for the polling booth
    • Braille overlay for people with sight loss
    • Coloured overlay sheets for people with dyslexia
    • Oversized ballot papers

    Polling station colleagues can also help guide you to the voting booth and to mark your vote, if needed.

    You may take your phone into the polling booth to use a magnifier or text-to-speech app.

    The URL for the audio ballot paper is https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/audioballotpaper

    Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm at: 

    • Kingsknowe Golf Club 
    • Edinburgh Corn Exchange 
    • St Michaels Church Hall 
    • Fountainbridge Library 
    • Boroughmuir Rugby & Community Sports Club 
    • Craiglockhart Parish Church Hall 
    • Tollcross Community Centre 

    The electronic count of votes will take place on Thursday 26 June starting at the close of poll at 10pm.  

    Find out more about the Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart by-election on our website.

    Published: June 23rd 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New green spaces ignite long-term investment for Moston Lane

    Source: City of Manchester

    A project to enhance three public spaces on Moston Lane has been completed and unveiled formally to the public this weekend, signalling the start of a wide range of investment projects in the communit

    A project to enhance three public spaces on Moston Lane has been completed and unveiled formally to the public this weekend, signalling the start of a wide range of investment projects in the community.  

    Ahead of the annual Africa Day celebration on Moston Lane, a planting ceremony was held in the Peace Gardens to mark the official reopening of the refurbished pocket parks.  

    The revived Peace Gardens, St Dunstan’s Green and the Simpson Memorial Hall Garden will each create areas of peace and quiet reflection for local residents to enjoy and encourage people to spend time on the high street.  

    Funded by the UK Government, this initial investment on Moston Lane followed consultation with local people and businesses that helped create a long-term development plan for the area.  

    Improvements to the local environment making it cleaner and more welcoming have already been completed, including changes to commercial waste collection to reduce litter issues, alongside new alleygating schemes to improve safety in local residential areas.  

    Highways investment both on the Lane and adjacent streets – including additional bollards, new road markings, and relocating certain loading bays – will improve road safety and address dangerous parking, creating a more welcoming environment for pedestrians and cyclists. 

    The Simpson Memorial Hall also received substantial investment as part of this programme, with repairs to the roof, brickwork and windows. 

    Looking ahead to the long-term regeneration opportunities in the Moston Lane regeneration framework, the Council is going to establish a forum for residents and businesses in and around Moston Lane to help shape the development plans for new public spaces, housing and businesses as they come forward.   

    The group would be a chance to find out more about the long-term plans for the neighbourhood and help guide emerging proposals for future investment, while also acting as advocates for the community.  

    More details, including how people can become involved, will be revealed later this summer.  

    Long term investment in Moston 

    North Manchester is a priority for Council-led investment with Moston Lane an important element of the city-wide district centre programme to deliver new jobs, impactful community and neighbourhood projects and homes – with a focus on affordable tenures.  

    Moston Lane will be regenerated with hundreds of new homes, space for a new public square, and local businesses. The search for a development delivery partner will conclude later in the year. 

    New housing in this area remains a key priority to help meet demand for quality, sustainable and affordable homes in the city – and the Council is working closely with the city’s housing providers to maintain a pipeline of home building in the area. 

    The first housing completions are already underway, with One Manchester constructing 60 new low carbon, affordable homes on the adjacent former Manchester College Campus.  

    Jigsaw Housing are also delivering 20 new affordable homes for social rent on Sulby Street along with a site on Kenyon Lane to construct nine affordable homes at the Manchester Living Rent as part of Project 500.  

    While One Manchester are developing 29 affordable homes for social rent on Winston Road, Hodge Street and Lordship Close – another Project 500 site in Moston. 

    Find out more about the Council’s investment in the city’s high streets and district centres 

    Leader of the Council Bev Craig said:

    “North Manchester is an area of key focus for Council investment to build quality new homes, improve neighbourhoods and create jobs for our residents. Part of this is our commitment to investing in our high streets as the beating hearts of our communities – and Moston Lane is a great example of this.  

    “This is about creating district centres that our residents can be proud of. Spaces that attract visitors to support local businesses and create opportunities for local economic growth.  

    “These initial projects to create new and improved green spaces on Moston Lane is only the beginning for this community that will see hundreds of new homes – with a focus on genuinely social rent and affordable housing – a new public square and opportunities for new shops and businesses.” 

    Cllr Gavin White, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development, said:

    “Moston Lane is an incredibly important space for the local community and is brimming with untapped potential. Our investment has now begun with three improved green, tranquil pocket parks for local people to enjoy and encourage them to spend time on their high street. But it really is a case of watch this space for Moston because there is far more to come – and we look forward to continuing the conversation with local residents about the future of their neighbourhood.” 

    John Curtin, organising member of Africa Day on Moston Lane, said:

    “There’s huge pride in the Moston community and we know that lots of local people have been calling for investment on the Lane for some time to support the local businesses and bring more people to our high street. It’s great to open the new mini parks open to the public this week – already it feels like a change in our neighbourhoood. But there’s more to come – and I can’t wait to see it.” 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Construction to Begin on Saskatoon City Centre School Project

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on June 23, 2025

    Today, Education Minister Everett Hindley joined representatives from the Saskatoon Public School Division, Saskatoon Tribal Council, Gabriel Dumont Métis Local 11 and other partners to mark the start of construction on the new City Centre School in Saskatoon with a sod-turning ceremony. 

    “This school infrastructure project is a testament to our government’s commitment to providing safe and supportive learning environments for our province’s students,” Hindley said. “The new school will provide high-quality education spaces that serve the needs of students and families for years to come. This build will be in addition to the 11 new schools already completed in Saskatoon, since we formed government.”

    “We are very excited to announce the start of construction on the Saskatoon City Centre School,” SaskBuilds and Procurement Minister David Marit said. “This build shows our province’s focus on building modern infrastructure for future generations and supporting strong and growing communities.”  

    The new school will accommodate up to 400 Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 8 public school students from King George, Pleasant Hill, and Riversdale neighbourhoods, in addition to providing 74 new child care spaces.   

    “This is an exciting and significant milestone in realizing this long-awaited and much-needed school,” Saskatoon Public Schools Board of Education Chair Kim Stranden said. “This school will be the innovative facility that area students deserve.” 

    The total construction cost for the project is $31.3 million and covers both site work and construction. Since 2008, the Government of Saskatchewan has committed approximately $2.8 billion toward school infrastructure. This includes 74 new schools, 31 major renovation projects and 10 minor renovation projects.

    Construction of the school begins summer 2025.

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Founder of Lender Service Provider Convicted for Role in Multimillion-Dollar PPP Fraud Scheme

    Source: US State of California

    A federal jury convicted Stephanie Hockridge, a founder of the lender service provider Blueacorn, on Friday in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain tens of millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief money guaranteed by the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

    According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Hockridge, also known as Stephanie Reis, 42, of Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, and previously of Arizona, conspired with others to submit false and fraudulent PPP loan applications, including by fabricating documents that falsified income and payroll in order to receive loan funds for which they were not eligible.

    “This defendant exploited a national emergency to personally profit from a taxpayer-funded program intended to support vulnerable individuals and small businesses,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This conviction demonstrates the Department’s commitment to holding individuals accountable for defrauding the government and wasting taxpayer money.”

    “During a time of crisis in our country, this defendant abused the generosity of the American people by stealing money dedicated to the survival of small businesses to fraudulently enrich herself,” said Acting U. S. Attorney Nancy E. Larson for the Northern District of Texas. “We are proud of the diligent work of our law enforcement partners to hold her accountable and bring her to justice. Make no mistake, our efforts to bring such fraudsters to justice are ongoing.”

    “Hockridge’s conviction demonstrates the FBI’s continued commitment to protecting taxpayer-funded programs from fraud and abuse,” said Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “This program was designed to provide critical funds to those struggling during a national crisis, not line the pockets of people seeking to exploit government assistance. The FBI remains committed to pursuing anyone who abuses the public trust for personal gain.”

    “Ms. Hockridge defrauded the federal government of millions of dollars in pandemic relief funds for her own personal gain and has been brought to justice,” said Special Agent in Charge Jon Ellwanger of the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Western Region. “We are proud to have worked with our federal law enforcement partners to hold Ms. Hockridge accountable.”

    “Exploiting the Small Business Administration’s pandemic relief programs for personal gain is an egregious theft of taxpayer funds,” said Deputy Inspector General Sheldon Shoemaker of the SBA Office of Inspector General. “SBA OIG will aggressively root out fraud to protect the integrity of SBA’s programs, which are intended to provide vital assistance to the nation’s small businesses. I want to thank the U. S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and commitment to seeing justice served.”

    “This verdict is a victory for justice, accountability, and the American public,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher J. Altemus Jr. of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Dallas Field Office. “In a time of crisis, the Paycheck Protection Program was created as a lifeline to keep small businesses afloat and families fed. Ms. Hockridge saw it as an opportunity to enrich herself. Driven by greed, she used her business to steal millions of dollars intended for those in need. The women and men of IRS-CI will continue to protect what’s right and stand firmly with the honest business owners who play by the rules.”

    As proven at trial, Hockridge co-founded Blueacorn in April 2020, purportedly to assist small businesses and individuals in obtaining PPP loans. To get larger loans for certain PPP applicants, Hockridge and her co-conspirators fabricated documents, including payroll records, tax documentation, and bank statements. Hockridge and her co-conspirators charged borrowers kickbacks based on a percentage of the funds received.

    As part of the scheme, Hockridge and others offered a personalized service to their clients called “VIPPP” to help potential borrowers complete PPP loan applications. Hockridge recruited co-conspirators to work as VIPPP referral agents and coach borrowers on how to submit false PPP loan applications. To get more kickbacks from borrowers and a higher percentage of lender fees from the SBA, Hockridge and her co-conspirators submitted PPP loan applications that they knew contained materially false information. In total, Hockridge and her coconspirators processed tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent PPP loans. Hockridge was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and acquitted of four counts of wire fraud. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 10 and faces up to 20 years in prison.

    The FBI, IRS-CI, the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, Federal Reserve Board-CFPB Office of Inspector General, and SBA OIG investigated the case.

    Acting Assistant Chief Philip Trout of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, Trial Attorneys Elizabeth Carr and Ryan McLaren of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, and Assistant U. S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht for the Northern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

    The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the enactment of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 200 defendants in more than 130 criminal cases and has seized over $78 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at www. justice. gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/cares-act-fraud

    MLARS’s Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers, and employees, whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system.

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

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Founder of Lender Service Provider Convicted for Role in Multimillion-Dollar PPP Fraud Scheme

    Source: US State of California

    A federal jury convicted Stephanie Hockridge, a founder of the lender service provider Blueacorn, on Friday in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain tens of millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief money guaranteed by the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

    According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Hockridge, also known as Stephanie Reis, 42, of Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, and previously of Arizona, conspired with others to submit false and fraudulent PPP loan applications, including by fabricating documents that falsified income and payroll in order to receive loan funds for which they were not eligible.

    “This defendant exploited a national emergency to personally profit from a taxpayer-funded program intended to support vulnerable individuals and small businesses,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This conviction demonstrates the Department’s commitment to holding individuals accountable for defrauding the government and wasting taxpayer money.”

    “During a time of crisis in our country, this defendant abused the generosity of the American people by stealing money dedicated to the survival of small businesses to fraudulently enrich herself,” said Acting U. S. Attorney Nancy E. Larson for the Northern District of Texas. “We are proud of the diligent work of our law enforcement partners to hold her accountable and bring her to justice. Make no mistake, our efforts to bring such fraudsters to justice are ongoing.”

    “Hockridge’s conviction demonstrates the FBI’s continued commitment to protecting taxpayer-funded programs from fraud and abuse,” said Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “This program was designed to provide critical funds to those struggling during a national crisis, not line the pockets of people seeking to exploit government assistance. The FBI remains committed to pursuing anyone who abuses the public trust for personal gain.”

    “Ms. Hockridge defrauded the federal government of millions of dollars in pandemic relief funds for her own personal gain and has been brought to justice,” said Special Agent in Charge Jon Ellwanger of the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Western Region. “We are proud to have worked with our federal law enforcement partners to hold Ms. Hockridge accountable.”

    “Exploiting the Small Business Administration’s pandemic relief programs for personal gain is an egregious theft of taxpayer funds,” said Deputy Inspector General Sheldon Shoemaker of the SBA Office of Inspector General. “SBA OIG will aggressively root out fraud to protect the integrity of SBA’s programs, which are intended to provide vital assistance to the nation’s small businesses. I want to thank the U. S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and commitment to seeing justice served.”

    “This verdict is a victory for justice, accountability, and the American public,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher J. Altemus Jr. of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Dallas Field Office. “In a time of crisis, the Paycheck Protection Program was created as a lifeline to keep small businesses afloat and families fed. Ms. Hockridge saw it as an opportunity to enrich herself. Driven by greed, she used her business to steal millions of dollars intended for those in need. The women and men of IRS-CI will continue to protect what’s right and stand firmly with the honest business owners who play by the rules.”

    As proven at trial, Hockridge co-founded Blueacorn in April 2020, purportedly to assist small businesses and individuals in obtaining PPP loans. To get larger loans for certain PPP applicants, Hockridge and her co-conspirators fabricated documents, including payroll records, tax documentation, and bank statements. Hockridge and her co-conspirators charged borrowers kickbacks based on a percentage of the funds received.

    As part of the scheme, Hockridge and others offered a personalized service to their clients called “VIPPP” to help potential borrowers complete PPP loan applications. Hockridge recruited co-conspirators to work as VIPPP referral agents and coach borrowers on how to submit false PPP loan applications. To get more kickbacks from borrowers and a higher percentage of lender fees from the SBA, Hockridge and her co-conspirators submitted PPP loan applications that they knew contained materially false information. In total, Hockridge and her coconspirators processed tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent PPP loans. Hockridge was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and acquitted of four counts of wire fraud. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 10 and faces up to 20 years in prison.

    The FBI, IRS-CI, the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, Federal Reserve Board-CFPB Office of Inspector General, and SBA OIG investigated the case.

    Acting Assistant Chief Philip Trout of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, Trial Attorneys Elizabeth Carr and Ryan McLaren of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, and Assistant U. S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht for the Northern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

    The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s prosecution of fraud schemes that exploit the PPP. Since the enactment of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted over 200 defendants in more than 130 criminal cases and has seized over $78 million in cash proceeds derived from fraudulently obtained PPP funds, as well as numerous real estate properties and luxury items purchased with such proceeds. More information can be found at www. justice. gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/cares-act-fraud

    MLARS’s Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers, and employees, whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system.

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

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom announces 48 new projects to film in California thanks to the state’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program

    Source: US State of California Governor

    Jun 23, 2025

    What you need to know: Thanks to California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program, 48 projects — including 43 independent features — will be made in California, projected to generate $664 million in economic activity and employ over 6,500 cast and crew across the Golden State.

    SACRAMENTO – Governor Newsom today continued his work in protecting film production jobs in Los Angeles and across the state with a new round of 48 projects approved for the California Film Commission’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program. Governor Newsom recently proposed to double down on this vital program, by expanding the tax credit from $330 million to $750 million to help boost this iconic industry and production in California.

    “California didn’t earn its role as the heart of the entertainment world by accident — it was built over generations by skilled workers and creative talent pushing boundaries. Today’s awards help ensure this legacy continues, keeping cameras rolling here at home, supporting thousands of crew members behind the scenes and boosting local economies that depend on a strong film and television industry.”

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    Why this matters

    This diverse slate of feature films — ranging from major studio productions to independent film — is expected to generate $664 million in total spending throughout the state, including $485 in qualified expenditures and more than $302 million in wages for California workers.

    These projects, which include 43 independent films, are collectively expected to hire 6,515 cast and crew members, as well 32,000 background performers (measured in days worked), across 1,346 total California filming days.

    More than half of the films will be shot in the Los Angeles area, helping to sustain the birthplace of this iconic industry and supporting the community as it recovers from recent wildfires. Enabling the industry’s reach throughout the state, 22 of the selected projects will conduct significant filming outside the Los Angeles area, contributing 329 out-of-zone filming days and substantial economic benefits in Ventura County (Make A Wish, The Teller, Things We Cannot Touch), San Francisco and the Bay Area (High Priestess of Souls, Our Kind of Cruelty), El Dorado and Placer Counties (Gold Mountain), San Bernardino and Riverside Counties (Superbloom, The Heidi Fleiss Story), Bakersfield in Kern County (Counting by 7s) and coastal communities such as Half Moon Bay and Costa Mesa (Sponsor, Doll).

    Today’s slate of awards marks the ninth allocation in this fiscal year and reinforces California’s continued leadership as a global production hub, even as other states and countries pursue projects with their own incentive offerings.

    “This industry is core to California’s creative economy and keeping production here at home is more important than ever,” said Colleen Bell, Director of the California Film Commission. “This round of tax credits shows our commitment to supporting both indie and studio productions while spreading the economic benefits of filming across the state.”

    Highlights from this round of awards

    • Five major studio features, including Sony Pictures’ “One of Them Days Sequel” — the latest film produced by Issa Rae — which alone is projected to spend more than $39 million in qualified expenditures.
    • Six independently produced features with budgets over $10 million, such as “Gold Mountain,” “The Teller,” and “They Follow,” all of which plan to film primarily outside of the Los Angeles area.
    • 37 independent projects with budgets of $10 million or less, contributing to the state’s goal of expanding access to underrepresented filmmakers and promoting more inclusive storytelling.

    “Los Angeles was an essential backdrop to ‘One of Them Days’ and we are thrilled that Dreux and Alyssa will embark on another authentic escapade through the city’s streets in the sequel through the support of California’s Film and Television Tax Credit,” said Nicole Brown, President of TriStar Pictures.

    Read more about today’s announcement, including a full list of productions that are part of the Film and Television Tax Credit Program here.

    California is a creative economy powerhouse

    Last fall, Governor Newsom proposed expanding California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program to $750 million annually, a massive increase from the current $330 million annual allocation, which would position California as one of the top states for capped film incentive programs.

    As one of the strategic sectors outlined in the recently launched California Jobs First Economic Blueprint, the creative economy has deep roots in California’s history and continues to be an engine for innovation, cultural expression, and economic growth.

    • In 2023, California was home to 220,000 creative economy jobs, one in every four creative economy jobs in the U.S.
    • The average salary paid to creative workers in 2023 was $160,000, more than 50% higher than the California average.
    • And while the Los Angeles region leads the way in jobs generated by the creative economy, three other regions — Redwoods, the Bay Area, and the Southern Border — also identified film, TV, and the arts as a regional strategic sector.

    About the Film and TV Tax Credit Program

    The Film and Television Tax Credit Program provides tax credits based on qualified expenditures for eligible productions produced in California.

    Since its launch in 2009 through May 2025, the program has approved 799 projects that have generated nearly $27 billion in economic activity, resulting in less runaway production, new career pathways for below-the-line workers and increased economic opportunity in rural, suburban and urban communities alike. The program further incentivizes projects that film outside the Los Angeles area or relocate to California from out-of-state. The program also requires projects to invest in building career exposure and training opportunities for underrepresented communities.

    Looking ahead, the next television application window is slated for July 7-9, 2025. Film applications will be accepted August 25-27, 2025. Application dates and deadlines are posted on the California Film Commission website.

    Recent news

    Jun 20, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Soon-Sik Lee, of Bellevue, Washington, has been appointed Chief of Planning and Engineering at the California High Speed Rail Authority. Lee has been a Vice President – Senior Program…

    Jun 19, 2025

    News What you need to know: The Ninth Circuit rejected Trump’s sweeping claim that he can federalize the National Guard for any reason and avoid judicial scrutiny, even as it stayed an emergency district court order. This is a critical check on presidential overreach…

    Jun 19, 2025

    News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring “Juneteenth National Freedom Day: A Day of Observance” in the State of California.The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: PROCLAMATIONJuly 4 is not the only…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom announces 48 new projects to film in California thanks to the state’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program

    Source: US State of California Governor

    Jun 23, 2025

    What you need to know: Thanks to California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program, 48 projects — including 43 independent features — will be made in California, projected to generate $664 million in economic activity and employ over 6,500 cast and crew across the Golden State.

    SACRAMENTO – Governor Newsom today continued his work in protecting film production jobs in Los Angeles and across the state with a new round of 48 projects approved for the California Film Commission’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program. Governor Newsom recently proposed to double down on this vital program, by expanding the tax credit from $330 million to $750 million to help boost this iconic industry and production in California.

    “California didn’t earn its role as the heart of the entertainment world by accident — it was built over generations by skilled workers and creative talent pushing boundaries. Today’s awards help ensure this legacy continues, keeping cameras rolling here at home, supporting thousands of crew members behind the scenes and boosting local economies that depend on a strong film and television industry.”

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    Why this matters

    This diverse slate of feature films — ranging from major studio productions to independent film — is expected to generate $664 million in total spending throughout the state, including $485 in qualified expenditures and more than $302 million in wages for California workers.

    These projects, which include 43 independent films, are collectively expected to hire 6,515 cast and crew members, as well 32,000 background performers (measured in days worked), across 1,346 total California filming days.

    More than half of the films will be shot in the Los Angeles area, helping to sustain the birthplace of this iconic industry and supporting the community as it recovers from recent wildfires. Enabling the industry’s reach throughout the state, 22 of the selected projects will conduct significant filming outside the Los Angeles area, contributing 329 out-of-zone filming days and substantial economic benefits in Ventura County (Make A Wish, The Teller, Things We Cannot Touch), San Francisco and the Bay Area (High Priestess of Souls, Our Kind of Cruelty), El Dorado and Placer Counties (Gold Mountain), San Bernardino and Riverside Counties (Superbloom, The Heidi Fleiss Story), Bakersfield in Kern County (Counting by 7s) and coastal communities such as Half Moon Bay and Costa Mesa (Sponsor, Doll).

    Today’s slate of awards marks the ninth allocation in this fiscal year and reinforces California’s continued leadership as a global production hub, even as other states and countries pursue projects with their own incentive offerings.

    “This industry is core to California’s creative economy and keeping production here at home is more important than ever,” said Colleen Bell, Director of the California Film Commission. “This round of tax credits shows our commitment to supporting both indie and studio productions while spreading the economic benefits of filming across the state.”

    Highlights from this round of awards

    • Five major studio features, including Sony Pictures’ “One of Them Days Sequel” — the latest film produced by Issa Rae — which alone is projected to spend more than $39 million in qualified expenditures.
    • Six independently produced features with budgets over $10 million, such as “Gold Mountain,” “The Teller,” and “They Follow,” all of which plan to film primarily outside of the Los Angeles area.
    • 37 independent projects with budgets of $10 million or less, contributing to the state’s goal of expanding access to underrepresented filmmakers and promoting more inclusive storytelling.

    “Los Angeles was an essential backdrop to ‘One of Them Days’ and we are thrilled that Dreux and Alyssa will embark on another authentic escapade through the city’s streets in the sequel through the support of California’s Film and Television Tax Credit,” said Nicole Brown, President of TriStar Pictures.

    Read more about today’s announcement, including a full list of productions that are part of the Film and Television Tax Credit Program here.

    California is a creative economy powerhouse

    Last fall, Governor Newsom proposed expanding California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program to $750 million annually, a massive increase from the current $330 million annual allocation, which would position California as one of the top states for capped film incentive programs.

    As one of the strategic sectors outlined in the recently launched California Jobs First Economic Blueprint, the creative economy has deep roots in California’s history and continues to be an engine for innovation, cultural expression, and economic growth.

    • In 2023, California was home to 220,000 creative economy jobs, one in every four creative economy jobs in the U.S.
    • The average salary paid to creative workers in 2023 was $160,000, more than 50% higher than the California average.
    • And while the Los Angeles region leads the way in jobs generated by the creative economy, three other regions — Redwoods, the Bay Area, and the Southern Border — also identified film, TV, and the arts as a regional strategic sector.

    About the Film and TV Tax Credit Program

    The Film and Television Tax Credit Program provides tax credits based on qualified expenditures for eligible productions produced in California.

    Since its launch in 2009 through May 2025, the program has approved 799 projects that have generated nearly $27 billion in economic activity, resulting in less runaway production, new career pathways for below-the-line workers and increased economic opportunity in rural, suburban and urban communities alike. The program further incentivizes projects that film outside the Los Angeles area or relocate to California from out-of-state. The program also requires projects to invest in building career exposure and training opportunities for underrepresented communities.

    Looking ahead, the next television application window is slated for July 7-9, 2025. Film applications will be accepted August 25-27, 2025. Application dates and deadlines are posted on the California Film Commission website.

    Recent news

    Jun 20, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Soon-Sik Lee, of Bellevue, Washington, has been appointed Chief of Planning and Engineering at the California High Speed Rail Authority. Lee has been a Vice President – Senior Program…

    Jun 19, 2025

    News What you need to know: The Ninth Circuit rejected Trump’s sweeping claim that he can federalize the National Guard for any reason and avoid judicial scrutiny, even as it stayed an emergency district court order. This is a critical check on presidential overreach…

    Jun 19, 2025

    News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring “Juneteenth National Freedom Day: A Day of Observance” in the State of California.The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: PROCLAMATIONJuly 4 is not the only…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom announces 48 new projects to film in California thanks to the state’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program

    Source: US State of California Governor

    Jun 23, 2025

    What you need to know: Thanks to California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program, 48 projects — including 43 independent features — will be made in California, projected to generate $664 million in economic activity and employ over 6,500 cast and crew across the Golden State.

    SACRAMENTO – Governor Newsom today continued his work in protecting film production jobs in Los Angeles and across the state with a new round of 48 projects approved for the California Film Commission’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program. Governor Newsom recently proposed to double down on this vital program, by expanding the tax credit from $330 million to $750 million to help boost this iconic industry and production in California.

    “California didn’t earn its role as the heart of the entertainment world by accident — it was built over generations by skilled workers and creative talent pushing boundaries. Today’s awards help ensure this legacy continues, keeping cameras rolling here at home, supporting thousands of crew members behind the scenes and boosting local economies that depend on a strong film and television industry.”

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    Why this matters

    This diverse slate of feature films — ranging from major studio productions to independent film — is expected to generate $664 million in total spending throughout the state, including $485 in qualified expenditures and more than $302 million in wages for California workers.

    These projects, which include 43 independent films, are collectively expected to hire 6,515 cast and crew members, as well 32,000 background performers (measured in days worked), across 1,346 total California filming days.

    More than half of the films will be shot in the Los Angeles area, helping to sustain the birthplace of this iconic industry and supporting the community as it recovers from recent wildfires. Enabling the industry’s reach throughout the state, 22 of the selected projects will conduct significant filming outside the Los Angeles area, contributing 329 out-of-zone filming days and substantial economic benefits in Ventura County (Make A Wish, The Teller, Things We Cannot Touch), San Francisco and the Bay Area (High Priestess of Souls, Our Kind of Cruelty), El Dorado and Placer Counties (Gold Mountain), San Bernardino and Riverside Counties (Superbloom, The Heidi Fleiss Story), Bakersfield in Kern County (Counting by 7s) and coastal communities such as Half Moon Bay and Costa Mesa (Sponsor, Doll).

    Today’s slate of awards marks the ninth allocation in this fiscal year and reinforces California’s continued leadership as a global production hub, even as other states and countries pursue projects with their own incentive offerings.

    “This industry is core to California’s creative economy and keeping production here at home is more important than ever,” said Colleen Bell, Director of the California Film Commission. “This round of tax credits shows our commitment to supporting both indie and studio productions while spreading the economic benefits of filming across the state.”

    Highlights from this round of awards

    • Five major studio features, including Sony Pictures’ “One of Them Days Sequel” — the latest film produced by Issa Rae — which alone is projected to spend more than $39 million in qualified expenditures.
    • Six independently produced features with budgets over $10 million, such as “Gold Mountain,” “The Teller,” and “They Follow,” all of which plan to film primarily outside of the Los Angeles area.
    • 37 independent projects with budgets of $10 million or less, contributing to the state’s goal of expanding access to underrepresented filmmakers and promoting more inclusive storytelling.

    “Los Angeles was an essential backdrop to ‘One of Them Days’ and we are thrilled that Dreux and Alyssa will embark on another authentic escapade through the city’s streets in the sequel through the support of California’s Film and Television Tax Credit,” said Nicole Brown, President of TriStar Pictures.

    Read more about today’s announcement, including a full list of productions that are part of the Film and Television Tax Credit Program here.

    California is a creative economy powerhouse

    Last fall, Governor Newsom proposed expanding California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program to $750 million annually, a massive increase from the current $330 million annual allocation, which would position California as one of the top states for capped film incentive programs.

    As one of the strategic sectors outlined in the recently launched California Jobs First Economic Blueprint, the creative economy has deep roots in California’s history and continues to be an engine for innovation, cultural expression, and economic growth.

    • In 2023, California was home to 220,000 creative economy jobs, one in every four creative economy jobs in the U.S.
    • The average salary paid to creative workers in 2023 was $160,000, more than 50% higher than the California average.
    • And while the Los Angeles region leads the way in jobs generated by the creative economy, three other regions — Redwoods, the Bay Area, and the Southern Border — also identified film, TV, and the arts as a regional strategic sector.

    About the Film and TV Tax Credit Program

    The Film and Television Tax Credit Program provides tax credits based on qualified expenditures for eligible productions produced in California.

    Since its launch in 2009 through May 2025, the program has approved 799 projects that have generated nearly $27 billion in economic activity, resulting in less runaway production, new career pathways for below-the-line workers and increased economic opportunity in rural, suburban and urban communities alike. The program further incentivizes projects that film outside the Los Angeles area or relocate to California from out-of-state. The program also requires projects to invest in building career exposure and training opportunities for underrepresented communities.

    Looking ahead, the next television application window is slated for July 7-9, 2025. Film applications will be accepted August 25-27, 2025. Application dates and deadlines are posted on the California Film Commission website.

    Recent news

    Jun 20, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Soon-Sik Lee, of Bellevue, Washington, has been appointed Chief of Planning and Engineering at the California High Speed Rail Authority. Lee has been a Vice President – Senior Program…

    Jun 19, 2025

    News What you need to know: The Ninth Circuit rejected Trump’s sweeping claim that he can federalize the National Guard for any reason and avoid judicial scrutiny, even as it stayed an emergency district court order. This is a critical check on presidential overreach…

    Jun 19, 2025

    News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring “Juneteenth National Freedom Day: A Day of Observance” in the State of California.The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: PROCLAMATIONJuly 4 is not the only…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom announces 48 new projects to film in California thanks to the state’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program

    Source: US State of California Governor

    Jun 23, 2025

    What you need to know: Thanks to California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program, 48 projects — including 43 independent features — will be made in California, projected to generate $664 million in economic activity and employ over 6,500 cast and crew across the Golden State.

    SACRAMENTO – Governor Newsom today continued his work in protecting film production jobs in Los Angeles and across the state with a new round of 48 projects approved for the California Film Commission’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program. Governor Newsom recently proposed to double down on this vital program, by expanding the tax credit from $330 million to $750 million to help boost this iconic industry and production in California.

    “California didn’t earn its role as the heart of the entertainment world by accident — it was built over generations by skilled workers and creative talent pushing boundaries. Today’s awards help ensure this legacy continues, keeping cameras rolling here at home, supporting thousands of crew members behind the scenes and boosting local economies that depend on a strong film and television industry.”

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    Why this matters

    This diverse slate of feature films — ranging from major studio productions to independent film — is expected to generate $664 million in total spending throughout the state, including $485 in qualified expenditures and more than $302 million in wages for California workers.

    These projects, which include 43 independent films, are collectively expected to hire 6,515 cast and crew members, as well 32,000 background performers (measured in days worked), across 1,346 total California filming days.

    More than half of the films will be shot in the Los Angeles area, helping to sustain the birthplace of this iconic industry and supporting the community as it recovers from recent wildfires. Enabling the industry’s reach throughout the state, 22 of the selected projects will conduct significant filming outside the Los Angeles area, contributing 329 out-of-zone filming days and substantial economic benefits in Ventura County (Make A Wish, The Teller, Things We Cannot Touch), San Francisco and the Bay Area (High Priestess of Souls, Our Kind of Cruelty), El Dorado and Placer Counties (Gold Mountain), San Bernardino and Riverside Counties (Superbloom, The Heidi Fleiss Story), Bakersfield in Kern County (Counting by 7s) and coastal communities such as Half Moon Bay and Costa Mesa (Sponsor, Doll).

    Today’s slate of awards marks the ninth allocation in this fiscal year and reinforces California’s continued leadership as a global production hub, even as other states and countries pursue projects with their own incentive offerings.

    “This industry is core to California’s creative economy and keeping production here at home is more important than ever,” said Colleen Bell, Director of the California Film Commission. “This round of tax credits shows our commitment to supporting both indie and studio productions while spreading the economic benefits of filming across the state.”

    Highlights from this round of awards

    • Five major studio features, including Sony Pictures’ “One of Them Days Sequel” — the latest film produced by Issa Rae — which alone is projected to spend more than $39 million in qualified expenditures.
    • Six independently produced features with budgets over $10 million, such as “Gold Mountain,” “The Teller,” and “They Follow,” all of which plan to film primarily outside of the Los Angeles area.
    • 37 independent projects with budgets of $10 million or less, contributing to the state’s goal of expanding access to underrepresented filmmakers and promoting more inclusive storytelling.

    “Los Angeles was an essential backdrop to ‘One of Them Days’ and we are thrilled that Dreux and Alyssa will embark on another authentic escapade through the city’s streets in the sequel through the support of California’s Film and Television Tax Credit,” said Nicole Brown, President of TriStar Pictures.

    Read more about today’s announcement, including a full list of productions that are part of the Film and Television Tax Credit Program here.

    California is a creative economy powerhouse

    Last fall, Governor Newsom proposed expanding California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program to $750 million annually, a massive increase from the current $330 million annual allocation, which would position California as one of the top states for capped film incentive programs.

    As one of the strategic sectors outlined in the recently launched California Jobs First Economic Blueprint, the creative economy has deep roots in California’s history and continues to be an engine for innovation, cultural expression, and economic growth.

    • In 2023, California was home to 220,000 creative economy jobs, one in every four creative economy jobs in the U.S.
    • The average salary paid to creative workers in 2023 was $160,000, more than 50% higher than the California average.
    • And while the Los Angeles region leads the way in jobs generated by the creative economy, three other regions — Redwoods, the Bay Area, and the Southern Border — also identified film, TV, and the arts as a regional strategic sector.

    About the Film and TV Tax Credit Program

    The Film and Television Tax Credit Program provides tax credits based on qualified expenditures for eligible productions produced in California.

    Since its launch in 2009 through May 2025, the program has approved 799 projects that have generated nearly $27 billion in economic activity, resulting in less runaway production, new career pathways for below-the-line workers and increased economic opportunity in rural, suburban and urban communities alike. The program further incentivizes projects that film outside the Los Angeles area or relocate to California from out-of-state. The program also requires projects to invest in building career exposure and training opportunities for underrepresented communities.

    Looking ahead, the next television application window is slated for July 7-9, 2025. Film applications will be accepted August 25-27, 2025. Application dates and deadlines are posted on the California Film Commission website.

    Recent news

    Jun 20, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Soon-Sik Lee, of Bellevue, Washington, has been appointed Chief of Planning and Engineering at the California High Speed Rail Authority. Lee has been a Vice President – Senior Program…

    Jun 19, 2025

    News What you need to know: The Ninth Circuit rejected Trump’s sweeping claim that he can federalize the National Guard for any reason and avoid judicial scrutiny, even as it stayed an emergency district court order. This is a critical check on presidential overreach…

    Jun 19, 2025

    News Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring “Juneteenth National Freedom Day: A Day of Observance” in the State of California.The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: PROCLAMATIONJuly 4 is not the only…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: ALL4 Mining Announces Global Expansion and New Live Cryptocurrency Mining Strategies for 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    London, UK, June 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ALL4 Mining, a leading global cloud mining platform headquartered in London, has officially announced the expansion of its advanced live cryptocurrency mining strategies for 2025, empowering crypto investors and institutional clients to achieve sustainable passive income with real-time, secure, and eco-friendly mining solutions.

    Founded in 2019, ALL4 Mining has grown into a trusted industry leader operating more than 200 mining farms worldwide. The company is dedicated to building a safe, compliant, and green mining infrastructure that delivers stable, intelligent data processing services to users in multiple countries.

    “At ALL4 Mining, our mission is to make smart, efficient crypto mining accessible to everyone, from individual investors to large institutions,” said a spokesperson for ALL4 Mining. “By combining cutting-edge technology, clean energy, and robust security, we provide a transparent and profitable mining experience that keeps pace with the fast-evolving crypto market.”

    How to Get Started with ALL4 Mining

    ALL4 Mining’s user-friendly platform makes it easy to participate in crypto mining in just a few simple steps:

    1️⃣ Register: Sign up on the official website and receive a $15 welcome bonus to start mining immediately.
    2️⃣ Select a Plan: Choose a mining contract that matches your budget and goals.
    3️⃣ Start Mining: Let ALL4 Mining’s secure, advanced data centers work for you 24/7.
    4️⃣ Earn Daily Income: Enjoy steady daily income in top cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, DOGE, XRP, SOL, and more.

    Users can also download the official ALL4 Mining mobile app — available for Apple and Android — to track mining activities, manage contracts, and receive real-time updates anytime, anywhere.

    Key Features and Benefits

    ✅ Global Green Mining Network: Over 200 mining farms powered by renewable, low-carbon energy sources, supporting sustainable crypto production.
    ✅ High Efficiency & Stability: State-of-the-art data centers ensure consistent daily returns with no hidden fees.
    ✅ Robust Security: Multi-layer protection with SSL encryption, 2FA, McAfee® and Cloudflare® safeguards, plus 24/7 monitoring.
    ✅ 24/7 Support: Round-the-clock customer service to promptly address any user inquiries or technical issues.

    As blockchain technology continues to advance, ALL4 Mining is committed to setting a new standard for transparent, flexible, and profitable cloud mining, providing both short-term and long-term options to match diverse financial goals.

    To learn more and join the growing ALL4 Mining community, visit https://all4mining.com today.

    About ALL4 Mining
    ALL4 Mining is a UK-based global leader in cryptocurrency cloud mining, offering secure, sustainable, and easy-to-use mining services for individual and institutional clients worldwide. With a focus on clean energy, advanced technology, and strict compliance, ALL4 Mining makes earning daily crypto income simple and reliable.

    For media inquiries, please contact:
    ALL4 Mining
    info@all4mining.com
    Flat 75 Cheyne Court, London, United Kingdom, SW3 5TT
    https://all4mining.com

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Aster launches Hidden Orders: Invisible orders, visible advantage

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VICTORIA, Seychelles, June 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aster, the next-generation decentralized perpetual exchange (perp DEX) backed by YZi Labs, proudly unveils its latest upgrade on Aster Pro: Hidden Orders. Hidden orders empower traders with powerful stealth execution when trading perpetuals.

    With this launch, Aster – ranked second globally by perp DEX trading volume – becomes the first perp DEX to introduce fully integrated hidden orders, once again pushing the frontier of DeFi innovation.

    On Aster, traders who select hidden orders place limit orders without revealing any size, price, or presence on the public Aster Pro order book. Trades are placed directly into the main matching engine and only become visible after execution.

    “In high-speed, high-stakes perp trading, being seen is often a disadvantage,” shared Leonard, CEO of Aster. “Hidden orders empower traders with full anonymity without compromising liquidity, privacy and fairness.”

    Why decentralized perp trading needs hidden orders

    In cryptocurrency trading, the ability to place large trades without spooking the market is a privilege that separates professionals from amateurs. Institutions and sophisticated traders often rely on advanced order execution strategies like dark pools and hidden orders to hide their intentions and reduce slippage.

    Recent debates among industry leaders have also spotlighted a key tension in current DEX infrastructure: while transparency enables trust, it also exposes large traders to predatory tactics due to real-time order visibility. This underscores a rising demand for privacy-preserving solutions in the perpetual DEX space, ones that can shield traders from front-running and exploitation while still upholding market integrity.

    High-volume traders on centralized exchanges already rely on tools like dark pools or iceberg orders to mask intent. However, each has its drawbacks. Dark pools keep trades completely invisible and with no impact to main markets because trades execute via a separate order book. That said, because of the separate infrastructure, dark pools fragment liquidity and can be less liquid than the main order book. Iceberg orders are anonymous and access deep market liquidity, but will partially reveal intent as a portion of the total order is exposed on the public order book at any one time.

    Hidden orders solve these challenges:

    • Full Privacy: Orders remain invisible until filled, defending price points without signaling intent.
    • Stealth Execution: Slippage is reduced and front-running is avoided in volatile markets.
    • Integrated Liquidity: Hidden orders operate directly inside the main matching engine, preserving centralized liquidity and tight spreads.
    • Superior Speed: Often faster to execute than iceberg orders, with no visible trail.

    Built for anonymity, visible advantage

    The launch of Hidden Orders on Aster Pro marks a major milestone for the industry: Aster is now the first perpetual DEX to natively support hidden orders—a feature previously exclusive to centralized platforms or fragmented DeFi workarounds.

    This upgrade is more than a product release. It’s a clear statement of intent: Aster leads by building—pioneering tools that empower traders with greater control, precision, and privacy in onchain markets.

    With Hidden Orders, traders can now:

    • Defend key price levels without tipping off competitors
    • Enter or exit large positions without front-running risks
    • Execute with full anonymity while still benefiting from Aster’s deep, unified liquidity

    In a market where visibility often works against you, Aster gives traders the power to operate on their own terms.

    Redefining the standard for onchain perpetual trading

    This launch reinforces Aster’s position as an industry leader—not just in volume, but in innovation, execution quality, and trader-first design. From the successful introduction of email login for frictionless onboarding, to the debut of Aster Chain Beta, a privacy-preserving ZK Layer 1 built for high-performance perp trading, Aster is consistently raising the bar for what’s possible in DeFi.

    And while others focus on replicating centralized tools, Aster focuses on protecting its users—by prioritizing:

    • Privacy, with ZK-powered infrastructure
    • Fairness, with MEV-resistant execution
    • Control, with pro-grade tools like Hidden Orders and integrated liquidity

    Aster redefines onchain trading, making it fast, fair, private, and powerful. Experience Hidden Orders now on Aster Pro.

    About Aster

    Aster is a next-generation decentralized perpetual exchange built for everyone. It offers MEV-free, one-click trading with up to 1001x leverage in Simple Mode (BNB Chain, Arbitrum), and pro-grade tools including Hidden Orders in Pro Mode (BNB Chain, Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum). Aster Chain is a high-performance blockchain engineered to deliver private and non-custodial onchain orderbook trading. Backed by YZi Labs, Aster is building the future of DeFi: fast, flexible, and community-first.

    Learn more at Aster official website, or connect with Aster on the official X account

    Contact:
    Leonard 
    CEO
    business@asterdex.com

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