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  • MIL-OSI: Best Payday Loans Online: Fast $255 Payday Loans Near Me With Heart Paydays Loans And No Credit Check, Bad Credit

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ROMFORD, United Kingdom, May 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Life happens quickly, and sometimes it throws us unexpected financial challenges. Whether it’s a car repair, an urgent medical bill, or just the need to make it to payday, these emergencies often require fast access to money. Unfortunately, not everyone has the savings to cover these sudden costs.

    This is where payday loans come in. Payday loans are short-term loans designed to help people bridge the gap between paychecks. They offer a quick solution when you need money fast. But with so many payday lenders available online, it can be tough to know where to turn.

    Need fast cash for emergencies? Click here to get started with Heart Paydays Loans and apply for payday loans online today!

    In this article, we will discuss the best payday loans online, focusing on Heart Paydays Loans as a top provider for quick, flexible, and trustworthy payday loans. Whether you’re looking for payday loans near me, payday loan bad credit, or quick payday loans no credit check, we’ll explore how Heart Paydays Loans stands out as a reliable option for urgent financial needs.

    Why Payday Loans Are a Great Option for Emergencies

    Emergencies can hit at any time, and often, they don’t come with a lot of warning. You may find yourself needing money for a car repair, hospital visit, or unexpected travel expenses. Traditional loan options can be slow, require lots of paperwork, and be out of reach for people with poor credit. That’s where payday loans come in as a lifeline.

    1. Quick and Easy Access to Funds

    When you need money fast, payday loans near me can be a great option. Online payday loans, especially through Heart Paydays Loans, are fast, with many people receiving their funds in as little as 1 hour. Whether it’s an emergency or a small unexpected cost, payday loans provide the speed you need.

    2. Accessible Even for Those with Bad Credit

    Not everyone has a perfect credit score, and some people may be dealing with payday loan bad credit situations. With traditional loans, a low credit score could mean an automatic rejection. But payday lenders like Heart Paydays Loans don’t just rely on credit scores. They look at your income and ability to repay the loan, making it easier for individuals with poor credit to get the money they need. Many lenders like Heart Paydays Loans offer best payday loans for bad credit, which is great news for those needing immediate funds.

    Worried about your credit score? Click here to check your credit score online for free and see where you stand!

    3. Simple Application Process

    Applying for a payday loan is often easier than applying for traditional bank loans. The application process is usually done online and can be completed in just a few minutes. Heart Paydays Loans offers a streamlined online application, meaning you can apply and get approved without leaving your house.

    4. Flexible Loan Terms

    Another benefit of payday loans is flexibility. You can choose the loan amount you need and select repayment terms that work for your budget. Whether you’re looking for a small loan or a larger one, payday loans offer flexibility to fit your needs.

    Looking for payday loans near you? Click here to find a Heart Paydays Loans location or apply online now!

    What to Look for in the Best Payday Loans Online

    When searching for the best payday loans online, it’s crucial to consider certain factors that can help you avoid excessive debt and ensure you’re getting the best deal for your financial situation. Here are some key features to look for:

    1. Low Interest Rates

    One of the most important aspects to consider when applying for payday loans is the interest rate. Many payday lenders charge high interest rates, which can make it difficult to repay the loan and avoid falling into a cycle of debt.

    Look for loans that offer reasonable Annual Percentage Rates (APR)—ideally, below 36%—to avoid sky-high rates that could leave you paying far more than you initially borrowed. Some online lenders, like Heart Paydays Loans, are known for offering competitive and transparent rates, making them a good option for those who need funds quickly without breaking the bank.

    2. Clear Terms and Transparency

    A reputable payday loan provider will offer clear terms with no hidden fees or surprises. Before agreeing to any loan, make sure you understand the full terms of repayment, including the APR, the total amount to be repaid, and any associated fees. Good payday loan providers will be transparent about the costs, ensuring that you know exactly what to expect from the start.

    For example, Heart Paydays Loans provides detailed loan terms up front, so borrowers don’t have to worry about hidden fees or unclear conditions. You’ll know how much you’re borrowing, what the interest rate is, and how much you’ll pay back at the end of the loan.

    3. Fast Disbursement

    When you need emergency funds, quick funding is essential. Look for payday loans that are approved and funded within hours, ideally within one business day or less. Many payday loan providers, like Heart Paydays Loans, offer fast approval and disbursement of funds, often as quickly as within 1 hour of approval. This is especially important when you’re dealing with an urgent financial situation, like medical bills or car repairs, where timing is critical.

    4. Flexible Repayment Terms

    Repayment terms that fit your budget are key to successfully managing a payday loan. The best payday loans offer flexible repayment schedules, allowing you to choose a plan that suits your pay frequency. For example, you may prefer weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly repayment options depending on how often you’re paid.

    Many payday lenders, like Heart Paydays Loans, offer repayment terms that are tailored to your needs. This flexibility helps you avoid falling behind on payments and makes it easier to manage the loan without straining your finances.

    5. Avoiding Predatory Lenders

    Unfortunately, some payday lenders engage in predatory lending practices by charging excessive fees and high interest rates that can trap borrowers in a cycle of debt. It’s important to avoid lenders who offer loans with extreme terms, such as 1-hour payday loans no credit check with hidden fees or quick payday loans no credit check that come with unreasonable interest rates.

    Reputable lenders like Heart Paydays Loans prioritize fair lending practices and transparent terms, helping you get the funds you need without getting stuck in a debt trap. Always read the fine print, and if something doesn’t seem right, don’t hesitate to look for another lender.

    Compare rates and get the best payday loans for bad credit today. Click here to apply with Heart Paydays Loans and find the perfect loan for your needs!

    Heart Paydays Loans: The Best Payday Loans Online

    When it comes to finding best payday loans online, Heart Paydays Loans stands out as a top choice. With a wide range of loan options and a focus on providing fast and reliable service, Heart Paydays Loans is ideal for those in need of quick cash.

    1. Fast Approval and Funding

    One of the standout features of Heart Paydays Loans is how quickly they process applications. Once you apply, the approval process is fast, often taking only minutes. If you are approved, funds can be transferred directly into your bank account in as little as 1 hour payday loans no credit check—giving you quick access to the money you need without unnecessary delays.

    2. No Credit Check or Bad Credit Accepted

    If you’re worried about your credit score, don’t be. Heart Paydays Loans provides quick payday loans no credit check. They understand that credit scores don’t always reflect your ability to repay a loan. As long as you have a steady income and are able to repay the loan, you can still qualify for the loan you need—even if your credit score is less than perfect. So, for anyone struggling with payday loan bad credit, Heart Paydays Loans offers a chance to get back on track.

    3. Flexible Loan Amounts and Terms

    With Heart Paydays Loans, you can borrow anywhere from $100 to $5,000, depending on your financial needs. Whether it’s a small emergency or a larger unexpected expense, they offer a range of loan options to suit different budgets. Repayment terms are typically flexible, with options ranging from a few weeks to several months, allowing you to select a plan that works best for you.

    4. No Hidden Fees

    One of the common complaints about payday loans is the hidden fees and high-interest rates. With Heart Paydays Loans, transparency is key. They outline all fees and rates upfront, so you can make an informed decision about your loan. There are no surprise charges, and you’ll know exactly what to expect before you sign any agreement.

    How to Apply for Payday Loans Online

    Getting a payday loan through Heart Paydays Loans is simple. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you navigate the process:

    1. Visit the Website

    Start by visiting the Heart Paydays Loans website. Their platform is user-friendly and easy to navigate, making it simple to find the loan option that fits your needs. Whether you’re looking for payday loans near me or an online loan, Heart Paydays Loans provides a convenient solution.

    2. Fill Out the Application Form

    The application process is quick and straightforward. You’ll need to provide some basic personal details, such as your name, address, phone number, and employment information. You’ll also need to enter details about your income and bank account, so they can deposit the loan funds directly into your account.

    3. Review the Loan Terms

    Before submitting your application, you’ll be given the chance to review your loan offer. You’ll see the loan amount, the repayment terms, and any interest rates or fees. This is your opportunity to make sure the loan terms are right for you.

    4. Submit Your Application and Get Approved

    Once you’ve reviewed the terms, submit your application. Heart Paydays Loans will quickly review your information and give you an answer. If you’re approved, you’ll receive your loan funds within a very short time frame.

    Ready to apply? Click here to fill out your application with Heart Paydays Loans and get your payday loan funds in no time!

    The Advantages of Heart Paydays Loans

    Here are some key benefits of choosing Heart Paydays Loans for your payday loan needs:

    1. Speed and Convenience

    Need a payday loan quickly? Heart Paydays Loans is one of the best options for 1 hour payday loans no credit check. Their fast approval process and rapid funding mean you won’t have to wait long to get the cash you need.

    2. No Credit Checks or Cosigner Requirements

    Heart Paydays Loans doesn’t require a cosigner, and they don’t rely on credit scores alone to approve your application. This makes it a great option for individuals dealing with payday loan bad credit.

    3. Flexibility

    Heart Paydays Loans offers flexibility in both loan amounts and repayment terms, allowing you to tailor the loan to your specific needs.

    4. Safe and Secure

    Your personal and financial information is protected with top-notch encryption. Heart Paydays Loans is committed to keeping your data safe.

    5. Transparent Terms

    With clear and upfront terms, Heart Paydays Loans ensures that there are no hidden fees or unexpected charges. You’ll know exactly what you’re getting before you agree to the loan.

    What to Look for When Choosing Payday Loans Online

    When searching for best payday loans online, it’s important to consider a few key factors to ensure you’re getting the best deal:

    1. Interest Rates and Fees

    Make sure the payday loan provider offers competitive interest rates. While payday loans generally have higher interest rates than traditional loans, you can still find reasonable options. Always check the fees and make sure you understand what you’ll be paying.

    2. Loan Terms

    Look for payday loans with flexible terms that match your financial situation. Some lenders offer short repayment periods, while others may give you up to a year to repay the loan.

    3. Speed of Funding

    If you need money quickly, look for payday lenders who offer fast funding, such as 1 hour payday loans no credit check.

    4. Lender Reputation

    Choose a lender with a good reputation. Heart Paydays Loans is known for its transparent practices, fast service, and customer satisfaction.

    If you have bad credit, click here to see how Heart Paydays Loans can help you get approved for payday loans even with less-than-perfect credit!

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    Q: What are payday loans?

    Payday loans are short-term loans designed to cover emergencies or unexpected expenses until your next paycheck. They are usually small loans that are paid back in full on your next payday or over a few months.

    Q: Can I get a payday loan with bad credit?

    Yes, Heart Paydays Loans offers payday loans bad credit options, meaning that even if you have a low credit score, you may still qualify for a loan.

    Q: How fast can I get my payday loan?

    Heart Paydays Loans offers fast approval and disbursement. In many cases, you can receive your loan within one hour after approval.

    Q: Is it possible to get payday loans with no credit check?

    Yes, Heart Paydays Loans offers quick payday loans no credit check, which means your credit score will not be the main deciding factor for approval.

    Q: How much can I borrow with Heart Paydays Loans?

    Heart Paydays Loans offers payday loans ranging from $100 to $5000, depending on your financial needs and eligibility.

    Conclusion

    When searching for best payday loans online, it’s crucial to prioritize lenders offering low interest rates, clear repayment terms, and fast disbursement. By focusing on these factors, you can ensure that the loan meets your immediate financial needs without becoming a long-term burden. Heart Paydays Loans offers fast and flexible loan options, including 1-hour payday loans no credit check, making it a great choice for those in urgent need of funds.

    If you have bad credit, don’t worry—there are still options available. Many online lenders specialize in providing payday loans for bad credit, helping you secure the funds you need without the high fees or stringent requirements of traditional lenders. However, it’s important to avoid predatory lenders with excessive rates or unclear terms that could leave you trapped in debt.

    Ultimately, choosing the best payday loans online is about finding a lender who offers reasonable terms, transparent fees, and quick funding. By researching and applying to trusted providers like Heart Paydays Loans, you can get the financial help you need while maintaining control of your budget. Apply now to see your loan options and get the support you need today!

    Don’t wait! Click here to apply for the best payday loans online with Heart Paydays Loans and get the funds you need today!

    Project name: Heart Paydays

    Email – support@heartpaydays.com

    Full Company address:Floor 2, 1-5 High Street, Romford, RM1 1JU, United Kingdom

    Company website: heartpaydays.com

    Contact person : Chloe Simon

    email : chloe@heartpaydays.com

    Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. Payday loans, including those offered through Heart Paydays Loans, may carry high-interest rates and fees, which can vary based on your location and the terms of the loan. It’s important to understand the full terms, fees, and repayment schedule before applying. Borrowers should only consider payday loans for short-term financial needs and ensure they are able to repay the loan on time to avoid further financial difficulties. Heart Paydays Loans is not responsible for any financial consequences resulting from the use of payday loans. We encourage you to explore all options, including traditional loans or financial counseling, before proceeding with payday loans. Always read the fine print and consult with a financial advisor if necessary.

    Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7ff1ca3b-e405-4107-8793-a65390cae147

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b7dca294-2850-494d-b258-c6ee433e869b

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Mullin, Oklahoma Delegation Sit-Down Interview: “Oklahoma Punches Above Its Weight in Congress”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator MarkWayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma)

    ICYMI: Mullin, Oklahoma Delegation Sit-Down Interview: “Oklahoma Punches Above Its Weight in Congress”

    “We find ourselves with a really good opportunity to make some big differences for the country right now. I think we can all say this, we feel privileged to be here right now.”
    Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, Oklahoma’s News 9 released a 40-minute roundtable interview featuring U.S. Senators Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), James Lankford (R-OK), and U.S. Representatives Stephanie Bice (R-OK), Frank Lucas (R-OK), Tom Cole (R-OK), Kevin Hern (R-OK), and Josh Brecheen (R-OK) for a special congressional delegation sit-down discussion with long-time Washington Bureau Chief, Alex Cameron.
    During the wide-ranging conversation, the members gave an inside look as to how Oklahoma’s seven-member Republican delegation is working with the Trump administration and leveraging their committee assignments to deliver big wins for the Sooner State. Highlights below.

    Sen. Mullin and the Oklahoma congressional delegation’s interview can be found here.
    On how the Oklahoma delegation punches above their weight:
    “I have no title, and I think James [Sen. Lankford] said it right, you see a problem and you go fix it. For me, I’m a Junior Senator. I don’t have seniority over here. So, what I have to do is, if youwant to get something accomplished, you have to build a coalition to do that. What’s interesting about our delegation is we all punch way above our weight. We all have separate issues, we trust each other, we allow that individual to take the leading position on that. 
    “I don’t care if it’s from Tom [Rep. Cole] on approps [House Committee on Appropriations] or Frank [Rep. Lucas] on ag [House Committee on Agriculture] issues, James being with financial services [Senate Committee on Financial Services] or budget [Senate Committee on the Budget] or you have Stephanie [Rep. Bice] and we have the ability to work together now on armed services [Senate Committee on Armed Services and House Committee on Armed Services] and on approps too, and you have Kevin [Rep. Hern] and you have Josh [Rep. Brecheen] who are all leading in different aspects in the House. What we have to do is build a coalition. What I learned when I went to the Senate real quick is that both chambers worry about the other chamber and most of the time when I’m arguing with my wife, it’s a misunderstanding.”
    On how the senator’s role benefits the Sooner State:
    “The role that I play between the White House, between the Senate, and between the House is breaking down that miscommunication and just bringing the facts to the table.
    “Instead of worrying about what someone’s going to do, build a coalition to figure out how we can accomplish what our common goal is and deliver for the American people. That’s simply having a conversation and putting the right people on the telephone, putting the right people in the room, and having a clear vision on what we’re trying to accomplish.
    “Fortunately, because I served so long in the House and I have those relationships and have been able to maintain those relationships, and have been able to build relationships in the Senate, and obviously have an outstanding relationship with the president, who I call a friend, we find ourselves with a really good opportunity to make some big differences for the country right now. I think we can all say this, we feel privileged to be here right now.”
    On his support for President Trump’s tariff strategy:
    “I have a saying; you’re never going to change anything you’re willing to tolerate. We’ve tolerated it [Unfair trade deals] so long. We’ve known it was wrong. We’ve known we’ve had to do something and finally we’re doing it. It is uncomfortable, but at what point was we going to fix it? At what point was it coming to head where it was going to force us to fix it? There is countries who’ve gotten extremely wealthy by taking trillions of dollars outside of the United States’ economy just turn it back around and sell it to us…
    “A scalpel doesn’t work, nor can you simply take tariffs one country at a time…
    “People have been taking advantage of us way too long, and President Trump is finally fixing it. It’s uncomfortable, but we had to right the ship at some point. This is the time to do it.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Former El Paso US Army soldier charged with child pornography offenses

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury returned an indictment May 14 charging Seth Herrera, 35, a U.S. Army soldier, previously of El Paso, Texas, with attempted sexual exploitation of a child and receiving files depicting child sexual abuse.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations special agents are investigating the case.

    According to court documents, Herrera allegedly used encrypted messaging applications and network applications to find, receive, and download child sexual abuse material over the course of multiple years, beginning in 2021. He also allegedly used artificial intelligence chatbots to generate child sexual abuse material using images of children he knew and surreptitiously took images and videos of those same children undressing in his El Paso home.

    Herrera is already charged in Alaska relating to his alleged transportation, receipt, and possession of child sexual abuse material, including AI-generated child sexual abuse material, while stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.

    Trial Attorney Rachel L. Rothberg of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mallory J. Rasmussen for the Western District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Fatal crash, Takanini

    Source: New Zealand Police

    One person has died following a crash in Takanini last night.

    Emergency services were called to the crash between a vehicle and a dirtbike on Mill Road just before 8.30pm.

    Sadly, one person was pronounced deceased at the scene.

    The Serious Crash Unit attended and enquiries to determine the circumstances of the crash are ongoing.

    ENDS.

    Holly McKay/NZ Police

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Disarming Hezbollah is key to Lebanon’s recovery − but task is complicated by regional shifts, ceasefire violations

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Mireille Rebeiz, Chair of Middle East Studies and Associate Professor of Francophone and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Dickinson College

    Slain Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah looms large in Lebanon. Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images

    Within a span of two weeks from late April to early May 2025, Israel launched two aerial attacks ostensibly targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon: The first, on April 27, struck a building in Beirut’s southern suburbs; the second, an assault in southern Lebanon, left one person dead and eight others injured.

    While the attacks may not be an aberration in the long history of Israel’s military action in Lebanon, the latest episodes were notable given the context: Israel and Hezbollah have been nominally locked in a truce for five months.

    As an expert on Lebanese history and culture, I believe the latest violations clearly show the fragility of that ceasefire. But more importantly, they complicate the Lebanese government’s mission of disarming Hezbollah, the paramilitary group that remains a powerful force in the country despite a series of Israeli targeted killings of its senior members. That task forms the backbone of a nearly 20-year-old United Nations resolution meant to bring lasting peace to Lebanon.

    The long road to a ceasefire

    In the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Hezbollah vowed solidarity with the Palestinian movement, resulting in a running series of tit-for-tat attacks with Israel that escalated into a full-blown war in the fall of 2024.

    On Oct. 1, 2024, Israel invaded Lebanon – the sixth time since 1978 – in order to directly confront Hezbollah. That operation led to the killing of an estimated 3,800 Lebanese people and the displacement of over 1 million civilians. The damage to Lebanon’s economy is estimated at US$14 billion, according to the World Bank.

    Hezbollah lost a lot of its fighters, arsenal and popular support as a result. More importantly, these losses discredited Hezbollah’s claim that it alone can guarantee Lebanon’s territorial integrity against Israel’s invasion.

    The United States and France brokered a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel on Nov. 27, 2024. The agreement was based in part on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which was adopted in 2006 to end that year’s 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah. The resolution had as a central tenet the disarmament of armed militias, including Hezbollah, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon.

    The 2024 ceasefire built on that resolution. It required Hezbollah’s retreat beyond the Litani River, which at its closest point is about 20 miles from northern Israel. In return, and by February 2025, Israel was to gradually withdraw from Lebanese territories in order to allow the Lebanese army to take control of areas in the south and to confiscate all unauthorized weapons – a nod to Hezbollah’s arsenal.

    Yet, Israel maintained the occupation of several posts in southern Lebanon after that deadline and continued to launch attacks on Lebanese soil, the most recent being on May 8, 2025.

    The challenge of disarming Hezbollah

    Despite these violations, large-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah has not resumed. But the next step, a lasting peace based on the laying down of Hezbollah arms, is complicated by a series of factors, not least the sectarian nature of Lebanese politics.

    Since its inception in 1920, Lebanon’s governance has been defined by a polarized and formally sectarian political system, which seeded the roots of a decades-long civil conflict that began in 1975. A series of invasions by Israel in response to attacks from Lebanese-based Palestinian groups exacerbated sectarianism and instability.

    From this mix, Hezbollah emerged and became a powerful force during the late 1980s.

    The Taif Agreement, ending Lebanon’s civil war in 1989, formally recognized the state’s right to resist the Israeli occupation of Lebanese territories – and with it Hezbollah’s presence as a force of resistance. An uneasy coexistence between the government and Hezbollah emerged, which often spilled over into violence, including assassinations of important public figures.

    More recently, Hezbollah was responsible for a two-year political vacuum as it mobilized members to repeatedly block opposition candidates for the vacant presidency in the hopes of installing a leader that would support its agenda.

    A view from the southern Lebanese district of Marjeyoun shows smoke billowing from the site of Israeli airstrikes on May 8, 2025.
    Rabih Daher/AFP via Getty Images

    In January 2025 that standoff ended when Lebanon’s parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun, a Maronite Christian, as president.

    The acquiescence of Hezbollah and its allies was in part a sign of how much the power of the Shiite militia had been diminished by Israel during the conflict.

    But it is also the result of a widespread general understanding in Lebanon of the need to end the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s war. The new president has brought much-needed hope to a battered country – one that has been plagued by numerous crises, including a collapsed economy that by 2019 had pushed 80% of the population into poverty.

    But Aoun’s presidency signals the changing political environment in another key way; unlike his predecessors, Aoun has not endorsed Hezbollah as a legitimate resistance movement.

    Further, Aoun has announced his intentions to disarm the group
    and to fully implement resolution 1701.

    To this end, Aoun has made impressive gains. According to state officials, the Lebanese army had by the end of April 2025 dismantled over 90% of Hezbollah’s infrastructure south of the Litani River and taken control over these sites.

    Yet Hezbollah’s chief, Naim Kassem, doggedly rejects calls to disarm and integrate the group’s fighters into the Lebanese armed forces.

    Even in Hezbollah’s weakened position, Kassem believes only his movement, and not the Lebanese state, can guarantee Lebanon’s safety against Israel. And Israel violations of the ceasefire only play into this narrative.

    “We will not allow anyone to remove Hezbollah’s weapons,” Kassem said after one recent airstrike, vowing that the group would hand over weapons only when Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon and ended it’s air incursions.

    Can Lebanon’s new president, Joseph Aoun, untangle the Gordian knot of Lebanese politics?
    Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images

    The challenge going forward

    Yet countries including the United States and Qatar – not to mention Israel – consider Hezbollah’s disarmament a prerequisite to both peace and much-needed international assistance.

    And this makes the task ahead for Aoun difficult. He will be well aware that international aid is desperately needed. But pressing too hard to accommodate either Israel’s or Hezbollah’s interests risks, respectively, exacerbating either domestic political pressures or jeopardizing future foreign investment.

    To complicate matters further, the situation in Lebanon is hardly helped by developments in neighboring Syria.

    The fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024 has added another element of regional uncertainty and the fear in Lebanon of further sectarian violence. Although Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has vowed to protect all religious groups, he was not able to prevent the massacre of Alawite civilians in several coastal towns – an attack that triggered a fresh wave of refugees heading toward Lebanon.

    The removal of Assad was another blow for Hezbollah, a strong Assad ally that benefited from years of Syrian interference in Lebanon.

    The challenge of international relations

    For now, a return to full-scale war in Lebanon does not appear to be on the table.

    But what comes next for Lebanon and Hezbollah depends on many factors, not least the state of Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and any spillover into Lebanon. But the actions of other regional actors, notably Saudi Arabia and Iran, matter too. Should Saudi Arabia be encouraged down the path of normalizing relations with Israel – a process interrupted by the Oct. 7 attack – then it would impact Lebanon in many ways.

    Any deal would, from the Saudi perspective, likely have to include a solution to the question of Palestinian statehood, taking away one of Hezbollah’s main grievances. It would also likely put pressure on Lebanon and Israel to find a solution to its long-standing border dispute.

    Meanwhile, Iran, too, is seemingly turning to diplomatic means to address some of its regional issues, with nascent moves to both improve ties with Saudi Arabia and forge forward with a new nuclear deal with the U.S. This could see Tehran turn away from a policy of trying to impose its influence throughout the region by arming groups aligned with Tehran – first among them, Hezbollah.

    Mireille Rebeiz is affiliated with the American Red Cross.

    – ref. Disarming Hezbollah is key to Lebanon’s recovery − but task is complicated by regional shifts, ceasefire violations – https://theconversation.com/disarming-hezbollah-is-key-to-lebanons-recovery-but-task-is-complicated-by-regional-shifts-ceasefire-violations-255671

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘And Just Like That…’ gives middle-aged women something media rarely does — a portrayal of their sexual lives

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Marie-Agnes Parmentier, Professor of Marketing, HEC Montréal

    Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Jessica Parker in ‘And Just Like That…’ Season 3. (Craig Blankenhorn/Max)

    Warning: This article contains spoilers about ‘And Just Like That…‘

    Middle-aged women don’t have sex — or that’s what popular media might have us believe. But And Just Like That…, the HBO Max sequel to the seminal series Sex and the City, offers a markedly different portrayal.

    The show presents a perspective of middle-aged women’s lives and identities that aligns more closely with studies demonstrating that 73 per cent of women in midlife are sexually active.

    Premiering in late 2021, And Just Like That… resumes the story of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) 11 years after the second Sex and the City feature. Now in their 50s, the characters confront the realities of friendship and aging.

    The series explores their evolving identities and relationships, highlighting the challenges and successes of midlife. With Season 3 set to release on May 29, And Just Like That… continues to provide a platform for the representation of middle-aged women as multifaceted individuals who assert their sexual agency.

    ‘And Just Like That…’ Season 3 trailer from HBO Max.

    Representation still lags behind

    While And Just Like That… breaks new ground by shining a light on the lives and experiences of middle-aged women, the industry as a whole has a long way to go.

    Research from the Geena Davis Institute examining representation over a 10-year period found that in top-grossing films and popular television shows, less than 25 per cent of characters were over the age of 50.

    Those who did appear were often depicted using elderly tropes. They were less likely to be featured in romantic story lines, show affection or be shown in intimate contexts. They were also more likely to be men.

    In fact, two-thirds of characters aged 50 and older in streaming television, and four out of five in film, were men. Taken as a whole, with some recent notable exceptions, women over 50 are rendered largely invisible in media. In stories about romance and sex, they rarely take centre stage.

    This lack of representation not only impacts societal perceptions about what it means to be a woman over 50, but also presents missed opportunities for businesses, advertisers and filmmakers to showcase authentic and relatable stories that resonate with audiences.

    Challenging stereotypes about older women

    As consumer researchers and gender scholars, we were interested in understanding whether And Just Like That… challenges or reinforces expectations about middle-aged women in consumer culture.

    In our previous research on Sex and the City, we found that consumption practices played heavily into character identity development, particularly in resolving and creating tensions around sexuality, domesticity and authenticity.

    The original series drew audiences in with its portrayal of four young single women navigating sex and relationships in New York City. But to understand the sexual scripts for these characters as they are reprised years later, we turned to feminist gerontology, which highlights the ways social norms and structures around age and gender influence the aging experience.

    Our content analysis of And Just Like That…‘s first season identified themes that reflect significant tensions around identity, liminality and sexual behaviours in middle age.

    Sarah Jessica Parker and John Corbett in Season 2 of ‘And Just Like That….’
    (Craig Blankenhorn/Max)

    Carrie, as a central figure, provides a good example. Her journey highlights tensions between societal expectations and aging identity. Her fashion choices, once celebrated, now face scrutiny, reflecting ageist attitudes towards what is deemed appropriate for older women.

    In one episode, Carrie wears a floor length white tulle tutu, reminiscent of her younger days. While fans might see this as a nostalgic nod to her past, the stares of onlookers suggest they regard this attire as age-inappropriate. Writing in the New York Times, English professor Rhonda Garelick notes that this tutu looks “off” on her, highlighting societal pressure on aging women to conform to certain standards.

    Middle-aged, single and seen

    In the pilot episode of And Just Like That…, Carrie’s husband, John “Big” Preston, dies in her arms of a heart attack in their apartment. In the aftermath, Carrie hires realtor Seema Patel (Sarita Choudhury) to sell the home and returns to her iconic Sex and the City apartment and her quest for love.

    Over drinks, Carrie calls Seema “brave” for “still” looking for love at age 53. Seema replies that although she has yet to meet the love of her life, that fact isn’t tragic — and neither is Carrie’s loss, because she had many good years with Big.

    Sarita Choudhury and Sarah Jessica Parker in ‘And Just Like That…’ Season 1.
    (Craig Blankenhorn/HBO Max)

    Seema challenges the stigma of women’s singledom in middle age with her entitlement to sexual pleasure, personal growth and a belief that love is always possible. By addressing these themes, And Just Like That… contributes to discourse on aging and the right of women to be visible at any age.

    Media in contemporary society not only reflects culture, but also affects it. Through representation and storytelling, media has the transformative power to showcase the full lives and identities of individuals, giving legitimacy to the full range of possibilities for people.

    Since sexuality — the capacity for sexual thoughts — is an important influence on sexual well-being, women over 50 should not be erased from realistic narratives. They deserve to be seen and recognized as living vibrant, multi-dimensional lives.

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

    – ref. ‘And Just Like That…’ gives middle-aged women something media rarely does — a portrayal of their sexual lives – https://theconversation.com/and-just-like-that-gives-middle-aged-women-something-media-rarely-does-a-portrayal-of-their-sexual-lives-256058

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The roots of dementia can start in childhood – prevention should be a lifelong goal

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Scott Chiesa, Senior Research Fellow and Alzheimer’s Research UK David Carr Fellow, UCL

    Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock

    More than 60 million people are estimated to be living with dementia, resulting in over 1.5 million deaths a year and an annual cost to the global healthcare economy of around US $1.3 trillion (almost £1 trillion).

    Despite decades of scientific research and billions of pounds of investment, dementia still has no cure. But what of the old saying that prevention is better than cure? Is preventing dementia possible? And if so, at what age should we be taking steps to do so?

    Despite what many believe, dementia is not simply an unavoidable consequence of ageing or genetics. It is estimated that up to 45% of dementia cases could potentially be prevented by reducing exposure to 14 modifiable risk factors common throughout the world.

    Many of these risk factors – which include things like obesity, lack of exercise, and smoking – are traditionally studied from middle age (around 40 to 60 years old) onwards. As a result, several of the world’s leading health bodies and dementia charities now recommend that strategies aimed at reducing dementia risk should ideally be targeted at this age to reap the greatest benefits.

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    We argue, however, that targeting even younger ages is likely to provide greater benefits still. But how young are we talking? And why would exposure to risk factors many decades before the symptoms of dementia traditionally appear be important?

    To explain, let’s work backwards from middle age, starting with the three decades covering adolescence and young adulthood (from ten to 40 years old).

    Many lifestyle-related dementia risk factors emerge during the teenage years, then persist into adulthood. For example, 80% of adolescents living with obesity will remain this way when they are adults. The same applies to high blood pressure and lack of exercise. Similarly, virtually all adults who smoke or drink will have started these unhealthy habits in or around adolescence.

    This poses two potential issues when considering middle age as the best starting point for dementia-prevention strategies. First, altering health behaviour that has already been established is notoriously difficult. And second, most high-risk individuals targeted in middle age will almost certainly have been exposed to the damaging effects of these risk factors for many decades already.

    As such, the most effective actions are likely to be those aimed at preventing unhealthy behaviour in the first place, rather than attempting to change long-established habits decades down the line.

    The roots of dementia

    But what about even earlier in people’s lives? Could the roots of dementia stretch as far back as childhood or infancy? Increasing evidence suggests yes, and that risk factor exposures in the first decade of life (or even while in the womb) may have lifelong implications for dementia risk.

    To understand why this may be, it’s important to remember that our brain goes through three major periods during our lives – development in early life, a period of relative stability in adult life, and decline (in some functions) in old age.

    Most dementia research understandably focuses on changes associated with that decline in later life. But there is increasing evidence that many of the differences in brain structure and function associated with dementia in older adults may have at least partly existed since childhood.

    For example, in long-term studies where people have had their cognitive ability tracked across their whole lives, one of the most important factors explaining someone’s cognitive ability at age 70 is their cognitive ability when they were 11. That is, older adults with poorer cognitive skills have often had these lower skills since childhood, rather than the differences being solely due to a faster decline in older age.

    Similar patterns are also seen when looking for evidence of dementia-related damage on brain scans, with some changes appearing to be more closely related to risk factor exposures in early life than current unhealthy lifestyles.

    Taken together, perhaps the time has come for dementia prevention to be thought of as a lifelong goal, rather than simply a focus for old age.

    A lifelong prevention plan

    But how do we achieve this in practical terms? Complex problems require complex solutions, and there is no quick fix to address this challenge. Many factors contribute to increasing or decreasing an individual’s dementia risk – there is no “one size fits all” approach.

    But one thing generally agreed upon is that mass medication of young people is not the answer. Instead, we – along with 33 other leading international researchers in the field of dementia – recently published a set of recommendations for actions that can be taken at the individual, community and national levels to improve brain health from an early age.

    Our consensus statement and recommendations deliver two clear messages. First, meaningful reductions in dementia risk for as many people as possible will only be achievable through a coordinated approach that brings together healthier environments, better education and smarter public policy.

    Second – and perhaps most importantly – while it’s never too late to take steps to reduce your risk of dementia, it’s also never too early to start.

    Scott Chiesa receives funding from an Alzheimer’s Research UK David Carr Fellowship.

    Francesca Farina receives funding from the Alzheimer’s Association and the University of Chicago.

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

    – ref. The roots of dementia can start in childhood – prevention should be a lifelong goal – https://theconversation.com/the-roots-of-dementia-can-start-in-childhood-prevention-should-be-a-lifelong-goal-255845

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Cockney Yiddish: how two languages influenced each other in London’s East End

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nadia Valman, Professor of Urban Literature, Queen Mary University of London

    Yiddish is a familiar presence in contemporary English speech. Many people use or at least know the meaning of words like chutzpah (audacity), schlep (drag) or nosh (snack).

    These words have been absorbed into English from their original speakers, eastern European Jews who migrated to Britain in the late 19th century, through generations of living in close proximity in areas like London’s East End.

    Linguistics scholars have even theorised that elements of a Yiddish accent may have influenced the cockney accent as it evolved in the early 20th century. Phonetic analysis of cockney speakers recorded in the mid-20th century suggests that East Enders who grew up with Jewish neighbours spoke English with speech rhythms typical of Yiddish.

    A distinctive pronunciation of the “r” sound is thought to have originated among Jewish immigrants and spread into the wider population.

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    But, as we explore in our new podcast, cockney reshaped the Yiddish language too. This can be seen in surviving texts from the popular culture of the Jewish immigrant East End, including newspapers and songsheets, where songs, poems and stories dramatise the thrills and challenges of modern London.

    The Yiddish music of London’s East End brought together the Yiddish language and Jewish culture of eastern Europe with the raucous, irreverent style of the cockney music hall. Theatres and pubs overflowed with audiences eager to see the immigrant experience in Whitechapel represented in all its perplexity and pathos, with a good measure of slapstick comedy.

    A Yiddish music hall song from around 1900 jokes that East Enders live on “poteytes un gefrayte fish” – a Yiddish version of the cockney staple fish and chips. The song lists the many novelties that immigrants encountered on arriving in the metropolis: trains running underground, women wearing trousers and people speaking on telephones.

    Yiddish music hall song ‘London hot sikh ibergekert’ (London has turned itself upside down) performed by the author’s (Vivi Lachs) band Katsha’nes.

    Yiddish was also the language of street protest in the Jewish East End. During the “strike fever” of 1889, when workers throughout east London were demanding better pay and working conditions, the Whitechapel streets resonated with the voices of Jewish sweatshop workers singing:

    In di gasn, tsu di masn fun badrikte felk rasn, ruft der frayhaytsgayst (In the streets, to the masses / of oppressed peoples, races / the spirit of freedom calls).

    This song was penned by the socialist poet Morris Winchevsky, an immigrant from Lithuania who spoke Yiddish as a mother tongue but preferred to write in literary Hebrew. In London he switched to writing in the vernacular language of Yiddish in order to make his writing more accessible to immigrant Jewish workers. The song became a rousing anthem in labour protests across the Yiddish-speaking world, from Warsaw to Chicago.

    The decline of Yiddish

    Yet from the earliest days of Jewish immigration to London, the Yiddish-language culture of the East End was a focus of anxiety for the Jewish middle and upper class of the West End. They regarded Yiddish as a vulgar dialect, detrimental to the integration of Jewish immigrants in England.

    While they provided significant philanthropic support for immigrants, they banned the use of Yiddish in the educational and religious institutions that they funded.

    In 1883, budding novelist Israel Zangwill was disciplined by the Jews’ Free School, where he worked as a teacher, for publishing a short story liberally sprinkled with dialogues in cockney-Yiddish.

    By the 1930s Yiddish had begun to decline. As Jews moved away from the East End, local Yiddish newspapers folded and publications dwindled.

    The Yiddish writer I.A. Lisky, who wrote fiction for a keen but diminishing readership in the London Yiddish newspaper Di tsayt, movingly described a young woman and her grandmother who each harbour complex hopes and worries but cannot communicate: “Ken ober sibl nit redn keyn yidish un di bobe farshteyt nor a por verter english. Shvaygt sibl vayter.” (But Sybil spoke no Yiddish, and her grandmother knew only a few words of English. So she remained silent.)

    Yiddish-language newspapers like Der Fonograf flourished in the early 20th century East End.
    Courtesy of Jewish Miscellanies website.

    Jewish writers of the postwar period were haunted by the sense of a lost connection to the Yiddish language and culture of previous generations.

    The novelist Alexander Baron, who grew up in Hackney, remembered his grandparents reading Yiddish literature and newspapers, and his parents speaking Yiddish when they did not want their children to understand what they were saying.

    In his novel The Lowlife (1963) the narrator’s vocabulary is peppered with Yiddish words. But these fragments are all that remains of his link to the East End where he was born. When he returns to these streets, he feels that “my too, too solid flesh in the world of the past is like a ghost of the past in the solid world of the present; it can look on but it cannot touch”.

    Yiddish in London today

    If you walk through the north London neighbourhood of Stamford Hill today, you’ll hear Yiddish on the streets and see new Yiddish books on the shelves of the local bookshops. Although they have no connection to the Victorian Jewish East End, the ultra-orthodox Hasidic community who live there speak Yiddish as their first language.

    And for a younger generation of secular Jews, Yiddish is also acquiring a new appeal. They look to past traditions of Jewish diasporism to forge an identity rooted in language, culture and solidarity with other minorities rather than nationalism.

    London is one centre of this worldwide revival: the Friends of Yiddish group established in the East End in the late 1930s is now flourishing in its contemporary incarnation as the Yiddish Open Mic Cafe. And Yiddish is once again a language that anyone can learn.

    The Ot Azoy Yiddish summer school is in its 13th year, and new Yiddish language schools are thriving, including east London-based Babel’s Blessing, which teaches diaspora languages including Yiddish and offers free English classes to refugees and asylum seekers. The annual Yiddish sof-vokh hosts an immersive weekend for Yiddish learners.

    Yiddish culture too is being rejuvenated. Projects we have been involved with include the Yiddish Shpilers theatre troupe, the Great Yiddish Parade marching band, which has brought Winchevsky’s socialist anthems back onto London’s streets, and the London band Katsha’nes, which has reimagined cockney Yiddish music hall songs for the 21st century.

    If Yiddish was once reviled as a debased, slangy mishmash, full of borrowings and adaptations, it’s precisely for those qualities that it is celebrated today.

    Nadia Valman received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council for research included in this article.

    Vivi Lachs received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council for research included in this article.

    – ref. Cockney Yiddish: how two languages influenced each other in London’s East End – https://theconversation.com/cockney-yiddish-how-two-languages-influenced-each-other-in-londons-east-end-252779

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Putin dodges peace talks in Istanbul as Russia pushes for territorial concessions from Ukraine

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sam Phelps, Commissioning Editor, International Affairs

    This article was first published in The Conversation UK’s World Affairs Briefing email newsletter. Sign up to receive weekly analysis of the latest developments in international relations, direct to your inbox.

    Demands by British, French, German and Polish leaders in Kyiv last weekend that Russia agree to a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine or face possible “massive” sanctions went down in Moscow about as well as you’d expect. In an address from the Kremlin, Russian president Vladimir Putin lambasted European powers for talking to Russia “in a boorish manner and with the help of ultimatums”.

    He did, however, offer a counter-proposal: an invitation for Ukraine to take part in direct talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul. Putin called the talks “the first step towards a long-term, lasting peace”. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, accepted the invitation and announced he would attend the talks in person. He challenged Putin to do the same.

    But on the eve of the talks it was announced that, no, Putin wouldn’t attend and a junior delegation would be sent in his place. Zelensky, who is in Turkey anyway for talks with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has called the Russian envoy “phony” and accused Moscow of sending “stand-in props”.

    Putin’s no-show, alongside Russia’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire as a precursor to negotiations, probably says all you need to know about whether Moscow truly intends to bring the war to an end. But, regardless, the talks are the first to take place directly between the two warring parties since the early weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

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    The Russian delegation in Istanbul is being led by Vladimir Medinsky, a Putin aide who led the previous round of direct peace talks with Ukraine. This is evidence, as Stefan Wolff and Tetyana Malyarenko also point out, that Russia wants the talks to be based on the same framework as in 2022 – namely, forcing Ukraine to accept significant restrictions on its military and sovereignty.

    Wolff and Malyarenko, who are two regular contributors to our coverage of the war in Ukraine, explain that Russia’s territorial demands have become more contentious since the start of the war. Russia’s current position is that it sees international recognition of Crimea, Sevastopol, the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, and the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions as part of Russia as “imperative”.

    This is a non-starter for Ukraine. But Wolff and Malyarenko suggest there could be some flexibility on accepting that some parts of Ukrainian territory are under temporary Russian control in exchange for peace.

    The problem, they write, is that much of the territory Russia currently occupies, including Crimea and land on the shores of the Azov Sea, is of key strategic value for Russia. Donetsk and Luhansk, meanwhile, have substantial economic value because of the resources located there.

    In any case, there is no guarantee that territorial concessions from Kyiv now would put a permanent end to the war, write Wolff and Malyarenko. This is because it “does not address the fundamental issue of how to deal with a vengeful and revisionist autocracy on Europe’s doorstep”.



    Read more:
    Territorial concessions will be central to any Ukraine peace deal, and to Russia’s long-term plan

    Lasting peace between India and Pakistan, two countries that regularly clash over control of the disputed Kashmir region, is proving equally tricky to find. Several rounds of military strikes, prompted by a terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April that killed at least 31 people, have recently brought the nuclear powers closer to war than they have been in decades.

    The Trump administration initially expressed reluctance to get involved, saying it was “none of our business”. But as hostilities rapidly escalated, raising the prospect of nuclear war, US officials stepped in and talked down the two countries. A ceasefire was agreed that, for almost a week now, seems to have held.

    Alex Waterman and Sudhir Selvaraj, experts on peace studies at the University of Bradford, say the ceasefire represents an “incredibly precarious peace”.

    That ceasefires have been agreed – and respected – by the two parties before is cause for optimism, they write. But cross-border tensions have increased in recent years. Waterman and Selvaraj argue this has been part of a strategy used by Pakistan’s powerful army to deflect attention away from political and economic crises at home.

    Tensions remain high and may, at some point, spill over again. Some of the decisions taken by India after the recent terror attack, for instance, such as the suspension of a treaty governing water sharing of rivers in the Indus basin, could compel further support for militant groups in Kashmir. Despite a US offer to mediate talks between the two countries, deeper resolution looks a way off.



    Read more:
    India and Pakistan have agreed a precarious peace – but will it last?

    Donald Trump, meanwhile, is wrapping up his four-day tour of the Middle East. His visit has seen him sit down with the Saudi crown prince and the Qatari emir (as well as Syria’s leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa) to discuss bolstering economic and security ties.

    In that sense, the trip has been a resounding success. Trump signed a US$142 billion (£107 billion) arms deal with Saudi Arabia and agreements with Qatar that, according to the White House, will “generate an economic exchange worth at least US$1.2 trillion”.

    Adam Hanieh, a professor of political economy at the University of Exeter, explains that arrangements like these are part of a long history in which the Gulf monarchies have supported the architecture of US global power.

    In this piece, Hanieh explores how the vast amounts of income generated by the Gulf’s nationalised petroleum industries in the 20th century was invested into US financial markets. Gulf states, he writes, were essential contributors to the growth of the US as a global financial power.

    The US promised military protection in return, resulting in a web of American military bases across the region. As Trump’s lavish welcome in the Middle East shows, the relationship between the US and Gulf monarchies looks robust.

    But much has changed in the past two decades, says Hanieh, referring to China’s rise as a global manufacturing hub. The Gulf is a critical energy lifeline for Beijing, while China’s demand for oil, gas and petrochemicals will be a vital part of the Gulf’s economic future.



    Read more:
    Not every US president gets a free private jet, but the Gulf states have boosted US economic dominance for decades

    Trump is no stranger to competition with China, as his first five months in office have shown. Tit-for-tat tariffs that the US and China imposed on each other quickly snowballed into heavy duties, as high as 145% on Chinese goods looking to enter the US.

    However, after weeks of signalling that tariff levels could reduce, US and Chinese officials announced this week that US tariffs on Chinese goods would drop to 30% for a period of 90 days, while Chinese tariffs on US products would drop back to 10%. Trade negotiations between the two countries will continue.

    We asked Chee Meng Tan, an assistant professor of business economics at the University of Nottingham, what the deal means for China. He says the tariff reduction has provided China with much-needed relief as it attempts to repair its ailing economy.

    But China will ultimately hope to bring US tariffs down to around 10%, in line with the rest of the world. And, as Tan explains, there is more China can do to persuade the Trump administration to cut tariffs further. Ensuring the flow of critical minerals to the US and assuring its support for US agriculture, an important political support base for Trump, will be key.

    China needs to engage with the US and lower US tariffs as much as possible. But it will want to look at other options, writes Tan, rather than relying on an unpredictable Trump. The next 90 days are a big deal for Beijing.



    Read more:
    China-US trade war: the next 90 days are a big deal for Beijing as it seeks long-term solutions

    Jonathan Este is on holiday.

    World Affairs Briefing from The Conversation UK is available as a weekly email newsletter. Click here to get updates directly in your inbox.

    – ref. Putin dodges peace talks in Istanbul as Russia pushes for territorial concessions from Ukraine – https://theconversation.com/putin-dodges-peace-talks-in-istanbul-as-russia-pushes-for-territorial-concessions-from-ukraine-256504

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How to write a perfect wedding speech – according to ancient orators

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By David Roberts, Professor of English and University Orator, Birmingham City University

    IVASHstudio/Shutterstock

    Looking for an example of how not to give a wedding speech? Try this. I was recently told an anecdote about guests at a wedding who became suspicious about the detached, cliched style of the groom’s speech, and the monotonous way it was read. Gathered at the reception afterwards, they asked ChatGPT to write a groom’s wedding speech. Bingo! The result was as good as identical.

    Admittedly, whether you’re bride or groom, best man or chief bridesmaid, giving a wedding speech can be a scary prospect. But if you want to keep it personal and memorable, AI is not the answer.

    So what is? You could do a lot worse than following the five canons of classical rhetoric, as recommended by the great practitioners of the ancient world, Cicero and Quintilian: invention, arrangement, style, memory and delivery.

    1. Invention

    The first canon of classical rhetoric is invention. That’s the process of discovering and developing the ideas you’ll use in your speech.

    You can’t speak about everything, and no one likes a speech that drones on. Around ten minutes is all you need. That leaves you time for maybe six or seven events in the life of the person you’re talking about.

    If you visualise those six or seven events, that will help you remember them. Is there a theme or characteristic that binds them together? Identify one or two, and use them to create a thread.

    Good speakers often begin with a bit of a warm-up – maybe some light-hearted comments about the venue, or something in the news, or just a good joke. Plan to single out people in the audience for a mention or a laugh. Say something nice about the new family, or friendship groups you’ve discovered through the relationship.

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    2. Arrangement

    History is your best friend when it comes to arranging the order of your speech. The events you’ve chosen under “invention” happened in order of time. So lean on history and organise them chronologically.

    Also, remember that many of the best wedding speeches often follow an arc from light to serious. You can make fun of your subject for a while, but nothing quite beats ending with love.

    3. Style

    This will vary depending on your role. Best men and chief bridesmaids traditionally skirt the boundaries of politeness, or sometimes go crashing through them (the worst best-man jokes are not repeatable here, nor anywhere else, and there’s no shortage of books dedicated to them).

    Mostly you’ll be talking to a mixed audience. You can be a bit risqué without offending anyone (sexist jokes are not recommended). And because you’re likely to be talking to people you know, try to be informal – the “familiar style”, as it used to be called. That also means being personal. The speech has to sound like you.

    Keep your speech as personal as possible.
    Dupe/Chloe Christianson, CC BY-SA

    4. Memory

    The prospect of remembering a speech may feel daunting or impossible. But speaking without notes makes a huge difference to how you engage your audience.

    Look into their eyes and they will be drawn in. The ancient Roman educator Quintilian was one among many orators to recommend visual analogues as a memory aid – often, the ground plan of a house, where a porch leads to a hall, which leads to a dining room, and so on. You populate each room with clues. They might be verbal or visual.

    Anything that helps you lift your eyes from a script will increase your chances of getting the audience on your side.

    5. Delivery

    Calm your nerves by visualising the scene ahead of time. Most people visit their wedding venue before the big day, so take the opportunity to get used to the space, and then run it through in your head afterwards.

    Try rehearsing the speech while you’re going for a walk. When it comes to the big day and the room is full, remember that you can’t speak directly to everyone. Instead, pick out maybe three or four people to focus on, in different parts of the room.

    Taking a walk around the venue ahead of time can help you to memorise your speech.
    Dupe/Marissa Gradei, CC BY-SA

    There are novel approaches and there are disasters. The double-act approach can work brilliantly, where bride and groom take turns to deliver a single speech, but it may need scripting. If the venue has the facilities, a slide show can work well. Picking out the various groups of families and friends and getting them to wave usually works as a good warmup.

    When you get a laugh, ride it – start speaking again just as the laughter is dying down. Don’t wait for silence. If you get into a panic and can’t think of anything, just say you’re so happy that you’re speechless, and raise your glass for a toast.

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

    – ref. How to write a perfect wedding speech – according to ancient orators – https://theconversation.com/how-to-write-a-perfect-wedding-speech-according-to-ancient-orators-251284

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Symptoms of androgen excess in women are too often being overlooked – or dismissed as ‘just cosmetic’

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Michael O’Reilly, Clinical Associate Professor of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

    Hair loss can be a symptom of androgen excess Hazal Ak/Shutterstock

    Acne that won’t go away. Hair thinning at the crown. Unwanted facial hair, unpredictable periods, mood swings and weight gain. For millions of women, these aren’t just annoying symptoms – they’re signs of a deeper, often ignored condition: androgen excess. Despite affecting at least one in ten women worldwide, this hormonal imbalance remains underdiagnosed, misunderstood, and too often dismissed.

    Androgens are commonly known as “male hormones”, but all women have them too. The problem arises when levels become too high. This excess can wreak havoc across multiple systems in the body, disrupting menstrual cycles, fertility, metabolism and even mental health. Yet because some of the more visible symptoms, like acne or hirsutism, are often brushed off as cosmetic, many women don’t get the support or treatment they need.

    The most well known cause of androgen excess is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). It affects up to 13% of women globally and costs the US alone an estimated US$15 billion (£11 bllion) each year.

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    But, even though PCOS dominates the conversation, it’s not the only condition behind androgen excess. Other, sometimes more serious, disorders can also cause elevated hormone levels like hormone-secreting tumours, congenital adrenal hyperplasia (a group of genetic disorders that affect your adrenal glands), Cushing’s syndrome (a rare hormonal disorder caused by prolonged exposure to very high levels of the hormone cortisol) and severe insulin resistance. Yet too often, the assumption is that any woman with high androgens has PCOS, which can delay diagnosis of these rarer but potentially serious conditions.

    The effects of androgen excess go far beyond skin deep. It’s associated with significant metabolic issues – insulin resistance affects the majority of women with PCOS, putting them at higher risk for type 2 diabetes. Many also live with higher body weight and are more likely to develop high blood pressure, liver disease and cardiovascular problems.

    For some, difficulty conceiving is what finally leads them to seek medical help. But even among women not trying to become pregnant, hormonal imbalance can take a toll: anxiety and depression are two to three times more common in women with PCOS than in the general population.

    And yet, hormonal health is still too often treated as an afterthought. Many women describe years of feeling dismissed by doctors, told to “come back if you want to get pregnant”, or offered little more than the contraceptive pill. On average, women with PCOS wait over two years and consult several different healthcare professionals before receiving a diagnosis. Nearly half say their symptoms were initially ignored.

    Part of the problem may be the name itself. “Polycystic ovary syndrome” is a misnomer – many women with PCOS don’t actually have cysts on their ovaries, and having ovarian cysts doesn’t necessarily mean you have PCOS. It’s a complex metabolic and hormonal disorder, not just a reproductive one. That’s why some experts and patient advocates around the world are calling for a name change to better reflect the condition’s true nature. A more accurate label could raise awareness and improve the way it’s diagnosed and treated.

    Encouragingly, there’s been a major step forward in how androgen excess is addressed. In June 2024, the Society for Endocrinology in the UK published new clinical guidelines to help doctors better identify and manage the condition. These guidelines include clear diagnostic pathways, recommendations for when to carry out blood tests or scans, and guidance on when to refer patients for specialist care. Crucially, they acknowledge that androgen excess can affect women at all ages – not just during the reproductive years.

    A real difference

    Publishing guidelines is only the first step. To make a real difference in women’s lives, several things need to happen. First, there must be greater investment in research. We still don’t fully understand why some women develop excess androgens while others don’t, or why symptoms vary so much between individuals. Research in women’s health has long been underfunded and androgen-related conditions are no exception.

    Doctors also need better training. General practitioners, gynaecologists, dermatologists and even mental health professionals all have a role to play in recognising the signs of androgen excess. If they don’t feel confident identifying the symptoms or knowing when to investigate further, women will continue to fall through the cracks.

    Just as importantly, women need access to clear, trustworthy information. Too many are left to Google their symptoms or rely on online forums. Knowing what to look out for – and what to ask a doctor – can empower women to advocate for themselves and get the care they deserve.

    Finally, we need to move toward more joined up, holistic care. Hormonal health doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It affects – and is affected by – mental wellbeing, lifestyle, metabolism and reproductive health. Effective treatment means looking at the whole picture, not just prescribing a pill or focusing on fertility alone.

    Androgen excess may be invisible to those who don’t experience it, but its impact is profound. For too long, it has flown under the radar. With better understanding, better care, and a stronger voice for women’s health, we can ensure that hormonal symptoms are taken seriously – and treated with the urgency and compassion they deserve.

    Michael O’Reilly receives research funding from the Health Research Board (Ireland) and Wellcome

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

    – ref. Symptoms of androgen excess in women are too often being overlooked – or dismissed as ‘just cosmetic’ – https://theconversation.com/symptoms-of-androgen-excess-in-women-are-too-often-being-overlooked-or-dismissed-as-just-cosmetic-255743

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Hong Kong Customs detects one drug trafficking case involving incoming passenger at airport

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     ​Hong Kong Customs today (May 15) detected a drug trafficking case involving baggage concealment at Hong Kong International Airport and seized about 12 kilograms of suspected cannabis buds with an estimated market value of about $2.6 million.

    The case involved a 18-year-old female passenger arriving in Hong Kong from Bangkok, Thailand today. During customs clearance, Customs officers found the suspected cannabis buds, concealed inside 25 plastic bags and weighing about 12kg, in her check-in suitcase. The woman was subsequently arrested.

    An investigation is ongoing.

    Customs will continue to step up enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people.

    Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.

    Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

    Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

    Ends/Thursday, May 15, 2025
    Issued at HKT 23:51

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Incoming driver convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes (with photo)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

        A 49-year-old incoming male driver was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment and fined $1,000 at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts today (May 15) for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes and failing to declare them to Customs officers, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO).

    Based on risk assessment and intelligence analysis, Customs officers and police officers of the Airport Police District mounted a joint anti-illicit cigarette operation on January 17 at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port and intercepted an inbound private car which was declared to be empty. Upon inspection, Customs officers seized about 30 000 duty-not-paid cigarettes from the hollow spaces of the doors, under the seats, in the centre console and the rear compartment. The driver was subsequently arrested and the private car was also seized. The estimated market value of the duty-not-paid cigarettes seized in the case was about $150,000 and the duty potential was about $99,000.

    Customs welcomes the sentence. The custodial sentence has imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflects the seriousness of the offences. Customs reminds members of the public that under the DCO, tobacco products are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.

    Customs will continue to combat cross-boundary smuggling activities with firm enforcement action.

    Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

    Ends/Thursday, May 15, 2025
    Issued at HKT 18:35

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Grassley Introduces AI Whistleblower Protection Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
    WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Whistleblower Protection Act to provide explicit whistleblower protections to those developing and deploying AI. Currently, AI companies’ restrictive severance and nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) create a chilling effect on current and former employees looking to make whistleblower disclosures to the federal government, including Congress.  
    The legislation merges existing AI and whistleblower protection laws to shield the communications of current and former AI employees who make disclosures. The bill would also provide relief for AI whistleblowers who suffer retaliation, including reinstatement, back pay and compensation for damages incurred, where applicable.
    “Transparency brings accountability. Today, too many people working in AI feel they’re unable to speak up when they see something wrong. Whistleblowers are one of the best ways to ensure Congress keeps pace as the AI industry rapidly develops. We need to act to make these protections crystal clear. I’m proud to introduce this legislation to increase accountability and protect AI whistleblowers,” Grassley said.
    Additional co-sponsors include Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i). Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) are introducing companion legislation in the House of Representatives.  
    “AI is rapidly evolving in ways that have the potential to radically reshape our society and transform our world for the better and for the worse,” Coons said. “I have long been concerned with how much more tech companies know about the risks and harms of their products compared with regulators, independent researchers, and the public. The AI Whistleblower Protection Act is a critical tool among others that Congress must enact to ensure that we can get the best out of AI while also learning when it poses a substantial danger to public safety.”
    “As AI continues to develop at breakneck speed, we need to know about the risks that come with it,” Schatz said. “This bill protects whistleblowers from employer retaliation in the event that they report on significant dangers, security failures, or breaches of the law.”
    “Protecting whistleblowers who report AI security vulnerabilities isn’t just about workplace fairness—it’s a matter of national security,” Obernolte said. “As artificial intelligence becomes more powerful and more deeply embedded in our infrastructure, we must ensure that those who identify potential threats can speak up without fear of retaliation. This bill will help safeguard the American people from emerging technological risks and protect the integrity of our AI systems.”
    The legislation is endorsed by the National Whistleblower Center, Government Accountability Project, Center for AI Policy, The Anti-Fraud Coalition, Encode and Americans for Responsible Innovation.
    “The introduction of the [AI Whistleblower Protection Act] answers the call for AI industry employee whistleblower protections that will serve to protect the public, marking a turning point in guaranteeing transparency and accountability over AI companies,” said Stephen Kohn, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of the National Whistleblower Center. “National Whistleblower Center extends its sincere appreciation to [Senator Grassley], and [his] fellow sponsors and cosponsors, for championing this bill and taking a stand for all AI employees.”
    “In a time when AI technologies are advancing faster than many institutions can keep up, it’s absolutely vital that the federal government has access to accurate, truthful information about the dangers AI poses to public health and public safety,” said Jason Green-Lowe, Executive Director of the Center for AI Policy. “Senator’s Grassley’s strong and effective whistleblower protection bill will honor the brave individuals who step up to report genuine dangers and make it possible for them to do the right thing without giving up their careers. The Center for AI Policy firmly endorses this important and well-drafted bill and urges Congress to advance it without delay.”
    “Sen. Grassley’s bill offers crucial protection for AI whistleblowers,” said Jacklyn DeMar, President & CEO of The Anti-Fraud Coalition. “Sector-based whistleblower protections are desperately needed to allow insiders within the AI industry to best protect investors and ensure proper safety protocols are implemented. Given the rapid development and adoption of AI throughout our society, insiders working within the industry need to be properly protected when they blow the whistle.”
    “As AI systems grow more powerful and autonomous, we must shield those who sound the alarm about emerging risks. The engineers and researchers closest to these systems are the first to spot dangerous vulnerabilities or safety gaps,” said Sunny Gandhi, Vice President of Political Affairs at Encode AI. “The AI Whistleblower Protection Act creates a vital safety valve for our AI ecosystem, ensuring that legitimate national security concerns reach regulators before they spiral into preventable harm.”
    “Ensuring transparency and accountability in the rapidly evolving field of AI is a public interest and national security imperative,” said Brad Carson, President of Americans for Responsible Innovation. “Employees in the industry have firsthand knowledge of practices that may jeopardize public safety and our national security. The AI Whistleblower Protection Act ensures they aren’t silenced by a fear of retaliation.”
    Full text of the legislation is available HERE.
    Background:Last year, Grassley sent a letter to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman raising concerns about the alleged use of illegally restrictive NDAs, as well as the company’s employment, severance and non-disparagement agreements.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Army Soldier Charged with Child Pornography Offenses

    Source: US State of California

    A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging Seth Herrera, 35, a U.S. Army soldier, previously of El Paso, TX, with attempted sexual exploitation of a child and receipt of files depicting child sexual abuse.

    According to court documents, Herrera allegedly used encrypted messaging applications and network applications to find, receive, and download child sexual abuse material (CSAM) over the course of multiple years, beginning in 2021. He also allegedly used artificial intelligence chatbots to generate CSAM using images of children he knew. He is also alleged to have surreptitiously taken images and videos of those same children undressing in his home in El Paso.

    Herrera is already charged in Alaska relating to his alleged transportation, receipt, and possession of CSAM, including AI-generated CSAM, while stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.

    Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret F. Leachman for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.

    Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is investigating the case.

    Trial Attorney Rachel L. Rothberg of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mallory J. Rasmussen for the Western District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Briefing – Strengthening Europol’s mandate – 15-05-2025

    Source: European Parliament

    The European Commission proposes to strengthen the EU law enforcement agency’s mandate to: • turn Europol into a truly operational police agency and double its staff; • strengthen Europol’s mandate and its oversight; • reinforce the support Europol provides to Member States; • reinforce cooperation between Europol and other Justice and Home Affairs agencies The European internal security strategy, which the Commission presented on 1 April 2025, provides indication of the Commission’s plans for the agency, but is scant on detail, since the Commission wants to begin by consulting Member States on the agency’s future. Historically, Member States have ranged from those that make very little use of the agency, via those that are happy with the current mandate and functions (supporting Member States with analysis and reports from its headquarters in The Hague), and those that want to see the agency more (pro)-active on the ground. While the European Parliament has not yet taken a position on Europol during the current legislative term, the European People’s Party and the Renew Group have in previous terms called, respectively, for Europol to become ‘Eurocops’ or a ‘European FBI’. The latter would imply giving Europol greater autonomy, including the right of initiative, which some Member States could be expected to oppose. In the context of an ongoing proposal to strengthen Europol’s role in combating migrant smuggling and trafficking, the Council has been reluctant to grant the agency additional powers. A legislative proposal for a new Europol regulation is expected in the second quarter of 2026.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Briefing – New European biotech act: Which way forward? – 15-05-2025

    Source: European Parliament

    The new European biotech act, announced in Ursula von der Leyen’s political guidelines for 2025, was not included in the Commission work programme published on 11 February, but has recently been announced for early 2026. Strong uncertainty on the timing and scope of the biotech act have existed since the initial announcement. The Commission ordered a complex study to provide a foundation for the act only in early 2025, and it has become evident that discussions about the scope, key components, and timeline of the new European biotech act were still at an early stage. Expectations about the possibility for the Danish Presidency to initiate the discussions on the biotech act in the second half of 2025 have therefore faded. A key area of debate among stakeholders – from research to manufacturing, but also Member States – is the scope of the act. Concerns have been raised about the possibility that Commissioner Várhelyi and DG SANTE (currently leading on this file) might limit it primarily to healthcare, potentially overlooking the biotech industry’s broader potential in critical sectors including defence, energy, agriculture, and climate change mitigation. The European Parliament has the opportunity to use the time until a draft is presented to be proactive and use its tools to shape the proposal (see below), aiming for a comprehensive approach that encompasses biotech’s full impact across essential sectors. Discussions are currently taking place in the Committee on Public Health (SANT) and the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), to demonstrate that it is about strengthening a competitive comprehensive European biotech sector.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Environmentally harmful subsidies – E-001353/2025(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    Subsidies harmful to biodiversity comprise the following:

    — energy subsidies harmful to the environment including fossil fuel subsidies, where there is established reporting to the Commission[1];

    — and ‘other’ non-energy environmentally harmful subsidies, which would cover agricultural subsidies, where Member States are due to report for the first time in 2025. A guidance document on the methodology for doing so has been agreed based on input and discussions in an Expert Group of the Member States[2].

    The Member States and the Commission have a commitment to report on these environmentally harmful subsidies as part of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework on Target 18 by February 2026. The Commission intends to publish an overview of environmentally harmful subsidies before this time, but this is dependent on Member States reporting to the Commission their non-energy environmentally harmful subsidies including for sectors such as agriculture, transport and manufacturing.

    By 31 December 2025, the Commission will report on the assessment of the operation of the new delivery model by the Member States and consistency and combined contribution of the interventions in Member States’ Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plans[3] to achieving environmental and climate-related commitments of the Union. The Commission will examine the effectiveness of the CAP by 31 December 2026 as part of the interim evaluation.

    • [1] https://energy.ec.europa.eu/news/energy-subsidies-report-shows-progress-2023-2025-01-29_en.
    • [2] Sub group on Environmentally Harmful Subsidies and the Polluter Pays Principle (E02987/1): https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expert-groups/consult?lang=en&groupId=103352&fromMeetings=true&meetingId=50127.
    • [3] https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/cap-my-country/cap-strategic-plans_en.
    Last updated: 15 May 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Issues Legal Alert on Legislation Authorizing New Civil Penalties for Housing Law Violations

    Source: US State of California

    OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a legal alert to help California local officials — such as council and board members, planning directors, city attorneys, and county counsel — understand new requirements of state housing law under Senate Bill 1037 (SB 1037). Authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and sponsored by Attorney General Bonta, SB 1037 went into effect on January 1, 2025 and establishes new court-ordered civil penalties for cities (including charter cities) and counties that (1) fail to adopt a compliant housing element and/or (2) fail to ministerially approve a housing development application that state law requires be approved ministerially. In today’s legal alert, Attorney General Bonta includes five hypothetical examples to assist local officials in understanding the practical effects and implementation of SB 1037. 

    “Increasing the production and affordability of housing is a top priority of mine. That’s why I created the Housing Justice Team, and that’s why my office regularly works with the Legislature on bills that will help us build housing faster. SB 1037, which I proudly co-sponsored, is one of those pieces of legislation,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “This new law imposes bigger financial penalties than ever before when cities and counties deny or delay the homes that Californians desperately need, and the fines will go toward building even more affordable housing. We need every local government to build their fair share of housing, and SB 1037 requires the bare minimum: prepare your housing element on time and follow state law when you receive a housing development application.” 

    “Robust enforcement is absolutely critical to ensuring that the bold pro-housing policies California has enacted in recent years translate into actual new homes on the ground. With this legal guidance, cities have everything they need to comply with state housing law—these requirements aren’t surprises for anyone,” said Senator Scott Wiener. “I’m grateful for the Attorney General for being a strong pro-housing champion and using tools like SB 1037 to hold bad actors accountable for exacerbating our housing shortage.” 

    Previously, when a court found a locality in violation of state housing law, monetary penalties could only be imposed 60 days, or in some cases up to a year, after a court ordered compliance. SB 1037 provides that: 

    • If a court finds, in an action brought by the Attorney General or the California Department of Housing and Community Development, that a city, county, or local agency violated the housing element adoption deadline or ministerial approval requirements set forth in SB 1037, that court must subject violators to a minimum civil penalty of $10,000 per month, and not to exceed $50,000 per month, for each violation, accrued from the date of the violation until the date the violation is cured. 
    • When a city, county, or local agency refuses to adopt a legally compliant housing element and also ignores a court order directing them to do so for more than 120 days, a court must impose the maximum penalty of $50,000 per month. In addition, these violators will face serious curtailment of their local land use authority. 
    • Any civil penalty levied pursuant to SB 1037 must be earmarked to support the development of affordable housing located in the affected jurisdiction, to be spent within five years of deposit. Cities, counties, and local agencies may not use funds already dedicated to affordable housing to pay for these penalties.

    Background on Housing Element

    Under the state’s Housing Element Law, every city and county in California must periodically update its housing element to meet its share of the regional and statewide housing needs. Among other things, a compliant housing element must include an assessment of housing needs, an inventory of resources and constraints relevant to meeting those needs, and a program to implement the policies, goals, and objectives of the housing element. Once the housing element is adopted, it is implemented through zoning ordinances and other actions that put its objectives into effect and facilitate the construction of new homes for Californians at all income levels.  

    The housing element is a crucial tool for building housing for moderate-, low-, and very low-income Californians and redressing historical redlining and disinvestment. State income limits for what constitutes moderate-, low-, and very low-income Californians vary by county and can be found here. 

    Background on Ministerial Approval

    Ministerial, or streamlined, approval is where review by public officials, such as local planning staff, is limited to ensuring that a proposed development meets all objective standards in effect at the time that the application is submitted to the local government. If the objective standards are met, the project must be approved, without being subjected to special discretion or personal, subjective judgment in deciding whether or how the project should be carried out.  

    Laws requiring ministerial approval include but are not limited to streamlined housing approvals under SB 423 (Wiener, 2023), certain ADUs, duplexes, and lot splits under SB 9 (Atkins, 2021), small lot subdivisions under SB 684 (Caballero, 2023), and affordable housing located in commercial zones under AB 2011 (Wicks, 2022). 

    A copy of the legal alert can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Three Bipartisan Klobuchar Bills to Support Law Enforcement and First Responders Advance out of Judiciary Committee

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Minnesota Amy Klobuchar
    WASHINGTON – During National Police Week, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that three of her bipartisan bills to bolster safety and resources for first responders and law enforcement officers passed out of the Judiciary Committee.
    The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act, which Klobuchar leads with Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), passed committee. This legislation would expand access to federal support for the families of firefighters and other first responders who pass away or become permanently disabled from service-related cancers. Currently, firefighters are only eligible for support under the Public Safety Officer Benefits (PSOB) program for physical injuries sustained in the line-of-duty, or for deaths from duty-related heart attacks, strokes, mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and 9/11 related illnesses.
    “First responders put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe. It’s unacceptable that first responders who succumb to cancer from work-related exposure or become permanently and totally disabled don’t receive the same treatment as others who die in the line of duty,” said Klobuchar. “That’s why I’m working with Senator Cramer to ensure that firefighters and other first responders get the support they deserve. Our bipartisan legislation will honor the memory and sacrifice of St. Paul Fire Department Captain Mike Paidar and so many others who risk their lives in service of their communities.”
    “Our first responders epitomize courage and selfless sacrifice, confronting both the immediate perils of their duty and lingering health risks associated with their service,” said Cramer. “The exposure to dangerous carcinogens happens on our behalf. I applaud the Senate Judiciary Committee for passing the bill. It’s time to pass it on the Senate floor.”
    Klobuchar and Senator Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA) bipartisan Retired Law Enforcement Officers Continuing Service Act also passed the committee. The bill will support law enforcement agencies in hiring retired law enforcement officers to perform civilian law enforcement tasks. This includes helping with carjacking investigations by reviewing camera footage, helping with crime scene analysis, as well as investigations into financial and cyber-crimes, and to train new law enforcement officers.
    “Those in law enforcement have dedicated their careers to public service, and many want to continue serving their communities even after they have retired from the force,” said Klobuchar. “Our bipartisan bill will allow these law enforcement professionals to share the valuable skills they learned throughout their career by training the next generation of law enforcement and working on investigations for carjacking and other crimes.”
    ‘“Law enforcement in Iowa and across the nation are struggling with low recruitment and staffing shortages,” Grassley said. “Retired officers who are willing and able to continue serving their communities should have Congress’ support to do so. I’m glad to see this innovative and commonsense bill move forward.”
    The bipartisan Protecting First Responders from Secondary Exposure Act, which Klobuchar leads with Grassley, would support state and local emergency services with additional training and containment tools to guard against accidental exposure to lethal narcotics like fentanyl also passed.
    “As we continue fighting the fentanyl epidemic, we must also protect the health and safety of our first responders who are on the front lines responding to this crisis,” Klobuchar said. “Our bipartisan bill does this by giving first responders the resources necessary to prevent secondary exposures with lifesaving containment devices.”
    “As law enforcement officers and first responders work tirelessly to protect our communities, the federal government must act to ensure these brave individuals are equally protected. I applaud the Senate Judiciary Committee for advancing our bipartisan bill to help safeguard officers and responders from lethal narcotics exposure while on the job,” Grassley said.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Man charged with three counts of arson with intent

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    A man arrested in connection with a series of arson attacks in north London has been charged.

    Roman Lavrynovych 21 (06.02.04), of Sydenham, a Ukrainian national has been charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life.

    The charges, which were authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service, relate to three incidents – a vehicle fire in NW5 on 8 May, a fire at the entrance of a property in N7 on 11 May and a fire at a residential address in NW5 in the early hours of 12 May.

    Due to the property having previous connections with a high-profile public figure, officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command have led the investigation into the fires.

    Lavrynovych was arrested in the early hours of 13 May and has remained in custody after warrants of further detention were obtained.

    He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 16 May.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Cargo Airline Operator Sentenced To Two Years In Prison For Paying Millions In Kickbacks In Large-Scale Scheme To Defraud Cargo Airline

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that SKYE XU was sentenced to two years in prison by U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman for his part in a scheme to defraud Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, Inc. (“Polar”), a leading cargo airline, of more than $32 million dollars in revenue.  XU previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest services wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

    U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “During the COVID-19 pandemic, Skye Xu paid approximately $4.4 million in kickbacks to Polar executives to obtain highly lucrative business from Polar.  The Polar executives concealed the kickbacks from Polar using shell companies.  Corruption of this type has costs that extend way beyond Polar’s or any one company’s bottom line. Today’s sentence should be a reminder that commercial bribery has no place in America.

    According to the charging documents and other public filings and statements made in public court proceedings:

    From at least in or about November 2020 through in or about July 2021, XU operated Sky X Airlines, LLC, a cargo airline company based in California. During those nine months, and without Polar’s knowledge, XU paid approximately $4.4 million in kickbacks to shell companies controlled by three senior executives of Polar (the “Executive Defendants”) in exchange for two lucrative business contracts with Polar. These fraudulently obtained contracts earned XU and his cargo airline approximately $46 million in gross revenue and nearly $10 million in net revenue based on the sales of unused space on passenger airlines to transport cargo during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The approximately $4.4 million in kickbacks that XU paid to the Executive Defendants in a nine-month span was part of more than $20 million in kickbacks and other financial benefits that the Executive Defendants and other co-conspirators received from certain Polar customers and vendors from at least 2009 to at least 2021 in exchange for ensuring that those vendors and customers received favorable business arrangements with Polar.  The fraud that XU and his coconspirators perpetrated—which involved a substantial portion of Polar’s senior management and at least ten customers and vendors of Polar—led to pervasive corruption of Polar’s business, touching nearly every aspect of the company’s operations, for over a decade.

    XU was the last of 10 defendants charged in this case to be convicted. Five of the 10 charged defendants have previously been sentenced.

    *                *                *

    In addition to the prison term, XU, 43, of West Covina, California, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.  XU was also ordered to forfeit $4,487,830 and to make restitution to Polar in the amount of $1,390,000. 

    Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations. 

    The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Danielle Kudla, Kevin Mead, Qais Ghafary, and Jerry J. Fang are in charge of the prosecution.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: South Bend Man Sentenced to 108 Months in Prison

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SOUTH BEND – Michael Bellina, 22 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Cristal C. Brisco after pleading guilty to transportation of child pornography, announced Acting United States Attorney Tina L. Nommay.

    Bellina was sentenced to 108 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.

    According to documents in the case, between August 2023 and March 2024, Bellina transported more than 600 images of child sexual abuse material that he received through the internet. He uploaded the images and distributed them on multiple internet platforms.

    This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Indiana State Police, the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Mishawaka Police Department, the Bloomington Police Department, the Indiana University Police Department, the Raleigh (North Carolina) Police Department, the Boone (North Carolina) Police Department, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hannah T Jones.

    The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Seattle man indicted for sex trafficking through force, fraud and coercion and transporting woman for prostitution

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Seattle – A 37-year-old Seattle man appeared for arraignment this morning on an indictment charging him with sex trafficking through force, fraud, and coercion and transporting an adult to engage in prostitution, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Shante Broady pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the indictment. He remains detained at the Federal Detention Center (FDC) at SeaTac pending a trial currently scheduled for July 14, 2025, in front of U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour.

    According to records filed in the case, Broady has been on law enforcement’s radar since March 2023, when they received a report that Broady had been sex trafficking a victim in Portland, Oregon. And in November 2024, a former girlfriend reported being assaulted by Broady.

    In April 2025, two women in Seattle contacted the FBI regarding Broady’s sex trafficking and threats of violence. One woman said Broady was ultimately unsuccessful in his attempt to force her into prostitution. The other reported that in March 2025, Broady had lured her from Canada, paying for her plane ticket. He then forced her into prostitution with threats and violence, and brandishing a firearm when angered. Text messages allegedly document the threats. The victims got a civil restraining order to try to keep him away from them. The woman from Canada was ultimately able to return home.

    The criminal complaint also details Broady’s involvement in transporting and harboring a juvenile who had run away from a boarding school in another state. The juvenile was encountered on North Aurora Avenue and taken into custody by law enforcement. She was ultimately safely returned to family members. The trafficking of the juvenile remains under investigation.

    Sex trafficking through force, fraud and coercion is punishable by a mandatory minimum 15 years in prison and up to life in prison. Transportation of an adult for purposes of prostitution is punishable by up to ten years in prison.

    The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations.  A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    The case is being investigated by the FBI.

    The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kate Crisham. Ms. Crisham leads the Anti-Trafficking prosecutions in the Western District of Washington.  

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Dominican National Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Distribution Conspiracy

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BOSTON – A Dominican national residing in the Bronx, N.Y. has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston in connection with his role in a fentanyl distribution hub in the Bronx that sent fentanyl laced with xylazine, a horse tranquilizer, to Massachusetts.

    Jairo Collazo, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, involving 400 grams or more of fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Sept. 17, 2025. Collazo was charged by criminal complaint in April 2024 and later indicted.  

    According to court records, Collazo operated a fentanyl distribution hub out of a basement in the Bronx, from which he distributed fentanyl to destinations including Boston, Mass.; Fitchburg, Mass.; Springfield, Mass.; Syracuse, N.Y; and the State of Vermont. Collazo and his coconspirators whom he called “employees” used the basement in the Bronx to package fentanyl into glassine wax paper bags for distribution. Collazo traveled to Massachusetts on two occasions, in December 2023 and January 2024, to distribute fentanyl to a witness working with law enforcement. On April 12, 2024, during a search of the Bronx basement, fentanyl packaged for distribution, materials used for cutting fentanyl with other substances and bottles of xylazine were recovered. Collazo used xylazine to cut the fentanyl and offered to sell it to the cooperating witness. More than 2 kilograms of fentanyl was seized from Collazo.

    According to court records, in 2021, Collazo pleaded guilty in New York Supreme Criminal Court to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree (heroin) and was sentenced to two years incarceration.

    The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, involving 400 grams or more of fentanyl provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. Collazo lacks lawful status in the United States is subject to deportation after completion of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Fitchburg Police Department and the Boston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel R. Feldman is prosecuting the case.
     

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Bridgeport Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Third Federal Conviction

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that GAVIN HAMMETT, also known as “G” and “Silk,” 60, of Bridgeport, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 120 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for drug trafficking and firearm possession offenses.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, in early 2024, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force and Stamford Police Department identified Hammett as the member of a drug trafficking network that was distributing cocaine and fentanyl in the Bridgeport area.  Between February and April 2024, investigators made controlled purchases of fentanyl from Hammett.

    Hammett was arrested on May 14, 2024.  On that date, a court authorized search of his residence revealed approximately two kilograms of cocaine, approximately 39 grams of fentanyl, two handguns, two loaded gun magazines, and an empty gun magazine.

    Hammett has been detained since his arrest.  On February 21, 2025, he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

    This is Hammett’s third federal conviction.  In July 1997, Hammett was sentenced in the District of South Carolina to 105 months of imprisonment for distributing cocaine, and in October 2011, he was sentenced in the District of Connecticut to 240 months of imprisonment for distributing cocaine and crack.  In October 2020, after he had served approximately nine years of his 20-year sentence, Hammett’s pandemic-related motion for compassionate release was granted by a federal judge and his sentence was reduced to time served.

    This investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, the Stamford Police Department, the Bridgeport Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Connecticut State Police, and the Norwalk, Danbury, and Darien Police Departments.  The DEA HIDTA Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Bridgeport Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Norwalk, Stamford, Stratford, Milford, and Danbury Police Departments.

    The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia Stolfi Collins through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Kansas City Man Pleads Guilty to Multi-State Business Burglary Conspiracy

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today for his role in a scheme in which the conspirators stole hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise from beauty and liquor stores across six states.

    Gary Bailey, 24, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays, to one count of conspiring to transport and possess stolen property and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property.

    By pleading guilty, Bailey admitted that between March 2023 and January 2024, he participated in burglarizing at least 23 stores across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. Bailey and his co-conspirators brought the stolen product back to Kansas City, before either selling it, giving it away to family or friends, or consuming the product themselves. The loss to these 23 victim businesses exceeded $418,000.

    On April 22, 2025, co-conspirator Donald Bennett pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to transport and possess stolen property, one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, and one count of money laundering.

    As part of the plea agreement, Bailey must pay restitution to the victim businesses; the exact amount to be determined at his sentencing hearing. Under federal statutes, Bailey is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Constance. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Olathe, Kansas, Police Department, with assistance from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Platte County Sheriff’s Office and the police departments of Derby, KS, Belton, MO, Blue Springs, MO, Columbia, MO, Creve Coeur, MO, Edwardsville, KS, Fairview Heights, IL, Kansas City, MO, Kansas City, KS, Lawrence, KS, Leawood, KS, Lee’s Summit, MO, Lenexa, KS, Liberty, MO, Olathe, KS, Omaha, NE, Overland, Park, KS, Papillion, NE, Parkville, MO, Plainfield, IN, Plano, TX, Platte City, MO, Shawnee, KS, Springfield, MO, St. Joseph, MO, Terre Haute, IN, Topeka, KS, and West Des Moines, IA.

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  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Pfluger Introduces Bill to Protect Healthcare Providers Who Refuse to Support or Promote Abortion

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11)

    WASHINGTON, DC — As first reported in The Daily Signal, Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11), alongside Senator James Lankford (R-OK), introduced bicameral legislation to protect healthcare providers who refuse to support or promote abortion.

    The Conscience Protection Act of 2025 strengthens and expands the Weldon Amendment, a federal provision—attached to annual appropriations bills since 2004—that prohibits any federal, state, or local government from discriminating against or penalizing health care providers who decline to perform, pay for, or refer for abortions. The bill codifies these protections into permanent law and establishes a civil right of action, allowing individuals and entities to seek legal recourse if their conscience rights are violated.

    “As a father of three beautiful daughters and a firm believer that life begins at conception, protecting the unborn is not just a policy stance—it’s a moral obligation. That’s why one of my top priorities in Congress is defending life and the people who stand up for it,” said Rep. Pfluger. “The Conscience Protection Act of 2025 safeguards healthcare professionals from being penalized or discriminated against for not participating in, paying for, or facilitating abortions due to their deeply held beliefs. It builds on and strengthens the Weldon Amendment, ensuring no doctor, nurse, or provider is punished by government overreach for following their conscience. I’m proud to lead this effort alongside Senator Lankford as we push back on radical policies that threaten the sanctity of life and the freedom of those who protect it.”

    “When conscience protections aren’t enforced, health care workers are forced to decide if they should lose their job or violate their beliefs by performing an abortion. Many health care professionals went into their careers to protect life, not take life. Doctors and nurses should never have to make the choice between their career and their conscience. The Conscience Protection Act defends health care workers and empowers them to stand by convictions as they care for their community,” said Senator Lankford.

    The bill is co-sponsored in the House by Representatives Dan Webster (FL-11), John Moolenaar (MI-02), Dan Crenshaw (TX-02), Anna Paulina Luna (FL-13), Adrian Smith (NE-03), Don Bacon (NE-02), Roger Williams (TX-25), Sheri Biggs (SC-03), and Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-09), and in the Senate by Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Jim Risch (R-ID), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Ted Budd (R-NC), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Todd Young (R-IN), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Jim Banks (R-IN).

    Read the full text of the legislation here.

    Rep. Pfluger’s legislation is supported by several pro-life advocacy organizations, including Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, March for Life, Alliance Defending Freedom, and the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG).

    The Honorable Marilyn Musgrave, Vice President of Government Affairs, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said, “SBA Pro-Life America is proud to stand with pro-life leader Congressman Pfluger as he introduces the Conscience Protection Act. This bill’s comprehensive definition of ‘health care providers’ is a necessary response to the Biden Administration’s reckless decision to turn every post office and pharmacy into an abortion center. Women deserve real help and care—not high-risk drugs to take alone without medical guidance. This bill rightfully empowers medical professionals to protect women and defend life, not destroy it.” 

    Jennie Bradley Lichter, President of March for Life Action, said, “March for Life Action is grateful for Representative Pfluger’s introduction of the Conscience Protection Act which rightly ensures that the government cannot penalize healthcare providers who refuse to support or promote abortion. At March for Life Action, we remain committed to working alongside lawmakers to ensure pro-life institutions can uphold their values without fear of punishment.”

    Matt Sharp, Senior Counsel, Director of the Center for Public Policy at Alliance Defending Freedom, said, “Americans—including doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals—ought to be free to live and work consistent with their conscience without fear of unjust punishment. At a time when our country is facing a shortage of qualified health care heroes, our laws should welcome those who seek to practice medicine in an ethical, conscientious manner. The Conscience Protection Act will enable more doctors and nurses to enter—and stay—in health care, leading to more choices for patients seeking a doctor who shares their values. We commend the leadership of Representative August Pfluger and Senator James Lankford on this critical bill. This is a win for people of all faiths.”

    Christina Francis, MD, CEO of AAPLOG Action, said, “With medical professionals practicing in an environment that is increasingly hostile towards valuing human dignity, it is crucial that they are able to rely on the enforcement of laws protecting their right to serve patients in accordance with their conscience. This bill will ensure that medical professionals are able to continue offering excellent life-affirming care, including in under-served areas of our country.”

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  • MIL-OSI USA: Kamlager-Dove, Foster Youth Caucus Colleagues Introduce Resolution to Recognize Foster Care Month

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager California (37th District)

    WASHINGTON, DC — Today, on National Foster Care Day, Foster Youth Caucus Co-Chair Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D, CA-37) introduced a resolution to recognize the month of May as National Foster Care Month alongside fellow Co-Chairs Reps. Don Bacon (R, NE-02), Erin Houchin (R, IN-09), Gwen Moore (D, WI-04), Zach Nunn (R, IA-03), and Mary Gay Scanlon (D, PA-05). The bipartisan resolution encourages Congress to implement policies to improve the child welfare system and honors foster families, social workers, and advocates for the essential role that they play in the lives of foster youth.

    “All children deserve stable environments where they can learn, grow, and thrive,” said Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove. “I am proud to re-introduce this bipartisan resolution alongside the Foster Youth Caucus to recognize the resilience of our foster youth, honor those who make a difference in their lives, and recommit to passing policies that help ensure all children have a safe and loving home. As a Representative of Los Angeles County—home to over 30,000 foster youth—I will always champion our most vulnerable children through my work in Congress.”

    “As co-chair of the Foster Youth Caucus and a foster-to-adopt parent myself, I know that every child deserves a safe, loving, and permanent home, and this resolution not only recognizes the challenges faced by foster youth but honors the dedicated individuals who work tirelessly to support them,” said Rep. Bacon. “Having witnessed the transformative power of foster care and adoption, I’m committed to implementing policies that improve the lives of every child in the foster care system.”

    “National Foster Care Month is an opportunity to lift up the young people in the child welfare system and continue pushing for proposals that improve outcomes and enhance the wellbeing of children and youth in care,” said Rep. Moore. “Serving as co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, I am deeply committed to that work every day.”

    “Every child deserves a safe, loving, and permanent home. As a dad to six kids, including two Kelly and I were blessed to adopt, this resolution is personal to me,” said Rep. Nunn. “This month and every month, we honor the foster parents, the parents who choose to adopt, and the social workers who step up for kids with nowhere else to turn. I will keep working to build a system that helps more families who are ready to open their homes and their hearts to foster, adopt, and change a child’s life.”

    “Before coming to Congress, I spent decades working as a child advocate, seeing firsthand the challenges that young people and those who serve them face in finding permanent homes and connections,” said Rep. Scanlon. “It’s why one of my top priorities in Congress is to confront the challenges of our foster care system, support the more than 369,000 children it serves, and provide the resources that those dedicated to serving them need to ensure their bright futures. Raising awareness about the need to invest in the lives of children and youth in foster care is an important part of building support and driving change–that’s why I’m proud to join my co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth in recognizing May as National Foster Care Month.”

    According to the most recent data from the US Children’s Bureau, 369,000 children are living in foster care nationwide. Our nation’s foster youth face significant challenges, including disparities in positive outcomes in health, education, employment, and involvement with the justice system. National Foster Care Month was established in the United States in 1988 to recognize foster youth, foster parents, and all those who support children in the foster care system. 

    The bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth provides a forum for Members of Congress to discuss and develop policy recommendations to strengthen the child welfare system and improve the overall well-being of youth and families. The Foster Youth Caucus is committed to ensuring that our nation’s vulnerable, yet resilient, youth are provided with the opportunities and support necessary to succeed.

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  • MIL-OSI USA: Ciscomani Questions Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy about Aviation Security

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Juan Ciscomani (Arizona)

    The Congressman asked the Secretary how his budget proposal will prevent incidents, like the mid-air collision at Marana Regional Airport, from happening again

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Congressman Juan Ciscomani, who serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, questioned U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy during an oversight hearing about DOT’s budget.  

    Ciscomani questioned Secretary Duffy about provisions in the Department’s proposed budget that would prevent tragic incidents, like the deadly mid-air collision at the Marana Regional Airport, from happening again.  

    For the full clip and excerpts of the hearing, please see below. Excerpts have been edited for length and clarity. 

    Ciscomani:  On February 19 of this year, two small aircraft crashed midair resulting in the death of two individuals in Marana, Arizona. It is critical that the federal government works to ensure that something like this never occurs again…[Could you] provide an update on how your budget proposal will ensure [that] incidents like this do not occur again, especially in smaller rural airports that are regional and [have] less resources? 

    Secretary Duffy: That was tragic. This was in an uncontrolled airspace, so controllers don’t control every aspect of the airspace. A lot of the small airports… oftentimes it’s done by pilots and visually staying away from each other. And by the way, I don’t think general aviation would like air traffic controllers to control every aspect of the airspace. They do like the freedom of movement, but it then creates risks, like we saw in your community, where two planes collided midair…It’s the infrastructure and it’s the manpower of air traffic controllers. And this is what we’ve been talking about. And we want to work with all of you to pressure test the numbers that we’re thinking about. This can be very dangerous and a lot of the pilots who fly commercially take people’s lives in their hands, and it is a serious business, and we want to make sure that all of them are taking it that way. Another thing that we need in that in part of rural America, we got to think through how we’re building out the infrastructure of towers and Terminal Radar Approach Control Facilities (TRACONs). I think on average we build one a year. It’s going to take us 400 years to replace all of the towers and TRACONs in this country. We want to [improve] that. We’d like to do four or five a year, I mean up the speed to update the old infrastructure. And a lot of you have those facilities around your districts that need work… If we could start the process every year, getting four or five of them done, I think we would be well on the way.  

    Watch Ciscomani’s entire round of questioning here.  

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