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Category: Universities

  • MIL-Evening Report: Fiji Indians in NZ ‘not giving up’ on Pasifika classification struggle

    By Susana Suisuiki, RNZ Pacific Waves presenter/producer, and Christina Persico, RNZ Pacific bulletin editor

    The co-founder of Auckland’s Fiji Centre is concerned that Indo-Fijians are not classified as Pacific Islanders in Aotearoa.

    This week marks the 146th anniversary of the arrival of the first indentured labourers from British India to Fiji, who departed from Calcutta.

    On 14 May 1879, the first group of 522 labourers arrived in Fiji aboard the Leonidas, a labour transportation ship.

    That date in 1987 is also the date of the first military coup in Fiji.

    More than 60,000 men, women and children were brought to Fiji under an oppressive system of bonded labour between 1879 and 1916.

    Today, Indo-Fijians make up 33 percent of the population.

    While Fiji is part of the Pacific, Indo-Fijians are not classified as Pacific peoples in New Zealand; instead, they are listed under “Indian” and “Asian” on the Stats NZ website.

    Lasting impact on Fiji
    The Fiji Centre’s Nik Naidu, who is also a co-founder of the Whānau Community Centre and Hub, said that he understood Fiji was the only country in the Pacific where the British implemented the indentured system.

    “It is also a sad legacy and a sad story because it was basically slavery,” he said.

    “The positive was that the Fiji Indian community made a lasting impact on Fiji.

    “They continue to be around 30 percent of the population in Fiji, and I think significantly in Aotearoa, through the migration, the numbers are, according to the community, over 100,000 in New Zealand.”

    Fiji Centre co-founder Nikhil Naidu . . . Girmit Day “is also a sad legacy and a sad story because it was basically slavery.” Image: Asia Pacific Report

    However, he said the discussions on ethnic classification “reached a stalemate” with the previous Pacific Peoples Minister.

    “His basic argument was, well, ethnographically, Fijian Indians do not fit the profile of Pacific Islanders,” he said.

    Then-minister Aupito William Sio said in 2021 that, while he understood the group’s concerns, the classification for Fijian Indians was in line with an ethnographic profile which included people with a common language, customs and traditions.

    Aupito said that profile was different from indigenous Pacific peoples.

    StatsNZ and ethnicity
    “StatsNZ recognises ethnicity as the ethnic group or groups a person self-identifies with or has a sense of belonging to,” Aupito said in a letter at the time.

    It is not the same as race, ancestry, nationality, citizenship or even place of birth, he said.

    “They have identified themselves now that the system of government has not acknowledged them.

    “Those conversations have to be ongoing to figure out how do we capture the data of who they are as Fijian Indians or to develop policies around that to support their aspirations.”

    Girmitiyas – Indentured labourers – in Fiji . . . shedding light on the harsh colonial past in Fiji. Image: RNZ Pacific/Fiji Girmit Foundation

    Naidu believes the ethnographic argument was a misunderstanding of the request.

    “The request is not to say, like Chinese in Samoa, they are not indigenous to Samoa, but they are Samoans, and they are Pacific Chinese.

    “So there is the same thing with Fijian Indians. They are not wanting to be indigenous.

    Different from mainland Indians
    “They do want to be recognised as separate Indians in the Pacific because they are very different from the mainland Indians.

    “In fact, most probably 99 percent of Fijian Indians have never been to India and have no affiliations to India because during the Girmit they lost all connections with their families.”

    However, Naidu told Pacific Waves the community was not giving up.

    “There was a human rights complaint made — again that did not progress in the favour of the Fijian Indians.

    “Currently from . . . Fiji Centre’s perspective, we are still pursuing that.

    “We have also had a discussion with Stats NZ about the numbers and trying to ascertain just why they have not managed to put a separate category, so that we can look at the number of Fijian Indians and also relative to Pacific Islanders.”

    Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka told RNZ Pacific that as far as Fiji is concerned, Fijians of Indian descent are Fijian.

    Question to minister
    Last year, RNZ Pacific asked the current Minister for Pacific Peoples, Dr Shane Reti, on whether Indo-Fijians were included in Ministry of Pacific Peoples as Pacific people.

    In a statement, his office said: “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is undertaking ongoing policy work to better understand this issue.”

    Meanwhile, the University of Fiji’s vice-chancellor is asking the Australian and British governments to consider paying reparation for the exploitation of the indentured labourers more than a century ago.

    Professor Shaista Shameem told the ABC that they endured harsh conditions, with long hours, social restrictions and low wages.

    She said the Australian government and the Colonial Sugar Refinery of Australia benefitted the most financially and it was time the descendants were compensated.

    While some community leaders have been calling for reparation, Naidu said there were other issues that needed attention.

    He said it had been an ongoing discussion for many decades.

    “It is a very challenging one, because where do you draw the line? And it is a global problem, the indenture system. It is not just unique to Fiji.

    “Personally, yes, I think that is a great idea. Practically, I am not sure if it is feasible and possible.”

    Focus on what unites, says Rabuka
     Fiji is on a path for reconciliation, with leaders from across the political spectrum signing a Forward Fiji Declaration in 2023, hoping to usher in a new era of understanding between indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians.

    Rabuka announced a public holiday to commemorate Girmit Day in 2023.

    In his Girmit Day message this year, Rabuka said his government was dedicated to bringing unity and reconciliation between all races living in Fiji.

    “We all know that Fiji has had a troubled past, as it was natural that conflicts would arise when a new group of people would come into another’s space,” he said.

    “This is precisely what transpired when the Indians began to live or decided to live as permanent citizens.

    “There was distrust as the two groups were not used to living together during the colonial days. Indigenous Fijians did not have a say in why, and how many should come and how they should be settled here. Fiji was not given a time to transit.

    “The policy of indenture labour system was dumped on us. Naturally this led to tensions and misunderstandings, reasons that fuelled conflicts that followed after Fiji gained independence.”

    He said 146 years later, Fijians should focus on what unites rather than what divides them.

    “We have together long enough to know that unity and peace will lead us to a good future.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Adams, Figures Introduce Legislation to Protect Federal Funding for Land-Grant HBCUs

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Alma Adams (12th District of North Carolina)

    WASHINGTON, DC— Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12), founder and co-chair of the Bipartisan, Bicameral Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Caucus, and Congressman Shomari C. Figures (AL-02) introduced the Land-Grant Institution Parity Act. 

    The Land-Grant Institution Parity Act protects federal funding for our land-grant colleges and universities, including the country’s 19 land-grant HBCUs, commonly referred to as 1890 Institutions. This bill comes following the USDA’s suspension and reinstatement of the 1890 National Scholars Program, a scholarship program for 1890 Institution students studying agriculture, food, or natural resources sciences, earlier this year.

    “The Land-Grant Institution Parity Act is an important step to protect funding for our land-grant HBCUs and build equity in higher education,” said Congresswoman Adams. “1890 Institutions have always punched above their weight and provided outsized benefits to their students, their research, and their communities. They know how to do more with less, but they shouldn’t have to. It’s time we ensure these institutions of excellence always receive the funding they deserve.”

    “Earlier this year, the Trump Administration suspended funding for historically Black land-grant colleges, but did not pause the same funding for the predominately white land-grant institutions,” said Rep. Figures. “That is simply wrong, and that decision sent a clear message about the vulnerability of programs designed to uplift underserved communities. Under this bill, funding for land-grant institutions will be treated equally and funds cannot be paused, cut, or eliminated without congressional approval. I’m committed to protecting our HBCUs and the students that they serve.”

    Under the Land-Grant Institution Parity Act, federal officials are prohibited from reducing, eliminating, or suspending funding for 1890 Institutions without authorization from Congress. This bill aims to ensure long-term stability and equity for land-grant HBCUs and other land-grant universities serving underserved communities.

    The original cosponsors for this bill include Reps. Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Terri Sewell (AL-07), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Cleo Fields (LA-04), David Scott (GA-13), and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37).

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus Leader Encouraged by new Executive Order on HBCUs

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Alma Adams (12th District of North Carolina)

    WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Congresswoman Alma S. Adams Ph.D. (NC-12), Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, and Founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Bipartisan, Bicameral Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Caucus, released a statement following President Trump’s executive order on HBCUs.

    “I welcome all and every initiative to support our nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities because supporting HBCUs is not a partisan issue,” said Congresswoman Adams. “HBCUs are centers of achievement, excellence, and success, and have always punched above their weight, even in the face of historic underfunding.”

    “In order to win the race in the 21stcentury to remain the world’s leading innovative country, we must have robust investments in our HBCUs through bills like the FUTURE Act and HBCU PARTNERS Act, two bills I fought hard to have signed into law. We also need to ensure our state governments are fully funding our 1890s Land Grant HBCUs, something the executive order stressed the importance of,” Adams continued.

    “We still have more work to do though, especially in holistic infrastructure investments at HBCUs, and I look forward to working with this administration and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass more impactful, bipartisan legislation for our HBCUs.”

    “I’m a former college professor and I always told my students that we have to have a sense of urgency about the tasks in front of us. We need real timelines, and I am ready to work now. But, I must also say, if the administration dismantles our U.S. Department of Education, the future for HBCUs will further be in question. Let’s work together to ensure these institutions of higher education always remain HBCU Strong,” Adams concluded.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Adams, Kamlager-Dove Convene Roundtable to Address Black Higher Education and Strengthening HBCUs

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Alma Adams (12th District of North Carolina)

    WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12), founder and co-chair of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Caucus, and Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Congressional Black Caucus Whip, held a roundtable discussion with Reps. Sewell (AL-07), Hayes (CT-05), Sykes (OH-13), Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Brown (OH-11), and Figures (AL-02), HBCU leadership, students, and advocacy organizations to highlight the impacts of Trump Administration policies on the HBCUs that have played a vital role in empowering Black students across the country. 

    The roundtable included presidents from Howard University, Bowie State University, Morgan State University, and Virginia Union University and representatives from Texas Southern University, the United Negro College Fund, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the 1890 Foundation to discuss student life concerns, academic access and funding, infrastructure and facilities, and the role of the federal government. 

    “HBCUs have always punched above their weight, producing the leaders, innovators, and changemakers who move this country forward,” said Congresswoman Adams. “Despite their success though, they face historic underfunding that force them to do more with less. It’s time we meaningfully invest in HBCUs so they can continue serving their students for generations to come.”

    “Our HBCUs continue to face systemic challenges that impact student success, campus quality-of-life, and institutional growth. Shamefully, the Trump Administration’s attacks on DEI initiatives and higher education funding have only made these challenges worse,” said Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove. “Now is the time for policymakers, education leaders, and students to engage in direct dialogue about solutions to protect and uplift Black students.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for May 14, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on May 14, 2025.

    Young detainees often have poor mental health. The earlier they’re incarcerated, the worse it gets
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emaediong I. Akpanekpo, PhD Candidate, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Populist rhetoric targeting young offenders often leads to kneejerk punitive responses, such as stricter bail laws and lowering the age of criminal responsibility. This, in turn, has led to more young people being held in detention.

    PNG police authorised to use lethal force with ‘domestic terrorist’ kidnappers as one hostage escapes
    RNZ Pacific An escape of a 13-year-old girl from a hostage crisis on the border of Papua New Guinea’s Western and Hela provinces has boosted hopes for the rescue of her fellow captives. The group of 10 people was taken captive early on Monday morning at Adujmari. PNG Police Commissioner David Manning has called the

    Political parties can recover after a devastating election loss. But the Liberals will need to think differently
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University Australia has just had its second landslide election in a row. In 2022, there was a landslide against the Liberals, but not to Labor, which fell over the line (as a majority

    NZ celebrates Rotuman as part of Pacific Language Week series
    By Grace Tinetali-Fiavaai, RNZ Pacific journalist Aotearoa celebrates Rotuman language as part of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ Pacific Language Week series this week. Rotuman is one of five UNESCO-listed endangered languages among the 12 officially celebrated in New Zealand. The others are Tokelaun, Niuean, Cook Islands Māori and Tuvaluan. This year’s theme is, ‘Åf’ạkia

    In Indonesia, Albanese has a chance to reset a relationship held back by anxiety and misperceptions
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hangga Fathana, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII) Yogyakarta Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has wasted little time taking his first overseas trip since Labor won a historic victory in Australia’s federal election. He’ll head to Indonesia today to meet the country’s new president, Prabowo

    From GPS to weather forecasts: the hidden ways Australia relies on foreign satellites
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassandra Steer, Chair, Australian Centre for Space Governance, Australian National University Japan Meteorological Agency via Wikimedia You have probably used space at least 20 times today. Satellites let you buy a coffee with your phone, book a rideshare, navigate your way to meet someone, and check the

    Using a blue inhaler alone is not enough to manage your asthma
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Hughes, Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice, University of Sydney New Africa/Shutterstock Inhalers have been key to asthma management since the 1950s. The most common, salbutamol, comes in a familiar blue-coloured inhaler (or “puffer”). This kind of “rescue inhaler” brings quick relief from asthma symptoms. You may know

    The pay equity puzzle: can we compare effort, skill and risk between different industries?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gemma Piercy, Lecturer, Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology, University of Waikato Getty Images Last week’s move by the government to amend pay equity laws, using parliamentary urgency to rush the reforms through, caught opposition parties and New Zealanders off guard. Protests against the Equal Pay Amendment Bill

    Sussan Ley makes history, but faces unprecedented levels of difficulty
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Kenny, Professor, Australian Studies Institute, Australian National University As if by visual metaphor, Sussan Ley’s task seemed both obvious and impossible in her first press conference as the new Liberal leader. Three years ago this month, Ley had done something uncannily similar to what Ted O’Brien

    View from The Hill: Ley says Liberals must ‘meet the people where they are’, but how can a divided party do that?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Cynics point out that when a party turns to a woman leader, it is often handing her a hot mess. That’s certainly so with the federal Liberals, now choosing their first female leader in eight decades. For the Liberals, and

    It’s a hard job being environment minister. Here’s an insider’s view of the key challenges facing Murray Watt
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Burnett, Honorary Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian National University Australia’s new environment minister, Murray Watt, is reported to be a fixer. That’s good, because there’s a lot to fix. Being environment minister is a hard gig. It often requires difficult choices between environmental and

    AWPA calls on Albanese to raise West Papuan human rights with Prabowo
    Asia Pacific Report An Australian solidarity group for West Papuan self-determination has called on Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to raise the human rights crisis in the Melanesian region with the Indonesian president this week. Albanese is visiting Indonesia for two days from tomorrow. AWPA has written a letter to Albanese making the appeal for

    The US and China have reached a temporary truce in the trade wars, but more turbulence lies ahead
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Draper, Professor, and Executive Director: Institute for International Trade, and Jean Monnet Chair of Trade and Environment, University of Adelaide Defying expectations, the United States and China have announced an important agreement to de-escalate bilateral trade tensions after talks in Geneva, Switzerland. The good, the bad

    Physicists at the Large Hadron Collider turned lead into gold – by accident
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ulrik Egede, Professor of Physics, Monash University Sunny Young / Unsplash Medieval alchemists dreamed of transmuting lead into gold. Today, we know that lead and gold are different elements, and no amount of chemistry can turn one into the other. But our modern knowledge tells us the

    New Caledonia riots one year on: ‘Like the country was at war’
    SPECIAL REPORT: By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific presenter/bulletin editor Stuck in a state of disbelief for months, journalist Coralie Cochin was one of many media personnel who inadvertently put their lives on the line as New Caledonia burned. “It was very shocking. I don’t know the word in English, you can’t believe what you’re seeing,”

    New Caledonia riots one year on: ‘Like the country was at war’
    SPECIAL REPORT: By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific presenter/bulletin editor Stuck in a state of disbelief for months, journalist Coralie Cochin was one of many media personnel who inadvertently put their lives on the line as New Caledonia burned. “It was very shocking. I don’t know the word in English, you can’t believe what you’re seeing,”

    From nuclear to nature laws, here’s where new Liberal leader Sussan Ley stands on 4 energy and environment flashpoints
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justine Bell-James, Professor, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland Sussan Ley has been elected Liberal leader after defeating rival Angus Taylor in a party room vote on Tuesday. Now the leadership question is settled, the hard work of rebuilding the party can begin. In

    The ‘extroverted’ north and ‘introverted’ south: how climate and culture influence Iranian architecture
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mahsa Khanpoor Siahdarka, PhD Candidate in Built Environment, RMIT University Shutterstock The architecture of northern Iran exhibits an extroverted quality. Buildings are designed to let in the sounds of rain, birds and rustling trees, as well as scents of nature. Architecture in this region is characterised by

    ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for May 13, 2025
    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on May 13, 2025.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: PREPARED REMARKS: Sanders on Trump’s ‘Disastrous’ Reconciliation Bill

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders

    WASHINGTON, May 13 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today  gave remarks on the floor of the Senate opposing Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget reconciliation bill which will cut Medicaid, nutrition, education, and other programs for working families. 

    Sanders remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below and can be watched HERE:

    The American people, whether they are Democrats, Republicans or Independents, understand that we have a corrupt campaign finance system which allows billionaires and their lobbyists to play an enormously powerful role in electing candidates, defeating candidates and in crafting legislation. This is true of the Democratic Party and it is true of the Republican Party. 

    Today, with Republicans in control of the White House, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House, we are seeing how this corrupt process plays out for the priorities of the Republican party and for their billionaire campaign contributors.

    M. President: This so-called reconciliation bill, President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that the Republicans are rushing through the House right now is a rather extraordinary piece of legislation. In many respects, given the crises facing our country, this legislation does exactly the opposite of what should be done.

    It is no secret that we have more income and wealth inequality in our country today than we have ever had.

    Today, the wealthiest man in the world, Mr. Elon Musk, who is now worth more than $400 billion, owns more wealth than the bottom 52% of American society. The top 1% owns more wealth than the bottom 93%. And CEOs of large corporations now make over 350 times what their workers make.

    Unbelievably, according to the RAND Corporation, over the past 50 years, nearly $80 trillion in wealth has been redistributed from the bottom 90% of the American people to the top 1%.

    What we have seen is the very wealthiest people in America are becoming much richer while at the same time, 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and many millions of families are struggling to put food on the table. That is the economic reality of today.

    What does President Trump and Republicans’ reconciliation bill do to address this grossly unfair and unstable situation? What are they doing when the very rich are becoming much richer while working families struggle?

    Here’s the answer: this legislation makes the rich and wealthy campaign contributors even richer while making life harder and more stressful for the working families of our country.

    This legislation provides massive tax breaks to the top 1% and large corporations in our country and pays for these tax cuts by cutting Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, nutrition, education and other programs that are life and death for working families.

    Let me give you one example of how outrageous this legislation is.

    As currently written, this bill provides a $235 billion tax break to the top two-tenths of 1% by increasing the estate tax exemption for couples to $30 million.

    The estate tax is only applicable to the very wealthiest people in this country who inherit substantial sums of money from a relative.

    Under this provision, a couple that inherits $30 million would now pay ZERO tax on that inheritance. Once again, this provision applies only to the top two-tenths of 1% of Americans – the very, very wealthiest people in this country. 99.8% of Americans would not benefit by one nickel under this provision.

    Further, M. President, this legislation would provide a $420 billion tax break to large, profitable corporations that are stashing their profits in the Cayman Islands and other offshore tax havens and who, by the way, are replacing American workers with robots.

    Bottom line: The tax provisions in the reconciliation bill provide huge benefits to the people in our country who need them the least while doing great harm to ordinary Americans. 

    M. President, whether you’re a Democrat, Republican or Independent, you know that our current health care system is broken, it is dysfunctional, it is cruel and it is wildly expensive. 

    Despite spending almost twice as much per capita on health care as any other major nation, some 85 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured. And we remain the only major country on earth not to guarantee healthcare to all as a human right.

    So, given that reality, how does this reconciliation bill address the horrific health care crisis in America? Does it expand health care to more Americans and lower the number of uninsured? Does it take on the greed of the insurance companies and the drug companies who make tens and tens of billions of dollars every year by ripping off the people of our country? Is that what this reconciliation bill does? Not quite.

    What this legislation does do is cut Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act by $715 billion, which the Congressional Budget Office has estimated would eliminate  health insurance for over 13.7 million Americans. In other words, this legislation makes a very bad situation, in terms of our health care crisis, catastrophically worse.

    If we were to pass this bill, the number of Americans who would be uninsured or underinsured would rise to almost 100 million Americans. In other words, instead of lowering the number of uninsured or underinsured people in this country, this bill greatly increases that number. But that’s not all that this legislation does.

    This bill forces millions of Medicaid recipients who make as little as $16,000 a year to pay a co-pay of $35 each time they visit a doctor when they get sick – up to 5% of their annual income. What will be the impact of that?

    According to a study from Yale University some 68,000 Americans die every year because they don’t get to a doctor on time.

    Now, if you’re making a couple of hundred thousand dollars a year, the odds are that a $35 co-payment will not deter you from going to the doctor. You may not like it, but you fork over the $35 to go to the doctor when you are sick.

    But M. President, if you are a low income American and you are struggling to pay the rent, or you’re struggling to buy food for your kids or pay for child care, that $35 co-pay may be just too much – and the result is that you don’t see the doctor when you should.

    M. President: When you throw almost 14 million Americans off the health insurance they have and when you force low-income people to pay a $35 co-payment that they can’t afford to pay, no one can deny that many thousands more Americans will die if this bill is signed into law.

    This bill is a death sentence for many thousands and thousands of people.

    Further, M. President, when Trump and the Republicans in the House make massive cuts to Medicaid, they are also talking about making massive cuts to community health centers which provide primary health care to over 32 million low-income and working class Americans.

    Community health centers rely on Medicaid for 43% of their revenue. When you make massive cuts to Medicaid you are significantly cutting back on the access that millions of low-income and working class Americans will have to primary health care.

    M. President, it is not just community health centers that would be devastated by this legislation. All across this country,  rural hospitals are shutting down and facing enormous financial pressure. This legislation will only accelerate those closures and bring increased hardship to rural America at a time when rural America already has enough problems.

    Here is what Rick Pollack, the president and CEO of the American Hospital Association said: “These proposed cuts will not make the Medicaid program work better for the 72 million Americans who rely on it. Instead, it will lead to millions of hardworking Americans losing access to health care and many of our nation’s hospitals struggling to maintain services and stay open for their communities.”

    Further, M. President, I hope my colleagues will listen to what Bruce Siegel, the president and CEO of America’s Essential Hospitals said in opposition to this bill: “Hospitals, which already operate on thin margins, cannot absorb such losses without reducing services or closing their doors altogether.”

    That is exactly what rural America does not need. We don’t need more hospitals shutting down. M. President, we cannot allow that to happen.

    And let’s be clear: It’s not just hospitals and community health centers that are opposed to this legislation. Physicians throughout this country have also come out in strong opposition to this legislation.

    Let me read from a statement issued today in opposition to this bill from the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Physicians and the American Psychiatric Association: “Our organizations, representing more than 400,000 physicians who serve millions of patients, are alarmed by proposals to implement cuts or other structural changes to Medicaid during the budget reconciliation process. Cuts to Medicaid will have grave consequences for patients, communities and the entire health care system. With reduced federal funding, it will be harder for patients to access care, states will be forced to drop enrollees from coverage, and it will limit the health care services patients can access and cut payment rates … The impact of cuts to Medicaid funding is significant and wide-reaching, and it must be reconsidered.”

    That’s what medical organizations in our country representing 400,000 doctors are saying about this disastrous piece of legislation.

    Further, M. President, at a time when 22% of our seniors are trying to survive on less than $15,000 a year, this legislation will make it much harder for seniors and people with disabilities to receive the care they desperately need in nursing homes. When Medicaid provides over 60% of the revenue nursing homes rely on, slashing Medicaid will be a disaster for the seniors and disabled who need to live in nursing home care.

    And that’s not all that this legislation is doing.

    For the vast majority of Americans, including myself, who believe that women should have the right to control their own bodies, this bill essentially defunds Planned Parenthood which provides vital health care to millions of women.

    But it is not just our health care system that would be devastated under this legislation.

    While this bill provides massive tax breaks to billionaires, it would cut $290 billion from nutrition programs that would take food away from an estimated 4 million children and about half a million seniors.

    M. President: I don’t know if there is any religion in this world where it would be morally appropriate to take food out of the mouths of hungry kids and frail seniors in order to provide more tax breaks to billionaires?

    Further, M. President: For the many young people in our country struggling with student debt and others who wonder how they will ever be able to afford to go to college, this bill cuts federal funding for education by more than $350 billion.

    What does that mean? Among other things, it means that the average student loan borrower with a bachelor’s degree in America would see his or her loan payments increase by about $3,000 per year – or some $244 a month.

    At a time when college is now unaffordable for millions of young people, at a time when we desperately need a well-educated population and the best educated workforce in the world, this bill moves us in the wrong direction.

    Finally, M. President, at a time when we already spend more on the military than the next nine nations combined and when everyone knows there is massive waste and fraud in the Pentagon, this bill increases defense spending by $150 billion.

    And M. President, this is just some of what’s in this terrible bill. There are many other horrific provisions which are equally damaging that I have not touched upon.

    M. President, it seems to me that this bill reflects exactly what is wrong with our current corrupt political system. When we have massive income and wealth inequality, our job is to demand that the wealthy and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes, not give huge tax breaks to the very rich.

    When 85 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured, our job should be to guarantee health care to every man, woman and child in this country, not throw 13 million Americans off of the health care they currently have.

    When children and seniors go hungry here in the wealthiest country on Earth, our job should be to make sure that all Americans have the nutrition they need to lead healthy lives, not increase the level of hunger in our country. 

    M. President, in many respects, this bill represents exactly why many Americans are giving up on democracy and  have such contempt for Congress. At a time when the richest people have never had it so good, they see Republican leadership working overtime to make the billionaire class even richer. 

    At a time when a majority of Americans are struggling to put food on the table and pay for health care, they see Republican leadership making life even more difficult for average Americans.

    M. President, this is a disastrous piece of legislation. I urge my colleagues to oppose it.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Mann Applauds House Agriculture Reconciliation Bill to Cut Waste, Strengthen SNAP

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Tracey Mann (Kansas, 1)

    CLICK HERE to download Rep. Mann’s opening remarks.

    CLICK HERE to watch Rep. Mann’s opening remarks on YouTube.

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (KS-01) applauded the House Agriculture Committee’s portion of the reconciliation bill during opening remarks of the committee’s markup. The bill institutes long-overdue accountability measures for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), expands work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents, and closes loopholes in work requirement waivers. Rep. Mann also praised the investments the bill makes in strengthening the farm economy, expanding the farm safety net, updating reference prices, and investing taxpayer dollars in places they can see a return.

    Rep. Mann’s Opening Remarks as Prepared:

    Thank you, Chairman Thompson, for holding today’s mark up and for your leadership in crafting this legislation that I truly believe will revitalize the farm economy for those who feed, clothe, and fuel the world not just in the Big First District of Kansas but across our country, all while faithfully stewarding taxpayer dollars and creating opportunities for more people to benefit from the dignity of work and achieve the American dream.

    This bill makes crucial investments to support the farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers of the Big First and across rural America. Farmers are struggling, with production costs up over 30 percent and commodity prices down substantially, and they are in desperate need for some degree of relief. We aren’t going to solve all of their problems here today, but we can help provide them some certainty by updating reference prices, expanding access to crop insurance, and increasing investment in export promotion programs. This bill does exactly that, and it will help ensure a safe, reliable, and stable food supply for years to come.

    This legislation also allows us to be forward thinking about the needs of the agricultural community by directing funds to areas with a high return on investment, including by addressing the deferred maintenance backlog at land-grants like Kansas State University for vital ag research and protecting consumers and producers through livestock biosecurity that can fend off growing threats like New World Screwworm. 

    And just as important is the work this legislation does to protect and preserve the SNAP program for those who need it most and ensure that we have a strong safety net for generations to come. We aren’t here today making these reforms to SNAP just because we believe they are more efficient or because they will save us money, we are pursuing these changes because it is wrong to jeopardize the benefits of the single mom taking care of kids too young to be in school or the disabled and elderly in order to subsidize someone who is perfectly capable of making an honest income, but isn’t willing to join the workforce. By definition, these are “able bodied adults without dependents.” These changes will ensure that these individuals are served by the program as it was intended: not as a couch that you can sit on as long as you want, but as a true safety net that gets you back on the ladder of opportunity and back into a job where you can experience the dignity of work and have a shot at the American dream.

    The world doesn’t wait for Congress to act, and global competitors continue to grow stronger every day. Failure is not an option. Agriculture is the backbone of our country, supporting the nation’s food security, trade, and overall economic strength, and today we have in front of us a once in a lifetime opportunity to provide our farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers with certainty, fairness, and the tools they need to keep feeding, clothing, and fueling America. Now is the time for this Committee to step up and deliver for them. Passing this bill is a commitment to rural America and to the future of American agriculture, and I look forward to supporting it today.

    ###

    For more information about Representative Mann, visit: www.mann.house.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: In Senate AG Committee Hearing, Durbin Speaks About Deadly Cost Of Dust Storms, Advocates For Programs To Incentive Farmers To Plant Cover Crops

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
    May 13, 2025
    At the top of the hearing, Durbin introduced witness Mrs. Megan Dwyer, Illinoisan and Director of Conservation and Nutrient Stewardship at the Illinois Corn Growers Association
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, introduced Mrs. Megan Dwyer, an Illinoisan and the Director of Conservation and Nutrient Stewardship at the Illinois Corn Growers Association, at today’s Senate Agriculture Committee hearing.  The hearing, entitled “Perspectives from the Field, Part 4: Conservation,” focused on farm conservation programs to promote soil health, water quality, air quality, and wildlife habitats. 
    “This hearing on conservation has brought some wonderful talent and resources to the Committee room this afternoon.  One of them is my special guest, Mrs. Megan Dwyer, of Coal Valley, Illinois.  A fourth-generation farmer, Megan, along with her husband Todd, run crop and livestock operations with their families in both Coal Valley and Geneseo, [Illinois],” Durbin said as he introduced Mrs. Dwyer.  “Megan also serves as Director of Conservation and Nutrient Stewardship for the Illinois Corn Growers, and her expertise in conservation makes her an especially valuable witness today.”
    “She will be sharing her expertise with the Committee – just like she has shared her knowledge with my staff, members of the Illinois delegation, farm groups, and many other on farm conservation practices,” Durbin said.
    Video of Durbin’s remarks is available here.
    Audio of Durbin’s remarks is available here.
    Footage of Durbin’s remarks is available here for TV Stations.
    Following the introduction of Mrs. Dwyer, Durbin asked questions of the Committee’s witnesses.  He began by recalling a deadly 72 car pile-up in Central Illinois in 2023, which was caused by a dust storm, and noted that conservation funds are critical to supporting farmers in planting cover crops that mitigate these dust storms.  He then asked Mrs. Dwyer why Illinois, despite its position as a top agricultural state, receives a disproportionately low level of conservation funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
    “Two years ago, my wife was visiting family and called me and told me that something was happening on I-55, which is just south of Springfield.  She said, ‘I’ve been diverted… Must have been an accident.’  It sure was.  In May 2023, on I-55, south of Springfield, there was a 72 vehicle pile-up that took the lives of eight people.  The reason? A dust storm.  The University of Illinois recently completed a study that concluded the lack of ground cover and dry conditions were contributing to that,” Durbin said.
    “Mrs. Dwyer… you indicated that Illinois ranks very low in conservation dollars sent by USDA.  We need more.  Can you explain why we [receive] so few [conservation funds]?” Durbin asked.
    Mrs. Dwyer agreed that Illinois should receive more conservation funds from USDA, but she advocated for more holistic support for farmers, including assistance in completing complex paperwork to request conservation funds as farmers are continually denied funding from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
    “Are we dealing with the commitment being there to move forward, but a lack of resources [for farmers]?” Durbin followed up.
    Mrs. Dwyer affirmed Durbin’s line of thinking, and she spoke about the difficult decision for farmers to convert usable land to be used for conservation programs like the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).  Mrs. Dwyer explained that USDA must consider new and innovative programs to incentivize farmers to plant cover crops on their land.
    Video of Durbin’s remarks is available here.
    Audio of Durbin’s remarks is available here.
    Footage of Durbin’s remarks is available here for TV Stations.
    Durbin has advocated for Illinois to receive USDA conservation funding that is proportionate to Illinois’ ranking as a top agricultural state.  Last August, Durbin led members of the Illinois delegation in writing to USDA, urging the agency to allocate additional conservation funds to Illinois. In her opening statement, Mrs. Dwyer shared that Illinois received an additional $15 million in EQUIP funds last year due to outreach by Durbin and others members of the Illinois delegation to USDA.
    Durbin has also written about the importance of providing farmers with conservation funding, which allows farmers to plant cover crops to mitigate dangerous, and sometimes deadly, dust storms in Central Illinois.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Green Budget: Free GPs for all

    Source: Green Party

    The Green Party has launched its plan for Free GPs as part of its Green Budget.

    “Healthcare isn’t a luxury, it’s a human right we can afford to provide to all,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson.

    “In the last election, we campaigned on providing free dental for all. Today, we’re expanding that to ensure nobody is priced out of receiving the care they need, whether that is from the dentist or the doctor.

    “Successive Governments have failed to invest in the health of our communities, resulting in more and more people falling through the cracks and being left behind. A shocking 44 percent of Māori have an unmet need for primary care.

    “This is just common sense. Free GP visits will reduce the pressure our hospitals are under by stopping small issues becoming big ones that need emergency treatment.

    “Our approach will make sure communities right across the country have access to the care they need with our Community Health Service. We will create community care clinics in the highest need areas first, such as South Auckland, which has an estimated shortage of about 127 GPs.

    “Community not-for-profit primary care providers, such as kaupapa Māori providers, will also be funded to provide free GP and nurse visits alongside the Community Health Service.

    “We will build the workforce we need to support our communities and ensure everyone has access to a GP by maximising the medical student caps at both Auckland and Otago University. This will begin to close workforce gaps and ensure we have what we need to meet increased demand.

    “Rather than leaning on private healthcare and leaving thousands out in the cold like the current Government, we can take control and build a health system that supports all of us and leaves nobody behind,” says Marama Davidson.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Foreign engineer delves into China’s EV industry

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    Sitting at his desk, turning on his computer and entering his password, Indian Joseph begins his working day.

    Joseph is an electric drive assembly and testing engineer. This is his third year with Chinese electric vehicle company NIO and his 13th year in China.

    For Joseph, the rapid technological changes in the EV industry are an opportunity to constantly learn new things. “Unlike the traditional automotive industry, there are so many new, constantly improving technologies in EVs. As someone who works at the forefront of R&D, I am constantly exposed to new things, and my technical knowledge and skills are constantly being enriched,” says Joseph.

    Hu Bo, Joseph’s colleague and also an electric drive assembly and testing engineer, praises him: “Joseph has more than ten years of experience in the electric vehicle industry. He is an excellent engineer and has unique methods for solving complex technical problems.”

    “As a global company, overseas engineers are an important part of NIO’s technology ecosystem, helping us better interact with the global market. In order for China’s EV industry to maintain its leading position, it is necessary to attract global innovation resources,” Hu Bo said.

    Thirteen years ago, Joseph, a graduate in automotive engineering from Coventry University in the UK, came to China with hope and excitement.

    Joseph’s initial work was not as an automotive engineer, but at a consulting firm specializing in the automotive industry. “At the time, the Chinese EV industry was in its infancy, and we were mostly doing market analysis,” Joseph says.

    In 2022, Joseph moved to Hefei, Anhui Province, and became an electric vehicle engineer. He believes that, like many Chinese electric vehicle companies, NIO has strong innovation capabilities, and he enjoys challenging and creative work. “Here, I don’t have to follow a template, and I can always implement my ideas.”

    Having worked in China for over a decade, Joseph has witnessed the rapid development of China’s electric vehicle industry: “When I first came here, I never imagined that electric vehicles would develop so quickly in China and would be in every home within a few years.”

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The growth rate and potential of the Chinese market are attractive to American companies

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    Peng Zhenke, president of Pfizer China and chairman of the executive committee of the pharmaceutical research and development working committee of the China Association of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, recently announced Pfizer’s plans to invest another US$1 billion in China by 2030. The company has already opened a new research and development center in Beijing and an innovation center in Hangzhou.

    Zhang Jianping, deputy director of the academic committee of the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce of China, noted that investments by American companies in China can be divided into two main categories:

    First, market-oriented: companies that provide goods and services directly to the Chinese market, such as Tesla, Starbucks, and General Motors, which make significant profits in China.

    Second, global supply chain oriented: companies that use China as an important base for organizing supply chains and creating added value on a global scale, seeking maximum benefit. A typical example is Apple.

    China has enormous growth potential, making it particularly attractive to American companies, especially multinational corporations.

    Cui Shoujun, a professor at the School of International Relations at Renmin University of China, identifies three key aspects that determine the irreplaceable strategic value of the Chinese market for many American companies:

    First, the advantages of a super-large market: China, with a population of over 1.4 billion and a middle-income group of over 400 million, has huge demand. Growing urbanization in China has driven steady growth in demand for home appliances, automobiles, communications, medical services and other consumer goods.

    Secondly, the obvious advantages of the full industrial chain: China has 41 major industrial categories, 207 medium sub-categories and 666 minor sub-categories, being the only country in the world represented in all industrial sectors of the UN classification. China’s supply chain is not only comprehensive and complete, but also extremely flexible and responsive.

    Third, continuous expansion of high-level opening-up and optimization of the business environment: China creates favorable conditions for the development of foreign companies, including American ones.

    Peng Yu, director of the International Trade Research Department at the Institute of World Economy, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, stressed that the Chinese market provides American companies with many business and profit opportunities. China is the largest export market for American soybeans and cotton, the second-largest export market for integrated circuits and coal, and the third-largest export market for medical equipment and automobiles.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Deepening China-Latin America ties reflected in daily life

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

    People walk past a Chinese supermarket in Chinatown in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 10, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    MEXICO CITY, May 13 — As exchanges and cooperation between China and Latin American countries continue deepening, Chinese elements such as Chinese restaurants, China-made automobiles and China-built subway trains, as well as various Chinese cultural symbols on the streets, are gradually making more presence in the daily lives of locals, turning the vision of deepening interactions between China and Latin American countries into reality.

    Performers demonstrate hanfu attire during an event celebrating the UN Chinese Language Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on April 19, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]
    People watch a lion dance performance at the fourth edition of the Chinese New Year culture festival, in Mexico City, Mexico, Jan. 25, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    People visit the pavilion of China at the 41st Expocomer in Panama City, the capital of Panama, March 26, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    People have meals at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 10, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    An electric and combustion dual-power train manufactured by China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) Qingdao Sifang Co., Ltd. awaits departure at the central station in Santiago, Chile, Jan. 19, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
    People take an electric bus manufactured by Chinese bus maker Yutong in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, March 31, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    Liang Qing (L), a Chinese language teacher at the Confucius Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, instructs a Peruvian student in writing Chinese calligraphy in Lima, capital of Peru, April 22, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    Performers present a dragon dance during the “China in Lujan” festival in Lujan, Argentina, May 4, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    A girl performs during the third edition of the Chinese New Year Cultural Festival at the National Center for the Arts (CENART) in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, Feb. 3, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Political parties can recover after a devastating election loss. But the Liberals will need to think differently

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University

    Australia has just had its second landslide election in a row.

    In 2022, there was a landslide against the Liberals, but not to Labor, which fell over the line (as a majority government) by three seats and with just over 32% of the primary vote. But the Coalition – actually Liberal – loss of seats, at 19, was the kind of result usually associated with the term “landslide”.

    In 2025, we have a genuine landside to Labor. At the time of writing, the ABC has declared a Labor gain of 15 seats (78 to 93), but with the strong likelihood of one more, and an outside chance of another.

    Labor’s share of the two-party preferred vote sits at 54.8%. To add a bit of historical perspective: Labor’s two-party preferred vote is lower than the Coalition’s in the so-called Vietnam election of 1966 (56.9%) and the Dismissal election of 1975 (55.7%), but better than John Howard’s in 1996 (53.6%) and Tony Abbott’s in 2013 (53.5%). The Coalition managed 94 seats in a slightly smaller House of Representatives of 148 (compared to 150 at the 2025 election) in 1996. Labor might also land on 94 this time, once the counting is done.

    For Labor, it is a victory on a scale only rivalled – and indeed slightly overshadowed statistically – by John Curtin’s wartime election in 1943, when Labor gained 49 seats in a House of 74. That was two-thirds of the available seats and perhaps 58% of the two-party preferred vote. (The full distribution of preferences only came in later elections). In 2025, Labor is likely to land on just under 63% of the House.

    Big majorities carry their own headaches, as Labor’s factional wrestling of recent days reminds us. But a big loss is a much worse ordeal for the loser.

    First, there is the problem of finding a leader. He, or she, will be selected from depleted ranks. They will often inherit a demoralised party that will lack belief in its ability to return to office in a single term – allowing that there has been no one-termer in Australian federal politics since the Scullin government (1929-32).

    Sussan Ley, the new Liberal leader, will realise – or should realise – that as a leader elected following such a defeat, her chances of ever making it to the prime ministership are slim.

    Since the second world war, a new leader chosen after a loss of office has never become prime minister. Peter Dutton, who became opposition leader in 2022, joined Billy Snedden (after 1972), Kim Beazley (1996), Brendan Nelson (2007) and Bill Shorten (2013) as those who never went on to lead the country.

    But any leader who slips into the role – either re-elected or for the first time – after a big loss is a long shot to make it. The best example we have from the postwar era is Gough Whitlam, elected leader in February 1967 after one of the biggest landslides in Australian political history, won by Harold Holt at the 1966 election. It is therefore worth revisiting what he did to get there.

    Whitlam biographers such as Graham Freudenberg and Jenny Hocking have offered us a detailed picture of Whitlam’s systematic work on reforming the party and policy as part of his pitch to the people. The Liberals could do worse than think in those terms as they contemplate their rebuild. They have vast work to do on all of those fronts.

    As a party, Labor was a basketcase in 1967. In Victoria, it was dominated by a group of left-wing unionists and members who seemed more concerned with maintaining ideological purity than winning elections. Whitlam taunted them at the state conference in 1967 that “certainly, the impotent are pure”.

    But between 1967 and 1972, Whitlam and his allies – some of them on the left outside Victoria – modernised the party’s structures and rules, and moderated left-wing domination of the Victorian branch. Alongside these reforms came a comprehensive policy overhaul – the formulation of what Whitlam reverentially called “The Program” – drawing on a vast network of experts across the country and the most compelling models from other countries.

    This was paired with a redesign of the party’s image that helped it win back a vast number of voters at the 1969 election, culminating in the remarkable, election winning “It’s Time” campaign in 1972.

    It was a six-year effort, and it was far from easy. But it is perhaps the best modern example we have of what a shattered party needs to do to win back office.

    Labor faced similar challenges after 1975 and, although the process was messier, Bob Hawke’s eventual election in March 1983 owed much to a process of reform of Labor party, policy and image led by Bill Hayden between 1977 and 1983. This time, it was the Queensland branch of the party – Hayden’s own – that needed an overhaul, which it received through federal intervention of the kind applied to Victoria a decade before.

    Labor also worked out a Prices and Incomes Accord with the union movement, designed to avoid many of the economic and political problems experienced by Whitlam in government, such as runaway inflation. Hayden, like Whitlam before him, crafted an electable opposition. Hawke, however, reaped the benefit after he replaced Hayden on the eve of the 1983 campaign.

    There are lessons here for the Liberals. First, they can no longer avoid party reform. Their post-election reviews of recent times often read like Gothic tales: indeed, I could recommend the Western Australian one after the 2021 state election only to those with stomachs capable of standing up to slasher movies.

    Second, the 2025 election revealed a Coalition policy wasteland. Some, such as the idea of a nuclear power plants across the country, were daft. Others, like cuts to the fuel excise for a year – coinciding with a decline in petrol prices – were dross. Others again simply made it appear the Coalition was making it up as it went along. It would be hard to conceive of anything further removed from the best examples we have of policy rebuilding by shattered parties.

    Finally, there are the people. Who, exactly, are the Liberals trying to win over? From May 2022, Dutton seemed to have his eye on Labor voters in the outer suburbs, but he did very little that was likely to win them over. He did even less to win over groups who have turned decisively away from the Liberals in recent years, such as women and the young.

    Whatever efforts they made to win over the so-called multicultural communities, such as Chinese-Australian voters, were undone by clumsy messaging from the ministerial ranks about “spies”. In the end, it often seemed that Dutton – and possibly also most of the survivors of 2022 – didn’t have their hearts in appealing to the kinds of voters who had turned to the teals, Labor and Greens in 2022. They preferred to commune with their own.

    The impotent are still pure: the Liberals emerge from the 2025 campaign unsullied by a dalliance with strangers. They now have their reward. Whether a party organisation with branches dominated by the ideologue, the conservative, the elderly and the eccentric can act as an instrument for forging a new electoral alliance of the kind that set up the party in the 1940s for decades of success must be considered doubtful. There is no Robert Menzies on the horizon. And there is no Liberal movement speaking a language of progress rather than reaction.

    This is the greatest crisis faced by Australia’s centre right since 1943 – and we can be certain that, unlike Ben Chifley, Anthony Albanese won’t do his opponents the favour of trying to nationalise the banks.

    Frank Bongiorno 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. Political parties can recover after a devastating election loss. But the Liberals will need to think differently – https://theconversation.com/political-parties-can-recover-after-a-devastating-election-loss-but-the-liberals-will-need-to-think-differently-232695

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: As US ramps up fossil fuels, communities will have to adapt to the consequences − yet climate adaptation funding is on the chopping block

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Bethany Bradley, Professor of Biogeography and Spatial Ecology, UMass Amherst

    Salt marshes protect shorelines, but they’re already struggling to survive sea-level rise. John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images

    It’s no secret that warming temperatures, wildfires and flash floods are increasingly affecting lives across the United States. With the U.S. government now planning to ramp up fossil fuel use, the risks of these events are likely to become even more pronounced.

    That leaves a big question: Is the nation prepared to adapt to the consequences?

    For many years, federally funded scientists have been developing solutions to help reduce the harm climate change is causing in people’s lives and livelihoods. Yet, as with many other science programs, the White House is proposing to eliminate funding for climate adaptation science in the next federal budget, and reports suggest that the firing of federal climate adaptation scientists may be imminent.

    As researchers and directors of regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers, funded by the U.S. Geological Survey since 2011, we have seen firsthand the work these programs do to protect the nation’s natural resources and their successes in helping states and tribes build resilience to climate risks.

    Here are a few examples of the ways federally funded climate adaptation science conducted by university and federal researchers helps the nation weather the effects of climate change.

    Protecting communities against wildfire risk

    Wildfires have increasingly threatened communities and ecosystems across the U.S., exacerbated by worsening heat waves and drought.

    In the Southwest, researchers with the Climate Adaptation Science Centers are developing forecasting models to identify locations at greatest risk of wildfire at different times of year.

    Knowing where and when fire risks are highest allows communities to take steps to protect themselves, whether by carrying out controlled burns to remove dry vegetation, creating fire breaks to protect homes, managing invasive species that can leave forests more prone to devastating fires, or other measures.

    The solutions are created with forest and wildland managers to ensure projects are viable, effective and tailored to each area. The research is then integrated into best practices for managing wildfires. The researchers also help city planners find the most effective methods to reduce fire risks in wildlands near homes.

    Wildland firefighters and communities have limited resources. They need to know where the greatest risks exist to take preventive measures.
    Ethan Swope/Getty Images

    In Hawaii and the other Pacific islands, adaptation researchers have similarly worked to identify how drought, invasive species and land-use changes contribute to fire risk there. They use these results to create maps of high-risk fire zones to help communities take steps to reduce dry and dead undergrowth that could fuel fires and also plan for recovery after fires.

    Protecting shorelines and fisheries

    In the Northeast, salt marshes line large parts of the coast, providing natural buffers against storms by damping powerful ocean waves that would otherwise erode the shoreline. Their shallow, grassy waters also serve as important breeding grounds for valuable fish.

    However, these marshes are at risk of drowning as sea level rises faster than the sediment can build up.

    As greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels and from other human activities accumulate in the atmosphere, they trap extra heat near Earth’s surface and in the oceans, raising temperatures. The rising temperatures melt glaciers and also cause thermal expansion of the oceans. Together, those processes are raising global sea level by about 1.3 inches per decade.

    Adaptation researchers with the Climate Adaptation Science Centers have been developing local flood projections for the regions’ unique oceanographic and geophysical conditions to help protect them. Those projections are essential to help natural resource managers and municipalities plan effectively for the future.

    Researchers are also collaborating with local and regional organizations on salt marsh restoration, including assessing how sediment builds up each marsh and creating procedures for restoring and monitoring the marshes.

    Saving salmon in Alaska and the Northwest

    In the Northwest and Alaska, salmon are struggling as temperatures rise in the streams they return to for spawning each year. Warm water can make them sluggish, putting them at greater risk from predators. When temperatures get too high, they can’t survive. Even in large rivers such as the Columbia, salmon are becoming heat stressed more often.

    Adaptation researchers in both regions have been evaluating the effectiveness of fish rescues – temporarily moving salmon into captivity as seasonal streams overheat or dry up due to drought.

    In Alaska, adaptation scientists have built broad partnerships with tribes, nonprofit organizations and government agencies to improve temperature measurements of remote streams, creating an early warning system for fisheries so managers can take steps to help salmon survive.

    Managing invasive species

    Rising temperatures can also expand the range of invasive species, which cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars each year in crop and forest losses and threaten native plants and animals.

    Researchers in the Northeast and Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Centers have been working to identify and prioritize the risks from invasive species that are expanding their ranges. That helps state managers eradicate these emerging threats before they become a problem. These regional invasive species networks have become the go-to source of climate-related scientific information for thousands of invasive species managers.

    The rise in the number of invasive species projected by 2050 is substantial in the Northeast and upper Midwest. Federally funded scientists develop these risk maps and work with local communities to head off invasive species damage.
    Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change Network

    The Northeast is a hot spot for invasive species, particularly for plants that can outcompete native wetland and grassland species and host pathogens that can harm native species.

    Without proactive assessments, invasive species management becomes more difficult. Once the damage has begun, managing invasive species becomes more expensive and less effective.

    Losing the nation’s ability to adapt wisely

    A key part of these projects is the strong working relationships built between scientists and the natural resource managers in state, community, tribal and government agencies who can put this knowledge into practice.

    With climate extremes likely to increase in the coming years, losing adaptation science will leave the United States even more vulnerable to future climate hazards.

    Bethany Bradley receives funding from the US Geological Survey as the University Director of the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center.

    Jia Hu has receives funding from the US Geological Survey as the University Director of the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center.

    Meade Krosby receives funding from the US Geological Survey as the University Director of the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center.

    – ref. As US ramps up fossil fuels, communities will have to adapt to the consequences − yet climate adaptation funding is on the chopping block – https://theconversation.com/as-us-ramps-up-fossil-fuels-communities-will-have-to-adapt-to-the-consequences-yet-climate-adaptation-funding-is-on-the-chopping-block-256307

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Markey, Clark, Pressley Condemn Termination of Federal Grants to Harvard University

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
    Washington (May 13, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, along with Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-05) and Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), today condemned the Trump Administration’s cancelation of $450 million in federal grants to Harvard University, including all grants from the National Science Foundation. In fiscal year 2024, Harvard University received $56 million in National Science Foundation grants. This announcement is the next in a series of illegal and authoritarian Trump administration attacks on Harvard, including freezing $2.2 billion of federal funding and blocking all future research grants to Harvard.
    “Yet again, the Trump administration is flouting the Constitution and laws passed by Congress in an authoritarian attempt to intimidate Harvard University into complying with its political demands. The Trump administration is demonstrating astonishing disregard for not only the students, faculty, and staff that these cuts impact, but also for the general public who benefit from scientific breakthroughs and the global standing of the United States. This is a blatant and condemnable strike against freedom, and we stand by Harvard University in their fight against authoritarian overreach by Trump.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: New generation of skin substitutes give hope to severe burns patients

    Source:

    14 May 2025

    A dermal matrix – one of the latest advancements to regenerate skin after severe burns.

    Severe burns remain one of the most challenging injuries to treat, causing high disease and death rates worldwide, but Australian researchers have flagged some promising new approaches that could save lives and dramatically improve patient recovery.

    In a comprehensive review published in Advanced Therapeutics, researchers from the University of South Australia (UniSA), University of Adelaide and Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) explore the latest advancements in dermal substitutes – biochemicals used to replace damaged skin – with a particular focus on combating infection and enhancing tissue regeneration following catastrophic burns.

    The researchers say that despite decades of progress, traditional treatments such as skin grafting often fail to provide adequate healing and infection control, leading to prolonged hospital stays and soaring healthcare costs.

    According to the lead authors Dr Zlatko Kopecki and Dr Bronwyn Dearman, the urgency to develop safer, more effective solutions has never been greater.

    “Infections are a major cause of complications and mortality in burn patients,” says Dr Kopecki, a Research Fellow at UniSA’s Future Industries Institute.

    “We must innovate beyond conventional methods and develop therapies that regenerate tissue while actively preventing infections.”

    Each year, approximately 2423 Australians are admitted to hospital with burn-related injuries, 74% of whom require surgery, including a skin graft. Globally, 180,000 people die from burns each year, and approximately 10 million are hospitalised, costing healthcare systems $112 billion worldwide.

    The review highlights that while many commercial skin substitutes exist, very few offer integrated antimicrobial protection – a critical factor given the vulnerability of burn wounds to bacterial invasion and sepsis.

    The paper discusses emerging technologies such as Kerecis, a novel fish skin graft with inherent antimicrobial properties, and NovoSorb BTM, a synthetic biodegradable matrix that resists bacterial colonisation without relying on antibiotics.

    Both products represent a new generation of dermal substitutes with enhanced potential to protect and heal complex burns.

    Kerecis comes from wild Atlantic cod, caught from a sustainable fish stock in pristine Icelandic waters and processed using renewable energy. It stands out for retaining natural omega-3 fatty acids, which have strong antimicrobial effects and promote wound healing.

    Meanwhile, NovoSorb BTM’s unique polyurethane matrix offers structural resilience even in infected wounds, providing a vital scaffold for tissue regeneration.

    “These materials demonstrate a shift towards multifunctional therapies that combine structural support with infection resistance,” says Dr Dearman, Principal Medical Scientist for the Skin Engineering Laboratory at the RAH and an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Adelaide.

    “Such innovations are crucial, particularly as antibiotic-resistant infections continue to rise globally,” she says.

    The review calls for the next wave of research to integrate active antimicrobial agents directly into 3D dermal scaffolds that support cell growth, reducing the reliance on antibiotics and temporary dressings.

    Beyond infection control, the research points to scarless healing as the future frontier of burn care.

    By combining smart biomaterials with cell-based therapies, scientists aim to regenerate skin that restores its full function – an outcome that could revolutionise the recovery for millions of burn survivors worldwide.

    The research team includes experts from the Future Industries Institute at UniSA, the Adult Burn Service at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, and the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Adelaide.

    …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

    Contact for interview: Dr Zlatko Kopecki E: zlatko.kopecki@unisa.edu.au
    Media contact: Candy Gibson M: +61 434 605 142 E: candy.gibson@unisa.edu.au

    Other articles you may be interested in

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: ICYMI-Deputy Secretary Edgar: “An Illegal Immigrant Killed Two Teenagers In My Community. Under The Trump Administration, He Will Face Justice”

    Source: US Department of Homeland Security

    ICYMI-Deputy Secretary Edgar: “An Illegal Immigrant Killed Two Teenagers In My Community. Under The Trump Administration, He Will Face Justice” 

    Oscar Ortega-Anguiano is set to be released from prison after serving just three-and-a-half years of his 10-year sentence for the killing of Anya Varfolomeev and Nikolay Osokin 

    WASHINGTON – Today, the Washington Examiner published Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar’s Op-Ed in the Washington Examiner titled, “An Illegal Immigrant Killed Two Teenagers In My Community. Under the Trump Administration, He Will Face Justice.”  

    The Op-Ed highlights the story of Anya Varfolomeev and Nikolay Osokin, two 19-year-olds that were killed in 2021 by an illegal alien who was driving under the influence in the Deputy Secretary’s home state of California.  

    Recently, it was revealed that Oscar Ortega-Anguiano—the teens’ killer—is set to be released from a California state prison after serving just three-and-a-half years of a 10-year sentence. However, the Trump administration is intervening to ensure Ortega-Anguiano does not walk free.  

    The worst call you could ever receive as a parent is one telling you that your teenage son or daughter has been in a car accident. It’s a lifechanging call that would go down as one of the worst days of your life. It could be even worse though: What if you also found out that the driver that caused the accident was in our country illegally? This tragic circumstance is a reality for the parents of Anya Varfolomeev and Nikolay Osokin. 

    At just 19 years old, these two young people from Orange County, California had their whole lives ahead of them. Varfolomeev was a bright young woman, who was a dedicated ballerina and scout. Osokin was a gifted student at Pepperdine University who excelled in both music and academics. But in November 2021, their lives were senselessly stolen in a fiery crash caused by a criminal illegal alien who should have never been in this country in the first place.  

    Oscar Eduardo Ortega-Anguiano was driving drunk, high on drugs, and speeding at nearly 100 mph on the 405 freeway when he crashed into a vehicle carrying Varfolomeev and Osokin. Even worse, Ortega-Anguiano was a repeat criminal, with a track record that includes multiple felonies and convictions for driving without a license. Despite being deported, he re-entered our country illegally twice.  

    Now, four years later, Ortega-Anguiano is set to be released from California state prison after serving just 3.5 years of his 10-year sentence. I’ve spoken to Anya’s father, and he is outraged. So am I.  

    This story hits especially close to home because I served as mayor and city council member of Los Alamitos for over a decade, and this tragic incident happened in our community. It also represents so much that is wrong with our broken immigration system. As Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, I work relentlessly under the leadership of President Donald Trump and Secretary Kristi Noem to carry out their priorities to protect our communities from brutal criminals who should not be loose on American streets.  

    Under the Trump administration, DHS is enforcing our nation’s immigration laws and seeking to punish criminals to the fullest extent of the law, and this has my direct attention. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a detainer for Ortega-Anguiano with the California Department of Corrections. If state authorities do not honor the ICE detainer, federal agents will take custody of Ortega-Anguiano and deport him immediately upon release. The U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California has also filed a felony immigration charge against Ortega-Anguiano, which could put him behind bars for an additional 20 years.  

    Under the secretary’s leadership, the department is also giving support to victims by reopening the ICE’s Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement office. VOICE was first launched in 2017 by the Trump administration as a dedicated resource for those who have been victimized by crime that has a nexus to immigration. The Biden administration shuttered the office, leaving victims and their families without access to key resources and support services–but we will not allow their stories to be silenced any longer.  

    Every day, the Trump Administration is working to prevent these tragedies from happening in another town, to another family. We owe it to Anya and Nikolay, and every family like theirs, to never stop fighting for justice and safety. That starts with removing the worst of the worst– and making sure they never return.  

    Not in my town. Not in any American town.  

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Peters Urges Fiscal Responsibility and Against Healthcare Cuts in Republican Tax Plan Committee Consideration

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Scott Peters (52nd District of California)

     

    [embedded content]

    Washington D.C. – Today, at an Energy & Commerce Committee meeting on the Republican tax plan, Representative Scott Peters (CA-50) urged his colleagues to not go through with their extreme cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act to pay for tax cuts to wealthy individuals and corporations that do not need them. The Republican plan, which will not reduce the federal debt or deficit, would kick 13.7 million people off of their health insurance according to a new analysis by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

    During his remarks, Rep. Peters also shared the story of his constituent, Jesus Acosta, who is an in-home care provider for his mother who was disabled after being hit by a car. Without Medicaid funding, Jesus would no longer be able to provide this care and pay the bills that keep their family together in their home.

    Rep. Peters began his remarks by stating, “This Committee has no jurisdiction over taxes, but let’s be honest with the American people. Taxes are the real reason we’re here. Over in the Ways & Means Committee, they are marking up what will be one of the most expensive tax bills in history. When Republicans originally passed the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, they designed many of the individual and some business tax provisions to expire this year. That’s because even back then, Republicans knew making the tax cuts permanent would cost the United States trillions in revenue we desperately need to pay our expenses. Making those tax cuts permanent now is no less costly.

    He continued, “The bill before us will decimate Medicaid, which provides health insurance to nearly 72 million people nationwide. In every congressional district across the country, Medicaid supports health care for children, Americans with disabilities, and working people who are already struggling to keep up. Cutting health coverage for our most vulnerable neighbors will not make America healthier, it will make us sicker.”

    And he concluded, “Don’t buy their fiscal responsibility act. Republicans are proposing these painful cuts to programs that help everyday Americans not to lower our debt but just so President Trump can follow through on his campaign promise to give his donors, who he himself said were already “rich as hell,” even more money in tax cuts. When the government borrows more, inflation goes up and working people suffer at the grocery store, gas pump, and when they pay for utilities. Higher federal borrowing drives up interest rates and makes it harder for people to buy a home, start a business, or pay down credit cards.  All this now in addition to depriving so many Americans of basic health care.”

    CA-50 Medicaid Facts:

    • 156,100 people in the district rely on Medicaid for health coverage—that’s 20 percent of all district residents.
      • 34,700 children in the district are covered by Medicaid.
      • 17,700 seniors in the district are covered by Medicaid.
      • 64,900 adults in the district have Medicaid coverage through Medicaid expansion—that includes pregnant women who are able to access prenatal care sooner because of Medicaid expansion, parents, caretakers, veterans, people with substance use disorder and mental health treatment needs, and people with chronic conditions and disabilities.
    • At least five hospitals in the district had negative operating margins in 2022. These hospitals would be especially hard-hit by cuts to Medicaid. For example:
      • Scripps Mercy Hospital had a negative 25.3 percent operating margin—and nearly 22 percent of its revenue came from Medicaid.
      • Sharp Coronado Hospital had a negative 3.5 percent operating margin—and over 36 percent of its revenue came from Medicaid.
      • University of California San Diego Medical Center had a negative 2.4 percent operating margin—and nearly 19 percent of its revenue came from Medicaid.
    • There are 54 health center delivery sites in the district that serve 529,944 patients.
    • Those health centers and patients rely on Medicaid—statewide, 69 percent of health center patients rely on Medicaid for coverage.
    • Health centers will not be able to stay open and provide the same care that they do today, with more uninsured and underinsured patients. They are already operating on thin margins—in 2023, nationally, nearly half of health centers had negative operating margins.
    • Medicaid cuts put health centers at risk, including:
      • Family Health Centers of San Diego
      • Neighborhood Healthcare
      • North County Health Project
      • San Diego American Indian Health Centers
      • St. Vincent De Paul Village

     Jesus’s Story:

    Jesus Acosta is a home care provider and member of United Domestic Workers, UDW/AFSCME, in San Diego. Jesus became a care provider after his mother was tragically hit by a car, leaving her disabled. She was a single mother who worked hard to provide for Jesus and his siblings. After her accident, Jesus felt it was his responsibility to care for the woman who always cared for him — and he’s proud to do it.

    Jesus became his mother’s full time care provider in 2016. The responsibilities that come with her care — medication management, feeding her, bathing her, taking her to doctor’s appointments, helping her with her physical therapy and to live a fulfilling life with her family — has made it difficult for Jesus to maintain full-time employment. But he is able to take care of himself and pay the bills for his family thanks to Medicaid. The program also pays for his mother’s wheelchair and doctors’ visits. Without Medicaid funding, Jesus and his family would likely have to move out of their home and they would be separated

    Rep. Peters’ Full Remarks as Prepared for Delivery:

    Jesus is one of my constituents from San Diego. His mother was tragically hit by a car, leaving her disabled.

    Jesus became his mother’s full time care provider in 2016. He manages her medications, feeds her, bathes her, takes her to doctor appointments, and helps with her physical therapy.

    If these Medicaid cuts take effect, this work – this very had work — will not meet the so-called work requirements Republicans want to impose. Jesus and his family would likely have to move out of their home and live separated, and they will lose their health care.

    Mr. Chairman, this Committee has no jurisdiction over taxes, but let’s be honest with the American people. Taxes are the real reason we’re here.

    Over in the Ways & Means Committee, they are marking up what will be one of the most expensive tax bills in history.

    When Republicans originally passed the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, they designed many of the individual and some business tax provisions to expire this year.

    That’s because even back then, Republicans knew making the tax cuts permanent would cost the United States trillions in revenue we desperately need to pay our expenses. Making those tax cuts permanent now is no less costly.

    Yet, that’s what we are being asked to do today.  The Budget Committee instructed the Ways and Means Committee to cut taxes by $4.5 trillion and has asked our committee to come up with $880 billion in cuts to make up the shortfall.  That’s it. That’s what this is about.

    To do that, the bill before us will decimate Medicaid, which provides health insurance to nearly 72 million people nationwide.

    In every congressional district across the country, Medicaid supports health care for children, Americans with disabilities, and working people who are already struggling to keep up.

    Cutting health coverage for our most vulnerable neighbors will not make America healthier, it will make us sicker.

    At home I hear from people concerned about national debt and deficits and they say to me, “hey Scott we have to make cuts to address the deficit.”  But that is not what is happening here.  Because Republicans will continue to run $2 trillion annual budget deficits and we will see the national debt grow from 36 to 38 to 40 to 42 trillion.  And they will vote for a $5 trillion increase in the debt limit to make this borrowing possible, even though many of them swore a blood oath that they’d never vote to increase the debt.  They will enact a budget that according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget will increase the federal debt by $37 trillion over 30 years. 

    Don’t buy their fiscal responsibility act. Republicans are proposing these painful cuts to programs that help everyday Americans not to lower our debt but just so President Trump can follow through on his campaign promise to give his donors, who he himself said were already “rich as hell,” even more money in tax cuts.

    When the government borrows more, inflation goes up and working people suffer at the grocery store, gas pump, and when they pay for utilities. Higher federal borrowing drives up interest rates and makes it harder for people to buy a home, start a business, or pay down credit cards.  All this now in addition to depriving so many Americans of basic health care.

    I urge my colleagues to vote no.

    Thank you, I yield back.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Text adopted – 2023 and 2024 reports on Türkiye – P10_TA(2025)0092 – Wednesday, 7 May 2025 – Strasbourg

    Source: European Parliament

    The European Parliament,

    –  having regard to the European Council conclusions of 17 and 18 April 2024, 30 June 2023, 23 June 2022, 24 June 2021 and 12 December 2019, and to all relevant previous Council and European Council conclusions,

    –  having regard to Türkiye’s membership of the Council of Europe and NATO,

    –  having regard to the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Turkey on the readmission of persons residing without authorisation(1) (EU-Turkey Readmission Agreement),

    –  having regard to the statement of the members of the European Council of 25 March 2021 on Türkiye,

    –  having regard to the ‘EU-Turkey statements’ of 18 March 2016 and 29 November 2015,

    –  having regard to the ‘Turkey Negotiating Framework’ of 3 October 2005,

    –  having regard to the declaration issued by the European Community and its Member States on 21 September 2005 following the declaration made by Turkey upon its signature of the Additional Protocol to the Ankara Agreement on 29 July 2005,

    –  having regard to the Council conclusions of December 2006 and March 2020, and to the Presidency Conclusions of the European Council in Copenhagen of 21-22 June 1993, also known as the Copenhagen Criteria,

    –  having regard to the Council conclusions on Enlargement of 17 December 2024 and of 12 December 2023,

    –  having regard to the International Law of the Sea and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),

    –  having regard to the Commission communication of 30 October 2024 on EU enlargement policy (COM(2024)0690) and to the accompanying Türkiye 2024 Report (SWD(2024)0696),

    –  having regard to the Commission communication of 8 November 2023 on EU enlargement policy (COM(2023)0690) and to the accompanying Türkiye 2023 Report (SWD(2023)0696),

    –  having regard to Special report 06/2024 of the European Court of Auditors of 24 April 2024 entitled ‘The Facility for Refugees in Turkey – Beneficial for refugees and host communities, but impact and sustainability not yet ensured’,

    –  having regard to the joint communications from the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to the European Council of 29 November 2023 (JOIN(2023)0050) and of 22 March 2021 (JOIN(2021)0008) on the state of play of EU-Türkiye political, economic and trade relations,

    –  having regard to the Commission communication of 19 December 2024 entitled ‘Eighth Annual Report of the Facility for Refugees in Türkiye’ (COM(2024)0593),

    –  having regard to the fundamental principles of international law and to the Charter of the United Nations, the 1977 and the 1979 High-Level Agreements between the leaders of the two communities, and the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council on Cyprus, including Resolution 186 (1964) of 4 March 1964, which reaffirms the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus, Resolution 550 (1984) of 11 May 1984 on secessionist actions in Cyprus, Resolution 789 (1992) of 25 November 1992, and Resolution 2537 (2020) on the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP),

    –  having regard to Article 46 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which states that the contracting parties undertake to abide by the final judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in any case to which they are parties, and to the ensuing obligation of Türkiye to implement all judgments of the ECtHR,

    –  having regard to the relevant resolutions of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe,

    –  having regard to the 2025 Freedom in the World report published by Freedom House,

    –  having regard to the 2024 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders,

    –  having regard to the January 2025 prison statistics report published by the Civil Society in the Penal System Association (CISST) and to the 2024 country profile for Türkiye published by Prison Insider,

    –  having regard to the Global Gender Gap Report 2024 published by the World Economic Forum,

    –  having regard to recent reports of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform (Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu),

    –  having regard to the UNESCO statement on Hagia Sophia of 10 July 2020, and to the relevant UNESCO World Heritage Committee decisions 44 COM 7B.58 (2021) and 45 COM 7B.58 (2023), adopted in its 44th and 45th sessions respectively,

    –  having regard to its previous resolutions on Türkiye, in particular those of 13 September 2023 on the 2022 Commission Report on Türkiye(2), of 7 June 2022 on the 2021 Commission Report on Turkey(3), and of 26 November 2020 on escalating tensions in Varosha following the illegal actions by Türkiye and the urgent need for the resumption of talks(4),

    –  having regard to its resolution of 29 February 2024 on deepening EU integration in view of future enlargement(5),

    –  having regard to its resolution of 15 April 2015 on the centenary of the Armenian Genocide(6),

    –  having regard to its resolutions of 5 May 2022 on the case of Osman Kavala in Turkey(7), of 10 October 2024 on the case of Bülent Mumay in Türkiye(8) and of 13 February 2025 on recent dismissals and arrests of mayors in Türkiye(9),

    –  having regard to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to Ankara in December 2024,

    –  having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

    –  having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A10-0067/2025),

    A.  whereas Türkiye remains a candidate for EU accession, and EU membership remains the repeatedly declared political goal of the Turkish Government, although the gap with the values and interests of the EU is growing; whereas EU accession negotiations have effectively been at a standstill since 2018, owing to the deterioration of the rule of law and democracy in Türkiye;

    B.  whereas any accession country is expected to respect democratic values, the rule of law and human rights, and to abide by EU law; whereas Türkiye needs to credibly demonstrate its commitment to closer relations and alignment with the European Union in order to reinvigorate its European perspective; whereas being a candidate country presumes a willingness to progressively approach and align with the EU in all aspects, including values, interests, standards and policies, inter alia with its common foreign and security policy, to respect and uphold the Copenhagen criteria, and to pursue and maintain good neighbourly relations with the EU and all of its Member States without discrimination; whereas the tensions between the EU and Türkiye in relation to the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean have de-escalated but not ceased; whereas Türkiye has repeatedly been asked to refrain from all actions which violate the sovereignty and sovereign rights of all EU Member States and are in breach of international and EU law;

    C.  whereas the 2023 Commission progress report on Türkiye painted a picture of continued backsliding, while its latest progress report of 2024 appears to present a slightly more positive overall picture of progress on enlargement-related reforms in Türkiye, such as in the area of economic and monetary policies; whereas this cannot, however, be applied to the core matters related to democracy and fundamental rights, which have deteriorated even further since the release of the Commission’s latest report; whereas the gap between Türkiye and the EU’s values and normative framework has therefore remained unaddressed during the recent period with the persistent use of laws and measures aimed at curtailing the rule of law and human rights, fundamental freedoms and civil liberties;

    D.  whereas the joint communication on the state of play of EU-Türkiye relations of 29 November 2023 struck a more positive note, putting forward a set of recommendations on cooperating in areas of joint interest in a phased, proportionate and reversible manner and based on the established conditionalities; whereas only a few concrete steps in line with the commitments therein have been taken so far; whereas the April 2024 European Council mandated Coreper to advance in the implementation of this joint communication; whereas nevertheless this joint communication has not yet received a clear political endorsement by the Council;

    E.  whereas Türkiye is a member of the Council of Europe and is therefore bound by the judgments of the ECtHR; whereas owing to its failure to apply landmark ECtHR rulings, Türkiye is currently facing historical infringement proceedings; whereas Türkiye consistently ranks among the countries most frequently found in violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms protected by the European Convention on Human Rights; whereas as of late November 2024, Türkiye had the highest number of pending cases before the ECtHR, with 22 450 applications, representing 36,7 % of the Court’s total caseload of 61 250 applications;

    F.  whereas Türkiye is classified as ‘not free’ by Freedom House and has experienced one of the worst declines in the level of freedom in the world in the past 10 years; whereas Türkiye ranks 158th out of 180 countries in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index; whereas the Turkish Government has closed dozens of media outlets, routinely blocks online articles, is reported to control 85 % of national media and uses its state agency Anadolu as an organ of propaganda;

    G.  whereas the Turkish constitution provides for sufficient protection of fundamental rights, but the practice of the institutions and the critical state of the judiciary, including the lack of respect for Constitutional Court rulings, are the main reasons for the dire situation of the rule of law and human rights in the country, issues repeatedly described in the reports of the EU, the Council of Europe and international organisations;

    H.  whereas Türkiye has the highest incarceration rate and the largest prison population of all Council of Europe Member States, with an overcrowded prison population that has grown by 439 % between 2005 and 2023 and currently represents more than a third of all inmates of Council of Europe countries;

    I.  whereas Türkiye is ranked 127th out of 146 countries in the 2024 Global Gender Gap Index, underscoring severe gender inequality and systemic failures in protecting women’s rights; whereas according to the 2024 report of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform (Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu), 394 women were murdered by men and 259 women were found dead in suspicious circumstances in Türkiye in 2024, the highest number recorded since the civil society group started collecting data in 2010; whereas in its 2023 report, the platform noted that 315 women were killed by men, and 248 women were found dead in suspicious circumstances;

    J.  whereas in recent months, Türkiye has taken steps towards the resumption of a process for a peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question; whereas on 27 February 2025 jailed militant leader Abdullah Öcalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to disarm and disband, providing a historic opportunity to end the Turkish-Kurdish conflict; whereas these efforts have been accompanied by increasing repression and the curtailment of the powers of democratic local governments, including the dismissal of elected Kurdish and other opposition mayors;

    K.  whereas, alongside being a candidate for EU accession, Türkiye is a NATO ally and a key partner in the areas of trade, economic relations, security, the fight against terrorism, and migration; whereas Türkiye continues to play a key role in the region, acts as a bridge between Europe and Asia, and remains a key partner for the stability of the wider East Mediterranean region; whereas Türkiye continues to play a significant role in the Syrian conflict and maintains a military presence in northern Syria;

    L.  whereas Türkiye has not aligned with EU sanctions against Russia; whereas trade between Türkiye and Russia has nearly doubled since the EU’s imposition of sanctions against Russia; whereas despite some steps taken, Türkiye has not prevented its territory from being used to circumvent EU sanctions against Russia;

    M.  whereas the 2024 Commission progress report on Türkiye states that, as at 30 September 2024, the country maintained a very low alignment rate of 5 % with relevant statements of the High Representative on behalf of the EU and with relevant Council decisions, compared to 9 % in 2023;

    N.  whereas Türkiye is the EU’s fifth largest trade partner, and the EU is Türkiye’s largest trading partner by far, as well as its primary source of foreign direct investment;

    O.  whereas in the past year, the level of engagement between the EU and Türkiye has increased in terms of both technical and high-level meetings in sectoral areas;

    P.  whereas Türkiye has applied for membership of BRICS+ and shown interest in joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO);

    Q.  whereas following a period of unorthodox economic policy, Türkiye has implemented a tighter monetary policy over the past year leading to a reduction in external imbalances and a moderation of inflationary pressures;

    R.  whereas in March 2025 the Turkish Government spent at least USD 10 billion of its currency reserves to counteract the collapse of its financial markets and the devaluation of the lira caused by its decision to arrest and detain Mayor of Istanbul and prominent opposition politician Ekrem İmamoğlu; whereas the Turkish Government’s undermining of Turkish democracy and the rule of law creates an unfavourable environment for foreign direct investment and hence weakens the Turkish economy, with grave consequences for the socio-economic situation of Turkish citizens;

    S.  whereas Türkiye hosts the largest refugee population in the world, with around 3,1 million registered refugees, mainly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan; whereas since 2011 the EU has directed more than EUR 10 billion to assisting refugees and host communities in Türkiye; whereas according to a credible investigative report by Lighthouse Reports and eight media partners, the EU is funding removal centres in Türkiye implicated in the detention, abuse and forced deportations of refugees under the guise of voluntary return;

    T.  whereas in addition to the emergency assistance coordinated via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, with an estimated financial value of EUR 38 million, the EU provided EUR 78,2 million in humanitarian aid for the earthquake response in 2023, and EUR 26 million in humanitarian aid in 2024; whereas the EU signed an additional EUR 400 million in assistance under the EU Solidarity Fund to finance recovery operations following the devastating earthquake;

    U.  whereas Türkiye has systematically misused counterterrorism laws to target elected officials, opposition politicians, journalists and human rights defenders, among others;

    Commitment to EU accession

    1.  Recognises the long-standing aspirations of Turkish civil society regarding accession to the European Union; welcomes the Turkish Government’s recent statements reiterating its commitment to EU membership as a strategic goal amid an effort to revitalise EU-Türkiye relations in line with relevant European Council conclusions in a phased, proportionate and reversible manner; recognises the EU’s commitment to fostering this engagement through enhanced dialogue and cooperation but encourages it to review its expectations for engagement in the foreseeable future, in light of the deterioration of democratic standards that has been pushing the country towards an authoritarian model over the past decade, accelerating recently with the politically motivated arrest of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main political opponent, Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Ekrem İmamoğlu;

    2.  Stresses that EU membership is contingent on fulfilling the accession (Copenhagen) criteria, which require stable institutions that guarantee democracy, the rule of law, human rights, respect for and the protection of minorities, good neighbourly relations, respect for international law and alignment with the EU CFSP; further notes that these are absolute criteria, not issues subject to transactional strategic considerations and negotiations; stresses that recognition of all Member States is a necessary component of the accession process;

    3.  Regrets, in this regard, that the aforementioned positive statements have not been accompanied by any concrete actions by the Turkish authorities to close the persistent and vast gap between Türkiye and the EU on values and standards, particularly with regard to the fundamentals of the accession process; reiterates its previously adopted conclusion that the Turkish Government continues to show, as it has done for the past few years, a clear lack of political will to carry out the necessary reforms to reactivate the accession process and continues to pursue a deeply entrenched authoritarian understanding of the presidential system;

    4.  Acknowledges the strategic and geopolitical importance of Türkiye, and its increasing presence and influence in areas critical to international security, such as the Black Sea region, including Ukraine, and the Middle East; reiterates that Türkiye is a strategic partner and NATO ally, and a country with which the EU has close relations in the areas of security, trade, economy and migration; welcomes closer cooperation between Türkiye and the EU, to which the Turkish Government has made frequent reference, but stresses that this cannot in any way be a substitute for the necessary real progress which Türkiye, as a candidate country, needs to make with regard to meeting the fundamental requirements for accession; highlights, in this regard, that there are no shortcuts in the accession process and that no argument can be put forward to avoid discussing the democratic principles which are at the core of the accession process;

    5.  Notes that the Commission’s Türkiye report 2024 paints a more positive picture of reform implementation in the context of Türkiye’s accession process than the Türkiye report 2023, shifting from further deterioration to ‘no progress’ with regard to the rule of law and human rights issues; is of the opinion, however, that at least in key areas such as democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights, this is due to the fact that a very low point had already been reached and this situation has remained unchanged;

    6.  Further takes note of a nuanced shift in focus of the Türkiye report 2024, by contrast with the 2023 report, away from the accession process towards a strategic partnership between the European Union und Türkiye; is of the opinion that the critical state of the accession process is driving the Commission and the Council to focus merely on the partnership dimension of the EU’s relations with Türkiye, as is also reflected in the joint communication on the state of play of EU-Türkiye relations of 29 November 2023, and of 22 March 2021; highlights the increasing shift towards a different framework for the relationship, which might come at the expense of the accession process;

    The core of the accession process: democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights

    7.  Considers that, in terms of human rights and the rule of law, Parliament’s recent resolutions on the matter remain valid in light of the continued dire human rights situation and democratic backsliding in Türkiye over the last year; fully endorses the latest resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the related report by its Monitoring Committee, as well as the resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which depict in detail the wide range of serious shortfalls in human rights constantly reported by locally and internationally renowned human rights organisations;

    8.  Notes the Turkish Government’s stated commitment to judicial reform and the introduction of measures of an organisational nature; highlights, however, the need to introduce structural measures ensuring judicial independence; deeply regrets that, despite a reform strategy with nine judicial reform packages, the state of independence of the judiciary in Türkiye remains desolate following systematic government interference in and political instrumentalisation of the judicial system; deplores, in this regard, the weakening of remaining constitutional review mechanisms, particularly individual applications, and the frequent violations of due process;

    9.  Is dismayed by the persecution of legal professionals, including most recently the lawsuit filed by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office that resulted in the removal of the leadership of the Istanbul Bar Association on charges of ‘making propaganda for a terrorist organization’ and ‘publicly disseminating misleading information’ for having asked for an investigation into the murders of two Kurdish journalists in Syria, and in the imprisonment of one of the members of the Istanbul Bar Association’s executive board following his trip to Strasbourg to hold meetings with Council of Europe institutions;

    10.  Is alarmed by the blatant lack of implementation of decisions by the Constitutional Court, including in the case of MP Can Atalay, which has turned into a serious judicial crisis, with the Court of Cassation filing a criminal complaint against nine judges of the Constitutional Court; is worried by the recent decision of the Court of Cassation to overturn the sentences of and release the terrorists involved in the ISIS attack at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport, which claimed 45 lives in 2016;

    11.  Calls on Türkiye to strengthen its commitment to democratic governance, especially through reforms that ensure an independent judiciary; takes notes of the recent announcement of the Fourth Judicial Reform Strategy, spanning 2025-2029; calls on the Turkish Government to move from the superficial changes made so far through the recurrent reform packages and action plans to a profound and long overdue reform that will address, through real political will, the serious and structural shortcomings of Türkiye’s judiciary; stresses that putting an end to political interference in the judiciary requires no strategy or reform package but merely the political will to do so;

    12.  Remains deeply concerned by the continued deterioration of democratic standards and relentless crackdown by the Turkish authorities on any critical voices by means of a growing battery of repressive laws, the regular misuse of counterterrorism laws, including their application in relation to minors (as in the ‘Kız Çocukları Davası’ trial), the disproportionate use of the crime of insulting a public official, the extensive use of secret witnesses and dormant cases in flawed judicial proceedings, and the recurrent practice of exaggerated night arrests and home raids to portray targeted persons as extremely dangerous;

    13.  Welcomes the withdrawal in November 2024 of the draft amendment to Türkiye’s espionage laws, known as the ‘agent of influence’ law; urges the Turkish authorities to refrain from reintroducing a similar overly broad and vague law in the future, given the serious risk that it would be used as a tool to further criminalise the legitimate activities of civil society organisations within the country; calls on the Turkish authorities to ensure that the recently approved cybersecurity bill will serve its legitimate purpose of protecting data privacy and national security without giving way to potential infringements of fundamental rights or becoming another tool for further repression; stresses that the judicial apparatus remains heavily restrictive, with a complex web of legislation serving as a tool to systematically control and silence any critical voice, such as the 2020 social media law, the 2021 anti-money laundering law and the 2022 disinformation law;

    14.  Is concerned by the recent approval of legal provisions granting extraordinary powers to the State Supervisory Council (DDK) and the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), including the possibility for the former to dismiss public officials of all types and levels and appoint trustees, which could be used in an arbitrary manner;

    15.  Urges the Turkish authorities to put an end to the current serious restrictions on fundamental freedoms, in particular of expression, of assembly and of association, and to the constant attacks on the fundamental rights of members of the opposition, human rights defenders, lawyers, trade unionists, members of minorities, journalists, academics, artists and civil society activists, among others; strongly condemns the recent waves of mass arrest and imprisonment on politically motivated charges, and on the grounds of suspected terror links, affecting political figures, academics and journalists, including the arrests of Elif Akgül, independent journalist, Yıldız Tar, editor in chief of LGBT+ news site Kaos GL, Ender İmrek, columnist of Evrensel daily, and Joakim Medin, Swedish journalist for ETC, all well known for their work on human rights issues;

    16.  Strongly condemns the recent arrest and detention of the Swedish journalist Joakim Medin; reiterates that freedom of the press is a fundamental right and core EU value; strongly condemns the accusations made against Joakim Medin, which are solely based on his journalistic work and therefore demands his immediate and unconditional release and that of other journalists imprisoned for exercising their freedom of speech;

    17.  Deplores the continued prosecution, censorship and harassment of journalists and independent media, denying them the freedom to carry out their professional duties and inform the public, which is essential to a functioning democratic society; calls on the Turkish authorities to refrain from further attacks on independent media and to uphold fundamental rights and civil liberties such as freedom of speech and of the press; remains deeply concerned by the existing legislation that prevents an open and free internet, with lengthy prison sentences imposed for social media posts, scores of access blocks and content removal orders, and by the continued use of the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) to crack down on media criticism and even on outlets deemed to spread ‘pessimism’ instead of positive news;

    18.  Acknowledges the positive developments in relation to the partial lifting by the minister of the interior of restrictions on the weekly vigils of the Saturday Mothers, Cumartesi Anneleri, in Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square, and the recent acquittal of all 46 people prosecuted for more than 6 years in the case surrounding the organisation’s 700th gathering in August 2018; calls for the complete removal of all restrictions on their peaceful protest, in full compliance with the relevant Constitutional Court ruling, and for an end to the ongoing judicial case against several of its members and sympathisers; is concerned by the ongoing trial against prominent human rights defender Nimet Tanrıkulu, who was released on 4 March 2025 after spending 94 days in pre-trial detention; urges the Turkish authorities to ensure the immediate release of all individuals detained for exercising their fundamental freedoms;

    19.  Continues to be appalled by the Turkish authorities’, in particular the Turkish judiciary’s, continuous disregard for and failure to apply landmark ECtHR rulings; reiterates its condemnation of Türkiye’s blatant misuse of the judicial system and the refusal to release from detention human rights defender Osman Kavala and opposition politicians Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ,for which Türkiye is facing historical infringement proceedings in the Council of Europe, with long-awaited consequences yet to be determined; is appalled by the recent filing and acceptance of a new indictment against Selahattin Demirtaş in which the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office asks for up to 15 years of imprisonment and a ban on his political activities on the basis of several speeches he made in 2016; calls on Türkiye to fully comply with the ECtHR judgements related to missing persons and properties (inter alia in the Fokas case) in Cyprus; deplores the politically motivated nature of these prosecutions, which form part of a broader pattern of judicial harassment; calls on Türkiye to fully implement all judgments of the ECtHR in line with Article 46 of the ECHR and in line with the unconditional obligations derived from Article 90 of the Turkish constitution; calls on the European Commission and Member States to use all diplomatic channels to urge Türkiye to implement relevant ECtHR rulings and consider implementing relevant funding conditionality in relation to compliance with ECtHR rulings;

    20.  Calls on Türkiye to respect the European Court of Human Rights decision of 24 January 2008, which found Türkiye guilty of breaching Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, due to its failure to locate and prosecute those responsible in the case of the murders of Tassos Isaak and Solomos Solomou, which were committed in Cyprus in 1996; calls on the Turkish authorities to enforce the international arrest warrants against the murder suspects, and hand them over to the Republic of Cyprus;

    21.  Expresses its deep concern about the dire situation in Turkish prisons owing to severe overcrowding and poor living conditions, with reports, including by the Council of Europe, of torture and ill-treatment being widespread, and access to basic needs such as hygiene and information being severely limited; is particularly worried by the conditions of imprisonment of elderly and seriously ill prisoners, such as the case of Soydan Akay, who is being unjustly kept imprisoned; calls for his immediate release on humanitarian and health grounds; is concerned by the continued use of humiliating strip searches in prisons and other places of detention and by the persisting harassment of MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, who is currently facing six proceedings for the removal of his parliamentary seat and immunity, among other reasons for his having denounced this very practice;

    22.  Strongly condemns the Turkish Government’s decision to dismiss, following the March 2024 local elections, the democratically elected mayors of at least 13 municipalities and districts (Hakkari, Mardin, Batman, Halfeti, Tunceli, Bahçesaray, Akdeniz, Siirt, Van and Kağızman, won by the DEM Party; and Esenyurt Ovacık and Şişli, won by CHP Party) and to replace them with government trustees appointed by the interior ministry; regards this long-standing practice of appointing trustees as a blatant attack on the most basic principles of local democracy; urges the Turkish authorities to immediately cease and reverse repression of political opposition and to respect the rights of voters to elect their chosen representatives in line with the recommendations of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission; reiterates its call on the VP/HR to consider restrictive measures under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime against Turkish officials assuming the role of trustee and those appointing them; denounces the severe repression of protests against the removal of elected mayors, including the arbitrary arrest of hundreds of protesters, some of whom were minors; regards the decision of the Turkish Government to return to this practice after the last local elections of March 2024 as a clear sign of its lack of commitment to addressing the democratic shortcomings within the country and in clear contradiction to the declared willingness to revitalise the accession process, as such actions undermine the prospects for a stronger, more comprehensive partnership with the EU and are detrimental to long-term progress towards closer cooperation;

    23.  Deplores the permanent targeting of political parties and members of the opposition, who continue to suffer increasing pressure; condemns in the strongest terms the recent arrest and removal from office of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality CHP Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, along with the mayors of Şişli and Beylikdüzü, in the framework of two separate investigations on alleged corruption and terrorist-related charges involving a total of 106 suspects; highlights that these last cases, which are part of a long list of 42 administrative and 51 judicial investigations since İmamoğlu’s election in 2019, were launched just a few days before the internal party election to nominate him presidential candidate and the day after the controverted decision by Istanbul University to revoke his diploma, a requisite for his eligibility to be President; is appalled by the decision to temporarily ban all demonstrations in Istanbul and other provinces across the country, and the slowdown on social media; condemns the Turkish authorities’ harsh crackdown on the peaceful mass protests, including the detention of nearly 2000 people, many of them students, and the prosecution of hundreds of them through hasty mass trials with a lack of any evidence of criminal wrongdoing; expresses its deep concern over the unlawful arrest of Esila Ayık, a Ghent-based photography student detained on 8 April 2025 during protests in Istanbul, particularly owing to her untreated heart and kidney conditions; calls for the immediate release of all those still in detention and the acquittal of all those prosecuted for exercising their fundamental rights; deplores the arrests, detentions and deportations of local and international journalists covering the protests, in violation of the freedom of the press; urges the Turkish authorities to promptly and effectively investigate all allegations of harassment and excessive use of force against protesters and to uphold the freedom of assembly and protest; considers that the attacks against İmamoğlu constitute a politically motivated move aimed at preventing a legitimate challenger from standing in the upcoming elections and that with these actions the current Turkish authorities are further pushing the country towards a fully authoritarian model; regrets the EU’s lack of a strong, unified response to these alarming developments;

    24.  Further expresses its concern about the recent separate cases against Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district CHP Mayor Rıza Akpolat, Istanbul’s Beykoz district CHP Mayor Alaattin Köseler, CHP Youth Branch Chair Cem Aydın, and Zafer Party Chair Ümit Özdag; is appalled by the brutal and relentless crackdown on any kind of criticism to which all sectors of Turkish society have recently been subjected by the Turkish authorities, as illustrated, among others, by the case of Ayşe Barım, a well-known talent manager imprisoned since 27 January 2025 for alleged involvement in the Gezi Park protest 12 years ago, the investigation launched against Orhan Turan and Ömer Aras, the president and an executive of TÜSIAD, the country’s main business group, and the indictment, with the aim of imposing hefty prison sentences, of Halk TV Editor-in-Chief Suat Toktaş and journalists Seda Selek, Barış Pehlivan, Serhan Asker and Kürşad Oğuz, who have been provisionally acquitted; is concerned by the involvement in these and other cases of recently appointed Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek, who has a long record of involvement, in different positions, in high-profile cases against political figures, and which may give grounds for considering the application of restrictive measures under the EU Human Rights sanction regime; is also concerned by the growing financial pressure on opposition municipalities and controversial announcements, such as that made in relation to day-care centres run by opposition municipalities;

    25.  Expresses its deep concern at the deterioration in women’s rights, at gender-based violence and at the increase in the incidence of femicide in Türkiye in 2024, which has been the highest since 2010, the year before the signing of the Istanbul Convention; reiterates its strong condemnation of Türkiye’s withdrawal, by presidential decree, from this international agreement and reiterates its call to reverse this decision; urges the Turkish authorities to improve the legislative framework and its implementation, including by fully applying Protection Law no. 6284, in order to effectively tackle all forms of violence against women and the practice of so-called ‘honour killings’, end the persistent policy of impunity by holding abusers to account, and advance towards gender equality, particularly with regard to the participation of women in decision-making and policymaking processes; warns against further encroachments on women’s rights, as exemplified by Türkiye’s recent ban on elective caesarean sections at private medical centres without medical justification, which constitutes an unacceptable infringement on women’s bodily autonomy;

    26.  Strongly condemns the ongoing violations and lack of protection of the fundamental rights of LGBTI+ persons in Türkiye, including the increased incidence of hate speech, hate crimes and discriminatory rhetoric, as well as continued media stereotyping based on sexual orientation and gender identity; deplores the fact that this continued discrimination is often sanctioned by the authorities, as evidenced by the mass arrests made during the Pride March in 2023 and the banning of the march in 2024, while anti-LGBTI+ marches were permitted; urges the Turkish authorities to stop banning activities against homophobia, including Pride marches, with immediate effect;

    27.  Welcomes the increased dialogue with Christian minorities, but stresses that no significant progress has been registered with regard to the protection of the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, in particular as regards their legal personality, including those of the Greek Orthodox population of the islands of Gökçeada (Imvros) and Bozcaada (Tenedos); calls for Türkiye to implement the Venice Commission recommendations and all relevant ECtHR rulings in this regard; notes with concern that representatives of different confessions, including non-Muslim and Alevi communities, continue to face bureaucratic obstacles when attempting to register places of worship; highlights that this is a violation of the right to freedom of religion and belief; calls on Türkiye to adopt the long-awaited regulation on the election of board members in non-Muslim minority foundations controlling community hospitals; reiterates its call on Türkiye to respect the role of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for Orthodox Christians all over the world and to recognise its legal personality and the public use of the ecclesiastical title of Ecumenical Patriarch; calls on Türkiye to fully respect and protect the outstanding universal value of Hagia Sophia and the Chora museum, which are inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List; notes with concern that Türkiye has still not implemented two decisions of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee of 2021 and 2023 regarding its obligations to undertake special measures to protect these monuments; deplores the lack of protection of Panagia Soumela Monastery, which has been put forward for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage Monuments list; stresses the need to eliminate restrictions on the training, appointment and succession of clergy; welcomes the envisaged reopening of the Halki Seminary and calls for the lifting of all obstacles to its proper functioning; calls on the Turkish authorities to effectively investigate and prosecute people responsible for any hate crimes, including hate speech, committed against minorities; condemns the antisemitic statements made in the media and by high-level officials following the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel on 7 October 2023; notes that all of these practices against any religious minority are incompatible with EU values;

    28.  Welcomes Abdullah Öcalan’s recent call on the PKK to lay down arms and dissolve, and to engage in a peace process, as a historic and long-awaited step that could help end a period of 40 years of violence that has caused more than 40 000 deaths; praises the efforts made by all stakeholders involved to facilitate these developments, including the constructive approach of different political leaders that was started by MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli, the visits to Imrali prison granted to a delegation of the DEM Party, and the broad consultations that this party has led with other political parties; underlines that this represents a significant opportunity and must be followed by an inclusive political process, with a prominent role for the Turkish Parliament, aimed at the peaceful and sustainable resolution of the Kurdish issue in its political, social, democratic and security-related aspects; stresses the need to uphold human rights, political pluralism, and civil rights for all citizens, including Kurds; regrets the continued political repression, judicial harassment and restrictions on cultural and linguistic rights faced by Kurdish citizens, which undermine democratic principles and social cohesion;

    Regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations

    29.  Continues to commend Türkiye for hosting around 3,1 million refugees, including 2,9 million Syrians under temporary protection in 2024, down from 3,2 million in 2023; reiterates the importance of Türkiye’s collaboration for the effective and orderly management of migration flows; further welcomes the fact that since 2011 the EU has contributed close to EUR 10 billion to assist Türkiye in hosting refugees; notes that some EU funding has been allocated to strengthening Turkish border control and containment capabilities; welcomes the EU’s decision to allocate an additional EUR 1 billion in December 2024 to further support the healthcare, education, and integration of refugees in Türkiye since the fall of the Assad regime; at the same time, notes that these funds had already been pledged in May 2024, and therefore do not constitute new funds; calls on the Commission to ensure utmost transparency and accuracy in the allocation of funds and that EU-funded projects, particularly those related to removal centres and border control, comply with all relevant human rights standards; is alarmed by credible reports uncovering grave human rights violations at EU-funded removal centres in Türkiye and calls on the Commission to launch a transparent and independent review into the matter; notes with concern that a continuing increase in asylum applications has been registered in the Republic of Cyprus over recent years; recalls Türkiye’s obligation to take all necessary measures to halt the existing illegal migration routes and prevent the creation of new sea or land routes for illegal migration from Türkiye to the EU, particularly to Greece and the Republic of Cyprus; points out the risks related to any possible instrumentalisation of migrants by the Turkish Government; underlines the need to ensure the protection of all refugees’ and migrants’ rights and freedoms; calls on Türkiye to ensure the full and non-discriminatory implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement of 2016 and the EU-Türkiye Readmission Agreement vis-à-vis all Member States, including the Republic of Cyprus; expresses cautious hope that developments in Syria will gradually allow an increasing number of refugees to return home; reiterates that returns should only be carried out on a voluntary basis and under conditions of safety and dignity; condemns repeated violent attacks against refugees and migrants fuelled by xenophobic rhetoric among politicians and host communities; calls on the European Commission and the EU Member States to increase their efforts to preserve humanitarian and protection space for Syrian refugees in Türkiye and to uphold the principle of non-refoulement as a cornerstone of EU policies;

    30.  Reiterates its strong interest in stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean; welcomes the continued de-escalation and positive momentum in the region and the recent climate of re-engagement between Türkiye and Greece, albeit that unresolved issues continue to affect bilateral relations; deplores the fact that Türkiye continues to violate the sovereignty and sovereign rights of EU Member States, such as Greece and the Republic of Cyprus, including through the promotion of the Blue Homeland doctrine; underlines that, although Turkish violations of Greek airspace have drastically decreased, violations of Greek territorial waters have risen compared to 2023, and systematic illegal fishing activities have been conducted by Turkish vessels within Greek territorial waters; expresses its deep concern that Türkiye continues to uphold a formal threat of war against Greece (casus belli), should the latter exercise its lawful right to extend its territorial waters up to 12 nautical miles into the Aegean Sea, in accordance with Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; calls on Türkiye to fully respect the sovereignty of all EU Member States over their territorial sea and airspace, and their other sovereign rights, including the right to explore and exploit natural resources in accordance with EU and international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which is part of the EU acquis; reiterates its view that the memorandum of understanding between Türkiye and Libya on delimitation of the maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean infringes upon the sovereign rights of third States, does not comply with the Law of the Sea and cannot produce any legal consequences for third States;

    31.  Regrets the fact that the Cyprus problem remains unresolved, and calls for serious reengagement and the political will of all parties involved to bring about peaceful UN-led negotiations, with a view to achieving real progress in the Cyprus settlement talks; welcomes the resumption of informal talks under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General on 18 and 19 March 2025, which were held in a constructive atmosphere in which both sides showed a clear commitment to making progress and continuing dialogue; welcomes the agreement between both sides on opening four crossing points, demining, establishing a youth affairs committee and launching environmental and solar energy projects, as part of a new set of confidence-building measures; encourages all sides to use this momentum to move towards the resumption of negotiations;

    32.  Strongly reaffirms its view that the only solution to the Cyprus problem is a fair, comprehensive, viable and democratic settlement, including of its external aspects, within the agreed UN framework, on the basis of a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with a single international legal personality, single sovereignty, single citizenship and political equality, as set out in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the agreed areas of convergence and the Framework of the UN Secretary General, as well as in accordance with international law and the principles and values on which the Union is founded; strongly condemns Türkiye’s attempts to upgrade the secessionist entity’s status in occupied Cyprus, including via the Organisation of Turkic States, and calls on all states to respect Cyprus’ sovereignty according to UNSC resolutions; calls, as a matter of urgency, for the resumption of negotiations on the reunification of Cyprus under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General as soon as possible, from the point at which they were interrupted in Crans-Montana in 2017; calls on Türkiye to abandon the unacceptable proposal for a two-state solution in Cyprus and to return to the agreed basis for a solution and the UN framework; further calls on Türkiye to withdraw its troops from Cyprus and refrain from any unilateral action which would entrench the permanent division of the island and from action altering the demographic balance;

    33.  Calls on Türkiye to respect the status of the buffer zone and the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP); reiterates its call for cooperation among the Republic of Cyprus, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the UN to implement concrete measures for a demilitarisation of the buffer zone, and to improve security on the island; urges Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot leadership to reverse all unilateral actions and violations within and in the vicinity of the buffer zone and refrain from any further such actions and provocations; condemns the ongoing ‘opening’ of Varosha by Türkiye, as this negatively alters the situation on the ground, undermines mutual trust and negatively impacts the prospects for the resumption of direct talks on the comprehensive solution of the Cyprus problem; calls on Türkiye to reverse its illegal actions in violation of UN Security Council resolutions 550(1984) and 789(1992) on Varosha, which call on Türkiye to transfer the area of Varosha to its lawful inhabitants under the temporary administration of the UN, and to withdraw from Strovilia and facilitate the full implementation of the Pyla Understanding;

    34.  Reiterates its deep concern regarding all unilateral actions which aim at entrenching on the ground the permanent division of Cyprus as opposed to its reunification; condemns, in this context, the recent illegal visit of President Erdoğan to the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as his provocative statements, which jeopardise the efforts of the UN, the EU, the international community at large and other parties involved for the resumption of substantial negotiations in the agreed framework; regrets that such unilateral actions are tantamount to a direct illegitimate intervention against the interests of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities;

    35.  Reiterates its call on Türkiye to give the Turkish Cypriot community the necessary space to act in accordance with its role as a legitimate community of the island, which is a right guaranteed by the constitution of the Republic of Cyprus; reiterates its call on the Commission to step up its efforts to engage with the Turkish Cypriot community, with a view to facilitating the resolution of the Cyprus problem and recalling that its place is in the European Union; calls for all parties involved to demonstrate a more courageous approach to bringing the communities together; stresses the need for the EU body of law to be implemented across the entire island following a comprehensive resolution of the Cyprus problem;

    36.  Takes note of the significant work of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) and calls for improved access to occupied military zones by the Turkish army, access to its military archives and information as to the relocation of remains from former to subsequent burial sites; remains deeply concerned about the education and religious restrictions and impediments faced by the enclaved Greek Cypriots; calls on Türkiye to step up its cooperation with the Council of Europe and its relevant bodies and institutions, to address their key recommendations, to fully implement the European Convention of Human Rights with regard to respecting the freedom of religion and the freedom of opinion and expression, and the right to access and enjoy cultural heritage, and to stop the deliberate destruction of cultural and religious heritage; condemns the repeated attempts by Türkiye to intimidate and silence Turkish Cypriot journalists, trade unionists, human rights defenders and progressive citizens in the Turkish Cypriot community, thus violating their right to freedom of opinion and expression; calls on Türkiye to halt its proclaimed aggressive policy of the sale and exploitation of Greek Cypriot properties, a policy designed to create irreversible effects on the ground and which completely disregards the European Code of Human Rights ruling on this issue;

    37.  Regrets Türkiye’s continuing refusal to comply with aviation law and establish a channel of communication between air traffic control centres in Türkiye and the Republic of Cyprus, the absence of which entails real safety risks and dangers as identified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations; regrets, too, its denial of access to vessels under the flag of one Member State to the Straits of Bosporus and the Dardanelles; takes the view that these could be areas where Türkiye can prove its commitment to confidence building measures and calls on Türkiye to collaborate by fully implementing EU aviation law; regrets that Türkiye has continued its attempts to impede the implementation of the Great Sea Interconnector, an EU project of common interest, and has persisted in its plans for an illegal electricity interconnector with the occupied area of Cyprus;

    38.  Regrets that for 20 years Türkiye has refused to implement the obligations assumed towards the EU, including those in relation to Cyprus, as per the Negotiating Framework of October 2005; stresses that recognition of all Member States is a necessary component of the accession process; reiterates its call on Türkiye to fulfil its obligation of full, non-discriminatory implementation of the Additional Protocol to the Ankara Agreement in relation to all Member States, including the Republic of Cyprus; further calls on Türkiye to ensure that the human and political rights of all Cypriots are fully respected and that compliance with the fundamental principles of the European Union and the European acquis is guaranteed;

    39.  Affirms its support for a free, secure and stable future for Syria and its citizens and highlights the need for an inclusive and peaceful political transition process that is Syrian-led and Syrian- owned, including the protection and inclusion of religious and ethnic communities; expresses its commitment to constructive cooperation between the EU and Türkiye to that end, on humanitarian aid, promoting a sustainable political solution in Syria, and the fight against DAESH, given that Türkiye has a key role in promoting stability in the region; recalls that Syria’s sovereignty must be restored; acknowledges the importance of rebuilding Syria’s economy as a pillar of long-term stability and prosperity for the region; calls on Türkiye to respect Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and immediately cease all attacks and incursions on and occupation of Syrian territory in full compliance with international law; condemns the attacks carried out in recent weeks, taking advantage of the collapse of the Assad regime, by Turkish-backed militias against Syrian Kurdish forces in the north of Syria; expresses deep concern, as these attacks increase the number of internally displaced persons but also threaten the efficiency and continuity of the fight against Daesh; notes that its ongoing presence risks further destabilising and undermining efforts towards a sustainable political resolution in Syria; further notes that, citing security concerns, Türkiye also illegally occupies areas in Iraq; reiterates that civilian populations should never be the victim of military self-defence; calls for the necessary investigation into the cases in which there have been civilian casualties and to stop the crackdown on journalists working in the area; calls on Türkiye to support the process of implementing the agreement between the Syrian transitional government and the Kurdish-led SDF and refrain from any interference in Syria’s internal processes;

    40.  Supports the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Türkiye in the interests of reconciliation, good neighbourly relations, regional stability and security and socio-economic development, and welcomes the progress achieved so far; welcomes the continued efforts to restore links between the two countries; urges Türkiye to ensure the speedy implementation of agreements reached by the Turkish and Armenian Governments’ special representatives, such as the opening of the airspace and the border between the two countries for the third country nationals, and, subsequently, for holders of diplomatic passports; welcomes the temporary opening of the Margara-Alican border crossing between Armenia and Türkiye to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria; expresses the hope that these developments may give impetus to the normalisation of relations in the South Caucasus region, also in terms of security and socio-economic development, and stresses the EU’s interest in supporting this process; encourages Türkiye to play a constructive role in promoting regional stability by facilitating the swift conclusion of the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, inter alia by exerting its influence on Azerbaijan and by deterring Azerbaijan from any further military action against Armenian sovereignty; encourages Türkiye once again to acknowledge the Armenian genocide in order to pave the way for genuine reconciliation between the Turkish and Armenian peoples and to fully respect its obligations to protect Armenian cultural heritage;

    41.  Notes that Türkiye’s stance in relation to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues to affect EU-Türkiye relations, as Türkiye attempts to maintain ties with both the West and Russia simultaneously; notes Türkiye’s diplomatic attempts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, particularly regarding the Black Sea Grain Initiative, as well as its continued support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, including its vote in favour of UN General Assembly resolutions condemning the Russian aggression against Ukraine; regrets that, on the other hand, trade between Türkiye and Russia has risen sharply since the start of the war in Ukraine, making Türkiye Russia’s second largest trading partner despite EU sanctions against Russia, and that Türkiye is the only NATO member state not having imposed any sanctions on Russia; further notes that the European Union’s anti-fraud office, OLAF, has initiated an investigation into a loophole that enables countries like Türkiye to rebrand sanctioned Russian oil and export it to the EU; welcomes, however, positive steps such as Türkiye’s blocking of exports to Russia for certain dual use goods, as well as products originating in the United States and the United Kingdom that are of benefit to Russian military action; reiterates its call on the Turkish Government to halt its plans for the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, which will be built, operated and owned by Russia’s state atomic energy corporation, Rosatom; expresses concern at Türkiye’s ongoing discussions with Russia to establish a gas-trading hub in Istanbul, scheduled to begin operations in 2025;

    42.  Welcomes Türkiye’s participation in various crisis management missions and operations (within the framework of the common security and defence policy); regrets, however, the further deterioration in the level of alignment on common foreign and security policy positions, including on sanctions and countering the circumvention of sanctions, which has fallen to a historically low rate of 5 %, the lowest rate for any accession country; recalls that EU candidate countries are required to progressively align with the common foreign and security policy of the European Union and comply with international law; regrets that Türkiye has not undertaken any steps in this regard, notably by failing to align with EU sanctions against Russia, and that in many areas of mutual interest the foreign policies of the EU and Türkiye are worryingly divergent; urges Türkiye to align with and fully implement the EU sanctions against Russia, including on anti-circumvention measures and to cooperate closely with the EU’s Sanctions Envoy;

    43.  Stresses the importance of reinforcing EU-Türkiye cooperation in global security matters, particularly in light of the changing geopolitical landscape and potential shifts in US foreign policy; expresses cautious hope that recent informal engagement, such as the participation of the Turkish Foreign Minister in the informal meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in 2024, may provide an impetus towards better relations; acknowledges Türkiye’s key role as an ally in NATO and welcomes the Turkish Parliament’s decision to ratify Sweden’s NATO accession in January 2024; recalls, in this regard, that Türkiye has a key responsibility to foster stability at both regional and global levels and is expected to act in line with its NATO obligations, especially given the current geopolitical upheavals; encourages constructive engagement in a more structured and frequent political dialogue on foreign, security and defence policy to seek collaboration on convergent interests while working to reduce divergences, particularly with regard to removing persistent obstacles to the enhancement of a genuine relationship between the EU and NATO, including the acquisition from Russia of the S-400 air defence system; remains duly concerned that Türkiye continues to exclude a Member State from cooperation with NATO;

    44.  Welcomes Türkiye’s long-standing position in favour of a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, its calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, and its ongoing efforts to supply humanitarian aid to Gaza throughout the conflict; deeply regrets, at the same time, the Turkish authorities’, including the President’s, active support for the EU-listed terror group Hamas and their stance on the attack against Israel on 7 October 2023, which the Turkish Government failed to condemn; points out that Türkiye’s open support for Hamas and its refusal to designate it a terrorist organisation is not compatible with the EU’s foreign and security policy; calls, therefore, for a revision of this position;

    45.  Notes with concern that Türkiye has asked to be a member of BRICS+ and been offered ‘partner country’ status, and is considering the same for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), where it holds the status of a dialogue partner; expresses serious concern over Türkiye’s increasing interest in an alternative partnership framework, which is fundamentally incompatible with the EU accession process; insists that Türkiye’s new status as a BRICS partner country must not affect Türkiye’s responsibilities within NATO; notes that Türkiye has been cultivating cooperation formats, partnerships and regional alliances beyond the EU; is concerned by Türkiye’s tendency to use this multi-vector approach to advance its interests without committing to a full-fledged cooperation with any of these alliances;

    46.  Remains concerned by the Turkish Government’s use of the Turkish diaspora as an instrument for occasional meddling in EU Member States’ domestic policies;

    Socio-economic and sustainability reforms

    47.  Welcomes Türkiye’s return to a more conventional economic and monetary policy, while maintaining robust growth and a moderate budget deficit; regrets, however, that the cost of this is yet again being borne by citizens in the form of higher interest rates; highlights that social vulnerabilities have increased, particularly among children and older people, primarily due to the absence of a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy and income inequalities; underlines the necessity for the Turkish authorities to implement comprehensive social protection measures, strengthen collective bargaining rights and ensure that economic reforms prioritise reducing inequality and creating decent work opportunities;

    48.  Regrets the fact that despite the progress observed in economic and monetary policies, other actions by the Turkish Government affecting the rule of law continue to undermine basic principles such as legal certainty, which impacts negatively on Türkiye’s potential capacity to receive investments; welcomes the removal of Türkiye from the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in June 2024, following significant progress in improving its anti-money laundering regime and combating the financing of terrorism;

    49.  Welcomes Türkiye’s increased investment activity in the green energy sector and calls on Türkiye to continue improving the compatibility of its energy policy with the EU acquis, exploiting Türkiye’s enormous potential in renewable energy; expresses concern about the lack of any significant progress on climate action, in particular owing to the absence of a comprehensive climate law, a domestic emissions trading system, and a long-term low-emission development strategy, which undermines its 2053 climate neutrality target; highlights the need for a robust legal framework and stricter enforcement mechanisms to safeguard environmental and natural resources; urges Türkiye to align its environmental policies with the EU acquis, including respecting natural habitats when conducting mining projects, and underlines the importance of Türkiye’s adherence to the Aarhus Convention; commends the work of environmental rights defenders in Türkiye and warns against the dire environmental impact of extensive government projects, such as the expansion of its copper mining activities in Mount Ida (Kaz Daglari);

    50.  Highlights the fact that Türkiye has taken steps to diversify energy supplies and increase its renewable energy share; notes that the country is the seventh largest LNG market and highlights its potential as a regional energy hub; takes note that Türkiye has subscribed to the global goals on energy efficiency and renewable energy capacity by 2030; calls on the Commission to take into account Türkiye’s potential as a regional energy hub in initiatives to increase the installed renewable capacity in the Mediterranean region and in the development of the New Pact for the Mediterranean, and calls for energy cooperation to be part of the common agenda;

    51.  Observes some improvements in labour market conditions and points out a number of pending critical challenges, such as informal employment, the gender gap, and income inequality; is worried about the low coverage of collective bargaining and the lack of recognition of trade union rights for certain public sector employees; believes that more efforts are needed to enhance social dialogue mechanisms and address emerging occupational safety challenges; recalls that trade union freedom and social dialogue are crucial to the development and prosperity of a pluralistic society; deplores, in this regard, the recent detentions of trade unionists including Remzi Çalişkan, vice-president of the DISK confederation, and president of Genel-Iş, who was released after a month in prison, Kemal Göksoy, President of the Mersin Branch of Genel-İş, who remains in prison, and Mehmet Türkmen, chair of the textile sector union BİRTEK SEN, who was detained on 14 February 2025;

    Wider EU-Türkiye relations

    52.  Reiterates its firm conviction that, beyond the currently frozen accession process, Türkiye is a country of strategic relevance, a key partner for the stability of the wider region and plays an important role in addressing security challenges, migration management, counterterrorism, and energy security; stresses the importance of maintaining constructive dialogue and deepening cooperation in areas of mutual strategic interest; points towards a number of policy areas for future engagement, whether it be the green transition, trade, energy, a modernised customs union and visa liberalisation, among others; recalls, however, that democratic backsliding and non-alignment with the CFSP are not conducive to significant progress being made in that regard; reaffirms that the EU is committed to pursuing the best possible relations with Türkiye, based on dialogue, respect and mutual trust, in line with international law and good neighbourly relations;

    53.  Stresses the importance of encouraging deeper partnership in all economic sectors, to the benefit of the EU and all of its Member States and Türkiye; notes in particular the importance of cooperation in the fields of energy, innovation, artificial intelligence, health, security and migration management, among others; in this regard, notes that various high-level dialogues (HLDs) were held recently, including the HLD on trade and the HLD on economy, as steps towards pragmatic forms of cooperation in areas of mutual importance; calls again for the resumption of all relevant HLDs and for the establishment of structured HLDs on sectoral cooperation, to address common challenges and explore opportunities, on the condition that such cooperation must go hand-in-hand with clear and consistent conditionality grounded in respect for democratic principles, the rule of law and fundamental rights, as previously underlined in this resolution;

    54.  Stands ready to support an upgraded customs union with a broader, mutually beneficial scope, which could encompass a wide range of areas of common interest, including digitalisation, Green Deal alignment for green energy policies, public procurement, sustainable development commitments, and due diligence, contributing to the economic security of both sides; supports accompanying this upgraded customs union with an efficient and effective dispute settlement mechanism; underlines the fact that for Parliament to give its consent at the end of the process, such a modernisation would need to be based on strong conditionality related to human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for international law and good neighbourly relations, including Türkiye’s full implementation of the Additional Protocol on extending the Ankara Agreement to all Member States without exception and in a non-discriminatory fashion;

    55.  Notes with deep regret that no progress has been made by Türkiye towards meeting the required benchmarks for visa liberalisation; reiterates its willingness to start the visa liberalisation process as soon as the Turkish authorities fully fulfil the six clearly outstanding benchmarks in a non-discriminatory manner vis-à-vis all EU Member states while aligning with EU visa policy; regrets that Turkish citizens are facing problems with visa requests/applications to EU Member States owing to a marked increase in demand and fears of abuse of the system; recognises, however, the political commitment to improving access to visas and calls for intensified efforts on both sides to address the remaining technical and administrative barriers; calls on the EU Member States to increase the resources allocated to this matter; supports measures on visa facilitation, particularly with regard to business activities and Erasmus students; deeply regrets the constant attempts by the Turkish authorities to blame the EU for not making progress on this dossier, while not taking any necessary steps to comply with the remaining benchmarks; reminds Türkiye that the lack of tangible and cumulative progress on the pending conditions has a direct impact on business activities and Erasmus students; appreciates the invaluable contribution of Erasmus+ exchanges in providing rich cross-cultural educational opportunities; regrets, however, the poor oversight on the part of the Commission, exemplified by the Erasmus partnership with Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University, whose leadership publicly expressed support for terrorist acts; calls on the Commission to ensure that partner universities respect the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights by conducting ex ante verifications and regular controls;

    The way forward for EU-Türkiye relations

    56.  Considers, in view of the above, that the Turkish Government has failed to take the necessary steps to address the existing fundamental democratic shortcomings within the country and therefore reiterates its view that Türkiye’s EU accession process cannot be resumed in the current circumstances, despite the democratic and pro-European aspirations of a large part of Turkish society; recalls that, as in the case of any other candidate, the accession process is contingent on full compliance with the Copenhagen criteria and on the normalisation of relations with all EU Member States;

    57.  Urges the Turkish Government and the EU institutions and Member States to continue working, beyond the currently frozen accession process, on the basis of the relevant Council and European Council conclusions and the established conditionality, towards a closer, more dynamic and strategic partnership with particular emphasis on climate action, energy security, counter-terrorism cooperation and regional stability; insists on the need to begin a process of reflection on how this new constructive and progressive framework for EU-Türkiye relations can encompass the interests of all parties involved, for example by modernising and enhancing the current Association Agreement; underlines that such a positive process must be based on and matched by tangible progress in Türkiye as regards CFSP alignment, democracy, the rule of law and respect for fundamental values;

    58.  Considers the joint communication of 29 November 2023 on the state of play of EU-Türkiye relations a good basis on which to move forward in the overall relations between the EU and Türkiye; regrets the lack of a clear political endorsement of this joint communication so far by the Council; reiterates that recognition of all EU Member States is a necessary component of any agreement between the EU and Türkiye; stresses that Türkiye’s constructive engagement, including in relation to the Cyprus problem, remains key to advancing closer cooperation between the EU and Türkiye;

    59.  Warns, nevertheless, that a further drift towards authoritarianism by the Turkish authorities, such as we have been witnessing recently, will ultimately have a severe impact on all dimensions of EU-Türkiye relations, including trade and security cooperation, as it prevents the trust and reliability needed between partners and antagonises both sides in the current geopolitical scene;

    60.  Continues to acknowledge and commend the democratic and pro-European aspirations of the majority of Turkish society (particularly among Turkish youth), whom the EU will not forsake; regards these aspirations as a major reason for keeping Türkiye’s accession process alive; calls therefore on the Commission to uphold and increase its political and financial support to the vibrant and pro-democratic civil society in Türkiye, whose efforts can contribute to generating the political will necessary for deepening EU-Türkiye relations; highlights, nevertheless, that the resumption of the accession process depends on the unwavering political will of Türkiye’s authorities and society to become a full-fledged democracy, which cannot be forced upon it by the EU;

    61.  Reiterates its call to strengthen and deepen mutual knowledge and understanding between our societies, promoting cultural growth, socio-cultural exchanges and combating all manifestations of social, religious, ethnic or cultural prejudice; encourages Türkiye and the EU to promote shared values, particularly by supporting young people; reiterates its utmost commitment to sustaining and increasing support for Türkiye’s independent civil society;

    o
    o   o

    62.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the President of the European Council, the Council and the Commission; asks that this resolution be translated into Turkish and forwarded to the President, Government and Parliament of the Republic of Türkiye.

    (1) OJ L 134, 7.5.2014, p. 3, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/agree_internation/2014/252/oj.
    (2) OJ C, C/2024/1760, 22.3.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/1760/oj.
    (3) OJ C 493, 27.12.2022, p. 2.
    (4) OJ C 425, 20.10.2021, p. 143.
    (5) OJ C, C/2024/6746, 26.11.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/6746/oj.
    (6) OJ C 328, 6.9.2016, p. 2.
    (7) OJ C 465, 6.12.2022, p. 112.
    (8) OJ C, C/2025/206, 14.1.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/206/oj.
    (9) Texts adopted, P10_TA(2025)0016.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: From GPS to weather forecasts: the hidden ways Australia relies on foreign satellites

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassandra Steer, Chair, Australian Centre for Space Governance, Australian National University

    Japan Meteorological Agency via Wikimedia

    You have probably used space at least 20 times today. Satellites let you buy a coffee with your phone, book a rideshare, navigate your way to meet someone, and check the weather.

    Satellites are also essential for monitoring floods, cyclones and bushfires, and supporting the people they affect. Farmers depend on satellite data, too, as does everyone trying to understand and tackle climate change, not to mention our military.

    Yet Australia’s access to space services depends almost entirely on satellites owned and run by foreign governments and companies. In an increasingly uncertain world, having our own sovereign space technology is becoming even more important for security.

    But what exactly do we need to secure? And how can space help us do it? My colleagues and I at the Australian Centre for Space Governance have thought through these questions and presented them in a policy paper series – and we have some recommendations for the government.

    Space services are essential

    Since 2022, the Australian government has considered space technology to be “critical infrastructure”. In other words, if the space-based services we use were destroyed or disrupted, it “would have a debilitating impact on Australia’s defence and national security, a destabilising effect on the population, and cause significant damage to the economy”.

    However, Australia is entirely dependent on foreign partners for space-based services such as communications and Earth observation.

    Another crucial kind of satellite-powered service is “position, navigation and timing” – things like GPS, which is owned and operated by the US government. Even a temporary loss of these services could pose significant risks to Australia’s telecommunications and energy systems, as well as disaster response.

    According to Australia’s 2024 National Defence Strategy, space capabilities are “equally as important as the maritime, land and air domains”. But we are in many respects simply users of space infrastructure that belongs to partner countries for our military needs. There are opportunities to increase our role in these partnerships if we place more emphasis on how Australia can be a contributor.

    An uncertain world

    Almost all the satellite data that supports our agriculture, banking, transport, climate monitoring, bushfire and flood response – and connects rural, remote and regional Australians – comes from the US, Europe and Japan. This dependency poses significant risks.

    If any of those countries have to prioritise their own national needs in a natural disaster – such as the Sea of Japan earthquake in January last year – we might lose access. Even temporary loss of service can be disruptive, such as the temporary outage in 2023 of a UK satellite that impacted farmers in Australia and New Zealand.

    The same might happen if any of those countries stopped providing data for political or national security reasons.

    These risks are only increasing as our dependency on satellite services grows, and our relationship with the United States may become less certain.

    What do we want from space?

    Many of Australia’s international partners are also questioning their dependence on the US, and prioritising their domestic needs. Many have national space policies, or at least a clear idea of what sovereign space capabilities they want to invest in. This is what Australia needs, too.

    Greater cooperation on new space technologies could help our shared interests with our neighbours. Obvious areas include regional security, climate response, supporting agriculture, and internet connectivity needs.

    One obstacle, as we discovered when we ran a national public opinion survey last year, is that Australia doesn’t have a clear vision of what it wants from space.

    In government, too, there is little shared understanding of how satellites and related infrastructure feed in to our national priorities and needs.

    At present, thinking about space is usually the domain of specialists in government. But a better option would be “mainstreaming” space – making it part of the everyday, business-as-usual thinking of policymakers across government.

    Sovereign satellites

    Our country already excels at what’s called the “ground segment” for space – things like satellite dishes and data management. One example is the satellite dish operated by Geoscience Australia in Alice Springs, on land leased from the Indigenous-owned business, the Centre for Appropriate Technology. But we don’t have any sovereign satellites.

    In 2023, the government scrapped a billion-dollar project including four Earth-observation satellites, citing budget constraints. In 2024, a planned military-grade satellite communications system worth $7 billion was also cancelled due to lack of cash.

    But in 2025, it’s a new term of government. New minister for industry and science Tim Ayres may revisit these decisions. It certainly aligns with his support for a “Future Made in Australia”.

    This time around, the space industry and researchers will need to do a better job at communicating why satellites matter so much to our national well-being and security.

    Cassandra Steer has received funding in the past from the Department of Defence, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Geoscience Australia and Home Affairs. She is Chair and founder of the Australian Centre for Space Governance.

    – ref. From GPS to weather forecasts: the hidden ways Australia relies on foreign satellites – https://theconversation.com/from-gps-to-weather-forecasts-the-hidden-ways-australia-relies-on-foreign-satellites-256440

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: PHOTO: Cornyn Meets with UT San Antonio President

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Texas John Cornyn
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) met yesterday with University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) President Taylor Eighmy and other system leaders to discuss their leading academic programs, merger with UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and their research efforts in hypersonics. See photo below.

    This image is in the public domain, but those wishing to do so may credit the Office of U.S. Senator John Cornyn.
    Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, is a member of the Senate Finance, Judiciary, Intelligence, Foreign Relations, and Budget Committees.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Back into the closet: Is aged care failing LGBTI+ people?

    Source:

    14 May 2025

    Many older LGBTI+ people feel pressure to ‘straighten up’ and ‘blend in’, concealing their identities to feel safe in aged care facilities, say researchers at the University of South Australia.                                                                                          

    In the first study of its kind, UniSA researchers found that aged care experiences for older LGBTI+ people are often shaped by prejudice, exclusion, and a lack of respect.

    Synthesising findings across 55 studies (comprising the voices of more than 3000 LGBTI+ people aged 50-94 from 11 countries), then cross-referencing these with the lived experience of a consultant group of LGBTI+ older adults living in South Australia, researchers confirmed four commonalities:

    1. Aged care assumes heterosexuality: Heterosexism is deeply embedded in aged care, shaping the environment, dress codes, activities, and assumptions about relationships.
    2. No one to protect us: LGBTI+ adults feel unsafe and vulnerable in aged care settings, due to historical discrimination and care providers being away from the public eye.
    3. Hiding who you are: While being open is ideal, many older LGBTI+ people feel forced back ‘into the closet’ to stay safe in aged care.
    4. Good care, not different care: Participants want inclusive, respectful care that affirms their identity, not special treatment that keeps them separate.

    With Australia’s ageing population rising (now the third highest in the world), it can be inferred that the LGBTI+ population is also increasing, highlighting an acute need for inclusive, quality aged care services.

    Yet with the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety identifying systemic issues of neglect, abuse, and substandard care across the age care sector, particularly for LGBTI+ people, it’s clear that more needs to be done.

    The findings are timely ahead of the International Day Against LGBTQIA+ Discrimination! (IDAHOBIT) on May 17.

    Lead researcher and PhD candidate, UniSA’s Sarah McMullen-Roach, says LGBTI+ older adults have reservations about aged care.

    “From dress codes to daily activities, aged care settings are often assumed to reinforce heterosexual norms, making LGBTI+ residents feel invisible or unwelcome,” McMullen-Roach says.

    “LGBTI+ people worry that when the time comes to consider aged care they’ll be met with ostracism and discrimination, with gendered roles and standards forced upon them when they can no longer present themselves as they choose,

    “But it’s also about visibility. On one level, LGBTI+ older adults want to be seen and accepted for who they are, yet on another level, many feel that they need to retreat from their identities – ultimately ‘returning to the closet’ in their old age.

    “Having to give up their hard-earned rights and identities is unthinkable, particularly when you remember that homosexuality was only fully decriminalised in Australia in 1997*, with same-sex marriage made legal less than 10 years ago.

    “Add to this that most aged care institutions are run by faith-based organisations that have histories of rejecting LGBTI+ people, and the already flawed Australian aged care system, and you can see why concerns of safety, vulnerability and homophobia are prevalent.”

    McMullen-Roach says while LGBTI+ people deserve to access inclusive good quality aged care services that affirmed and accepted them, multilevel interventions are needed to make this happen.

    “Aged care services need to start thinking differently about how they signal inclusivity,” McMullen-Roach says.

    “This could be so simple as displaying a rainbow sign at reception, using inclusive language on intake forms, engaging staff in training and development, and adopting advertising materials that showcase the diversity of their residents.

    “Education is also a much-needed intervention that will help change the current state of aged care services, helping them reduce the risk of systemic homophobia while increasing the dignity and respect for older LGBTI+ people.

    “Care providers need to know that the world’s not exclusively straight, and that LGBTI+ people may have different care needs that should be accommodated.

    “Some of this education is happening in Australia, but we don’t know the impact it has on LGBTI+ individuals’ experiences and willingness to access care services.

    “This is what we want to understand in the Australian context: is discrimination truly historical and left in the past? Are people being supported to age free from fear? If not, what needs to change to create a better more inclusive future in aged care?”

    UniSA is now extending this study through the perspectives and experiences of aged care for LGBTI+ older Australians. The current study is underway with preliminary results expected in the new year.

    Notes to editors:

    • LGBTI+ is the preferred terminology used by older adults included in this study.
    • * Homosexuality was progressively decriminalised from 1975 (South Australia) to 1997 (Tasmania).

    Contact for interview:  Sarah McMullen-Roach E: Sarah.Mcmullen-Roach@unisa.edu.au   

    Media contact: Annabel Mansfield M: +61 479 182 489 E: Annabel.Mansfield@unisa.edu.au

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Using a blue inhaler alone is not enough to manage your asthma

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Hughes, Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice, University of Sydney

    New Africa/Shutterstock

    Inhalers have been key to asthma management since the 1950s. The most common, salbutamol, comes in a familiar blue-coloured inhaler (or “puffer”).

    This kind of “rescue inhaler” brings quick relief from asthma symptoms. You may know these inhalers by their brand names such as Ventolin, Asmol or Zempreon.

    But there is growing evidence that using this kind of inhaler without treating the underlying condition may not only be ineffective – it could actually increase the risk of an asthma attack.

    Next month, the National Asthma Council is releasing updated guidelines that reflect this shift. Here’s what’s changing and what you need to know.

    What is a bronchodilator?

    Bronchodilators such as salbutamol act by relaxing smooth muscle in the airways. While they don’t address inflammation, which is the key cause of asthma, bronchodilators are effective at quickly opening up constricted airways.

    This means for people experiencing typical asthma symptoms – such as tightness of the chest and shortness of breath – a puff of salbutamol brings relief within ten minutes. The effect can last up to six hours.

    Salbutamol relaxes the airway muscles that tighten due to asthma.
    BlueRingMedia/Shutterstock

    Salbutamol is used by people with asthma and other respiratory conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (which includes chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema). As part of a management plan made with a doctor, salbutamol is used to relieve shortness of breath when it occurs.

    In Australia, more than 60% of salbutamol is purchased over the counter (without a prescription) in pharmacies. Many of these purchases may be for people with infrequent asthma symptoms, meaning less than twice a month.

    However, we now know there are safer and more effective ways for people with infrequent asthma to manage it in the long term.

    So, what’s wrong with using salbutamol?

    Treating symptoms is only one part of asthma management. Salbutamol doesn’t address the root cause – why the airways of people who get asthma become constricted in the first place.

    It’s a bit like taking pain relief for a swollen elbow without treating the tendonitis causing the pain.

    In asthma, chronic inflammation is usually a result of genes and environment interacting.

    Some people have airways that overreact to triggers in the environment. These triggers include pollens, moulds and dust mites, or air that is cold or humid.

    Over the long term, chronic inflammation can lead to changes in the airways. The airway walls become thicker and produce more mucus, allowing less space for air to flow through them.

    Using short-acting treatments such as salbutamol without addressing chronic inflammation in the airways poses risks.

    Salbutamol can become less effective with regular use. This means people with shortness of breath don’t gain the relief they expect and need, and paradoxically, their airways may become more “twitchy” (sensitive to environmental triggers) and inflamed. One response to this is people use more salbutamol and the problem is compounded.

    Strong data links increased use of short-term inhalers such as salbutamol to higher risk of asthma flare-ups, hospital admissions and even death.

    Purchasing three or more salbutamol inhalers per year is considered overuse.

    According to asthma guidelines in Australia and globally, needing salbutamol for symptom relief on more than two days a week is an indicator of poorly controlled asthma, requiring review and possibly anti-inflammatory treatment.

    Using your blue inhaler more than two days a week may indicate poorly controlled asthma.
    Kotcha K/Shutterstock

    What do the new guidelines recommend?

    In 2019, the Global Initiative for Asthma, an independent not-for-profit organisation, radically changed its recommendations for salbutamol use. This is based on its committee of asthma experts reviewing the evidence.

    Australian asthma guidelines from the National Asthma Council are set to follow suit.

    The council’s 2025 Australian Asthma Handbook now states that salbutamol alone is inadequate treatment for asthma in adults or adolescents.

    Previously, the guidelines recommended people with infrequent symptoms to use salbutamol when needed and “alone” – that is, without an anti-inflammatory preventer.

    The new recommendations specifically warn against anyone with asthma using a short-acting bronchodilator such as salbutamol by itself, due to the increased health risks mentioned above.

    People with asthma who use salbutamol, for example, should also use an anti-inflammatory treatment that provides preventive cover, such as an inhaled corticosteroid.

    The 2025 Australian Asthma Handbook now recommends anti-inflammatory relievers from day one when it comes to asthma treatment in adults and adolescents.

    These inhalers contain, in a single dose (one puff), both a bronchodilator (to relieve symptoms) and a low-dose anti-inflammatory corticosteroid (to treat underlying inflammation).

    They are recommended instead of salbutamol-only inhalers for symptom relief, even for those whose symptoms are infrequent.

    When used in place of salbutamol-only inhalers, anti-inflammatory relievers have demonstrated improvements in quality of life for people with asthma, as well as lower risks of hospitalisations and death.

    In the case of children with asthma, global guidelines emphasise the use of anti-inflammatory inhalers and discourage over-reliance on bronchodilators.

    Will I need to change my inhaler?

    Currently, combination anti-inflammatory relievers are only available with a prescription from a doctor. These prescriptions with repeats can allow people with asthma up to 12 months of treatment.

    In Australia you can still buy salbutamol in a pharmacy without a prescription, after consultation with a pharmacist.

    However, if you have asthma and you’re concerned about the new guidance, you should speak to your pharmacist or doctor for advice.

    Stephen Hughes receives research grant funding from the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care Medical Research Future Fund, The Australian Research Council and Asthma Australia. He is a past Board Member of the National Asthma Council of Australia and current member of its Finance and Risk Management Committee.

    Bandana Saini has received funding from 1) Australian Government Department of Health Initiatives (via MRFFs or Community Pharmacy Agreement based investigator initiated grants, 2) National Health and Medical Research Council or from 3) organisations such as Asthma Australia.

    – ref. Using a blue inhaler alone is not enough to manage your asthma – https://theconversation.com/using-a-blue-inhaler-alone-is-not-enough-to-manage-your-asthma-250133

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: 05.13.2025 Sen. Cruz Announces Key Senior Staff Hires and Promotions

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Texas Ted Cruz
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) announced key senior staff hires and promotions in his Washington, D.C. office.
    OMRI CEREN promoted to Senior Advisor for Policy and Communications. Omri previously served as National Security Advisor and then Legislative Director for Senator Cruz. Before joining Sen. Cruz’s staff, he was programmatic director at The Israel Project, a nonprofit focused on working with journalists and the public on Middle East issues, and before that was a political blogger and writer. He received his doctorate from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication.
    PRESTON HOWEY promoted to Legislative Director. A proud native of the Permian Basin, Preston began his Capitol Hill career with Chairman Kevin Brady (TX-08) and later served as Legislative Director for Representative August Pfluger (TX-11). He went on to work with the natural gas markets team at the American Petroleum Institute before joining Senator Cruz’s office as Domestic Policy Advisor. Preston is a graduate of Texas A&M University.
    MIKE BERRY hired as Chief Counsel. Mike joins Sen. Cruz’s office after 7 years on active duty as a U.S. Marine, and more than a decade of litigation experience in the non-profit sector. During his time in the Marines, Mike deployed to Afghanistan and taught law at the U.S. Naval Academy. Mike also served in senior litigation roles at First Liberty Institute and America First Policy Institute, during which he successfully led the litigation efforts on some of the nation’s most high-profile religious liberty and election integrity cases. Mike received his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University, and his law degree from The Ohio State University.
    BRANDON GINDT hired as National Security Advisor. A Texas native, Brandon joins Sen. Cruz’s office from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) where he served in the Directorate for Operations since 2018, predominantly working on Middle East and strategic competition issues. During his tenure at DIA, he deployed to Afghanistan and managed crisis operations on the Joint Staff and served as the Israel and Lebanon Country Director in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Texas A&M University. 
    MACARENA MARTINEZ promoted to Communications Director. A native of Houston, Macarena has served as Senator Cruz’s communications advisor since 2023. Before her work with Senator Cruz, Macarena served as the Texas Communications Director for the Republican National Committee. Prior to that, she was a War Room Analyst on President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign. Macarena holds a double bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘The pope is Peruvian!’ How 2 decades in South America shaped the vision of Pope Leo XIV

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Matthew Casey-Pariseault, Associate Clinical Professor of History, Arizona State University

    Faithful hold a photo of Robert Prevost, who was elected Pope Leo XIV, in front of the Cathedral of Chiclayo, Peru, where he served as bishop for several years. AP Photo/Manuel Medina

    In his first appearance as Pope Leo XIV on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the man born Robert Francis Prevost spoke for 10 minutes in Italian. Then he transitioned to Spanish and, with a big grin, gave a greeting to his “beloved diocese of Chiclayo in Peru.”

    Many Peruvians were overjoyed with the election of Leo, whom they are proud to claim as a fellow citizen. “The Pope is Peruvian!” reported the live coverage on Latina Noticias, one of the main national networks. Other news outlets around Lima, where I live, shared similar headlines. Within minutes, all of Peru knew that the new pope, who was born and raised in Chicago, had served in Peru for over two decades and was nationalized as a citizen in 2015.

    During his time in the South American nation, he lived alongside his parishioners through a bloody civil war, a decade-long dictatorship and an unstable post-dictatorship period that has so far led to three former presidents being handed prison sentences. Amid these challenges, Prevost became part of Peruvian society – and, eventually, a leader within it.

    Prevost’s leadership roles in Chicago and Rome were essential in his formation. But as a scholar of religion in Latin America, I believe that it is his time in Peru that has best prepared him to take on the challenges of directing the global Catholic Church. In Peru, where Catholicism permeates public life, Prevost encountered deep social and political challenges in ways that bishops in many other countries may never face so directly.

    Missionary during war and dictatorship

    Prevost first arrived in Peru in 1985. A member of the Order of St. Augustine, the young man had been sent to its mission in Chulucanas, in the northern province of Piura. Chulucanas is about 30 miles east of the regional capital, where the desert coast begins to rise up into the Andes.

    After a year, Prevost left to finish his doctoral degree and serve briefly in Illinois. But he soon returned to Peru, serving as a missionary in the northern city of Trujillo. He stayed there through the remainder of the 1980s and 1990s, amid civil war between the government and various militant groups – primarily the Maoist guerrillas of Sendero Luminoso, or “Shining Path,” who aimed to install a communist state.

    The violence hit other regions more severely, but Trujillo and the surrounding area were home to car bombs, sabotaged electrical grids and brutal military dragnet operations. Prevost accompanied Peruvians through some of the darkest days of the country’s history.

    During these years, Prevost trained future clergy and served as a parish priest. One fellow Augustinian recalled that Prevost played a key role in recruiting and training Peruvian candidates to the priesthood. Prevost also founded the Trujillo parish of Nuestra Señora de Montserrat, where his parishioners knew him as “Padre Roberto.”

    As the country transitioned away from the civil war period, which ultimately left nearly 70,000 dead, Prevost remained in Peru. During the 1990s, President Alberto Fujimori’s government built a polarizing legacy by undermining democracy and citizenship rights while capturing the two most powerful guerrilla leaders.

    Peruvian families carry remains of recently identified relatives who were killed years ago, during the insurgency, to the cemetery for burial in 2022.
    AP Photo/Martin Mejia

    As I show in my research, religion and politics are deeply intertwined in Peru. By the 1990s, the Peruvian Catholic Church was divided between members who spoke out in defense of human rights and those who defended the often brutal tactics of the government. Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, who was then the archbishop of Ayacucho – the Andean stronghold of Sendero Luminoso – became a spokesperson for the pro-state faction, framing defenders of human rights as apologists for terrorism.

    Prevost was among those who maintained a critical view of any party, including the government, that committed human rights abuses. Diego Garcia-Sayan, the country’s former minister of justice and foreign affairs, recently wrote an op-ed praising Prevost’s willingness to speak out against attempts to legalize the death penalty and to defend embattled human rights organizations.

    From Chiclayo to the Vatican

    After returning to the United States in 1999, Prevost rose through the leadership ranks of the Augustinian order. He was sent back to Peru in 2014, when Pope Francis named him the apostolic administrator, and later bishop, of the northern diocese of Chiclayo.

    As bishop, Prevost emerged as a voice for democracy and justice. In a 2017 public statement to national media, he urged former President Fujimori to “personally ask forgiveness for the great injustices that were committed and for which he was prosecuted.”

    During his tenure as bishop, Prevost helped guide his community through the COVID-19 pandemic. He also played a key role ministering to Chiclayo’s growing population of Venezuelan migrants.

    Venezuelan Betania Rodriguez on May 10, 2025, shows a photo taken with Pope Leo XIV at a migrant shelter in Chiclayo, Peru.
    AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo

    Meanwhile, he was gaining the confidence of his peers, as well as Pope Francis. Prevost was given a leadership role in the Peruvian Conference of Bishops and played a central role during Francis’ 2018 visit to Peru. In 2023, Francis named Prevost prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops, the oversight body for naming new bishops across the world.

    Prevost took the position in Rome but was sad to leave Peru again. “This time, again, it will be hard for me to leave here,” Prevost told Peruvian media.

    In recent years, Prevost has taken on causes central to Francis’ papacy. He was a key actor in the Vatican investigations of a Peruvian organization, Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana, which was found to have committed dozens of sexual and psychological abuses dating back to the 1970s. Francis dissolved the organization in 2025. Prevost has also developed an increased focus on Indigenous and environmental rights, in line with Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si and 2019 conference for bishops in the Amazon.

    Local celebrations

    Photographs and memes celebrating the Peruvian pope have flown around social media and WhatsApp groups in Peru. The photos of Prevost eating traditional dishes from the north coast are especially popular. AI-generated memes of the pope wearing the Peruvian national soccer jersey or eating ceviche with an Inca Kola soda are making the rounds.

    In Chicalayo and Trujillo, in addition to official church celebrations, thousands have taken to the streets to express their joy with placards and chants.

    Leo XIV has clearly brought the memory of his years in Peru with him to the Vatican. He has chosen Edgard Rimaycuna, a Peruvian priest whom the pope knew from his time in Chiclayo, as his personal secretary.

    I believe the challenges that Leo guided his parishioners through in two decades in Peru should offer valuable lessons for the new pope to build on the legacy of Francis, the first Latin American pope.

    Matthew Casey-Pariseault does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. ‘The pope is Peruvian!’ How 2 decades in South America shaped the vision of Pope Leo XIV – https://theconversation.com/the-pope-is-peruvian-how-2-decades-in-south-america-shaped-the-vision-of-pope-leo-xiv-256415

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: InCHIP Supports Principal Investigators Amid Uncertainty in Federal Research Funding

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    On Friday, May 30, UConn’s Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP) will hold a virtual coffee break for faculty to receive updates on the evolving federal research funding landscape and guidance for writing competitive grant applications in the current climate.

    The event will feature a panel of InCHIP principal investigators (PIs) who have submitted a federal funding proposal this year. In addition, leaders from InCHIP and the Office of the Vice President for Research will share advice from program officers at the National Institutes of Health and answer questions about the impact of federal funding on the university.

    Information for the upcoming coffee hour can be found on InCHIP’s website, chip.uconn.edu.

    This event is part of InCHIP’s recurring coffee hours, which provide faculty a space to informally discuss their experiences with federal funding changes and create a network of support.

    Caitlin Caspi, Director of Food Security Initiatives at the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health, and Associate Professor of Allied Health Sciences

    “These events are important for us to get an idea of how changes in federal funding are affecting faculty and how InCHIP can support PIs and their research,” says Caitlin Caspi, associate director of InCHIP and director of Food Security Initiatives at the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health.

    Faculty from UConn Storrs, UConn Health, regional campuses, and various schools and colleges have participated, highlighting strong interest and demand for these events.

    Caspi spearheaded the coffee hours in response to unprecedented funding cuts at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), about $1.9 billion in research and career development funding to U.S. institutions has been terminated. AAMC data shows that Connecticut has lost more than $12 million in NIH funding.

    Scientific research is a core component in the economic engine of Connecticut and the United States. Government-funded research also fuels cures for debilitating diseases and innovation.

    A 2019 study published in Science by researchers at the University of California, Berkely, the University of Connecticut, Boston University, and Harvard University quantified the impact of federal research dollars on patents. The authors found that nearly one-third of U.S. patents rely on federal research dollars and established that corporations have become more reliant on government investment.

    In addition to the impacts on innovation, the cuts have socioeconomic implications. As the largest public funder of biomedical research, the NIH provided key support for research that improves public health and well-being, especially for historically understudied populations and fields.

    Grant terminations have most heavily impacted research areas like HIV/AIDS, sexual and gender minorities, COVID-19, and climate science – many of which are InCHIP priorities. In response, leadership is working to expand support for investigators beyond the coffee hours.

    First, InCHIP continues to offer seed grant funding to support innovative pilot research that will serve as the foundation for future external funding proposals.

    Tricia Leahey of the Department of Allied Health Sciences (AHS) in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR), and director of the UConn Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP)

    “InCHIP seed grants support innovative pilot research in emerging areas and PI career growth. In unstable financial times, these internal funding opportunities can act as lifelines to keep research moving forward,” says Tricia Leahey, director of InCHIP.

    For the Spring 2025 semester, InCHIP offered internal funds for projects that aim to address health challenges and concerns affecting understudied populations in Connecticut and the United States.

    Specifically, InCHIP has partnered with the UConn Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute to fund projects that explore the areas of health equity, human rights, and social justice. InCHIP expects to fund 2 projects under this opportunity.

    InCHIP also offered seed grants in environment and health, community-engaged research, and women’s health, along with core funding for career development, and team formation, bridge funding, and project completion.

    The spring application cycle has closed, but investigators are encouraged to check InCHIP’s website during the fall semester.

    InCHIP is also supporting PIs who received award termination from the NIH, from navigating logistics to providing financial support. In addition, InCHIP is helping PIs navigate the changing funding landscape through grant writing workshops and identifying non-federal funding sources.

    Next semester, InCHIP will offer a grant writing workshop focused on foundation opportunities. The goal of the workshop is to help PIs learn best practices for crafting competitive proposals. Modeled after InCHIP’s Spring 2025 NIH grant writing bootcamp, the workshop builds on this semester’s successful bootcamp and follow-up seminar, which is providing researchers hands-on experience and in-depth feedback on their grant proposals.

    Details about the foundation grants workshop will be announced on InCHIP’s website.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The pay equity puzzle: can we compare effort, skill and risk between different industries?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gemma Piercy, Lecturer, Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology, University of Waikato

    Getty Images

    Last week’s move by the government to amend pay equity laws, using parliamentary urgency to rush the reforms through, caught opposition parties and New Zealanders off guard.

    Protests against the Equal Pay Amendment Bill have continued into this week, driven to some extent by disappointment that an apparent political consensus on the issue has broken down.

    In 2017, the National-led government passed a forerunner to the current legislation for the health sector only, the Care and Support Workers (Pay Equity) Settlement Act. Later, in opposition, National also supported the Labour government’s Equal Pay Act in 2018, as well as the Equal Pay Amendment Act in 2020.

    That legislation was designed to extend a pay equity process to all occupations and create a clearer pathway for making pay equity claims. With both major parties seemingly aligned, some 33 pay equity claims were under way.

    Those claims – all halted now – involve the education, health and social services sectors. As such, the government would have to meet the costs of successful claims.

    This explains why one rationale for the law change has been that the claims were potentially too expensive. The other rationale (preferred by Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden) is that the existing policy wasn’t sufficiently rigorous in determining the validity of some claims.

    In reality, both the cost and the policy framework allowing equity claims to proceed are interrelated: the more permissive the framework, the higher the potential cost to the government and employers.

    But while equal pay for equal work is the goal, it’s important to understand that equal pay and pay equity are not the same thing.

    Equal pay is about making sure men and women are paid at the same rate in a specific occupation.

    Pay equity, on the other hand, involves a more complex process. It aims to establish pay relativities between famale-dominated industries and other sectors using specific criteria. And herein lies the core of the argument.

    Comparing different work sectors

    According to van Velden, the framework for comparing different kinds of work was too loose, or simply not realistic:

    You have librarians who’ve been comparing themselves to transport engineers. We have admin and clerical staff […] comparing themselves to mechanical engineers. We don’t believe we have that setting right.

    On the surface, this may seem logical. And previous policy advice provided to the government suggests the recent law change will move New Zealand’s framework into line with other countries.

    But using a proxy method of comparison between types of work in different industries or sectors remains central to any pay equity claim.

    That’s because pay equity seeks to make visible and fix the deep, structural inequalities that have historically seen women’s work undervalued compared to men’s work. It’s about ensuring jobs that are different but of equal value are paid similarly, as a way to achieve gender equality.

    Women’s employment is still concentrated in lower-paying industries and occupations, so comparisons have to be made with other sectors.

    The factors used to measure that relativity are known as “comparators”. Rather than using tools developed and tested under the previous legislation, the new system will introduce “a hierarchy of comparators”, with a preference for comparators to be chosen within the same industry or occupation making the pay equity claim.

    Comparators are selected to help compare the nature of different kinds of work in male-dominated and female-dominated industries. This is based on an assessment of skills, experience and qualifications, level of responsibilities, types of working conditions and degree of effort.

    The assessment is completed through in-depth interviews with workers in comparison occupations. It uses resources such as Employment New Zealand’s skills recognition tool to evaluate the validity of those comparators.

    Different kinds of cost

    The subjective nature of valuing different kinds of work is part of the problem, of course. But New Zealand research shows only part of the gender pay gap can be attributed to objectively measurable pay differences within specific industries. Pay equity is about addressing both the objective and subjective elements contributing to that gap.

    We’ll need to carefully monitor the new system to see whether its narrower comparator requirements affect its capacity to close the gender pay gap.

    Treasury’s concerns also need to be considered. The former budget allocation of NZ$17 billion over four years suggests the costs of settling pay equity claims may be considerable.

    On the other hand, they may be bearable. Last year in the United Kingdom, for example, Birmingham City Council was effectively bankrupt and feared pay equity claims might be a final straw. In the end, the costs were not as high as initially anticipated.

    Finally, focusing exclusively on reducing fiscal cost risks other costs rising instead. Women who are paid less than they should be will struggle to put food on the table, pay back student loans, get onto the property ladder, contribute to Kiwisaver and afford their retirement.

    Without pay equity, in other words, there is less economic activity in general.

    Gemma Piercy received funding from the Pay Equity Unit (2004-2009), part of the former Department of Labour, now Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

    Bill Cochrane and Suzette Dyer 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. The pay equity puzzle: can we compare effort, skill and risk between different industries? – https://theconversation.com/the-pay-equity-puzzle-can-we-compare-effort-skill-and-risk-between-different-industries-256464

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Aguilar Announces $300,000 to Strengthen CSUSB Artificial Intelligence Cybersecurity Research

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Pete Aguilar (31 CD Ca)

    Today, Rep. Pete Aguilar announced a $300,000 grant for California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) to enhance its research into the effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on the cybersecurity workforce. Continuing Rep. Aguilar’s focus on strengthening the cybersecurity program at CSUSB, this grant will enable educators at the university to adapt their curriculum as AI technology rapidly evolves.
    “As artificial intelligence technology develops, it is crucial that the cybersecurity workforce in the Inland Empire is equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to ensure we can keep up,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar. “This grant funding is an investment in the future success of the CSUSB students entering the cyber workforce and ensuring that the Inland Empire stays at the forefront of cybersecurity.”
    “The grant supports our effort to forecast all the ways AI will impact the cyber workforce and to provide guidance for educators to adjust in real time to the changes with an information website, a series of workshops throughout the next two years,” said Vincent Nestler, Associate Professor, CSUSB School of Cyber and Decision Sciences.
    The funding comes as part of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure’s (OAC) National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot award program. The project, entitled “EAGER: NAIRR Pilot Expansion: FA1: AI Horizon: Forecasting Cybersecurity Workforce Evolution and Adaptive Skill Development,” will support efforts to integrate AI technology into cybersecurity by supporting research and educational needs at universities across the country. The grant funding will support the training of approximately 1,000 faculty members and 1,000 students across 470 higher education institutions across the country.
    Rep. Aguilar has made strengthening the cybersecurity program at California State University, San Bernardino, a top priority. During his time in Congress, Rep. Aguilar has secured more than $130 million in federal resources for CSUSB’s cybersecurity program as part of his commitment to help connect students to national security jobs and strengthen the Inland Empire’s cybersecurity.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA Enables Construction Technology for Moon and Mars Exploration

    Source: NASA

    One of the keys to a sustainable human presence on distant worlds is using local, or in-situ, resources which includes building materials for infrastructure such as habitats, radiation shielding, roads, and rocket launch and landing pads. NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate is leveraging its portfolio of programs and industry opportunities to develop in-situ, resource capabilities to help future Moon and Mars explorers build what they need. These technologies have made exciting progress for space applications as well as some impacts right here on Earth. 
    The Moon to Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technology (MMPACT) project, funded by NASA’s Game Changing Development program and managed at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is exploring applications of large-scale, robotic 3D printing technology for construction on other planets. It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but demonstrations using simulated lunar and Martian surface material, known as regolith, show the concept could become reality. 

    With its partners in industry and academic institutions, MMPACT is developing processing technologies for lunar and Martian construction materials. The binders for these materials, including water, could be extracted from the local regolith to reduce launch mass. The regolith itself is used as the aggregate, or granular material, for these concretes. NASA has evaluated these materials for decades, initially working with large-scale 3D printing pioneer, Dr. Behrokh Khoshnevis, a professor of civil, environmental and astronautical engineering at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.  
    Khoshnevis developed techniques for large-scale extraterrestrial 3D printing under the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. One of these processes is Contour Crafting, in which molten regolith and a binding agent are extruded from a nozzle to create infrastructure layer by layer. The process can be used to autonomously build monolithic structures like radiation shielding and rocket landing pads. 
    Continuing to work with the NIAC program, Khoshnevis also developed a 3D printing method called selective separation sintering, in which heat and pressure are applied to layers of powder to produce metallic, ceramic, or composite objects which could produce small-scale, more-precise hardware. This energy-efficient technique can be used on planetary surfaces as well as in microgravity environments like space stations to produce items including interlocking tiles and replacement parts. 
    While NASA’s efforts are ultimately aimed at developing technologies capable of building a sustainable human presence on other worlds, Khoshnevis is also setting his sights closer to home. He has created a company called Contour Crafting Corporation that will use 3D printing techniques advanced with NIAC funding to fabricate housing and other infrastructure here on Earth.  
    Another one of NASA’s partners in additive manufacturing, ICON of Austin, Texas, is doing the same, using 3D printing techniques for home construction on Earth, with robotics, software, and advanced material.  

    [embedded content]
    Construction is complete on a 3D-printed, 1,700-square-foot habitat that will simulate the challenges of a mission to Mars at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The habitat will be home to four intrepid crew members for a one-year Crew Health and Performance Analog, or CHAPEA, mission. The first of three missions begins in the summer of 2023.

    The ICON company was among the participants in NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, which aimed to advance the technology needed to build housing in extraterrestrial environments. In 2021, ICON used its large-scale 3D printing system to build a 1,700 square-foot simulated Martian habitat that includes crew quarters, workstations and common lounge and food preparation areas. This habitat prototype, called Mars Dune Alpha, is part of NASA’s ongoing Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, a series of Mars surface mission simulations scheduled through 2026 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.  
    With support from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program, ICON is also developing an Olympus construction system, which is designed to use local resources on the Moon and Mars as building materials. 
    The ICON company uses a robotic 3D printing technique called Laser Vitreous Multi-material Transformation, in which high-powered lasers melt local surface materials, or regolith, that then solidify to form strong, ceramic-like structures. Regolith can similarly be transformed to create infrastructure capable of withstanding environmental hazards like corrosive lunar dust, as well as radiation and temperature extremes.  
    The company is also characterizing the gravity-dependent properties of simulated lunar regolith in an experiment called Duneflow, which flew aboard a Blue Origin reusable suborbital rocket system through NASA’s Flight Opportunities program in February 2025. During that flight test, the vehicle simulated lunar gravity for approximately two minutes, enabling ICON and researchers from NASA to compare the behavior of simulant against real regolith obtained from the Moon during an Apollo mission.    
    Learn more: https://www.nasa.gov/space-technology-mission-directorate/  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump moves to gut low-income energy assistance as summer heat descends and electricity prices rise

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Conor Harrison, Associate Professor of Economic Geography, University of South Carolina

    Cities like Houston get high humidity in addition to the heat, making summer almost unbearable without cooling. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

    The U.S. is headed into what forecasters expect to be one of the hottest summers on record, and millions of people across the country will struggle to pay their power bills as temperatures and energy costs rise.

    A 2023 national survey found that nearly 1 in 4 Americans were unable to pay their full energy bill for at least one month, and nearly 1 in 4 reported that they kept their homes at unsafe temperatures to save money. By 2025, updated polling indicated nearly 3 in 4 Americans are worried about rising energy costs.

    Conservative estimates suggest that utilities shut off power to over 3 million U.S. households each year because the residents cannot pay their bills.

    This problem of high energy prices isn’t lost on the Trump administration.

    On the first day of his second term in 2025, President Donald Trump declared a national energy emergency by executive order, saying that “high energy prices … devastate Americans, particularly those living on low- and fixed incomes.”

    Secretary of Energy Christopher Wright raised concerns about utility disconnections and outlined a mission to “shrink that number, with the target of zero.”

    Yet, the administration’s 2026 budget proposal zeros out funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, the federal program that administers funding to help low-income households pay their utility bills. And on April 1, 2025, the administration laid off the entire staff of the LIHEAP office.

    During the hottest periods, even nighttime temperatures might not drop below 90 in Phoenix. Without air conditioning, homes can become dangerously hot.
    Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

    Many people already struggle to cobble together enough help from various sources to pay their power bills. As researchers who study energy insecurity, we believe gutting the federal office responsible for administering energy bill assistance will make it even harder for Americans to make ends meet.

    The high stakes of energy affordability

    We work with communities in South Carolina and Tennessee where many residents struggle to heat and cool their homes.

    We see how high energy prices force people to make dangerous trade-offs. Low-income households often find themselves choosing whether to buy necessities, pay for child care or pay their utility bills.

    One elderly person we spoke with for our research, Sarah, explained that she routinely forgoes buying medications in order to pay her utility bill. Another research participant who connects low-income families to energy bill assistance in Tennessee said: “I’ve gone into these homes, and it’s so hot. Your eyes roll in the back of your head. It’s like you can’t breathe. How do you sit in here? It’s just unreal.”

    Unfortunately, these stories are increasingly common, especially in low-income communities and communities of color.

    Electricity prices are predicted to rise with worsening climate change: More frequent heat waves and extreme weather events drive up demand and put pressure on the grid. Furthermore, rising energy demand from data centers – supercharged by the increasing energy use by artificial intelligence – is accelerating price increases.

    Shrinking resources for assistance

    LIHEAP, created in 1981, provides funding to states as block grants to help low-income families pay their utility bills. In fiscal year 2023, the program distributed US$6.1 billion in energy assistance, helping some 5.9 million households avoid losing power connections.

    The program’s small staff played critical roles in disbursing this money, providing implementation guidelines, monitoring state-level fund management and tracking and evaluating program effectiveness.

    A long line of utility customers wait to apply for help from the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program in Trenton, N.J., in 2011. In 2023, around 6 million households benefited from LIHEAP.
    AP Photo/Mel Evans

    LIHEAP has historically prioritized heating assistance in cold-weather states over cooling assistance in warmer states. However, recent research shows a need to revisit the allocation formula to address the increasing need for air conditioning. The layoffs removed staff who could direct this work.

    It is unlikely that other sources of funding can fill in the gaps if states do not receive LIHEAP funds from the federal government. The program’s funding has never been high enough to meet the need. In 2020, LIHEAP provided assistance to just 16% of eligible households.

    Our research has found that, in practice, many households rely on a range of local nonprofits, faith-based organizations and informal networks of family and friends to help them pay their bills and keep the power on.

    For example, a research participant named Deborah reported that when faced with a utility shut-off, she “drove from church to church to church” in search of assistance. United Way in South Carolina received over 16,000 calls from people seeking help to pay their utility bills in 2023.

    These charitable services are an important lifeline for many, especially in the communities we study in the South. However, research has shown that faith-based programs do not have the reach of public programs.

    Without LIHEAP, the limited funds provided by nonprofits and the personal connections that people patch together will be stretched even thinner, especially as other charitable services, such as food banks, also face funding cuts.

    What’s ahead

    The $4.1 billion that Congress allocated to LIHEAP for the 2025 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, has already been disbursed. Going forward, however, cuts to LIHEAP staff affect its ability to respond to growing need. Congress now has to decide if it will kill the program’s future funding as well.

    Maricopa County in Arizona, home to Phoenix, illustrates what’s at stake. Annual heat-related deaths have risen 1,000% there in the past decade, from 61 to 602. Hundreds of these deaths occurred indoors.

    Cooling becomes essential during Arizona’s extreme summers. Maricopa County, home to Phoenix, reported more than 600 heat-related deaths in 2024.
    AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

    We believe gutting LIHEAP puts the goal of energy affordability for all Americans – and Americans’ lives – in jeopardy. Until more affordable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, can be scaled up, an expansion of federal assistance programs is needed, not a contraction.

    Increasing the reach and funding of LIHEAP is one option. Making home weatherization programs more effective is another.

    Governments could also require utilities to forgive past-due bills and end utility shut-offs during the hottest and coldest months. About two dozen states currently have rules to prevent shut-offs during the worst summer heat.

    For now, the cuts mean more pressure on nonprofits, faith-based organizations and informal networks. Looking ahead to another exceptionally hot summer, we can only hope that cuts to LIHEAP staff don’t foreshadow a growing yet preventable death toll.

    Etienne Toussaint, a law professor at the University of South Carolina, and Ann Eisenberg, a law professor at West Virginia University, contributed to this article.

    Conor Harrison receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

    Elena Louder receives funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

    Nikki Luke receives funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. She previously worked at the U.S. Department of Energy.

    Shelley Welton receives funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

    – ref. Trump moves to gut low-income energy assistance as summer heat descends and electricity prices rise – https://theconversation.com/trump-moves-to-gut-low-income-energy-assistance-as-summer-heat-descends-and-electricity-prices-rise-256194

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