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  • MIL-OSI Security: Federal Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Inmate

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Miguel Hidalgo (34, Florida) has pleaded guilty to deprivation of an inmate’s civil rights under the color of law. Hidalgo faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.

    According to the plea agreement, on August 22, 2022, Hidalgo was employed with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons as a correctional officer at Federal Correctional Complex Coleman. While on duty at the prison, Hidalgo entered the cell of two inmates who were both handcuffed behind their backs. While in the cell, Hidalgo pushed one of the inmates to the floor, then struck that inmate multiple times in the face and chest area. When Hidalgo was exiting the cell, the inmate spat on Hidalgo. Hidalgo requested the cell door be reopened. He then reentered the cell and again began striking and kicking the inmate. The inmate suffered injuries from the assault, including multiple rib fractures and contusions on his face. By striking the inmate, Hidalgo willfully deprived the inmate of the right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment by a person acting under color of law—a right secured and protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

    This case was investigated by the Department of Justice – Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Multiple Nashville Felons Charged with Federal Weapons, Drug Offenses

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NASHVILLE – Three Nashville men, all of whom have previous convictions for either violent crimes or drug felonies, were recently charged with federal firearms offenses, two of the men were additionally charged with drug offenses, announced Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Robert E. McGuire. Carlos J. Rodriguez, 27, was charged on January 24 with being a felon in possession of a firearm; George Charles Carter, III, 48, was charged on January 24 with being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances; and Keontis Jenkins, 28, was charged on January 27 with being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances,

    “We are ramping up our efforts to protect our community from those who would illegally possess guns and those who would sell drugs,” said Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire. “These three arrests in the span of just a few days should put violent criminals on notice that if you break the law, we will hold you accountable in federal court—especially if you possess dangerous drugs like fentanyl and dangerous items like Glock switches. If we find evidence to support a federal charge, we are not going to wait. We are going to act.”

    Rodriguez

    According to court documents, on September 25, 2024, law enforcement conducted a surveillance operation in the area of a bar on Charlotte Pike in Nashville. While conducting surveillance, agents saw Rodriguez exit the bar and conduct what appeared to be hand-to-hand narcotics transactions in the parking lot. After agents stopped Rodriguez, he told them that he was on probation out of Rutherford County for selling narcotics. A search of Rodriguez’s car yielded over $500, 9mm cartridge cases, three cell phones, and handwritten ledgers and notes that appeared to document narcotics sales. Rodriguez was arrested on a state offense and was released. 

    On January 17, 2025, ATF Agents were notified that Rodriguez was arrested for driving with an expired license. Agents asked Rodriguez about his arrest on September 25, 2024, and Rodriguez acknowledged that he possessed the ammunition was recovered from his car and that he knew he was a convicted felon who could not possess ammunition. At the time Rodriguez possessed the ammunition, he was a prohibited person, having previously been convicted in Rutherford County of a felony drug offense.

    Carter

    On January 19, 2025, at approximately 3:20 a.m., Metro Nashville Police officers began investigating an armed robbery attempt that resulted in a shooting. When officers arrived on scene, they found a victim with multiple gunshot wounds to his upper left arm and a single gunshot wound to his upper right arm. The shooting was captured on Metropolitan House and Development Agency cameras near the J.C. Napier Housing Development. On the video, officers observed a person, later determined to be Carter, making movements consistent with pointing a weapon. Officers also recovered multiple shell casings from the area where Carter could be seen standing on the video.

    The next day, MNPD detectives observed a silver Dodge Avenger which matched the description of a suspect vehicle involved in the shooting the night before. The driver appeared to be conducting hand-to-hand narcotics transactions out the driver’s window. When officers attempted to stop the car, the Avenger’s driver, later identified as Carter, fled from officers, almost striking another vehicle. Carter drove at high rates of speed, drove into oncoming traffic, ran red lights, and almost caused multiple accidents. After he was arrested, Carter admitted throwing a bag of narcotics out of the car next to Margaret Allen Middle School on Spence Lane. Detectives later retrieved a bag which contained approximately 18.5 grams of cocaine, 5.2 grams of methamphetamine, a digital scale, and multiple baggies.

    Carter eventually came to a stop in the area of Thompson Lane in Nashville and was taken into custody. Carter admitted that he fled from officers, that he had thrown a bag out the window which contained the drugs that were later recovered by detectives, and that he had a bag of crack cocaine, also known as cocaine base, inside his pants. Detectives recovered this bag during the interview. The bag weighed approximately 40.6 grams. A check through law enforcement databases revealed that Carter has multiple felony convictions in Tennessee including Aggravated Assault and Simple Possession with Priors in Davidson County.

    Jenkins

    On January 14, 2025, Metropolitan Nashville Police Detectives arrested Jenkins on outstanding warrants for attempted homicide. A search of Jenkins’ person led to the discovery of an oxycodone pill and a search of the vehicle Jenkins was driving resulted in the recovery of a Glock pistol from the rear passenger’s side floorboard, with an affixed machine gun conversion device (MCD). Later that day, MNPD detectives executed a search warrant on Jenkins’ residence, which resulted in the discovery of two additional firearms, a Glock model 17 9mm pistol and a Glock model 19 9mm pistol, along with three bags of M30 pills (approximately two hundred pressed suspected fentanyl pills), Xanax bars, hydrocodone, marijuana, baggies, scales, U.S. currency, and a money counter.

    MNPD detectives interviewed Jenkins who admitted selling marijuana, fentanyl, and Xanax. Jenkins also admitted that he carries a firearm to protect himself during narcotics sales and that he had shot one of his customers in a drug deal gone wrong. Jenkins has multiple prior felony convictions in Tennessee, including Reckless Endangerment with a Deadly Weapon and Contraband in a Penal Facility in Madison County.  Jenkins admitted he knew he was a felon and was prohibited from possessing firearms.

    These cases are being investigated by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel M. Stephens is prosecuting the cases.

    A complaint is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    # # # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney’s Office Secures 19-Year Sentence in Drug Trafficking Case

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ALBUQUERQUE – A Colorado man was sentenced to 228 months in prison for drug trafficking after being caught during a traffic stop on Interstate 25 within the Kewa Pueblo reservation.

    There is no parole in the federal system.

    According to court documents, on June 14, 2023, a BIA K9 Officer observed Juan Hugo Lugo, 29, speeding and following too closely to other vehicles on Interstate 25 near mile marker 250.

    During the subsequent traffic stop, the officer observed two large black and yellow storage bins partially covered with T-shirts in the rear cargo area, and another bin on the rear passenger seat containing multiple large plastic-wrapped bundles suspected to be methamphetamine. The officer also observed a white powdery substance inside Lugo‘s nostrils.

    When questioned in the police vehicle, Lugo admitted to possessing personal use cocaine and having just taken a “bump.”

    A probable cause search of the vehicle revealed multiple plastic-wrapped bundles containing a crystal-like substance suspected to be methamphetamine and five brick-shaped packages suspected to contain cocaine. Additionally, a loaded 9mm Glock 19 firearm was found in the passenger compartment.

    The total seizure was 96.1kilograms of methamphetamine and 4.9 kilograms of cocaine.

    Upon his release from prison, Lugo will be subject to five years of supervised release.

    U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez made the announcement today.

    The Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated this case with the assistance of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Raquel Ruiz Velez is prosecuting the case.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Graham Statement on Passing of Robbi Force

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Lindsey Graham
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today released the following statement on the passing of Robbi Force. Robbi was the mother of Taylor Force, a West Point graduate and United States Army veteran who was visiting Israel as a part of a Vanderbilt University program. He was brutally stabbed and murdered by a Palestinian terrorist. The Palestinian Authority praised Force’s killer as a ‘heroic martyr’ and paid the killer’s family a monthly cash stipend. At the time, Taylor’s parents, Robbi and Stuart, lived in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.
    “I am very sad to hear of the passing of Robbi Force, who was the mother of Taylor Force, the young man murdered by a Palestinian terrorist. Afterward, the terrorist was hailed as a hero by the Palestinian Authority, and the killer’s family received martyr payments.
    “As a result of this outrage, I authored and was able to pass the Taylor Force Act, which cuts off U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority for the martyr payment practice.
    “Robbi was instrumental in getting this law passed. She and her husband, Stuart, were tireless advocates for this cause.
    “Robbi was a kind and sincere woman. There is some comfort in knowing she is now reunited with her dear son, Taylor. My prayers are with Stuart and the entire Force family. May she rest in peace.”
    Background:
    After Taylor Force’s murder, Graham introduced and successfully passed the Taylor Force Act into law to prohibit American taxpayer dollars from going to the Palestinian Authority in response to the practice of martyr payments. Graham is also a cosponsor of legislation to sanction members of Palestinian leadership and organizations who reward terrorism.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: From Davos to reality: $1B partnership begins with $220M Lumia Towers by SEN

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lumia Foundation and SEN Group have officially commenced construction and tokenization of the highly anticipated Lumia Towers by SEN, the first project under their landmark $1 billion real estate tokenization agreement. Valued at $220 million, the twin towers will redefine modern urban living by integrating luxurious residential spaces with Turkey’s first dedicated crypto hub.

    Located in Istanbul, Turkey, the Lumia Towers by SEN project symbolizes a powerful collaboration between Lumia Foundation, created by US-based visionaries Kal and Yanush Ali, and Turkey’s SEN Group, a leader in sustainable and earthquake-resistant real estate development.

    A vision introduced in Davos

    At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Lumia Foundation’s co-founder Yanush Ali, Chief Blockchain Architect Deniz Dalkilic, and Chief Product Officer Diego Grassano, presented the Lumia Towers by SEN project and the broader tokenization initiative. Their series of presentations, hosted by Webit, CVLabs, and Blue Hat Founders, emphasized how blockchain technology can revolutionize real estate markets and empower global investors.

    “This is our debut at Davos, and we’re honored to be here at the invitation of our partner Binance, who has been instrumental in supporting Lumia as the only full-cycle RWA blockchain,” said Yanush Ali, co-founder of Lumia Foundation. “Events like these define global industry trends, and asset tokenization is poised to become a major focus for 2025. That’s why we chose the World Economic Forum as the stage to announce our groundbreaking $220 million twin skyscraper project in Istanbul. This development isn’t just a milestone for us—it’s a statement. We’re tokenizing the entire project, creating Turkey’s first Crypto hub, and setting a new standard for innovation in real estate and blockchain technology.”

    Diego Grassano, reflecting on the project’s innovation, remarked:
    “With Lumia Towers, we are not just building structures; we are building opportunities. Tokenization allows anyone, anywhere, to become a part of something extraordinary.”

    Deniz Dalkilic highlighted the blockchain aspect:
    “Our mission is to create a seamless bridge between Real World Assets and DeFi ecosystems. Lumia Towers is just the beginning of what blockchain can achieve in transforming industries.”

    Empowering small investors
    By tokenizing real estate properties, Lumia Foundation aims to democratize access to high-value investments. Traditional real estate investments often require significant capital, making them inaccessible to smaller investors. However, with the Lumia Towers by SEN project, token ownership begins at just $1, enabling investors worldwide to participate.

    This innovation aligns with the growing trend of Real World Assets (RWA), a market projected to reach $10 trillion by 2030. Lumia Foundation’s efforts are further amplified by its collaboration with Binance, with the two organizations sponsoring Webit, a leading technology and innovation event.

    A milestone for blockchain and real estate
    The $1 billion framework agreement between Lumia and SEN Group is a testament to the potential of combining blockchain with real estate development. The construction of Lumia Towers by SEN is not just a step forward for the partnership but a significant contribution to Turkey’s economic growth and global leadership in blockchain innovation.

    “This partnership represents the perfect synergy of cutting-edge technology and real-world application,” said Kal Ali, co-founder of Lumia Foundation. “Turkey has enormous potential to set new standards in innovation, and we are proud to be a part of this transformative journey.”

    About Lumia Foundation
    Lumia Foundation is a next-generation blockchain platform focused on tokenizing Real World Assets and integrating them into the DeFi and Web3 ecosystems. Created by US-based visionaries Kal and Yanush Ali, Lumia combines innovative technology with a vision for financial inclusion.

    About SEN Group
    SEN Group is a Turkish real estate developer specializing in sustainable and earthquake-resistant housing. Known for its innovative construction techniques, the company is committed to advancing Turkey’s urban landscape with cutting-edge technologies

    Media Contact

    Lumia Foundation
    Furkan Karasaç
    Founder of SEN Grup
    hadiye.taskin@sengrup.com

    SEN Group
    Kal Ali
    Lumia Founder
    egor@lumia.org

    Disclaimer: This content is provided by Lumia Foundation. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider. The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. Please conduct your own research and invest at your own risk.

    Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/82643737-1950-446d-90ea-e7fd9502c176

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/04512c52-dd57-4c95-864a-a0556b17f6fd

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8b0fbd82-1287-4501-ad51-a4fb513c0fb4

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: ProVen VCT plc: Interim Management Statement

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ProVen VCT plc
    Interim Management Statement
    for the nine months ended 30 November 2024

    ProVen VCT plc (the “Company”) presents an Interim Management Statement for the nine-month period ended 30 November 2024. The statement also includes relevant financial information between the end of the period and the date of this announcement.

    Performance

            Unaudited
    30-Nov 2024    		 Unaudited
    31-Aug
    2024    		 Unaudited
    31 May
    2024    		 Audited
    29-Feb
    2024
            Pence Pence Pence Pence
    Net Asset Value per share (“NAV”)       64.0 62.9 65.6 65.2
    Dividends paid up to date*       86.00 86.00 84.25 84.25
    Total Return (NAV plus dividends paid since 10p Share consolidation)       150.00 148.90 149.85 149.45

    *Dividends paid represent dividends paid since the consolidation of 5p Ordinary Shares into 10p Ordinary Shares in October 2012. Prior to this date, the Company paid dividends totalling 113.95p on the 5p Ordinary Shares.

    Dividends paid or declared
    On 5 November 2024, the Company announced an Interim dividend for the year ending 28 February 2025 of 1.5p per share. This dividend was paid on 17 January 2025 to Shareholders on the register at 20 December 2024. Payment of this dividend will reduce the NAV per share as shown above to 62.5p and increase dividends paid to date to 87.5p per share.

    Investment portfolio summary at 30 November 2024
    Portfolio summary

      Cost Valuation
    Venture capital investments £’000 £’000
         
    MPB Group Limited 1,684 10,230
    Gorillini NV (t/a Gorilla) 4,624 9,074
    Luxury Promise Limited 5,680 8,928
    Infinity Reliance Limited (t/a My 1st Years) 4,731 7,440
    Picasso Labs, Inc. (t/a CreativeX 2,729 5,706
    Access Systems, Inc. (t/a AccessPay) 3,737 5,661
    Social Value Portal Ltd 2,458 5,351
    Farmer J Limited 3,670 5,314
    Lupa Foods Limited 309 4,925
    Moonshot CVE Ltd 2,298 4,680
    Other Venture Capital investments 83,269 63,099
    Total Venture Capital investments 115,189 130,408
         
    Cash and cash equivalents   43,438
    Other net current assets   (1,799)
         
    Net Assets   172,047

    Unquoted investments are valued at fair values established using the International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines.

    Investment activity during the three-month period ended 30 November 2024

    Investment additions

    There were no additions made in the quarter to 30 November 2024.

    Investment disposals

     

    Cost

    		 Market
    value at 1 March 2024

    Disposal
    proceeds

    		 Gain
    against
    cost    		 Realised gain/
    (loss)
    in period
      £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
    Lupa Foods Limited (loan repayment) 385 502 502 117 –
    Buckingham Gate Financial Services Limited – 57 59 59 2
      385 559 561 176 2

    Investment activity from 1 December 2024 to the date of this announcement

    In the period from 1 December 2024 to the date of this announcement, a follow on investment was made in Social Value Portal Ltd at cost of £132,000. 

    In the period from 1 December 2024 to the date of this announcement, Lupa Foods Limited was fully disposed of, realising £4,914,000 of proceeds for the Company. Commonplace Digital Limited was disposed of for consideration of shares in Zencity Technologies Ltd.

    Changes to share capital Ordinary
    Shares
    of 10p each
    As at 1 September 2024 268,709,951
    Shares bought back during the 3 months to 30 November 2024 (3,030,427)
    Shares issued during the 3 months to 30 November 2024 3,343,547
    As at 30 November 2024 269,023,071

    In the period from 1 December 2024 to the date of this announcement, 1,930,047 Ordinary Shares were issued on 5 December 2024 pursuant to the offer for subscription that opened on 6 November 2024 and were allotted at an average price of 65.03p, based on the net asset value of 62.9p per Ordinary Share, being the net asset value as at 31 August 2024.

    In the period from 1 December 2024 to the date of this announcement, 1,103,805 Ordinary Shares were issued under the Company’s Dividend Reinvestment Scheme (“DRIS”) in relation to the dividend paid on 17 January 2025.

    Offer for Subscription
    ProVen VCT plc and ProVen Growth and Income VCT plc (the “Companies”) announced on 6 November 2024 that they had published a Prospectus (comprising Securities Note, Registration Document and Summary) in respect of a combined offer for subscription to raise up to £30,000,000 (up to £15,000,000 for each Company) by way of an issue of new ordinary shares in the Companies, with an over-allotment facility of up to a further £10,000,000 (up to £5,000,000 for each Company).

    Material events
    Other than the matters described above, there were no material events during the period from 1 September 2024 to 30 November 2024 or in the period from 1 December 2024 to the date of this announcement.

    Further information
    Further information regarding the Company can be found on the Company’s website: www.proveninvestments.co.uk or by contacting Beringea, the Investment Manager at info@beringea.co.uk or by telephone 020 7845 7820.

    Beringea LLP
    Company Secretary
    Telephone 020 7845 7820
    -End

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: First public servants and aid workers honoured with new Humanitarian Medal.

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The first recipients of a new medal recognising humanitarian aid work on behalf of the United Kingdom are being recognised.

    The first recipients of a new medal recognising humanitarian aid work on behalf of the United Kingdom are being recognised today.

    Announced in July 2023, the Humanitarian Medal is a new national form of recognition awarded to public servants and members of organisations contributing to global humanitarian responses on behalf of HM Government.

    Those being recognised today include individuals who displayed exemplary public service and humanitarian efforts in HM Government’s response to the 2023 Morocco Earthquake, the 2023 Libya Flooding, and the Gaza conflict.

    With the establishment of the Humanitarian Medal, HM Government departments now make recommendations for eligible Humanitarian responses to the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals. Those responses recommended for Humanitarian Medal awards are then submitted for approval to His Majesty The King.

    Among the first recipients working as part of the eligible responses are:

    • Morocco: UK-ISAR Operations Commander for Morocco Response, from West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service, Shyam Rana, from Sutton Coldfield – A member of the UK International Search and Rescue team (UK ISAR). He was deployed in the search to reach people under collapsed buildings. ISAR has specialist equipment to monitor further seismic activity and cut through cement. Aftershocks remained a risk throughout the deployment.

    • Libya: UK-EMT Team Lead Anna Daniell, from Greater Manchester – Led the official UK Emergency Medical Team (EMT) into Derna, Libya in the wake of the dam collapse who were providing direct primary healthcare support to the affected population in areas outside of Government control.

    • Gaza: UK-Med Medical Coordinator Melanie (Mel) Johnson, from Totterdown, Bristol – Led the medical team in Gaza providing surgical, primary, and community healthcare support during intense conflict in the FCDO-funded field hospital and rehabilitated Nasser Hospital. 

    Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said: 

    All of the individuals being recognised today are shining examples of public service. Their selfless dedication to saving lives represents the very best of British values around the world. The nation thanks them for their work.

    Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:

    This new medal recognises the incredible dedication and selfless service of individuals on the frontline of the UK’s responses to some of the world’s most devastating crises.

    I am delighted the first tranche of awards will recognise members of the UK government’s emergency deployment teams, for their brave work in Libya, Morocco and Gaza. The International Search and Rescue team and Emergency Medical Team are made up of expert firefighters and medics from across the UK, who travel to the most challenging of environments to save lives.

    The medal, which is conferred by His Majesty The King, features on the reverse laurel wreaths symbolising victory in overcoming a crisis, interwoven with a banner proclaiming “For humanitarian service”. The obverse bears an effigy of His Majesty The King. 

    The ribbon design reflects the different paths for humanitarian service and the variety of services involved in such responses. The ribbon has a central stripe of white to represent civilians and peace, with four narrow stripes on either side of red, light blue, dark blue and purple. Red represents humanitarian organisations. Dark blue and purple represent the other services.

    The design on the reverse was approved by Her Late Majesty The Queen in 2021.

    These responses are the first use of the Humanitarian Medal. This is only the first tranche of awards to be made, and more will follow in due course.

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Oxpens planning application approved

    Source: City of Oxford

    Thursday, 30 January 2025

    Oxford City Council’s Planning Committee approved the planning application for the redevelopment of Oxpens on 21 January 2025.

    “After years of land assembly, the redevelopment of Oxpens is an important step forward for Oxford and we’re pleased it has been approved so it can advance to the next stage.  

    “This is a unique opportunity to redevelop one of the city’s largest remaining brownfield sites and is the largest housing development site in the city centre for generations. It will transform the area and kick start the wider regeneration of Oxford West End, helping it to realise its full potential. 

    “Oxpens will deliver much-needed housing, with 50% being affordable, provide high-quality office and laboratory space in a highly sustainable location for jobs, a new hotel and public spaces, including an outdoor amphitheater, 750sqm of publicly accessible playspace, and improved walking and cycling routes.  

    “The plans will create new opportunities for residents and businesses, supporting economic growth and helping to build a better future for our city.” 

    Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member Business, Culture and Inclusive Economy  

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Abortion statists reveal horrific rise

    Source: Traditional Unionist Voice – Northern Ireland

    Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:

    “The abortion statistics published today by the Department of Health are deeply troubling. They show that the number of abortions being carried out in Northern Ireland increased by a shocking 28.8% since the previous year, with 2,792 performed in 2023/24 compared with  2,168 in 2022/23. If one goes back further the rise is even more stark. In 2020/21 the figure was 1,574 meaning there has been an increase of over 77% when compared with today’s figures.

    “While I welcome the increase in the volume of data published by the Department, I note that the information continues to fall well short of the information released by health authorities in Great Britain. In GB the socioeconomic background of the mother, whether she has had more than one abortion and other information is available but not in Northern Ireland. I received an assurance from the then Minister in 2024 that this situation would change. Why hasn’t it?”

    TUV MLA Timothy Gaston added:

    “I have been pressing Minister Nesbitt on issues related to abortion since becoming the Member for North Antrim and tellingly he has been less than forthcoming with responses. It is time that Northern Ireland had a properly informed debate about this issue. When the public were given an opportunity to have their say in response to an NIO consultation a massive 79% of the 21,200 responses to the consultation recorded their opposition to the abortion regulations. In spite of what some in the media may try to claim, there is still considerable opposition to abortion in Northern Ireland and there will be many who will share my alarm at the growth in the number of abortions in our Province.

    “It is clear from today’s figures that abortion is increasingly becoming just another form of birth control in Northern Ireland and that the dishonest debate around the matter in the early 2020s, framed around “hard cases”, did not deal with the real issues created by the legislation imposed on Northern Ireland.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: TUV meet American Consul to Northern Ireland

    Source: Traditional Unionist Voice – Northern Ireland

    Jim Allister KC MP, Timothy Gaston MLA and Dr Dan Boucher from the TUV met the American Consul General James Applegate and Political-Economic Chief Dori Winter to Northern Ireland on Thursday 30 January in Ballymena.

    Mr Allister said:

    “We were delighted to meet the Consul and Deputy Consul.

    “Having expressed our condolences following the tragic events in Washington DC overnight, we talked about both the constitutional and economic implications of the Irish Sea border and particularly its implications for the United Kingdom’s relationship with the United States and its implications on a possible UK-US trade deal.

    “Constitutionally, we impressed upon our friends the impact of what has been the biggest reversal in democracy in the western world, with the disenfranchisement of the people of Northern Ireland in 300 areas of law, and our subjection to the law of a foreign Parliament that we don’t make and cannot change, and the consequences of the European Union’s attendant intervention to undermine cross community consent at Stormont.

    “Economically, we explained  how the dependence of Northern Ireland, as a fully integrated part of the UK economy, on receipt of economic inputs from Great Britain, means that rather that providing us with the best of both worlds, the Irish Sea border is undermining and damaging those parts of the Northern Ireland economy that sit beyond the service sector, (to which the Protocol does not apply), especially manufacturing.

    “We also reflected on the forthcoming 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence on 4th July 2026 and on the critical role played by Ulster Scots from Northern Ireland in laying the foundation for the United States.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Chernyshenko: In the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland, the International Sports Games of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky will be held in St. Petersburg

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    The first meeting of the organizing committee for the preparation and holding of the 2025 Saint Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky International Sports Games was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

    “Last year, almost 2,000 people from 68 regions took part in the Games in 6 sports. The team from St. Petersburg became the winner and holder of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’ Challenge Cup. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin supported the initiative of Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’ Kirill to give the competitions international status from 2025. The invitation campaign for foreign teams will start in March of this year. This time, the competitions will be held in St. Petersburg in the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland and on the days of remembrance of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, which gives them special meaning,” Dmitry Chernyshenko emphasized.

    According to the Deputy Prime Minister, strengthening the moral and ethical foundations of modern sports is becoming especially relevant today. The principles of raising a harmoniously developed person form the basis of sports, the state’s youth policy, and the patriotic education of the younger generation. Promoting the cultural and historical heritage and our traditional values will strengthen Russia’s sovereignty, ensure the unity of our country, and develop human potential. All of this is among the priorities of the organizing committee.

    “The International Sports Games of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky are included in the unified calendar plan of the Ministry of Sports of Russia for 2025 and, I am convinced, will not only help attract young people to sports, but also strengthen spiritual and moral values. In addition, in 2025, the Games will be included in the list of significant international events and will unite athletes from Russia and friendly countries,” said Minister of Sports Mikhail Degtyarev.

    Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Boris Piotrovsky thanked for choosing St. Petersburg as the venue for the Games, noting the city’s extensive experience in organizing international events. He said that the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games will take place in the Yubileiny sports complex, among the venues are ready-made competition facilities.

    Metropolitan Mitrofan of Murmansk and Monchegorsk, Chairman of the Patriarchal Commission on Physical Culture and Sports, also spoke about the progress of preparations and outlined recommendations for organizing the work and attracting participants from regions of Russia and other countries.

    First Deputy Chairperson of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Svetlana Zhurova emphasized the importance of giving competitions international status and, using her personal example, spoke about the role of athletes’ participation in such events for their professional development.

    During the meeting, Dmitry Chernyshenko gave a number of instructions concerning organizational, information support and security.

    The meeting of the organizing committee was also attended by Ambassador-at-Large, Special Representative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for International Sports Cooperation Mikhail Khorev, representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Health, Rospotrebnadzor, the FSB, Rosmolodezh, and Rossotrudnichestvo.

    The first All-Russian Sports Games of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky took place in 2023 in Kemerovo, the second in 2024 in Nizhny Novgorod.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s remarks to the Ambassadorial-Level meeting of the Peacebuilding Commission [as delivered]

    Source: United Nations secretary general

    It is a pleasure to be here with you today.
    I wish to start by congratulating the Member States that have recently been elected to the Peacebuilding Commission.
    I also congratulate Brazil for leading the PBC during its 18th session and welcome Germany’s candidacy for the chair of the 19th session.
    Excellencies,
    Our world is in trouble. 
    We see spreading conflicts and widening geopolitical divisions.
    We face a deepening climate crisis and widening inequalities.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Strengthening Alberta’s partnership with U.S.

    Source: Government of Canada regional news (2)

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: New data for improved navigation in the upper Hudson River

    Source: US National Ocean Service News

    The Hudson River Estuary PORTS® station at Turkey Point, New York in January 2025. It measures and disseminates observations and predictions of water levels, currents, salinity, and meteorological parameters — winds, atmospheric pressure, air and water temperatures — that mariners need to navigate safely. Credit: Sarah Fernald, NYSDEC.

    Navigating New York waterways just got a bit easier. NOAA and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced the establishment of the Hudson River Estuary Physical Oceanographic Real-time System (PORTS®). The system delivers real-time oceanographic and meteorological observations that can improve maritime safety and inform coastal resource management in the region. Commercial mariners, recreational boaters, resource managers, and coastal planners can use the online tool to access real-time water level data from Sleepy Hollow to Troy, New York.
    The Hudson River Estuary PORTS® is the second system of its kind in New York — the first being situated 100 miles south that provides data for the New York-New Jersey Harbor PORTS®. The new system currently consists of one water level station at Turkey Point, south of Saugerties, New York, and is part of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve. The system will fill critical geographic gaps in the state’s maritime data and expand coverage to include the tidally influenced portions of the Hudson River, north of the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.
    The Turkey Point station is equipped with pressure-based and microwave water level sensors, satellite transmitters, as well as rechargeable batteries and solar panels. The redundancy of the built-in sensors and power sources is designed to ensure the station operates in all weather conditions, and that NOAA’s critical real-time data continues to flow when it is most urgently needed by the maritime community. The station is also equipped with an anemometer that measures wind speed, pressure, and direction; sensors for air and water temperature, relative humidity, and conductivity; as well as a barometric pressure sensor to measure meteorological conditions.
    A second water level station will be added to the system later this year to deliver data from the upper portion of the Hudson River at the Coxsackie State Boat Launch and Riverside Park.
    Partners at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will maintain system sensors and provide sensor data and metadata to NOAA in accordance with National Ocean Service standards. NOAA will publish verified data on the Tides and Currents website. This collaborative effort will result in highly precise oceanographic and meteorological data delivered through NOAA web products in near real time.
    With the Hudson River Estuary PORTS®, NOAA now operates 39 real-time systems across the nation. NOAA PORTS® is a partnership program with local port authorities, pilot associations, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, academia, and other stakeholders across the nation. Its systems support safe and cost-efficient navigation by providing ship masters, pilots, and other users with accurate real-time information required for safe vessel loading and transit, and to avoid groundings and collisions. These systems also improve hazardous spill response and enhance recreational activities.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda Names Natalia Díez Riggin as Senior Advisor and Acting Director of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs

    Source: Securities and Exchange Commission

    The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda has named Natalia Díez Riggin as Senior Advisor and Acting Director of the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs.  

    “I’m thrilled that Natalia has joined us after her tenure working for Chairman Scott on the Senate Banking Committee,” Acting Chairman Uyeda said. “Her expertise will help guide us as we focus our efforts at the SEC on capital formation and ensuring companies aren’t impeded by ineffective regulation.”

    Ms. Riggin joined the SEC after serving as a Senior Professional Staff Member on the U.S. Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs for Chairman Tim Scott of South Carolina. Prior to that, she was the Deputy Legislative Director for U.S. Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana as well as Staff Director for the Economic Policy Subcommittee of the Senate Banking Committee. Earlier in her career, Ms. Riggin served as a policy aide to U.S. Senators Mike Enzi of Wyoming and Mark Kirk of Illinois, respectively. Ms. Riggin received a B.A. in political science and history from the University of Illinois Chicago.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: CWA Statement on American Eagle/PSA Flight 5342

    Source: Communications Workers of America

    The following is a statement from Communications Workers of America President Claude Cummings Jr.:

    Our union is grieving along with all those affected by last night’s tragic collision of American Eagle/PSA Flight 5342 with an Army helicopter. Two AFA-CWA Flight Attendants were crewing the flight, and CWA’s leadership, members, and retirees stand ready to support and assist the crew members, aviation workers, and families who have been impacted by this catastrophe.

    Our heartfelt thanks to the first responders who are engaged in the difficult but necessary recovery operations.

    ###

    About CWA: The Communications Workers of America represents working people in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, manufacturing, tech, and other fields.

    cwa-union.org @cwaunion

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New guidance to help contracting parties deal with excess profits and losses on vital defence contracts

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Publication of guidance on the Final Price Adjustment, which mitigates the impact of excess profits or losses that may arise in non-competitive defence contracts.

    Following consultation with stakeholders, we have issued new guidance regarding the Final Price Adjustment (FPA). This guidance will support contracting parties to swiftly resolve common issues encountered in the application of the FPA.

    The FPA allows the contractor and the Ministry of Defence to share excess profits or losses arising under a qualifying defence contract, rather than having them fall solely on one of them. The FPA is generally used after the contract has concluded, but may now also be applied where a contract has several pricing periods during the life. The guidance provides further detail as to when and how the FPA might be used.

    John Russell, Chief Executive said:

    This new publication on the final price adjustment provides valuable guidance to help resolve common issues between contracting parties. Dealing with these issues should save time and money for the MOD and contractors. This work reflects the SSRO’s approach of developing advice and guidance that is accessible, easy to use and relevant to the major issues MOD and industry face in negotiating and managing these vital contracts.

    The SSRO has taken a new approach to how this guidance is structured, to make it accessible and user friendly. Developments include the use of real-world scenarios to help understand and resolve common issues, as well as signposting to the relevant Regulations and details of how to contact the SSRO for support. An FPA calculator has also been developed and is available for stakeholders’ use. This development of SSRO guidance has been well received by consultation respondents who said the guidance will help with the agreement of the FPA.

    We will keep the guidance under review and will update it to reflect users’ experience of its application.

    The FPA guidance has been issued as part of the SSRO’s new powers arising from the Procurement Act 2023, which enable the SSRO to issue guidance in relation to the application or interpretation of any area of the law governing qualifying defence contracts. We plan to use our new powers to issue more guidance in a broader range of areas particularly where stakeholders tell us they would like more support.

    For more information,  read the FPA guidance and our response to stakeholder feedback on the FPA consultation.

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New theme group created to establish future careers for the Armed Forces community

    Source: City of Plymouth

    Pictured from left to right hand side, front row:
    Andrew McConochie, Lieutenant Commander, Royal Navy
    Cllr Pauline Murphy, Deputy Lord Mayor and Armed Forces Champion, Plymouth City Council
    Emma Hewitt, Skills Lead, Plymouth City Council
    Victoria Mead, Skills and Workforce Coordinator, Plymouth City Council

    Pictured from left to right hand side, back row:
    David FitzGerald, President of the Royal British Legion Dartmoor Branch
    Darryl Newman, Nursing and Clinical Professions Recruitment Lead and Armed Forces Champion, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
    Consort Cllr Mark Coker, Plymouth City Council
    Cllr Chris Penberthy, Cabinet Member for Housing, Cooperative Development and Communities
    Lewis Elliot, Sea Cadet
    Jon Beake, Defence Relationship Management in the SW, Wessex RCFA

    Plymouth’s Armed Forces Covenant is launching a new theme group to help enable better access to local employment, skills and training opportunities for military service leavers, working-age veterans, military family spouses, partners and young people.

    Last year, the Council renewed its commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant.

    The Armed Forces Covenant is a nationwide agreement between the armed forces community, the nation and the government.

    One of the commitments from signing the Covenant, is to establish better job and training opportunities for members of the Armed Forces community.

    Led by Plymouth City Council’s Skills Launchpad Plymouth team, the representatives of the group are:

    • Plymouth’s Veterans and Families Hub
    • Forces Employment Charity
    • Career Transition Partnership
    • The Royal Marines Charity
    • Department for Work and Pensions.

    With strong involvement from local employers who are signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant including University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Babcock, Livewell Southwest, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Wolferstans Solicitors and Plymouth City Bus.

    A launch event was held today to bring together a key group of people who will be involved in this work and to raise the profile of the Armed Forces Covenant with the local business community.

    Deputy Lord Mayor and Armed Forces Champion, Councillor Pauline Murphy, said: “Working in city-wide partnership, we want to recognise, communicate and seek to reduce the challenges faced by those within the Armed Forces community.

    “As a proud military city, I am delighted that we are launching Plymouth’s new vision for enabling better access to local employment and future careers. We are pro-actively engaging with our business community to increase commitment for the Armed Forces Covenant and want to create a win-win to help solve recruitment challenges in the city as we promote the highly transferrable skills and talent of our military community.

    “We are excited to support this joined up approach which builds on the Council’s renewal last year and strong commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant.”

    Attendees at the theme group launch event held 30 January 2025 at the Council House

    Speaking at the launch event, Darryl Newman, Nursing and Clinical Professions Recruitment Lead and Armed Forces Champion at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust said: “I’m proud to be chairing the Armed Forces Future Careers and Employers Group to support our city’s Armed Forces Community.

    “The Armed Forces Future Careers and Employers Group will bring together employers across the city to identify, support and grow employment for the Armed Forces Community across Plymouth, whilst sharing best practice.”

    Representing the Royal Navy, Andrew McConochie, Lieutenant Commander said: “With Plymouth being home to the largest naval base in Western Europe with the highest concentration of veterans in England, this new coordinated approach will provide significant value to serving personnel in planning their local employment and future career transitions, along with valuable support for their families, helping to both attract and retain talent in the city.” 

    Luke Pollard MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport shared his best wishes for a successful launch of the new theme group. He said: “I am so proud of my home city of Plymouth for stepping up to enhance localised employment and training support for our valued Armed Forces community. By fostering this new collaboration between local, regional and national service providers, and building better awareness of the increasing investment and growth in jobs and career pathways available in the city, we can create a brighter future.

    “We greatly appreciate the businesses who have already pledged their support for the Armed Forces Covenant, and I’d encourage more Plymouth organisations to become part of the Ministry of Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme so that we can achieve even more positive outcomes together.”

    To find out more and to get involved, email [email protected]

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Study shows potential of resveratrol to aid fertility

    Source: Anglia Ruskin University

    New research indicates that a natural compound found in the skin of grapes, blueberries and raspberries has the potential to improve female fertility.

    The systematic review into resveratrol, which is a polyphenolic compound known for its antiaging, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, is published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

    Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), alongside colleagues from Italy, South Korea and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust, examined all previously published research on resveratrol and female reproductive health.

    By collating and reviewing results from 24 in vitro and in vivo studies, involving a total of 9,563 human participants, they found evidence to suggest resveratrol can improve the quantity and quality of egg cells, called oocytes.

    Four studies specifically investigated resveratrol in connection with the quantity of matured oocytes. Two of these reported an increase, while two found no significant differences. Additionally, two studies assessed the quality of matured oocytes and both reported an improvement amongst women who took resveratrol.

    A possible explanation is that resveratrol reduces oxidative stress, helping to protect mitochondrial DNA from damage and enhance telomerase activity, to reduce cellular aging. Resveratrol also activates the molecule sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), which is typically reduced in aged oocytes, therefore potentially slowing cell aging and extending ovarian lifespan.

    The review also found evidence that resveratrol could potentially treat infertility associated with endometriosis, and have positive effects on polycystic ovary syndrome and obesity-related infertility, by inhibiting pathways involved in androgen production and reducing inflammation and oxidative stress.

    Crucially, the review found mixed results regarding miscarriage and pregnancy data. Five studies reported on pregnancy rates, with two indicating an increase, two found no difference, and one reporting a decrease amongst those taking resveratrol. The same study that noted a decrease in pregnancy rates also reported an increase in miscarriage rates, while a second study found no difference.

    Resveratrol is generally considered safe when consumed in moderate amounts through diet and through supplements, in doses up to five grams a day for a month, although the safety of high-dose supplementation, particularly over long periods, remains unclear.

    “Our systematic review on resveratrol and female fertility is a comprehensive overview of all current research, and it highlights the compound’s potential to improve reproductive outcomes and possibly pave the way for new, less invasive treatments, using natural substances.

    “However, our findings are based on a number of limitations, including the limited number of human studies, the different parameters of each study and the lack of robust data on dosage and side effects, particularly related to birth defects or foetal abnormalities.

    “Therefore, there is a need for further clinical trials, involving human participants, in order to translate these promising results into practical recommendations for women looking to improve their fertility, including guidance on the safe and effective dosage of resveratrol.”

    Lee Smith, Professor of Public Health at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and senior author of the paper

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Three by-elections to be held on Thursday 6 March

    Source: City of Canterbury

    Home  »  Latest News   »   Three by-elections to be held on Thursday 6 March

    Following the resignations of three city councillors in recent weeks, we can today (Thursday 30 January) confirm that three by-elections will take place on Thursday 6 March.

    These are in the wards of Herne and Broomfield, St Stephen’s and Gorrell. The notice of election has been published today.

    The now former councillors who resigned are (in ward order as above) Joe Howes, Elizabeth Carr-Ellis and Stephen Wheeler.

    The link above also contains all the information voters in these wards need to know, such as key deadline dates for registering to vote if you are not already registered, postal/proxy vote applications and voter authority certificate applications.

    Authorised voter identification will be required for anyone voting in person at a polling station.

    Polling stations will be open between the normal hours of 7am and 10pm on Thursday 6 March.

    The counts will then take place on Friday 7 March.

    Published: 30 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Vitaly Savelyev summed up the celebration of the 50th anniversary of BAM

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    Vitaly Savelyev held the final meeting of the organizing committee for the preparation and holding of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Baikal-Amur Mainline

    January 30, 2025

    Vitaly Savelyev held the final meeting of the organizing committee for the preparation and holding of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Baikal-Amur Mainline

    January 30, 2025

    Previous news Next news

    Vitaly Savelyev held the final meeting of the organizing committee for the preparation and holding of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Baikal-Amur Mainline

    The final meeting of the organizing committee for the preparation and holding of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Baikal-Amur Mainline was held under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev.

    “Our country celebrated an important and significant anniversary in 2024 – the 50th anniversary of the Baikal-Amur Mainline. It is important that the anniversary year was marked not only by ceremonial events, but also by great achievements in the modernization of the BAM and the entire Eastern Polygon, the carrying capacity of which has grown to 180 million tons. The main goal of the planned expansion of the Eastern Polygon is to increase the carrying capacity, providing domestic enterprises with stable, guaranteed access to the markets of the Asia-Pacific region. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed and is contributing to the implementation of the tasks at hand: BAM veterans, BAM 2.0 engineers and builders, and railway industry workers,” said Vitaly Savelyev.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Minister for Foreign Affairs visits Peru

    Source: Government of Sweden

    Minister for Foreign Affairs visits Peru – Government.se

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    Press release from Ministry for Foreign Affairs

    Published

    Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard is visiting Peru on 30–31 January. Her visit will include a meeting with Peru’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmer Schialer.
    Ms Malmer Stenergard will also host the Sweden Peru Mining Summit at which Government representatives, companies and agencies from Sweden and Peru will discuss sustainable mining and the green transition.

    “I look forward to visiting Peru together with Swedish companies to discuss how we can better cooperate on key issues to promote sustainable mining, and to deepen our countries’ cooperation on business issues, the green transition and innovation,” says Ms Malmer Stenergard. 

    The aim of the visit is to solidify and develop the already good relations between Sweden and Peru and to further strengthen political and economic ties. Sweden and Peru have a long history of bilateral relations stretching back some 90 years. Peru is a vital partner for Sweden in the region. The visit presents opportunities to broaden and deepen cooperation on investment, trade and the green transition and sustainability, as well as developing our security dialogue. 

    Press contact

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Nigeria’s plastic bottle collectors turn waste into wealth: survey sheds light on their motivation

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Solaja Mayowa Oludele, Lecturing, Olabisi Onabanjo University

    Plastic waste in Nigeria presents a dual challenge: cleaning up environmental pollution, and tapping into its economic potential.

    Many countries worldwide face similar challenges. India, for one, has chosen policies that give producers of plastic the responsibility to manage their waste. Rwanda has banned single-use plastic and promoted recycling initiatives led by communities.

    These approaches show it’s possible to address plastic waste issues while fostering economic opportunities.

    Read more: Nigeria’s plastic ban: why it’s good and how it can work

    In Nigeria, informal collectors of plastic bottle waste are central to achieving both of these goals. They turn waste into monetary value.

    Previous research has highlighted the environmental and economic benefits of collecting plastic bottle waste. There’s been less attention on what shapes perceptions of waste collection as a business, particularly in Nigeria.

    This article explores that gap, looking at the socio-cultural, economic and environmental influences on those perceptions.

    I am a researcher in the areas of plastic waste management, environmental governance and sustainable development. My work includes studying homes made from recycled plastic bottles in sustainable community-based housing projects.

    Here I’ll be drawing from an exploratory survey conducted in the Ijebu area of Ogun State, Nigeria. Using a questionnaire, we surveyed 86 participants who had at least five years of experience in the plastic waste industry.

    The study identified factors like education, family size, religion, gender, age, and economic dynamics as relevant to participation in the business of plastic bottle waste collection.

    Understanding these influences might help the government to target policies.

    Read more: Nigeria is the world’s 2nd biggest plastic polluter: expert insights into the crisis

    Education level and information

    Our study found that participants with higher education levels better understood the economic benefits of plastic waste collection as a systematic form of business. The less educated participants viewed waste collection more as a hand-to-mouth way of earning a living.

    Education programmes built into waste management campaigns could improve recognition of waste collection as a structured and profitable business opportunity and develop a business-like culture among the collectors.

    Parenthood, family size and financial obligations

    Family size was a factor affecting perceptions of plastic bottle waste collection as a business. People with large families saw waste collection as a feasible way to provide food, housing, education and other essentials.

    However, the association of waste collection with income instability highlights the need to formalise and stabilise the sector. Waste collection must be made into a sustainable and reliable business model.

    Religion and cultural norms

    Religion and cultural beliefs emerged as influences from our survey. This was evident in the responses of people who followed African traditional religions and Islam.

    These respondents viewed waste collection as financially feasible, aligning with religious teachings that emphasise resource management and stewardship. For example, Islamic teachings on israf (avoiding wastefulness) and zakat (charity) promote efficient resource use and economic activities that benefit communities.

    Similarly, African traditional religion often emphasises communal responsibility and the sustainable use of resources. These religious principles underscore the cultural acceptance of waste collection as both a practical and a morally guided economic activity.

    Other cultural norms, such as the value placed on communal responsibility and cooperation, also influenced attitudes towards waste collection. In communities with a strong tradition of collective action, where unity and mutual support are highly valued, waste collection is often viewed as a collaborative effort.

    These cultural norms reinforce the idea that waste collection is not just an individual task, but a collective duty that benefits the entire community.

    Read more: Informal waste management in Lagos is big business: policies need to support the trade

    Gender dynamics

    Gender plays a role in perception and practice in waste collection. Our survey found that male participants were more likely than female participants to perceive this activity as a business.

    As constrained as they are by lack of access to resources, women are involved in separating and marketing reusable items. Measures like microfinance could increase women’s engagement and business opportunities.

    This would empower women and make waste collection a more inclusive and sustainable business.

    Age and desire to be an entrepreneur

    Perceptions were influenced by age in our study. Younger individuals, up to 14 years old, viewed plastic bottle waste collection as a gateway to employment. Adults aged 33-38 used their experience to get better returns on the business.

    This age-based distinction suggests that different stages of life bring unique motivations and approaches to waste collection.

    Policy actions that support entrepreneurship at various life stages can promote long-term engagement in the industry. This will help formalise waste collection as a sustainable and profitable business.

    Economic and social factors

    Income opportunities affected participants’ experiences more than social factors. Oftentimes, this determined how long they stayed in the business. Those earning more were likelier to reinvest and grow, while lower earnings often led to disengagement or exit. This highlights the importance of financial incentives in shaping waste collection practices.

    Social connections also play a role in fostering collaboration. It facilitates teamwork and the exchange of ideas, and creates a sense of shared purpose and collective outcomes among participants.

    Strengthening these economic and social bonds can formalise plastic bottle waste collection, making it a more efficient and profitable business.

    Read more: Waste disposal in Nigeria is a mess: how Lagos can take the lead in sorting and recycling

    Looking ahead

    The study has significant application to Nigeria’s waste management industry. Adding education programmes into waste management programmes will improve people’s business skills.

    Well-coordinated intervention strategies can remove cultural and gender-specific barriers. For instance, cooperatives and microfinance may make waste collection more financially appealing.

    Strategies can also draw on cultural norms to increase community acceptance of waste collection and make it more inclusive.

    Samuel Oludare Awobona, a doctoral student at Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria, contributed to this research.

    – Nigeria’s plastic bottle collectors turn waste into wealth: survey sheds light on their motivation
    – https://theconversation.com/nigerias-plastic-bottle-collectors-turn-waste-into-wealth-survey-sheds-light-on-their-motivation-247819

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Land seizure and South Africa’s new expropriation law: scholar weighs up the act

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Zsa-Zsa Temmers Boggenpoel, Academic, Stellenbosch University

    South Africa has a new law to govern the expropriation (or compulsory acquisition) of private property by government for public purposes or in the public interest.

    The passing of the Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 followed a parliamentary process that began in 2020.

    The act repeals the apartheid-era Expropriation Act 63 of 1975, and aims to align expropriation law with the constitution. It sets out the procedures, rules and regulations for expropriation. Besides setting out in quite a detailed fashion how expropriations are to take place, the act also provides an outline regarding how compensation is to be determined.

    In South Africa’s colonial and apartheid past, land distribution was grossly unequal on the basis of race. The country is still suffering the effects of this. So expropriation of property is a potential tool to reduce land inequality. This has become a matter of increasing urgency. South Africans have expressed impatience with the slow pace of land reform.

    Property rights and land reform

    There is much debate in the country about the provisions of the new act. The debate is mostly about the extent to which it affects existing private property rights. Some argue the act is unconstitutional. Others welcome it as a necessary step in the right direction.

    I’m a professor of law with a keen interest in this area of the law, and recently edited a book on land expropriation in South Africa by leading experts. My view is that an expropriation act that is aligned with the constitution should be welcomed, to enable land reform to work effectively.

    Read more: Land reform in South Africa: what the real debate should be about

    Land reform also needs a capable and proactive state that implements the legal framework in such a manner that prioritises expropriation as a mechanism to ensure land reform.

    So far, expropriation has not been used effectively to redistribute land more equitably, as part of land reform.

    I am not convinced that the act, in its current form, is the silver bullet to effect large-scale land reform – at least not the type of radical land reform that South Africa urgently needs.

    Understandably, the act will have a severe impact on property rights. But it still substantially protects landowners affected by expropriation. Only in very limited cases would they not be compensated.

    Protections for land owners

    The act says that property must not be expropriated arbitrarily or for a purpose other than a public purpose or in the public interest.

    Public purpose means by or for the benefit of the public. For example, expropriating property to build roads, schools and hospitals. Public interest is broader and includes the nation’s commitment to land reform.

    “Arbitrary” would usually mean without reason or justification.

    Read more: South Africa has another go at an expropriation law. What it’s all about

    The act further requires that an expropriating authority – an organ of state or person empowered by the act or any other legislation – must first try to reach an agreement with the owner to acquire the property on reasonable terms before considering expropriation.

    This gives some power to a landowner, even though expropriation does not normally require consent. The act also says a specific expropriation must always be authorised by a law.

    No compensation?

    Section 12 of the act deals with compensation for expropriation. It is arguably the most controversial part of the new legislation. Section 12(1) does not appear to be problematic and is largely the same wording as section 25(3) of the constitution. This part of the property clause sets out what must be taken into account when compensation for expropriation is determined.

    Section 12(3) of the act refers to “nil compensation” – when nil rand (monetary) compensation may be paid. There is no explicit reference to nil compensation in the current wording of section 25 of the constitution. It’s a new thing in the Expropriation Act.

    However, courts have toyed with the idea that section 25 of the constitution already provides room for a reduction in compensation.

    The circumstances in which nil compensation could be granted in terms of the new act are in fact very limited. Section 12(3) leaves the discretion to the expropriating authority to determine when it may be just and equitable to pay nil compensation. However, the act lacks guidelines on how such a discretion must be exercised.

    Read more: Land is a heated issue in South Africa – the print media are presenting only one side of the story

    The scope of section 12(3) is also limited in some respects. For one, it is restricted to land. Only where land is expropriated would nil compensation be an option. Therefore, not all forms of property can be expropriated without compensation. The notion of property under section 25(1) of the constitution is generally wide and includes various rights and interests, which are broader than just land. For instance, personal rights, mineral rights and licences are included under the section 25(1) notion of property.

    This wide understanding of property is not applicable to section 12(3), which refers to “land” being expropriated.

    Section 12(3) is also limited to the expropriation of land “in the public interest”. Nil compensation is therefore envisaged only in the context of expropriation of land undertaken in the public interest, and not also for a public purpose.

    Three of the four categories listed in section 12(3), where nil compensation is envisaged, are linked to the way in which the property was being used prior to the expropriation. Land used in a productive manner is therefore not evidently envisaged under section 12(3).

    Nil compensation is not necessarily limited to the instances listed. Still, the amount of compensation must – in all instances – be just and equitable.

    Novel approach

    The act forces South Africans to engage with the idea of nil compensation in a much more direct manner.

    The presence of a clause dedicated to nil compensation provides new clarity on when this could apply.

    It is hard to determine whether this act will pass constitutional muster without seeing how expropriation under it will work in practice. It remains to be seen whether it will have the far-reaching consequences that many fear, or call for.

    – Land seizure and South Africa’s new expropriation law: scholar weighs up the act
    – https://theconversation.com/land-seizure-and-south-africas-new-expropriation-law-scholar-weighs-up-the-act-244697

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI: SuperOps raises $25M in Series C and enters the IT market with game-changing AI-powered Endpoint Management tool

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Dallas, Jan. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SuperOps, the groundbreaking AI-driven IT platform transforming operations for IT service providers and internal IT teams, today announced it has raised $25 million in Series C funding, led by March Capital with participation from existing investors Addition and Z47. This brings SuperOps’ total funding to $54.4 million, a testament to the company’s exceptional growth and market disruption. Over the past year, SuperOps has tripled its customers and expanded its footprint to 104 countries, cementing its status as a global leader.

    SuperOps is now taking its proven expertise in Managed Service Provider (MSP) technology into the broader IT market with the launch of its revolutionary Endpoint Management tool. Designed to supercharge IT team productivity, the tool enables IT teams to achieve more with fewer resources.

    SuperOps founders: Arvind Parthiban and Jayakumar Karumbasalam.

    “IT teams worldwide are navigating complex challenges, including remote work and rising cybersecurity threats,” said Arvind Parthiban, Co-Founder and CEO of SuperOps. “At SuperOps, we are empowering these IT heroes with tools that transform their operations, reduce costs, and fuel growth. After revolutionizing the MSP space, we are thrilled to bring our AI expertise to internal IT teams with the launch of our Endpoint Management tool. The high demand and early successes validate that this is the future of IT operations.”

    Over the last four years, SuperOps has become a trusted partner for MSPs worldwide, helping thousands of such service providers optimize operations through its unified AI-powered platform. Now, internal IT teams—already comprising 20% of SuperOps’ customer base—stand to benefit from the same transformative technology.

    SuperOps provide full asset oversight across user IT services.

    The foundation of SuperOps’ success lies in its relentless focus on AI innovation. In 2024, the company unveiled Monica, a hyper-contextual AI guide that analyzes the MSP’s dataset to deliver personalized insights, automate routine workflows, and accelerate decision-making. With Monica, MSPs and IT teams have seen up to a 30% improvement in operational efficiency.

    SuperOps plans to use the new funding to expand its AI research and development, scale its offerings for mid-market and enterprise MSPs, and further extend its global reach. With IT spending projected to hit $5.74 trillion in 2025 (Gartner), the stakes have never been higher.

    “The SuperOps team has proven their capability to disrupt the MSP technology market. With rapid product advancements and significant growth in global markets, SuperOps has become a major player. We are excited to support the expansion of their AI platform and scaling of their offerings to larger MSPs and internal IT teams,” said Ravi Rajamony, Vice President at March Capital.

    The Series C round, entirely backed by existing investors, highlights the continued confidence in SuperOps’ vision and execution.

    “SuperOps has disrupted the stagnant MSP tools space, creating real value for MSPs through true innovation, and its entry into IT Endpoint Management promises to have similar impact. We are excited to continue to support the SuperOps team on their mission to empower IT service providers to scale, streamline operations and thrive in an increasingly competitive market,” said Todd Arfman at Addition.

    Tarun Davda, Managing Director at Z47 added: “We are delighted to be part of SuperOps’ impressive growth. The platform has improved the businesses of MSPs worldwide. I am impressed by the team’s customer-centric approach to innovation, and their AI advancements. I am confident that SuperOps will continue to outpace the competition and create significant value for IT service providers”. 

    Ends

    Media images can be found here. 

    About SuperOps
    SuperOps is an AI SaaS company offering a unified PSA-RMM platform for future-focused MSPs and IT teams. The company was founded in 2020 by serial entrepreneur Arvind Parthiban and Jayakumar Karumbasalam. With a deep commitment to innovation and a focus on customer success, SuperOps equips MSPs with the tools they need to streamline operations, enhance service delivery, and scale their businesses. SuperOps is backed by marquee investors, March Capital, Addition, Z47, Elevation Capital, and Tanglin Venture Partners.

    About March Capital
    March Capital is a top-tier venture growth firm headquartered in Santa Monica, California and has been investing globally since 2014. March is committed to partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs to build great technology companies and to scale them globally. With $1.65B+ in capital over 4 funds and across 25+ market-leading technology companies, March accelerates the digital transformation of enterprise applications, cloud & data infrastructure, vertical software, and scientific discovery. Our vision is to create a best-in-class technology investment platform by combining intense sector focus, patience, access to a global leadership network (including founding The Montgomery Summit), and high-impact portfolio engagement to inspire and to accelerate extraordinary AI-native companies like CrowdStrike, Essential AI, Forter, Generate:Biomedicines, Nile, and Uniphore. For more information, please visit www.marchcp.com.

    About Z47
    Z47 is a “founders-first” venture capital firm with an AUM of $3.5 billion, spanning over 100 investments since 2006. Our commitment is to founders who are determined to lead India to its destiny as a developed nation by 2047. We partner with early-stage startups, offering founders a unique blend of expertise, experience, and empathy. Our investment focus includes FinTech & Services, Consumer Brands & Tech, B2B Commerce & Manufacturing, and Enterprise SaaS & AI. Z47’s Enterprise SaaS & AI portfolio includes companies like Krutrim, Neysa Networks, MoEngage, Atomicwork, and more. We take pride in being a trusted partner to pioneering founders of industry-leading companies such as Ola, Ola Electric, Razorpay, Dailyhunt, Five Star Business Finance, Country Delight, and Of Business, among others. Z47 has offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. For more information, visit www.z47.com or write to newsroom@z47.com.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: IntelliTrans Builds Momentum for 2025 with New Executive Team and Commitment to Delivering Innovative TMS Solutions

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ATLANTA, Jan. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — IntelliTrans, a leading global multimodal transportation management software provider, enters 2025 with a renewed focus on innovation, customer success, and operational excellence. With decades of experience and a strong track record as the market leader in rail management software, IntelliTrans continues to set the standard for delivering value to bulk and break-bulk shippers.

    “IntelliTrans has long been at the forefront of multimodal transportation management,” says Chad Raube, President and CEO of IntelliTrans. “Our success is built on a deep commitment to innovation, collaboratively understanding and serving the needs of our customers, and a relentless focus on helping them achieve their goals. As we look to 2025, we’re excited to build on this foundation with expanded capabilities. We will continue to provide consistent innovation and product excellence complemented by a world-class customer experience driven by our unparalleled industry expertise, customer insights and genuine engagements.”

    2024: A Year of Strategic Growth
    In 2024, IntelliTrans engaged with customers to refine its strategy, ensuring that product development and service enhancements aligned with their needs. With over 1,200 years of combined industry expertise, the IntelliTrans team remains a trusted partner for its customers.

    Key 2024 Strategic Milestones include:

    • Strengthened IntelliTrans’ position as the leading TMS provider for North American bulk and break-bulk shippers for rail and truck shipments.
    • Expanded the Conway office footprint for the operations team.
    • Conducted extensive surveys and user focus groups to deepen customer insights and strengthen relationships.
    • Delivered 500+ product enhancements designed to address customer needs.

    New executive leadership added in 2024 include:

    • Jim Bell as Chief Technology Officer
    • Matt Everson as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing
    • Mayank Sharma as Chief Product Officer

    This leadership expansion enhances IntelliTrans’ ability to deliver innovative solutions and provide unmatched value to its customers.

    Industry Recognition

    IntelliTrans was recognized by various media outlets and industry analyst organizations in 2024 with these achievements:

    • Niche Player in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Real-Time Transportation Visibility Platforms
    • Top 100 Logistics IT Providers by Inbound Logistics
    • Pros to Know Award for Brian Cupp in the Lifetime Achievement Category
    • Top Supply Chain Project for its Mobile Check-In/Out from Supply & Demand Chain Executive and Food Logistics magazines
    • IntelliTrans Rhonda Shults and June Lee Named Recipients of the 2024 Women in Supply Chain Award

    Looking Ahead to 2025

    As IntelliTrans enters 2025, the company remains focused on empowering bulk and break-bulk shippers through innovative TMS solutions, deeper customer relationships, and expanded capabilities. With plans to add over 80 new team members, IntelliTrans’ commitment to driving growth and expanding its product is at the forefront of its strategy. By enhancing its products and fostering deeper collaboration with customers, IntelliTrans is positioned to create even greater value and deliver more impactful results.

    “Our commitment to innovation and customer success has never been stronger,” Raube added. “Our dedicated teams are excited to continue building on our legacy while understanding our customer needs and helping each of them achieve new levels of operational excellence in 2025 and beyond.”

    In 2025, IntelliTrans will focus on their customer feedback from 2024 to grow key TMS capabilities, which include enhanced shipment tracking, seamless integration with carrier networks, and advanced analytics to drive smarter decision-making for customers. These advancements will ensure IntelliTrans continues to deliver the tools shippers need to streamline operations and maximize efficiency.

    About IntelliTrans Multimodal Transportation Management Solutions

    IntelliTrans, a Roper Technologies business (Nasdaq: ROP), empowers businesses to optimize their supply chains with seamless freight management and shipment execution across all modes of transportation, including rail, truck, ocean, and barge. IntelliTrans’ trusted transportation management solutions enable customers to solve complex business challenges and help achieve a holistic digital strategy by incorporating multimodal solutions backed by extensive industry knowledge. Recognized as a top transportation management provider, IntelliTrans has recently received the Inbound Logistics Top 100 Logistics IT Provider Award, the 2023 BIG Innovation Award, the Cloud Computing Product of the Year Award, and the Food Logistics/SDCE Top Software and Technology Award. Unlock hidden efficiencies in your supply chain. Visit our website to see how IntelliTrans can help.

    Media Contact for IntelliTrans:
    Becky Boyd
    MediaFirst PR (M1PR.com)
    404.421.8497
    becky@mediafirst.net

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: SheTalks – A Solutions Lab on Improving Access to Finance for Caribbean Women Entrepreneurs

    Source: Caribbean Development Bank

    Join us for our third SheTalks! Learn about our flagship study on Access to Finance for Caribbean Women Entrepreneurs, hear practical guidance from finance industry experts, and share your valuable insights on how the Hub can help women owned and led businesses to unlock capital and investment opportunities. 

    Join the SheTrades Caribbean Hub and Register for this event. 

    Under the theme Risky Business, this session takes a practical deep dive into access to finance facilitated by the SME Team of the JMMB Group Limited, one of the region’s innovative financiers. The JMMB’s team of Commercial Bankers will lead this conversation providing practical insights into their key considerations when designing and deploying financial solutions, services and products to women led businesses.

    Event Format:

    • Opening Remarks
    • Panel Discussion
    • Q&A Segment
    • SheTrades Entrepreneur Spotlight
    • Closing Remarks

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The growing influence of Israel’s ultranationalist settler movement

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Leonie Fleischmann, Senior Lecturer in International Politics, City St George’s, University of London

    Days after taking office, as he issued executive order after executive order to change the political face of America, Donald Trump also turned his attention to the war in Gaza.

    His proposal that Gaza should be cleared out and Palestinians should be relocated to other countries such as Egypt and Jordan has been met with outraged disbelief in many quarters. The Arab League has accused him of advocating ethnic cleansing.

    But Trump’s statement has met with approval from far-right leaders in Israel. Influential politicians have been advocating for this “solution” for years. These include finance minister and leader of the Religious Zionist party, Bezalel Smotrich and his ideological ally Itamar Ben Gvir, leader of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Strength) party and former national security minister.

    Smotrich responded to Trump’s utterance with the declaration that he aimed to turn the idea into an actionable policy. Ben Gvir, who resigned his ministerial position recently in response to the Israeli acceptance of the latest ceasefire deal, claimed that the evacuation of Gazans was the most “humanitarian answer” to the crisis and the only way to ensure peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.

    The pair – and their followers in Israel – share an anti-Arab ideology and a messianic belief in the Jewish people’s right to what they call “Greater Israel”. This would be a Jewish state which would also include the West Bank, which they referred to as “Judea and Samaria”, as well as Gaza and part of Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

    They have repeatedly called for Israel to use the war as an opportunity to reoccupy Gaza.

    These leaders enjoy a degree of influence due to the amount of media attention they receive. But it would be a mistake to assume they represent the majority of Israelis.

    Data collected in 2024 by the Pew Research Center found that 45% and 41% of Israelis expressed very unfavourable views of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, respectively. In the 2022 elections, as the combined Religious Zionist party, they won just 10.84% of the vote.

    Meanwhile, the Israel Democracy Institute found that a majority of Israelis (57.5%) support a comprehensive deal for the release of all the hostages in return for an end to the war in Gaza.

    And yet Israel’s ultranationalists have been able to take advantage of the changing political landscape in Israel over the past few decades and the fragile multiparty system to wield disproportionate power over a government that has depended on their support to stay afloat.

    Israel’s rightwards shift

    During the 1990s, there was significant support in Israeli society for the Oslo peace process towards a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This culminated in the historic handshake between the then Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and the Palestine Liberation Organisation chairman, Yasser Arafat, on the White House lawn in 1993.

    While support for the peace process reached a high of 72% in Israel in 1995 when Oslo II was signed, right-wing factions attempted to derail the agreements. Rabin was assassinated in November 1995 by Yigal Amir, an extremist Israeli Jew, who did not want to see the realisation of a Palestinian state.

    The collapse of the Camp David talks in 2000, which then prime minister Ehud Barak blamed on Arafat, was followed in short order by the outbreak of the second intifada. The idea that there was “no partner for peace on the Palestinian side” became a mantra for Israeli voters, who looked to those who could guarantee their security.

    Benjamin Netanyahu, who had been prime minister from 1996 to 1999, returned to power in 2009, with the image of “Mr Security”.

    Netanyahu is now Israel’s longest serving prime minister. His masterful manipulation of the fragile political system in Israel has accounted for his longevity in power.

    But it has also enabled a gradual shift towards the most right-wing coalition in Israel’s history. Part of that has been the Religious Zionist camp.

    Biblical promise

    The Religious Zionists originally formed a small minority of the broader Zionist movement in the years preceding the declaration of the State of Israel. Religious Zionists combine faith and nationalism. Their core belief is that the Jewish people have the God-given right to settle the whole of Greater Israel.

    The West Bank in particular, but also the Gaza Strip, were the sites of many key events in biblical times and the home of a number of Israelite kingdoms. In the Bible, God promises this land to the descendants of Abraham – the Jewish people. Religious Zionists have chosen to take this literally.

    Having failed to wield power through the parliament in the early days of statehood, the Religious Zionists sought to realise their ideology through extra-parliamentary activity. This meant establishing settlements with a view to change facts on the ground. In the aftermath of the 1967 war, the main focus of settlement building was national security, rather than religious nationalist ideology.

    But ideology has always been a key factor for those who live in the settlements in the West Bank today – and those who vow to return to Gaza. The movement has been successful by establishing outposts and settlements in the West Bank and in getting “their people” into government.

    The Religious Zionist camp is broad and heterogeneous, and according to recent polls now represents 22% of the Jewish population in Israel. The party’s position in holding the balance of power in the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, since the election in 2022, has enabled them to gradually wield greater influence on Israeli policy both in the West Bank and the war in Gaza.

    Meanwhile many of their supporters have formed settler groups, who use violence to destabilise and displace Palestinian families living in the West Bank.

    And now the US president has not only backed one of their dearest dreams, to clear Palestinians from Gaza, he has removed the Biden-era sanctions on several of the most aggressive settler groups. So the recent news that Netanyahu will be the first foreign leader to visit the White House next week feels particularly ominous for the fate of the Palestinian people.

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

    – ref. The growing influence of Israel’s ultranationalist settler movement – https://theconversation.com/the-growing-influence-of-israels-ultranationalist-settler-movement-248568

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Australia’s social media ban shows how extreme the technology debate has become – there’s a better way

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By James Conroy, Professor of Religious and Philosophical Education and Vice Principal, Internationalisation, University of Glasgow

    Miyao/Shutterstock

    The recent decision by the Australian government to introduce a ban on social media for under-16s has been received with both praise and condemnation.

    Those who approve of the proposal tend to consider that children are being exploited by egregious levels of exposure to this technology. Opponents of the ban argue that it is not proportionate to the potential harms of denying young people appropriate access to what have become integral features of everyday existence.

    This somewhat adversarial situation falls prey to the twin perils of fatalism and
    disasterism. It characterises the wider conversation about how we engage with the digital world. Here, fatalism signifies a weary resignation and disasterism suggests that we are all going to hell in a handcart. More specifically, these impulses impinge directly on school policy making and practice.

    In our Economic and Social Research Council funded research project, Teaching for Digital Citizenship, my colleagues and I have sought to uncover more nuanced accounts of how young people engage with technology by collaborating with them.

    The students in our study pointed us away from an adversarial framing of the issue and towards the need to foster more traditional forms of democratic thought. These practices draw on a robust tradition of what’s known as education for citizenship. That is, teaching students how to be active, thoughtful and informed citizens in a democratic society.

    Such a robust notion of education for citizenship has been championed by a range of thinkers. Most notably, the British political theorist Bernard Crick in the 1990s and the educational thinker Lawrence Stenhouse in the 1970s. They both offered ideas about educational practices that rely not on the technology, nor on corporations, but on older “analogue” traditions of critical thought and engagement in subjects.

    The students in our project expressed anxiety and sometimes guilt that they had spent too much time on their apps. By their own estimation, they were using apps for about eight hours a day. They told us that they were working on self discipline, but struggled to maintain these habits.

    Proactively, the students’ response to their own growing awareness of the grip that their apps had over their time was to try to engage in more analogue study activities, such as reading books. But they were concerned to discover that their capacity for reading was limited. Some observed that they found it challenging to read more than five pages.

    This is not to suggest that there are only downsides to being immersed in digital life. Many students suggested that there were also huge benefits. For example, they reported that gaming helped them acquire new skills and perspective.

    These examples illustrate the ambiguities of social media apps and their effect on those of school age.

    Ambiguous effects

    In many countries, schools are required to provide remedies for a whole range of social ills – and often in a manner that is of questionable relevance to the purpose of education.

    In his Ruskin Speech in 1976, former British prime minister James Callaghan asked whether education should be more aligned with the needs of industry, especially in providing the skills for employment. Since then, education in the UK, as elsewhere, has slowly moved away from how we should live, and towards how we are to make our living.

    Today, educators accept that young people, along with the rest of us, will spend their lives entangled in a complex digital world. The task of education should therefore primarily be to act as a productive space in which students can critically reflect upon, and form judgments about that world.

    Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said the country’s ban would reduce the
    Juergen Nowak / Shutterstock

    Our research project engaged representatives from a variety of different sectors, including big tech companies, policymakers, teachers and ethicists. We also carried out an extensive survey, which highlighted that online safety and harm prevention should be prioritised within schools.

    Our insights underscore the importance of recognising and reinforcing education as a way of reflecting on the way we live – and an opportunity for providing critical distance from the dilemmas of our everyday lives. The ban on social media in Australia, or indeed on any technology, therefore misses a key consideration about the purpose of education.

    As has been seen under governments that have restricted the internet, banning technology rather than securing students’ safety may only serve to heighten the allure of that technology. Indeed, in our discussions with the students, they frequently reported their ability to deploy virtual private networks to circumvent their schools’ firewalls.

    In November, Australian communications minister, Michelle Rowland, claimed that “there is wide acknowledgment that something must be done in the immediate term to help prevent young teens and children from being exposed to streams of content, unfiltered and infinite”.

    I believe that this misunderstands both the problem and the solution. The actual problem is not that the content is “unfiltered and infinite”. It’s that it is highly curated to serve the profit-making objectives of tech corporations, and not the interests of children.

    The solution, then, is not to banish the problem but to address it. Education in the digital age needs to be re-imagined as a vibrant way to reflect and critique the ways we live our lives.

    James Conroy 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. Australia’s social media ban shows how extreme the technology debate has become – there’s a better way – https://theconversation.com/australias-social-media-ban-shows-how-extreme-the-technology-debate-has-become-theres-a-better-way-245123

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Québec’s religious symbols law: Appealing to the Supreme Court for real rights under the Charter

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Natasha Bakht, Full professor, Faculty of Law, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

    The Supreme Court of Canada has announced that it will hear a challenge to Québec’s secularism law, known as Bill 21.

    The law, passed in 2019 “to affirm the laicity of the State,” restricts certain public sector employees in Québec from wearing religious symbols “while exercising their functions.”

    Those challenging Bill 21 have used a variety of legal tools to oppose a law they argue imposes discriminatory treatment, mainly on Muslim women.

    Muslim women who wear hijabs, and other visibly religious minorities, have been living with the ongoing effects of the law for more than five years. This includes the inability to be employed as a public-school teacher, government lawyer or judge, despite their expertise and training. For those who were already working in the public service while wearing a religious symbol, the law prohibits them from receiving any promotions or transfers.

    There are also restrictions when receiving public services, specifically that a person must uncover their face. This may deter niqab- and burqa-wearing women from accessing public services that they need and deserve.

    When a discriminatory law is enacted, it has implications beyond the legislated text. In Québec, it has promoted the rejection of those who live visibly religious lives through violence on the streets and an insistence that they do not belong to Canadian society.

    The exclusionary power of this law has created a culture of discrimination such that Muslim women are prohibited from wearing the clothing of their choice in employment sectors even beyond the parameters of Bill 21.

    Overriding rights: the notwithstanding clause

    The case is also significant because of the Québec government’s use of Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — known as the notwithstanding clause — and Section 52 of the Québec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms to shield the law from legal challenges.

    Bill 21 was enacted with broad popular support in Québec. However, Canadian history is replete with examples of discriminatory laws, from the Indian Act to the Chinese Exclusion Act to the legal orders authorizing Japanese internment camps. Without strict guardrails around how Section 33 can be used, Canadian governments could gain great leeway to create legislation that infringes upon Charter rights.

    Typically, a discriminatory law like Bill 21 would never withstand a constitutional challenge since the Canadian and Québec Charters protect religious freedom and the right to equality. However, because the Québec government invoked both override provisions pre-emptively — before a court could decide on the law’s constitutionality — challenging the law has become more difficult.

    The Charter’s Section 33 is called the “notwithstanding clause” because it permits federal Parliament or provincial/territorial legislatures to make laws notwithstanding (in other words, despite) certain rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Charter. Essentially, it gives governments the power to override certain constitutional provisions. A Section 33 declaration is valid for five years, after which it ceases to have effect, unless it is renewed, as it was in the case of Bill 21.



    Read more:
    The history of the notwithstanding clause

    Despite the predominant view among legal experts that Bill 21 is discriminatory, and a finding by the Québec Superior Court that it has a cruel and dehumanizing impact on Muslim women, the law continues to stand because courts have interpreted Section 33 to have no substantive limits.

    Unwritten constitutional principles

    With this case, the Supreme Court of Canada has a critical opportunity to set reasonable parameters around the use of Section 33 that will have important implications for human rights cases in the future.

    The notwithstanding clause permits governments to override some of our most cherished Charter rights: religious freedom, equality, rights to life, liberty and security of the person, the right against unreasonable search and seizure, the right against arbitrary arrest and detention, and the right to legal counsel among other rights. Therefore, there must be constitutional constraints on its use.

    Section 33 should not be viewed as a bottomless pit where rights and freedoms go to die.

    The Canadian Constitution contains an irreducible minimum core of human rights embodied in unwritten constitutional principles that have been recognized multiple times by the Supreme Court of Canada.

    The Supreme Court has defined unwritten constitutional principles as norms that “inform and sustain the constitutional text.” The unwritten constitutional principle most relevant to addressing Bill 21 is “respect for or protection of minorities.” The protection of minorities was a key consideration motivating the enactment of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and it is a fundamental norm of justice so basic that it must inform the scope of Section 33’s use.

    A CBC News report on the Supreme Court of Canada agreeing to hear arguments in a case about Québec’s Bill 21.

    ‘Blank cheque?’

    The unwritten constitutional principle of “respect for minorities” provides a constitutional guardrail against abuse of Section 33, which has been interpreted by judges as a constitutional blank cheque, allowing governments to reduce rights to discretionary entitlements.

    Since the notwithstanding clause lives within the Canadian Constitution itself, it must conform to the defining features of the constitutional structure. The use of Section 33 must be consistent with the fundamental “principles that define our society.” For rights to be real and meaningful — to be legal pillars that people can rely on — they must have enduring constitutional protection.

    To achieve this, the Supreme Court of Canada needs to draw appropriate boundaries around the use of Section 33. If the notwithstanding clause continues to be viewed as an open licence for governments to pick and choose which rights they respect, one might reasonably question whether Charter rights exist at all.

    Natasha Bakht has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She has also advised the National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund on their research/litigation regarding Bill 21.

    Lynda Collins 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. Québec’s religious symbols law: Appealing to the Supreme Court for real rights under the Charter – https://theconversation.com/quebecs-religious-symbols-law-appealing-to-the-supreme-court-for-real-rights-under-the-charter-248490

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –