NewzIntel.com

Category: Africa

  • MIL-Evening Report: Hundreds of livestock breeds have gone extinct – but some Australian farmers are keeping endangered breeds alive

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catie Gressier, Adjunct Research Fellow in Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia

    Berkshire pigs JWhitwell/Shutterstock

    It took thousands of years to develop the world’s extraordinary range of domesticated farm animals – an estimated 8,800 livestock breeds across 38 farmed species.

    But this diversity is dwindling fast. Advances in selective breeding and artificial insemination have fuelled the global spread of a small number of profitable livestock types. Their popularity has left ever more heritage breeds at risk of extinction.

    Why does this matter? Each breed represents vital genetic diversity for the livestock species on which we rely, known as agrobiodiversity. As the number of breeds shrink, we lose their genetics forever.

    There are bright spots amid the decline. Hundreds of passionate farmers are working hard to keep heritage breeds alive around Australia. As my new book shows, they do it primarily for love.

    Which livestock breeds are disappearing – and why?

    Cattle have experienced the highest number of extinctions, with at least 184 breeds lost globally.

    Of all chicken breeds, one in ten is now extinct, and a further 30% are endangered.

    Sheep are also rapidly losing diversity, with 160 breeds now extinct. The rise of synthetic materials has endangered the remaining breeds producing carpet wool in New Zealand and Australia, including the unique Tasmanian Elliottdale.

    The fleece of Elliotdale sheep has been used to make woollen carpets.
    Sue Curliss, CC BY-NC-ND

    Pigs fare little better. Australia’s 2.5 million pigs are predominantly Large White, Landrace and Duroc crossbreeds, while none of the eight remaining purebred pig breeds in Australia currently has more than 100 sows registered with the Rare Breeds Trust. While not all sows are registered, we know breeds such as Tamworths are at dangerously low numbers.

    How did this happen? Over the past century, the goal of animal husbandry has shifted from breeding hardy, multipurpose animals to increasing performance for economic gain. For livestock, performance means more of what humans value, such as pigs with extra ribs, prolific egg-laying hens and sheep with finer wool.

    Huge sums have been spent on selective breeding and artificial insemination technologies. This, in turn, has made it possible for a small number of profitable livestock types to be farmed globally.

    For instance, when you buy a roast chicken, it will likely be one of just two types of fast-growing broilers (meat chickens), the Ross or the Cobb. Their genetics are developed and trademarked by two multinational agribusinesses who dominate the global broiler market.

    Chicken breed numbers have shrunk too, risking rare breeds such as Transylvanian naked neck cockerel bantams.
    Scott Carter, CC BY-NC-ND

    It’s hard to overstate how big the increases in production have been from reproductive technologies. In the dairy industry, for instance, milk yield per cow has doubled in the past 40 years. These volumes are around six times greater now than a century ago.

    Holsteins, the top dairy breed, have become globally dominant. Almost 1.4 million of Australia’s 1.65 million dairy cows are Holsteins. But as Holstein numbers soar, other breeds dwindle. Many farmers have simply stopped rearing other breeds, leading to many becoming endangered or extinct.

    For Holsteins themselves, this has come with a cost. Selective breeding for high milk volume has meant Holsteins suffer more medical issues such as metabolic diseases and frequent mastitis. They also have reduced fertility and longevity.

    Researchers have found 99% of Holstein bulls produced by artificial insemination in the United States are descended from just two sires. This wide dissemination of limited bloodlines has led to the spread of genetic defects.

    Holstein cows produce much more milk – but there’s a cost.
    VanderWolf Images/Shutterstock

    What is at stake?

    Our food systems face growing threats. Genetic diversity provides a safeguard for livestock species against lethal animal diseases such as H5N1 bird flu and African swine fever.

    If we rely on just a few breeds, we risk a wipe out. The Irish potato famine is a catastrophic example. In the 1800s, Irish farmers took up the “lumper” variety of potatoes to feed a growing population. But when fungal rot struck in the 1840s, it turned most of the crop to mush – and led to mass starvation.

    Some breeds have very useful traits, such as resistance to particular pests and diseases.

    Chickens and other birds die in swathes if infected by Newcastle disease, one of the most serious bird viruses. But breeds such as the hardy Egyptian Fayoumi survive better, while the European Leghorn – whose genetics are used in commercial egg-laying breeds – is highly susceptible.

    Local breeds can also have better resistance to endemic pests. The Indian zebu humped cattle breed, for example, is less prone to tick infestation than crossbreeds.

    Climate change is also making life harder for livestock, and some breeds are better adapted to heat than others.

    For different cultural groups, local heritage breeds also have unique symbolic and culinary value.

    While it’s well-known eating less meat would benefit ecosystems, animal welfare and human health, eating meat remains entrenched in our diets and the economy. Pursuing more sustainable and higher-welfare approaches to livestock production is crucial.

    Some Aussie farmers love heritage breeds

    A cohort of Australian farmers is working hard to conserve dozens of endangered livestock breeds such as Large Black pigs, Shropshire sheep and Belted Galloway cattle.

    A rare Belted Galloway cow with a one week old calf.
    Scott Carter, CC BY-NC-ND

    But these farmers are hampered by our reluctance as consumers to pay more to cover the cost of raising slower-growing breeds in free-range environments. Not only that, but meat processors are increasingly closing their doors to small-scale producers.

    Why persevere? For four years, I’ve conducted ethnographic research with Australia’s heritage breed farmers. I found they were motivated by one of the most powerful conservation tools we have: love.

    Of his endangered English Leicester sheep, one farmer told me:

    I consider them to be family; they have been our family for over 150 years. I talk to them, and the rams in particular talk to me. Sorry if I sound like a silly old man, but you must talk to them. I gave myself a 60th birthday present by commissioning a large portrait of an English Leicester head, which hangs in our kitchen (I do not have a painting of my wife).

    Love doesn’t often feature in agricultural research. But it is an important force. We know from wildlife conservation that humans will act to save what they love. This holds for livestock, too.

    What can you do? If you eat meat or work with wool, seek out rare breeds and join organisations such as the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia and the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance who back farmers supporting breed diversity.

    Catie Gressier receives funding from the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Project scheme as well as the European Research Council. She is affiliated with the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia and the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance.

    – ref. Hundreds of livestock breeds have gone extinct – but some Australian farmers are keeping endangered breeds alive – https://theconversation.com/hundreds-of-livestock-breeds-have-gone-extinct-but-some-australian-farmers-are-keeping-endangered-breeds-alive-250393

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Strengthening education ties across the Pacific

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Universities Minister Dr Shane Reti will travel to Port Moresby this week to attend the Conference of Pacific Education Ministers alongside representatives from Pacific nations and Australia, to collaborate on shared education priorities. 

    The theme of the conference, Transforming Edukesen for a Better Pacific, reflects the need for the region to adapt and embrace innovative approaches in response to global educational changes. 

    This transformation aims to enhance growth and create a more effective, equitable and sustainable education system. It will impact everything from individual classrooms to national education frameworks.

    “The Pacific is critically important to New Zealand given our shared social, language, cultural, and historical links,” says Dr Reti. 

    “This conference is an opportunity to reaffirm New Zealand’s commitment as a Pacific nation to working together in addressing shared education challenges.

    “This engagement is of particular significance to New Zealand, given we are celebrating 50 years of independence and diplomatic relations with Papua New Guinea.

    “New Zealand enjoys a positive and longstanding relationship with the Pacific education community. Our investments across the region support the educational aspirations of our Pacific whanau. 

    “I am therefore pleased to announce New Zealand’s investment of $1.5 million over three years from our International Development Cooperation programme in the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report. 

    “This investment will support education leaders, Ministers, officials, teachers, and communities to better understand global challenges in education and use this information to bolster local education policy and planning, including in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says.

    While in Papua New Guinea, Dr Reti will meet with education counterparts and experts from across the region to further strengthen relationships and collaborate on shared educational goals. He will also provide a statement on the recent Second Pacific Education Development Partners Coordination Meeting hosted in Wellington. 

    Dr Reti will host an event with recipients and alumni of the Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships Programme, which provides a range of tertiary and short-term scholarships across the Pacific.

    Dr Reti departs New Zealand on Tuesday 18 March and returns on Thursday 20 March 2025. 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: President Ramaphosa to open ECD leadership summit

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Sunday, March 16, 2025

    President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Monday officially open the Bana Pele Early Childhood Development (ECD) Leadership Summit at the Atlas Studios, in Johannesburg.

    The summit, convened by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), aims to mobilise a public and private coalition behind the DBE’s 2030 ECD Roadmap for quality, universal access to early learning.

    In a statement on Saturday, The Presidency noted that in South Africa, more than 1.3 million children are not enrolled in any form of ECD programme, leaving them without the foundational literacy and numeracy skills required to succeed in school.

    “This learning gap affects their ability to take on critical subjects, such as Mathematics, Science, Accounting, and Economics in later years, which are the skills that are vital for innovation, economic growth, and job creation,” the Presidency said.

    The summit will bring together government, business, civil society and education experts to “construct a roadmap for universal access to quality ECD across the country.

    “This initiative is a crucial step toward ensuring that every child, regardless of background, has access to the early learning opportunities they need to thrive in life,” the Presidency said. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Simelane commits to support Free State in delivering housing units

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Human Settlements Minister, Thembi Simelane, has pledged to support the Free State Province in its efforts to meet the 2024-2029 target to deliver housing units to qualifying beneficiaries.

    Simelane made the commitment during an oversight visit to the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality on Friday, as part of a nationwide assessment of municipal and provincial performance in human settlements programmes.

    The visit aimed to address ongoing service delivery blockages within the province.

    The visit also formed part of a country-wide municipal and provincial assessment of human settlements programme performance.

    Addressing the provincial Human Settlements and Mangaung Municipality, Simelane discouraged working in silos between the provincial department and municipalities.

    She emphasised that overcoming the housing backlog and ensuring the delivery of sustainable human settlements, can only be achieved through coordinated efforts.

    While acknowledging the progress made to ensure the qualifying beneficiaries receive their houses, with some contractors already on the ground, the Minister expressed concern over several incomplete projects across the province.

    “We are gearing ourselves for the current 2024-2029 Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP) to deliver on our mandate. With our limited budget, we are aligning our plans to ensure that we effectively use our allocated budget,” Simelane said.

    The Minister reiterated the critical role that contractors play in delivering housing units and warned against those who have been given opportunities to “do the right thing and deliver houses.”

    She also issued a stern warning to both contractors and officials who fail to meet their responsibilities, saying that there would be consequences against those who let down the people.

    “A delayed project means one senior citizen is denied his or her constitutional right to adequate shelter,” Simelane said.

    Simelane further undertook to visit the Metros every quarter, to ensure that housing and service delivery targets are being met.

    She also underscored the importance of ensuring that every cent allocated to the department is spent towards improving the lives of deserving households.

    Human Settlements MEC, Teboho Mokoena, challenged the Minister to consider visiting the province more frequently, suggesting every two months, and reiterated the province’s commitment to improving service delivery.

    Mokoena also emphasised budget constraints, which remains a challenge, noting that this will have an impact in the department’s programme.

    “Progress is being made on several projects that were blocked including G-Hostel and Dark and Silver City. The qualifying beneficiaries are expected to incrementally move into the completed units during the 2025/2026 financial year,” Mokoena said.

    The MEC highlighted the province’s struggle with completing housing projects due to a range of issues, including multiple contractor changes in due to non-performance, vandalism at abandoned sites after contract terminations, community disruptions and non-compliance issues, financial constraints, non-payment of completed work certificates, and bureaucratic delays in the approvals of variation orders and claims.

    However, Mokoena assured that interventions are being implemented, including the appointment of new, reliable contractors, and regular monitoring and reporting, to ensure projects stay on track.

    “Despite these challenges, the province has done exceptionally well in the provision of serviced sites. By January 2025, the province reported the successful delivery of 5 025 service sites against the 1755 2024/2025 target. Most of the sites delivered are in Fezile Dabi District Municipality,” Mokoena said.

    Simelane is expected to return to the Free State to officially hand over completed units at Dark and Silver City Community Residential Units, as well as military veterans’ housing units at the Vista Park Catalytic Project, in Mangaung.

    The Vista Park project is a massive development aimed at providing much needed housing opportunities.

    The department said extension 2 of the project is expected to yield over 5 344 residential housing opportunities, while extension 3 will produce around 6 036 residential opportunities.

    The project is also expected to deliver the Breaking New Ground (BNG) units, including social housing, First Home Finance, and student accommodation. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: South Africa, Dutch collaborates to improve water management

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), together with the Dutch Water Authorities, have held a Blue Deal Steering Committee meeting, focusing on the Blue Deal South Africa Programme, which aims to improve water management and access to clean water in South Africa. 

    According to the department, the meeting, held in Pretoria, on Friday, aimed at enabling environment for future Blue Deal partnerships, discuss lessons learned from the various projects, and provide strategic direction to address key bottlenecks.

    “This Blue Deal Programme is a collaboration between the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Netherlands to support water management by exchanging knowledge and experiences, assisting national, regional, and local organisations, and cooperating with key stakeholders. The Blue Deal South Africa Programme will specifically contribute to clean and sufficient water,” the department said in a statement.

    During the meeting, the two parties discussed the Crocodile River Revitalisation Action Plan and its adoption and the Theewaterskloof Project Non-Sewer Sanitation pilot project.

    “The Crocodile River faces threats of pollution from agriculture, industry, and municipalities. The performance of the wastewater treatment plants in the area is inadequate. The challenge is to improve the operation of the municipal wastewater management systems to ensure better water quality in the river.

    “The objective of the Theewaterskloof project is to reduce pollution by improving sanitation and solid waste management through innovative solutions, such as non-sewered sanitation and harnessing the circular economy.

    “General discussions covered the status of ongoing projects, a recap of 2024 Blue Deal activities, the outlook for the 2025 projects, and developments regarding international collaborations,” the department said.

    DWS Director of International Relations, Albert Mmbidi said: “Today was an important day in the history of the Blue Deal programme. As a team, we managed to review the progress that the project has already made, the challenges, and we proposed solutions to the issues raised. 

    “We are confident that out of the solutions we have proposed, the programme will be able to run efficiently and strengthen the relationship between the two countries,” Mmbidi said. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Expulsion of SA ambassador to US ‘regrettable’ – Presidency

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Sunday, March 16, 2025

    The Presidency says it remains committed to building a relationship with the United States of America (USA), despite the “regrettable” recent expulsion of SA Ambassador to the US, Embrahim Rasool.

    Rasool was expelled after US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, took to social media, X, to declare that Rasool was not welcome in the US. 

     “South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country. We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered persona non grata” [person not welcome] (sic),” Rubio post reads on social media.

    In a statement on Saturday, The Presidency noted the regrettable expulsion of Rasool and urged all relevant and impacted stakeholders to maintain the established diplomatic decorum in their engagement with the matter.

    “South Africa remains committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the United States of America,” the President said. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: President to open ECD leadership summit

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Sunday, March 16, 2025

    President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Monday officially open the Bana Pele Early Childhood Development (ECD) Leadership Summit at the Atlas Studios, in Johannesburg.

    The summit, convened by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), aims to mobilise a public and private coalition behind the DBE’s 2030 ECD Roadmap for quality, universal access to early learning.

    In a statement on Saturday, The Presidency noted that in South Africa, more than 1.3 million children are not enrolled in any form of ECD programme, leaving them without the foundational literacy and numeracy skills required to succeed in school.

    “This learning gap affects their ability to take on critical subjects, such as Mathematics, Science, Accounting, and Economics in later years, which are the skills that are vital for innovation, economic growth, and job creation,” the Presidency said.

    The summit will bring together government, business, civil society and education experts to “construct a roadmap for universal access to quality ECD across the country.

    “This initiative is a crucial step toward ensuring that every child, regardless of background, has access to the early learning opportunities they need to thrive in life,” the Presidency said. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Deputy President leads working visit to Japan

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Sunday, March 16, 2025

    Deputy President Paul Mashatile will on Sunday undertake a working visit to Tokyo, in Japan.

    The Presidency said the visit, from 16 – 19 March 2025, is aimed at “reaffirming the strong cooperation between” the countries in areas of mutual interest.

    “The two countries enjoy well established diplomatic relations, and the year 2025 marks 115 years of such relations. The working visit by the Deputy President underscores South Africa’s strong commitment and the importance that South Africa attaches to the relationship with Japan.

    “During the working visit, the Deputy President and his delegation will meet with the Japanese Government and private sector stakeholders to advance South Africa’s key economic growth drivers, such as manufactured-led growth and increasing South Africa’s exports,” the Presidency said in a statement on Saturday.

    The Deputy President will be accompanied by Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Tandi Moraka; Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, Minister of Higher Education, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane; Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, Trade Industry and Competition Minister, Parks Tau; and Science, Technology and Innovation Deputy Minister,  Nomalungelo Gina. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Businesses encouraged to operate ethically

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Mpumalanga MEC for Economic Development and Tourism, Makhosazane Masilela, has called on businesses to “go above and beyond” to demonstrate ethical business practices.

    The MEC was speaking at the commemoration of World Consumer Rights Day (WCR), held at the University of Mpumalanga, on Saturday.

    “As we celebrate this significant day, we are reminded of the central role that consumers play in our economy, and the critical need to protect their rights, while also encouraging businesses to operate ethically, responsibly, and with integrity. 

    “It is not enough to simply adhere to the bare minimum of legal requirements; businesses must go above and beyond to establish a culture of fairness, respect, and responsibility,” Masilela said.

    World Consumer Rights Day is celebrated annually on the 15th of March, as a means of raising global awareness about consumer rights and needs. 

    Celebrating the day is a chance to demand that the rights of all consumers are respected and protected, and to protest against market abuses and social injustices which undermine those rights.

    The National Consumer Commission held the commemoration in partnership with the Competition Commission of South Africa, the Mpumalanga Department of Economic Development and Tourism, and various regulatory bodies, under the umbrella of the Consumer Protection Forum (CPF).

    The WCR was celebrated under the theme “Empowering Consumers—Balancing Rights with Ethical Business Practices”.

    Acting Commissioner of the NCC, Hardin Ratshisusu, emphasised the ongoing need to intensify efforts in addressing the sale of expired food items in local spaza shops.

    “Recent inspections on local spaza shops in various communities have revealed expired food items on shelves, prompting their removal and destruction. 

    “It is important we continue with this work given the recent spate of foodborne illnesses affecting the most vulnerable consumers in our society – our children,” Ratshisusu said.

    Competition Commission Acting Head of Advocacy, Andile Gwabeni, emphasised the importance of the Competition Act in ensuring a competitive market.

    “We understand that a fair and competitive market inherently protects consumers…and we therefore see consumer welfare as a direct output of our work,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Simelane commits to support Free Sate in delivering housing units

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Human Settlements Minister, Thembi Simelane, has pledged to support the Free State Province in its efforts to meet the 2024-2029 target to deliver housing units to qualifying beneficiaries.

    Simelane made the commitment during an oversight visit to the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality on Friday, as part of a nationwide assessment of municipal and provincial performance in human settlements programmes.

    The visit aimed to address ongoing service delivery blockages within the province.

    The visit also formed part of a country-wide municipal and provincial assessment of human settlements programme performance.

    Addressing the provincial Human Settlements and Mangaung Municipality, Simelane discouraged working in silos between the provincial department and municipalities.

    She emphasised that overcoming the housing backlog and ensuring the delivery of sustainable human settlements, can only be achieved through coordinated efforts.

    While acknowledging the progress made to ensure the qualifying beneficiaries receive their houses, with some contractors already on the ground, the Minister expressed concern over several incomplete projects across the province.

    “We are gearing ourselves for the current 2024-2029 Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP) to deliver on our mandate. With our limited budget, we are aligning our plans to ensure that we effectively use our allocated budget,” Simelane said.

    The Minister reiterated the critical role that contractors play in delivering housing units and warned against those who have been given opportunities to “do the right thing and deliver houses.”

    She also issued a stern warning to both contractors and officials who fail to meet their responsibilities, saying that there would be consequences against those who let down the people.

    “A delayed project means one senior citizen is denied his or her constitutional right to adequate shelter,” Simelane said.

    Simelane further undertook to visit the Metros every quarter, to ensure that housing and service delivery targets are being met.

    She also underscored the importance of ensuring that every cent allocated to the department is spent towards improving the lives of deserving households.

    Human Settlements MEC, Teboho Mokoena, challenged the Minister to consider visiting the province more frequently, suggesting every two months, and reiterated the province’s commitment to improving service delivery.

    Mokoena also emphasised budget constraints, which remains a challenge, noting that this will have an impact in the department’s programme.

    “Progress is being made on several projects that were blocked including G-Hostel and Dark and Silver City. The qualifying beneficiaries are expected to incrementally move into the completed units during the 2025/2026 financial year,” Mokoena said.

    The MEC highlighted the province’s struggle with completing housing projects due to a range of issues, including multiple contractor changes in due to non-performance, vandalism at abandoned sites after contract terminations, community disruptions and non-compliance issues, financial constraints, non-payment of completed work certificates, and bureaucratic delays in the approvals of variation orders and claims.

    However, Mokoena assured that interventions are being implemented, including the appointment of new, reliable contractors, and regular monitoring and reporting, to ensure projects stay on track.

    “Despite these challenges, the province has done exceptionally well in the provision of serviced sites. By January 2025, the province reported the successful delivery of 5 025 service sites against the 1755 2024/2025 target. Most of the sites delivered are in Fezile Dabi District Municipality,” Mokoena said.

    Simelane is expected to return to the Free State to officially hand over completed units at Dark and Silver City Community Residential Units, as well as military veterans’ housing units at the Vista Park Catalytic Project, in Mangaung.

    The Vista Park project is a massive development aimed at providing much needed housing opportunities.

    The department said extension 2 of the project is expected to yield over 5 344 residential housing opportunities, while extension 3 will produce around 6 036 residential opportunities.

    The project is also expected to deliver the Breaking New Ground (BNG) units, including social housing, First Home Finance, and student accommodation. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Majodina commends progress in Clanwilliam Dam wall project

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina the department will ensure the acceleration of the R5.7 billion project to raise Clanwilliam Dam wall situated in Olifants River, Western Cape.

    Majodina made the remarks during an oversight visit at the dam on Saturday.

    The mega project in Cederberg Municiaplity, is one of the department’s priority projects, and is expected to be completed in 2028.

    “Let us ensure that we accelerate the project so that it can be finalised on time. The project will not only determine the safety of the dam but will also bring economic spin-offs to the area of Clanwilliam and its surroundings. 

    “I am satisfied with the progress of the project and the multiple work that is running concurrently. This will speed up the completion of the project,” Majodina said.

    According to the department, the project is “part of the Olifants-Doorn River Water Resources Project (ODRWP) currently under way”.

    “The concrete placement of the dam’s Apron started in March and was completed in June last year. This is a construction of a concrete structure below the dam to protect it against water washes in the dam or to form a basin to control flows. The apron also prevents sediments, organic matter, and pollutants to potentially reduce storage capacity and impacting on the water quality, 

    “The completed project will supply raw water from the Clanwilliam Dam to the farmers, municipalities, mines and industries in the Olifants River valley between the dam and the estuary (river mouth). The pre-construction activities at the dam commenced in 2018 and the construction progress is currently at 21% as of 01 March 2025,” the department said.

    The project has been broken down into several components with the main component “the alignment of the N7 National Route completed in 2017”.

    “The dam wall was last raised between 1962 and 1966, with the overspill crest that was increased by 3 metres in length and 13 crest gates raised by 3.05 metres, each at 7.77 metres wide.

    “The completed project will not only improve the dam safety standards under high flood conditions but will also improve assurance of water supply to the existing irrigators. The newly renovated dam will also increase its annual yield by approximately 70 million cubic metres per year, thereby benefitting and developing the emerging and small-scale farmers in the area,” the department said. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Ghana’s poor are the ones who suffer most from corruption: history offers some ideas about fighting back

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Ernest Harsch, Researcher, Institute of African Studies, Columbia University, Columbia University

    It didn’t take long for the new government of John Mahama in Ghana to find a dramatic way to highlight its commitment to combating corruption. On 12 February 2025 his special prosecutor declared the previous finance minister a “wanted fugitive” for going abroad to evade questioning for suspected financial irregularities, before later agreeing to schedule a return.

    In that one move, the government of Mahama’s National Democratic Congress sounded a couple of familiar notes from past campaigns. First, that the widespread graft so many Ghanaians bemoan was largely the fault of the other party, in this case the New Patriotic Party, voted out the previous December. And second, that dishonesty and misconduct are most damaging when they involve high public officials.

    The reality of corruption lived by ordinary Ghanaians is far more complicated than that. Across the past 30 years of electoral democracy, both parties have been tainted by scandal and malfeasance. And over the country’s much longer history, as I detail in a new book, Ghanaians have complained about a wide range of misdeeds by figures in both the public and private realms, in positions high and low.

    Ordinary people have often challenged abuses, misdeeds and outright theft by the wealthy and powerful. They did so well before the territory’s indigenous societies were subjugated by Britain and incorporated into its Gold Coast colony.

    Based on my research into corruption over Ghana’s centuries-long history, it’s clear to me that the effectiveness of any new initiatives depends as much on action from below as from above. Poor people feel the effects of corruption and exploitation more acutely than the better off. And if they are organised they can push the authorities to be more active in rooting out fraud and graft.

    Pre-colonial anticorruption actions

    The strongest precolonial society was Asante, an empire that ruled over a wide area of what is today Ghana. At times, the excesses and injustices of Asante’s monarchs provoked turmoil, fuelled by anger among elites and ordinary people alike.

    One, Kofi Kakari, was dethroned in 1874 after violating established norms by removing gold ornaments from a sacred mausoleum. His successor, Mensa Bonsu, prompted a popular insurgency and was finally overthrown in 1883 by an alliance of junior aristocrats and commoners.

    Meanwhile, the coastal areas populated by Fante developed a more institutionalised method of ensuring chiefly accountability. Commoner-led defence groups, known locally as asafo, which performed a range of civic functions, could depose unpopular chiefs. In some removal ceremonies asafo members seized a chief and bumped his buttocks on the ground three times.

    According to Ghanaian social anthropologist Maxwell Owusu, asafo companies

    had a sacred duty to safeguard the interests of the wider local community against rulers or leaders who misused or abused their power.

    The asafo remained active into the early colonial period. In the 1920s, however, the colonial administration curtailed their powers, to protect chiefs willing to implement colonial orders.

    Echoes of asafo could still be heard many decades later. Following a succession of postcolonial administrations, Ghana erupted in widespread mobilisations against corruption and injustice. The popular outpourings of 1979 and the early 1980s were set off by two lower-rank coups led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings. Recalling past traditions of resistance, protesters sang asafo war songs, beat drums, and employed other popular rituals.

    Many of those activists regarded corruption not as a failing of individuals in high office, but as a problem rooted in Ghana’s class-divided society. As one leading figure of the new People’s Defence Committees put it in 1982:

    Corruption … is the product of a social system and enriches a minority of the people whilst having the opposite effect on the majority.

    Soon the Rawlings government moved towards accommodation with both western financial circles and domestic elites. The youth-led defence committees were purged and eventually abolished.

    The multiparty era

    Radical social perspectives persisted into the era of multiparty electoral democracy, though not in the two mainstream parties. Both say they are opposed to corruption. But according to critics like political scientist Kwame Ninsin, they in effect take turns at the helm to “control the state for private accumulation”.

    Most official anticorruption strategies tend to ignore political contention and social distinctions. And the standard international corruption ratings of Transparency International largely rely on external financial and investor assessments.

    Afrobarometer research surveys provide a more comprehensive view. In 2019, for example, Afrobarometer interviewers asked Ghanaians whether corruption had worsened over the previous year. Some 67% of those living in greater poverty said it had, while only 47% of the better off thought so. And although poor respondents also cited misdeeds by high officials, they often stressed more tangible aspects in their daily lives, such as having to pay bribes to local police or to obtain health or education services.

    Some corruption scholars see benefits to “frying big fish”, to publicly demonstrate their seriousness. Ghanaian governments have a long history of doing that, however, and face an increasingly sceptical public. To be more credible, anticorruption campaigns cannot target only the opposing party or just those at the heights of power.

    Strengths and weaknesses

    Ghana now has a range of laws and institutions to combat graft, fraud and other injustices. Some focus on exposure and punishment, both through the regular courts and through institutions such as the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, which annually hears thousands of citizens’ complaints.

    Some official actions stress prevention. High office-holders have to declare their families’ assets, to make it harder to hide illegal wealth. Mahama made his own declaration of assets public, the first president ever to do so.

    Government anticorruption measures have improved over the years. But they still suffer from bureaucratic inertia and limited commitment. That’s why many activists argue against relying solely on politicians.

    The effectiveness of any new initiatives by Mahama or other officials depends as much on action from below as from above. After all, it’s ordinary Ghanaians who know where corruption pinches them the most.

    – Ghana’s poor are the ones who suffer most from corruption: history offers some ideas about fighting back
    – https://theconversation.com/ghanas-poor-are-the-ones-who-suffer-most-from-corruption-history-offers-some-ideas-about-fighting-back-250821

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Middle Eastern monarchies in Sudan’s war: what’s driving their interests

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Federico Donelli, Assistant Professor of International Relations, University of Trieste

    The civil war in Sudan that began in April 2023 involves several external actors. The conflict pits the Sudanese Armed Forces against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in a quest for political and economic power. The situation has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Various foreign states have picked a side to support. They include Chad, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

    In particular, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are providing financial and military support to the warring parties, although they have denied it. Political scientist Federico Donelli, who has studied the influence of these Gulf monarchies in Sudan, unpacks the implications of their intervention.

    How did the UAE and Saudi Arabia get involved in Sudan?

    Domestic factors within Sudan were the primary triggers for the outbreak of the civil war. Framing the Sudanese conflict as a proxy war may underestimate or overlook important internal variables.

    But it’s also important to highlight the indirect involvement of other states. In the Horn of Africa region, Sudan has interacted the most with Middle Eastern states over the past two decades. Among these states, two Gulf monarchies – Saudi Arabia and the UAE – stand out.

    Political relations between Saudi Arabia and Sudan date back to the independence of the Sudanese state in 1956. And people-to-people links have flourished over centuries. This is largely because Sudan is geographically close to Saudi and the two Muslim holy cities of Mecca (Makkah) and Medina.

    The case of the UAE is different. Since the beginning of the new millennium, the Emirates have expanded their economic and financial influence in Africa, investing in niche sectors such as port logistics. Sudan in particular came to the fore for the Emirates at the end of the 2010s when regional balances shifted before and after the Arab uprisings.

    Between 2014 and 2015, Saudi Arabia and UAE influence in Sudanese politics increased under President Omar al-Bashir. Both monarchies wanted to counter Iran’s ability to project power into the Red Sea and in Yemen. In 2015, after breaking off relations with Iran, Sudan contributed 10,000 troops to a Saudi-led military operation in Yemen to fight Houthi rebels. Both the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces took part, and personal links were forged.

    In the post-Bashir era that began in 2019, Saudi and UAE influence has continued to grow, thanks to those direct links.

    In general, both monarchies are status seekers. In a changing international context, Sudan is a testing ground for their ability to influence and shape future political settlements.

    Seeing the post-2019 transition as an opportunity to influence Sudan’s regional standing, the two monarchies chose to support different factions within Sudan’s security apparatus. This external support exacerbated internal competition.

    Riyadh, in conjunction with Egypt, maintained close ties with army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Abu Dhabi aligned itself with the head of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Dagalo, or Hemedti.

    Since 2019, the relationship between the UAE and Saudi Arabia has changed. After more than a decade of strategic convergence, especially on regional issues, the two Gulf monarchies began to diverge on issues like their view on political Islam. This divergence has been evident in various crisis scenarios, including in Sudan.

    Although both countries jointly supported the initial Sudanese transition after Bashir’s ouster, the deterioration of relations between Hemedti and al-Burhan created conditions for a showdown between the two monarchies.

    However, the conflict in Sudan didn’t break out because of the rift between the UAE and Saudi Arabia. But Sudan’s local actors felt able to go to war because they were aware of external support. And once the conflict broke out, both monarchies were reluctant to withdraw local support lest they appear weak in the eyes of their regional counterpart.

    Why is Sudan important to these countries?

    My recent study with political scientist Abigail Kabandula shows that the UAE and Saudi Arabia gradually increased their presence in Sudan after the 2011 Arab uprisings. The fall of some regimes, including Egypt, made the two Gulf monarchies fear that instability could entangle them.

    Our analysis identifies two main reasons for the two countries’ influence in Sudan:

    • changes to the regional power structure

    • the strategic importance of the Horn of Africa.

    The US pivot to Asia – shifting resources from the Middle East to the Pacific – and the Arab Spring protests increased uncertainty among Gulf states. This led to a realignment of regional power dynamics and the formation of rival blocs. As a result, the UAE and Saudi Arabia sought closer ties with African countries. In Sudan, the relationship has developed through both military and political engagement.

    Our analysis shows an increase in both countries’ interest in Sudan between 2012 and 2020. However, our research also highlighted some key differences in their growing influence.

    In the early years after the Arab uprisings, the UAE’s influence grew rapidly, driven by concerns about the spread of protests. This was particularly important given Sudan’s proximity to Egypt.

    Saudi Arabia maintained a more stable level of influence from 2010 to 2020. This was despite Riyadh also initially fearing the spread of the protests.

    Both Gulf states were wary of al-Bashir’s growing ties with Turkey and Qatar, which they feared would strengthen a pro-Islamist bloc in the region. However, after Bashir’s overthrow in 2019, their approaches began to diverge.

    The two Gulf monarchies view Sudan as a key country because of its geographical location.

    Sudan is situated between two major regions – the Sahel and the Red Sea – characterised by instability and conflict. These regions face interconnected challenges: political instability, poverty, food insecurity, and internal and external wars. They also face population displacement, transnational crime and the threat of jihadist groups.

    Moreover, Sudan is an important link between the Mediterranean and sub-Saharan Africa. The country is a crossroads, influencing current and future geostrategic dynamics in the region.

    The Gulf monarchies, including Qatar, have also invested heavily – between US$1.5 billion and US$2 billion – in Sudan’s agri-food sector, which is vital to their food security. Sudan, with its abundant water resources, offers a large amount of fertile land, making it attractive to Gulf companies.

    What can we expect to see next?

    Similar to other current global crises – such as those in Ukraine, the Middle East and the Democratic Republic of Congo – the conflict in Sudan seems difficult to resolve through negotiations. Two main factors contribute to this difficulty.

    First, both parties see the victory of one side as entirely dependent on the defeat of the other. Such logic leaves no room for a win-win solution. Second, the current international context supports the continuation of hostilities. The global shifting balance of power provides both warring parties with opportunities for external support. This complicates efforts to find a peaceful solution.

    There are now two centres of power and governance in the country. It is likely that this division will become more pronounced.

    – Middle Eastern monarchies in Sudan’s war: what’s driving their interests
    – https://theconversation.com/middle-eastern-monarchies-in-sudans-war-whats-driving-their-interests-251825

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: The first fossil thrips in Africa: this tiny insect pest met its end in a volcanic lake 90 million years ago

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Sandiso Mnguni, Honorary Research Associate, University of the Witwatersrand

    Thrips are tiny insects – their sizes range between 0.5mm and 15mm in length and many are shorter than 5mm. But the damage they cause to crops is anything but small. A 2021 research paper found that in Indonesia “the damage to red chilli plants caused by thrips infestation ranges now from 20% to 80%”. In India, various thrips infestations in the late 2010s and early 2020s “damaged 40%-85% of chilli pepper crops in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana”.

    In Africa, a number of thrips species feed on sugarcane and have been known to damage nearly 30% of the crop in a single hectare of a farm. High rates of destruction have been recorded in Tanzania and Uganda on onion and tomato crops.

    Now it’s emerged that thrips are hardly new to the African continent and the southern hemisphere more broadly. South Africa’s first and only Black palaeoentomologist, Sandiso Mnguni, who studies fossil insects, recently described a fossil thrips from Orapa Diamond Mine in Botswana that’s more than 90 million years old. He discussed his unique fossil find with The Conversation Africa.

    What are thrips and how do they cause damage?

    Thrips, also known as thunderflies, thunderbugs or thunderblights, are small, slender and fragile insects. They can be identified by their typically narrow, strap-like, fringed and feathery wings. Over time, they have also evolved distinctive asymmetrical rasping-sucking mouthparts consisting of a labrum, labium, maxillary stylets and left mandible. Most species use these to feed primarily on fungi. Some feed on plants and eat the tender parts of certain crops like sugarcane, tomatoes, pepper, onions, avocado, legumes and citrus fruits, focusing on the buds, flowers and young leaves.

    This, along with their habit of accidentally distributing fungal spores while feeding or hunting, makes them destructive crop pests. They tend to feed as a group in large numbers, causing distinctive silver or bronze scarring on the surfaces of stems or leaves.

    However, not all thrips are harmful. A small fraction of the 6,500 species that have already been described so far are pollinators of flowering plants; and a handful are predators or natural enemies of moths and other smaller animals such as mites.

    Larva, pupa and adult Weeping fig thrips (Gynaikothrips uzeli) fcafotodigital

    Tell us about the fossil thrips you’ve discovered

    This is the first time that a fossil thrips has been recorded anywhere in Africa – or the entire southern hemisphere.

    The Orapa Diamond Mine in Botswana is one of the most important fossil deposits on the continent. It’s about 90 million years old, dating back to the Cretaceous period.

    Read more: Fossil beetles found in a Botswana diamond mine help us to reconstruct the distant past

    The deposit is situated 960 metres above sea level in the Kalahari Desert, about 250km due west of Francistown in Botswana, and 824km away from Johannesburg in South Africa. It was first discovered in 1967 and started producing carat diamonds in 1971.

    Roughly 90 million years go, steam and gas caused a double eruption of diamondiferous kimberlites. These are vertical, deep-source volcanic pipes that form when magma rapidly rises from the Earth’s mantle, carrying diamonds and other minerals up to the surface. They create a distinctive rock formation that gets studied by geologists. This explosive volcanic eruption formed a deep crater lake at the centre of the mine.

    Mining excavations during the 1980s and earlier uncovered and exposed fine-grained sedimentary rocks containing well preserved fossil plants and insects. These have already been studied by many researchers in the past. At the time, geology and palaeontology researchers from what was then the Bernard Price Institute, which has since been renamed the Evolutionary Studies Institute, at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, were invited to collect the fossil material.

    Although some of the material has been studied in the past, the fossil thrips hadn’t yet been put under the microscope. And that’s just what we did. By using its body characteristics and comparing it to living thrips, we can say for sure that it’s a thrips. But we didn’t give it a formal scientific name because it doesn’t have enough characteristics to classify it at the species level and describe it either as a new species or one that still exists today.

    We think that the thrips either flew into the palaeolake that was formed by the volcanic eruption or was transported there through grass from a bird’s nest.

    Why is this useful to know?

    This discovery sheds light on the biodiversity and biogeography of thrips and many other groups of insects during a time when we know flowering plants that heavily relied on insect pollination were rapidly diversifying. This plant-insect reciprocal interaction goes back to the Devonian period, a time when there was a large super-continent called Gondwana. That’s when the first land plants evolved and dominated the Earth, and inadvertently led to many groups of insects, including thrips, diversifying to keep up with drastic changes in their preferred plant diets and habitats due to the dramatic environmental and climatic changes.

    Read more: Fossil insects help to reconstruct the past: how I ended up studying them (and you can too)

    The fossil find also contributes to a more accurate documentation of life on Earth during the Cretaceous and helps scientists in reconstructing the past environment and climate in Botswana.

    Hopefully there are more fossil insects waiting to be discovered in Botswana and elsewhere in Africa, to keep improving our picture of this long-ago world, and preserve the heritage of our continent.

    – The first fossil thrips in Africa: this tiny insect pest met its end in a volcanic lake 90 million years ago
    – https://theconversation.com/the-first-fossil-thrips-in-africa-this-tiny-insect-pest-met-its-end-in-a-volcanic-lake-90-million-years-ago-249077

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Who owns digital data about you? South African legal scholar weighs up property and privacy rights

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Donrich Thaldar, Professor, University of KwaZulu-Natal

    In the digital economy, data is more than just information – it is an asset with immense economic and strategic value. Yet, despite its significance, a fundamental legal question remains unresolved: Can data be owned? While privacy laws worldwide focus on protecting individuals’ rights over their personal data, they often sidestep the issue of ownership. This has led to legal uncertainty, particularly in South Africa, where the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia) grants data subjects various rights over their personal information but does not explicitly address ownership.

    This gap in legal clarity raises pressing questions: If personal data – such as private health information – exists within a vast and ever-growing digital landscape, can it be owned? And if so, who holds the rightful claim?

    Legal academic Donrich Thaldar, whose research focuses on data governance, explores these questions in a recent academic article. He unpacks his findings for The Conversation Africa.

    Why does it matter who owns data?

    In today’s digital economy, data is the most valuable asset – it’s often referred to as “the new oil”. Whether in commerce, research, or social interactions, the ability to generate, use and trade with data is central to economic competitiveness.

    If data ownership is not clearly established, it could stifle innovation and investment. Companies require legal certainty to operate effectively in a knowledge-driven economy.

    Countries have taken different legal approaches to tackling the question of who owns data. China, for instance, formally recognises the proprietary rights of data generators, meaning that businesses and individuals who generate data have legally defined rights over its use and commercialisation. This provides legal support for the country’s digital industries.

    What does South African law say?

    In the past, the South African Information Regulator has taken the position that personal information is automatically owned by the data subject – the person to whom the data relates – rather than by the entity generating the data. In this view, the rights created by Popia imply that data subjects themselves are the owners of their personal data, and nobody else.

    I suggest that this stance is legally flawed, as it conflates two different branches of the law: privacy law and property law. Moreover, it could severely disrupt the digital economy. The digital economy depends on data as a tradeable asset – it must be capable of being sold, licensed and commercialised like any other economic object. If ownership must always be with data subjects, businesses face uncertainty in using and monetising data. Uncertainty stifles innovation, discourages investment, and undermines South Africa’s digital competitiveness.

    You applied property law to the question of data ownership. Why?

    Ownership is a concept in property law, not privacy law. Therefore, to answer the data ownership question, we need to look for answers in property law.

    Property law governs the relationship between subjects (legal persons) and objects (things external to the body, whether physical or not). Ownership is about the rights that a subject has over an object. For an object to be capable of being owned, it must be valuable, useful, and – importantly – capable of human control. A bottle of water meets these criteria, but the vast oceans do not, as they are not within human control.

    Personal data in the abstract is like the water in the ocean – vast, uncontained, and beyond individual control. However, a digital instance of personal data, such as a computer file, is more like a bottled version of that water – defined and subject to human control. Just like digital money and other valuable digital assets, a specific instance of personal data meets all the requirements under South African common law for private ownership. Thus, in this sense personal data can be owned.

    Is the data owner not the data subject?

    At first glance this might seem so, but no, not necessarily. The reason that it might seem so, is because some of the privacy rights created by Popia resemble ownership rights. For example, an owner’s agreement is required before someone else can use the owned object (e.g., loan for use and rent). Similarly, a data subject’s consent is in most cases required before personal data can be processed. Furthermore, the owner of a thing has the right to destroy it; similarly, a data subject typically has the right to have personal data deleted.

    Do these privacy rights mean that data subjects actually own their personal data? I suggest not. Wearing a feather in one’s hat does not make one a bird. In the same way, privacy rights that resemble ownership rights do not mean that they constitute ownership. Ownership is acquired by following the rules of property law.

    So who owns the data?

    Because a newly created personal data instance has no antecedent legal object – in other words, it is not created out of another legal object – it initially belongs to no one. It is res nullius. Ownership of res nullius is acquired through appropriation, which requires two elements: control and the intention to own.

    This means that the entity generating the data, such as a company or university collecting and recording it, is best positioned to acquire ownership. Since it already has control over the data, the only remaining requirement is simply the intention to be the owner.

    If an entity like a university generates data and intends to own it, then – provided it is in control of that data – it will legally become the owner. This in principle allows the entity to use, license and trade the data as an economic asset. Indeed, it is prudent for data-generating entities, such as universities, to explicitly assert ownership over the data they produce. This not only establishes their legal rights with clarity but also serves as a safeguard against unauthorised access and misuse by malicious actors.

    Doesn’t this compromise data privacy?

    No, it should not. Ownership is always limited by other legal rules. For example, while I might own a car, I cannot drive it in any way I like – I must obey the rules of the road. Similarly, ownership of personal data is subject to strict limitations, particularly the privacy rights of data subjects under Popia.

    However, it is also important to understand that privacy rights apply only to personal data. If personal data is de-identified, meaning that it can no longer be linked to the data subjects, privacy rights cease to apply. What remains are the ownership rights in the data itself. It can be a fully tradeable asset.

    Recognising that a digital instance of personal data can be owned – and that the rightful owner is typically the data generator – does not undermine the privacy protections of Popia. Rather, it clarifies the legal landscape, ensuring that the rights of both data subjects and data generators are recognised and protected.

    – Who owns digital data about you? South African legal scholar weighs up property and privacy rights
    – https://theconversation.com/who-owns-digital-data-about-you-south-african-legal-scholar-weighs-up-property-and-privacy-rights-249741

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ghana’s poor are the ones who suffer most from corruption: history offers some ideas about fighting back

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Ernest Harsch, Researcher, Institute of African Studies, Columbia University, Columbia University

    It didn’t take long for the new government of John Mahama in Ghana to find a dramatic way to highlight its commitment to combating corruption. On 12 February 2025 his special prosecutor declared the previous finance minister a “wanted fugitive” for going abroad to evade questioning for suspected financial irregularities, before later agreeing to schedule a return.

    In that one move, the government of Mahama’s National Democratic Congress sounded a couple of familiar notes from past campaigns. First, that the widespread graft so many Ghanaians bemoan was largely the fault of the other party, in this case the New Patriotic Party, voted out the previous December. And second, that dishonesty and misconduct are most damaging when they involve high public officials.

    The reality of corruption lived by ordinary Ghanaians is far more complicated than that. Across the past 30 years of electoral democracy, both parties have been tainted by scandal and malfeasance. And over the country’s much longer history, as I detail in a new book, Ghanaians have complained about a wide range of misdeeds by figures in both the public and private realms, in positions high and low.

    Ordinary people have often challenged abuses, misdeeds and outright theft by the wealthy and powerful. They did so well before the territory’s indigenous societies were subjugated by Britain and incorporated into its Gold Coast colony.

    Based on my research into corruption over Ghana’s centuries-long history, it’s clear to me that the effectiveness of any new initiatives depends as much on action from below as from above. Poor people feel the effects of corruption and exploitation more acutely than the better off. And if they are organised they can push the authorities to be more active in rooting out fraud and graft.

    Pre-colonial anticorruption actions

    The strongest precolonial society was Asante, an empire that ruled over a wide area of what is today Ghana. At times, the excesses and injustices of Asante’s monarchs provoked turmoil, fuelled by anger among elites and ordinary people alike.

    One, Kofi Kakari, was dethroned in 1874 after violating established norms by removing gold ornaments from a sacred mausoleum. His successor, Mensa Bonsu, prompted a popular insurgency and was finally overthrown in 1883 by an alliance of junior aristocrats and commoners.

    Meanwhile, the coastal areas populated by Fante developed a more institutionalised method of ensuring chiefly accountability. Commoner-led defence groups, known locally as asafo, which performed a range of civic functions, could depose unpopular chiefs. In some removal ceremonies asafo members seized a chief and bumped his buttocks on the ground three times.

    According to Ghanaian social anthropologist Maxwell Owusu, asafo companies

    had a sacred duty to safeguard the interests of the wider local community against rulers or leaders who misused or abused their power.

    The asafo remained active into the early colonial period. In the 1920s, however, the colonial administration curtailed their powers, to protect chiefs willing to implement colonial orders.

    Echoes of asafo could still be heard many decades later. Following a succession of postcolonial administrations, Ghana erupted in widespread mobilisations against corruption and injustice. The popular outpourings of 1979 and the early 1980s were set off by two lower-rank coups led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings. Recalling past traditions of resistance, protesters sang asafo war songs, beat drums, and employed other popular rituals.

    Many of those activists regarded corruption not as a failing of individuals in high office, but as a problem rooted in Ghana’s class-divided society. As one leading figure of the new People’s Defence Committees put it in 1982:

    Corruption … is the product of a social system and enriches a minority of the people whilst having the opposite effect on the majority.

    Soon the Rawlings government moved towards accommodation with both western financial circles and domestic elites. The youth-led defence committees were purged and eventually abolished.

    The multiparty era

    Radical social perspectives persisted into the era of multiparty electoral democracy, though not in the two mainstream parties. Both say they are opposed to corruption. But according to critics like political scientist Kwame Ninsin, they in effect take turns at the helm to “control the state for private accumulation”.

    Most official anticorruption strategies tend to ignore political contention and social distinctions. And the standard international corruption ratings of Transparency International largely rely on external financial and investor assessments.

    Afrobarometer research surveys provide a more comprehensive view. In 2019, for example, Afrobarometer interviewers asked Ghanaians whether corruption had worsened over the previous year. Some 67% of those living in greater poverty said it had, while only 47% of the better off thought so. And although poor respondents also cited misdeeds by high officials, they often stressed more tangible aspects in their daily lives, such as having to pay bribes to local police or to obtain health or education services.

    Some corruption scholars see benefits to “frying big fish”, to publicly demonstrate their seriousness. Ghanaian governments have a long history of doing that, however, and face an increasingly sceptical public. To be more credible, anticorruption campaigns cannot target only the opposing party or just those at the heights of power.

    Strengths and weaknesses

    Ghana now has a range of laws and institutions to combat graft, fraud and other injustices. Some focus on exposure and punishment, both through the regular courts and through institutions such as the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, which annually hears thousands of citizens’ complaints.

    Some official actions stress prevention. High office-holders have to declare their families’ assets, to make it harder to hide illegal wealth. Mahama made his own declaration of assets public, the first president ever to do so.

    Government anticorruption measures have improved over the years. But they still suffer from bureaucratic inertia and limited commitment. That’s why many activists argue against relying solely on politicians.

    The effectiveness of any new initiatives by Mahama or other officials depends as much on action from below as from above. After all, it’s ordinary Ghanaians who know where corruption pinches them the most.

    Ernest Harsch 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. Ghana’s poor are the ones who suffer most from corruption: history offers some ideas about fighting back – https://theconversation.com/ghanas-poor-are-the-ones-who-suffer-most-from-corruption-history-offers-some-ideas-about-fighting-back-250821

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Middle Eastern monarchies in Sudan’s war: what’s driving their interests

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Federico Donelli, Assistant Professor of International Relations, University of Trieste

    The civil war in Sudan that began in April 2023 involves several external actors. The conflict pits the Sudanese Armed Forces against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in a quest for political and economic power. The situation has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Various foreign states have picked a side to support. They include Chad, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

    In particular, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are providing financial and military support to the warring parties, although they have denied it. Political scientist Federico Donelli, who has studied the influence of these Gulf monarchies in Sudan, unpacks the implications of their intervention.

    How did the UAE and Saudi Arabia get involved in Sudan?

    Domestic factors within Sudan were the primary triggers for the outbreak of the civil war. Framing the Sudanese conflict as a proxy war may underestimate or overlook important internal variables.

    But it’s also important to highlight the indirect involvement of other states. In the Horn of Africa region, Sudan has interacted the most with Middle Eastern states over the past two decades. Among these states, two Gulf monarchies – Saudi Arabia and the UAE – stand out.

    Political relations between Saudi Arabia and Sudan date back to the independence of the Sudanese state in 1956. And people-to-people links have flourished over centuries. This is largely because Sudan is geographically close to Saudi and the two Muslim holy cities of Mecca (Makkah) and Medina.

    The case of the UAE is different. Since the beginning of the new millennium, the Emirates have expanded their economic and financial influence in Africa, investing in niche sectors such as port logistics. Sudan in particular came to the fore for the Emirates at the end of the 2010s when regional balances shifted before and after the Arab uprisings.

    Between 2014 and 2015, Saudi Arabia and UAE influence in Sudanese politics increased under President Omar al-Bashir. Both monarchies wanted to counter Iran’s ability to project power into the Red Sea and in Yemen. In 2015, after breaking off relations with Iran, Sudan contributed 10,000 troops to a Saudi-led military operation in Yemen to fight Houthi rebels. Both the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces took part, and personal links were forged.

    In the post-Bashir era that began in 2019, Saudi and UAE influence has continued to grow, thanks to those direct links.

    In general, both monarchies are status seekers. In a changing international context, Sudan is a testing ground for their ability to influence and shape future political settlements.

    Seeing the post-2019 transition as an opportunity to influence Sudan’s regional standing, the two monarchies chose to support different factions within Sudan’s security apparatus. This external support exacerbated internal competition.

    Riyadh, in conjunction with Egypt, maintained close ties with army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Abu Dhabi aligned itself with the head of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Dagalo, or Hemedti.

    Since 2019, the relationship between the UAE and Saudi Arabia has changed. After more than a decade of strategic convergence, especially on regional issues, the two Gulf monarchies began to diverge on issues like their view on political Islam. This divergence has been evident in various crisis scenarios, including in Sudan.

    Although both countries jointly supported the initial Sudanese transition after Bashir’s ouster, the deterioration of relations between Hemedti and al-Burhan created conditions for a showdown between the two monarchies.

    However, the conflict in Sudan didn’t break out because of the rift between the UAE and Saudi Arabia. But Sudan’s local actors felt able to go to war because they were aware of external support. And once the conflict broke out, both monarchies were reluctant to withdraw local support lest they appear weak in the eyes of their regional counterpart.

    Why is Sudan important to these countries?

    My recent study with political scientist Abigail Kabandula shows that the UAE and Saudi Arabia gradually increased their presence in Sudan after the 2011 Arab uprisings. The fall of some regimes, including Egypt, made the two Gulf monarchies fear that instability could entangle them.

    Our analysis identifies two main reasons for the two countries’ influence in Sudan:

    • changes to the regional power structure

    • the strategic importance of the Horn of Africa.

    The US pivot to Asia – shifting resources from the Middle East to the Pacific – and the Arab Spring protests increased uncertainty among Gulf states. This led to a realignment of regional power dynamics and the formation of rival blocs. As a result, the UAE and Saudi Arabia sought closer ties with African countries. In Sudan, the relationship has developed through both military and political engagement.

    Our analysis shows an increase in both countries’ interest in Sudan between 2012 and 2020. However, our research also highlighted some key differences in their growing influence.

    In the early years after the Arab uprisings, the UAE’s influence grew rapidly, driven by concerns about the spread of protests. This was particularly important given Sudan’s proximity to Egypt.

    Saudi Arabia maintained a more stable level of influence from 2010 to 2020. This was despite Riyadh also initially fearing the spread of the protests.

    Both Gulf states were wary of al-Bashir’s growing ties with Turkey and Qatar, which they feared would strengthen a pro-Islamist bloc in the region. However, after Bashir’s overthrow in 2019, their approaches began to diverge.

    The two Gulf monarchies view Sudan as a key country because of its geographical location.

    Sudan is situated between two major regions – the Sahel and the Red Sea – characterised by instability and conflict. These regions face interconnected challenges: political instability, poverty, food insecurity, and internal and external wars. They also face population displacement, transnational crime and the threat of jihadist groups.

    Moreover, Sudan is an important link between the Mediterranean and sub-Saharan Africa. The country is a crossroads, influencing current and future geostrategic dynamics in the region.

    The Gulf monarchies, including Qatar, have also invested heavily – between US$1.5 billion and US$2 billion – in Sudan’s agri-food sector, which is vital to their food security. Sudan, with its abundant water resources, offers a large amount of fertile land, making it attractive to Gulf companies.

    What can we expect to see next?

    Similar to other current global crises – such as those in Ukraine, the Middle East and the Democratic Republic of Congo – the conflict in Sudan seems difficult to resolve through negotiations. Two main factors contribute to this difficulty.

    First, both parties see the victory of one side as entirely dependent on the defeat of the other. Such logic leaves no room for a win-win solution. Second, the current international context supports the continuation of hostilities. The global shifting balance of power provides both warring parties with opportunities for external support. This complicates efforts to find a peaceful solution.

    There are now two centres of power and governance in the country. It is likely that this division will become more pronounced.

    Federico Donelli is Senior Research Associate at the Istituto di Studi di Politica Internazionale, ISPI (Milan) and Non-Resident Fellow at the Orion Policy Institute, OPI (Washington, DC).

    – ref. Middle Eastern monarchies in Sudan’s war: what’s driving their interests – https://theconversation.com/middle-eastern-monarchies-in-sudans-war-whats-driving-their-interests-251825

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The first fossil thrips in Africa: this tiny insect pest met its end in a volcanic lake 90 million years ago

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Sandiso Mnguni, Honorary Research Associate, University of the Witwatersrand

    The fossil thrips discovered in the Orapa Diamond Mine. Dr Sandiso Mnguni, CC BY-NC-ND

    Thrips are tiny insects – their sizes range between 0.5mm and 15mm in length and many are shorter than 5mm. But the damage they cause to crops is anything but small. A 2021 research paper found that in Indonesia “the damage to red chilli plants caused by thrips infestation ranges now from 20% to 80%”. In India, various thrips infestations in the late 2010s and early 2020s “damaged 40%-85% of chilli pepper crops in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana”.

    In Africa, a number of thrips species feed on sugarcane and have been known to damage nearly 30% of the crop in a single hectare of a farm. High rates of destruction have been recorded in Tanzania and Uganda on onion and tomato crops.

    Now it’s emerged that thrips are hardly new to the African continent and the southern hemisphere more broadly. South Africa’s first and only Black palaeoentomologist, Sandiso Mnguni, who studies fossil insects, recently described a fossil thrips from Orapa Diamond Mine in Botswana that’s more than 90 million years old. He discussed his unique fossil find with The Conversation Africa.

    What are thrips and how do they cause damage?

    Thrips, also known as thunderflies, thunderbugs or thunderblights, are small, slender and fragile insects. They can be identified by their typically narrow, strap-like, fringed and feathery wings. Over time, they have also evolved distinctive asymmetrical rasping-sucking mouthparts consisting of a labrum, labium, maxillary stylets and left mandible. Most species use these to feed primarily on fungi. Some feed on plants and eat the tender parts of certain crops like sugarcane, tomatoes, pepper, onions, avocado, legumes and citrus fruits, focusing on the buds, flowers and young leaves.

    This, along with their habit of accidentally distributing fungal spores while feeding or hunting, makes them destructive crop pests. They tend to feed as a group in large numbers, causing distinctive silver or bronze scarring on the surfaces of stems or leaves.

    However, not all thrips are harmful. A small fraction of the 6,500 species that have already been described so far are pollinators of flowering plants; and a handful are predators or natural enemies of moths and other smaller animals such as mites.

    Larva, pupa and adult Weeping fig thrips (Gynaikothrips uzeli)
    fcafotodigital

    Tell us about the fossil thrips you’ve discovered

    This is the first time that a fossil thrips has been recorded anywhere in Africa – or the entire southern hemisphere.

    The Orapa Diamond Mine in Botswana is one of the most important fossil deposits on the continent. It’s about 90 million years old, dating back to the Cretaceous period.



    Read more:
    Fossil beetles found in a Botswana diamond mine help us to reconstruct the distant past

    The deposit is situated 960 metres above sea level in the Kalahari Desert, about 250km due west of Francistown in Botswana, and 824km away from Johannesburg in South Africa. It was first discovered in 1967 and started producing carat diamonds in 1971.

    Roughly 90 million years go, steam and gas caused a double eruption of diamondiferous kimberlites. These are vertical, deep-source volcanic pipes that form when magma rapidly rises from the Earth’s mantle, carrying diamonds and other minerals up to the surface. They create a distinctive rock formation that gets studied by geologists. This explosive volcanic eruption formed a deep crater lake at the centre of the mine.

    Mining excavations during the 1980s and earlier uncovered and exposed fine-grained sedimentary rocks containing well preserved fossil plants and insects. These have already been studied by many researchers in the past. At the time, geology and palaeontology researchers from what was then the Bernard Price Institute, which has since been renamed the Evolutionary Studies Institute, at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, were invited to collect the fossil material.

    Although some of the material has been studied in the past, the fossil thrips hadn’t yet been put under the microscope. And that’s just what we did. By using its body characteristics and comparing it to living thrips, we can say for sure that it’s a thrips. But we didn’t give it a formal scientific name because it doesn’t have enough characteristics to classify it at the species level and describe it either as a new species or one that still exists today.

    We think that the thrips either flew into the palaeolake that was formed by the volcanic eruption or was transported there through grass from a bird’s nest.

    Why is this useful to know?

    This discovery sheds light on the biodiversity and biogeography of thrips and many other groups of insects during a time when we know flowering plants that heavily relied on insect pollination were rapidly diversifying. This plant-insect reciprocal interaction goes back to the Devonian period, a time when there was a large super-continent called Gondwana. That’s when the first land plants evolved and dominated the Earth, and inadvertently led to many groups of insects, including thrips, diversifying to keep up with drastic changes in their preferred plant diets and habitats due to the dramatic environmental and climatic changes.



    Read more:
    Fossil insects help to reconstruct the past: how I ended up studying them (and you can too)

    The fossil find also contributes to a more accurate documentation of life on Earth during the Cretaceous and helps scientists in reconstructing the past environment and climate in Botswana.

    Hopefully there are more fossil insects waiting to be discovered in Botswana and elsewhere in Africa, to keep improving our picture of this long-ago world, and preserve the heritage of our continent.

    Sandiso Mnguni receives funding from the GENUS: DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences (Grant 86073). He is affiliated with the Agricultural Research Council Plant Health and Protection (ARC-PHP) and the Sophumelela Youth Development Programme (SYDP).

    – ref. The first fossil thrips in Africa: this tiny insect pest met its end in a volcanic lake 90 million years ago – https://theconversation.com/the-first-fossil-thrips-in-africa-this-tiny-insect-pest-met-its-end-in-a-volcanic-lake-90-million-years-ago-249077

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Who owns digital data about you? South African legal scholar weighs up property and privacy rights

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Donrich Thaldar, Professor, University of KwaZulu-Natal

    alexsl

    In the digital economy, data is more than just information – it is an asset with immense economic and strategic value. Yet, despite its significance, a fundamental legal question remains unresolved: Can data be owned? While privacy laws worldwide focus on protecting individuals’ rights over their personal data, they often sidestep the issue of ownership. This has led to legal uncertainty, particularly in South Africa, where the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia) grants data subjects various rights over their personal information but does not explicitly address ownership.

    This gap in legal clarity raises pressing questions: If personal data – such as private health information – exists within a vast and ever-growing digital landscape, can it be owned? And if so, who holds the rightful claim?

    Legal academic Donrich Thaldar, whose research focuses on data governance, explores these questions in a recent academic article. He unpacks his findings for The Conversation Africa.

    Why does it matter who owns data?

    In today’s digital economy, data is the most valuable asset – it’s often referred to as “the new oil”. Whether in commerce, research, or social interactions, the ability to generate, use and trade with data is central to economic competitiveness.

    If data ownership is not clearly established, it could stifle innovation and investment. Companies require legal certainty to operate effectively in a knowledge-driven economy.

    Countries have taken different legal approaches to tackling the question of who owns data. China, for instance, formally recognises the proprietary rights of data generators, meaning that businesses and individuals who generate data have legally defined rights over its use and commercialisation. This provides legal support for the country’s digital industries.

    What does South African law say?

    In the past, the South African Information Regulator has taken the position that personal information is automatically owned by the data subject – the person to whom the data relates – rather than by the entity generating the data. In this view, the rights created by Popia imply that data subjects themselves are the owners of their personal data, and nobody else.

    I suggest that this stance is legally flawed, as it conflates two different branches of the law: privacy law and property law. Moreover, it could severely disrupt the digital economy. The digital economy depends on data as a tradeable asset – it must be capable of being sold, licensed and commercialised like any other economic object. If ownership must always be with data subjects, businesses face uncertainty in using and monetising data. Uncertainty stifles innovation, discourages investment, and undermines South Africa’s digital competitiveness.

    You applied property law to the question of data ownership. Why?

    Ownership is a concept in property law, not privacy law. Therefore, to answer the data ownership question, we need to look for answers in property law.

    Property law governs the relationship between subjects (legal persons) and objects (things external to the body, whether physical or not). Ownership is about the rights that a subject has over an object. For an object to be capable of being owned, it must be valuable, useful, and – importantly – capable of human control. A bottle of water meets these criteria, but the vast oceans do not, as they are not within human control.

    Personal data in the abstract is like the water in the ocean – vast, uncontained, and beyond individual control. However, a digital instance of personal data, such as a computer file, is more like a bottled version of that water – defined and subject to human control. Just like digital money and other valuable digital assets, a specific instance of personal data meets all the requirements under South African common law for private ownership. Thus, in this sense personal data can be owned.

    Is the data owner not the data subject?

    At first glance this might seem so, but no, not necessarily. The reason that it might seem so, is because some of the privacy rights created by Popia resemble ownership rights. For example, an owner’s agreement is required before someone else can use the owned object (e.g., loan for use and rent). Similarly, a data subject’s consent is in most cases required before personal data can be processed. Furthermore, the owner of a thing has the right to destroy it; similarly, a data subject typically has the right to have personal data deleted.

    Do these privacy rights mean that data subjects actually own their personal data? I suggest not. Wearing a feather in one’s hat does not make one a bird. In the same way, privacy rights that resemble ownership rights do not mean that they constitute ownership. Ownership is acquired by following the rules of property law.

    So who owns the data?

    Because a newly created personal data instance has no antecedent legal object – in other words, it is not created out of another legal object – it initially belongs to no one. It is res nullius. Ownership of res nullius is acquired through appropriation, which requires two elements: control and the intention to own.

    This means that the entity generating the data, such as a company or university collecting and recording it, is best positioned to acquire ownership. Since it already has control over the data, the only remaining requirement is simply the intention to be the owner.

    If an entity like a university generates data and intends to own it, then – provided it is in control of that data – it will legally become the owner. This in principle allows the entity to use, license and trade the data as an economic asset. Indeed, it is prudent for data-generating entities, such as universities, to explicitly assert ownership over the data they produce. This not only establishes their legal rights with clarity but also serves as a safeguard against unauthorised access and misuse by malicious actors.

    Doesn’t this compromise data privacy?

    No, it should not. Ownership is always limited by other legal rules. For example, while I might own a car, I cannot drive it in any way I like – I must obey the rules of the road. Similarly, ownership of personal data is subject to strict limitations, particularly the privacy rights of data subjects under Popia.

    However, it is also important to understand that privacy rights apply only to personal data. If personal data is de-identified, meaning that it can no longer be linked to the data subjects, privacy rights cease to apply. What remains are the ownership rights in the data itself. It can be a fully tradeable asset.

    Recognising that a digital instance of personal data can be owned – and that the rightful owner is typically the data generator – does not undermine the privacy protections of Popia. Rather, it clarifies the legal landscape, ensuring that the rights of both data subjects and data generators are recognised and protected.

    Donrich Thaldar receives funding from the NIH.

    – ref. Who owns digital data about you? South African legal scholar weighs up property and privacy rights – https://theconversation.com/who-owns-digital-data-about-you-south-african-legal-scholar-weighs-up-property-and-privacy-rights-249741

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Television interview – Sunday Agenda, Sky News

    Source: Minister for Trade

    Andrew Clennell: The Trade Minister, Don Farrell, joins me now from Adelaide. Don Farrell, thanks for your time. You’re due to talk to the US Trade Ambassador tomorrow.

    Minister for Trade: Pleased to be with you.

    Andrew Clennell: And you spoke at two o’clock Friday morning to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. How did your chat with Mr Lutnick go and what are you hoping to achieve with Mr Greer?

    Minister for Trade: Look, Andrew, I did speak with Commerce Secretary Lutnick. That’s the second contact we’ve had with one another since he just recently was appointed to that position. I obviously expressed my disappointment that we had not been able to reach an agreement over the suspension of tariffs on steel and aluminium. But I did say that there’s obviously a further review, and you’ve talked about some of the issues that potentially arise, that the U.S. Government is undertaking by the early part of April. I indicated to him that we want to continue to talk with them. I find that discussion is the best way to resolve these issues. Not retaliatory tariffs, but discussion. What we need to do, Andrew, is find out what it is that the Americans want in terms of this relationship between Australia and the United States and then make President Trump an offer he can’t refuse.

    Andrew Clennell: And did Howard Lutnick give you any indication of what they might be after? Because obviously you offered them some form of critical minerals deal. Did he give any, any ray of light you had a chance? I mean, I think you’ve said that President Trump allowed Australia or the Prime Minister to believe there was a chance when there wasn’t. Has he given you any suggestion there’s a chance, or was he holding the line and saying, look, this is our America First policy, that’s it.

    Minister for Trade: Look, it wasn’t a pessimistic conversation, I’m pleased to say, Andrew. but look, he gave, you know, no assurances about what might happen in the next round of negotiations. Our job is to sit down and continue to talk. I think the important thing here to understand, Andrew, is that when President Trump, in his first iteration, gave Australia an exemption to Prime Minister Turnbull, it was one of over 30 exemptions that the United States gave to a range of countries around the world. So, more than 30 countries, including most of our competitors in the American market, were able to get an exemption. On this occasion, not one country, not one country got an exemption on either steel or aluminium. Now, that’s obviously, we think that’s bad news. We think it’s bad news, obviously, for the companies that trade in Australia with the United States. It’s also bad news for the Americans because what that has done is simply pushed up the price of steel and aluminium in the US market and that has to have an impact both on, on inflation and on jobs. So, part of my job is to continue to put the arguments to the Americans that in fact, this is the wrong policy to adopt. We should actually be doing the opposite. We should be making more free trade, more fair trade, rather than less trade.

    And of course, one of the things that we’ve done in government is diversify our trading relationship. So, we have new agreements with the United Kingdom, we’ve got new agreements with India. I think we’re just about to get another offer from the Indians to even expand our trading relationship with India. We’ve signed a new agreement with the United Arab Emirates. This is like dealing with the Woolies warehouse of the Middle East. If you can get your products into the United Arab Emirates, then you can get it all around the Middle East. On Tuesday night, I spoke with my Korean counterpart, Mr. Ahn, and we’ve got identical problems with the United States. Of course, they sell a lot more steel into the United States than we do. But we are talking about how we can expand our relationship with Korea so that we can sell more product into Korea.

    So, it’s a two-pronged approach. Andrew, we are continuing the discussions with the United States. We’ll continue to discuss. We’re not going down the track of some countries in applying retaliatory tariffs. I don’t think that will work, it hasn’t worked for any other country, why would it work for us? We want to explain our position and we want to get those exemptions for Australian companies because it’s good for prosperity in the United States, but it’s also good for prosperity in Australia.

    Andrew Clennell: Well, I think you’ve got Buckley’s chance of arguing free and fair trade to the Trump administration, to be frank Minister, but what’s the worst-case scenario here? What’s the worst-case scenario? $30 billion, our exports to the U.S. Could we lose it all?

    Minister for Trade: Look, I don’t believe so, Andrew. And just on that first point you made, Buckley’s chance. When I came to this job three years ago, we had $20 billion worth of trade bans in China. People told me, look, you will never, never, ever get that trade back. At the end of last year, the last of the products that had been subject to those trade impediments, namely crayfish, we got back into China. And since then, in the first month of that new trade, we got $188 million of crayfish sold into China. You can reverse these decisions, Andrew, so, don’t give up on us just yet. You can get countries to realise. You can get countries if you keep talking to them and you keep making your arguments, which is exactly what I intend to do. If you keep making your arguments, you can in fact convince countries that the policies that they are adopting are in fact counterproductive, just as they were with China.

    Andrew Clennell: Okay, but what’s the worst-case scenario? What’s the worst-case scenario here?

    Minister for Trade: Look, I wish I could tell you exactly what the American Government is finally going to do. To be honest with you, I suspect they don’t even know themselves right now. They’re conducting this review. They’re conducting the review in respect of every single trade agreement they have. It’s not just Australia, it’s every country. And my job in the discussions that go on in this coming week and in the weeks ahead is to get the best result for Australian producers, and that’s what I intend to do. And it’ll only be by reaching out, by having discussions, by putting our point of view that we’re going to get an acceptable outcome here.

    Andrew Clennell: In any of these discussions, do you talk about the prospect of a phone call between Prime Minister Albanese and President Trump?

    Minister for Trade: Oh, that’s way above my pay grade, I’m afraid, Andrew.

    Andrew Clennell: Is it though? Kevin Rudd asks.

    Minister for Trade: Well, he’s the ambassador, of course he asks, and that’s the job of the ambassador to do that representation on behalf of the Australian Prime Minister.

    Andrew Clennell: How many times has he asked, do you know?

    Minister for Trade: No, I don’t know the answer to that question, Andrew. But you know, we were amongst the first countries to ring President Trump when he was elected and congratulated him. The Prime Minister did that. And we of course got a second phone call with him to express our concerns about the direction that he was taking in respect of tariffs.

    To the best of my knowledge, we were the only country in the world where he said, I’m going to give some consideration to not applying these tariffs to you. Now, I know we didn’t get the exemption in the end, but we were the only country that at least got him to say, look, we’re going to give some consideration to this. Ultimately, the consideration was that they would not do it.

    As I’ve said on Sky previously, the people around President Trump, particularly Mr. Navarro, I think, were determined that they weren’t going to go down the track that they went down last time. So, I mentioned before over 30 countries got exemptions for steel and aluminium. They were determined, the people around President Trump were determined not to go down that track again. They were going to apply the tariffs, the 25 per cent tariffs, and no country was going to get an exemption. But look, we will continue to talk. As I said, I’ve spoken to Commerce Secretary Lutnick on Friday morning, tomorrow US time, so, Tuesday morning, I think 7:30, I’m going to have my conversation with Jamieson Greer. We’re going to work out firstly what it is that the Americans want out of this arrangement, because it’s still not clear to me what it is that they are seeking. But once we find that out, we’ll work through this issue and we’ll work through it in Australia’s national interest.

    Andrew Clennell: Why haven’t you been to the US, yourself?

    Minister for Trade: Look, can I say this, Andrew, modern communications these days, a telephone call, a video conference, which is what I’ll be doing with Jamieson Greer, Ambassador Greer, on Tuesday, we’re getting our message across. After that first conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Albanese, we embarked on a course of action which was determined in consultation with the officials in the United States about how best to progress our concerns about the introduction or the reintroduction of tariffs. We followed that. We followed that course of action and we followed it until last Wednesday when it became clear that the Americans were not going to give us an exemption. So, we had a plan. We had a plan for how we deal with this issue. We were hopeful, certainly based on early discussions, that we would get a successful result here. In the event that that didn’t happen. But we’re not giving up. We’re continuing the talks. And in fact, in lots of ways, the talks will be beefed up in the weeks and the months ahead as we try and resolve all of these issues, but these are not easy issues, Andrew.

    Andrew Clennell: No, they’re not. But Peter Dutton says you haven’t got the relationships. He’s pointed the finger at Kevin Rudd. The suggestion is Albanese, the Prime Minister, was seen as too close to Joe Biden. Penny Wong found out from the media that this had occurred. What do you say to all that? I mean, his contention as we go into an election campaign is their government would have better luck with the US Administration. What do you say to that?

    Minister for Trade: Look, Peter Dutton couldn’t go two rounds with a revolving door Andrew. What happened? When we came to government, there were $20 billion worth of tariffs and trade impediments with the Chinese. If Peter Dutton’s so good at building relationships and solving problems, they didn’t get a cent, they didn’t get a cent or a single tariff removed in that previous three years in government. We got the best result or the best response of any country in the world. We got a consideration by the President to review these tariffs. Now ok, it didn’t ultimately result in us getting the tariffs removed and we accept that. We accept that situation. I’d ask your listeners, who do you think is going to be better to negotiate with the United States? Somebody with a proven record of getting results or somebody, when they had the opportunity to get some results, did nothing. Did nothing. They did nothing.

    Andrew Clennell: What would a tariff do to the beef industry?

    Minister for Trade: It would certainly have a clearly a negative impact. The United States I think is, if it’s not the largest export market for our beef industry, it would have a significant impact. We are expanding our beef exports, our beef exports right now thanks to the Albanese Labor Government, are the best that they’ve ever been. We’re exporting more beef than we ever have. The significance, of course to the United States about our beef exports is that most of it goes into McDonald’s hamburgers. And if you push up the price of those beef exports by 25 per cent or 10 per cent or whatever the figure is, then you simply push up the price of hamburgers in the United States. It doesn’t make any sense, Andrew. It doesn’t make any sense at all.

    Andrew Clennell: Sure.

    Minister for Trade: You want to be pushing prices down. You don’t want to be pushing them up.

    Andrew Clennell: Indeed. There’s also speculation the trade war could harm the PBS somehow and cause pharmaceutical prices to go up. How would that occur and what do you make of that speculation?

    Minister for Trade: Well, it simply is speculation. That’s all it is, Andrew. I’ve not heard one comment from any person in the United States that refers to the PBS. We’ve got a terrific health system. We’re continuing to improve all the time. Minister Butler is always coming up with new ideas to improve our health system. The PBS is an essential part of our health system and there will be absolutely nothing that the Americans can do to impact on our health system or the PBS system. And we certainly, we certainly would not contemplate doing anything at any stage that makes our health system more expensive. We want to put downward pressure on the cost of health and we’re going to continue to do that, especially if we get re-elected in a few weeks’ time.

    Andrew Clennell: It’s been reported the deal that Australia put on the table was access to our critical minerals like lithium, manganese, what’s the nature of that deal? Presumably America would still have to pay for the minerals. Would they get the minerals at a cheaper rate? Would they have the first right of refusal on the minerals? What are the minerals to be used for? Making mobile phones, electric cars and the like?

    Minister for Trade: Yeah, look, Australia is very fortunate in the sense that we have either the largest or the second largest reserves of all critical minerals and rare earths in the world. Now, critical minerals are different from other minerals. If you go up to the Pilbara, you can see iron ore as far as the eye can see, Andrew. Critical minerals tend to be in much smaller deposits and they’re much deeper down. Two things about that. They are more expensive to extract and they take longer to dig out of the ground and they don’t last as long so you’ve got to keep finding new resources. What this means for what we were proposing to the Americans was continued and improved investment in getting access to those critical minerals. We’ve got some of the most sophisticated miners in Australia, Andrew. We’ve got a very sophisticated mining operation here, much more sophisticated than the Americans. But the thing we often don’t have is access to capital. So, the offer to the Americans was, look, we’ll work with you. You want these critical minerals, you want them for electric batteries in cars, you’ve mentioned some of the other things, mobile phones, all of these sorts of things. But the process of extraction is expensive, we need capital. We want to work with other countries. We want to particularly work, for instance, with the Europeans. We’ve made them some offers in this regard. It’s not about cheaper prices, it’s not about preferred access. It’s about ensuring that they’ve got a reliable supply chain to ensure that when they need these critical minerals, you’ve got a reliable country like Australia who can provide them.

    Andrew Clennell: So, would that be Australian money or American money? When you talk about increased investment –

    Minister for Trade: Both. Both.

    Andrew Clennell: Okay. So, an Australian financial offer was put on the table?

    Minister for Trade: No, it wasn’t a financial offer in that sense. It was a way forward to try and get support both in Australia and in the United States for extracting these critical minerals. So, if we’re going to go down the track of decarbonising our economies, this is the way we need to go. But it’s going to require investment, significant investment. The Australian Government is already making significant investments in this area. But to get to where we want to get to in terms of that net zero project, then we need more investment and – 

    Andrew Clennell: Do you see the hand of Elon Musk? Do you see the hand of Elon Musk in any of this? The keenness of the Americans for these critical minerals.

    Minister for Trade: Well, look, they didn’t accept our offer. So, if Mr Musk was involved in this, then he doesn’t appear to have influenced the result, if that was what he was after. To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Musk was not involved in any of these discussions that I –

    Andrew Clennell: All right, no worries. We’re nearly out of time. Overnight, the PM reiterated in a meeting with European leaders he would consider sending peacekeepers to Ukraine if there was peace. That’ll be controversial with a lot of Australians because it’s not our region. We know Peter Dutton doesn’t support this. Is the PM trying to muscle up here after Peter Dutton has continually called him weak? What’s the motivation to get involved in this conflict?

    Minister for Trade: Andrew, for the last 80 years, in other words, since the end of World War II, Australia has been involved in peacekeeping missions all the way around the world. We’ve come out right from day one, Prime Minister Albanese has been very clear and very strong on this, we support Ukraine. Ukraine’s fight for democracy. Ukraine’s fight for its sovereignty is Australia’s fight. It’s Australia’s fight. We’ve made significant financial contributions to Ukraine to ensure that they can defend themselves from this illegal and immoral monster, Putin, and we’ll continue to do that. And if Prime Minister Starmer says, look, will you contribute to peacekeeping? I think that’s the right thing to do. Look, it’s not all about popularity and so forth, but it’s the right thing to do. We want to see peace around the world. The best thing that Australia can do in terms of any international relationship is to support peace. And if we can make a contribution to that peacekeeping effort, then I think we should. And I think Mr. Dutton is completely on the wrong track here. Australians support the Ukrainian fight. I was on the steps of Parliament House just a couple of weeks ago with Premier Malinauskas. His background is Lithuanian. He knows exactly what happens if you don’t stand up to bullies like Putin. It’s in our interest to defend democracy in Ukraine. It’s in our interest to be part of a peacekeeping force when there’s peace.

    Andrew Clennell: Finally, and briefly, there was something of a blow to the government late last week with the default market offer out, that Australians face price rises of up to 10 per cent on their power bills. Will the government’s electricity subsidy be extended and increased in the budget?

    Minister for Trade: Well, you know the answer to that question, Andrew. You’ll have to ask the Treasurer, and you’ve only got a few more sleeps to find out what’s going to be in the next budget.

    Andrew Clennell: Well, I might ask him on the show next week. Thanks very much, Don Farrell.

    Minister for Trade: Nice talking with you Andrew. 

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI China: African youth urged to leverage AfCFTA to access market, economic opportunities

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    African youth have been urged to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to tap into broader continental market and economic opportunities.

    Experts and policymakers made the call on Saturday during a continental youth-themed meeting organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) under the theme of “Making the African Continental Free Trade Area work for African young people: opportunities, challenges and the way forward,” at the UN Conference Center in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

    Addressing the meeting, Executive Secretary of the UNECA Claver Gatete emphasized that the effective implementation of the continental free trade pact requires concerted efforts toward empowering Africa’s youth as the continent’s future, with 60 percent of Africa’s population under the age of 25.

    “We are in a situation where we are facing very serious challenges, and these challenges will continue and will be carried forward by you as young people. That is why empowering the young people becomes very important,” Gatete told African youth.

    The UNECA chief emphasized that in the face of a rapidly changing world, the African continent needs to urgently address socio-economic development challenges. He stressed the need to meaningfully engage the youth in key decision-making and development initiatives as a sustainable approach to addressing the challenges.

    “We are facing big challenges, where poverty levels are still very high as 476 million Africans are poor, 600 million Africans do not have electricity, and only 37 percent of Africans have access to the internet. This is not a good situation,” Gatete said.

    Highlighting the AfCFTA’s critical role in unlocking economic opportunities while also augmenting job creation, he urged African youth to harness the opportunities presented through the growing intra-African trade anchored by the AfCFTA.

    Experts, policymakers, and youth representatives at the meeting underscored that growth must create decent work, social inclusion, and poverty reduction, in which the AfCFTA injects the much-needed impetus.

    Ethiopian State Minister for Youth Affairs Muna Ahmed underscored that as Africa strives for the AfCFTA’s success, the continent needs to place the major aspirations and challenges of its burgeoning youth central to the free trade pact’s implementation process.

    “The AfCFTA presents a historic opportunity to unlock the immense potential of Africa’s young people by expanding access to markets, fostering innovation, and creating sustainable employment opportunities,” the state minister said.

    According to the AfCFTA Secretariat, trading under the AfCFTA has gained momentum, as 48 African countries have deposited their instruments of ratification to the African Union (AU).

    The AfCFTA envisaged transforming Africa into the world’s largest free trade area. When fully implemented, it is expected to create a single market for goods and services for about 1.4 billion people across Africa, with a combined gross domestic product of 3.4 trillion U.S. dollars, according to the AU.

    The meeting, which was held on the margins of the 57th session of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, explored opportunities for African youth to leverage in the implementation of the AfCFTA. The meeting also deliberated on the development challenges affecting young Africans.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: HK reaches for the Moon

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    The beauty and mystery of the Moon have captivated the human imagination for millennia. Channelling that fascination into scientific discovery, China launched its lunar exploration programme in 2004.

    Chang’E-8, part of the programme’s fourth phase, is scheduled to be launched around 2028 to lay the groundwork for the construction of a China-led international lunar research station.

    The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST) has been appointed by the China National Space Administration to lead an international collaboration project under Chang’E-8 and develop a multifunctional lunar surface robot for scientific exploration.

    Multifunctional role

    HKUST Space Science & Technology Institute Director Prof Yu Hongyu explained that the robot is equipped with dual robotic arms and  is capable of deploying and installing instruments, collecting lunar surface samples and more.

    After the Chang’E-8 probe lands, the robot will need to retrieve other probes or sensors from it and move them to their designated locations.

    “Precise control of the robotic arms is a challenging task. The process requires avoiding collisions with other instruments and positional accuracy.”

    The Moon’s extreme temperatures and lack of satellite navigation systems pose additional challenges, so the robot is designed to perceive the topography of the Moon, plan and change its paths accordingly.

    “In response to the Moon’s low-gravity and harsh environmental conditions, we are developing a software to ensure that the robot can autonomously adapt its posture and functions based on the environmental changes,” Prof Yu added.

    Another key feature of the robot is its ability to serve as a mobile charging station to charge various lunar surface equipment.

    “In the future International Lunar Research Station, there will be several robots and instruments working collaboratively. They require a stable energy supply. Our robot, fitted with solar panels, can provide wireless charging capabilities,” Prof Yu  elaborated.

    Lunar linkup

    To complete the international collaboration project, the Government has established the Hong Kong Space Robotics & Energy Centre under the InnoHK Research Clusters.

    Led by HKUST, the centre brings together researchers from the local and mainland universities, the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology as well as the South African National Space Agency.

    The Innovation & Technology Commission estimates that the centre will provide training for around 20 PhD students and employ over 70 researchers in related fields. It aims to build Hong Kong’s aerospace technology capabilities, driving innovation from concept, research, production, testing to system integration.

    As aerospace technology is a multidisciplinary field, the centre will not only enhance Hong Kong’s aerospace research and engineering capabilities, but also generate industry impact for sectors such as engineering, microelectronics, artificial intelligence, computing and communications, promoting their development.

    Strong support

    Noting that Hong Kong has a solid foundation in basic research and development (R&D), Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Prof Sun Dong said the Government strongly backs local universities and research institutions in conducting aerospace technology-related research and supporting the country to become the world’s leading spacefaring nation.

    He noted that the centre will capitalise on Hong Kong’s distinct advantages under “one country, two systems”, enhancing the city’s R&D capabilities and international scientific reputation.

    “In recent years, China has achieved remarkable accomplishments in the field of deep space exploration. The level of deep space exploration capability is an important indicator of a country’s scientific and technological strength.

    “Through deeply engaging in national space missions and strengthening international scientific and technological co-operation, the centre will facilitate the transformation and application of cutting-edge technologies related to aerospace, significantly enhance Hong Kong’s global competitiveness in the aerospace field and propel its advancement as an international innovation and technology centre.”

    Prof Sun also pointed out that the Government has started to establish the third InnoHK research cluster focusing on advanced manufacturing, materials, energy and sustainable development.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: INS IMPHAL COMPLETES VISIT TO PORT LOUIS FOR NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATIONS

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 15 MAR 2025 7:04PM by PIB Delhi

    INS Imphal completed her port visit to Mauritius and left Port Louis on 14 Mar 25. The ship was at Mauritius to participate in the 57th Mauritius National Day celebrations, representing India with a marching contingent, the Indian Navy band and flypast by two MH 60R helicopters. Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister was the Chief Guest at the spectacular parade. 

    During the port visit, the ship also held several professional interactions, cultural engagements, sports fixtures and community outreach activities to further strengthen the robust bonds between the two countries.

    Training capsules were conducted onboard the ship for Mauritius National Coast Guard (NCG) personnel on practical aspects of harbour and sea watchkeeping, VBSS (Visit, Board, Search and Seizure), force protection, shipborne helicopter operations, firefighting and damage control.

    A medical camp for the elderly at Gayasingh Ashram was also conducted by the ship’s crew.

    The ship was opened to the public on 12 March on the occasion of Mauritius National Day and saw over 1,300 visitors.

    The ship’s crew visited key security establishments at Port Louis, including the Mauritius Police and NCG Headquarters.

    Capt Kamal K Choudhury, the ship’s Commanding Officer, called on key dignitaries and high-ranking officials of the Mauritius Government and Mauritius Police Force (MPF).

    The ship hosted a deck reception along with the High Commission of India, that was attended by senior ministers and officials from Mauritius and members of local diplomatic corps.

    After her departure from Port Louis, INS Imphal undertook a bilateral Passage Exercise and Joint EEZ surveillance with MCGS Victory, to consolidate the synergy and collaboration between the Indian Navy and the National Coast Guard of Mauritius.

    This landmark deployment of INS Imphal provided a renewed impetus to the robust bilateral ties between the two nations and reaffirmed India’s commitment to act swiftly as the ‘First Responder’ and the ‘Preferred Security Partner’ to address maritime challenges in the IOR.

    ******

    VM/SKS                                                                                                        58/25

    (Release ID: 2111518) Visitor Counter : 82

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: “I will not stop asking until I know the whereabouts of my husband”

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Itai Dzamara is a journalist and pro-democracy activist who was forcibly disappeared ten years ago on 9 March 2015 after he criticized the Zimbabwean government about the deteriorating economic conditions in the country. He has not been seen or heard from since and his fate and whereabouts remain unknown. Ten years on, Itai’s wife, Sheffra, has shared her story with Amnesty International

    Everyone knew Itai Dzamara as a journalist and pro-democracy activist who was forcibly disappeared on 9 March 2015 after he criticised the Zimbabwean government.

    Itai was my husband and best friend. He was a great father to our two children Nokutenda and Nenyasha. He was always there for us making sure that we are happy.

    Itai was amazing. He loved to eat sadza (staple food made from white corn) and fish, and would cook it for us on Sundays after church. He used to play soccer on weekends, and he was a big fan of Manchester United. Itai would always wear his Man U jersey whenever they played matches.

    My husband was a kind man. He had people at heart, and that is what led him to write a petition to Zimbabwe’s then-president Robert Mugabe on 17 October 2014, demanding he step down. Following this petition, police arrested Itai and fellow activists and interrogated them for eight hours at Harare Central police station. Itai was fighting for every Zimbabwean regardless of political parties.

    The man who stood against former President Mugabe

    The Constitution of Zimbabwe and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which the country is a state party guarantee the right to peaceful assembly. When Itai started these peaceful protests, the Zimbabwe Republic Police would beat and arrest him and his colleagues.

    Their group, Occupy Africa Unity Square, would hold peaceful protests at a public park opposite Zimbabwe’s parliament building. At one protest in November 2014, police beat Itai until he collapsed. Then they kept on beating him while he was unconscious. He was admitted for treatment for his injuries for two weeks.

    9 March 2015, the day Itai was abducted, was a normal day.

    He went to the barbershop at 9am wearing black shorts and his Manchester United jersey. Looking back at that morning, there are so many things I wish I had said to him. As I was preparing his breakfast for when he returned, my brother came running in, and told me that my husband was taken from the barbershop, by men driving a white Isuzu with no registration number.  

    When I heard this, fear engulfed me. I knew that it was an abduction. It was bad, I started shaking and crying. I did not know what to do or who to call, but I wanted to hear the facts directly from the people who witnessed the abduction. I took my daughter and put her on my back – she was two years old then – and went straight to the barbershop. When I arrived, I was still shaking. Even the barber and his colleague were shaking too as they told me what happened.

    “They told me the whole thing was like a movie.”

    It was very fast. Five men walked in and said they were looking for a cattle thief. While Itai was perplexed, the men grabbed him and said they were taking him to the police to be questioned. Itai has not  been seen since then.

    I walked back from the barber like a zombie. I felt the whole world falling down on me. My head was spinning. I was not myself; I was confused and did not know what to do. I was shattered. I wanted to scream and cry but when I looked at my daughter and son, I knew I had to control myself.

    I got home and changed my clothes, not realizing that I was wearing my skirt inside out. That’s how confused I was. I left my kids with my sister, and went with Itai’s brother Patson, and our lawyer to report the case to the police, who promised to investigate.

    When I returned home around 6pm, I was afraid to go through the gate thinking maybe the abductors would come back and abduct  us as well.  I had to be strong for my kids. I did not sleep that night. My heart was pounding so hard. At 4am, I left the house and went to the barbershop hoping, praying that maybe, they would have brought him back, but he was not there.

    The next day, my kids and I were taken to an organization where we stayed for a month for our safety. I lost weight from fasting and praying for my husband to be released from his abductors. I could not eat or sleep. My heart was always beating fast. I would cry at night so that my kids didn’t t see me.

    10 years later and everyone is still asking ‘where is Itai?’

    Life has not been the same since Itai was abducted. The last 10 years have been hard. I am reminded of him every time I look at my kids because both look like their dad. It hurts not to have Itai in my life and to see my kids missing him and growing up without a father who loved them so dearly. I don’t have any answers, but I feel blessed to have my two kids. When I look at them l feel God’s grace.

    The police never came back to give any update. As far as I know, they never even investigated the case. They were not interested in finding Itai. Even the Zimbabwe High Court order could not get the police find my husband or tell us what happened to him.

    As a family we did everything to get answers. For the past 10 years the government of Zimbabwe has ignored my requests and turned a blind eye to the demand for answers by everyone including friends, activists, civil society organizations, media and the international community.

    I will not stop asking until I know the fate and whereabouts of my husband.

    I wish for Itai to one day walk through the front door and hug me and the kids or to wake up to find that this was all a bad dream. If I must live without him, then I need answers, I need to know where he is.

    Amnesty International has made multiple recommendations to the government of Zimbabwe to uphold human rights and enable a safe environment for human rights defenders, activists and civil society to do their work without fear of reprisals. In the past decade, Amnesty International has campaigned and called for an independent  commission of inquiry to thoroughly, impartially, transparently and effectively  investigate the alleged enforced disappearance of Itai Dzamara, establish his fate or whereabouts and bring to justice those suspected of criminal responsibility in fair trials.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Text adopted – Severe political, humanitarian and human rights crisis in Sudan, in particular the sexual violence and child rape – P10_TA(2025)0037 – Thursday, 13 March 2025 – Strasbourg

    Source: European Parliament

    The European Parliament,

    –  having regard to its previous resolutions on Sudan,

    –  having regard to Rules 150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

    A.  whereas the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has continued since April 2023, with both parties fighting for control of Sudan and its resources;

    B.  whereas the conflict has forcibly displaced 13 million people; whereas nearly two thirds of Sudan’s population, including 16 million children, is in dire need of humanitarian assistance, while the healthcare system has largely collapsed; whereas humanitarian aid is being obstructed, exacerbating food insecurity, malnutrition and the spread of disease;

    C.  whereas UNICEF reports that rape as a weapon of war has become shockingly commonplace, with children particularly at risk, and that approximately 12,1 million people are at risk of gender-based violence, including rape and forced marriage; whereas since the beginning of 2024, 221 cases of child rape have been reported;

    1.  Calls on all parties to immediately cease hostilities, seek a negotiated solution and fulfil their Jeddah Declaration commitments;

    2.  Underlines the urgent need for equitable access to humanitarian relief for civilians; calls on all parties to ensure safe, timely and unhindered access to humanitarian actors, including the World Food Programme;

    3.  Strongly condemns the indiscriminate attacks on civilians and widespread sexual violence against women and children committed by both the SAF and RSF; urges all parties to stop these horrendous acts and war crimes, including child rape; emphasises the need for supports for survivors, including healthcare, treatment and psychosocial support, and sexual and reproductive healthcare services; demands that the perpetrators are held accountable;

    4.  Urges Sudanese authorities and all warring factions to respect international humanitarian law and cease recruiting and using child soldiers;

    5.  Urges the Council to adopt targeted measures and sanctions on entities and commanders responsible for serious human rights violations, including Abdel Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo and Abu Aqla Keikel;

    6.  Urges the Council and the Commission to take action against all actors violating the UN arms embargo on Darfur, and to support its expansion to cover all of Sudan;

    7.  Urges the EU and its Member States to support the International Criminal Court’s investigation into genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, and to support the work of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan, including its full access to the country; encourages the UN, the African Union and other regional organisations to support the deployment of a robust mission to protect civilians, monitor human rights and investigate sexual violence;

    8.  Calls for the EU and its Member States to increase humanitarian aid to Sudan and neighbouring countries, fund supports for survivors of sexual violence, and continue funding local resilience and protection programmes, ensuring women’s and children’s rights and gender equality;

    9.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the VP/HR, the Sudanese authorities, the African Union, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Pan-African Parliament.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Several charged in firearms conspiracy linked to weapons at Canadian border

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    HOUSTON – Seven people have been arrested following the return of a nine-count indictment in a conspiracy to provide false information to federal firearms licensed dealers, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

    Authorities have now taken the final man charged into custody in Chicago. Gemale Sheali, 23, Houston, is expected to make his initial appearance there and will then be ordered to appear for his arraignment in Houston in the near future. 

    The other six – Eddylson Patino, 23, a Mexican citizen illegally residing in Houston, Mozambique citizen Muhammad Dagha, 22, who also illegally resided in Houston, and Abuelgasim Siddig, 23, Omar Farooq, 24, Erik Aguirre, 23, and Andres Ferman, 24, all of Houston – were previously taken into custody and made appearances in federal court.

    According to the charges, the investigation began following the discovery of 68 firearms, including a suppressor, firearm magazines and ammunition, in Neche, North Dakota, along the Canadian border. The indictment alleges some of the Houston-area conspirators had purchased some of the recovered firearms. Further investigation allegedly revealed the conspirators had been acquiring the weapons on behalf of the conspiracy by providing false information to federal firearms licensed dealers. 

    According to the indictment, beginning around 2024, the conspirators acquired firearms by providing false information as to being the actual purchaser to federal firearms licensed dealers. The investigation allegedly linked two guns, respectively recovered in Mexico and Canada, to the conspiracy.

    It is alleged that Patino was responsible for obtaining firearms for later exportation out of the United States, while Dagha recruited conspirators to purchase them on behalf of Patino. Both are charged with conspiracy and aiding and abetting providing false information to federal firearms licensed dealers.

    Siddig, Farooq, Aguirre, Sheali and Ferman are all charged with conspiracy, and providing false information to a federal firearms licensed dealers during the acquisition of firearms

    All seven face up to five years in federal prison on each count as charged and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

    The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Houston and Fargo, North Dakota, and Border Patrol conducted the investigation with the assistance of Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations, Canadian law enforcement and the Houston Police Department. 

    Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Smith is prosecuting the case with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Lee of the District of North Dakota. 

    An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: BW Energy: Issuance of shares

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Issuance of shares

    Reference is made to the stock exchange announcement published earlier today by BW Energy Limited (“BW Energy” or the “Company”) regarding the settlement of RSUs by issuance of shares in the Company in order to settle RSUs under BW Energy’s Long Term Incentive Program (LTIP).

    Following the issuance of shares, there are 258,066,021 issued shares in the Company, each with a nominal value of USD 0.01, all of which have been validly and legally issued and fully paid.

    For further information, please contact:

    Brice Morlot, CFO BW Energy, ir@bwenergy.no

    About BW Energy:
    BW Energy is a growth E&P company with a differentiated strategy targeting proven offshore oil and gas reservoirs through low risk phased developments. The Company has access to existing production facilities to reduce time to first oil and cashflow with lower investments than traditional offshore developments. The Company’s assets are 73.5% of the producing Dussafu Marine licence offshore Gabon, 100% interest in the Golfinho and Camarupim fields, a 76.5% interest in the BM-ES-23 block, a 95% interest in the Maromba field in Brazil, and a 95% interest in the Kudu field in Namibia, all operated by BW Energy. In addition, BW Energy holds approximately 6.6% of the common shares in Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd. and a 20% non-operating interest in the onshore Petroleum Exploration License 73 (“PEL 73”) in Namibia. Total net 2P+2C reserves and resources were 580 million barrels of oil equivalent at the start of 2024.

    This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Ongoing medical needs amid relentless attacks in eastern Ukraine

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    In eastern Ukraine, Dobropillia, Donetsk oblast (region) — less than 20 kilometres from the frontline — has recently faced some of the worst shelling since the escalation of the war in 2022. As attacks continue, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are working to ensure urgent medical care is available to those caught in the violence.

    “We hear heartbreaking stories from our patients,” says Oleksandr Makarevych, MSF Emergency Manager in Ukraine. “People tell us how they ran out of burning houses. Some were trapped inside their flats as the fire spread and couldn’t escape. One woman told us that her neighbours died in the bathroom, where they tried to hide during the attack.”

    A former city of refuge now faces frequent attacks 

    Dobropillia, a city of miners and farmers, was once home to almost 40,000 people. Now, only 20,000 people remain, despite the growing danger. Because of its location, war-wounded and vulnerable people from nearby towns — including Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, and Kostiantynivka — were evacuated to Dobropillia for emergency medical care. However, now the city is under constant threat. 

    “People are living under permanent stress,” says Thomas Marchese, MSF Programme Director in Ukraine. “Missile attacks have become more frequent. When sirens go off, people have only seconds to reach shelters — and many elderly people, people with disabilities, or families with children cannot make it in time.” 

    “Even in basements, they are not completely safe. If a building collapses, people could be trapped under rubble,” says Marchese. “For the past three years of full-scale war, we’ve witnessed these devastating consequences repeatedly — in Donetsk region, Sumy, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia.”

    MSF assisting in medical evacuations

    Since 2022, MSF ambulances have been working closely with Dobropillia’s hospital, helping to transport patients to safer facilities further from the frontlines. Following the massive attack at the beginning of March, which killed 11 people and injured at least 50, MSF ambulance teams referred 25 patients from Dobropillia to hospitals in Dnipro, five of whom were in critical condition. 

    Building destroyed by shelling in Donetsk region.
    MSF

    Among those evacuated was a woman suffering severe burns to her face and eyes, along with blast injuries and head trauma. She and her husband had briefly left Dobropillia to stay with relatives in Dnipro but returned home to collect belongings — when shelling began.

    “There were so many wounded that even the hospital corridors were filled with patients,” says Serhii Tkachenko, MSF feldsher. “[The patient’s] oxygen levels were dangerously low, so we transported her with oxygen support.” 

    Another patient was a young man with an open fracture to his leg, as well as blast injuries, head, and chest trauma. 

    “He ran to help others after the first explosion but was injured when more shells landed,” says Dr Hennadii Kyslytsia, an MSF doctor. “We managed his pain and monitored his vital signs during the referral.”

    Even if the war ends tomorrow, enormous needs will remain 

    What our teams see in Dobropillia is alarming: burned-out apartment blocks, scorched land, and desperate shortages of essential medicines and services. Local authorities continue to call on residents to evacuate. The nearest transit centre for displaced people is in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk oblast, where MSF mobile clinics also operate.

    “Sometimes, patients arrive with severe injuries that were left untreated for two or three days,” says Marchese. “By the time they get to us, their condition is critical.”

    MSF teams will continue to provide emergency care, evacuate the war-wounded, and support hospitals near the frontline. Even if the war ends tomorrow, the humanitarian and medical needs in Ukraine — especially in conflict areas — will remain enormous. People will need housing, access to medical care, and psychological support to recover from trauma and stress.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: CLG Workshop at Congo Energy & Investment Forum (CEIF) 2025 to Address Legal and Strategic Solutions in Congo

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    BRAZZAVILLE, Congo (Republic of the), March 14, 2025/APO Group/ —

    The inaugural Congo Energy & Investment Forum (CEIF), taking place from March 24-26 in Brazzaville, will feature a workshop led by legal firm CLG (formerly Centurion Law Group) that aims to address the unique challenges faced in Congo’s energy investment sector. As part of a strategy to spur energy investment and socioeconomic development, the Republic of Congo has initiated a number of strategies to drive resource monetization, project development and local capacity building.

    As such, the Mastering Business in Congo: Legal Challenges and Strategic Solutions for Success session will take place on 24 March, offering an understanding of the legal structures underpinning corporate law, taxation, immigration, labor law and regulatory compliance. During the session, a panel of legal experts from CLG will delve into all aspects of growing investments in the African energy sector, offering insights into the legal nuances that can directly influence investments decisions. 

    Set to showcase how Congo’s investment landscape can accelerate monetization of the country’s natural resources, CLG’s experience in the African market has the potential to empower businesses with effective management skills and knowledge for participating in Congo’s energy sector. The country is set to release its Gas Master Plan (https://apo-opa.co/3DF5fSI) and new Gas Code (https://apo-opa.co/3Fsijey) at CEIF 2025, with a promise to reducing energy imports in the country and raising electricity access for its population, which currently stands at 50%.

    Meanwhile, Congo is also preparing to launch an international oil and gas licensing round (https://apo-opa.co/4bu0dF8) at CEIF 2025, aiming to attract investment in both marginal and deepwater blocks. This initiative is part of the country’s strategy to increase oil production from the current 274,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 500,000 bpd by 2027. These major developments align with Congo’s broader national goals to mitigate production declines and stimulate further exploration on- and offshore. are expected to usher in a new wave of investment in sub-Saharan Africa’s fourth largest oil producing market.

    The Mastering Business in Congo: Legal Challenges and Strategic Solutions for Success will offer attendees the opportunity to master the complex regulatory landscape and learn how it affects various investment types within the energy sector. During the session, CLG will provide delegates with knowledge to develop actionable strategies to mitigate legal risks and safeguard investments from future potential strategies.

    “At CEIF 2025, we recognize that navigating the complex legal and regulatory landscape is crucial for successful investment in Congo’s growing energy sector. This workshop, led by CLG, is a pivotal opportunity for investors and stakeholders to gain valuable insights into the legal frameworks that underpin the energy market. By addressing key challenges and offering strategic solutions, we aim to empower businesses with the knowledge to unlock the full potential of Congo’s energy resources,” states Daoudou Mohammad, Tax and Legal Director, CLG.

    CLG is a leading provider of specialized legal and tax advisory services, catering to a diverse portfolio of multinational companies operating globally. With a team of experts boasting extensive experience and knowledge across multiple sectors and with offices in Germany, South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius, Ghana, the Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia and South Sudan; CLG delivers bespoke solutions tailored to address the unique challenges and complexities faced by clients in various industries.

    CLG’s expertise spans a wide range of industries – including energy, infrastructure, mining, agriculture, and ESG to name a few –  enabling the firm to provide comprehensive guidance and support to clients navigating Africa’s dynamic business landscape. By combining technical excellence with a deep understanding of local markets and regulatory environments, CLG helps clients achieve their business objectives and capitalize on opportunities for growth and expansion.

    Registration (https://apo-opa.co/3FspgMZ) for the workshop is now open.

    The inaugural Congo Energy & Investment Forum, set for March 24-26, in Brazzaville, under the patronage of President Denis Sassou Nguesso and supported by the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Société Natioanle des Pétroles du Congo, will bring together international investors and local stakeholders to explore national and regional energy and infrastructure opportunities. The event will explore the latest gas-to-power projects and provide updates on ongoing expansions across the country.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Secretary-General’s remarks at the International Day to Combat Islamophobia [delivered by the Chef de Cabinet, Mr. Courtenay Rattray on behalf of the Secretary-General]

    Source: United Nations – English

    Mr. President,] Excellencies, [Ladies and Gentlemen]

    It is an honour to join you [at this important event].

    I [am pleased] to share the United Nations Secretary-General’s message to mark this International Day to Combat Islamophobia:

    As Muslims around the world come together to mark the holy month of Ramadan, many do so in fear – fear of discrimination, exclusion, and even violence.

    We are witnessing a disturbing rise in anti-Muslim bigotry:
                                                  
    From racial profiling and discriminatory policies that violate human rights and dignity, to outright violence against individuals and places of worship.

    This is part of a wider scourge of intolerance, extremist ideologies, and attacks against religious groups and vulnerable populations.

    When one group is attacked, the rights and freedoms of all are at risk.

    As a global community, we must reject and eradicate bigotry.

    Governments must foster social cohesion and protect religious freedom. 

    Online platforms must curb hate speech and harassment.

    And we must all speak out against bigotry, xenophobia, and discrimination.
    On this International Day to Combat Islamophobia, let us work together to uphold equality, human rights and dignity, and build inclusive societies where everyone, regardless of their faith, can live in peace and harmony.

    Thank you.
     

    MIL OSI Africa –