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Category: Agriculture

  • MIL-OSI Global: How the struggles of the UK hospitality sector could hit the rest of the economy

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Zoe Adjey, Senior Lecturer in Hospitality and Events, University of East London

    Across the UK, Mother’s Day represented a vital revenue opportunity for the hospitality sector. Bars, restaurants, cafés and pubs would have anticipated a boost courtesy of family groups – and some spring-like weather. Sadly though, due to some harsh financial realities including higher tax and wage bills coming into force now, many of these establishments may not survive to serve customers next Mother’s Day.

    The budget has introduced measures that are projected to directly increase the average hospitality wage bill by up to 8.5% thanks to increases in the minimum wage and employer national insurance contributions.

    The UK’s most recent GDP figures showed the country’s economy shrank by 0.1% in January. But behind this small decline there was a more concerning trend. Trade in the hospitality industry fell by 2.4% – the biggest economic contraction among the figures – after it had shown promising growth of 0.9% in December.

    It’s likely that customers saw so-called “awful April” on the horizon – bringing rises in a range of utility and consumer costs – and were beginning to curb their spending. But costs are rising for venues too. Many of those bars, cafés, restaurants and hotels that remain open will have to increase prices and cut opening hours to make the numbers add up.

    Behind each closed pub or empty restaurant lies a story that goes far beyond its four walls. I’ve worked in the sector since my teenage years – from family-run establishments on the Northern Irish coast to venues in London and overseas – and I’ve seen firsthand how business closures affect people. Now, as a lecturer in hospitality, I can see what support this unique sector needs to weather the storm.

    I have seen small seaside cafes where owners knew every customer by name, providing essential social connections for elderly visitors who may not have had another social interaction that day. When these cafes closed, the community bonds were severed overnight.

    Every shuttered hotel or bar means people losing their livelihoods, perhaps mothers working part-time to balance employment and childcare or students funding their education. The impact of these closures is immediate and profound, and extends throughout the supply chain.

    They affect the dairy farmer who supplied the milk, the baker who made fresh pastries each morning, and the technician who serviced the coffee machines. This interconnected web generated £121 billion in economic activity in 2022 across the UK.

    Weddings and wakes

    Pubs and cafes are more than just businesses. Often, they’re the beating hearts of communities. These are the spaces where neighbours stop to chat, where chance encounters bloom into lifelong friendships and romances, and where people come together for weddings and wakes. When the shutters come down, it represents a tear in the community fabric and threatens the cohesion of neighbourhoods.

    As the gathering places where communities come together, pubs and cafes simultaneously create livelihoods that support those same communities. Hospitality in the UK employs an extraordinary 3.5 million people directly (and another three million indirectly through supply chains and support industries). This makes it the UK’s third largest employer, behind only retail and healthcare.

    This dual role, as both social hub and major employer, makes these establishments uniquely valuable.

    The stark GDP figures for hospitality at the start of 2025 expose a concerning shift in consumer habits, with fewer people choosing to book a table in a restaurant, instead making do with buying in groceries for a meal at home. This harks back to the times of COVID lockdowns. Even people who still visit hospitality venues are spending less per visit, compounding the revenue challenges.

    When a family chooses to eat at home rather than visit their local restaurant, the impact extends far beyond that empty table. Farmers, delivery drivers, kitchen manufacturers and cleaning services (to name just some) all feel the pinch.

    For the small businesses in the hospitality supply chain – many of which derive more than 80% of their income from the sector – this spending shift is an existential threat. Historically, such changes in consumer behaviour have been early indicators of broader economic downturns, making this pattern particularly worrying.

    A VAT reduction offers a compelling solution for UK hospitality business. European countries like Italy and France charge 10% on “food for immediate consumption”, while in Greece it’s 13%. These are far below the UK’s 20%. A change along these lines could protect customers against price rises, improve business cash flow, and offset the wage and NI contribution increases.

    And there is precedent for this. During the 2008 recession, Chancellor Alistair Darling cut VAT from 17.5% to 15% for 13 months as part of a stimulus. The following year’s budget reported “positive early signs” of lower prices supporting consumer spending.

    But right now, this combination of rising costs and reduced consumer spending creates a perfect storm for an industry that has traditionally underpinned economic recoveries. With millions of people relying on hospitality for their livelihoods, this trajectory of decline must be corrected – or there will be profound implications for the wider pattern of economic growth across the UK.

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

    – ref. How the struggles of the UK hospitality sector could hit the rest of the economy – https://theconversation.com/how-the-struggles-of-the-uk-hospitality-sector-could-hit-the-rest-of-the-economy-253507

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why Donald Trump’s decision to slash USAID is hurting American soft power and making the world less safe

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Chase Johnson, PhD Candidate, University of Warwick

    The Trump administration’s foreign policy has raised alarms. It seems to have shifted America away from it traditional Nato allies, favouring instead a closer relationship with Russia. There has also been talk of plans to control Greenland, the Panama Canal – possibly even Canada. This has caused sleepless nights for political leaders, especially in Europe.

    However, in the developing world, the biggest concern is the US government’s suspension of development aid. For people in these regions, access to clean water, seeds for crops and vaccines is a matter of life or death.

    The suspension is presently the subject of a battle in the US Supreme Court, but at the end of February, the administration said it planned to cut 90% of all overseas aid contracts. With a single stroke of President Trump’s Sharpie pen, this has struck out US$60 billion (£39 billion) of US aid assistance, globally. Internal projections by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), published by the New York Times at the beginning of March, forecast dire consequences, including a massive increase in diseases such as malaria and polio as well as a rise in cases of malnutrition of up to a million children.

    USAID was founded in 1961 under John F. Kennedy’s administration. It operated with an annual budget of about US$58 billion – orders of magnitude larger than any other country’s development portfolio. It maintains a staff of diplomats, subject experts, and also employs local nationals around the world. It is a critical component of US soft power and works in close proximity to the country’s national security interests.

    USAID’s absence will be felt around the world. Perhaps the most consequential effect lies with the freezing of American food aid. Experts have already predicted that without this lifeline, Sudan could face a famine to compound the effects of the civil war that has raged there. The consequences of this will be very public, producing heartbreaking headlines and images.

    But there is another side to this that the Trump administration seems to be overlooking. USAID is one of the largest single customers of American farm products that constitute the country’s food aid packages – 1 million metric tonnes in 2024 alone.

    One of the most misunderstood concepts of foreign aid is the fact that large portions of its budget are spent domestically. A report may say that billions of dollars of food aid were given by the US to Sudan – but much of that represents payments to American farmers who are growing the food that is then donated to starving people – not just in Sudan, either.

    America’s farmers already exist on very tight margins, so an unexpected loss in revenue such as this, is likely to be a serious blow to them as well. It’s just one example of the effect this decision will have both at home and abroad.

    Pulling away the safety net

    Without USAID the world is less safe. There is a large body of research on how development assistance is a critical component of an effective national security strategy. In 2018, the then secretary of defense, Jim Mattis, who was appointed by Trump, said in an interview that his message to the world is: “Work with our diplomats because you do not want to fight the Department of Defense.”

    To illustrate Mattis’s point, consider the academic work done on the emergence of climate-driven conflicts driven by water and food shortages. One crisis simulation I use in my classrooms puts students in the role of solving a kinetic (shooting) war over water rights in the Horn of Africa. This particular crisis, while used as a game to teach national security, could very easily become a reality. It’s the sort of thing USAID helps to prevent.

    I have had the fortune to serve my country in several capacities. Before I started my doctorate in intelligence and national security, I spent four years working for the US government, both as a development worker and in the diplomatic and defence sectors. While diplomacy, defence and development work might look very different on the surface, I can attest that they are quite similar – and very closely linked.

    They operate in very different spheres – but the goal is ultimately the same: to help partner nations enhance their own safety and prosperity. Without this help they may turn to adversaries such as Russia and China to provide assistance and security. These adversaries then have an opportunity to expand their influence around the world, which can include supporting dictatorships and predatory lending, such as seen in the Chinese belt and road initiative.

    Peacekeeping through soft power

    As a US peace corps volunteer, I called on USAID funding to help the community I was assigned to. In Akhaltsikhe, Georgia I taught English and coordinated youth development programmes.

    The Akhaltsikhe region is one of the poorest in the country – and the school was in a sorry state of affairs. With a USAID grant, we were able to renovate part of the school and create an English language learning centre, which still thrives today, 12 years later. I can say first-hand that this project had a big impact on the image of the US among the Georgian people in my community.

    It should go without saying that the US has a chequered past when it comes to some of its foreign policy interventions. But the country’s wealth and resources offer it the unique position to help grow and enhance western values in parts of the world that deserve the same freedom that developed countries in the west take for granted. In my opinion, that is money well spent.

    Whatever value one might place on the US global footprint does not erase the truth of its existence. America is called upon to uphold democracy, to lift people out of poverty, and to respond to crises no matter where they are. Donald Trump, Elon Musk and his Doge staffers should have paid greater heed to USAID’s motto: “For the American people.”

    Chase Johnson 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. Why Donald Trump’s decision to slash USAID is hurting American soft power and making the world less safe – https://theconversation.com/why-donald-trumps-decision-to-slash-usaid-is-hurting-american-soft-power-and-making-the-world-less-safe-251062

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: American liberators of Nazi camps got ‘a lifelong vaccine against extremism’ − their wartime experiences are a warning for today

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Sara J. Brenneis, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Spanish, Amherst College

    A staged recreation of Mauthausen’s liberation, May 6, 1945. Spanish prisoners documented the camp’s actual liberation the day prior using Nazi cameras. National Archives and Records, Cpl. Donald R. Ornitz, US Signal Corps/Administration, III-SC-206395

    When American soldiers liberated the Mauthausen Nazi concentration camp in Austria 80 years ago this May, Spanish prisoners welcomed them with a message of antifascist solidarity.

    The Spaniards hung a banner made from stolen bed sheets over one of Mauthausen’s gates. In English, Spanish and Russian, it read: “The Spanish Antifascists Greet the Liberating Forces.”

    Both American servicemen and Spanish survivors remember the camp’s liberation as a win in their shared fight against extremism, my research on the Spanish prisoners in Mauthausen finds. They all understood the authoritarian governments of Nazi Germany, Italy and Spain as fascist regimes that used extremist views rooted in intolerance and nationalism to persecute millions of people and imperil democracy across Europe.

    World War II, the Holocaust and the horrors of Nazi violence have no modern equivalent. Nevertheless, extremism is now threatening democracy in the United States in recognizable ways.

    As the Trump administration executes summary deportations, works to suppress dissent, fundamentally restructures the federal government and defies judges, experts warn that the country is turning toward authoritarianism.

    As a scholar of the Mauthausen camp, I believe that understanding how American soldiers and Spanish prisoners experienced its liberation offers a valuable lesson on the real and present dangers of extremism.

    ‘We knew then why we had to stop Hitler’

    In 1938, the Nazis established Mauthausen, a forced labor camp in Austria, with an international prisoner population. My research shows that the Nazis murdered 16,000 Jews and 66,000 non-Jewish prisoners at Mauthausen between 1938 and 1945, including 60% of the roughly 7,200 Spaniards imprisoned there.

    The Spanish prisoners were committed antifascist resistors sent there in 1940 and 1941. Known as Republicans or Loyalists, they had fought against Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War and Adolf Hitler in World War II.

    The young men with the 11th Armored Division of the U.S. Army who liberated Mauthausen would never forget the moment they discovered the camp. It was May 5, 1945, just days before the war ended in Europe. A platoon led by Staff Sgt. Albert J. Kosiek was repairing bridges in this tucked-away corner of Austria when a Swiss Red Cross delegate alerted them to a large Nazi concentration camp nearby.

    Mauthausen’s international survivors were among the Nazis’ last prisoners to be freed.

    George Sherman was a 19-year-old tank gunner from Brooklyn when his patrol found Mauthausen. He was Jewish and had read about the Nazi camps in Europe in the Army’s newspaper.

    American liberators rolling into the Mauthausen concentration camp on May 5, 1945, as photographed by prisoner Francesc Boix. Sgt. Harry Saunders is standing on the left fender.
    Francesc Boix/Courtesy of Collections of the Mauthausen Memorial

    Still, seeing a concentration camp with his own eyes was alarming.

    “The piles of bodies” struck him, he remembered in an oral history recorded for the University of South Florida in 2008. So did “these people walking around like God knows – skeletons and whatnot.”

    Sgt. Harry Saunders, a 23-year-old radio operator from Chicago, also remembered the moment he saw the Mauthausen survivors. They were men and women of all nationalities.

    “The live skeletons, the people that were in the camp, it was indescribable, it was such a shock,” he said in a 2002 interview for the Mauthausen Memorial’s Oral History Collection in Vienna.

    One of the Spanish prisoners at Mauthausen, Francesc Boix, had stolen a camera from the SS in the chaotic moments before the camp’s liberation. Boix photographed Sgt. Saunders rumbling into the concentration camp on an armored car.

    Saunders kept that photograph for the rest of his life. It captured a moment of clarity for him.

    “When we liberated Mauthausen, we really knew then why we had to stop Hitler and why we really went to war,” he said in the interview.

    Frank Hartzell, a technical sergeant with the 11th Armored Division, was 20 when he helped to liberate Mauthausen. He turned 100 this year. We met in mid-March 2025 and discussed his wartime experience.

    “What I saw and experienced appalled me,” Hartzell told me.

    The outrage has stayed with him for 80 years.

    ‘Starved and crippled but alive’

    The American liberators toured the gas chambers and the crematory ovens in Mauthausen.

    Maj. Franklin Lee Clark saw the dead stacked up in “piles like cord wood to the point that they had to bring in bulldozers and make mass graves,” and took photos to document it.

    The Spanish banner hanging on the Mauthausen prison gate, May 1945.
    Franklin Lee Clark/Emory University Archives, Witnesses to the Holocaust Project

    Soldiers from the 11th Armored Division directed locals to bury the men and women murdered by the Nazis. The local Austrians claimed they had not known about their town’s concentration camp. But a farmer who lived nearby had been upset about all the dead bodies visible from her property. She filed a complaint asking the Nazis either to stop “these inhuman deeds” or do them “where one does not see it.”

    The American liberators made sure that the townspeople could no longer look away from the murderous rampage carried out in their backyards.

    While Boix was taking photos of American soldiers during liberation, the soldiers were taking photos of the welcome banner the Spaniards had painted.

    On the back of one snapshot, a Signal Corps soldier typed out his impressions of their message: “I really know what that word (antifascist) means. We liberated these prisoners in the Mauthausen concentration camp near Linz, Austria. They were Poles, Hungarians and Spanish Loyalists (remember the Loyalists?). They had men and women in this camp. Starved and crippled but alive.”

    After Mauthausen was liberated, the freed Loyalists set to work documenting the Nazis’ crimes. Along with his countrymen Joan de Diego, Casimir Climent and others, Spanish survivor Joaquín López Raimundo compiled lists of Mauthausen victims and their Nazi captors. Using the Nazis’ own typewriters, they spent two weeks listing the names and personal details of Spanish victims of Mauthausen and of the SS who had killed them.

    The result was page after page of evidence they handed over to American war crimes investigators and the International Red Cross.

    Boix, meanwhile, gave the Americans hundreds of photo negatives he had rescued from the camp’s photography lab.

    Boix later testified about these images in the war crime trials at Nuremberg and Dachau. He described seeing the Nazis beat, torture and murder their victims in Mauthausen and then photograph the bodies. For 2½ years, Boix stole the photographic evidence of their crimes.

    He “could not keep those negatives because it was so dangerous,” he testified at Dachau, so he “hid them in various places until the liberation.”

    Testimony in the Nuremberg war crime trials. Francesc Boix’s testimony begins at 7:44. (U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy National Archives and Records Administration. Producer: US Signal Corps)

    A lifelong vaccine against extremism

    For the American liberators, their up-close view of the horrors of Mauthausen and their interactions with the Spanish antifascist survivors was a lifelong vaccine against extremism.

    They witnessed how a fascist leader tore the world apart. They saw with their own eyes the death and destruction of political extremism.

    When I interviewed Hartzell, he expressed concern that the United States is going down a dangerous path.

    “The USA today is not the USA I fought and came close to dying for,” Hartzell told me.

    As American Mauthausen liberator Maj. George E. King warned an interviewer in 1980:

    “This is the lesson we have to learn: It could happen here.”

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

    – ref. American liberators of Nazi camps got ‘a lifelong vaccine against extremism’ − their wartime experiences are a warning for today – https://theconversation.com/american-liberators-of-nazi-camps-got-a-lifelong-vaccine-against-extremism-their-wartime-experiences-are-a-warning-for-today-248813

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Schatz: Donald Trump Is Ruining The Economy On Purpose, Everyone Will Pay More For Everything

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Hawaii Brian Schatz

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) spoke out on the Senate floor today after President Donald Trump announced a new tariff plan that will levy the largest tax hike on middle-class families in a generation and force families to pay an average of $5,000 more each year.

    “Donald Trump is ruining the economy on purpose,” said Senator Schatz. “Starting tomorrow, we’ll be paying more for everything – groceries, food, cars, homes, toys, electronics, everything that you buy. This is about the ability for people to pay for college. This is about the ability for people to retire with dignity and comfort. Trillions of dollars of wealth are being demolished. These are everyday people panicked about how much more expensive their next trip to Walmart or Costco will be, or when they’ll lose their job.”

    The full text of Senator Schatz’s remarks can be found below. Video is available here.

    Donald Trump is ruining the economy on purpose. He is ruining the economy on purpose. I’m not sure if there’s ever been an American president, let alone a chief executive of any country that has ruined the economy on purpose. The stock market had its worst day in five years yesterday, and I just checked before I delivered these remarks. Just five minutes ago, 1600 down on the Dow Jones, the S&P down 5 percent, Nasdaq 4 percent, the Russell 5 percent. What does that mean as a practical matter? It means if you spent all your life working and saving and investing, and you are on the edge of retirement, and let’s say you’ve got $312,000 plus your Social Security income, you just lost 30 grand in two days because of Donald Trump. You lost 10 percent of what you earned over a lifetime. Now, for Howard Lutnick and Elon Musk and Donald Trump and everybody that surrounds him at Mar-a-Lago, they can ride this out. They can short it, they can buy crypto. They can do all kinds of wonderful things to make sure that they can ride this out. Regular people cannot ride this out.

    The dollar hit a six-month low. Layoffs have already started. Consumers are cutting back on spending. And by the way, the data is there. But also just talk to anybody. Just talk to anybody about how they feel about spending right now. And the likelihood of a recession went up 20 percent in a day. JPMorgan now says it’s more than 60 percent likely.

    So what is this even for? Why are people so freaked out? Why is the entire world, from friends and partners to adversaries and enemies, scrambling to retaliate against the United States, the indispensable nation? It’s so that Donald Trump can raise trillions of dollars in revenue to pay for the biggest tax cuts for billionaires in the history of the planet.

    Starting tomorrow, we’ll be paying more for everything – groceries, food, cars, homes, toys, electronics, everything that you buy. Estimates have home prices ballooning by almost $20,000 per unit. Cars will cost $6,000 more. An iPhone, 250 bucks more. Clothing prices will go up by roughly 20 percent. Also, what we’re going to be a textile manufacturer? That’s our goal as a country is to make t-shirts and socks?

    Workers will be laid off, but I guess it’ll all be worth it in the end because this is paid for. What does that mean? It means that in their big budget plan, they need to cut taxes for billionaires, but they don’t have enough money to finance that. And so they’re using tariff revenue to balance out the money that they’re going to shovel to a bunch of billionaires.

    Trump is very famous for having few firm, fixed political beliefs. He’s changed his mind about just about everything, but not on tariffs. He’s a self-proclaimed “tariff man.” He’s repeatedly said that the word tariff is the most beautiful word in the English language. And for years, he’s lavished praise on the 20th century tariffs, which, by the way, helped to deepen the Great Depression. So he’s very happy about all of this. Like there should be no mistaking this is what he intends to do. And this is one of the differences between Trump 1.0 and Trump 2.0. He’s doing all the things. He’s actually going through with it. This is not mean tweets and like normal behavior. This is all of the crazy stuff he’s saying is now being effectuated as public policy, as economic policy, as fiscal policy. He’s going through with it. You can no longer be dismissive of these resistance types, these Democrats, these shrill, these partisans, these people who can’t keep their head on straight. These people who just want to punish Donald Trump for saying: “man, that guy is kind of crazy. He’s going to crash the economy.” He’s literally crashing the economy on purpose.

    The idea that other countries will just graciously pay the tariffs is a fantasy. Much like Trump’s claim that Mexico would pay for the wall. In reality, it’s American importers who pay the tariffs, and then they pass it on to consumers, which is exactly what happened the last time Trump tried to do this. Economists who studied the tariffs that Trump imposed during the first term on certain goods from China found that it was consumers. It was you that paid the price. So here’s roughly how it worked this time around. There’s going to be math involved here. If these tariffs are expected to raise $6 trillion, as Trump says, that would mean collecting something like $600 billion every year over the next ten years. Broken out by household people are looking at $5,000 a year in added costs.

    I bet you Donald Trump doesn’t know anyone personally. Maybe he’s met people, but like in terms of the people he hangs out with that he spends time with, that he likes that he works with, he probably doesn’t know anyone for whom $5,000 is an unmanageable, increased cost. But I know a lot of people like that. In fact, a lot of people in my home state are like that.

    They cannot absorb a $5,000 increase in the cost of everything. And that is before you consider the hundreds of thousands of lost jobs and the devastation of small businesses and farmers and others. One small business owner in Iowa put it this way, “Trump’s calling it Liberation Day. Maybe something like Liberation Day liberated from reality.” Farmer in Kansas agreed.

    “These tariffs are just absolutely bad news that caused the prices for everything that we buy to go up and the prices for everything that we sell to go down.” Everything that we buy is more expensive. Everything that we sell is cheaper. Does that sound like a smart economic plan?

    It’s bad news any way you cut it. But even worse, more confusing, more idiotic, more infuriating is when you look at how they arrived at these rates. These are not actually reciprocal tariffs. Reciprocal tariffs being like essentially country X assesses tariffs in the amount of 15 percent so we reciprocate. We do 15 percent back. This is how they did it.

    They used a one size fits all formula to remake the global trading system. They took our trade surplus with any given country. So the way you do it to do reciprocal tariffs is country X says 10 percent, we go back at 10 percent. What they did is say let’s take our trade surplus, which means what we export minus what we import divided by total exports. And then cut it in half. Why they didn’t cut it in a third? Why they didn’t, you know, do some coefficient other than 50 percent?  I don’t know, but it’s purely arbitrary. So we have an $18 billion trade deficit with Indonesia. We import $28 billion worth of goods from them. 17.9 divided by 28 is 64. Divide that by two and you get 34, which is surprise, surprise, exactly the rate that Trump set for Indonesia. Half of the differential between export exports and imports literally makes no sense. Like you’ve got a bunch of economists right, left and center going WTF? I cannot believe this is bad policy. But also it’s like childish, childish math.

    The White House formula is so bonkers at the same economist that pointed that it pointed to as the basis for the rationale immediately were critical: “they pulled two numbers out of thin air that perfectly cancel each other out. This type of reductionist analysis is very troubling and scares me,” said economics professor Anson Soderbery, whose paper the White House cited even their sources are saying, don’t use my name to justify this nonsense.

    Another economist said that the White House had misunderstood his research, which specifically cautioned against excessively high tariff rates like Trump’s. “Making rates higher is a bad idea for the United States. We use supercomputers to find the optimal tariffs. The Trump administration seems to have taken a bit of a shortcut here. Also, our results suggest that the EU should not be tariffs and yet they set high tariffs against them. Finally, our range of optimal tariffs are substantially lower than the ones the administration just announced.” So if you can believe it, we’re in a situation where economists are using supercomputers to find optimal tariff rates. While the president of the United States is using a formula. And I’m not exaggerating that a fifth grader could solve. Now, whether it’s the Signal chat or this formula, this administration’s incompetence is on display every day.

    It’s why we now have tariffs in places like Herd Island and McDonald Island, where there are no living human beings, only penguins. Or, as the New York Times noted, “Trump’s decision to put a 32 percent tariff on Switzerland stunned politicians and business leaders in the alpine country. Switzerland has an open trade policy and recently abolished all industrial tariffs.” It’s not reciprocal. If they’re not tariffing us. For countries like Brazil, where we have a trade surplus, they still slap 10 percent. Israel reduced their tariffs to zero, still got the 10 percent. This is not a case of a bunch of Democrats crying wolf just to warn the Republicans. The markets are speaking. They are terrified. And this isn’t about a bunch of billionaire corporations and their profitability.

    This is about the ability for people to pay for college. This is about the ability for people to retire with dignity and comfort. Trillions of dollars of wealth are being demolished. These are everyday people panicked about how much more expensive their next trip to Walmart or Costco will be, or when they’ll lose their job. People are already stockpiling supplies. Shortly after Trump’s announcement, JPMorgan described the impact of the tariffs over the next few months like this. “On a static basis, today’s announcement would raise just under 400 billion in revenue, or about 1.3 percent of GDP, which would be the largest tax increase since 1968. The resulting hit to purchasing power could take real disposable personal income growth in the second and third quarters into negative territory, and with it, the risk that real consumer spending could also contract in these quarters. This impact alone could take the economy perilously close to slipping into a recession.”

    Now countries are already responding. So it’s not like this is a static situation which can’t get worse because the retaliations are going on. And this idea that all this is just a leverage play, look, there’s 200 countries that we have some sort of trading arrangement with and Donald Trump is very unpopular so asking a leader of a country or a parliament of a country to waive their tariffs at the end, at the end of a economic gun because Trump is bullying them. It’s like not good domestic politics for them. The best domestic politics for them is to stand up to Donald Trump’s bullying. And that’s bad for all of us. We’re not going to wave our way through 194 trading partners.

    China just imposed a 34 percent reciprocal tariff for our 54 percent tariff on Chinese goods. And in a truly bizarre turn of events, we forced our allies and adversaries to try to find ways to work together. Earlier this week, for the first time in years, China, Japan and South Korea discuss possible of working together on free trade as a response to Donald John Trump.

    This is the most shocking image. This red line continuing to go down precipitously, but among the other most shocking images, there’s a picture of high leaders from Korea… first of all, Korea and Japan are in a better place now. But they are, you know, there have been some diplomatic challenges over the decades and the generations, but they’re in a reasonably good place.

    So just to see them shaking hands is a big deal. But to see them shaking hands, literally holding hands with a high official from China to indicate they’re in this together against us. So it is true that Donald Trump is uniting the world. The problem is he’s uniting the world against us.

    Look, there is a. Real objective here that we’ve been working on for the last four, eight years. And whether it’s chips or it’s cars or it’s clean energy, we’ve actually increased the amount of domestic manufacturing in the United States of America with good industrial policy and targeted trade policy. But this is mayhem. This is mayhem. John Kennedy, the current senator from Louisiana, said it exactly right. He said tariffs are like whiskey. A little bit can be refreshing, can be useful too much – I’m paraphrasing – very bad things happen. Very bad things are happening.

    In the time I took to deliver these remarks, probably some number of tens of billions of dollars of additional wealth from working people was just wiped out. And I want to make one final point, and this is the most important point Republicans can and should stop this, with an exception of maybe 3 or 4 members, almost every Republican senator hates tariffs.

    The question is whether they will stand up to Donald Trump, who has taken this decidedly protectionist, anti-market, super harmful direction. But all we need Republicans are in charge of the Senate is for them to exert their constitutionally given authority over the assessing of tariffs. There is bipartisan momentum in that space. But we are not there because what I’m reading and what I’m hearing is they’re willing to give this a couple of months and let me give you a bunch of free advice to my Republican friends.

    If you’re going to stand up to him in two months, do it now.

    Your people are suffering. People are being laid off. People are about, by the way, most of people, most of what is happening in terms of Trump’s plummeting popularity is what they are seeing on their screens. But in the next week or so, it’s not what they’re seeing in their screens. It’s what they’re seeing when they try to buy something.

    It’s what they’re seeing amongst their friends who are being laid off. This is about to get very real, and I advise you against my own political interests, but in the country’s interests, if you’re going to stand up to him in June, my God, do it now. I yield the floor.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SUNDAY SHOWS: President Trump’s Bold Vision for Economic Prosperity

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    This morning, officials from the Trump Administration took to the networks to outline President Donald J. Trump’s reciprocal trade plan as he ends the globalist policies of economic destruction that have shipped American jobs and industries overseas at the expense of American workers.
    Here’s what you missed:
    Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent on Meet the Press
    On tariffs during President Trump’s first term: “A 20% tariff on China led to a 0.7% price level increase over four years. I think that’s pretty good — if we can take in 20% in tariffs and it’s a 0.7% increase … Households saw real net wages go up, so if wages go up faster than prices — which is not what happened over the past four years.”
    On making goods in America: “We saw during COVID that [our] supply chains are not resilient … President Trump has decided that we cannot be at risk like that for our crucial medicines, for our semiconductors, for shipping.”
    Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Face the Nation
    On trade as an issue of national security: “We don’t make medicine in this country anymore. We don’t make ships. We don’t have enough steel and aluminum to fight a battle … We got to stop having all the countries of the world ripping us off.”
    On trade imbalances: “In 1980, we were a net investor, meaning we owned more of the rest of the world than they owned of us — and now, they own $18 trillion of us, net … Eventually, we’re not going to own America and we are going to be owned by the rest of the world.”
    National Economic Director Kevin Hassett on This Week
    On so-called free trade: “China entered the WTO in 2000. In the 15 years that followed, real incomes declined about $1,200 cumulatively over that time … We got the cheap goods at the grocery store, but then we had fewer jobs.”
    Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on State of the Union
    On using tariffs to level the playing field: “This whole concept is about rebuilding an American economy around American goods, around American industry … Mexico won’t take our corn. Australia won’t take our beef … It is time for a change.”
    On the EU’s refusal to take American ag exports: “They are using fake science and unsubstantiated claims to not take our products … We produce the safest, the most secure, the best food in the world.”
    On the agricultural trade deficit: “In the last four years, the cost of inputs for our farmers went up 30%. In the last four years, we had an agricultural export deficit that increased from zero when President Trump left to $49 billion.”
    Attorney General Pam Bondi on Fox News Sunday
    On lawfare: “Just since January 20th, we’ve had over 170 lawsuits filed against us. That should be the constitutional crisis right there — 50 injunctions … trying to control his executive power.”
    Senior Counselor Peter Navarro on Sunday Morning Futures
    On the need for tariffs: “It’s all these things that these foreign countries do that are designed, explicitly, to cheat us, and are sanctioned by the WTO. So, President Trump says, ‘No more’ … We’re headed towards a strong America that makes things again.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Met officers recover £50k of stolen tools in east London

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    Around £50,000 worth of stolen tools were recovered during a Metropolitan Police operation at a car boot sale in Rainham, east London.

    In response to concerns from tradespeople about a rise in tool thefts, the Met worked with Essex Police and trading standards officers to carry out a large search of the Willow Farm Car Boot Sale on Sunday, 6 April.

    By using intelligence, and with the help of a dog that can sniff out items marked with forensic water, officers identified and seized around 1,000 suspected stolen tools.

    Four men, aged between 40 and 60, from Hackney and Southend-on-Sea were arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods.

    A number of suspected stolen bikes, as well as cash, illegal vapes and other counterfeit goods were also seized.

    Inspector Mark Connolly, from the Met’s neighbourhood policing team in east London, said:

    “We’ve heard from hard-working Londoners about the financial and personal impact of tool theft and we’re working hard across the Met to tackle it.

    “As well as working with partners to target prolific offenders in proactive and intelligence-led operations such as this, we’re also carrying out tool marking events to make it harder for criminals to sell on stolen goods.”

    Inspector Daniel Selby, from Essex Police’s Grays Neighbourhood Policing Team, said:

    “Trading stolen or counterfeit goods is illegal and inexcusable, so we are working with our partners to disrupt supply lines and arrest those who are profiting from crime.

    “Hard-working tradespeople rely on their tools to make a living and we appreciate how devastating the implications of a theft can be for victims and their families at a time when many people are struggling financially.

    “Purchasing illegitimate goods only serves to line the pockets of the criminals, creates a market that inevitably leads to more offending, and can land the buyer in serious trouble.”

    Officers will work over the coming weeks to identify the tools and trace their original owners.

    Any tradespeople or those in possession of power tools are advised to mark their property, take photographs, and record serial numbers so that, in the event of theft, officers have more chance of returning property.

    Marking tools with SelectaDNA forensic water also helps officers identify stolen goods. Met officers will be hosting a free tool marking event at the Toolstation in Ramac Way in Charlton between 07:30hrs and 14:00hrs on Tuesday, 8 April.

    We also advise reporting any thefts in a timely manner, providing as much detail as possible. Removing tools from your vehicles overnight will also help deter thieves.

    We urge the public not to buy goods you know or suspect to be stolen or counterfeit, as this feeds organised crime. If the price seems too good to be true, it could be the item is either stolen or fake. Buying goods you know or suspect to be stolen is a criminal offence.

    If you suspect anyone of selling stolen or counterfeit goods, you can report this to us online or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Top African Projects Driving the Mining-Energy Nexus

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

    CAPE TOWN, South Africa, April 7, 2025/APO Group/ —

    Mining represents one of the most energy-intensive industries globally. As African nations ramp up mineral extraction to drive economic growth, mining projects and stakeholders are increasingly investing in energy infrastructure to sustain operations and meet rising production targets. Amid efforts to improve grid stability, the upcoming African Mining Week conference will highlight the continent’s investment opportunities emerging from the mining-energy nexus.

    Northam Bolsters Power Supply for South African Mines

    In February 2025, mining firm Northam signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for 140 MW of wind power to support its platinum group metals operations in Limpopo. This deal follows an earlier PPA signed in October 2024 for an 80 MW solar power facility to supply the company’s Zondereinde mine, aimed at driving South Africa’s expansion of its PGMs sector. These agreements are part of Northam’s broader strategy to enhance energy security and sustainability while reducing its carbon footprint in alignment with national renewable energy goals.

    Richards Bay Minerals Expands PPA Portfolio

    Richards Bay Minerals, a subsidiary of mining multinational Rio Tinto, signed its third PPA with Red Rocket in February 2025, securing 230 MW of electricity from Red Rocket’s 380 MW Overberg Wind Farm. This agreement increases the company’s total contracted renewable energy supply to 500 MW and supports Rio Tinto’s commitment to reducing emissions by 50% by 2030. Richards Bay Minerals also taps into energy from the 130 MW Bolobedu solar PV plant and 140 MW Khangela Emoyeni wind farm.

    Further Investments in Renewables for Mining

    Other mining companies across Africa are driving large-scale energy projects to secure a stable power supply. In South Africa, Ivanhoe Mines completed a 5 MW solar facility in Q1 2025 to support its Platreef PGM mine, while Impala Platinum signed a five-year PPA with Discovery Green to supply wheeled renewable energy to its Impala Refineries operation. Meanwhile, commodities firm Trafigura is developing a 2 GW initiative to power Angolan mines, and First Quantum is set to commission a 430 MW project in Zambia in 2025. Tronox Holdings plans to roll out 400 MW of energy projects in South Africa by 2027 and Chinese mining company CMOC is preparing a 200 MW energy project in the DRC, set for commissioning by 2028.

    As these investments unfold, African Mining Week will showcase key milestones in energy security for the sector, highlighting lucrative opportunities within Africa’s independent power markets. The event will emphasize the growing demand for stable, sustainable energy solutions as miners continue to invest in energy infrastructure.

    African Mining Week serves as a premier platform for exploring the full spectrum of mining opportunities across Africa. The event is held alongside the African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies 2025 conference from October 1-3 in Cape Town. Sponsors, exhibitors and delegates can learn more by contacting sales@energycapitalpower.com.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Tribal Startups Shine at StartupMahakumbh

    Source: Government of India

    Tribal Startups Shine at StartupMahakumbh

    ST-Led Ventures incubated at IIM Kolkata & IIT Guwahati Receive National Awards from Union Minister Shri Piyush Goyal

    Ministry of Tribal Affairs Showcases 45 Startups under “DhartiAabaTribePreuners 2025” under Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh at Bharat Mandapam

    Posted On: 06 APR 2025 9:09AM by PIB Delhi

    New Delhi ,Ministry of Tribal Affairs marked a significant milestone in empowering tribal entrepreneurship by showcasing 45 tribal-led startups from across India at the StartupMahakumbh held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. Organized under the flagship initiative “DhartiAabaTribepreuners 2025” as part of Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh, the event witnessed innovation from sectors ranging from deep tech to organic farming and green energy.

    Two tribal-led startups, incubated at premier institutions—IIM Kolkata and IIT Guwahati—received prestigious national recognition from Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, affirming the growing role of tribal entrepreneurs in India’s startup ecosystem.

    On this achievement, Shri JualOram, Hon’ble Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, and Shri VibhuNayar, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, congratulated the winning startups for their exemplary innovation and dedication to community-led development. They commended the efforts of all participating entrepreneurs for representing the aspirations and potential of tribal India on a national platform.

    Award-Winning Startups founded by ST entrepreneurs

    OurGuest Travels (Top View Pvt. Ltd.)

    Incubated at IIM Kolkata | Sector: Sustainable Tourism

    Based in Gangtok, Sikkim, OurGuest Travels (www.ourguest.in) was conferred the D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) Award. As the first Online Travel Aggregator (OTA) from Northeast India, it offers a curated collection of homestays, farmstays, resorts, and guided experiences across Sikkim, North Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir.With over 600 homestays and 50+ guides, the platform has served more than 6,000 travelers and supports rural livelihoods and eco-tourism. This recognition is a key milestone under the Ministry’s 100-Day Agenda to build a strong tribal startup ecosystem.

    Ngurie Organic Pvt. Ltd.

    Incubated at IIT Guwahati | Sector: AgriTech& Organic Farming

    Ngurie Organic received the AgriTech Award for its transformative work in sustainable agriculture. The startup harnesses data-driven research, precision agriculture, and blockchain-enabled transparency to empower farmers with solutions that:

    • Reduce water usage
    • Improve soil health
    • Increase crop yields
    • Promote environmental sustainability
    • Strengthen food security
      🔗 Website: https://ngurie.com

    Exclusive Sessions on Tribal Entrepreneurship by VC /Angel Investors

    The event featured a high-impact panel titled “Investing in Bharat: Unlocking Startup Potential Beyond the Metro”, with thought leaders from India’s startup and investment ecosystem

    • T. RoumuanPaite, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Afafirs
    • Vikram Gupta, IvyCap Ventures
    • Sandeep NagbhushanAithal, Infosys Ltd.
    • Vineet Khurana, SACC India
    • Moderator: Amit Pandey, IVCA

    In addition, faculty from IIT Delhi conducted a Design Thinking Workshop, guiding tribal startups to refine and scale their business ideas.

     Empowering the Next Generation of Tribal Entrepreneurs

    The 3-day program concluded with the distribution of participation certificates to:45 tribal startup founders,100 EMRS (Eklavya Model Residential School) students,150 tribal students availing higher education scholarships.

    Participants also took part in a bootcamp at IIT Delhi and attended exposure visits across the startup ecosystem during the StartupMahakumbh.

    Towards a Self-Reliant Tribal India

     Ministry of Tribal Affairs, through initiatives like DhartiAabaTribepreuners 2025, continues to create an enabling environment for tribal innovators—combining mentorship, funding, capacity building, and platform exposure. The presence and recognition of tribal entrepreneurs at India’s largest startup conclave reaffirms the Ministry’s commitment to making tribal India a key stakeholder in the nation’s growth story.

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    RN/PIB

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying Showcases Livestock & Dairy Innovations at Startup Mahakumbh 2025

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 06 APR 2025 9:02AM by PIB Delhi

    The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying marked it’s noteworthy presence at the recently concluded Startup Mahakumbh 2025, held from April 3rd to 5th at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. Participating as a Silver Supporting Partner, DAHD set up an engaging pavilion, showcasing innovations and initiatives in the livestock and dairy sector.

    As part of its Pavilion, DAHD provided Startup Pods to 15 Startups functional in the Livestock and Dairy sector, who got an opportunity to display their product/services and network with key stakeholders while exploring avenues for scaling their impact in India’s agrarian economy. These Startups showcased innovative products and technologies for example, ensuring temperature compliance in dairy processing, AI monitoring for animal health management, sensor-based smart collar for estrus detection, milk adulteration detection kit to ensure food safety, end-to-end SaaS platform for dairy supply chain, artificial insemination gun, data integration in dairy supply chain via blockchain to improve product traceability etc. Ms. Varsha Joshi, Additional Secretary, DAHD, visited the Pavilion and interacted with several startups, appreciating their contribution and innovations in livestock management and dairy technology.

    DAHD’s Pavilion highlighted key government initiatives including the National Livestock Mission’s Entrepreneurship Development Programme, the Rashtriya Gokul Mission, and the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund. The pavilion also showcased DAHD’s efforts in delivering services directly to farmers doorstep and attracted significant interest and footfall from a wide range of stakeholders from academia, industry, and general public.

     ***

    Aditi Agrawal

    (Release ID: 2119442) Visitor Counter : 62

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Union Minister Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh Stresses Tech-Driven Fodder Solutions at ICAR- IGFRI, Jhansi

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 06 APR 2025 11:27AM by PIB Delhi

    Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, visited the ICAR–Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute (IGFRI), Jhansi on 5th April 2025 to assess the ongoing research efforts and field-level innovations aimed at enhancing fodder availability and sustainable grassland management across the country. Accompanied by Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), Ms. Alka Upadhyaya, and Animal Husbandry Commissioner, Dr. Abhijit Mitra, the Union Minister interacted with scientists and reviewed a comprehensive exhibition showcasing the latest fodder technologies and best practices being promoted by the institute.

    Addressing the gathering, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh expressed concern over the prevailing national green fodder deficit, currently estimated at 11%, and stressed upon the need for technology-led interventions to address this challenge. He noted that while only 8.5 million hectares are presently under cultivated fodder, the country possesses approximately 11.5 million hectares of grasslands and nearly 100 million hectares of wastelands that can be harnessed efficiently. He emphasized, “Efficient utilisation of these underused resources is essential for achieving fodder self-reliance and improving livestock productivity.” 

    The Union Minister praised IGFRI’s research and development work and called for speedy dissemination of its technologies through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) across states. He particularly emphasized the importance of perennial grasses that are tolerant to abiotic stress, highlighting their potential to rejuvenate degraded lands, contribute to ecological balance, and provide sustainable green fodder throughout the year. Reiterating government’s  commitment to building a resilient livestock sector, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh stated that science, innovation, and cooperative governance would be the cornerstones of advancing fodder security and achieving Atmanirbhar Krishi and Pashupalan. He also held discussions with IGFRI researchers, encouraging the institute to position itself as a central knowledge and innovation hub for fodder development and grassland improvement in India.

    Among the key technologies demonstrated during the visit were livestock-based Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) tailored for all categories of farmers; apomictic breeding in perennial grasses to ensure genetic uniformity and sustainability; development of specialized fodder farm machinery aimed at reducing manual labour; seed standards and certification systems for quality assurance in forage crops; and the innovative use of drones for seed pellet-based grassland rejuvenation at scale.

    Ms. Alka Upadhyaya underlined the significance of state-level convergence to support the wider adoption of location-specific fodder technologies. She highlighted the scope for integrating fodder cultivation in fallow spaces within coconut orchards in Kerala as a promising example of such convergence. To further promote this model, she informed that a joint meeting will be held in Kerala on 8th April 2025, bringing together representatives of the State Government, KVKs, and IGFRI scientists.

                                     ***** 

    SC

    (Release ID: 2119477) Visitor Counter : 41

    Read this release in: Hindi

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Fourth Candidate Open House hosted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs

    Source: Government of India

    Fourth Candidate Open House hosted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs

     Interns of the Prime Minister Internship Scheme share their holistic development journey

    ONGC Internships helping youth learn core skills, soft skills and contributing towards overall personality development: Skill Development Chief, ONGC India

    Posted On: 05 APR 2025 4:11PM by PIB Delhi

    As part of the fourth online ‘Candidate Open House’ hosted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on April 3, 2025, interns enrolled under the Prime Minister Internship Scheme shared their myriad experiences during the first few months of their ongoing internship. These Candidate Open Houses serve as a vital touchpoint for aspirants interested in the scheme, candidates navigating the registration and application process, current interns and industry.

    In the previous edition of the Open House (March 27, 2024), interns from the Mahindra group shared their experiences while Mr. Don Lewis, Head of Skill Development & Education at Mahindra’s Farm Division shared his views on how an internship can provide a strong foundation for professional growth. In this Open House, Anil Bahuguna, Chief of Skill Development at ONGC India, elaborated upon how internships in ONGC are helping youth learn core skills, soft skills and contributing towards overall personality development.

    Willkilinton Deori and Aditi Kashyap – both ONGC interns from Jorhat –  spoke about their internship journey so far covering multiple aspects.  For Willkilinton, the internship has already made him a more disciplined person. Since he is expected to go to his internship location daily (weekdays), Deori feels more aware about following a daily schedule and allocating adequate time to different activities. Aditi is involved in data processing in a hydrocarbon exploration project. Before this internship, she had only read about hydrocarbons in theory. Now as part of her internship, she is involved in data processing of hydrocarbons using a specialized software called ‘Geodesk’.

    Jaya Aishwariya, an intern from Karaikal, Puducherry, mentioned that she commutes 30 km to her internship location. On hearing this, Anil Bahuguna, Chief of Skill Development at ONGC India readily offered to provide accommodation near the site to facilitate her internship journey. Jaya spoke candidly, both in English and Tamil, eager to continue her internship and progress in her career. 

    Avi Rana, another intern from Delhi, shared that several classroom trainings were conducted on diverse topics such a human resource and finance by senior managers from ONGC. These sessions covered both technical knowledge and soft skills trainings – functions of HR, understanding and interpreting financial statements, knowledge of relevant digital tools, presentation skills and communication skills. Avi feels that she is now a more confident person because of the personality development trainings she’s been part of in her internship training. Even her ONGC supervisors agreed that the trainings have significantly helped mitigate her stage fright.

    Aditya and Venkat, interns from Andhra Pradesh, said that they feel very comfortable in their internship environment to interact with their supervisors and seek help in case of difficulties. Aditya also shared that interns receive a food reimbursement of up to ₹5,000 per month. Additionally, they are provided with accommodation facilities and travel by bus, just like full-time employees.

    All the interns shared experiences that symbolises the impact of the Prime Minister Internship Scheme in providing exposure to youth across India to professional environments in top companies of India for upskilling and a well-rounded professional experience.

    An integral part of this scheme is the participation form top companies to contribute towards enhancing employability of Indian youth. Mr.  Anil Bahuguna, Chief of Skill Development at ONGC India provided an overview of ONGC’s operations and its active involvement in the scheme, especially focusing on additional benefits provided by the company including additional financial assistance, accidental insurance, food allowance, accommodation, personal protection equipment etc. Like ONGC, over 200 participating companies are offering additional benefits such as subsidized or free meals, travel and accommodation assistance, reimbursements, and other forms of financial support to their interns.

    Mr. Bahuguna also spoke about ONGC’s efforts to ensure a holistic development experience for interns. For instance, Mr. Rajdeep Singh, former Indian hockey player and currently manager at ONGC conducts sessions with the interns to share his sporting career experiences and how they’ve shaped him as an individual.

    Furthermore, Mr. Bahuguna also explained  ONGC’s intern selection process and potential pathways to full time employment in companies engaged in hydrocarbon exploration & development business. ONGC on its part  is planning to encourage its service providers  to utilise services  of suitable ONGC trained interns post their internship . For this, ONGC will soon modify contractual terms with its service providers.

    MCA officials reiterated that the selection process has commenced for some of the internship opportunities and so the candidates should be alert on the portal and regularly check the status of their applications.  The application phase for Round 2 of the pilot phase of the Prime Minister Internship Scheme is currently underway and April 15, 2025, is the last date for eligible youth to apply.

    For more information visit: https://pminternship.mca.gov.in/

    ****

    NB/AD

    (Release ID: 2119249) Visitor Counter : 56

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Agri StartUps fast emerging as lucrative avenue of livelihood by intelligently blending traditional organic farming practices with cutting-edge scientific technologies: Dr Jitendra Singh

    Source: Government of India

    Agri StartUps fast emerging as lucrative avenue of livelihood by intelligently blending traditional organic farming practices with cutting-edge scientific technologies: Dr Jitendra Singh

    Addresses the “Natural and Organic Farmers Summit 2025” at Shankarpalli near Hyderabad:

    Agri Startups Blending Tradition with Tech to Drive Rural Prosperity: Dr. Jitendra Singh

    Organic is the Future: Dr. Jitendra Singh Calls for Tech-Enabled, Chemical-Free Farming at Hyderabad Summit

    Posted On: 05 APR 2025 3:50PM by PIB Delhi

    Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology; Earth Sciences and Minister of State for PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh has said  “Agri StartUps are fast emerging as lucrative avenue of livelihood by intelligently blending traditional organic farming practices with cutting-edge scientific technologies.”

    Addressing the “Natural and Organic Farmers Summit 2025” at Shankarpalli near here, the Minister lauded the efforts of grassroots innovators and farmer-entrepreneurs who are embracing science to scale up agriculture, enhance productivity, and ensure sustainable incomes.

    “Startups in agriculture are not just about farming anymore,” Dr. Jitendra Singh said. “They are applying science, using innovations developed by institutions like CSIR, and adopting tools like drones and soil health cards to make farming more productive and cost-effective. With this, they are cultivating more in less time while safeguarding health and the environment.”

    Dr. Jitendra Singh emphasized that organic agriculture, once considered difficult and niche, is now poised to become mainstream—driven by increasing health concerns and awareness about the harmful effects of chemical pesticides.

    Highlighting the growing relevance of organic food in the context of rising lifestyle diseases, the Minister said, “Every third person today is either diabetic or has fatty liver. Cancer cases are rising. The possible role of chemically-laden produce cannot be ignored. Organic farming is not just a healthier choice, but a necessary one.”

    Dr. Jitendra Singh also pointed to the broader impact of agri-startups on employment generation and rural development, citing the success of initiatives like the Purple Revolution and the Aroma Mission. Lavender cultivation, once confined to Jammu and Kashmir, has spread across the country thanks to scientific inputs from CSIR’s Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine and IICT Hyderabad.

    “You don’t need a PhD to be part of this movement. Many successful startups have been founded by those who haven’t even completed graduation,” he said, adding that agriculture, long neglected in the startup space, is finally getting its due.

    The Minister shared how innovations like floriculture—especially tulip cultivation in Himachal Pradesh—are creating new sources of income. “The tulips offered at the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya were grown at our Palampur institute,” he said, underlining the symbolic and economic potential of such initiatives.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh also spotlighted emerging technologies like the Pheromone Application Device (PAD) being developed by IIT Hyderabad to reduce pesticide usage through eco-friendly pest control methods.

    The Minister urged the scientific community and agri-preneurs to participate in the upcoming National Startup Expo in Hyderabad on April 22 and 23. “Let this be a platform to showcase your innovations to the nation. The Government is fully supportive, whether it is financial aid, technical help, or marketing support,” he said. He acknowledged the work of the Eklavya Grameen Foundation whose initiatives in organic farming have made it simpler, economical, and more widely adopted in rural India.

    The Minister concluded by reinforcing that India’s march to become a developed nation by 2047 would be incomplete without uplifting the rural economy and tapping into the vast, underexplored potential of agriculture. “The farmer of today is an agri-entrepreneur. And the field is no longer a place of hardship but a hub of opportunity,” he said.

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    NKR/PSM

    (Release ID: 2119235) Visitor Counter : 56

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Government and Poultry Industry Collaborate to Prevent Bird Flu Outbreaks

    Source: Government of India

    Government and Poultry Industry Collaborate to Prevent Bird Flu Outbreaks

    Implements Three-Pronged Strategy of  Biosecurity Measures, Strengthened Surveillance and Mandatory Registration of Poultry Farms

    Posted On: 05 APR 2025 2:44PM by PIB Delhi

    The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD) under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying held a high level meeting on 4th April 2025 in New Delhi to discuss the recent outbreaks of Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) in the  country. Chaired by Smt. Alka Upadhyaya, Secretary DAHD, the meeting brought together scientific experts, poultry industry representatives and policymakers to review the current situation of avian influenza and explore strategies to contain the disease and prevent its spread.

    A three-pronged strategy to prevent and control Bird Flu has been decided by DAHD in consultation with the stakeholders. It encompasses Stricter

    Biosecurity Measures wherein poultry farms must enhance hygiene practices, control farm access and follow stringent biosecurity protocols to minimize the risk of infection, Strengthened Surveillance and Mandatory Registration of Poultry Farms to enhance disease tracking and control (All poultry farms must register with state animal husbandry departments within a month. The government has urged poultry industry stakeholders to ensure 100% compliance with this directive).

     

    Speaking at the meeting, Smt. Alka Upadhyaya emphasized, “Protecting our poultry sector is critical for food security and rural livelihoods. Strict biosecurity, scientific surveillance, and responsible industry practices are essential in our fight against Bird Flu.” Additionally, Secretary DAHD stated the need for developing a predictive modelling system for early warning and environmental surveillance which would enable proactive disease detection and response, minimizing the risk of outbreaks and protecting the poultry industry. DAHD has permitted the use of the H9N2 (Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza) vaccine, developed by ICAR-NIHSAD, Bhopal, which is now available commercially.  A national study will evaluate the vaccine’s effectiveness of LPAI vaccination. The meeting also extensively discussed the possibility of allowing the use of a vaccine against Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in India.  Representatives from the poultry industry urged the government to explore vaccination as a strategy to prevent further economic losses in the sector. Scientific experts highlighted that currently available HPAI vaccines do not provide sterile immunity but only reduce virus shedding. Given these complexities, it was agreed that further scientific evaluation is needed before making a policy decision. The meeting recommended conducting detailed science-based assessments to determine the feasibility of HPAI vaccination in India. Research efforts have also been initiated to develop an indigenous HPAI vaccine following global best practices.

     

    The meeting saw participation from top animal health experts and leading poultry industry players including poultry vaccine manufacturers, poultry associations and government & research institutions like ICAR-NIHSAD, ICAR-IVRI, ICAR-CARI, ICAR-NIVEDI, and ICAR-Directorate of Poultry Research.

     

    About Avian Influenza and Current Status in India

     

    Avian Influenza is a highly infectious viral disease affecting birds, with occasional transmission to mammals. Since its first detection in India in 2006, outbreaks have been reported annually across multiple states. This year, the virus has shown cross-species transmission, impacting not just poultry but also wild birds and even big cats in some areas. Currently, six active outbreak zones remain in Jharkhand, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh in the country.

     

    Present situation on HPAI (From 1st January-4th April 2025)

     

    Domestic Poultry

     

    Parameter

    Details

    States Affected

    Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Bihar (Total: 8 states)

    Total Number of Epicentres

    34

    Active Epicentres

    6 (3 States – Jharkhand (Bokaro and Pakur), Telangana (Ranga Reddy, Nalagonda  and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri & Chhattisgarh (Baikunthpur, Korea)

     

    Non Poultry Species Affected (From 1st January-4th April 2025)

    Name of the State

    Species affected

    Maharashtra

    Tiger, Leopard, Vulture, Crow, Hawk and Egret

    Madhya Pradesh

    Pet Cat

    Rajasthan

    Demoiselle crane, Painted Stork

    Bihar

    Crow

    Goa

    Jungle Cat

    Comprehensive Approach to Controlling Avian Influenza

    The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD) has implemented a series of initiatives to control and prevent the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in India. The country follows a strict “detect and culling” policy, which involves culling infected birds, restricting movement, and disinfecting areas within a 1 km radius of outbreaks. States have been instructed to report daily on control measures, with increased surveillance and preparedness, especially during winter when migratory birds pose a higher risk. Surveillance for HPAI has also been expanded to non-poultry species, with negative results from tested cattle, goats, and pigs. In the global effort to combat potential pandemics, India has shared sequencing data of H5N1 isolates and related samples with international networks. Central teams, along with the National Joint Outbreak Response Team, are being deployed to manage outbreaks, and regular coordination meetings are being held with State Animal Husbandry Departments and other relevant authorities, including the Health and Wildlife Departments. India follows a test-and-cull policy to contain Avian Influenza outbreaks. Under the Livestock Health and Disease Control Scheme, the government compensates affected farmers for culled birds, destroyed eggs, and feed, with costs shared 50:50 between the Centre and States.

    ****

    Aditi Agrawal

    (Release ID: 2119198) Visitor Counter : 22

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Newsom appeals abrupt end of USDA farm subsidies used to supply food banks

    Source: US State of California 2

    Apr 5, 2025

    Family farmers share how these cuts will harm their businesses and communities

    What you need to know: Governor Newsom sent a letter of appeal today to the Department of Agriculture asking for a reversal of the termination of $47 million meant to support California’s farmers who grow produce for food banks and community centers.

    SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom sent an appeal to the United States Department of Agriculture today appealing the abrupt and inexplicable termination of funding for California’s Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) Program. Since 2022, California has utilized more than $88.5 million in LFPA funding to support local farmers, strengthen the state’s food supply system, and distribute high quality nutritious food to food insecure communities and families. Despite the inevitable harm that will fall upon farmers and communities, California’s $47 million from USDA for LFPA and Local Food for Schools Program that had been awarded for next year have been completely terminated.  

    “California’s agriculture sector – which produces nearly half the country’s fruits and vegetables – relies on the support of the Department of Agriculture to ensure that they can get fresh, healthy foods onto families’ tables. The irrational and malicious slashing of funds will not only hurt our farmers, but also the families who need food banks and school meals to stay healthy and thrive. I implore the USDA to immediately reverse this decision.”

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    “Farmers, families, and schoolchildren rely on the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program to nourish our communities and strengthen our local food systems. Through California Farm to School, we’ve seen firsthand how these initiatives provide fresh, nutritious meals to families while supporting local growers. Without this funding, families facing food insecurity will have fewer options, children will miss out on the meals they rely on, and farmers who have built their livelihoods around feeding our communities will face devastating losses. We urge the USDA to reconsider this decision and continue working with us to ensure a stronger, more resilient food system for all.”

    First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom

    Read the full letter HERE.

    Impact on California 

    California is the nation’s agricultural leader, producing nearly half of the Country’s fruits and vegetables. The local food production sector faces mounting pressures, including climate change, labor shortages, and market fluctuations, all impacting food availability and affordability. In 2024 alone, California’s LFPA Program allocated the California Association of Food Banks, CDSS’s largest LFPA partner, over $22.3 million to provide local healthy food and 18,647,546 meals to food-insecure Californians.

    The sole basis for the termination of LFPA25 was that “AMS [USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service] has determined that this agreement no longer effectuates agency priorities, and that termination of the award is appropriate,” even though USDA’s mission includes “promot[ing] agriculture production that better nourishes Americans.”  This decision will cause irreparable harm to the farmers and communities that have participated in and benefitted from California’s LFPA Program. 

    Testimonials 

    The testimonies below highlight just a few examples of the devastating impact that the interrupted LFPA and LFPA Plus payments, and termination of the LFPA25 Program, has, and will continue to have, on California farms, including family-operated farms.

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    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Trista H. Woessner-Gonzalez, of Granite Bay, has been appointed Director of the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, where she has served in several roles including as…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – EU-Mercosur agreement – E-000324/2025(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    Food produced or imported in the EU, must comply with EU’s sanitary and phytosanitary standards. No food containing residues of pesticides at a level posing a health risk can be placed on the market or imported. This applies regardless of trade agreements with third countries, including Mercosur.

    The Commission conducts regular audits in third countries and works closely with Member States authorities that perform official controls and enforcement activities on imported food to ensure that non-compliant products cannot enter the EU market.

    As presented in the communication A Vision for Agriculture and Food on 19 February 2025[1], the Commission will reinforce its actions in this regard. The Union approach to a fairer global playing field will consist of two-fold action that must go hand in hand.

    Besides strengthening a stricter implementation of internationally agreed commitments, the Commission will present in 2025 its line of action on deepening reciprocity to the Member States for further elaboration.

    At the same time, the Union will ensure domestically that ambitious EU standards do not lead to economic, environmental and social leakages.

    The Commission will pursue, in line with international rules, a stronger alignment of production standards applied to imported products, notably on pesticides and animal welfare.

    • [1] Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — A vision for Agriculture and Food Shaping together an attractive farming and agri-food sector for future generations COM/2025/75 final https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52025DC0075
    Last updated: 7 April 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: EU Fact Sheets – The Farm to Fork Strategy – 04-04-2025

    Source: European Parliament

    The Farm to Fork (F2F) Strategy is part of the European Union’s Green Deal, which aims to make the EU climate-neutral by 2050. The F2F Strategy is a policy framework setting out policy goals and initiatives designed to make the European Union’s food system more sustainable and environmentally friendly. The strategy comprises both regulatory and non-regulatory initiatives, with the common agricultural and fisheries policies as key tools to support a just transition.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Canberra in focus on Gardening Australia

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    Volunteer Carol can spot a caterpillar at ten paces, even if it is hidden under the husk of a corn cob.

    The popular Gardening Australia program will have a distinctly Canberra flavour on Friday 17 May.

    ABC TV’s gardening flagship will air a story featuring two ACT schools, several students and much-loved volunteer Carol Quashie-Williams, scientist in residence at both Farrer Primary and Namadgi School.

    As a CSIRO STEM Professional in Schools, Carol has enriched the lives of thousands of young people during two decades of volunteering.

    She teaches life skills in gardening, nutrition, cooking and teamwork, with lessons in biology, chemistry, earth and environmental science, physics, maths, literacy and art sprouting here and there.

    An agricultural and environmental scientist and entomologist, Carol can spot a caterpillar at ten paces, even if it is hidden under the husk of a corn cob.

    Namadgi School Principal Gareth Richards says Carol’s way of engaging the kids means her presence is felt whether she is on site or not.

    “Even when she’s not at school, the kids are still carrying on with activities she’s taught them,” he said.

    “We’ll see them walking around the garden with magnifying glasses in hand, inspecting bugs they find along the way. She has a lasting impact on our students’ lives.”

    Another legacy of Carol’s involvement is professional growth and development.

    “She builds the capacity of our staff. Working shoulder to shoulder with Carol they have picked up expertise they’ve been able to go on to share with our students,” Gareth said.

    Named Volunteer of the Year at the 2019 ACT Public Education Awards, Carol started volunteering when her own children were at school and found it so rewarding she continued after they had left.

    With a day job in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, she says her involvement in the schools program enables her to maintain her pest surveillance and diagnostic and science communication skills.

    “I enjoy inspiring the next generation of scientists and gardeners and love the enthusiasm of the students when working outside and in the environment centres,” she said.

    ‘My Garden Path – Carol STEM’ airs on Gardening Australia this Friday 17 May at 7:30pm (repeated Sunday 1:30pm, or catch up via iView or the Gardening Australia website).

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    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Former NFU President and farmer Baroness Minette Batters appointed by Defra to lead Farm Profitability Review

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Former NFU President and farmer Baroness Minette Batters appointed by Defra to lead Farm Profitability Review

    Crossbench peer, Baroness Batters appointed by the Secretary of State to provide recommendations on farm profitability.

    Baroness Minette Batters and Secretary of State Steve Reed

    Former NFU President and farmer, Baroness Minette Batters has been appointed to lead a review of farm profitability.  

    The new appointment by Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed will see Baroness Batters providing recommendations on farm profitability both to him and the Farming Minister.  

    Listening to farmers and growers will be at the heart of Baroness Batters’ work, covering all land areas and sectors of the industry, as well as engaging with other government departments whose work impacts farmers. 

    She will provide short, medium and long term recommendations and propose actions for government and industry that will support farming profitability as part of this government’s New Deal for Farmers.  

    This work will be supported by the newly formed Profitability Unit within Defra.  

    Baroness Batters’ review will also help the development of the food strategy, farming roadmap and the Land Use Framework, and build on other work such as the review of Defra’s regulatory landscape led by Dan Corry. 

    Her aim is to help ensure our farming sector is more viable, self-sustaining and competitive in the long-term.

    Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed, said:   

    Backing British farmers is the backbone of all work to support rural economic growth and boost Britain’s food security.  

    We have taken strong action to protect the future of the sector with the New Deal for Farmers. But we must go further and faster as part of our Plan for Change to put money into the pockets of farmers and drive growth. 

    That is why I am delighted to appoint Baroness Batters, and her years of experience as a leader during a time of great change in British agriculture make her uniquely placed to provide recommendations on tackling the deep-rooted problems holding the sector back and support farmers’ long-term profits.

    Baroness Minette Batters said:  

    I will leave no stone unturned in trying to find solutions to boost farm profitability. But we should be under no illusions how difficult this work will be. There will not be one ‘silver bullet’ to fire but I’m hopeful this review can make a difference to a sector that produces the nation’s food, underpins the rural economy and delivers so much for the environment.   

    I’m pleased to be appointed to lead this review and look forward to working with farmers and growers to provide recommendations to government, food retailers, processors and manufacturers.

    The appointment is one of a number of actions that the government is taking to improve the profitability of farmers, including through fair competition in the supply chain, ensuring planning reforms make it quicker for farmers to build the buildings they need on their farms, and helping farmer diversify income streams and make additional money from selling surplus energy from solar panels and wind turbines by accelerating connections to the grid. 

    As set out in the Plan for Change, the government is focused on supporting our farmers, rural economic growth and boosting Britain’s food security and are going further to develop a 25-year farming roadmap to make the sector more profitable in the decades to come.

    Notes to editors

    • Baroness Batters will begin her role on 7 April 2025. 
    • The appointment will be for a period of six months with recommendations provided to the Secretary of State within that timeline.

    About Baroness Minette Batters

    Baroness Batters joined the NFU when she started farming, and rose to be county chair and a member of several NFU committees.  As the first woman president of NFU, Minette has been a positive force within the agricultural industry. She served as President of the National Farmers Union from 2018 to 2024, having previously served as Deputy President from 2014 to 2018.  

    In her role as deputy president and then president, Batters has represented the farming community at a time of great change, during the agricultural transition. Batters has supported orderly change and maintenance of high standards in UK agriculture. 

    She was appointed as a crossbench member of the House of Lords in 2024 and was made a Deputy Lieutenant to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in 2021.

    She was brought up on a tenanted farm in Wiltshire and now runs the tenanted family farm in Wiltshire, a mixed farming business including a 100-cow continental cross suckler herd, as well as sheep and arable. Diversification on the farm includes the conversion of a 17th Century barn into a wedding and events venue, and horse liveries.

    Updates to this page

    Published 7 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: 7 April 2025 Russian-Chinese Construction Forum to be held as part of AmurExpo The 2nd Russian-Chinese Construction Forum and Exhibition of Construction Achievements will take place on 24–25 May 2025 at the AmurExpo Russian-Chinese Economic Forum in Blagoveshchensk, Russia. The AmurExpo is an offsite venue for the Eastern Economic Forum, which will be held on 3–6 September in Vladivostok. The EEF is organized by the Roscongress Foundation.

    Source: Eastern Economic Forum

    7 April 2025

    Russian-Chinese Construction Forum to be held as part of AmurExpo

    The 2nd Russian-Chinese Construction Forum and Exhibition of Construction Achievements will take place on 24–25 May 2025 at the AmurExpo Russian-Chinese Economic Forum in Blagoveshchensk, Russia. The AmurExpo is an offsite venue for the Eastern Economic Forum, which will be held on 3–6 September in Vladivostok. The EEF is organized by the Roscongress Foundation.

    “Holding such events provides professionals from the Amur Region with an opportunity to exchange experience with representatives of public associations and business communities from the regions and participating countries, as well as discuss business integration issues and how to build new logistics chains in the industry with their colleagues. The Forum participants will address issues concerning state construction policy and discuss the measures needed for the high-quality and rapid development of the Far East, including interaction mechanisms and methods to create attractive territories for integrated development,” Deputy Chairman of the Amur Region Government Pavel Matyukhin said.

    The Forum participants will attend the official opening of AmurExpo 2025 and the strategic session ‘Integrated Development of Territories: Infrastructure and Construction of the Future’, where experts and speakers will discuss the digitalization of the industry, the development of smart cities, best international practices in construction, and the integrated development of territories. In addition, the regional agenda will include the seminar ‘Establishment of Urban Development Systems of Russia and China’. Cadets from the Muravyov-Amursky programme plan to hold a roundtable titled ‘Modern Challenges and Prospects for Cooperation in Training Personnel in the Construction Industry’.

    The Forum guests will also have a chance to view the exhibition of achievements in construction and industry, where construction companies from Russia and China will present their successes.

    “The integrated development of territories is one of the priorities for the Far East. To this end, interregional cooperation and exchanging experience at the forum platforms of the Far Eastern Federal District are of paramount importance. Key approaches to solving issues that affect all regions of the federal district are traditionally hammered out there. The Eastern Economic Forum is a gathering point for the most successful practices, ideas, and proposals, where practical tools for the development of the macro-region are created and improved. I am confident that the results of the discussions at AmurExpo could be reflected in the programme of the EEF 2025, which will be held in Vladivostok on 3–6 September,” First Deputy CEO of the Roscongress Foundation and Director of the Eastern Economic Forum Igor Pavlov said.

    The Russian Centre for National Construction Policy, the organizer of the Russian-Chinese Construction Forum, signed a cooperation agreement at the AmurExpo 2024 in Blagoveshchensk. The first Forum was held in April 2024 in Harbin, China (Heilongjiang Province). The Forum brought together more than 10,000 participants, including representatives of business, science, and government from both countries, and primarily focused on the introduction of digital technologies in construction, smart design systems, as well as construction technologies for work in emergency situations.

    “The second Russian-Chinese Construction Forum is a logical continuation of the policy of strengthening cooperation that began last year. The first Forum clearly demonstrated the vast potential of and mutual interest in developing a partnership in the construction industry. We saw there is demand for such platforms for a direct dialogue, exchange of experience, and discussion of key issues. The interest of business entities from both countries confirms the prospects for implementing joint projects. I firmly believe that the second Forum will be an important step in strengthening long-term and mutually beneficial relations between Russia and China in the construction sector. We are counting on the active participation of all interested parties and invite them to engage in a constructive dialogue at the Forum,” Russian Centre for National Construction Policy Director Alexander Moor said.

    AmurExpo will take place on 22–25 May. The first day, 22 May, will be devoted to the regional agenda. The business programme architecture has been posted on the event’s website.

    The Forum is being held with the support of the Russian Ministry for the Development of the Far East and Arctic, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, and other federal institutions.

    AmurExpo is being organized by the Amur Region government, the Amur Region Investment Promotion Agency, and the Roscongress Foundation.

    The Forum operators are the Roscongress Foundation and the Amur Region Territory Development Centre.

     

    Read more

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Canberra’s best noodles

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    Canberrans have named Tokyo Canteen among their favourite noodles. Image: VisitCanberra

    There are few foods more comforting than a warm bowl of noodles.

    We asked Canberrans on the We Are CBR Instagram page to tell us their favourite spots for noodles in Canberra.

    Here are the top noodles in Canberra, as voted by you.

    Yat Bun Tong Dumpling House, Belconnen

    While Yat Bun Tong offer pan-fried and steamed dumplings, locals also love their noodels

    Singapore noodles, stir fried noodles with shredded pork and fried rice vermicelli with shredded roast duck are just some of the noodle dishes on the menu.

    Ramentic repeatedly gets mentioned as one of Canberra’s best spots for ramen.

    They offer six types of Japanese ramen, including their signature Ramentic with shio tonkotsu (pork bone broth) and slow cooked chashu (pork scotch).

    If Laksa is your preferred noodle dish, Dickson Asian Noodle House offer one of Canberra’s best.

    The restaurant specialises in traditional Malaysian, Thai and Lao cuisine and the menu is heavy on noodle dishes. Think noodle soups, Hokkien noodles, Pad Thai, Pad Siew and more.

    This reasonably new addition to Lonsdale Street is heavy on the sass, and the spice.

    Noodle lovers rate the Pad Thai, Kuay Tew Toon (noodles in a five spice broth with pork, beef or chicken) and Yen Ta Fo or pink noodle soup.

    It seems that Canberrans love a bowl of ramen, and Ikigai has cemented itself as a favourite among northsiders.

    Their menu includes four styles of ramen, including Tonkotsu (pork), Tori Paitan (white chicken bone broth with sous vide chicken breast), Shoyu Miso (miso broth and charred tofu) and Ebi Curry (white chicken bone broth, curry sauce and prawns).

    This Asian fusion restaurant has a contemporary take on traditional Japanese ramen.

    Chicken and porcini, gochujang, lime and chilli, truffle, and black sesame are just some of the standout flavours.

    If you like having options, you’re bound to love Biang Biang Noodles.

    Their speciality is Chinese hand-pulled noodles and they offer dry or soup noodles with a large range of flavours.

    Bistro Nguyen’s is a Vietnamese restaurant that’s well-known for its Pho, or Vietnamese noodle soup.

    Choose from vegetarian, beef, chicken or seafood Pho options. There are also vermicelli bowls, roast duck noodles, laksa, crispy noodles and more.

    Lim Peh’s Wonton Noodles takes inspiration from Singapore’s Hawker markets to bring authentic noodles to Canberra.

    Choose from Wantan Mee (dry or soup noodles with char siu pork), Lem Peh’s duck noodles, chee cheong fun (steamed rice noodle rolls), Hainanese beef noodles and more.

    1919 Lanzhou Beef Noodle offer both dry noodles and noodle soup.

    There are eight noodle dishes on the menu, featuring handmade noodles with beef, pork, chicken or lamb.

    Ramen O, Belconnen, Phillip and Canberra City

    Ramen O specialise in authentic Japanese ramen with tonkotsu pork and soy soup.

    In addition to their pork ramens they have three vegetarian ramens on offer which use a soy milk based soup.

    Weston Creek residents love Sin Ya Garden’s Chinese, Malaysian and Indonesian cuisine.

    Their menu is extensive and includes noodle soup, crispy noodles, mee goreng, laksa and Singapore noodles.

    This Vietnamese restaurant is a favourite among Canberra foodies.

    The menu features Vietnamese sour soup, pho (beef rice noodle soup), rice or egg noodle soup, laksa, and noodle salads.

    Tokyo Canteen runs ramen nights from 5pm, serving traditional Japanese ramen.

    If you’re in the mood for something less traditional, try their udon carbonara with chewy udon noodles, creamy sauce and a soy-cured egg yolk.

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    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Allens advises on pathfinder energy transition project financing

    Source: Allens Insights (legal sector)

    Australia’s first renewable energy zone reaches contractual and financial close

    Allens has advised the financiers to the ACEREZ partnership on the project and financing documentation with Energy Corporation of New South Wales (NSW EnergyCo) for the design, construction and operation of transmission infrastructure for Australia’s first renewable energy zone, the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) in NSW.

    The first-of-its-kind project, which reached financial close last week, will deliver at least 4.5 gigawatts of new network capacity by 2028, which could represent around 25-30% of NSW’s total electricity needs and generate a significant economic boost in the Central-West Orana region and broader NSW.

    In a major step forward for NSW’s energy roadmap and Australia’s energy transition, the ACEREZ partnership – comprised of ACCIONA, COBRA and Endeavour Energy and advised by Capella Capital – will now formally commence construction of Australia’s first declared REZ.

    ‘Achieving contractual and financial close for Australia’s first renewable energy zone marks a significant milestone in Australia’s transition to clean and sustainable energy sources,’ said lead partner Nicholas Adkins.

    ‘As the remaining coal-fired power stations are retired in coming years, the Central-West Orana REZ will play a critical role in connecting solar and wind farms, as well as energy storage facilities, to the NSW electricity grid and ensuring timely, affordable and reliable energy sources for NSW.

    ‘This is the first competitively sourced REZ transmission project in Australia. It combines features of public-private partnership and regulated asset models, ensuring a tailored procurement process which safeguards the long-term interests of energy consumers. This landmark transaction will set a precedent for future renewable energy zones and other critical projects in Australia ,’ said lead Partner Nicholas Adkins.

    ‘Bringing this landmark project to life has required tremendous effort from everyone involved. We are proud to have advised the financing syndicate and we congratulate NSW EnergyCo, the ACEREZ partnership, Capella Capital as financial adviser to ACEREZ and the project financiers on reaching financial close for the project.’

    Allens legal team

    Nicholas Adkins (Partner),  Angela Lambros (Associate), Campbell Halliday (Associate), Maya Bahra (Associate), Greta Parker (Lawyer)

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Agriculture Research – Climate change conditions impacting critical element for plant growth, fertiliser need

    Source: AgResearch

    Rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are altering phosphorus (P) available for plant growth, potentially leading to costly and unnecessary fertiliser application by farmers.

    New research published in the Global Change Biology journal by scientists from AgResearch and Lincoln University has found that the test used in New Zealand to estimate the amount of available P in the soil may be underestimating the true accessibility of this crucial element for pasture plant growth.

    The research, which drew on data from a long-running AgResearch experiment* in which carbon dioxide is artificially elevated on an area of grazed pasture, is the latest to throw up surprising new results about what happens under rising carbon dioxide levels tied to climate change.

    “For decades, New Zealand farmers have relied on the Olsen P test to determine the P available in soils and to guide decisions about fertiliser use,” says lead author Zac Beechey-Gradwell. 

    “The data from the AgResearch experiment shows a substantial and sustained reduction in available P in the topsoil extracted by the Olsen P measure under elevated carbon dioxide, prior to annual P fertiliser application. In addition, the effectiveness of P fertiliser in raising Olsen P was significantly reduced.”      

    “Scientists have known for a while that elevated carbon dioxide reduces the amount of P extracted by the Olsen P test, but we didn’t fully understand why or what the consequences of this might be. Our latest research confirms that more of the fertiliser P that is applied under elevated carbon dioxide is rapidly converted into organic forms in the topsoil, in a process called ‘biological immobilisation’. This essentially makes it invisible to standard soil P tests.”

    “If a soil P test indicates phosphorus deficiency, farmers may respond by applying more fertiliser than is necessary, driving up costs without improving pasture performance. Phosphorus is an essential macro-nutrient for plant growth. Without it, production will decline.”

    “At a minimum, this research suggests we are going to need to recalibrate soil P test targets under elevated carbon dioxide to ensure that P fertiliser recommendations remain cost-effective and environmentally sustainable in the years ahead.”

    AgResearch principal scientist Alec Mackay says the phosphorus findings have landed against a backdrop of expected gains in pasture productivity not materialising under climate change.

    “We need further research to see if similar trends are occurring in different soil types, and what the impact is on clovers and nitrogen fixation.”

    Research co-author, Professor Leo Condron of Lincoln University, says: “Phosphorus fertiliser manufacture in New Zealand is dependent on imported phosphate rock and the cost has increased and become more volatile since 2007-08, and it is therefore important to ensure that fertiliser P is being used efficiently”.

    Read the full research at: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70150

    *New Zealand’s globally unique Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) experiment has allowed scientists to study plant and soil responses to elevated carbon dioxide in a sheep grazed pasture for almost 24 years (1997-2021). Read more at:https://www.agresearch.co.nz/our-research/future-facing-experiment-helping-to-combat-climate-change/

    AgResearch’s core focus is to deliver high quality science to enhance the value, productivity and sustainability of New Zealand’s pastoral, agri-food and agri-technology sectors. More at www.agresearch.co.nz

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Federated Farmers Statement: ‘Law-breaking’ Greenpeace must lose charity status

    Source: Federated Farmers

    Federated Farmers is calling for the Government to immediately strip Greenpeace of their charitable status, following the activist group’s illegal occupation of Port Taranaki this week.
    “There is no way Greenpeace should be eligible for charitable status when they’re engaging in illegal activity like this,” says Federated Farmers spokesperson Richard McIntyre.
    “They may call themselves a charity, but in reality they’re nothing short of an extreme activist group who illegally disrupt legitimate businesses and spread dangerous misinformation.”
    Charitable status in New Zealand is intended to support organisations that advance public benefit through education, relief of poverty, and other recognised charitable purposes.
    Under the Charities Act, organisations must operate for the public good and not primarily serve political or advocacy purposes.
    “Greenpeace clearly fails that test and allowing them to maintain their charitable status risks completely undermining the credibility of the entire charitable sector,” McIntyre says.
    “Allowing these law-breaking activists to continue masquerading as a charity is a total slap in the face for thousands of legitimate charities who actually provide a valuable service to society.
    “To make matters worse, hardworking Kiwi taxpayers are effectively being forced to subsidise Greenpeace’s illegal activity and political activism through huge tax breaks for their donors.”
    Federated Farmers say Greenpeace have demonstrated a clear pattern of disruptive behaviour, political activism and illegal conduct.
    “It’s time for Charities Services to stop turning a blind eye to this blatant breach of their rules and remove Greenpeace from the Charities Register,” McIntyre says.
    “If an organisation can occupy ports, threaten livelihoods, and deliberately mislead the public – all while claiming charitable status – then the system is clearly broken.”
    Today Federated Farmers have lodged a formal complaint with Charities Services requesting they open an inquiry into Greenpeace’s conduct and eligibility for charitable status.
    A copy of that complaint has been sent to Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Hon Louise Upston and Minister of Internal Affairs Hon Brooke van Velden.
    Greenpeace’s pattern of illegal behaviour includes:
    – The Noble Discoverer Ship Occupation in 2012, where seven Greenpeace activists unlawfully boarded an oil drilling ship in Port Taranaki and camped on its tower for 77 hours. All were arrested and convicted of trespass. 
    – The Amazon Warrior Sea Protest in 2017, where Greenpeace’s Executive Director Russel Norman and two others were arrested under the Crown Minerals Act for jumping into the sea to obstruct a seismic survey vessel. 
    – The Parliament Crane Protest in 2017, where four activists trespassed on a construction site behind Parliament and climbed a crane to hang a protest banner during the visit of a US Secretary of State. All were arrested.
    – The Fonterra Te Rapa Dairy Factory Protest in 2024, where Greenpeace activists scaled Fonterra’s Te Rapa dairy factory in Hamilton. Seven were arrested and charged with being in an enclosed yard and formally trespassed.
    – The Straterra Offices Protest in Wellington, where two Greenpeace activists scaled the building while three others locked themselves inside the offices. All five were arrested.
    – The Port Taranaki Occupation in 2025, where six activists disrupted port operations in a premeditated action, blocking critical feed for drought-stricken farmers, resulting in four arrests. 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Northland Regional Council News

    Source: Northland Regional Council

    NO BUSES – APRIL 2025 HOLIDAYS AND SCHOOL HOLIDAYS
    A reminder that there will be no CityLink Whangārei or BusLink bus services on the upcoming public holidays on Friday 18, Monday 21 and Friday 25 April.
    This applies to all CityLink routes and the Far North Link’s Kaitaia – Mangonui route.
    Additionally, CityLink Whangārei’s SchoolLink service will not run during the two-week school holiday period, from Monday 14 April. School Link services resume on Monday 28 April, when schools go back.
    Further information on NRCs BusLink services around the region can be found at buslink.co.nz. For CityLink, go to citylinkwhangarei.co.nz or follow CityLink on Facebook for more information.
    ORDERS OPEN FOR NRC’S EROSION-CONTROL POPLARS AND WILLOWS
    The Northland Regional Council offers subsidised poplars and willows for sale as three metre poles, 1.5 or two metre stakes, or one metre wands every autumn before the winter planting season.
    Poplars and willows offer many benefits, stabilising pastoral hill country and sequestering carbon, they provide timber, reduce sediment runoff, improve water quality, provide stock shade and enhance the farm environment.
    With the subsidy, prices for the poplars and willows range from $5.75 per pole to $1.15 per wand (GST inclusive). The subsidy is available for orders of 20 or more trees for erosion control. Protective sleeves are available at $8.60 each (GST incl.).
    A planting subsidy is also available to help farmers fund a contractor to get their council poplars into the ground. The subsidy offers up to $7 per pole and $1 per stake or wand.
    For more information on Northland Regional Council poplars and willows, and the planting grant, visit nrc.govt.nz/orderingpoplars or contact our Land Management team on 0800 002 004 or by email:
    nursery@nrc.govt.nz (for poplar and willow orders)
    landadmin@nrc.govt.nz (for planting grant enquiries) 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Horse riding trails to try in Auckland

    Source: Auckland Council

    Where can you enjoy the best views in Auckland without wearing out your walking shoes? From a horse of course! There are several parks and beaches in Tāmaki Makaurau where riding is permitted with an Auckland Council horse riding pass. From wild west coast beaches to epic tracks with views over Hauraki Gulf, there are horse trails ideal for both seasoned equestrians used to steep terrain and those new to riding who prefer the flat. So take the reins and saddle up.

    To ride in any of Auckland’s regional parks and areas where horses are permitted, you need to have a horse riding pass – but the good news is it’s free. Simply register online to receive your pass, which is valid from 1 October until 30 September the following year, and you’ll also receive gate codes and sometimes special information about each park or track. With your pass in your pocket you’re ready to giddy up – here are our best spots to enjoy riding in Auckland.

    Riders will be champing at the bit to saddle up at Duder Regional Park on the Whakakaiwhara Peninsula in southeast Auckland. The views are incredible 360-degree vistas of the surrounding hills, Hunua Ranges and Hauraki Gulf islands, and from the elevation of horseback a visit is extra special. Trot along the 4.3km Farm Loop trail while soaking in those epic views down to the Gulf – the path has a mixture of gravel and grass terrain with a steeper section.

    The Farm Loop track at Duder Regional Park offers views out to the Hauraki Gulf islands including Waiheke and Ponui Island / Chamberlins Island, as well inland to the Hūnua Ranges.

    Duder is a working farm, so be careful not to frighten grazing sheep and cattle, and please leave gates as you find them. This park is also used by mountain bikers so take care if your horse is easily frightened.

    Horse riding is seasonal but the open dates are usually around 1 October to 30 June. The park is closed during winter and early spring due to wet weather and the lambing season. Other horse riding trails in southeast Auckland include specific areas at Hūnua Ranges Regional Park and Waitawa Regional Park.

    With its crashing waves, black sand beaches and golden sunsets, a visit to Muriwai Beach at Muriwai Regional Park is ideal for horsing around (responsibly of course). It’s not surprising that many movies and TV shows have been filmed on this dramatic landscape and the area has attracted many international celebrity riders.

    Riders can enjoy riding along the Five Mile Strip at Muriwai Beach.

    The horse park can be accessed year-round past the golf course on Coast Road. From the horse park you can ride north up Muriwai Beach where there is a designated sand based loop trail through the Five Mile Strip which extends 6.5km north from the southern side of Okiritoto Stream. Stick to the beach and away from the vegetation on the sand dunes. It pays to be aware of tides as at high tide the beach becomes quite narrow and this popular beach is also used by vehicles.

    The adjoining Woodhill Forest riding area is separate to the regional park and you must register as a member or casual rider with this park in order to access it.

    Visit the Woodhill Forest website to find out more.

    The bridle path in Manurewa’s Tōtara Park is the mane attraction for horse riders. This path is just minutes from neigh-bouring suburbs, but feels like you’re in the country. The path starts from the Redoubt Road car park and goes to the Wairere Road picnic area and goes through farmland with small patches of bush. This 3.5km gravel trail is a shared path and is also used by walkers, joggers, bikers and people with prams.

    The Tōtara Park Bridle Path takes riders past a wetland area and through farmland.

    As Tōtara Park has many facilities including a playground, basketball court and picnic areas, it’s possible for some members of the family to take a ride while others enjoy other activities.

    Want to extend your ride for more than a day? The stunning Ātiu Creek Regional Park on the Kaipara Harbour is the only regional park in Auckland where you can ride and stay overnight across different accommodation options. Ātiu Creek campground which is located near Solomon’s Bay, has an adjacent holding paddock below for horses and horse loading area so you can get back in the saddle quickly after camping. Please note, horses are not permitted inside the campground. 

    Ātiu Creek Regional Park is a ride-and-stay park. Riders can stay in the campsite or at Council accommodation with their horse safely grazing at the overnight horse paddock.

    You can also stay in the bookable accommodation at Courtyard House or Ātiu Cottage, with both houses providing holding paddocks next to the property for horses. The rides at Ātiu Creek are spectacular start from the horse-float parking off Run Road, 1.2km past the main park entrance. There are 15km of shared tracks, many offering breathtaking views over Kaipara Harbour with a wide variety of terrain, and it’s possible to explore the trails for several hours. The horse trails are seasonal and close in winter, approximately from 1 July to 30 September due to track conditions. Riders are restricted to groups of 20 without a special permit.

    There are two great areas to ride your horse on Auckland’s Āwhitu Peninsula. Karioitahi Beach offers a dramatic coastline and gorgeous riding conditions. Unload your horses in the signed area near the beach access and observe the walking-only zone for 500m either side of the entrance. Within this zone horses must remain within 10m of the water’s edge when possible and all manure must be removed. It’s best to ride this wild west beach at low tide to avoid getting stranded by the incoming tide. Note that this beach is also used by vehicles, fishers and paragliders, so take caution and keep to the left, as you would with a car.

    Further up the peninsula, horse riding is available year-round in the paddocks at Āwhitu Regional Park. To access the riding paddocks, park in the main car park and head around the campground gate (take the detour track on the right), before following the internal park road until you reach the pond. The paddocks are through the gate on your right.

    It’s best to ride at Karioitahi Beach on the Āwhitu Peninsula at low tide, keep to the left and stay clear of vehicles using the beach.

    Parts of Āwhitu Regional Park are closed because of kauri dieback, please use cleaning stations to clean your shoes and make sure your horse float comes to the park clean and your horse’s hooves have been picked back at home before you arrive at the park. The horse area is near a wetland and can get quite boggy – to minimise soil pugging spread out your riding line.

    For a full list of places you can ride a horse in Auckland, check out the council website.

    Kauri Dieback 

    Kauri trees in Tāmaki Makaurau are under threat from kauri dieback disease (Phytophthora agathidicida).

    Please remember to clean your footwear and your horse’s hooves with the available cleaning stations before entering any of these horse tracks.

    More information on kauri dieback and how you can help prevent the spread of it can be found via the Auckland Council website.

    For safety reasons, it’s important to follow the rules when riding in any park where horses are permitted. There are different rules in each park, but here is a quick overview of some key points:

    • Riders must have their Auckland Council horse riding pass on them at all times when riding, and riders under the age of 18 must be supervised by an adult

    • Riders are responsible for their own mount.

    • Ride within the permitted park hours and riding season.

    • Always park your horse float in the designated area if there is one. 

    • Stick to the tracks unless paddock riding is permitted and avoid areas that have become boggy in rain. Leave gates as you find them.

    • When enjoying Auckland’s horse riding tracks, wear a helmet at all times and use a saddle and riding gear.

    • Galloping and cantering is not permitted unless it’s with an approved permit or event. 

    • Protect flora and fauna. Avoid hitching your horse to a tree and ensure your horse does not graze on any native vegetation.

    • In areas with kauri dieback, use the cleaning stations to clean your horses hooves as well as your own footwear to prevent the spread of kauri dieback.

    • Leading horses without riders is not permitted, except at Hunua Ranges, Muriwai and Whakanewha.

    • Report lost horses to park staff immediately (ranger numbers are printed on signage at parks). Let park staff know if you need access to a horse float to move an injured animal.

    • Be respectful of other users in the park or beach, including walkers, runners and mountain bikers.

    Make sure you’re familiar with the full list of horse riding rules before you saddle up.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: A century of service at Bannockburn

    Source:

    Over 20 trucks and emergency service personnel marched down the main street of Bannockburn to celebrate the brigade’s 100th year serving their community on Saturday night.

    The brigade was born out of a need in the community for an organised fire service in 1925 following a community meeting led by Councillor Samuel Donald Gillett and Constable Ainsworth, who were to become the first president and secretary.   

    The brigade quickly purchased fire-fighting equipment, such as fire beaters, tanks, and a pump and was active almost immediately due to the ongoing fire season. 

    The brigade grew steadily in both membership and equipment and their early work included responding to major fires, like the Bannockburn Wood Reserve fire in 1927 and the Pound paddock fire in 1931. 

    The brigade’s first fire truck, an ex-Lend Lease Chevy, was often difficult to start, and members would either hotwire it or roll-start it by pushing it down High Street. 

    In the early days, without radio or telephone communications, organising responses to fires was difficult and key figures like the postmaster, Fred Matthews, and the Moreillon family played vital roles in coordinating efforts.  

    During the war years from 1939 to 1945, many men from the district were away fighting overseas or otherwise committed to military duties and brigade numbers on the ground were limited.  

    However, this did not stop the brigade from still stoically serving their community. 

    In the early days of the brigade there was no station, equipment and trucks were stored on the properties and in sheds of members. Eventually, in the 50s, work began on the first Bannockburn fire station.  

    The CFA purchased land for the station in January 1955, and the brigade moved into their new building by October 1955. The station initially had a tin shed with swing doors. 

    By 1962, the station had a concrete floor and plans for a siren and fence were underway.  

    Over their 100-year history the brigade has been involved in many major incidents like the Ash Wednesday fires in 1983. 

    Bannockburn suffered its greatest losses from fire in the devastating fires of the 8th of January 1969. There were a number of horrendous fires on that day, including the Lara fire that took 10 lives.  

    The brigade has also been involved in many strike teams where members have been deployed to help in major events like Black Saturday, the 2019/2020 bushfire season, and the Echuca floods in 2021/2022.  

    In 1995, the new Bannockburn Emergency Services Facility opened on the site of the old fire station. The development began in 1991 with a proposal to combine the CFA and SES services in a shared facility. 

    The Bannockburn brigade has a long history and over the years has gone from a rural brigade, predominately made up of farmers, to a semi-rural brigade which is now full of young families.  

    To celebrate a century of service the brigade has events dotted throughout the year to gather both old and new members together with the community.  

    One of the major events was their community day and torchlight parade on Saturday 5 April. 

    During the day the station was open with the community coming out to explore the trucks, historical displays and food.  

    In the evening members both past and present marched alongside Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, and SES down Milton Street in a torchlight parade.  

    Over 20 trucks from the Bannockburn and surrounding brigades were also a part of the procession.  

    Captain of Bannockburn Brigade Shannon Robinson said she was extremely proud to be captain at this special moment in history.  

    “We are a great bunch of people, and it was fun marching, with our members side by side, it was a very proud moment,” she said.  

    “We might have flashy new trucks but at our core we are still the same, community minded people who just want to do what they can.” 

    Brigade member and Community Safety Officer Dale Smith has been leading a dedicated committee who have been working tirelessly on celebrations for the 100-year milestone. 

    “Community members got together 100 years ago and decided there was an issue and set about fixing it and that’s why we have the brigade we do today,” he said.  

    “The events throughout the year but particularly the torchlight parade and community celebration day are a way for all of us, past, present, and community to reflect on this amazing history.” 

    Submitted by CFA Media

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Audit Confirms $1 Million in Federal Relief for Puerto Rican Fishers Was Never Distributed

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Nydia M Velázquez (D-NY)

    WASHINGTON– A new federal audit, launched at the request of Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), confirms that $1 million in disaster relief intended to assist Puerto Rican fishers after the COVID-19 pandemic was never delivered. Each eligible fisher could have received between $2,419 and $15,000 for their losses.
     
    “It is incredibly frustrating to see how these funds—which could have made a huge difference—were wasted,” said Congresswoman Velázquez. “Puerto Rican fishers have spent years waiting for help, only to see those resources mismanaged. This confirms what they’ve been saying from the beginning and shows how opaque, unilateral administrative decisions in managing recovery funds directly harm the communities most in need.”
     
    The audit, released by the Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Commerce, came in response to a 2022 request from Velázquez. It shows that the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture failed to distribute a large portion of a $3.9 million federal aid package. The funds were granted through two cooperative agreements with NOAA, funded by the CARES Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
     
    The report found that the Department failed to distribute $2.9 million in direct payments under the second round of funding, even after NOAA granted multiple deadline extensions. Officials cited low participation due to mistrust of the process and concerns about submitting tax documents. However, the official application notice stated that tax returns were not required, raising questions about the Department’s justification.
     
    The Department also attempted to use $1.5 million of the unused funds to purchase equipment, a request NOAA denied because it did not meet the purpose of the program. Later, the Department claimed nearly $400,000 in administrative expenses, which averages $682 per each of the 586 checks that were successfully delivered. The remaining $1 million will be returned to the U.S. Treasury.
     
    Velázquez called for continued oversight of federal recovery funds in Puerto Rico. “We cannot let this become the norm,” she emphasized. “With only 27 percent of the $41 billion allocated for Puerto Rico’s recovery spent so far, every dollar must be monitored, and every agency must be held accountable.”
     
    “The audit reflects the lack of urgency and commitment shown by the Department of Agriculture in managing funds from the Consolidated Appropriations Act—something the fishers have consistently denounced and one of the reasons they are calling on the Department to appoint a new director for the Fisheries Program. This is why they are demanding the immediate resignation of the current director, who is responsible for the loss of over $1 million and unjustifiable administrative costs in managing these funds,” said Juan Capella Noya, Community Consultant for Firmes, Unidos y Resilientes con la Abogacía (FURIA Inc.). He added, “Throughout this process, people both in the United States and Puerto Rico have echoed the fishers’ demands and taken action. Among them, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez’s irreplaceable oversight work stands out—something we know the fishers are deeply grateful for.”
     
    For a full copy of the audit, click here.
     

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: 98% of Queensland prawn areas at risk of inundation by rising seas this century

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caitie Kuempel, Lecturer, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University

    As climate change wreaks havoc with the world’s oceans, future production of fish, crustaceans and other aquatic organisms is under threat.

    Our new research shows how this disturbance will play out for Australia’s prawn industry, which is concentrated in Queensland. We found by 2100, sea level rise threatens to flood 98% of the state’s approved prawn areas.

    The problem is not confined to prawns – Queensland barramundi farming is also at risk from sea-level rise. Climate change also poses challenges for other major seafood industries in Australia, including salmon in Tasmania.

    Australian seafood is vital to our culture and diets, and the national economy. We must take steps now to ensure the aquaculture industry thrives in a warmer world.

    Spotlight on Queensland prawns

    Aquaculture refers to breeding, rearing and harvesting fish, crustaceans, algae and other organisms in water. Australia’s aquaculture industry is expected to be worth A$2.2 billion by 2028–29.

    Aquaculture can involve a variety of methods, from ponds and sea cages to indoor tank systems and even giant ships.

    Aquaculture is one of Queensland’s fastest-growing primary industries – partly due to burgeoning production in prawn farming.

    Queensland is also expected to experience a 0.8m sea-level rise by 2100, under a high-emissions scenario. Our research investigated how this could affect the state’s aquaculture industry.

    We did this by examining existing data on coastal inundation and erosion from sea-level rise, combined with data on current and future aquaculture production areas.

    We found 43% of sites where aquaculture production is currently occurring are at risk from sea-level rise. Prawn farming is the most vulnerable.

    About 98% of areas approved for prawn farming in Queensland are expected to be inundated by seawater by 2100. The risk includes 88% of areas currently producing prawns. Prawns are grown in large ponds on land near the coast with access to saltwater, which makes them particularly vulnerable to inundation. Annual prawn production losses due to sea-level rise could reach up to A$127.6 million by century’s end.

    Inundation and coastal erosion can cause breaches in pond walls compromising their structural integrity. These risks may be amplified when sea-level rise coincides with coastal flooding. Rising seas can also increase salinity in surrounding soils and groundwater, further affecting ponds. Other aquaculture infrastructure, such as hatcheries, buildings, and roads, may also be disrupted.

    The Gold Coast region – a prawn production hub – is particularly vulnerable. Damage caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred highlights the vulnerability of coastal infrastructure to extreme weather. This will only worsen as the planet warms.

    Queensland barramundi farms also face a serious threat. Some 44% of areas producing barramundi are likely to be exposed to inundation, causing up to A$22.6 million in annual production losses. Meanwhile, two of Queensland’s designated “Aquaculture Development Areas” – regions earmarked by the state government for industry expansion – may be unsuitable due to future sea levels. Both are located in the Hinchinbrook Shire Council area.

    Beyond rising seas

    Globally and in Australia, climate change is posing myriad challenges to seafood farmers.

    Rising water temperatures stress animals such as salmon, lowering oxygen levels which slows growth rates and increases their risk of disease. Such depletion is a particular concern in already low-oxygen environments, such as Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour.

    Ocean heatwaves can cause mass fish deaths and devastate production. In Tasmania in February, more than 5,500 tonnes of dead fish were dumped at southern Tasmanian waste facilities – a problem linked to warmer water temperatures.

    Dead and decomposing fish can further alter oxygen levels in water, spread disease to wild populations and attract scavengers. In the Tasmanian case, fish remains washed up on public beaches, angering the public and leading to calls for greater industry regulation.

    Extreme weather further complicates aquaculture operations. Storms, flooding and abnormal rain patterns can affect water salinity which impacts species growth and survival. They can also damage vital infrastructure, which may allow animals to escape.

    This occurred in 2022, when repeated flooding and disease outbreaks on oyster farms in New South Wales led to complete stock losses, prolonged farm closures and workers being laid off.

    Surviving a warmer future

    Not all aquaculture operations will suffer under climate change. Warming waters can lead to longer growing seasons in temperate regions. It can also expand suitable habitat for tropical species such as tilapia, mussels and oysters. Regions previously inhospitable to aquaculture may become viable production zones.

    For the countries and producers that are expected to suffer, those that plan for and adapt to climate shifts can minimise losses.

    Key steps industry and government can take include:

    • planning farms in lower-risk areas and relocating vulnerable sites

    • implementing climate-resilient infrastructure and restoring coastal ecosystems near farms to buffer against climate impacts

    • expanding to include diverse species and selectively breeding stock that can tolerate the changing conditions

    • strategic government policies and planning, financial incentives, and investment in resilient infrastructure to help the industry stay ahead of climate risks.

    With the right strategies, Australia’s aquaculture industry can adapt to a changing climate and continue to contribute to food security and community wellbeing.

    Caitie Kuempel receives funding from the Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre. She is affiliated with BECRC Marine Spatial Planning project.

    Marina receives Griffith University International Postgraduate Research Scholarship and Griffith University Postgraduate Research Scholarship as and HDR PhD Student

    – ref. 98% of Queensland prawn areas at risk of inundation by rising seas this century – https://theconversation.com/98-of-queensland-prawn-areas-at-risk-of-inundation-by-rising-seas-this-century-253330

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI China: China cultivates first-generation ‘space highland barley’

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    A batch of highland barley seeds from the reusable returnable experimental satellite Shijian-19 has been handed over for the ground breeding of China’s first-generation “space highland barley” in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province.
    The returned seeds were selected due to traits such as high yield, extreme temperature tolerance and pest resistance. They originated from Shannan City, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region.
    “As a major agricultural hub in Xizang, we are committed to securing grain output through technology. Space breeding offers a pathway to develop hardier, more productive crop varieties, ultimately boosting farmers’ incomes,” said Dawa Sangzhub, head of Shannan’s agricultural technology promotion center under the bureau of agriculture and rural affairs.
    Space breeding involves exposing seeds to cosmic radiation, microgravity, and vacuum conditions aboard spacecraft to induce genetic mutations. Upon return, these seeds undergo selective cultivation to isolate desirable traits, including enhanced yield, disease resistance, and climate adaptability, according to Xi’an National Civil Aerospace Industrial Base in the provincial capital of Shaanxi.
    After a 15-day space voyage, the seeds will be jointly analyzed by the base and agricultural experts from Shannan. A cooperative mechanism combining technical guidance of the Xi’an base with Shannan’s field cultivation experience will ensure end-to-end support from mutation to harvest, experts said.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Agriculture – Molesworth TB success 40 years in the making – OSPRI

    Source: OSPRI New Zealand

    OSPRI New Zealand and Molesworth Station operator Pāmu Farms of New Zealand (Landcorp Farming Limited) are celebrating the success of four decades of determined effort, as New Zealand’s largest working farm has its cattle herd free of bovine tuberculosis (TB) for the first time in 37 years.
    This milestone comes after Molesworth Station’s long history of bovine TB infection in its livestock, dating back to the early 1960s. It has had continuous infected status since 1972, the longest in New Zealand.
    Bovine TB is a persistent disease. This milestone has been achieved by large scale possum control to remove the infection from the possum population.
    This has been coupled with a comprehensive livestock testing programme,  patiently reducing the numbers of infected animals through on-farm skin and blood testing.
    OSPRI chief executive Sam McIvor says Molesworth’s journey to TB freedom is a staged process, and this is a significant step along the path to TB freedom.
    “Pāmu and Molesworth people have been awesome partners in this eradication endeavor.
    “While we have completed possum control in the area, we still have some ongoing surveillance work of both wildlife and livestock to confirm that TB is finally gone.
    “The achievement is a massive one, for Pāmu, the dedicated people of Molesworth – especially manager Jim Ward – and all the OSPRI staff and their former colleagues from all those years back,” Sam says.
    Pāmu chief executive Mark Leslie says Pāmu seeks to innovate and ensure farming activities contribute positively to ecosystems and communities.
    “The scale that Pāmu has enables us to drive innovation for the benefit of the wider industry and our operations at Molesworth are no exception. The station has been home to several significant research projects on the reduction and elimination of bovine TB and control has involved innovating and trying different approaches.
    “I’d like to acknowledge Molesworth farm manager Jim Ward, who has been on farm for over half the period of infection. Jim has been a key driver of this status outcome but of course, it’s been a collaborative effort. The credit for this tremendous success goes to all the people and organisations who have worked for a very long time to make this TB result a reality,” Mark says.
    Background
    Molesworth Station is managed by state farmer Pāmu (Landcorp Farming Limited), and is New Zealand’s largest working farm, spanning 180,787 hectares in the mountainous landscape of the northern South Island high country.
    OSPRI works with the farming industry to manage animal disease in New Zealand. OSPRI manages the TBfree programme on behalf of the New Zealand government and the farming industry.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –