NewzIntel.com

Category: Asia Pacific

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Further appeal for missing man Geoffrey Kelly

    Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

    Police searching for missing man Geoffrey Kelly in Hikumutu are appealing for CCTV from the area.

    Geoffrey’s car was found empty on Friday 21 February on the side of Makomiko Road, and he has not been seen since.

    Investigators would like to hear from anyone on Makomiko Road or Hikumutu Road who has CCTV at their property.

    We are still also appealing for any sightings of Geoffrey between 21 February and now.

    If you can help, please call 105 and quote reference number 250222/1771.

    ENDS

    Issued by Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Markey, Kim, Conaway Jr., MD, Pocan, Lead Bicameral Letter to Department of Labor Concerning Musk’s Access to Internal Systems

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
    Washington (February 28, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Senator Andy Kim (D-N.J.), along with Representatives Herb Conaway Jr., MD (NJ-03), and Mark Pocan (WI-02) today led 137 of their Democratic colleagues in a bicameral letter to Acting Secretary of Labor Vince Miccone, expressing serious concerns regarding reports that Elon Musk and DOGE are being granted access to the Department of Labor’s internal systems and data.
    “The reported involvement of unelected billionaire Elon Musk and DOGE in these functions raises urgent questions about potential conflicts of interest and the safeguarding of sensitive worker data,” wrote the lawmakers. “Elon Musk’s past statements and actions raise serious concerns about the potential for his personal interests to take precedent over the interests of the American public in labor-related matters.”
    The letter includes an extensive list of questions that lawmakers demand answers to by March 7, 2025. The topics covered in these questions include:
    • Data Access and Confidentiality
    • Worker Protections and Regulatory Oversight
    • Security and Oversight
    • Personnel and Employment Protections
    In addition to Senators Markey and Kim, the letter was also signed by Senators: Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
    In addition to Representatives Conaway Jr., MD and Pocan, the letter was also signed by Representatives: Adams, Amo, Ansari, Balint, Barragán, Beyer, Bishop, Bonamici, Boyle, Brownley, Budzinski, Bynum, Carbajal, Carson, Casar, Casten, Castro, Chu, Clarke, Cleaver, Cohen, Connolly, Crockett, Crow, Davis (IL), Dean, DeGette, DeLauro, Deluzio, DeSaulnier, Dexter, Dingell, Escobar, Espaillat, Evans, Fields, Friedman, Garamendi, Garcia (CA), Garcia (TX), Goldman, Gottheimer, Green, Grijalva, Hayes, Houlahan, Huffman, Ivey, Jackson (IL), Jayapal, Johnson, Kamlager-Dove, Kaptur, Kelly, Kennedy (NY), Khanna, Landsman, Latimer, Lee, Lynch, Magaziner, Mannion, McClain Delaney, McClellan, McCollum, McGarvey, McIver, Meeks, Menendez, Meng, Mfume, Min, Moore, Mullin, Norcross, Norton, Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pallone, Panetta, Pettersen, Ramirez, Ross, Salinas, Sánchez, Scanlon, Schakowsky, Schneider, Scholten, Schrier, Sewell, Sherman, Sherrill, Smith, Soto, Stansbury, Stanton, Stevens, Strickland, Subramanyam, Takano, Thanedar, Thompson, Titus, Tlaib, Tokuda, Tonko, Torres (NY), Turner, Underwood, Vargas, Velázquez, Williams, and Wilson.
    A copy of the letter can be found HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Markey Joins Colleagues in Introducing Bill to Ban High-Capacity Gun Magazines

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
    A similar law prohibiting semiautomatic assault weapons and high-capacity magazines was in place from 1994-2004
    Washington (February 28, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), joined Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and colleagues in introducing the Keep Americans Safe Act (KASA) to reinstate a nationwide ban on the sale, transfer, possession, import, or manufacture of high-capacity gun magazines that hold more than ten rounds. Companion legislation was introduced in the House by U.S. Representatives by Diana DeGette (CO-01), Dina Titus (NV-01), and Brad Schneider (IL-10).
    A federal law prohibiting semiautomatic assault weapons and high-capacity magazines was in place from 1994 to 2004. While research showed this regulation reduced the likelihood of mass shooting fatalities by 70 percent, this federal law has not been renewed since 2004. In mass shootings with four or more people killed between 2015 and 2022, high-capacity magazines led to more than twice as many people killed, and nearly 10 times as many people wounded, per incident on average.
    Specifically, the Keep Americans Safe Act would:
    1. Ban the sale or transfer of high-capacity gun magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds to anyone other than law enforcement;
    2. Ban the possession of a high-capacity gun magazine manufactured after the date of enactment by anyone other than law enforcement;
    3. Authorize high-capacity magazine buyback programs; and
    4. Authorize law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and ATF, to seize and destroy high-capacity magazines possessed illegally.
    “The common denominator in nearly every mass shooting is large-capacity magazines (LCMs), dangerous accessories that allow shooters to continuously fire without reloading, robbing victims of an opportunity to flee or intervene,” said Mark Collins, Director of Federal Policy at Brady: United Against Gun Violence. “Regardless if they are paired with handguns or assault weapons, when LCMs are used in shootings, 155% more people are shot and twice as many people are killed. Brady is grateful to Sen. Blumenthal, Sen. Hirono, and Rep. DeGette for their leadership and is proud to endorse the Keep Americans Safe Act to regulate these dangerous accessories and make America safer.”
    “High-capacity magazines enable shooters to cause devastating harm in a short amount of time and restricting them will help prevent mass shootings that have tragically become too common,” said Nick Wilson, Senior Director of gun violence prevention at Center for American Progress. “If enacted, the Keep Americans Safe Act would save lives because it is working in states who’ve adopted similar laws. When a mass shooting occurred, states with a large-capacity magazine ban had 38 percent fewer fatalities and 77 percent fewer nonfatal injuries.”
    “High-capacity magazines were designed for war, but have become a favored tool for mass shooters looking to inflict maximum carnage,” said John Feinblatt, President of Everytown for Gun Safety. “We applaud Senator Hirono for introducing this legislation, which will keep high-capacity magazines out of civilian hands.”
    The legislation is cosponsored by Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
    The full text of the bill is available HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Four decades after Rongelap evacuation, Greenpeace makes new plea for nuclear justice by US

    Asia Pacific Report

    In the year marking 40 years since the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior by French secret agents and 71 years since the most powerful nuclear weapons tested by the United States, Greenpeace is calling on Washington to comply with demands by the Marshall Islands for nuclear justice.

    “The Marshall Islands bears the deepest scars of a dark legacy — nuclear contamination, forced displacement, and premeditated human experimentation at the hands of the US government,” said Greenpeace spokesperson Shiva Gounden.

    To mark the Marshall Islands’ Remembrance Day today, the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior is flying the republic’s flag at halfmast in solidarity with those who lost their lives and are suffering ongoing trauma as a result of US nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific.

    On 1 March 1954, the Castle Bravo nuclear bomb was detonated on Bikini Atoll with a blast 1000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.

    On Rongelap Atoll, 150 km away, radioactive fallout rained onto the inhabited island, with children mistaking it as snow.

    The Rainbow Warrior is sailing to the Marshall Islands where a mission led by Greenpeace will conduct independent scientific research across the country, the results of which will eventually be given to the National Nuclear Commission to support the Marshall Islands government’s ongoing legal proceedings with the US and at the UN.

    The voyage also marks 40 years since Greenpeace’s original Rainbow Warrior evacuated the people of Rongelap after toxic nuclear fallout rendered their ancestral land uninhabitable.

    Still enduring fallout
    Marshall Islands communities still endure the physical, economic, and cultural fallout of the nuclear tests — compensation from the US has fallen far short of expectations of the islanders who are yet to receive an apology.

    And the accelerating impacts of the climate crisis threaten further displacement of communities.


    Former Marshall Islands Foreign Minister Tony deBrum’s “nuclear justice” speech as Right Livelihood Award Winner in 2009. Video: Voices Rising

    “To this day, Marshall Islanders continue to grapple with this injustice while standing on the frontlines of the climate crisis — facing yet another wave of displacement and devastation for a catastrophe they did not create,” Gounden said.

    “But the Marshallese people and their government are not just survivors — they are warriors for justice, among the most powerful voices demanding bold action, accountability, and reparations on the global stage.

    “Those who have inflicted unimaginable harm on the Marshallese must be held to account and made to pay for the devastation they caused.

    “Greenpeace stands unwaveringly beside Marshallese communities in their fight for justice. Jimwe im Maron.”

    Rainbow Warrior crew members holding the Marshall Islands flag . . . remembering the anniversary of the devastating Castle Bravo nuclear test – 1000 times more powerful than Hiroshima – on 1 March 1954. Image: Greenpeace International
    Chair of the Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission Ariana Tibon-Kilma . . . “the trauma of Bravo continues for the remaining survivors and their descendents.” Image: UN Human Rights Council

    Ariana Tibon Kilma, chair of the Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission, said that the immediate effects of the Bravo bomb on March 1 were “harrowing”.

    “Hours after exposure, many people fell ill — skin peeling off, burning sensation in their eyes, their stomachs were churning in pain. Mothers watched as their children’s hair fell to the ground and blisters devoured their bodies overnight,” she said.

    “Without their consent, the United States government enrolled them as ‘test subjects’ in a top secret medical study on the effects of radiation on human beings — a study that continued for 40 years.

    “Today on Remembrance Day the trauma of Bravo continues for the remaining survivors and their descendents — this is a legacy not only of suffering, loss, and frustration, but also of strength, unity, and unwavering commitment to justice, truth and accountability.”

    The new Rainbow Warrior will arrive in the Marshall Islands early this month.

    Alongside the government of the Marshall Islands, Greenpeace will lead an independent scientific mission into the ongoing impacts of the US weapons testing programme.

    Travelling across the country, Greenpeace will reaffirm its solidarity with the Marshallese people — now facing further harm and displacement from the climate crisis, and the emerging threat of deep sea mining in the Pacific.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Pacific – On Marshall Islands Remembrance Day, Greenpeace calls for nuclear justice and reparations from the United States

    Source: Greenpeace

    Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands, 1 March 2025 – Seventy-one years since the most powerful nuclear weapons tests ever conducted were unleashed across the Marshall Islands by the United States, Greenpeace is calling for the US government to comply with Marshallese demands for recognition and nuclear justice.
    On 1 March 1954, the Castle Bravo nuclear bomb was detonated on Bikini Atoll – the explosion 1,000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. On Rongelap Atoll, 150 kilometers away, radioactive fallout rained onto the inhabited island, with children mistaking it as snow.
    Today, communities continue to endure the physical, economic, and cultural fallout of the nuclear tests; compensation from the US has fallen far short of expectations for the Marshallese people who are yet to receive an apology; and the accelerating impacts of the climate crisis threaten further displacement of communities.[1]
    “The Marshall Islands bears the deepest scars of a dark legacy – nuclear contamination, forced displacement, and premeditated human experimentation at the hands of the U.S. government.
    To this day, its people continue to grapple with this injustice, all while standing on the frontlines of the climate crisis – facing yet another wave of displacement and devastation for a catastrophe they did not create,” says Greenpeace spokesperson Shiva Gounden.
    “But the Marshallese people and their government are not just survivors-they are warriors for justice, among the most powerful voices demanding bold action, accountability, and reparations on the global stage. Those who have inflicted unimaginable harm on the Marshallese must be held to account and made to pay for the devastation they caused. Greenpeace stands unwaveringly beside Marshallese communities in their fight for justice. Jimwe im Maron”
    To mark the Marshall Islands’ Remembrance Day, the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior is flying the Marshall Islands flag at half-mast, in solidarity with those who lost their lives and are suffering ongoing trauma as a result of the US government’s nuclear weapons testing.
    The Rainbow Warrior is currently in transit to the Marshall Islands where a mission led by Greenpeace will conduct independent scientific research across the country, the results of which will eventually be given to the National Nuclear Commission to support the Marshallese government’s ongoing legal proceedings with the US and at the UN.[2] The trip also marks 40 years since Greenpeace’s original Rainbow Warrior evacuated the people of Rongelap after toxic nuclear fallout rendered their ancestral lands uninhabitable.
    “The immediate effects of the Bravo bomb on 1 March were harrowing. Hours after exposure, many people fell ill – skin peeling off, burning sensation in their eyes, their stomachs were churning in pain. Mothers watched as their children’s hair fell to the ground and blisters devoured their bodies overnight,” says Ariana Tibon Kilma, Chairperson at Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission.
    “Without their consent, the United States government enrolled them as ‘test subjects’ in a top secret medical study on the effects of radiation on human beings – a study that continued for 40 years. Today on Remembrance Day the trauma of Bravo continues for the remaining survivors and their descendents – this is a legacy not only of suffering, loss, and frustration, but also of strength, unity, and unwavering commitment to justice, truth and accountability.”
    The new Rainbow Warrior will arrive in the Marshall Islands in early March. Alongside the government of the Marshall Islands, Greenpeace will lead an independent scientific mission into the ongoing impacts of the US weapons testing program. Travelling across the country, Greenpeace will reaffirm its solidarity with the Marshallese people – now facing further harm and displacement from the climate crisis, and the emerging threat of deep sea mining in the Pacific.
    Notes

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Sound the Alarm Over EPA Clean School Bus Program Funds Freeze

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)

    February 28, 2025

    Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined their colleagues in demanding an update from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on the distribution of funding for the Clean School Bus program to recipients with signed agreements and urging the EPA to immediately release any withheld funding.

    In the letter, the lawmakers write, “To provide these health and cost savings benefits to our children and continue supporting the boom in electric bus manufacturing that is creating good-paying jobs across the country, the EPA must implement the Clean School Bus program as Congress directed. Following your confirmation hearing, you committed to the continued implementation of this program when you responded: ‘I commit to following the law. I cannot prejudge the outcome of any particular policy review.’ Recognizing that Congress authorizes and appropriates federal funding—and explicitly established the Clean School Bus program through a bipartisan vote— it is your duty to implement the program and ensure program awardees have confidence in working with the EPA and are receiving funding.” 

    Merkley and Wyden joined the letter led by Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.). It was also signed by Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). 

    The lawmakers request the following information by March 6, 2025:  

    1. For both rebates and grants under the Clean School Bus program, what is the status of the disbursement of already obligated funds to recipients? 
    2. On what legal basis did the EPA end its disbursement of already obligated funds for the program? Please identify the authority under which the EPA cut off funding. 
    3. If the disbursement of any obligated Clean School Bus Program grants and rebates currently remains frozen for any awardees, when will it resume? If you cannot provide a date, please explain why, including the legal basis for not resuming disbursements and an explanation of the EPA’s grant and rebate-review process. 
    4. Will you commit to following the law by obligating the remaining Clean School Bus program grants and rebates that have yet to be awarded, or that have been awarded but not yet disbursed, through FY2026? 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Serious crash, Loburn

    Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

    Emergency services are currently at the scene of a serious two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Birch Hill Road and Yaxleys Road, Loburn, Waimakariri.

    Initial reports suggest one person is injured.

    The road is closed, with diversions in place.

    Motorists are advised to avoid the area if possible.

    ENDS

    Issued by Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Man charged following Takanini incident

    Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

    A man is before the courts following an incident on Kutukutu Street in Takanini last night.

    Police responded to the residential address around 7:50pm following an altercation between people known to eachother.

    Three people have been transported to hospital with serious injuries consistent with stab wounds, where they remain in a stable condition.

    A 34-year-old man was arrested on Takanini School Road with the assistance of the Eagle Helicopter, a short time after they left the scene in a car.

    He is due to appear before the Manukau District Court today on three charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

    ENDS

    Issued by Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Files Second Motion to Enforce Against Trump Administration Amid Ongoing Disruptions to Certain FEMA Funding

    Source: US State of California

    OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, leading a coalition of 23 states, asked the District Court for the District of Rhode Island to enforce its temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping the Trump Administration from implementing its unlawful federal funding freeze as to certain Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding. The court granted an earlier motion to enforce amid reports of ongoing disruptions to infrastructure and energy funding. Still, despite multiple court orders, the Trump Administration has continued to block access hundreds of millions of dollars nationally in FEMA funding for critical emergency preparedness and recovery programs to address wildfires, floods, cybersecurity threats, and more.

    “We have been closely monitoring the Trump Administration’s compliance with a court order stopping its radical and unlawful funding freeze,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Despite clear instructions form the court, some states are continuing to experience disruptions in accessing vital FEMA funding. We’re again asking the court to enforce its order and ensure that the Trump Administration immediately reinstates access to this funding for states across the country.”

    In California, the motion to enforce addresses a FEMA grant awarded in 2022 to the Governor’s Office of Land Use & Climate Innovation under the National Flood Insurance Program, which was placed on hold on February 21, 2025. 

    BACKGROUND

    Last month, a coalition of 23 attorneys general, led by the attorneys general of California, New York, Rhode Island, Illinois, and Massachusetts, sued the Trump Administration over its attempt to freeze up to $3 trillion in vital federal funding. The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island quickly granted the attorneys general’s request for a temporary restraining order, blocking the freeze’s implementation until further order from the court. Soon after, the attorneys general filed motions for enforcement and a preliminary injunction to stop the illegal freeze and preserve federal funding that Congress appropriated and that families, communities, and states rely on. The court granted the motion for enforcement, ordering the Administration to immediately comply with the temporary restraining order and stop unlawfully freezing federal funds. 

    In just this fiscal year, California is expected to receive $168 billion in federal funds – 34% of the state’s budget – not including funding for the state’s public college and university system. This includes $107.5 billion in funding for California’s Medicaid programs, which serve approximately 14.5 million Californians, including 5 million children and 2.3 million seniors and people with disabilities. Additionally, over 9,000 full-time equivalent state employee positions are federally funded.

    Attorney General Bonta is joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin in the seeking the preliminary injunction.   

    A copy of the motion to enforce is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Deputy Labor Secretary Nominee Declines to Answer Sen. Murray on Whether Basic Workforce Training Laws are “DEI”; Pressed on Trump Dismantling OFCCP And Enabling Illegal Discrimination

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

    ICYMI: Senator Murray Statement on Trump Attempt to Dismantle Longstanding Labor Agency Combating Illegal Employment Discrimination 

    *** VIDEO of Senator Murray’s FULL questioning HERE***

    Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, questioned Keith Sonderling, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as Deputy Secretary at the Department of Labor (DOL), at a HELP committee hearing on his nomination. Murray pressed Mr. Sonderling on whether the Trump administration thinks foundational workforce training laws like the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act qualify as “DEI.” Murray also questioned Mr. Sonderling about the Trump administration’s unprecedented dismantling of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which has its origins in a 1965 executive order and plays a unique and vital role in combating unlawful employment discrimination for federal contract workers, who make up about one-fifth of the entire U.S. labor force.

    Murray began by pressing Mr. Sonderling on the consequences of the Trump administration’s dismantling of OFCCP, which Murray forcefully condemned in January. “In 2024, following an OFCCP evaluation, one of the largest global financial services companies agreed to allocate $4.2 million in payments to resolve alleged sex discrimination and undergo an outside pay equity analysis. In his first week in office, President Trump rescinded the Executive Order from 1965 that authorized OFCCP to conduct that investigation. Commissioner Sonderling, do you believe that taxpayer dollars should go to companies that discriminate?”

    Sonderling dodged the question and Murray pressed again: “Do you think that taxpayer dollars should go to companies that discriminate?”

    “That is not a determination that the Deputy Secretary of Labor or the Department of Labor deals with,” Sonderling responded.

    “You don’t want to answer the question,” Murray observed. “I will say, I don’t think the taxpayer dollars should go to companies that discriminate. I can easily say that.”

    Murray continued her line of questioning: “In our meeting, you suggested that the Department of Labor is looking at eliminating OFCCP entirely even though it has recovered now more than $260 million dollars for more than 250,000 employees and job applicants who were discriminated against by federal contractors over the last decade. And OFCCP just, today, announced plans to cut 90 percent of its staff and local offices. So let me ask you this: do you think DOL has any role to play in addressing illegal discrimination?”

    Mr. Sonderling said he was not aware of those reports, and declined to answer the question again.

    Murray asked again: “I’m just asking you from your own philosophical personal position. Do you think that DOL, which you want to go to work for, has any role to play in addressing discrimination in this country?”

    Mr. Sonderling responded that addressing discrimination is under the jurisdiction of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), to which Senator Murray replied: “It’s interesting that you say that, because Trump fired two of the EEOC commissioners—in an unprecedented move, I would add. So, it really has undermined our government’s ability to go after anti-discrimination. So I am, and everyone should, be deeply concerned about that.” Senator Murray vocally condemned Trump’s illegal firing of EEOC Commissioners and NLRB members last month.

    Next, Senator Murray pressed Mr. Sonderling on the Trump administration’s definition of “DEI” and their weaponization of the ill-defined term to target all manner of programs and policies. “We’re hearing a lot about DEI, it’s thrown out there everywhere. So, I’m going to ask about some bipartisan laws passed by Congress that were passed to make sure that underserved Americans can receive workforce training and find good employment opportunities. And I want to know if the policies in these laws that I’m going to present to you amount to DEI,” Murray said.

    “The Office of Disability Employment Policy has been statutorily authorized with, ‘Eliminating barriers to the training and employment of people with disabilities.’ Is that DEI? Yes or no?”

    “It is important to protect all rights of disabled workers… and under my leadership, the Office of Disability Employment will continue to do that,” Sonderling relied, without answering the question directly.

    “So that is not DEI?” Murray pressed.


    “That is a civil rights statute that the department enforces to make sure disabled people can prosper in the workforce,”     Sonderling replied.

    “I know you know what it is, but I’m asking if it’s DEI, because, you know, it’s very confusing,” Murray responded.

    Murray continued: “How about the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, WIOA? It specifically says ‘individuals with a barrier to employment’ and requires grantees to expand training to those individuals. Is that DEI?

    “WIOA is a very important law…,” Sonderling replied. “But do you consider that to be DEI?” Murray pressed.

    “I consider that to be a very important part of the department’s mission to make sure that American workers can get… the training they need,” Sonderling said.

    “The Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 requires federal contractors to take affirmative action to hire, retain, and promote veterans? Is that DEI?” Murray asked.

    Sonderling declined to answer the question, saying instead: “It is important to protect all of our veterans. It’s important to protect everybody in the workplace.”

    “Well—Mr. Chairman, I know you’re pounding your gavel—but I just think it’s pretty clear that there is no standard definition of DEI across our federal government,” Murray concluded.

    Throughout her career, Senator Murray has championed workers’ rights and fought to combat employment discrimination, including as the top Democrat on the Senate labor committee from 2015-2022—among other things, Senator Murray fought back against a proposed DOL rule by the Trump administration that would allow federal contractors and subcontractors to justify discrimination against women, LGBTQ+ people, and members of certain religious groups on ideological grounds. Senator Murray first introduced the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act—comprehensive labor legislation to protect workers’ right to stand together and bargain for fairer wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces—in the 116th Congress. Murray also leads the Paycheck Fairness Act to combat wage discrimination and help close the wage gap, and has helped lead the fight for paid family and medical leave since she first joined Congress.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: Commander, Naval Air Forces Concludes Visit to Japan and Guam, Reinforcing Warfighting Readiness and Sailor Quality of Service

    Source: United States Navy

    During the visit, Cheever, the U.S. Navy’s “Air Boss,” engaged leadership and Sailors at Kadena Air Base, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Fleet Activities Yokosuka and Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. He also visited the forward-deployed Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 and multiple forward-deployed squadrons, emphasizing the integral role of Naval Aviation in the Indo-Pacific.

    “Our forward-deployed aviation forces are the tip of the spear, and their ability to operate at the highest levels helps maintain a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” said Cheever. “It is critical that we provide them with the training, resources and support they need to maintain readiness and execute the mission.”

    Throughout the visit, the Air Boss and Force Master Chief met with command leadership to discuss key priorities, including sustaining warfighting excellence, improving the quality of life for Sailors and their families overseas and fostering a culture of trust and respect. They also took time to recognize outstanding Sailors for their hard work and contributions.

    “People are our most valuable asset,” said Kuers. “We must ensure every Sailor – whether on the flight line, in maintenance shops, onboard the ship or supporting operations – has what they need to succeed and thrive.”

    Air Boss also had the opportunity to see the U.S. Navy’s latest aviation capabilities in action, including the F-35C Lightning II, the CMV-22B Osprey and the MQ-4C Triton. These platforms enhance the U.S. Navy’s ability to strengthen deterrence to advance a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

    During engagements with squadron personnel, Air Boss flew with Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 195, reinforcing his commitment to safe, effective operations and firsthand understanding of the challenges they face.

    “Our aviators and maintainers work around the clock to ensure our air wing is combat-ready, strong and lethal,” said Capt. Brian Kesselring, commander of CVW-5. “Having the Air Boss fly with our squadrons and engage with our teams underscores the importance of our mission and the trust he has in our warfighters.”

    While in Guam, Air Boss visited Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25, the U.S. Navy’s only forward-deployed MH-60S expeditionary squadron, which plays a critical role in search and rescue, logistics and fleet support operations across the Indo-Pacific.

    The visit marked the first time Cheever visited Japan and Guam as Air Boss, and reinforced morale, strengthened trust and underscored Naval Aviation as indispensable to operations around the world.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: North American Construction Group Ltd. Announces the Completion of Its Redemption of Its 5.5% Convertible Debentures Due June 30, 2028

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ACHESON, Alberta, Feb. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  North American Construction Group Ltd. (“NACG” or “the Company”) (TSX:NOA/NYSE:NOA) is pleased to announce the completion of its redemption of its 5.5% Convertible Debentures due June 30, 2028 (the “Debentures”) on February 28, 2025 (the “Redemption Date”).

    On January 29, 2025, the Company issued a notice of redemption to the holders of the Debentures to redeem all issued and outstanding Debentures at a redemption price equal to their principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon up to, but excluding, the Redemption Date. Holders of the Debentures had the option to convert such Debentures into common shares of the Company (“Common Shares”) prior to the Redemption Date at a price of $24.23 per Common Share. $72,749,000 principal amount of Debentures were converted into Common Shares between January 29, 2025 and the Redemption Date. On the Redemption Date, Debentures in the principal amount of $1,357,000 were redeemed by the Company.

    About the Company

    NACG is one of Canada and Australia’s largest providers of heavy construction and mining services. For more than 70 years, NACG has provided services to the mining, resource, and infrastructure construction markets. For more information about North American Construction Group Ltd., visit www.nacg.ca.

    For further information contact:
    Jason Veenstra, CPA, CA
    Chief Financial Officer
    North American Construction Group Ltd.
    (780) 948-2009
    jveenstra@nacg.ca
    www.nacg.ca

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Bhutan: Development of an Interest Rate Corridor Framework

    Source: International Monetary Fund

    Summary

    At the request of the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (RMA), an IMF South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) visited Thimphu during August 20-29, 2024. The mission’s objectives were to assist the authorities in setting up interest rate corridor (IRC) and operationalizing the related instruments, operations, liquidity forecasting, and collateral frameworks.

    Subject: Asset and liability management, Central Banks, Financial regulation and supervision, Interest rate corridor, Liquidity forecasting, Liquidity management, Monetary policy, Open market operations

    Keywords: Central bank policy rate, Interest rate corridor, International organization, Liquidity forecasting, Liquidity management, Monetary policy, Money markets, Open market operations

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Media Advisory: Media stand-up at Round the Bays Auckland

    Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

    Police invites media to a stand-up with Commissioner Richard Chambers, Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Associate Police Minister Casey Costello at Round the Bays Auckland on Sunday morning following a recruitment announcement.

    Please RSVP to media@police.govt.nz to confirm your attendance and receive further details.

    ENDS

    Issued by Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two brothers from India arraigned on indictment for selling counterfeit cancer drugs and adulterated medications

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Men are extradited from Singapore following their 2023 arrest after FDA and ICE undercover probe

    Seattle – Two brothers from India appeared in court today on a 2022 indictment for multiple counts related to their scheme to sell counterfeit and adulterated drugs in the United States, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Avanish Kumar Jha, 38, and Rajnish Kumar Jha, 35, were arrested in Singapore on April 20, 2023, based on a request from the United States. In January 2025, a judge in Singapore ruled the men could be extradited to the U.S. to face 28 felony charges and the Minister for Law ordered their surrender on February 24, 2025. Both defendants entered pleas of not guilty and trial was scheduled for May 5, 2025, in front of U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez.

    “The defendants in this case allegedly made hundreds of thousands of dollars while defrauding people who were clinging to hope that a late-stage cancer medication could save their life. Because of this fraud, victims received counterfeit medication that contained none of the cancer-fighting substance they thought they were ordering,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Miller. “This fraud scheme didn’t just steal money; it stole the prospect of more time with loved ones for those battling cancer.”

    The investigation of the Jha brothers began in 2019, when investigators reviewed internet postings and other evidence indicating that the Jha brothers and their company, Dhrishti Pharma International, were offering to sell prescription drugs to buyers in the United States and elsewhere. Undercover agents with the Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI) of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began communicating with the Jha brothers and ordered some of their products.  Of particular concern was a “medication” labeled as “Keytruda,” a Merck drug for late-stage cancer. An analysis revealed that the Jha brothers were selling counterfeit Keytruda that contained none of active ingredient that made the authentic product effective. Other products contained contaminants.

    The brothers allegedly shipped the counterfeit and adulterated drugs from India. They accepted various means of payment including wire transfers and direct money exchanges. In some cases, they used intermediaries in the United States to pick up cash payments. The drugs were packaged in such a way to avoid detection by international customs or other regulators.

    Both men had been detained in Singapore since their arrest in April 2023 based on a provisional arrest request from the United States. The United States submitted a formal extradition request to Singapore in June 2023.

    “This case highlights ICE HSI’s commitment to protecting the public from dangerous and fraudulent practices that put vulnerable individuals at risk,” said acting Special Agent in Charge of ICE HSI Seattle Matthew Murphy. “The company in question preyed on those in desperate need of lifesaving treatments by offering counterfeit medications that provided nothing but false hope. Thanks to the diligent work of our special agents and our law enforcement partners, we are taking swift action to ensure those responsible are held accountable.”

    The case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations and ICE HSI.

    The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Philip Kopczynski. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance with securing the extradition. Significant assistance was provided by law enforcement partners at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore, including the ICE HSI Attaché and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service Office of Overseas Criminal Investigations, and Singaporean authorities, particularly the Singapore Police Force and Attorney-General’s Chambers.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: First Savings Financial Group, Inc. Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind., Feb. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSFG) (the “Company”), the holding company for First Savings Bank (the “Bank”), announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.16 per common share. The dividend will be paid on or about March 31, 2025 to stockholders of record as of the close of business March 14, 2025.

    The Bank is an entrepreneurial community bank headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which is directly across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky, and operates fifteen depository branches within Southern Indiana. The Bank also has two national lending programs, including single-tenant net lease commercial real estate and SBA lending, with offices located predominately in the Midwest. The Bank is a recognized leader, both in its local communities and nationally for its lending programs. The employees of First Savings Bank strive daily to achieve the organization’s vision, We Expect To Be The BEST community BANK, which fuels our success. The Company’s common shares trade on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol “FSFG.”

    Contact:

    Tony A. Schoen
    Chief Financial Officer
    (812) 283-0724

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin Statement On President Trump’s Oval Office Remarks To Ukrainian President Zelenskyy

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
    February 28, 2025
    ROCKFORD – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, today released the following statement after President Trump and Vice President Vance’s tense and embarrassing meeting in the Oval Office with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy:
    “After calling the President of Ukraine ‘a dictator’ and blaming him for invading his own country, President Trump and Vice President Vance berated President Zelenskyy for not showing enough gratitude. With 46,000 Ukrainians fallen in battle against the real invader, Vladimir Putin, the Unites States should be thanking President Zelenskyy for Ukraine’s heroic stand on the frontlines of democracy against the Russian war criminal. 
    “Former President Ronald Reagan and the late Senator John McCain are rolling over in their graves at the thought of an American president sullying America’s image by siding at the UN with dictators in Russia, North Korea, Belarus, and Nicaragua while disrespecting a true American ally—Ukraine. Let me be clear: We cannot let President Trump rewrite history or upend proven partnerships with decades of bipartisan support. I extend my sincere apologies to President Zelenskyy and again reaffirm my support for our Ukrainian friends.”
    Earlier this week, Durbin introduced the Protecting our Guests During Hostilities in Ukraine Act, legislation that would provide temporary guest status to Ukrainians and their immediate family members who are already in the United States through the “Uniting for Ukraine” parole process. The bill allows Ukrainians to stay and work in the U.S. until the Secretary of State determines that hostilities in Ukraine have ceased and it is safe for them to return. U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Peter Welch (D-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Alex Padilla (D-CA) are cosponsors of the legislation. Bill text can be found here.  
    Durbin also joined U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and others in leading a simple resolution this week that expresses continued solidarity with the people of Ukraine and condolences for the loss of thousands of lives to Russian aggression; rejects Russia’s attempts to militarily seize sovereign Ukrainian territory; reaffirms U.S. support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine; and states unequivocally that Ukraine must be at the table for negotiations on its future.
    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Baldwin Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Increase Oversight of Foreign Ownership of American Agriculture

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act to increase scrutiny surrounding the purchase of agricultural land by foreign adversaries like China. The bipartisan bill would permanently add the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to add additional scrutiny of farmland and agricultural industry purchases by foreign adversaries like China, North Korea, Russia, or Iran and help prevent improper foreign disruption to the U.S. agriculture industry.
    “Wisconsin’s farms are the backbone of our state,” said Senator Baldwin. “They’re not just about food, they’re about people’s livelihoods, our economy, and our way of life. That’s why I’m fighting to protect our family farms and agricultural communities from bad actors like China that threaten our food supply, economy, and national security. I’m proud to work with Democratic and Republican colleagues to protect our farmers and rural communities and ensure our Made in Wisconsin agricultural economy stays strong for the next generation.”
    CFIUS is the governmental body that oversees the vetting process of foreign investment and acquisition of American companies. In addition to permanently adding the Secretary of Agriculture to CFIUS, the bill would require that the Secretary report any transaction that could threaten national security, specifically concerning purchases made by adversarial nations like China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran.
    Over the past few years, the United States has experienced a rapid increase in foreign investment in the agricultural sector, particularly from China. Growing foreign investment in agriculture and other essential industries, like health care and energy, threatens our country’s national security. 
    According to USDA data from December 2023, foreign investors own approximately 45 million acres of U.S. agricultural land. This represents an increase of over 1.5 million acres in one calendar year. Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land increased modestly from 2012 to 2017 at an average increase of 0.6 million acres per year. However, since 2017, this number skyrocketed to an average of 2.6 million acres annually. Additionally, between 2010 and 2021, entities or individuals from China increased their ownership of U.S. agricultural land more than twentyfold, from 13,720 acres to 383,935 acres.
    Data from the 2023 Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) report shows that Kansas agricultural land with foreign interest totals over 1.3 million acres.
    CFIUS is authorized to oversee and review foreign investment and ownership in domestic businesses as it relates to national security. Currently, the Committee does not directly consider the needs of the agriculture industry when reviewing foreign investment and ownership in domestic businesses.
    Specifically, the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act would:
    Add the Secretary of Agriculture as a member of CFIUS
    Protect the U.S. agriculture industry from foreign control through transactions, mergers, acquisitions, or agreements
    Designate agricultural supply chains as critical infrastructure and critical technologies
    Require a report to Congress on current and potential foreign investments in the U.S. agricultural industry from USDA and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) 
    The bill is led by Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) and also co-sponsored by Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Todd Young (R-IN), and Deb Fischer (R-NE). U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse (R-WA-04) also introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
    Full text of the legislation can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Shaheen, Tillis Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve Support for Rural Water Systems

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen
    (Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies, and Thom Tillis (R-NC) are reintroducing bipartisan legislation to help rural communities make necessary improvements and repairs to critical water infrastructure and ensure clean drinking water and wastewater treatment services.
    “Every Granite Stater and every American deserves clean water, no matter where they live,” said Senator Shaheen. “Too often, hard-to-reach rural communities have difficulty funding critical water and wastewater infrastructure projects. Our bipartisan bill would improve support for these projects so that we can help hardworking communities save money, protect the environment and boost local economic development.”
    “Rural communities across North Carolina and the nation are facing financial challenges that threaten their ability to maintain critical water infrastructure,” said Senator Tillis. “This commonsense legislation will provide new financing tools to help communities repair and modernize their water systems, ensuring they continue to have access to clean drinking water and wastewater treatment.”
    Specifically, the Assistance for Rural Water Systems Act would grant the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) additional authorities to provide low- and zero-interest loans, loan forgiveness and loan refinancing to help rural communities repair, modernize and renovate failing water infrastructure. Last year, the bill was included in the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act, the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee’s proposal for reauthorization of the Farm Bill.
    The legislation is supported by the National Rural Water Association (NRWA) and the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP).
    “This legislation modernizes the USDA Rural Development’s Water and Environmental Programs to better meet the current financial challenges and needs in rural America,” said NRWA Chief Executive Officer Matthew Holmes. “These are significant changes with new long-term financing options that will preserve the affordability of services, maintain public health standards, and ensure access to clean drinking water and wastewater services, especially in lower-income and economically distressed communities. NRWA applauds Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis for their leadership and commitment to serve the needs of rural America.”
    “RCAP is pleased to endorse the Rural Water Systems Act of 2025 and applauds the leadership of Senator Shaheen and Senator Tillis on this important legislation. It is sorely needed. According to the EPA Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment, there is a 20-year need of $464 billion for capital improvements to America’s public water system infrastructure. This total includes the needs of the approximately 52,000 community water systems; 21,400 not-for-profit non-community water systems; American Indian and Alaska Native village water systems; and the costs associated with proposed and recent regulations. We look forward to working with Senator Shaheen to enact this important legislation,” said RCAP Chief Executive Officer Olga Morales Pate.
    As a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee that oversees funding for USDA, Senator Shaheen is leading efforts to ensure Granite Staters who live in rural areas have access to the services they need. Shaheen has supported more than 230 New Hampshire small businesses who have received over $25 million to lower energy bills and cut costs through USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program. She has also consistently fought for increased funding and improved support for rural development programs. In the FY24 Agriculture Appropriations bill, Shaheen helped secure pilot authority and seed funding to begin issuing one percent water and wastewater loans, which will help distressed communities build critical infrastructure for clean and safe drinking water.
    Shaheen has also championed efforts to ensure every Granite Staters has access to clean water. As a lead negotiator of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Shaheen spearheaded the water infrastructure provisions with former Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), securing record funding to upgrade drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, address PFAS contamination and replace lead pipes.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: ‘A litany of human suffering’ in Myanmar, warns UN rights chief

    Source: United Nations 2-b

    Human Rights

    Myanmar is mired in one of the world’s worst human rights crises, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on Friday, describing conditions there as “a litany of human suffering.”

    Addressing the Human Rights Council on Friday, he detailed the devastating toll of the ongoing conflict and economic collapse on civilians – many of whom have been displaced by the fighting.

    Earlier in the day the Council discussed the deteriorating situation in South Sudan, having heard a report from rights investigators serving on the Commission on Human Rights in the country.

    “Conflict, displacement and economic collapse have combined to cause pain and misery across Myanmar and civilians are paying a terrible price,” Mr. Türk said.

    The number killed in violence last year was the highest since the military coup in 2021. Over 1,800 civilians were killed in 2024, many in indiscriminate airstrikes and artillery shelling, with attacks on schools, places of worship and healthcare facilities having become routine.

    Mr. Türk condemned the military’s brutal tactics, including beheadings, burnings, mutilations, and the use of human shields. He also noted that nearly 2,000 people have died in custody since the coup, most due to summary executions and torture.

    Deepening humanitarian crisis

    Fighting between the junta forces and opposition armed groups has fuelled a humanitarian catastrophe, with more than 3.5 million people displaced and 15 million facing hunger – two million of whom are at risk of famine.

    In Rakhine state, clashes between the military and the Arakan Army have intensified, with thousands of civilians killed and Rohingya communities caught in the crossfire.  

    Tens of thousands of Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in 2024, despite border restrictions. More than 8,000 fled by sea – an 80 per cent increase over 2023 – but at least 650 people, nearly half of them children, perished on the dangerous journey.

    Economic collapse

    Myanmar’s economic collapse has fuelled corruption and crime, with one global tracker ranking it the world’s biggest nexus of organized crime. It remains the top producer of opium and a major manufacturer of synthetic drugs.

    Furthermore, scam centres in eastern Myanmar have become notorious for human trafficking, where victims are coerced into cybercrime and subjected to torture, sexual violence, and forced labour.

    Military conscription

    Mr. Türk also condemned the junta’s activation of military conscription laws, which have led to arbitrary arrests and forced recruitment, particularly targeting young men and women. Fear of conscription has driven many to flee the country, exposing them to trafficking and exploitation.

    “Given the humanitarian, political and economic impacts fuelling instability across the region, the international community must do more,” Mr. Türk underscored.

    He reiterated his call for an arms embargo, coupled with targeted sanctions – including on jet fuel and dual-use goods – to better protect the people of Myanmar.

    He also stressed the need for accountability, citing efforts at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to hold Myanmar’s military leaders accountable for atrocities.

    © WFP/Eulalia Berlanga

    Displaced South Sudanese people arrive at a camp in Upper Nile State. (file)

    South Sudan: Leaders failing their own people

    The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan presented its latest report to the Human Rights Council earlier in Geneva, detailing widespread violations, including extrajudicial killings, forced recruitment of children and systematic sexual violence.

    Despite South Sudan winning independence over a decade ago and repeated commitments to peace during years of civil war, the Commission found that the same patterns of abuses persist, often implicating high-ranking officials.

    “It is unconscionable that so many years after its independence, political leaders continue their violent contestations across the country and are abjectly failing the people of South Sudan,” said Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission.

    Extreme ethnic violence

    The report described the situation in Tambura, where armed forces and militias inflicted extreme violence along ethnic lines in 2024, reigniting tensions from the 2021 conflict.

    Political elites at both local and national levels have actively fuelled this violence while remaining in power despite past crimes.

    The Commission also raised alarms over the “Green Book” law introduced in Warrap State in 2024, which authorizes extrajudicial executions for suspected cattle raiding and communal violence.

    Address corruption

    South Sudan’s leaders agreed in September 2024 to extend the transitional political arrangements by two years, citing funding constraints.

    The Commission’s report noted that the government generated $3.5 billion in revenue between September 2022 and August 2024, while essential institutions – such as courts, schools, and hospitals – remain underfunded and civil servants go unpaid.

    “Financing essential services and rule of law institutions requires an end to the corruption. The theft of national wealth robs citizens of justice, education, and healthcare,” said Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández.

    “Without addressing this systemic looting, no peace agreement will ever translate into meaningful change,” he added.

    The Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan is an independent body mandated by the UN Human Rights Council. First established in March 2016, it has been renewed annually since. Its three Commissioners are not UN staff, they are not paid for their work and serve in an independent capacity.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: First Responders – Waipoua River fire update #7

    Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

    The Waipoua River fire is now 91 hectares. We have been able to more accurately measure the perimeter, which now stands at 5.8 kms.
    Incident Controller Phil Larcombe said this morning, “we are hoping to further strengthen the fire containment lines and push back in on the fire area over the course of today.”
    96 firefighters, three aircraft and heavy machinery are keeping the fire contained.
    “The conditions today are favourable with light easterly winds, and the fire is being driven by fuel and the topography of the area. It is very dry here, and no rain is expected.
    “Whānau evacuated from their homes are not yet able to return but we are working hard to get them back as soon as it is safe.”
    Parts of Te Tai Tokerau Northland are in a prohibited fire zone from today until further notice. This means no outdoor fires can be lit and all fire permits are revoked. People should go to Checkitsalright.nz to check fire season in their area and for advice and guidance on lighting fires outside.
    “The fire at Waipoua River is a good example of how quickly a fire can get out of control, and the impacts it can have on the land and on people.”
    Unless there are significant changes during the day, the next update will be around 5 pm.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI: BDTCOIN: The Rising Star Defying Crypto Market Trend

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The cryptocurrency market has been experiencing one of its most challenging phases. Even the biggest players, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, have witnessed steep corrections of 15-30% from their recent highs. During such volatile times, most digital assets struggle to maintain value—but not BDTCOIN. Defying the odds, this emerging cryptocurrency has surged an astonishing 5x in just 15 days since its listing on LBank, turning heads in the crypto world.

    At a time when uncertainty looms over the industry, BDTCOIN is rewriting the narrative. It’s not just another token riding speculative waves—it’s a revolutionary digital asset with a purpose. Built on the principles of financial inclusion, cross-border accessibility, and blockchain transparency, BDTCOIN is proving that true innovation thrives even in bear markets.

    “In a sea of red, BDTCOIN’s performance is nothing short of extraordinary,” states renowned crypto analyst, Dr. Anya Sharma. “Its gold-backed foundation and quantum-resistant technology provide a level of security and stability that’s crucial in today’s volatile market. I am telling my clients that this is a must-have asset.”

    A Market Outperformer in a Bearish Climate

    Despite the ongoing market-wide correction, BDTCOIN has emerged as a beacon of resilience, showcasing strong demand and adoption. But what makes BDTCOIN stand out in a sea of digital assets? The answer lies in its unique value proposition—utility-driven innovation designed for real-world impact.

    Michael Carter, Senior Crypto Analyst, adds: “While most cryptocurrencies struggled amid February’s market crash, BDTCOIN stood strong, proving itself as one of the most resilient digital assets in the industry. Its gold-backed nature provides a unique hedge against volatility, making it a standout investment.”

    The BDTCOIN Difference: More Than Just a Coin

    BDTCOIN isn’t just another speculative asset; it’s a cryptocurrency built to redefine financial inclusion, streamline cross-border transactions, and foster economic empowerment. Unlike many cryptos that merely serve as digital gold or investment vehicles, BDTCOIN aims to bridge gaps in the financial ecosystem, making transactions seamless, accessible, and affordable.

    Financial Inclusion for the Unbanked : Millions worldwide remain excluded from the traditional banking system due to high costs, accessibility issues, and bureaucratic hurdles. BDTCOIN leverages blockchain technology to provide secure, low-cost financial services, allowing individuals to send remittances, save funds, and access credit without relying on traditional banks.

    Cross-Border Transactions Made Easy: Remittance services often charge high fees and take days to process transactions. BDTCOIN eliminates these inefficiencies with near-instant, low-cost cross-border payments, revolutionizing the way migrant workers send money home.

    Decentralized and Transparent: BDTCOIN operates on a decentralized blockchain, ensuring transparency and security. By reducing reliance on intermediaries, it minimizes fraud and corruption—critical factors in regions where trust in financial institutions is low.

    A Focus on Emerging Markets: While many cryptocurrencies primarily cater to developed nations and institutional investors, BDTCOIN is tailored for emerging markets, where financial innovation is most needed. The coin is gaining traction as a practical alternative to traditional banking systems from Africa to Southeast Asia.

    Raj Mehta, Financial Expert, affirms: “BDTCOIN is not just another cryptocurrency; it’s a financial revolution. In a market where volatility reigns, this asset has demonstrated unwavering strength, making it one of the top contenders for long-term adoption.”

    Transaction Processing: Speed, Security, and Scalability

    BDTCOIN’s underlying blockchain infrastructure is built for efficiency, ensuring rapid, secure, and cost-effective transactions.

    • Rapid confirmation times: Transactions are processed almost instantly, eliminating long wait times.
    • Minimal processing fees: Unlike traditional banking systems, BDTCOIN enables low-cost transfers, making financial transactions more accessible.
    • Scalable infrastructure: Designed for mass adoption, BDTCOIN’s blockchain can handle high transaction volumes without congestion.
    • 24/7 operation: No banking hours or delays—BDTCOIN transactions run around the clock, ensuring seamless financial interactions worldwide.

    The Road Ahead for BDTCOIN

    As the crypto market remains turbulent, BDTCOIN’s ability to not only withstand the downturn but thrive in it is a testament to its strong fundamentals and growing adoption. With a clear mission to democratize finance and a robust technological backbone, BDTCOIN is poised to redefine how people interact with money in a digital-first world.

    With increasing adoption, strategic partnerships, and a focus on real-world utility, BDTCOIN is more than just another cryptocurrency—it’s a movement towards a more inclusive and efficient financial system.

    Thus, In a world where the gap between the haves and the have-nots continues to widen, BDTCOIN offers a glimmer of hope. It’s a reminder that technology when used responsibly, can be a force for good.

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency investments are subject to market risks. Investors should conduct their own research before making any financial decisions.

    Company Details:

    Website: https://bdtcoin.co/

    Explorer: https://bdtcoin.info

    Development: https://bdtcoin.org

    Email: Admin@bdtcoin.co

    Disclaimer: This content is provided by BDTCOIN. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice. Investing in crypto and mining related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector–including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining–complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed. Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release.

    Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c5eee057-fed6-4e39-b779-4a99722fb74a

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2cfc07e0-4ddf-46a5-9217-a7b81722ab06

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Duckworth, Booker, Blunt Rochester Urge Trump Administration to Reopen EPA Environmental Justice Office That Helped Most Disadvantaged Communities Solve Environmental and Public Health Challenges

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth

    February 28, 2025

    [WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Cory Booker (D-NJ)—founding co-chairs of the Senate’s first-ever Environmental Justice Caucus—along with U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester urged EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to reopen the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR), which Duckworth and Booker led the charge to create, so the office can continue helping our most disadvantaged communities in rural, urban and tribal areas by improving access to clean drinking water, addressing legacy pollution that has led to higher cancer, asthma and death rates and more. Additionally, the Senators are demanding a more detailed explanation behind why the Trump Administration decided to abolish such a critical office and how the Administration is planning to ensure victims of environmental harm receive the attention, resources and protections they deserve.

    “The closure of this office which assisted underserved communities across the country leaves us seriously questioning your commitment to adhere to the Congressional appropriations process of the agency and address the impacts of pollution on communities in urban, suburban, and rural America,” wrote the lawmakers. “The 168 EPA staff placed on administrative leave were dedicated, trusted in their community, and worked to help Americans overcome the public health and economic effects of pollution. We strongly urge you to reinstate this workforce and to provide Congress and the American people a reasonable strategy to make their communities healthier and cleaner.”

    In addition to Duckworth, Booker and Blunt Rochester, the letter is co-signed by U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Coons (D-DE), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

    The full text of the letter is available on Senator Duckworth’s website and below:

    Dear Administrator Zeldin,

    We write to you today to express our deep concern regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent decision to shut down the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR). In the United States, communities across the country lack access to safe and reliable drinking water and sewer systems, and remain exposed to pollution that causes cancer and respiratory illnesses. These issues impact every state and community type from cities to rural and farming communities, to tribal lands. Many of these areas were deliberately targeted due to their demographics for the siting of polluting activities.

    The closure of this office which assisted underserved communities across the country leaves us seriously questioning your commitment to adhere to the Congressional appropriations process of the agency and address the impacts of pollution on communities in urban, suburban, and rural America. The 168 EPA staff placed on administrative leave were dedicated, trusted in their community, and worked to help Americans overcome the public health and economic effects of pollution. We strongly urge you to reinstate this workforce and to provide Congress and the American people a reasonable strategy to make their communities healthier and cleaner. Established in 1992 under a different name by President George H.W. Bush, OEJECR has played a pivotal role in ensuring that these communities, often marginalized and ignored, receive the attention, resources, and protections they deserve.

    This office and its staff ensure the EPA prioritizes its work to lend a hand for these communities in their fight to reduce environmental disparities and promote health outcomes. This office ensured the EPA centered its work on the experiences and concerns of Americans. Its closure, especially without an adequate replacement, suggests that EPA’s posture will be one that ignores the concerns of families experiencing the health and economic effects of a polluted environment.

    We are seriously concerned that the closure of this successful office comes with no alternative vision or strategy to help Americans overcome the public health issues pollution poses to their communities. For example, in February 2023, the EPA worked with the U.S. Department of Justice to file a suit against Denka Performance Elastomer for emitting cancerous air pollutants 14 times the recommended level 450 feet from a majority Black elementary school. Also, in June of 2023, a settlement agreement with the City of Houston was announced because of illegal dumping taking place in a majority Black and Latino neighborhood. Lastly, in July 2024, the EPA announced a settlement agreement with Marathon Oil arising out of the company’s violation of air emission regulations and permit laws at nearly 90 oil and natural gas production facilities on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. These are only a few legal actions initiated by the EPA that displays the need of a dedicated office tasked with engaging and providing resources to communities who are the victims of environmental harm.

    Without the specialized expertise of this office and its 168 employees, the EPA will be ill equipped to achieve your stated outcome that “every American should have access to clean air, land, and water.” Instead, what we fear is an EPA that is devoid of the strategies necessary to confront the challenges faced by environmental justice communities disproportionately affected by the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change. Further, OEJECR managed the environmental justice mapping tool, EJScreen, which you have scrubbed from your website. EJScreen is a valuable tool, not only for EPA to ensure fully informed permitting, enforcement, outreach, and compliance decisions, but also for other federal agencies, state and local partners, industry, and communities across the country.

    Absent strong leadership by the EPA and the resources to address these concerns, a dangerous precedent will be set, signaling that the federal government will no longer be a resource to all Americans, especially those in areas overburdened by pollution and the accompanying health burden. Congress has been clear that the EPA must prioritize combating pollution in marginalized communities around the country. It has directed appropriations toward offices like the OEJECR and programs that address environmental justice. For many years, the EPA has had an environmental justice line item under the agency’s enforcement unit. Congress explicitly directed the EPA to work on environmental justice in the explanatory statement to Public Law 117-103, going so far as to direct the EPA to provide to Congress a “comprehensive briefing” on how environmental justice work will be executed by the Agency and to create a proposal of a “national program office” centered on the work.

    We strongly urge you to reinstate the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights and its workforce. Further, to better help us understand how and why you reached this decision and your strategies to combat these real public health concerns, please provide responses to the following requests for information by no later than March 17, 2025:

    1. Please explain in detail the process by which this decision was made and how it was communicated to staff.
    1. Please explain thoroughly how you will continue to execute programs such as the Environmental Justice Community Change Grants Program, Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program, the Environmental Justice Small Collaborative Problem Solving Grants Program, the Environmental Justice Government to Government Grants Program, and the Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers Program initiatives that help communities access grants to address water contamination, air pollution, and lead reduction. a. Will you continue to provide technical assistance so the most impacted communities can have a chance to compete for EPA’s national federal funding programs?
    1. Please explain in detail how the agency will ensure fair access to grant programs and support economically and socially disadvantaged communities – including communities of color, rural and farm communities, and Tribal communities – in competing for funding and addressing critical issues in their community.
    1. What is your strategy to combat pollution in marginalized communities across the country?
    1. What plans do you have for continuing to engage with community organizations and local governments on environmental justice issues in the absence of the office?
    1. How do you intend to work with local governments to expand access to clean water and improve air quality?
    1. How will the agency assist local governments in developing and enforcing pollution reduction regulations?
    1. Explain how you intend to support local leaders and officials in building capacity and expertise in environmental justice work at the community level?
    1. How will EPA identify areas that may have higher environmental burdens without access to EJScreen, what agency personnel will be tasked with maintaining that information, and how will EPA proactive share that information with the public?
    1. How will you ensure transparency and accountability in the agency’s environmental justice work after the closure of the office?
    1. How will you rebuild trust with community-based organizations after the closure of this office and work to ensure they have the necessary resources to combat pollution?
    1. How will you rebuild trust with local government, communities, Tribes and stakeholders who are now concerned about the lack of budget assurance for millions of dollars in projects funded through with Congressional allocated Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act resources?

    You stated to the Environment and Public Works Committee that you believe “every American deserves access to clean air and water” and that you would “commit to working hard to meet the needs of all communities.” We trust that you will stand by your commitment to communities across the nation who rely on the EPA’s commitment to environmental justice and work to ensure that the agency continues to serve all Americans fairly and effectively.

    Sincerely,

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Foreign powers have long profited from Ukrainian resources – Trump’s minerals grab is no exception

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Victoria Donovan, Professor of Ukrainian and East European Studies, University of St Andrews

    Donald Trump and Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, meet outside the Élysée Palace in Paris. Frederic Legrand – COMEO / Shutterstock

    Donald Trump’s grab for Ukraine’s minerals, which the US president is demanding as compensation for his country’s wartime assistance to Kyiv, might seem like a new low in a week of US-Ukraine relations lows.

    The latest draft of Trump’s “minerals deal” would grant the US substantial control of a new fund that would invest in Ukrainian reconstruction. The fund would receive 50% of the profits from the future monetisation of government-owned Ukrainian natural resources such as lithium and titanium, as well as coal, gas, oil and uranium.

    This deal, despite offering no guarantee of continued US military support, is a slight improvement on Trump’s first offering. That bid would have imposed financial conditions on Ukraine harsher than those forced on Germany after the first world war.

    However, the deal will still require future generations of Ukrainians to shoulder the cost of a war for which they bear no responsibility. Commentators, including British foreign minister David Lammy, have noted that it would be more just to seize frozen Russian assets and use them to cover the cost of repairing the damage Russia has wreaked across the country.

    But, while many in the west have balked at Trump’s barefaced extractivism, his actions are entirely in line with the way western capitalists have approached Ukraine and its resources since the 19th century.

    The Donbas region of Ukraine is a major coal mining and industrial area.
    deniks315 / Shutterstock

    Ukraine’s east, referred to as Donbas, is often thought to have been industrialised in the 1930s, when Joseph Stalin was leading the Soviet Union. At this time, Donbas was marketed to the world as a symbol of proletarian superabundance. It was a place where miners and steelworkers exceeded their production quotas by 30 or 40 times.

    But the development of industrial extraction in eastern Ukraine dates back much earlier and was powered, in part, by European capital and technology.

    In the mid-19th century, when this part of Ukraine was controlled by the Russian empire, the Russian tsars opened the country’s borders to foreign capital investment in the hopes of accelerating its industrialisation drive. A series of fiscal measures were introduced that made it more attractive to foreigners to invest in the empire’s emerging industrial markets.

    This encouraged a wave of economic migration from western Europe to all regions of the multinational state. Foreign capitalists often partnered with Russian business elites based in Saint Petersburg and other major cities and set about generating huge amounts of profit from the extraction of the empire’s valuable resources.

    Donbas, with its wealth of minerals, was a region of particular interest for foreign capitalists. French, Belgian, German, Dutch and British industrialists all relocated to the region in the second half of the 19th century hoping to make their fortunes by excavating the region’s salt, chalk, gypsum, and coal. In fact, there was so much Belgian capital circulating at one point that Donbas became known as “the tenth Belgian province”.

    Despite the paternalism of some foreign managers, the extraction of Ukraine’s minerals did little to improve the life of local communities. Rather, it contributed to the displacement of indigenous people and caused massive environmental and ecological damage.

    Urban planning often replicated the segregated conditions of European colonies in Africa and India. Foreign settlers lived apart from local workers, in privileged housing located in better provisioned parts of town downwind of the toxic fumes of the blast furnaces and the chimney stacks.

    In the settlement of Hughesovka (now known as Donetsk), which was named after the Welsh industrialist John Hughes, Welsh settlers attempted to reconstruct the trappings of British life on the Ukrainian steppe.

    They built tennis courts and an Anglican church, arranged tea parties, and even had an amateur dramatics society. Meanwhile, the local workforce lived in abject poverty, often accommodated in barracks or mud dugouts.

    In these dismal conditions, infectious disease and dissatisfaction were widespread. There are several reports of riots following large-scale outbreaks of cholera and local hospitals were reportedly overflowing.

    Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, this period of European capitalist exploitation was drawing considerable interest from researchers.

    The “European” industrial heritage of Donbas was being used to tell different stories about the region and to highlight its complex, multicultural history. This heritage was seen to hold potential as a counter-narrative to the toxic “Russian world” propaganda emanating from the occupied territories, which maintains that Ukraine is an integral part of Russia’s historic sphere of cultural influence.

    But there is a danger in being too romantic about this chapter in history. Foreign capitalist investment in the extraction of Ukrainian minerals was not a classic example of settler colonialism. However, it bore many similarities to western European colonial practices in other parts of the world at this time.

    What this history reminds us is that Ukraine has long been located at the intersection of empires. And these empires have often collaborated to plunder the country’s resources, offering little or nothing in return.

    We can see this kind of predatory collaboration of imperial and neo-imperial regimes once again taking shape. Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, is trying to tempt Trump away from a deal with Ukraine with promises of access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in the occupied territories.

    We must continue to gather and protest, as many of us did on the three-year anniversary of the full-scale invasion this week, to resist such politics of resourcification.

    Victoria Donovan’s research has received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, 2019-2023.

    – ref. Foreign powers have long profited from Ukrainian resources – Trump’s minerals grab is no exception – https://theconversation.com/foreign-powers-have-long-profited-from-ukrainian-resources-trumps-minerals-grab-is-no-exception-250811

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LOK SABHA SPEAKER PAYS TRIBUTES TO SHRI MORARJI DESAI

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 28 FEB 2025 8:58PM by PIB Delhi

    Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla paid floral tributes to Shri Morarji Desai, former Prime Minister of India, in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan on his birth anniversary, today.

    Members of Parliament, former Members and other dignitaries also paid floral tributes to Shri Desai.

    The portrait of Shri Morarji Desai was unveiled by the then President of India, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan (then Parliament House) on 15 December, 1995.

    Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla paid floral tributes to Shri Morarji Desai, former Prime Minister of India, in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan on his birth anniversary on 28 February, 2025.

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Delhi: how weather patterns and faraway mountains made this the world’s most polluted megacity

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ankit Bhandekar, Research Student — Atmosphere, Oceans and Climate, University of Reading

    Delhi is perhaps the most polluted of the world’s megacities. Every winter, the city’s 30 million residents breathe air so toxic that visibility drops to mere metres. If you stand on top of one of Delhi’s monuments you can barely make out buildings across the street as the thick, acrid smog burns your eyes and scratches your throat.

    But conditions can and do change rapidly. January 2025 offered a dramatic demonstration of how weather patterns can rapidly transform the city’s air quality.

    On January 5, favourable winds improved air quality enough to lift some restrictions. Yet by January 15, as winds calmed and temperatures dropped, pollution levels soared dramatically, forcing the city to implement its maximum “severe +” interventions. These include banning trucks from entering the city, restricting private vehicles and moving schools to online classes.

    Delhi didn’t suddenly have more cars, factories, power plants or construction sites from one week to the next. Those things are consistent sources of pollution. There are some events that add to air pollution in the shorter term, such as fireworks during Diwali, or the mass burning of unwanted crop debris (known as stubble), both of which take place in October or November.

    But that wasn’t what happened in January. Instead, the sudden reversal revealed how weather, not just emissions, dictates Delhi’s ability to breathe. Understanding this will be crucial if the city is to clean up its air.

    A meteorological prison

    Delhi is one of many large cities found in a flat and hugely fertile region spanning the Indian subcontinent to the south of the Himalayas. It’s known as the Indo-Gangetic plains, as it contains the floodplains of the Indus and Ganges-Brahmaputra rivers and their tributaries. More than a billion people live in this part of the world.

    Delhi specifically is also bordered by another mountain range to its south, the Aravallis. While modest compared to the Himalayas, these mountains contribute to the city sitting in a natural bowl-like area, which makes it harder for pollution to disperse.

    This geographical positioning means its location naturally collects airborne pollutants from surrounding agricultural areas. Even if Delhi somehow produced zero emissions, the region would still be likely to experience air quality problems during winter.

    In winter, Delhi experiences “temperature inversions” where warmer air sits above colder air like a lid on a pot. This phenomenon occurs naturally in the region but is intensified by the city’s heat-trapping urban landscape. Normally, temperature decreases with height, allowing air to mix vertically, since warm air rises. Under inversion conditions, this pattern reverses and pollutants are trapped near the ground.

    The height up to which pollutants can disperse, known as the “mixing height”, also dramatically reduces in winter. While summer allows mixing up to an altitude of about one kilometre, winter can compress this to just a few hundred meters, concentrating pollutants in a much smaller volume of air.

    Meanwhile the Himalayas block air from flowing northward, forcing pollution to travel the entire stretch of northern India before finding an exit over the Bay of Bengal. In cities, urban structures further complicate this by creating “surface roughness”, a frictional effect that slows pollution dispersion.

    Seasonal factors

    There are also seasonal factors that make pollution accumulate or disperse more at certain times of year.

    Satellite map showing smoky skies over northern India in November 2022 (Delhi is the small unlabelled region between Haryana and Uttar Pradesh). The red images show fires started by farmers to clear away unwanted crop residue. This ‘stubble burning’ is a big source of pollution downwind in Delhi.
    Nasa

    Delhi’s summer monsoon season runs from July to September, providing natural cleansing through rainfall. During post-monsoon months (October-November), rainfall is minimal. At the same time, wind speeds decrease, limiting ventilation. These conditions compress the atmospheric boundary layer — the lowest part of atmosphere influenced by Earth’s surface — trapping pollutants near ground level.

    Throughout winter (December-February), cooler surface temperatures intensify temperature inversions. This creates lots of fog, which combines with pollutants in the atmosphere to form Delhi’s characteristic smog. The reduced mixing height during this period severely restricts vertical dispersal of pollutants.

    In pre-monsoon months (March-May), strong westerly winds can blow additional dust from the Thar Desert and agricultural regions toward Delhi. However, higher temperatures increase vertical mixing, improving overall dispersion despite this additional dust.

    Season-specific approach

    India’s technological interventions, including smog towers and anti-smog guns,have shown limited effectiveness in addressing the causes of pollution. Even more ambitious proposals such as using cloud seeding to induce precipitation aren’t very practical. Cloud seeding is expensive, can only cover a limited area, and needs very specific meteorological conditions.

    An anti-smog gun in Delhi sprays water to suppress dust and reduce air pollution.
    PradeepGaurs / shutterstock

    To manage its air quality, Delhi needs a season-specific approach that anticipates weather patterns and pulses in emissions. Getting ahead of the smog could involve a few different things.

    Preventive planning would mean implementing stricter emission controls before the cold, still winter days when fog is likely, rather than reacting after pollution has already accumulated.

    It would involve solutions that span the whole of the Indo-Gangetic plains, rather than focusing just on Delhi (or indeed any other individual urban centre). After all, many of India’s most polluted cities share the same weather conditions, and the long-range transport of pollution can play a huge role.

    A season-specific approach would mean some fixed seasonal policies would instead adapt to forecast meteorological conditions. For instance, construction restrictions (building dust is a big source of air pollution) might be tightened when inversions are predicted, even on seemingly clear days.

    Finally, by combining meteorological and air quality monitoring, authorities could provide targeted warnings and interventions days before visible pollution accumulates.

    Understanding these natural constraints isn’t just an academic exercise – it’s essential for developing effective policies that can protect millions of residents year-round. As climate change potentially alters these meteorological patterns, the need for scientifically informed policy becomes even more critical.

    Ankit Bhandekar receives funding from Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

    Laura Wilcox receives funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Norwegian Research Council, and Horizon Europe.

    – ref. Delhi: how weather patterns and faraway mountains made this the world’s most polluted megacity – https://theconversation.com/delhi-how-weather-patterns-and-faraway-mountains-made-this-the-worlds-most-polluted-megacity-249894

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Stabbing at Prospect

    Source: South Australia Police

    A man is in hospital after an incident at Prospect.

    About 11.50pm on Friday 28 February, police and ambulance crews were called to a house in Charles Street after reports that a man had been stabbed.

    No one else was at the man’s house when police arrived.

    Paramedics took the 40-year-old man to hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries.

    Anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or seen suspicious activity in Charles Street or Princess Street is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Unexplained death, Morningside

    Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

    Attribute to Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Allan:

    An investigation has been launched after the death of a woman at a Morningside address last night.

    Police were called to the Don Croot Street property about 9.15pm, after a report of a woman being found unconscious.

    CPR was performed, however unfortunately the woman was not able to be revived.

    Her death is currently being treated as unexplained, and Police are working to establish the full circumstances of what has occurred.

    A scene examination will be carried out at the property today.

    Anyone who has any information about this incident encouraged to call Police.

    You can do so through our 105 service, quoting reference number 250228/6990.

    Information can also be shared anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

    ENDS

    Issued by Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participates in the Sufi music festival, Jahan-e-Khusrau 2025

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participates in the Sufi music festival, Jahan-e-Khusrau 2025

    The Jahan-e-Khusro event has a unique fragrance, It is the fragrance of soil of Hindustan,That Hindustan, which Hazrat Amir Khusro had compared to heaven : PM

    The Sufi tradition has created a unique identity for itself in India: PM

    The civilization and culture of any country get their voice from its music and songs: PM

    Hazrat Khusro described India as greater than all the major nations of the world during his time, He considered Sanskrit the best language in the world: PM

    Hazrat Khusro regarded India’s scholars as greater than the greatest of scholars: PM

    Posted On: 28 FEB 2025 10:55PM by PIB Delhi

    Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participated in the Sufi music festival, Jahan-e-Khusrau 2025, today, at Sunder Nursery, New Delhi.

    Addressing the gathering at Jahan-e-Khusro, Prime Minister said that it was natural to feel elated in the presence of the rich legacy of Hazrat Amir Khusro. He noted that the essence of the Spring season, which Khusro was so fond of, is not just the season but is also present in the air of Jahan-e-Khusro today in Delhi.

    Shri Modi emphasized the significance of events like Jahan-e-Khusro for the country’s art and culture, stating they provide both importance and tranquility. He highlighted that the event, now completing 25 years, has earned a prominent place in people’s hearts, marking it as a major achievement. The Prime Minister congratulated Dr. Karan Singh, Muzaffar Ali, Meera Ali, and other collaborators for their contributions. He wished the Rumi Foundation and all associated with Jahan-e-Khusro continued success in the future. On the occasion, the Prime Minister also extended his Ramadan greetings to all attendees and citizens of the country, as the holy month approaches. Shri Modi recalled the contribution of His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, whose efforts in enhancing the Sunder nursery have been a blessing for millions of art enthusiasts.

    The Prime Minister  spoke about the significant role of Sarkhej Roza in Gujarat’s Sufi tradition. He highlighted that, in the past, the condition of the site had deteriorated, but as Chief Minister, he focused on its restoration. The Prime Minister also recalled the time when Sarkhej Roza hosted grand Krishna Utsav celebrations, which were well-attended. He mentioned that even today, the essence of Krishna devotion is present in the atmosphere. “I used to regularly participate in the annual Sufi music festival held at Sarkhej Roza”, Shri Modi shared. “Sufi music represents a shared heritage that unites people from all walks of life. The performance of Nazre Krishna also reflected this shared cultural legacy”, Shri Modi emphasized.

    The Prime Minister remarked that the Jahan-e-Khusro event carries a unique fragrance, representing the soil of India. He recalled how Hazrat Amir Khusro compared India to paradise, describing the country as a garden of civilization where every aspect of culture has flourished. “The soil of India has a unique character, and when the Sufi tradition arrived here, it found a connection with the land. The spiritual teachings of Baba Farid, the love ignited by Hazrat Nizamuddin’s gatherings, and the new gems created by Hazrat Amir Khusro’s verses, which collectively embody the essence of India’s rich cultural legacy”, Shri Modi remarked.

    The Prime Minister emphasized the unique identity of the Sufi tradition in India, where Sufi saints blended Quranic teachings with Vedic principles and devotional music. He praised Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya for expressing unity in diversity through his Sufi songs. “Jahan-e-Khusro has now become a modern reflection of this rich, inclusive tradition”, Shri Modi stated.

    Shri Modi highlighted that the civilization and culture of any country get their voice from its music and songs. “When Sufi and classical music traditions merged, they gave birth to new expressions of love and devotion, evident in the qawwalis of Hazrat Khusro, the verses of Baba Farid, the poetry of Bullah Shah, Mir, Kabir, Rahim, and Ras Khan. These saints and mystics gave a new dimension to devotion”, he added.

    Shri Modi noted that whether one reads Surdas, Rahim, Ras Khan, or listens to Hazrat Khusro, all these expressions lead to the same spiritual love, where human limitations are transcended, and the union between man and God is felt.  “Ras Khan, despite being Muslim, was a devoted follower of Lord Krishna, reflecting the universal nature of love and devotion, as expressed in his poetry. The grand performance at the event also reflected this deep sense of spiritual love”, Shri Modi underscored.

    The Prime Minister highlighted that the Sufi tradition has not only bridged the spiritual distances among humans but also reduced the gaps between nations. He recalled his visit to the Afghan Parliament in 2015, where he spoke emotionally about Rumi, who was born in Balkh, Afghanistan, eight centuries ago. Shri Modi shared Rumi’s thought that transcends geographical boundaries: “I am neither from the East nor the West, I am not born from the sea nor the land, I have no place, I am everywhere.” The Prime Minister connected this philosophy to India’s ancient belief in “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (the world is one family), drawing strength from such thoughts during his global engagements. Shri Modi also recalled reading a couplet by Mirza Ghalib during a joint press conference in Iran, reflecting India’s universal and inclusive values.

    Shri Modi spoke about Hazrat Amir Khusro, who is famously known as the ‘Tuti-e-Hind’. He highlighted that in his works, Khusro praised India’s greatness and charm, as seen in his book Nuh-Siphr. The Prime Minister emphasized that Khusro regarded India as superior to the great nations of his time and considered Sanskrit the best language in the world. Shri Modi acknowledged that Khusro respected Indians as being greater than the greatest scholars.“Khusro also took pride in how India’s knowledge of zero, mathematics, science, and philosophy spread to the rest of the world, especially how Indian mathematics reached the Arabs and became known as “Hindsa.”, Shri Modi noted. The Prime Minister further pointed out that despite the long period of colonial rule and the devastation that followed, Hazrat Khusro’s writings played a significant role in preserving India’s rich past and keeping its legacy alive.

    The Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction with the efforts of Jahan-e-Khusro, which has been successfully promoting and enriching India’s cultural heritage for 25 years. Shri Modi acknowledged that maintaining this initiative for a quarter of a century is no small feat. Prime Minister Shri Modi concluded his address by extending his gratitude for the opportunity to enjoy the celebration and expressing his heartfelt appreciation for everyone involved with the event.

    Background

    The Prime Minister has been a strong proponent of promoting the diverse art and culture of the country. In line with this, he will participate in Jahan-e-Khusrau which is an international Festival dedicated to Sufi music, poetry, and dance. It is bringing together artists from across the world to celebrate the legacy of Amir Khusrau. Organized by the Rumi Foundation, the Festival, started by renowned filmmaker and artist Muzaffar Ali in 2001, will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year and is being held from 28th February to 2nd March.

     

     

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Fatal traffic accident in Tseung Kwan O

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident happened in Tseung Kwan O yesterday afternoon (February 28), in which a man died.

         At 6.10pm, a medium goods vehicle (MGV) driven by a 58-year-old man, a motorcycle driven by a 50-year-old man and a bus driven by a 62-year-old man were travelling along Wan Po Road southbound. When approaching the junction of Wan Po Road and Chun Yat Street, the MGV driver and the motorcyclist slowed down and stopped their vehicles due to traffic condition. The bus suspectedly failed to brake in time and rammed into the motorcycle.

         The motorcyclist was trapped between the MGV and the bus and rescued by firemen. Sustaining serious head injury, the motorcyclist was rushed to Tseung Kwan O Hospital in unconscious state and was certified dead at 8.52pm.

         The bus driver was sent to Tseung Kwan O Hospital in conscious state. He was then arrested for dangerous driving causing death and is being detained for enquiries.

         Investigation by the Special Investigation Team 1 of Traffic, Kowloon East is under way.

         Anyone who witnessed the accident or has any information to offer is urged to contact the investigating officers on 3661 0264.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –