NewzIntel.com

Category: Asia Pacific

  • MIL-OSI USA: N.M. Delegation Demands HHS Secretary Kennedy Take Immediate Action to Contain Measles Outbreak

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico)
    Delegation Letter Comes Amid Measles Outbreak in New Mexico and Texas;
    Measles is One of the Most Highly Infectious Diseases and Can Lead to Serious Complications Like Pneumonia, Blindness, Brain Swelling, and Death
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. demanding immediate action to contain the recent outbreak of measles in New Mexico. Measles, once declared eliminated in the U.S. over two decades ago, has sickened nine individuals in Lea Country.
    “Given the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) important responsibility to stop the spread of infectious diseases, we request that you utilize HHS’ authorities for testing and monitoring and vaccine education and promotion, as well as rehire critical federal employees, to stop the spread of this dangerous infection,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter to Secretary Kennedy.
    The lawmakers urged Secretary Kennedy to maintain regular reporting on measles cases, “States report confirmed measles cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Previously, measles tracking on the CDC website was consistently updated weekly. These updates are critical for public health officials to effectively track the rapid spread of this life-threatening disease. We urge you to maintain posting updated measles tracking data weekly.”
    Following the firing of federal public health officials, the lawmakers demanded the reinstatement of these officials to contain the outbreak, “Just last Friday, two dozen employees at the CDC charged with training public health laboratory staffers and supporting outbreak response efforts were fired. These firings will worsen outbreaks and ultimately threaten the health of all Americans in the face of the next public health emergency. We urgently request that you reinstate the fired federal health workers to help stop the spread of measles and other infectious diseases.”
    Additionally, to prevent future outbreaks, the lawmakers pressed Secretary Kennedy to support life-saving measles vaccines, “Given that most of the infected individuals are unvaccinated, more must be done to increase vaccination rates against measles. Vaccination rates can and should be increased and therefore we request that HHS launch a national campaign to improve measles vaccination rates to prevent future outbreaks.”
    The text of the letter is here and below:
    Dear Secretary Kennedy,
    We are concerned about the recent outbreak of measles in New Mexico. As of Wednesday, there are nine people with confirmed cases of measles in isolation in Lea County, New Mexico. This news comes as the nearby counties of Gaines, Terry, Lubbock, and Yoakum in Texas have recently reported 90 cases with 16 people hospitalized. Given the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) important responsibility to stop the spread of infectious diseases, we request that you utilize HHS’ authorities for testing and monitoring and vaccine education and promotion, as well as rehire critical federal employees, to stop the spread of this dangerous infection.
    Measles is one of the most highly infectious diseases because the virus can survive in the air for up to 2 hours. Ninety percent of people who are susceptible will become infected if exposed. While many recover, some experience serious complications like pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling, and death.
    Preventing and mitigating outbreaks is only possible through effective disease tracking and communication, an adequate workforce, and vaccination. States report confirmed measles cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Previously, measles tracking on the CDC website was consistently updated weekly. These updates are critical for public health officials to effectively track the rapid spread of this life-threatening disease. We urge you to maintain posting updated measles tracking data weekly.
    The public health workforce protects community health by tracking disease and communicating with the public about health threats. But on January 29, 2025, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that there are still health care workforce shortages that inhibit the U.S.’s ability to protect and improve the health of American communities. Despite these health care workforce shortages, federal employees have been fired from the CDC, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Indian Health Service (IHS). Just last Friday, two dozen employees at the CDC charged with training public health laboratory staffers and supporting outbreak response efforts were fired. These firings will worsen outbreaks and ultimately threaten the health of all Americans in the face of the next public health emergency. We urgently request that you reinstate the fired federal health workers to help stop the spread of measles and other infectious diseases.
    Finally, the most effective way to protect people from contracting measles is to increase vaccination rates as quickly as possible. The measles vaccine, which also inoculates against mumps and rubella, has been in use for about 60 years and has consistently been found to be safe and effective. We urge you to keep your commitment to maintain the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations for vaccination. The ACIP is critical for ensuring safe and effective vaccination practices among American adults and children. The resources provided by the ACIP not only help health care providers make vaccination recommendations to their patients but also empower everyday Americans to make informed decisions about their health. Given that most of the infected individuals are unvaccinated, more must be done to increase vaccination rates against measles. Vaccination rates can and should be increased and therefore we request that HHS launch a national campaign to improve measles vaccination rates to prevent future outbreaks.
    In closing, your action is urgently needed to stop the spread of measles in New Mexico and across America. In order to mitigate the further spread of this life-threatening disease, we urge you to utilize HHS’ authorities and proven outbreak mitigation strategies. Specifically, we are asking that you maintain weekly disease tracking data updates, rehire federal health workers, launch a vaccination promotion campaign against measles and other life-threatening infectious diseases, and trust the recommendations of public health experts, physicians, and scientists.
    Thank you for your attention to this critical matter.
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: AFRICA/TANZANIA – Appointment of auxiliary bishop of Tabora

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Wednesday, 26 February 2025

    Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Josaphat Jackson Bududu, of the metropolitan archdiocese of Tabora, Tanzania, until now vicar for consecrated life and parish priest of Saint Joseph in Kipalapala, as auxiliary bishop of the same archdiocese, assigning him the titular see of Vegesela di Numidia.Msgr. Josaphat Jackson Bududu was born on 6 March 1977 in Kaliua, Tabora.He studied philosophy at the major seminary of Kibosho, Moshi, and theology at the major seminary of Kipalapala, Tabora. He was awarded a doctorate in spirituality at the Tamil Nadu Institute of Spirituality and Saint Peter’s Pontifical Institute in Bangalore, India.He has held the following offices: deputy parish priest (2009-2011) and parish priest (2015-2018) of Saint Therese in Tabora.Since 2019, he has served as formator at Archbishop Mario Mgulunde Propaedeutic Seminary in Kipalapala, professor at Saint Paul’s Senior Seminary in Kipalapala, parish priest of Saint Joseph in Kipalapala, spiritual director of the Religious Congregation of the Daughters of Mary Sisters in Tabora and vicar for consecrated life of the metropolitan archdiocese of Tabora. (Agenzia Fides, 26/2/2025)
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    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: JMIC’s Role Expands to Entire CMF Operating Area

    Source: United States Navy

    To support the newly expanded JMIC mission, Royal Australian Navy Capt. Jorge McKee, Combined Task Force (CTF) 153 commander, transferred three Naval Cooperation and Guidance of Shipping (NCAGS) specialist officers to JMIC.

    McKee with JMIC Director, U.S. Navy Capt. Lee Stuart, and JMIC Deputy Director, Republic of Singapore Navy Cmdr. Andrew Sim, to transfer the officers, who are from the Royal Netherlands and Royal Norwegian navies.

    Since forming on Feb. 20, 2024, as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian (OPG), the international response to attacks on merchant mariners by Yemen-based Houthis terrorists, JMIC has enhanced understanding, information sharing and cooperation between naval and commercial shipping in the region.

    Once responsibility for OPG transferred from CTF 153 to the U.S. Navy’s Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 50 on Feb. 1, JMIC expanded their operating area so they can provide the same level of service to the entire operating area.

    JMIC’s regular information products now include incident monitoring, reporting and security assessments for the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Northwestern Indian Ocean in addition to the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Bab al-Mandab.

    “These officers have been an integral part of this task force, bringing valuable specialist commercial shipping industry expertise to inform daily operational decisions that I, and the rest of the team, have greatly appreciated,” McKee said. “We look forward to seeing their expertise benefit all CMF task forces and shipping operators across the region.”

    Stuart likened the officers to the first crew of a newly commissioned ship.

    “These officers are JMIC ‘plank owners.’” Stuart said. “They comprise the first crew of a combined unit supporting the free flow of commerce and commercial mariner safety for years to come.”

    JMIC welcomes engagement from shipping industry stakeholders via its new LinkedIn page at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jmic

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: U.S. 5th Fleet Reserve Sailors Integrated in the International Maritime Exercise (IMX) 2025

    Source: United States Navy

    More than 80 Reservists took part in the ninth iteration of IMX, the largest multinational training event in the Middle East. IMX involved 5,000 personnel from more than 30 nations and international organizations committed to preserving the rules-based international order and strengthening regional maritime security cooperation.
    During the exercise, Reservists supported NAVCENT exercise serials for maritime operations, including intelligence briefings, logistics planning, and responses to medical emergencies — all designed to prepare them to fill the roles of their active-component counterparts at a moment’s notice while also working alongside partner nations.

    The immersive training brought many Reservists to the Maritime Operations Center and provided valuable experiences needed if called upon for duty.

    “This iteration of IMX featured more real world involvement of more real world elements than other exercises I have been a part of as a Navy Reservist,” said Chief Operations Specialist Brendan McLendon. “To be on the watch floor and knowing that there are real ships underway, executing real events, made IMX an all-encompassing exercise I was happy to be a part of.”
    Intelligence Specialist 1st Class Christopher Stark was at his third IMX, and acknowledged the work alongside partner nations was more integrated than previous editions.
    “I was not able to work alongside each nation represented at IMX, but the ones I did work alongside were very professional,” said Stark. “They brought a lot of different knowledge and experience with them and to the methods they approach each scenario, which was interesting to learn.”

    “If we did have a need to work alongside our partner nations, having this kind of preexisting relationship already in place is a good thing,” added McLendon.

    Rear Adm. Jeff Jurgemeyer, the NAVCENT/C5F vice commander, participated fully in IMX 25 and addressed the 83 reserve Sailors at the culmination of the exercise.

    “I hope you all had a worthwhile experience here in Bahrain during IMX,” said Jurgemeyer.
    Also, he reinforced, that in an increasingly dynamic global security environment, exercises such as IMX display the critical role reserve Sailors play in current operations.

    “The importance of what you all bring to NAVCENT and 5th Fleet in providing the support to be able to come in here is widely recognized. I get a lot of positive fededback about you all and they really appreciate that here. It can be hard for Vice Adm. Wikoff, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and U.S. 5th Fleet, to tell who is a reservist and who is not, and that is certainly what I like to hear.”

    NAVCENT/C5F is the maritime component commander of U.S. Central Command in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, which encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water in the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse comprises more than 20 countries and includes three critical choke points: the Suez Canal, and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: ‘Last Chance’ to Achieve Two-State Solution, UN Mediator Tells Security Council, as Speakers Highlight Need to Sustain Gaza Ceasefire

    Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

    This may be “the last chance” to achieve a two-State solution — the creation of independent Israel and Palestine coexisting peacefully side by side — a United Nations mediator told the Security Council today, as it considered the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the first phase of which is set to expire on 1 March.

    While welcoming the implementation of this initial phase, including the release of 34 hostages, Sigrid Kaag, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process ad interim, added:  “None of us will forget the harrowing pictures of the coffins of the Bibas children taken hostage with their mother and killed while in captivity.” Condemning Hamas’ public parading of hostages, she also noted the release of 1,135 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, and reports of the ill treatment and humiliation they experienced.

    In Gaza, far more remains to be done to address over 15 months of deprivation of basic human necessities and “above all, a loss of human dignity”, she said, while noting some improvements in humanitarian aid access.  “Palestinians must be able to resume their lives, to rebuild and to construct their future in Gaza,” she stressed, adding that there can be no question of forced displacement.  Gaza must remain an integral part of a future Palestinian State, and the Strip must be unified with the West Bank including East Jerusalem, “politically, economically and administratively”, she said, calling on the Council to ensure continued support for the full realization of the ceasefire deal, urgent de-escalation in West Bank and support for Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction — which would cost $53 billion.

    Also briefing the Council today was Daniel Levy, President of the US/Middle East Project, who stressed that Israelis and Palestinians both deserve security, while acknowledging the “power asymmetry” between a colonizing State and a colonized people.  Recalling the Israeli ambassador’s “gimmick” of shredding the UN Charter at the General Assembly podium, he said:  “When a State like Israel conducts itself in ways that render the Charter meaningless and which assault [international] conventions, including on genocide […] then that is a challenge that cannot be allowed to pass.”

    Calling for a full ceasefire, the release of all Israeli hostages and a surge in humanitarian assistance, he cautioned:  “There is good reason to fear that this could collapse.”  In that vein, he warned against the attempt to permanently depopulate the north of Gaza, adding:  “Hamas non-governance in Gaza is achievable, the movement itself has said so.”  But, there will be resistance if the structural violence of occupation and apartheid continue.  He also cautioned against zero-sum thinking, also stressing that the unlawful forced displacement of Palestinians must not be endorsed or encouraged by any State, let alone, one of the permanent five.

    Testimony from Ex-Hostage

    “I was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on 7 October 2023 from the Nova music festival with my partner,” recalled Noa Argamani, who also addressed the Council today.  She added that she was taken by force into Gaza and “held in total fear, living in a nightmare”.  Noting that she was rescued by Israeli soldiers after eight months in captivity, she said:  “Being here today is a miracle, but I’m here today to tell you we have no time.” There are still 63 hostages in captivity — 24 believed to still be alive — “the [ceasefire] deal must go on, in full”, she urged.

    Recalling that her captors murdered her friend, she underscored:  “Every second in captivity is dangerous.”  The Council must “not let the darkness take over”, she warned, stating that she came to the Council so that the international community understands that “the hostages are in hell” and deserve to return home immediately.

    Determined to Eradicate Hamas

    “This is the story of every hostage and every family shattered by Hamas’ terror,” said Israel’s delegate, urging the Council to adopt a resolution condemning the group — a move he argued the 15-member organ could have taken 16 months ago.  Stressing that the tragedy will not end “until each one of them is back home”, he continued: “The question now is whether this Council will help write that ending, or continue to look away.”

    “No matter what happens, our commitment to freeing all the hostages and completely eradicating Hamas is unshakeable,” he underscored. Turning to the humanitarian situation, he pointed to thousands of trucks entering Gaza every week to deliver aid and stressed:  “The only starved people in Gaza are the hostages.”  He added that “it is time to think beyond the frameworks of the past and build a new reality — one where terrorists do not hold entire communities hostage and where life is sacred once more”.

    Recordings of Gunfire at Family 

    Riyad H. Mansour, Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine, said while “nothing justifies” what happened to the Bibas family, Palestinian children are “not any less deserving of your outrage for their killing”.  He went on to play recordings of the calls made to emergency services by 15-year-old Layan Hamadeh and her 6-year-old cousin Hind Rajab — both found dead later — after their family members were shot dead while evacuating Gaza City by car. He also remembered the Palestinian parents who had to collect “what remained of their children’s bodies in plastic bags”.

    “Did you see the images of our released prisoners, often starved, with marks and scars on their bodies?”, he asked, noting that Israel subjects them to beatings and humiliating treatments.  “How many hostages were released by military actions and how many hundreds of Palestinians have perished in these military attacks that were supposed to rescue the hostages but led to the death of many of them?”, he asked, adding:  “Ceasefire works.”  The next few days is a test of Israel’s true priorities, he said.

    Support for Ceasefire’s Second Phase

    Council members stressed the need to uphold the ceasefire and reach an agreement on the second phase, which aims to establish a permanent truce.  Under this phase, Israel would fully withdraw from Gaza, while Hamas would release all remaining hostages in exchange for additional detainees.

    The representative of Sierra Leone, voiced a “renewed sense of relief and optimism” despite “the uncertainty that still looms”.  The representative of the Republic of Korea noted that the agreement shows “what firm political will can bring to the region” as Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners reunite with their families.  The ceasefire is also saving lives, Denmark’s delegate said, adding that it is vital that it moves to its second phase.  Georgios Gerapetritis, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Greece, added that the ceasefire will “allow planning for a more prosperous and secure ‘day after’ for the whole region”.

    The representative of France said that his country has deployed specialized personnel within the framework of the European Union Border Assistance Mission at the Rafah Crossing Point to support the ceasefire.  He also noted that his country and Saudi Arabia will co-chair an international conference for the implementation of a two-State solution in June.

    The Russian Federation’s delegate expressed concern about the “opaque monitoring mechanism”, highlighting accusations from both sides about the other side’s bad faith in the implementation of individual steps.  Somalia’s delegate said that the continued attacks, illegal arrests, settlement-expansion and excessive use of force “undermine the spirit of the ceasefire deal” and that “mediation efforts will not succeed if the aggression continues unchecked”.  If the ceasefire fails, Panama’s delegate warned, “then the human toll will be incalculable and prospects for regional peace and stability will fade further”.

    The representative of the United Kingdom welcomed improved aid supplies since the ceasefire agreement as having “demonstrated the central role of the UN and humanitarian actors, including UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East]”.  She also expressed concern over tightening humanitarian space, as well as the expansion of Israel’s operations killing and displacing civilians in the West Bank.

    Gaza’s Future without Hamas

    The representative of the United States expressed support for Israel’s “sovereign decision” to close UNRWA offices in Jerusalem, adding:  “UNRWA is not and never has been the only option for providing humanitarian assistance in Gaza”.  Her country stands with all hostages, she said, adding that the desecration of the remains of Shiri Bibas shows “the depth of Hamas’s cruelty”.  President Donald J. Trump has made clear that the future of Gaza must look different, she said, adding that Hamas must be fully removed from power and held accountable for its 7 October 2023 terrorist massacre.

    Save West Bank from Becoming Next Gaza

    Other speakers, however, highlighted the impact of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, and the escalation of settlements and violence in the West Bank.  “Israel is not trying to return to calm,” said Kuwait’s delegate, speaking for the Arab Group.  Asking the Council if it is waiting for a repeat of the Gaza tragedy, he called on the international community to help end the occupying Power’s aggression in the West Bank and its attacks on Christian and Muslim holy sites in the Aqsa Mosque compound.

    Algeria’s delegate drew attention to the Israeli Finance Minister’s declaration that the “goal for 2025 is to demolish more than what Palestinian are building in the West Bank”.  Stressing the need to support UNRWA and empower the Palestinian Authority, he added that weakening the Authority is a deliberate strategy by the Israeli occupying Power which dreams “of a land free of Palestinians”, from the river to the sea.  Five newborn babies froze to death yesterday in a hospital in Gaza City, he noted, adding “we have no more time to waste”.  The ceasefire agreement should serve as a foundation for a durable peace plan.

    Slovenia’s delegate stressed:  “Gaza belongs to Gazans and it is an integral part of the Palestinian State.”  Pointing to the “many more steps” needed for lasting peace to persist in the Middle East, he observed:  “While peace seems to be a big word, it essentially boils down to everyday decisions to work for it.”

    “The cumulative effect of Israel’s violent occupation of Palestinian territories has entrapped the Palestinian people in a cycle of violence and poverty,” Guyana’s delegate noted.  Pakistan’s representative pointed to the forcible displacement, military raids, settler violence and illegal land annexations Israel is conducting, describing these as “ethnic cleansing in real time”.

    The representative of China, Council President for February, speaking in his national capacity, urged the international community to support the parties in moving ahead with negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire and called on Israel to cease its military and settler activity in the West Bank, underscoring:  “The West Bank must not become the next Gaza.”

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: At Least Five Peacekeeping, Associated Personnel Killed in Malicious Attacks During 2024, United Nations Staff Union Committee Says

    Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

    At Least 116 Staff Members of United Nations Palestine Refugee Agency Killed in 2024, Bringing Total to 263 Staff Fatalities Since War in Gaza

    At least five United Nations personnel — four military peacekeeping personnel and one civilian UN security coordination officer — were killed in deliberate attacks in 2024, the United Nations Staff Union Standing Committee on the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service said today.  By nationality, the UN personnel who died in 2024 were from Cameroon (1), Ghana (1), India (1) Pakistan (1) and Uganda (1).

    This does not include the personnel of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) who died in the war in Gaza, since they were not deliberately targeted.  However, at least 116 UNRWA personnel had been confirmed killed in 2024 in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in response to the terror attack by Hamas on 7 October 2023, the largest loss during a conflict in the 79-year history of the United Nations.  As of 29 December 2024, the total number of UNRWA team members killed since 7 October 2023 is 263 (UNRWA Situation Report #153).

    Peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were also affected by conflicts in the region.

    On 11 October, two peacekeepers from Indonesia serving with UNIFIL were injured after two explosions occurred close to an observation tower near the mission’s base in Naquora.

    On 29 October, eight peacekeepers from Austria serving with UNIFIL were wounded after a rocket, likely fired by Hizbullah or an affiliated group, hit UNIFIL headquarters in southern Lebanon.

    On 7 November, a UNIFIL convoy bringing newly arrived peacekeepers from Malaysia to south Lebanon was passing Saida when a drone strike occurred nearby.  Five peacekeepers were lightly injured.

    On 19 November, four peacekeepers from Ghana serving with UNIFIL were wounded when a rocket most likely fired by Hizbullah hit their base in southern Lebanon.  Peacekeepers and facilities were targeted in three separate incidents.

    On 22 November, four peacekeepers from Italy serving with UNIFIL were wounded when two rockets, likely launched by Hizbullah or affiliated groups, struck the Sector West Headquarters in Shama.

    In addition, three members of the World Food Programme (WFP) Sudan country team — the Head of field office, a programme associate and a security guard — lost their lives on 19 December after an aerial bombardment hit the WFP Field Office Compound in Yabus, Blue Nile State.

    The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) was the deadliest for peacekeepers with two fatalities, followed by the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) with one.

    In 2023 at least 11 United Nations personnel (seven military and four civilians) were killed in malicious attacks, and in 2022 at least 32 (28 peacekeepers and four civilians).  The drop in fatalities can partly be attributed to the conclusion in 2023 of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the deadliest peacekeeping mission with 175 fatalities due to malicious acts.

    Deliberate Attacks

    Following is a non-exhaustive list of deliberate attacks in 2024 that resulted in the death or injury of United Nations and associated personnel, compiled by the United Nations Staff Union Standing Committee on the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service.

    On 10 January, Al-Shabaab militants seized a helicopter with United Nations personnel travelling onboard in Galmdug, Somalia.  The helicopter was captured after it had to make an emergency landing in an area controlled by the armed group.  According to media reports, the helicopter took off from the city of Beledweyne and landed close to Gadoon village (near Hindhere village) in central Somalia’s Galgaduud region due to a technical glitch.  The UN-contracted helicopter was conducting an air medical evacuation.  According to media reports, nine people were on board:  four Ukrainian crew members, two Kenyan nurses, an Egyptian working for a contractor who provides emergency medical evaluations, a Somali military doctor and a Ugandan protection officer.  At least one passenger was reportedly killed and six were seized by al-Shabaab.

    On 11 January, Maimudu Edema, a peacekeeper from Uganda, serving with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia, was killed when mortar rounds landed inside the Aden Adde International Airport area, in which the UN Compound was located.  Al-Shabaab has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

    On 15 January, Emmanuel Steve Atebele, a peacekeeper from Cameroon serving with MINUSCA, was killed when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in Mbindali, in Ouham-Pendé Prefecture, north-west of Paoua, Central African Republic.  Five other blue helmets were injured in the attack.

    On 27 January, Kyere Evans, a peacekeeper from Ghana serving with UNISFA, was killed when the mission’s base in Agok came under attack by an armed group.

    On 28 January, Muhammad Tariq, a peacekeeper from Pakistan serving with UNISFA, died in Abyei when a UNISFA convoy transporting civilians came under attack.

    On 2 February, two peacekeepers from South Africa serving with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), were injured in an attack on a UN helicopter in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The helicopter was carrying out a medical evacuation when it came under fire from presumed members of the M23 armed group in the Karuba region, North Kivu Province.  The helicopter was able to land safely in the provincial capital, Goma.

    On 16 March, eight peacekeepers serving with MONUSCO were wounded during clashes between the M23 armed group and Government troops.  The incident occurred in the vicinity of Sake, 20 kilometres from Goma.  The wounded peacekeepers, who were part of Operation Springbok initiated in November 2023 to safeguard civilians in the region, sustained their injuries amidst the ongoing fighting, where MONUSCO troops had been assisting Government forces to protect vulnerable civilians.

    On 13 May, Waibhav Anil Kale, a former military officer from India working as a security coordination officer for the United Nations Department for Safety and Security (UNDSS), was killed in Rafah, southern Gaza, when a weapon impacted the back of his clearly marked United Nations vehicle.  The vehicle was driving to the European Hospital in Rafah.  Another UNDSS staff member, a Jordanian woman travelling in the same vehicle, was injured.  The shots were thought to come from an Israel Defense Forces tank in the area.

    On 10 October, two peacekeepers from Sri Lanka serving with UNIFIL were injured after an Israel Defense Forces tank fired its weapon toward an observation tower at UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, directly hitting the tower and causing its fall.

    Violations of the Independence of the International Civil Service

    On 24 January, the Houthi authorities in Yemen ordered United Nations and other humanitarian staff holding United States and United Kingdom passports to leave the country within a month.  The de facto authorities, who controlled the capital, Sana’a, along with many other areas of the country, thus violated the independence of the international civil service.

    On 11 June, the Secretary-General called for the immediate release of all United Nations staff held in Yemen by the de facto Houthi authorities, following the arbitrary detention of 13 of the Organization’s personnel, including six staff members of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).  Four additional United Nations staff members had been detained and held incommunicado by the de facto authorities since 2021 and 2023, without access to their families or their respective organizations and agencies.

    On 12 October, the heads of the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization and OHCHR, as well as the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, renewed urgent calls for the immediate release of their staff arbitrarily detained by the Houthi de facto authorities in Yemen, amid reports that some of them might face “criminal prosecution”.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Govt efficiency essential: SCS

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung today said she believes civil servants will appreciate that the Budget’s fiscal consolidation programme is essential to Hong Kong’s development, and she hopes they will keep up their good work.

    Writing to all civil servants on the policy initiatives relating to the civil service in the Budget, Mrs Yeung emphasised that under all circumstances, government departments should strive to enhance efficiency and contain their establishment by reviewing work priorities, reallocating internal resources, streamlining procedures and leveraging technology.

    She expressed hope that civil service colleagues would keep up their good work, dare to break new ground with an innovative mindset, further embrace technology and make better use of human resources to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.

    Mrs Yeung also met representatives from the civil service central consultative councils and civil service staff unions.

    In the meeting, she said civil servants, with a pivotal role in policy implementation, should understand, appreciate and actively support the Government’s governing tenets and measures, dedicating themselves to building a vibrant economy, seeking development opportunities and improving people’s livelihoods as well as promoting the high-quality development of Hong Kong.

    Mrs Yeung noticed that many civil servants appreciate the decision to freeze pay and reduce establishment and they support the Government’s direction of reforming its mode of work and applying technology.

    She expressed confidence the civil service would strive for excellence and overcome the challenges ahead, so as to bring the efficiency and effectiveness of the Government to new heights.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI: BlueCat appoints Peter Brennan as Chief Revenue Officer

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BlueCat Networks, a leading provider of Intelligent Network Operations solutions that help organizations modernize, optimize, and secure their network infrastructure, announced Peter Brennan as its new Chief Revenue Officer (CRO).

    Brennan, who joined the company in January, is responsible for driving revenue growth and providing leadership for field teams, including sales, technical, channel, and alliances. Previously, he was the CEO for Scality, Inc., a leader in software-defined storage and data management, and the worldwide CRO for Scality, Grp.

    “BlueCat delivers important network infrastructure solutions to some of the biggest companies in the world,” said Brennan. “Our recent acquisition of LiveAction enhanced BlueCat’s industry-recognized offerings with industry leading network intelligence capabilities and I’m excited to show our prospects and customers how our technology can help them achieve their biggest goals.”

    Earlier in his career, Brennan achieved record growth over two decades in executive roles at Hewlett Packard Enterprise and VMware. “His decades of experience with infrastructure software companies, sales execution, and ability to transform go to market organizations is aligned with our mission to greatly accelerate growth and expand our reach,” said BlueCat CEO Stephen Devito. “We deliver products and services that help our customers spend less time managing the network and more time helping their businesses grow, and Peter is key to amplifying that story.”

    In October, BlueCat announced it was acquiring LiveAction, Inc., a global provider of network observability and intelligence solutions. Adding LiveAction’s industry-leading network performance monitoring, packet capture, and forensics offerings has strengthened BlueCat’s mission-critical DNS, DHCP, and IP address management (together known as DDI) and network infrastructure management solutions. Audax Private Equity is a strategic growth investor in BlueCat Networks.

    About BlueCat

    BlueCat’s Intelligent Network Operations (NetOps) provide the analytics and intelligence needed to enable, optimize, and secure the network to achieve business goals. With an Intelligent NetOps suite, organizations can more easily change and modernize the network as business requirements demand. BlueCat’s growing portfolio includes unified core network services, security and compliance, network observability and intelligence. These solutions can be deployed in hybrid or multicloud environments, in the data center, at remote or branch locations, and via SD-WAN. BlueCat’s DDI management platform was recognized as a market leader and outperformer in GigaOm’s 2024 Radar report. The company is headquartered in Toronto and New York and has additional offices in the United States, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Singapore, Serbia, and the United Kingdom. Learn more at bluecat.com.

    About Audax Private Equity

    Based in Boston and San Francisco, Audax Private Equity is a leading capital partner for middle and lower middle market companies that seeks to facilitate transformational growth. With approximately $19 billion of assets under management, over 250 employees, and 100-plus investment professionals, the firm has invested in more than 170 platforms and 1,250 add-on acquisitions since its founding in 1999. Through our disciplined Buy & Build approach, across six core industry verticals, Audax helps portfolio companies execute organic and inorganic growth initiatives that fuel revenue expansion, optimize operations, and significantly increase equity value. For more information, visit audaxprivateequity.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: World Trade Organisation 2nd Trade Policy Review of Ukraine – Joint Statement

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

    News story

    World Trade Organisation 2nd Trade Policy Review of Ukraine – Joint Statement

    At the second Trade Policy Review of Ukraine, the UK and Members from across the WTO reiterated their unwavering solidarity and support for Ukraine in a joint statement at the World Trade Organization.

    We, the delegations of the undersigned WTO Members, on the occasion of the Second Trade Policy Review of Ukraine in the WTO, held on 26 and 28 February 2025, reiterate our full support for and solidarity with the people of Ukraine. We express our deep sadness at the devastating human losses and profound suffering caused by Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, which continues for the fourth year in gross violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.

    We reaffirm our commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity and call for the Russian Federation to immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

    Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues to have devastating global and regional impacts, including on Ukraine’s economy and ability to trade. The destruction of significant parts of Ukraine’s transport routes, port infrastructure, and grain storage facilities as well as the mining of millions of hectares of agricultural land is impeding Ukraine’s ability to produce, export, and import. We are gravely concerned about the consequences of this destruction for Ukraine and for global trade, in particular with regard to the supply to international markets of a number of key commodities produced by Ukraine, including agricultural and food products, fertilisers, and critical minerals. We are also deeply concerned by reports of attacks on civilian vessels transporting agricultural goods from Ukrainian Black Sea ports and millions of tonnes of grain being plundered by Russia from illegally occupied regions of Ukraine using falsified phytosanitary certificates and hiding vessels’ data. These actions violate the principles and values of the WTO.

    Ukraine is one of the world’s top exporters of key agricultural commodities such as wheat, maize, barley, soybeans and sunflower oil. We recognise Ukraine’s determination, despite Russia’s war of aggression, to ensure global food security and supply to some of the most vulnerable parts of the world, particularly developing countries and LDCs. In this regard, the “Grain from Ukraine” initiative, which has already helped to feed 20 million people in 13 countries, continues to be an important tool to help to respond to world hunger. We praise Ukraine’s achievement of maintaining under difficult conditions food exports by its Black Sea corridor to global markets and commend the ongoing functioning of the EU Solidarity Lanes and their contribution to global food security and Ukraine’s economy. This benefits all countries, notably the most in need. In this context, it is necessary to ensure free, full, and safe navigation in the Black and Azov Seas and that sea routes and ports are not threatened or blocked by threat of or use of force.

    We underscore the need to reach, as soon as possible, a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine, in full respect of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, based on the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. We welcome Ukraine’s efforts aimed at achieving peace, including through the principles laid out in the Peace Formula and Joint Communiqué on a Peace Framework adopted at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine on Bürgenstock. We reiterate that the Russian Federation must bear the legal consequences of all of its internationally wrongful acts, including making reparation for injury and loss, including for any humanitarian, economic, and environmental damage caused by such acts.

    We will continue work to support Ukraine and to facilitate its exports and supply chains for the benefit of global food security. We encourage all WTO Members to do likewise in a manner commensurate with their capacity, including by facilitating the use of infrastructure, as well as facilitating and simplifying customs procedures. Within the capacity of each WTO Member, we will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine to alleviate the suffering of the Ukrainian people. We will also continue to look for practical ways to help and assist Ukraine in its reconstruction efforts, economic recovery, activities, and projects to overcome the negative consequences of Russia’s war of aggression.

    Albania, Australia, Canada, Chile, European Union, Georgia, Iceland, Japan, Republic of Korea, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, New Zealand, Republic of Moldova, Norway, Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Ukraine

    Updates to this page

    Published 26 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Japan’s Reports on Conditions at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, 21 February 2025

    Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

    On 21 February 2025, Japan provided the IAEA with a copy of a report on the discharge record and the seawater monitoring results at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station during November, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent to all international Missions in Japan.

    The report contains information on discharges from the subdrain and groundwater drain systems, as well as on groundwater bypassing conducted during the month of November. In both cases, in advance of the action, TEPCO analyzes the quality of the groundwater to be discharged and announces the results. These results confirm that the radiation level of sampled water are substantially below the operational targets set by TEPCO.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Foreign Secretary article on defence spending: February 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

    Authored article

    Foreign Secretary article on defence spending: February 2025

    Foreign Secretary David Lammy writes in the Guardian about the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the cold war.

    There are moments in history when everything turns, but the extent of change is not perceived until later when the fog has cleared. These are hinge points that require clear leadership and bold action. In the late 1940s, my [political content redacted] predecessor and hero Ernie Bevin, alongside Clement Attlee, saw through the fog when they led Britain into Nato and the UN, and secured the development of Britain’s nuclear deterrent.

    In the 1960s, Harold Wilson saw through the paranoia of the cold war, refusing Lyndon Johnson’s request to send British troops to Vietnam. In the 1990s, Tony Blair understood that unless we stopped the president of Serbia, Slobodan Milošević, there would be no peace in the Balkans.

    Three years into Vladimir Putin’s brutal war, this is again a hinge point for Britain. Keir Starmer’s commitment to dramatically raise defence spending in both this and the next parliament shows his leadership through the fog. Putin’s Russia is a threat not only to Ukraine and its neighbours, but to all of Europe, including the UK.

    Over successive administrations, our closest ally, the US, has turned increasingly towards the Indo-Pacific, and it is understandably calling for Nato’s European members to shoulder more of the burden for our continent’s security. Around the world, the threats are multiplying: from traditional warfare to hybrid threats and cyber-attacks.

    The first duty and foundation of this government’s Plan for Change is our national security. Seven months ago, the public gave us this responsibility, and we hold it with a profound sense of duty. [political content redacted] We will deliver the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the cold war (political content redacted).

    So we will hit our 2.5% promise in 2027 and, subject to economic conditions, go further, with defence spending rising to 3% during the next parliament. This is a pledge to safeguard our future – and act as a pillar of security on our continent –in a world plagued by more active conflicts than at any time since the second world war.

    To make this commitment, and stick within our fiscal rules, we have had to make the extremely difficult decision to lower our spending on international development. As the Prime Minister said, we do not pretend any of this is easy.

    This is a hard choice that no government (political content redacted)makes lightly. I am proud of our record on international development. It helps address global challenges from health to migration, contributes to prosperity, and supports the world’s most vulnerable people.

    It grows both our soft power and our geopolitical clout, while improving lives. For all of those reasons, this government remains committed to reverting spending on overseas aid to 0.7% of gross national income when the fiscal conditions allow.

    But we are a government of pragmatists not ideologues – and we have had to balance the compassion of our internationalism with the necessity of our national security.

    As we reduce the overseas aid budget, we will protect the most vital programmes in the world’s worst conflict zones of Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan. But there can be no hiding from the fact that many programmes doing vital work will have to be put on hold. The work of making further tough choices about programmes will proceed at pace over the weeks and months ahead, but our core priorities will remain the same.

    My vision for a reformed Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office fit for this more contested and dangerous world, in which diplomacy is more important than ever, remains paramount. We are working closely with the Treasury to ensure our diplomatic, intelligence and development footprint will align with our priorities. In a tough fiscal environment, all our spending must be laser-focused on delivering the maximum possible impacts for our national security and growth, equipping the FCDO to deliver the government’s plan for change internationally.

    At the height of the cold war, defence spending fluctuated between about 4% and 7% of GDP. At this moment of fiscal and geopolitical flux, not meeting the moment on defence would mean leaving Britain ill-prepared for a more dangerous world, potentially requiring even tougher choices down the line.

    I have written previously about this government’s foreign policy being founded on progressive realism. Being clear about our values, but treating the world as it is, not as we would wish it to be. These are the principles that guide our choices through these dangerous times. We will always do what is necessary to keep the public safe.

    This article was first published in The Guardian on 25 February 2025.

    Updates to this page

    Published 25 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Parrotfish support healthy coral reefs, but they’re not a cure-all, and sometimes cause harm

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip, Professor of Marine Ecology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)

    Rainbow and midnight parrotfish feed at Alacranes Reef in the Gulf of Mexico. Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip, CC BY-ND

    After two years of record-breaking ocean heat, scientists are assessing the impacts of the world’s fourth mass bleaching event on coral reefs around the globe. At least 74 countries and territories are confirmed to have experienced coral bleaching since the spring of 2023.

    As coastal development, pollution and climate change put increasing stress on the world’s oceans, tropical reefs are losing reef-building corals at unprecedented rates. These corals – species with rigid skeletons, such as elkhorn and brain corals – are the architects of these ecosystems, providing the foundations for coral reef communities.

    Coral reefs perform many important functions, such as buffering coastlines and providing habitat for one-fourth of all marine species. In the U.S. alone, these ecological services are worth an estimated US$3.4 billion yearly.

    Over the past several decades, many studies have spotlighted the role of “grazers” – fish who feed on algae – in keeping coral reefs clean and healthy. Protecting parrotfish, a family of some 90 species of large, colorful grazers, has become a tenet of reef conservation policies.

    We have analyzed indicators of reef health and resilience and assessed the roles parrotfish play in controlling seaweed, promoting coral growth and eroding reefs. While it is clear that parrotfish are an important part of coral reef communities, management strategies focusing on them, in our view, have not fully proved effective. In a review of recent science, we showed why conservation programs need to rethink the role parrotfish can play as a conservation tool to improve reef health.

    The coral bleaching event that started in 2024 is the largest such episode on record.

    The parrotfish paradigm

    Corals and the reef bottom they live on need to stay clean to prevent seaweed from growing on their surfaces. Excessive seaweed growth on reefs can block sunlight from corals’ surfaces, release chemicals that affect coral survival, slow the corals’ growth and make it harder for new corals to establish themselves and build reef structures.

    When disease or bleaching kills corals on a reef, other fast-growing organisms, including seaweed, rapidly colonize the dead corals’ skeletons. This impedes new corals from settling and surviving on the reef, and locks the ecosystem into a state of low growth and poor recovery.

    In this context, it is easy to see why protecting algae-eating fish has become a cornerstone of coral reef conservation. This paradigm assumes that restoring populations of “grazing” species by protecting them from fishing is essential for controlling seaweeds, improving reef health and promoting coral recovery.

    This strategy has spurred governments in many countries, including Belize, Bermuda, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia and the U.S., to create marine protected areas, restrict fishing in designated zones and ban parrotfish harvesting.

    Fishermen in Indonesia with a green humphead parrotfish.
    Thierry Tronnel/Corbis via Getty Images

    Missing pieces of parrotfish protection

    Evidence shows that conservation measures have increased parrotfish populations in some places, such as Bonaire and Belize, with positive effects on reefs. However, parrotfish increases have not always reduced algae growth or increased coral cover. In our review, we highlight three main factors that may be hindering the success of this approach in the Caribbean.

    First, parrotfish management has traditionally treated all species as if they consume the same amount of algae. This notion leads to using measures like the total number or total weight of parrotfish present in a given reef as proxies for seaweed consumption.

    However, not all parrotfish are the same. Some species, such as the redband parrotfish, effectively remove algae, while others, such as the blue parrotfish, barely eat it. More precise and targeted conservation measures would consider each species’ specific impact on seaweed growth.

    Second, while parrotfish help reefs to grow by keeping them clean, they also can cause gradual erosion of reef structures. Some parrotfish species graze by biting off chunks of coral, especially from dead skeletons, and grinding it in their digestive systems, excreting it as sand.

    Humphead parrotfish are among the species that consume coral, grinding it in their powerful jaws and excreting fine sand that creates tropical beaches.

    This bioerosion process is natural and essential. But on highly degraded reefs with low coral cover, large numbers of eroding parrotfish can accelerate reef breakdown.

    Increases or declines in populations of parrotfish influence the intensity of erosion. But focusing so closely on parrotfish has unintentionally overlooked the erosive capacity of these fishes by assuming all parrotfish have the same effect on the ecosystem. This raises an important question: Which species are favored by restrictions on harvesting parrotfish?

    Our research shows that key bioeroding species that break down dead coral, such as the queen parrotfish and the stoplight parrotfish, are more vulnerable to overfishing because they are larger and take longer to mature. This means that reducing or restricting their catch might unintentionally increase bioerosion. For these ecosystems, increasing parrotfish numbers might not reduce algae growth enough to fully offset higher rates of bioerosion.

    A stoplight parrotfish breaks down dead coral while feeding.

    Conservation strategies that evolve

    As science progresses and new evidence emerges, it is crucial to reexamine conservation strategies and see whether they need to be updated or even scrapped. This ongoing process of refining plans based on evolving knowledge is known as adaptive management and is widely used in ecology and conservation.

    We are not calling for an end to protecting parrotfish. However, no single strategy can be a comprehensive tool for conserving coral reefs, which are very complex ecosystems.

    Rather, we want to encourage people – especially reef managers and scientists – to recognize the different roles that various parrotfish species play and the varying challenges each species faces, and tailor reef protection efforts accordingly. We also believe it is critical to do more to counter the causes of coral mortality, including climate change, coastal development and water pollution. Along with grazers to keep them clean, coral reefs need cleaner waters and cooler oceans to ensure their long-term survival.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Parrotfish support healthy coral reefs, but they’re not a cure-all, and sometimes cause harm – https://theconversation.com/parrotfish-support-healthy-coral-reefs-but-theyre-not-a-cure-all-and-sometimes-cause-harm-242270

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How ticket-splitting voters could shape the 2026 midterms

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Ian Anson, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

    Even in polarized times, some American voters still cross party lines to support both Democratic and Republican candidates. wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images

    With the 2024 U.S. election over and done with, political analysts and both major parties are already turning their attention to the upcoming midterm elections in 2026.

    All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 33 Senate seats will be up for grabs. The Democrats are as desperate to retake control of Congress as Republicans are to keep it. A Democratic-controlled Congress in 2026 would do everything in its power to halt President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda in its tracks.

    To edge out their opponent, candidates in highly competitive districts will have to win over some voters who rejected their own party’s presidential candidate in 2024. Democratic candidates will need to get support from at least some Trump voters; Republicans will need some support from Kamala Harris voters.

    Despite the intensely polarized U.S. political environment, a significant number of Americans routinely cross party lines to support both Democratic and Republican candidates at the polls. When it happens on the same ballot, this is called ticket-splitting.

    Just who are these voters, and when do they choose to split their tickets?

    I am a political scientist who studies American voting behavior. I see these questions as key to understanding how long Trump’s total control of government will last.

    Split tickets in North Carolina and Arizona

    Ticket-splitting created some surprising election returns in 2024, mostly benefiting down-ballot Democrats.

    For instance, Republican Donald Trump won North Carolina by around 3 percentage points, but voters elected a Democrat, Josh Stein, for governor by a margin of almost 15 percentage points. Several hundred thousand North Carolinians split their tickets to produce this outcome.

    More than 100,000 Arizonans likewise split their tickets in 2024, electing Trump with 52% of the vote, yet rejecting the Trump-aligned Senate candidate Kari Lake in favor of Democrat Ruben Gallego.

    Many experts believe that candidates such as Gallego and Stein were simply perceived as less extreme than their opponents, and so they lured moderate voters and even some Republicans.

    In this theory, extreme MAGA-aligned candidates win primary elections because they attract the most partisan voters. But they turn off many people in the general electorate.

    Marylanders split their tickets

    One of the most extreme examples of ticket-splitting in 2024 was in the race to replace U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland.

    Partyliners or ticket-splitters? Maryland voters cast their ballots in Baltimore on Nov. 5, 2024.
    J. Countess/Getty Images

    Cardin was a retiring three-term Democrat who had last won reelection in 2018 by an astronomical margin of over 34 percentage points. Initially, many expert analysts saw the seat as safe for Democrats.

    Then, in February 2024, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who had previously ruled out a Senate run, surprised political analysts by entering the Republican primary. After winning the primary handily, Hogan eventually squared off against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat, in the general election.

    Suddenly, a matchup that should have been Alsobrook’s to lose got competitive.

    Hogan, who left office in 2023, was a successful Republican governor who won election twice in reliably blue Maryland. Perceived by many voters as an ideological moderate, he was also a vocal Trump opponent in a state that supported Biden over Trump in 2020 by around 33 percentage points. During his governorship, Hogan routinely outperformed MAGA-aligned Republicans who ran for Congress in Maryland.

    Ultimately, Hogan did lose to Alsobrooks. She became Maryland’s first female U.S. senator and first Black U.S. senator. Yet Hogan came an incredible 17 percentage points closer to winning than Trump did. Kamala Harris beat Trump by 1.9 million votes, winning 63% of the electorate to Trump’s 34%.

    This means that Hogan exceeded Trump’s vote total by over 300,000 votes. That’s an immense amount of ticket-splitting by Marylanders in 2024.

    Who are the Hogan Democrats?

    To better understand ticket-splitting in Maryland’s 2024 election, I analyzed a survey that my university conducted in Baltimore County. Baltimore County is a bellwether county that has backed the winning gubernatorial candidate in every election since 2006.

    The UMBC Battleground Exit Poll surveyed 1,119 voters at election precincts across Baltimore County during early voting and on Election Day 2024. The results were weighted to ensure demographic representativeness.

    This extensive survey shows that around 10% of all voters in Baltimore County supported the surprising combination of the Democrat Harris and the Republican Hogan.

    In contrast, fewer than 2% of Trump voters split their tickets to back the Democratic Senate candidate Alsobrooks.

    My team’s data analysis shows that roughly half of Harris-Hogan voters – 51% – were Democrats. These ticket-splitters included a higher percentage of white voters than the Democrats who supported both Harris and Alsobrooks. Around 37% of Harris-Hogan voters identified as Black, Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern or another nonwhite racial category, compared with 55% of Harris-Alsobrooks voters.

    We found virtually no gender differences between Democrats who split their tickets to back a woman for president and a man for Senate and those who backed two women candidates.

    Harris-Hogan Democrats tended to be better educated than other voting groups. Around 68% reported having a college degree, compared with around 51% of all survey respondents.

    Perhaps the most striking feature of Harris-Hogan voters is their self-declared moderation.

    On a seven-point ideological scale ranging from “very liberal” to “very conservative,” around 61% of Harris-Hogan ticket-splitters put themselves at the exact midpoint of the scale. Only around 42% of the full sample of Maryland voters categorized themselves as centrist.

    Can moderates survive in Trump’s shadow?

    As our study shows, Hogan’s popularity in Maryland is due in part to his appeal among moderates. This finding helps to explain how this Republican has remained popular among Democrats and independent voters.

    However, Hogan still lost. Unlike in Arizona, where the Democratic Senate candidate Ruben Gallego won by wooing moderate Republicans, the tenuous balance of power in the U.S. House and Senate may have prevented some Democratic and independent voters in Maryland from crossing the aisle to support a moderate Republican.

    Of course, Hogan also faced a formidable opponent. Alsobrooks had already emerged victorious in a tight primary against a well-funded and popular incumbent U.S. House representative, David Trone. I suspect a less-skilled Democratic candidate would have created even more Harris-Hogan voters.

    Ultimately, my analysis of ticket-splitting in 2024 reveals that even in an era of entrenched polarization, many voters approach congressional and presidential races with different mindsets.

    This dynamic will likely influence the next election cycle, too.

    The party of the president often takes heavy losses in midterm elections. In 2026, congressional candidates – and Democrats in particular – will be doing everything they can to woo moderates.

    This will be especially true if Trump’s aggressive policies, such as widespread government layoffs and mass deportations, prove unpopular.

    Let the campaigning begin.

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

    – ref. How ticket-splitting voters could shape the 2026 midterms – https://theconversation.com/how-ticket-splitting-voters-could-shape-the-2026-midterms-246017

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Mainland student intake relaxed

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    The Education Bureau announced today that the Ministry of Education’s (MoE) agreement has been obtained to progressively relax the quota for admission of Mainland students by the six self-financing institutions to join their degree programmes.

    They are also allowed to admit students from all provinces of the country, with a view to supporting the development of the self-financing post-secondary education sector, making contributions to Hong Kong’s development into an international education hub.

    The six institutions are Metropolitan University, Shue Yan University, the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Chu Hai College, Tung Wah College, and the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong under the Vocational Training Council.

    Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin said she is grateful for the support of the MoE towards the capacity expansion and quality enhancement of self-financing post-secondary institutions, noting that the relaxation arrangement can harness the advantages of Hong Kong’s self-financing sector to nurture talent for the country and the city.

    “The bureau will keep in view institutions’ track record of operating self-financing programmes, performance in student admissions and utilisation of the prevailing quota, and liaise with the MoE to explore feasible further enhancements as and when appropriate.”

    From the 2025-26 academic year, the quota for Mainland, Macau and Taiwan (MMT) students of full-time locally-accredited self-financing local sub-degree and undergraduate programmes of these institutions will be increased in phases to 40%, in an orderly and progressive manner with regard to their utilisation of the prevailing quota.

    Concurrently, the bureau will rationalise the calculation methodology of the relevant quota to provide self-financing institutions with greater certainty in admission planning and more effectively utilising the educational resources of institutions.

    Under the prevailing policy, save for MMT students, there is no quota restriction on the admission of non-local students to full-time locally-accredited self-financing local sub-degree, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

    The quota for MMT students enrolling in full-time locally-accredited self-financing local sub-degree and undergraduate programmes is 10% to 20% at the present, and there is no quota restriction for postgraduate programmes.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI: Varonis Opens Data Centers in India to Support Expanding Customer Base and Minimize Cloud Data Risk 

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MIAMI and MUMBAI, India, Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Varonis Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRNS), a leader in data security, today announced new data centers in India. Located in Mumbai and Pune, the centers will support customers using the Varonis cloud-native Data Security Platform to protect sensitive data, maintain privacy regulations, and stay on top of threats with AI-powered automation.

    New draft rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act require Indian businesses to navigate the country’s intricate legal landscape skillfully. Varonis’ new data centers will support customers who must comply with regulatory frameworks from the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India — all without disrupting the business.

    “Varonis’ new data centers in India help us meet strict data localization requirements while strengthening our security,” said Makesh Chandramohan, the Group CISO of Aditya Birla Capital. “Varonis will help us ensure compliance, reduce latency, and improve our overall cybersecurity posture.”

    “Our new data centers underscore Varonis’ dedication to providing our customers with deep data visibility wherever it lives — in the most important data stores and applications across SaaS, IaaS, on-prem, and hybrid environments,” said Scott Leach, Varonis VP of APAC. “The launch demonstrates our ongoing commitment to helping customers automatically reduce their data security risk with a unified platform.”

    With data growing at a rate that surpasses the ability to secure it, organizations turn to Varonis to protect their sensitive cloud data.

    “Varonis establishing its data centers in India demonstrates our commitment to our customers and partners in the region and helps ensure their requirements around data sovereignty and regional regulatory compliance are met comprehensively,” said Maheswaran Shanmugasundaram, Country Manager for India at Varonis. “This move will accelerate our mission to help customers protect their most valuable and vulnerable asset — data — automatically and help ensure they are compliant and secure.”

    Additional Resources

    About Varonis

    Varonis (Nasdaq: VRNS) is a leader in data security, fighting a different battle than conventional cybersecurity companies. Our cloud-native Data Security Platform continuously discovers and classifies critical data, removes exposures, and detects advanced threats with AI-powered automation.

    Thousands of organizations worldwide trust Varonis to defend their data wherever it lives — across SaaS, IaaS, and hybrid cloud environments. Customers use Varonis to automate a wide range of security outcomes, including data security posture management (DSPM), data classification, data access governance (DAG), data detection and response (DDR), data loss prevention (DLP), and insider risk management.

    Varonis protects data first, not last. Learn more at www.varonis.com.

    Investor Relations Contact:
    Tim Perz
    Varonis Systems, Inc.
    646-640-2112
    investors@varonis.com

    News Media Contact:
    Rachel Hunt
    Varonis Systems, Inc.
    877-292-8767 (ext. 1598)
    pr@varonis.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Relm Insurance and Liva Group Empower Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Web3 and AI Through Strategic Insurance Partnership

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • Liva and Relm focus on businesses in high-growth innovative sectors often not covered by traditional insurance products.
    • From digital asset insurance to AI-related risk management and solutions, the partnership ensures businesses operating in these industries can secure the coverage they need to thrive.
    • Partnership will initially support companies in the UAE and Bahrain, with plans to extend services to Oman, Saudi Arabia, and other key markets in MENA.

    Dubai, UAE, Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Liva Group, a leading insurance group operating across the GCC, and Relm Insurance — the only insurer dedicated to dedicated to emerging sectors — today signed a strategic partnership aimed at empowering innovation and entrepreneurship in emerging sectors such as digital assets, biotech, and AI.

    The union will deliver tailored insurance solutions that address the unique and complex needs of tech companies.

    The partnership was formally signed by Martin Rueegg, CEO of Liva Group, and Joseph Ziolkowski, Global CEO and Founder of Relm Insurance, at DIFC AI Campus as part of DFS Dialogues. DFS Dialogues are exclusive strategic conversations that take place in invite-only gatherings in the lead-up to the Dubai FinTech Summit.

    Whether they’re start-ups or established players, firms in emerging sectors often struggle to get the right insurance due to a lack of understanding of their industries’ rapidly evolving landscape, which stifles innovation and deters investment. By combining Liva Group’s deep market knowledge with Relm’s deep expertise in specialised insurance, the partnership will provide unparalleled support to these companies, empowering them to tackle complex challenges and seize new opportunities.

    The alliance will initially support companies in the UAE and Bahrain, with plans to extend services to Oman, Saudi Arabia, and other key markets in MENA, supporting the region’s development as a leader in digital transformation, AI innovation, and blockchain technology.

    Martin Rueegg, Group CEO of Liva Group, said: “Sectors such as digital assets and AI are critical to the next phase of growth in this region. We believe that unlocking their full potential requires fostering an environment where creativity, collaboration, and innovation can thrive. At Liva, we recognise that technology is a key enabler of this transformation. By leveraging data-driven insights and digital solutions, we are not only improving customer experiences but also enhancing our ability to anticipate and respond to evolving market needs. A key aspect of this is providing entrepreneurs and investors with the confidence to embrace new challenges and explore fresh ideas. This mission is at the heart of our partnership with Relm.”

    Joseph Ziolkowski, Global CEO & Founder of Relm Insurance, added: “Our priority is to support clients and brokers by providing the insurance solutions tailored for innovative businesses in this region. This collaboration enables brokers to offer their clients the security they need to thrive in complex and dynamic sectors.”

    Operating through its Dubai-based affiliate, Relm Insurance holds a Category 4 licence issued by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). With its new headquarters in DIFC and regulation under the Bermuda Monetary Authority, Relm is well-positioned to provide its specialised insurance solutions in the region.

    -ENDS-

    About Liva Group

    Liva is an insurance group operating across the GCC, founded on the belief that insurance is a pillar that supports both personal and professional lives. As one of the pioneering insurance players in the region, Liva’s team of 1,200 employees is dedicated to offering products and services centred on customer needs, empowering individuals, businesses, and communities to thrive. Serving more than 1.5 million customers, Liva has a strong and growing presence in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain across motor, home travel, health, life, and commercial insurance, as well owning subsidiaries such as NSSPL (India) and Inayah TPA (UAE), supporting its long-term strategy to scale and diversify the business. The word “Liva” signifies “protection” or “life”, reflecting the Group’s commitment to protecting what matters most to its people, its partners, and, most of all, its customers.

    About Relm Insurance

    Relm Insurance Ltd. (Relm) is a Bermuda-domiciled specialty insurance carrier that supports emerging industries driving innovation and next-generation technologies. Launched in 2019, Relm offers a wide range of insurance products to high-growth markets, including digital assets, blockchain, AI, biotech, and the space economy. With a Financial Stability Rating of ‘A, Exceptional’ from Demotech, Relm is widely recognised for its industry expertise and solutions-driven approach, making it a trusted risk partner for businesses operating at the frontier of technological innovation.

    Media Contacts

    Sarah Abdelbary
    Brunswick Group
    sabdelbary@brunswickgroup.com

    Reannah Smith  
    Luna PR  
    reannah@lunapr.io

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Bridgetown Research raises $19M from Lightspeed and Accel to deploy AI business research agents

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Seattle, Feb. 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Strategic business decisions have traditionally been expensive and slow for a fundamental reason: they don’t happen enough. This means companies lack both historical data to learn from and experts who have seen enough similar cases. Bridgetown Research is changing that. Today, the AI decision science startup announced $19 million in Series A funding led by Lightspeed and Accel, with participation from a leading research university.

    Bridgetown Research has developed AI agents that autonomously execute research. Most notable amongst these agents are voice bots trained to recruit and interview industry experts, gathering primary data that can be analyzed alongside alternative data sourced from their partners. 

    Bridgetown Research founder Harsh Sahai.

    Founded by Harsh Sahai, who previously led machine learning teams at Amazon before leading strategy engagements at McKinsey & Co., Bridgetown Research was born from a simple observation: the majority of business analyses are a permutation of a small number of automatable tasks. The founding team, comprising former professionals from McKinsey, Bain, Amazon, and leading tech startups, brings together extensive experience across strategy consulting and technology.

    “We are excited to be a catalyst for change. We are working with multiple private equity firms, management consulting firms, and corporate teams to help make strategic decisions better and faster. This in turn is driving up demand for advisory and information services downstream. We enable $10+ of advisory and information services revenue for every $1 we make. Together with leading institutions, we’re building something bigger than ourselves—an ecosystem where everyone thrives,” commented Harsh Sahai, CEO & founder of Bridgetown Research.

    While many AI solutions focus on searching and summarizing information using LLMs, real world business decisions require much more than synthesising the open web. They need proprietary data such as primary data from experts and customer surveys, along with frameworks to understand markets, what Harsh Sahai calls “ontologies”. Moreover, outputs need to be repeatable and auditable for a business to use them to make decisions with tens of millions of dollars at stake. Bridgetown Research is the only player using agents to gather primary data and systematically find patterns in it to generate original insights. 

    Bridgetown Research: (L to R) Founder Harsh Sahai with Director of Engineering Mohak Singh. 

    “AI is causing widespread disruptions across many enterprise functions, and Bridgetown Research is riding that wave by assisting executives in making important strategic decisions. We are pleased to see Bridgetown serving several marquee customers, with users likening its platform to having a team of top-tier consultants at their fingertips. We are excited to partner with Harsh, who, with his background as an ace AI research scientist turned management consultant, blends a unique combination of skills and insight needed to imagine this whole new category of applied AI,” said Anagh Prasad, Investor at Accel.

    Bridgetown Research started with a focus on private equity deal screening diligence. Multiple top-tier PE & VC firms already use Bridgetown Research for deal screening and deeper commercial diligence. They’re able to screen their pipeline much faster with initial analysis taking 24 hours instead of weeks without Bridgetown enabling teams to focus on actual decision making instead of research and analysis. For other customers Bridgetown has enabled voice of customer conversations that cover hundreds of respondents in parallel, and within days. 

    Ishaan Preet Singh, Investor at Lightspeed added “Companies are built on the quality of strategic decisions, and the research and analysis behind it. Bridgetown Research enables the smartest executives and investors to make these decisions with an order of magnitude more information, and at a pace that was earlier impossible. Harsh and Bridgetown are already creating immense value for their customers, but are still just scratching the surface of the leverage that AI can create.”

    As global markets become increasingly complex, the demand for efficient and effective decision-making tools continues to rise. With this funding round, Bridgetown Research plans to invest further in training its AI agents to perform a broader set of analyses across a broader range of domains, and deepening industry partnerships to enhance access to domain-specific intelligence.

    Ends

    Media images can be found here. 

    About Bridgetown Research
    Bridgetown Research builds AI agents for decision research. Its voice agents and web crawlers find and clean data, while its analyses agents produce repeatable, auditable, and reliable analyses. The team consists of computer scientists, econometricians, software engineers, investors and business consultants, working across geographies. For more information please visit https://www.bridgetownresearch.com/ 

    About Accel 
    Accel is a global venture capital firm that aims to be the first partner to exceptional teams everywhere (Facebook, Flipkart, etc.), from inception through all phases of private company growth. Accel has been operating in India since 2008, and its investments include companies like BookMyShow, Browserstack, Flipkart, Freshworks, FalconX, Infra.Market, Chargebee, Clevertap, Cure Fit, Musigma, Moneyview, Mensa Brands, Myntra, Moglix, Ninjacart, Swiggy, Stanza Living, Urban Company, Zetwerk, and Zenoti, among many others. We help ambitious entrepreneurs build iconic global businesses. For more, visit: www.accel.com

    About Lightspeed
    Lightspeed is a global multi-stage venture capital firm focused on accelerating disruptive innovations and trends in the Enterprise, Consumer, Health, and Fintech sectors. Over the past two decades, the Lightspeed team has backed hundreds of entrepreneurs and helped build more than 500 companies globally including Affirm, Acceldata, Carta, Cato Networks, Darwinbox, Epic Games, Faire, Innovaccer, Guardant Health, Mulesoft, Navan, Netskope, Nutanix, Physics Wallah, Razorpay, Rubrik, Sharechat, Snap, OYO Rooms, Ultima Genomics, Zepto and more. Lightspeed and its global team currently manage $25B in AUM across the Lightspeed platform, with investment professionals and advisors in the U.S., Europe, India, Israel, and Southeast Asia. www.lsip.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour: Transforming banking and advancing sustainability

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Since its inception 58 years ago, ASEAN has evolved to become a significant force in global trade, investment and diplomacy. ASEAN now stands as the world’s fourth-largest economic bloc, with an estimated GDP of USD4.13 trillion.1 Looking ahead to 2025, ASEAN is poised for another strong year. GDP is expected to grow by 4.7%,2 significantly outperforming the global average. Much has been said about ASEAN’s pivotal role in global supply chains, our geopolitical neutrality and our strategic location for global trade. However, ASEAN’s driver for sustainable economic growth also comes from within: robust domestic consumption from a youthful demographic, strong growth of individual member states and increasing regional integration. In 2023, for example, intra-ASEAN trade accounted for 21.5% of the region’s total trade in goods.

    Let me touch briefly on Malaysia’s growth outlook. After a strong performance last year, Malaysia is expected to record steady growth going into 2025 despite the challenging global environment. The diversified export structure will help cushion against external demand shocks. But, more importantly, key factors within the economy, particularly the robust expansion in investment activity and resilient household spending, will be important to drive growth this year. Exports are also expected to continue expanding with support from tech upcycle and forthcoming tourist arrivals. We acknowledge that the growth outlook is highly subject to risks from trade and investment restrictions. However, growth could potentially be higher from greater spillovers from the tech upcycle, more robust tourism activities and faster implementation of investment projects in the country.

    The financial sector lies at the core of ASEAN’s progress over the years. The sector acts as the central engine to our economy, facilitating financial flows within ASEAN. Indeed, over the last few decades, we have made progress in facilitating regional capital flows, connecting our payment infrastructure and introducing a framework to support the integration of our banking system through the ASEAN Banking Integration Framework (ABIF). However, the potential for intra-ASEAN investments remains untapped, and there is still much to be done to achieve regional regulatory coherence. My vision is for the financial sector to become the critical enabler for the next phase of economic integration under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2045. This would require the sector to strategically harness the three driving forces: funding, technology and talent.

    Mobilising funds to unlock new growth sectors, bridge financing gap and drive sustainable growth for ASEAN

    Let’s start with funding, which is a crucial driver of ASEAN economic growth. ASEAN is facing significant funding gaps that demand our urgent attention. Let me share a few examples. The Asian Development Bank reports that ASEAN economies will need infrastructure investments of at least USD2.8 trillion from 2023 to 2030 to sustain economic growth, reduce poverty and respond to climate change. Key projects in the region that require large financing include the ASEAN Power Grid, which is pivotal to advancing the region’s climate and energy security agenda, and various ASEAN highway and railway projects, such as the Asian Highway Network, which are cornerstones of regional economic development and integration. Our micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) also face a daunting financing gap, exceeding USD300 billion annually.3

    These figures underscore the urgent need for strategic investments and collaborative efforts to secure a resilient and sustainable future for ASEAN. This need is even more pressing in a region where over 90% of all social infrastructure development has traditionally relied on public resources,4 and public funding faces increasing constraints. How, then, can the financial sector step in as a catalyst to crowd in diverse sources of funding and facilitate long-term investments to ensure sustainable economic expansion and build more resilient supply chains and communities?

    This is where blended finance, the strategic use of public, private, and philanthropic finance sources and development finance, can be a critical tool to mobilise additional private capital flows toward sustainable development in ASEAN. The financial sector is pivotal in advancing blended finance to meet funding gaps in ASEAN, by enabling acceptable risk-taking levels based on various funding sources. This approach leverages the willingness of development finance and philanthropic funders, including sovereign funds within ASEAN to assume greater risk exposure, utilising tools like partial credit guarantees to attract additional investors. Multilateral development banks and development finance institutions play a critical role by offering concessional financing and technical assistance, which supports local companies in accessing capital markets and structuring deals, thereby encouraging participation by private financial institutions through co-funding arrangements.

    I also believe that this is an opportunity for Islamic finance to demonstrate its unique role and impact. In recent years, Islamic finance has gained momentum within the ASEAN region. It offers alternative solutions to conventional financial structures through the use of risk sharing and social finance instruments that can be mobilised towards the development of productive economic sectors such as healthcare, transportation and green sectors. Notably, the deployment of blended capital using instruments such as waqf and zakat in Malaysia and a few neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and Brunei have significantly contributed to financial inclusion for the underserved and strengthened support for the MSMEs. An example of this is Malaysia’s iTEKAD initiative, a social blended finance programme for low-income microentrepreneurs that provides social and commercial funding, which comes together with training and mentorship to empower them in generating sustainable income. In the capital market structure, Islamic finance has also been mobilised for infrastructure, climate and green projects. In Malaysia, for example, a total of USD56 billion of sukuk was issued in 2023 to fund real economic sectors with a high concentration in renewable energy and green real estate.

    Embracing innovative financing structures will involve navigating various complexities that demand careful consideration, collaboration and adaptation. Hence, advancing capacity building within the financial sector is very crucial. In Malaysia, the Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3) continues to serve as a key focal point in supporting the financial preparedness for climate change. As part of Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, Bank Negara Malaysia is committed to supporting the region’s transition efforts. During the ASEAN Finance Ministers and Governors Meeting week from 7 to 10 April this year in Kuala Lumpur, we will host several side events to advance these discussions. These events include a closed-door investor roundtable focused on innovative financing solutions for sizeable ASEAN green and transition projects, as well as pitching sessions on sustainable ASEAN Projects. We invite the financial industry to contribute and participate in these events.

    Responsible deployment of technology in financial services is key to maximise its potential while minimising risk

    Ladies and gentlemen,

    There is an immense potential for ASEAN to also leverage technology. This is the second point. With a median age of about 30 and a substantial portion under 35,5 ASEAN’s population is digitally proficient. Indeed, the adoption of digital financial services can be a game-changer in addressing challenges within the region, which include to better serve the needs of large unbanked and underbanked populations in our region.

    The outlook for digital financial services in ASEAN is very bright. Through innovations such as mobile wallets, digital payments and micro-lending, digital finance is expanding access to financial services for individuals who previously had limited options. These services are not just filling gaps – they are creating new pathways to financial inclusion, thereby allowing individuals to save, invest and access credit with unprecedented ease.

    While digital financial services hold tremendous promise, it comes with its own set of risks. Today’s technological advances are progressing at an unprecedented pace, making our response to these developments very crucial. For financial institutions, deployment of technology must be done thoughtfully and responsibly with holistic consideration of the impacts and value to the broader environment and community. This unwavering commitment to enhance financial services and preserve consumer confidence includes addressing cybersecurity risks, strengthening climate resilience, promoting financial literacy and ensuring that digital financial services are secure and accessible to all segments of society.

    As regulators, our commitment is for our policies to strike a balance between embracing technological innovation and, at the same time, preserving financial stability. Our Regulatory Sandbox allows for experimentation and contributes to the recalibration of regulatory policies such as eKYC. We also adapt our regulations to welcome new players into the market, those that have strong value propositions on inclusion, as demonstrated by the issuance of our licensing and regulatory framework for digital banks and digital insurers and takaful operators.

    Investing in talent strategies that not only creates a more agile and adaptive workforce, but also paves the way for regional talent mobility

    Let me move on to the third point. At the heart of economic growth and development lies talent. ASEAN is blessed with a vibrant, young and dynamic workforce. To capitalise on this potential, the financial sector will need to create an environment that nurtures the next generation of leaders and innovators in finance who carry a unique ASEAN identity – one that is not only tech-savvy, but also adept at navigating the complexities of regional regulations and global economic shifts while championing social equity and environmental sustainability.

    I would like to also take this opportunity to share Malaysia’s efforts in developing talent in our financial sector. In July last year, the industry launched the Financial Sector Future Skills Framework, and this is to empower individuals to take charge of their professional development, while creating new talent pipelines and succession pools. I reiterate the call I made during the launch of the framework for the industry to work closely with training institutes, professional bodies and industry associations to ensure that training programmes meet the established quality assurance standards and set high standards in new skill areas.

    Complementing this is a dynamic talent development hub, offering tailored learning programmes and certifications. For example, the Financial Sector Talent Enrichment Programme (FSTEP) targets fresh graduates interested in launching their career in financial services, while globally recognised financial certifications are available for seasoned professionals.

    Malaysia is also home to regional research and learning hubs such as the SEACEN Centre and is recognised globally as a leader in Islamic finance. With a multitude of well-established talent development institutions and capacity-building providers in Islamic finance, we offer a fertile ground for nurturing specialised skills and thought leadership in this field.

    To truly capitalise on the large working-age population in ASEAN, we need to go beyond domestic efforts. Financial institutions across the region should pursue collaborative initiatives that enhance talent mobility, such as through mutual recognition of qualifications and expertise sharing. ABIF can also be leveraged to intensify efforts to promote greater regulatory coherence through capacity-building initiatives. By doing so, we can improve connectivity across ASEAN markets, paving the way for a more integrated and resilient future for the region.

    In closing, today’s discourse reaffirms the financial sector’s commitment to turning AEC 2045 into a reality. The challenge lies in ensuring that the ASEAN financial sector has the capacity to do so by mobilising funds, leveraging technology, and developing regional talent.

    As I conclude my speech, I leave you with a thought from Peter Drucker: ‘The best way to predict the future is to create it.’ Together, let’s create a future where the financial sector empowers ASEAN’s growth and integration. On that note, I wish you all productive discussions during the rest of the Summit.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ukraine war: why negotiations depend on trust

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By David J. Wilcox, Part-Time Teaching Fellow, Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Birmingham

    Donald Trump may have begun discussions with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, over a possible end to the war in Ukraine, but there currently appears to be something of a stalemate.

    Russia’s stated objectives of holding on to five regions of Ukraine (including Crimea) as well as ensuring Ukraine’s permanent neutrality is unlikely to be acceptable to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky. Meanwhile, Zelensky and Trump had a very public falling out, with the US president calling Zelensky a “dictator”.

    This seems to have been resolved somewhat now that the pair appear to have agreed a deal for the US to jointly develop Ukraine’s mineral resources. But serious further negotiation to actually end the war will depend on whether the key players can trust each other as well as whether Zelensky perceives anything Putin and Trump have to say as believable.

    Broadly speaking, trust and its development between leaders offers a potential route to overcoming international conflict and bringing about diplomatic agreement. Indeed, a minimum level of trust is needed to enable states to work together.

    An example of this was how the relationship between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US president Ronald Reagan developed. Arguably it was regular face-to-face interactions between Gorbachev and Reagan (four summits in just over three years) which allowed them to develop a level of understanding and increase trust, allowing them to reduce nuclear weapon stockpiles.

    Nevertheless, it still took time to develop their trust and this remained fragile.

    How is trust won?

    Trust is an important element in effective negotiations and can shape their outcome and influence whether peace talks are successful. The importance of trust in a negotiation can be found throughout history.

    US talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia, February 2025.

    Even if trust has potentially developed between leaders, if other individual decision-makers, such as military leaders, do not share that trust, it can seriously damage negotiations. One example of this is how the Lahore peace process between India and Pakistan in 1999 was undermined by Pakistani military action.

    General Pervez Musharraf, head of the armed forces, conducted a military incursion into the Jammu and Kashmir area, violating the treaty between the two states and leading to a breakdown in trust, undermining the peace deal signed earlier that year between the Pakistani prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, and his Indian counterpart, Atal Bihari Vajpayee

    Who do you trust?

    In international relations terms the key factors that create trust are considered by scholars to be capacity, peaceful intention, integrity and predictability . Trump seems to believe that Putin is a trustworthy negotiating partner because he perceives him as sincere in his desire for peace. This view is not shared by Zelensky, who questions Putin’s sincerity, intentions and integrity .

    Zelensky suggests that Putin’s past actions (including leading a full-scale invasion of Ukraine) point towards his future untrustworthiness. This may be underlined by Russia’s dismissal of the Minsk agreements of 2014 and 2015, which were an attempt to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine but were never properly implemented. Instead of pursuing implementation, Russia chose further military action against Ukraine in 2022.

    To move forward with negotiations, Zelensky will need to be convinced that Putin is serious in his intentions and willing to act with integrity. The Ukrainian leader will also need to be convinced that Trump is trustworthy and that he can trust that the US will ensure that Putin honours any agreement reached.

    If Trump is to achieve his aim of bringing the war to an end, then he will clearly need to address this lack of trust. One temptation may emerge to simply exclude Zelensky from face-to-face meetings (to sidestep the issue altogether) but there are risks in leaders not meeting opponents.

    When it came to trying to reach an agreement with the Palestinians in the 1990s, the then Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, regretted not having met the PLO chairman, Yasser Arafat, before reaching agreement on the framework for the Oslo accords because he would have better understood how Arafat saw the negotiations. The implication was that Rabin would have proceeded differently if he had known Arafat better.

    Alternatively, Trump could leverage his own relationship with Putin to “encourage” the Russian leader to take steps that demonstrate to Zelensky that he is a trustworthy negotiating partner. Crucially, it will be for Putin to demonstrate his seriousness and sincerity towards meaningful negotiations and a peaceful resolution. Gestures of conciliation could hold the key.

    One famous examples of this is when Egyptian president Anwar Sadat visited Jerusalem in 1978, becoming the first Arab leader to speak to the Israeli parliament. This was seen as vital to peace talks between the two countries and resulted in the 1979 Camp David accords.

    Face-to-face interactions between Putin and Zelensky could provide a way of reassuring the Ukrainian leader. However, much more is required to demonstrate that an individual or even a state is trustworthy than not.

    As Deborah Larson, professor of political science at the University of California, once said,: “People believe that a good person will never do anything bad, whereas a bad person can do occasional good as well as bad deeds. As a result, just one misdeed indicates that an actor is immoral, whereas one good act does not demonstrate much.”

    Another approach would be to start Russian-Ukrainian negotiations at a much lower level and develop them upwards (or in parallel to higher-level negotiations). Individuals representing the key decision makers could develop their own interpersonal relations, while working out how to bridge gaps between the different leaders.

    Any negotiations to end the war will rest ultimately on those two states and their leaders. Ignoring the interpersonal relationships and lack of trust between the two people who will sign off any agreement makes any agreement almost impossible.

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

    – ref. Ukraine war: why negotiations depend on trust – https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-why-negotiations-depend-on-trust-250102

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump and Europe: US ‘transactionalism on steroids’ is the challenge facing leaders now

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Andrew Glencross, Directeur d’ESPOL, Professeur de Science Politique, Institut catholique de Lille (ICL)

    Donald Trump has always been an avowed transactionalist rather than a transatlanticist. The author of The Art of the Deal made it clear during his first term as US president that he thought Nato was a bad deal for the US. He publicly berated European allies, notably Germany, for not spending enough on defence and leaving the US to pick up the tab.

    But with his Ukraine policy, Trump 2.0 is forcing Europeans to confront the previously unthinkable: an international order where the US is no longer an automatic ally of European security.

    Lord Ismay, the first secretary-general of Nato, quipped that the purpose of the transatlantic alliance was to “keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down”. For the following decades, Nato worked pretty much as intended. It provided the political and organisational basis for a significant US military presence, including an active US nuclear deterrent.

    The transatlantic alliance nevertheless witnessed some significant disagreements. In 1966, French president Charles de Gaulle forced US and other allied troops to leave French soil and withdrew from Nato’s integrated military command. The 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq generated enormous tension among Nato allies as France and Germany opposed American attempts to get UN backing for military action. Yet within months, these two countries made a major commitment to the Nato force that was deployed to Afghanistan for 20 years.

    Like any international organisation, Nato’s history thus reflects a mix of success, failure, and muddling through. Ukraine-Nato relations encapsulate this reality. In 2008, the US was pushing European allies to welcome Ukraine as a Nato member. Back then, it was the leaders of France and Germany who refused to back the proposal.

    No longer an ally

    In the aftermath of the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, Ukraine pursued a twin track of seeking EU and Nato membership. This strategy is based on the longstanding complementary nature of European integration and transatlantic collective security. Central and eastern European countries embraced this arrangement after the collapse of the Soviet Union, much to the displeasure of Vladimir Putin.

    But Trump’s actions since January have fundamentally called into question the reliability of the US as a European ally. His insistence on doing a minerals deal to guarantee that Ukraine pays back US support for the war effort is transactionalism on steroids. It is also a unilateral move that contradicts the multilateral approach for supporting Ukraine that the US coordinated via the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an alliance of 57 nations founded in 2022.

    More worrying still is Trump’s break with the underlying common values underpinning Nato. An alliance committed to defending its territorial integrity, including through the use of its nuclear arsenal, requires a commitment to a higher political goal. Since the end of the cold war, that overriding objective has been defined as freedom and democracy.

    The second Trump administration does not even seem to want to pay lip service to these transatlantic values. Trump has labelled Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator”. And at the latest UN summit, the US delegation voted with Russia, Belarus and North Korea against a resolution condemning Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.



    Read more:
    US says European security no longer its primary focus – the shift has been years in the making

    EU defence without the US

    Shell-shocked European leaders are adapting to this harsh new reality. An initial reaction, as illustrated by UK prime minister Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron, has been to promise more money for defence spending. This move constitutes a hedge: it ought to please Trump, while providing a platform for a future reconfiguration of European security.

    How to defend Europe is now an existential question rather than a purely material one. De Gaulle always insisted that Europe’s defence and foreign policy needed to serve its own interests rather than America’s. He lost that battle, but the newly elected German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is sounding rather Gaullist in his recent calls for a more independent European security policy.

    Another move taken from de Gaulle’s playbook is the EU’s focus on defence industrial strategy. A strong technological and industrial base is a pre-requisite of an independent security policy, and with this in mind, the EU’s defence industry programme was announced in spring 2024. The details of this new policy are currently being hashed out, but are likely to include some type of “made in Europe” requirement.



    Read more:
    Ukraine: prospects for peace are slim unless Europe grips the reality of Trump’s world

    Europe has to renew its purpose

    What is clear is that an independent security policy for Europe is both costly and a political minefield – one reliable estimate puts the cost at 250 billion euros per year. Getting public backing for this big spending increase is not impossible, yet it means tough choices, as shown by Starmer’s cuts to the UK’s foreign aid budget.

    Trickier still is finding the leadership to coordinate defence spending and strategy. European decision-makers and the parties they represent are far from aligned over the need to find an alternative to the US security guarantee. Indeed, Polish president Andrzej Duda responded to Merz’s calls for greater EU independence from the US by offering to host the US troops currently based in Germany.

    Trump has shattered a number of European illusions. Creating a new European security architecture will depend on finding more than just cash – it needs a new shared objective, not just a repudiation of grubby transactionalism.

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

    – ref. Trump and Europe: US ‘transactionalism on steroids’ is the challenge facing leaders now – https://theconversation.com/trump-and-europe-us-transactionalism-on-steroids-is-the-challenge-facing-leaders-now-250836

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Mental Health Australia calls for free mental health care for all children and young people in Australia

    Source: Mental Health Australia

    Peak mental health body Mental Health Australia (MHA) is urging all political parties to commit to free mental health care for everyone under the age of 25 as part of their federal election platforms. MHA Director of Policy and Advocacy, Emma Greeney, said that with two-thirds of mental health to guarantee all children and young people the chance to thrive.

    See full media release at the PDF attached below. 

    For further information and references see: Mental Health Australia’s website and Federal Election Platform: Case for Change – Free mental health support for children and young people  

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: MHA’s Federal Election Platform

    Source: Mental Health Australia

    Mental Health Australia is urging all political parties to commit to implement pathways to free mental health care for everyone under the age of 25 as part of their election platforms. This ambitious move could change the trajectory for mental health in Australia, by investing in accessible care, earlier in life, during the most critical phase of growth and development. 

    We need further investment to ensure availability of mental health supports in the community that GPs can refer people to, as well as appropriate alternate pathways online, through schools and walk-in community hubs, so that all children and young people can access the mental health supports they need. 

    This targeted call to action forms the third component of Mental Health Australia’s Federal Election platform, building on our Vision Statement released in December, and Sector Sustainability Statement (link to PDF below) also released today.  

    Mental Health Australia’s Sector Sustainability Statement outlines seven key actions to improve funding and contracting arrangements to ensure certainty for the community and sector providing mental health support. We will call on Federal Election candidates to pledge to support the Statement to and deliver these changes if elected for the next term of government. 

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: New Zealand and China Foreign Ministers meet in Beijing

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing today (26 February), concluding a substantive visit to China over the past two days.

     

    “We were pleased to re-connect with Foreign Minister Wang. We have known each other for many years, and today we continued our wide-ranging and constructive dialogue,” Mr Peters says. 

     

    Today’s discussion took place a year on from Foreign Minister Wang’s most recent visit to New Zealand, and during Mr Peters’ sixth official visit to Beijing. Mr Peters first visited Beijing in 1997, and he has previously visited a number of other cities across China.

     

    “The New Zealand-China relationship is very significant,” Mr Peters says.

     

    “China is New Zealand’s largest trading partner, and our long-standing relationship has been shaped over many years by strong connections between our people.

     

    “Befitting this comprehensive relationship, we discussed ongoing bilateral cooperation, a broad range of regional and global issues, as well as areas where we have differences.”

     

    The Ministers discussed key issues confronting both countries, as well as recent developments, including the Chinese naval deployment to the Tasman Sea. 

     

    “We also discussed our strong relationships with Pacific countries, including New Zealand’s special constitutional relationships with its Realm partners, in particular the Cook Islands,” Mr Peters says.

     

    “We also made clear New Zealand’s support for Pacific priorities and institutions, and Pacific-led responses to address the issues we face in our region, including on defence and security issues.

     

    “Our region and the world are facing a myriad of challenges, including increased tensions in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.

     

    “We raised the importance New Zealand places on international rules, norms, and institutions, including those that have long underpinned the stability and success of the Indo-Pacific. We also highlighted the constructive role China can play in responding to regional and international security challenges, including on Russia’s war on Ukraine, and in the Middle East.

     

    “New Zealand acknowledged the importance of further high-level visits to China to continue to build mutual understanding, and discussed the significance of dialogue between New Zealand and China this year across the relationship, including on trade, agriculture, Antarctic issues, climate change, consular issues, human rights, foreign affairs, and the Pacific.”

     

    While in Beijing, Minister Peters also held constructive dialogues with other Chinese leaders: Vice President Han Zheng and Head of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party Minister Liu Jianchao. He also held engagements with Ambassadors to Pacific Island countries based in Beijing, and with Chinese alumni of New Zealand universities.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: 26 February 2025 UHC-Partnership: Namibia tackles antimicrobial resistance

    Source: World Health Organisation

    In June 2024, a 66-year-old woman was admitted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Intermediate Hospital Katutura in Windhoek, Namibia. She was diagnosed with pneumonia, and tests showed that the organism responsible for her severe illness was resistant to all antibiotics except tigecycline. At the hospital, the pharmacy department had to obtain a compassionate clearance permit to procure and import tigecycline for the patient.

    “The patient completed the course, stabilized, and was discharged from the intensive care unit to a general ward. Unfortunately, due to various complicated comorbidities, the patient eventually passed away”, said Ms Taimi Ipinge, a Chief Pharmacist at Intermediate Hospital Katutura.

    Tragically, this type of resistance to antibiotics is all too common in Namibia, as with elsewhere in the world.

    Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness, and death. As a result, the medicines become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spread to others.

    AMR is one of the top global public health and development threats. It is estimated that bacterial AMR was directly responsible for 1.27 million global deaths in 2019 and contributed to 4.95 million deaths.

    In 2019, Namibia recorded 451 deaths attributable to AMR and 1,900 deaths were associated with AMR.

    Acting to stop AMR

    The Government of Namibia recognizes that AMR is a threat to health security across the country and region and that a range of health system interventions are necessary to protect the population’s health and ensure good progress towards universal health coverage (UHC).

    The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS), with support from WHO through the UHC Partnership and others, is implementing various activities in line with the AMR National Action Plan in compliance with the Global Action Plan to address AMR.

    The Government responded to the overuse of antibiotics by setting up a national multi-sectoral AMR governance to guide, oversee, coordinate, and monitor AMR-related activities in all sectors to ensure a systematic and comprehensive implementation of Namibia’s National Action Plan on AMR.

    In November 2021, Namibia commemorated its first World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW). In 2023, MoHSS in collaboration with AMR quadripartite organizations, commemorated the week under the theme of ‘Preventing antimicrobial resistance together’ with the slogan ‘Antimicrobials: handle with care’. The event brought together the Ministry of Health and Social Services, the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, and the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.

    Namibia launched its infection prevention and control action plan and national guidelines. WHO provided support to a range of activities for this including distribution of information, education and communication materials around infection prevention and control, regional orientation on quality standards, in-service training focal points, and training on water, sanitation, and hygiene for hospital quality improvement plans. Thanks to capacity-building support from WHO, Namibia also reached a significant milestone for the first submission of data on AMR to GLASS in December 2023.

    “AMR is extremely serious. If left unchecked it means we are heading to a world where medical treatment of routine ailments or operations is life threatening and a greater number of people might stop responding to drugs. It challenges all our efforts to strengthen health systems and achieve universal health coverage. WHO commends the Namibian Government for the strategic and multiple approaches taken through collaboration between sectors and work across the region to raise awareness amongst the public,” said Dr Richard Banda, WHO Representative to Namibia.

    Strengthening health security

    Namibia’s response to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is part of the broader effort to strengthen health security across the country. By integrating a One Health approach and engaging key sectors, Namibia is actively working to strengthen its health systems, improve surveillance, and ensure that it is prepared to respond to emerging health threats. The launch of the National Tripartite One Health Strategy 2024-2028 further underlines the government’s commitment to safeguarding public health, both within the country and in collaboration with regional and international partners.

    The UHC Partnership operates in over 125 countries, representing over 3 billion people. It is supported and funded by Belgium, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Japan, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and WHO.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh Reviews Research Facilities at CSIR-IMTECH, Chandigarh, inspects Microbe Repository and takes update on ongoing projects

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh Reviews Research Facilities at CSIR-IMTECH, Chandigarh, inspects Microbe Repository and takes update on ongoing projects

    Dr. Jitendra Singh launches New Tulip Garden & Agri-Startups at CSIR-IHBT, Palampur

    From 50 to 9,000 Startups: India Emerges as Global Biotech Innovation Hub- Dr. Jitendra Singh

    Floriculture Mission Expands to 1,000 Hectares, Generating ₹80 Crores for Farmers

    Science and Technology Minister Dr. Singh Inaugurates Key projects at CSIR-IHBT, Palampur

    Posted On: 26 FEB 2025 5:54PM by PIB Delhi

    CHANDIGARH, February 26: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh, inspected Microbe Repository and other facilities at the CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (CSIR-IMTECH) here and also took an update on the ongoing projects in the institute.

    During the review, Dr. Jitendra Singh highlighted that microbial technology is a crucial pillar of biotechnology, emphasizing its growing significance in shaping the next generation industrial revolution.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the groundbreaking New BioE3 Policy, which places a renewed focus on biomanufacturing and bio foundries. He underscored India’s rapid progress in the biotech sector, stating, “India’s bioeconomy has witnessed an extraordinary surge from $10 billion in 2014 to over $130 billion in 2024, with projections to reach $300 billion by 2030.”

    The Minister also recalled the recent launch of India’s first indigenous antibiotic, Nafithromycin, developed to combat resistant infections. He noted that the number of biotech startups in India has grown exponentially from just 50 in 2014 to nearly 9,000 today, solidifying India’s position as a global hub for biotech innovation. Furthermore, he informed that India now ranks third in the Asia-Pacific region and 12th globally in bio-manufacturing, underscoring the increasing importance of CSIR-IMTECH in driving pioneering research in microbial genetics, infectious diseases, fermentation technology, environmental microbiology, and bioinformatics.

    CSIR-IMTECH, a premier research institute in microbial biotechnology, hosts a repository of over 14,000 microbial strains through its Microbial Type Culture Collection and Gene Bank (MTCC). This national repository not only provides authenticated cultures to researchers and industries but also supports key regulatory authorities, including IPC, BIS, and NBA, in microbe-related concerns. The institute is at the forefront of harnessing microbial resources for scientific and industrial applications, addressing unmet needs in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and environmental sciences.

    Connecting virtually with CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur, Dr. Singh inaugurated several new facilities and participated in critical scientific discussions. He joined the EMBO Workshop on High Elevation Plant Adaptation in a Changing Climate (HEPACC) and the Industry, Farmer & Academia (IFA) Meet, emphasizing that such initiatives reflect the Government of India’s commitment to scientific advancement, economic empowerment, and sustainable agriculture.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh also virtually inaugurated a New Tulip Garden at Palampur in Himachal Pradesh, commending the CSIR-IHBT Palampur team for their scientific interventions that have enabled wider tulip cultivation even in other seasons, a model that can be replicated in other regions. Additionally, he launched products developed by agri-startups that have been supported by the institute, fostering innovation in the agricultural sector.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh lauded CSIR-IHBT for leading multiple national missions, including: CSIR Floriculture Mission – Expanded floriculture to 1,000 hectares, benefiting 3,800 farmers across Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, and Ladakh, generating an income of ₹80 crore. Aroma Mission. Millet Mission. Immunity Mission. Waste to Wealth Mission. Phenome India-CSIR Health Cohort Knowledgebase. CSIR Precision Agriculture Mission

    The Minister also inaugurated state-of-the-art facilities, including Autonomous Green House, Heeng Seed Production Centre, Heeng QPM Facility, Ornamental Bulb Processing Facility and Phyto-Analytical Facility.

    Additionally, he laid the foundation stone for the Phyto factory Facility and dedicated a Cement Concrete Road from Floriculture Junction to Chandpur R&D Farm.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh emphasized that by integrating scientific research, industry collaboration, and government policies, the rich biodiversity of Himalayan states can be harnessed for economic prosperity, benefiting farmers and advancing India’s scientific ecosystem.

    ****

    NKR/PSM

    (Release ID: 2106459) Visitor Counter : 76

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: ‘Fiscal balance is clear target’

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Financial Secretary Paul Chan today said that by putting up a fiscal consolidation programme in the 2025-26 Budget, the Government is taking specific steps towards the right direction of achieving fiscal balance.

    At the Budget press conference this afternoon, Mr Chan pointed out that the consolidation plan is able to increase government revenue without impairing the city’s competitiveness. Moreover, expenditure growth is contained in order to reach fiscal balance.

    “That is why, in the coming few years, up to 2027-28 cumulatively, we will be able to slash public government expenditure by about 7% and also cut the civil service establishment.”

    Separately, the finance chief remarked that the Government has no plan to introduce any form of goods and services tax, or sales tax. As he responded to reporters’ questions, he also explained the Government’s considerations when formulating revenue measures.

    “One is the competitiveness of Hong Kong in terms of attracting investment and talent.

    “Secondly, if we are to increase revenue, we will try to minimise the impact on the average citizen.”

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Public finance measures pragmatic: CE

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Chief Executive John Lee today commented that the 2025-26 Budget proposes pragmatic measures to improve public finances and stressed that he has full confidence in Hong Kong’s development and future.

    In a statement, Mr Lee said Financial Secretary Paul Chan put forward a series of practical and effective measures on Hong Kong’s economic development and public fiscal consolidation, adding that the Budget will reinforce the Government’s financial strength, and create new momentum and new advantages for the city’s economic development.

    As part of its course of action, the Budget proposes nurturing new quality productive forces to strengthen the development of innovation and technology and artificial intelligence; speeding up the development of the Northern Metropolis and the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science & Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone, fully leveraging the strategic position of “three centres and a hub”, further nurturing and attracting talent, upgrading industries with advantages, and accelerating the development of Hong Kong’s economy.

    He pointed out that such measures are consistent with the directions of the Policy Address.

    Mr Lee also indicated that the Budget puts forward realistic measures to enhance public finances, focusing primarily on strictly controlling government expenditures, supplemented by suitably increasing revenue, to steadily restore fiscal balance while taking into account the actual social situation and Hong Kong’s competitiveness.

    In addition to emphasising that the Budget aims to leverage market forces to promote infrastructure projects through innovative and diversified development models, he made it clear that government bonds will be issued to finance related projects.

    Despite a complicated and volatile external environment, the Chief Executive expressed his confidence that Hong Kong will be able to seize opportunities and continue to give full play to its unique advantages under the “one country, two systems” principle of having the strong support of the country while maintaining unparalleled connectivity with the world, and further strengthening its connection with both the Mainland and the world.

    “We will proactively integrate into and align with the country’s national development strategies, foster accelerated economic growth and improve people’s livelihood.

    “Like the Financial Secretary, I have full confidence in Hong Kong’s development and future.”

    Mr Lee called on all sectors of the community to support this Budget.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Change of British High Commissioner to Australia: Dame Sarah MacIntosh

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Change of British High Commissioner to Australia: Dame Sarah MacIntosh

    Dame Sarah MacIntosh DCMG has been appointed British High Commissioner to Australia in succession to Mrs Victoria Treadell CMG, MVO.

    Sarah MacIntosh

    Dame Sarah MacIntosh DCMG has been appointed British High Commissioner to Australia in succession to Mrs Victoria Treadell CMG, MVO who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Dame Sarah will take up her appointment during April 2025.

    Curriculum Vitae

    Full name: Dame Sarah MacIntosh DCMG

    Year Role
    2022 to 2024 Prime Minister’s Adviser on International Affairs and Deputy National Security Adviser
    2017 to 2022 NATO, Brussels, Ambassador and Permanent Representative
    2014 to 2016 FCO, Director General, Defence & Intelligence
    2011 TO 2014 FCO, Director, Defence & International Security
    2009 to 2010 FCO, Director, Strategic Finance
    2008 to 2009 Harvard University, Fellow
    2006 to 2008 Freetown, British High Commissioner, and Her Majesty’s non-resident Ambassador to Liberia
    2004 to 2005 UN Mission in Kosovo, Strategy Coordinator
    2003 to 2004 FCO, Deputy Head, Conflict Group
    2002 to 2003 FCO, United Nations Dept, Deputy Head
    2000 to 2002 New York, UK Mission to the UN, Development, Macroeconomics and Health
    1997 to 2000 FCO, Strategic Planning
    1996 to 1997 Madrid, EU and Economic Affairs
    1994 to 1995 Vienna, UK Mission to the UN, Nuclear and Drugs
    1991 to 1993 FCO, UN Peacekeeping

    Media enquiries

    Email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

    Telephone 020 7008 3100

    Contact the FCDO Communication Team via email (monitored 24 hours a day) in the first instance, and we will respond as soon as possible.

    Updates to this page

    Published 26 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Sarbananda Sonowal unveils ₹4,800 crore plan to transform Assam’s Inland Waterways at Advantage Assam 2.0

    Source: Government of India

    Sarbananda Sonowal unveils ₹4,800 crore plan to transform Assam’s Inland Waterways at Advantage Assam 2.0

    “₹1,500 crore for Green Vessel Transition in Assam by 2030 under ‘Harit Nauka Scheme’”: Sarbananda Sonowal

    “World Class Water Metro Service in Guwahati and Dhubri with an investment of ₹315 crore”: Sarbananda Sonowal

    “Centre earmarks ₹120 crore for Regional Centre of Excellence in Dibrugarh”: Sarbananda Sonowal

    “Centre to develop riverine lighthouses along Brahmaputra with ₹100 crore investment:” Sarbananda Sonowal

    Posted On: 26 FEB 2025 4:46PM by PIB Delhi

    The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal announced an investment of more than ₹4,800 crore to transform the inland waterways sector of Assam at the Advantage Assam 2.0 in Guwahati, today. The investment is to enable the immense potential that the complex and dynamic waterways system of the state has to offer to propel the growth and development of the region towards realising the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s Viksit Bharat, Shri Sonowal asserted at the session on Assam’s Roads, Railway and Riverine Tourism on the second day of the investment summit.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister said, “Under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, the country is cruising ahead towards realising the vision of Viksit Bharat. Assam along with the Northeast plays an integral part in propelling this journey to realise the vision of Modi ji. Inland Waterways plays a crucial role in this scheme of things as the visionary Modi ji planned its revival since 2014 from near obscurity and neglect of the past. With its rich inter web of riverine system in the region, especially in Assam with Brahmaputra (NW2) and Barak (NW16), the inland waterways aims at rejuvenating its ageless role as the main conduit of trade and commerce. Globally considered as futuristic, the inland waterways provides an opportunity to opt for a more economic, efficient and environment friendly mode of transporting cargo and passengers. With the launch of schemes like ‘Jalvahak’, the Modi government has been incentivising the businesses to switch to inland waterways, thereby, improving the economies of scale, decongesting the railways and roadways and enabling a conducive ecosystem that is vital for pivotal role Assam is set to play towards India’s ascendency to become world’s biggest and an Atmanirbhar economy by 2047.”

    At the summit, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal announced allocation of ₹1,500 crore for a planned transition into Green Vessels by 2030 under the ‘Harit Nauka’ scheme. An amount of more than ₹1,500 crore has been earmarked to facilitate cruise tourism and enhance cargo handling capacity by 2027-28 in NW2 and NW16. This includes construction of jetties with on shore facilities at Silghat, Bishwanath ghat, Neamati Ghat and Guijan along with construction of a new building for Regional Office, MSDC, Guest house and office space for ITAT at Fancy Bazar in Guwahati. An amount of ₹375 crore is pegged for development of Phase II of Ship Repair Facility at Pandu. In order to maintain fairway, the government has entrusted Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) to ensure assured draft of 2.5 meters from Bangladesh Border to Pandu in NW-2 till 2026-27. An amount of ₹191 crore has been earmarked for this, Shri Sonowal stated.

     

    Adding further, he said, “Advantage Assam has always served as a catalyst for the region’s economic revival, providing businesses with a strategic platform to expand their trade and investment opportunities. With the immense support that Assam has received from our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, we remain firmly committed to the holistic development of the economy of Assam and the Northeast. Among the various ongoing projects to enable inland waterways of Assam, we are also planning to transform the conventional vessels into Green Vessels under Harit Nauka scheme. This affirms the commitment of our government towards sustainable development, a milestone set by our dynamic leader Narendra Modi ji. Given the immense potential of riverine tourism in the state, we are developing an ecosystem including infrastructure and fairway for smooth, regular and viable operations. You may be happy to know that the Dredging Corporation of India (DCI), with its rich experience of dredging at the sea, has been entrusted with dredging the NW2, for the first time on any river in India.”

    The Union Minister also announced the development of Water Metro Service in Guwahati and Dhubri for an estimated investment of ₹315 crore. Based on the success of Kochi Metro Service, the feasibility study is being conducted for this. Shri Sarbananda Sonowal also announced deployment of two Electric Catamarans being built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL). A world class cruise terminal will also be built in Guwahati with an estimated investment of ₹100 crore. 

    In Dibrugarh, an estimated ₹120 crore has been earmarked for development of Regional Centre of Excellence (RCOE). Adding further to the capital development along the NW2, Riverine Lighthouses will be built at FIVE places — Bogibeel, Biswanath, Nimati, Pandu and Silghat — at an estimated cost of ₹100 crore. In addition, a sum of ₹150 crore has been earmarked for fairway development with LAD of 2.5 meters between Pandu and Bogibeel. TWO Cutter Section Dredger units will also be purchased for Brahmaputra (NW2).

     

    The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), the nodal agency for the riverine transportation including national waterways under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), is implementing projects worth ₹1,010 crore along river Brahmaputra (NW2) and river Barak (NW16) in Assam. Among the major projects, the ship repair facility is being built at Panda with an investment of ₹208 crore while an alternate road from Pandu to NH27 is being built at an investment of ₹180 crore. New Inland Waterways Terminal (IWT) at Bogibeel as well as at Jogighopa —- with more than ₹66 crore and ₹82 crore of investment —- are being developed on Brahmaputra to ‘enable possibilities meet opportunities’, Shri Sonowal added.

    An investment of more than ₹646 crore has been earmarked to construct riverine infrastructure across Brahmaputra under the Sagarmala Scheme, the flagship programme of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. For Barak River, the Union Minister announced procurement of Survey Vessel, procurement of THREE Amphibian Dredgers, construction of Crane Pontoon and Gangway for proving Floating Terminal facilities in Karimganj, construction of Steel Pontoon and Gangway for providing Floating Terminal facilities at Badarpur among other projects.

    At this session, the Union Minister was joined by the Chief Minister of Assam, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma; Minister of Animal Husbandry, Veterinary, Fishery and PWRD, Govt of Assam, Krishnendu Paul; Chairman of IWAI, Vijay Kumar; High Commissioner of Singapore, His Excellency Simon Wong among other officials and corporate leaders from infra, railways and marine sector.

     

    ***

    G.D.Hallikeri / Henry

    (Release ID: 2106438) Visitor Counter : 32

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Hospital Authority welcomes 2025-26 Budget

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Hospital Authority welcomes 2025-26 Budget
    Hospital Authority welcomes 2025-26 Budget
    ******************************************

    The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:     The Hospital Authority (HA) Chairman, Mr Henry Fan, welcomed the 2025-26 Budget announced by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the Legislative Council today (February 26). The 2025-26 annual subvention for the HA will be $100.2 billion (including $99 billion recurrent), having increased by 3 per cent compared to the 2024-25 revised provision.      Mr Fan is especially grateful that in the face of pressure on public finances, the Government continues to increase the subvention to the HA. The HA co-operates with the Government on the deepening reform of the healthcare system, and remains committed to augmenting and strengthening public healthcare services to benefit the well-being of the community. The HA strives to optimise utilisation, enhance efficiency, minimise wastage and execute targeted allocation of public resources to ensure its purposeful deployment. The structure and levels of subsidisation will be reviewed for the sustainable development of public healthcare. The HA will strive to improve its service comprehensively with a spirit of innovation and change, and active promotion of reform.      Mr Fan said, “With the staunch support of the country and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, the HA will remain dedicated to strengthening its service and provide suitable treatment and care for patients. Measures include launching the first breast milk bank in Hong Kong, executing full-scale preparation on the first stroke centre and the second chest pain centre in Hong Kong in accordance with national accreditation standards, and devotedly expanding the talent hub by attracting healthcare professionals to work in Hong Kong through Mainland and global healthcare talent visiting programmes in order to provide high-quality healthcare services to the public.”      The HA Chief Executive, Dr Tony Ko, thanked the HKSAR Government for supporting the service upgrade in public hospitals. “The HA will actively carry out hospital redevelopment and expansion projects, including Queen Mary Hospital, New Acute Hospital at Kai Tak Development Area, phase 2 of the redevelopment of Kwong Wah Hospital, and the Community Health Centres in various locations, in order to elevate the service capacity of public healthcare to meet community needs,” said Dr Ko.      The HA will continue to execute various measures to promote sustainable development of public healthcare and to be in line with primary healthcare policy. Smart hospital initiatives with advanced technology will be expanded in the clusters so that patients’ experiences and operational processes will be enhanced. In the coming financial year, around 330 additional public hospital beds will be opened and capacity for operating theatre services, endoscopic services and cataract surgeries will be enhanced. Meanwhile, quotas of general outpatient clinics will be increased; triage and referral arrangements for specialist out-patient clinics will also be optimised to strengthen the treatment and care for major chronic diseases, and services of nurse clinics, ensuring comprehensive fulfilment of patients’ healthcare requirements. The HA will implement measures to boost capacity of accident and emergency, radiotherapy and chemotherapy services, as well as improve pharmacy services.      Mr Fan and Dr Ko once again thanked the HKSAR Government for its support of public healthcare services. The HA will utilise the subvention appropriately and strive to implement relevant policies and measures for the benefit of patients.

     
    Ends/Wednesday, February 26, 2025Issued at HKT 19:04

    NNNN

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –