NewzIntel.com

Category: Asia Pacific

  • MIL-OSI China: Foreign trade grows despite headwinds

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    An aerial drone photo shows the China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base in Lianyungang, east China’s Jiangsu Province, July 25, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Continuous innovation, global expansion and industrial upgrade will empower Chinese companies to counter rising protectionism and geopolitical tensions this year, driving foreign trade growth and reinforcing China’s global competitiveness, said market observers and exporters.

    Despite challenges, China’s foreign trade remains resilient, adapting to an increasingly complex global landscape shaped by the United States’ new tariff policies, supply chain disruptions, and regulatory uncertainties in certain countries, they added.

    Zhang Xiaotao, dean of the School of International Trade and Economics at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, said that as a major player in global trade, China has accumulated extensive experience in navigating international political and economic shifts over the past decade.

    “Foreign trade companies have already seen positive results from their strategic adjustments to tackle headwinds, including building new factories and overseas warehouses in countries such as Thailand, Hungary, the U.S. and Brazil, as well as increasing investment in research and development,” Zhang said.

    Denis Depoux, global managing director at German management consultancy Roland Berger, said that China is now increasingly recognized for its high-value, technologically advanced products, including electric vehicles, solar cells and liquefied natural gas carriers, as it moves up the value chain to drive export growth.

    Chinese companies exporting high-value products include Narwal, a manufacturer of household robots based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. The company saw the number of its export markets expand from less than 10 in 2023 to over 30 last year, covering multiple regions and countries including North America, Europe, Australia and Japan.

    “We will continue to invest in multiple fields such as 3D perception, artificial intelligence solutions, binocular vision technologies and big data applications to win more orders,” said Zhang Junbin, the company’s founder.

    Li Lizhong, sales director at Zhejiang Yueli Electrical Co, a home appliances manufacturer based in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, said the company’s personal care products, such as hair dryers and curling irons, previously targeted the U.S. and Western Europe markets.

    “However, our exports to these traditional markets have been impacted by the U.S. tariff hike and the Russia-Ukraine conflict in recent years,” he said, adding that the company has launched more intelligent, eco-friendly home appliances to expand into markets in Central and Eastern Europe, and economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

    Data from Ningbo Customs showed that Zhejiang Yueli’s hair dryer exports reached 602 million yuan ($82.4 million) in 2024, marking a 6.3 percent year-on-year increase, while the company’s exports in this category to Central and Eastern Europe totaled 45.46 million yuan, up 39.2 percent compared with 2023.

    Li said the increasing penetration of the internet in Central and Eastern Europe has allowed e-commerce to expand at a remarkable pace in countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania. The company’s cross-border e-commerce exports emerged as a key growth driver after it deployed resources in this business segment in the region, he added.

    As China continued to enhance its high-value export portfolio and deepen its market presence in emerging economies, the nation’s foreign trade rose 5 percent year-on-year to reach a record high of 43.85 trillion yuan in 2024, according to the General Administration of Customs.

    Meanwhile, China’s mechanical and electrical product exports grew 8.7 percent year-on-year, accounting for 59.4 percent of the country’s total exports. Last year, the country’s EV exports rose 13.1 percent compared with 2023, while its 3D printer exports increased 32.8 percent and industrial robot exports surged 45.2 percent.

    Lan Qingxin, a professor at the School of International Trade and Economics of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said the restructuring of global supply chains and protectionist moves in certain countries have pushed Chinese companies to adapt and leverage their strong manufacturing and technological capabilities.

    By responding innovatively to these changes, the companies can meet market needs in other emerging economies, thereby enhancing their competitiveness and expanding their global presence, said Lan.

    A Chinese business delegation, organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, departed on Monday for Kazakhstan to explore new opportunities for economic and trade exchanges.

    During the four-day trip, the delegation, comprising representatives of more than 30 Chinese companies across industries such as petrochemicals and machinery manufacturing, hopes to sign several cooperation agreements and foster mutually beneficial outcomes.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Press Release: Aero India 2025 Opens

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    INDIA  –  

    Aero India 2025, India’s largest airshow and aviation exhibition has officially begun and will last until 14 February at Yelahanka Air Force Station, Bengaluru, India.

    The event is scheduled to include aerial demonstrations and static displays from the United States and multiple other countries. U.S. Air Force aircraft scheduled to appear at the event include the C-17 Globemaster III, F-35A Lightning II, B-1B Lancer, and F-16 Fighting Falcon.

    The bi-annual event is an opportunity to enhance cooperation within the Indo-Pacific region, while providing the U.S. a forum to showcase its defense capabilities while strengthening alliances and partnerships.

    Several U.S. Department of Defense key leaders are scheduled to attend the event including Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, Commander of Pacific Air Forces, General Kevin Schneider and Commander of Air Combat Command, General Kenneth Wilsbach.

    “Aero India 2025 is an ideal forum to showcase U.S. defense aircraft and equipment and ultimately contribute toward our compatibility and interoperability with other nations,” said Gen. Kevin Schneider, commander of U.S. Pacific Air Forces. “The growth in Indian and U.S. bilateral defense trade has corresponded with growing interoperability through information sharing, liaison officers, training exercises, and defense enabling agreements. The importance of our partnership continues to grow, particularly as we face an increasingly complex and dynamic security environment in the Indo-Pacific.”

    Participating leaders are expected to discuss topics such as increased security cooperation and promoting regional stability. The DoD aims to reinforce the U.S. – India defense partnership by strengthening military-to-military ties, and participation in this event is one of many continued efforts towards maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific for all.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: MARFORPAC, PMC Discuss Future Training at Staff Talks

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    FORT BONIFACIO, MANILA, Philippines  –  

    Senior leaders from U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, and the Philippine Marine Corps gathered at Fort Bonifacio for their annual Marine-to-Marine staff talks, from Feb. 3 to 6, 2025.

    The annual Marine-to-Marine staff talks are an important part of the U.S.-Philippine alliance, giving senior military leaders the chance to discuss regional security issues and find ways to work together more closely. These talks help strengthen the bond between the two military forces, allowing them to address new security challenges, share knowledge, and plan actions to maintain stability in the region. This week’s discussions further strengthened the long-lasting relationship between the U.S. and the Philippine Marine Corps, showing the two nations’ shared commitment to peace and security in the Indo-Pacific.

    “What we’ve accomplished here is alignment against an important problem set, which is ensuring the right people are conducting the right training together in the right places,” said Col. Christopher Winn, assistant chief of staff, G-5 Plans Division, MARFORPAC. “I cannot understate the importance of this alliance in this very important part of the world.”

    The yearly event highlighted the importance of the U.S.-Philippine military partnership and offered a chance to work together on shared objectives. Over the course of three days, leaders from both armed forces engaged on various topics, such as recent amphibious operation experiences, strategies for modernizing training, and enhancing capabilities to stay prepared and agile in the Indo-Pacific region.

    Another major topic discussed at the PMC-MARFORPAC Staff Talks included upcoming and reoccurring exercises aimed at increasing the interoperability between the U.S. and Philippine Marine Corps. Two of these major exercises – Balikatan and KAMANDAG – are designed to improve both militaries’ ability to conduct a range of combined operations such as humanitarian aid and disaster relief, amphibious operations, and coastal defense.

    “We must ensure that our Marines are equipped, trained, and prepared to execute any mission anywhere at any time,” Philippine Marine Corps Col. Enstein B. Calaoa, Chief of Marine Staff, PMC said. “This means investing in the best technology, providing realistic and demanding training, and fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.”

    These activities help align their efforts with common security goals and strengthen their long-standing partnership. Through combined exercises, both countries continue to build stronger military ties and ensure they are ready to face regional challenges together.

    This year’s event focused on strengthening defense cooperation between the Philippines and the U.S., while developing a model to assess future activities. The event also helped outline key events for 2026, which will enable future cooperation. These steps will ensure both nations remain prepared and responsive to security challenges and continue to strengthen their relationship in the years ahead.

    “We must constantly strive to improve, to innovate, and to anticipate the challenges of tomorrow,” Calaoa emphasized in his closing remarks. “These talks have highlighted several key areas that demand our continued attention.”

    The U.S. and the Philippines have a long-standing alliance dating back to 1951, with the signing of the Mutual Defense Treaty, which serves as the foundation for close security cooperation. More than seventy years later, the two nations continue to work closely together towards common goals based on shared values and interests in the region.

    U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific is the largest operational command in the Marine Corps and the Nation’s expeditionary force-in-readiness in the Indo-Pacific. Pacific Marines serve alongside the joint force and like-minded Allies and partners to preserve and maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Diabetes during pregnancy can cause serious problems later – mothers need proper screening after birth

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Phyllis Ohene-Agyei., Doctoral Researcher in Maternal Health, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

    Shutterstock/Dragana Gordic

    A growing number of women experience high blood sugar levels during pregnancy which typically resolve after birth.

    Known as gestational diabetes, this is the most common metabolic disorder in pregnancy and affects one in seven women worldwide and one in sixteen in New Zealand.

    Gestational diabetes is associated with complications during pregnancy. This includes high blood pressure, giving birth to a big baby (which increases the risk of vaginal birth complications) and increased rates of Caesarean section. It can also significantly affect the mother’s mental health and wellbeing.

    Worryingly, more women are being diagnosed with gestational diabetes than ever before. Our new review of later health impacts for these women suggests they could be receiving better care after birth and in the long term.

    Recommended care

    Women who experienced gestational diabetes are ten times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and twice as likely to experience cardiovascular disorders such as heart disease in the years following birth, compared to women who don’t develop gestational diabetes.

    These mothers may also suffer from mental health problems, including depression, particularly in high-risk groups such as women of non-European ethnicity and those with a previous history of gestational diabetes.

    For these reasons, care after birth for these women is important. This should include regular screening for blood sugar levels, cardiovascular problems and mental wellbeing after birth. It is also important women receive advice on diet and exercise.

    Support for continued breastfeeding is also important as women who get gestational diabetes may experience a delay in milk flow and generally have lower breastfeeding rates compared to others. Breastfeeding may even reduce the risk of progression to type 2 diabetes.

    Gestational diabetes can delay the flow of milk and make breastfeeding more difficult.
    Shutterstock/Pixel Shot

    Screening should continue for more than the first year after giving birth. Best practice would see women who had gestational diabetes being provided with long-term follow-up care, given their high risk for type 2 diabetes and heart problems.

    Current evidence, however, suggests this isn’t necessarily happening. In a 2018 British study across several general practice centres, women who had gestational diabetes reported their levels of care during pregnancy dropped sharply after birth – to the point where they felt abandoned by the health system.

    In a 2024 New Zealand study, mothers who had had gestational diabetes were interviewed five years after birth and expressed the need for more support from the health system.

    While this study involved mothers’ perceptions about the optimal health and wellbeing for their children who were exposed to gestational diabetes, the findings also suggest room for improvement in care for the women themselves.

    Gaps in clinical guidelines

    Following on from this, our research team reviewed existing clinical practice guidelines to see if there were any gaps. These guidelines play an important role in contributing to quality care because they summarise research findings to provide recommendations for healthcare professionals to optimise health and reduce harm.

    We looked at recommendations from 26 clinical practice guidelines published in the past decade in 22 countries, including New Zealand. The findings showed we could be doing better for women who have experienced gestational diabetes.

    A key example relates to screening for diabetes after birth. It is common practice to check the blood sugar levels of women within three months of giving birth to see if they have gone back to normal.

    This testing ensures any abnormalities (like high blood glucose, which may suggest diabetes) are detected so that appropriate management begins early on. Sadly, a nationwide study reported only about half of women receive this screening within six months after birth in New Zealand.

    Sending reminders and combining these tests with other postnatal baby health checks and care procedures might encourage more women to check their blood sugar levels. However, very few guidelines we assessed recommend ways to raise the number of women who attend this screening.

    Even fewer guidelines talk about screening for poor mental health, despite an increased chance these women could experience depression after birth.

    Research we carried out in 2022, using randomised trial data of women with a previous history of gestational diabetes, revealed that around one in five self-reported symptoms of anxiety, depression or poor mental functioning at six months after birth.

    Postnatal screening for mental health problems for all women who had gestational diabetes should be recommended to help improve quality of care.

    Encouraging women who have had gestational diabetes to attend screening tests, continue breastfeeding and adopt healthy dietary choices and physical exercise requires health professionals to provide adequate counselling on the long-term risks of this condition. This will help women stick with their care plan after birth.

    Phyllis Ohene-Agyei. 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. Diabetes during pregnancy can cause serious problems later – mothers need proper screening after birth – https://theconversation.com/diabetes-during-pregnancy-can-cause-serious-problems-later-mothers-need-proper-screening-after-birth-245658

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Indian minister says ‘we can change the world for the better’

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    UN Affairs

    India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the world stands fractious, polarized and frustrated amid war, unfair trade practices, climate change and food and health insecurity. Trust has eroded, processes have broken down and countries have extracted more from the international system than they have put in it, enfeebling it along the way.

    “Conversations have become difficult, agreements even more so,” he said. “This is surely not what the founders of the UN would have wanted for us. Reforming multilateralism is, therefore, an imperative.”

    The General Assembly must ask itself “how has this come to pass?” he said.

    “Every change must begin somewhere, and there is no better place than where it started,” he continued.

    “We, the Members of the United Nations, must now seriously and purposefully address ourselves to that task. If we carry on like this, the state of the world is only going to get worse, and that could mean that more of us are going to be left behind.

    For its part, India has sought to respond in a variety of ways, including targeted policies and initiatives focused on issues of the vulnerable, women, farmers and youth, from assured access to piped water, electricity, cooking gas and new homes to financial support for food producers.

    India has also expanded employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, created digital infrastructure for public services and convened three Global South summits while also responding to pressing needs in 78 nations.

    “In these troubled times, it is necessary to provide hope and rekindle optimism,” he said.

    “When India lands on the moon, rolls out its own 5G stack, dispatches vaccines worldwide, embraces fin-tech or houses so many Global Capability Centres, there is a message here. Our quest for a Viksit Bharat, or developed India, will understandably be followed closely.”

    However, challenges persist, he said, underscoring that many countries get left behind due to circumstances beyond their control. But some make conscious choices with disastrous consequences, with one example being neighbouring Pakistan, “a dysfunctional nation coveting the lands of others”. As such, he stressed, “Pakistan’s cross-border terrorism policy will never succeed.”

    When it comes to deciding on key issues, large parts of the world cannot be left behind, he said, emphasising that an effective, efficient UN must be more representative and fit for purpose.

    “Let us, therefore, send out a clear message from this UN General Assembly session: we are determined not to be left behind,” he said. “By coming together, sharing experiences, pooling resources and strengthening our resolve, we can change the world for the better.”

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Attempt to defeat Russia a ‘suicidal escapade’, Lavrov warns Ukraine and the West

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    UN Affairs

    Ukraine’s hope of defeating Russia on the battlefield is senseless given that Moscow holds nuclear weapons and any effort by the NATO alliance to keep aiding Kyiv will prove to be a “suicidal escapade”, Russia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs told the UN General Assembly on Saturday.

    Sergey Lavrov said criticism of Russia’s “special operation” based on the UN Charter and Ukraine’s territorial integrity, ignored the fact that the UN’s founding document also “declares the obligation to respect the principles of the equality and self-determination of peoples”, he said, arguing that this had after all been the basis for ongoing decolonisation efforts.

    “The rights of Russians and those that feel they are part of Russian culture following the coup d’etat in Kyiv have methodically been exterminated,” he declared, and this poses a threat to Russian and wider European security.

    Mr. Lavrov said President Vladimir Putin had a “realistic settlement plan” and was prepared to negotiate, blaming the West for sabotaging previous attempts.

    He said the attempt by the Washington-London-Brussels axis to defeat Russia was nullifying the UN’s attempts to enhance global cooperation through agreements such as Sunday’s Pact for the Future – which Russia refused to back – and was “blocking the functioning of the entire system of global governance, including the Security Council.”

    “That’s not something we chose and we’re not responsible for the consequences of this dangerous course,” he added.

    He accused the West of “steadily destroying the model of globalisation that they themselves created”, warning that other regions of the world were forging their own alliances, inviting all of Europe and Asia to join a “single Eurasian space” separate from Washington’s influence.

    Addressing the Middle East crisis, Mr. Lavrov said there was no justification for the terror attacks by Hamas and others of 7 October but the “mass collective punishment” of Palestinians since then had created an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.”

    He bemoaned the rise of “the now almost commonplace practice of political killings” and noted the reported killing of a Hezbollah leader on Friday in Beirut.

    “Security can be either equal and indivisible for all, or it won’t be for anyone”, he told delegates, returning to the theme of NATO’s “exceptionalism and impunity”.

    The Russian Foreign Minister said the UN itself needed to be more even-handed in investigating “terrorist methods” used by Israel, the US and others, such as during the wireless device attacks in Lebanon last week.

    Moreover, the UN needed to “avoid the temptation to play into the hands of individual States, particularly those that are actively calling not for cooperation but to divide the world into the flowering garden and the jungle – or to those sitting around the table of democracy, and those that are on the menu.”

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Stories from the UN Archive: Roots of ‘no justice, no peace’

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    By Eileen Travers

    Human Rights

    As the United States marks Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we’re looking back this Monday at a story we produced last year examining the roots of the civil rights’ icon’s powerful call to action – “no justice, no peace”.

    Read our story here:

    When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, visited UN Headquarters in the 1960s to protest the Viet Nam conflict, the civil rights leader likened the anti-war movement to the struggle for equality for Black people in the US, declaring then what has today become a rallying cry in the continuing battle against racism.

    On 15 April 1967, a delegation led by Dr. King held a meeting with the legendary Ralph Bunche and other top UN officials. Mr. Bunche was the first African American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, and Dr. King was the second.

    Watch our report from the archives about UN legend Mr. Bunche, here.

    During the meeting, Dr. King presented a petition, calling for an immediate and peaceful solution to the Vietnam conflict (1961-1975). Earlier that day, he had marched alongside 125,000 protesters in what was the first of many mass marches in opposition to the war.

    Watch UN Video’s Stories from the UN Archive episode on the world-renowned civil rights advocate below:

    ‘No justice without peace, no peace without justice’

    Outside UN Headquarters in the spring of 1967, Dr. King read aloud a powerful petition for peace amid turbulent times.

    “From towns and villages, cities, campuses and farms, we have come in tens of thousands to march and rally at the United Nations in New York and at the birthplace of the world organization in San Francisco on the 15th day of April 1967,” he said. “We the participants in today’s unprecedented national peace demonstration, although of many national origins, faiths and shades of political opinion, are united in our conviction of the imperative need for an immediate, peaceful solution to an illegal and unjustifiable war.”

    “We are determined that the killing be stopped and that a nuclear holocaust be avoided,” he said. “We rally at the United Nations in order to reaffirm our support of the principles of peace, universality, equal rights and self-determination of peoples embodied in the Charter and acclaimed by mankind, but violated by the United States.”

    In terms of the priority of the peace movement and the civil rights movement, Dr. King said “from a content point of view, the issues are inextricably tied together”.

    “In the final analysis, there can be no peace without justice, and there can be no justice without peace,” he said.

    UN Photo/Teddy Chen

    Dr. King speaks to the press at UN Headquarters in New York in 1967. (file)

    Inspiring future generations

    The civil rights leader continued to advocate for peace throughout the last year of his life before he was assassinated in 1968, exactly one year after he visited UN Headquarters. His anti-war activism reinforced the connection between the conflict abroad and injustice at home in the US.

    Dr. King’s lifetime efforts, from the March to Montgomery to his iconic I Have a Dream speech in Washington, have inspired future generations, including his own granddaughter. Earlier this year, 15-year-old activist Yolanda Renee King addressed an audience in the General Assembly Hall at a special commemoration of the International Day of Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, marked annually on 25 March.

    “I stand before you today as a proud descendant of enslaved people who resisted slavery and racism like my grandparents, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King,” she said from the green marbled podium in the Assembly Hall.

    “My parents, Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King, have also dedicated their lives to putting an end to racism and all forms of bigotry and discrimination,” said the author of the children’s book We Dream a World, which pays tribute to her celebrated grandparents.

    “Like them, I am committed to the fight against racial injustice and to carrying on the legacy of my grandparents who championed social justice and equality,” Ms. King said, calling on young people around the world to take action.

    “We must connect via the internet and organise across national boundaries around the world. This will open up new possibilities for global campaigns to advance human rights and social justice in all nations. I hope that my family’s legacy of social justice advocacy will inspire my generation to action and to confront issues affecting our world.”

    Watch her full statement below:

    Stories from the UN Archive

    UN News is showcasing epic moments across UN history, cultivated from the UN Audiovisual Library’s 49,400 hours of video and 18,000 hours of audio recordings.

    Catch up on UN Video’s Stories from the UN Archive playlist here and our accompanying series here.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Saints and liars: The story of American aid workers who helped Jewish refugees escape the Holocaust

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    By Tracey Petersen

    Human Rights

    Long before the United States entered the Second World War in December 1941, American aid workers were fanning out across territory occupied by the Axis powers, attempting to help Jews escape, as their grip tightened.

    A new book on their work underlines the chaos of the time, and the difficult decisions they had to make, knowing that for every person they saved, many more would be killed.

    Saints and Liars, by Debórah Dwork, the Director of the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity at the City University of New York Graduate Center, tells the stories of rescue workers in five key cities as the situation on the ground grew increasingly dire.

    At the launch ahead of the  International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust marked annually on 27 January, Tracey Petersen, the manager of the UN Holocaust Education Outreach Programme, interviewed Debórah Dwork at UN Headquarters, and began by asking her about the book’s title.

    This interview has been edited for clarity and length

    Debórah Dwork: I called it Saints and Liars because that’s what these people were. They did amazing things, in a non-religious sense. They did miraculous things. They saved people either by helping them to move on, get to sea, find a safe harbour, or by feeding, clothing and sheltering them.

    And at the same time, nearly all of them lied. They broke rules and played fast and loose with the truth in order to accomplish their goals.

    Tracey Petersen: Why did you write this book?

    UN Publications/Steven Bornholtz

    Debórah Dwork (r) author of Saints and Liars.

    Debórah Dwork: I wanted to tell the story of Americans who went to Europe when everyone who was worried about danger was trying to go in the opposite direction. Their first idea was relief activities, but their mandate morphed to trying to effect rescue. I wanted to know who they were and what prompted them.

    We start in Prague, 1939, before the war was declared and well before the United States entered the war. What prompted Waitstill and Martha Sharp? They were a pair of married Unitarians sent to Czechoslovakia by their church.

    The situation grew worse and worse for political opponents of the Nazi regime and for Jews. And yet the Sharps stayed on to help and began to engage in illegal activities in the hope of saving lives.

    Soundcloud

    Tracey Petersen: Did the outside world in general know what was happening in Czechoslovakia at that time?

    Debórah Dwork: The loss of the Sudetenland region was part of the Munich Pact, an agreement signed by the major leaders of Europe, who gave away a whole chunk of Czechoslovakia without a single shot being fired.

    As you can imagine, this was the stuff of headlines, and it was the Munich Pact which first galvanized the Unitarian leadership in Boston to say “we’ve got to do something: the Germans have taken Sudetenland. Refugees are fleeing into Prague. They need help. They need clothing. They need shelter. They need medical care. They need food”.

    Tracey Petersen: How dangerous was the work of these American aid workers?

    Debórah Dwork: Waitstill Sharp said that Yankees like to skate on thin ice. Just one of the ways in which his work endangered him was that he did illegal currency transactions, because raising money to pay for the rescue activities was very difficult. But if the regime had learned about this he would have been at least imprisoned and probably tortured.

    Tracey Petersen: Why did refugees go to Shanghai and where were they coming from?

    Debórah Dwork: Even before the war, Jews and political dissidents in Germany and Nazi-occupied Austria and Czechoslovakia sought desperately to leave Europe and to get to some place of safety.

    As it happened, Shanghai was just such a place because no visa was required for them to land there. So, by the time war did break out in January, in September 1939, some 20,000 refugees had collected in Shanghai, which had been under Japanese rule since 1937.

    US Holocaust Memorial Museum/Yad Vashem

    Jews from Subcarpathian Rus are subjected to a selection process on a ramp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland.

    The US State Department and American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) sent Laura Margolis to Shanghai to help them move on to their next destination, but the war intervened, and she ended up staying in a city under occupation with very few resources to help them meet their needs. They needed medical care, food and shelter. The children needed education. Somehow, she had to try to meet the needs of this community that was cut off from the rest of the world

    Tracey Petersen: The numbers are staggering. You had women, children, refugees, incredible terror, anxiety, being turned down for visas… did the aid workers reflect on whether they were possibly being swayed by their emotions and maybe helping some people when they should have been helping others? Is there any sense of their turmoil?

    Debórah Dwork: Definitely. There were thousands upon thousands of people who needed help. When you wake up in the morning, whose case are you going to attend to? What were the criteria?

    The Unitarians did have specific criteria: they wanted to rescue people who would help to reestablish democratic governments after the war was over. Of course, they were mostly male, mostly middle class or upper middle class. Mostly well-educated. That was the idea. But life on the ground had its own dynamic. And in Prague Martha and Waitstill ended up helping all manner of people.

    The Quakers, by contrast, had no such calculus. Their goal was to help everyone who required help. This was a sharp and distinct difference between the Unitarians agenda and the Quakers agenda. In fact, they annoyed each other with the Unitarians saying the Quakers had no principles, and the Quakers saying the Unitarians had no principles.

    Tracey Petersen: In many ways these stories reveal that a successful rescue is sometimes just a question of luck and timing.

    Debórah Dwork: We all know the degree to which the unpredictable and the irrational affect our lives. Luck, timing, fortuitous circumstances, passion, sympathies, antipathies. But when we think about the past, we strip those factors away. We think things happened for a reason. Sometimes they did happen for a reason, but sometimes they happened by accident.

    Let’s hope that we can learn from these events and say action is possible, activities are possible, initiative is possible. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: The climate crisis: 5 things to watch out for in 2025

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    By Conor Lennon

    Climate and Environment

    The Amazonian city of Belém, Brazil, will be the global focus of efforts to tackle the climate crisis in November 2025, when it hosts one of the most significant UN climate conferences in recent years. 

    However, throughout the years there will be plenty of opportunities to make important progress on several climate-related issues, from the staggering levels of plastic pollution to financing the shift to a cleaner global economy.

    1 Can we keep 1.5 alive?

    “Keep 1.5 alive” has been the UN’s rallying cry for a number of years, a reference to the goal of ensuring that average global temperatures don’t soar beyond 1.5 degrees higher than pre-industrial levels. The scientific consensus is that a lack of action would have catastrophic consequences, not least for the so-called “frontline States”, such as developing island nations which could disappear under the ocean, as sea levels rise.

    © UNICEF/Lasse Bak Mejlvang

    A man fishes sitting on sandbags which protect the Pacific Ocean island nation Tuvalu against sea erosion.

    At COP30, the UN climate conference scheduled to take place between 10 and 21 November 2025, mitigation (in other words, actions and policies designed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to rising temperatures) is likely to a key focus.

    The nations of the world will arrive with upgraded, more ambitious commitments to lowering greenhouse gases. This is both a recognition that existing pledges are wholly inadequate, in terms of getting temperatures down, and part of the deal that Member States signed up to in 2015 at the Paris COP (nations are expected to “ratchet up” their commitments every five years. The last time this happened was at the 2021 Glasgow COP, delayed by one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic).

    2 Protecting nature

    Holding COP30 in the Amazonian rainforest region of Brazil is of symbolic importance. It harks back to the early days of international attempts to protect the environment: the pivotal “Earth Summit”, which led to the establishment of three environmental treaties on climate change, biodiversity, and desertification, took place in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

    © Unsplash/Sreenivas

    A parrot stands on a tree branch in Maharashtra, India.

    The location also highlights the role that nature has to play in the climate crisis. The rainforest is a massive “carbon sink”, a system that sucks up and stores CO2, a greenhouse gas, and prevents it from entering the atmosphere, where it contributes to warming.

    Unfortunately, rainforests and other “nature-based solutions” face threats from human development, such as illegal logging which has devastated huge swathes of the region. The UN will continue efforts begun in 2024 to improve the protection of the rainforest and other ecosystems, at biodiversity talks due to be resumed in Rome in February.

    3 Who’s going to pay for all this?

    Finance has long been a thorny issue in international climate negotiations. Developing countries argue that wealthy nations should contribute far more towards projects and initiatives that will enable them to move away from fossil fuels, and power their economies on clean energy sources. The pushback from the rich countries is that fast-growing economies such as China, which is now the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, should also pay their share.

    © UNFCCC/Habib Samadov

    Activists protest against fossil fuels at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

    At COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, a breakthrough of sorts was made, with the adoption of an agreement to triple the amount of climate finance paid to developing countries, to $300 billion per year, by 2035. The deal is a definite step forward, but the final sum is far less than the $1.3 trillion that climate experts say these countries need in order to adapt to the crisis.

    Expect more progress to be made on financing in 2025, at a summit in Spain at the end of June. The Financing for Development conferences only take place once every 10 years, and next year’s edition is being billed as an opportunity to make radical changes to the international financial architecture. Environmental and climate concerns will be raised, and potential solutions such as green taxation, carbon pricing and subsidies will all be on the table.

    4 Laying down the law

    When the attention of the International Court of Justice turned to climate change in December, it was hailed as a landmark moment with regards to States’ legal obligations under international law.

    © UNDP/Silke von Brockhausen

    Vanuatu often experiences destructive extreme weather, such as typhoons, which are being exacerbated by climate change.

    Vanuatu, a Pacific island state particularly vulnerable to the crisis, asked the court for an advisory position, in order to clarify the obligations of States with regard to climate change, and inform any future judicial proceedings.

    Over a two-week period, 96 countries and 11 regional organizations took part in public hearings before the Court, including Vanuatu and a group of other Pacific islands States, and major economies including China and the USA.

    The ICJ will deliberate for several months before delivering its advisory opinion on the subject. Although this opinion will be non-binding, it is expected to guide future international climate law.

    5 Plastic pollution

    UN-convened talks on getting to grips with the global epidemic of plastic pollution edged closer to a deal during negotiations in Busan, South Korea.

    Some key advances were made during the November 2024 talks – the fifth round of negotiations following the 2022 UN Environment Assembly resolution calling for an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.

    Agreement on three pivotal areas needs to be ironed: plastic products, including the issue of chemicals; sustainable production and consumption; and financing.

    UNDP India

    Plastic bottles are collected for recycling in India.

    Member States are now charged with finding political solutions to their differences before the resumed session begins, and with landing a final deal that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics and delivers on the growing global momentum to end plastic pollution.

    “It is clear that the world still wants and demands an end to plastic pollution,” said UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Inger Andersen. “We need to ensure we craft an instrument that hits the problem hard instead of punching below its potential weight. I call on all Member States to lean in.”

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Confirmed: 2024 was the hottest year on record, says UN weather agency

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Climate and Environment

    UN weather experts from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed on Friday that 2024 was the hottest year on record, at 1.55 degrees Celsius (C) above pre-industrial temperatures.

    “We saw extraordinary land, sea surface temperatures, extraordinary ocean heat accompanied by very extreme weather affecting many countries around the world, destroying lives, livelihoods, hopes and dreams,” WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis said. “We saw many climate change impacts retreating sea ice glaciers. It was an extraordinary year.”

    Four of the six international datasets crunched by WMO indicated a higher than 1.5℃ global average increase for the whole of last year but two did not. 

    The 1.5℃ marker is significant because it was a key goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement to try to ensure that global temperature change does not rise more than this above pre-industrial levels, while striving to hold the overall increase to well below 2℃.

    Climate deal under pressure

    The Paris Agreement is “not yet dead but in grave danger”, the WMO maintained, explaining that the accord’s long-term temperature goals are measured over decades, rather than individual years.

    However, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo insisted that “climate history is playing out before our eyes. We’ve had not just one or two record-breaking years, but a full ten-year series. “It is essential to recognize that every fraction of a degree of warming matters. Whether it is at a level below or above 1.5C of warming, every additional increment of global warming increases the impacts on our lives, economies and our planet.”

    LA fires: climate change factor

    Amid still raging deadly wildfires in Los Angeles that weather experts including the WMO insist have been exacerbated by climate change – with more days of dry, warm, windy weather on top of rains which boosted vegetation growth – the UN agency said that 2024 capped a decade-long “extraordinary streak of record-breaking temperatures”.

    © CAL FIRE

    A bank building burns in Los Angeles, California.

    UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the WMO’s findings as further proof of global warming and urged all governments to deliver new national climate action plans this year to limit long-term global temperature rise to 1.5C – and support the most vulnerable deal with devastating climate impacts.

    “Individual years pushing past the 1.5℃ limit do not mean the long-term goal is shot,” Mr. Guterres said. “It means we need to fight even harder to get on track. Blazing temperatures in 2024 require trail-blazing climate action in 2025,” he said. “There’s still time to avoid the worst of climate catastrophe. But leaders must act – now.”

    The datasets used by WMO are from the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the Japan Meteorological Agency, NASA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the UK Met Office in collaboration with the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia (HadCRUT) and Berkeley Earth.

    Listen back to an interview climate scientist Alvaro Silva at the WMO, following the heat alert in the United States at the end of June: 

    Soundcloud

    Ocean warming

    Highlighting a separate scientific study on ocean warming, WMO said that it had played a key role in last year’s record high temperatures.

    “The ocean is the warmest it has ever been as recorded by humans, not only at the surface but also for the upper 2,000 metres,” the UN agency said, citing the findings of the international study spanning seven countries and published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences.

    WMO noted that about 90 per cent of the excess heat from global warming is stored in the ocean, “making ocean heat content a critical indicator of climate change”.

    To put the study’s findings into perspective, it explained that from 2023 to 2024, the upper 2,000 metres of ocean became warmer by 16 zettajoules (1,021 Joules), which is about 140 times the world’s total electricity output.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Climate emergency: 2025 declared international year of glaciers

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    By Pia Blondel

    Climate and Environment

    As glaciers disappear at an alarming rate due to climate change, the UN General Assembly has declared 2025 the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation (IYGP).

    Co-facilitated by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), this global initiative seeks to unite efforts worldwide to protect these vital water sources, which provide freshwater to more than 2 billion people.

    Glaciers and ice sheets hold around 70 per cent of the world’s freshwater and their rapid loss presents an urgent environmental and humanitarian crisis.

    WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo emphasised this urgency, saying “Melting ice and glaciers threaten long-term water security for many millions of people. This international year must be a wake-up call to the world.”

    Alarming data

    In 2023, glaciers experienced their greatest water loss in over 50 years, marking the second consecutive year in which all glaciated regions worldwide reported ice loss.

    Switzerland, for instance, saw their glaciers lose 10 per cent of their total mass between 2022 and 2023, according to the WMO.

    Dr. Lydia Brito, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, explained during the launch event in Geneva that the “50 UNESCO heritage sites with glaciers represent almost 10 per cent of Earth’s glacier area.” However, a recent study warned that glaciers in one-third of these sites are projected to disappear by 2050.

    With 2024 confirmed as the hottest year on record, the need for immediate and decisive action has never been more critical.

    2025 key initiatives

    A key focus, the panel explained, is raising global awareness about the essential role glaciers, snow and ice play in regulating the climate and supporting ecosystems and communities.

    “Glaciers don’t care if we believe in science – they just melt in the heat,” said Dr. Carolina Adler of the Mountain Research Initiative.

    The initiative also aims to enhance scientific understanding through programmes like the Global Cryosphere Watch, ensuring that data guides effective climate action.

    Strengthening policy frameworks is another priority, with the integration of glacier preservation into global and national climate strategies, such as the Paris Agreement.

    Mobilising financial resources is another priority – essential to support vulnerable communities and fund adaptation and mitigation efforts – alongside engaging youth and local communities.

    Milestones on climate

    The first World Glacier Day will be celebrated on 21 March 2025, coinciding with World Water Day, coming a day later.

    In May, Tajikistan will host the International Glacier Preservation Conference, bringing together scientists, policymakers and community leaders to discuss solutions and form partnerships.

    “Tajikistan is immensely proud to have played an instrumental role in advocating for this resolution,” said Bahodur Sheralizoda, Chair of Tajikistan’s Committee of Environmental Protection.

    “Let us be clear, the only way to preserve glaciers as an important resource for the entire planet is for all governments to collectively course correct with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) fully consistent with the 1.5°C Paris Agreement limit,” he underscored.

    Challenges ahead

    According to the policy brief on the IYGP, “Some level of glacier loss remains inevitable given current loss rates, which modelling shows will continue until temperatures stabilise.”

    “We must prepare for cryospheric destruction through urgent policy changes,” explained Dr. John Pomeroy from the University of Saskatchewan.

    These efforts will require global cooperation, particularly in regions like Central Asia, where glacier loss has led to significant water security challenges.

    “In Tajikistan alone nearly 1,000 glaciers have melted, accounting for one-third of the country’s glacier volume,” Dr. Brito highlighted.

    A shared responsibility

    The IYGP seeks to unite nations, organizations and individuals in a common mission.

    “[It] provides a mechanism to kick start both renewed efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the science and adaptation necessary to prepare for a warmer, less icy world,” said Dr. Pomeroy

    “History will record that 2025 was the tipping point where humanity changed course and eventually saved the glaciers, ourselves and our planet,” he concluded.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Stats NZ information release: Ready-mixed concrete: December 2024 quarter

    Source: Statistics New Zealand

    Ready-mixed concrete: December 2024 quarter –12 February 2025 – Ready-mixed concrete statistics provide an indicator of construction activity.

    Key facts

    • In the December 2024 quarter, the actual volume of ready-mixed concrete produced was 967,964 cubic metres, down 6.2 percent compared with the December 2023 quarter.
    • In the year ended December 2024, 3.82 million cubic metres of ready-mixed concrete was produced, down 7.7 percent compared with the year ended December 2023.
    • In seasonally adjusted terms, the volume of ready-mixed concrete fell 4.7 percent in the December 2024 quarter, following a 0.6 percent rise in the September 2024 quarter.

    Files:

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: US, Australia, and UK forces conduct joint combined operations

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    SOUTH CHINA SEA  –  

    The U.S. Navy (USN), Royal Australian Navy (RAN), and Royal Navy (RN) joined together to conduct a link exercise, a coordinated maneuvering exercise, and a variety of other combined operations in the South China Sea, Feb. 6-7.

    Participating units included the USN Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65), the RAN Hobart-class guided-missile destroyer HMAS Hobart (DDG 39), the RN River-class offshore patrol vessel HMS Spey (P234).

    “Regular military engagements between the defense forces in the Indo-Pacific will help maintain regional security and stability” said Commodore Jonathan Ley, Joint Force Maritime Component Commander for Australia’s Headquarters Joint Operations Command. “This activity is a testament to the growing ability of Australia and the United States to work together in this complex maritime environment. As one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes and home to almost two thirds of the world’s population, it is essential we are ready, willing and able to meet any challenge.”

    During the maritime training, the three ships exercised their ability to exchange data using their tactical datalink systems, while the maneuvering exercise trained the crews’ ability to sail alongside each other in various conditions, improving the self-defense and communication capabilities of the three countries.

    “Operating alongside our Royal Navy and Australian counterparts strengthens collaboration at sea,” said Capt. Justin Harts, Commander, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15. “We will continue to reinforce our interoperability with our allies at every corner to maintain a consistent presence in the Indo-Pacific.”

    The U.S. Navy regularly operates alongside our allies in the Indo-Pacific region as a demonstration of our shared commitment to upholding international law. Combined operations provide valuable opportunities to train, exercise and develop tactical interoperability across allied navies in the Indo-Pacific.

    Benfold is forward-deployed and assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force.

    U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Miske Enterprise Member Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Racketeering Conspiracy

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    HONOLULU – Acting United States Attorney Kenneth M. Sorenson announced that John B. Stancil, 37, of Waimanalo, was sentenced today in federal court by U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson to 240 months of imprisonment (the statutory maximum) followed by 3 years of supervised release for racketeering conspiracy. Stancil pled guilty on January 22, 2024, in the middle of jury selection, to conspiring to conduct and  participate in the conduct of the affairs of a racketeering enterprise, the “Miske Enterprise,” through racketeering activity that included participating in the commission of murder-for-hire and acts relating to chemical weapons.

    In his plea agreement, Stancil admitted that he and other members of the Miske Enterprise participated in chemical weapon attacks on two Honolulu nightclubs in March 2017, carried out on the orders of codefendant Michael J. Miske. Stancil provided the toxic chemical used in the attacks – a substance called chloropicrin, which can cause death, temporary incapacitation, or permanent harm to humans. Stancil also admitted to joining a murder-for-hire conspiracy with Miske and other Enterprise members. Miske put a murder contract out on an individual he believed was cooperating with law enforcement. Stancil then provided details of where the victim lived to another co-conspirator who agreed to carry out the murder until Miske eventually rescinded the contract. Stancil also admitted he served as the getaway driver for multiple assaults ordered by Miske and on behalf of the Miske Enterprise. According to other information provided to the Court, Stancil also coordinated and participated in numerous robberies on behalf of the Miske Enterprise.

    Stancil was charged alongside twelve other defendants, all of whom pled guilty except for Michael J. Miske who proceeded to trial and was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy, murder, and 11 other felony charges on July 18, 2024. Seven other members and associates of the Miske Enterprise pled guilty to various offenses in related cases.

    “You cannot run from the facts,” Judge Watson advised Stancil during today’s sentencing before reciting the litany of racketeering acts for which the Court found Stancil responsible. Judge Watson found Stancil to be  “among the most culpable” of those in the Miske Enterprise, describing him as one of Michael Miske’s “key confidantes and lieutenants” and a “key player in terrorizing the citizenry of this city and county for years.” Judge Watson further noted that Stancil deserved an even higher prison sentence that the Court was not permitted to impose by statute.

    “Today’s sentence represents the culmination of years of tireless, dogged, skilled, and innovative work on the part of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii and our outstanding law enforcement partners, the Honolulu Division of the FBI, Internal Revenue Service, and Homeland Security Investigations, among others,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson. “The court was deprived of the opportunity to sentence Michael Miske due to his untimely death following his guilty verdicts at trial for racketeering and other crimes. But today’s sentence, along with the 18 convictions we have secured against Miske’s henchmen and violent thugs, demonstrates our strong commitment to investigating, prosecuting, and convicting those who violate the law and endanger the safety and welfare of Hawaii’s citizens. Let today’s sentence and the convictions in these cases serve as a stark reminder to those who operate criminal enterprises in Hawaii that we have the tools, expertise, and resolve to bring them to justice.”

    “Mr. Stancil was a key member of the Miske Enterprise, actively participating in a longstanding pattern of racketeering activity involving murder-forhire, robbery, and use of chemical weapons,” said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter. “This sentencing reflects years of collaboration between FBI Honolulu and our law enforcement partners. The FBI remains steadfast in its commitment to dismantle violent criminal enterprises, hold their members accountable, and pursue justice for victims.”

    “Mr. Stancil’s racketeering charge reminds us that organized crime threatens innocent lives for money,” said Adam Jobes, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Seattle Field Office. “Our agency follows the money so we can cut off organized crime at its roots.” 

    “HSI is committed to ending organized crime in Hawaii. The sentencing of Mr. Stancil underscores the importance of leveraging law enforcement partnerships to safeguard our community,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Lucy Cabral-DeArmas. “Our dedication to this cause is unwavering, and we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that these criminals are held accountable for their actions.”

    This prosecution was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligencedriven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

    This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Criminal Investigation Division of the Environmental  Protection Agency, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the Honolulu Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Coast Guard Investigative Service, the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, the Cybercrime Lab of the Department of Justice Criminal Division Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center, the Honolulu Fire Department, the Hawaii National Guard, 93rd Civil Support Team, the Office of Investigations–Office of the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Inciong, Michael Nammar, KeAupuni Akina, and Aislinn Affinito prosecuted the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Fort Wayne Man Sentenced to 292 Months in Prison

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

    FORT WAYNE – Dontae L. Salter, 30 years old, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading guilty to distributing methamphetamine, announced Acting United States Attorney Tina L. Nommay.

    Salter was sentenced to 292 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.

    According to documents in the case, Salter distributed several pounds of methamphetamine from June through October of 2023.

    This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Fort Wayne Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which includes the FBI, the Indiana State Police, the Fort Wayne Police Department, and the Allen County Sheriff’s Department, with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives also assisting with the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony W. Geller.

    This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

    This case was also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Stats NZ information release: Ready-mixed concrete: December 2024 quarter

    Source: Statistics New Zealand

    Ready-mixed concrete: December 2024 quarter –12 February 2025 – Ready-mixed concrete statistics provide an indicator of construction activity.

    Key facts

    • In the December 2024 quarter, the actual volume of ready-mixed concrete produced was 967,964 cubic metres, down 6.2 percent compared with the December 2023 quarter.
    • In the year ended December 2024, 3.82 million cubic metres of ready-mixed concrete was produced, down 7.7 percent compared with the year ended December 2023.
    • In seasonally adjusted terms, the volume of ready-mixed concrete fell 4.7 percent in the December 2024 quarter, following a 0.6 percent rise in the September 2024 quarter.

    Files:

     

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Scottish activity at Expo 2025

    Source: Scottish Government

    Showcasing key industries to global audiences

    Scotland’s innovation, skills and natural resources are to be showcased at Expo 2025 Osaka in Japan later this year.

    Three one day events at the global exhibition will highlight the country’s strengths in creative industries, life sciences and the offshore wind sector.

    It follows a successful attendance at Expo 2020 in Dubai, which generated forecast sales of almost £90 million for participating Scottish businesses.

    Games companies will be the focus of the creative industries day on 17 April, including eight being supported through the Scottish Government’s Techscaler business accelerator. Also attending will be KeelWorks, an established Edinburgh game development company with an existing deal with Japanese publisher KONAMI.

    Business Minister Richard Lochhead visited the company to launch the Expo programme and hear about its export success.

    Mr Lochhead said:

    “This is an opportunity for Scotland to showcase and shine on the global stage. Our message in Osaka will be simple – Scotland is open for business and is one of the best places in the world to invest.

    “We will demonstrate first hand that we have the skills, technology and opportunities in a range of emerging industries. KeelWorks is just one example of that and later in the year our buoyant life sciences businesses and the offshore wind sector will also be centre stage.

    “Japanese businesses already recognise Scotland’s economic potential, including Sumitomo, which is currently building a subsea cable factory at Nigg in the Highlands. I am confident that further companies and significant investment will follow as result of our presence at the Expo.”

    KeelWorks Chief Executive Meher Kalenderian said:

    “This activity is about strengthening connections, driving investment and opening new doors for collaboration. So, we’re thrilled to be part of Scotland’s presence at Expo 2025 Osaka, highlighting the strong business opportunities between Scotland and Japan’s prominent gaming industries.

    “This platform offers a great chance to showcase our thriving creative sector and build new collaborations. At KeelWorks, we’ve seen first-hand the value of such partnerships through our work with KONAMI on CYGNI: All Guns Blazing.

    “Our presence at the Expo reflects the growing potential for Scottish and Japanese gaming sectors to engage, as both countries lead in innovation.”

    Background

    Expo 2025 Osaka takes place from 13 April to 13 October. It is an international event at which countries, organisations and companies showcase innovations, cultural exchanges and solutions to global challenges. It is expected to attract about 28 million visitors and more than 150 participating countries. Scotland’s three events are supported by Scottish Enterprise.

    Scotland’s first Trade Envoy to Japan was appointed in October 2024. The unpaid role will last for an initial two-year period.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: UN expert calls for action as Marshall Islands faces dual displacement crisis

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Human Rights

    An independent UN expert on Thursday called on the international community to fulfill its “urgent moral obligation” to support the Marshall Islands in addressing displacement challenges stemming from the impacts of historical nuclear testing and the growing threat of climate change. 

    The appeal from Paula Gaviria Betancur, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, comes as the Pacific nation grapples with generational displacement and the threat posed by rising sea levels and unprecedented global heating.

    The Marshall Islands, a frontline nation in the fight to slow global warming, faces unique challenges.

    As one of the small island developing States (SIDS), it has played a significant role in international climate action. Under the Paris Agreement of 2015, the Marshall Islands was instrumental, along with other SIDS, in advocating strongly for the inclusion of the 1.5 C temperature goal.

    The nation also submitted one of the first Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCS) under the agreement.

    The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) identifies the Marshall Islands as particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts, with rising sea levels posing an existential threat.

    Despite these challenges, the agreement on ‘Loss and Damage funding’ at COP27,  marks a critical development for vulnerable nations like the Marshall Islands. This mechanism aims to provide financial assistance to the most vulnerable nations impacted by climate change effects.

    Nuclear testing threatens communities

    Beyond environmental challenges, research conducted by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, revealed that 67 nuclear tests performed between 1946 and 1958 by the United States Government in the Marshall Islands left communities displaced and contributed to radioactive land and sea pollution.

    “Legacies of nuclear testing and military land requisitions by a foreign power have displaced hundreds of Marshallese for generations,” while the adverse effects of climate change threaten to displace thousands more,” said Ms. Gaviria Betancur, following her 10-day visit to the country.

    The UN Human Rights Council-appointed expert who receives no salary and represents no government or organization, welcomed Marshall Islanders’ efforts to seek remedy and solutions for displaced persons while emphasizing that the “situation has been largely driven beyond the country’s control”.

    Indigenous rights

    During her visit, Ms. Gaviria Betancur emphasized the profound impact of displacement on Marshallese communities.

    “Many Marshallese I spoke with recounted the profound sense of dislocation they feel as a result of their displacement from lands deeply intertwined with their sense of culture and identity as Indigenous Peoples,” she reported.

    She congratulated the Marshall Islands on its recent election to the Human Rights Council and its introduction of a resolution addressing the human rights implications of the nuclear legacy.

    She also outlined specific recommendations for the government, stating, “the Government should adopt a comprehensive, rights-based policy on displacement, promote greater transparency around laws and policies relevant to displaced persons and continue working with traditional leaders”.

    International Responsibility

    Addressing historical responsibility, the expert noted that displacement occurred while the Marshall Islands were under US administration as a Strategic Trust Territory of the United Nations. She urged the United States to provide complete information about the displacement and health risks to affected communities, ensure meaningful remedy, and seek full consent from those with traditional rights to lands it currently occupies for military purposes.

    “While current compensation agreements may have been put in place after independence, these aims to codify displacement that took place when those displaced could not reasonably have provide free, prior and informed consent in line with Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination,” she stated.

    Ms. Gaviria Betancur called on the international community to provide more support for the Marshall Islands’ climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, highlighting the countries minimal contribution to global emissions. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: ‘War on drugs has failed, completely and utterly’: UN human rights chief

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Human Rights

    The UN human rights chief has called on leaders and international stakeholders to radically rethink global drug policy, stating that the decades-long “War on Drugs” approach has “destroyed countless lives and damaged entire communities”.

    Speaking at the ‘Dealing with Drugs II’ conference in Warsaw on Thursday, High Commissioner Volker Türk highlighted the urgent need for a human rights-based approach to drug regulation, pointing to record numbers of drug-related deaths and increasing drug use disorders.

    The conference, which builds on January’s ‘Dealing with Drugs I’ meeting hosted by the Mayor of Amsterdam, brought together leaders and experts from across Europe and the world to share best practices and expertise.

    “Criminalisation and prohibition have failed to reduce drug use and failed to deter drug-related crime. These policies are simply not working – and we are failing some of the most vulnerable groups in our societies”.

    Global drug crisis

    The High Commissioner’s address comes amid a surge in illicit drug production and distribution.

    In Afghanistan, despite a 2022 Taliban ban that initially reduced opium cultivation by 95 per cent, 2024 saw a 19 per cent resurgence driven by economic hardship and rising prices. Meanwhile, North America faces an unprecedented fentanyl crisis, with synthetic drugs claiming lives at an alarming rate across the United States and parts of Asia and Africa.

    From punishment to support

    He emphasised the need for a radical shift in approach that prioritises health, dignity and inclusion.

    “Instead of punitive measures, we need gender-sensitive and evidence-based drug policies, grounded by public health,” Mr. Türk urged. He also called for “inclusive access to voluntary medical care and other social services,” emphasising that harm reduction measures are essential in preventing drug overdose fatalities.

    A key element of reform, Mr. Türk declared, is decriminalisation. “We need to start treating the person, not punishing the drug use disorder,” advocating for social reintegration support to accompany policy changes.

    The High Commissioner pointed to clear evidence supporting this approach: “Focusing on inclusion and education over incarceration means that drug consumption falls. Choosing social reintegration over stigmatisation means that drug-related infections decrease”.

    Soundcloud

    Prioritising people

    At the centre of policy development, Mr. Türk stressed the importance of a focus on people most affected by current drug policies.

    “Historically, people who use drugs are marginalised, criminalised, discriminated against and left behind – very often stripped of their dignity and their rights,” he noted.

    “We are destined to fail unless we ensure their genuine participation in formulating and implementing drug policy”.

    “The evidence is clear. The so-called War on Drugs has failed, completely and utterly,” Mr. Türk concluded. “And prioritising people over punishment means more lives are saved”.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Chagos Islands: UK’s last African colony returned to Mauritius

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    UN Affairs

    The United Kingdom announced on Thursday that agreement has been reached to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, ending decades of dispute and negotiation over Britain’s last African colony.

    The agreement follows 13 rounds of talks that began in 2022 after Mauritian calls for sovereignty were recognised by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the UN General Assembly in 2019 and 2021.

    The world court, as the ICJ is known, is the principle judicial organ of the UN which adjudicates disputes between nations.

    Before granting independence to Mauritius in 1968, Britain was found to have unlawfully separated it to form a new colony on the Chagos archipelago named the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).

    The UK had initially dismissed UN rulings and court judgements demanding it return the islands to Mauritius, arguing that the ICJ ruling was merely an advisory opinion.

    Forced displacement of islanders

    In splitting the islands from Mauritius, the UK expelled between 1,500 and 2,000 islanders so that it could lease Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos islands, to the United States for military use which the two allies have since operated jointly.

    According to news reports, the UK falsely declared that Chagos had no permanent population so that it would not have to report its colonial rule to the UN. In reality, the Chagossian community had lived on Chagos for centuries.

    The UK and US governments forcibly displaced the Chagossian population between 1967 and 1973 not only reportedly on Diego Garcia, but also Peros Banhos and Salomon.

    The campaign challenging British ownership of the Chagos archipelago included the Mauritian ambassador to the UN, Jagdish Koonjul, raising his country’s flag above the atoll of Peros Banhos in a ceremony in February 2022 to mark the first time Mauritius had led an expedition to the territory since the expulsions.

    The new agreement

    Under Thursday’s agreement, the UK will still retain control of the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.

    The UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, said the UK government had secured the future of the military base “as well as guaranteeing our long-term relationship with Mauritius, a close Commonwealth partner”.

    However, many Chagossians are still frustrated by the UK government’s lack of consultation with them before Thursday’s announcement, according to news reports.

    Chagossian Voices, a community organisation for Chagossians based in the UK and several other countries where islanders have settled, deplored “the exclusion of the Chagossian community from the negotiations”, leaving them “powerless and voiceless in determining our own future and the future of our homeland”.

    “The view of Chagossians, the Indigenous inhabitants of the islands, have been consistently and deliberately ignored and we demand full inclusion in the drafting of the treaty,” they added.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: The week the world comes to Manhattan: Looking back at UNGA79

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    UN Affairs

    Every September when UN Headquarters in New York is swamped – massive motorcades, intense security, snipers on rooftops and world leaders descending along with throngs of diplomats, media and celebrities – it’s not easy to grasp what exactly is going on or what was achieved. 

    Let’s try to unscramble those 10 days for you. This year, some 235 events and hundreds of speakers later, the spotlight was shone on what the world was facing – how to move towards a revamp of an outdated global economic order, forging new pathways to peace, and finding solutions to the growing threat of nuclear war, global public health challenges, climate disruption and dangerous levels of impunity, inequality and uncertainty.

    Kicking off the Summit of the Future (22-23 September) ahead of the General Assembly’s annual high-level week, Secretary-General António Guterres’ clarion call for change made the stakes plain: “We cannot build a future fit for our grandchildren with systems built for our grandparents.” 

    More than 140 leaders spoke in the action-packed gathering while the UN was taken over by youth and civil society. The end-goal? Torchbearers of change trying to chart a course to rejig a UN that can be fit for purpose and ready to meet 21st century challenges with modernized, upgraded institutions that do not reflect the world of 1945.

    The good news is they agreed on a rescue plan to steer the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) back on track, a groundbreaking Pact for the Future that now needs to be implemented. Despite a last-minute challenge from a group of countries opposed to the pact, UN Member States actually inked a deal – and agreed on the need for justice and reform.

    Soundcloud

    The big wins? Economic justice pledges included a promise to overhaul the international financial architecture so that developing countries reeling under a debt burden can begin to invest in development and not be crippled by debt repayments. Security Council reform saw a groundswell of support to expand and balance rights of membership. Strong backing was expressed for Africa to have permanent representation in the Security Council – along with other contenders like Brazil, India, and Japan. South African Prime Minister Cyril Ramaphosa called for the Security Council to be “more representative and inclusive,” noting that Africa and its 1.4 billion people remain excluded from this key decision-making structure.

    A group of experts delivered findings on the critical need to embrace digital innovation and harness how artificialintelligence could transform our world; but equally to close the digital divide and ensure guardrails around a responsible advance for humanity. 

    A Global Digital Compact was agreed, with the aim of opening the doors to a brave, new and accountable digital world order.

    On the sidelines, a dark moment was captured in a conversation on the future of women in Afghanistan – actress Meryl Streep questioned how it was possible that cats and birds had more freedom in the country where girls were banned from education. “A cat may go sit on her front stoop and feel the sun on her face. She may chase a squirrel into the park. A squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan today because the public parks have been closed to women and girls by the Taliban,” Streep said. “This is a suppression of the natural law.”

    In a devastating testimonial during a ministerial meeting “The Cost of Inaction in Sudan”, Sudanese activist Nisreen al-Saem lamented that the war in her country was a “war on women” and appealed: “Oh, Burhan and Hemediti, we’re tired, unite the Sudanese people and lay down your arms”.

    As the General Assembly began its 79th session, 190 countries out of 193 Member States spoke in what is not a debate at all – but a chance for governments to speak their mind on the state of the world or their region or pressing global problems. Highlighting an ignominious fact, Iceland’s Foreign Minister Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjord Gylfadottir – as one of only 19 women speaking in the hallowed hall – chastised: “I thought we had come further than this.”

    Another female leader, the outspoken premier of Barbados, Mia Mottley, a fierce advocate of the Bridgetown Initiative which aims to kickstart global financial restructuring exhorted global institutions to give developing countries – especially small vulnerable ones – “seats at the tables of decision-making”. 

    The chorus was loud on the need for institutional reform at the UN, stoked by fears of an outdated and archaic institution unable to keep pace with a world that has changed profoundly. 

    If the UN is to become a “central platform for finding common ground” according to the Minister for External Affairs of India, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, “it cannot, by remaining anachronistic.” In his swansong speech, US President Joe Biden reminded fellow leaders: “Never forget we are here to serve the people, not the other way around.” 

    Soundcloud

    The eclipse of multilateralism and international law bubbled up repeatedly – Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Vivian Balakrishnan, warned that multilateralism is not an option but an existential necessity while Amery Browne, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago wagged his finger at the selective respect for international law.

    A refrain heard repeatedly on the war in Ukraine and Gaza was captured by Denmark’s Foreign Minister, Lars Rasmussen, who worried that the respect for international law is slowly being undermined and flagged that, “Wars of aggression and altering borders is — and should remain — a thing of the past.”

    Many sounded the alarm on the climate-security nexus with President Ramkalawan of the Seychelles flagging this as an existential issue that would plague future generations – a sentiment widely echoed by the young activists who flocked to the UN.

    As nation after nation spoke out about the unimaginable destruction and devastation in Gaza following the terror attacks launched by Hamas on 7 October 2023, and with the drumbeat of war growing in the region, Brazil’s President Luiz Ignacio Lula had warning words: “The right to defense has become the right to vengeance.”  While committing to sending forces to counter the deteriorating security in Haiti, President William Ruto of Kenya regretted that the Charter’s foundations have been shaken. 

    The President of the General Assembly, Philemon Yang pleaded for an end to the spiralling conflict and retribution between Israel and Gaza and a return to a solution grounded in international law for the good of Israelis and Palestinians. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the UN to “set the record straight” in a session that was sparsely attended because of a walkout – but his speech was watched by record numbers online illustrating how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict dominated the discussions.

    The entire General Assembly session was supposed to be about the future, devoted to uplifting commitments to reset the world on the path to sustainable development, to rethink how we can make the world more equitable and efficient, find ways to tackle public health threats like Anti-Microbial Resistance and to showcase how the world can leverage the potential of new technologies. Yet, the focus inevitably ended up on what the Secretary-General called “the purgatory of polarity” and the threat of an “age of impunity.”

    In the spirit of the Pact for Future Generations, heartwarming moments came from youth who showed up for the Action Days and the SDG Media Zone. Sanjana Sanghi, a UN Development Programme climate activist from India, praised the positivity of the younger generation that inspired hope. She summed up the buzz felt around the UN campus: “I am deeply inspired by these young changemakers who are passionately working to address climate issues and secure a sustainable future for everyone.” 

    *This is not an official record. It is a snapshot of this year’s General Assembly High-Level Week.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: First Person: Swapping guns for ballpens in the Philippines

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Peace and Security

    A former combatant fighting for the rights of her people on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines has been talking about how she has swapped her combat fatigues for jilbabs [outer garment] and her life in the jungle for a more peaceful rural community.

    A former combatant fighting for the rights of her people on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines has been talking about how she has swapped her combat fatigues for jilbabs [outer garment]and her life in the jungle for a more peaceful rural community.

    Suraida ‘Sur’ Amil joined the Bangsamoro Islamic Women Auxiliary Brigade (BIWAB) as an 18-year-old with the with the goal of achieving autonomy for the predominantly Muslim regions of Mindanao.

    After an agreement was signed to end the insurrection and provide a greater autonomy and self-governance for the people of Bangsamoro, she participated in a reconciliation programme supported by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to reintegrate and rehabilitate former combatants. 

    © UNODC/Laura Gil

    Suraida ‘Sur’ Amil is now a community peace advocate.

    “From an early age growing up in Bangsamoro, I saw how difficult life was for my parents. They faced different forms of discrimination, and they witnessed the brutality of the nine-year-long martial law which was declared in 1972 and which deeply affected many communities across Mindanao, including Muslim populations.

    My parents had a hard life, they lived in poverty and were not able to achieve their dreams. This has affected my life and the life of my nine other siblings. I had hoped to become a teacher but I was never able to do so as I did not finish school due to the lack of financial support.

    At eighteen I realized I had to fight for the rights of our people for our self-determination, not just for my generation but also for future generations.

    A friend of mine was a member of BIWAB and as soon as I heard about its goals, it made me think about the suffering my parents had experienced and what I could do to improve the situation for our community.

    If you ask me whether I would choose war or peace, of course I would never choose war over peace, but we had to fight for that peace.

    © Suraida Amil

    Suraida ‘Amil joined the Bangsamoro Islamic Women Auxiliary Brigade (BIWAB) as an 18-year-old.

    I spent time operating in the jungles as a combatant. It was a harsh environment living in the mountains alongside wild animals without the comforts of home.

    But women are very strong; they have the ability to become fighters while at the same time be providers for their families.

    Ballpens not guns, jilbabs not military uniforms

    In 2014 the peace agreement for Bangsamoro  (the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, CAB) was signed and so little by little we are transforming ourselves into civilians. I have swapped my combat boots for lipstick, I carry ballpens for writing rather than a gun for shooting, I wear a jilbab and not a military uniform and I have moved out of the jungle and back into my community.

    I have become a peace facilitator and work with people in my local area on issues such as gender-based violence and how to prevent violent extremism.

    Islam teaches us to be kind to one another and not to harm other human beings. We have a saying in Islam that if we save one life, it is as if we have saved humanity.

    I value and am proud of my role as a peace advocate in my community.

    As part of the workshop discussion on modern forms of communications, which I participated in, I learned how to promote the awareness and prevention of violent extremism on social media.

    I am now living a life of peace but my message to my young daughter has always been that she should always fight for her rights.

    When you are fighting for a noble cause, it doesn’t matter if you gain or you lose something, because it is the cause itself which truly matters.”

    • Suraida Amil participated in the Strategic Communications workshop on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) under the EU-STRIVE programme.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Transnational organised crime: ‘It’s time we pull together to push back’

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Law and Crime Prevention

    Marking the inaugural International Day for the Prevention of and Fight against All Forms of Transnational Organised Crime on Friday, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has called for unified global efforts to counter these pervasive threats.

    Proclaimed by the General Assembly in March 2024, the observance honours victims of organised crime – including law enforcement and judicial personnel who have lost their lives in pursuit of justice.

    The inaugural theme: Organised crime steals, corrupts and kills. It’s time we pull together to push back, underscores the urgency of collective action.

    Speaking to UN News, Candice Welsch, UNODC Regional Representative for the Andean Region and southernmost areas of South America, emphasised the global nature of the threat: “Almost all organised crime is transnational, it does not take place within a single country, but often crosses borders within regions and even beyond.”  

    “Therefore, this UN observance aims at boosting action by governments, the private sector, civil society and the public,” she said.  

    Pillar of international cooperation       

    The UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime adopted in 2000 and ratified by 192 States, serves as the cornerstone of UNODC’s efforts to combat and eventually eliminate the scourge of transnational organised crime.

    “We are working hard to strengthen cooperation between countries so that they can share information and intelligence between police forces, or so that border agencies and prosecutors can conduct joint operations,” said Ms. Welsch.  

    UNODC’s efforts include bolstering local, national and international capacities to better understand and combat these challenges.

    UN Video | United Nations takes on organized crime

    Cocaine, deforestation, community impact

    In the Andean region, Colombia and Ecuador face significant challenges with transnational criminal groups. Colombia’s coca cultivation reached 253,000 hectares in 2023, yielding an estimated 2,664 metric tons of cocaine in 2022, according to UNODC data.

    However, the issue is not confined to drug trafficking. Illegal mining, deforestation and wildlife trafficking – particularly in the Galapagos Islands – are also on the rise.

    These activities disrupt security for communities, exacerbate gang violence and contribute to high homicide rates, impacting indigenous communities and young people who face recruitment risks. Migrant flows through the region also make vulnerable populations susceptible to human trafficking and other abuses.

    To address these challenges, UNODC supports alternative development programmes for farmers reliant on coca cultivation. These initiatives promote legal crops such as coffee, cocoa, vanilla and sacha inchi, a nutrient-rich Amazonian plant.

    “What we are trying to do with alternative development programmes is to offer these communities ways to move towards licit economies and a more secure future,” said Ms. Welsch.

    UN News / David Mottershead

    A former opium poppy farmer cultivating tomatoes in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. (file)

    Opium resurgence in Afghanistan

    Despite a 2022 Taliban ban that initially reduced opium cultivation by 95 per cent, 2024 saw a 19 per cent resurgence driven by economic hardship and rising prices.

    Since 2016, UNODC has aided over 85,000 households through alternative development initiatives, such as poultry farming projects that provide both food security and income generation for families affected by drugs.

    Southeast Asia: The Golden Triangle’s drug economy

    Myanmar has surpassed Afghanistan as the world’s leading opium producer, with production rising 36 per cent in 2023.

    Collaborating on security issues can be challenging for states, but the UN plays a crucial role in fostering dialogue
    – Jeremy Douglas, UNODC

    The country also leads global methamphetamine production, which has become the dominant drug according to UNODC data, with seizures quadrupling between 2013 and 2022.

    Furthermore, criminal groups in the Golden Triangle – Myanmar, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and Thailand – have expanded into online scams, wildlife trafficking, money laundering and human trafficking.

    In response, UNODC has promoted regional cooperation through the establishment of approximately 120 border liaison offices to facilitate intelligence sharing and coordinated action.

    “Collaborating on security issues can be challenging for States, but the UN plays a crucial role in fostering dialogue,” said Jeremy Douglas, former UNODC Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific and now Chief of Staff and Strategy Advisor to the Executive Director.

    UN News/Daniel Dickinson

    Goods being loaded onto a boat in Lao People’s Democratic Republic to be transported across the Mekong river to Thailand. (file)

    Global drug crisis

    The impact of transnational crime extends far beyond producer countries.

    New synthetic drugs are on the rise, particularly in North America, which faces a fentanyl crisis, as well as in areas of Asia and Africa.

    Western and Central European countries, particularly those with a North Sea coastline, also face considerable challenges, with their ports becoming major entry points for cocaine.

    In the Sahel, illicit gold and fuel trafficking undermine governance and security and complicates sustainable development, depriving the nation of critical income.

    Wildlife crimes, gold smuggling, and organised fraud are just a few examples of how these crimes converge, exploiting fragile ecosystems and vulnerable communities worldwide.

    Nevertheless, UNODC remains committed to supporting global efforts.

    People-centred approach

    “Despite these challenges, there is hope,” Ms. Welsch said.

    She highlighted the importance of public awareness campaigns targeting youth and community programmes involving parents and teachers, as well as the need to ensure that everyone who requires treatment for drug abuse can access it.

    “The only way to overcome global problems is to galvanise international action. That is why UNODC is joining forces with partners to help secure our common future,” she concluded.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: World News in Brief: Hostilities in northeast Syria, response plan in Mali, Uyghur deportations in Thailand

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Humanitarian Aid

    The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued an alert on Tuesday over intensifying hostilities in the northeast in recent days. 

    Between 16 and 18 January, at least three civilians were killed and 14 injured in shelling and other attacks impacting Manbij, Ain al-Arab and other villages near the Tishreen Dam in the eastern Aleppo region.

    UN partners also reported that shops in the main market were damaged when an improvised bomb detonated inside a car in Manbij.

    These incidents have forced people from their homes and obstructed aid access, OCHA reported after sending a mission to the city on Monday.

    The mission visited the Manbij National Hospital and met with local officials, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and local non-governmental organizations to identify and address the issues at stake, according to Farhan Haq, the Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General.

    OCHA and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also completed a monitoring mission on Monday to the Ain Al Bayda water station in eastern Aleppo.

    Deadly remains

    UN partners have recorded 69 explosive ordnance incidents over the first two weeks of January due to contamination, in which 45 people were killed and 60 others wounded.

    “Since 26 November, a total of 134 new areas with explosive remnants of war have been identified by partners across five governorates – Idlib, Aleppo, Hama, Deir-ez-Zor and Latakia,” said Mr. Haq.

    As people continue to move and return to their communities, UN partners are calling for increased and flexible funding for mine action, including risk education and emergency clearance.                   

    Meanwhile, with water and sanitation services suspended in many displacement camps due to funding gaps affecting more than 635,000 people, OCHA asked for increased funding to ensure the continuation of its services.

    $770 million response plan launched in Mali

    On Tuesday, the UN in collaboration with Mali’s transitional authorities, launched a $770 million humanitarian needs and response plan in the capital Bamako to support millions of people across the country this year.

    © UNFPA Mali/Amadou Maiga

    Two girls at the Barigondaga displacement site in Mali.

    The plan aims to address the urgent needs of 4.7 million people affected by conflict, displacement, health emergencies and climate shocks, according to the Deputy Spokesperson.

    Mostly women and children

    Nearly 80 per cent of the people to be reached with aid are women and children who are in need of food, water, healthcare and protection support.

    Last year, UN partners mobilised nearly 40 per cent of what was required – just over $270 million – enabling lifesaving assistance and protection to reach 1.8 million people.

    The Acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator on the ground, Khassim Diagne, said it is urgent that the entire humanitarian community and donors renew their commitment to addressing essential needs in the region.

    UN rights experts urge Thailand to halt Uyghur deportations

    Independent UN human rights experts have called on Thailand to immediately stop the deportation of 48 Uyghurs to China, citing serious concerns over potential torture and inhumane treatment.

    “The treatment of the Uyghur minority in China is well-documented,” the Human Rights Council-appointed experts stated. “We are concerned they are at risk of suffering irreparable harm.”

    The experts emphasised the international prohibition on refoulement, which forbids returning individuals to countries where they face real risks of torture or cruel treatment. They urged Thailand to provide urgent medical care to the mostly Muslim Uyghurs being held.

    The 48 individuals are part of a larger group of around 350 Uyghurs detained in Thailand since 2014 after crossing the border irregularly. They have reportedly been held incommunicado for over a decade, without access to legal representation, family members or UN officials.

    No return

    “It is our view that these persons should not be returned to China,” the experts said. “They must be provided with access to asylum procedures and humanitarian assistance, including medical and psycho-social support.”

    The experts highlighted that 23 of the 48 Uyghurs held suffer from severe health conditions, including diabetes, kidney dysfunction and paralysis. “It is essential they receive appropriate medical care,” the experts added.

    Thai authorities were reminded of their obligation to treat all detainees humanely and with dignity, ensuring access to legal representation, medical assistance and the ability to communicate with lawyers and family members.

    The plea underscores the urgent need for Thailand to uphold international human rights standards and protect the Uyghur detainees from potential harm.

    Special Rapporteurs and other experts are not UN staff, receive no salary for their work and are fully independent of any government or organization. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy system risks nuclear disaster: Rights experts

    Source: United Nations 2

    Human Rights

    Independent UN human rights experts have warned of an escalating risk of nuclear disaster in Ukraine following Russia’s continued attacks on the country’s electrical infrastructure, with the most recent strike occurring on 17 November.  

     Their warning comes amid growing international concern about the vulnerability of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities which rely on a stable power grid to maintain critical safety systems. 

    “The latest large-scale Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s electricity system has led to further significant damage to electric substations that are essential to the operation of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants,” the experts emphasised.

    Severe damage, civilian casualties

    The strikes occurred overnight and reportedly caused severe damage, power outages and civilian casualties. The timing of this attack raises additional concerns as Ukraine enters the winter months, when power demands typically surge.  

    This latest assault came despite earlier warnings from 13 UN Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups, who had formally communicated with Moscow on 22 October about the prohibition of such attacks under international humanitarian law.  

    Further, the attacks occurred despite earlier arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in June 2024 for high-ranking Russian government officials specifically related to strikes against Ukraine’s electric power infrastructure.

    Adding to the nuclear safety concerns, the UN Human rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has documented extensive civilian harm from these long-range attacks on the power system.

     Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant concerns

    The experts further recalled credible allegations of Russian forces subjecting staff at Europe’s biggest nuclear energy facility, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP),  to intimidation, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and torture.  

    “Having reportedly lost two-thirds of its power generation capacity, further damage to Ukraine’s electricity system could lead to an electricity blackout which would increase the risk of operating nuclear reactors losing access to the grid for powering their safety systems,” the experts cautioned.  

    They warned that such a scenario could trigger a nuclear disaster potentially exceeding both the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan and the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine.  

    While the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agreed to expand its mission to Ukraine to include inspection of electric substations, progress has been limited.  

    “Despite the urgency of the situation, full implementation of an expanded monitoring mission had yet to be announced by the IAEA,” the experts noted. Only one mission was completed in October 2024, with no subsequent missions scheduled.  

    Stop attacks, avert risk

    “We reiterate our urgent appeal for Russian armed forces to immediately cease their attacks against Ukraine’s power generation plants, substations, transmission and distribution lines and other energy infrastructure and to avert the risk of nuclear disaster,” the experts concluded, emphasising the immediate need for action to prevent catastrophic consequences.

    Independent experts are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and report on specific country situations or thematic issues. They work on a voluntary basis, are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work.

    Hostilities ongoing

    Meanwhile, the UN humanitarian affairs office OCHA said attacks and hostilities across Ukraine continued over the weekend and on Monday

    The attacks resulted in scores of casualties, including children, and significantly damaged civilian infrastructure, particularly in Kharkiv, in Odesa and Zaporizhzhia, according to local authorities and UN partners on the ground.

    As a result of the damage, nearly 150,000 families, as well as hospitals, schools and businesses, are currently without heating in the Dnipro and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, where temperatures have dropped below zero degrees centigrade, OCHA said, citing local authorities.

    Humanitarian organizations mobilized swiftly and provided emergency assistance in Kharkiv and Odesa, among other affected areas, delivering food, repair materials and psychosocial support.     

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: WAR IN UKRAINE: Updates from the Security Council and the field

    Source: United Nations 2

    The UN Security Council met in emergency session on Ukraine on Wednesday amid unconfirmed reports that troops from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) – more commonly known as North Korea – are deploying to fight alongside Russia. We followed the meeting as well as developments at UN Headquarters and on the ground. UN News app users can follow our updates here. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Ukraine: UN official urges restraint, renews call for just and lasting peace

    Source: United Nations 2

    Peace and Security

    A senior UN disarmament official on Thursday called on all parties to the conflict in Ukraine to exercise restraint and avoid actions that could further escalate the war.

    Adedeji Ebo, Director and Deputy to the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, delivered the appeal at a Security Council briefing on the ongoing crisis, now nearing its 1,000-day mark since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

    Mr. Ebo warned that the situation remains dire for civilians, with intensifying attacks resulting in a record number of casualties in recent months.

    “Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are unacceptable,” he said, emphasizing that indiscriminate violence is prohibited under international law.

    He reiterated that all parties in armed conflicts are obligated to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian laws.

    Arms transfer

    Mr. Ebo also informed Council members of continued transfer of arms to parties to the conflict, noting reports of continued shipments of conventional weapons and remotely operated munitions to Ukraine as well as of weapons such as uncrewed aerial vehicles, ballistic missiles and ammunition to Russia.

    He also referred to recent reports which have not been confirmed by the UN of the presence of third-party military personnel from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the Russian Federation to assist in military operations against Ukrainian forces.

    “We urge all concerned to refrain from any steps that may lead to further spillover and intensification of the war,” he said.

    He also stressed that any transfer of weapons and ammunition must take place consistently with the applicable international legal framework, including relevant Security Council resolutions, and applicable sanctions and restrictive measures on such transfers.

    Humanitarian impact

    Mr. Ebo further noted the impact on civilians of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

    Between 24 February 2022 and 30 September 2024, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, recorded over 11,973 civilians killed and more than 25,943 civilians injured in Ukraine. September was the month with the highest number of civilian casualties in 2024, continuing a trend of higher civilian casualties that started in July.

    “The use of explosive weapons in populated areas remains one of the most significant threats to civilians in armed conflict. Such use of these weapons is unacceptable, in view of the pattern of civilian harm and the likelihood of indiscriminate effects.”

    Commitment to support

    He reiterated the Secretary-General’s call for States to reduce the human cost of weapons by endorsing the Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas if they have not already done so.

    Mr. Ebo renewed the UN’s support for “all meaningful efforts” to bring a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with international law, including the UN Charter and relevant General Assembly resolutions.

    Director Ebo briefs the Security Council.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Name release: Fatal crash, Little River

    Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

    Police can now name the man who died in a crash on Christchurch Akaroa Road/SH75, Little River, on 8 December.

    He was Eric Grainger, aged 27, from Christchurch.

    Police extend our sympathies to his friends and family.

    Enquiries into the crash are ongoing.

    ENDS

    Issued by Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: At least 68 journalist killings in 2024, UNESCO reports

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Human Rights

    For the second consecutive year, conflict zones have proven dangerous for journalists and media workers, with 2024 seeing at least 68 deaths in the line of duty, according to new data from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 

    More than 60 per cent of these killings occurred in countries experiencing conflict – the highest percentage in over a decade.

    “Reliable information is vital in conflict situations to help affected populations and to enlighten the world,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.

    “It is unacceptable that journalists pay with their lives for this work. I call on all States to step up and ensure the protection of media workers, in accordance with international law,” she added.

    Alarming trends

    The report highlights that 42 journalists were killed in conflict zones this year, including 18 in Palestine, which recorded the highest toll.

    Other countries such as Ukraine, Colombia, Iraq, Lebanon, Myanmar, and Sudan also saw multiple fatalities, underscoring the heightened risks in regions marked by violence and instability.

    This follows an unsettling trend seen in 2023, with more journalists losing their lives in conflicts over the past two years than in any comparable period since 2016-2017.

    A glimmer of hope

    While conflict zones remain a critical concern, the overall number of journalist killings decreased slightly during this year.

    A notable reduction in deaths occurred in non-conflict areas, where 26 journalists were killed – the lowest figure in 16 years.

    This decline was particularly evident in Latin America and the Caribbean, where journalist killings dropped from 43 in 2022 to 12 in 2024.

    This suggests some progress in addressing threats against journalists in peacetime, especially in regions previously plagued by violence against media workers.

    Beyond the numbers

    UNESCO‘s data, sourced from leading international press freedom organizations, is rigorously verified to ensure impartiality.

    Cases are excluded if deaths are deemed unrelated to the victims’ journalistic work. However, dozens of cases remain under review, and UNESCO continues to monitor developments closely.

    The Organization’s mandate extends beyond tracking fatalities. It works to protect journalists through initiatives such as the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.

    Emerging threats

    In addition to physical threats, journalists are facing new challenges, including financial and legal pressures.

    UNESCO has reported a 42 per cent increase in attacks on journalists reporting on environmental issues between 2019 and 2024, highlighting the evolving nature of risks confronting the media.

    As UNESCO continues its efforts to promote press freedom and safeguard journalists, the agency calls on the international community to strengthen protections for media workers – ensuring that the quest for truth does not come at the ultimate cost.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: ‘New Quest Unlocked’: UN experts counter violent extremism in gaming spaces

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Law and Crime Prevention

    As millions unwrap new gaming devices this holiday season, UN experts are warning that these digital playgrounds need next-generation protection against extremist exploitation. 

    In an industry that has outgrown Hollywood in sheer monetary value – reaching $196 billion in 2023 – these digital platforms are becoming recruitment grounds for extremists, prompting an unprecedented collaboration between counter terrorism specialists and gaming companies.

    To discuss the growing threat, UN News’s Sarah Daly sat down with Steven Siqueira, Deputy Director of the UN Counter Terrorism Centre (part of the counter-terrorism office, UNOCT) and Leif Villadsen, Acting Director of the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI).

    The senior officials hosted a landmark event on the issue called New Quest Unlocked held earlier in December, which brought together gaming companies, policymakers and researchers to address violent extremism in gaming spaces.

    “The alarming trend has necessitated a collaborative research approach with the gaming industry and adjacent platforms,” Mr. Siqueira said, highlighting how extremist groups are increasingly targeting gaming spaces and adjacent platforms like Discord and Telegram.

    This interview has been edited for length and clarity

    UN News:  Your joint event, New Quest Unlocked, brought together both UNICRI and UNOCT as well as gaming companies, policymakers and researchers. What prompted this collaboration?

    Steven Siqueira: Last year in 2023, the gaming industry and adjacent platforms was a $196 billion industry. By comparison the movie industry was about 40 billion, so it’s five times the size of the movie industry.

    Young people are being reached by terrorists and violent extremist groups through these platforms, with propaganda videos increasingly appearing across Discord, Telegram and Tiktok. This alarming trend necessitated collaborative research and working together with the gaming industry, adjacent platforms and of course, our members and member governments.

    UN News: Recent intelligence reports suggest the threat level is higher than previously understood. What exactly are you seeing?

    Steven Siqueira: While gaming has many positive aspects in terms of social interaction around the world – there’s also increasing risk that terrorists and violent extremist groups are using these platforms and the gaming adjacent platforms to get their message out.

    The findings are stark: in Australia alone, approximately one in five counter-terrorism cases now involve young people, with gaming platforms playing a role in every investigated case.

    Soundcloud

    UN News: These findings challenge common perceptions about gaming platforms. How has the landscape evolved?

    Steven Siqueira: The industry is not only open to young people. Increasingly, the average age of gamers is about 30-35 and it’s much more gender balanced than it has been in previous years.

    UN News: Your research focuses particularly on Africa’s gaming market. Why is this region so crucial in understanding future challenges?

    Leif Villadsen: Africa has indeed become one of the fastest growing markets for mobile games. With an unprecedented 11 per cent year-over-year growth rate, the continent represents both an extraordinary opportunity and a potential vulnerability.

    We aim to better understand the industry, the community, the tactics used and the gaps and challenges in our own understanding of this threat across the continent.

    UN News: You’re developing something called ‘gaming intelligence’ as part of global prevention strategies. How will this transform digital security?

    Leif Villadsen: Gaming intelligence is focused on carrying intelligence from open-source platforms like in games, chats and social media to track extremist content and recruitment activities. This intelligence information will inform early warning systems help to detect and prevent radicalisation at an early stage.

    UN News: How crucial is artificial intelligence to these global prevention measures?

    Leif Villadsen: Given the size of the ecosystem, we are looking to develop and deploy advanced content moderation tools, with AI-based tools. However, the gaming community is filled with personalities with large followings so, we want to avoid any type of takedowns or massive actions which could be counterproductive and seen as suspicious by gamers.

    It is crucial that we work with the gaming community, private sector companies and with gamers themselves, including young women and men to educate and build resilience across the community.

    UN News: As we look toward 2025, what concrete outcomes, will make gaming spaces safer?

    Leif Villadsen: By creating shared global standards and encouraging collaboration between governments, tech companies and civil society, we can provide a framework for addressing these threats in a more coordinating manner.

    Steven Siqueira: The Global Digital Compact recognises these dual realities of the digital age and calls for unified global commitment to ensure that digital spaces are safe, inclusive and aligned with human rights principles.

    Ultimately, finding the right actors in the gaming system – those who have a voice, but who are also open to understanding what the threat is and where to mitigate and how best to mitigate threats, could really help us strengthen and make the gaming ecosystem more resilient to violent extremism. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –