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Category: Asia

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Government school at Okhla organizes “Swabhav Swachhata Sanskaar Swachhata (4S) campaign” in association with Prithak Foundation

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Government school at Okhla organizes “Swabhav Swachhata Sanskaar Swachhata (4S) campaign” in association with Prithak Foundation

    Students showcased their creativity and imagination through art on the theme “Swachhata Hi Seva.”

    Posted On: 01 OCT 2024 11:49AM by PIB Delhi

    Govt. Girls Sr. Sec. School, Harkesh Nagar, Okhla Ph-2 organized Swabhav Swachhata Sanskaar Swachhata (4S) campaign” in association with Prithak Foundation and Ministry of Steel.  The event was graced by Deputy Secretary, Shri Subhash Kumar, Ministry of Steel, Chairman of Prithak Foundation, Shri Abhay Raj Singh, Principal of GGSSS, Ms. Sheetal along with other officers.

    200 students of the school showcased their creativity and imagination through art on the theme “Swachhata Hi Seva.” 

    This year on Independence Day, Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi emphasized how Swachhata has become a fundamental aspect of daily life, driving significant changes in behaviour across the nation. This year’s theme, Swabhav Swachhata Sanskaar Swachhata (4S) 2024, represents a shift towards fostering behavioural change. Swabhav Swachhata Sanskaar Swachhata (4S) campaign has been built around three key pillars, namely, (i) Swachhata Ki Bhaagidari; (ii) Sampoorna Swachhata; and(iii) Safai Mitra Suraksha Shivir

    Chairman, Prithak Foundation expressed his gratitude and said “on behalf of the entire Prithak Foundation Family, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Ministry of Steel and the SAIL team for selecting Prithak Foundation as the supporting partner for event implementation, handling the logistics and ensuring the smooth conduct of the event”.

    Certificates will be signed and returned to Prithak Foundation, along with the drawing posters.

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    MG/SK

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin becomes first woman to take over as DG, Armed Forces Medical Services

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 01 OCT 2024 12:42PM by PIB Delhi

    Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin, on October 01, 2024, became the first woman officer to take over as the Director General, Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS). The DGAFMS is directly responsible to the Ministry of Defence for overall medical policy matters which relate to the Armed Forces.

     

    Prior to assuming the appointment of 46th DGAFMS, the Flag Officer held the coveted appointments of DG Medical Services (Navy), DG Medical Services (Air) and Director & Commandant of Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune. She is an alumna of AFMC, Pune and was commissioned into the Armed Forces Medical Services in December 1985. She is an MD in Radiodiagnosis from AFMC, Pune and Diplomate National Board in Radiation Oncology from Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, complemented with training in Gamma Knife Surgery from University of Pittsburgh. 

     In a career spanning 38 years, the Flag Officer has held prestigious academic and administrative appointments including Professor & Head, Radiation Oncology, Army Hospital (R&R) and Command Hospital (Southern Command)/AFMC Pune, Commanding Officer, INHS Asvini, Command Medical Officer in the Indian Navy’s Southern and Western Naval Commands. 

    The Flag Officer has the rare distinction of serving in all three branches of the Indian Armed Forces, having served as Lieutenant to Captain in the Indian Army, from Surgeon Lieutenant to Surgeon Vice Admiral in the Indian Navy and as an Air Marshal in the Indian Air Force. 

    In recognition of her dedication to patient care with utmost loyalty and supreme commitment, the Flag Officer has been awarded Ati Vishist Seva Medal in 2024 and Vishist Seva Medal in 2021. She has also been conferred with Chief of Army Staff Commendation (2017), Chief of Naval Staff Commendation (2001) and General Officer Commanding –in-Chief Commendation (2013) for distinguished service. 

    The Flag Officer has been recently appointed as a member of the National Task Force by the Supreme Court to formulate safe working conditions and protocols for medical professionals. She has been at the forefront of motivating young women to join the Armed Forces and is a shining icon for the Nari Shakti initiative of the Government.

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    SR/Savvy

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Food Corporation of India (FCI) installs modern video surveillance system in its depots

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 01 OCT 2024 1:10PM by PIB Delhi

    As a part of 100 Days Achievements of Department of Food and Public Distribution under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has initiated the upgradation of the current analog CCTV surveillance system to a modern IP-based CCTV surveillance system in its storage depots. Approximately 23,750 cameras would be installed across 561 FCI-owned depots. This transition is based on a successful Proof of Concept (POC) conducted by the Quality Council of India (QCI) at FSD Shyamanagar. The implementation of this new IP-based system will significantly enhance monitoring capabilities through high-resolution imaging, improved scalability, and remote access.

    The Food Corporation of India is crucial to India’s foodgrain management, playing a key role in the procurement, storage, and distribution of food grains. This efficiency not only bolsters the nation’s food security but also supports agricultural development. Among its many functions, storage is vital for fulfilling the needs of the Public Distribution System and various welfare schemes initiated by the Government of India, ensuring that buffer stocks are maintained nationwide. With over 500 FCI-owned depots scattered across the country, effective surveillance of these storage operations is essential at all times.

    Over the years, FCI has installed CCTV cameras across various depots to ensure their effective surveillance. In 2013-14 CCTV cameras were installed in 61 depots, with their number increasing to 67 in 2014-15 and extending to 446 own depots by 2018. Currently, a total of 516 FCI depots are under CCTV surveillance. Live Web Feed of these cameras is available on FCI website in “See your depot” tab.

    CCTV Cameras installed in the new surveillance system will support onboard analytics features like camera tempering, camera field of view change, camera blur/out of focus, motion detection and trip wire etc. This new Surveillance system will feature the establishment of a centralized Command Control Centre (CCC) and a Network Operating Centre (NoC) at FCI Headquarters.

    The health of the installed system will be centrally monitored through the Command Control Centre (CCC), along with a provision for storing incidental data on demand basis. It will also offer advanced video analytics and strengthened security measures, enabling FCI to effectively oversee and manage day-to-day operations across its depots. The proposed system will also include environmental and humidity sensors on pilot basis, which will further enhance its functionality. These sensors will enable the monitoring of environmental conditions, providing valuable data for assessing their impact and ensuring optimal conditions for the system’s performance in the future.

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    AD/NS

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Department of Agricultural Research and Education – Indian Council of Agricultural Research organizes “Safai Mitra Suraksha Shivirs” for Swachhata Hi Seva and Special Campaign 4.0

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 01 OCT 2024 2:24PM by PIB Delhi

    A special initiative titled “Safai Mitra Suraksha Shivirs” was conducted across all Department of Agricultural Research and Education – Indian Council of Agricultural Research establishments in conjunction with the celebration of World Maritime Day. The initiative aimed at ensuring the safety and well-being of sanitation workers or Safai Mitras by providing them with PPE kits and protective gear to safeguard against occupational hazards.  As part of this nationwide effort, a special focus was placed on creating awareness of sanitation workers safety. Events such as walkathons and cyclerallies were organized to emphasize the importance of their safety and to engage the larger community in promoting a safer working environment for them. This initiative highlighted the crucial role of sanitation workers and reiterated the commitment to their health and protection.

    An activity on “Distribution of disposable gloves, masks, etc., to safeguard the sanitation workers from occupational hazards” was conducted by ICAR staff, students, and contractual workers under the ‘Swachhta Hi Sewa’ campaign. The Safai Mitra working in ICAR were distributed the masks and disposable gloves.

     Through a special campaign walkathon at one of the ICAR Institutes, all the officers and employees of the institute cleaned the premises with the Safai Mitra in the campus. During the event, Safai Mitras were provided with vital information on safety protocols to enhance their well-being while performing their essential duties. A dedicated session on biosecurity measures was conducted to ensure that the workers remain safe while handling waste and maintaining cleanliness in sensitive areas. To further support their efforts, all participating workers were equipped with gumboots, hand sanitizers and PPE kits, reinforcing the institute’s commitment to their health and safety.In addition to distributing the PPE kits, the program provided an interactive platform where participants were encouraged to share their thoughts on cleanliness and sanitation practices at home, in public spaces, and at their workplaces. During the event, participants were also educated on the importance of maintaining cleanliness in their daily lives and were encouraged to openly discuss challenges and potential improvements in hygiene practices both at home and at work.

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    SS

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: 92nd anniversary of Indian Air Force: Raksha Mantri gives warm send-off to 7,000-km ‘Vayu Veer Vijeta’ car rally from National War Memorial, New Delhi

    Source: Government of India (2)

    92nd anniversary of Indian Air Force: Raksha Mantri gives warm send-off to 7,000-km ‘Vayu Veer Vijeta’ car rally from National War Memorial, New Delhi

    Over 50 air warriors to travel from Thoise (Ladakh) to Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh) across nine States/UTs from 8th to 29th October

    The car rally to motivate youth to join the Armed Forces & serve the nation: Shri Rajnath Singh

    “IAF is capable of giving a befitting reply to the country’s enemies; Govt equipping them with most advanced platforms in line with ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’”

    Posted On: 01 OCT 2024 1:59PM by PIB Delhi

    To mark the 92nd anniversary of the Indian Air Force (IAF), Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh gave a warm send-off to ‘Vayu Veer Vijeta’ car rally from the National War Memorial, New Delhi on October 01, 2024. With the send-off, over 50 air warriors, including women, have left to Thoise in Ladakh, from where they will undertake an expedition to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, covering a total of 7,000 kms across nine States/Union Territories (UTs). The rally will also witness the participation of former Air Force Chiefs in different legs.

    Speaking on the occasion, the Raksha Mantri lauded the air warriors for serving the motherland in difficult circumstances with bravery, dedication and patriotism. “IAF has achieved significant feats in its bid to protect the country and its people. It is capable of giving a befitting reply to the country’s enemies by striking them deep into their territory. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, we are committed to equip IAF with most advanced aircraft/platforms and make them more capable through the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative,” he said.

    Shri Rajnath Singh extended his best wishes to the air warriors, who will be part of the rally that would traverse through tough and varied terrains. The formal flag-off will take place on 8thOctober from Thoise, which is one of the world’s highest altitude air force station at 3,068m above mean sea level. The air warriors will halt at Leh, Kargil, Srinagar, Jammu, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Agra, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Darbhanga, Bagdogra, Hasimara, Guwahati, Tezpur and Dirang, before concluding the rally in Tawang on October 29, 2024.

    The aim of the rally is to raise awareness among the people about the glorious history of IAF; the deeds of valour of the air warriors in different wars & rescue ops; and attract the youth to serve the motherland. The Raksha Mantri stated that during the car rally, the air warriors will hold interactions with the youth at schools & colleges in various States/UTs, exuding confidence that the exchanges would motivate the young ignited minds to join the Armed Forces and lead the life of pride & honour.

    Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, former Chiefs RKS Bhadauria (Retd) & AY Tipnis (Retd) and other senior officials of IAF were present on the occasion. The rally has been organised by IAF in coordination with the veterans of Uttarakhand War Memorial. The Adventure Cell of IAF is leading and coordinating the rally.

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    VK/Savvy

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Text of Vice-President’s address at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence 2024

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 01 OCT 2024 1:50PM by PIB Delhi

    Very Good Morning to all of you!

    Shri Anil Shastri ji, Chairman, Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management. I have long association with Anil ji. We both were elected to Lok Sabha in 1989.

    We were inducted in the Council of Ministers at the same time, and then I came to know that he reflected the sublime values of his father, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri, Prime Minister of this country, who lives on in our memories and in our hearts.

    I am therefore grateful to you for affording this opportunity to me to confer this prestigious award on one of the finest human beings in the country at the moment, who exemplifies commitment to humanity in all facets, Smt. Rajashree Birla, the awardee. As luck would have it, this is the 25th award. Well earned, well deserved.

    Shri Sunil Kumar Gupta, Secretary to Vice president, distinguished members of Shastri family, I know them personally, distinguished members accompanying Rajashree ji, members of the jury and my commendations to you for having being so thoughtful that the reception of this award will be completely as per heart of the people and board of governors.

    Let me indicate my connection with the Birla family. It was sometime in the year 1970-71. The venue was a remote village in Jhunjhunu district.

    The occasion was late Sri G.D. Birla Ji being received by a relative of our family. There was to be a photograph. Everyone was lined up.

    The first row, G.D. Birla Ji was there at the centre. I was in the last row. Given the situation, my age, and the relationship I shared.

    So the family members had predominance, Then walked in the elder brother of G.D. Birla Ji. Now no one in the front row was prepared to yield a seat.

    Who would miss an occasion to be photographed with G.D. Birla Ji? G.D. Birla Ji quietly made the seat available for his elder brother. And he came to the last row. And put his hand on my young shoulder. I felt blessed by the man.

    Then I came to know about him more and what a sacrifice for the country. Imagine those difficult days, daunting scenario, rule of the British – repressive, oppressive, with full vengeance. He fuelled financially the freedom movement. He and great Gandhiji were so frugal in prudently utilising the funds that they would not bear the cost of transaction by paying banking commission.

    So the money was transferred as per record, authentic record. If needed at a place, it will be given by someone else so that every contribution is optimally utilised.

    All through his life, G.D. Birlaji stood for a value system worth emulation. We got independence man d then the lineage continues. My next association came with Aditya Birlaji. I was elected as I said along with Anil. In 89, I was a minister. There was a function at FICCI in 1990. It had to do something with the great personality of G.D. Birla ji.

    That was the day when the entire Council of Ministers were meeting and therefore obviously there was unavailability of a minister to join. I got a message from someone. That being a member of parliament from Jhunjhunu, a land with G.D. Birla family is well connected and the connect is incremental till date.

    Birlaji reflects it nationally and globally. I sought leave of my prime minister then to attend that programme. It started a relationship of deep emotive nature with Aditya Birlaji who never had intervention of the kind which we see with politics. But he enquired about my political inclinations and invited me to industry house.

    I had the occasion to see two things there. One, We had lunch while others were also having lunch there. And the lunch was tailor made to suit the high productivity post lunch and nutrition value. And then I saw for the first time that Aditya Birlaji had brought about game changing paradigm shift in professionalism. He laid the firm foundations. We lost him early. But in the process he CREATED A group that is known for highest ethical standards and global presence.

    I came to know Kumar Manglam ji after I became Governor State of West Bengal. In Birla Park he was stranded on account of Covid. He was so scrupulous about the legal regime that he wouldn’t move, even though I undertook to facilitate.

    Then came a very sensitive moment and that moment was that someone known to him, he wanted to visit him because he was ailing, Just 300 metres away. But since there were restrictions Kumar wouldn’t negotiate those 300 metres without legal sanction. I had the occasion to have a conversation with him on several occasions on that time. He followed only the path of love. THAT reminds me what someone said rightly, If you wish to make democracy flourish and blossom. Never take shortcuts. These shortcuts are very painful. In times of need that turn out to be the most challenging and the longest and never ending. These shortcuts lead you into a tunnel when you need, when you don’t see light.

    Then, I came to occupy this position and came another occasion to interact with the family. I spent some of the most rewarding moments of my life along with family members  and had the occasion to personally interact with the family. The credit for that invariably goes to the awardee. Awardee of this prestigious award!

    For three decades with commitment that exemplifies our civilisational depth and ethos, She has been serving Humanity in a varied of forms of education and health care in a very spread out manner and least giving importance to public domain coverage. It is rightly said that wisdom is reflected not by what is written but by….

    The best Ambassador is the one who propels an idea through word of mouth. So I can say she stands out tall amongst those at the moment who are serving humanity BY optimal utilisation of corporate social Responsibility by following its funding where it is most needed and therefore this award Is well earned Well deserved.

    She has got many awards as I indicated Padam Bhushan. Her son has got Padam Bhushan, when I had the occasion to greet the family by virtue of being Vice- President. But there are some people who do justice. It makes us reflect Yes it has been given to the right person and therefore my congratulations to the jury for having picked up one at the right time because we need in this country In this challenging scenario, when the country is on the rise, the rise is as never before, the rise is exponential and incremental.

    In the process we must not lose the guiding principle, the lighthouse that reminds us of our values. What we see is simplicity defined, disarming charm, a connect that makes the other person at ease and then I come to the person whose memory the award is Lal Bahadur Shastri. The very name reminds of patriotism, the very name reminds of a system that yes this is commitment.

    Shastriji Defines public service, Shastriji stood for self-sacrifice, Shastriji exemplified by conduct by practise not my sermonising. The entire nation stood with him when we faced the near hunger crisis. He was the first one to innovate Participation of the people by a clarion call. Avoid a meal, if I am not mistaken.

    Diminutive like there but a tall figure there are personalities that are not required we sustained by event management or systemic acting. They live in our memory, they guide us, they inspire us, they motivate us. His clarion call I belong to both categories as a matter of fact, jawan and kisan was not just a call. The call was generated by then contemporaneous scenario, a threat of unimaginable dimension.

    Imagine the scene, under which he took charge, he was the only one who could take it. Look at the highest standards of public life, when he was holding a ministerial portfolio and then there was a lapse not because of him but he went beyond the copybook. He took the entire responsibility and was persuaded to be minister without portfolio. I see the family continue in the same stream, they have lived by his principles.

    We are living in times where iconic status is accorded by event management on parameters that are baffling. People are elevated to a level which we can’t digest. They occupy public space but a paradigm shift has taken place. For instance, Padma Awards, our civilian Awards, our prestigious Civilian awards. They are being conferred on people who imminently deserve it, and that is why the award carries a greater credibility.

    This one also is in the same stream, I have been associated on two occasions, maybe more and for me, what can be a greater attainment in life, that who was just in Sainik School class seven when we lost Shastri ji. The one who looked at in great awe the traditions of the great Bidla family is now in a position. A moment that will ever be etched in my memory that I am only one of the greatest contributors of the Bidla family to humanity, Smt. Rajashree Birla and the award carries the tag of one of the finest sons of the soil whose memory will never fade.

    I will always be by your side, as you were by my side when were holding the ministerial portfolio. Once again, I feel humbled, honoured, and highly privileged one of the rare moments of privilege for me to confer an award in the name of Lal Bahadur Shastri on Smt. Rajashree Birla.

    Namaskar!

    Thank You.

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    JK/RC/SM

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: INDIAN ARMY TO CONDUCT CHANAKYA DEFENCE DIALOGUE – 2024 ON 24-25 OCTOBER : CURTAIN RAISER CONDUCTED TODAY

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 01 OCT 2024 3:21PM by PIB Delhi

    The Indian Army, in collaboration with the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), is set to conduct the Second Edition of its flagship event, Chanakya Defence Dialogue-2024 on the theme “Drivers in Nation Building: Fuelling Growth through Comprehensive Security”. The much-awaited event, will be conducted on 24thand 25thOctober 2024 at Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi.

    At the Curtain Raiser event held today at New Delhi, General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Army Staff, reflected on Indian Army’s vision of a resilient, secure and prosperous Bharat@2047, sharing his views on various issues related to national and global security, as also contribution of the Indian Army in nation building.

    The COAS shared his thoughts on the theme “Pillars of Security: Powering India’s Path to Viksit Bharat by 2047” in a Fireside Chat. The Chat provided an engaging platform to discuss the role of Indian Armed Forces as Net Security provider in India’s development trajectory. The COAS underscored Indian Army and the importance of robust security frameworks ranging from defence readiness to internal stability for fostering an environment conducive to economic growth and innovation. The conversation highlighted the need for a multi-faceted approach, emphasising collaboration between government, industry, and civil society to address emerging challenges. By framing security as a foundational pillar of national development, the discussion underscored the vision of a prosperous and secure India by 2047, encouraging proactive strategies that align security with the broader goals of societal advancement and sustainable growth.

    The Fireside Chat was followed by a panel discussion chaired by Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani, the Vice Chief of the Army Staff. The discussion was titled “Secure Nation and Prosperous Future: Bridging National Security with Growth and Development“. This session explored strategies to create a secure environment that fosters innovation and fuels development. By framing security as a fundamental pillar in India’s journey toward a developed nation by 2047, the dialogue underscored the critical importance of aligning defence initiatives with national prosperity and social progress. The discussion featured Shri Oken Tayeng, MLA Arunachal Pradesh, Mr SS Sarma, Director (Operations), Cert-in, Lt Gen PR Shankar (Retired), a renowned strategist and Lt Gen (Dr) Madhuri Kanitkar (Retired), a shining example of women empowerment in the Indian Armed Forces. The participants during the discussion expressed their views on a wide range of subjects including Border Area Development, Youth, Sports and Women Empowerment towards nation building.

    The Curtain Raiser event demonstrated a glimpse of the main event and highlighted the multifaceted dimensions of security, its impact on national growth and role played by the Indian Army in achieving India’s vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’. The second Chanakya Defence Dialogue will facilitate in- depth discussions, foster strategic partnerships and contribute to the formulation of actionable insights for enhancing national security and development. It will provide a platform for national and international leaders, policymakers and subject matter experts to share their expertise and contribute to the discourse on security through development.

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    SC

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Of the total 32 lakh defence pensioners, 30 lakh have been successfully linked to SPARSH portal, says Raksha Mantri at 277th Annual Day celebrations of Defence Accounts Department

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Of the total 32 lakh defence pensioners, 30 lakh have been successfully linked to SPARSH portal, says Raksha Mantri at 277th Annual Day celebrations of Defence Accounts Department

    Shri Rajnath Singh exhorts DAD to establish a robust data management system to assess the impact of defence expenditure on the economy

    “Prepare a roadmap to make DAD a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in defence finance & economics”

    India is today seen as a defence exporter due to the Govt’s self-reliance efforts: RM

    Posted On: 01 OCT 2024 3:16PM by PIB Delhi

    “Out of a total of 32 lakh defence pensioners, 30 lakh have been successfully linked to the SPARSH {System for Pension Administration (Raksha)} portal,” said Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh during the 277thAnnual Day celebrations of Defence Accounts Department (DAD) at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on October 01, 2024. While commending DAD’s focus on technology adoption, the Raksha Mantri asserted that despite numerous challenges, the department has been successful in the implementation of this web-based system, which processes pension claims and credits the pension directly into bank accounts of defence pensioners without any external intermediary.

    SPARSH Audit Manual was among the publications of DAD launched by Shri Rajnath Singh to mark the day. Other publications and initiatives include Comprehensive Statistical Handbook on Defence Expenditure (COSHE) 2024, Market Intelligence Report 2023-24 and Defence Travel System 2.0.

    The Raksha Mantri commended the efforts of DAD towards modernisation & strengthening of the country’s defence ecosystem through optimum utilisation of resources, efficiency & transparency in accounting and adoption of latest technologies. He lauded the department for focusing on every little detail, which leads to necessary improvements in defence related policies and proposals.

    Reflecting on the progress achieved in the defence sector in the last few years, Shri Rajnath Singh stated that there was a time when acquisitions were mainly dependent on imports, and the positive impact of defence expenditure on the economy was very limited. He added that due to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi-led Government’s efforts to attain self-reliance, India is today seen as a defence exporter.

    The Raksha Mantri urged DAD to prepare a roadmap to make the department a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in the field of defence finance and economics. He also batted for establishing a robust and comprehensive data management system that gives analytical reports to the government on the impact of defence expenditure on the country’s economy, such as the contribution of defence vendors in revenue generation and employment generation. This will prove to be helpful in establishing a holistic policy regime, which would develop a sense of ‘Whole of the Government approach’, he added.

    Shri Rajnath Singh exhorted DAD to remain innovative in its thinking, and continue exploring new frontiers in defence accounting & financial management. He emphasised that every individual would have to contribute to realise the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Viksit Bharat by 2047’.

    The Raksha Mantri highlighted the vital role DAD plays in supporting the Ministry of Defence’s vast network of organisations, including the Armed Forces, Indian Coast Guard and Border Roads Organisation. “There are over 50 lakh personnel associated with the Ministry, and the budget is larger than the GDP of many small countries. DAD is a link which connects all the units of the Armed Forces and civilian organisations. Whether it is our resolve of self-reliance, the efforts to encourage the participation of MSMEs and start-ups or issues related to the three Services, all these different dimensions, all these different dimensions ultimately come to DAD,” he said.

    SPARSH Audit Manual

    ‘System for Pension Administration {Raksha} (SPARSH) is an initiative of the Ministry of Defence for automating the defence pension ecosystem. The system is embedded with numerous automated checks and controls, with Operational Decision Manager-based rule engine which incorporates over 500 rules and 1,000 on-screen validations. In order to ensure integrity, efficiency and accountability of the system, Internal Audit is essential and helps improve the functionality of SPARSH. It also ensures that necessary controls are in place for integrity and accuracy of pension management processes.

    The SPARSH Audit Manual is a departmental publication to guide the officers and staff of DAD to keep a constant watch on various system processes and outputs generated through application to ensure uniform applicability of rules and regulations for Defence pensioners.

    COSHE – 2024

    The office of the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) is publishing COSHE-2024 which provides a broad perspective on the expenditure by Defence Services in the last several years. The book provides data on the Defence Budget, trends in expenditure from Financial Year 2010-11 onwards, and legacy data from 1992-93 onwards.

    The data presented in various forms will facilitate the optimal utilisation of funds and help policy and decision-makers better analyse them with a broader perspective and work on the mission of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

    Market Intelligence Report 2023-24

    With changing times, there is an increasing need for provision of aggregated decision-making driven by consistent financial data information. The Raksha Mantri, during the DAD foundation day 2023, had highlighted the need for analysing demand and supply side data and developing an expertise in market intelligence. Since then, the Department has undertaken an ambitious exercise in aggregating, compiling and analysing available procurement information.

    This report on Market Intelligence is an attempt to present meaningful insights into vendor and product profiles of procurement undertaken on the GeM platform, along with a code-head level analysis of GeM procurement by Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and DRDO to help highlight and augment procurement reform.

    Defence Travel System 2.0

    The Defence Travel System (DTS) is a web-based travel booking portal for defence personnel, which was started in 2009, and has come a long way from providing just rail tickets to integration of Air Tickets, payment of advance and online submission of final claims. Presently, there are around 7,325 Units/Offices actively using the DTS portal, with more than 18 lakh active user profiles.

    DTS 2.0 is a comprehensive technological upgrade of the platform and will offer a more seamless and integrated experience for defence personnel. It will provide not only an updated user interface but is also envisaged to integrate with office automation systems of Payment and Accounting Offices (PAOs) in future. This integration will ensure that once a booking is made, claims are processed without delay, and the payment process is streamlined.

    Raksha Mantri Awards for Excellence 2024

    The Raksha Mantri also gave away the Raksha Mantri Awards for Excellence 2024 to two teams for exhibiting exemplary initiative in implementing key department projects, namely, the team of PCDA (Pensions) Prayagraj for ‘Achieving Milestone in redressing Grievances’ and the team of PIFA (Air Force) New Delhi for the ‘Automatic Replenishment System (ARS) Scale Analysis’.

    Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat, Secretary (Ex-servicemen Welfare) Dr Niten Chandra, Secretary (Defence Production) Shri Sanjeev Kumar, Financial Advisor (Defence Services) Shri Sugata Ghosh Dastidar, Controller General of Defence Accounts Smt Devika Raghuvanshi and other senior officials of Ministry of Defence were present on the occasion.

    Tracing its roots to the appointment of the Military Pay Master in 1747, DAD has continuously re-invented itself to provide exemplary services to the Armed Forces, and in turn to the Nation, in the fields of Internal Audit, Accounting, Financial Advice & Defence Pensions Management.

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya To Lead Nationwide Coastal and Beach Cleanliness Drive in Porbandar, Gujarat on Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya To Lead Nationwide Coastal and Beach Cleanliness Drive in Porbandar, Gujarat on Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti

    Over 1,00,000 MY Bharat Youth Volunteers to Remove Single-Use Plastic at 1,000 Locations Along India’s Coastline on 2nd October

    As part of Swachhata Hi Seva campaign, over 5.6 million MY Bharat Youth Volunteers Removed Millions of Kilograms of Waste Across India

    Posted On: 01 OCT 2024 3:05PM by PIB Delhi

    Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports and Labour & Employment, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, will lead the nationwide Coastal and Beach Cleanliness Drive organized by MY Bharat from the historic city of Porbandar, Gujarat, on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti tomorrow. This special drive aims to eliminate single-use plastic waste from India’s beaches and coastal areas, marking the culmination of the broader “Swachhata Hi Seva” campaign, which is running from September 17 to October 2, 2024, under the theme “Swabhav Swachhata – Sanskaar Swachhata.”

    Dr. Mandaviya, who has been at the forefront of promoting youth-led environmental action, will commence the cleanup in Porbandar, a place of significant historical importance as the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi. Union Minister’s participation highlights the commitment to sustainable environmental practices, and the drive aligns with the vision of a clean and single use plastic-free India.

    MY Bharat under the Department of Youth Affairs has taken a proactive role in this year’s Swachhata Hi Seva campaign, encouraging active youth participation in promoting cleanliness and environmental responsibility. The campaign will culminate on Swachh Bharat Diwas, October 2, 2024, with MY Bharat youth volunteers leading the charge in a massive coastal cleanup effort.

    The drive will target over 1,000 locations along India’s vast 7,500 km coastline, focusing particularly on the collection, segregation, and disposal of single-use plastics. More than 1,00,000 MY Bharat volunteers will participate in this nationwide beach cleanup, demonstrating the power of collective action in achieving environmental sustainability.

    Union Minister has written letters to MPs of all coastal districts, urging them to participate in the Swachhta Hi Seva campaign.

    This year’s Swachhata Hi Seva campaign has already seen tremendous success, with over 5.6 million MY Bharat youth volunteers actively removing millions of kilograms of waste across the country as of September 30, 2024. The cleanup efforts have spanned more than 1 lakh villages, 15,000+ community centres, 9,501 Amrit Sarovars, and various historical and public spaces.

    This monumental initiative showcases the youth’s dedication to the Swachh Bharat mission, setting a powerful example for future generations. The coastal cleanup effort reinforces the message that a cleaner India begins with collective action, as envisioned by Mahatma Gandhi.

    ******

    Himanshu Pathak

    (Release ID: 2060621) Visitor Counter : 101

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN Economic Community met with ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organisations (AFEO) to explore collaborative partnership to advance regional engineering practice

    Source: ASEAN

    Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Economic Community, H.E. Satvinder Singh, received a courtesy call from the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organisations (AFEO) today, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. They discussed possible avenues and collaborations to advance engineering integration and capabilities across ASEAN, such as through enhancing engineering standards, as well as sharing of engineering knowledge and business opportunities. AFEO is an accredited Civil Society Organisation (CSO) under Annex II of the ASEAN Charter.

    The post Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN Economic Community met with ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organisations (AFEO) to explore collaborative partnership to advance regional engineering practice appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: MISSIONARY OCTOBER 2024 – Cardinal Marengo: the novelty of the first announcement of the Gospel should not be ‘evaporated’ in generic speeches on the mission

    MIL OSI Translation. Region: Italy –

    Source: The Holy See in Italian

    Tuesday, October 1, 2024

    Photo Teresa Tseng Kuang Yi

    by Gianni ValenteUlaanbaatar (Agenzia Fides) – «There is a specificity of the first announcement of the Gospel. And when we reflect on the mission of the Church, I would like to speak out in favor of this specificity”, which “should not be evaporated in an overly generic discussion on the mission”. October begins, the month that the Church dedicates, in addition to the Rosary, also to the mission. And Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, Consolata missionary, Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, takes advantage of the opportunity to share in a conversation with Agenzia Fides bright ideas full of apostolic passion for missionary work. This year too, as often happens , “Missionary October” is intertwined with the work in Rome of the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, in which Cardinal Marengo also takes part. And that meeting is also called to deal with the missionary horizon of every authentic ecclesial work, as is clear from the title (“For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission”). Cardinal Marengo, perhaps this cannot be insisted upon enough on the missionary nature of the Church and on the call of all the baptized to the mission? CARDINAL GIORGIO MARENGO: The rediscovery of the call to all be missionaries, inscribed in baptism, was in many ways providential. But now the specificity of the missionary vocation called “ad gentes” seems to have been somewhat lost sight of. It is as if, in the era of globalization and the apparent reduction of geographical distances, there was no longer any place for this horizon of missionary work. . which involves leaving and inserting oneself into human contexts different from one’s own. Instead, I believe, precisely in our time it is appropriate to recognize that there is a specificity of the first announcement of the Gospel, of the Gospel announced to those who don’t really know what it is. It is important that this specificity is not diluted, not evaporated in an overly generic discussion on the mission. In this time, precisely perceiving and always taking into account this specificity seems vital to me for all the work of the Church in the world, and for its journey in history. Because this specificity of the first announcement for you must not be removed and is crucial in the dynamism missionary of the Church?MARENGO: If belonging to the Church means walking together with Jesus and behind Jesus, the mission can be described and formulated as “making the encounter with Christ possible”. This encounter can always take place in ways unknown to us. But normally the impact with a human reality remains necessary. A human reality that facilitates and makes the encounter with Christ possible. Because this experience is always transmitted through attraction and contact. And this dynamism manifests itself and is clearly perceived especially where the real possibilities of coming into contact in some way with the person of Christ are objectively few. For example, in places where the Church does not exist or is in a nascent state of Church, as in the case of Mongolia. You belong to a missionary institute. And in recent decades there has been a clear numerical decline in the members of these Institutes. MARENGO: Perhaps there will no longer be a need for large numbers as there once was, and we should not be shocked that missionary Institutes are decreasing in number. But even with less impact, the perennial need to announce the Gospel which gave rise to the birth of those Institutes remains alive. The specificity of the “Missio ad gentes” you referred to evokes what were the “mission territories”, areas which now are defined as the “South of the world” or global South”. Is this identification still valid? MARENGO: Rather than slipping into the insidious terrain of socio-political formulas and definitions, those which for example refer to the “north” and “south” of the world, it is better to stick to purely ecclesial criteria. This specificity has to do with real exposure to the announcement of the Gospel. It is a question of seeing whether in different social contexts there is the possibility of real exposure to the Gospel, because in that given context the Gospel is in some way actually announced, or whether this does not happen. Always taking into account all the particular situations and their diversities. What diversities? MARENGO: It’s one thing to live in places where the Church is established with all the charisms and ministries, and it’s another to have a Church with only one native priest, like it happens here in Mongolia. It’s one thing to find yourself in societies that are extremely critical of Christianity, due to the weight of history. And a con is interacting with societies that are not in themselves against and hypercritical towards the Church, because their stories have never intertwined. In different contexts and situations, the mission of the first announcement is the one that in any case makes one experience the novelty of Christian faith. Both when this happens in contexts that have not historically dealt with it, and when it is rediscovered as a novelty in places where it has shaped previous generations, but has now somehow evaporated from the common horizon. What are the elementary and specific traits of mission of the first announcement? MARENGO: God our Father did not send a message, but became flesh by sending his only Son. God lowered himself to embrace the human condition. And by analogy, even the mission, since then, is called to submit to the laws of time and space, having Jesus as its model. If the message of Christ were a mere message, a teaching of life, there would have been no need to ask men and women to go to the ends of the world, as Jesus himself does in the Gospel. Jesus became part of a people and a defined culture. Thirty years of hidden life, three years of explicit activity and three days of passion, which lead to the resurrection. All those who follow him are called to let themselves be shaped by the Holy Spirit to live the same mystery. This is the mission. Submitting to the laws of space and time by following Jesus frees us to abstractions and embraces all the effort and patience of missionary work, which may appear “useless” and “fruitless”….MARENGO: Let’s think about the time spent on learn difficult and distant languages, to immerse yourself deeply and respectfully in the cultures of the people you live with. Everything presupposes understanding, friendly closeness to grow a relationship of trust. Much of the missionary effort is aimed precisely at identifying with the context and creating these conditions of mutual trust, in order to then share our treasure with others, what we hold most dear. This “patience” of the long times of the mission is not out of line with respect to the fast dynamics of the present time? MARENGO: Perhaps someone today might think that it is more effective to invest in communication to obtain measurable impacts on public opinion. But the Gospel is not communicated as an idea or as one of the options on a menu. This is marketing. Sometimes we have a tendency to make theories about the mission, or to organize strategies with social or humanitarian actions that we present as useful things for what we call “announcement”. Up to the illusion of a Church that is built “by project”. How do you perceive the current urgencies of the missionary work of the Church from your point of view in Ulaanbaatar? MARENGO: I am amazed by the growing interest of writers, journalists and scholars of the Church in the our small Church in Mongolia, in which they see a mission experience similar to that of the Acts of the Apostles. The Apostles bore witness to the Lord Jesus in conditions of absolute minority compared to the social and cultural contexts in which they moved. Their work had connotations of marginality and novelty. The experience of first contact with the Gospel on the part of people and social realities who had never encountered it until then occurs again in Mongolia. Those who are interested in our Church sometimes tell me that from associating with our poor and small experience, advantages and inspiration can also come for the situations experienced in post-Christian societies, where even a vague common reference to Christianity can no longer be given taken for granted, as it was in the past. Also in a recent conference at the Institut Catholique in Paris, you referred to the “register of discretion” which must always characterize missionary work. What are you referring to? MARENGO: What makes the encounter with Christ possible is always his Holy Spirit, and not our methodologies or precautions. But perhaps his work will find fewer obstacles if those who want to serve the Gospel become close to their brothers and sisters for who they are, announcing the resurrection of Christ with discretion. The Lazarist Father Giuseppe Gabet in 1840, after his first trip to Outer Mongolia, wrote to Propaganda Fide: «The first appearance of Europeans among the Mongols and Tibetans is a very delicate undertaking, and the success of preaching among these peoples will depend on long from the degree of discretion demonstrated”. You participated in the Plenary of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for the first evangelization and the new particular Churches) dedicated to the Pontifical Urbaniana University. How do you see the present and future of that University?MARENGO: During the mass in the Singapore Stadium, Pope Francis recalled a letter from Saint Francis Xavier to his first Jesuit companions, in which the great missionary spoke of his desire to go to all university of his time to “shout here and there like a madman” and shake up the intellectuals who engaged in endless discussions, to push them to become missionaries to serve the charity of Christ. In this time perhaps we also need a theological study of the mission, we need academic paths that help to recognize and re-propose the perennial urgency of announcing the Gospel, especially in situations of first evangelization. Who knows, perhaps through this very path the Pontifical University, with all its history, might be able to renew and realize the dream of Saint Francis Xavier today. (Agenzia Fides 1/10/2024)Share:

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Global: Wuthering Heights casting row: most adaptations struggle with picking the right Heathcliff and Cathy, but we deserve better in 2024

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Adelene Buckland, Reader in Nineteenth-Century Literature, King’s College London

    How do you cast Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel about a child so brutalised by his adoptive family that he drives his pregnant love to death? Not, it would seem, like Emerald Fennell, the latest director to attempt it.

    Fennell’s previous projects include the Oscar-winning A Promising Young Woman (2020) and Netflix hit Saltburn (2023), but she has been under fire for casting Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in the lead roles of Heathcliff and Catherine, two teenagers on the wild, 19th-century Yorkshire moors. As tanned Australian actors aged 27 and 34, best known for playing Elvis and Barbie, it is hard to imagine how they can pull this off.

    But has anybody ever got Heathcliff and Catherine right?

    Lawrence Olivier was nominated for an Oscar for playing Heathcliff in 1939, but his clipped, Royal Shakespeare Company gentlemanliness hardly befitted the “savage vehemence” of the role. Heathcliff is an orphan, probably picked up on the Liverpool docks, bullied for looking like “a dark-skinned gypsy”, “a little Lascar, or an American or Spanish castaway” (a lascar was a sailor or militiaman often from Asia). Among his many eventual crimes, he tortures puppies and beats children. But the Olivier movie staged the novel as a classic Hollywood romance.

    Until very recently other directors followed suit, cutting the story’s more brutal elements (including most of its second half) and casting dashing (white) leads like Timothy Dalton (1970) and then-newcomer Ralph Fiennes (1992). In the latter film, Juliette Binoche’s Catherine had a notably French accent. (Maybe best not to mention Cliff Richard’s 1996 musical, in which, at 56, he was panned for playing a teenage Heathcliff as a pop idol.)

    As the director of a 2011 BBC Radio Three adaptation put it, Wuthering Heights is not supposed to be “a Vaseline-lensed experience”. But it has been mostly sold that way.

    Perhaps the only director to capture the nightmarishness of Bronte’s text is Andrea Arnold, who in 2011 cast untrained actors in the central roles, including a black actor, James Howson, as Heathcliff. At the time, some critics even found that decision controversial. But the casting was a turning point, and Arnold’s bleak, almost wordless, adaptation changed the game.

    In 2024, audiences are more aware that casting a white actor like Elordi as Heathcliff is not only to undersell the novel as romance, but to wilfully ignore the imperialism in the text.

    There is evidence to suggest that Heathcliff’s story was at least partly inspired by a local slave-owning family, the Sills, who, as well as making their money from sugar plantations in Jamaica, had 30 enslaved Africans working on their home estate in Yorkshire.

    Also, as mentioned, characters speculate about Heathcliff’s race throughout. For instance, Nelly Dean, Cathy’s family’s servant, wonders whether “[his] father was Emperor of China, and [his] mother an Indian queen.” He is clearly not white.

    Still, in going in the opposite direction to Arnold, Fennell’s film might offer us something new.

    The novel is difficult to film not only because it depicts human beings at their most primal, but also because it is so strangely told. Bronte rarely shows us Catherine or Heathcliff firsthand. We learn their tale through an uninitiated southerner, Lockwood, who himself hears much of the story from a servant with unreliable passions of her own.

    Key scenes in the novel have an emotional realism drawn not only from the rough-hewn Yorkshire rocks but also from gothic melodrama: Catherine’s ghost literally bleeds as it grasps Lockwood through a window; Heathcliff digs up Catherine’s grave just “to have her in my arms again”. If this is realism, it is so extreme it borders on the theatrical.

    And this is where Fennell excels. Saltburn’s bathtub scene is infamous for body horror, but mostly it depicts an urgent need to consume and be consumed by another. Saltburn also has its own graveside scene, which clearly echoes Heathcliff’s necrophiliac desires in Wuthering Heights.

    I would argue there can be no justification for casting a white actor as Heathcliff, and it is to be hoped that Fennell rethinks this decision. But perhaps there is also something to be gained from having a Heathcliff and Catherine with the glitzy theatricality of Elvis and Barbie. Fennell isn’t going to give us the Catherine and Heathcliff we have come to expect, but it is possible she will evoke the passion the characters deserve.


    Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

    Adelene Buckland 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. Wuthering Heights casting row: most adaptations struggle with picking the right Heathcliff and Cathy, but we deserve better in 2024 – https://theconversation.com/wuthering-heights-casting-row-most-adaptations-struggle-with-picking-the-right-heathcliff-and-cathy-but-we-deserve-better-in-2024-240128

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Israel/OPT: ‘explosives for Israel’ ship set to dock in Montenegro and Slovenia

    Source: Amnesty International –

    The MV Kathrin, a Portuguese-flagged vessel reportedly carrying explosives bound for Israel, is currently heading for Montenegro and Slovenia

    Ship is believed to be carrying eight containers of components for aircraft bombs and missiles

    ‘The deadly cargo believed to be on board the MV Kathrin must not reach Israel’ – Nataša Posel

    Slovenia and Montenegro must stop the Portuguese-flagged vessel MV Kathrin – believed to be carrying explosives bound for Israel – from docking at their ports given the clear risk that such cargo would contribute to the commission of war crimes in Gaza and Lebanon, Amnesty International said today. 

    According to the Namibian government and Portugal’s Foreign Minister, the MV Kathrin’s cargo includes explosives destined for Israel.

    In August, the Namibian authorities refused to allow the vessel to enter its main harbour citing information from the ship’s operator that its cargo includes eight containers of RDX Hexogen explosives bound for Israel. Statements from the Slovenian Prime Minister’s office and the Portuguese Foreign Minister indicate that the ship is heading for Montenegro and also for Slovenia’s port of Koper, where it will offload its cargo. It is unclear how the cargo will then reach Israel.

    On 31 August, Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, said that eight containers of explosives aboard MV Kathrin “are reportedly key components in the aircraft bombs and missiles” used by Israel against Palestinians. Albanese called on all countries to block the ship from docking at their harbours.

    Countries which continue to transfer arms to Israel are acting in contravention of their obligations under Common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions and must act to prevent all such transfers with urgency. Furthermore, as state parties to the international Arms Trade Treaty, Montenegro, Portugal and Slovenia have committed to establishing the highest possible common international standards for regulating the international trade in conventional arms for the purpose of reducing human suffering. As the flag state, Portugal must not use its vessel to transfer the explosives or must remove its flag so as not to assist in the transfer.

    Amnesty has documented extensive evidence of war crimes committed by all parties to the most recent escalation of the conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory using a wide variety of arms. Amnesty research shows that the Israeli military has used explosive weapons to carry out direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects and indiscriminate attacks in Gaza, blocked humanitarian assistance and collectively punished Palestinians over the past year.

    Nataša Posel, head of Amnesty International Slovenia, said:

    “The deadly cargo believed to be on board the MV Kathrin must not reach Israel as there is a clear risk that such cargo would contribute to the commission of war crimes against Palestinian civilians.

    “Namibia rightfully upheld its international obligations by ensuring that the MV Kathrin did not transit military cargo to Israel through its port.

    “Now it is up to Slovenia, Montenegro and all other states to do the same and avoid facilitating an unlawful transfer.

    “Amnesty International is calling for an immediate arms embargo on Israel and on Palestinian armed groups in Gaza due to their use of weapons to carry out war crimes and other serious violations.

    “Any state that knowingly transfers arms to the parties in this ongoing conflict, including via transit of ships carrying arms and explosives, risks breaching their obligation not to encourage, aid or assist in violation of the Geneva Conventions. Portugal, Slovenia and Montenegro must not facilitate any such weapons transfer to Israel.” 

    Timeline

    On 21 July, the MV Kathrin embarked with its cargo from Vietnam’s Hai Phong port.

    On 24 August, the Namibian authorities revoked previously-granted permission for the MV Kathrin to enter Namibia’s main harbour, citing information from the ship’s operator that some of the explosives on board were destined for Israel. This decision was based on concerns of potential complicity in war crimes in Gaza. The MV Kathrin was scheduled to dock at Namibia’s Walvis Bay on 25 August. 

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: ASIA/BANGLADESH – Apostolic Nuncio on the situation of Christians and aid for Rohingya refugees (with the help of the Pope)

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Thursday, 26 September 2024

    by Fabio BerettaDhaka (Agenzia Fides) – “The situation in Bangladesh”, where Christians represent only 0.30% of the population, “is very delicate. In general, Christians live in a peaceful context, but there have also been cases of harassment by their neighbors,” said Archbishop Kevin Randall, Apostolic Nuncio in Bangladesh since 2023, interviewed by Fides after his recent meeting with the Chief Advisor to the interim government. He spoke to Fides about the country’s society and the commitment and support of the local Church and of Pope Francis for Rohingya refugees.What is the situation in Bangladesh after the recent protests and social unrest?The situation in Bangladesh is very delicate. With a transitional government, some wonder when there will be elections. Others want to rewrite the constitution. Still others say that a transitional government does not have the power to rewrite the Constitution. In the meantime, citizen violence dominates the country and the rule of law is limited.How are Christian communities experiencing this historic moment?In general, Christians live in a relatively peaceful context, but there have also been cases of harassment by their neighbors. The police are powerless. After Sheik Hasina left the country, many officials became afraid and went into hiding. They took off their uniforms to wear civilian clothes and stopped going to work.Do Christian communities have special expectations compared to the rest of the population?Yes, the Christian community hopes that the transitional government will protect minorities during this transitional period. Christians’ villages are under threat because there are people who want to take over their land, even if they belong to their own ethnic group. Many citizens, whether Christian, Buddhist or Hindu, are treated as undesirables, “as if they were foreigners,” although they are not. The Constitution declares Bangladesh a secular state with one official religion: Islam. However, there are some who confuse the phrase “official State religion” with the idea that “minorities do not belong here” and that the country is “an Islamic State.”During the meeting with Muhammad Yunus, Chief Advisor to the interim government, the need to “protect” minorities was raised. Where does this concern come from?According to the 2022 census, Christians in Bangladesh make up 0.30% (about 500,000 believers) of the population. There have been cases of threats against villages, houses and especially schools. In many Catholic schools, there have been attempts at intimidation, with several teachers threatened with expulsion. Some Muslims reported to the school administration that their children would dress in a certain way in the future, especially if they were girls. However, wearing the burqa violates our uniform regulations. With Muhammad Yunus, I raised issues that concern Christians, but also Buddhists and Hindus. One must not forget that the Hindu minority is about 8%. Many of their temples have been destroyed and their shops burned down. And the Chief of the interim government agreed that all minorities must be protected and promised that he would try to create a law that can bring order.Recently, the establishment of a body for interreligious dialogue between the Holy See and the scholars of Islam in Bangladesh was proposed. How was this idea received?The idea of having an interreligious dialogue is not mine. The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue asked for it in a letter years ago, when Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran was the head of the then Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Tauran himself spoke about it with former Prime Minister Sheik Hasina during one of his visits here in Bangladesh. I have already raised this idea with Sheik Hasina, and recently I have also asked Muhammed Yunus and his team to think about this possibility in concrete terms. The concept has been well received, but I think they have other concerns at the moment.Are there already concrete steps towards this project?No, but we can propose them. But we cannot force them. Unlike in the United Arab Emirates, where Pope Francis signed the document on fraternity, or in Indonesia, where the Pope recently signed a new document on tolerance and praised the “tunnel of friendship” that connects the cathedral with the mosque in Jakarta, interreligious dialogue does not find much support in Bangladesh, even if it takes place at the level of academic discussions.Regarding humanitarian aid for the Rohingya refugees, Mohammed Yden has reportedly asked the Vatican for support. How can this request be met?The Chief Advisor of the interim government did not directly ask for the Holy See’s help, as has been reported in various media. He asked for the Holy See’s support in the reforms he and his government want to implement, but not for financial help, including for the Rohingya.It was the one who asked on behalf of the Pope to continue to help and protect the Rohingya. I explained that the Catholic Church’s Caritas organization has been continuously helping the displaced since 2017, but that funds are decreasing. Before I traveled to Bangladesh, Pope Francis asked me not to forget the Rohingya. These refugees have experienced violence in their own country and came to Bangladesh to ask for help. But unfortunately, the Rohingya are considered by the local population as an ethnic and religious group that belongs to “this country”, Bangladesh.Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario and I paid them an official visit. The living conditions are very difficult. Children and young people do not receive an education. In addition, by law, 25 percent of our aid must go to the Bengali community. However, I am happy to announce that the Pope is sending further financial aid. This gesture of his will help many. (Agenzia Fides, 26/9/2024)
    Share:

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hagerty, Kaine Applaud Senate Passage of Legislation to Honor Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Tennessee Bill Hagerty

    September 26, 2024

    Bipartisan legislation would award a Congressional Gold Medal honoring U.S. and foreign diplomats who risked their lives and careers to save Jews during the Holocaust
    WASHINGTON—United States Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) today applauded Senate passage of their Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act (S. 91), a bill to honor 60 World War II-era diplomats from the United States and around the world who risked their careers and, in many instances, their lives to save others during the Holocaust. The Hagerty-Kaine legislation would posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal collectively to these diplomats who took heroic actions to save Jews fleeing Nazi Germany, including issuing passports and travel visas and setting up safehouses and getaways to hide Jews from Nazi authorities. A version of this legislation led by Representatives Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15) passed the House of Representatives on June 11, 2024.
    “As U.S. Senator and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, I applaud Senate passage of this bipartisan legislation to posthumously honor U.S. and foreign diplomats who risked their lives and careers to assist Jews who were fleeing Nazi tyranny during the Holocaust,” said Senator Hagerty. “During a time of unimaginable darkness in the world, these diplomats went above their official obligations and beyond the call of duty to save the lives of so many. Current and future generations of diplomats—and everyone else who hears their stories—can look to these men and women of courage and be inspired by their lives of heroism and sacrifice.”
    “These courageous diplomats from nations across the world took initiative and serious risks to save Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe. The Congressional Gold Medal is a small overdue gesture to honor righteous deeds in the most difficult times,” said Senator Kaine. “As living memory of the Holocaust fades with the passing of 80 years, it will soon be up to us to remember humanity’s capacity for evil alongside our capacity for empathy and courage. Senator Hagerty and I aren’t Jewish, but we led this legislation because the duty of remembrance isn’t on the Jewish community alone; it is on all of us.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: GGI, co-founded by MixMarvel and Yeeha! Games, showcasing Major Partnerships and GameFi Innovations at Token2049

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SINGAPORE, Sept. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Following its successful appearances at Japan’s WebX and Korea Blockchain Week (KBW), GGI, a Web3 group co-founded by MixMarvel and Yeeha! Games, continued to make waves at Token2049 Singapore, one of the largest blockchain conferences of the year. With exciting new partnerships and a strong presence across major side events, GGI demonstrated its ongoing commitment to leading innovation in the Web3 gaming sector.

    Expanding the Ecosystem with New Partners

    At Token2049, GGI unveiled new ecosystem partners, including ArkForge and SOMSOC, further solidifying its position as a key player in the blockchain gaming space. GGI also held a series of game-related side events in collaboration with some of the most influential ecosystems today, including LINE NEXT and TON, where the future of Web3 gaming was explored in depth. These collaborations highlight GGI’s growing influence and its role in bringing together key players in the industry.

    A New Wave of Games on the Horizon

    Since its inception, GGI has consistently pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in Web3 gaming, achieving significant commercial and business expansion. At Token2049, GGI introduced its latest gaming lineup to partners and players, with titles like SimDunk, which recently launched its Pioneer Test, and upcoming games such as Yokai Odyssey and ATMAN. These titles form part of GGI’s broader publishing strategy, which includes 7 Telegram mini-games, 5 large-scale midcore games, and collaborations with 10 indie studios. Each of these games represents GGI’s commitment to offering diverse, high-quality content that bridges the gap between Web2 and Web3 gaming communities.

    Leading at Token2049’s Premier Events

    As a sponsor, GGI took center stage at the InnoBlock Summit, one of the largest side events of Token2049, hosted by the Asia Blockchain Gaming Alliance (ABGA). Alongside over 100 industry leaders, GGI explored application-layer opportunities in the Web3 space, sharing the stage with pioneers like Catizen, Mythical Games, and Seraph to discuss what it takes to succeed in today’s competitive Web3 gaming landscape. Notably, Nancy, CEO of Yeeha! Games and co-founder of GGI, delivered a keynote at the summit, showcasing Yeeha!’s platform and its mission to become the “Epic Games of Web3.” Attendees were particularly excited about Yeeha!’s upcoming AI-driven gaming solutions, including a natively trained GPT that promises to revolutionize Web3 gaming experiences.

    Co-Hosting for Industry Insights and Collaboration

    GGI also co-hosted a major event for Web3 Gaming Builders and VCs alongside LINE NEXT, Kaia, and ABGA, focusing on how to empower the growing APAC gaming community. During the event, GGI highlighted its comprehensive ecosystem, which spans game incubation, publishing, and infrastructure development. By showcasing premium content and impressive growth metrics, GGI reinforced its vision to create high-quality, engaging gaming experiences that bring Web2 players into the Web3 space.

    Spotlight at the Open Art Conference

    Another key highlight for GGI at Token2049 was its participation in the Open Art Conference, hosted by TON Society, TONX, and Blum at the National Gallery Singapore. With over 8,000 registered participants, this event celebrated TON’s growing ecosystem, where GGI has been an early and active supporter. GGI shared insights on how TON, often seen as a dark horse in the GameFi sector, is poised to have a profound impact on the industry. Additionally, GGI introduced the exciting SOMSOC x Yeeha! collaboration, which includes the HOUSEBOY art collection and the cyber-themed basketball game SimDunk, which officially launched its Pioneer Test on the day of the event, receiving an enthusiastic reception from the gaming community.

    GGI’s Commitment to the Future of Web3 Gaming

    Token2049 Singapore solidified GGI’s reputation as a trailblazer in Web3 gaming, as the company continues to build sustainable partnerships and deliver premium gaming experiences. Amid the challenges and opportunities in this fast-evolving industry, GGI remains dedicated to injecting vitality into the blockchain gaming sector by offering innovative and engaging content for both Web2 and Web3 players.

    With its continued growth and collaboration with top industry partners, GGI is set to shape the future of Web3 gaming for years to come. As it looks ahead to new game launches, partnerships, and innovations, GGI is well-positioned to lead the next wave of GameFi success.

    About GGI

    GGI, the leading Web3 group co-founded by MixMarvel and Yeeha! Games, serving as the definitive gateway to gaming for builders and mass players with cutting-edge infrastructure, platform and top-tier investment, incubation, and publishing services.

    Affiliated Brands:

    • ️MixMarvel
    • ️Yeeha
    • ️Rangers Protocol

    GGI Pillar Services:

    • Investment
    • Content Incubation
    • Game Publishing & Distribution Platform
    • Infrastructure

    Contact Details:
    Connie Wu
    Marketing Manager
    connie.w@yeehagames.com

    ArkForge
    Fay Ying, Co-Founder
    fay@arkforge.gg

    MixMarvel
    Alina Zarelua
    alina@mixmarvel.com

    SOMSOC Gallery
    dongshan@somsoc.jp

    Disclaimer: This content is provided by Yeeha! Games. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider. The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. Please conduct your own research and invest at your own risk.

    Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cc7c6033-cce5-4389-963e-139871a16de0

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2633b4ef-ca1f-4b8b-b1fe-2a585cbf32a7

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Second Child Predator Sentenced to 35 Years in Federal Prison for Sexually Abusing a Child and Drugging Them with Methamphetamine

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

    INDIANAPOLIS—Dustin Scott Cox, 54, of Indianapolis, has been sentenced to 35 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a child and conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of a child. 

    According to court documents, between at least February and September of 2020, Dustin Cox conspired with Zachary Nichols to sexually abuse and produce sexual images of a fifteen-year-old child. Cox is a repeat child sex offender, convicted in 2004 for coercing a 14-year-old to perform sex acts in exchange for a new bicycle.

    In 2020, Cox was Zachary Nichols’ methamphetamine dealer. Nichols sexually abused the child victim for years. Nichols began allowing Cox to sexually abuse the child as well, in exchange for supplying Nichols with methamphetamine. On multiple occasions, Cox and Nichols recorded their sexual abuse of the victim. The child was nearly incapacitated because of drug use in some of the child sex abuse material that Nichols and Cox created.

    In June of 2024, Zachary Nichols was sentenced to 42 years in federal prison for his role in sexually exploiting and abusing the child.

    “These heinous predators repeatedly sexually abused a child, incapacitated them with meth, and traded the victim’s body for drugs,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Our hearts go out to the survivor of these horrific abuses, and we hope this prosecution brings them some measure of peace. The lifelong trauma inflicted by these sick criminals merits federal prison sentences that will ensure that neither of them ever harms another child. Together with our partners at the FBI and IMPD, our office is committed aggressively prosecuting sex offenders who prey upon our children and removing them from our communities.”

    “Every child deserves to be live and thrive in a safe environment without worry of harm and abuse. This sentence reflects the severity of this heinous offense and should put others on notice that the FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to hold accountable those who prey on our children,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton.

    The FBI and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge James R. Sweeney II. Cox has also been ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to the victim and maintain his sex offender status wherever he lives, works, or goes to school upon release from federal prison.

    U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany J. Preston, who prosecuted this case.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Convicted Murderer Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of Missing Navajo Woman

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

    PHOENIX, Ariz. – Tre C. James, 31, of Pinon, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Douglas L. Rayes to life in prison on count one and an additional 10 years in prison on count two to run consecutively, for the murder of Jamie Yazzie, a woman classified as a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Person from the Navajo Nation. A federal jury previously found James guilty of First Degree Murder for Yazzie’s death. The jury also found James guilty of several acts of domestic violence committed against three other women, all members of the Navajo Nation. Judge Rayes sentenced James to an additional 10 years in prison to run concurrently, and five years of supervised release for each of those assaults.   

    “Securing justice for missing victims of violence necessitates courage, discipline, and collaboration,” said United States Attorney Gary Restaino. “It also requires all of us to demonstrate our commitment with alacrity: for communities to report their missing loved ones as soon as possible; for victim advocates to engage early and often with next of kin; and for agents and prosecutors to charge cases as soon as they are ready to be charged.”

    “Today’s sentence underscores the fact that Jamie Yazzie was not forgotten by the FBI or our federal and tribal partners,” said FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Jose A. Perez. “Our office is committed to addressing the violence that Native American communities in Arizona face every day and we will continue our efforts to protect families, help victims and ensure that justice is served in each case we pursue.”

    James shot and killed Yazzie on the Navajo Nation in the summer of 2019. He hid her remains on the Hopi Reservation, where they remained concealed for almost three years. Multiple agencies worked together to investigate Yazzie’s disappearance, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety Criminal Investigation Services, Navajo Nation Police Department, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Navajo County Sheriff’s Office.

    Investigators faced significant challenges, including the fact that Yazzie had not been reported missing for several days, James had cleaned the crime scene, and the murder occurred while James and Yazzie were home alone together; the global pandemic, which hit the Navajo Nation particularly hard, also presented significant challenges. Investigators persevered and, during the investigation, discovered the assaults against other women, many of which had never been reported to law enforcement.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer E. LaGrange and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon K. Sexton, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Phoenix, handled the prosecution. Ms. Yazzie’s mother, father, grandmother and other relatives provided support to the investigation and prosecution over several years.
     

    CASE NUMBER:           CR-22-08073-PCT-DLR
    RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-126_James

    # # #

    For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
    Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Soldiers at Shariki bond with Japanese neighbors at traditional festival

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    TSUGARU, Japan  –  

    An annual festival held here that marks the end of the summer season in Japan included participation from U.S. Soldiers stationed at a nearby installation who took part in the festivities.

    Soldiers assigned to the 10th Missile Defense Battery at the Shariki Communications Site in Aomori participated in Tsugaru’s Umaichi Matsuri, or Horse Market Festival, held there in late August. As part of the celebration, they marched in a parade alongside a horse-shaped float, sharing in the tradition and community spirit with their Japanese neighbors.

    The festival originated in the early 1900s, when the area was crowded with farm horse auctions. As agriculture became more mechanized, the necessity for the auctions declined over time. Around the mid-1970s, the festival evolved into a celebration of the city’s traditions and gratitude toward the horses that were vital to the early days of farming.

    Approximately 1,800 participants, including the 10th MDB Soldiers, Japan Air Self-Defense Force members and Tsugaru residents participated in the festival. Some dressed in costumes as they pulled the ornate horse floats through the city streets. Many in the crowd gave enthusiastic cheers as the vibrant and celebratory parade passed by.

    Sgt. 1st Class Randy Bergman, assigned to the 10th MDB, was one of about a dozen Soldiers from his unit who participated in the festival and pushed their float along the parade with help from their JASDF partners.

    Bergman said he and the Soldiers enjoyed seeing the crowd waving and smiling at them, taking it as a sign that people were enjoying themselves.

    “I think it’s going really well,” Berkman said during the parade. “We love experiencing the culture [of Japan, and seeing] the differences between our two cultures. It’s just great fun and a great experience for everybody.”

    Bergman said he and the 10th MDB Soldiers try to participate in and support local events as often as they can. It is important not only to their mission to be good stewards of the U.S. military in Japan, he said, but also to enhance their partnership with the JASDF as well as their relationship with their local community.

    Tsugaru Mayor Hiroaki Kuramitsu said he welcomes the U.S. military’s participation in the city’s festivities throughout the year and that it is a great joy to be able to celebrate together.

    While Tsugaru citizens are aware of the U.S. military base in their community, Kuramitsu said, the Umaichi Festival provides a unique opportunity to interact directly with the Soldiers, which in turn promotes an understanding of each other’s cultures and helps everyone bond as a community.

    “It is important to remember that the Soldiers stationed here are human beings, just like us,” Kuramitsu said. “We all share this planet, and I believe that [through events like this], we can overcome any differences we may perceive and view the U.S. military as being part of the Tsugaru community.”

    Capt. Henry Etchberger, commander of the 10th MDB, said he and his Soldiers had a great time at the festival, and likewise said the Tsugaru residents seemed to be enjoying themselves.

    “We’re very lucky and very privileged to be here,” Etchberger said. “I want [the Soldiers] to be enthusiastic about embracing Japanese culture. We need to demonstrate that we have a very strong relationship with both our community and our bilateral counterparts.”

    As the sun set, the festival culminated with the Shinden Fire Festival, in which the horse floats were set ablaze as a symbolic ritual to send the horses’ spirits to heaven.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney and FBI Charge Man for Drive-By Shooting in Zuni

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)

    ALBUQUERQUE – A Zuni Pueblo man was charged by criminal complaint with federal firearms violations following a drive-by shooting that occurred on the Pueblo of Zuni Indian Reservation.

    Devin Wyaco, 33, an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Zuni, appeared before a federal judge today and will remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled.

    According to the criminal complaint, on September 19, 2024, John Doe and his girlfriend were riding their bikes in Zuni, New Mexico when they noticed a white sedan with tinted windows drive past them, going in the same direction as them. The sedan then did a U-turn and stopped before driving back towards them. As the vehicle passed them, one shot was fired from the passenger side, striking John Doe in his abdomen.

    John Doe was transported via ambulance first to Zuni Hospital, then to University of New Mexico Hospital. When he was later interviewed by investigators, John Doe identified the vehicle as belonging to Wyaco’s girlfriend.

    Investigators executed a federal search warrant on Wyaco’s girlfriend’s residence. There, they spoke to Wyaco’s girlfriend, who stated she had been in the vehicle with Wyaco at the time of the shooting. Wyaco’s girlfriend told investigators that he had fled and was still in possession of the firearm.

    If convicted, Wyaco faces a minimum of 10 years in prison.

    U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

    The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Zuni Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Zachary C. Jones is prosecuting the case.

    A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: President Erdoğan’s Address to the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

    Source: Republic of Turkey

    ADDRESS TO THE 79TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
    by
    THE PRESIDENT of the REPUBLIC of TÜRKİYE,
    H.E. RECEP TAYYİP ERDOĞAN
    (24 SEPTEMBER 2024, NEW YORK)

    Mr. President, 
    Distinguished Heads of State and Government,
    Mr. Secretary General,
    Esteemed Delegates,
    I greet you with my most heartfelt feelings and respect on behalf of myself, my country and my nation.
    I am very pleased to have the opportunity to address the United Nations General Assembly once again today.
    I wish the 79th General Assembly to be beneficial to our countries and to all humanity.
    I would like to congratulate Mr. Dennis FRANCIS, who has completed his Presidency of the General Assembly, and I wish success to Mr. Philemon YANG, who assumed this duty.
    I would like to express our pleasure in seeing the Representative of the friendly and brotherly Palestine in the place he deserves among the member states, after lengthy struggles.
    I wish this historic step to be the last stage on the way to Palestine’s membership in the United Nations.
    I also invite other states, that have not yet done so, to recognize the State of Palestine as soon as possible and take their place on the right side of history at this very critical period.
    Distinguished Delegates…
    We are living through and trying to manage the crises minute by minute that most of my friends here watch on TV screens.
    Therefore, I am addressing you today as the leader of a country that is not far from the tensions, but right in their epicentre.
    Even if some feel uncomfortable, even if some will once again criticize us, I wish to speak out certain truths openly today, in the name of humanity, from the common rostrum of humanity.
    Let’s consider… the United Nations, under whose roof we are now, was established to maintain international peace and security after the Second World War, during which millions of people lost their lives.
    With the establishment of the United Nations, expectations for global stability, peace and justice blossomed again, and hopes for peace revived.
    However, we observe with regret that in recent years, the United Nations is struggling to fulfill its founding mission and is gradually turning into a dysfunctional, unwieldy and inert structure.
    We need the values represented by the maxim “THE WORLD IS BIGGER THAN FIVE”, more and more nowadays.
    We witness that international peace and security are too important to be left to the arbitrariness of the “privileged five”.
    The most dramatic example of this is the massacre that has been going on in Gaza for 353 days.
    More than 41 thousand Palestinians have lost their lives in the ongoing Israeli attacks since October 7.
    41 thousand people, 41 thousand lives brutally taken away, most of whom are children and women.
    Similarly, the whereabouts of more than 10 thousand Gazans, most of whom are children, is unknown.
    In the same way, about 100 thousand people have been injured and become disabled.
    172 journalists have been killed while trying to do their job under difficult conditions.
    More than 500 paramedics working to save lives have been killed.
    Humanitarian aid workers and more than 210 United Nations personnel, who rushed to the rescue of the people of Gaza struggling with hunger and thirst, have been killed.
    They hit 820 mosques and 3 churches that should be protected even at war.
    They hit tens of hospitals, hundreds of schools, and more than 130 ambulances carrying patients.
    By tearing down the Charter of the United Nations at the United Nations rostrum, they shamelessly challenged the whole world, all the conscientious people right from here, from this rostrum.
    Friends…
    The leaked images from the prisons that Israel has turned into “concentration camps” indicate very clearly what kind of persecution we are facing.
    As a result of the Israeli attacks, Gaza has become the largest cemetery for children and women in the world.
    More than 17 thousand children have been the targets of Israeli bullets and bombs.
    HİND RAJAB was only 6 years old.
    Their vehicle was hit by Israeli forces while she was searching for a safe place with her relatives.
    Her uncle, aunt-in-law, and cousins all died, only she survived.
    For 12 days she waited desperately to be rescued.
    She waited for a helping hand to reach out to her for 12 days, saying, “WILL YOU COME TO PICK ME UP? I AM SCARED!”
    Despite the level of development which our world has reached, despite the technology at our disposal; despite our organisations with huge budgets employing thousands of personnel under their roofs, unfortunately, as humanity of 8 billion, we have not been able to save a 6-year-old girl, an injured sparrow fluttering in front of our eyes.
    Hundreds of Gazan children have died so far because they were not able to find a bite of dry bread, a sip of water or a bowl of soup, and they are still dying.
    Not only children are dying in Gaza; the United Nations system is also dying, the truth is dying, the values that the west claims to defend are dying, the hopes of humanity to live in a fairer world are dying one by one.
    I am asking you frankly from here…
    HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS!
    Are the ones in Gaza, the ones in the West Bank not human beings? 
    The children in Palestine, do they not have the right to study, live, and play in the streets?
    INTERNATIONAL PRESS ORGANISATIONS!
    The journalists that Israel massacred on live TV, whose offices were raided, are they not your colleagues?
    THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL!
    What are you waiting for to prevent the genocide in Gaza and to say “stop” to this cruelty, this barbarism?
    What more are you waiting for to stop the massacre network that endangers also the lives of its own citizens along with the Palestinian people and drags the entire region into war for the sake of its political prospects?
    AND THOSE WHO UNCONDITIONALLY SUPPORT ISRAEL!
    For how long will you continue to bear the shame of looking on this massacre, of being accomplices in this atrocity?
    Distinguished Friends…
    While children are dying in Gaza, Ramallah, Lebanon, and babies are dying in incubators, unfortunately, the international community has also given a very bad account of itself.
    What is happening in Palestine is an indicator of a huge moral breakdown.
    I believe that all the peoples of the world, leaders, international organisations should reflect on this painful picture.
    I also want to hereby express a truth loud and clear.
    Ignoring basic human rights, the Israeli government, is practicing ethnic cleansing, an overt genocide against a nation, a people, and occupying their territory step by step.
    Palestinians, whose freedom, independence and the most basic rights have been usurped, are very rightly exercising their “LEGITIMATE RIGHT OF RESISTANCE” against this occupation and these ethnic cleansing activities.
    The rightful resistance of the Palestinian people against those who occupy their land is too noble, honourable, heroic to be portrayed as illegitimate.
    From here, I wholeheartedly salute once again my Palestinian brothers who defend their country at the cost of their lives.
    The only reason for Israel’s aggression against the Palestinian people is the unconditional support of a handful of countries to Israel.
    The countries that have an influence over Israel are openly becoming accomplices of this massacre with the policy of “run with the hare, hunt with the hounds”.
    Those who are supposedly working for a ceasefire in the limelight continue to send weapons and ammunition to Israel behind the stage, so that it can continue its massacres.
    This is inconsistency and insincerity.
    Please consider … there’s a document that has been going back and forth since May.
    HAMAS has repeatedly declared its acceptance of the ceasefire proposal.
    However, the Israeli government has very clearly indicated that it is the party that does not want peace by continuously hampering the process, constantly finding excuses, perfidiously killing the interlocutor it negotiated with at a time when the ceasefire was closest.
    There should be no more credit given to Israel’s distraction and deception moves.
    In an environment where United Nations Security Council Resolution 2735 is not being implemented, coercive measures against Israel should be put on the agenda.
    Israel’s attitude has once again shown that it is essential for the international community to develop a protection mechanism for Palestinian civilians.
    Just as HITLER was stopped by the alliance of humanity 70 years ago, Netanyahu and his murder network must be stopped by the “alliance of humanity”.
    We believe that the power of the General Assembly to make recommendations on the use of force, as it exists in the “Uniting for Peace Resolution dated 1950”, should definitely be considered in this process.
    An immediate and permanent ceasefire should be achieved, a hostage-prisoner exchange should be carried out, and humanitarian aid should be delivered to Gaza in an unhindered and uninterrupted way.
    We have to extend a helping hand to the people of Gaza trying to survive, especially before winter when conditions will deteriorate.
    Please consider, 70 percent of the water resources and 75 percent of the ovens in Gaza have been destroyed until now.
    95 percent of health centres have been partially or completely damaged.
    150 thousand houses were completely destroyed, 200 thousand houses were partially destroyed, 80 thousand houses became uninhabitable.
    Infectious diseases, especially polio and hepatitis, are gradually increasing.
    The people of Gaza can only reach a quarter of the amount of aid they need.
    As Türkiye, we have maintained and are continuing to maintain our humanitarian aid activities for our Palestinian brothers since the first day.
    With the amount of aid exceeding 60 thousand tons, Türkiye is the country that sends the highest amount of aid to Gaza. 
    In the same way, by stopping commercial transactions with Israel, we have demonstrated our sensitivity on this issue.
    We also stand with the people and government of Lebanon, where Israel has stepped up its attacks in recent days.
    Now we can all see this truth:
    Our conscience cannot be at peace until those who massacred 41 thousand people are held accountable for the crimes they committed, from the person who gives the order to the ones who pull the trigger, and drop the bomb.
    The bill for the billions of dollars of damage at the destroyed, wiped out, demolished cities must and will definitely be compensated by the perpetrators.
    We support the lawsuit filed by the Republic of South Africa at the International Court of Justice to ensure that the crimes committed by Israel do not go unpunished.
    We will take all necessary steps to ensure that justice is served in this case in which we have applied for intervention.
    We will make every legal struggle to find justice for our daughter Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, who was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers during a peaceful protest in Nablus.
    Although there is an urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza, the main issue is the occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel.
    Creation of an independent, sovereign and geographically contiguous Palestinian State on the basis of the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital can no longer be delayed.
    I would like it to be known that we are also closely following the increasing attacks against our first Qibla, Al-Masjid al-Aqsa and Al-Haram Al-Sharif.
    While saying all this as Tayyip Erdoğan, I never speak with empty words from this rostrum.  
    Here, I am speaking with the courage that I get from my history and the conscientious and fair stance of my ancestors. 
    Because we are a nation that has always been on the side of the oppressed and stood against oppressor and tyranny throughout history.
    We had welcomed the Jews who escaped from the inquisition 500 years ago and the Jews who escaped from Hitler’s concentration camps.
    I tell it frankly; as a country and as a nation, we have no hostility towards the people of Israel.
    We are against ANTI-SEMITISM in the same way that we are against the targeting of Muslims just because of their beliefs.
    Our problem is with the policies of massacre of the Israeli government.
    Our problem is again with the oppressor and tyranny, just as it was 5 centuries ago.
    Everyone should know that we do not refrain from crying out the truth.
    Even if some feel uncomfortable, we are not afraid to tell the truth.
    Insha’Allah, we will continue to stand by the righteous until the end and speak of what we know as truth, even if it is harsh. 
    Hereby, I would also like to thank all the brave people who show solidarity with the Palestinian people without distinction of faith, country, language or religion, and raise their voice against the massacre in Gaza by filling the streets almost every week.
    Distinguished Delegates…
    Unfortunately, in the 14th year of the conflict, Syria is also still far from stability.
    The economic and humanitarian situation in the country, which is in the grip of terrorist and separatist organizations remains dire.
    We hope that the political process will be advanced and national reconciliation will be achieved on the basis of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254.
    We are determined to maintain our position in favour of a realistic dialogue with sincerity.
    While our neighbour Iraq continues its struggle against terrorism, it is taking decisive steps towards development, reconstruction and reintegration with the region.
    The international community should support these efforts of Iraq.
    It is important in this context to implement initiatives that will benefit the entire region, such as the Development Road Project.
    The success of all these efforts depends on the elimination of the terrorist threat in Iraq, especially from the PKK.
    We believe that taking steps towards reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with our other neighbour Iran will contribute to the establishment of the environment of trust and stability in the region. 
    As the third year of the war in Ukraine comes to an end, we are still far from reaching a just and lasting peace.
    As the armament race accelerates, the field of diplomacy is gradually narrowing.
    We will further increase our support to the efforts to end the war through diplomacy and dialogue, on the basis of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
    In this process, we will continue to meticulously implement the Montreux Convention.
    We support the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and we hope that the work will be completed with good news as soon as possible.
    We are also taking mutually positive steps on the Türkiye-Armenia track.
    The developments that can be achieved in the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process will also have a positive impact on the Türkiye-Armenia normalization process.
    Esteemed Friends…
    We play a constructive role for the prosperity and peace of the Balkans, of which we are an integral part, and act in close cooperation with all actors in the region. 
    As a member of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council, we emphasize the importance of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s sovereignty, political unity and territorial integrity on every platform, and we continue to contribute to the EUFOR-ALTHEA Operation.
    We successfully continue the KFOR command that we assumed last year and support the Belgrade-Prishtina Dialogue process.
    We want to see the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean as a region of stability and prosperity where the legitimate interests of all parties concerned are respected.
    The limitation of maritime jurisdiction areas in accordance with international law, freedom and safety of navigation, and the development of cooperation, especially on maritime trade issues, are to the common interest of the entire region.
    Türkiye is ready for constructive cooperation on all issues, especially energy and environment.
    We expect the same approach from our neighbours.
    As the country with the longest coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, Türkiye’s key role is undeniable.
    Türkiye has rights to the north and west of the Island of Cyprus in the declared continental shelf and Turkish Cypriots have rights all around the Island.
    It has been 50 years since the Cyprus Peace Operation and 61 years since the Cyprus issue emerged as a result of the usurpation of the partnership state by Greek Cypriots.
    From that day to this, peace and tranquillity have prevailed on the Island.
    It has always been the Turkish Cypriots and Türkiye that have shown a sincere will to bring about a just, permanent and sustainable solution to the Cyprus issue.
    The federation model has now completely lost its validity.
    There are two separate states and two separate peoples on the island.
    The sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriots, which are their inherent rights, should be reaffirmed, and the isolation should now come to an end.
    Today, I once again call on the international community to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and establish with it diplomatic, political and economic relations.
    We provide active support to the establishment of stability in Libya and the preservation of the unity and integrity of the country.
    We call on all states to take a sincere stand by Libya during this sensitive period and to contribute to the establishment of trust between the parties.
    We need to exert more efforts to end the conflicts in Sudan.
    We all have a responsibility to deliver humanitarian aid to millions of Sudanese displaced due to conflicts.
    Africa has a very huge potential with its young and dynamic population, rich natural resources and fertile extensive lands.
    On the basis of the principles of equal partnership and mutual respect, we support the Continent’s peace, stability and development efforts with the African peoples.
    We will continue to be in full solidarity with our African brothers and sisters.
    We are deepening our engagement with regional organizations, such as the Indian Ocean Rim Association, the Pacific Islands Forum and particularly ASEAN.
    We maintain our will to develop our relations with BRICS, which brings together emerging economies.
    We share a deep-rooted history with the Central Asian countries; we further strengthen our cooperation on bilateral and multilateral grounds.
    Our Organisation of Turkic States is increasingly turning into a centre of attraction.
    The Organisation is becoming an exemplary model of cooperation, also with the contributions of observer members Hungary and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
    As the Turkic world, we will further strengthen our unity and solidarity.
    Within the framework of respect for China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we are in close dialogue with China to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Uighur Turks, with whom we have strong historical, cultural and human ties.
    We are trying to advance the friendly ties we have established with all the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to a further stage.
    Distinguished Delegates…
    We are obliged to work together to eliminate global injustice.
    The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals’ notion of “leave no one behind” is a guide for these efforts.
    As one of the countries that provide the highest aid in proportion to its national income, Türkiye’s activities contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
    We support the activities that will ensure fair, inclusive growth and development on all international platforms, especially within the G20.
    We believe that all nations should benefit equally from the transformative power of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.
    The United Nations Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries that we host is a concrete manifestation of our efforts in this direction.
    The “cyber terrorist attacks” perpetrated against Lebanon last week demonstrated how these technologies can at the same time turn into a fatal weapon.
    We address climate change with a similar approach.
    No country can cope with the emission reduction and adaptation process to climate change alone.
    The most important issues for developing countries are financing, technology transfer and capacity building.
    I believe that the COP29 Climate Summit to be held in Baku will contribute to the solution of these issues.
    With the vision of a more sustainable and cleaner world, we have carried the Zero Waste Movement, which we launched under the auspices of my Spouse, Mrs. Emine Erdoğan, to a global level with the resolution co-sponsored by 105 countries and adopted unanimously at the United Nations General Assembly.
    Hereby, I invite all countries, international organisations and non-governmental organisations to become partners in our movement.
    We see that Islamophobia, xenophobia and racism are enveloping the world like a poison ivy.
    Hardly a day goes by that we do not witness attacks on mosques and our holy book, the Holy Quran.
    In the middle of Europe, people’s houses are being set on fire; their lives are being targeted; their most fundamental rights are being usurped because of their ethnic and religious identities.
    No one can ignore this growing danger any longer.
    As stipulated in the resolution adopted on 15 March 2024, we expect the appointment of a “Special Envoy for Combating Islamophobia” at the United Nations as soon as possible.
    Distinguished Friends…
    Today I would like to draw your attention once again to a danger that I raised at this rostrum last year.
    The attacks against the family institution, which is the basic pillar of society, are intensifying.
    The disgrace staged at the opening of the 2024 Olympic Games has revealed the dimensions of the threat we face as humanity.
    A sports event followed by innocent children and hundreds of millions of people of all ages and faiths has been used, in a very ugly manner, for degenderization propaganda.
    Those wicked scenes have deeply wounded not only the Catholic world, the Christian world, but also Muslims and everyone who respects the sacred.
    The issue of desexualisation is now turning into a global imposition rather than a “preference”, literally a war against the sacred and the creation.
    Anyone who raises a voice against this destruction project and shows the slightest reaction is silenced and becomes the target of lynching campaigns.
    Türkiye is determined to break this siege and resist this climate of fear at all cost.
    For this purpose, we became a member of the United Nations Group of Friends of the Family.
    Insha’Allah, we will not hold back from defending the family, the human being and the creation in solidarity with other member states.
    I invite the countries that share the same concerns with us to support this struggle.
    With these thoughts, I wish that the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly will be beneficial for all humanity.
    I salute you all once again with affection and respect.
    May you all remain in good health…

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: State Parks Closures Due to Hurricane Helene, Including Monarch Festival Cancellation

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: State Parks Closures Due to Hurricane Helene, Including Monarch Festival Cancellation

    State Parks Closures Due to Hurricane Helene, Including Monarch Festival Cancellation
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    Due to expected impacts of Hurricane Helene, Gorges State Park and Mount Mitchell State Park will be closed Thursday and Friday, Sept. 26-27.

    The Mountain Monarch Festival at Gorges, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 28, has been cancelled.

    The Blue Ridge Parkway expects to be closed for the next several days. Mount Mitchell State Park will reopen when the Parkway reopens.

    The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation will continue to monitor the situation over the next few days. Closures may be extended or added in western North Carolina as the storm moves through the region. Visitors should check the park pages on ncparks.gov for the most up-to-date status of facilities and parks. Parks and facilities will reopen when staff can confirm that conditions are safe to do so.

    About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
    The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.
    The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.
    Sep 26, 2024

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: America250 and America 250 NC Open Submissions for America’s Field Trip Contest

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: America250 and America 250 NC Open Submissions for America’s Field Trip Contest

    America250 and America 250 NC Open Submissions for America’s Field Trip Contest
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    America250, the official nonpartisan entity charged by Congress with planning the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Semiquincentennial, in collaboration with BNY and America 250 NC, kicked off the second installment of “America’s Field Trip” — a nationwide scholastic contest where students have the opportunity to earn a special behind-the-scenes experience at an iconic American historical and cultural site. Starting today through Wednesday, April 16, 2025, America’s Field Trip invites students in grades 3-12 to submit artwork or a piece of writing to reflect on what America means to them.

    Earlier this year, thousands of students from nearly every U.S. state and territory submitted inspiring entries for the inaugural America’s Field Trip contest. During July and August 2024, first-place awardees — including three students from North Carolina — participated in special field trip experiences at the Statue of Liberty, Yellowstone National Park, the National Archives, and more. Three second-place recipients from North Carolina received cash awards.

    The 2024 awardees from North Carolina include:

    First Place 
         • Taliesin Robert Allen R., Greensboro, 5th Grade 
         • Elizabeth B., Winston-Salem, 8th Grade 
         • Mya F., Raleigh, 11th Grade

    Second Place 
         • Charleston D., Rougemont, Elementary School (Grades 3–5)     
         • Ethan K., Kernersville, High School (Grades 9–12) 
         • Abigail P., Winston Salem, High School (Grades 9–12)

    The full list of 2024 awardees and their submissions can be found online at america250.org/fieldtrip/awardees. 

    Watch this video to learn more about the America’s Field Trip contest, and see some of the incredible places awardees visited this summer.

    Next summer, 75 first-place awardees and their designated chaperone will be provided airfare, lodging, and access to an unforgettable field trip experience at one of our nation’s select historical and cultural sites across the country. Second-place awardees will receive a $500 cash award. Summer 2025 field trip experiences and partners include: 

        • Behind-the-scenes tour of the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center and sleepover at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C.
         • Exclusive visits to two Washington, DC institutions: a trip into the National Archives Vault on the National Mall and private tour of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
         • Exclusive tour of Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia and visit to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
         • Storytelling, history, and commemoration under the stars at Mount Rushmore National Memorial
         • Private tours of Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum, the International African American Museum, and the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston, S.C.
         • Exclusive tours of the Alamo in San Antonio and the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas.
         • Backstage tour of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio
         • Beyond the ropes tour of Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pa.
         • Guided visit to Angel Island Immigration Station and candlelight tour of Fort Point at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif.
         • Private guided tour of Yellowstone National Park in Montana and Wyoming
         • Ranger-led hikes and tours of the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado
         • Private tour of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida

    The full list and descriptions of 2025 Field Trips are available HERE.

    “America’s 250th anniversary is an opportunity for everyone to share their stories, their thoughts on the past, and their hopes and dreams for the future — especially our young people,” said America250 Chair, Rosie Rios. “America’s Field Trip is more than just a contest; it’s an investment in our country’s future. When we provide students with special opportunities to explore our nation’s iconic landmarks, we’re not just creating incredible memories; we’re fostering a deeper understanding of our shared history and values. These experiences will inspire the next generation of leaders to build a stronger, more united America.”

    “Students represent the voices of future leaders and innovators, and we want to hear their voices,” said North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Reid Wilson. “On behalf of our agency team leading the America 250 NC commemoration planning, we encourage all North Carolina students to engage in the America’s Field Trip contest.”

    “BNY is excited to continue our partnership with America250 and support this exceptional opportunity for young people to explore the accomplishments and potential of our nation,” said Jayee Koffey, Global Head of Enterprise Execution and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer for BNY. “Students are the architects of tomorrow and we believe America’s Field Trip will inspire the next generation to continue our nation’s long history of innovation.”

    America250 has also partnered with edtech leader Discovery Education to develop customized educational resources including lesson plans and student activities that empower educators to bring America’s 250th anniversary into their classrooms. New for the 2024-2025 school year, an educator-facing instructional video from Discovery Education is designed to help teachers align the contest prompt, “What does America mean to you,” with standards frameworks.

    “America’s Field Trip is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students to step out of the classroom and into the heart of our nation’s history and culture,” said Amy Nakamoto, General Manager of Corporate Partnerships at Discovery Education Experience. “As we approach this important milestone, we are excited to work with America250 and BNY to spark curiosity and bring this national contest to life for students nationwide.”

    How to Participate in America’s Field Trip

    Students must develop their submissions individually and must have a teacher, parent, or legal guardian submit on their behalf. Students at each grade level will respond to the question, “What does America mean to you?” Students, families, and teachers can find more information, including resources, contest rules, release forms, and toolkit materials to integrate the contest into classroom activities at america250.org/FieldTrip.

    The contest has different submission requirements for each grade band and is available to any student in elementary school (third to fifth grade), middle school (sixth to eighth grade), and high school (ninth to twelfth grade). The contest will remain open until 5 p.m., April 16, 2025. First- and second-place award recipients will be announced in May 2025, and field trips will occur in July and August 2025.

    Educators can help spread the word about America’s Field Trip for the chance to win a cash award! The educator associated with the top-scoring entry in each grade band will each receive a $1,000 cash award. 

    NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Contest begins 12 a.m. ET on Sept. 16 and ends 5 p.m. ET on April 16, 2025. Open to U.S. students (3rd – 12th grade); student’s parent/legal guardian or teacher with parental permission must submit entry on student’s behalf (unless student is the age of majority). Submission includes grant of license rights to entry’s content. First Prize awardees must travel with parent/legal guardian on designated dates. See Official Rules for full details including how to enter, eligibility requirements, prize description/restrictions and judging procedure. Void where prohibited.

    About America250
    America250 is a nonpartisan initiative working to engage every American in celebrating and commemorating the Semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It is spearheaded by the congressionally appointed U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission and its sole-supporting nonprofit organization, America250.org, Inc., together known as America250. This multi-year effort kicked off with America’s Invitation on July 4, 2023: a national public engagement campaign inviting all Americans to share their stories and their hopes and dreams for the future of this country. Leading up to July 4, 2026, America250 is working to provide opportunities for all Americans to pause and reflect on our nation’s past, honor the contributions of all Americans, and look to the future we want to create for the next generation and beyond. To learn more, visit America250.org, and follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

    About BNY
    BNY is a global financial services company that helps make money work for the world – managing it, moving it and keeping it safe. For 240 years BNY has partnered alongside clients, putting its expertise and platforms to work to help them achieve their ambitions. Today BNY helps over 90% of Fortune 100 companies and nearly all the top 100 banks globally to access the money they need. BNY supports governments in funding local projects and works with over 90% of the top 100 pension plans to safeguard investments for millions of individuals, and so much more. As of June 30, 2024, BNY oversees $49.5 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and $2.0 trillion in assets under management.

    BNY is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Headquartered in New York City, BNY employs over 50,000 people globally and has been named among Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies and Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators. Additional information is available on http://www.bny.com. Follow on LinkedIn or visit the BNY Newsroom for the latest company news.

    1Funding provided by The Bank of New York Mellon Foundation.

    About Discovery Education 
    Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. Through its award-winning multimedia content, instructional supports, innovative classroom tools, and corporate partnerships, Discovery Education helps educators deliver equitable learning experiences engaging all students and supporting higher academic achievement on a global scale. Discovery Education serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 100 countries and territories. Inspired by the global media company Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and trusted organizations to empower teachers with leading edtech solutions that support the success of all learners. Explore the future of education at http://www.discoveryeducation.com.

    About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
    The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.
    The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.
    Sep 24, 2024

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: State Archives to Host Virtual Program on its Podcast, ‘Connecting the Docs’

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: State Archives to Host Virtual Program on its Podcast, ‘Connecting the Docs’

    State Archives to Host Virtual Program on its Podcast, ‘Connecting the Docs’
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    Meet the team behind “Connecting the Docs,” the State Archives of North Carolina’s podcast.

    A Zoom teleconference scheduled for Monday, Oct. 7, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., will introduce and summarize how the archival collections are used to create historical narratives. The program also will share information about improving your research skills.

    Oral historians John Horan and Annabeth Poe will provide an overview of “Connecting the Docs,” including audience statistics and how one letter from our private collections inspired an entire podcast episode of content.

    Records Description Unit head Joshua Hager will summarize how archivists used our Treasurer’s and Comptroller’s collection to spotlight work done by enslaved laborers.

    Reference Archivist Katherine Crickmore will highlight the criminal records used in the murder ballads episode of our true crime series.

    Archivist T. Mike Childs will demonstrate how he put together the more lighthearted story of Slow Poke the Possum using state agency records.

    The program also will include a Q&A session.

    Register for the program at https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_IrE6Fad3RD-ubb-Ot02lMQ#/registration

    About the State Archives
    The State Archives serves as the custodian of North Carolina’s historical records, preserving and providing public access to a wealth of archival materials. Through its diverse collections, educational programs, and exhibitions, the State Archives plays a crucial role in promoting an understanding and appreciation of North Carolina’s rich historical legacy.

    About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
    The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.

    The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.

    Sep 25, 2024

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Meherrin Indian Tribe to be Featured on N.C. Highway Historical Marker

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: Meherrin Indian Tribe to be Featured on N.C. Highway Historical Marker

    Meherrin Indian Tribe to be Featured on N.C. Highway Historical Marker
    jejohnson6

    An American Indian tribe that settled in northeastern North Carolina soon will be recognized with a North Carolina Highway Historical Marker.

    The marker commemorating the Meherrin Tribe will be dedicated during a ceremony Oct. 5 at 1 p.m., at the Meherrin Tribal Grounds (852 NC-11 South, Ahoskie, N.C.).

    The Meherrin, whose traditional name Kauwets’a·ka means “People of the Water,” received formal recognition from the North Carolina government in 1986.

    The first known written account of the Meherrin people came from English merchant and explorer Sir Edward Bland, who visited the Meherrin village of Cowonchahawkon near present-day Emporia, Va., in 1650 while on an expedition from Fort Henry (present-day Petersburg, Va.). Later, encroaching European settlements in the mid-17th century pressured native peoples, including the Meherrin, to move. Following Bacon’s Rebellion, all Virginia tribes signed the Middle Plantation Treaty of 1677, which subjugated them to King Charles II of England and the governor of Virginia.

    A short time later, the Meherrin left the area of Cowonchahawkon and settled on Tawarra/Taurura Creek near Boykins, Va. Other members of the tribe moved north of the Blackwater River, but in 1687 they were ordered by the Virginia Council of State to return south of the river. About 1691, the tribe moved across the border into Carolina Province in what is today North Carolina where their tribal territories are found in Hertford, Bertie, Northampton, and Gates counties.

    In 1920, a new Pleasant Plains Indian School was built in Hertford County to replace the original school built in 1866. It was the second Rosenwald-funded school in the county. The school closed in 1949 and was converted into a community center to serve Indian and mixed families in 1950.

    In 1975, Meherrin descendants reorganized the tribe and reclaimed its identity under Chief Wayne Mackanear Brown. They created a modern tribal government, led by a chief and seven elected council members. The tribe holds an annual powwow during the first week of October at the tribal grounds between Ahoskie and Murfreesboro, N.C.

    A more complete history of the Meherrin Tribe can be found at http://www.meherrinnation.org.

    For more information about the historical markers, please visit https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2023/12/04/meherrin-tribe-95, or call (919) 814-6625.

    The marker is one of nine markers being dedicated in 2024 that highlight American Indian culture and history in North Carolina. Historical markers were approved for the Coharie, Haliwa-Saponi, Lumbee, Meherrin, Occaneechi Band of the Saponi, Sappony, and Waccamaw Siouan tribes. In addition, historical markers were approved for the site of the East Carolina Indian School and the Buie Mound site. The N.C. American Indian Heritage Commission staff worked closely with N.C. tribes to complete applications to be considered for the historical marker program.

    The Highway Historical Marker Program is a collaboration between the N.C. departments of Natural and Cultural Resources and Transportation.

    About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
    The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.
    The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.
    Sep 23, 2024

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: N.C. American Indian Heritage Commission Receives Grant to Fund Oral History Project

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: N.C. American Indian Heritage Commission Receives Grant to Fund Oral History Project

    N.C. American Indian Heritage Commission Receives Grant to Fund Oral History Project
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    The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) is excited to announce a new oral history project, supported by a $141,264 Public Engagement with Historical Records Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

    “Oral histories are an integral part of our traditions,” said Kerry Bird, Director of the North American Indian Heritage Commission. “This grant will allow us to expand our efforts to collect these stories while our elders are alive to tell them.”

    The grant will fund the North Carolina American Indian Oral History Project, which aims to enhance the visibility and understanding of American Indian communities in North Carolina. This project, a collaborative effort between DNCR and the North Carolina American Indian Heritage Commission, will focus on the eight state-recognized tribes: the Coharie, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Haliwa-Saponi, Lumbee, Meherrin, Occaneechi Band of Saponi Nation, Sappony, and Waccamaw Siouan.

    In partnership with the North Carolina Native American Youth Organization, the project will also train American Indian youth in how to properly collect, document, and preserve the rich narratives and cultural traditions of their communities. Additionally, a guidebook will be developed to assist future generations in collecting and sharing American Indian oral histories, ensuring the preservation of ancestral memories and cultural practices for years to come.

    About The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)
    The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), a statutory body affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), supports a wide range of activities to preserve, publish, and encourage the use of documentary sources, created in every medium ranging from quill pen to computer, relating to the history of the United States.

    About the North Carolina American Indian Heritage Commission (NCAIHC)
    Established in 2021, the NCAIHC advises and assists the Secretary of DNCR in the preservation, interpretation, and promotion of American Indian history, arts, customs, and culture. The NCAIHC works closely with its sister agencies under DNCR to ensure American Indian narratives are included in interpretation at statewide museums and historic sites, that they are culturally sensitive, and that American Indian communities are involved in programs and outreach. The NCAIHC is instrumental in promoting American Indian cultural visibility throughout the State of North Carolina.

    About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
    The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.

    The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.
    Sep 24, 2024

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Schweikert: The World Has Now Surpassed Its Record of Debt, at $312 Trillion

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman David Schweikert (AZ-06)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative David Schweikert (AZ-01) took to the House floor yesterday to deliver his last speech before the 2024 election. He started by mentioning that the world has now surpassed the cumulative record of governmental debt, totaling an astonishing $312 trillion. Rep. Schweikert references previous floor speeches where he points out that every tax proposal for the wealthy only brings in 1.5 percent of GDP. He presents an additional hypothetical if Congress were to cut discretionary spending (which accounts for $860 billion) by $300 billion. With the combination of every Democrat tax proposal and every Republican cut, that still only gets 2.5 percent of GDP. All of this borrowing, mind you, comes in a good economic year, where tax receipts are up. We are still going to borrow almost 7% GDP. 

    Excerpts from Rep. Schweikert’s floor speech can be found below:

    On other countries bond rates’ being cheaper than the Unites State’s rates:

    [Beginning at 02:12]
    “Congress has made the decision that those who are really running this government, those who run this country, will be called the ‘bond market’. Because, if you need to refinance, like we did this fiscal year, we’ve refinanced about $8 trillion and [brought] to market an additional $2 [trillion]. You’re basically sitting on $10 trillion, and that’s not even counting the short term where it was a thirty-day, [and then] six months… those things that had to be rolled. You are subject to the fragility of the bond market, and what interest rate, and how much liquidity… and how many idiots like me come behind these microphones and try to explain the world debt markets to you? Take it seriously, it is not a game. United States is now #14 on the credit stack. That means there [are] 13 other countries today that can sell a ten-year bond cheaper than us. Greece, today, can sell 10-year bonds cheaper than the United States. Think about that.”

    On the morality of more cures coming to market:

    [Beginning at 09:04]
    “Remember: in 15 years, the United States has more deaths than births. We are about to have the fifth year where prime-age males are dying younger. In the last six years, 390,000 Americans have died from fentanyl. Well, it turns out, next year, we might have a fentanyl vaccine. And you might not like it… 390,000 have died in six years! You’re not willing to deal with the moral imperative of saving our brothers and sisters?! We need to think differently. And the fact of the matter is, you are living in a time of miracles. We can cure Hepatitis-C, we can cure hemophilia. There are things that are coming out. There [are] the Vertex experiments that look to cure Type 1 diabetes. If diabetes is 33% of all U.S. health care spending, what is the morality, but what’s also the amazing economics if we would fixate– in the Farm Bill, in nutrition support– in the way we deliver health care to get our brothers and sisters healthier? Turns out, it is the single biggest thing you can do to stabilize U.S. debt. How many people have you heard come behind these microphones within the last year, and be willing to say that? Because you upset the lobbyists, walking up and down the hallways, that need people that are sick!”

    On the reiteration that interest is the second biggest expenditure of U.S. government spending:

    [Beginning at 17:30]
    “If you actually care about the debt, stop living in this fantasy; “We’ll just tax rich people, and that takes care of everything!” If you look at some of the proposals, they’ve already spent the money three or four times. I keep trying to present over and over; when you start to realize the amount of our spending– and by the end of the decade, think of this, 10 years from now– if you add in the debt we will owe to the trust funds, what’s left of them, we’re at $56 trillion. $56 trillion! What happens if interest rates move against us? Remember, interest today is the second biggest expenditure in this government. [Number one is] Social security. Behind that is interest. Then Medicare, then defense. Defense is now the fourth [largest] expenditure in this government. And you try over and over and over. You see right here– 2024-2025– the little, tiny movement we get in 2026 and a couple years after that, and then, boom! Now, this here is because the tax hikes that are coming– they’re already in statute, they’re coming. It’s not a vote, we’re not taking a vote to say we’re going to raise these taxes. It’s called tax expiration. It’s already coming. It’s math– But boom. After three or four years, you’re back, and the curve is back in.  We don’t want to tell the truth: it’s demographics“
     

    ###
    Congressman David Schweikert serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and is the current Chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee. He is also the Vice Chairman on the bicameral Joint Economic Committee, chairs the Congressional Valley Fever Task Force, and is the Republican Co-Chair of the Blockchain Caucus, Telehealth Caucus, Singapore Caucus, and the Caucus on Access to Capital and Credit.

    Back to News

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ukraine recap: Putin’s nuclear sabre-rattling becomes more ominous

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jonathan Este, Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor

    In recent months, Vladimir Putin and his proxies have been foreshadowing a change in Russia’s nuclear doctrine. This is the set of rules that spells out when and how his country might resort to the use of its nuclear arsenal, which is currently the largest in the world. Most recently his deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said the revisions to the rulebook were “connected with the escalation course of our western adversaries”. In other words: it’s not us, it’s you.

    You don’t have to read too much between the lines to discern a connection between the growing clamour by some in the west to allow Ukraine to use western long-range missiles against targets deep inside Russia and Russia’s decision to reconsider under what circumstances it would use its nuclear arsenal.

    Over the past couple of years – since shortly after he initiated Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – Putin and his inner circle have regularly invoked Russia’s nuclear deterrent, writes Christoph Bluth, an expert in nuclear proliferation and international security at the University of Bradford. All it seems to take is for the west to agree another large package of funding, or change the terms of its aid to Kyiv for the Kremlin to dust off the doomsday scenario.

    So it comes as little surprise that, shortly after Volodymr Zelensky gave his impassioned speech to the United Nations general assembly yesterday restating his country’s urgent need for more support and more latitude in how to use it, Putin announced his country’s new “draft” nuclear doctrine. Henceforth, he said, Russia would consider using nuclear weapons if it was attacked by any state with conventional weapons. The trigger for the launch of nuclear missiles against Ukraine or any of its allies, he said, would be “reliable information about a massive launch of aerospace attack means and their crossing of our state border”.



    Read more:
    Ukraine war: Vladimir Putin ups the ante on his nuclear blackmail – the big question is how the west will respond

    Bluth recounts how, earlier this month, one of Putin’s proxies, Alexander Mikhailov, the director of the Bureau of Military Political Analysis, recently called for Russia to “bomb plywood mock-ups of London and Washington to simulate a nuclear attack, so that it would ‘burn so beautifully that it will horrify the world’.” Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia’s lower house, said that any attacks against Russia would prompt it to respond with nuclear weapons. He is reported to have added – with what appears to have been ghastly relish – that the European parliament in Strasbourg was “only a three-minute flight for a Russian nuclear missile”.

    It’s tempting to dismiss Russia’s threats as just so much sabre-rattling. And there have been plenty of voices in the west urging leaders to defy Putin’s threats. After Ukraine launched its lightning raid into Russia’s Kursk province in August, Zelensky said it was clear that Russia’s red lines were a bluff. He said: “The naive, illusory concept of so-called red lines regarding Russia, which dominated the assessment of the war by some partners, has crumbled apart these days.”

    Colin Alexander, a specialist in political commnunications at Nottingham Trent University, believes that since the end of the cold war the focus of what he calls “fear propaganda” has changed. It has moved away from the prospect of nuclear annihilation to “other threats, such as extremism, pandemics and migration”.

    But anyone who grew up during the cold war will remember the omnipresent fear of the “three-minute warning” regularly reinforced by government messaging, TV documentaries and dramas. These all served to remind everyone that a nuclear holocaust was only a series of wrongheaded decisions away. It’s that atmosphere of peril, writes Alexander, which makes a leader’s threats believable.

    And the “madman theory” which holds that only an unstable leader would contemplate pushing the button, has helped lull people into the idea that a nuclear conflict is indeed unthinkable, because surely no leader would be mad enough. But Alexander concludes by citing the one leader who actually did drop a nuclear bomb in an enemy:

    US president Harry S. Truman pushed the button in 1945. He was then given detailed reports of the death and destruction that his decision caused to Hiroshima. Then he pushed the button again to annihilate Nagasaki.



    Read more:
    The world isn’t taking Putin’s nuclear threats seriously – the history of propaganda suggests it should

    Zelensky’s plea

    Zelensky’s speech to the UN general assembly was compelling and moving in equal measure. He warned of intelligence reports that Russia was preparing to target Ukraine’s nuclear power plants as part of its campaign to wreck the country’s energy infrastructure before winter. He mourned for the children of Ukraine, who “are learning to distinguish the sounds of different types of artillery and drones because of Russia’s war”. And he restated his ten-point plan for peace, which involves Russia withdrawing from all the lands it has occupied since 2014.

    But, Stefan Wolff notes, a growing number of countries are lining up behind a peace plan proposed earlier in the year by China and Brazil, which would freeze the conflict along the existing frontlines before proceeding to negotiations.

    The state of the conflict in Ukraine as at September 25.
    Institute for the Study of War

    Wolff, an expert in international security at the University of Birmingham, believes this plan is deeply flawed. For one thing it would inevitably involve Kyiv being forced to give up territory illegally annexed by Russia. It would also give Russia time to regroup, rearm and train extra troops and would almost certainly not guarantee a lasting peace, but would simply stave off another Russian assault on Ukraine.

    But Zelensky faces two key problems which make his diplomatic mission that much harder. His voice is in danger of being drowned out by the conflict in the Middle East, which appears almost inevitably bound for a ground war in Lebanon in days to come. And the prospect of Donald Trump winning a second term in about six weeks’ time, means that the days of Washington as Kyiv’s staunchest partner could well be coming to an end.



    Read more:
    Ukraine war: Zelensky’s pleas for help are getting drowned out in the clamour from the Middle East

    As the conflict drags on – 31 months and counting – there is evidence that some Ukrainians would give up territory in return for peace and an end to the killing. Our team of political scientists, Kristin M. Bakke of UCL, Gerard Toal of Virginia Tech and John O’Loughlin of University of Colorado Boulder, have been polling Ukrainians since the invasion and have detected a definite shift in attitudes towards the conflict.

    While most Ukrainians still hate the idea of having to give up territory to Russia, support for the proposition that Ukraine should “continue opposing Russian aggression until all Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, is liberated” had fallen from 71% in 2022 to 51% now. And, while in 2022 just 11% of respondents agreed with “trying to reach an immediate ceasefire by both sides with conditions and starting intensive negotiations”, that number had almost tripled in the most recent polling.

    Interestingly, the researchers note, while most people they spoke with professed unchanged support for their country’s war effort, a growing number said they were worried that their fellow Ukrainians were beginning to suffer from war-weariness.



    Read more:
    Growing number of war-weary Ukrainians would reluctantly give up territory to save lives, suggests recent survey

    Land grabs

    Russia is already calling for more territory in eastern Ukraine in the form of a “buffer zone” around Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv in the north-east of the country. This, the Kremlin claims, is to protect Russian towns from shelling and missile attacks from Ukrainian territory.

    Interestingly, writes Iain Farquharson, a security expert and military historian at Brunel University London, Israel has also proposed setting up a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, to protect Israelis living near the the country’s northern border from Hezbollah missile barrages.

    Farquharson considers the history of buffer zones in the Middle East and beyond. Firstly, buffer zones rarely live up to their supposed function – as Afghanistan’s misfortune to be between British India and southern Russia in the 19th century and Lebanon’s bad luck to be between Syria and Israel in the 1960s and 1970s amply demonstrate.

    But what Russia and Israel are proposing are not so much buffer zones as land grabs, pure and simple. There’s no sense that either country is willing to contribute any of its own territory to these so-called demilitarised areas (or that they’ll actually be demilitarised). They should, he writes, “instead primarily be seen as a way of formalising control over contested territory to protect their home bases, which would give them a military advantage”.



    Read more:
    When Russia and Israel talk about setting up ‘buffer zones’ what they are really talking about is a land grab

    – ref. Ukraine recap: Putin’s nuclear sabre-rattling becomes more ominous – https://theconversation.com/ukraine-recap-putins-nuclear-sabre-rattling-becomes-more-ominous-239974

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: AUKUS Defence Ministers’ Meeting Communique

    Source: United States Department of Defense

    Today the Right Honourable John Healey MP, Secretary of State for Defence, United Kingdom hosted the Honourable Richard Marles MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Australia and the Honorable Lloyd J. Austin III, Secretary of Defense, United States (U.S.) at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London, the United Kingdom (UK) to review progress in and reaffirm their commitment to the AUKUS partnership.

    The AUKUS partnership reflects the continued commitment by Australia, the United Kingdom, and United States to support a free and open Indo-Pacific that is peaceful, secure and stable. The discussions between the Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister today reaffirmed the importance of this innovative, enduring, and trusted partnership in the face of a rapidly evolving and increasingly unstable international security environment. The three nations will continue to work to uphold the global rules-based order where international law is followed, and states can make sovereign choices free from coercion. In this context, they reiterated their shared commitments to the AUKUS partnership for the decades to come and welcomed the progress made since AUKUS Defence Ministers last met in California, the United States, in December 2023.

    Pillar I – Conventionally Armed, Nuclear-Powered Submarines (SSNs)

    In March of 2023, our Heads of Government met to announce a comprehensive plan to support Australia’s acquisition of a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability as quickly as possible. Since that announcement, our three governments have worked shoulder-to-shoulder to refine the milestones and principles that will form the building blocks for this decades-long partnership.

    The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister reiterated their shared and enduring commitment to setting the highest nuclear non-proliferation standard, and the importance of this work to the success of the programme. They undertook to continue AUKUS partners’ open, and transparent engagement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and noted the ongoing bilateral negotiations between the IAEA and Australia to develop a robust safeguards and verification approach for Australia’s naval nuclear propulsion programme under Article 14 of Australia’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA.

    Over the last year, our Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Royal Navy (RN), and U.S. Navy personnel have worked tirelessly across governments, defence industry, and academic institutions to optimise the training of personnel to maintain, sustain, operate, and crew nuclear-powered submarines. The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister reiterated that the delivery of the “Optimal Pathway” depends upon the skilled workforces of all three countries and reaffirmed their shared commitment to develop a robust base of skills across their military, civilian and industrial sectors.

    • More than 60 RAN personnel are currently in various stages of the U.S. nuclear-powered submarine SSN training pipeline to equip a cadre of Australian officers and sailors with experience aboard the U.S. Virginia class SSNs that the RAN will own and operate from the early 2030s. These numbers will increase further in 2025, with more than 100 personnel commencing training. Six officers have completed all training and have been assigned to U.S. Virginia class submarines. RAN enlisted sailors will join U.S. submarine crews before the end of this year.
    • In the United Kingdom, three RAN officers completed the UK Nuclear Reactor course in July 2024 and are now assigned to UK Astute class submarines. The next group of RAN officers will commence training in the UK in November 2024.
    • The RN, with the support of the Australian Submarine Agency, has also delivered professional and general naval nuclear propulsion training for more than 250 Australian personnel in Canberra.
    • Australians have embedded into programme delivery teams in the UK Ministry of Defence and with Rolls-Royce Submarines. Australians are also currently embedded in U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program teams.
    • In July and September 2024, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard welcomed the first 40 ASC Pty Ltd personnel into its training pipeline with the expectation of more than 100 additional ASC Pty Ltd employees by mid-2025.
    • The Australian Government has committed to nearly AUD 250 million to start delivering the skills and workforce needed for its SSN program, including providing 4,001 Commonwealth Supported Places at Australian universities, in addition to 3,000 undergraduate scholarships over six years, to build the necessary Australian Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics workforce.
    • Additional programs have seen more than 70 Australians supported to undertake postgraduate nuclear studies at universities in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia.
    • Australia has also recently announced the “Jobs for Subs” initiative, a government-funded program to evolve ASC Pty Ltd to recruit, train and retain approximately 200 additional graduates, apprentices and trainees to support Submarine Rotational Force-West (SRF-West) in Western Australia.

    Recognising that our partners in defence industry are and will remain vital to this endeavour, the Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister discussed opportunities to maximize our efforts to foster collaboration and build resilience across our industrial bases and supply chains. They welcome the collaboration between BAE Systems (BAES) and ASC Pty Ltd to bring together their combined decades of submarine building to deliver the SSN-AUKUS programme.

    • The U.S. Government decided to invest USD 17.5 billion into its submarine industrial base to support initiatives related to supplier development, shipbuilder and supplier infrastructure, workforce development, technology advancements, and strategic sourcing.
    • Australia has also committed to invest over AUD 30 billion in the Australian defence industrial base to develop Australia’s supply chains and facilitate industry participation in U.S. and UK supply chains.
    • His Majesty’s Government announced an initial allocation of £4 billion from the United Kingdom to continue the detailed design work of SSN-AUKUS and order long-lead items, as well as the United Kingdom’s investment of £3 billion across its Defence Nuclear Enterprise, including the construction of submarine industrial infrastructure that will help to deliver the SSN-AUKUS programme.
    • The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister welcomed the AUKUS partners’ commitment to accelerate opportunities for Australian industry in the Virginia class submarine supply chain, including through the Defence Industry Vendor Qualification Program and other industry collaboration initiatives. They welcomed ongoing efforts to encourage further industrial base partnerships to build resiliency across the trilateral Submarine Industrial Base.
    • This August, as a direct result of our close collaboration over this year, our three nations commenced the execution of the first-ever planned maintenance activity of a U.S. SSN in Australia. More than 30 RAN personnel worked alongside U.S. Navy and contractor personnel and UK observers to conduct routine maintenance and observe safety and stewardship evolutions. This was an important step in building Australia’s capacity to support a rotational presence of UK and U.S. SSNs at SRF-West beginning as early as 2027, as well as Australia’s future sovereign SSN capability.

    The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister emphasised the importance of ensuring that our trilateral systems have the tools they need to transfer information and data in a timely fashion to facilitate cooperation. They were pleased to welcome the August 2024 signing of an enabling agreement for trilateral cooperation related to naval nuclear propulsion. Once in force, this historic agreement will enable AUKUS partners to go beyond sharing naval nuclear propulsion information, allowing the United States and the United Kingdom to transfer nuclear-propulsion material and equipment to Australia required for the safe and secure construction, operation, and sustainment of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines. 

    This agreement reaffirms, and remains consistent with, the AUKUS partners’ respective, existing international non-proliferation obligations. As a non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Australia has re-affirmed unequivocally that it does not have, and will not seek to acquire, nuclear weapons.

    Pillar II – Advanced Capabilities

    The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister hailed progress being made under Pillar II to deliver capability to our defence forces while bolstering industry and innovation sector collaboration. AUKUS nations continue to pool the talents of our defence sectors to catalyse, at an unprecedented pace, the delivery of advanced capabilities.

    Through AUKUS Pillar II, our trilateral science and technology, acquisition and sustainment, and operational communities are working across the full spectrum of capability development—generating requirements, co-developing new systems, deepening industrial base collaboration, and bolstering our innovation ecosystems. The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister welcomed progress made in building a more capable, combined joint force of the future because of this work.

    • This year, under the Maritime Big Play initiative, we are undertaking a series of integrated trilateral experiments and exercises to enhance interoperability and accelerate the combined fielding of autonomous uncrewed systems in the maritime domain. Later this year, the three nations will bring together approximately 30 systems across four domains for the first large-scale AUKUS integrated demonstration. The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister welcomed the inclusion of technologies from companies in each of the three nations and plans to expand to include additional industry partners in the future.
    • In 2024, AUKUS partners furthered their undersea warfare capabilities by beginning to scale up the ability to launch and recover uncrewed underwater systems from torpedo tubes on current classes of British and U.S. submarines, which will increase the range and capability of our undersea forces. AUKUS partners are exploring opportunities to collaborate on sensors and payloads to maximize this capability and deliver effects such as strike, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
    • In parallel, the United Kingdom and the United States are strengthening superiority in the maritime domain by integrating the Sting Ray lightweight torpedo into the P-8A Maritime Patrol Aircraft alongside the Mk 54 torpedo, with trials planned for 2025. This will increase the opportunity for interchangeability and potential work on future torpedo programmes. These efforts will ultimately enhance the survivability of our surface combatant and submarine fleets.
    • In the area of long-range precision strike, we are increasing our collective ability to develop and deliver offensive and defensive hypersonic technologies through a robust series of trilateral tests and experiments that will accelerate the development of hypersonic concepts and critical enabling technologies. These capabilities will hold time critical and heavily defended targets at risk from increased ranges, enhancing the survivability of our forces and defending our homelands and forces against potential threats.
    • Advancing our maritime domain autonomy and decision advantage efforts, AUKUS partners demonstrated and deployed common advanced artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms on P8-A Maritime Patrol aircraft to process data from each nations’ sonobuoys. These advances allow for faster data processing and improved target identification in congested acoustic environments, enhancing our combined anti-submarine warfare capabilities. The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister welcomed plans to scale these technologies in 2025.
    • Our joint forces demonstrated several innovative uses of AI technologies to enhance decision making and bolster combined military effects. In March, AUKUS partners demonstrated the ability to rapidly co-develop and deploy trilateral AI algorithms to find and fix targets for strike. The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister welcomed trilateral plans to explore the introduction of these capabilities into operational units in the coming years.

    The International Joint Requirements Oversight Council (I-JROC) remains a critical collaborative forum to identify and validate joint and combined requirements to ensure capability development considers interoperability and interchangeability from the very start. The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister welcomed the establishment of trilaterally determined key operational problems, leveraging existing activities to achieve capability development priorities endorsed by I-JROC. AUKUS partners seek:

    • An enhanced multi-domain long-range strike capability that incorporates asymmetric capabilities and integrated targeting;
    • Strengthened multi-domain integrated air and missile defence capability;
    • Resilient command and control systems that maintain a diverse range of information; and
    • Enhanced logistical networks that are able to deliver persistent support and sustainment for operations in contested environments.

    To this end, the Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister welcomed work underway across our trilateral Armies, Navies, and Air Forces to explore additional opportunities for collaboration in the land, maritime, air, and other domains under AUKUS Pillar II.

    A cornerstone of our AUKUS Pillar II program remains the opportunity to leverage the best of our defence industrial bases and innovation ecosystems. Over the past year we have further integrated our innovation ecosystems and fostered increased collaboration with these stakeholder communities to explore opportunities in all aspects of Pillar II.

    • AUKUS partners executed the first trilaterally sponsored innovation prize challenge, which focused on electronic warfare. The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister are pleased to announce Advanced Design Technology Pty Ltd, Inovor Technologies Pty Ltd and Penten Pty Ltd (AUS), Amiosec Ltd, University of Liverpool, Roke Manor Research Ltd, Autonomous Devices Ltd (UK), and Distributed Spectrum (U.S.) as the winners for this challenge. The selection of these companies demonstrates the important contributions that our trilateral commercial sectors and innovation bases can make in addressing critical operational requirements.
       
    • Building on the success of this first challenge, the Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister were pleased to endorse plans for a robust two-year agenda that will increase collaboration between and among our innovation centres of excellence. Through this collaboration, AUKUS partners will leverage innovative tools to reach our entrepreneurs and actively solicit new and powerful capabilities from our trilateral innovation ecosystem and industrial base.
    • In coordination with industry associations representing the trilateral defence industrial base, the Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum, continues to provide an opportunity for representatives across government and industry to exchange ideas and deepen industrial collaboration in Pillar II. By the end of this year, AUKUS partners will have convened meetings in each country and facilitated discussions with technology and policy subject matter experts to increase understanding and information sharing.
    • In response to industry feedback and as current projects mature beyond traditional research and development projects, the National Armaments Directors from each nation are identifying opportunities to harmonise acquisition processes and reducing barriers to facilitate the accelerated delivery of Pillar II advanced capabilities. 

    In April 2024, the Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister announced principles for engaging additional partners on opportunities to collaborate on AUKUS Pillar II projects. The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister welcomed progress on consultations with Japan on improving interoperability with Japan’s maritime autonomous systems as an initial area of cooperation. The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister noted ongoing consultations with Canada, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea to identify possibilities for collaboration on advanced capabilities under AUKUS Pillar II on a project by project basis.

    Defence trade and industrial base collaboration

    To promote innovation and realise the goals of AUKUS, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States implemented momentous amendments to our respective export control regimes. These historic efforts will maximise secure, licence-free defence trade and stimulate innovation across the full breadth of our defence collaboration, mutually strengthening our three defence industrial bases, while maintaining rigour and security in all three systems. The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister reaffirmed support to reduce bureaucratic barriers to collaboration to enable deeper defence industrial base cooperation.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New public space celebrates Leicester’s diverse communities

    Source: City of Leicester

    A NEW and improved public space that celebrates Leicester’s diverse communities has been officially opened by the Lord Mayor.

    New commemorative paving has been unveiled at the Sculptural Gateway on Belgrave Circle. The Sculptural Gateway is a striking piece of artwork by Anuradha Patel, that was installed last year to celebrate the arrival of Ugandan Asians to Leicester in 1972.

    The granite paving is designed to complement the sculpture by celebrating the journeys made by many different communities to Leicester. Engraved into it are the names of people who have contributed towards the project.

    A booklet marking the anniversary has been published to accompany the launch of the new space. Sculptural Gateway: A Community Collaboration Celebrating 50 Years of Ugandan Asian Migration to Leicester is available for free from Belgrave Library and Visit Leicester.

    Community participation was a key element of the artwork’s development. Throughout the project, Leicester Museums and Galleries held several arts engagement events, gathering information and detail from people’s migratory stories. They also connected with people through last year’s Rebuilding Lives exhibition, which heard the stories of people fleeing Uganda and seeking refuge in Leicester, exploring the impact they and their families have had on all aspects of the modern city of Leicester.

    To mark the official opening of the space, people were invited to write messages about their journeys to Leicester on parcel tags. Midlands-based artist Anuradha Patel, who created the sculpture, talked about her inspiration, while Jaffer Kapasi, a local businessman and Honorary Consul General of Uganda, spoke about experiences of migration.

    Lord Mayor of Leicester, Cllr Bhupen Dave, was born and educated in Uganda before coming to the UK in 1972 with his parents. He said: “I’m delighted to be opening this new public space. As well as providing a gateway to the Golden Mile, it celebrates the tremendous positive impact that has been made on our city by all of the diverse communities that have travelled here, and now call Leicester home.

    “This is a space that has been designed by and for Leicester communities. It’s a powerful message of unity and shows that we are proud of our culturally diverse city.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –