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Category: Banking

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Development Asia: On the Edge of Food Security: Promoting Climate-Smart Agriculture in Bhutan

    Source: Asia Development Bank

    To ensure Bhutan’s food security, it is essential to adopt strategies to increase farm productivity and decrease food loss in the supply chain. The study proposed three pilot solutions: (i) adoption of best practices to improve crop productivity, (ii) creation of modern greenhouse farms, and (iii) improvements in post-harvest management (Figure 2).

    Figure 2. Proposed Solutions for Food Security Challenges in Bhutan

    ICT = information and communication technology.
    Source: Author.

    Adoption of best practices to improve crop productivity

    Improving self-sufficiency through increased productivity of staple crops is a top priority. In particular, increasing the productivity of main crops, such as rice and potatoes, is critical.

    Rice is an important cereal in Bhutan and its availability directly impacts national food security and stability. However, rice production is continuously decreasing due to the reduction in cultivated areas, labor shortages, limited irrigation water, and climate change. To address this, an integrated approach is needed, involving the following:

    • farmland configuration (farmland consolidation and mechanization)
    • research and development on new seed variety and seed system development
    • promotion of mechanization and information and communication technology (ICT), such as use of drones for sowing, pesticide spraying, remote diagnosis of diseases
    • water-saving irrigation systems to ensure sustainable water management, mitigate drought risks, and improve crops
    • harvest and post-harvest management through effective and efficient implementation of harvesting techniques
    • establishment of proper storage facilities (e.g., warehouses and silos equipped with climate control systems to maintain grain quality and prevent pest infestations)

    It is also important to promote gender and youth capacity development through specialized training programs focused on gender-sensitive and youth-friendly agricultural practices.

    Potatoes are one of Bhutan’s cash crops, but production has suffered a significant drop due to the aging and declining quality of potato seeds. Mainstreaming disease-free potato seeds is essential because potato is a highly degenerated crop easily infected with virus. Immediate interventions should focus on the following:

    • improve agricultural practices (e.g., adequate irrigation, fertilization, and pest management)
    • intensify disease-free potato seed production systems and seed supply
    • introduce post-harvest management system
    • adoption of new varieties

    Creation of modern greenhouse farms

    The establishment of modern greenhouse farms are proposed to reduce dependency on imported vegetables. Traditional farming methods limit year-round production and hinder competitiveness, forcing the country to rely on imported vegetables during the winter season.

    Modern greenhouse farms—integrated with ICT—can produce and supply vegetables year-round and reduce import dependence. ICT, such as sensor systems, automated control systems, remote monitoring and control, fertilizer application systems, and weather forecasting would help monitor and control temperature, irrigation, and fertilizer application.

    Development of farm operational manuals customized to Bhutan’s conditions is also an innovative and systematic approach of knowledge transfer. While greenhouse infrastructures are being built, enhanced capacity development through trainings and workshops, collaboration with industry partners, technology providers, agricultural experts and study tours are crucial technical assistance components.

    Improvements in post-harvest management

    Effective post-harvest management is crucial to minimizing food loss and ensuring food supply. Food loss occurs due to inadequate management of the value chain, from crop harvesting to storage, processing, and packaging. To tackle these issues, several steps are necessary:

    • activation of an agricultural products processing center, which would play a key role in the efficient production and distribution of local crop production areas and post-harvest management. The center can supply foods that meet the needs of consumers, using facilities for pre-cooling, sorting, packaging, processing, storage, and carrying out shipping and distribution.
    • development of post-harvest management manuals for each crop to ensure a more aligned and systematic approach
    • commercialize customized products by route, grade, specification, and packaging materials to meet the needs of various consumers

    Sales and delivery management should also be enhanced through strategic marketing segmentation, expanded market channels (e.g., wholesale markets, large distributors, and exporters), and integrated value chain logistics (e.g., installation of cooling transportation facilities linked to cold storage to maintain marketability, unit load system, and traceability system).

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: ‘Major milestone’ on solutions to internal displacement: Top adviser

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI b

    Migrants and Refugees

    There have been significant advances in addressing the worldwide internal displacement crisis, but urgent action is still needed as numbers continue to rise, topping 76 million people worldwide, the top UN official on the issue said on Wednesday.

    UN Special Adviser on Solutions to Internal Displacement Robert Piper was delivering his final press briefing at UN Headquarters in New York before concluding his mandate.

    “There are around 76 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in the world today, 76 million people who have lost their homes, their livelihoods, their assets, their community because of wars, because of disasters, because of criminal violence,” he told correspondents.

    Internally displaced people are “relatively invisible despite their numbers, unlike refugees and migrants,” Mr. Piper emphasised. Their numbers have doubled in the last ten years.

    “Tens of millions of displaced people do not get home quickly, especially when they’ve been displaced by conflict,” Mr Piper emphasised, adding that “they get stuck in displacement”.

    ‘Major milestone’ in investments

    The Secretary-General commissioned a high-level panel to advise him in 2021, focusing on this growing pattern of protracted displacement. To fix this issue, the panel insisted that only national governments can provide long term fixes.

    “The right kind of investments, more development, more capacity building, less substitution, less short-term fixes,” said Mr. Piper.

    In a positive development, governments have demonstrated increased commitment to addressing the crisis, he continued.

    Iraq, Libya, Columbia, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Mozambique, and Somalia have collectively pledged to help over 11.5 million internally displaced persons find solutions. Some countries have backed these commitments with substantial funding – Iraq and Libya will fully fund their solutions processes, while Columbia is committing approximately $1 billion annually.

    Reaping the rewards

    “We are starting to see the results when governments take that responsibility seriously,” the Special advisor noted, pointing to recent initiatives such as Somalia’s commitment of $140 million for land purchases to facilitate displaced people’s integration.

    In Nigeria’s northeastern states, governances have allocated specific portions of their revenue to address displacement, with the Governor of Borno state, committing 15 per cent of revenue for the next five years to this cause.

    New laws and policies on internal displacement have been implemented in various countries – from Chad to Nigeria to the Philippines – demonstrating growing national ownership of the issue.

    Challenges amid rising numbers

    Despite progress, significant issues remain. The number of IDPs has doubled in just a decade with approximately 20 million new IDPs joining the long-term displaced since 2019.

    The Special Adviser also highlighted specific areas where solutions cannot currently be implemented: “We cannot apply our model in Myanmar at the moment, for example, or in Gaza, where 85 percent of the population has been deliberately, repeatedly displaced by Israeli government acts”.

    Strengthened response

    Prevention tools need strengthening, particularly in light of climate change impacts and the need for better conflict prevention and disaster risk reduction.

    Mr Piper said new ideas were being put into motion to address internal displacement including a solutions fund, strengthened country teams and increased development and peacebuilding assets. International financial institutions have also stepped up their involvement, with both the World Bank and The African Development Bank introducing IDP solutions indicators into their corporate scorecards.

    The issue has gained increased visibility in international forums, including the climate COPs, the World Bank’s Fragility Forum, and the World Urban Forum. A group of 30-member states has formed to support these efforts, while Children’s Fund, UNICEF, and UN migration agency, IOM, have released new analyses on children and climate displacement.

    Return to normal

    Additionally, the humanitarian response remains robust, with UN operations reaching 50 million IDPs with assistance in 2023, while country-based pool funds assisted nearly 12 million displaced people.

    However, reflecting on his tenure and the path forward, the Special Advisor warned that “we need to get better at preventing new displacements. Our prevention tools are not up to task”.

    He concluded that “the core task is to keep saving lives, while we also help governments wherever possible, to build exit ramps for their displaced citizens back from crises to some sense of normality and stability”. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Gaza ceasefire to end if hostages not returned by Saturday

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    People welcome a released Palestinian prisoner in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Feb. 8, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that if the Israeli hostages held in Gaza were not returned by Saturday, the ceasefire with Hamas will be canceled, and Israel will resume “intensive fighting” in the war-torn enclave.

    In a video statement, Netanyahu said the move was unanimously approved by his Cabinet ministers during a four-hour meeting held in the afternoon.

    Under the decision, “if Hamas does not return our hostages by noon on Saturday, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will resume intense fighting until Hamas is decisively defeated,” he said.

    All of Israel’s Cabinet ministers welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza takeover plan and his ceasefire ultimatum, the prime minister added.

    Netanyahu’s remarks came a day after Hamas announced that the handover of hostages scheduled for Saturday would be postponed until further notice.

    On Monday, Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a statement that during the past three weeks, the resistance leadership had monitored Israel’s failures to abide by the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

    Accordingly, the handover of the hostages will be postponed until further notice and until Israel ensures adherence to the deal and compensates for the past weeks retroactively, Obeida noted. “We affirm our commitment to the terms of the agreement as long as the occupation commits to them.”

    In response, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday in a statement that Hamas’ announcement is “a complete violation of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.”

    Katz said he had ordered the IDF to “prepare at the highest level of readiness for any possible scenario in Gaza and to defend the communities near the enclave.”

    The Israeli military announced on Tuesday that it would increase its forces near the Gaza Strip and call up reservists after the Israeli Cabinet decided to cancel the ceasefire with Hamas if the Israeli hostages were not returned by Saturday.

    A military spokesperson confirmed in a statement, “It was decided to reinforce the area with additional troops, including reservists.” The spokesperson emphasized that this decision was made “in accordance with the situational assessment.”

    The spokesperson further explained, “The reinforcements and mobilization of reservists are being implemented to prepare for various scenarios.”

    Trump also issued an ultimatum to Hamas on Monday, saying if all Israeli hostages were not released from Gaza by noon on Saturday, he would propose canceling the ceasefire agreement and letting “all hell break loose.”

    These developments came after an Israeli delegation returned from Qatar, where indirect talks were held regarding the next phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, and amid continuous regional and international outcry against Trump’s and Netanyahu’s remarks made recently concerning Gaza.

    On Feb. 4, Trump announced a controversial plan to take over the Gaza Strip and relocate Palestinians from the enclave during a joint press conference with Netanyahu in Washington.

    Two days later, Netanyahu suggested during an interview with Israel’s Channel 14 that “Saudis can establish a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have plenty of land there.”

    On Monday, when being asked in an interview with Fox News if the Palestinians now residing in Gaza, who under Trump’s proposal will face forced displacement to make way for the rebuilding of the enclave, would “have the right to return,” Trump said, “No, they wouldn’t.”

    Reacting to Trump’s and Netanyahu’s remarks, many countries have voiced their rejection of displacing Palestinians from their homeland and their support for the two-state solution.

    Under the current ceasefire, which took effect on Jan. 19 after 15 months of war, 21 hostages — 16 Israelis and five Thais — were released from Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian detainees freed from Israeli jails. During the first phase of the agreement, which spans six weeks, 33 Israeli hostages and about 2,000 Palestinian detainees are expected to be released.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: BLACKWOOD ROAD, MILLICENT (Grass Fire)

    Source: Country Fire Service – South Australia

    Issued on
    12 Feb 2025 12:37

    Issued for
    MILLICENT in The Lower South East.

    Warning level
    Advice – Avoid Smoke

    Action
    Smoke from MILLICENT Fire is in the Southern Ports Highway,wattle Road,Blackwood Road, Acacia Drive, Hakea Drive, Racecourse Road, Banksia Road and Stringy Bark Drive. area.

    Smoke can affect your health. You should stay informed and be aware of the health impacts of smoke on yourself and others.

    Symptoms of exposure includes shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing, burning eyes, running nose, chest tightness, chest pain and dizziness or light-headedness.

    If you or anyone in your care are having difficulty breathing, seek medical attention from your local GP. If your symptoms become severe, call 000.

    More information will be provided by the CFS when it is available.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Financial Accounts Workshop

    Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

    Provisional Timetable PDF PDF
    Session 1. New Recommendations in the 2025 SNA pertaining to financial accounts    
    Session 1: Video recording Link Link
    Recommendations in the 2025 SNA pertaining to the financial accounts (IMF) PDF PDF
    Session 2. Use of financial accounts for analytical purposes    
    Session 2: Video recording Link Link
    Use of Financial Account Balance Sheet in the EU (Eurostat) PDF PDF
    Use  of Financial Accounts for Analytical Purposes (Central Bank of The Republic of Türkiye) PDF PDF
    Use of financial accounts for analytical purposes. Private Sector Debt with a focus on NFCs (National Bank of Belgium) PDF PDF
    Session 3. Issues related to non-financial corporations    
    Session 3: Video recording link link
    Analyzing Non-Financial Corporation Using Institutional Sector Accounts (IMF) PDF PDF
    Financial Accounts in Armenia (Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia) PDF PDF
    Compilation of Financial Accounts for Non-Financial Corporations (Central Bank of The Republic of Türkiye) PDF PDF
    Compilation and Utilisation of the Financial Account of the Non-financial Corporations (NFC) Sector: Experience, Challenges, and Opportunities (Bank Indonesia) PDF PDF
    Non-financial corporations: compilation process in the Belgian financial accounts matrix (National Bank of Belgium) PDF PDF
    Non-financial Corporations (Statistics Iceland) PDF PDF
    Session 4. Issues related to household sector    
    Session 4: Video recording link link
    Household Sectors Issues Using Institutional Sector Accounts (IMF) PDF PDF
       Exercise 1 XLSX, PDF XLSX, PDF
       Exercise 1 – Solution XLSX XLSX
       Exercise 2 XLSX, PDF XLSX, PDF
       Exercise 2 – Solution XLSX XLSX
    The household sector (Statistics Iceland) PDF PDF
    Recording Crypto Assets in Macroeconomic Statistics (IMF) PDF PDF
       F.18 The Recording of Crypto Assets in Macroeconomic Statistics PDF PDF
    Challenges with Cryptocurrencies in Georgia (National Statistics Office of Georgia) PDF PDF
    Foreign currency held by Households (National Bank of Moldova) PDF PDF
    Session 5. Issues related to financial instruments and specific transactions    
    Session 5: Video recording link link
    Financial instruments (ECB) PDF PDF
       Exercises on  Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) XLSX XLSX
       Exercises on  Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) – Solutions XLSX XLSX
    Statistical measurement of illicit financial flows (UNCTAD) PDF PDF
    Non-financial Corporations equity liabilities (National Bank of Moldova) PDF PDF
    Session 6. Who-to-whom, consistency and balancing    
    Session 6: Video recording link link
    Recommendations to improve the Vertical Consistency of EU Sector Accounts (ECB) PDF PDF
    Combining sources and balancing the accounts (ECB) PDF PDF
       Exercises on balancing XLSX XLSX
       Exercises on balancing – Solution XLSX XLSX
    Financial Accounts in Kyrgyzstan (National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic) PDF PDF
    From-whom-to-whom – practical solution for compiling FA statistics, NBRNM case (National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia) PDF PDF
    Who-to-whom, consistency and balancing (Statistics Iceland) PDF PDF
    Session 7. Conclusions and recommendations    
    Session 7: Video recording link link
    Conclusions and way forward PDF PDF

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Six bold environmental leaders named 2024 Champions of the Earth

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI b

    Climate and Environment

    Brazil’s first-ever Minister of Indigenous Peoples and an initiative promoting sustainable agriculture in Egypt are among the six recipients of the 2024 Champions of the Earth award, announced by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday. 

    The laureates were honoured for their outstanding leadership, brave actions and sustainable solutions to tackle land degradation, drought and desertification.

    Protecting people and the planet

    The Champions of the Earth award is the UN’s highest environmental honour and recognizes trailblazers from the public and private sectors, civil society and academia who are at the forefront of efforts to protect both people and the planet.

    It has been presented annually since 2005, with122 laureates to date.

    This year, nominations focused on finding champions who are restoring degraded land, increasing drought resilience and preventing desertification.

    Honouring ‘extraordinary individuals’

    UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen noted that almost 40 per cent of the world’s land is already degraded.  At the same time, desertification is on the rise and devastating droughts are becoming more regular.

    “The good news is that solutions already exist today, and around the world, extraordinary individuals and organizations are demonstrating that it is possible to defend and heal our planet,” she said.

    “The efforts of the 2024 Champions of the Earth stand tall as a reminder that the fight to protect our land, our rivers and our oceans is a fight we can win. With the right policies, scientific breakthroughs, system reforms, activism, as well as the vital leadership and wisdom of Indigenous Peoples, we can restore our ecosystems.”

    Meet the Champions

    Sonia Guajajara, Brazil’s Minister of Indigenous Peoples, was honoured in the Policy Leadership category.

    Ms. Guajajara has been advocating for Indigenous rights for more than two decades. She became Brazil’s first Minister of Indigenous Peoples and the country’s first female Indigenous minister in 2023. Under her leadership, 10 territories have been recognized as Indigenous land to ward off deforestation, illegal logging, and drug traffickers.

    Amy Bowers Cordalis, an Indigenous rights advocate, received the award in the Inspiration and Action category

    Ms. Cordalis is using her legal expertise and passion for restoration to secure a better future for the Yurok tribe and the Klamath River in the United States. UNEP said her work to restore the river ecosystem and encourage the adoption of sustainable fishing practices demonstrate how bold environmental action can bring significant positive change, while upholding Indigenous Peoples’ rights and livelihoods.

    Gabriel Paun, a Romanian environmental defender, was honoured in the Inspiration and Action category.

    Mr. Paun is the founder of Agent Green, a non-governmental organization (NGO) which has been helping save thousands of hectares of precious biodiversity in the Carpathians since 2009 by exposing the destruction and illegal logging of Europe’s last old growth forest.

    He has received death threats and been physically attacked for his work in documenting deforestation in an area that is vital for the ecosystem and supports unique biodiversity such as endangered lynx and wolves.

    Chinese scientist Lu Qi was honoured in the Science and Innovation category.  He has worked in science and policy sectors for three decades, helping China reverse degradation and shrink its deserts

    As Chief Scientist of the Chinese Academy of Forestry and founding President of the Institute of Great Green Wall, Mr. Lu has played a key role in implementing the world’s largest afforestation project, establishing expert research networks and partnerships, and boosting multilateral cooperation to stem desertification, land degradation and drought.

    Madhav Gadgil, an Indian ecologist was named as the laureate in the Lifetime Achievement category.  He has spent decades protecting people and the planet through research and community engagement.

    “From landmark environmental impact assessments of state and national policies to grassroots environmental engagement, Gadgil’s work has greatly influenced public opinion and official policies on the protection of natural resources.

    “He is renowned for his seminal work in the ecologically fragile Western Ghats region of India, which is a unique global biodiversity hotspot,” said UNEP.

    The SEKEM initiative in Egypt was honoured in the Entrepreneurial Vision category for helping farmers transition to more sustainable agriculture.

    Its promotion of biodynamic agriculture plus afforestation and reforestation work has been transforming large swathes of desert into thriving agricultural business, advancing sustainable development across the country. 

    © World Bank/Andrea Borgarello

    A woman carries a baby and a water container as she walks across arid land in Niger.

    Restoring the world’s ecosystems

    Roughly 3.2 billion people worldwide are currently threatened by desertification, according to UNEP. Additionally, by 2050, more than three-quarters of the world’s population is expected to be affected by droughts. 

    In March 2019, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring 2021–2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. 

    Led by UNEP and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and supported by partners, it aims to prevent, halt, and reverse the loss and degradation of ecosystems worldwide to revive billions of hectares of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. 

    The announcement of the 2024 Champions of the Earth on 10 December coincides with Human Rights Day and the Resilience Day at the 16th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Unique high-level national coordination on disaster risk reduction in cooperation with international partners drives progress on comprehensive disaster risk management in Panama

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    Panama is exposed to a variety of hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, epidemics, wildfires, landslides, and urban riverine and coastal floods. Climate-related hazards are increasing in severity due to climate change and are particularly affecting poor and vulnerable populations. In response to these increasing threats, Panama has steadily shifted its focus from a centralized disaster response approach toward more comprehensive and inclusive disaster risk management by integrating disaster risk reduction in its development and planning policies.[1] In support of these national policies, one of the areas of change in the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2021-2025 for Panama is related to climate change, integrated environmental management and disaster risk reduction.

    The creation of the Cabinet for Integrated Disaster Risk Management/Gabinete de Gestión Integral de Riesgos a Desastres (GIRD) was an important milestone for the integration of climate and disaster risks into national cross-sectoral development strategies/plans in Panama. The President of the Republic of Panama chairs the GIRD, which reflects the importance that integrated disaster risk management is attributed in the country. United Nations organizations in Panama, including UNDRR, UNDP, and the World Bank, provide strategic support to the GIRD, which brings together 14 government ministries, and invited partners. The Technical Secretariat of the GIRD aims to improve the capacity to reduce the loss of life and infrastructure through prevention, risk reduction and preparedness for hazard events, is chaired by the Government Ministry / Ministerio de Gobierno and consists of 3 working groups: Risk Knowledge, Risk Reduction, and Response Management.

    The approval of the National Policy for Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management (PNGIRD) 2022-2030 and the National Strategic Plan for Disaster Risk Management (PENGIRD) 2022-2030 in October 2022 showed tangible progress in the development and implementation of national disaster risk reduction strategies and plans. In 2023, the National Operational Emergency and Disaster Response Plan 2022-2030 was approved, as well as the Post-Disaster Recovery Framework 2022-2030. A stress test of infrastructure resilience was undertaken to define strategic actions to strengthen resilience principles in governance of infrastructure systems and their critical functions. Support by the United Nations organizations has been provided for reconstruction and recovery measures that include elements of disaster preparedness and “build back better”. Through the adoption of policies and the implementation of disaster preparedness initiatives in education centres, Panama is taking steps to ensure that resilience is at the forefront of post-disaster recovery efforts.

    Since the first meeting of the GIRD in February 2022, the UN has successfully provided policy, institutional and programmatic advice to the GIRD, emphasizing the importance of early warning systems in mitigating the impacts of climate-related disasters. In the area of preparedness and anticipatory action, the establishment of the GIRD and the subsequent adoption of the National Strategic Plan for Disaster Risk Management (PENGIRD), as well as initiatives such as the pilot training programme for educators in Herrera and Panamá Oeste show that there is a commitment to improving prevention at the local level.

    Multi-hazard risk analysis has been incorporated into the planning processes for humanitarian aid, development and peacebuilding. The establishment of the GIRD and the development of comprehensive disaster risk management strategies and plans reflect a commitment to mainstreaming risk analysis across governance sectors and ensure that planning efforts take into account the vulnerabilities and challenges posed by climate-related disasters. The GIRD includes the National Secretary of Persons with Disabilities, the National Women’s Institute, as well as the Secretary of Childhood, Youth and Family, and undertakes efforts to boost inclusive disaster risk reduction measures. For example, the GIRD regional multi-hazard exercise in Panama City, included a Gender Observatory, which was supported by UN organizations.

    Through joint efforts, and by working closely with government partners, such as the Ministry of Education (MEDUCA) and Ministry of Social Development (MIDES), the United Nations system has promoted progress in Disaster Risk Reduction. Effective communication and the inclusion of different points of view, especially adapting to the needs and priorities of local communities, were crucial for the recent approval of the National Policy and Strategic Plan for Disaster Risk Management. The United Nations Resident Coordinator plays a crucial role in working together towards a safer and more resilient future by fostering relationships and ensuring that everyone’s views are taken into account.

    The support provided by United Nations organizations has led to significant changes in the short term, particularly in the implementation of comprehensive disaster risk reduction strategies and measures through the GIRD. These changes immediately improve preparedness and response mechanisms and promote resilience to climate-related disasters. In the long term, these efforts help to mitigate the impact of hazard events, such as increasingly unpredictable and extreme climate-related events. By integrating risk-based approaches into national development frameworks, the foundation is laid for sustainable disaster risk reduction practices, reducing climate-related disasters and their socio-economic impacts.

    UN organizations in Panama are committed to continuing to support disaster risk reduction[2] and have made this a priority for 2024, with a focus on 1) promoting greater inter-agency cooperation, streamlining joint efforts to maximize resources, expertise and knowledge sharing; 2) continuing to align initiatives with national priorities and leveraging partnerships with civil society, local authorities, communities and the private sector; 3) investing in innovative technologies such as early warning systems and risk mapping tools that can strengthen preparedness and response capabilities; 4) prioritizing capacity building and knowledge transfer to vulnerable regions to ensure sustainable resilience; 5) emphasizing inter-agency work promoting a more coherent and coordinated approach, which ultimately increases the effectiveness of global efforts to address climate-related challenges.

    [1] World Bank, Global Facility for Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) (2023) Results in resilience: Enhancing institutional capacities for a more comprehensive and inclusive DRM in Panama

    [2] In line with the 2021-2025 UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework’s Result 3: ‘By 2025, Panama is resilient and has implemented public policies for climate change adaptation and mitigation, land degradation neutrality, biodiversity protection, integrated environmental management, and reduction of disaster and health crisis risks, with a territorial, intercultural, human rights, gender, and lifecycle approach.’

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Making Cities Resilient 2030 initiative drives risk reduction and resilience building activities that are aligned with local, national, and regional priorities in Moldova

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    Moldova is highly vulnerable to landslides, droughts, extreme temperature and severe weather events and floods, exacerbated by climate change, with droughts posing the greatest risk to communities and the economy. Water scarcity and forest fires are increasingly posing a threat to natural ecosystems, agriculture, and human settlements. Economic losses due to climate-induced disasters have caused economic losses of an estimated US$ 4 million per year, with scenarios indicating that the country could progressively trend towards a more arid environment, with the possibility of intensified droughts and fires.[1] Moldova was affected by 16 major earthquakes within the past 200 years. The area of its capital Chisinau is particular vulnerable to seismic risks due to its location and the structural vulnerability of its older buildings.[2]

    Chisinau municipality has been part of UNDRR’s Making Cities Resilient 2030 initiative aimed at enhancing local resilience through advocacy, knowledge sharing, and city-to-city learning networks since 2021 and is committed to increasing its resilience and readiness for forthcoming challenges, encompassing disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Building on several multi-stakeholder workshops,[3] Chisinau municipality, in February 2023, initiated the development of a Resilience Strategy for the period of 2024-2030, including an action plan for 2024-2027. Over the course of the remainder of the year, local authorities, in collaboration with UNDRR, organized an interactive and participatory process involving diverse stakeholders, including central authorities, civil society, citizens, the private sector, and representatives of international development partners such as the International Organization for Migration, the World Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. These discussions and workshops helped to better understand the needs and of the local community, and to identify priority areas for resilience building: (1) strengthening governance, (2) enhancing critical infrastructure, and (3) fostering societal resilience. Chisinau is offering assistance and policy guidance to other cities and towns, both domestically and internationally. For example, within the framework of Making Cities Resilient 2030, Chisinau has already shared its experiences in resilience-building efforts with cities in Ukraine and Kazakhstan and has engaged in knowledge exchange with Portuguese municipalities.[4] The resilience building activities of Chisinau municipality align not only align with local and national priorities, but also with regional ones as strengthening disaster risk governance is prioritized in the National Implementation Plan of the European Union-Moldova Association Agreement. Since 2023, Moldova has access to the UN-supported INFORM Risk Index, a comprehensive assessment of subnational risk that facilitates the implementation of data-driven strategies for risk reduction, guiding decisions on prevention, preparedness, and response measures effectively.

    Given that early warning 24 hours before an event can reduce the ensuing damage by 30 per cent[5], multi-hazard early warning systems are crucial to reducing losses from hazard events. Such early warnings need to be broadcast through a public alert system that effectively transmits and reaches people with these warnings regarding imminent emergencies and disasters. The United Nations Country team is supporting the establishment by 2027 of an Early Warning System tailored to the requirements of the Moldova Inspectorate for Emergency Situations. For example, ITU undertook a feasibility study on the deployment and implementation of a Cell Broadcast Service solution for sending alert messages in Moldova in 2023.

    In 2023, Moldova implemented legislative reforms and policies to address climate change, with substantial support from UNCT. The adoption of the National Climate Change Adaptation Programme along with its Action Plan signifies a strategic commitment towards sustainable environmental governance, particularly in agriculture, forestry, health, energy, water and transport. Climate resilience was prioritized in the newly adopted National Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development and the Migration and Asylum Programme.

    UN organizations in Moldova bolstered governance capacity by producing a guidance document on addressing human mobility challenges in the context of climate change, as well as a comprehensive analysis of disaster risk reduction in the agriculture sector, and a study on the role of migration role in climate adaptation in Moldova. Policy makers, statistical data producers, national experts, technical staff from public institutions, and academia representatives in Moldova have enhanced their knowledge and skills for sustainable resource management, energy efficiency, and climate resilience within the agriculture sector through diverse capacity-building activities supported by FAO, IFAD, IOM, UNDP, UNDRR, UNECE, UNESCO, ITU and UNIDO.

    UN expertise in disaster risk reduction and resilience building supported public and private institutions in enhancing energy efficiency and sustainable natural resource management, which resulted in photovoltaic panels of 600 kW capacity installed in five district hospitals. Six Farmer Field Schools promoting climate-smart agriculture enabled more than 700 farmers to apply their skills in sustainable agriculture practices across 5,700 ha of land, resulting in improved soil health and increased productivity. Moldovan farmers now have access to a Community of Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices platform, promoting the adoption of climate-smart technologies and supporting local producers in implementing conservation agriculture.

    Thirty localities improved their public services and social infrastructure and have become more resilient to climate change. Inclusive disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation measures were advanced. Almost 27,000 persons (including 51% women, and 22% youth) benefited from land restoration efforts across 118 hectares inMoldova, including shelter[6] belts, grassland, and vegetation cover for agricultural purposes, and 30% women participation in bodies promoting land degradation neutrality was ensured. With support of UN organizations, 32 communities developed shelter belt management plans and five community-based action plans for climate change adaptation, promising increased resilience against extreme weather, improved environmental sustainability, enhanced agricultural productivity, and community engagement. The inclusive development of these plans engaged local public authorities, land users, and landowners.

    [1] United Nations Moldova (2021) Common Country Analysis Republic of Moldova

    [2] The last assessment of residential building conditions in was conducted in 2005, revealing that approximately 83% of the 25,000 examined buildings exhibited significant wear and tear. From: UNDRR (2024) Chisinau Municipality leads resilience efforts in Moldova

    [3] Local authorities utilised the Preliminary and Detailed Disaster Resilience Scorecard assessments, along with the Public Health System Resilience assessment scorecard for these multi-stakeholder workshops.

    [4] UNDRR (2024) Chisinau Municipality leads resilience efforts in Moldova

    [5] UNDRR (undated website) Early Warnings for All Initiative

    [6] shelter belt: a line of trees or shrubs planted to protect an area, especially a field of crops, from fierce weather.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Demand-driven cooperation helps build resilience to disaster- and climate-related impacts in Asia and the Pacific

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    In 2022 alone, over 7,500 people died due to more than 140 disasters, which affected 64 million people in Asia and the Pacific.[1] In the same year, there were 22.6 million internal displacements as a result of disasters in the Asia-Pacific region, more than 70 percent of the global total. Climate change is projected to increase these trends as extreme weather events become more frequent and intense, compounded by rapid and unplanned urbanisation, population growth, poverty, conflict, and environmental degradation, which also heighten the needs of those affected. Disaster risk reduction and prevention are key to mitigating the impact that displacement will have on affected populations. Measures to help disaster displaced people achieve durable solutions should be also integrated in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction plans, recognising them as a disproportionally affected group with specific needs that may face challenges in accessing services and the benefits of development and reconstruction programmes.[2]

    The Issue-Based Coalition on Building Resilience (chaired by UNDP and UNDRR) serves as a platform for UN agencies to work together in four workstreams[3] to accelerate action on disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and resilience in the Asia-Pacific region. Driven by demand in the region, the working group on disaster- and climate-related displacement organised a workshop on preventing, managing and finding solutions to disaster- and climate-induced displacement in December 2023, bringing together representatives from twelve countries across the region for a peer-to-peer exchange. Government representatives presented effective practices for preventing, responding to and solving disaster displacement sustainably in sessions that were organised by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), and International Organization for Migration (IOM), in collaboration with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Asia-Pacific Regional Centre, the UN Development Coordination Office (DCO) and the Asian Development Bank. The workshop served as a platform to strengthen collective efforts in finding innovative solutions and promoting resilience, as well as to focus future efforts of the disaster-and climate-related displacement working group. A community of practice for national technical focal points has been established to foster ongoing collaboration and knowledge exchange going forward.

    In 2023, the Issue-Based Coalition (IBC) achieved significant milestones through demand-driven cooperation based on peer-to-peer exchange facilitated by the UN system and partners providing technical knowledge and support. This approach underpinned the progress in advancing the Early Warning for All (EW4all) initiative, marked by the endorsement of the regional strategy and collaboration with UN Resident Coordinators (RCs) and Country Teams (UNCTs) to translate the global initiative into national actions. National consultations in countries like the Maldives, Lao PDR, Nepal, Cambodia, and Bangladesh, as well as the Pacific sub-region, have laid the foundation for implementing the EW4all Initiative. Notably, the Maldives and Lao PDR have made significant strides in designing their national roadmaps through government leadership and collaboration with the UN system and partners. Additionally, the IBC’s efforts addressed displacement challenges and disseminated knowledge on building disaster- and climate-resilient health systems and the state of the climate.

    For 2024 the Issue-Based Coalition on Building Resilience intends to continue working with Resident Coordinators and Country Teams to support governments in implementing their plans, ensuring the necessary regional assistance is identified, including for displacement, loss and damage, the successful implementation of the Early Warnings for All Initiative, and by providing state-of-the-art risk analytics on the ESCAP Risk and Resilience Portal.

    [1] UN-ESCAP, Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2023

    [2] The United Nations Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement focuses on three key areas: prevention, response, and solutions. Similarly, the Early Warning for All Initiatives aims to embed strong early warning systems in all countries by 2027 to ensure that all people are protected from disasters.

    [3] Four workstreams of the IBC on Building Resilience: 1) integration of health emergencies in DRR, 2) disaster and climate risk analysis, 3) resilient recovery and 4) disaster and climate-related displacement.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Visionary leadership for comprehensive risk management is supporting resilience building in Bangladesh

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    Bangladesh is exposed to a range of natural hazards including tropical cyclones, monsoon and flash floods, storm surges, landslides, extreme temperature events, and droughts, which are exacerbated by climate change, as well as earthquakes. In 2023 alone, Bangladesh witnessed a surge in natural hazards and extreme weather events, including three cyclones affecting around 2.5 million people, and flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains affecting over 1.3 million people.[1] While investments in disaster preparedness and response have been prioritized, the wide-reaching impacts of climate change and disasters threaten to exacerbate social, political, and economic vulnerabilities. Reducing existing risk and preventing the creation of new risk is therefore a priority for sustainable development, as reflected in priority 3 ‘sustainable, healthy and resilient environment’ of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for 2022 to 2026. The work of the United Nations in Bangladesh has a strong focus on anticipatory interventions at the nexus of development and humanitarian programming to sustainably build resilience and address the underlying causes of vulnerability, while reinforcing national systems and capacities.

    Under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator, the United Nations organizations take a comprehensive risk management approach to disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and ecosystem health management, supporting the government and key non-state actors to coordinate and implement innovative, whole-of-society and gender-responsive initiatives, and build institutional capacity to improve ecosystem health and to better manage dynamic risks. The United Nations Resident Coordinator co-chairs, jointly with the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, the Humanitarian Coordination Task Team (HCTT), an effective coordination mechanism between government agencies and international partners, comprising the humanitarian clusters, aligning emergency responses with national disaster risk management strategies. In its co-chair role, the Resident Coordinator is supported by the Humanitarian Advisory Group that is composed of UN humanitarian agencies, donors, international and national NGOs (including women-led organizations and organizations of persons with disabilities), and deliberates on disaster risk reduction, preparedness and response across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. The effective leadership for and coordination of a comprehensive risk management approach, including through the establishment and strengthening of area-based initiatives and district-level coordination structures, has yielded a lot of progress on disaster risk reduction and resilience building through comprehensive technical support.

    In 2023, having accumulated valuable experience in anticipatory action, particularly regarding monsoonal river floods, the Anticipatory Action framework for floods was extended to two more river basins, a common beneficiary database was established covering 200,000 vulnerable households in 15 climate hotspots, and additional funding sources were joined to the pre-agreed UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to the anticipatory action framework that comprises actions by FAO, UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, and Save the Children. A second UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) Anticipatory Action Framework was approved in November 2023 for cyclones. This makes Bangladesh a pioneer with a multi-hazard trigger for both floods and cyclones. Ahead of Cyclone Mocha and related flash floods, 45,000 individuals received anticipatory cash support, mitigating the impact of the event.

    A Disaster Risk Reduction Financing Strategy (DRRFS) for Bangladesh was developed, led by the Ministry of Finance and supported by the UN system, with UNDRR as the technical lead who developed the model and drafted the strategy in consultation with relevant government ministries and International Financial Institutions (IMF, World Bank, ADB), and the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office providing critical coordination support. The strategy aims to ensure the determining and distribution of limited financial resources in a way that strengthens economic, social, health, and environmental resilience before a hazard event.

    The UN Resident Coordinator’s Office facilitated coordination with the Government, UN and other humanitarian entities to implement UN Early Warning for All (EW4ALL) initiatives, including organizing a national consultative workshop to develop a EW4ALL roadmap in November 2023. Also, the Resident Coordinator’s Office has supported the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief in developing the first sub-national earthquake risk assessment in Bangladesh, in collaboration with UNDRR and the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation.

    [1] United Nations in Bangladesh, 23 April 2024, https://bangladesh.un.org/en/266779-government-and-humanitarian-partners-recommit

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: What’s desertification? Experts hopeful devastating trend can be reversed

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI b

    Climate and Environment

    An area the size of Egypt, around 100 million hectares, of healthy and productive land is being degraded each year due to drought and desertification, which is being driven mainly by climate change and poor land management. 

    On 2 December, countries from around the world will meet in Riyadh under the auspices of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, (UNCCD) to discuss how to turn the corner from degradation to regeneration.

    Here are five things you need to know about desertification and why the world needs to stop treating the planet like dirt to protect the productive land which supports life on Earth.

    No life without land

    It is perhaps to state the obvious, but without healthy land there can be no life. It feeds, clothes and shelters humanity.

    © UNEP/Florian Fussstetter

    A member of an indigenous group in the Amazon, in Brazil, works to reforest the land.

    It provides jobs, sustains livelihoods and is the bedrock of local, national and global economies. It helps to regulate climate and is essential for biodiversity.

    Despite its importance to life as we know it, up to 40 per cent of the world’s land is degraded, affecting around 3.2 billion people; that’s almost half of the global population.

    From deforested mountains in Haiti, to the gradual disappearance of Lake Chad in the Sahel and the drying up of productive lands in Georgia in eastern Europe, land degradation affects all parts of the world.

    It is not an exaggeration to say our very future is at stake if our land does not stay healthy.

    Degraded land

    Desertification, the process by which land is degraded in typically dry areas, results from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities, such as over-farming or deforestation.

    100 million hectares (or one million square kilometres), that’s the size of a country like Egypt, of healthy and productive land is lost each year.

    The soils on these lands which can take hundreds of years to form are being depleted, often by extreme weather.

    Droughts are hitting harder and more often, three out of four people in the world are projected to face water scarcity by 2050.

    Temperatures are increasing due to climate change further driving extreme weather events, including droughts and floods, adding to the challenge of keeping land productive.

    Land loss and climate

    There is clear evidence that land degradation is interconnected with broader environmental challenges like climate change.

    © World Bank/Andrea Borgarello

    A man looks across a desert in Mauritania.

    Land ecosystems absorb one-third of human CO2 emissions, the gas that is driving climate change. However, poor land management threatens this critical capacity, further compromising efforts to slow down the release of these harmful gasses.

    Deforestation, which contributes to desertification, is on the rise, with only 60 per cent of the world’s forests still intact, falling below what the UN calls the “safe target of 75 per cent.”

    What needs to be done? – the ‘moonshot moment’

    The good news is that humankind has the knowhow and power to bring land back to life, turning degradation into restoration.

    Robust economies and resilient communities can be cultivated as the impacts of devastating droughts and destructive floods are tackled.

    © UNCCD/Juan Pablo Zamora

    A community in Mexico comes together to work on improving their lands.

    Crucially, it is the people who depend on land who should have the biggest say in how decisions are made.

    UNCCD says that to “deliver a moonshot moment for land,” 1.5 billion hectares of degraded lands need to be restored by 2030.

    And this is happening already with farmers adopting new techniques in Burkina Faso, environmentalists in Uzbekistan planting trees to eliminate salt and dust emissions and activists protecting the Philippines capital, Manila, from extreme weather by regenerating natural barriers.

    What can be achieved in Riyadh

    Policy makers, experts, the private and civil society sectors as well as youth will come together in Riyadh with a series of goals, including:

    • Accelerate restoration of degraded land by 2030 and beyond
    • Boost resilience to intensifying droughts and sand and dust storms
    • Restore soil health and scale up nature-positive food production
    • Secure land rights and promote equity for sustainable land stewardship
    • Ensure that land continues to provide climate and biodiversity solutions
    • Unlock economic opportunities, including decent land-based jobs for youth

    Fast facts: The UN and desertification

    • Three decades ago, in 1994, 196 countries and the European Union signed up to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification or UNCCD.
    • The Conference of the Parties or COP is the main decision-making body of UNCCD.
    • UNCCD is the global voice for land where governments, businesses and civil society come together to discuss challenges and chart a sustainable future for land.
    • The 16th meeting of the COP (otherwise known as COP16) is taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 2-13 December.
    • UNCCD is one of three “Rio Conventions.” along with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD). These are outcomes of the historic 1992 Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: The ‘slow onset, silent killer’: Droughts explained

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI b

    By Daniel Dickinson, Riyadh

    Climate and Environment

    Droughts across the world are intensifying and have become a “slow onset, silent killer” to which no country is immune, according to the UN’s most senior official working on desertification, drought and land restoration issues.

    Ibrahim Thiaw, the Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was speaking at the opening of COP16 a major global conference taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where a new global drought regime is expected to be agreed which will promote the shift from reactive relief response to proactive preparedness.

    Here’s what you need to know about droughts.

    Droughts are increasing in regularity and intensity

    Droughts are a natural phenomenon, but in recent decades have been intensified by climate change and unsustainable land practices. Their number has surged by nearly 30 per cent in frequency and intensity since 2000, threatening agriculture, water security, and the livelihoods of 1.8 billion people, with the poorest nations bearing the brunt.

    © World Bank/Arne Hoel

    Water availability is essential to prevent migration in places like western Nigeria.

    They can also lead to conflict over dwindling resources, including water, and the widespread displacement of people as they migrate towards more productive lands.

    No country is immune

    More than 30 countries declared drought emergencies in the past three years alone, from India and China, to high-income nations such as the US, Canada and Spain, as well as Uruguay, Southern Africa and even Indonesia.

    UN News/Daniel Dickinson

    A ship passes through the Panama Canal in Central America.

    Droughts impeded grain transportation in the Rhine River in Europe, disrupted international trade via the Panama Canal in Central America, and led to hydropower cuts in the South America country, Brazil, which depends on water for more than 60 per cent of its electricity supply.

    Firefighters were even called to an urban park in New York City, in the United States in wintry November 2024 to tackle a bush fire after weeks of no rainfall.

    “Droughts have expanded into new territories. No country is immune,” said UNCCD’s Ibrahim Thiaw adding that “by 2050, three in four people globally, up to seven and half billion people, will feel the impact of drought.”

    Domino effects

    Droughts are rarely confined to a specific place and time and are not simply due to a lack of rainfall but are often the result of a complicated set of events driven or amplified by climate change, as well as sometimes the mismanagement of land.

    For example, a hillside which is deforested is immediately degraded. The land will lose its resilience to extreme weather and will become more susceptible to both drought and flooding.

    And, once they strike, they can trigger a series of cataclysmic domino effects, supercharging heat waves and even floods, multiplying the risks to people’ s lives and livelihoods with long-lasting human, social and economic costs.

    As communities, economies, and ecosystems suffer the damaging effects of drought, their vulnerability is increased to the next one, feeding a vicious cycle of land degradation and underdevelopment.

    Drought is a development and a security issue

    Around 70 per cent of the world’s available freshwater is in the hands of people living off the land, most of them subsistence farmers in low-income countries with limited livelihood alternatives. Around 2.5 billion of them are youth.

    Without water there is no food and no land-based jobs, which can lead to forced migration, instability, and conflict.

    “Drought is not merely an environmental matter,” said Andrea Meza, UNCCD Deputy Executive Secretary. “Drought is a development and human security matter that we must urgently tackle from across all sectors and governance levels.”

    Planning for greater resilience      

    Droughts are also becoming harsher and faster due to human-induced climate change as well as land mismanagement and typically the global response to it is still reactive. More planning and adaption is required to build resilience to the extreme conditions created by dwindling supplies of water and this often happens at a local level.

    UN Haiti/Daniel Dickinson

    A beekeeper collects honey in southern Haiti.

    In Zimbabwe a youth-led grass-roots organization is aiming to regenerate land by planting one billion trees across the southern African country, while more farmers on the Caribbean island of Haiti are taking to bee-keeping; Bees feed off the trees, so there is an incentive for bee keepers to protect the trees from being cut down. In Mali, a young woman entrepreneur, is creating livelihoods and building resilience to drought by promoting the products of the moringa tree.

    Experts say proactive initiatives like these can prevent immense human suffering and is far cheaper than interventions focused on response and recovery.

    What next?

    At COP16 countries are coming together to agree how to collectively tackle worsening droughts and promote sustainable land management.

    Two key pieces of research were launched on the opening day.

    The World Drought Atlas depicts the systemic nature of drought risks illustrating how they are interconnected across sectors like energy, agriculture, river transport, and international trade and how they can trigger cascading effects, fueling inequalities and conflicts and threatening public health.

    The Drought Resilience Observatory is an AI-driven data platform for drought resilience created by the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA), a UNCCD-hosted coalition of more than 70 countries and organizations committed to drought action.

    How much is it going to cost?

    One UN estimate suggests that investments totalling $2.6 trillion will be needed by 2030 to restore land across the world which is affected by drought and poor management.

    At COP16 an initial pledge of $2.15 billion was announced to finance the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership.

    It will serve as a global facilitator for drought resilience, promoting the shift from reactive relief response to proactive preparedness,” said Dr Osama Faqeeha, Deputy Minister for Environment, Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture of Saudia Arabia, adding that “we also seek to amplify global resources to save lives and livelihoods around the world.”

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cramer Questions Federal Reserve Chair Powell on Impact of Raising Bank Capital Requirements

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
    Stressed the Necessity of Competition in the Banking System  
    ***Click here to download video. Click here for audio.***
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (Banking) Committee held a hearing on the Federal Reserve’s semiannual monetary report to Congress. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified before the committee.
    In July 2023, the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced proposed regulations to implement the final components of the Basel III agreement to raise bank capital requirements. The proposal was created to set the standards for capital reserves, liquidity, and leverage at financial institutions. Under the proposal, large banks will be mandated to transition to the new framework on July 1, with full compliance starting July 1, 2028.
    U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) questioned Powell on the necessity of advancing a new Basel III proposal, specifically in the context of regional and community banks.
    “Specifically, how would an updated regulation impact the ability of the regional banks to compete with the big Wall Street banks and what consideration should be taken into account to ensure that we have a competitive banking system,” asked Cramer. “For those of us who have largely regional banks, or the best of all of them community banks and credit unions, a competitive system is really important.”
    “My own view has been that our banks are well-capitalized and Basel III was not supposed to be an exercise in raising capital on U.S. banks,” responded Powell. “[…] In terms of your [regional banks], they don’t face the G-SIB [global systemically important banks] surcharges. They don’t face quite the burden that the large banks face on resolution planning and that sort of thing. So we need those banks to be healthy and profitable because we need them to compete with the G-SIBs. We don’t want a world where the G-SIBs just keep getting a bigger and bigger share of the economy. That’s not what we’re looking for.”
    [embedded content]
    Cramer followed up by asking Powell, if he could “think of anything specifically that ensures that competitive, diverse banking system is maintained rather than a consolidation? Whether it’s fewer community banks into more regional banks or fewer regional banks into more Wall Street banks?”
    “You think twice before you impose the kinds of things that we impose on the largest banks and the next to largest banks, you want to be careful not to just think we should do exactly the same thing [to regional and community banks],” concluded Powell. “What tends to happen is, so for smaller banks, it raises the fixed costs and it makes it harder to start new banks and it makes it harder for any but the largest to be successful. So that’s not what we want. We want a lot of competition and [for] these regionals it’s important that they thrive.”
    Following the introduction of the Basel III Endgame, Cramer has been vocal in his efforts to speak out about the misguided proposal. In January 2024, Cramer joined two letters citing concerns over the Basel III Endgame proposal’s impact on consumers and requesting the withdrawal of the proposal. Additionally, he cosigned a letter to highlight the impacts of proposed capital requirements for mortgage loans. Cramer also questioned Powell in a July 2024 hearing on the impacts it would have on electricity prices.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Hamas report to mediators accuses Israel of pervasive Gaza ceasefire violations

    As Benjamin Netanyahu threatens to resume war, Hamas outlines widespread Israeli ceasefire violations in document sent to the mediators.

    By Jeremy Scahill and Sharif Abdel Kouddous of Dropsite News

    Hamas officials submitted a two-page report to mediators yesterday listing a wide range of Israeli violations of the Gaza ceasefire since the agreement went into effect on January 19 — including the killing of civilians, repeated ground and air incursions, the beating and humiliation of Palestinian captives during their release and the deportation of some without their consent, and the denial of humanitarian aid.

    Drop Site News obtained a copy of the report delivered to mediators from Qatar and Egypt.

    “Hamas is committed to the ceasefire agreement if the occupation is committed to the agreement,” Hamas said in a statement.

    “We confirm that the occupation is the party that did not abide by its commitments, and it bears responsibility for any complications or delays.”

    The move comes in response to accusations by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Hamas had violated the agreement, threatening a full resumption of the war — yet it was Israel’s nearly daily breaches of the deal that prompted Hamas to announce it would postpone the next release of Israeli captives.

    On Monday, Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for the Al Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, announced the next planned release of three Israeli captives, scheduled for Saturday, would be “postponed indefinitely”.

    Abu Obeida cited “delays in allowing displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, targeting them with airstrikes and gunfire across various areas of the Strip, and failing to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid as agreed”.

    Israel violating ceasefire agreement
    Hamas issued a statement soon afterwards reiterating that Israel was violating the agreement by blocking aid, attacking civilians, and restricting movement in Gaza, and warning that the next release of captives would be postponed until it complied.

    “By issuing this statement five full days ahead of the scheduled prisoner handover, Hamas aims to grant mediators sufficient time to pressure the occupation to fulfill its obligations,” the statement said.

    Three Israeli officials and two mediators speaking anonymously to The New York Times confirmed that Israel had not fulfilled its obligations to send humanitarian aid into Gaza. This fact was mentioned in the 9th paragraph of the Times story.

    In response, President Trump, on Monday told reporters that the ceasefire should be cancelled if Hamas did not release all the remaining captives it was holding in Gaza by midday Saturday, warning “all hell is going to break out”.

    Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on Trump’s comments.

    “If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon,” Netanyahu said in a video statement, “the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated.”

    Netanyahu reportedly ordered the military to add more troops in and around Gaza to prepare for “every scenario” if the captives were not released.

    It was not immediately clear if he was referring to the three Israelis originally scheduled for release Saturday, all remaining captives, or all living Israelis slated for release in Phase 1.

    Document submitted to mediators
    The two-page document submitted by Hamas to mediators yesterday divided the violations into five separate categories: Field Violations, Prisoners, Humanitarian Aid, Denial of Essential Supplies, and Political Violations.

    Israel has repeatedly violated the ceasefire deal since it came into effect, targeting Palestinians in Gaza on an almost daily basis. The document outlines 269 “field violations” by the Israeli military, including the killing of 26 Palestinians and the wounding of 59 others.

    Page 1 of the Hamas report of ceasefire violations by Israel. Image: Hamas screenshot APR/DDN

    The number of people killed appears to be a dramatic undercount compared to the official toll documented by the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

    The Director-General of the Health Ministry, Dr Monir al-Barsh, announced separately yesterday that 92 Palestinians had been killed and 822 wounded in “direct targeting” by the Israeli military since January 19, when the ceasefire came into effect.

    The report also lists repeated ground incursions into Gaza beyond the designated buffer zone, particularly in the Philadelphi corridor — the 14km strip of land that runs along the border of Egypt.

    These incursions “were accompanied by gunfire and resulted in the deaths of citizens and the demolition of homes,” the report said.

    It also accused Israeli authorities of subjecting Palestinian captives to beatings and humiliation during their release, forcibly deporting released captives to Gaza without their coordination or consent, preventing families of deported prisoners from leaving the West Bank to join them, and delaying prisoner releases by several hours.

    The report also says that fewer than 25 fuel trucks per day have been allowed into Gaza, which is half of the allotted 50 fuel trucks per day, as outlined in the deal. The entry of commercial fuel was blocked entirely, the report says, again in violation of the agreement.

    Only 53,000 tents allowed
    Just over 53,000 tents were allowed into Gaza, the reports says, out of the 200,000 allotted and no mobile housing units out of the 60,000 agreed on.

    Heavy machinery for the removal of massive amounts of debris and retrieval of bodies was similarly blocked, with only four machines allowed in.

    Israel also blocked the entry of supplies to repair and operate the power plant and electrical grid, the report said.

    No medical supplies, ambulances have been allowed in and no equipment for civil defense teams. Meanwhile banks were not allowed to receive cash to replenish a severe currency shortage.

    The report ends on “Political Violations” criticising statements by the “Israeli Prime Minister and ministers openly calling for the expulsion of Gaza’s population, sending a clear message that the occupation does not wish to honour the agreement and aims to implement Trump’s plan to displace Gaza’s residents”.

    It also criticises the “deliberate delay” in starting the negotiations on Phase 2 of the ceasefire and “the introduction of impossible conditions.”

    A summary of the Israeli ceasefire violations. Image: QudsNews

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Private sector urged to act as world faces $23 trillion loss from land degradation

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    By Daniel Dickinson, in Riyadh

    Climate and Environment

    The private sector has been urged to make the sustainable management of land a key part of corporate and financial strategy going forward, as the world risks losing half of global GDP – estimated at $23 trillion – due to degradation.

    Business leaders have been meeting at the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) conference being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which is focusing on drought, land degradation and restoration issues.

    According to the UN, droughts have surged by nearly 30 per cent in frequency and intensity since 2000, threatening agriculture and water security, while up to 40 per cent of the world’s land is degraded, which means its biological or economic productivity has been reduced

    © FAO Saudi Arabia

    Saplings are planted Al Adhraa national park in Saudi Arabia as part of efforts to protect the land from degradation.

    Drought and land loss will have dire consequences for the climate, biodiversity and people’s livelihoods as well as businesses, large and small.

    The global economy could lose $23 trillion by 2050 through degradation UNCCD has warned, while halting this trend would cost around $4.6 trillion, a fraction of the predicted losses.

    The private sector can play a key role in supporting the sustainable use of land, according to the Executive Secretary of UNCCD, Ibrahim Thiaw.

    Speaking at the Business 4 Land  Forum at the COP16 conference,  he said they provide “a critical momentum to make sustainable land management a core part of corporate and financial strategies.”

    COP16 is the biggest global meeting of its kind on land degradation and restoration and the presence of a wide range of business leaders suggests they recognize the urgent need to support the healthy use of land.

    © FAO/Giulio Napolitano

    Women in Niger prepare fields for the rainy season as part of an anti-desertification initiative.

    “Shifting towards nature-positive operations, supply chains, and investments, is not only about environmental sustainability,” said Ibrahim Thiaw, “but about the long-term profitability and resilience of businesses.”

    Members of the Business 4 Land initiative are urged to act in three key areas.

    Speaking to delegates at the meeting, Philippe Zaouati, CEO of the MIROVA sustainable investment fund, said that “companies stand to gain significantly by transforming their value chains to incorporate sustainable practices, not only to reduce their impact on nature but also to seize economic opportunities,” adding that “mobilizing funding for land restoration requires a concerted effort by the public and private sectors.”

    There have been some early successes during the first days of COP16 in terms of unlocking international funding with $12 billion pledged to land restoration efforts.

    The Arab Coordination Group pledged $10 billion while the OPEC Fund and the Islamic Development Bank committed $1 billion each to the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, alongside the $150 million dollars provided by Saudi Arabia to operationalize the initiative.

    Henri Bruxelles, the Chief Sustainability Officer of the global food and beverage company, Danone, reiterated the importance of global collaboration. 

    “Collaborating across sectors of society is vital to address the intertwined climate and water challenges, to guarantee food security and nutrition and to secure the livelihoods of the communities that feed the world,” he said in order to “build a sustainable food system.”

    More about Business 4 Land (B4L)

    B4L is UNCCD’s main initiative to engage the private sector in sustainable land and water management. It helps companies and financial institutions manage risks and seize opportunities tied to land degradation and drought.

    B4L aims to restore 1.5 billion hectares of land by 2030, contributing to Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), a global commitment to achieve net zero land degradation by 2030, as well as enhancing drought resilience.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: 11 February 2025 Departmental update Heads of road safety agencies meeting to drive down road deaths

    Source: World Health Organisation

    Heads of national road safety agencies and officials from more than 80 countries will meet to share knowledge to advance their national road safety strategies and action plans on the eve of the Fourth Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Marrakech, Morocco, next week.

    The Global network of heads of national road safety agencies meeting, co-hosted by WHO and the Global Road Safety Facility at the World Bank, will bring more than 110 officials together in Marrakech on 17 February to discuss the opportunities and challenges lead road safety agencies face in meeting the global goal of halving road deaths as set out in the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030.

    “Empowering heads of road safety agencies is key to helping countries reduce road deaths and apply proven solutions. Lead road safety agencies drive national road safety strategies and coordinate across government. The network is here to help them advance that important work,” said Matts-Ake Belin, WHO global lead on the Decade of Action for Road Safety.

    Launched after the United Nations High-Level Political Declaration on Global Road Safety in 2022, the WHO-hosted network supports governments in establishing the policies, coordination and actions to ensure safe mobility for all citizens. It fosters collaboration and learning, provides technical support and monitors progress against the Global Plan for the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030.

     As part of the network, WHO and the Global Road Safety Facility at the World Bank have delivered a range of capacity-building initiatives for road safety leaders in the last few years. Occasionally they have partnered with the Swedish Vision Zero Academy, the Indian Institute of Technology and other partners.

     Road safety governance is a key theme at the Fourth Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety. A session on governance will leading experts together to examine how different organizational models and governance mechanisms can deliver sustainable, results-driven road safety outcomes.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: As challenges mount across the globe, ‘the world needs the UN’, Egypt says

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    UN Affairs

    Egypt’s Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Ahmed Mohamed Abdelatty said it is time to “ring the alarm bells” as the international system is currently showing its structural shortcomings that come from ineffectiveness, double standards and inequality at a time of occupation, hunger, terrorism and injustice. Sketching out a path forward, he first stressed that there is no alternative to the multilateral system.

    At the same time, Israel’s brutal aggression against Gaza and its current attacks on the West Bank place shame on international institutions, which are unable to put an end to these aggressions. Condemning Israel’s escalation and its attacks on Lebanon, which are “pushing the region into the abyss”, he said efforts must “put an end to the bloodshed” and a start to the immediate delivery of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza.

    Outlining other steps, he said multilateral banks must be modernised, and international institutions must be made more representative. He also voiced Egypt’s support for an expanded Security Council with more permanent seats, including for African nations.

    As for mounting climate challenges, he said efforts must be linked to adequate resources to do so, including through the Loss and Damage Fund, alongside national plans that align with the agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    In this vein, Cairo will continue to work on development initiatives with neighbours and partners in the Nile Basin. However, Egypt remains concerned about Ethiopia’s actions related to the Renaissance Dam project, which do not consider the needs of nations living downstream.

    Still, the world needs the UN to address a range of challenges from cybercrime and artificial intelligence to collective security. On the latter, maintaining peace and security is the raison d’être of the Organization, he said, regretting to note that some global agreements, including nuclear non-proliferation treaties, are being flouted. At the same time, the Security Council has been unable to stop ongoing conflicts.

    Committed to strengthening the UN’s role, he said the root causes of conflict must be addressed and efforts much be bolstered to truly maintain peace. One way to resolve the outbreak crises is to strengthen State institutions so they can fill vacuums created by political insecurity, he added.

    For its part, Egypt remains committed to working with regional and international partners to revitalise the multilateral system, he said. Despite ongoing crises and challenges, Egypt will continue working to bolster its human capital through a national dialogue that prioritises human rights and democracy and to maintain peace and security in the region and the world over.

    “Our young people will take forward this vision,” he said. “They are the ones who will craft their future and preserve human lives without discrimination on the basis of race, gender or otherwise, all within the multilateral system.”  

    Click here for the full statement (in Arabic).

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Israeli military operation displaces 40,000 in the West Bank

    Source: United Nations 2

    Humanitarian Aid

    The forced displacement of Palestinian communities in the northern part of the West Bank is escalating at an alarming pace, the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees UNRWA warned on Monday. 

    Several refugee camps are nearly empty after Israeli forces launched Operation Iron Wall on 21 January, making it the longest operation in the West Bank since the second intifada, according to the agency.

    The operation started in Jenin camp and then expanded to Tulkarm, Nur Shams, and El Far’a camps, displacing 40,000 Palestine refugees. 

    UNRWA said thousands of families have been forcibly displaced since Israel began carrying out large-scale operations in the occupied West Bank in mid-2023. 

    Cycle of displacement

    “Repeated and destructive operations have rendered the northern refugee camps uninhabitable, trapping residents in cyclical displacement,” the agency stressed.

    Last year more than 60 per cent of displacement was a result of Israel Defense Forces operations.

    UNRWA said forced displacement in the occupied West Bank is the result of an increasingly dangerous and coercive environment.

    “The use of air strikes, armoured bulldozers, controlled detonations, and advanced weaponry by the Israeli Forces has become commonplace – a spillover of the war in Gaza,” the agency noted.

    Palestinian militant activity

    Meanwhile, armed Palestinians are also increasingly active in the northern West Bank, deploying improvised explosive devices inside refugee camps, including near UNRWA facilities and civilian infrastructure. 

    The militants have engaged in violent clashes with both Israeli and Palestinian forces, UNRWA said. Furthermore, from December 2024 onwards, Palestinian forces operations further exacerbated displacement from Jenin camp. 

    New laws in effect

    UNRWA reiterated that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times and that collective punishment is never acceptable.

    “Jenin Camp stands empty today, evoking memories of the second intifada. This scene stands to be repeated in other camps,” the agency said.

    UNRWA stated that it no longer has any contact with the Israeli authorities following the implementation of two laws on 30 January, thus making it impossible to raise concerns about civilian suffering or the urgent need for humanitarian aid delivery.

    The situation “puts at grave risk the lives of Palestine Refugees and the UNRWA staff that serve them.”

    The laws ban UNRWA from operating in Israeli territory and prohibit Israeli officials from having any contact with the agency. 

    Separately, UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said ongoing operations by Israeli forces in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas continue to cause civilian casualties, with at least 40 people reportedly killed since 21 January.

    The UN and partners continue to support Palestinians affected by the ongoing operation in Jenin, which continues to drive displacement. OCHA said the World Food Programme (WFP) and partners have reached nearly 1,200 households with cash assistance. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: UNRWA ‘continues to deliver’ as Israeli ban comes into effect

    Source: United Nations 2

    Humanitarian Aid

    UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA on Thursday upheld its commitment to support millions across the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) as Israel’s order for it to cease operations went into effect. 

    “UNRWA continues to deliver assistance and services to the communities we serve,” the agency said in a post on the social media platform X.

    “Our clinics across the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem are open while the humanitarian operation in Gaza continues.”

    No official word

    Last October, the Israeli parliament, known as the Knesset, passed two laws that called for ending UNRWA’s operations in its territory and prohibiting Israeli authorities from having any contact with the agency.

    Israel ordered UNRWA to vacate all premises in occupied East Jerusalem and cease operations in them by 30 January of this year.

    In a separate post on X, UNRWA said it had not received any official communication on how the bills will be implemented.

    Fears of impact

    Speaking to The Guardian, UNRWA Communications Director Juliette Touma said its headquarters in East Jerusalem “is still there” and the flag is still flying.

    “We don’t have plans to close our operations,” she said. “But we are in the dark.”

    Since 1950, UNRWA has been assisting Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

    The ban threatens life-saving aid, education and healthcare for millions in the OPT, and the UN has repeatedly warned of the consequences.

    Palestinians in Gaza are also worried, including Iman Hillis, who is currently staying in an UNRWA school with her family.

    “We will have nothing to eat or drink, and this will affect us greatly,” she told UN News on Wednesday. “All the people will be destroyed and will not have food, water or flour.”

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Dreams of returning home dashed by reality in Gaza City

    Source: United Nations 2

    Humanitarian Aid

    People continue to stream back into Gaza City in the wake of the temporary ceasefire across the Strip, with some 500,000 reportedly returning so far, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on Thursday. 

    Tess Ingram, Communications Manager for UNICEF Middle East and North Africa, is in the northern city where she witnessed people moving through the streets on donkeys, in cars, or by bicycle.

    “There’s a lot of people with shovels trying to remove rubble, and of course you can see people setting up makeshift shelters or tents on what I’m guessing used to be their homes,” she told UN News. 

    Hope and heartache

    Ms. Ingram believes that many people were filled with hope and joy as they were finally able to come back to the place they had hoped to return to for more than 15 months.

    “But now, as I speak to people, I think that joy is being replaced somewhat by a sense of heaviness as they discover the reality of what has happened here in Gaza City,” she said.

    “They were hoping to return to a home that is not there, or to a loved one who has been killed, and I think that that heaviness is really sinking in for people.”

    Soundcloud

    Living conditions also remain very difficult. Ms. Ingram visited a school-turned-shelter which is housing returnees along with people who had been living there throughout the war.  

    She met a mother and her five children who desperately need winter clothes and food, but mostly a place to stay because the home where they had hoped to return is gone.

    This story is not uncommon. “It is not one person. It is not 100. There are probably thousands of people who are in a similar situation,” she said.

    Danger on the way

    Ms. Ingram noted that families are making long, treacherous journeys to get back to Gaza City.

    On Wednesday she travelled from Al Mawasi, located in the central Gaza Strip, which took 13 hours. However, some families took as long as 36 hours to make the trip.

    “And of course the journey itself over those 36 hours is incredibly dangerous,” she said.

    “We’ve heard reports of people being killed by unexploded remnants of war on the way, because these very dangerous unexploded ordnance are buried underneath the rubble.”

    Soundcloud

    Support for returnees

    UNICEF is supporting returning families with the basics that they need to survive.  The agency is bringing in nutrition supplies, medical supplies, fuel to run bakeries and hospitals, and water pumps so that people have access to clean water.

    On Wednesday, UNICEF and other UN agencies brought in 16 trucks of fuel that will be provided to water wells, hospitals and bakeries to get essential services back up and running again.

    They are also providing services for mental health and psychosocial support for children to help them deal with the trauma they have experienced over the past 15 months. Nutritional screening and immunization services are forthcoming. 

    Keeping families together

    Hundreds of children have also reportedly been separated from their families while making the journey to the north, and UNICEF is responding to the situation. 

    Staff have been providing children under the age of four with identification bracelets that have their names, their families’ names and phone numbers, on them.

    “So, if in the worst case they did get lost in the wash of people there would be some hope of reconnecting them soon with their loved ones,” Ms. Ingram said.

    © UNICEF/Eyad El Baba

    Displaced Palestinians walk along a street in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

    People on the move

    Humanitarians report that more displaced families are returning to northern Gaza as the ceasefire continues to hold. 

    More than 462,000 people have crossed from the south since the opening of the Salah ad Din and Al Rashid roads on Monday.

    The UN and partners are providing water, high-energy biscuits and medical care along the two routes, while the World Food Programme (WFP) plans to set up more distribution points in the north this week.   

    Displaced Palestinians are also moving from north to south, though in smaller numbers, with about 1,400 people making the journey as of Thursday. 

    Restoring critical services

    Across Gaza, extensive efforts are underway to restore critical services, including civilian infrastructure, which the UN and partners are supporting.

    WFP has delivered more than 10,000 metric tonnes of food to the enclave since the ceasefire took effect.

    On Thursday, 750 trucks entered Gaza, according to information obtained by the UN on the ground through interactions with the Israeli authorities and the guarantors for the ceasefire deal.

    The previous day, UNICEF distributed 135 cubic metres of water to communities in Jabalya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, located in North Gaza governorate.  These areas had been besieged for over three months.  

    Furthermore, 35,000 litres of fuel were delivered to northern Gaza to sustain the operations of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, while water trucking in Rafah is being scaled up.

    Humanitarian partners are also coordinating with the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company to repair the damaged power line that feeds the South Gaza desalination plant, which is currently running on fuel.

    West Bank violence continues

    Meanwhile, in the West Bank, Israeli military operations in northern areas have expanded beyond Jenin and Tulkarm to the nearby governorate of Tubas. 

    Ten people reportedly were killed on Wednesday when an Israeli air strike hit a group of Palestinians in Tammun, a village in Tubas governorate. 

    This brings the death toll from the ongoing Israeli operation in the northern West Bank to 30, including two children.   

    Overall, more than 3,200 families have been displaced from Jenin refugee camp in the context of Palestinian Authority and Israeli operations since December, according to local authorities. 

    Humanitarian partners continue to deliver aid, including food parcels, kitchen kits, baby supplies, hygiene items, medicines, and other essential supplies.  

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Relief chief in Israel and Palestine: ‘We must be practical, innovative and persistent’

    Source: United Nations 2

    Humanitarian Aid

    The top UN aid official arrived in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory on Monday for a week-long visit, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, has reported. 

    Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher is in the region as a fragile ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas continues to hold in Gaza, amid rising violence in the West Bank.

    He will engage with authorities, aid partners and those on the frontlines of the humanitarian response.

    “Humanitarian needs are huge – we must be practical, innovative and persistent,” he wrote in a post on the social media platform X.

    Understand obstacles, strengthen coordination

    Mr. Fletcher held discussions with Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and several Palestinian ministers.  

    He also met Dr. Younis Al-Khatib, President of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, to discuss the challenges that emergency responders are facing.

    “Palestine Red Crescent teams have been saving lives under impossible conditions, showing extraordinary courage – too many paying the ultimate price,” he wrote in another social media post.

    He’s also scheduled to meet Israeli and Palestinian officials and visit areas in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Israel to better understand obstacles facing aid partners, and strengthen humanitarian coordination. 

    © UNICEF/Eyad El Baba

    A car filled with belongings heads back to Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

    Aid scale-up

    The UN and partners are expanding life-saving aid operations as more humanitarian supplies enter Gaza. They are also assessing the needs of Palestinians across the enclave and adapting the response accordingly. 

    OCHA noted that displaced people continue to move between southern and northern Gaza as they reunite with family and start rebuilding their lives. 

    Latest figures indicate that more than 545,000 people are estimated to have crossed from the south to the north over the past week, while more than 36,000 people have been observed moving in the opposite direction.

    Keeping children safe

    Furthermore, partners working in the protection sector have distributed identity bracelets to more than 30,000 children under the age of four to help prevent family separation.

    “This effort was critical, as partners reportedly received more than 250 young children who had been separated from their caregivers while crossing to the north,” OCHA said.

    Protection and services

    In North Gaza governorate, protection partners said three temporary sites have been established in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and Jabalya, each of which can host 5,000 people. 

    The UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency UNFPA has also reported the expansion of protection services for women in Jabalya, as well as in Gaza city.  

    The World Food Programme (WFP) noted that prices have started to fall since the ceasefire took effect and as more humanitarian commodities enter Gaza, although they still remain above pre-conflict levels. 

    One-third of households reportedly have better access to food, but consumption remains significantly below levels prior to the crisis. “For most households, the primary obstacle is lack of cash,” OCHA said.

    Meanwhile, partners working on education report that some 280,000 school-aged children in Gaza have registered in the e-learning programme run by the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA. 

    West Bank update

    OCHA also reported on the situation in the West Bank, where an ongoing operation by Israeli forces in Jenin and Tulkarm has expanded to nearby Tubas governorate, resulting in further death, destruction and displacement.

    The agency warned that “once again that lethal, war-like tactics are being applied, raising concerns over the use of force that exceeds law enforcement standards.”

    On Monday, Israeli forces raided El Far’a refugee camp and blocked the entrances. As a result, dozens of families have reportedly fled the camp, fearing a larger Israeli operation.

    This came a day after Israeli forces reportedly destroyed 20 residential structures in the Jenin refugee camp where more than 50 families were living.

    They also conducted house-to-house searches in the town of Tammun, displacing as many as 15 families and blocking the town’s entrance.

    OCHA reported that the Palestinian death toll in recent Israeli operations in the West Bank now stands at 39 since 21 January, the day when the operation in Jenin began.

    “Meanwhile, tight movement restrictions across the West Bank continue to hamper access to basic services, leaving Palestinians queuing for hours at Israeli checkpoints or forced to take significantly longer detours,” the agency said. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Gaza: More than a million receive food aid since the start of the ceasefire

    Source: United Nations 2

    Humanitarian Aid

    Over one million people in the Gaza Strip have received food assistance since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect nearly three weeks ago, UN aid coordination office OCHA said in an update on Wednesday. 

    The temporary agreement to stop the fighting and release hostages brought an end to some 15 months of conflict and destruction in the Strip, following the brutal Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel of 7 October 2023.

    The truce came into force on 19 January and OCHA said the surge in the daily entry of supplies into Gaza since then, along with improved access conditions, have allowed humanitarians to meaningfully expand the delivery of lifesaving assistance and services across the enclave.

    Moreover, coordination with the Israeli authorities for humanitarian aid missions is mostly no longer required, except when entering buffer zones. 

    Food and healthcare delivery expands

    “As a result, humanitarian partners are adjusting their response in accordance with population movements, including by expanding their operational presence and services in areas that were previously hard or impossible to access, such as Rafah, Gaza and North Gaza governorates,” OCHA said.

    Needs remain dire in Gaza, where the war has left over two million people fully dependent on food assistance, homeless, and without any income.

    Over the past two weeks, the World Food Programme (WFP) delivered more than 10 million metric tonnes of food to the Strip, reaching roughly a million people through food parcel distributions to households. 

    This is in addition to expanding bread deliveries at bakeries and community kitchens and re-opening a community kitchen in North Gaza on 24 January.  

    WFP also delivered fuel that enabled the five bakeries in Gaza governorate that it supports to increase production capacity by 40 per cent to meet the growing demand.

    Furthermore, 25 emergency medical teams are operating as of Tuesday, with 22 in the centre and south, two in Gaza City, and one in North Gaza. 

    © UNICEF/Eyad El Baba

    Palestinian families travel back to their homes in the north of the Gaza Strip.

    On the move

    OCHA noted that since 27 January, population movements have continued across the Strip but have largely slowed down.

    Over 565,092 people have crossed from the south to the north, while more than 45,678 have been heading southwards due to the lack of services and the widespread destruction of homes and communities in the north.

    It is estimated that more than half a million people have returned to Gaza and North Gaza governorates, and the need for food, water, tents and shelter materials remains critical.

    Shelter concerns

    “Despite the entry of a large volume of supplies since the ceasefire took effect, priority was given to food during the first two weeks, significantly limiting the entry of shelter assistance,” OCHA said, citing partners working in the sector.

    Meanwhile, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported bringing at least 3,000 tents into northern Gaza on Monday, and an additional 7,000 tents are expected to arrive in the coming days.

    Highlighting other developments, OCHA said this past Sunday saw the start of medical evacuations through Rafah crossings into Egypt. Between 1 and 3 February, 105 patients, including 100 children, and 176 companions were evacuated. 

    Hostage releases continue

    The update also included details on hostage releases. Hamas and other groups killed around 1,200 people in the 7 October attacks on Israel. They also seized some 250 others, both Israelis and foreigners, who were taken to Gaza.

    OCHA said estimates indicate that 79 people currently remain captive, including hostages who have been declared dead and whose bodies are being withheld in Gaza.

    Over the past week, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) facilitated the third and fourth release operations since the ceasefire took hold.

    On 30 January, three Israeli and five Thai hostages were transferred from Gaza to Israeli authorities, and 110 Palestinian detainees were released from Israeli detention centres. Among the Palestinian detainees were 30 children as well as 20 prisoners from the West Bank who were released to the Gaza Strip. 

    The following day, three Israeli hostages were transferred out of Gaza to Israel, and 183 Palestinian detainees were released from Israeli detention centres. The Palestinians freed included 111 people who were detained from the Gaza Strip after 7 October and seven detainees who were released to Egypt. 

    Overall, the ICRC has facilitated the return of 18 hostages and 583 Palestinian detainees since the ceasefire began. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ricketts Rebuts Elizabeth Warren’s False Claim That CFPB is Only Cop on the Beat: “We Ought Not to Try and Scare Consumers Right Now”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Pete Ricketts (Nebraska)
    February 11, 2025
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, rebutted a false claim by Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is the only entity responsible for protecting consumers in the banking industry.
    “I want to address something that the Ranking Member started talking about, which was characterizing the CFPB as being the cop on the beat here,” Ricketts said. “But I can tell you, having been a Governor and having a Department of Banking that reported to me, that if any consumer would contact us and make a complaint about a bank, even a big bank like JP Morgan, we would investigate. As could the OCC, the FDIC, FTC. So to characterize it ‘no one is out there working for consumers’ is inaccurate. And we ought not to try and scare consumers right now that somehow this is the case.”
    During questioning of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Ricketts also highlighted his concerns about the expansion of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet.
    [embedded content]
    “The Fed’s balance sheet at the end of 2019, so before the pandemic, was about $4.1 trillion,” Ricketts said. “By May of 2020, the Fed expanded that to $7 trillion, and by 2022, the Fed’s balance sheet hit an all-time record of $8.9 trillion. Inflation peaked at 9.1% that year, a high we had not seen since 1981. Now, I’m encouraged by the actions the Fed has taken with quantitative tightening, to shrink the balance sheet down to $6.85 trillion, but $6.85 trillion is still too high.”
    Ricketts’ comments came in a hearing of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs entitled: “The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress.”
    TRANSCRIPT:
    Senator Ricketts: “Well thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member for holding this important hearing and thank you Chairman Powell for being here today to talk about our economy and all of the things that are going on.
    “I want to address something that the Ranking Member started talking off about, which was characterizing the CFPB as being the cop on the beat here. But I can tell you, having been a governor and having a Department of Banking that reported to me, that if any consumer would contact us and make a complaint about a bank, even a big bank like JP Morgan, we would investigate, as could the OCC, FDIC, FTC.
    “So to characterize it ‘nobody’s out there looking for consumers,’ I think is inaccurate.
    “And we ought not to try and scare consumers right now that somehow, this is the case, because if you do have an issue, if you’re a consumer, please reach out to your state Department of Banking because those folks are going to look out for you.
    “I can tell you that because I used to have one of those Department of Banking, so they did a fantastic job of looking out for the consumers.
    “One of the things that has also impacted consumers is inflation. Prices under the Biden Administration were up 20%. An average household is paying $13,000 more today than they were for the same standard of living they had before Joe Biden got elected. We see that, grocery prices, for example, are up 22%, rents up 23%. Simply put, Nebraskans are economically worse off today than they were four years ago, and I expect that that’s part of the reason why we saw this change in the administration. They thought that that was not something that they wanted to continue to pursue. They didn’t want the same policies being followed. We have to end the reckless federal spending, rein in inflation and, you know, be responsible about how we make decisions to be able to grow the economy.
    “One of those areas that I’m concerned about is the expansion of the Fed balance sheet. The Fed’s balance sheet before, at the end of 2019, so before the pandemic was about $4.1 trillion. By May of 2020, the Fed expanded that to $7 trillion, and by 2022, the Fed’s balance sheet hit an all-time record of $8.9 trillion. Inflation peaked at 9.1% that year, a high we had not seen since 1981. Now, I’m encouraged by the actions the Fed has taken with quantitative tightening, to shrink the balance sheet down to $6.85 trillion, but $6.85 trillion is still too high. And one of my concerns with this, Chairman, is that, that’s kind of what are your tools, to be able to guard against a downturn in the economy or some sort of shock? Obviously used it during the pandemic. Looking ahead long term, will the Fed Reserve continue to this course of unwinding the balance sheet?”
    Chairman Jerome Powell: “Yeah. So, what we said is that we intend to slow and then stop the decline when reserve balances are somewhat above the level that we judge, consistent with so-called ample reserves. The most recent data and the feel of the markets is definitely the reserves are still abundant. They’re about the level that they were at when run off started because the, the run off is really happened out of the overnight repo facility, reverse repo. So yes, it’s, it’s an ongoing thing and we’re not, we’re not yet we’re where we’re headed.”
    Senator Ricketts: “So what kind of pace can we expect, and I know that obviously there’s going be a lot of factors like what happens to the economy over the course of next year, but if you were, if things were going to go along the way you are today, you’ve already said the economy’s doing well, inflation’s a little higher than we want it to be at 2.6%, but unemployment’s at 4%. If these conditions, and I think you use the word stable quite a bit, if these conditions were to remain stable throughout the course of the year, would you have a range to give us a where the balance you might be, if we were talking again here in January 2026?”
    Chairman Jerome Powell: “We basically we’re going to be, looking at reserve conditions, conditions in reserve markets, and trying to stop a little bit above what we consider ample. And we think we’re, you know, meaningfully above that now. We, we can’t put a number on it because you can’t directly know the demand for reserves other than by observing behavior in the market and then putting a little bit of a of a buffer on it. So I can’t give you an exact number. But for now, it’s ongoing and we have a ways to go.”
    Senator Ricketts: “What kind of conditions would happen, have to happen for you to start going back to quantitative easing?”
    Chairman Jerome Powell: “You know, so quantitative easing, so, you know, that’s a tool we, we tend to use when we’re at the effect of lower bound and we can’t cut interest rates anymore, so nothing like what you’re seeing in the current day. It’s a different test for stopping quantitative tightening, but we would use QE going forward only, only in a situation where when we’re rates are at zero and, you know, we’re a long way from zero now.”
    Senator Ricketts: “So that, you think that, again, just generally speaking, then if things remain stable, you’ll continue to unwind the balance sheet, you’ll continue to the quantitative tightening? Can’t give me a range on that, is that what I hear you saying?”
    Chairman Jerome Powell: “That’s right, that’s right.”
    Senator Ricketts: “Okay. Great. Well, I encourage you to keep doing that because, again, I think that’s important, to be able to make sure that you’ve got powder, for the next, issue that we may face. So, thank you very much. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate you being here.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Toxic air threatens children’s lives across East Asia and the Pacific, UNICEF warns

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    By Vibhu Mishra

    Health

    More than 100 children under the age of five die every day in East Asia and the Pacific due to air pollution, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned in a new analysis released on Thursday, calling for urgent action to tackle the crisis.

    The analysis underscores the devastating impact of toxic air on young lives, with air pollution now linked to nearly one in four deaths of under fives in the region.

    Exposure begins in the womb, increasing risks of premature birth and low birth weight, and continues throughout childhood, impairing lung development, reducing cognitive function, and contributing to chronic diseases such as asthma and cardiovascular conditions.

    “Every breath matters but for too many children every breath can bring harm,” said June Kunugi, UNICEF Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific.

    “The air they breathe, at a time when their bodies and minds are still developing, too often contains unhealthy levels of pollution that can comprise their growth, harm their lungs, and impair their cognitive development.”

    Every child at risk

    The report reveals that all 500 million children in the region live in countries with unhealthy air.

    Over 325 million children are exposed to annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels exceeding World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines by five times or more, while 373 million live in areas with dangerous levels of nitrogen dioxide, a gas emitted by vehicles and industrial processes.

    Nearly half of PM2.5 pollution in the worst-affected countries comes from the burning of fossil fuels, biomass, and agricultural waste – also major contributors to climate change.

    As extreme weather events worsen due to climate change, air pollution is expected to become an even greater threat, UNICEF warned.

    Impacts beyond health

    The impacts of the air pollution crisis go beyond health.

    High pollution levels force school closures, disrupt learning, and increase medical expenses, straining already overwhelmed healthcare systems.

    The World Bank estimates that in 2019, the economic cost of air pollution from PM2.5 in East Asia and the Pacific amounted to $2.5 trillion, or 9.3 percent of the region’s gross domestic product (GDP).

    © UNICEF/Patipat Janthong

    Students at a primary school in Bangkok wear masks during their morning lineup as air pollution levels soar.

    Urgent call for action

    In response to the “silent killer,” UNICEF called on governments, businesses, healthcare professionals, parents, and educators to take immediate steps to reduce air pollution and protect children’s health.

    Governments must enforce stronger environmental policies, transition to clean energy sources, and implement air quality standards aligned with WHO guidelines, alongside, businesses should adopt cleaner technologies, reduce emissions, and ensure their practices prioritize child safety.

    Parents and educators also have a crucial role in raising awareness, advocating for cleaner environments, and empowering young people to take action, UNICEF highlighted.

    Solutions exist

    Furthermore, UNICEF is collaborating with governments, businesses, and communities on multiple initiatives to reduce children’s exposure to air pollution.

    These include pushing for stronger environmental regulations, improving air quality monitoring by installing affordable sensors and implementing programmes to reduce household air pollution, such as cleaner cooking stoves and better ventilation.

    The agency is also working to strengthen healthcare systems to better diagnose and treat pollution-related illnesses and is supporting young people to become clean air advocates, raising awareness, and pushing for stronger policies.

    “Addressing air pollution will lead to enormous improvements in children’s health, education, and well-being, with ripple effects across entire societies and economies,” Ms. Kunugi underscored.

    “Solutions exist, and our collective future depends on implementing them.”

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Making the digital and physical world safer: Why the Convention against Cybercrime matters

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Law and Crime Prevention

    Billions of people worldwide are set to benefit from enhanced safety online and in the physical world following the adoption of a legally binding treaty on cybercrime by the UN General Assembly.

    The 193 UN Member States adopted, by consensus, the historic Convention against Cybercrime – the first of its kind following five years of negotiations.  

    Here are five key reasons why this landmark agreement matters for people everywhere:

    A critical tool for a growing threat

    In 2023, 67.4 per cent of the world’s population accessed the Internet, according to the World Bank. People rely on connectivity for tasks ranging from communication and shopping to advanced research and innovation.

    However, this connectivity also exposes more than two-thirds of the global population to the dangers of cybercrime. For those on the wrong side of the digital divide, the lack of resilience further increases vulnerability once they get online.

    Cybercriminals exploit digital systems using malware, ransomware, and hacking to steal money, data, and other valuable information. Information and communications technology (ICT) are also used to facilitate crimes such as drug trafficking, arms smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering and fraud.

    Regions like Southeast Asia have been described as “ground zero” for organized cybercrime operations, which are often highly sophisticated and coordinated. The threat is escalating, undermining economies, disrupting critical infrastructure, and eroding trust in digital systems.

    Until now, there has been no globally negotiated convention on cybercrime. The new Convention against Cybercrime will enable faster, better-coordinated, and more effective responses, making both digital and physical worlds safer.

    Unsplash/Jefferson Santos

    Cybercrime poses a growing threat to global security, targeting individuals, businesses, and governments alike.

    Around-the-clock cooperation

    Investigating transnational crimes, whether online or offline, depends heavily on electronic evidence, which poses unique challenges for law enforcement.

    One major challenge is the decentralized nature of data, networks, and service providers, with potential evidence often scattered across multiple jurisdictions. Additionally, electronic evidence must frequently be accessed quickly to prevent tampering or deletion through normal processes.

    The Convention focuses on frameworks for accessing and exchanging electronic evidence, facilitating investigations and prosecutions.

    States Parties will also benefit from a 24/7 network to boost international cooperation, enabling assistance with investigations, prosecutions, crime proceeds recovery, mutual legal assistance, and extradition.

    Protecting children

    Online platforms such as social media, chat apps and games offer anonymity that predators can exploit to groom, manipulate, or harm children.

    The Convention is the first global treaty to specifically address sexual violence against children committed with information and communication technologies (ICT).

    By criminalising these offenses, the Convention equips governments with stronger tools to protect children and bring perpetrators to justice.

    © UNICEF/Pablo Schverdfinger

    Children are especially vulnerable to online exploitation, making it crucial to protect them in the digital world.

    Responding to victims’ needs

    Cybercrime affects people everywhere, and every victim deserves adequate support.

    The Convention encourages States to provide victims with access to recovery services, compensation, restitution, and the removal of illicit content.

    This support will be delivered according to each country’s domestic laws.

    Improved prevention

    Responding to cybercrime after it occurs is not enough. Preventing cybercrime requires robust investments in proactive measures, which the Convention against Cybercrime strongly emphasizes.

    It urges States to develop comprehensive prevention strategies, including training for public and private sectors, offender rehabilitation and reintegration programmes, and support for victims.

    With these measures, the Convention aims to reduce risks and manage threats effectively, fostering a safer digital environment for all.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Palestinians’ rights matter, says UNRWA chief

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Humanitarian Aid

    The head of UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA underscored its commitment to assist a population whose rights “continue to be violated”. 

    In a social media post on Friday, Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that “people in Gaza have undergone systematic dehumanization” since the war there began.

    He emphasized that “Palestinians do matter, including those in Gaza. Their rights, lives and futures matter,” noting that “human rights cannot be applied selectively.”

    His comments come in the wake of United States President Donald Trump’s proposal made earlier this week that the US should seize control of Gaza and permanently displace the entire Palestinian population – a move which the UN Secretary-General said would be an act of “ethnic cleansing.”

    Two-State solution

    In his statement, Mr. Lazzarini quoted UN chief António Guterres who has stressed that “peace requires ending the occupation, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State, with Gaza as an integral part; a viable and sovereign Palestinian State side-by-side with Israel”. 

    The UNRWA chief said his agency’s teams “are committed to continue providing critical assistance to Palestine refugees who need us most until empowered Palestinian institutions become a lasting and viable alternative.”

    UNRWA continues to face huge challenges in carrying out its work.  Last month, two Israeli laws came into effect which ban UNRWA operations within its borders and forbid Israeli authorities from having any contact with the agency.

    UNRWA was ordered to vacate its premises in East Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, and visas for international staff were not renewed.  

    Teams are still providing aid to communities in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as in Gaza, where a ceasefire continues to hold following 15 months of war.

    © UNOCHA/Olga Cherevko

    UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher talks to a child at an UNRWA shelter in Gaza.

    ‘Relief chief’ meets displaced families

    In other developments, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Tom Fletcher continued his week-long visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

    On Friday he visited an UNRWA-run shelter in the city of Deir Al-Balah in Gaza before heading to Jerusalem via the Kerem Shalom border crossing.

    Mr. Fletcher met with displaced families who spoke of the hardships they have endured over the past 16 months. He also heard from staff managing the shelter about the ongoing response and challenges they face in providing critical support. 

    The UNRWA site is one of the many schools in Gaza that were turned into shelters. The UN relief chief met children who are missing out on their education, stressing the need to re-open schools in Gaza as soon as possible.    

    In Jerusalem, Mr. Fletcher met heads of UN aid agencies and other humanitarians, where he discussed how to sustain aid flows to Gaza and support West Bank operations.

    Medical evacuations and food assistance

    UN agencies continue to provide updates on their work in the Gaza Strip.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) said on social media that its team has supported the medical evacuation of 178 patients this month, including 115 children, to Egypt. However, between 12,000 and 14,000 more still need to be evacuated.

    For its part, the World Food Programme (WFP) has sent more than 15,000 tonnes of food into Gaza since the start of the ceasefire, reaching more than 525,000 people with food parcels, hot meals and cash.

    UN child rights agency UNICEF added that since the ceasefire took effect, it has reached more than 10,000 infants across Gaza with ready to use complementary foods.   

    UN News

    A family sits outside a makeshift shelter in Gaza.

    Insufficient shelter 

    This week, UN partners have been assessing the impact of a winter storm on shelters in different locations in the enclave. Partners in the north are also preparing to distribute 1,500 tents to returnees in the Gaza and North Gaza governorates.

    Humanitarians note even though shelter support is scaling up, nearly one million displaced people are living in substandard tents or makeshift dwellings – some families resorting to sewing old rice sacks together for basic cover.

    West Bank crackdown continues

    The UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, also updated on the situation in the West Bank.

    Ongoing operations by Israeli forces in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas continue to displace Palestinians, severely restricting their access to essential services and causing widespread destruction.

    Humanitarians estimate that 82 per cent of displaced families in the northern West Bank are currently living in rented accommodations.   

    Significant increase in child fatalities in the West Bank

    Meanwhile, nearly half of all Palestinian child fatalities in the West Bank over the past two decades occurred within the last two years, UN aid coordination office OCHA said in a humanitarian update published on Thursday.

    Since January 2023, 224 children (218 boys and six girls) have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers, representing nearly half of the 468 child fatalities the agency has documented since the beginning of 2005.

    They include 11 children killed since January of this year, all by Israeli forces, including six killed in airstrikes, and 10 killed in the northern governorates of the West Bank. 

    “This is generally consistent with trends observed over the past two years,” OCHA said.

    Concern over use of force

    The agency noted that in 2023 and 2024, 64 per cent of Palestinian child fatalities in the West Bank were in the northern governorates. Most, 82 per cent, were shot by live ammunition, and 18 per cent were killed by airstrikes. 

    Furthermore, more than 2,500 Palestinian children were injured during the same period, 28 per cent of them by live ammunition. 

    So far this year, 89 Palestinian children were reported injured by Israeli forces or settlers, 48 per cent by live ammunition. 

    “The significant number of children killed and injured with live ammunition fired by Israeli forces or in airstrikes raises concerns over unnecessary and excessive uses of force against children by Israeli forces during operations in the West Bank,” said OCHA.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Rapid City Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Bank Fraud and Theft

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Camela C. Theeler, U.S. District Judge, has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, woman convicted of one count of Bank Fraud and six counts of Theft by a Credit Union Employee. The sentencing took place on February 10, 2025.

    Ashley Viken, 41, was sentenced to 11 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $700 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and $50,000 in restitution to Black Hills Federal Credit Union and $69,085.95 in restitution to CUMIS Insurance Society, Inc.

    Viken was indicted on one count of Bank Fraud and 28 counts of Theft by a Credit Union Employee by a federal grand jury in August 2024. She pleaded guilty on November 26, 2024.

    Between July 2022 and March 2024, Viken, while employed as an accountant with Black Hills Federal Credit Union (BHFCU), devised a scheme to defraud BHFCU for her own personal gain. As part of the scheme, Viken wrote 29 cashier’s checks totaling $119,085.95 on an account owned and controlled by BHFCU and fraudulently documented that she was reissuing cashier’s checks or refunding money to BHFCU members, when she instead was depositing the cashier’s checks into accounts she owned or controlled. After fraudulently taking the money, Viken then falsified bank documents to cover her theft and used the funds for her own personal benefit. 

    This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.

    Viken was ordered to self-surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service at a future date.   

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Industry, Lawmakers Applaud President Trump’s Section 232 Tariffs

    Source: The White House

    Yesterday, President Donald J. Trump took decisive action to protect critical American industries by restoring a 25% tariff on steel imports and elevating the tariff to 25% on aluminum imports — building on the successful tariffs from his first term, which have since been undermined by loopholes and exemptions.
     
    The moves were quickly met with praise from industry, unions, and lawmakers:
     
    Steel Manufacturers Association President Philip K. Bell: “The steel industry in America faces serious threats from foreign actors that seek to destroy domestic production. China and other countries routinely violate trade laws and dump heavily subsidized steel products into the United States at the expense of American workers. By imposing a 25 percent tariff on steel imports, President Trump is leveling the playing field for American manufacturers and workers and helping America defeat direct threats to our jobs.”
     
    United Steelworkers President David McCall: “Our union welcomes President Donald Trump’s efforts to contain the global overcapacity that has for too long enabled bad actors like China to flood the global market with its unfairly traded products, resulting in surging imports into the United States, especially from Mexico.”
     
    Aluminum Association President Charles Johnson: “We appreciate President Trump’s continued focus on strong trade actions to support the aluminum industry in the United States. During his first term the president was early to recognize the genuine threat that non-market actors pose to U.S. manufacturing industries like ours … Today, there is not enough smelting capacity in the United States to supply the growing aluminum industry with the input materials it needs.”
     
    American Iron and Steel Institute President Kevin Dempsey: “We look forward to working closely with the President and his administration to implement a robust and reinvigorated trade agenda to address the many foreign market-distorting policies and practices that create an unlevel playing field for American steelmakers.”
     
    American Primary Aluminum Association President Mark Duffy: “Today is a great day for the U.S. aluminum industry. Unfair trade practices have devastated the domestic aluminum industry and President Trump’s actions today will protect thousands of American workers and their families.”
     
    Coalition for a Prosperous America Chairman Zach Mottl: “President Trump’s decision to implement global tariffs is a critical step toward restoring stability to American industry, safeguarding domestic production, and ensuring these critical sectors are not harmed by a surge of imports. The only way to rebuild domestic industrial capacity is through strong and enforceable trade policies, and these tariffs are a major step in the right direction.”
     
    Nucor Corporation President Leon Topalian: “Nucor strongly commends the actions taken today by President Trump to reimpose tariffs on all steel imports. America’s national security depends on a robust and healthy American steel industry, which continues to be harmed by massive global steel overcapacity and the resulting surge of illegally dumped and subsidized imports from around the world. Many of our trading partners have taken advantage of our open market for far too long and have intentionally circumvented our trade laws or allowed other bad actors to transship illegally dumped and subsidized steel. The President’s actions will help level the playing field for American steel producers.”
     
    Energy Fair Trade Coalition Executive Director Bret Manley: “President Trump’s bold leadership will strengthen the backbone of America – our steel and aluminum industry. E-FTC is proud to support initiatives that will level the playing field, foster domestic job growth, and promote fair reciprocal trade.”
     
    Century Aluminum Company CEO Jesse Gary: “We strongly support today’s Executive Order from President Donald J. Trump imposing a 25% tariff to stop the flood of aluminum imports into the United States. President Trump’s decisive action will protect national security and help level the playing field for America’s aluminum workers. On behalf of our employees, I thank President Trump for putting America first and strengthening the Section 232 tariffs, which will help drive the resurgence of domestic aluminum production.”
     
    Lowell Iron and Steel Company President Dennis Scanell: “The tariffs, thank God they’re coming … Maybe this evens the playing field for us, but this hits right at home. There’s no way we can compete with Canada.”
     
    America First Works: “President Trump promised to put America First and make our nation wealthy again; that is exactly what tariffs do. In his first term, President Trump’s bold trade policies created over 4,000 new American jobs and higher wages for hardworking patriots. Foreign nations will no longer be able to take advantage of the United States. If they don’t like the tariffs, they can come to the table and make a deal. In fact, that is what President Trump does best. China will no longer exploit trade loopholes to undermine American workers. Now is the time to stand strong, fight for fair trade, and put America FIRST where it belongs!”
     
    Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN): “Too many politicians in Washington take our domestic steel industry for granted. That hurts our workers and disrespects our history.”
     
    Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA): “If you have a high tariff on our product, and we have a low tariff on your product, we ought to level them out. That just seems fair to me.”
     
    Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS): “President Trump is a leader who brokers deals that put AMERICAN workers first. The days of unfair, one-sided trade deals that let foreigners take advantage of our country are over. The sky is not falling. @POTUS is protecting our Steel and Aluminum industry workers — and in the end, America will have the upper hand. As it should be.”
     
    Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC): “President Trump’s approach to tariffs is designed with the long-term benefits of American consumers and national security in mind. By prioritizing fair trade policies and a balanced approach to tariffs, we’ll secure the economic prosperity of American workers across the country.”
     
    Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL): “The media is in full meltdown mode after President Trump imposed duties and retaliatory tariffs this week on countries who have been ripping us off for decades. Both aluminum and steel are critical to our national security — and we make some of the best in the world right here at home. President Trump’s strategic tariffs will strengthen and revitalize our nation’s economy by making sure our trade deals are fair to taxpayers and the American worker.”
     
    Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN): “President @realDonaldTrump is a master negotiator, especially when it comes to tariffs. Don’t just take my word for it — even Biden’s own commerce secretary admitted that the tariffs President Trump placed on foreign steel and aluminum during his first term were effective.”
     
    Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI): “Millions of Americans are cheering for @POTUS’s tariff negotiations. He has proven his effectiveness in this arena time and time again. This will be no different. He is sending a message to the world. Compete fairly, or pay the price.”
     
    Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO): “President Trump is wasting no time moving forward with his America First trade policy. The days of the United States allowing our trading partners to steam roll us are over. President Trump successfully used tariffs in the past to grow our economy and protect American jobs. He imposed steel and aluminum tariffs in 2018, and now he is eliminating exceptions countries like China have used to circumvent them. I look forward to continuing to work with @POTUS to put America First and hold our trading partners accountable.”
     
    Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA): “President Trump is sending a loud and clear message: America is DONE letting foreign countries undercut our economy. Once again, he’s delivering on his promise to PUT AMERICA FIRST!”
     
    Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL): “President Trump is ABSOLUTELY RIGHT to tariff & combat Communist #China!”
     
    Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN): “Unfair trade practices have led to our nation being on the wrong end of too many bad deals. That’s coming to an end. President Trump is taking action to protect America’s steel and aluminum industries with his latest executive order, continuing to put America first.”
     
    Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA): “President @realDonaldTrump is taking action to protect the American steel industry by closing loopholes that allow other countries to bypass U.S. tariffs through Mexico and Canada. This move will strengthen domestic production and encourage critical investment in U.S. Steel.”
     
    Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL): “Trading with the United States is a privilege, not a right. President Trump’s America First trade policy will advance our priorities abroad and grow prosperity at home!”
     
    Rep. Keith Self (R-TX): “President Trump KEEPS HIS PROMISES! @realDonaldTrump is delivering on his promise to rebalance trade from unfair foreign competition. In the Golden Age, we are building a stronger America.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sen. Scott Presses Powell to Ensure Economy, Financial Regulation Promotes Opportunity for Hardworking Americans

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Tim Scott

    WASHINGTON — At today’s Senate Banking Committee hearing on the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress, Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) highlighted the importance of the Federal Reserve avoiding political priorities and focusing on building an economy that works for all Americans. In his opening statement, Senator Scott called out financial regulators who abused their power and forced institutions to debank federally legal businesses and law-abiding citizens.

    Senator Scott pressed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on the importance of rightsizing rules and regulations – including reproposing the Basel III Endgame – to protect access to financial opportunity and security.

    Senator Scott’s opening remarks as delivered:  

    Chair Powell, thank you for being here today, appreciate your willingness to have a chat with us about some of the really important issues facing our country.

    Without question, the Federal Reserve serves a critical role in the function of our government and the global economy.

    You have the ability to influence markets and directly impact the financial future of hundreds of millions of Americans.

    That is why the Federal Reserve is supposed to be an independent institution free from politics.

    But, in recent reality, the Fed has been susceptible to political pressure.

    Take for example the Fed’s involvement in the Network for Greening the Financial System, a group dedicated to green financing and climate change, which the Fed joined in December 2020 as President Biden was about to assume office. 

    Just last month, the Fed announced that it had pulled out of the organization as President Trump was getting ready to be sworn in.

    To the American people, this is flip flopping in the political wind. Too much focus on climate change instead of supervision is consequential.

    And in March, just two years ago, we saw the failure of Silicon Valley Bank.

    SVB marked the third largest bank failure in U.S. history and the largest since the 2008 financial crisis. And yet, not a single federal regulator was held to account.

    In fact, the FDIC filed a lawsuit against bank executives which accused the SVB of “egregious mismanagement.” And I agree. How is it that no bank supervisor has faced any consequences? With 30 MRAs and MRIAs that never had timely action at SVB. 

    How can the people who are supposed to be our cops on the beat have not faced any recourse for such “egregious” failures.  I simply don’t understand.

    We must all address the fact that over the last four years, the Biden administration and Bidenomics have devastated, decimated, and destroyed hardworking families ability to support themselves.

    During Joe Biden’s time in office, overall prices rose by over 20 percent, energy prices 34 percent, transportation costs 31 percent, groceries 22 percent.

    But that’s not all.

    Thanks to Bidenomics, two-thirds of Americans have less than $1,000 – less than $1,000 – in their savings accounts.

    Here’s there is good news: things are going to get better.

    During his first term, President Trump kept his promises to the American people.

    In the first three years of his presidency, President Trump built the most inclusive economy ever.

    Seven million jobs created, and two-thirds went to women, African Americans, and Hispanics.

    It’s time to once again make America’s economy work for the folks working paycheck to paycheck.

    Joe Biden and Kamala Harris broke our economy and Donald Trump will fix it.

    For too long, bank regulators have followed black box regulatory frameworks with little to no recourse.

    The FDIC, under President Trump’s leadership, recently released never-before-seen supervisory documents, which confirmed that Biden’s Operation Chokepoint 2.0 was real despite assurances that these unacceptable practices would end following the Democrats’ first Operation Chokepoint 1.0.

    We are seeing an unfair playing field that results in disastrous consequences for legal businesses and law-abiding citizens. 

    On one hand, if you are in the private sector and you do your job poorly, you would face consequences – reprimands, suspensions, or even being fired.

    But if you are within the walls of the federal government, such as a bank regulator, you will face no consequences for your actions, even if you pressure a bank to cut off services to digital asset firms, political figures, and conservative-aligned businesses and individuals.

    To me, that goes against the principles of fairness and market access.

    Over the last two years, as the Ranking Member of this Committee, I have consistently argued that the Basel III Endgame proposal will raise costs and limit credit access for hardworking Americans. 

    And while I’m glad this proposal was not finalized, the uncertainty surrounding Basel III forced banks to put capital on the sidelines – limiting access to that capital for local and small businesses across the country. 

    Now, as Chairman, I plan to work to rectify the issues of the Biden administration.

    Chairman Powell, I look forward to hearing from you on the Federal Reserve’s future and the plans you have for rightsizing the financial regulatory frameworks, specifically around Basel III. 

    To create jobs here in America, we need to make sure there is capital and liquidity in the market.

    And we also want all Americans, even those growing up in poverty like I did, to know they can access the capital necessary to start new businesses, grow existing businesses, buy a home, and pursue their American Dream.

    Chairman, I look forward to your comments and your testimony and I will simply say, that I believe that weaponizing an independent agency like the Fed for liberal positions – from debanking crypto, bank stress tests, and the green financing scheme – is not calling balls and strikes as a fair referee. And I hope that we are getting ready to clean that slate, start fresh, and focus on a healthy economy.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Maricoin Set to List on LBank, Expanding Financial Inclusion for the Global LGBTQ+ Community

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MADRID, Feb. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Maricoin (Maricoin), the pioneering cryptocurrency representing the LGBTQ+ digital nation, is set to debut on LBank, marking a major step in its mission to empower financial inclusion and social change. The listing is scheduled for at 16:00 UTC on February 14 in celebration of Valentine’s Day, allowing global users to trade MCOIN and be part of a movement that unites technology with equality.

    Following a bullish rally in 2025 —where it has skyrocketed by more than 700% in the past month— the USDT/MARICOIN pair is expected to list at its premiere at $0.01.

    Why Maricoin?

    Maricoin isn’t just another digital asset—it’s a currency designed to combat discrimination, promote financial inclusivity, and support LGBTQ+ causes. As the economic force behind a community that makes up 7.5% of the global population and ranks as the world’s fourth-largest economy, Maricoin merges technology, ethics, and activism.

    Powered by Algorand and Polygon, Maricoin enables seamless transactions through Mariwallet, allowing users to pay at inclusive merchants while generating solidarity funds for those in need, combating sexual discrimination—an issue still affecting one in three countries worldwide (with 69 nations still penalizing homosexuality).

    Exclusive LBank Airdrop for New Holders

    To celebrate the listing, LBank is offering an exclusive airdrop for new Maricoin community members. Users who sign up for the first time and make their initial purchase of $100 or an equivalent amount in any of the top 20 cryptocurrencies will receive bonus rewards from the project.

    Maricoin’s Growing Global Ecosystem

    With the backing of Borderless Capital and a passionate community, Maricoin has expanded beyond crypto into mainstream consumer products, launching branded beer, wine, olive oil, and Colombian coffee to attract new users into the digital economy.

    What’s Next for Maricoin?

    • Global Adoption: Expanding international payment adoption at major LGBTQ+ Pride parades with ambassadors in New York, Miami, Colombia, Brazil, the UK, Germany, France, and Spain.
    • Social NFTs: Launching exclusive NFT collections to support LGBTQ+ artists.
    • Policy & Advocacy: Partnering with the LGBTQ+ Parliament, present in 44 countries, to drive global social change.
    • Market Expansion: New CEX listings supported by Yellow Capital market makers.

    As Maricoin prepares for its LBank debut, it continues to bridge the gap between finance and activism, offering a powerful tool for inclusion, economic empowerment, and positive change.

    Join the movement. Trade MCOIN on LBank.

    Website: https://maricoin.org
    Telegram: t.me/maricoin_english & t.me/MaricoinGrupoOficial
    Twitter: https://x.com/maricoinoficial
    Instagram:: https://www.instagram.com/maricoin_oficial/
    Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@maricoin-mcoin  

    Contact:
    Paco Alvarez
    paco@maricoin.org

    Disclaimer: This content is provided by Maricoin. 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/03fe3bfb-1e0a-4fc9-81ee-750cec87ee89

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/62d292f9-c7db-4d0f-a440-651c4fd0b61c

    The MIL Network –