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Category: Canada

  • MIL-OSI: VAALCO Schedules Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Earnings Release and Conference Call

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    HOUSTON, March 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: EGY; LSE: EGY) (“Vaalco” or the “Company”) today announced the timing of its fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings release and conference call.

    The Company will issue its fourth quarter 2024 and full year earnings release on Thursday, March 13, 2025 after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange and host a conference call to discuss its financial and operational results on Friday morning, March 14, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. Central Time (11:00 a.m. Eastern Time and 4:00 p.m. London Time.)

    Interested parties in the United States may participate toll-free by dialing (833) 685-0907. Interested parties in the United Kingdom may participate toll-free by dialing 08082389064. Other international parties may dial (412) 317-5741. Participants should ask to be joined to the “Vaalco Energy Earnings Conference Call.” This call will also be webcast on VAALCO’s website at www.vaalco.com. An audio replay will be available on the Company’s website following the call.

    About Vaalco

    Vaalco, founded in 1985 and incorporated under the laws of Delaware, is a Houston, Texas, USA based, independent energy company with a diverse portfolio of production, development and exploration assets across Gabon, Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria and Canada.

    For Further Information

       
    Vaalco Energy, Inc. (General and Investor Enquiries) +00 1 713 543 3422
    Website: www.vaalco.com
       
    Al Petrie Advisors (US Investor Relations) +00 1 713 543 3422
    Al Petrie / Chris Delange  
       
    Buchanan (UK Financial PR) +44 (0) 207 466 5000
    Ben Romney / Barry Archer Vaalco@buchanan.uk.com
       

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Investing in cardiac care for central Albertans

    [. For those in central Alberta, the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre plays a critical role in providing that care, which is why the $1.8-billion Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre redevelopment project includes two state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization labs.

    While the project is expected to be completed by 2031, the government recognizes the urgent need for cardiac services for the 450,000 Albertans from Red Deer and surrounding rural communities. If passed, Budget 2025 will provide $3 million in startup funding and ongoing funding to cover the operational costs for an interim cardiac catheterization lab at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.

    “Every Albertan should have access to the health care services they need close to home. Albertans living in the Red Deer area have long advocated for a cardiac catheterization lab and I am pleased to support a project that we know will help save lives.”

    Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Health

    A cardiac catheterization lab is a dedicated space where specialized teams can carry out diagnostic tests that examine and evaluate heart function to aid in the diagnosis of cardiac health concerns and treatment of coronary artery disease. The lab will be equipped with specialized imaging equipment to allow for cardiac procedures primarily including ablation, angiogram and angioplasty. 

    The interim cardiac catheterization lab will be located within the existing Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre in a space currently being used as a physician’s lounge. Preliminary design plans are already in place and construction is expected to begin by fall 2025.

    The Red Deer Regional Health Foundation has committed to funding the capital cost of the project, which is expected to be about $22 million.

    In October 2024, the foundation announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Alberta Health Services to fast-track the opening of a cardiac catheterization lab at Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.

    “We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of the Donald and Lacey families, whose support is bringing life-saving cardiac care closer to home for the benefit of all central Albertans. Together with all our health care partners, their commitment to advancing health care will make a lasting impact on countless lives for years to come.”

    Manon Therriault, chief executive officer, Red Deer Regional Health Foundation

    The foundation’s work is made possible by the generosity of donors, supporters and champions across the region. To support the development of the interim cardiac catheterization lab, the foundation announced a $10-million donation from the John Donald family.

    “I am pleased to support the development of cardiac services in central Alberta, something we’ve long advocated for. This initiative will provide essential care to our community and ensure that more lives are saved closer to home.”

    John Donald, Red Deer Regional Health Foundation donor

    By prioritizing the development of an interim cardiac catheterization lab, patients will have access to critical services about three years earlier than expected. The interim cardiac catheterization lab is expected to be operational in early 2027.

    “Developing this lab will allow us to treat more cardiac patients closer to home and support them in their recovery. Enhancing our cardiac services will also support our efforts to recruit and retain the talented professionals needed to care for our region’s patients.”

    Janice Stewart, chief zone officer, Alberta Health Services Central Zone

    Being able to meet the needs of the province’s rapidly growing population is a top priority for Alberta’s government.

    Quick facts

    • The $1.8-billion Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre redevelopment project will upgrade several services throughout the hospital site, including:
      • an additional patient tower
      • six new operating rooms
      • a new medical device reprocessing department
      • two new cardiac catheterization labs
      • renovations to various areas within the main building
      • a newly renovated and expanded emergency department
      • a new ambulatory clinic building to be located adjacent to the surface parkade

    Related information

    • Red Deer Regional Health Foundation

    Related news

    • Red Deer hospital contractor selected (Aug. 15, 2024)
    • Red Deer Hospital schematic designs unveiled (March 15, 2024)
    • Red Deer hospital $1.8B expansion builds for the future (Feb. 22, 2022)

    Multimedia

    • Watch the news conference

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Delaware County Teacher Convicted After Trial of Coercing, Transporting, and Sexually Abusing Students

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Paul Geer was a Teacher at the “Family Foundation” Private Boarding School, Which Operated in Hancock, New York, From Approximately 1992 Until 2014

    SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Paul Geer, age 57, of Hancock, New York, was convicted today by a federal jury after a two-week-long trial on two counts of coercing and enticing two separate children to travel across state lines to engage in unlawful sexual activity and two counts of transporting the children across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity with those children.  The jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on two additional counts. 

    Acting United States Attorney Daniel Hanlon and Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Craig Tremaroli made the announcement.

    The evidence at trial proved that, while Geer was a teacher at the Family Foundation School in Hancock, New York, he imposed various disciplinary sanctions on students that were tantamount to torture. The sanctions Geer imposed on students included depriving children of food or forcing children to eat food that had been regurgitated, binding children in rugs and leaving them in isolated rooms for extended periods of time and forcing children to perform forced physical labor. The evidence at trial further proved that, in 1994 and 2001, Geer used his position of authority and his ability to impose these brutal sanctions to coerce two students to travel with him, on separate occasions, to Maine and Toronto, Canada. The evidence at trial also proved that Geer transported the students across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity with them. While on those trips, Geer raped or otherwise sexually abused each of the two children.

    Geer was taken into custody following the verdict. 

    At sentencing currently scheduled for July 9, 2025, in Albany, New York, the two counts of coercion and enticement each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 5 years. The two counts of transporting children across state lines each carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 5 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

    The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance New York State Police and the Colonie, New York Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica N. Carbone, Adrian S. LaRochelle, and Michael D. Gadarian prosecuted the case as a part of Project Safe Childhood.

    Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, and led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: B.C. appoints four new Provincial Court judges

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    The Government of British Columbia has appointed four new Provincial Court judges to support access to justice.

    The new judges are:

    • Ariana Ward (effective March 28, 2025);
    • James Henry (effective March 21, 2025);
    • Brian Dybwad (effective March 21, 2025); and
    • Mylene de Guzman (effective March 28, 2025).

    Ariana Ward has practised law for 27 years. Born in Iran, Ward moved to the United States before immigrating to Canada. After completing law school, she became Crown counsel. Since 1996, Ward has worked in almost every area of the BC Prosecution Service (BCPS). From 2008-17, she worked for the BCPS as weekend bail Crown. Since 2018, she has worked as trial counsel. Committed to Indigenous reconciliation, she has been counsel in North Vancouver’s Indigenous sentencing court. Ward’s contributions to the legal community include judging in the UBC Moot Court program and working as a sessional instructor at Douglas College where she taught an Introduction to Criminal Justice, Indigenous People and the Law course.

    James Henry was called to the B.C. bar in May 1996. He has been working as Crown counsel since 2017. For 20 years before that, he worked as defence counsel in Surrey and the Fraser Valley. He is Métis on his grandfather’s side of the family, and is a member of and served on the board of directors of the Nova Metis Heritage Association. In 2020, he joined the Indigenous Prosecution Service Resource Group. In 2022, he was appointed as administrative Crown counsel overseeing the scheduling of more than 50 prosecutors in the Surrey office.

    Brian Dybwad is a member of the Tsetault-Gitxsan Nation on his mother’s side, and his father is Norwegian. He is a hereditary Chief, with the name Skawill, which translates to big rock in the middle of the river. He graduated from University of Victoria in 1998 and was called to the B.C. bar in 2010.  He has primarily practised as a lawyer on north Vancouver Island. In private practice, between 2010 and 2018, he focused on criminal defence, family law and child-protection matters. Between 2018 and 2022, he was the managing lawyer for the Parents Legal Centre in Campbell River. From July 2022, he has held managing lawyer positions at Legal Aid BC. From 2015-17, he was the president of the Campbell River Bar Association, member at large at the British Columbia Law Institute, and in 2022 and 2024 was elected as a bencher of the Law Society of British Columbia.

    Mylene de Guzman was born in the Philippines. She immigrated to Ontario where she attended the University of Windsor and obtained her law degree in 1995. Articling at Greig, Skagen & Kennedy, she has worked as a family law lawyer in New Westminster and the Fraser Valley for most of her career. She obtained her accreditation as a family law mediator and arbitrator in 2015. She devotes 20% of her practice to alternative dispute resolutions. She is on the roster of Access Pro Bono lawyers, participating in legal clinics and conducting mediations. De Guzman is also a member of Amici Curiae Friendship Society, participating as a guest speaker and lecturer for legal clinics. She has worked as a volunteer in the legal community, taking on executive roles, including president of the New West Bar Association in 2022. She is the first vice-president of the Canadian Bar Association.

    These judicial appointments are made by considering various factors, such as the court’s requirements, the diversity of the judiciary and the candidates’ areas of expertise. The appointments show the Province’s continued dedication to ensuring fair access to justice for everyone in British Columbia.

    Quick Facts:

    • The process to appoint judges involves the following steps:
      • Interested lawyers apply, and the Judicial Council of B.C. reviews the candidates.
      • The council is a statutory body made up of the chief judge, an associate chief judge, other judges, lawyers and members from outside the legal profession.
      • The council recommends potential judges to the attorney general, with the final appointment made through a cabinet order-in-council.
    • Although judges and judicial justices are located in a judicial region, many use technology, such as videoconferencing, for court proceedings.
    • Judges travel regularly throughout the province to meet changing demands.

    Learn More:

    For information about the judicial appointment process, visit: https://provincialcourt.bc.ca/

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Hochul is a Guest on CNN’s ‘The Situation Room’

    Source: US State of New York

    arlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on CNN’s “The Situation Room” with Wolf Blitzer. The Governor spoke on the New York City mayoral race, her “You’re Hired” initiative for those impacted by the Department of Government Efficiency’s layoffs and on how the Trump administration’s tariffs on Canada affect New York State residents.

    AUDIO: The Governor’s remarks are available in audio form here.

    A rush transcript of the Governor’s remarks is available below:

    Wolf Blitzer, CNN:  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is now plotting a major political comeback, announcing over the weekend his candidacy for mayor of New York City. Cuomo resigned from office back in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal — he denies all those allegations.

    Joining us now is New York’s current governor, Kathy Hochul. She served as Lieutenant Governor during the Cuomo administration. Governor Hochul, thanks so much for joining us. When Cuomo stepped down, back in 2021, you called his behavior, and I’m quoting you now, “repulsive.” Do you think he is fit to serve as New York’s mayor?

    Governor Hochul: First of all, Wolf, congratulations on the new show, delighted to be on your first episode. Also, here’s what I’m going to tell you about the mayor’s race — and this is the position you’re going to hear today, all the way up until the election’s over for the primary in June — I will work with whomever the really smart voters of New York City decide they want to be their mayor. That is not up for me to decide. I don’t even vote in the city.

    But I will say, also, I will support people — ultimately, after they’re elected — who support my agenda of increasing public safety, dealing with the homelessness crisis, people with mental health problems, closing down illegal cannabis shops, making our streets safer.

    So, I’m looking forward to working with whomever wants to partner with me to lift this city up. But in the meantime, I’m not focused on the politics. I have a state to run, I’ve got multiple crises — many of them emanating from Washington. I was with children yesterday who are severely ill, where parents are terrified of losing Medicaid. So, I will say this will all work itself out, but I’m focused on governing the State of New York, nothing else.

    Wolf Blitzer, CNN: The Governor of New York, as you well know, and the Mayor of New York City have to work together very, very closely. If Cuomo wins that race and becomes the next mayor of New York, would you be able to work with him despite some of that history?

    Governor Hochul: It’s up to the voters, Wolf. I’m not injecting my voice into this election. There’s a lot of people that have put their names forward. I admire anybody who wants to run for office. I’m in my 16th election — I know how challenging it is, but I want people who will put the city first, who will understand that I have done more to help this city than anybody in a long time. Investing money — I’m literally paying for overtime for our police officers, NYPD, to be on the subways, and guess what? Subway crimes are way down. I’m working on getting more homeless off the streets, building more housing. No one has ever taken this on the way I have — to reduce the cost of living here in this great city.

    My agenda is broad-based. It’s very supportive of the city. I had to work with Bill de Blasio as mayor, I worked with Eric Adams for the last number of years and, whatever the voters decide, I will respect that.

    Wolf Blitzer, CNN: Governor, I want to turn now to President Trump’s sweeping efforts right now to slash the entire federal government. You hosted a roundtable this morning with workers hit by those federal job cuts. What kind of impact is this having in my home State of New York?

    Governor Hochul: It is absolutely devastating. Some people are on the verge of tears. I gathered about ten people who, unceremoniously, were dumped, some of them on Valentine’s Day. People that were working to fight consumer fraud, making sure that the huge corporations that are trying to evade taxes have to pay it; people who take care of our veterans; people who are making us safe — all of them were just dumped.

    And I know the Trump-Musk administration doesn’t have regard for them — they think they’re disposable, that they make no contributions, but guess what? These are people who keep our skies safe. They’re the ones who are researching, making sure we can have cures so our kids don’t get sick; taking care of vaccinations. Countless ways that these are highly valuable people, but in New York, we’re saying, “You get fired by them? In New York, you’re hired.”

    And just literally today, you’ll start seeing in Washington at Union Station, you’ll see ads that show basically this message, that you want a job in public service? We respect you, we want you to stay and so here it is.

    We want you to come back and work for us. I will hire you. I need you. We have 7,000 openings in the State of New York, and we value public service. Public servants take care of our people. That’s what it’s all about. Come onboard. We’ll hire you.

    Wolf Blitzer, CNN: On another very sensitive issue, Governor, I want to get your thoughts. President Trump is now pushing ahead with plans to slap 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting tomorrow. Canada, of course, borders New York State. You and I grew up in western New York, right on the border with Canada. How is this going to affect New York State, which has such close economic ties with Canada, especially Ontario?

    Governor Hochul: It’ll be devastating. You know the synergy there is to us in Western York. It’s not another country, it’s just our neighbors across the bridge. And the jobs, the people who go get their education back and forth, the close connections, but also the businesses that thrive in New York and in Canada because they’re our largest trading partner. $5 billion worth of trade across our borders every single year. That’s going to affect the cost of steel and aluminum as we’re trying to build up.

    We’re building Micron, the largest semiconductor manufacturing plant going on right now, the largest [private] investment in [New York State] history, going on in Syracuse, New York. I have to keep that going.

    And for our businesses to think that some of their commodities, their products, are now going to cost 25 percent more, how is that about reducing people’s costs? We were promised lower prices on day one, Inauguration Day. Not only is everything going to go up, even eggs — eggs now cost $11 in New York City, up 20 percent from what they’ve been on Inauguration Day.

    This is not the trend. This is not what people have promised. And I encourage the administration to look closely at how they can keep the promise of reducing the cost of living for every American, but particularly people who are hard hit here in New York.

    Wolf Blitzer, CNN: Yeah. Very hard hit indeed. Governor, the Trump administration has already delayed the implementation of these tariffs before. Do you foresee that happening again?

    Governor Hochul: I hope so. I hope they understand that what is a good sound bite is not going to help in reality, especially the businesses and the people who voted for you. These are people in the North Country of New York. It is a predominantly red area. They voted for you, Mr. President, and now their jobs in manufacturing are on the line. And I’d be terrified to know that the damage that could happen is people losing their jobs in New York and all across America. We can’t let that happen. So continue to delay. Let’s work this out, let’s find a solution, but let’s not drive up the cost on people all across this country. That’s the last thing we need right now.

    Wolf Blitzer, CNN: The President has repeatedly tied his proposal for a lot of tariffs to the flow of drugs crossing the border, including the Canadian border, into the United States. Are you seeing evidence of significant drug trafficking from New York’s border with Canada?

    Governor Hochul: There was a time when there was a spike, but I have deployed more people on the border, the Canadians are working closely with us, the Border Patrol — it is a fraction of what is being talked about. It is a problem, of course, we don’t want a single drug to come across the border. But it does not justify the cataclysmic impact the tariffs will have on the State of New York.

    So, we can solve the problem at the border. We don’t want drugs coming over, we don’t want gangs coming over, we don’t want human traffickers coming over, we get that. We’ll work with you. We’ll work with the federal administration on this. But this is such an extreme remedy that is going to have a ripple effect across our entire economy, and especially in a place like this state.

    Wolf Blitzer, CNN: New York Governor Kathy Hochul, as usual, thank you very much. Appreciate it. We’ll continue this conversation down the road.

    Governor Hochul: Sounds good. Thanks, Wolf.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Opens Thirty-Second Session

    Source: United Nations – Geneva

    Six New Committee Members Make Solemn Declaration

    The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities today opened its thirty-second session, during which it will review the reports of Canada, Dominican Republic, European Union, Palau, Tuvalu and Viet Nam. 

    Andrea Ori, Chief of the Groups in Focus Section, Human Rights Treaties Branch, Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Representative of the Secretary-General, extended a warm welcome to six new members of the Committee, namely: Magino Corporán Lorenzo (Dominican Republic); Mara Cristina Gabrilli (Brazil); Natalia Guala Beathyate (Uruguay); Christopher Nwanoro (Nigeria); Inmaculada Placencia Porrero (European Union); and Hiroshi Tamon (Japan). 

    He also congratulated the re-elected members of the Committee, namely: Gerel Dondovdorj (Mongolia); Abdelmajid Makni (Morocco); and Floyd Morris (Jamaica).

    Mr. Ori said that as a result of the election, the composition of the Committee had changed this year to 10 women and eight men.  It was one of the largest female representations in a treaty body.  The 192 ratifications to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities showed the commitment of the international community to an inclusive and accessible world.  Since the last session, Eritrea had ratified the Convention. In addition, Ireland had ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention, bringing the States parties to that instrument to 107. 

    The six new members made their solemn declaration to the Committee.

    The Committee then adopted the programme of work for the session.

    Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame, outgoing Committee Chairperson, said this morning, the Committee would elect a Chair, three Vice-Chairs and a Rapporteur in a private meeting.  Ms. Fefoame then provided an overview of her activities undertaken since the last session.  She was filled with profound gratitude to have chaired the Committee for the past two years.  In times of crisis, persons with disabilities were too often left behind and this was not acceptable.  Ms. Fefoame thanked everyone who had supported her during her time as Chairperson. 

    Floyd Morris, Committee Expert, expressed profound appreciation on behalf of the Committee to Ms. Fefoame for her leadership. 

    Speaking at the opening of the session were representatives from the Committee on Victim Assistance; United Nations Women; World Intellectual Property Organization; Implementation Support Unit of the Convention on Cluster Munitions; International Disability Alliance; World Federation of the Deaf; Peace Inclusion Peace; Universal Rights Group; and United for Global Mental Health

    Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here.  The programme of work of the Committee’s thirty-second session and other documents related to the session can be found here.

    The Committee will next meet in public at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 4 March to consider the initial report of Tuvalu (CRPD/C/TUV/1).

    Opening Statement

    ANDREA ORI, Chief of the Groups in Focus Section, Human Rights Treaties Branch, Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Representative of the Secretary-General, extended a warm welcome to the six new members of the Committee: Magino Corporán Lorenzo (Dominican Republic); Mara Cristina Gabrilli (Brazil); Natalia Guala Beathyate (Uruguay); Christopher Nwanoro (Nigeria); Inmaculada Placencia Porrero (European Union); and Hiroshi Tamon (Japan).

    He also congratulated the re-elected members of the Committee: Gerel Dondovdorj (Mongolia); Abdelmajid Makni (Morocco); and Floyd Morris (Jamaica). 

    As a result of the election, the composition of the Committee had changed this year to 10 women and eight men among their members.  It was one of the largest female representations in a treaty body.  The 192 ratifications to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities showed the commitment of the international community to an inclusive and accessible world.  Since the last session, Eritrea had ratified the Convention. In addition, Ireland had ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention, bringing the States parties to that instrument to 107. 

    Mr. Ori then briefed the Committee on important events and developments related to disability rights at the international level since the Committee’s previous session, including the adoption of the Pact of the Future, the Global Digital Compact, and the Declaration on Future Generations in September 2024 by the General Assembly, which contained several relevant commitments for persons with disabilities. 

    Additionally, on 17 December 2024, the General Assembly adopted resolution 79/149, on “Inclusive development for and with persons with disabilities”, while the Human Rights Council, during its fifty-seventh session, held from 9 September to 11 October 2024, adopted several resolutions relevant to the rights of persons with disabilities. 

    In January 2025, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published a report on the rights of persons with disabilities and digital technologies and devices, including assistive technologies.  In February, the Office published a report on the human rights dimension of care and support. Mr. Ori said there were several important upcoming events related to disability rights, including the Global Disability Summit, being held on 3 and 4 April in Berlin; the seventeenth session of the Conference of States parties in New York from 11 to 13 June 2025; and during the current fifty-eighth session of the Human Rights Council, where, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities would introduce her report.

    The Office of the High Commissioner continued its work to support the strengthening of the treaty bodies, with last year being particularly challenging.  In addition to the chronic resource constraints, the liquidity crisis hampered the planning and implementation of work.  Mr. Ori assured the Committee that the Office was doing its utmost to ensure that the Committee and other treaty bodies could implement their mandates.  However, all indications pointed to a continuation of the difficult liquidity situation for the foreseeable future. 

    The treaty body strengthening process remained active and reached a key moment, with the adoption last December of the biennial resolution on the treaty body system by the General Assembly. On Human Rights Day last year, an informal meeting was organised of the Chairs and focal points on working methods. The meeting explored the latest developments on the treaty body system and sought to identify possible ways forward to improve the harmonisation of procedures.  The Office of the High Commissioner would continue to work alongside the Chairs and all the treaty body experts to strengthen the system.

    Mr. Ori said during this session, the Committee would hold dialogues with six parties to the Convention: Canada, Dominican Republic, European Union, Palau, Tuvalu, and Viet Nam, and would also review individual communications under the Optional Protocol.  The Committee would hold a day of general discussion on 20 March 2025 on the right of persons with disabilities to participation in political and public life, aimed to help it to elaborate a general comment on article 29 of the Convention.  Mr. Ori expressed appreciation for the Committee’s work and wished it a successful and productive session.

    Discussion

    In the discussion, some speakers, among other things, sincerely appreciated the efforts of the Committee to promote the rights of persons with disabilities.  They congratulated the new members who had been elected to the Committee. It was clear to see the improvement in gender and regional diversity, which spoke to the Committee’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.  The Committee should be congratulated for its work to advance and monitor the Convention. The general comment on article 29 was key to advancing disability inclusion.  The work done so far on the general comment on article 11 was welcomed. It was crucial to ensure that persons with disabilities were not left behind in any form of conflicts, including in the occupied Palestinian territory. 

    One speaker said 164 States were party to the Ottowa Convention on the prohibition of anti-personnel mines and were required to provide assistance to survivors, families and communities who were victims of mines.  This Convention was the first disarmament convention which acknowledged the rights of those affected by an indiscriminate weapon, setting a positive precedent in the area of humanitarian disarmament.  Most survivors of mines had a disability, meaning the Convention on anti-personnel mines intersected with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 

    A new five-year action plan, the Siam-Reap action plan, had been adopted in 2024 and included 10 actions linked to assistance to victims, and to the work of the Committee.  Some of the reports to be examined by the Committee were from States parties that had obligations to assist victims under the Convention on anti-personnel mines. The Committee was invited to include questions pertaining to mine survivors to these States. 

    Another speaker said the Convention on Cluster Munitions stood as a landmark humanitarian disarmament treaty, addressing the unacceptable consequences of the use of cluster munitions, and prohibiting the use, transfer and stockpiling of these weapons.  It also established a framework for cooperation ensuring victim assistance, care and rehabilitation for survivors and clearance of contaminated areas. 

    A speaker said disability, gender and discrimination were closely interlinked, with one in five women experiencing a gender-related exclusion.  Work was being done with women and girls with disabilities, including by supporting initiatives and policy work.  Programmes had been launched on mainstreaming disability within the humanitarian response to Ukrainian refugees. 

    The Marrakech Treaty allowed for the production of accessible books across national boundaries for people who were print disabled; 125 countries had joined the treaty since 2013 and Colombia had ratified the treaty last week.  One million titles were now available for cross-border exchange under the treaty.  While many countries had ratified the treaty, its provisions needed to be implemented into national law to allow people who were print disabled to fully benefit from it. Member States that wished to ratify or implement the treaty would be provided with support.

    One speaker said the potential lack of sign language interpretation was a concern; this would break 14 years of ensuring full inclusion of all Committee members and persons with disabilities, which was unacceptable.  Without access to sign language, deaf individuals were denied human rights and were excluded.  It was regretful that the Committee was meeting under circumstances where one of the new members, who was deaf, could not fully participate.  By continuing its thirty-second session, where a member did not have full access, the Committee was complicit in preventing the member from carrying out their full mandate.  It was hoped sign language interpretation would continue this session. The United Nations must ensure the accessibility of their events and meetings for deaf individuals to enable them to participate on an equal footing to other individuals. 

    One speaker said a new organization had been developed to support an inclusive society for all and in every field, including education, labour, welfare and the economy.  In 10 years, the organization had the ambitious goal of 100 billion dollars’ worth of new business creation.  Another speaker said a project was underway to analyse the recommendations on the rights of persons with disabilities extended by the treaty bodies, the Universal Periodic Review, and the Special Procedures to see what degree of United Nations support was being extended to the implementing States. Around 12,108 recommendations had been identified as relating to the rights of persons with disabilities.  The Committee had issued the majority of the recommendations.  On initial analysis, it seemed that implementation of the Convention was falling behind, and a key part of the project would be to understand why. 

    Another speaker said many persons with disabilities were locked in institutions; approximately 8.4 million people were in-patients in mental hospitals every year.  One in 10 people in institutions had been there for over 25 years, according to a study.  In 60 out of 100 countries, people were still being shackled for psychosocial disabilities. During its thirty-second session, the Committee was asked to commit to ending all forms of institutionalisation and to strengthen primary, secondary and community-based mental health care. 

     

    Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the media; 
    not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.

     

     

    CRPD25.001E

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Premier’s statement on U.S. preliminary softwood lumber decision

    Premier David Eby has issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s announcement that it intends to more than double anti-dumping duties imposed on Canadian softwood lumber exporters:

    ”B.C.’s iconic forestry sector and the people whose livelihoods depend on it have faced immense challenges for years and, today, are facing a new, massive threat. We strongly denounce this latest announcement by the United States. B.C. has long maintained that any and all duties on softwood lumber are unjustified, and these anti-dumping duties are based on a biased calculation – one that has been criticized by many of the United States’ trading partners.

    “Today’s announcement comes amidst U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s threat to put a 25% tariff on all products exported from our country to the United States, compounding the challenges for this important industry in B.C. It also follows the U.S. President’s order this past weekend to initiate another, separate investigation of forest products, with the possibility of additional tariffs, quotas or other actions aimed at curbing imports of forest products to the U.S. These are unwarranted attacks, and not how allies treat each other. We are stronger when we work together. If the tariffs are imposed, we will stand with Team Canada to respond with strength.

    “The U.S. Department of Commerce’s announcement today will impact all Canadian companies selling lumber to the United States, when and if the decision is confirmed later this summer. American homes will be more expensive to build and hardworking people in our province will bear the brunt of these unwarranted duties. Both Canadians and Americans need an end to this trade dispute.

    “For workers who rely on the forestry industry to support their families, or British Columbians who are anxious about other tariffs the U.S. is threatening to impose, our commitment is to fight hard to defend your jobs and the services you rely on. And no matter what comes – we will never be the 51st state.”

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA’s Webb Exposes Complex Atmosphere of Starless Super-Jupiter

    Source: NASA

    An international team of researchers has discovered that previously observed variations in brightness of a free-floating planetary-mass object known as SIMP 0136 must be the result of a complex combination of atmospheric factors, and cannot be explained by clouds alone.
    Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to monitor a broad spectrum of infrared light emitted over two full rotation periods by SIMP 0136, the team was able to detect variations in cloud layers, temperature, and carbon chemistry that were previously hidden from view.
    The results provide crucial insight into the three-dimensional complexity of gas giant atmospheres within and beyond our solar system. Detailed characterization of objects like these is essential preparation for direct imaging of exoplanets, planets outside our solar system, with NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is scheduled to begin operations in 2027.

    SIMP 0136 is a rapidly rotating, free-floating object roughly 13 times the mass of Jupiter, located in the Milky Way just 20 light-years from Earth. Although it is not classified as a gas giant exoplanet — it doesn’t orbit a star and may instead be a brown dwarf — SIMP 0136 is an ideal target for exo-meteorology: It is the brightest object of its kind in the northern sky. Because it is isolated, it can be observed with no fear of light contamination or variability caused by a host star. And its short rotation period of just 2.4 hours makes it possible to survey very efficiently.
    Prior to the Webb observations, SIMP 0136 had been studied extensively using ground-based observatories and NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes.
    “We already knew that it varies in brightness, and we were confident that there are patchy cloud layers that rotate in and out of view and evolve over time,” explained Allison McCarthy, doctoral student at Boston University and lead author on a study published today in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. “We also thought there could be temperature variations, chemical reactions, and possibly some effects of auroral activity affecting the brightness, but we weren’t sure.”
    To figure it out, the team needed Webb’s ability to measure very precise changes in brightness over a broad range of wavelengths.

    Using NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph), Webb captured thousands of individual 0.6- to 5.3-micron spectra — one every 1.8 seconds over more than three hours as the object completed one full rotation. This was immediately followed by an observation with MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), which collected hundreds of spectroscopic measurements of 5- to 14-micron light — one every 19.2 seconds, over another rotation.
    The result was hundreds of detailed light curves, each showing the change in brightness of a very precise wavelength (color) as different sides of the object rotated into view.
    “To see the full spectrum of this object change over the course of minutes was incredible,” said principal investigator Johanna Vos, from Trinity College Dublin. “Until now, we only had a little slice of the near-infrared spectrum from Hubble, and a few brightness measurements from Spitzer.”
    The team noticed almost immediately that there were several distinct light-curve shapes. At any given time, some wavelengths were growing brighter, while others were becoming dimmer or not changing much at all. A number of different factors must be affecting the brightness variations.
    “Imagine watching Earth from far away. If you were to look at each color separately, you would see different patterns that tell you something about its surface and atmosphere, even if you couldn’t make out the individual features,” explained co-author Philip Muirhead, also from Boston University. “Blue would increase as oceans rotate into view. Changes in brown and green would tell you something about soil and vegetation.”

    To figure out what could be causing the variability on SIMP 0136, the team used atmospheric models to show where in the atmosphere each wavelength of light was originating.
    “Different wavelengths provide information about different depths in the atmosphere,” explained McCarthy. “We started to realize that the wavelengths that had the most similar light-curve shapes also probed the same depths, which reinforced this idea that they must be caused by the same mechanism.”
    One group of wavelengths, for example, originates deep in the atmosphere where there could be patchy clouds made of iron particles. A second group comes from higher clouds thought to be made of tiny grains of silicate minerals. The variations in both of these light curves are related to patchiness of the cloud layers.
    A third group of wavelengths originates at very high altitude, far above the clouds, and seems to track temperature. Bright “hot spots” could be related to auroras that were previously detected at radio wavelengths, or to upwelling of hot gas from deeper in the atmosphere.
    Some of the light curves cannot be explained by either clouds or temperature, but instead show variations related to atmospheric carbon chemistry. There could be pockets of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide rotating in and out of view, or chemical reactions causing the atmosphere to change over time.
    “We haven’t really figured out the chemistry part of the puzzle yet,” said Vos. “But these results are really exciting because they are showing us that the abundances of molecules like methane and carbon dioxide could change from place to place and over time. If we are looking at an exoplanet and can get only one measurement, we need to consider that it might not be representative of the entire planet.”
    This research was conducted as part of Webb’s General Observer Program 3548.
    The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
    Downloads
    Right click any image to save it or open a larger version in a new tab/window via the browser’s popup menu.
    View/Download all image products at all resolutions for this article from the Space Telescope Science Institute.
    View/Download the research results from The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

    Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.govNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
    Margaret W. Carruthers – mcarruthers@stsci.eduSpace Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
    Hannah Braun – hbraun@stsci.eduSpace Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.

    More Webb News
    More Webb Images
    Webb Science Themes
    Webb Mission Page
    Learn more about brown dwarf discoveries
    Article: Spectroscopy 101

    What is the Webb Telescope?
    SpacePlace for Kids
    En Español
    Ciencia de la NASA
    NASA en español 
    Space Place para niños

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Company acquitted in workplace fatality

    Source: Government of Canada regional news (2)

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Donald Trump is picking fights with leaders around the world. What exactly is his foreign policy approach?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon O’Connor, Professor in U.S. Politics and U.S. Foreign Relations, United States Studies Centre,, University of Sydney

    Since returning to the US presidency, Donald Trump has outdone himself, gaining global media headlines and attention with outrageous statements and dramatic decisions.

    The most consequential decision so far has been the freezing of many US aid and development programs. The freeze had an immediate impact. Even with some waivers now in place, it is likely that starving people in Ethiopia will not get the famine relief desperately needed; food is rotting in African harbours as constitutional battles over executive power are waged in Washington.

    In Africa alone, the US has also been funding lifesaving malaria prevention efforts and HIV/AIDS drug programs. Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency has cruelly disrupted those.

    There are numerous examples of other reckless policy decisions. In terms of long term consequences, arguably the worst decision Trump has made is pulling the United States out of the Paris Agreement on climate change. He also wound back a slew of Biden administration policies while erasing the term “climate change” from various government websites.

    Trump has attempted to bully Mexico and Canada with threats of a 25% tax on all imports from those two trading partners. He has also imposed a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports coming into the US.

    Then there are Trump’s statements on Ukraine, Gaza and Panama. Last weekend, his treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House meeting caused widespread dismay around the world, as Trump doubled down on his promotion of Putin’s talking points and Russian government interests.

    So what’s Trump’s game plan?

    With Trump, it is tempting to claim he is a chaos merchant with no plan or method to his madness. According to this view, when he is challenged or criticised, he will escalate the threats and increase the insults.

    Therefore, conventional wisdom has it that the best way to deal with Trump is to flatter and humour him, then wait for his attention to be distracted by another prize. This understanding of Trump has been developed by international relations scholar Daniel Drezner into the “toddler-in-chief” thesis.

    Psychological understandings of Trump are useful to a point, but it is worth remembering presidencies are run by vast administrations of people, departments and agencies, and not just one person. Moreover, an institution as large as the US Defense Department – with its two million employees and military bases in at least 80 countries around the world – has a near permanent mindset of its own. This, in turn, tends to make presidents as seemingly different as Obama and Trump custodians of many similar military policies and postures.

    The way I have initially examined Trump in my own research is to see him as a hardline conservative nationalist who believes projecting US power with tough talk and reminding other nations of American military might is the best approach to world politics.

    Previous Republican presidents, most notably George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, adopted this so-called “cowboy” approach. It’s a posture that rejects the idea that the US is the leader of a liberal international order (a leadership role promoted by their Democratic party opponents).

    My starting point for analysis sees continuities between Reagan, Bush and Trump, and highlights their arrogance and ignorance when it comes to dealing with the rest of the world.

    Similar, but different

    However, there are some things about Trump that are clearly different and distinct. Before his second term, the most unusual aspect of Trump’s foreign policy approach was the volume and range of his scattergun rhetoric towards other leaders and nations. For example, he threatened North Korea with “fire and fury and, frankly, power, the likes of which this world has never seen before”, but later told a rally of supporters that, “We fell in love. No, really. He wrote me beautiful letters.”

    As for academic perspectives that might help us better understand what kind of politician Trump is and what his next moves might be, the obvious label is “crudely transactional”. His attitude to most minor and middle powers seems to be “what have you done for me lately?” or “why does America owe your nation anything?”.

    When it comes to Russia, and potentially China, there has been speculation Trump is adopting a geopolitical approach with parallels to the “great game” of the 19th century. The “great game” is another way of saying imperialism, and this is a largely underused way of describing American foreign policy in general and the second Trump administration in particular.

    Then there is the question of whether the (other) “f-word” is a useful way to understand Trump and Trumpism: are his rhetoric and his domestic and international policies fascist? They are definitely ultra-nationalist and racist, which are two key components of fascism; Trumpism revolves around a charismatic leader that has enough in common with fascist Italy and Nazi Germany to make opponents of Trump justifiably nervous. But does Trumpism have the other key element of fascism: mob or state violence that is at times directed at scapegoated enemies?

    There is certainly an embrace of revenge and cruelty by Trump in general, which is being carried out in practice by Musk’s DOGE project. However, whether it is useful to call the second Trump administration fascist, or just fascistic for now, is a complex question within scholarly circles.

    Five weeks into the second Trump administration, and many of the most destructive ideas that were laid out last year in the unofficial campaign manifesto Project 2025 are being put into place. It has been a long-term dream of many hardline conservatives to gut America’s foreign aid and development programs, which is now happening at a frightening pace.

    What lies ahead that turns rhetoric into reality is hard to entirely predict, but many of Trump’s utterances this year have clearly been imperialistic and fascistic. Trump does not have to ignore the constitution or be a textbook fascist to be a terribly dangerous president. Being an authoritarian, which he has no qualms about embracing, is worrying enough.

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

    – ref. Donald Trump is picking fights with leaders around the world. What exactly is his foreign policy approach? – https://theconversation.com/donald-trump-is-picking-fights-with-leaders-around-the-world-what-exactly-is-his-foreign-policy-approach-251238

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UN Human Rights Council 58: Sri Lanka Core Group Statement at the General Debate on Item 2

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

    Speech

    UN Human Rights Council 58: Sri Lanka Core Group Statement at the General Debate on Item 2

    Sri Lanka Statement at the 58 Human Rights Council during the Item 2 General Debate. Delivered by UK Ambassador for Human Rights to the UN, Eleanor Sanders, on behalf of the Core Group on Sri Lanka.

    Thank you, Mr President,   

    This statement is by the Sri Lanka Core Group comprising Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and the United Kingdom.   

    High Commissioner, we wish to thank you for your oral update on Sri Lanka

    We would like to commend Sri Lanka’s peaceful elections and the smooth transition of power last year. We recognise that the new Sri Lankan Government has only been in place for four months, and we encourage Sri Lanka to use  the  opportunity that this transition represents to address the challenges it faces.   

    We appreciate the Government’s commitment to making meaningful progress on reconciliation and the initial steps taken, including returning land, lifting roadblocks, and allowing communities in the North and East to commemorate the past and to memorialise their loved ones. 

    In order to build and sustain trust, it is essential to ensure the protection of civil society spaces, including by ending surveillance and intimidation of civil society actors and organisations.  

    We welcome commitments to implement devolution in accordance with the constitution and to make progress on governance reforms.    

    We take note of the Government’s stated intention to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act and emphasise that any new legislation should be in line with Sri Lanka’s international obligations. We encourage the release of those who remain detained under the Act.  

    As the Government seeks to make progress on human rights and corruption cases, we urge that any comprehensive reconciliation and accountability process carry the support of affected communities, build on past recommendations and meet international standards.   

    We also encourage the Government to re-invigorate the work of domestic institutions focused on reparations and missing persons. 

    We reaffirm our willingness to work with the Government to ensure that any future transitional justice mechanisms are independent, inclusive, meaningful, and meet the expectations of affected communities.   

    Thank you.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The female explorers who braved the wilderness but were overlooked by the history books

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sarah Lonsdale, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, City St George’s, University of London

    Ferryland lighthouse near Labrador in the Canadian Arctic, an area mapped by Mina Hubbard in 1905. Nagel Photography

    In the summer of 1905, a young Canadian widow, Mina Hubbard, set out on an expedition to map the northeastern corner of Labrador, from Lake Melville up to Ungava Bay, an inlet of the Arctic Ocean. It was an unusual challenge for a former nurse who had left school at 16.

    Her husband, Leonidas Hubbard, had died in this same harsh environment two years earlier. Mina, 35, intended to complete his work.

    Although she faced physical dangers on the 600-mile journey – starvation, bears, freezing rivers and rapids – her greatest antagonists were the reporters and editors of the male-dominated outdoors press of early 20th-century north America.

    The popular Outing magazine, for whom Leonidas Hubbard had written, was the most excoriating. Its editor, Caspar Whitney, thundered in an editorial that “the widow” should not be in the wilderness, let alone speak about it.

    The wild was no place for a white woman, especially one accompanied by First Nation (Native American) guides. This was not long after she had given an interview to another paper.

    Mina Hubbard in northern Labrador.

    Other newspapers described her as a grief-stricken hysteric. This was the only explanation they could find for her decision to go on such a long and arduous journey. When she was 300 miles into her expedition, having found the source of the Naskaupi River, the New York Times reported on its front page that she had given up, beaten back by hardship and privations.

    New York Times.
    CC BY-NC-ND

    Instead the paper claimed that a man, an explorer called Dillon Wallace who was also in northern Labrador, was “pushing forward beyond any white man’s previous track”. In fact, Hubbard had neither given up, nor had Wallace caught up with her. She would reach Ungava Bay several weeks before his party. But it fitted the dominant narrative of the time: that the wilderness was no place for a woman.

    I explore the idea of what the wild is, and of its being a gendered space, in my new book, Wildly Different: How Five Women Reclaimed Nature in a Man’s World. From ancient myths such as Ulysses or Gilgamesh, to the present where research shows that women face harassment and othering even on remote Antarctic bases, the wild has for centuries been a site of heroic male adventuring and rugged exploration.

    Studies show that even in modern hunting societies, while women tend forest plots and hunt small game near the village or camp, it is the men who go away, often for many days, to hunt for big game and status.

    Myths from across the world have told listeners and readers that women who stray beyond the city wall, village paling or encampment are either supernatural, monsters, or have been banished for perceived sins against society.

    In the Greek myth of Polyphonte, the young girl who refuses to follow the correct gender role to become a wife and mother, and wants instead to hunt in the forest, is treated to a terrible punishment from the gods. She is tricked into falling in love with a bear-turned-man and gives birth to two bestial children. She and her sons are then transformed into flesh-eating birds.

    In a more recent echo of the media coverage of Mina Hubbard’s journey, in Kenya in the 1980s and 1990s, the environmental activist Wangari Maathai was attacked and belittled. She even had a curse put on her for planting trees in forests earmarked for development by the country’s then president, Daniel arap Moi, and for challenging Moi’s plans to build a skyscraper in one of Nairobi’s last green spaces.

    At the height of Maathai’s confrontation with President Moi, the Daily Nation newspaper repeated criticism of both Maathai and her Green Belt Movement organisation. Headlines included: “MPs condemn Prof Maathai” and “MPs want Maathai movement banned”. Her crime? Wanting to slow disastrous desertification and soil erosion, and to empower rural women by planting 30 million trees.

    When British mountaineer Alison Hargreaves was killed in the Himalayas in 1995, reporting focused on her being a mother and wife. Historical newspaper records I found during my research roundly accused her of abandoning her primary role of caring for her children.

    The Sunday Times called her “A mother obsessed”, while the Independent led with the headline, “Dangerous ambition of a woman on the peaks”. The Daily Telegraph headline read, “A wife driven to high challenges”. Readers’ letters were even more critical, branding her as selfish and irresponsible.

    A novelty nail file

    Women who have received neutral or positive coverage for their work have tended to have novelty value, or had accomplished a feat so extraordinary that their being a woman was part of the narrative.


    CC BY-SA

    The entomologist Evelyn Cheesman spent decades collecting insects on Pacific islands, from the Galapagos to New Guinea. Her work led to support for a biological dividing line between different ecosystems in the New Hebrides to be named Cheesman’s Line, and her contribution to science was a great novelty for the newspaper press.

    Her months-long, arduous expedition to Papua New Guinea in the early 1930s earned her the headline in the now defunct UK News Chronicle, “Woman collects 42,000 insects”.

    After Cheesman published her memoir in 1957, detailing four decades of exploration, the headline in the newspaper Reynolds News announced: “Woman trapped in giant spider’s web”. The sub-head simply statesd, “saved by her nail file”.

    More broadly, my research disappointingly concludes that over 100 years on, women explorers and scientific fieldworkers are still represented as unusual or out of place in the wild. These media narratives are dangerous as they feed into social attitudes that put women at risk and cause them to change their behaviour outdoors by avoiding isolated places, especially beyond daylight hours, for example.

    Studies show that women (and black and hispanic) hikers in the US are more afraid of being attacked by men than by bears or other wild animals. Women’s outdoor groups, and campaigners such as Woman with Altitude and the Tough Girl podcast are working hard to counter this narrative, encouraging women to enjoy the beauties and discoveries still to be made in the world’s most rugged and remote places.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Sarah Lonsdale’s book is published by Manchester University Press. Both she and MUP will receive income from sales of the book.

    – ref. The female explorers who braved the wilderness but were overlooked by the history books – https://theconversation.com/the-female-explorers-who-braved-the-wilderness-but-were-overlooked-by-the-history-books-249742

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Luján, Colleagues Press for Timely Disaster Assistance for All Farmers

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico)
    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, joined Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and 12 other Democratic Senators in pressing the Administration for assurances that assistance for economic challenges in 2024 and natural disasters in 2023 and 2024 will be provided to all farmers—including row crop and specialty crop farmers—as quickly as possible. The Senators emphasized the need for farmers to receive this aid as they make decisions for spring planting season.
    In a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, the Senators wrote: “Farmers are making decisions right now about fertilizer usage and their crop mix and are working with their bankers to figure out if they can secure the financing they need to continue farming this year. Without the timely delivery of economic and disaster assistance, farmers face the prospect of reducing plantings or liquidating assets to remain in business as they head into another potentially difficult growing season.”
    The Senators continued, “The American Relief Act included a detailed formula for determining economic loss, which was intended in part to speed implementation. During implementation, we ask that you engage with impacted farmers and other groups, particularly regarding the implementation of the per-acre payment rates for commodities. We urge you to use the precedent of previous ad hoc programs to simplify the experience for farmers by leveraging existing loss data and to pre-fill applications for producers.”
    In addition to Senators Luján, Klobuchar, and Warnock, the letter was joined by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tina Smith (D-MN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Peter Welch (D-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
    The full letter is available here and below. 
    Dear Secretary Rollins,
    As you work to establish priorities for the coming weeks and months, we urge you to move forward as quickly as possible on providing disaster relief for farmers.
    As you know, the American Relief Act provided significant natural and economic disaster assistance for row crop farmers who experienced economic losses resulting from declining prices and stagnant input costs during the 2024 crop year. Specialty crop growers have faced similar economic challenges, and USDA must complete the planned second round of assistance for them.
    The Senate Agriculture Committee recently held a hearing where we heard compelling testimony from farmers across the country who face uncertainty heading into spring planting season. Proposed tariffs on key trading partners like Canada, which could drive up input prices, and the potential for retaliatory tariffs from key export markets have only exacerbated that uncertainty.
    Farmers are making decisions right now about fertilizer usage and their crop mix and are working with their bankers to figure out if they can secure the financing they need to continue farming this year. Without the timely delivery of economic and disaster assistance, farmers face the prospect of reducing plantings or liquidating assets to remain in business as they head into another potentially difficult growing season.
    The American Relief Act included a detailed formula for determining economic loss, which was intended in part to speed implementation. During implementation, we ask that you engage with impacted farmers and other groups, particularly regarding the implementation of the per-acre payment rates for commodities. We urge you to use the precedent of previous ad hoc programs to simplify the experience for farmers by leveraging existing loss data and to pre-fill applications for producers.
    Farmers of fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops have also experienced difficult economic conditions and high input prices. Specialty crop producers have already applied for and received initial payment under the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC), and USDA should make the planned additional payments before we get into the growing season.
    Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We look forward to working with you to help our farmers succeed.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How Trump’s spat with Zelensky threatens the security of the world – including the US

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Natasha Lindstaedt, Professor in the Department of Government, University of Essex

    After the catastrophic press conference on February 28 between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and US president Donald Trump, it is clear that there has been a global realignment.

    What the press conference revealed was that Trump’s position is a lot closer to Russian president Vladmir Putin than long-time US ally Ukraine, and also that other US allies cannot count on Washington to promote the global world order.

    The extraordinary spectacle ended with Trump and vice-president J.D. Vance shouting at Zelensky, telling him he wasn’t thankful for US aid. Since then, the expected mineral deal between Ukraine and the US has been called off – at least for now.

    There was already a wake-up call for European allies about how reliable the US might be during Trump’s first term when he launched his “American first” policy. This included chastising Nato member countries for not paying enough, and characterising Europe as free-riding on US security guarantees.

    While this sparked alarm among some European leaders over how to ensure that the continent becomes less dependent on the US, Europeans are now scrambling to respond to Trump 2.0’s much more extreme version of America first. After the press conference, European Union foreign minister Kaja Kallas declared: “Today it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge.”

    Trump’s relationship with Russia

    To some extent Europe was caught off guard because it was hard to imagine that a US president would swing US support behind Russia, especially after Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But Trump has turned the page on challenging Russian aggression, and does not seem to see Putin’s ambitions as a threat to global security.

    Instead in the press conference – as in previous statements – Trump has echoed some of Putin’s talking points, such as Ukraine not having any cards to play, being unwilling to do a peace deal, and having to give up land to Russia.

    Trump also refused to say that Putin started the war, and even claimed that peace could have been possible early on in the war had Zelensky wanted peace. Trump even repeatedly opined that both Putin and Trump were brothers of sorts — victims of the same investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

    The press conference also revealed that the security guarantees that Zelensky pushed Trump to confirm were secondary at best. Trump remained vague and offered no details, possibly because he has no intention of the US providing any security to Ukraine.

    The aim may have been to goad Zelensky – just weeks ago on Fox News Trump stated that he did not know if Ukrainians would one day become Russian. Meanwhile, Trump’s claim that Ukraine did not have any cards to play is unhelpful to highlight if you are trying to negotiate a great deal for one of your allies.

    What Trump seemed to forget is that Ukraine once had a lot of cards — holding the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world with 1,900 strategic warheads, 176 intercontinental ballistic missiles and 44 strategic bombers. Ukraine was coaxed into returning all of its nuclear warheads in exchange for security assurances from Russia and the west, in a 1994 agreement known as the Budapest Memorandum.

    But while this memorandum might mean little to the current US president, allies around the world can see how quickly a US leader can forget their country’s commitments. The message that Trump is sending now is that every country must fight for themselves. All interactions are transactional, and economic interests trump the genuine security needs of allies.



    Read more:
    Raised voices and angry scenes at the White House as Trump clashes with Zelensky over the ‘minerals deal’

    This plays perfectly into China’s hands. To China, Trump has signalled that he primarily cares about the tariff issue. In addition, he could implement higher tariffs on the US’s biggest trading partners (and allies), Canada, the EU and Mexico, than on China.

    The symbolism of the unsigned mineral deal with Ukraine and the capitulation to Russia’s territorial interests in Ukraine should be music to the ears of China’s president, Xi Jinping.

    What it means for China

    China has inundated Taiwan with a propaganda campaign that says the self-governing island is part of China. Part of the campaign focuses on the notion that if China were to invade, the US would abandon Taiwan, citing the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 as evidence of this.

    The US’s abrupt abandonment of Ukraine adds fuel to this fire. Xi could be emboldened to execute his plan of uniting Taiwan by 2049, if not earlier, which could have disastrous consequences for the global economy.

    European leaders met with President Zelensky after the Trump press conference.

    Taiwan produces 90% of the world’s most advanced semiconductors needed for artificial intelligence and quantum computing, and has a market share of 68%.

    An invasion could lead to a block on global access to semiconductors, causing shortages of all sorts of tech, a possible stock market crash and a fall in trade between Taiwan and western economies. This could cost around US$10 trillion (£7.9 trillion), equal to 10% of global GDP.

    Additionally, for countries such as South Korea and Japan that have been persuaded to not embark on nuclear programmes, the US U-turn sows doubt about its commitment to provide a nuclear shield to its Pacific allies. This could prompt these countries to reverse policies of nonproliferation.

    What happens to Nato?

    Nato has been traditionally led by a US general, but it’s not even clear that the US will remain in the alliance. In the past few weeks Europe has been forced to hold a series of emergency meetings to try to rise to the various global challenges – with or without the US as a key partner.

    All of this makes the US more vulnerable as well. The US is more secure and prosperous when it is part of a long-term alliance, working in partnership with its allies to ensure security, stability, free trade and investment. If the US were to even reduce its security commitments to Nato by 50%, estimates suggest trade with members would fall by US$450 billion.

    The alliance system has been a backbone of US security since 1949. The cost to Nato’s credibility and to defending its borders if Ukraine loses the war would be trillions, not billions, of dollars.

    With Trump appearing desperate to do a deal on Putin’s terms with no concessions, Russia will become much stronger as a result. In spite of the fact that more than 95,000 Russians have died, it’s likely that Russia will act even more boldly, becoming a more attractive ally to US adversaries.

    Trump’s support for Putin not only encourages a hostile nuclear power on the doorstep of the US’s top Nato allies, but also suggests that the US cannot be counted on in future.

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

    – ref. How Trump’s spat with Zelensky threatens the security of the world – including the US – https://theconversation.com/how-trumps-spat-with-zelensky-threatens-the-security-of-the-world-including-the-us-251229

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The overlooked bond: Why mental health professionals should ask questions about pets

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Renata Roma, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Saskatchewan

    Pets increasingly play a central role in people’s lives. Mental health professionals who overlook this may be missing an opportunity to understand an important aspect of their clients’experience. (Shutterstock)

    Pets have become an integral part of people’s lives, with some having stronger bonds with their pets than with their siblings and other family members. Some feel more empathy toward animals than toward humans.

    According to a survey, for nearly 90 per cent of Canadians, pets are considered not only family members, but also an essential source of emotional support.

    As researchers interested in the psychology of human-animal relationships, we believe that given these findings, it is imperative to understand how the relationship with pets shapes people’s routines, their self-perceptions, emotional states and ability to cope.

    Asking pet-related questions can be particularly relevant for mental health professionals seeking a deeper understanding of clients’ family dynamics. Exploring the role of pets in a client’s life can offer valuable insights into factors shaping their well-being.

    Client-centred approach: What if pets are part of the story?

    Using a client-centred approach, mental health professionals should understand and validate clients’ perspectives. The goal is to work with clients to understand what shapes their experiences, worldview, strengths and support systems.

    Asking pet-related questions can be particularly relevant for mental health professionals seeking a deeper understanding of clients’ family dynamics.
    (Shutterstock)

    More specifically, during intake sessions and assessments, the focus should be on being attuned to the client’s needs. Professionals who overlook the central role pets play in people’s lives risk missing an opportunity to understand an important aspect of their clients’ experience. Shifting this perspective can lead to deeper insight into clients’ emotional states and behaviours, ultimately leading to more tailored and effective treatment.

    The benefits of such holistic framework can be invaluable. Researchers have found pet-related questions can not only reduce anxiety, but also improve communication and rapport. These questions also allow professionals to access clinically relevant information that can guide their therapeutic approach.

    Unlocking deeper insights in therapy

    There are several specific ways that pet-related questions can influence the direction of therapeutic interventions.

    1) Help clients feel more comfortable:

    Asking pet-related questions can provide a sense of familiarity and comfort. This, in turn, strengthens the therapeutic alliance and creates an inviting atmosphere. For example, many couples treat their pets as children. Among younger generations, there is often a preference for pets over children.

    For these clients, neglecting this important aspect of their lives may negatively impact the therapeutic relationship. By asking pet-related questions, professionals can help clients to feel valued and seen. This inclusive approach acknowledges an essential part of their social system and open space for them to talk about how their pets shape their identity.

    Among younger generations there is often a preference for pets over children.
    (Shutterstock)

    2) Create trust:

    In general, building rapport with clients can create a foundation of trust. This makes it easier for them to share difficult and personal information. Discussing the dynamic between a client and their pet can help them feel more comfortable addressing sensitive topics. Nearly 90 per cent of women experiencing domestic violence report mistreatment of their pets.

    Children who are victims of domestic violence often share stories of their pets being mistreated. These clients usually feel more comfortable addressing violence against their pets before they address violence against themselves.

    3) Offer insights on the client’s strengths and resources:

    Pets can provide support in several ways. For some people, spending time with their pets during moments of stress can alleviate feelings of anxiety and loneliness.

    For others, the presence of a pet facilitates engaging in social and physical activities. Also, the bond with the pet can increase feelings of belonging and reduce self-harm behaviours. By understanding the role pets play in the client’s life, clinicians gain insight into their coping strategies and available resources. This helps inform more tailored clinical interventions.

    4) Offer insight into a client’s broader challenges:

    Pets can have a positive impact on emotional attachment. However, strong attachment to pets may sometimes be associated with increased psychological stress and trust issues. Others may experience worry and guilt when their health issues affect their ability to provide care for their pets, which can worsen their psychological distress.

    Additionally, the ways clients approach and resolve issues related to their pets can provide insight into their problem-solving abilities. Exploring these areas with clients can highlight target areas for therapy.

    5) Help to identify sources of stress:

    The relationship with pets is complex, and can fluctuate. Pets with behavioural or health issues may create significant social barriers, reducing social interactions and heightening negative emotions in owners. Also, the inability to afford veterinary care can undermine a person’s well-being. These situations can be associated with anxiety and caregiver burden. Therefore, the dynamics they share with their pets can directly influence the issues presented in therapy.

    In such scenarios, not asking about clients’ relationship with their pets may cause professionals to overlook crucial aspects of clients’ overall well-being. This can result in missing important insights into clients’ strengths and challenges.

    Not asking about clients’ relationship with their pets, may cause professionals to overlook crucial aspects of clients’ overall well-being.
    (Shutterstock)

    The missing piece

    Pet-related questions are not just a trivial detail. The structure of families has evolved. As we work toward more holistic and empathetic therapeutic approaches, exploring the presence of pets in people’s lives is a critical step to fostering an environment of acceptance, openness and trust.

    By exploring this bond, mental health professionals can strengthen therapeutic alliances. They would also learn about essential aspects of a client’s emotional life, their strengths and challenges.

    Simple questions like: “do you have a pet at home?” and “how would you describe the role of your pet in your life?” can help strengthen connections with clients. These questions create opportunities for deeper engagement. They also promote a practice that is client-centred, inclusive and aligned with the evolving configurations of families.

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

    – ref. The overlooked bond: Why mental health professionals should ask questions about pets – https://theconversation.com/the-overlooked-bond-why-mental-health-professionals-should-ask-questions-about-pets-250702

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How businesses and consumers can protect themselves against digital supply chain disruptions

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Raymond A. Patterson, Professor, Area Chair, Business Technology Management, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary

    Digital supply chain disruptions are particularly problematic because they can have immediate global effects and can’t rely on inventory as a buffer. (Shutterstock)

    Digital supply chain disruptions are becoming increasingly common, with a recent notable increase in cyberattacks and supplier errors.

    A significant incident in July 2024 saw a flawed security upgrade by CrowdStrike impact 8.5 million Windows computers. The fallout impacted various industries, including airlines, hospitals and 911 services. This led to the cancellation of 2,800 flights and delays for 11,000 more.

    Threats surrounding the looming trade war between Canada and the United States are also threatening the digital supply chain. The digital supply chain encompasses many goods and services, including video streaming platforms, software, digital content, video games, e-books, online storage, education and training content, and food delivery services.

    According to a McKinsey report from October 2024, companies seem to be easing up on efforts to strengthen supply chain resilience, even as disruptions continue to occur. The survey found “considerable gaps in the ability of organizations to identify and mitigate supply chain risks, with few new initiatives aimed at addressing those weaknesses.”

    Digital supply chain disruptions are particularly problematic because they can have immediate global effects. Unlike physical supply chains, digital suppliers can’t rely on inventory as a buffer. As is clear from major industry disruptions to the digital supply chain, organizations often lack feasible alternatives for their digital suppliers — there is no plan B.

    However, the resilience of digital supply chains is given little attention, despite its critical role in the global economy.

    Risks of sharing digital suppliers

    Our recent research explored how businesses’ choice of digital supplier — either the same as their competitors or different ones — impacts competition and vulnerability to supply chain disruptions.

    Using an economic model, we analyzed how disruptions at a service provider impacted a firm’s customer demand and, in turn, how the firm managed service provider risks.

    We found that when companies rely on the same digital suppliers, they also share risks. In contrast, choosing alternative suppliers can help mitigate those risks. However, businesses often mimic their competitors and share suppliers — a strategy that is not always wise.

    Disruptions to digital supply chains are inevitable, and the effects of these disruptions, particularly on consumer demand, are often underestimated. These disruptions can spread rapidly, without giving companies enough time to react. Cyberattacks or service losses at a single supplier can take multiple businesses offline at once.

    Issues like privacy breaches and service disruptions can even cause customers to change their buying habits. While a disruption at one firm may lead consumers to switch to competitors, broader industry disruptions can diminish overall trust and demand.

    Companies with complementary products should consider using different digital suppliers to mitigate the compounded negative effects of any disruption.

    Additionally, advanced technologies like AI are transforming industries such as customer support and health care, meaning digital supply chain disruptions are also more likely. Automation can also exacerbate this risk.

    Addressing supply chain risks

    Canadians have many concerns about online privacy and security, and business leaders face challenges addressing these concerns moving forward.

    Addressing these concerns is difficult due to several factors, including rapidly changing technology, expanding opportunities for attacks, high costs to address privacy and security, and lack of employee awareness, among others.

    Our research leads to a number of suggestions for companies, industry coalitions, governmental regulators and consumers. For businesses, building resilience against digital supply chain disruptions and supplier outages requires strategic partnerships. Companies must consider how inevitable disruptions will affect not only their customer demand, but also how competitors’ disruptions could affect them, and vice versa.

    For industry coalitions and governmental regulators, understanding the ripple effects of shared digital supply chain risks can help determine whether supply chains should be shared or separated. Industry-specific needs may differ and change over time, which could justify breaking up digital service monopolies to increase supplier diversity or, in some cases, maintaining them.

    Consumers should also be aware of the potential for a digital supply chain disruptions. If an industry-wide outage occurs, having a workaround plan can be essential. For example, when purchasing services that can’t be physically stored, like airline tickets, it’s wise to plan for unexpected disruptions. Booking a flight a day earlier than necessary or allowing extra time to return home can provide a buffer against system-wide failures.

    Breaches of online privacy and service disruptions caused by unforeseen events, bad actors and foreign governments can cause customers to alter their buying habits and negatively impact Canadian competitiveness.

    With Canadians expressing grave concerns over online privacy and security, everyone must recognize the importance of preparing for and mitigating these risks.

    Raymond A. Patterson currently receives funding from the Haskayne School of Business and the National Cybersecurity Consortium (NCC). Previous funding has been obtained from a variety of private and public sources.

    Erik Rolland, Hooman Hidaji, and Lisa Yeo do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. How businesses and consumers can protect themselves against digital supply chain disruptions – https://theconversation.com/how-businesses-and-consumers-can-protect-themselves-against-digital-supply-chain-disruptions-250009

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump tariffs have sparked a ‘Buy Canadian’ surge, but keeping the trend alive faces hurdles

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Melise Panetta, Lecturer of Marketing in the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University

    Escalating trade tensions between Canada and the United States have ignited a new wave of Canadian patriotism, with consumers consciously choosing made-in-Canada products as an act of economic self-preservation and national pride.

    U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to impose tariffs on most Canadian and Mexican goods on March 4, after a month-long delay. This, along with Trump’s calls to make Canada the 51st U.S. state, has prompted Canadians to rally around the so-called “Buy Canadian” movement.

    Recent research indicates a significant number of Canadians are now showing a strong preference for domestic products, with many willing to modify their purchasing behaviours. One recent poll revealed 42 per cent of Canadians polled will “absolutely do everything” to avoid purchasing U.S. products. Eighty-eight per cent said they would buy a product promoted as “made in Canada.”

    Another poll found that 56 per cent of Canadians said they would stop buying a certain product altogether if there is no Canadian-made alternative.

    While the “buy local” movement has deeper roots, often resurfacing during periods of economic tensions, the current surge stems from a desire to support homegrown brands and manufacturers they see as reflecting their values.

    Buy Canadian movement challenges

    While the Buy Canadian movement is gaining traction, actually sustaining it comes with notable challenges. Some experts caution that reducing reliance on U.S. imports is a gradual process contingent on consistent consumer commitment.

    Two primary barriers stand in the way of this sustained change: the higher costs of Canadian-made goods, particularly during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, and the difficulty consumers face in identifying domestically produced items.

    Addressing these two issues is crucial for the long-term viability of the Buy Canadian movement.

    CBC News segment about the Buy Canadian movement.

    Buying Canadian can be pricey

    The first primary obstacle facing the Buy Canadian movement is the price disparity between domestic goods and their imported counterparts.

    Canadian domestic goods often come with a higher price tag due to production costs, economies of scale, transportation and other economic factors. These factors make it difficult for local manufacturers to compete with cheaper foreign alternatives.

    The ongoing cost-of-living crisis, which is driving up prices for goods and services across various sectors, is further intensifying the challenge. One of the biggest household expenses, the cost of groceries, remain particularly high, having jumped by 7.8 per cent in 2023 — its highest level in nearly 40 years.

    Higher prices across almost all sectors has resulted in 71 per cent of Canadians naming the cost of living as a top domestic concern, making it the leading news story in the country in 2024.

    While many consumers express a desire to support local businesses even if they are pricier, the reality of higher costs could make it difficult for consumers to consistently choose domestic products over more affordable foreign alternatives.

    Is it really ‘Made in Canada’?

    The second major obstacle for the Buy Canadian movement lies in confusion over product labels. For many Canadians, identifying which products are truly Canadian versus imported alternatives can be a challenging task.

    A recent poll found that 42 per cent of Canadians believe grocery food products are made in Canada, while the actual number of products fully made in Canada is closer to 10 per cent.

    Compounding matters further, understanding country of origin labelling can also be challenging. Labels such as “Made in Canada” and “Product of Canada” have specific definitions.

    “Made in Canada” means the last substantial transformation of the good or service occurs in Canada but may contain up to 49 per cent imported ingredients, while “Product of Canada” means all, or nearly all, significant parts and processing are Canadian.

    This nuanced labelling and similarity in wording can lead to confusion, making it difficult for consumers to make informed choices.

    Building on the Buy Canadian momentum

    Canadian businesses and retailers have been responding to growing consumer demand for domestic products with concrete marketing strategies. For instance, Loblaw Companies, Canada’s largest food retailer, has committed to “doubling down on securing food grown and made” locally.

    Grocery stores are also making it easier for consumers to identify local products. Several grocery chains have revamped their in-store displays by using shelf tags, stickers and end-of-aisle signage to clearly identify Canadian-made food items.

    Retailers and brands are increasingly spotlighting domestic brands by rolling out targeted pricing deals. Major grocery chains have begun offering significant price reductions and exclusive promotions on items branded as “Made in Canada.”

    Additionally, Canadians are flocking to websites such as Madeinca.ca, which aim to demystify country of origin and labelling so shoppers can distinguish domestic products from imports.

    Although maintaining this momentum may be challenging, consumers are eager to showcase their patriotism at the check-out. With businesses and policymakers actively improving product transparency and addressing cost concerns, the Buy Canadian movement is poised to gain further traction. After all, nothing embodies unity quite like a little patriotic shopping, the Canadian way.

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

    – ref. Trump tariffs have sparked a ‘Buy Canadian’ surge, but keeping the trend alive faces hurdles – https://theconversation.com/trump-tariffs-have-sparked-a-buy-canadian-surge-but-keeping-the-trend-alive-faces-hurdles-250245

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How rebellion against moralizing has become a surprising rallying point for the political right

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Alexis Shotwell, Professor, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Carleton University

    A couple of weeks before the astonishing Feb. 28 White House Oval Office meeting that saw United States President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance scold Ukraine’s leader, Vance told European leaders at the Munich Security Conference: “If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg’s scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.”

    Vance was responding — with humour, he said — to pushback over Elon Musk’s vocal support for Germany’s far-right parties, expressed on X in a livestream event and in a December 2024 German newspaper op-ed.

    Newsweek reported that the administration of Germany’s lower house of parliament “is investigating whether Musk’s support for the AfD on the platform where he has 210 million followers could constitute an illegal party donation.”

    Are Musk’s actions, which some allege are interference, comparable to a young woman’s moralizing?

    It might seem odd to equate the richest person in the world supporting far-right political parties with an eco-activist saying politicians should address climate change. However, there is a long history of people seeing scolding as one of the worst things we can do.

    Our research has been concerned with how “purity politics” shape people’s attempts to live ethical lives, and what it means to reason about ecological catastrophe. We are writing a book about how rebellion against moralizing has become a surprising rallying point for the political right, and how to think about moralizing more broadly.



    Read more:
    How Trump’s compulsion to dominate sabotages dealmaking, undermines democracy and threatens global stability

    Rage against moralizing

    Whereas conservatives used to be defenders of morals, they now rage against moralizing, seeing “wokism” as a threat to freedom. Religious conservatives used to position themselves as bastions of morality. But research shows secular societies do not behave less morally as a whole than religious ones.

    Philosopher Judith Butler argues that while Trump displays a “shameless sadism”
    we are seeing his supporters revel in his rejection of moral repression.

    The rejection of moralizing seems to be creating a terrain in which many on the right feel liberated by the current turn against “wokism.” But even on the left, some now worry about too much moralism in what is called “cancel culture.”



    Read more:
    Cancel culture looks a lot like old-fashioned church discipline

    How did moralizing come to this? Could understanding this help us navigate political deadlocks? The history of philosophy has some surprising suggestions here.

    Traditionalism, scolding

    First: there are some dangers in moralizing. One is a kind of traditionalism, which shows up in the creation of moral panics about transgender people, street gangs, abortion, immigrants and so on.

    Another is if someone scolds: “you should take the bus rather than driving” — but the bus doesn’t run to your neighbourhood. Moralizing like this is just posturing. Maybe it makes the driver feel bad, but it doesn’t create more public transit.

    Still, many of us have strong ethical convictions, and we try to live according to what we believe is right or wrong. Even if we judge someone else for the way they are living or behaving, we might hesitate to say something directly. Having personal ethics is socially acceptable; telling others what to do turns us into a scold. Why?

    Our stance

    The word “ethos” in ancient Greek means something like “posture” or “standing.” Aristotle saw ethos as marking our credibility, our character; we enact our ethics only in a shared world. Contemporary ethical approaches often focus on the personal side of this, setting an example without pushing values on others.

    Aristotle saw ‘ethos’ as marking our character.
    (Shutterstock)

    The related word “moral” comes from the Latin mores, usually understood as naming shared customs. Ancient Roman philosopher Cicero used the term moralis to translate ethos, (ἠθική) from Greek. “Morals” were regarded as “the common consent of all living together, constituted from shared traditions,” to quote the influential definition of Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro.

    This “common consent” did not claim to apply to everyone. As late as the 16th century, philosophers such as Michel de Montaigne, Cardano or Agrippa of Nettesheim developed a comparative study of various customs and value systems known as “scienta moralis.”

    Moral philosophers discussed different inclinations and life-ways of people without postulating one superior norm that would govern everyone. There was a Christian strand of moral theology that saw morality as a universal principle, but even after the era of 16th-century Reformation in the western church, it was not primarily about condemnation and judgement. Rather, this branch of “humanist” moral inquiry examined how people create and maintain shared norms in a pluralistic society.

    This changed with ideas that we could have a universally applicable moral science, governed by reason. Philosophers like Immanuel Kant helped formulate this idea. If we think of morality as a law everyone can be subjected to, it makes sense that people rebel against it.

    Channeling opponents of moralizing

    When Vance characterised Thunberg as “scolding,” he unwittingly channelled opponents of moralizing, such as philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

    Nietzsche once defined his philosophical project as a “declaration of war against morals and moralists.” For him and the thinkers he inspired, moralizing is conceived as a negative emotion motivated by resentment and envy.



    Read more:
    Stephen Bannon’s world: Dangerous minds in dangerous times

    Nietzsche’s almost total rejection of morals can be understood as one of the many roots of the contemporary hesitation (though this idea is debated). No one wants to be denigrated by being seen as one of the sheep who unquestioningly embraces a herd mentality.

    In this context, paradoxically, moralizing — scolding — has come to mean that anyone who says they think something is bad, or should be otherwise, is oppressing the people they criticize.

    ‘Scolding’ people in power

    When we look at the extraordinary difference in power between Musk and Thunberg, this definition of moralizing begins to seem a little weird. Is scolding so dangerous to people in power?

    For people interested in pushing back against authoritarianism, maybe we should hope that it is. We can look to the earlier ideal of morality as forging “common consent” for direction here.

    In the philosophical sense, addressing our “mores” suggests moving towards a collective re-evaluation of how people want to live. Saying “no, I do not agree with this” can perhaps express our character in a way that shapes our shared world.

    Moralizing could then be the process of building new customs. It would be about building morale and seeing hope and agency in these admittedly dire times. Moralizing with others, rather than at them, could help people move beyond feeling immobilized and cynical.

    Studies about “bystander intervention” usually focus on the ways that people go along with things they think are wrong. Research does suggest our moral actions are shaped by the people around us, but this also means moral courage is contagious.

    Standing up for something allows other people to also express their moral convictions. It can be a testament about hope or agency and could be more powerful than we think.

    It is perhaps the fear of this powerful potential that is the core of truth in Vance’s otherwise absurd equation.

    Perhaps this signals the true threat moralizing poses to the status quo — the possibility that there is a better way to live together in a shared world.

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

    – ref. How rebellion against moralizing has become a surprising rallying point for the political right – https://theconversation.com/how-rebellion-against-moralizing-has-become-a-surprising-rallying-point-for-the-political-right-250549

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hit By Trump’s Tariffs, Welch’s Guest to President’s Joint Address to Congress Will Be Head of Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
    Allison Hope During Welch’s Tariff Town Hall: “Our industry has grown in production almost 500% over the last 20 years, and these tariffs would go a long way towards potentially slowing that production.”
    Vermont sugar makers produce the most maple syrup in the nation.
    WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced Allison Hope, Executive Director of the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association, will join Senator Welch for President Trump’s Joint Address to Congress on Tuesday evening.  
    Vermont’s maple industry—as well as farms and businesses across Vermont—are bracing for the economic fallout of the Trump’s 25% tariff on Canada, which will go into effect tomorrow. Sugar makers expect the cost of Canadian-made sugaring equipment to dramatically increase. Bulk maple sales to major retailers like Costco, Target, and Whole Foods rely on both U.S. and Canadian producers and most of the equipment needed to produce syrup is manufactured in Canada. 
    “These tariffs are really going to hurt our economy in Vermont, and the impacts will be far-reaching. President Trump is singlehandedly raising costs for Vermonters—from the food on our table, to our energy bills, to the materials and equipment our home construction companies and manufacturers need. It’s important that the Trump Administration and my colleagues across the aisle hear directly from those who are impacted and that they drop this misguided plan,” said Senator Welch. 
    During Senator Welch’s virtual town hall on tariffs in February, Allison Hope of the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association shared: “Our industry has grown in production almost 500% over the last 20 years, and these tariffs would go a long way towards potentially slowing that production.” 
    Today, Senator Welch will join Governor Phil Scott, the Solinsky Family, who are fourth-generation sugar makers from the northeast kingdom, Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts, the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association, and community members at the Governor’s annual ‘First Tapping’ event, which celebrates Vermont’s maple industry and the Green Mountain State’s sugar makers. Vermont sugar makers produce the most maple syrup in the nation, with 3.1 million gallons produced in 2024, an increase of nearly 20% from 2023. 
    Last week, Senator Welch expressed opposition to the Trump Tariffs in voting against the nomination of Jamieson Greer for United States Trade Representative. He also joined Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s (D-N.H.) Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes on Imported Goods Act, which would shield American businesses and consumers from rising prices imposed by tariffs on imported goods into the United States. The bill would keep costs down for imported goods by limiting the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)—which allows a President to immediately place unlimited tariffs after declaring a national emergency—while preserving IEEPA’s use for sanctions and other tools.   
    In January, Welch introduced the Making Agricultural Products Locally Essential (MAPLE) Act and the Supporting All Producers (SAP) Act, two bipartisan, bicameral bills to support Vermont’s maple industry.   

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: “Friday Night Baseball” returns to Apple TV+ on March 28

    Source: Apple

    Headline: “Friday Night Baseball” returns to Apple TV+ on March 28

    March 3, 2025

    UPDATE

    “Friday Night Baseball” returns to Apple TV+ on March 28

    Exclusive weekly doubleheaders return for a fourth season, with New York Mets at Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays

    “Fight for Glory: 2024 World Series,” the new docuseries on Apple TV+, premieres later this month, and a new Apple Immersive baseball film “VIP: Yankee Stadium” to debut next month

    Apple and Major League Baseball (MLB) announced that “Friday Night Baseball,” a weekly doubleheader available on Apple TV+, is set to return for the 2025 regular season. Fans across 60 countries and regions can enjoy two marquee matchups over 25 weeks, featuring enhanced production quality, expert commentary, and no local broadcast restrictions.

    The 2025 season of “Friday Night Baseball” kicks off on Friday, March 28, with some of the game’s biggest stars taking center stage for opening weekend. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. ET as All-Star Adley Rutschman and the Baltimore Orioles host Silver Slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and division rivals the Toronto Blue Jays. In the second game of the opening doubleheader, superstar Juan Soto and the New York Mets will take on Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros, with coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.

    Apple and MLB also announced the “Friday Night Baseball” game schedule for the first half of the season through June 27. Notable matchups include a Yankees-Dodgers World Series rematch in Los Angeles, a Texas showdown between the Rangers and Astros, and additional appearances by MVP Shohei Ohtani and the star-studded Dodgers who travel east to face off against Bryce Harper’s Philadelphia Phillies and Juan Soto’s New York Mets. See below for the full schedule.

    “We’re thrilled to bring another season of ‘Friday Night Baseball’ to Apple TV+, with top-tier production quality that baseball fans love,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music, Apple TV+, Sports, and Beats. “This season, we’re excited to offer an amazing lineup of games with no blackouts, available across more devices than ever before.”

    For the third straight season, “Friday Night Baseball” games will be called by broadcast teams Wayne Randazzo (play-by-play), Dontrelle Willis (analyst), and Heidi Watney (sideline reporter), and Alex Faust (play-by-play), Ryan Spilborghs (analyst), and Tricia Whitaker (sideline reporter). Lauren Gardner, Russell Dorsey, and Xavier Scruggs return to host live pre- and postgame coverage both in-studio and on the field. Additionally, Siera Santos will host select pregame shows and Rich Waltz will call select games.

    “Friday Night Baseball” is produced by MLB Network’s Emmy Award-winning production team in partnership with Apple’s live sports production team. Each game will feature state-of-the-art cameras and immersive sound in 5.1 with Spatial Audio enabled, including player and field-level mics to immerse fans in the stadium atmosphere. Fans in the U.S. and Canada will also have the option to listen to home and away local radio broadcasts during “Friday Night Baseball” games.1

    Beginning opening day on March 27, fans in the U.S. can enjoy the MLB Big Inning whip-around show featuring live look-ins and in-game highlights every weeknight, and a full slate of MLB-related content on Apple TV+, including Countdown to First Pitch, MLB Daily Recap, and MLB This Week. Fans can also access MLB programming free in the Apple TV app, including game recaps, classic games, highlights, interviews, and more.

    With the multiview feature on Apple TV 4K devices and iPad, fans can watch up to four simultaneous streams, including “Friday Night Baseball” games, Major League Soccer matches, and select MLS and MLB live shows.2 With Post Play, viewers can seamlessly transition into other live games at the conclusion of the studio show or match they’re currently watching.

    Apple today also announced VIP: Yankee Stadium, a new Apple Immersive Video for Apple Vision Pro that gives viewers an all-access pass to one of the world’s most iconic sports venues. In the film, available for free next month, broadcasting legend Joe Buck welcomes viewers to Yankee Stadium for a June 2024 “Friday Night Baseball” matchup between the Yankees and their longtime rivals: the Los Angeles Dodgers. From early morning prep scenes to a tense nighttime finale, viewers will go far beyond the front row — with an all-encompassing look at how elite athletes, die-hard fans, dedicated staff, and epic moments make the Bronx ballpark legendary.

    The forthcoming season will also be accompanied by Fight For Glory: 2024 World Series on Apple TV+ — the first all-access docuseries exploring the dramatic, high-stakes world of the World Series where the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers battle to capture the most storied trophy in American sports. The new three-part documentary offers a never-before-seen view of each team’s journey through the postseason, with exclusive access to behind-the-scenes coverage and interviews with players, coaches, fans, journalists, and family members. The project is produced in partnership with MLB and Imagine Documentaries; R.J. Cutler’s This Machine, a part of Sony Pictures Television; and five-time World Series Champion, executive producer Derek Jeter, alongside his production company, Cap 2 Productions.

    The free Apple Sports app for iPhone is the best way for fans to stay up to date on scores, stats, standings, and their favorite clubs throughout the MLB season, and allows users to navigate between scores and upcoming games, explore play-by-play information, stats, live betting odds, and more.3 Apple Sports also seamlessly syncs with favorites selected within the My Sports experience, including in the Apple TV app and Apple News. With iOS 18 and watchOS 11, the Apple Sports app offers Live Activities for all MLB games, delivering live scores and play-by-play info at a quick glance to a user’s iPhone Lock Screen and Apple Watch.

    In Apple News, fans can easily follow the league and their favorite teams in the MLB feed, and watch personalized MLB highlights. Each Friday, fans can also access a curated group of the most exciting stories from around the league. In Apple Music, fans can find exclusive official playlists featuring the walk-up songs from each week’s teams, as well as a collection of classic songs celebrating baseball.

    How to Watch “Friday Night Baseball”

    Apple TV+ subscribers can watch “Friday Night Baseball” on the Apple TV app, which comes preinstalled on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro, as well as online at tv.apple.com. New for this season, Android users can download the Apple TV app from Google Play on Android mobile devices to subscribe to Apple TV+ and enjoy “Friday Night Baseball,” and Prime Video customers in the U.S., UK, and Canada can subscribe to Apple TV+ via Prime Video as an add-on subscription. The Apple TV app is also available on select smart TVs, including Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Sony, TCL, VIZIO, and others; Amazon Fire TV and Roku devices; PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles; Chromecast with Google TV; and set-top boxes, including Sky Q, SK Broadband, and Comcast Xfinity. More information is available at apple.com/apple-tv-app.

    DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS is the national home of “Friday Night Baseball” for commercial establishments in the U.S., delivering all the action to its network of more than 300,000 restaurants, bars, hotel lounges, retail shops, and other venues in the U.S.

    2025 “Friday Night Baseball” Schedule on Apple TV+

    Friday, March 28
     Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays
    7:00 p.m. ET

    New York Mets at Houston Astros
    8:00 p.m. ET

    Friday, April 4
     Los Angeles Dodgers at Philadelphia Phillies
    6:30 p.m. ET

    Tampa Bay Rays at Texas Rangers
    8:00 p.m. ET

    Friday, April 11
     Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds
    6:30 p.m. ET

    Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins
    8:00 p.m. ET

    Friday, April 18
     Minnesota Twins at Atlanta Braves
    7:00 p.m. ET

    Seattle Mariners at Toronto Blue Jays
    7:00 p.m. ET

    Friday, April 25
     Boston Red Sox at Cleveland Guardians
    7:00 p.m. ET

    Texas Rangers at San Francisco Giants
    10:00 p.m. ET

    Friday, May 2
     San Diego Padres at Pittsburgh Pirates
    6:30 p.m. ET

    Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee Brewers
    8:00 p.m. ET

    Friday, May 9
     St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals
    6:30 p.m. ET

    San Francisco Giants at Minnesota Twins
    8:00 p.m. ET

    Friday, May 16
     Houston Astros at Texas Rangers
    8:00 p.m. ET

    Seattle Mariners at San Diego Padres
    9:30 p.m. ET

    Friday, May 23
     Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets
    7:00 p.m. ET

    Arizona Diamondbacks at St. Louis Cardinals
    8:00 p.m. ET

    Friday, May 30
     Boston Red Sox at Atlanta Braves
    7:00 p.m. ET

    New York Yankees at Los Angeles Dodgers
    10:00 p.m. ET

    Friday, June 6
     Arizona Diamondbacks at Cincinnati Reds
    7:00 p.m. ET

    Chicago Cubs at Detroit Tigers
    7:00 p.m. ET

    Friday, June 13
     Los Angeles Angels at Baltimore Orioles
    7:00 p.m. ET

    San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks
    9:30 p.m. ET

    Friday, June 20
     New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies
    7:00 p.m. ET

    Kansas City Royals at San Diego Padres
    9:30 pm. ET

    Friday, June 27
     Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles
    7:00 p.m. ET

    St. Louis Cardinals at Cleveland Guardians
    7:00 p.m. ET

    Pricing and Availability

    Apple TV+ is available for $9.99 (U.S.) per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. For a limited time, eligible customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, or Mac can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.4

    1. Radio broadcasts for the Los Angeles Angels are available only for the team’s home games. In Canada, radio broadcasts are available only for Toronto Blue Jays home games.
    2. Multiview is supported on iPad (7th generation) or later.
    3. Available in the U.S., the UK, and Canada.
    4. Special offer is good for three months after the first activation of the eligible device. One offer per Family Sharing group. Plans automatically renew until cancelled. Other restrictions and terms apply; visit apple.com/promo for more information.

    Press Contacts

    Sam Citron

    Apple

    citron@apple.com

    Hayden Zelson

    Apple

    h_zelson@apple.com

    Apple Media Helpline

    media.help@apple.com

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: PM statement to the House of Commons: 3 March 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Oral statement to Parliament

    PM statement to the House of Commons: 3 March 2025

    The Prime Minister’s statement to the House of Commons on Ukraine.

    Mr. Speaker… 

    Less than a week since I called on this House to show the courage of our predecessors…

    We see clearly before us – the test of our times.  

    A crossroads in our history.   

    So with permission I will update the House on my efforts… 

    To secure a strong, just and lasting peace… 

    Following Russia’s vile invasion of Ukraine. 

    Mr. Speaker – it begins in this House… 

    Where on Tuesday, I announced the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War.

    A recognition of the fact that once again, we live in an era…

    Where peace in Europe depends upon strength and deterrence.

    But also – a rediscovery of the old post-war argument… 

    Long-held on these benches…  

    That economic security is national security. 

    Because Mr. Speaker, the demands we now have to make of Britain… 

    Must come alongside a new foundation of security for working people. 

    The tough choices we made last week… 

    They are not done. 

    We must use the process of getting to 3% of our national income spent on defence… 

    To fundamentally rebuild British industry. 

    Use our investment in military spending…

    To create new jobs and apprenticeships in every part of our country. 

    And that’s why, last night, I announced a deal that perfectly symbolises this new era. 

    A partnership with Ukraine… 

    That allows them to use £1.6 billion of UK Export Finance… 

    To buy 5,000 air defence missiles, manufactured in Belfast. 

    That means UK jobs… 

    UK skills… 

    UK finance…

    Pulling together for our national interest… 

    Putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position for peace… 

    And protecting innocent civilians from the terror of Russian drones. 

    Mr. Speaker, my efforts continued on Thursday… 

    When I met President Trump in the White House… 

    To strengthen our relationship with America. 

    Now, what happened in his subsequent meeting with President Zelenskyy… 

    Is something nobody in this House wants to see. 

    But I do want to be crystal clear… 

    We must strengthen our relationship with America… 

    For our security, for our technology, for our trade and investment… 

    They are and always will be – indispensable. 

    And we will never choose between either side of the Atlantic. 

    In fact, Mr. Speaker… 

    If anything, the past week has shown that that idea to be totally unserious. 

    Because while some people may enjoy the simplicity of taking a side…  

    This week has shown with total clarity… 

    That the US is vital in securing the peace we all want to see in Ukraine. 

    So I welcome the opportunity for a new economic deal with the US… 

    Confirmed by the President last week… 

    Because it is an opportunity I am determined to pursue. 

    I welcome the positive discussions we had on European security… 

    Including his clear support for Article 5 of NATO.   

    I welcome the understanding, from our dialogue…  

    That our two nations will work together on security arrangements for a lasting peace in Ukraine. 

    And I also welcome the President’s continued commitment to that peace… 

    Which nobody in this House should doubt for a second – is sincere. 

    Mr. Speaker, I now turn to events this weekend…

    And the moving scenes that greeted President Zelenskyy as he arrived in London on Saturday. 

    Mr. Speaker I saw for myself that he was taken aback when the crowd in Whitehall cheered at the top of their voices, and they were speaking for the whole of our country.

    A reminder – that this Government, this House and this nation… 

    Stand in unwavering support behind him and the people of Ukraine. 

    Mr. Speaker, we resolved together…

    To move forward the strong cause of just and lasting peace for Ukraine.  

    And then on Sunday… 

    I hosted European leaders from across our continent, equally committed to this cause…  

    Including President Macron, Prime Minister Meloni… 

    The leaders of NATO, the European Commission and Council… 

    And the Prime Minister of Canada… 

    A vital ally of this country, the Commonwealth and Ukraine… 

    Responsible for training over 40,000 Ukrainian troops.  

    I also had the privilege beforehand… 

    Of speaking online to the leaders of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia… 

    Each of whom, as close as they are to the frontline with Russia… 

    Stressed the urgency of the moment. 

    And Mr. Speaker, it was a productive summit.  

    Together, we agreed a clear strategy.  

    That the United Kingdom, France and our allies…  

    Will work closely with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting… 

    Which we will then discuss directly with the United States. 

    It is a plan that has four clear principles, which I will now share in full with the House. 

    First, that we must keep the military aid to Ukraine flowing…

    Keep increasing the economic pressure on Russia. 

    And to that end, alongside our partnership on air defence…

    We are doubling-down on military aid. 

    Already this year we have taken our support to record levels…

    But on Saturday we also agreed a new £2.2 billion loan for Ukraine… 

    Backed, not by the British taxpayer…

    But by the profits from frozen Russian assets.

    Second, we agreed that any lasting peace must guarantee the sovereignty and security of Ukraine. 

    And that Ukraine must be at the table when negotiating their future… 

    That is absolutely vital. 

    Third, we agreed that in the event of a peace deal…

    We will continue to boost Ukraine’s defences and Ukraine’s deterrence. 

    And finally, fourth…

    We agreed to develop a “coalition of the willing” ready to defend a deal in Ukraine… 

    And guarantee the peace. 

    After all, the Ukrainian position is completely understandable. 

    For them – the war did not begin three years ago…

    That was merely the latest and most brutal escalation.  

    They have signed agreements with Putin, before. 

    They have experienced the nature of his diplomacy…

    And the calibre of his word.  

    We can’t accept a weak deal like Minsk again… 

    No, we must proceed with strength… 

    And that does now require – urgently… 

    A coalition of the willing. 

    Mr. Speaker – we agreed on Sunday that those willing to play a role in this… 

    Will intensify planning now.  

    And as this House would expect… 

    Britain will play a leading role. 

    With, if necessary and together with others… 

    Boots on the ground and planes in the air. 

    Mr. Speaker, it is right that Europe do the heavy lifting… 

    To support peace on our continent. 

    But to succeed, this effort must also have strong US backing. 

    I want to assure the House… 

    I take none of this lightly. 

    I visited British troops in Estonia.

    And no aspect of my role weighs more heavily… 

    Than the deployment of British troops in the service of the defence and security in Europe.

    And yet I do feel very strongly…  

    That the future of Ukraine is vital for our national security. 

    Russia is a menace in our waters and skies… 

    They have launched cyber-attacks on our NHS… 

    Assassination attempts in our streets.  

    In this House, we stand by Ukraine because it is the right thing to do… 

    But we also stand by them because it is in our interest to do so. 

    Because if we do not achieve a lasting peace…

    Then the instability and insecurity that has hit the living standards of working people in Britain…

    That will only get worse. 

    And Putin’s appetite for conflict and chaos…

    That will only grow. 

    So a strong peace…

    A just peace… 

    A lasting peace… 

    That has now to be our goal.  

    It is vital… 

    It is in our interest… 

    And its pursuit – Britain will lead from the front. 

    For the security of our continent…

    The security of our country…

    And the security of the British people… 

    We must now win the peace. 

    And I commend this statement to the House.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: March Proclaimed as Rendez Vous De La Francophonie in Saskatchewan

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on March 3, 2025

    Saskatchewan Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, Alana Ross, proclaimed the month of March as Rendez-vous de la Francophonie to promote Francophone culture and the French language. 

    “Everyone should find time to celebrate our amazing French communities,” Ross said. “Celebrating French culture is vital for unity and identity. It enriches our heritage, strengthens bilingualism and fosters inclusivity. We are so fortunate to have such a rich French culture in Saskatchewan.”

    As Saskatchewan marks the 27th anniversary of Rendez-vous celebrations, communities across the province are gearing up for a month filled with exploration and excitement under this year’s theme, “Cultivate your roots.” From vibrant local concerts showcasing Francophone artists to events like flag raising ceremonies, there’s something for everyone to discover and enjoy through the festivities. 

    Later this month, an event will be held at the Legislature in partnership with the Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise (ACF) to recognize the International Day of La Francophonie which is celebrated nationwide on March 20.

    “For 27 years, we have celebrated the French heritage in Saskatchewan through the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie in partnership with the province,” ACF President Denis Simard said. “This year, under the theme ‘Cultivate Your Roots,’ we invite everyone to take a moment to explore and embrace the Francophone culture around them.”

    To find events near you, visit the calendar section of the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie website at www.rvf.ca, available in both English and French.

    For information on French-language services provided by the Government of Saskatchewan, visit: www.saskatchewan.ca/bonjour.

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    Le mois de mars a été désigné comme le mois des Rendez-vous de la Francophonie en Saskatchewan

    La ministre responsable des affaires francophones de la Saskatchewan, Alana Ross, a désigné le mois de mars comme le mois des Rendez-vous de la Francophonie afin de promouvoir la culture francophone et la langue française.

    « Nous devrions tous et toutes prendre le temps de célébrer nos formidables communautés francophones, a soutenu la ministre Ross. Célébrer la culture francophone est vital à notre unité et à notre identité. Cela permet d’enrichir notre patrimoine, de renforcer le bilinguisme et de promouvoir l’inclusivité. Nous sommes tellement privilégiés d’avoir une culture francophone aussi riche en Saskatchewan. »

    À l’occasion du 27e anniversaire des célébrations des Rendez-vous en Saskatchewan, des collectivités partout dans la province se préparent à un mois rempli d’exploration et d’exaltation sous le thème de cette année, « Cultive tes racines ». Chacun et chacune pourront découvrir et apprécier le festival tout au long des festivités, que ce soit en assistant à des concerts locaux électrisants mettant à l’avant-plan des artistes francophones, ou encore en participant à des événements comme les cérémonies de la levée du drapeau.

    Plus tard au cours du mois, un événement se découlera au palais législatif, en partenariat avec l’Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise (ACF), pour souligner la Journée internationale de la Francophonie qui est célébrée partout au Canada le 20 mars.

    « Depuis 27 ans, nous célébrons la présence francophone en Saskatchewan à travers les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie, en partenariat avec la province, » a indiqué le président de l’ACF, Denis Simard. « Cette année, sous le thème “Cultive tes racines”, nous invitons la population à prendre le temps de découvrir et d’apprécier la richesse de la francophonie qui les entoure. »

    Pour trouver des événements près de chez vous, visitez la section du calendrier des activités du site Web des Rendez-vous de la Francophonie au www.rvf.ca, disponible en anglais et en français.

    Pour obtenir des informations sur les services en français offerts par le gouvernement de la Saskatchewan, visitez le www.saskatchewan.ca/bonjour.

    – 30 –

    PCS Media
    Ministère des Parcs, de la Culture et du Sport
    Téléphone : 306-798-1020
    Courriel : pcsmedia@gov.sk.ca

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority Warns Investors About “Pig Butchering Scams” in Advertising Campaign

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on March 3, 2025

    During March, which is Fraud Prevention Month, the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan (FCAA) is releasing an informative advertising campaign for investors and consumers. 

    The campaign that spans province-wide informs investors and consumers about a type of investment fraud known as “pig butchering scams”.

    In 2024, over $3.4 million was reported lost in Saskatchewan to these scams.

    A “pig butchering” scam is a type of long-term investment fraud where scammers build trust with the victims over time, often through social media or messaging apps. They may try to befriend the victim, develop an online romance with them or pretend to be a legitimate investment advisor.

    Eventually, the scammer will recommend putting money into an investment opportunity with the promise of high returns. They will show falsified gains on these investments to encourage the victim to invest more. Once the victim has invested a significant amount or asks for a withdrawal, the scammer disappears with the victim’s money. The scammers are often part of organized crime rings operating outside of Canada.

    These types of scams are referred to as “pig butchering scams” because they are akin to fattening a pig before slaughter.

    Red Flags to Watch Out For:

    • Unsolicited messages from strangers.  
    • Unsolicited investment offers.
    • Too-good-to-be-true returns.
    • Pressure to act quickly.
    • Requests for payments or personal information.
    • Requests for large sums of money to unlock “earnings”.
    • Requests to keep the investment secret. 
    • Requests to access your computer.
    • Pressure you to borrow money in order to invest.

    How to Protect Yourself:

    • Be cautious when approached by strangers online.
    • Always verify that the investment person or company offering the investment is registered in Saskatchewan. To check registration, visit The Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Registration Search at aretheyregistered.ca. 
    • Never send money to someone unless you have verified their identity.
    • Know exactly what you are investing in and make sure you understand how the investment, product, or service works.
    • Get a second opinion and seek professional advice about the investment.
    • Do not allow unknown or unverified individuals to remotely access your computer.

    If you think you have been targeted or are the victim of a pig butchering scam, contact the FCAA’s Securities Division at 306-787-5936.

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Collins, King, Pingree Call on Trump Administration to Avoid Trade War with Canada

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, co-chair of the Senate American-Canadian Economy and Security (ACES) Caucus, and U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree, are calling on the Trump Administration to avoid a catastrophic trade war with Canada that would have huge and immediate impacts on Maine’s people and economy. In a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Ambassador Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative, the Maine delegation request that the administration work collaboratively with Canada to address issues of shared concern and foster economic cooperation in order to avoid the potential for increased prices on groceries, gas and energy.
    “For over 150 years, Canada has been a trusted friend and close ally of the United States. Our countries are deeply entwined and our economies are fully integrated. This is made all the more evident by the substantial volume of trade and investment between our nations. In 2023, the U.S. and Canada traded nearly $1 trillion in goods and services. Together, we share the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world, which supports 8 million U.S. jobs. Each day, nearly $2.6 billion worth of goods and services cross the U.S.-Canada border, including critical energy resources,” the Delegation wrote.
    They continued in the letter, “Maine shares a special and interconnected relationship with Canada. According to the Maine International Trade Center, Maine and Canada exchanged over $6 billion in two-way trade last year. This trade propels manufacturing and production in the state, which in turn provides over 60,000 good-paying jobs – from the development of our high-quality products to their transportation. Further, Canada has supplied the oil that Maine people rely on to heat their homes on cold winter nights and the jet fuel and diesel that supports the Air National Guard Base in Bangor.”
    “Given the deeply integrated nature of our economies, any tariffs on imports from Canada – and any retaliatory measures by Canada in response – may raise prices on gasoline, energy, groceries, and much more,” the Delegation concluded. “We acknowledge that targeted and strategic tariffs can be an important tool to address unfair trade practices. However, small businesses and families in Maine and across the country will be caught in the middle during a time when so many are struggling to put food on the table and keep the lights on. Ultimately, it is our hope that the Trump Administration is able to work collaboratively with Canada to address issues of shared concern and foster economic cooperation, rather than engage in a tit-for-tat trade war.”
    The United States and Canada share the world’s longest international border, spanning 5,525 miles with 120 land ports-of-entry. The bilateral and international U.S.-Canada alliance is built upon shared interests in the areas of economic stability and trade, sustainability, energy and critical mineral supply chain, and national security. The two countries share a $1 trillion trade and investment relationship, supporting more than seven million jobs.
    The full text of the letter can be found here and below.
    +++
    Dear Secretary Lutnick and Ambassador Greer:
    Over the years, we have been privileged to gain a unique view of the important economic partnership that the United States has with Canada from my border state of Maine. As you consider the implementation of tariffs on imports from Canada, we want to share our view of how these tariffs will impact families and business in Maine and across the country.
    For over 150 years, Canada has been a trusted friend and close ally of the United States. Our countries are deeply entwined and our economies are fully integrated. This is made all the more evident by the substantial volume of trade and investment between our nations. In 2023, the U.S. and Canada traded nearly $1 trillion in goods and services. Together, we share the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world, which supports 8 million U.S. jobs. Each day, nearly $2.6 billion worth of goods and services cross the U.S.-Canada border, including critical energy resources.
    Maine shares a special and interconnected relationship with Canada. According to the Maine International Trade Center, Maine and Canada exchanged over $6 billion in two-way trade last year. This trade propels manufacturing and production in the state, which in turn provides over 60,000 good-paying jobs – from the development of our high-quality products to their transportation. Further, Canada has supplied the oil that Maine people rely on to heat their homes on cold winter nights and the jet fuel and diesel that supports the Air National Guard Base in Bangor.
    Given the deeply integrated nature of our economies, any tariffs on imports from Canada – and any retaliatory measures by Canada in response – may raise prices on gasoline, energy, groceries, and much more. We acknowledge that targeted and strategic tariffs can be an important tool to address unfair trade practices. However, small businesses and families in Maine and across the country will be caught in the middle during a time when so many are struggling to put food on the table and keep the lights on. Ultimately, it is our hope that the Trump Administration is able to work collaboratively with Canada to address issues of shared concern and foster economic cooperation, rather than engage in a tit-for-tat trade war.
    Thank you for your attention to this matter. We stand willing and ready to work with you to ensure that the relationship between our countries continues to be mutually beneficial.
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Appointments to the Board of the International Fund for Ireland

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    News story

    Appointments to the Board of the International Fund for Ireland

    The Irish and UK Governments have today announced new appointments to the Board of the International Fund for Ireland.

    Earlier today, the Irish and United Kingdom Governments announced new appointments to the Board of the International Fund for Ireland.

    The appointments are:

    • Ms Shona McCarthy, Chair
    • Ms Janet McConkey,
    • Ms Katy Hayward,
    • Ms Anne Conaghan
    • Ms Anne Carr,
    • Ms Angila Chada,
    • Mr Bill Pauley,

    In announcing these appointments, the two governments expressed their very warm appreciation for the services given by the outgoing Board Members whose term of office had ended. Particular thanks are due to Mr Paddy Harte who has shown exceptional leadership of the Board through his service as Chairman during the past six years.

    Notes to Editors

    The International Fund for Ireland is an international organisation established by the Irish and British Governments in 1986 with the objectives of promoting economic and social advance and of encouraging contact, dialogue and reconciliation between Unionists and Nationalists throughout Ireland. Contributors to the Fund have included the United States of America, the European Union, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Irish and UK Governments. Ms Anne Carr and Ms Anne Conaghan, who were Members of the previous Board, have been re- appointed for a further term.

    Updates to this page

    Published 3 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Microsoft Dragon Copilot provides the healthcare industry’s first AI assistant for clinical workflow

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Microsoft Dragon Copilot provides the healthcare industry’s first AI assistant for clinical workflow

    By combining and extending the proven capabilities of Dragon Medical One (DMO) and DAX Copilot (DAX), Dragon Copilot promotes clinician well-being, increases efficiency, improves patient experiences and drives financial impact

    REDMOND, Wash. — March 3, 2025 — On Monday, Microsoft Corp. is unveiling Microsoft Dragon Copilot, the first AI assistant for clinical workflow that brings together the trusted natural language voice dictation capabilities of DMO with the ambient listening capabilities of DAX, fine-tuned generative AI and healthcare-adapted safeguards. Part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, Dragon Copilot is built on a secure modern architecture that enables organizations to deliver enhanced experiences and outcomes across care settings for providers and patients alike.

    Clinician burnout in the U.S. dropped from 53% in 2023 to 48% in 2024, in part due to technology advancements. However, with an aging population, and persistent burnout felt across the profession, a significant U.S. workforce shortage is projected. In response, health systems are adopting AI to streamline administrative tasks, enhance care access, and enable faster clinical insights to improve healthcare globally.

    “At Microsoft, we have long believed that AI has the incredible potential to free clinicians from much of the administrative burden in healthcare and enable them to refocus on taking care of patients,” said Joe Petro, corporate vice president of Microsoft Health and Life Sciences Solutions and Platforms. “With the launch of our new Dragon Copilot, we are introducing the first unified voice AI experience to the market, drawing on our trusted, decades-long expertise that has consistently enhanced provider wellness and improved clinical and financial outcomes for provider organizations and the patients they serve.”

    “With Dragon Copilot, we’re not just enhancing how we work in the EHR — we’re tapping into a Microsoft-powered ecosystem where AI assistance extends across our organization, delivering a consistent and intelligent experience everywhere we work,” said Dr. R. Hal Baker, senior vice president and chief digital and chief information officer, WellSpan Health. “It’s this ability to enhance the patient experience while streamlining clinician workflows that makes Dragon Copilot such a game-changer.”

    Dragon Copilot combines DMO’s speech capabilities, which has helped clinicians document billions of patient records, and DAX’s ambient AI technology, which has assisted over 3 million ambient patient conversations across 600 healthcare organizations in the past month alone. With these ambient AI capabilities, organizations have already realized significant outcomes, with clinicians reporting five minutes saved per encounter,[1] 70% of clinicians reporting reduced feelings of burnout and fatigue,[2] 62% of clinicians stating they are less likely to leave their organization,[3] while 93% of patients report a better overall experience.[4]

    Key features of Dragon Copilot allow clinicians and other care providers across specialties to:

    • Streamline documentation: Clinicians can take advantage of multilanguage ambient note creation, automated tasks and multilanguage support, personalized style and formatting, natural language dictation capabilities, speech memos, editing, customized texts, templates, AI prompts, and more in one singular user interface.
    • Surface information: The embedded AI assistant functionality allows clinicians to conduct general-purpose medical information searches from trusted content sources.
    • Automate tasks: New capabilities allow clinicians to automate key tasks, such as conversational orders, note and clinical evidence summaries, referral letters, and after-visit summaries, in one centralized workspace.

    Clinicians working across ambulatory, inpatient, emergency departments and other care settings will benefit from Dragon Copilot’s fast, accurate, secure and intuitive speech and ambient capabilities to document care, navigate electronic health record (EHR) workflows, and perform other administrative tasks. Dragon Copilot will be generally available in the U.S. and Canada in May, followed by the U.K., Germany, France and the Netherlands. Microsoft is also committed to bringing a new Dragon experience to other key markets using Dragon Medical today.

    “We are aware of the administrative burnout affecting our clinicians, and the need for improved care access for our patients, and the newest evolution of Dragon represents a significant step forward in alleviating this strain,” said Glen Kearns, EVP and CIO, The Ottawa Hospital. “We are thrilled to be one of the first customers in Canada to use Microsoft’s ambient and generative AI technology. The newest evolution of Dragon Copilot could help alleviate documentation burden for our clinical teams.”

    With Microsoft’s extensive healthcare industry partner ecosystem, healthcare organizations can unlock more value from Dragon Copilot by accessing new solutions and integrated offerings. These partners include leading EHR providers, independent software vendors, system integrators and cloud service providers that each play a unique role in enabling organizations to deliver meaningful outcomes using the Dragon Copilot solution.

    Embracing AI innovations with a secure data estate and responsible AI

    Dragon’s new capabilities are built on a secure data estate and incorporate healthcare-specific clinical, chat and compliance safeguards for accurate and safe AI outputs. They also align to Microsoft’s responsible AI principles to help guide AI development and use —transparency, reliability and safety, fairness, inclusiveness, accountability, privacy, and security. We remain committed to developing responsible AI by design and ensuring that these technologies positively impact both the healthcare ecosystem and broader society and will share our learnings on this journey with our customers.

    For more information on Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, please visit the Microsoft health and life sciences press site here. For more information on Dragon Copilot, click here or visit us at booth #2221 at HIMSS.

    Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI available broadly and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

    For more information, press only:

    Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications, (425) 638-7777,
    [email protected]

    Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit Microsoft Source at https://news.microsoft.com/source. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts.

    [1] Microsoft survey of 879 clinicians across 340 healthcare organizations using DAX Copilot; July 2024

    [2] Microsoft survey of 879 clinicians across 340 healthcare organizations using DAX Copilot; July 2024

    [3] Microsoft survey of 879 clinicians across 340 healthcare organizations using DAX Copilot; July 2024

    [4] Survey of 413 patients conducted by multiple healthcare organizations whose clinicians use DAX Copilot; June 2024

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: March Proclaimed as Agriculture Literacy Month in Saskatchewan

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on March 3, 2025

    Agriculture Literacy Month has been proclaimed in Saskatchewan, providing an opportunity for students in schools around the province to connect with agriculture through various presentations led by industry volunteers. 

    Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month (CALM) will be celebrated for the entire month of March.

    “Connecting our youth to Saskatchewan agriculture, and increasing their understanding and appreciation of it, is an important component of strengthening the entire sector in many ways,” Agriculture Minister Daryl Harrison said. “Presentations from industry experts help educate children about what goes into producing the high-quality food that our province is renowned for and what that means to all of us.”

    This year’s theme is “Saskatchewan Agriculture: How Food Connects the World” and will see industry volunteers from all levels of food production join classrooms to engage with nearly 7,000 students to share presentations and personal experiences to help them learn more about agriculture.

    “Providing students with learning experiences that connect them to Saskatchewan’s agricultural industry is important in building their knowledge and appreciation for where our food comes from,” Education Minister Everett Hindley said. “Agriculture Literacy Month provides an opportunity for students to learn directly from industry experts, helping to deepen their understanding of the impact of agriculture on our communities.”

    Agriculture in the Classroom, an important and well-established advocate for the industry in Saskatchewan, is providing 140 volunteers to assist with presentations throughout the month.

    “Volunteers are vital to the success of Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month,” Agriculture in the Classroom Saskatchewan Executive Director Sara Shymko said. “Sessions with students will feature passionate farmers and industry professionals who generously share their stories, which cultivates a stronger appreciation for the agricultural landscape.”

    For more information about CALM activities in Saskatchewan, please visit: https://aitc.sk.ca/programs/canadian-agriculture-literacy-month-calm.

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    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Government of Saskatchewan will be well Represented at Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada Convention in Toronto

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on March 3, 2025

    Energy and Resources Minister Colleen Young, along with representatives from the Government of Saskatchewan, are in Toronto, Ontario this week for the annual Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention. Over the four-day convention, PDAC will bring together almost 30,000 attendees from over 135 countries.  

    The Ministry of Energy and Resources will be joined at PDAC by the Ministry of Trade and Export Development and the Saskatchewan Research Council. Together they will host a pavilion at the convention trade show. The pavilion is an excellent opportunity for both national and international delegates to speak with government officials about the opportunities for mining, developments in geoscience and investment in Saskatchewan. 

    “For over 30 years the Government of Saskatchewan has attended PDAC and since that time we have grown our presence and our outreach efforts,” Young said. “PDAC truly is an excellent opportunity to build relationships and grow Saskatchewan’s mining sector. PDAC is one of the world’s premier mineral exploration and mining events. I look forward to meeting with current partners and potential investors while I am in Toronto.”

    In addition to the Saskatchewan booth, PDAC provides learning and networking opportunities for attendees. Government officials will also be meeting with investors and stakeholders on site. As Canada’s largest mining convention, and one of the world’s largest mining and exploring events, PDAC provides an excellent opportunity for the province to showcase Saskatchewan as a key player in the industry and an open and attractive place to invest in.  

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    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Prime Minister announces Dennis King as Canada’s next Ambassador to Ireland

    Source: Government of Canada – Prime Minister

    The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced that Dennis King has been appointed as Canada’s next Ambassador to Ireland.

    Mr. King is a proud Islander with a proven track record of public service. As Premier of Prince Edward Island, he helped drive progress on key priorities such as health care, education, economic development, and job creation. He also navigated the province through significant challenges, including natural disasters and the COVID‑19 pandemic.

    Canada and Ireland are close friends and partners. As Ambassador, Mr. King will advance our shared priorities, including strengthening transatlantic security, growing our economies, reducing emissions, expanding trade and investment, and building a better future for people on both sides of the Atlantic.

    Quote

    “I congratulate Dennis King on his appointment as Canada’s Ambassador to Ireland. With his years of experience in public service, including as the Premier of Prince Edward Island, I am confident that he will serve Canada well and make the strong partnership between our two countries even stronger.”

    Quick Facts

    • Canada is represented in Ireland by an embassy in Dublin. In Canada, Ireland is represented by an embassy in Ottawa and consulates in Vancouver and Toronto.
    • Over 4.4 million Canadians, or 12 per cent of the population, claim at least partial Irish ancestry, making Irish the third-largest ethnic group in Canada.

    Biographical Note

    Associated Link

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: Undersea Warriors: NATO Demonstrates Deep Collaboration in Anti-Submarine Warfare During Exercise Dynamic Manta 25

    Source: United States Navy

    Dynamic Manta builds on the success of previous iterations, incorporating new tactics, technologies and operational insights, ensuring NATO’s forces remain at the forefront of undersea warfare. The exercise prepares NATO submarine crews to respond and adapt to any type of threat below the surface.

    Hosted by Italy, the exercise was planned by NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) based in Northwood, UK. Commander Submarines NATO, US Navy Rear Admiral Bret Grabbe, said this is the largest and most complex submarine exercise to take place in the Mediterranean Sea.

    “Exercises like Dynamic Manta help NATO maintain the edge when it comes to anti-submarine warfare,” he said. “By practising coordinated operations against both conventional and advanced undersea threats, NATO continues to demonstrate its commitment to safeguarding the strategic waterways that connect member states.”

    For only the third time since the exercise began in 2013, submarine assets will also work with Allied maritime Special Operations Forces (SOF), consolidating interoperability with this critical asset. The capability of Allied SOF teams to cooperate with Allied submarines from different nations represents a force multiplier for NATO. For this iteration of the exercise, a Greek SOF team will make a landing from an Italian submarine to conduct its mission.

    The aim of Dynamic Manta is to provide all participants with complex and challenging warfare training to enhance interoperability and proficiency in anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare skills. Each participating unit will have the opportunity to conduct a variety of submarine warfare operations. The submarines will take turns hunting and being hunted, closely coordinating their efforts with the air and surface participants.

    The exercise plan to involve units, sailors and airmen from nine NATO nations.

    The submarines belong to the navies of France, Greece, Italy, Türkiye and the United States, with NATO Submarine Command (COMSUBNATO) exercising operational control on several, as required by the exercise scenario.

    Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) from Canada, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States are also planning to take part, alongside Maritime Patrol Helicopters (MPH) from France, Italy and the US, supported by surface ships from Greece, Italy, Spain, Türkiye and the US.

    Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) is taking part, commanded by Turkish Navy Rear Admiral H. Ilker Avci.

    As the host nation, Italy is providing support in Catania and Augusta Harbors, the naval helicopter base in Catania, Naval Air Station Sigonella, as well as support from Augusta Naval Base.

    Representing Italy during the exercise as the host nation guest is Rear Adm. Alberto Tarabotto, Commanding Officer, 4th Naval Division.

    There are two sister ASW training events as part of NATO’s continuous submarine warfare training and cooperation.  Exercise Dynamic Mongoose which takes place in the cold waters of the North Atlantic, and Playbook Merlin which takes place in the shallow waters of the Baltic Sea.

    Dynamic Manta is one of nearly a dozen MARCOM-led maritime exercises held each year in addition to numerous national exercises, which increase readiness in defense of the Alliance.

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