NewzIntel.com

Category: DJF

  • MIL-OSI Africa: President Ramaphosa urges US business to invest in SA’s growing economy

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on US businesses to deepen their investment ties with South Africa, highlighting the country’s renewed focus on economic recovery and structural reform. 

    Speaking at the SA-US Interactive Business Forum in New York on Monday, the President emphasised the progress made under South Africa’s Government of National Unity (GNU) and the vast opportunities available to foreign investors.

    He said this is a “timely intervention”, referencing his first visit to the US since South Africa’s general elections in May, which led to a coalition government of political parties committed to inclusive growth and job creation.

    “The advent of the Government of National Unity has renewed investor optimism in the South African economy. The message I bring to US investors today is that this optimism is well-placed. 

    “South Africa is firmly on the road to recovery, and we invite you to be part of this journey. Investments in South Africa are secure. Our business environment is stable. This is supported policy certainty and regulatory safeguards,” the President said. 

    He added that South Africa intends to stay the course on the structural economic reform process, on scaling up investment in key infrastructure, and on improving the business operating environment.

    The President noted South Africa’s success in attracting investment, revealing that the country had achieved its target of raising R1.2 trillion (approximately USD 63.6 billion) ahead of schedule in 2022. 

     “We have announced a new target of approximately R2 trillion or approximately USD 100 billion over the next five-year period up to 2028. 

    “The far-reaching structural reforms we have implemented over the past six years have opened up the country to increased levels of investment that continues to grow,” the President said. 

    Ramaphosa particularly underscored the potential in the clean energy sector, which has attracted significant investment, supporting South Africa’s commitment to decarbonisation and energy security. 

    “We are equally committed to a Just Energy Transition that is inclusive, that take our developmental needs into account, and that leaves no community behind. 

    “We have a supportive and enabling industrial policy that incorporates amongst others expanding the special economic zones, driving export-led growth, and harnessing the potential of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area or AfCFTA. In January 2024 we began preferential trading under the AfCFTA,” he said. 

    The President emphasised that the Government of National Unity is furthermore committed to prudent monetary and fiscal policy and to strengthening regulatory and legislative frameworks to combat corruption.

    The President also highlighted the importance of strategic partnerships with US businesses, especially in sectors like advanced manufacturing, energy, healthcare, and infrastructure. 

    “South Africa and Africa is ripe for investment in financial services, advanced manufacturing, energy, healthcare, infrastructure development, mining, science and technology and other sectors. South Africa is also developing the value chains of the future.

    “With substantial reserves of critical energy transition minerals, we are positioning ourselves to be at the forefront of the green energy revolution,” he said. 

    He added that as the country with the world’s largest platinum group metal reserves, South Africa has a competitive advantage when it comes to the production of sustainable energy technologies, including electric vehicles, new energy vehicles and renewable energy components.

    President Ramaphosa praised the collaboration between the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), following the 2022 Memorandum of Understanding. He stated that the partnership between the two stock exchanges “promotes cross-border investment and drives economic growth on a global scale.”

    The President further highlighted the US as one of South Africa’s most valued trade partners, noting that bilateral trade totalled USD 17.6 billion in 2022. 

    He also praised the impact of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in fostering trade and creating jobs in sectors like automotive, agriculture, and precious metals.

    With Africa’s population expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, President Ramaphosa painted a bright picture of the continent’s economic prospects, noting that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) would “drive a wave of industrialisation and create dynamic regional value chains.”

    “This too presents opportunities for US businesses and investors, and opens up new markets for their goods, products and services. 

    “Mutually beneficial trade and investment not only unlocks the dynamism and potential of an entire continent. It will also aid Africa’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” the President said. 

    In closing, President Ramaphosa reassured investors of the stability and security of investments in South Africa. 

    “South Africa is open for business. Sustainable and inclusive growth spurs development and creates jobs.

    “Together, we can forge a path to shared success and progress, leveraging our combined strengths to achieve enduring prosperity for our people,” the President said. – SAnews.gov.za

     

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Global: A brief history of former presidents running for reelection: 3 losses, 1 win and 1 still TBD

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Graeme Mack, Visiting Assistant Professor of History, University of Richmond

    Theodore Roosevelt speaks during the Progressive campaign of 1912. AP Photo

    This year’s presidential election has a former president, Donald Trump, running for a nonconsecutive term. It’s the fifth time in U.S. history that’s happened.

    Historically, a former president running for a nonconsecutive term has prompted voters to change their party allegiances.

    In 1848, Martin Van Buren, a former Democratic president, ran as a candidate for the newly formed Free Soil Party and attracted many Northern Democrats who had grown disillusioned with their party’s pro-slavery stance. The Free Soil Party outperformed Democrats in three Northern states and enabled the other major party, the Whigs, to win the presidency.

    And in 1856, former Whig President Millard Fillmore headed the newly formed American Party, otherwise known as the Know-Nothing party. When faced with a choice between two candidates, Fillmore and Democrat James Buchanan, who both seemed deeply complicit with slavery’s expansion, many Northerners voted for the new antislavery Republican Party.

    Fillmore’s candidacy in 1856 made a Republican sweep of the North virtually impossible, ensuring victory for Buchanan, who only won 45% of the popular vote.

    Theodore Roosevelt’s run in 1912 also saw dramatic changes in voter behavior. With the former president on the ballot, millions of voters cast ballots for the other major party or a brand new party.

    By this time, Roosevelt had become one of the most famous men in the world. Reformers praised his ability to attract attention and build support for progressive causes.

    These characteristics repulsed conservative Republicans and traditional Democrats who feared Roosevelt’s return to power.

    After failing to secure the Republican nomination, Roosevelt headed the newly formed Progressive Party, winning six states and 88 electoral votes, the strongest showing for a third party candidate ever.

    However, the split in the Republican ranks enabled Democrats to win by an electoral landslide.

    One former president ran for a nonconsecutive second term and won: Grover Cleveland, whose two terms ran from 1885-1889 and 1893-1897.

    The rise of progressivism

    When Roosevelt ran in 1912, he saw a society convulsed by rapid change.

    Between 1870 and 1900, the population of the United States rose from roughly 38 million to more than 76 million.

    During this time, business transformed from small-scale manufacturing and local trade to huge corporations and factory-based manufacturing.

    From 1900 to 1915, another 15 million immigrants settled in American cities.

    A political reform movement known as progressivism emerged across political parties. It sought to address problems with immigration, urbanization, political corruption, industrialization and the concentration of corporate power.

    Roosevelt’s political career tapped into progressivism’s growing momentum. First elected vice president as a Republican in 1900, he assumed the presidency in September 1901 after the assassination of President William McKinley.

    Campaigning on his progressive “Square Deal” — focused on consumer protections, control of large corporations and conservation of natural resources — in 1904, the popular incumbent won reelection in the largest electoral landslide the country had seen.

    But in 1908, Roosevelt declined to run for a third term. Instead, he advocated successfully for William Howard Taft, his secretary of war.

    However, as Taft’s presidency took shape, Roosevelt grew dissatisfied with him. What most frustrated Roosevelt was Taft’s refusal to use executive power to advance progressive goals.

    Seeing an urgent need for forceful presidential leadership, Roosevelt challenged Taft for the Republican nomination in 1912.

    A political cartoon from 1912 illustrating Theodore Roosevelt’s dissatisfaction with how President William Howard Taft carried out his policies.
    Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

    At the Republican National Convention, however, party leaders rejected Roosevelt and confirmed Taft’s nomination. Roosevelt’s supporters stormed out, complaining that leaders had manipulated rules and procedures to block the former president.

    Despite his loss of the nomination, Roosevelt assured his supporters that he felt as “strong as a Bull Moose” and expressed interest in “bolting” from the Republican Party.

    Roosevelt’s threat to leave his party was echoed more than 100 years later by another former president running for a nonconsecutive term. In late 2023, Trump refused to participate in the Republican presidential primary debates and refused to rule out the possibility of running as an independent.

    In doing so, Trump’s candidacy hampered efforts to seek an alternative candidate. It also disregarded opportunities to win over skeptical Republicans.

    The rise of the Bull Moose Party

    In a matter of weeks after Roosevelt failed to get the Republican nomination, the Progressive Party, popularly known as the Bull Moose Party, held its national convention and nominated Roosevelt as its first presidential candidate.

    His presidential campaign did not lack for energy or spectacle. In October 1912, the former president delivered a one-hour speech immediately after being shot in an assassination attempt.

    He told his supporters, “It takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose.”

    Theodore Roosevelt arrives at a hospital after New York saloon keeper John F. Schrank attempted to assassinate him in Milwaukee in 1912.
    Harlingue/Roger Viollet via Getty Images

    Like the recent assassination attempts on Trump, this attack drew condemnation and galvanized the former president’s core supporters.

    Roosevelt faced off on Election Day against the Republican incumbent, William Howard Taft; Eugene V. Debs, the Socialist Party candidate; and the Democratic candidate, Woodrow Wilson.

    Many Republicans cast their ballots for Wilson, seeing his candidacy as more viable than Roosevelt’s. Some did so out of disgust for what they saw as Roosevelt’s egotistical and radical campaign.

    The split in the Republican Party created an opportunity for Democrats, who had been shut out of the presidency for decades.

    The legacy of 1912

    On election day, Democrat Wilson won 40 states and earned 435 electoral votes. Democrats also won the House and Senate for the first time since 1892.

    However, Wilson prevailed with less than 42% of the national vote, the smallest share won by a president since Abraham Lincoln’s 1860 election.

    A unified Republican ticket would very likely have prevailed in 1912.

    Taft blamed Roosevelt for 1 million Republicans voting for the Democratic ticket to stave off a Progressive win.

    Historical parallels are never perfect. However, the 1912 election invites some comparison, as one of the world’s most famous men runs for the third time for the presidency.

    The 2024 election will be close. Wary of Trump’s return to power, will disillusioned Republicans vote for Democratic Party nominee Kamala Harris, choose a third-party candidate, or sit out the election?

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

    – ref. A brief history of former presidents running for reelection: 3 losses, 1 win and 1 still TBD – https://theconversation.com/a-brief-history-of-former-presidents-running-for-reelection-3-losses-1-win-and-1-still-tbd-234959

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: No, immigrants aren’t eating dogs and cats – but Trump’s claim is part of an ugly history of myths about immigrant foodways

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Adrienne Bitar, Lecturer, Cornell University

    Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump debates Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Sept. 10, 2024. Win McNamee/Getty Images

    When Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said during the presidential debate on Sept. 10, 2024, that Haitian immigrants are eating pets, food historians like me were not surprised at the slur. Trump’s lie followed a long American history of peddling ugly rumors about immigrants stealing and eating pets.

    Dietary rules that unite and define American cuisine can so easily be perverted to use disgust to divide Americans. In the U.S., cow is food and dog is friend. Chicken is food. Cat is companion. The sharp lines between the animals Americans eat, love, protect and exterminate help write the dietary rules that define American norms.

    What we eat, what we don’t and with whom we break bread are just some of the food rules that unite and define Americans. Think of how turkey – or tofurkey – unites Americans behind the Thanksgiving ritual. Bottled water. Ice. Ballpark hot dogs. Airplane pretzels. Movie theater popcorn.

    Food can also establish group identity apart from the mainstream. Think of the many factions of vegan, vegetarian, paleo, grain-free and carnivore dieters who use food to express a political position. Also, of course, religious dietary proscriptions have worried scholars for centuries so that Jews, Muslims and Christians may never share a meal.

    There is no evidence that Haitians are stealing and eating pet cats and dogs. There is evidence, however, that racists have long twisted dietary rules to divide people and dehumanize immigrants. Trump told a lie to draw a line between Americans and others who allegedly eat the animals Americans love.

    A sign at a popular hot dog restaurant in Chicago reads ‘Immigrants eat our dogs,’ on Sept. 12, 2024, two days after the presidential debate.
    Scott Olson/Getty Images

    The legend of delicious pets

    The myth of eating pets traces back to old legends in Europe, Australia and the United States that “immigrants are stealing our cats and dogs for their dinner tables or to serve in ethnic restaurants,” writes the folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand.

    Two of the most common food-based legends center on “Oriental restaurants serving dog (or cat) meat, and legends about Asian immigrants in the United States capturing and cooking people’s pets,” Brunvard writes.

    By 1883, the legend was so well-established that the Chinese-American journalist Wong Chin Foo offered US$500 to anybody in New York for proof that Chinese people were eating cats or rats. No proof was found, but that didn’t stop the racist jokes or urban legends.

    None of the many examples deserve retelling. But scholars, for example, have cited “sick jokes” such as a “new Vietnamese cookbook is titled 100 Ways to Wok Your Dog.”

    Or as comedian Tessie Chua joked about her multiracial Chinese, Filipino and Irish identity in 1993 when she said, “That means I eat dog, but only if I can wash it down with Guinness Stout!”

    In 1971, mainstream news outlets, including Reuters, reported an “outrageously silly urban legend” of a pet poodle named Rosa served at a Hong Kong restaurant, complete with chili sauce and bamboo shoots.

    In 1980, Stockton, California, was seized by racist rumors of Vietnamese families stealing expensive purebred dogs for dinner.

    As recently as 2005, the TV show “Curb Your Enthusiasm” showed wedding
    guests vomiting     after being misinformed that they had eaten a German shepherd named Oscar, prepared by a Korean-American florist. “Oscar is bulgogi!,” Larry David cries.

    Scholars calls these tropes a “nativist backlash” and “vehicle for anti-immigrant and especially anti-Asian sentiments in the U.S.”

    A long history of food-based slurs

    More precise, maybe, than the adage that “we are what we eat” is that we are what we won’t eat. Shunning our neighbor for their vile food – stinky, strange, unpalatable – is also decidedly an American tradition.

    “Garlic eater” was at one time recognizable in the U.S. as an ethnic slur for Italian Americans in the early 20th century. The names “spaghetti bender” and “grape stomper” were also used, but “garlic eater” stuck because, as one scholar argued, “garlic served as an ‘olfactory signifier’” – a distinguishing odor – “for the alien who consumed it.”

    So when far-right radical Laura Loomer tweeted in September 2024 that the White House “will smell like curry” if Kamala Harris becomes president, she was also using food to stoke racist fears.

    Americans aren’t alone in doing this. Some Persians call Punjabis “dal khor,” meaning dal-eater, and some Romanians call Italians “macaronar,” meaning macaroni-eater. Both are slurs. Iranians have been known to call Arabs “malakh-khor,” or locust-eater, and Southern Italians sometimes call Northern Italians “polentoni,” or polenta-eater.

    To an outsider, being called a lentil- or polenta-eater seems more like praise for a healthy diet than a racial epithet, but such are the vagaries of racism: People hate who they hate and justify it however possible.

    Other examples of how food can distinguish communities abound. In the Amazon, the Parakanã people appreciate tapir meat but abhor monkey. The Arara people, their neighbors, feel the opposite. Both groups are disgusted by one another. Curry, garlic, tapir, polenta, lentils – it doesn’t matter what the nail is, but how the hammer hits.

    Philomene Philostin, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Haitian origin, works in her store in Springfield, Ohio, that caters mainly to Haitian residents.
    Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

    Rumors with real-life consequences

    Urban legends about food and racist rumors can have serious consequences. Earlier in 2024, a false rumor that a Laotian and Thai restaurant in Fresno, California, cooked pit bulls led to such vile harassment that the owner, David Rasavong, moved the restaurant to a new location.

    After Trump repeated the myth during the debate that immigrants eat pets, Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, quickly became the target of bomb threats, forcing city buildings and schools to close. Members of the Haitian community have said they fear for their safety.

    But there’s a more hopeful side to the issue of food being used as a way to divide or unite people, too. The Latin origins for the words company and companionship mean the people we share our bread with.

    Garlic is now as central to American cuisine as apple pie. Nowadays, Americans are so much the better for the sushi, garlic and curry – and the diversity behind the deliciousness – that flavor American cuisine.

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

    – ref. No, immigrants aren’t eating dogs and cats – but Trump’s claim is part of an ugly history of myths about immigrant foodways – https://theconversation.com/no-immigrants-arent-eating-dogs-and-cats-but-trumps-claim-is-part-of-an-ugly-history-of-myths-about-immigrant-foodways-239343

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Klobuchar Announces Major Funding for Polar Semiconductor’s Bloomington Manufacturing Facility

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn)
    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee, announced the U.S. Department of Commerce is awarding Polar Semiconductor $123 million in federal funding as part of the CHIPS and Science Act to expand its Bloomington manufacturing facility. Polar is the first company in the country to move from a preliminary agreement to the award stage. The funding will go toward expanding and modernizing the company’s manufacturing facility in Bloomington, doubling the company’s U.S. production capacity and creating new manufacturing and construction jobs in Minnesota. 
    “America must stay on the cutting edge of manufacturing to maintain our economic edge on the world stage. This landmark federal investment in Polar Semiconductor’s Bloomington facility is a major step toward strengthening domestic production of advanced semiconductors,” said Klobuchar. “I worked closely with Polar Semiconductor to secure this grant and ensure Minnesota continues to be a premier destination for business investment.”
    Polar produces high-voltage semiconductors for use in automotive, commercial and industrial applications at its 310,000-square-foot facility in Bloomington. The company produces 21,000 wafer semiconductors per month. 
    Klobuchar voted to pass the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen domestic semiconductor production and boost American competitiveness and innovation. The CHIPS and Science Act is providing significant resources to: 
    Help companies build, expand, or modernize domestic facilities and equipment for semiconductor production;
    Kickstart development of the domestic semiconductor workforce and address near-term labor shortages;
    Make the largest five-year investment in public research and development in the nation’s history, including in critical technologies such as artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, as well as boosting STEM education and regional technology hubs.
    In June 2023, Klobuchar hosted a roundtable discussion and press conference at Normandale Community College in Bloomington with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to discuss the CHIPS and Science Act and how it can benefit Minnesota companies and workers. Polar Semiconductor VP of Business and Technology Development Rajesh Appat attended the roundtable.   
    In August 2022, Klobuchar held a press conference in Bloomington with executives from leading U.S.-based semiconductor designers and manufacturers with operations or headquarters in Minnesota to highlight how the CHIPS and Science Act will strengthen American economic competitiveness and spur innovation. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: On the US-Mexico border, the records of Trump and Harris reflect the national mood of less immigration, not more

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By William McCorkle, Assistant Professor of Education, College of Charleston

    Migrants at a shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, watch the first presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Sept. 10, 2024. Carlos Moreno/NurPhoto/Getty Image

    In late July 2024, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris released a campaign ad about the U.S.-Mexico border that resembled something out of the Republican playbook.

    In the ad, Harris said as president she would increase Border Patrol agents, stop human traffickers and prosecute transnational gangs – some of the very things that Republican contender Donald Trump has also promised to do if elected.

    Considered by her campaign strategists to be a good political move, Harris’ shift to the right reflects the more anti-immigrant direction the U.S. population has taken over the past few years. According to a July 2024 Gallup Poll, 55% of Americans wanted increased limits on immigration, marking the first time in nearly two decades that a majority of Americans supported such curbs.

    These anti-immigrant attitudes are partially due to exaggerated claims from conservative politicians and right-wing pundits that management of the U.S.-Mexico border is a disaster and the government is endangering public safety by allowing violent criminals to cross into the U.S.

    Worse, during the presidential debate on Sept. 10, 2024, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump falsely accused Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, of eating dogs and cats.

    As someone who has worked extensively with asylum-seekers at the border since 2019, I see clear differences between Harris and Trump on the issue of immigration.

    While in office, Trump instituted restrictive immigration policies at the border, which all but halted asylum. He also was behind the controversial child separation policy in 2018 and sought to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, the Obama-era federal program that prevents hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children from being deported.

    Though Harris’ record on immigration is not as extensive as Trump’s, she has shown as U.S. senator and vice president a willingness to be more restrictive on the border while continuing to support a pathway to citizenship for “Dreamers” and undocumented migrants who are married to U.S. citizens.

    Trump’s extremist rhetoric and policies

    Given that border security has become his signature issue, Trump may take even more draconian measures than he did during his first term in office, including restricting the asylum system further and deporting as many as 20 million undocumented immigrants.

    Perhaps Trump’s most controversial action during his first term was his child separation policy in 2018, which led to over 5,000 children being taken from their parents after being apprehended at the border. This action led to nationwide protests and international condemnation. As of May 2024, about 1,400 children remained separated from their families.

    Undaunted, Trump pursued other restrictive policies.

    Trump signed an executive order in 2019 and launched the Migrant Protection Protocols, better known as the Remain in Mexico policy. This order required asylum-seekers arriving at the U.S. border to be returned to Mexico while their claims were being processed. This program stayed in effect until the end of Trump’s presidency in 2020 and led to 81,000 expulsions.

    Trump also used Title 42 restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic to quickly expel migrants without visas to contain the pandemic with no exceptions. In the first seven months, almost 200,000 migrants were expelled.

    Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in Arizona about immigration on Aug. 22, 2024.
    Olivier Touron/AFP/Getty Images

    Notably, the use of violent rhetoric against migrants increased dramatically during Trump’s emergence as the GOP leader. In his first term, Trump and his officials discussed shooting migrants crossing the border in the leg. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, one of his key allies, said the reason officials there do not shoot migrants is because they would be charged by the federal government.

    Trump has also promised he would be willing to use the U.S. military in Mexico to combat drug cartels.

    Harris’ balancing act

    As a U.S. senator in 2019, Harris voted against an anti-sanctuary city amendment that would have allowed local police to cooperate with federal immigration officials and potentially deport immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

    She was also the initial sponsor of legislation that would limit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions against those caring for unaccompanied minors. But as attorney general of California, Harris did support turning over to immigration authorities minors living in the U.S. illegally who had committed crimes.

    As vice president, Harris has appeared to support a more restrictive approach similar to that of Biden‘s June 4, 2024, executive order that limited the number of asylum-seekers allowed to cross the border.

    She also supports the CBP One app system that was created by the Biden administration in early 2023.

    Under that process, individuals seeking asylum are given an opportunity to meet with an immigration official but often have to wait for months in dangerous conditions in Mexico.

    U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris holds a virtual meeting with immigrant rights leaders on July 22, 2021.
    Win McNamee/Getty Images

    Harris has also consistently spoken out on the need to support DACA. The Biden administration expanded health care coverage in 2024 for DACA recipients, giving them access to insurance through the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.

    If elected, Harris likely would extend another of Biden’s 2024 executive orders that created a legal pathway to citizenship for immigrants who don’t have legal authorization to be in the U.S. but are married to U.S. citizens.

    In stark contrast, Trump has already criticized the policy and said he would end it if elected.

    The Biden-Harris administration also had a nuanced record on the border and deportations. They have deported almost the same number of immigrants living in the U.S. without legal authorization as Trump did.

    The Texas National Guard conducts an operation to prevent migrants from building a camp along the U.S.-Mexico border in April 2024.
    David Peinado/Anadolu via Getty Images

    As of June 2024, the number of deportations since the start of the Biden administration in January 2021 was already at 4.4 million. At the same time, these higher numbers reflect the fact that more people are coming to the border due to increased chances of entering.

    During the first three years of Biden’s presidency, over 1 million migrants at the border were granted temporary humanitarian parole, which allows them to stay in the U.S. while waiting for their asylum hearing.

    The reality of immigration

    Immigration has been largely portrayed as either a clear and present threat by Republicans or as an act of compassion by Democrats.

    In the increasingly anti-immigrant environment, however, you’ll rarely hear that the increased immigration under the Biden-Harris administration has been a significant factor in U.S. economic growth.

    Indeed, many economists also have argued that working-class immigrants coming from across the border have helped reduce inflation. Its my belief that the U.S. is in need of more migrants, not fewer, and hard-line stances and policies damage our society and economy.

    While Trump’s hard-line stance against immigrants both at the border and within the country is well known, Harris’ record shows a more balanced approach that has offered support for at least some immigrants who are living in the U.S. illegally – and for those seeking asylum.

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

    – ref. On the US-Mexico border, the records of Trump and Harris reflect the national mood of less immigration, not more – https://theconversation.com/on-the-us-mexico-border-the-records-of-trump-and-harris-reflect-the-national-mood-of-less-immigration-not-more-237269

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Mayor of London announces bold plans to revive nature and wildlife in London’s waterways’

    Source: Mayor of London

    The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today pledged to ‘turbo-charge’ restoring nature to London’s rivers and waterways. As part of his bold plans to clean up London’s rivers over the next 10 years, Sadiq will work with partners to bring species such as water voles, eels, otters, mayflies and others back to the capital.

    Last year, the Mayor successfully reintroduced beavers to Ealing for the first time in 400 years, with the creatures restoring habitats, increasing the area’s protection from flooding and making it safe for other species. Sadiq is now pledging to spearhead a revival of nature in London’s waterways to bring back many more species and improve climate resilience.  

    The Mayor visited New York Harbour today to see first-hand the return of oysters to the Hudson and how the city is embracing nature to clean up the river. The Mayor toured the Billion Oyster Project, which was started in 2014 with the aim of restoring one billion oysters to the New York Harbour by 2035 – with 50 million oysters added to the local waterways every year to help naturally filter the water and protect New York City from flood damage.  

    The oyster reefs in New York provide a habitat for hundreds of species and reduce the risk of erosion. Sadiq hopes the return of species such as water voles, eels, otters and mayflies to London will have a similar effect in protecting London’s waterways and will explore and consider the role of oysters in the eastern part of London’s Thames.

    Sadiq is already in discussions with partners in London about how to deliver a revival of nature in London’s waterways. This could include new nature interventions that build upon:

    • Introducing saltmarsh plants around the Greenwich peninsula to create a shoreline of life and improve flood defences, along with new sandbanks.
    • Enabling the return of dragonflies and restoring the chalk stream to the Wandle, alongside trout that once flourished there.  

    The Mayor wants London to become a safer home to a vast array of river creatures, from eels making their journey from the Sargasso sea to otters being brought back from the brink of extinction in the Roding.

    He will prioritise nature-based solutions, similar to those deployed in New York, and bring together companies, government agencies, charities and campaigners to get the capital’s rivers safe, clean and open to more people.  

    The Mayor has already invested almost £30m since 2016 to help grow the city’s biodiversity and his manifesto pledge for a new Green Roots fund will see more money on projects that expand access to our vital waterways.

    Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I am delighted to visit the Billion Oyster Project and take inspiration from this nature-first project, which literally sees nature clean nature while increasing biodiversity in New York’s waterways.  

    “In London, the Thames and its tributaries are the lifeblood of London, shaping communities, sustaining livelihoods and bringing people closer to nature. As Mayor, I want to turbo-charge the restoration of nature to London’s rivers and waterways, working with partners across the capital to spearhead the return of a whole host of species – from water voles, to eels, and the return of otters.

    “We have done so much to clean up our air. Now we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore our capital’s waterways as we continue to see a return of dozens of species, like here in New York.  This will enable Londoners to connect with nature as we continue to build a greener London for everyone.”  

    Pete Malinowski, Executive Director of Billion Oyster Project, says: “For ten years, we’ve worked closely with hundreds of New York City schools, restaurants, and communities throughout the five boroughs to build a better future for the city and its waterways. We are incredibly humbled and inspired to have the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, visit our Brooklyn Bridge Park reef site to learn more about our approach to urban harbour restoration. We look forward to seeing more Londoners connect back to nature through waterway restoration efforts – and the restoration of the abundant natural biodiversity of the Thames.” 

    The Billion Oyster Project’s restoration efforts includes eighteen restoration sites along the Hudson River, from Coney Island Creek in Brooklyn to SUNY Maritime College in the Bronx.

    Last week Sadiq visited the Thames Tideway ‘super sewer’ with Secretary of State Rt Hon Steve Reed MP and pledged, alongside the Zoological Society of London, London Wildlife Trust, Thames Water and other stakeholders, to deliver a natural revolution for London’s waterways. He has committed to draw up a plan to clean up the capital’s rivers in the next 10 years, harnessing the power of nature itself. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why home insurance rates are rising so fast across the US – climate change plays a big role

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Andrew J. Hoffman, Professor of Management & Organizations, Environment & Sustainability, and Sustainable Enterprise, University of Michigan

    The U.S. has seen a large number of billion-dollar disasters in recent years. AP Photo/Mark Zaleski

    Millions of Americans have been watching with growing alarm as their homeowners insurance premiums rise and their coverage shrinks. Nationwide, premiums rose 34% between 2017 and 2023, and they continued to rise in 2024 across much of the country.

    To add insult to injury, those rates go even higher if you make a claim – as much as 25% if you claim a total loss of your home.

    Why is this happening?

    There are a few reasons, but a common thread: Climate change is fueling more severe weather, and insurers are responding to rising damage claims. The losses are exacerbated by more frequent extreme weather disasters striking densely populated areas, rising construction costs and homeowners experiencing damage that was once more rare.

    Hurricane Ian, supercharged by warm water in the Gulf of Mexico, hit Florida as a Category 4 hurricane in October 2022 and caused an estimated $112.9 billion in damage.
    Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images

    Parts of the U.S. have been seeing larger and more damaging hail, higher storm surges, massive and widespread wildfires, and heat waves that kink metal and buckle asphalt. In Houston, what used to be a 100-year disaster, such as Hurricane Harvey in 2017, is now a 1-in-23-years event, estimates by risk assessors at First Street Foundation suggest. In addition, more people are moving into coastal and wildland areas at risk from storms and wildfires.

    Just a decade ago, few insurance companies had a comprehensive strategy for addressing climate risk as a core business issue. Today, insurance companies have no choice but to factor climate change into their policy models.

    Rising damage costs, higher premiums

    There’s a saying that to get someone to pay attention to climate change, put a price on it. Rising insurance costs are doing just that.

    Increasing global temperatures lead to more extreme weather, and that means insurance companies have had to make higher payouts. In turn, they have been raising their prices and changing their coverage in order to remain solvent. That raises the costs for homeowners and for everyone else.

    The importance of insurance to the economy cannot be understated. You generally cannot get a mortgage or even drive a car, build an office building or enter into contracts without insurance to protect against the inherent risks. Because insurance is so tightly woven into economies, state agencies review insurance companies’ proposals to increase premiums or reduce coverage.

    The insurance companies are not making political statements with the increases. They are looking at the numbers, calculating risk and pricing it accordingly. And the numbers are concerning.

    The arithmetic of climate risk

    Insurance companies use data from past disasters and complex models to calculate expected future payouts. Then they price their policies to cover those expected costs. In doing so, they have to balance three concerns: keeping rates low enough to remain competitive, setting rates high enough to cover payouts and not running afoul of insurance regulators.

    But climate change is disrupting those risk models. As global temperatures rise, driven by greenhouse gases from fossil fuel use and other human activities, past is no longer prologue: What happened over the past 10 to 20 years is less predictive of what will happen in the next 10 to 20 years.

    The number of billion-dollar disasters in the U.S. each year offers a clear example. The average rose from 3.3 per year in the 1980s to 18.3 per year in the 10-year period ending in 2024, with all years adjusted for inflation.

    With that more than fivefold increase in billion-dollar disasters came rising insurance costs in the Southeast because of hurricanes and extreme rainfall, in the West because of wildfires, and in the Midwest because of wind, hail and flood damage.

    Hurricanes tend to be the most damaging single events. They caused more than US$692 billion in property damage in the U.S. between 2014 and 2023. But severe hail and windstorms, including tornadoes, are also costly; together, those on the billion-dollar disaster list did more than $246 billion in property damage over the same period.

    As insurance companies adjust to the uncertainty, they may run a loss in one segment, such as homeowners insurance, but recoup their losses in other segments, such as auto or commercial insurance. But that cannot be sustained over the long term, and companies can be caught by unexpected events. California’s unprecedented wildfires in 2017 and 2018 wiped out nearly 25 years’ worth of profits for insurance companies in that state.

    To balance their risk, insurance companies often turn to reinsurance companies; in effect, insurance companies that insure insurance companies. But reinsurers have also been raising their prices to cover their costs. Property reinsurance alone increased by 35% in 2023. Insurers are passing those costs to their policyholders.

    What this means for your homeowners policy

    Not only are homeowners insurance premiums going up, coverage is shrinking. In some cases, insurers are reducing or dropping coverage for items such as metal trim, doors and roof repair, increasing deductibles for risks such as hail and fire damage, or refusing to pay full replacement costs for things such as older roofs.

    Some insurances companies are simply withdrawing from markets altogether, canceling existing policies or refusing to write new ones when risks become too uncertain or regulators do not approve their rate increases to cover costs. In recent years, State Farm and Allstate pulled back from California’s homeowner market, and Farmers, Progressive and AAA pulled back from the Florida market, which is seeing some of the highest insurance rates in the country.

    In some cases, insurers are restricting coverage. Roof repairs, like these in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., after Hurricane Ian, can be expensive and widespread after windstorms.
    Joe Raedle/Getty Images

    State-run “insurers of last resort,” which can provide coverage for people who can’t get coverage from private companies, are struggling too. Taxpayers in states such as California and Florida have been forced to bail out their state insurers. And the National Flood Insurance Program has raised its premiums, leading 10 states to sue to stop them.

    About 7.4% of U.S. homeowners have given up on insurance altogether, leaving an estimated $1.6 trillion in property value at risk, including in high-risk states such as Florida.

    No, insurance costs aren’t done rising

    According to NOAA data, 2023 was the hottest year on record “by far.” And 2024 could be even hotter. This general warming trend and the rise in extreme weather is expected to continue until greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are abated.

    In the face of such worrying analyses, U.S. homeowners insurance will continue to get more expensive and cover less. And yet, Jacques de Vaucleroy, chairman of the board of reinsurance giant Swiss Re, believes U.S. insurance is still priced too low to fully cover the risk from climate change.

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

    – ref. Why home insurance rates are rising so fast across the US – climate change plays a big role – https://theconversation.com/why-home-insurance-rates-are-rising-so-fast-across-the-us-climate-change-plays-a-big-role-238939

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Canada imposes additional sanctions in response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel

    Source: Government of Canada News

    Effective immediately, Canada is imposing additional sanctions against eleven individuals and two entities pursuant to the Special Economic Measures (Hamas Terrorist Attacks) Regulations, in response to the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel that began on October 7, 2023, and the threat that Hamas and its affiliates pose to regional security.

    Effective immediately, Canada is imposing additional sanctions against eleven individuals and two entities pursuant to the Special Economic Measures (Hamas Terrorist Attacks) Regulations, in response to the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel that began on October 7, 2023, and the threat that Hamas and its affiliates pose to regional security.

    Canadian measures

    The regulations impose a prohibition on dealings related to the listed individuals and entities, effectively freezing any assets they may have in Canada. Persons in Canada and Canadians outside the country are prohibited from dealing with the listed individuals and entities, and the listed individuals are also rendered inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The specific prohibitions are set out in the regulations.

    The names of the eleven individuals added to the schedule of these regulations are the following:

    • Musa Muhammad Salim Dudin (Hamas financier and operative)
    • Amer Kamal Sharif Alshawa (Hamas financier)
    • Ahmed Sadu Jahleb (Hamas financier)
    • Walid Mohammed Mustafa Jadallah (Hamas financier)
    • Zuhair Shamlakh (Hamas financier)
    • Alaa Shamlakh (Hamas financier)
    • Ahmed Shamlakh (Hamas financer)
    • Imad Shamlakh (Hamas financier)
    • Nabil Khaled Halil Chouman (Hamas financier)
    • Khaled Chouman (Hamas financier)
    • Reda Ali Khamis (Hamas financier)

    The names of the two entities added to the schedule of these regulations are the following:

    • Al-Markaziya Li-Siarafa (Al-Markaziya) (Hamas-affiliated financial exchange company)
    • Nabil Chouman & Co. (Hamas-affiliated financial exchange company)

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Government of Canada Investments in Electric Vehicles

    Source: Government of Canada News

    The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced a federal investment of $14.9 million for 20 projects to advance zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure, codes and standards, and education across Canada.

    Everyone has a role to play in tackling climate change. The widespread shift to electric vehicles (EVs) is critical to decarbonizing on-road transportation, which accounts for 18 percent of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions — of which 50 percent is produced by light-duty vehicles (LDV), or passenger cars.

    In addition, clean fuels, such as clean hydrogen, advanced biofuels, liquid synthetic fuels and renewable natural gas, will play a critical role in hard to decarbonize sectors such as industry and medium- and heavy-duty freight.

    Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced a federal investment of $14.9 million for 20 projects to advance zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure, codes and standards, and education across Canada.

     

    Zero Emissions Vehicle Infrastructure Program Projects

    • Kang and Gill Construction Limited in Victoria, B.C.: An investment of $340,000 to install 68 EV chargers by March 31, 2024.
    • Halifax County Condominium Corporation #240 in Halifax, Nova Scotia: An investment of $110,000 to install 22 EV chargers by April 2023.
    • Halifax International Airport in Goffs, Nova Scotia: An investment of $180,000 to install 37 EV chargers by December 2024.
    • Park Royal Shopping Centre Holdings Ltd., West Vancouver, North Vancouver and Whistler, B.C.: An investment of $242,000 from NRCan to install 50 EV chargers by November 2023.
    • Concert Realty Services Ltd, Vancouver, B.C.: An investment of $190,000 from NRCan to install 38 EV chargers by January 2025.
    • Westbank Projects Corp., Toronto, Ontario, and Vancouver, B.C.: An investment of $4,914,660 to install 2635 EV chargers by May 2025.
    • THE OWNERS, STRATA PLAN BCS4321, Vancouver, B.C.: An investment of $150,000 to install 30 EV chargers by June 2024.
    • Austeville Properties Ltd., Vancouver, B.C.: An investment of $250,000 to install 50 EV chargers by October 2025.
    • 1125 Denman Developments Limited Partnership by its general partner Denman Developments Ltd, Vancouver, BC: An investment of $500,000 to install 16 EV chargers by July 2025.
    • The Owners Strata Plan LMS1108 “The National,” Vancouver, B.C.: An investment of $260,000 to install 60 EV chargers by May 2024.
    • Strata Corporation LMS4255 “Marinaside Resort,” Vancouver, B.C.: An investment of $500,000 to install 140 EV chargers by May 2024.
    • 1229488 BC Ltd., Vancouver, B.C.: An investment of $99,999, to install 23 EV chargers by March 2024.

    Zero Emissions Vehicle Awareness Initiative

    • Plug’N Drive, Toronto, Ontario: An investment of $1,560,633 to raise awareness of electric vehicles across Canada through a comprehensive awareness and experiential campaign, featuring test drives targeting small and medium-sized communities with limited experience or exposure to electric vehicles.
    • Create Climate Equity Association in Coquitlam, B.C.: An investment of $100,000 to engage one or more lower-income, underserved, urban communities in the City of Vancouver, B.C., on transportation needs and develop a design for equity-based, zero-emission mobility solutions for the participating communities.
    • Steel River Group Ltd in Calgary, Alberta: An investment of $300,000 to empower and equip Indigenous youth with the essential knowledge, skills and confidence to lead sustainable transportation and clean energy initiatives in their communities.
    • Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton, Alberta: An investment of $247,045 to develop non-credit courses on the maintenance of hydrogen fuel cell buses and heavy-duty vehicles to educate fleet owners, operators and heavy-duty vehicle mechanics and technicians on the use and maintenance of MHDVs and raise public confidence and awareness in zero-emission MHDV.
    • HUB Cycling, Vancouver, B.C.: An investment of $241,545 to increase awareness and uptake of e-mobility for transportation across the province of British Columbia.

    Minister Wilkinson also announced $3.6 million in funding for CSA Group to update codes and standards related to ZEV infrastructure through the Energy Innovation Program:

    • CSA Group, Toronto, Ontario, $3,616,373. The objective of this project is to establish and revise codes and standards, develop guideline documents, manage committees, perform literature reviews for zero-emission transportation infrastructure, covering advanced charging equipment, energy storage, management and various transportation modes.

    Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada – Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP)

    Lastly, Minister Wilkinson announced a joint investment of more than $3.1 million through the Green Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program for two green infrastructure projects in British Columbia. The projects will enhance access to clean transportation options, use B.C.’s clean electricity supply and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

    • Public Electric Vehicle Charging Expansion – Phase 3 in Vancouver, B.C.
      o   The federal government is investing $824,600 through the Green Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. The Government of British Columbia is investing $687,098 through the CleanBC Communities Fund. The City of Vancouver is contributing $549,802. 
      o   The project will install approximately 15 Level 2 and nine direct-current fast-charge electric vehicle charging ports around parklands in the city, along with electric and mechanical system upgrades. 
    • Public Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in the District of North Vancouver, B.C.:
      o   The federal government is investing $217,447 through the Green Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. The Government of British Columbia is investing $579,821 through the CleanBC Communities Fund. The District of North Vancouver is contributing $289,965. 
      o   The project will install a public network of approximately 10 Level 2 and two direct-current fast-charge electric vehicle charging ports along key transportation routes, in priority buildings and near multi-family and social housing in the district.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Joint Statement on Creation of Joint Task Force to Negotiate Beaufort Sea Boundary

    Source: Government of Canada News

    The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of Canada and the United States of America on the occasion of the creation of a joint task force on the Beaufort Sea Boundary:

    September 24, 2024 – New York, New York – Global Affairs Canada

     The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of Canada and the United States of America on the occasion of the creation of a joint task force on the Beaufort Sea Boundary:

    “In a rapidly changing Arctic marked by new challenges and increased strategic competition, the region has become a growing focus for the United States and Canada. Our common interests in the region have served as the foundation of our bilateral Arctic relations for many decades and will continue to guide our Arctic cooperation in the future.

    “To further our cooperation in the Arctic, Canada and the United States are announcing the creation of a joint Canada-U.S. task force to undertake negotiations on the maritime boundary in the Beaufort Sea, including resolving the overlap in the continental shelf in the Central Arctic Ocean. The area at issue is situated north of Alaska, Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

    “The task force is expected to begin negotiations this fall and reflects the commitment of the United States and Canada to clarify our shared northern boundary through cooperative bilateral negotiation and meaningful engagement with state, territorial and Indigenous partners.

    “Canada and the United States will work collaboratively toward a final agreement that will provide clarity on our Arctic maritime boundaries, bearing in mind the responsible conservation and sustainable use of Arctic resources for the mutual benefit of Americans and Canadians, including Indigenous Peoples.”

    Associated links

    U.S. Department of State

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Biographical notes

    Source: Government of Canada News

    Karen Mollica (BA Hons [Political Science], McMaster University, 2000; MA [International Affairs], Carleton University, 2003) joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 2003 following internships in Guyana and Costa Rica.

    Karen Mollica (BA Hons [Political Science], McMaster University, 2000; MA [International Affairs], Carleton University, 2003) joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 2003 following internships in Guyana and Costa Rica. Her early assignments included coordinator in the Anti-personnel Mine Action Team and desk officer for several countries in West and Central Africa. She subsequently moved to the Canadian International Development Agency and served as first secretary at the High Commission in South Africa and as counsellor and head of cooperation at the Embassy to Jordan. Upon her return to Headquarters in 2019, she became director of policy, planning and operations for Latin America and the Caribbean, a position she held until 2022. Most recently, she served as director and senior departmental adviser in the Office of the Minister of International Development and as chargé d’affaires at the Embassy to the Holy See.

    Ajit Singh (BA [Communications], University of Winnipeg, 2003; BA Hons [Political Science], University of Winnipeg, 2004; MA [International Law], United Nations University for Peace, 2006; JD, Osgoode Hall Law School, 2012) has lived, studied and worked in multiple languages in 6 countries on 4 continents. He joined the Government of Canada in 2008 after working in media, academia, the United Nations and civil society organizations. He later worked in private law in Toronto and was called to the Bar of Ontario as a barrister and solicitor. In 2013, he joined the Privy Council Office in the Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat. He then worked in its Foreign and Defence Policy Secretariat, where he led on relations with Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia regions and Latin America and on legal files. In 2017, he joined Global Affairs Canada as a deputy director in the Foreign Policy Planning Division to lead the team responsible for the foreign ministers’ track during Canada’s 2018 G7 presidency. After this, he worked in the Conflict Prevention, Stabilization and Peacebuilding Division. In 2021, he joined the Department of National Defence as a director of operations. In 2022, he rejoined the Privy Council Office, this time as the first person to hold the position of director of international crisis response.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Canada imposes third round of sanctions on perpetrators of extremist settler violence against Palestinian civilians in West Bank

    Source: Government of Canada News

    Effective immediately, Canada is imposing sanctions against four individuals and two entities in response to the grave breach of international peace and security posed by their violent and destabilizing actions against Palestinian civilians and their property in the West Bank.

    Effective immediately, Canada is imposing sanctions against four individuals and two entities in response to the grave breach of international peace and security posed by their violent and destabilizing actions against Palestinian civilians and their property in the West Bank.

    Canadian measures

    The Special Economic Measures (Extremist Settler Violence) Regulations imposes a prohibition on dealings related to the listed individuals and entities, effectively freezing any assets they may have in Canada. Persons in Canada and Canadians outside the country are prohibited from dealing with the listed individuals and entities. Additionally, the listed individuals are rendered inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

    The specific prohibitions are set out in the Special Economic Measures (Extremist Settler Violence) Regulations.

    The names of the individuals added to the schedule of these regulations are the following:

    • Neria Ben Pazi
    • Noam Federman
    • Eden Levi
    • Shlomo Sarid

    The names of the entities added to the schedule of these regulations are the following:

    • Mount Hebron Fund
    • Shlom Asiraich

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Address by Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs (23.09.24)

    Source: Republic of France in English
    The Republic of France has issued the following statement:

    President of the General Assembly,

    Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations,

    Heads of State and Government,

    Ministers,

    Ambassadors,

    Colleagues,

    We are gathered here today to reaffirm our commitment to an ambitious, effective and representative multilateralism to face the challenges of tomorrow. Many of you want to advance our multilateral system, a system founded on respect for the rule of law and clear principles established following the Second World War and on respect for the Charter of the United Nations, a system based on cooperation between nations, sustainable development for all and solidarity between countries.

    Today, that system needs reform. For global governance must be both more representative and, collectively, more effective. Everyone needs to contribute, everyone needs to shoulder their responsibilities.

    I would like to thank the Secretary-General for enabling us to move forward on this essential project for future generations, which France is supporting with strength and conviction.

    This Summit of the Future, Secretary-General, should enable the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals in good time. We need to step up our efforts to address climate challenges.

    True to its historical commitment within the United Nations, France has worked to ensure the Pact for the Future meets the expectations of the Member States when it comes to Security Council reform. We are advocating an expansion in both categories of members and a greater African presence, including among permanent members. In the same vein, we promote a joint initiative with Mexico to regulate the use of vetoes in the event of mass atrocities, which is already supported by 106 States from all world regions.

    France has also been innovative in its proposals to reform the international financial architecture, in the spirit of the Paris Pact for Peoples and the Planet that the French President launched at the June 2023 Paris Summit.

    The New Agenda for Peace should help modernize United Nations tools for international peace and security. We need to ensure that peace operations, which have evolved considerably, are suited to addressing new challenges. I would like to seize this opportunity to commend the work of the blue helmets who foster global peace and security every day. I have in mind the men and women of UNIFIL in Lebanon, including its French contingent. The Lebanese people are also in my thoughts right now: Israeli strikes have just killed hundreds of civilians, including dozens of children. These strikes, made from both sides of the Blue Line and more widely in the region, must cease immediately. France once again calls on the parties and their supporters to de-escalate and avoid a regional conflagration that would be devastating for everyone, starting with civilian populations. That is why I have called for an emergency Security Council meeting this week to discuss Lebanon.

    In Lebanon and elsewhere, France will remain totally committed to resolving the major crises that shake the international order. It will take initiatives. It will continue to condemn Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine unreservedly, and to demand peace and compliance with the law. It will continue to demand the release of all hostages, respect for international humanitarian law and a ceasefire in Gaza. France considers all human lives to be equal in dignity. France will not look away from any armed conflict. It will therefore continue its initiatives to support Sudan, alongside its partners.

    Deputy Secretary-General, you want us to look together towards the future. That future will be marked by great progress in digital technologies, starting with artificial intelligence. The Global Digital Compact enshrines the commitment of the international community as a whole to coordinate on these new challenges. The digital revolution must not further widen the digital gap and must serve the Sustainable Development Goals. This will be a central priority at the AI Action Summit that will be held in France on 10 and 11 February 2025.

    The fight against climate change and for the protection of the environment is not an issue for the future but a challenge for the present. The climate threat is devastating. Inaction and lack of ambition are culpable. We owe our people determined, tangible, immediate and effective action. It is in this spirit that the Presidents of France and Kazakhstan and the President of the World Bank are jointly organizing the One Water Summit this year.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Government announces mortgage reform details to ensure Canadians can access lower monthly mortgage payments by December 15

    Source: Government of Canada News

    Canadians work hard to be able to afford a home. However, the high cost of mortgage payments is a barrier to homeownership, especially for Millennials and Gen Z. To help more Canadians, particularly younger generations, buy a first home, on September 16, 2024, the federal government announced the boldest mortgage reforms in decades.

    September 24, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Finance Canada

    Canadians work hard to be able to afford a home. However, the high cost of mortgage payments is a barrier to homeownership, especially for Millennials and Gen Z. To help more Canadians, particularly younger generations, buy a first home, on September 16, 2024, the federal government announced the boldest mortgage reforms in decades.

    Today, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, announced technical guidance for lenders and insurers to ensure Canadians can benefit from these mortgage reforms by December 15, 2024:

    • Increasing the $1 million price cap for insured mortgages to $1.5 million, to reflect current housing market realities and help more Canadians qualify for a mortgage with a downpayment below 20 per cent. Increasing the insured-mortgage cap—which has not been adjusted since 2012—to $1.5 million will help more Canadians buy a home.
    • Expanding eligibility for 30 year mortgage amortizations to all first-time homebuyers and to all buyers of new builds, to reduce the cost of monthly mortgage payments and help more Canadians buy a home. By helping Canadians buy new builds, including condos, the government is announcing yet another measure to incentivize more new housing construction and tackle the housing shortage. This builds on the Budget 2024 commitment, which came into effect on August 1, 2024, permitting 30 year mortgage amortizations for first-time homebuyers purchasing new builds, including condos.

    These measures are the most significant mortgage reforms in decades and part of the federal government’s plan to build 4 million new homes—the most ambitious housing plan in Canadian history—to help more Canadians become homeowners.

    As we build 4 million more homes, communities need help building more infrastructure. That is why the federal government is investing $6 billion through the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund to build and upgrade core infrastructure in communities, including drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste infrastructure. The government has started negotiations with provinces and territories on key actions they can take to increase housing supply, in exchange for their share of $5 billion in federal funding. To deliver funding for urgent municipal infrastructure priorities, applications for the $1 billion municipal stream will open next month.

    “Building on our action to help Canadians save for a downpayment, last week, we announced the boldest mortgage reforms in decades. Today, we are providing the technical guidance banks need to offer first time buyers mortgages with lower monthly payments—now, you can start talking to your bank to get your first mortgage application ready for December 15.”

    – The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

    • The strengthened Canadian Mortgage Charter, announced in Budget 2024, sets out the expectations of financial institutions to ensure Canadians in mortgage hardship have access to tailored relief and to make it easier to buy a first home.

    • Mortgage loan insurance allows Canadians to get a mortgage for up to 95 per cent of the purchase price of a home, and helps ensure they get a reasonable interest rate, even with a smaller down payment.

    • The federal government’s housing plan—the most ambitious in Canadian history—will unlock nearly 4 million more homes to make housing more affordable for Canadians. To help more Canadians afford a downpayment, in recognition of the fact the size of a downpayment and the amount of time needed to save up for a downpayment are too large today, the federal government has:

      • Launched the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account, which allows Canadians to contribute up to $8,000 per year, and up to a lifetime limit of $40,000, towards their first downpayment. Tax-free in; tax-free out; and,
      • Enhanced the Home Buyers’ Plan limit from $35,000 to $60,000, in Budget 2024, to enable first-time homebuyers to use the tax benefits of Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) contributions to save up to $25,000 more for their downpayment. The Home Buyers’ Plan enables Canadians to withdraw from their RRSP to buy or build a home and can be combined with savings through the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account.

    • Last week, the government also released blueprints for a Renters’ Bill of Rights and a Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights, which will protect renters from unfair practices, make leases simpler, and increase price transparency; and help make the process of buying a home, fairer, more open, and more transparent.

    • To end encampments and address homelessness, on September 22, 2024, the federal government announced that $250 million is available to provinces and territories that agree to cost-match this funding. This funding will leverage up to $500 million to provide more shelter spaces, transitional homes, and services to help those in encampments find housing.

    Katherine Cuplinskas
    Deputy Director of Communications
    Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
    Katherine.Cuplinskas@fin.gc.ca

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Delivering the Boldest Mortgage Reforms in Decades

    Source: Government of Canada News

    The federal government has the most ambitious housing plan in Canadian history—including building 4 million new homes—to make housing more affordable for Canadians. This plan will build a Canada that is fairer for every generation of Canadians, where they can get ahead, where their hard work pays off, and where they can buy a home.

    September 24, 2024

    The federal government has the most ambitious housing plan in Canadian history—including building 4 million new homes—to make housing more affordable for Canadians. This plan will build a Canada that is fairer for every generation of Canadians, where they can get ahead, where their hard work pays off, and where they can buy a home.

    As announced on September 16, 2024, the federal government is expanding eligibility for 30 year amortizations for insured mortgages to all first-time homebuyers and all purchasers of new builds, and increasing the $1 million price cap for insured mortgages to $1.5 million, effective December 15, 2024. Today, the government is releasing parameters for lenders and insurers to begin offering mortgages under these reforms starting this December.

    Parameters

    Expanding eligibility for 30 year mortgage amortizations for all first-time homebuyers and all buyers of new builds

    • This measure will apply to borrowers requiring high loan to value mortgage insurance in Canada and must satisfy the following requirements:
      • The total loan to value is 80 per cent or more; and,
      • The borrower is either: (i) a first-time homebuyer; or (ii) purchasing a newly constructed home.
    • As the government announced on June 11, 2024, to be considered a first-time homebuyer, a borrower must meet one of the following criteria:
      • The borrower has never purchased a home before;
      • In the last 4 years, the borrower has not occupied a home as a principal place of residence that either they themselves or their current spouse or common-law partner owned; or,
      • The borrower recently experienced the breakdown of a marriage or common-law partnership. On this point, the regulations will follow the approach that the Canada Revenue Agency has taken with respect to the Home Buyers’ Plan.
    • As the government announced on June 11, 2024, to be considered a newly constructed home, the new home must not have been previously occupied for residential purposes. This requirement is not intended to exclude newly constructed condominiums where there has been an interim occupancy period.

    Increasing the $1 million price cap for insured mortgages to $1.5 million

    • This measure would apply to all borrowers requiring high loan to value mortgage insurance in Canada and must satisfy the following requirements:
      • The total loan to value is 80 per cent or more;
      • The value of the eligible residential property against which the loan is secured must be less than $1.5 million; and,
      • The downpayment requirements for the loan are as follows:
        • 5 per cent on the portion of a purchase price up to $500,000.
        • 10 per cent on the portion of a purchase price between $500,000 and $1.5 million.

    Other Parameters

    • Effective date: These measures will be available for mortgage insurance applications that lenders submit to mortgage insurers on or after December 15, 2024.
    • These measures will only apply to high loan to value mortgages on properties occupied by the borrower or a close relative.
    • All other eligibility criteria for government-guaranteed mortgage insurance will continue to apply.

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    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Government announces details of mortgage reforms to help Canadians get lower mortgage payments starting December 15

    MIL OSI Translation. Canadian French to English –

    Source: Government of Canada – in French

    Press release

    September 24, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Finance Canada

    Canadians work hard to afford a home. However, the high cost of mortgage payments is a barrier to home ownership, especially for millennials and Generation Z. To help more people, especially young people, become first-time homebuyers, the federal government announced the boldest mortgage reforms in decades on September 16.

    The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, today announced technical guidance for lenders and insurers to ensure Canadians can benefit from these mortgage reforms starting December 15, 2024:

    Increasing the price cap for insured mortgages from $1 million to $1.5 million to reflect current housing market realities and help more people qualify for a mortgage with a down payment of less than 20 per cent. Increasing the insured mortgage cap, which has not been adjusted since 2012, to $1.5 million will help more people afford their own home. Expanding eligibility for the 30-year mortgage amortization to all first-time and newly constructed home buyers to reduce the cost of monthly mortgage payments and help more Canadians afford their own home. By helping people afford new homes, including condominiums, the government is announcing a new measure that will encourage new housing construction and address the housing shortage. This measure builds on the commitment made in Budget 2024, effective August 1, 2024, to provide 30-year mortgage amortization for first-time buyers of newly constructed properties, including condominiums.

    These measures, which represent the most significant mortgage reforms in decades, are part of the federal government’s plan to build 4 million new homes to help more people become homeowners. It is the most ambitious plan in Canadian history.

    Along with the 4 million additional homes we are building, communities need help building other infrastructure. That is why the federal government is investing $6 billion through the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund to help communities expand and improve their infrastructure. This includes clean water, wastewater, stormwater and solid waste management infrastructure. The government has begun negotiations with provinces and territories on key actions they can take to increase housing supply, in exchange for a share of the $5 billion in federal funding. For urgent municipal infrastructure priorities, applications for the $1 billion municipal component will begin next month.

    Quotes

    “To build on our momentum to help Canadians save for a down payment, last week we announced the boldest mortgage reforms in decades. Today, we are providing the technical guidance banks need to offer first-time home buyers lower mortgage payments. Talk to your financial institution today to get your first mortgage application ready by December 15.”

    – The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

    “Everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. By reducing both the down payment and monthly mortgage costs, we are taking the boldest step yet for Canadians looking to buy their first home.”

    – The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities

    Quick Facts

    ThereCanadian enhanced mortgage charter, presented in Budget 2024, sets out expectations for financial institutions to ensure that people who are having difficulty making their mortgage payments have access to tailored relief and to facilitate the purchase of a first home.

    Mortgage loan insurance allows people to get a mortgage for up to 95% of the purchase price of a property, and ensures they get a reasonable interest rate, even with a smaller down payment.

    The government’s housing plan – the most ambitious in the country’s history – will build nearly 4 million additional homes to make housing more affordable in Canada. To help more people make a down payment, recognizing that the size of a down payment and the time it takes to save are now too large, the federal government has:

    Launching the Tax-Free Savings Account for First-Time Home Buyers, which allows individuals to contribute up to $8,000 per year, up to a cumulative maximum of $40,000 for their first down payment. No taxes on contributions or withdrawals; Increasing the Home Buyers’ Plan limit from $35,000 to $60,000, as announced in Budget 2024. This measure allows first-time home buyers to use the tax benefits of Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) contributions to save up to $25,000 more for their down payment. The Home Buyers’ Plan allows Canadians to withdraw money from their RRSPs to buy or build a home. It can be used in conjunction with savings through the Tax-Free Savings Account for the purchase of a first property.

    Last week, the government also released plans for a tenants’ bill of rights and a property buyers’ bill of rightsThese will protect tenants from unfair practices, simplify leases and increase transparency of rental amounts, in addition to helping to make the property buying process fairer, more open and more transparent.

    To end encampments and combat homelessness, The government announced on September 22, 2024, that an amount of $250 million will be provided to provinces and territories that agree to match this funding. This funding will leverage up to $500 million to provide more shelter spaces, transitional housing and services to help people living in encampments find housing.

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    Contact persons

    Media may contact:

    Katherine CuplinskasDeputy Director of CommunicationsOffice of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of FinanceKatherine.Cuplinskas@fin.gc.ca

    Media RelationsDepartment of Finance Canadamediare@fin.gc.ca613-369-4000

    General Inquiries

    Phone: 1-833-712-2292Teletypewriter: 613-369-3230Email:financepublic-financepublique@fin.gc.ca

    Stay Connected

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Announcement of new diplomatic appointments

    MIL OSI Translation. Canadian French to English –

    Source: Government of Canada – in French 1

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, today announced the following diplomatic appointments:

    September 19, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, today announced the following diplomatic appointments:

    Ms. Karen Mollica has been appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Slovak Republic. Ms. Mollica succeeds Ms. Cheryl Cruz.

    Mr. Ajit Singh has been appointed High Commissioner to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Mr. Singh succeeds Ms. Lilly Nicholls.

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Implementation of the most daring mortgage reforms in decades

    MIL OSI Translation. Canadian French to English –

    Source: Government of Canada – in French 1

    The federal government is proposing the most ambitious housing plan in Canadian history, including building 4 million new homes to make housing more affordable for Canadians. This plan will build a fairer Canada for every generation, where everyone can get ahead, get a fair reward for their hard work, and be able to afford to own a home.

    September 24, 2024

    The federal government proposesthe most ambitious housing plan in Canadian history, which includes building 4 million new homes to make housing more affordable for Canadians. This plan will build a fairer Canada for every generation, where everyone can get ahead, get a fair reward for their hard work, and be able to afford to own a home.

    As announced on September 16, 2024, the federal government is expanding eligibility for 30-year amortizations on insured mortgages for first-time and newly constructed home buyers. It is also increasing the price cap for insured mortgages from $1 million to $1.5 million, effective December 15, 2024. The government is releasing parameters today that will allow lending parties and insurers to begin offering mortgages under these reforms starting in December.

    Settings

    Expanding eligibility for 30-year mortgage amortization for all first-time home buyers and those purchasing newly constructed properties

    This measure will apply to borrowing parties who require high loan-to-value (LTV) mortgage insurance in Canada. In addition, the borrowing party’s application must meet the following requirements: The total LTV is 80% or greater; The borrowing party is either a first-time homebuyer or (ii) a newly constructed property.

    As the government announced on June 11, 2024, to be considered a first-time home buyer, the borrowing party must meet one of the following criteria: They have never purchased a property before; In the last 4 years, the borrowing party has not occupied a dwelling as their principal place of residence that they or their spouse or common-law partner owned. The borrowing party has recently experienced the end of a marriage or common-law partnership. In this regard, the regulations will follow the approach taken by the Canada Revenue Agency with respect to the Home Buyers’ Plan.

    As the government announced on June 11, 2024, to be considered a newly constructed home, the home in question must not have been previously occupied for residential purposes. This requirement is not intended to exclude newly constructed condominium apartments where there has been a period of temporary occupancy.

    Price cap increased from $1 million to $1.5 million for insured mortgages

    This measure will apply to borrowing parties who require high loan-to-value mortgage insurance in Canada. In addition, the borrowing parties’ application must meet the following requirements: The total loan-to-value ratio is 80% or greater; The value of the eligible residential property on which the loan is secured must be less than $1.5 million; The down payment requirements for the loan are as follows: 5% on the portion of the purchase price up to $500,000. 10% on the portion of the purchase price between $500,000 and $1.5 million.

    Other settings

    Effective date: These measures will apply to mortgage insurance applications that lenders submit to mortgage insurers on or after December 15, 2024. These measures will only apply to high loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages on properties occupied by the borrowing party or a close relative. All other eligibility criteria for government-backed mortgage insurance will continue to apply.

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Joint Statement on the Establishment of a Joint Working Group to Negotiate Our Boundary in the Beaufort Sea

    MIL OSI Translation. Canadian French to English –

    Source: Government of Canada – in French 1

    The text of the following statement was issued by the governments of Canada and the United States of America on the occasion of the establishment of a joint working group on our Beaufort Sea boundary.

    September 24, 2024 – New York, New York – Global Affairs Canada

    The text of the following statement was issued by the governments of Canada and the United States of America on the occasion of the establishment of a joint working group on our Beaufort Sea boundary.

    “In a rapidly changing Arctic, marked by new challenges and increased strategic competition, the region has become a growing focus for the United States and Canada. Our shared interests in the region have served as the foundation of our bilateral Arctic relations for many decades and will continue to guide our Arctic cooperation into the future.

    “To strengthen their cooperation in the Arctic, Canada and the United States are announcing the establishment of a joint Canada-United States working group to undertake maritime boundary negotiations in the Beaufort Sea, including resolving the overlapping continental shelf issue in the central Arctic Ocean. The area of concern is located north of Alaska, Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

    “The working group is expected to begin negotiations this fall and this reflects the commitment of the United States and Canada to clarify our shared northern boundary through cooperative bilateral negotiations and meaningful engagement with states, territories and Indigenous partners.

    “Canada and the United States will work collaboratively toward a final agreement that will clarify Arctic maritime boundaries, keeping in mind the responsible conservation and sustainable use of Arctic resources for the mutual benefit of Americans and Canadians, including Indigenous peoples.”

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Security: Grand Falls-Windsor — Man arrested by Grand Falls-Windsor RCMP in relation to weekend home invasion

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Following a weekend home invasion that occurred at a residence on Irving Street in Grand Falls-Windsor, 28-year-old Michael Cook was arrested by Grand Falls-Windsor RCMP.

    Shortly before 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 22, 2024, police received the report. Two males forced entry into the home, confronted an occupant inside and demanded money. With money unavailable, the suspects stole other items and departed the residence.

    Michael Cook was arrested at a traffic stop a short time later. He appeared in court yesterday, charged with robbery and break and enter. He was released on conditions and is set to appear in court again at a later date.

    The second suspect has been identified with efforts underway to effect his arrest.

    The investigation is continuing. Residents are advised that this crime was not random in nature. The victim and suspects are known to one another.

    Those having information about this crime are asked to contact Grand Falls-Windsor RCMP at 709-489-2121. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers: #SayItHere 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visit www.nlcrimestoppers.com or use the P3Tips app.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Critical minerals sector key to driving global economic growth

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasised the importance of the critical minerals sector in driving global economic growth and sustainability. 

    By leveraging key sectors such as mining, energy, and manufacturing, the President said South Africa is set to improve its business environment and attract much-needed investment.

    He was addressing the African Minerals Forum hosted by the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) and Prosper Africa on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79), in New York, USA, on Monday. 

    He highlighted that four months ago, South Africa held national general elections, which ushered in a Government of National Unity, where 10 political parties have come together to coalesce around a common agenda for economic growth and sustainable development.

    President Ramaphosa underlined South Africa’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change through the country’s Just Energy Transition Plan. This plan aims to guide the shift from coal to renewable energy, while also ensuring equitable economic opportunities for affected communities. 

    “South Africa’s and Africa’s critical minerals sector has a crucial role to play in this regard, and we recognise the importance of collaboration with other countries to develop the potential of our critical minerals sector. 

    “The US in particular has established expertise in advanced mining technologies, automation and sustainability practices. 

    “We want to strengthen our ties with US companies and institutions to foster technological advancements, enhance supply chain efficiencies and attract investment into our mining sector,” the President said. 

    The President also emphasised that South Africa strongly endorses the United Nations Secretary-General’s position paper on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, where he highlights the importance of beneficiation, benefit sharing, local value addition and economic diversification.

    “It would not be an understatement to say that the minerals that lie beneath the soil of Africa are powering the green energy revolution. Thirty percent of the world’s proven critical mineral reserves are found in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    “South Africa has substantial reserves of platinum group metals, manganese, vanadium as well as chromium. 

    “These resources are fundamental to the development of cutting-edge technologies that drive progress in various sectors. What will be critical is to ensure that this progress does not leave Africa behind,” he said.

    The President stressed the need to avoid perpetuating colonial-era exploitation, where African countries primarily export raw minerals. He said that by focusing on beneficiation and domestic processing, African nations could see significant economic growth. 

    President Ramaphosa highlighted that beneficiation and local processing of critical minerals could increase the continent’s GDP by 12% or more by 2050. 

    He cited estimates suggesting that African countries could generate USD 24 billion annually in GDP and create 2.3 million jobs by investing in mining beneficiation and domestic processing.

    President Ramaphosa highlighted the strides made by SASOL, South Africa’s flagship petrochemical company, in leading green hydrogen technologies research and development. 

    “As the global automotive industry moves towards Electric Vehicles and New Energy Vehicles, we are leveraging our rich experience with automotive production to get some of the world’s leading automotive manufactures with a footprint in South Africa to produce more their green vehicles in our country,” he said. 

    Despite improvements in the beneficiation of South Africa’s mineral exports, President Ramaphosa admitted that more needs to be done. 

    He underscored the country’s commitment to creating a supportive policy framework for the critical minerals sector, focused on streamlining regulations, fostering innovation in mining technologies, building workforce skills, improving transport and logistics infrastructure, and incentivising investment.

    South Africa’s five-point policy approach aims to create a supportive environment for the critical minerals sector. This includes simplifying regulations, supporting research and development in mining technologies, investing in workforce skills, improving logistics infrastructure, and incentivising domestic and international investment. 

    “South Africa also has a beneficiation strategy that seeks to translate the benefits of our country’s mineral endowments into a national competitive advantage. 

    “As the UN Secretary-General’s paper has noted, Critical Energy Transition Minerals can transform economies, create green jobs and foster sustainable local, regional and global development,” he said. 

    President Ramaphosa further stressed that for the potential of critical minerals to be fully realised, both mineral-producing nations and their end-user countries must embrace inclusivity. 

    He emphasised the importance of creating decent work opportunities, eradicating exploitative practices such as child and forced labour, and ensuring human rights protections. 

    Local beneficiation and industrialisation were highlighted as priorities, alongside environmental safeguards to ensure sustainable extraction practices. 

    The President urged for a long-term focus on inter-generational equity, recognising that critical minerals are vital for solving global challenges like climate change, energy, and food insecurity. 

    He called on US companies to collaborate in fostering sustainable development.

    “By leveraging our respective strengths, pursuing strategic collaborations, and implementing supportive policies, we stand ready to meet the demands of the global market and drive sustainable development. 

    “I call on US companies and investors to join us on our journey,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: Hawaii Regional Maintenance Center preps USS Antietam for decommissioning

    Source: United States Navy

    Antietam, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser, is scheduled to decommission in a ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Sept. 27, completing 37 years of service.

    HRMC, along with contractor Pacific Shipyards International, performed the 96-day inactivation availability which consisted of a series of system deactivations to include the ship’s refrigeration, sewage collection, and fire-fighting systems. The team also removed all combustible liquids and blanked off valves that connect to the sea to make the ship watertight while it lies at anchor at the Inactive Ships Maintenance Office in Pearl Harbor, where Antietam will be in a Logistic Support Asset status. At this location, the ship will undergo periodic maintenance and inspections that allow for its long-term storage.

    “Under the leadership of Project Manager Dan King, the team demonstrated Surface Team Hawaii’s excellence in maintenance – absolutely amazing,” said Capt. Brian Ryglowski, HRMC deputy commander. “Collectively, his team successfully completed highly specialized maintenance tasks despite pier infrastructure constraints and a high workload on the waterfront. On behalf of the Navy, I want to thank Dan and everyone who contributed for their dedication in executing our mission as USS Antietam has reached the end of its service life for the nation.”

    PHNSY & IMF is a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command and a one-stop regional maintenance center for the Navy’s surface ships and submarines. It is the largest industrial employer in the state of Hawaii, with a combined civilian and military workforce of approximately 6,500. It is the most comprehensive fleet repair and maintenance facility between the U.S. West Coast and the Far East, strategically located in the heart of the Pacific, being about a week’s steaming time closer to potential regional contingencies in East Asia.

    For more news from PHNSY & IMF, visit www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Shipyards/PHNS-IMF/ and www.dvidshub.net/unit/PHNSY-IMF.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Planning application lodged for Queen Street urban park

    Source: Scotland – City of Aberdeen

    A planning application for a £15million urban park in Queen Street has been made by Aberdeen City Council.

    The park would be a key element in the redevelopment of Queen Street, which is part of the Council’s City Centre and Beach Masterplan to transform Aberdeen.

    It would include outdoor seating, informal performance spaces, a terraced garden, a sensory garden and enhanced street greening. The application follows several months of consultation with neighbouring organisations and other stakeholders.

    The new park would be located on land on the other side of Queen Street from the former police headquarters building. Options for the former police building are currently being reviewed by the council.

    Each space within the urban park would perform a range of environmental and social functions which will be categorised by the overarching themes of urban nature, community, heritage, and arts and culture.

    It would also improve pedestrian and cycle movement between the city centre and the beach.

    It is also hoped that the new park will help encourage investment by the surrounding private buildings and landowners.

    The planning application can be viewed via reference number 241111/DPP at Simple Search (aberdeencity.gov.uk).

    Further details on the plans and the other City Centre and Beachfront Masterplan projects can be found on the website www.generationaberdeen.co.uk .

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Blind and partially sighted supporters to avail of new commentary service at Brandywell games

    Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

    Blind and partially sighted supporters to avail of new commentary service at Brandywell games

    24 September 2024

    Visually impaired or blind spectators attending Derry City games at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium can now avail of a new service that will give them a live audio description of games.

    The new programme has been designed to allow the supporters to listen to descriptive commentary that will be transmitted to a radio receiver through a headset from anywhere within the stadium. The commentary will be provided by Drive 105. 

    The new service will be available for Derry City’s forthcoming games versus Sligo Rovers, Bohemians and Shelbourne and is available to home and away supporters.              

    The equipment has been installed by stadium owners Derry City and Strabane District Council following a report on accessibility improvements at the stadium being approved by Elected Members of Council’s Health and Community Committee in May.

    Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Lilian Seenoi Barr, said it will allow more supporters to enjoy the match day experience.

    “This is brilliant news for blind and visually impaired supporters who can now be more involved and enjoy an enhanced match day at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.

    “I have had the opportunity to attend a number of games in recent months when I experienced the noise and excitement for myself, and I am so delighted more people can now feel included and part of that.

    “I would like to thank Council Officers for bringing the project to fruition so quickly, the RNIB for their input in the project development, Derry City FC who will manage the service at games and Drive 105 for providing commentary from their Match Night Live service.”

    The service at the Ryan McBride Stadium is similar to the Soccer Sight programme that was successfully implemented at Windsor Park in Belfast.

    Campaigns Officer for RNIB Northern Ireland, Michéal Smith, attended Friday’s match at The Brandywell and said: “RNIB Northern Ireland is delighted to be involved in this initiative.

     “Blind and partially sighted fans should be able to enjoy watching a live football match in an accessible environment which welcomes both participants and those who visit sporting facilities to follow the action.

     “Too often, access to and within grounds and stadia, the facilities on offer, the accessible communication and the return travel, can be difficult to negotiate or completely absent. In many cases this deters sports fans with sight loss from getting involved.

    “Football is for everyone and we commend The Brandywell for introducing Audio Description technology to the stadium. Many thanks to stadium announcer Martin Bradley for all his assistance.

    “We thank local RNIB volunteer Rory McCartney and Richard Moore from Derry’s Drive 105 community radio station for their brilliant work together to make this happen. We also thank Derry and Strabane District Council – particularly Councillor Emma McGinley, Councillor Aisling Hutton and Leisure Area Manager Steve Setterfield, for helping bring this project to fruition. This is a great example of the Council’s ongoing partnership with RNIB to help Derry/Londonderry become a ‘Visually Aware City.’”

    Derry City’s Robert Martin added: “Derry City FC is delighted to note the success of the new ‘Brandywell Audio Assistant’ service that was trialled in our home game against Shamrock Rovers on Friday night.

    “Anything that enhances the match night experience at the ground is warmly welcomed and no doubt our visually impaired supporters will be happy to make use of the headsets going forward.

    “We congratulate all involved in the development of this project and encourage anyone who feels they may benefit from the service to speak with stadium stewards.

    “The sets will be stored in the Communications room and signed in and out by an appointed club delegate.”

    For further information on accessing the new service contact Rory McCartney (RNIB),  [email protected].

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Preparing health and social care for winter

    Source: Scottish Government

    Record high NHS 24 workforce to meet increased demand.

    A record number of NHS 24 call handlers will support the public to access the most appropriate care this winter as services deal with increased demand.

    Through the Scottish Government and COSLA’s joint Winter Preparedness Plan, continued investment for NHS 24 will increase service capacity to provide clinical supervision for at least 150,000 additional calls per year and help prevent unnecessary A&E attendances.

    Key measures to support services in the face of increased demand, include; improving discharge planning for patients admitted to acute or community hospitals, maintaining established care at home packages and a Government led delayed discharge response team to directly support Boards in need of assistance. Planned care capacity will also be safeguarded with a continued focus on clearing long waits.

    The annual winter vaccination programme, which includes respiratory condition RSV for the first time, will support a reduction in severe disease, hospitalisation and mortality – while protecting health and social care service capacity. The joint plan also sets out action to support the mental health and well-being of service staff through increased flexible working options and dedicated mental health resources.

    This year’s plan has been published a month ahead of last year, and earlier than ever before, to allow more time for NHS Boards and care providers to prepare for winter surges in demand.

    Health Secretary Neil Gray said:

    “As winter approaches, the NHS will see surges in demand across all health, social care and social work services. Our joint-plan Winter Plan with COSLA is just one part of a wider programme of work to respond to heightened demand.

    “A record number of NHS 24 call handlers will be available this winter to direct people to the most appropriate care, helping reduce unnecessary A&E attendances. We will continue our work to reduce delayed discharge in hospitals with an increased focus on effective discharge planning and protecting care at home packages. We will also ensure planned care capacity is protected as much as possible in the face of winter pressure so patients are seen as quickly as possible.

    “We are prioritising frontline services with over £14.2 billion investment in our boards this year – an almost 3% real terms uplift – and also investing £2 billion in social care services.

    “I thank all health, social care and social work staff for their continued efforts and dedication to deliver high quality care. It is fundamental we safeguard their wellbeing, and improved options on flexible working and continued access to mental health resources will ensure staff are supported over this challenging period.”

    COSLA Health and Social Care Spokesperson, Councillor Paul Kelly said:

    “It is our shared responsibility to ensure that people and communities have timely access to quality care and support when they need it most. We know that Local Government and Health and Social Care Partnerships across Scotland are working hard to plan and deliver the essential health and social care services our communities rely on every day.

    “The context within which this takes place is increasingly challenging, which is why COSLA have worked jointly with the Scottish Government to produce this plan. Local Government plays a key role in supporting people to experience better wellbeing and better outcomes, so it was only right that this plan reflects the whole system of integrated health and social care, from acute and primary care to social work, our care homes, community settings, and our partners across the sector.

    “Winter is often a time of exceptional pressure on our services so I am pleased that this plan, produced with our partners across the sector, reflects the challenges and the opportunities we face.”

    Background

    Health & Social Care Winter Preparedness Plan for 2024-25

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Death of an inmate from Archambault Institution

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    On September 15, 2024, Guy Bissonnette, an inmate from Archambault Institution, died while in our custody of apparent natural causes.

    September 17, 2024 – Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec – Correctional Service of Canada

    On September 15, 2024, Guy Bissonnette, an inmate from Archambault Institution, died while in our custody of apparent natural causes.

    At the time of death, the person had been serving an indeterminate sentence, which commenced on October 26, 1990, for second-degree murder.

    As in all cases involving the death of an inmate, Correctional Service Canada (CSC) will review the circumstances.

    CSC policy requires that the police and the coroner be notified.

    -30-

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Leeds low carbon heat network set to expand to thousands more residents

    Source: City of Leeds

    Leeds’s South Bank is to enjoy more affordable and lower carbon heating after £24.5m funding was secured to further expand the Leeds PIPES district heating network.

    The expansion is planned to include up to 28 buildings, with up to 8,000 residents and mixed-use customers benefitting from connections, making it the most significant single investment into the project since its inception.

    Households benefitting from the expansion will enjoy more reliable, more affordable, lower carbon heating.

    By using heat recovered from the city’s non-recyclable domestic waste to provide warmth and hot water to buildings in the city, the Leeds PIPES district heating project is helping businesses and residents to move away from costly fossil-fuel powered heating systems.

    The continued expansion of the district heating network is supporting efforts to end the city’s contribution to climate change by transitioning to lower carbon heating systems. Last year, 5,945 tonnes of carbon were saved through the network.

    The original project connected over 1,900 homes and non-domestic buildings to the energy-from-waste scheme. Earlier this year, over two hundred and fifty council properties in Lovell Park Heights, Lovell Park Grange, and Lovell Park Towers were set up to receive heat from the network.

    This year, connections have been completed at Leeds Conservatoire and the former Technology Campus Student Residential development and both sites are now receiving heat from the network.

    Over the summer, agreements have also been signed with the new Railway Street affordable homes scheme, 24-28 Great George Street, which is to become student apartments with the Victoria Hotel pub reopening on the ground floor, Leeds College of Building’s North Street Campus and the Co-op Academy Brierley SEND School in Cross Green.

    Councillor Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council’s executive member for climate, energy, environment and green space and Councillor Jessica Lennox, executive member for housing, said:

    “We are both pleased that many more residents will soon be paying significantly less to heat their homes thanks to this latest expansion of the Leeds PIPES network.

    “UK’s homes are some of the least efficient and most reliant on costly fossil fuel gas in Europe, and too many families in our city struggle to pay their energy bills. We are committed to helping households by making our homes greener and fit for the future.

    “Leeds is working towards becoming the first net zero city in the UK, and connecting more homes to affordable low carbon heating like Leeds PIPES is a step in the right direction.”

    ENDS

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Edinburgh to host International Fair Trade Towns Conference in 2025

    Source: Scotland – City of Edinburgh

    A prestigious international convention on Fair Trade and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be hosted in the capital in August next year.

    Delegates from around the world will come to Edinburgh for the 18th International Fair Trade Towns Conference. 

    They will take part in a three-day (29 to 31 August) series of discussions themed around the SDGs and the importance of Fair Trade in driving progress towards them. The conference will also highlight the important contributions that Edinburgh has made to Fair Trade. 

    Fair Trade is an international movement that aims to secure better prices, fair terms of trade, and improved working conditions for farmers, producers and workers in the global south. The movement now works with farmers and workers in more than 1,900 producer organisations across 70 countries. 

    The event is expected to welcome over 150 representatives from around the world, and to have 100 or more Edinburgh schoolchildren participate.

    City of Edinburgh Lord Provost Robert Aldridge said:

    It is a great honour that Edinburgh will be hosting this fantastic event. It gives Edinburgh and our friends across the globe the opportunity to share know-how, expertise, and best practice, while showcasing the best our city has to offer. This is a very powerful example of joint working between international partners. 

    As a Fairtrade City, Edinburgh is dedicated to motivating residents to work towards a common goal and stay on course by advocating for environmental sustainability and supporting local sustainable businesses.

    This year Edinburgh marks 20 years as a Fairtrade City, and Scotland has recently celebrated 10 years as a Fairtrade Nation. I look forward to the gathering next year and celebrating yet another milestone in our aim to make this a world in which trade is based on fairness, and where the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are successfully implemented.”  

    Published: September 24th 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Schweikert Introduces Legislation That Would Save Taxpayers Almost $80 Billion Across a Decade

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

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman David Schweikert, alongside Congressmen Jared Golden (D-ME), Mike Kelly (R-PA), and Glenn Grothman (R-WI), introduced the Employee Retention Tax Credit Repeal Act, bipartisan legislation that would disallow the processing of Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) claims filed after January 31, 2024; dramatically increase penalties on those defrauding the government; and aid the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in getting out the door honest, low-risk returns from small businesses. The original design of the ERTC was to help Main Street retain employees during the pandemic. However, legitimate returns from small businesses desperately needing support were crowded out by perverse promoters looking to take advantage of an emergency program, landing ERTC on the IRS’s “Dirty Dozen” list in 2023.

    Earlier this summer, IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel asked for Congress’ “help with this situation” and assist Treasury to “address fraud and error.” The ERTC Repeal Act would enable the return to fiscal sanity and end a program riddled with fraud that could cost up to seven times more—up to $550 billion—than initially estimated if allowed to continue. By eliminating the ERTC program, this bill would save taxpayers an estimated $79 billion over ten years.  

    “We’ve all heard from the number of small businesses in our district waiting for their claims to be processed,” said Rep. David Schweikert (AZ-01). “A 1.4 million return backlog still exists, and moving the deadline up, rather than waiting until April 2025, will enable the IRS to go after the bad actors seeking to take advantage of taxpayers while approving legitimate claims faster and delivering long-overdue refunds to small businesses. Congress would be perpetuating a moral hazard if this level of fraud were allowed to go unpunished. It’s past time fiscal responsibility prevails, and we act on behalf of future generations who will be shouldered with a more than $35 trillion national debt.”

    “This tax credit was an emergency response to protect workers and small businesses during the pandemic. Today, bad actors are abusing the program to pad their bottom lines at Americans’ expense,” Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) said. “It’s past time we end this program — the conditions that made it necessary are over, and it’s a ripe target for tax cheats. Taking it off the books will protect taxpayers from fraud.”

    Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said, “Although the COVID public health and economic emergency has ended, our national debt and fiscal challenges continue to mount. We thank Representatives Schweikert (R-AZ) and Golden (D-ME) for introducing the House version of legislation to repeal the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), which is rife with fraud and has significantly overshot the original cost estimate, increasing the national debt. Given that the economy has recovered from the pandemic, it’s clear that this tax credit has outlived its purpose. We encourage Congress to pass this bipartisan, bicameral bill without delay and save $80 billion as a first step toward putting our country back on a fiscally sustainable path.”

    Background of the Employee Retention Tax Credit Repeal Act:

    • The Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC)—created by the CARES Act and furthered expanded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan—is a refundable credit available to qualifying businesses who paid wages to employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2021, the IRS issued a notice warning employers of “third parties promoting improper Employee Retention claims.” These “promoters” often use aggressive and deceptive marketing tactics to convince businesses to allow them to file ERTC claims on their behalf. Fraud within the program became so prevalent that it then earned a place on the “Dirty Dozen” list of schemes and scams that make taxpayers vulnerable to personal and financial risk in March of 2023.

    The ERTC Repeal Act would bring forward the sunset date of the ERTC and disallow the processing of ERTC claims filed after January 31, 2024. Additionally, this bill would:

    • Increase penalties for promoters from $1,000 to $10,000 for individuals and $200,000 for business promoters;
    • Impose a $1,000 penalty for failure to comply with due diligence requirements; and
    • Extend the statute of limitations period on assessments to six years.

    Full bill text can be found here.

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

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  • MIL-OSI Canada: Canada imposes further sanctions against Iran

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that Canada is imposing additional sanctions under the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations.

    September 18, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

    The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that Canada is imposing additional sanctions under the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations.

    Today’s announcement follows the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, who died while in the custody of Iran’s so-called morality police on September 16, 2022. Iranian authorities had detained her for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code.

    The sanctions apply to five Iranian political figures responsible for the design and implementation of repressive policies, including the violent repression of protesters.

    The five individuals are:

    • Mohammad Mokhber
    • Gholam Hossein Esmaili
    • Seyyed Masoud Mirkazemi
    • Siamak Rahpeik
    • Ahmad-Reza Radan

    Canada is imposing these sanctions in coordination with Australia and the United States. The three countries are taking similar action this week in response to the acceleration of Iran’s repressive measures against women and its brutal crackdown on citizen demonstrations, as well as its ongoing grave breach of international peace and security.

    Canada will continue to increase pressure on Iran and implement further measures for as long as Iran continues its abhorrent conduct. Canada’s measures includes designating Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism under the State Immunity Act, listing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code and implementing sanctions under the Special Economic Measures Act and the United Nations Act to impose dealing restrictions and freeze assets held in Canada.

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