NewzIntel.com

Category: France

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. and Allied Forces Conduct La Perouse 2025

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    INDIAN OCEAN  –  

    La Perouse is a biennial, multilateral exercise demonstrating a shared commitment to enhance regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

    This exercise is designed to advance maritime security in the region through maritime surveillance, interdiction, and air operations through progressive training and information sharing.

    This exercise provided an opportunity for U.S. and allied and partner navies, who have shared values, fulfill maritime integration training objectives by emphasizing collaboration, warfighting, and readiness in a dynamic theater, resulting in enhanced maritime security and continued deterrence.

    “USS Savannah’s opportunity to operate with our foreign partners this week was exciting. The French and American navies have shared priorities and an enduring mission in the Indo-Pacific,” said Capt. Matt Scarlett, commodore, Destroyer Squadron 7. “Our ability to conduct consistent bilateral operations, conduct information sharing, and participate in realistic scenarios at sea, increases our interoperability as a joint force and ensures sustained maritime security in the region.”

    Named after an 18th-century French naval officer and explorer, La Perouse reflects longstanding values and a shared commitment to maritime security with like-minded nations.

    The French Navy Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group is represented by their aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle (R91). Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group is operating in the Indo-Pacific as part of their Clemenceau 25 deployment.

    “We welcome the opportunity to operate alongside the French navy, our friend and longtime ally, out here in the Indo-Pacific,” said Vice Adm. Fred Kacher, commander, U.S. 7th Fleet. “Their exercise La Perouse underscores the value our European allies place on this critical maritime region, and we look forward to advancing interoperability at sea between our forces.”

    Additional participating units included Royal Australian Navy’s Hobart Class guided missile destroyers HMAS Hobart (DDG 39); Royal Canadian Navy’s Halifax-class frigate HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341); the Indian Navy’s Delhi-class guided-missile destroyers INS Mumbai (D 62); Royal Malaysian Navy’s Lekiu-class guided missile frigate FFG Lekir (FFG 30) and Gagah Samudera-class training ship KD Gagah Samudera (271); Royal Navy of the United Kingdom’s River-class off-shore patrol vessel HMS Spey (P 234); and Republic of Singapore Navy’s Independence-class littoral mission vessel RSS Independence (15)

    As the U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed DESRON in Southeast Asia, DESRON 7 serves as the primary tactical and operational commander of littoral combat ships rotationally deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations, functions as Expeditionary Strike Group 7’s Sea Combat Commander and builds partnerships through training and exercises and military-to military engagements.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Crimestoppers GNO and U.S. Marshals New Orleans Task Force Operation Boo Dat Concludes with Over 50 Arrests and an Endangered Teen Recovery

    Source: US Marshals Service

    New Orleans, LA – Crimestoppers Greater New Orleans (GNO) and the U.S. Marshals Service New Orleans Task Force sponsored their annual Operation Boo Dat 2024 from Oct. 22, 2024, to Jan. 18, 2025.  The operation was a partnership between New Orleans Police Department, Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Kenner Police Department, St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, Louisiana Probation and Parole, Homeland Security Investigations, and USMS New Orleans Task Force resulted in 51 arrests, with 16 of the arrests being for felony sex offender registration violations.  A missing/endangered 13-year-old female was also recovered for NOPD during the operation and that recovery led to an immigration violation arrest of a 16-year-old male who was believed to have been involved in juvenile gang activity across the New Orleans metro area.  Twenty-one of the 51 arrested fugitives were arrested during the operation on felony warrants related to open sex-based offenses.  Crimestoppers GNO provided critical support during the operation to include a media released photo spread of 31 fugitives.  The photo spread resulted in the arrests or clearing of 11 of the photo spread targets.  The 20 remaining targets are still at large and Crimestoppers GNO rewards are available for information that leads to their arrest.

    During the operation, sex offender compliance checks were also conducted in Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and St. Tammany parishes.  These compliance checks require law enforcement officers to physically visit the sex offender’s reported address of residence to verify that the offender still lives at the provided address.  Countless hours of follow-up investigative work are often required during and after a compliance check.  The compliance checks led to the arrests of 16 fugitives wanted for violating their sex offender registration (Failure to Register or Update as a Sex Offender—FTR).  Several of the FTR arrests were based off Crimestoppers GNO tips.    

    Highlights of Operation Boo Dat 2024 included:

    — The Nov. 1, 2024, arrest of Kevin Dubon-Carrasco, who was wanted by JPSO on an October 2024 warrant for sexual battery, indecent behavior with juveniles, and domestic abuse battery-child endangerment. The alleged victim was an 8-year-old child.  Dubon-Carrasco was arrested in the 3300 block of Green Acres, Metairie, and later rebooked with immigration violations.

    — The Nov. 6, 2024, arrest of Michael K. Brooks on an August 2024 NOPD warrant for aggravated battery by shooting, home invasion, and first-degree rape.  He was also wanted out of Fort Smith, Arkansas, on an active warrant for aggravated assault.  After an almost three-hour standoff with Brooks fleeing on foot through a neighborhood in the 2400 block of Sixth Street, he was finally arrested with assistance from NOPD Special Operations Division.

    — The Nov. 13, 2024, USMS Missing Child Unit recovery of an endangered 13-year-old female runaway for NOPD.  She had been listed as a runaway for NOPD 3rd District earlier in November. She had a prior history of running away and allegations of prior sexual abuse.  It was determined via investigation that she was associated with alleged teenage gang members known to operate in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish and be in possession of firearms and rifles.  With critical assistance from HSI and SBPSO she was recovered in Chalmette, and a 16-year-old male was taken into immigration custody based on the female’s recovery.

    — The Nov. 19, 2024, arrest of Jose Briseno-Molina, who was wanted by the Montgomery County Texas Sheriff’s Office on a warrant for aggravated sexual assault of children.  The alleged victims were under the age of 13.  Briseno-Molina is alleged to have fled Texas to Jefferson Parish, working at a barber shop to raise money before allegedly planning to flee to Mexico.  USMS Southern District of Texas contacted the USMS New Orleans Task Force for assistance and, with critical support from JPSO, the task force arrested Briseno-Molina in the 700 block of Terry Parkway in Jefferson Parish. An ICE immigration hold was also placed on him.  

    — The Dec. 4, 2024, arrest of Ashley Karl Carambat, wanted on a November 2024 STPSO warrant for pornography involving juveniles under the age of 13 and aggravated crimes against nature.   Information was developed by the USMS New Orleans Task Force that Carambat had relocated to the Mobile, Alabama, area and a collateral lead was sent to the USMS Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, who arrested her in Spanish Fort, Alabama.

    — The Dec. 19, 2024, arrest of Jalil Jonas Williams on an NOPD warrant for second-degree murder. Williams, who was on active LA P&P supervision, is alleged to have murdered a Cox Cable technician in the 8000 block of Dwyer Road Dec. 16, 2024.  He was also wanted for an attempted armed robbery in the French Quarter and is a person of interest in another armed robbery in Jefferson Parish.  With assistance from a Crimestoppers GNO tip he was arrested at the New Orleans Bus/Train Station where he was awaiting a bus to allegedly flee from New Orleans.  He was in possession of a firearm at the time of his arrest.

    — The Dec. 20, 2024, arrest of Parnell Wilson, wanted by the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office on a July 2024 warrant for two counts of first-degree rape of a child (an 8-year-old girl).  Wilson was on active Louisiana Probation and Parole supervision. The USMS New Orleans Task Force, working with LA P&P, developed information that Wilson was going back and forth between New Orleans and Tangipahoa Parish and refusing to comply with his supervision.  He was finally arrested at the LA P&P Office in New Orleans based on work done by the USMS New Orleans Task Force and LA P&P.  

    “Operation Boo Dat demonstrates the commitment of the U.S. Marshals Service, Crimestoppers GNO, and our local law enforcement to protect our communities from violence and exploitation,” said Eastern District of Louisiana U.S. Marshal Enix Smith III.

    “Together, we will continue to prioritize the safety and well-being of our residents and hold accountable those who threaten them.”  

    Any information can be provided to the U.S. Marshals Service at (504) 589-6872 or via email at usms.wanted@usdoj.gov.  Crimestoppers GNO may also be contacted with tips at (504) 822-1111.
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Office of PSA, IISc and MEA organise Technology Dialogue 2025 to Explore New Frontiers in Technology Diplomacy on 24th and 25th January 2025

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 27 JAN 2025 6:21PM by PIB Delhi

    Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) jointly organised an international technology policy summit titled “Technology Dialogue 2025: Exploring New Frontiers in Technology Diplomacy” on 24 and 25 January 2025 in IISc, Bengaluru as a continuation to Dialogue 2023 held in November 2023.

    Recognising the importance of technology in driving India’s global partnerships, the summit focused on India’s international technology engagement framework, and the need for leveraging strategic partnerships on critical and emerging technologies such as quantum, AI, semiconductors, space tech, and bioeconomy.

    The summit was inaugurated with a keynote address on International Technology Engagement Framework (ITEF) by the Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh, who highlighted various national initiatives and missions aimed at advancing India’s technological aspirations while emphasizing the importance of global partnerships and collaborations. Hon’ble Minister Dr Singh also emphasised the need for a structured framework and approach in elevating India’s International Technology Engagements. The inauguration ceremony was joined by Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood (Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India), H.E. Pavan Kapoor (Deputy National Security Adviser, Government of India), Shri S. Raghuram (Joint Secretary of Policy Planning & Research, Ministry of External Affairs), Prof. G. Rangarajan (Director of IISc), and Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon), and was chaired by Prof. G.K. Ananthasuresh (Dean of the Division of Mechanical Sciences, IISc). PSA Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood delivered a special address on conceptualisation and building blocks of ITEF. Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw delivered a special address on industrial perspective that should shape India’s ITEF.

    The summit featured a keynote address on leveraging strategic partnerships on critical and emerging technologies for India by H.E. Pavan Kapoor (Deputy National Security Adviser, Government of India). This was followed by a featured panel on expanding the contours of international engagements for technology partnerships featuring H.E. Chandru Iyer (His Majesty’s Deputy Trade Commissioner for Investment for Souh Asia, Deputy High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Karnataka and Kerala), H.E. Carly Partridge (Minister Counsellor,  Australian High Commission), H.E. Alfonso Tagliaferri (Consulate General of Italy in Bengaluru), Dr Soren Tranberg Hansen (Consulate General of Denmark) and Dr Rama Swami Bansal (Chief Scientist & Head, International S&T Affairs Directorate, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

    The second day began with a keynote address on Technology and Development Partnerships of India by Shri Periasamy Kumaran, Special Secretary (ER & DPA), Ministry of External Affairs where he highlighted the ongoing bilateral efforts of Government of India with multiple countries in emerging and critical technologies.

    Thematic panel on ‘Fostering Collaboration for Quantum Revolution’ was organised on to deliberate on advancements in quantum technologies and policy imperatives globally. The panel began with a lead presentation by Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood highlighting features of India’s National Quantum Mission (NQM). The panel also featured Prof Andrew White (ARC Australian Laureate Fellow), Dr Amith Singhee (Director, IBM Research India) and Prof Urbasi Sinha (Professor at Raman Research Institute), moderated by Mr Luke Preskey (Chief Revenue Officer, Resonance).

    The summit also featured a dialogue between Dr S Somanath (Former Secretary, Department of Space and former Chairman of ISRO), and Dr Koichi Wakata (Astronaut and CTO, Asia-Pacific at Axiom Space) on the theme, ‘Unlocking Potentials of Space Tech’ discussing space exploration boom, the entry of private entities, industry partners and foreign investment, as well the encouraging growth of space startups.

    The panel on ‘Accelerating Artificial Intelligence (AI) Innovation’ featured Shri S Krishnan (Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), H.E. Arthur Barichard (Deputy Ambassador for Digital Affairs, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Republic of France), Ms Laxmi Shenoy (Managing Director, Accenture), Shri Biswajit Das (Head – Data Analytics and AI, Amazon Web Services), and Dr Leah Junck (Global Center on AI Governance, South Africa), moderated by Prof Chiranjib Bhattacharyya (Chair, Department of Computer Science and Automation, IISc). The panel deliberated on building a trustworthy AI ecosystem, focusing on AI governance, the future of work, and AI for public interest.

    The panel on ‘Advancing India’s Bio-Economy’ featured Dr Alka Sharma (Adviser, Department of Biotechnology), Shri Krishna Mohan Puvvada (Senior Vice President, MEIA Novonesis), Mr Peter Bains (Group CEO of Biocon Group), Prof Usha Vijayraghavan (Dean, Biological Science Division, IISc) and Dr Bhuvnesh Shrivastava (Director- Healthcare, US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), moderated by Prof Gayatri Saberwal (Dean, Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology). The panel discussed the importance of international collaboration for India to achieve its bio-economy ambitions.

    The valedictory session featured a keynote address on driving sectoral transformation through independent and synergistic technology advancements by Dr Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India. The session also featured a fireside chat on positioning India in the global semiconductor value chain between Shri Utpal Shah (Senior Vice President – Strategy and Business Development, Tata Electronics) and Prof Andrew White, chaired by Prof Navakanta Bhat (Dean, Division of Interdisciplinary Sciences, IISc).

    The Technology Dialogue 2025 also featured the India-France AI Policy Roundtable: Roadmap for the AI Action Summit 2025. The roundtable was co-chaired by Shri Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, and Chief Executive Officer of the IndiaAI Mission, representing India, and H.E. Mr. Marc Lamy, Consul General of France in Bengaluru, representing France. The discussion focused on key policy positions related to global AI development and governance, while also exploring opportunities for collaboration and synergy between India and France. The roundtable focused on the following key objectives:

     

    ●          Unified Global AI Governance

    ●          Understanding AI Technologies and Implications

    ●          Addressing Digital Divide and Market Concentration

    ●          Common and Open AI Infrastructure

    ●          Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in AI

    ●          Sustaining AI Innovation and Addressing Resource Needs

     

    The India-France AI Policy Roundtable, during Technology Dialogue 2025, served as a platform for discussions leading up to the 2025 AI Action Summit to be co-chaired by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

    The two day summit exploring technology policy and diplomacy efforts with key partner countries witnessed the participation from various foreign missions in India, global thought leaders on critical and emerging technologies, industry and academia thought leadership in various technologies, industries bodies, start-ups and scholars of public policy.

    More details at: https://technologydialogue.in/

    *****

    Mattu J.P. Singh/Siddhant Tiwari

    (Release ID: 2096762) Visitor Counter : 59

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Atonement by Ian McEwan is a meditation on creativity in later life

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By David Amigoni, Professor of Victorian Literature, Editorial Board Chair, Keele University

    In Ian McEwan’s Atonement (2001), aspiring writer 13-year-old Briony Tallis glimpses a world of opaque “adult emotion”. Holding a pen and blank paper before her, she feels a powerful impulse to write in order to impose order and meaning on adulthood’s slippery uncertainties.

    Earlier on that hot summer’s day in 1935, she had witnessed a perplexing scene of seeming “ugly threat”. Her older sister, Cecilia, undressed in front of their cleaning lady’s son (and fellow Cambridge graduate) Robbie Turner. She then plunged, in her underwear, into an ornamental fountain.

    Briony’s urge to write is triggered when she reads the private note she had been tasked with delivering from Robbie to Cecilia. Within, she is shocked to discover Robbie’s desire for Cecilia, expressed through use of the unutterable “c” word. Later, looking through the door of their darkened library, Briony mistakenly believes she sees Robbie committing a violent assault on her sister.

    This article is part of Rethinking the Classics. The stories in this series offer insightful new ways to think about and interpret classic books, films and artworks. This is the canon – with a twist.

    McEwan’s novel presents a privileged English country house setting that descends into a chaos of mistakes, class resentment, educational ambition and sex, expressed both as desire and power. The latter is evident in the rape of Briony’s cousin Lola.

    Convinced that she has seen, and now read, the truth about “evil” Robbie’s “disgusting” obsession with her sister, Briony believes he is the culprit. She is confident that her writing will expose a “maniac’s” guilt. However, her urge to write upon the blank page is stronger than her sense of what precisely to say.

    In fact, what she writes at this crucial moment – “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly” – feels entirely strange. But just as the old lady of the nursery rhyme fatally bites off ever more that she can chew in swallowing a fly, a spider, a bird, a cat, so Briony’s tragically mistaken ideas about Robbie ends in his incrimination and incarceration.

    Robbie is free only when released to fight for the British Expeditionary Force in France in 1940. He strives to return to Cecilia via the horrors and heroism of that most resonant of British stories, Dunkirk.

    Life stages, ageing and creativity are important themes in Atonement. It is as an older lady writer herself that Briony atones for the incriminating stories that her juvenile writer self swallowed and multiplied.



    Read more:
    Dunkirk survivors’ terror didn’t end when they were rescued

    Creativity in later life

    Putting age and later life front and centre urges the reader to reassess McEwan’s renowned “twist”. That is, the moment readers discover that key scenes in the novel – meetings between Briony, Cecilia and Robbie following the latter’s evacuation from Dunkirk – never happened.

    As we are told on the penultimate page, the truth is that Robbie died of septicaemia in the dunes of Dunkirk and Cecilia was killed in the direct hit of a bomb on the Balham tube station in 1940.

    At this moment, we realise that what we have been reading is the final draft of the atoning conclusion to a work by now 77-year-old Briony. Like so many late stylists (a writer who, in later life, returns to earlier preoccupations and themes), Briony, an established author with a reputation for “amorality”, revisits her early work on her 77th birthday party. It’s an event that brings her back to the estate of her childhood, now converted into a hotel.

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

    Briony’s later life shapes the closure of the story, but McEwan’s imaginative engagement with ageing affects every aspect of the novel. He presents readers with story-shaped anticipations of mid- and later life, even when the character will not live to see that age.

    Robbie, working-class protégé of Mr Tallis’s educational philanthropy, with a first in English literature from Cambridge, consciously awakens into his unacknowledged love for Cecilia while thinking about his age and future.

    The feelings coincide with his developing aspiration to train in medicine, and his imaginary anticipations of his life course.

    He thought of himself in 1962, at 50, when he would be old, but not quite old enough to be useless, and of the weathered, knowing doctor he would be by then, with the secret stories, the tragedies and successes stacked behind him”

    These will be embodied in books – more writings – “possessed in the thousands”. Briony and Cecilia’s migraine-suffering mother Emily, meanwhile, sees her ageing self grow “stiffer in the limbs and more irrelevant by the day”.

    Through the character of Briony, McEwan contests the ageism and invisibility that can be the fate of older women. McEwan may take her to the brink of a terminal neurological decline in 1999 – she is diagnosed with vascular dementia – but Briony resists the othering that ageism imposes on older people: “we may look truly reptilian, but we’re not a separate tribe”.

    The end of the novel presents readers with a view of active, meaningful later life as a creative time of collaborative, curatorial story telling.

    The older Briony was played by Vanessa Redgrave in the 2007 adaptation of Atonement.

    Readers become aware of the “sources” of the dramatic story of Robbie’s trek across northern France in the company of Corporals Mace and Nettle. Seventy-seven-year-old Briony donates the “dozen long letters from old Mr Nettle” to the archives of the Imperial War Museum, where she has been researching.

    This act of memory preservation returns readers to the meaning of the horrors, carnage and heroism of the Dunkirk evacuation which McEwan presents through that powerful central episode in the novel. The evacuation of more than 300,000 troops from Dunkirk, including a small proportion of volunteer boats, makes Dunkirk a nationally resonant story.

    Briony’s collaborative, later-life storytelling captures the heroism and sacrifice inherent in the perspectives of the wounded evacuee combatants. But so, too, their more sceptical, critical accents.

    They “were bitter about the newspaper celebrations of the miracle evacuation and the heroism of the little boats. ‘A fucking shambles,’ she heard one of them mutter.” Or more precisely, the older lady recalled hearing, and then wrote.

    Beyond the canon

    As part of the Rethinking the Classics series, we’re asking our experts to recommend a book or artwork that tackles similar themes to the canonical work in question, but isn’t (yet) considered a classic itself. Here is David Amigoni’s suggestion:

    Paul Bailey, who died in October 2024, was an excellent but under-acknowledged writer who deserves to be more widely read.

    His writing went against the grain is subtle ways. He was experimenting with ways of writing about later life at the beginning of his career in 1967, with the publication of At the Jerusalem, set in a home for older women. He was then in his early 30s.

    The Prince’s Boy (2014) was written when he was 77 – the same age as McEwan’s fictional Briony Tallis when she completes Atonement. It revisits key themes in Bailey’s earlier work: sexuality (he was a gay man), love, Proust, Romania and Europe.

    David Amigoni received funding from RCUK (now UKRI) for his work on ageing and late-life creativity. He is affiliated with The Conversation UK as Chair of its Editorial Board.

    – ref. Atonement by Ian McEwan is a meditation on creativity in later life – https://theconversation.com/atonement-by-ian-mcewan-is-a-meditation-on-creativity-in-later-life-244801

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: BW Energy Joins Invest in African Energy (IAE) 2025 Amid Record Dussafu Output, Namibia Exploration Progress

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    PARIS, France, January 27, 2025/APO Group/ —

    Jérôme Bertheau, Executive Vice President – Global Projects at BW Energy, will speak at the Invest in African Energy (IAE) 2025 Forum, set to take place May 13-14 in Paris. Bertheau’s participation underscores the company’s commitment to advancing Africa’s energy sector through innovative developments and strategic investments.

    BW Energy is making significant strides in Africa’s energy landscape, particularly in Gabon, where the company is enhancing production at the Dussafu field through advanced recovery techniques. Last October, the company signed PSCs for the Niosi Marin and Guduma Marin offshore exploration blocks in partnership with Panoro Energy and VAALCO Energy. These agreements include drilling one well in the Niosi Marin block during the exploration phase, alongside plans for a 3D seismic acquisition campaign. BW Energy aims to complete the first phase of Hibiscus and Ruche development and bring production to a nameplate capacity of 40,000 barrels per day.

    IAE 2025 (www.Invest-Africa-Energy.com) is an exclusive forum designed to facilitate investment between African energy markets and global investors. Taking place May 13-14, 2025 in Paris, the event offers delegates two days of intensive engagement with industry experts, project developers, investors and policymakers. For more information, please visit www.Invest-Africa-Energy.com. To sponsor or participate as a delegate, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com.

    ​​In addition to its activities in Gabon, BW Energy is making progress in Namibia with plans to drill a well on the Kharas prospect offshore, northwest of the Kudu Formation. The company has secured long-lead items and is in discussions with other operators for rig capacity, with drilling expected to begin in the second half of 2025. Furthermore, BW Energy has completed the processing of a PSDM 3D dataset over the offshore Kudu gas field and is advancing its development planning for the proposed Kudu gas-to-power project. The company is also progressing its Maromba oilfield development in Brazil, with a final investment decision expected in early 2025.

    Bertheau’s participation at IAE 2025 highlights BW Energy’s commitment to innovation and its focus on maximizing the value of its African assets while promoting local content and sustainable development. The company’s involvement underscores its position as a leading energy player, leveraging cutting-edge technologies and strategic partnerships to drive growth across its portfolio.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: U.S. and Allied Forces Conduct La Perouse 2025

    Source: United States Navy

    La Perouse is a biennial, multilateral exercise demonstrating a shared commitment to enhance regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

    This exercise is designed to advance maritime security in the region through maritime surveillance, interdiction, and air operations through progressive training and information sharing.

    This exercise provided an opportunity for U.S. and allied and partner navies, who have shared values, fulfill maritime integration training objectives by emphasizing collaboration, warfighting, and readiness in a dynamic theater, resulting in enhanced maritime security and continued deterrence.

    “USS Savannah’s opportunity to operate with our foreign partners this week was exciting. The French and American navies have shared priorities and an enduring mission in the Indo-Pacific,” said Capt. Matt Scarlett, commodore, Destroyer Squadron 7. “Our ability to conduct consistent bilateral operations, conduct information sharing, and participate in realistic scenarios at sea, increases our interoperability as a joint force and ensures sustained maritime security in the region.”

    Named after an 18th-century French naval officer and explorer, La Perouse reflects longstanding values and a shared commitment to maritime security with like-minded nations.

    The French Navy Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group is represented by their aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle (R91). Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group is operating in the Indo-Pacific as part of their Clemenceau 25 deployment.

    “We welcome the opportunity to operate alongside the French navy, our friend and longtime ally, out here in the Indo-Pacific,” said Vice Adm. Fred Kacher, commander, U.S. 7th Fleet. “Their exercise La Perouse underscores the value our European allies place on this critical maritime region, and we look forward to advancing interoperability at sea between our forces.”

    Additional participating units included Royal Australian Navy’s Hobart Class guided missile destroyers HMAS Hobart (DDG 39); Royal Canadian Navy’s Halifax-class frigate HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341); the Indian Navy’s Delhi-class guided-missile destroyers INS Mumbai (D 62); Royal Malaysian Navy’s Lekiu-class guided missile frigate FFG Lekir (FFG 30) and Gagah Samudera-class training ship KD Gagah Samudera (271); Royal Navy of the United Kingdom’s River-class off-shore patrol vessel HMS Spey (P 234); and Republic of Singapore Navy’s Independence-class littoral mission vessel RSS Independence (15)

    As the U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed DESRON in Southeast Asia, DESRON 7 serves as the primary tactical and operational commander of littoral combat ships rotationally deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations, functions as Expeditionary Strike Group 7’s Sea Combat Commander and builds partnerships through training and exercises and military-to military engagements.

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s vision of a peace deal for Ukraine is limited to a ceasefire – and it’s not even clear if Kyiv or Moscow are going to play ball

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham

    We are now well beyond the 24 hours that Donald Trump had promised it would take him to secure an end to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. But Trump’s first week since his inauguration on January 20, 2025, has nonetheless been a busy one regarding Ukraine.

    In his inauguration address, Trump only made a passing and indirect reference to Ukraine, criticising his predecessor Joe Biden of running “a government that has given unlimited funding to the defence of foreign borders but refuses to defend American borders”.

    Trump’s first more substantive statement on Ukraine was a post on his TruthSocial network, threatening Russia taxes, tariffs and sanctions if his Russian counterpart doesn’t agree to make a deal soon. He reiterated this point on January 23 in comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos, adding that he “really would like to be able to meet with President Putin”.


    Donald Trump/Truth Social

    Trump’s nominee for treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, had already backed Trump’s approach during his Senate confirmation hearing on January 16. Like Trump, Bessent specifically emphasised increasing sanctions on Russian oil companies “to levels that would bring the Russian Federation to the table”.

    The following day, Putin responded by saying that he and Trump should indeed meet to discuss Ukraine and oil prices. But this was far from a firm commitment to enter into negotiations, and particularly not with Ukraine.

    Putin alluded to an October 2022 decree by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, banning any negotiations with the Kremlin after Russia formally annexed four regions of Ukraine. Zelensky has since clarified that the decree applies to everyone but him, thus signalling that he would not stand in the way of opening direct talks with Russia.

    Yet, Putin is likely to continue playing for time. The most likely first step in a Trump-brokered deal will be a ceasefire freezing the line of contact at the time of agreement. With his forces still advancing on the ground in Ukraine, every day of fighting brings Putin additional territorial gains.

    Nor are there any signs of waning support from Russian allies. Few and far between as they may be, China, Iran and North Korea have been critical in sustaining the Kremlin’s war effort. Moscow now has added a treaty on a comprehensive strategic partnership with Iran to the one it had sealed with North Korea in June 2024.

    Meanwhile, the Russia-China no-limits partnership of 2022, further deepened in 2023, shows no signs of weakening. And with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko winning a seventh consecutive term on January 26, Putin is unlikely to be too worried about additional US sanctions.

    Zelensky, like Putin, may play for time. Trump’s threat of sanctions against Russia is likely an indication of some level of frustration on the part of the US president that Putin seems less amenable to cutting a deal. Russia may continue to make territorial gains in eastern Ukraine, but it has not achieved any strategic breakthrough.

    War of attrition

    A significant increase in US military assistance to Ukraine since September 2024, as well as commitments from European allies, including the UK, have likely put Kyiv into a position that it can sustain its current defensive efforts through 2025.

    Ukraine may not be in a position to launch a major offensive but could continue to keep costs for Russia high. On the battlefield, these costs are estimated at 102 casualties per square kilometre of Ukrainian territory captured. Beyond the frontlines, Ukraine has also continued its drone campaign against targets inside Russia, especially the country’s oil infrastructure.

    This is not to say that Trump is going to fail in his efforts to end the fighting in Ukraine. But there is a big difference between a ceasefire and a sustainable peace agreement. And while a ceasefire, at some point, may be in both Russia’s and Ukraine’s interest, sustainable peace is much more difficult to achieve.

    Putin’s vision of total victory is as much an obstacle here as western reluctance to provide credible security guarantees for Ukraine.

    The two options most regularly raised: Nato membership for Ukraine or a western-led peacekeeping force that could act as a credible deterrent, both appear unrealistic at this point. It is certainly inconceivable that Europe could muster the 200,000 troops that Zelensky envisaged as a deployment in Ukraine to guarantee any deal with Putin. But a smaller force, led by the UK and France, might be possible.

    Kyiv and Moscow continue to be locked in a war of attrition and neither Putin nor Zelensky have blinked so far. It is not clear yet whether, and in which direction, Trump will tilt the balance and how this will affect either side’s willingness to submit to his deal-making efforts.

    So far, Trump’s moves are not a gamechanger. But this is the first serious attempt in nearly three years of war to forge a path towards an end of the fighting. It remains to be seen whether Trump, and everyone else, has the imagination and stamina to ensure that this path will ultimately lead to a just and secure peace for Ukraine.

    Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK, the United States Institute of Peace, the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the British Academy, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020, as well as the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Political Studies Association of the UK and a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London.

    – ref. Trump’s vision of a peace deal for Ukraine is limited to a ceasefire – and it’s not even clear if Kyiv or Moscow are going to play ball – https://theconversation.com/trumps-vision-of-a-peace-deal-for-ukraine-is-limited-to-a-ceasefire-and-its-not-even-clear-if-kyiv-or-moscow-are-going-to-play-ball-248319

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Marking 80 Years Since End of Holocaust, UN Chief Urges World to ‘Never Waver in Fight’ for Human Rights

    Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

    Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to International Holocaust Remembrance Service at Park East Synagogue, delivered by Miguel Ángel Moratinos Cuyaubé, High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, in New York today:

    It is an honour to send you a message today.  At this sombre occasion, I want to acknowledge that more than a year has passed since the appalling 7 October 2023 terror attacks by Hamas.  We welcome, at long last, the ceasefire and hostage-release deal.  The deal offers hope, as well as much needed relief.  The United Nations will do our utmost to ensure it leads to the release of all hostages and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

    This year marks 80 years since the end of the Holocaust.  The history of the Holocaust is one of total moral collapse, dehumanization, complicity and unimaginable atrocities.  But, amidst all the horror, there are also stories of humanity, and of courage.

    I think of those victims who resisted Nazi brutality and supported one another with kindness and solidarity.  I think of those survivors who have told their stories to the world, including Rabbi Schneier and others present today.  We owe you — and the children of survivors who made sure those stories lived on — a profound debt of gratitude.  And I think of those noble people of conscience who may not have been targeted by the Nazis, but were so horrified by what they saw that they felt compelled to act.

    That includes a number of diplomats who used their power to save lives.  They were from a variety of countries, including many represented here today.

    One important example from my own country, Portugal, is Aristides de Sousa Mendes.  Stationed in Bordeaux, as the Nazis approached in 1940, Sr. Sousa Mendes faced crowds desperate for visas out of France.

    The orders of the Portuguese Government were clear.  The infamous “Circular 14” had been issued, denying visas for refugees’ safe passage to Portugal — with Jews named specifically.  Sr. Sousa Mendes decided to disobey and worked quite literally day and night to issue thousands of visas, saving countless lives.

    The Government punished Sr. Sousa Mendes for his defiance.  He died in poverty, after being expelled from the diplomatic corps without pension.  But, his extraordinary efforts have not been forgotten.  In 1966, he was recognized as one of the Righteous Among the Nations, and last year, I was pleased to support the opening of a museum in his honour in Portugal.

    In these days of global turmoil, rising anti-Semitism and growing hate towards many communities, it is vital that we remember the stories of people like Sr. Sousa Mendes, who used their power for good in the worst of times.  They remind us that it is our duty — individually and collectively — to stand with humanity and against bigotry and discrimination.

    In that spirit, I am pleased to report that the United Nations has launched an Action Plan to Enhance Monitoring and Response to Antisemitism.  We have long worked to combat this evil, through a wide range of activities, including our Holocaust Outreach Programme.  This new Plan builds on that work, and the insights of people like Rabbi Schneier, to recommend ways the United Nations system will further enhance efforts to combat antisemitism.

    This goes to the heart of the mission of the United Nations, which was established in the aftermath of the Holocaust.  We will never waver in the fight for a world that promotes and protects the human rights of all.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Remembering victims of the Holocaust and preserving their stories

    Source: Government of Canada – Prime Minister

    Eighty years ago, the Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp was liberated. The cruelty committed within its walls must never be forgotten. During the Holocaust, the Nazis senselessly killed six million Jews. They also murdered 500,000 Roma and Sinti people and millions of others, including Poles, prisoners of war, people with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQI+ people. Today, amid a disturbing rise in antisemitism around the world, we stand united to remember the victims of the Holocaust, listen to the stories of survivors, and reaffirm the solemn vow to never forget.

    The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today concluded the first day of his visit to Poland, where he attended a commemorative event to mark 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp. He was accompanied by Canadian Holocaust survivors as well as Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, Deborah Lyons.

    In Kraków, Prime Minister Trudeau highlighted a $90.5 million package of measures announced in Budget 2024 to combat antisemitism, preserve Holocaust remembrance, and educate against Holocaust denial and distortion. He also announced almost $3.4 million in new funding to strengthen Holocaust education and awareness efforts in Canada and around the world. This includes new funding to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Montréal Holocaust Museum, the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, the Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies, the Toronto Holocaust Museum, the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem, and the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island.

    In meetings with Canadian Holocaust survivors, the Prime Minister reaffirmed Canada’s unwavering commitment to building a country where Jewish people can live open and proud Jewish lives, without intimidation or fear.

    Let the resilience, courage, and strength of Holocaust survivors inspire us to be better – and do better. Together, let us honour their memories, re-tell their stories, and continue our work to build a world that is more just and more peaceful.

    Quotes

    “The Holocaust and the unimaginable cruelty of the Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp must never be forgotten. In Kraków today, we announced a new suite of initiatives to increase Holocaust education and awareness in Canada, and we reaffirmed our solemn vow: Never forget. Never again.”

    “Eighty years ago, humanity saw one the darkest chapters in history with the murder of over six million Jews during the Holocaust. We have a responsibility to never forget and ensure the events of the Holocaust are never repeated. As we see a rise in antisemitism today, we must be reminded that it is our collective responsibility to combat hate in all its forms. That is why we introduced the new National Holocaust Remembrance Program, which will support initiatives to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and teach Canadians how they can play an active role in combatting antisemitism now and into the future.”

    “Every generation must know the enduring significance of ‘never again’. As we mark 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz Birkenau, let us pay tribute to the lives we have lost during the Holocaust. Because ‘never again’ is not just a reminder – it is our solemn responsibility. Together, we must uphold this promise and always stand against antisemitism and hate.”

    “For the last 80 years, the Holocaust has reminded us of humanity’s capacity for inhumane cruelty. It has also stood as a warning to never again allow such hatred and horror to go unchecked. With antisemitism once again on the rise, we all have a responsibility to take concrete action, and that’s why the federal government is convening provinces, territories, municipalities, police, and civil society to the National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism. Our synagogues, schools and community centres must be safe spaces for our people. Jewish Canadians must be able to live without fear.”

    Quick Facts

    • The Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp was the largest camp under Hitler’s regime. One million Jewish people were murdered in Auschwitz Birkenau alone.
    • Canada has the fourth largest Jewish community in the world, following Israel, the United States, and France. According to the 2021 census, 335,000 Canadians identify as Jewish. As of December 2024, Canada’s Holocaust survivor population is roughly 9,800 – one of the largest around the globe.
    • The position of Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism was created in 2020 as part of the federal government’s commitment to strengthening national and international efforts to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and honour the stories of survivors. Irwin Cotler was appointed Canada’s first Special Envoy in November 2020 and was succeeded by Deborah Lyons in October 2023. The Special Envoy works to combat antisemitism, hatred, and racism, while promoting and defending democracy, pluralism, inclusion, and human rights.
    • Canada’s commitment to protecting human rights and combatting antisemitism at home and abroad is anchored in our membership in – and work with – the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). As the only international institution mandated to focus on issues related to the Holocaust, the IHRA works to raise awareness of the global impact of antisemitism and seeks ways to end it. In 2022, Canada announced it would double its annual contribution to the IHRA.
    • In October 2024, the Government of Canada released the Canadian Handbook on the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism. Using Canadian examples, the Handbook serves as a tool to identify and address antisemitism across various sectors. Notably, it is the first such handbook produced by a national government.
    • In 2022, the federal government amended Canada’s Criminal Code to make it a crime to willfully promote antisemitism by condoning, denying, or downplaying the Holocaust.
    • In addition to the $90.5 million package of measures on Holocaust remembrance, Budget 2024 also invested over $273 million over six years to implement Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate, including over $29 million ongoing to combat hate crimes and enhance community security.

    Related Product

    Associated Links

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI: Credit Agricole SA : Crédit Agricole Personal Finance & Mobility finalizes the GAC Leasing equity project to support the growth of GAC Group’s electric vehicle sales in China

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Massy – January 27th, 2025

    Crédit Agricole Personal Finance & Mobility
    finalizes the GAC Leasing equity project to support the growth of GAC Group’s electric vehicle sales in China

    • CA Personal Finance & Mobility finalizes the planned acquisition of 50% of the equity interests of GAC Finance Leasing Co. Ltd. (GAC Leasing), which becomes Guangzhou GAC-Sofinco Finance Leasing Co Ltd (GAC-Sofinco Leasing), the leasing company of one of the largest Chinese manufacturers Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC Group), via a reserved capital increase.
    • With this new joint venture, CA Personal Finance & Mobility will offer financial and operational leasing solutions on the Chinese market in 2025 and will thus promote the deployment of electric vehicles in China.
    • This transaction consolidates a partnership existing since 2009 between CA Personal Finance & Mobility and GAC Group with the creation of GAC-Sofinco AFC, a 50-50 joint venture. The latter operates throughout China and offers automotive financing and services to the GAC-Honda, GAC-Toyota, AION, HYPTEC and GAC Motor networks, serving more than 3,000 dealers.

    CA Personal Finance & Mobility becomes a 50% shareholder in GAC-Sofinco Leasing

    Following a reserved capital increase, CA Personal Finance & Mobility owns 50% of GAC-Sofinco Leasing. The company has been operating on the Chinese market since 2004 and offers financial and operational leasing solutions to GAC customers and its dealer network.

    Through this transaction, CA Personal Finance & Mobility and GAC group are strengthening the leasing offer proposed to Chinese customers, thereby stimulating the sale of electric vehicles, which already represent 60% of the leasing contracts of the new GAC-Sofinco Leasing on a portfolio of more than 200,000 vehicles.

    All necessary authorizations from competition authorities and competent regulators have been obtained. The impact on the CET1 ratio of Crédit Agricole S.A. and that of the Crédit Agricole group will be very limited. 

    « This transaction reaffirms the importance of our long-standing partnership with GAC group. It will enable us to support together and over the long term the development of the particularly dynamic electric automobile market in China. »

    Stéphane PRIAMI – CEO of Crédit Agricole Personal Finance & Mobility

    Key figures:

    • In 2023, GAC group was the 4th largest automotive group in China
    • More than 2.5 million vehicles sold in 2023 worldwide
    • 39,90% of electrified vehicles sold in 2023

    Press Contact

    Adeline Tardif
    presse@ca-cf.fr
    +33 (0)1 87 38 02 88 / +33 (0)6 20 18 84 92

    About Crédit Agricole Personal Finance & Mobility

    Crédit Agricole Personal Finance & Mobility is a leader in personal financing and a provider of access to all mobility solutions in Europe. It distributes directly, at the point of sale or on its partners’ e-commerce platforms, a wide range of financing solutions – amortizable credit, revolving credit, leasing and credit buyback – with associated services including insurance, split payment solutions and services dedicated to mobility, with the aim of meeting the challenges of energy transition in mobility, housing and consumption. Its financing solutions and services are offered in France via Sofinco, in Italy via Agos, in Germany via Creditplus, in Portugal via Credibom, in Spain via Sofinco Espana, in Morocco via Wafasalaf, and in China via GAC-Sofinco (automotive financing only). Crédit Agricole Personal Finance & Mobility aims to be the leader in electric mobility in Europe and offers a mobility continuum in the 22 countries where it is present (leasing, medium and short-term rental, subscription, car sharing, installation of charging stations, etc.). The company relies on Leasys, a joint venture equally owned by Stellantis, CA Auto Bank and Drivalia, the pan-European leader in automotive financing, rental and mobility, Crédit Agricole Mobility Services, a comprehensive service offering dedicated to mobility and the development of automotive financing in its universal subsidiaries in Europe and in Crédit Agricole Regional Banks and at LCL via Agilauto. CA Personal Finance & Mobility acts every day in the interest of its 17.2 million customers and society. As of December 31, 2023, CA Personal Finance & Mobility managed €113 billion in outstanding credit. More information: www.ca-personalfinancemobility.com

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust (27 Jan. 2025)

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

    On this international day dedicated to the remembrance of genocides and the prevention of crimes against humanity, France commemorates the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau 80 years ago and remembers the victims of the Holocaust. President Macron, accompanied by Minister Delegate for Europe Benjamin Haddad, will take part in the ceremonies.

    On January 27, 1945, the world discovered the horror of the genocide carried out by the Nazis and their allies. To make sure the world never forgets the atrocities and their victims, the UN proclaimed this date to be the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. The Nazi regime and its collaborators systematically exterminated the Jewish people and a number of other groups because of their ethnic origins, beliefs, physical features or sexual orientation.

    France defends universal, inalienable, indivisible human rights by combating all forms of discrimination, racism and xenophobia, and all types of hate speech. Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism must be strongly opposed and firmly punished because they undermine the unity of our society as well as the rights, freedoms and dignity of all. Along with promoting our national zero-tolerance policy toward anti-Semitism, our diplomatic corps works each day to defend human rights and fight all forms of anti-Semitism, racism and discrimination.

    Within the European Union, our country remains a leader in this regard, actively supporting the European strategy on combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life.

    To tackle current challenges, we are playing an active role in promoting the European model of digital regulation in order to suppress online hate speech.

    Our diplomatic corps continues to speak out against anti-Semitism in all the regional and international organizations that France belongs to.

    France also works to foster remembrance and the transmission of knowledge, a critical task now that fewer and fewer survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust are still alive, and with disinformation and revisionist history fueling noxious political discourse.

    The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs recently announced France’s candidacy for the 2027 presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), an international organization that does important work in the areas of Holocaust research, education and remembrance.

    Remembering the victims of the Holocaust is our shared duty. We must remember that intolerance, hate speech and discrimination create a breeding ground for humanity’s darkest acts.

    With the world facing divisions and fractures, and the massive spread of hate speech, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs will continue to lead the fight against all forms of xenophobia and anti-Semitism.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Catholic Church in Africa Announces Volunteer Programme: A Call for Skilled Volunteers to Support the Catholic Church’s in Africa

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    ACCRA, Ghana, January 27, 2025/APO Group/ —

    The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) (www.SECAM.org), the coordinating organ of the Catholic Church in Africa, is seeking skilled volunteers to contribute to the life of the Catholic Church across Africa. Volunteers will work directly with the SECAM Secretariat, in a variety of areas including communications, marketing, digital marketing, project management, executive assistance, and translation and interpretation (English-French-Portuguese).

    These volunteer opportunities will allow individuals to play an integral role in advancing the mission of the Church in Africa, fostering collaboration across dioceses, and contributing to social and community development initiatives. The roles offer valuable experience at an executive level, working within a dynamic and impactful environment.

    Positions are remote/online (unpaid) with a minimum commitment of 2 days per week for at least 3 months. Volunteers can be based anywhere in the world.

    SECAM is seeking skilled volunteers in the following areas:

    • Communications: Develop and execute strategies to enhance SECAM’s visibility.
    • Marketing: Drive campaigns to promote SECAM’s mission.
    • Digital Marketing: Enhance online engagement and presence.
    • Project Management: Oversee and implement key initiatives.
    • Executive Assistance: Provide high-level administrative support.
    • Translation and Interpretation (English-French-Portuguese): Ensure effective communication across language barriers.

    Application deadline: February 30, 2025.

    Interested candidates can apply here: https://apo-opa.co/4hd5qDe

    This is an excellent opportunity to make a tangible impact in the Church’s noble mission while gaining professional experience that will enrich your CV and broaden your network.

    According to the 2022 State of the World’s Volunteerism Report compiled by the United Nations, the global number of volunteers stands at 862.4 million. Embracing volunteerism provides individuals with unparalleled firsthand professional experience, allowing them to enrich their CVs with valuable expertise gained through meaningful contributions.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Saskatchewan Proclaims Family Literacy Week

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on January 27, 2025

    The Government of Saskatchewan, in collaboration with the Saskatchewan Literacy Network (SLN) and Family Literacy Hubs, is pleased to proclaim January 27, 2025, as Family Literacy Day and January 25 to 31, 2025, as Family Literacy Week. This annual initiative highlights the importance of literacy in everyday family life.

    “Family literacy is fundamental to developing strong language and communication skills in our children and helps increase the quality of life and success in education,” Education Minister Everett Hindley said. “This week provides an opportunity for families to explore the many ways literacy can be incorporated into daily activities.”

    In 2024-25, the government has allocated more than $1.1 million for literacy initiatives, which includes $593,000 to support family literacy programming for nine Family Literacy Hubs around the province. The hubs work to raise literacy levels by increasing public awareness of family literacy and developing sustainable and quality family literacy programs together with community organizations.

    In celebration of Family Literacy Week, the Government of Saskatchewan is pleased to support Family Literacy Hubs across the province with this year’s selected book, “Fox and Bear” by Saskatchewan author and artist Miriam Körner. The book follows fox and bear as they explore their connection to the forest, aligning with this year’s national theme for Literacy Week, “Learn to be Green, Together.”  

    Gravelbourg-based Collège Mathieu will again provide province-wide French language family literacy programming and resources related to the 2025 theme of “Apprendre à être vert, ensemble” using the book, “La mélodie des petits fruits” by author and artist Michaela Goade. The book portrays a girl and her grandmother gathering gifts from the earth. For more information, please contact Mamady Camara at Collège Mathieu at education.saskatoon@collegemathieu.sk.ca.

    Regional Family Literacy Hubs and their partners have also organized events during Family Literacy Week. To find the Hub in your area, please visit: www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/education-and-learning/literacy-in-saskatchewan.

    “Family Literacy Day and Family Literacy Week are wonderful reminders that learning happens everywhere: in the kitchen, at the park, or when sorting recycling,” SLN Executive Director Phaedra Hitchings said. “As families, we build skills and create special moments together when we create tasty recipes from leftovers, explore nature, or find new ways to reuse materials. This year’s theme is a fun way to connect literacy with our everyday eco-friendly choices.”

    Family Literacy Week activities are designed to encourage playful and age-appropriate learning. The Ministry of Education encourages families to participate and make literacy part of their everyday lives.

    More information about Family Literacy Day, family literacy resources and literacy initiatives in Saskatchewan can be found on the SLN website at www.saskliteracy.ca/familyliteracyday.

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI: Pacvue Rolls Out Amazon DSP Management and Optimization Tools to LATAM, EMEA and APAC

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LOS ANGELES, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pacvue, the leading commerce acceleration platform that integrates retail media, commerce management and measurement, today announced expanded access to its full range of Amazon DSP capabilities beyond North America, bringing Pacvue’s intelligent automation, reporting and optimization solutions to 16 countries across LATAM, EMEA and APAC. Through Pacvue, brands in these regions now have self-serve access to a full suite of programmatic media solutions to elevate their growth strategies. 

    “Our partners around the globe have been eagerly awaiting access to Amazon DSP tools, so we’re excited to be among the first platforms to unlock these new capabilities for them,” said Melissa Burdick, president and co-founder at Pacvue. “Access to Amazon DSP tools brings greater capabilities and reach for advertisers in these regions, as well as opportunities for growth from a wider variety of ad types, channels and audiences.”

    Pacvue is an early adopter of the Amazon DSP Campaign Management API’s global expansion. Previously, Pacvue’s Amazon DSP customers outside North America only had access to reporting capabilities. Now, advertisers in these regions are able to leverage the Pacvue platform to reach Amazon Ads audiences via Amazon DSP. This expansion includes campaign creation and management, budget, bid and dayparting automation controls.

    “The synergy between Amazon DSP, Amazon Search and Pacvue’s intelligent platform has transformed how we are able to measure success on a global scale for Crucial, Micron’s only consumer brand,” said Becky Durbin, VP Marketplaces at Labelium. “By combining our Amazon targeting strategy with Pacvue’s advanced optimization and reporting tools, we successfully activated new AMC audiences, drove campaign efficiencies and delivered impactful, full-funnel measurement across multiple markets.”

    Pacvue announced the following features for customers in expanded regions:

    • Amazon sponsored ads & Amazon DSP combined dashboard
    • AMC audience creation that enables seamless transitions from insights to action via Amazon DSP campaigns
    • Automation tools like dayparting, allowing for precise optimizations throughout the day
    • Automated budget management that controls monthly and daily spend without manual oversight
    • Advanced reporting and analytics powered by Amazon Ads performance data and Pacvue’s industry-leading tech

    Countries where Pacvue’s full Amazon DSP platform will now be available:

    • North America: United States, Canada and Mexico
    • EMEA: Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
    • LATAM: Brazil 
    • APAC: Australia, India, Japan, Singapore

    In addition to the expansion of Amazon DSP campaign management tools, Pacvue is also an official Amazon DSP Reseller. As a reseller, Pacvue offers businesses access to Amazon DSP capabilities, empowering advertisers with the tools and support needed to maximize their digital advertising impact.

    Visit Pacvue.com to learn about its latest commerce solutions and recent company developments.

    About Pacvue:
    Pacvue is the leading commerce acceleration platform that integrates retail media, commerce management, and measurement. The company’s first-to-market platform drives incrementality, profitability and market share for brands, while turning insights into actionable recommendations. Backed by a global team of experts, Pacvue works with over 70,000 brands and agencies across 95+ retailers worldwide including Amazon, Walmart, Target and Instacart. With the incorporation of Pacvue’s enterprise solution with Helium 10 for SMBs, Pacvue is now the most comprehensive commerce and retail media platform available in the market. Founded in 2018, their global presence includes locations in Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, London, Shanghai and Tokyo. For more information, visit www.pacvue.com.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Boralex will release its 2024 fourth quarter financial results on February 28

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MONTREAL, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Boralex inc. (“Boralex” or the “Company”) (TSX: BLX) announces that the release of the 2024 fourth quarter results will take place on Friday, February 28, 2025, at 11 a.m.

    Financial analysts and investors are invited to attend a conference call during which the financial results will be presented.

    Date and time

    Friday, February 28, 2025, at 11 a.m. ET

    To attend the conference

    Webcast link: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/fifq2sc5

    To attend the event by phone: Click here to register for the earnings call. Once you have completed your registration, you will receive a confirmation email containing the link and your personal PIN to connect to the call. If you lose this link and your PIN, you will be able to register again. You must register if you wish to attend the call by phone.

    Media and other interested individuals are invited to listen to the conference and view a presentation which will be broadcasted live and on a deferred basis on Boralex’s website at www.boralex.com. A full replay will also be available on Boralex’s website until February 28, 2026.

    The financial information will be released through a press release and on Boralex’s website on February 28, 2025, at 7 a.m.

    About Boralex

    At Boralex, we have been providing affordable renewable energy accessible to everyone for over 30 years. As a leader in the Canadian market and France’s largest independent producer of onshore wind power, we also have facilities in the United States and development projects in the United Kingdom. Over the past five years, our installed capacity has more than doubled to over 3.1 GW. We are developing a portfolio of more than 7.2 GW in wind, solar projects and storage projects, guided by our values and our corporate social responsibility (CSR) approach. Through profitable and sustainable growth, Boralex is actively participating in the fight against global warming. Thanks to our fearlessness, our discipline, our expertise and our diversity, we continue to be an industry leader. Boralex’s shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BLX.  

    For more information, visit boralex.com or sedarplus.com. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.  

    For more information

    Source: Boralex inc.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why Trump’s tariffs can’t solve America’s fentanyl crisis

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Rodney Coates, Professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Miami University

    Americans consume more illicit drugs per capita than anyone else in the world; about 6% of the U.S. population uses them regularly.

    One such drug, fentanyl – a synthetic opioid that’s 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine – is the leading reason U.S. overdose deaths have surged in recent years. While the rate of fentanyl overdose deaths has dipped a bit recently, it’s still vastly higher than it was just five years ago.

    Ending the fentanyl crisis won’t be easy. The U.S. has an addiction problem that spans decades – long predating the rise of fentanyl – and countless attempts to regulate, legislate and incarcerate have done little to reduce drug consumption. Meanwhile, the opioid crisis alone costs Americans tens of billions of dollars each year.

    With past policies having failed to curb fentanyl deaths, President Donald Trump now looks set to turn to another tool to fight America’s drug problem: trade policy.

    During his presidential campaign, Trump pledged to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico if they don’t halt the flow of drugs across U.S. borders. Trump also promised to impose a new set of tariffs against China if it doesn’t do more to crack down on the production of chemicals used to make fentanyl. He reiterated his plan on his first day back in office, saying to reporters, “We’re thinking in terms of 25% on Mexico and Canada because they’re allowing … fentanyl to come in.”

    Speaking as a professor who studies social policy, I think both fentanyl and the proposed import taxes represent significant threats to the U.S. While the human toll of fentanyl is undeniable, the real question is whether tariffs will work – or worsen what’s already a crisis.

    Fentanyl: The ‘single greatest challenge’

    In 2021, more than 107,000 Americans died from overdoses – the most ever recorded – and nearly seven out of 10 deaths involved fentanyl or similar synthetic opioids. In 2022, fentanyl was killing an average of 200 people each day. And while fentanyl deaths declined slightly in 2023, nearly 75,000 Americans still died from synthetic opioids that year. In March of that year – the most recent for which full-year data on overdose deaths is available – the then-secretary of homeland security declared fentanyl to be “the single greatest challenge we face as a country.”

    But history shows that government efforts to curb drug use often have little success.

    The first real attempt to regulate drugs in the U.S. occurred in 1890, when, amid rampant drug abuse, Congress enacted a law taxing morphine and opium. In the years that followed, cocaine use skyrocketed, rising 700% between 1890 and 1902. Cocaine was so popular, it was even found in drinks such as Coca-Cola, from which it got its name.

    This was followed by a 1909 act banning the smoking of opium, and, in 1937, the “Marihuana Tax Act.” The most comprehensive package of laws was instituted with the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which classified drugs into five categories based on their medical uses and potential for abuse or dependence. A year later, then-President Richard Nixon launched the “War on Drugs” and declared drug abuse as “public enemy No. 1.” And in 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, directing US$1.7 billion for drug enforcement and control.

    President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse “Public enemy No. 1” at this 1971 press conference.

    These policies have generally failed to curb drug supply and use, while also causing significant harm to people and communities of color. For example, between 1980 and 1997, the number of incarcerations for nonviolent drug offenses went from 50,000 to 400,000. But these policies hardly put a dent in consumption. The share of high school seniors using drugs dipped only slightly over the same period, from 65% in 1980 to 58% in 1997.

    In short, past U.S. efforts to reduce illegal drug use haven’t been especially effective. Now, it looks like the U.S. is shifting toward using tariffs – but research suggests that those will not lead to better outcomes either, and could actually cause considerable harm.

    Why tariffs won’t work

    America’s experiments with tariffs can be traced back to the founding era with the passage of the Tariff Act of 1789. This long history has shown that tariffs, industrial subsidies and protectionist policies don’t do much to stimulate broad economic growth at home – but they raise prices for consumers and can even lead to global economic instability. History also shows that tariffs don’t work especially well as negotiating tools, failing to effect significant policy changes in target countries. Economists generally agree that the costs of tariffs outweigh the benefits.

    Over the course of Trump’s first term, the average effective tariff rate on Chinese imports went from 3% to 11%. But while imports from China fell slightly, the overall trade relationship didn’t change much: China remains the second-largest supplier of goods to the U.S.

    The tariffs did have some benefit – for Vietnam and other nearby countries with relatively low labor costs. Essentially, the tariffs on China caused production to shift, with global companies investing billions of dollars in competitor nations.

    This isn’t the first time Trump has used trade policy to pressure China on fentanyl – he did so in his first term. But while China made some policy changes in response, such as adding fentanyl to its controlled substances list in 2019, fentanyl deaths in the U.S. continued to rise. Currently, China still ranks as the No. 1 producer of fentanyl precursors, or chemicals used to produce illicit fentanyl. And there are others in the business: India, over that same period, has become a major producer of fentanyl.

    A question of supply and demand

    Drugs have been pervasive throughout U.S. history. And when you investigate this history and look at how other nations are dealing with this problem rather than criminalization, the Swiss and French have approached it as an addiction problem that could be treated. They realized that demand is what fuels the illicit market. And as any economist will tell you, supply will find a way if you don’t limit the demand. That’s why treatment works and bans don’t.

    The U.S. government’s ability to control the production of these drugs is limited at best. The problem is that new chemical products will continually be produced. Essentially, failure to restrict demand only places bandages on hemorrhaging wounds. What the U.S. needs is a more systematic approach to deal with the demand that’s fueling the drug crisis.

    Rodney Coates 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 Trump’s tariffs can’t solve America’s fentanyl crisis – https://theconversation.com/why-trumps-tariffs-cant-solve-americas-fentanyl-crisis-245978

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: €100 million money laundering scheme busted with help from Eurojust and Europol

    Source: European Union 2

    Investigations into the group began in 2023 when border police in Spain noticed suspicious trips from their airports transporting large sums of money. The trips to Cyprus by members of the criminal group were used to deliver criminal profits, which were then laundered. Authorities stopped the criminals from travelling and seized more than EUR 1.8 million.

    The authorities discovered that the group was running a sophisticated money laundering service for other criminal organisations. The group acted as a financial service to transfer criminal profits internationally. Cryptocurrencies were used to move cash profits between criminal organisations. To dispose of the cash profits, money was transported on commercial flights, mainly to Cyprus, and by public transport to neighbouring countries of Spain. The group was able to carry out four to six money laundering transactions per week. 

    Running this financial service required a professionally structured organisation consisting of at least 52 members, operating mostly from Spain and Cyprus. The group worked with contacts outside of their organisation to liaise with clients and receive the cash to be laundered. Their contacts are linked to several commercial companies around the world. 

    As the financial service was used throughout Europe, authorities had to work together to stop the criminal group. An international investigation was launched by setting up a joint investigation team (JIT) at Eurojust between Spanish, Cypriot and German authorities, Eurojust and Europol. Through the JIT, information from tax and judicial authorities was exchanged that led to the takedown of the criminal group. Europol supported this international operation with experts specialised in financial crime, fighting high-risk criminal networks, unravelling money laundering structures, and tracing cryptocurrency flows.

    A series of actions were carried out to stop the financial service. In October 2024, actions were carried out in Spain, France and Cyprus to dismantle the criminal group. This was followed by actions in November 2024 that targeted actors working with the criminal group. A total of 91 searches were carried out, 77 in Spain, 1 in France and 13 in Cyprus. Twenty suspects were arrested in Spain, one in France and two in Slovenia. Authorities seized a total of EUR 8 million in cash, 2 million in bank accounts and froze EUR 27 million in cryptocurrency. Investigations into the group and its financial service continue.

    The following authorities were involved in the actions:

    • Spain: Investigating Judge no 2 of El Prat de Llobregat; Public Prosecution Office of Barcelona; Guardia Civil Special Central Unit 3, Destabilizing Threat Group-UCO
    • Cyprus: Attorney General’s Office; MOKAS (Unit for Combating Money Laundering); Criminal Investigation Department (CID) (in collaboration with other police departments)
    • Germany: Public Prosecutor’s Office, Landshut; Customs Investigation Office, München
    • France: Judicial Court of Marseille, Interregional Specialised Jurisdiction against organised crime (JIRS) ; National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF), Marseille/Nice. 

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Attorney General’s Civil Panel Counsel, London applications open

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The competition to refresh the London A, B and C panels is open until Wednesday 5 March

    Lady Justice

    The Attorney General is seeking to appoint new members to three civil panels of junior counsel, the London A, B and C panels, to undertake civil work for government departments.

    Membership of the London panels is open to both barristers and solicitors with the appropriate qualifications.

    Join the Panel Counsel information evening (PDF, 191 KB, 1 page) on Monday 3 February, 5pm at 102 Petty France. This is an opportunity to hear from a current panel member and discuss the work on offer with government lawyers. Please let the Panel Counsel Secretariat know if you are attending by Friday 30 January.  

    London A Panel

    Members of this panel deal with the most complex government cases Those previously appointed to the A panel have generally had in excess of 10 years’ advocacy experience.

    London B Panel

    Members will generally be instructed where knowledge and experience of a particular field is required. Those previously appointed to the B panel have generally had between 5 and 10 years’ advocacy experience.

    London C Panel

    Members of this panel will be expected to have at least two years’ experience in actual practice from the end of 2nd six months’ pupillage for barristers or the end of training contract for solicitors.

    In choosing which of the panels to apply to, candidates will want to make a careful decision based on which best suits their level of expertise and experience. Appointments will be for five years.

    The Attorney General is looking for applicants with experience in general public, commercial and administrative law, and in employment or personal injury. For the 2025 exercise, the Attorney General is also looking to deepen the capacity of the panels by appointing specialists in a variety of additional areas. Please see our ‘Information for candidates’.

    The Attorney General is also looking to appoint applicants capable of advising departments on the interface of public and commercial law issues, and where criminal or regulatory issues arise in public law cases.

    Application

    Read the Information for candidates (PDF, 156 KB, 5 pages), refer to the FAQs (PDF, 181 KB, 7 pages) or contact the Panel Counsel Secretariat.

    Register your interest with the Panel Counsel Secretariat who will issue you with a full application pack.

    Completed applications must be submitted by noon on Wednesday 5 March 2025

    If you have any queries, please feel free to raise them in the first instance with the Panel Counsel Secretariat.

    Updates to this page

    Published 27 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: EUROPE/ITALY – The testimony of Roseline Hamel at the ‘Jubilee of the world of Communication’: “forgiveness is a force for peace and hope”

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    by Pascale RizkRome (Agenzia Fides) – In a “world that is falling apart everywhere”, where many end up surrendering to evil even “for convenience”, there are also men and women of faith and good will who live and bear witness to “good and love above all”. And it is always worth being amazed by their stories, and telling them.These are words of humanity and hope that Roseline Hamel – sister of Father Jacques Hamel, the priest slaughtered in Normandy on 26 July 2016 by two young men addicted to Islamist propaganda – spoke on Saturday afternoon (January 25) in the Roman church of San Luigi dei Francesi during her speech at the event organised on the initiative of the “Fédération des Médias Catholiques” as part of the “Jubilee of Communication” celebrated in Rome over the weekend.Roseline Hamel, 84, who came to the meeting in a wheelchair, has herself become a tireless witness to what has happened in her life since the death of her brother, murdered in front of the altar of their church in the parish of Saint Etienne du Rouvray, near Rouen. With a radiant face and a calm, firm voice, Roseline left her house in Armentières for the third time this January to commemorate her brother, killed by those who mocked the name of God with their expressions of hatred.A few weeks after her brother’s death, Roseline had to undergo emergency surgery: she had become ill from the terrible pain. Then she set out to find the person who – she thought – could feel a similar pain to her own: the mother of Adel Kermiche, one of the two murderers. From that moment on, a story of healing and friendship began between the two women that has overcome all distances and differences. A story that Roseline tells whenever possible. “Father Jacques,” said the woman in a white blouse and scarf in the Roman church of San Luigi dei Francesi, “had begun interreligious dialogue with the Muslim community six years before his murder. To understand each other, we must know each other, and to know each other, we must talk to each other, despite the differences that can intimidate us. Only by facing them and their differences will we not be afraid of others. By sharing our joys and sorrows, not to unite us, but above all to understand each other. We are all human.””This is how Roseline Hamel was able to rediscover humanity in the overwhelming, powerful event of her brother’s murder during Mass,” stressed Samuel Lieven, editor of the weekly newspaper ‘le Pélerin’, who was also present at the meeting. Roseline had also been in Rome last year to meet Pope Francis for the third time. She had given him a homily by Father Jacques on the occasion of the awarding of the Father Jacques Hamel Prize for Interreligious Dialogue, established in 2017, which is awarded for “edifying testimonies that never ignore the incredible suffering, and the pain, and the desire that asks for grace to overcome them”, explained Philippine de Saint-Pierre, general director of the Catholic television station KTO. Philippe Lansac, general director of the Catholic radio station RCF, also spoke at the meeting, which was dedicated to the theme “How can Catholic media be builders of peace?” In her speech, Roseline Hamel recalled the urgency of “provoking” dialogue “by moving towards the unknown, towards the different,” recognizing that “we are all children of God, and therefore we are all brothers, children of the same Father.”The memory of Father Jacques Hamel, concluded Sister Roseline, , is also “the memory of his life lived in faith in Christ until the end, and testifies that in France and throughout the world, forgiveness is a force of peace and hope”.After an announcement on Good Friday, April 13, 2017, the diocesan phase of the beatification process was officially opened on May 20, 2017 and concluded last March 9 with the final session in the church of Notre Dame de l’Annonciation in the Archdiocese of Rouen (see Fides 12/03/2019). During this phase, 66 hearings were held, during which the five eyewitnesses to the murder were heard, 51 other witnesses were summoned (including family members of Father Hamel, friends, parishioners, priests …) and 5 ex officio witnesses. The main questions concerned the murder, the circumstances of the martyrdom under investigation, the life of Father Hamel and how he lived the Christian virtues, as well as his reputation for holiness and the events of grace attributed to his intercession. (Agenzia Fides, 26/1/2025)
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    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Criminals operating an illegal financial service to launder millions of euros busted

    Source: Eurojust

    Investigations into the group began in 2023 when border police in Spain noticed suspicious trips from their airports transporting large sums of money. The trips to Cyprus by members of the criminal group were used to deliver criminal profits, which were then laundered. Authorities stopped the criminals from travelling and seized more than EUR 1.8 million.

    The authorities discovered that the group was running a sophisticated money laundering service for other criminal organisations. The group acted as a financial service to transfer criminal profits internationally. Cryptocurrencies were used to move cash profits between criminal organisations. To dispose of the cash profits, money was transported on commercial flights, mainly to Cyprus, and by public transport to neighbouring countries of Spain. The group was able to carry out four to six money laundering transactions per week. 

    Running this financial service required a professionally structured organisation consisting of at least 52 members, operating mostly from Spain and Cyprus. The group worked with contacts outside of their organisation to liaise with clients and receive the cash to be laundered. Their contacts are linked to several commercial companies around the world. 

    As the financial service was used throughout Europe, authorities had to work together to stop the criminal group. An international investigation was launched by setting up a joint investigation team (JIT) at Eurojust between Spanish, Cypriot and German authorities, Eurojust and Europol. Through the JIT, information from tax and judicial authorities was exchanged that led to the takedown of the criminal group. Europol supported this international operation with experts specialised in financial crime, fighting high-risk criminal networks, unravelling money laundering structures, and tracing cryptocurrency flows.

    A series of actions were carried out to stop the financial service. In October 2024, actions were carried out in Spain, France and Cyprus to dismantle the criminal group. This was followed by actions in November 2024 that targeted actors working with the criminal group. A total of 91 searches were carried out, 77 in Spain, 1 in France and 13 in Cyprus. Twenty suspects were arrested in Spain, one in France and two in Slovenia. Authorities seized a total of EUR 8 million in cash, 2 million in bank accounts and froze EUR 27 million in cryptocurrency. Investigations into the group and its financial service continue.

    The following authorities were involved in the actions:

    • Spain: Investigating Judge no 2 of El Prat de Llobregat; Public Prosecution Office of Barcelona; Guardia Civil Special Central Unit 3, Destabilizing Threat Group-UCO
    • Cyprus: Attorney General’s Office; MOKAS (Unit for Combating Money Laundering); Criminal Investigation Department (CID) (in collaboration with other police departments)
    • Germany: Public Prosecutor’s Office, Landshut; Customs Investigation Office, München
    • France: Judicial Court of Marseille, Interregional Specialised Jurisdiction against organised crime (JIRS) ; National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF), Marseille/Nice. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Video: France on the Democratic Republic of the Congo – Security Council Media Stakeout

    Source: United Nations (Video News)

    Media stakeout by Nicolas de Rivière, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mLstUcrrzg

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Security: 37 terror suspects arrested in East African operation

    Source: Interpol (news and events)

    LYON, France – An international counter-terrorism operation in East Africa has led to the arrest of 37 suspects and the seizure of both small arms and heavy weapons. Those arrested include suspected members of ISIS, Al Shabaab and several foreign terrorist fighters.

    Arrests were made across eight East African countries during a joint INTERPOL and AFRIPOL operation (November-December 2024) aimed at identifying and arresting suspects with links to terrorism and strengthening key border controls.

    In Kenya, police arrested 17 people including two suspected ISIS members, several foreign terrorist fighters and others involved in terrorism financing, radicalization and propaganda.

    Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo arrested four alleged members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and two associates. Forces also seized and destroyed a missile and anti-tank device abandoned by suspected terrorists.

    In Somalia, authorities arrested three people, including a suspected bomb maker for an Amniyaat unit of Al-Shabaab who had been planting Improvised Explosive Devices, targeting law enforcement and the military. Another of the detained suspects was an Al Shabaab operative who is believed to have attacked several police checkpoints with hand grenades.

    Law enforcement in Tanzania arrested an alleged member of ISIS Mozambique, as well as a Ugandan national who was attempting to join a terrorist group in Mozambique as a foreign terrorist fighter.

    Prior to the operation, each participating country prepared an operational plan, gathering intelligence on terror-related targets, including individuals and their known locations. INTERPOL and AFRIPOL consolidated and analysed this information and shared it with all participating countries, facilitating a significant exchange of criminal intelligence.

    During the tactical phase of the operation each country carried out strategic investigations and raids. Police received on-the-ground support from INTERPOL and AFRIPOL officers, who provided coordination, logistics and real-time data analysis.

    Cyril Gout, INTERPOL’s Acting Executive Director of Police Services, said:

    “East Africa’s complex landscape, marked by political instability, porous borders, and socioeconomic challenges, continues to provide an environment conducive to terrorist activity. As these groups seek to expand their reach beyond traditional areas of operation, it is essential that law enforcement agencies work together to stay ahead of these evolving threats. These positive results demonstrate the power of international collaboration in the fight against terrorism.”

    Ambassador Jalel Chelba, Acting Executive Director of AFRIPOL, said:

    “Tackling terrorism and organized crime demands a unified and forward-thinking strategy that addresses both immediate risks and the deeper vulnerabilities that enable them. This operation highlights the critical role of international cooperation and the exchange of intelligence in disrupting criminal networks and curbing their reach. AFRIPOL is dedicated to supporting Member States, enhancing regional partnerships, and fostering resilience to promote lasting safety and stability across Africa.”

    Border security: A critical line of defense against terrorism

    To bolster border security, frontline officers at land, air and port border points were trained and equipped with INTERPOL Mobile Devices (IMDs), giving them real-time access to INTERPOL’s databases. These contain personal and criminal history information in addition to details of around 135,000 foreign terrorist fighters, as well as millions of records of lost and stolen travel documents, which are a key asset for terrorist mobility.

    More than 88,000 checks were made against INTERPOL databases

    Frontline officers were trained in the use of INTERPOL Mobile Devices

    Passport check in Somalia

    Over the course of the five-day border security operation, more than 88,000 checks were made against INTERPOL databases, resulting in the detection of 15 individuals subject to INTERPOL Notices and Diffusions related to crimes such as fraud, rape, murder, armed robbery, money laundering and crimes against children. Overall, the reinforced border controls led to 32 arrests for a broad range of crimes.

    The successful cooperation between eight countries, INTERPOL and AFRIPOL highlights the importance of a comprehensive approach to combating terrorism, a threat that remains a major concern for the safety and security of the region.

    Note to editors

    The operation was delivered under the framework of the ISPA programme, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, to support AFRIPOL in strengthening its position as the lead institution in Africa for preventing and combating transnational organized crime, terrorism and cybercrime.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: BNP PARIBAS GROUP: Signing of the share purchase agreement for AXA Investment Managers by BNP Paribas Cardif

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

     

    SIGNING OF THE SHARE PURCHASE AGREEMENT
    FOR AXA INVESTMENT MANAGERS
    BY BNP PARIBAS CARDIF

    Press release
    Paris – 21 December 2024

    After entering into exclusive negotiations on August 1st, AXA and BNP Paribas Cardif announce the signing of the Share Purchase Agreement for AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM).

    This signing follows the completion of the information-consultation procedure on strategic issues with the relevant employee representative bodies of both AXA and BNP Paribas groups.

    “This signing marks an important step in the acquisition process of AXA IM and our long-term partnership with AXA. In anticipation of the closing process, all teams are now working to welcome AXA IM’s employees and customers into the BNP Paribas Cardif Group” said Renaud Dumora, Chairman of BNP Paribas Cardif, Deputy COO of BNP Paribas.

    As previously communicated, the agreed price for the acquisition and the long-term partnership is €5.1 billion, with the closing expected mid-2025 and an anticipated impact on BNP Paribas Group’s CET1 ratio of 25 bps subject to agreements with the relevant authorities.

    Press contacts
    Sandrine ROMANO – sandrine.romano@bnpparibas.com – +33 (0)6 71 18 23 05
    Thomas ALEXANDRE – thomas.alexandre@bnpparibas.com – +33 (0)6 02 19 48 69

    About BNP Paribas
    BNP Paribas is the European Union’s leading bank and key player in international banking. It operates in 63 countries and has nearly 183,000 employees, including more than 145,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main fields of activity: Commercial, Personal Banking & Services for the Group’s commercial & personal banking and several specialised businesses including BNP Paribas Personal Finance and Arval; Investment & Protection Services for savings, investment and protection solutions; and Corporate & Institutional Banking, focused on corporate and institutional clients. Based on its strong diversified and integrated model, the Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realise their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance. In Europe, BNP Paribas has four domestic markets: Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg. The Group is rolling out its integrated commercial & personal banking model across several Mediterranean countries, Turkey, and Eastern Europe. As a key player in international banking, the Group has leading platforms and business lines in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific. BNP Paribas has implemented a Corporate Social Responsibility approach in all its activities, enabling it to contribute to the construction of a sustainable future, while ensuring the Group’s performance and stability.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: 10,000 UK Armed Forces personnel deployed overseas to keep us safe this Christmas

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

    The Defence Secretary visited British Army soldiers deployed in Estonia this Christmas to thank them for their service

    The Defence Secretary visited UK Armed Forces personnel deployed to Estonia to thank them for their vital service at Christmas.

    Some 10,000 sailors, marines, soldiers, and aviators will spend Christmas Day deployed overseas, sacrificing celebrations with their families and friends to keep the UK safe.

    The work of the UK Armed Forces continues over Christmas on 60 operations in 44 countries this, while hundreds more personnel are working to protect the UK’s skies, shores, and seas at home.

    There are 900 British personnel deployed in Estonia, ready to defend NATO’s eastern flank and working alongside French and Estonian forces to deter aggression and uphold stability in eastern Europe.

    The visit to Estonia by the Defence Secretary also highlighted the UK’s unwavering dedication to NATO and commitment to defending the alliance.

    Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, said: 

    In a world in which global insecurities are rising, we depend more and more on those who are willing to serve. And those who are willing to serve are supported by the families that stand with them and behind them.

    This Christmas, I pay special tribute to those 10,000 military personnel who are deployed overseas, many of them not seeing family and loved ones at this important time.

    It was an honour to spend time with some of those troops in Estonia, to serve them Christmas lunch and thank them for their commitment and professionalism. This week they will sacrifice what most of us take for granted, that special time with our families, to ensure that our nation is safe. 

    Our British deployment in Estonia demonstrates our unshakeable commitment to NATO and the security of Europe, keeping us secure at home and strong abroad. Our presence here is a powerful message to our allies and adversaries: the UK stands ready to defend its allies and uphold our shared values, all year round.

    The visit to Estonia provided an opportunity for the Defence Secretary to discuss Project ASGARD, which will help UK Armed Forces in the country utilise new and emerging tech to become more lethal and better able to defeat the enemy.

    It will harness developing technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), drones, and advanced sensors to help more quickly discover and process information and strike enemies on the battlefield, with priority work continuing on the programme in 2025.

    The UK’s relationship with Estonia is a cornerstone of NATO’s defence. British personnel stationed in Estonia form a vital part of the enhanced Forward Presence, ensuring a permanent presence along the alliance’s eastern flank.

    The visit comes as the UK has recently signed a defence roadmap with Estonia. The agreement will see the UK’s 4th Brigade Combat Team held at high readiness from 2025, ready to deploy at short notice to Estonia in times of crisis.

    It will also include the first overseas deployment of the UK’s cutting-edge Challenger 3 tanks and Boxer armoured vehicles, reinforcing NATO’s defensive capabilities along its eastern border.

    The British deployment at Tapa remains the UK’s largest permanent overseas deployment, and both countries are working together closer than ever, with the UK leading on the new DIAMOND initiative, which will improve NATO’s integrated air and missile defence by ensuring that the different air defence systems across the Alliance operate better and more jointly across Europe.

    Paying tribute to Armed Forces personnel on duty at Christmas, the Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said:

    Thank you to all our Armed Forces personnel for your extraordinary hard work this year.

    From delivering the nuclear deterrent and policing NATO skies, to training Ukrainian recruits and protecting merchant shipping in the Red Sea, the Armed Forces have stepped up to deliver all that the nation asks of us.

    I am immensely grateful to those deployed away from home over the festive season and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

    In the UK, Royal Air Force aviators at RAF Boulmer and NATS Swanwick are ready to scramble Typhoon aircraft from RAF Coningsby and RAF Lossiemouth to monitor any hostile aircraft which approach UK airspace.

    Behind the scenes and out of sight at the MOD’s digital HQ in Corsham, military cyber experts will remain vigilant this festive season, defending the UK against constant cyber threats every minute of every day.

    These dedicated professionals ensure the security of vital digital networks, guaranteeing that the systems that connect our people, places, and equipment run smoothly and securely.

    Royal Navy ships will also continue their work protecting the UK’s seas and coastline.

    Somewhere, deep in the ocean, a Royal Navy nuclear attack submarine continues to provide the nation’s nuclear deterrent in a patrol that has continued 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for 55 years.

    And the Household Division of the British Army will continue to guard royal palaces in the nation’s capital throughout the Christmas period.

    In an address to the soldiers deployed at Tapa Army Base in Estonia, the Defence Secretary said:

    I wanted to say, above all, thank you. Thank you on behalf of all those back home who will never have the chance to say this to you for themselves. Thank you for your commitment to keeping our country safe.

    This is a really important deployment for us. What you’re doing here really matters. It matters for the security of Europe, and it matters to us all back home in Britain.

    You are making good on Britain’s unshakable commitment to NATO and to a safe and peaceful Europe. And that’s why we have this Operation CABRIT, the biggest commitment of British troops in another country.

    Here on the front line, we must also be on the cutting edge of new technologies and new combat techniques we must learn from Ukraine.

    We ask a lot of you all in the Armed Forces, not least the separation from your families and your friends and your loved ones. And at Christmas, that sense of separation can be especially strong.

    So thank you for your service. Thank you for your willingness to sacrifice what almost all of the rest of us take for granted. It’s an honour to be with you.

    Updates to this page

    Published 22 December 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI China: Beijing symposium discusses legal protection for autistic individuals

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    Signage at an autism legislation symposium in Beijing, Dec. 20, 2024. [Photo by Xu Xiaoxuan/China.org.cn]
    A symposium focused on advancing the enactment and implementation of autism-related laws and regulations was held in Beijing on Friday. The China Legal Exchange Foundation (CLEF) and Beijing Highking Law Firm hosted the event, gathering experts from the legislative, judicial, education and social service sectors to discuss building a more inclusive society for people with autism.
    Zhang Mingqi, vice president and secretary-general of the China Law Society, highlighted the urgency of this initiative. He referenced the decision from the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to improve the social security and service systems for people with disabilities.
    “China has over 13 million individuals with autism,” Zhang said. “The challenges they face are multifaceted, spanning access to education, health care and employment, as well as long-term structural issues like social integration and support. This makes the creation of autism-specific laws and regulations both critical and urgent.”
    He advocated for an inclusive judicial system with protective measures for individuals with autism in legal proceedings, calling for increased policy support across multiple sectors.
    CLEF Chairwoman Zhang Suofei emphasized the symposium’s role in facilitating professional exchange. She expressed hope that it would advance autism-related legislation and create a friendlier, more inclusive social environment where individuals with autism can live with equality and dignity.
    Zhang Qinghua, director of Beijing Highking Law Firm, discussed the firm’s two decades of public welfare work and its commitment to supporting the autism community through legal advocacy and public interest initiatives.

    Participants attend an autism legislation symposium in Beijing, Dec. 20, 2024. [Photo by Xu Xiaoxuan/China.org.cn]
    Zhang Junru, founder of the Golden Wings Rehabilitation Center, shared the organization’s achievements in empowering autistic youth through art and physical rehabilitation over 14 years. Since its founding in 2010, Golden Wings has developed a unique teaching system that combines art and sports to build confidence and a sense of accomplishment among its participants.
    The center provides instruction in painting, music, calligraphy, fitness, basketball and climbing. Participants’ artwork has been converted into postcards, calendars, stickers and silk scarves, generating 1.34 million yuan ($183,649.68) in supplemental income for families.
    Golden Wings has helped 1,425 young people with autism develop their artistic abilities, with 523 winning awards at home and abroad. The center has mounted exhibitions in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Japan and seven Chinese cities, displaying 11,888 paintings to over 100,000 visitors.
    Experts from Peking University, Beijing Normal University and the Beijing Financial and Tax Law Society joined an Australian autism behavior therapist to offer recommendations for protecting the rights of people with autism.
    The symposium marked the official launch of the Starlight Rights and Interests Fund under the CLEF. The fund, initiated by Beijing Highking Law Firm, will support autism research, public welfare activities and legislative efforts while raising public awareness.

    Golden Wings students’ artwork is displayed at a charity auction during an autism legislation symposium in Beijing, Dec. 20, 2024. [Photo by Xu Xiaoxuan/China.org.cn]
    The event concluded with a charity auction of paintings by Golden Wings students. Proceeds will support the center’s rehabilitation programs.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI: Girls in Madagascar Learn Languages with Support from FunEasyLearn and Time + Tide Foundation

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHISINAU, Republic of Moldova, Dec. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The collaboration between FunEasyLearn and The Time + Tide Foundation brought free language education to girls in Madagascar. The main focus was on students from remote areas with limited access to schooling. As part of the initiative, students received new tablets and free access to the FunEasyLearn app. The scope is for the girls to learn languages and improve their digital skills for better academic and professional opportunities.

    Empowering Girls through Language Education

    Through its participation, FunEasyLearn reiterates its commitment to making a long-lasting impact in language education. Language skills can unlock higher education and better employment for those in developing regions of South Africa. That can be particularly important for girls who face additional challenges in accessing quality education.

    Co-founder & CEO of FunEasyLearn, Diana Andronic, commented: “We are honored to be working with the Time + Tide Foundation to support girls in Madagascar through language education. The initiative complements our mission to make language learning accessible to anyone, regardless of age and background. Language skills can be crucial in areas where education holds the key to a brighter future.”

    The initiative has already yielded promising results. Teachers reported a boost in student engagement and academic performance. Although the girls mainly use tablets to learn French, educators encourage them to learn English and browse other language courses. Although the girls mainly use tablets to learn French, educators encourage them to learn English too and browse other language courses.

    The app provides a solution for schools experiencing teacher shortages. FunEasyLearn provides students with a personalized language learning experience and real-time feedback. It also helps teachers to better address students’ needs due to the detailed statistics. The feature allows schools to improve student performance despite a shortage of human resources.

    About FunEasyLearn

    FunEasyLearn is an award-winning language-learning app trusted by millions of learners worldwide. The app caters to people of all ages who are willing to learn languages or improve their vocabulary. From children driven by curiosity to adults motivated to add new skills to their resumes, FunEasyLearn offers a supportive environment for learning. The dedicated Child Mode adjusts the content so that it’s suitable for children under 13. That makes it appealing for educators, schools, and corporate environments alike.

    With 34 language courses available in 62 native languages, learners can explore vocabulary tailored to their specific needs. The game-based approach and simplified navigation ensure an enjoyable experience regardless of a user’s technical background. Over 320 useful topics and subtopics offer a smooth transition through 10 proficiency levels aligned with the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).

    Website: www.funeasylearn.com
    For media inquiries, please contact support@funeasylearn.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: English rendering of PM’s address at the Indian Community Event ‘Hala Modi’ in Kuwait

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 21 DEC 2024 9:22PM by PIB Delhi

    Bharat Mata ki—Jai!

    Bharat Mata ki—Jai!

    Bharat Mata ki—Jai!

    Namaskar!

    I arrived in Kuwait just two or two and a half hours ago. And ever since I set foot here, I have felt a unique sense of belonging and warmth all around. You all have come from different states of Bharat, but looking at all of you, it feels as if a mini Hindustan has come alive before me. Here, I see people from North, South, East, and West, speaking different languages and dialects. Yet, there is one common echo in everyone’s hearts, one resounding chant in everyone’s hearts – Bharat Mata ki Jai, Bharat Mata ki—Jai.

    Here, there is a festive atmosphere of culture. Right now, you are preparing for Christmas and New Year. Soon, Pongal will arrive. Whether it’s Makar Sankranti, Lohri, Bihu, or many such festivals, they are not far away. I extend my heartfelt wishes to all of you for Christmas, New Year, and all the festivals celebrated in every corner of the country.

    Friends,

    Today, this moment is very special for me personally. After 43 years—more than four decades—a Prime Minister of Bharat has come to Kuwait. It takes just four hours for you to travel from Bharat to Kuwait, but it took a Prime Minister four decades to make this journey. Many of you have been living in Kuwait for generations. Some of you were even born here. And every year, hundreds of Indians join your community.  You have added a touch of Indian flavour to Kuwaiti society, painted the canvas of Kuwait with the colours of Indian skills, and blended Bharat’s talent, technology, and tradition into the fabric of Kuwait.  That is why I am here today—not just to meet you, but to celebrate your achievements.

    Friends,

    A little while ago, I met Indian workers and professionals working here. These friends are involved in construction work and are contributing their hard work in many other sectors as well. Members of the Indian community, as doctors, nurses, and paramedics, are a significant strength of Kuwait’s medical infrastructure.  Those among you who are teachers are contributing to strengthening Kuwait’s next generation. Those of you who are engineers and architects are building the next generation of infrastructure in Kuwait.

    And friends,

    Whenever I speak with the leadership of Kuwait, they always praise you all immensely. The citizens of Kuwait also hold great respect for you because of your hard work, honesty, and skills.  Today, Bharat is the world leader in remittances, and a significant share of the credit for this achievement goes to all of you hardworking friends. Your contribution is deeply respected by your fellow countrymen back home.

    Friends,

    The relationship between Bharat and Kuwait is one of civilizations, of the sea, of affection, and of trade. Bharat and Kuwait are situated on opposite shores of the Arabian Sea. It is not just diplomacy that binds us, but also the connection of hearts. Our present ties are as strong as our shared history.  There was a time when pearls, dates, and magnificent breeds of horses from Kuwait were sent to Bharat, while many goods from Bharat made their way here. Indian rice, tea, spices, fabrics, and wood were regularly brought to Kuwait. The teakwood from Bharat was used to build ships on which Kuwaiti sailors undertook long voyages.  The pearls of Kuwait have been as precious as diamonds to Bharat. Today, Indian jewellery is renowned worldwide, and Kuwaiti pearls have contributed to that legacy.  In Gujarat, we often hear stories from our elders about how, in past centuries, there was constant travel and trade between Kuwait and Bharat. Particularly in the 19th century, Kuwaiti traders started coming to Surat. At that time, Surat was an international market for Kuwaiti pearls. Ports like Surat, Porbandar, and Veraval in Gujarat stand as witnesses to these historic connections.

    Kuwaiti traders have even published numerous books in the Gujarati language. After Gujarat, Kuwaiti traders established a distinct presence in Mumbai and other markets as well. One notable example is the renowned Kuwaiti merchant Abdul Latif Al Abdul Razzak, whose book ‘How to Calculate Pearl Weight’ was published in Mumbai. Many Kuwaiti traders opened offices in Mumbai, Kolkata, Porbandar, Veraval, and Goa for their export and import businesses. Even today, many Kuwaiti families reside in Mumbai’s Mohammad Ali Street.  It might surprise many to learn that 60-65 years ago, the Indian rupee was used in Kuwait just as it was in Bharat. Back then, if someone purchased something from a shop in Kuwait, Indian rupees were accepted as currency. Terms like “Rupiya,” “Paisa,” and “Aana,” which were part of Indian currency vocabulary, were very familiar to the people of Kuwait.

    Friends,

    Bharat was one of the first countries in the world to recognize Kuwait after its independence. That is why visiting a country and society with which we share so many memories and such deep connections in both our past and present is truly memorable for me.  I am deeply grateful to the people of Kuwait and its government. I would like to especially thank His Highness The Amir for his kind invitation.

    Friends,

    The bond forged through culture and commerce in the past is now reaching new heights in this new century. Today, Kuwait is a very significant energy and trade partner for Bharat, and Bharat is also a major investment destination for Kuwaiti companies. I vividly recall a saying mentioned by His Highness, The Crown Prince of Kuwait, during our meeting in New York. He said, “When you are in need, India is your destination.” The citizens of Bharat and Kuwait have always stood by each other during difficult times and crises. During the Corona pandemic, both countries supported each other at every level. When Bharat needed help the most, Kuwait supplied liquid oxygen to us. His Highness, The Crown Prince, personally stepped forward to inspire everyone to work swiftly.  I am satisfied that Bharat, too, extended its support by sending vaccines and medical teams to help Kuwait fight the crisis. Bharat kept its ports open to ensure there were no shortages of essential food supplies for Kuwait and its surrounding regions.  In June of this year, a heart-breaking incident occurred here in Kuwait—the fire tragedy in Mangaf—which claimed the lives of many Indians. When I heard this news, I was deeply concerned. However, the way the Kuwaiti government extended its support during that time was like that of a true brother. I salute Kuwait’s spirit and compassion.

    Friends,

    This tradition of standing by each other in both happiness and sorrow forms the foundation of our mutual relationship and trust. In the coming decades, we will become even greater partners in prosperity. Our goals are not very different. The people of Kuwait are working towards building New Kuwait, and the people of Bharat are also dedicated to making the country a developed nation by 2047.  Kuwait aims to become a dynamic economy through trade and innovation, and Bharat, too, is focusing on innovation and continuously strengthening its economy. These two goals complement each other.  The innovation, skills, technology, and manpower required for the creation of New Kuwait are all available in Bharat. Bharat’s start-ups, ranging from fintech to healthcare, smart cities to green technologies, can provide cutting-edge solutions for every need of Kuwait. Bharat’s skilled youth can also add new strength to Kuwait’s future journey.

    Friends,

    Bharat has the potential to become the world’s skill capital. Bharat will remain the youngest country in the world for many decades to come. In this context, Bharat has the capacity to meet the global demand for skills. To achieve this, Bharat is focusing on skill development and skill upgrading for its youth, in line with global needs.  In recent years, Bharat has signed migration and employment agreements with nearly two dozen countries, including Gulf nations, Japan, Australia, France, Germany, Mauritius, the UK, and Italy. Countries around the world are also opening their doors to Bharat’s skilled manpower.

    Friends,

    Many agreements are being made with different countries to ensure the welfare and facilities of Indians working abroad. You may be familiar with the e-Migrate portal. Foreign companies and registered agents have been brought onto a single platform through this portal. This makes it easy to identify where there is a demand for manpower, what type of manpower is needed, and which company requires it.  Thanks to this portal, millions of workers have come to Gulf countries in the past 4-5 years. Every such initiative has a single goal—to ensure that the talent from Bharat contributes to the world’s progress and that those who go abroad for work always have the necessary support.  You all in Kuwait will also benefit greatly from Bharat’s efforts in this regard.

    Friends,

    Wherever we live in the world, we respect the country we are in, and we feel immense joy in seeing Bharat reach new heights. You all came from Bharat, lived here, yet you have preserved your Indian identity in your hearts. Now, tell me, which Indian wouldn’t feel proud of the success of Mangalyaan? Which Indian wouldn’t have been overjoyed by the landing of Chandrayaan on the moon? Am I not right? Today, Bharat is advancing with a new spirit. Bharat is now the world’s fifth-largest economy. It is home to the world’s number one fintech ecosystem. Bharat also boasts the world’s third-largest start-up ecosystem and is the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world.

    Let me share a statistic with you, and I’m sure you will be pleased to hear it. In the past 10 years, the length of optical fiber laid across Bharat is eight times greater than the distance between the Earth and the Moon. Today, Bharat is one of the most digitally connected countries in the world. Every Indian is using digital tools from small towns to villages. Smart digital systems in Bharat are no longer a luxury; they are now a part of the everyday life of the common man. Whether it’s enjoying a cup of tea, buying fruits on the street, or making digital payments, Bharat has embraced digital convenience. Ordering groceries, food, fruits, vegetables, or everyday household items is now done in a matter of moments, and payments are made via mobile phones.  People have DigiLocker for storing documents, DigiYatra for seamless travel at airports, and FASTag to save time at toll booths. Bharat is becoming increasingly digitally smart, and this is just the beginning. The future of Bharat lies in innovations that will set the direction for the entire world. The future Bharat will be the hub of global development, the growth engine of the world. The time is not far when Bharat will become the hub of Green Energy, Pharma, Electronics, Automobiles, Semiconductors, Legal, Insurance, Contracting, and Commercial sectors. You will see the major economic centres of the world establishing themselves in Bharat. Bharat will emerge as a massive hub for Global Capability Centres, Global Technology Centres and Global Engineering Centres.

    Friends,

    We consider the entire world to be one family. Bharat is moving forward as a ‘Vishwa Bandhu’ (global friend), thinking of the world’s welfare. The world, too, is acknowledging this spirit of Bharat. Today, on December 21, 2024, the world is celebrating its first World Meditation Day, dedicated to Bharat’s thousands of years of meditation tradition. Since 2015, the world has been celebrating International Yoga Day on June 21, also dedicated to Bharat’s yoga tradition. In 2023, the world celebrated the International Year of Millets, which was made possible through Bharat’s efforts and proposal. Today, Bharat’s yoga is uniting every region of the world. Bharat’s traditional medicine, our Ayurveda, and our Ayush products are enriching global wellness. Our superfoods, millets, and Shri Anna are becoming a major foundation for nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. From Nalanda to the IITs, Bharat’s knowledge system is strengthening the global knowledge ecosystem. Today, Bharat is also becoming a key link in global connectivity. During the G-20 summit held in Bharat last year, the announcement of the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor was made. This corridor is set to provide a new direction for the future of the world.

    Friends,

    The journey of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed India) is incomplete without your support and the participation of the Indian diaspora. I invite you all to join the resolve for a ‘Viksit Bharat’. The first month of the new year, January 2025, will be a month of many national celebrations. From January 8 to 10 this year, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held in Bhubaneswar, with people from all over the world coming together. I invite you all to be a part of this event.  On this journey, you can take blessings from Lord Jagannath in Puri. After that, do visit Prayagraj to take part in the Maha Kumbh Mela, which will be held from January 13 to February 26, lasting for about a month and a half. Make sure to return after watching the Republic Day celebrations on January 26. And yes, bring your Kuwaiti friends to Bharat, show them around, and let them experience Bharat. There was a time when Dilip Kumar Saheb inaugurated the first Indian restaurant here. The real taste of Bharat can only be experienced there. So, make sure to prepare your Kuwaiti friends for this experience.

    Friends,

    I know that all of you are very excited about the Arabian Gulf Cup that is starting today. You are eager to cheer for the Kuwait team. I am grateful to His Highness, The Amir, for inviting me as the Guest of Honour for the opening ceremony. This reflects the immense respect that the royal family, the government of Kuwait, have for all of you and Bharat. I hope that you continue to strengthen the Bharat-Kuwait relationship in this way. With this wish, once again, a heartfelt thank you to all of you!

    Bharat Mata ki—Jai!

    Bharat Mata ki—Jai!

    Bharat Mata ki—Jai!

    Thank you very much. 

    DISCLAIMER: This is the approximate translation of the PM’s speech. Original speech was delivered

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How global inequality hinders climate action

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Susan Ann Samuel, PhD Candidate, School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds

    Leaders from around the globe are meeting in Davos. Michael Derrer Fuchs/Shutterstock

    World leaders have gathered for the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. One of their main goals is to align their responses to geopolitical shocks such as floods and wildfires that hamper trade, investment and more.

    The meeting also supposedly aims to find ways to stimulate economic growth to improve living standards, foster a just and inclusive energy transition, achieve security and cooperation amidst conflicts, and accelerate the economic response to an “intelligent age” of AI.

    But, a new report from Oxfam International, published on the first day of the meeting in Davos, highlights how global inequality is more rampant than ever. The report, written by a team of policy campaigners and inequality research advisers outlines how billionaire wealth rose sharply in 2024 worldwide, with the pace of the increase three times faster than in 2023.

    The World Economic Forum lists extreme weather as one of the top global risks. But, as world leaders convene in Davos, the high-profile anti-climate stances of some of them stand in stark opposition to any meaningful progress for climate action.

    The Oxfam report highlights the exploitation involved in creating and sustaining wealth and outlines how, as inequalities deepen, vulnerable communities are disproportionately affected. The most vulnerable – overwhelmingly women, people of colour, Indigenous groups and low-wage workers – are caught in a cycle of insufficient wages, limited services and minimal political influence.

    The report also highlights how wealth inequality is often intertwined with historical processes of extraction — both within countries (for example, through weak labour protections that lowers wages) and between countries (through trade, finance, and resource exploitation).

    The climate connection

    Other research has also shown how inequality is deeply interwoven with climate breakdown. Each crisis exacerbates the other. Historically, the richest nations – and within them, the wealthiest people – have contributed the most to greenhouse gas emissions.

    Meanwhile, lower-income countries that bear little responsibility for global heating suffer the most. These countries, already burdened by debt and systemic inequality, have fewer resources to protect communities from extreme weather, crop failures and infrastructure damage. This makes day-to-day survival a struggle for billions.

    When climate change exacerbates existing inequalities, marginalised communities are denied basic human rights. For instance, droughts reduce crop yields and deplete water sources, so more people — often women and children — have to ration supplies or go without. This directly infringes on their rights to food, safe drinking water and sanitation.

    In these ways, without climate action, the warming planet threatens to widen inequalities by affecting the poorest people most severely. A 2020 World Bank report estimated that an additional 68 to 135 million people could be pushed into poverty by 2030 because of climate change. French researchers identified that climate change also slows down the economic catch-up of poorer countries.



    Read more:
    Extreme weather has already cost vulnerable island nations US$141 billion – or about US$2,000 per person

    The reality on the ground is bleak. Floods in Pakistan displaced thousands and affected more than 33 million people in 2023. That’s ten times more than the total population of Los Angeles where, when the recent wildfires struck, 170,000 people had to be evacuated.

    Around the world, climate movements continue. Law suits that demand climate action are transforming governance. High-level negotiations like the UN’s annual climate summit carry on seeking progress, although the processes could be improved to accelerate change.

    What can Davos do? World leaders need to look at how wealth and power can be redistributed (reparations for climate damages is one way to do this) and low-income, climate-vulnerable nations can be better represented in global decision-making.

    Without this kind of change, there’s a risk climate action will perpetuate the same structural imbalances that first enabled environmental exploitation. Only by tackling both climate injustice and economic inequality together can the world prevent further climate disasters and ensure a more equitable future.

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

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

    Susan Ann Samuel receives funding from the University of Leeds, for her PhD research.

    – ref. How global inequality hinders climate action – https://theconversation.com/how-global-inequality-hinders-climate-action-247841

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: CES 2025

    Source: Panasonic

    Headline: CES 2025

    The content in this website is accurate at the time of publication but may be subject to change without notice.Please note therefore that these documents may not always contain the most up-to-date information.Please note that German, French and Chinese versions are machine translations, so the quality and accuracy may vary.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: London set to be undisputed global capital for women’s sport in 2025 as city plays host to the world’s biggest events

    Source: Mayor of London

    • The Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 final at Twickenham set to have world-record attendance for a one-day women’s rugby event
    • Women’s tennis will return to the Queen’s Club for first time in more than 50 years
    • World class women’s cricket, football, netball, hockey, basketball and athletics also feature on packed sporting events calendar in London next year

     

    The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has today declared that London is set to be the undisputed global capital for women’s sport in 2025, with some of the world’s biggest sporting events to be hosted in the capital next year.

    The final in London is set to have a world-record attendance for a one-day women’s rugby event, with demand outstripping the supply of tickets for the Twickenham showpiece. Attendance is expected to top both the 58,498 who watched England beat France at the same venue in 2023 and the 66,000 at the Stade de France for the women’s Olympic sevens at Paris 2024. In total, more than 220,000 tickets have already been sold for the tournament, ensuring it will be the best attended in history.

    Ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, Twickenham will host one of the biggest matches in the 2025 Guinness Women’s Six Nations Rugby as England face France on 26 April, in a clash of the two highest ranked teams in the tournament.

    Another major milestone for women’s sport next year will be the return of a women’s tennis tournament to the iconic Queen’s Club for the first time in more than 50 years. The new Women’s WTA 500 event begins on 9 June, with former British No.1 and Olympic Silver medallist Laura Robson appointed as Tournament Director. The tournament will be held shortly ahead of the prestigious 2025 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, where the world’s best women’s and men’s tennis players will compete for the for the biggest prize in the sport.

    In cricket, England Women face India in a highly anticipated clash between two of the world’s best sides. They will compete in a T20 International at The Kia Oval on 4 July, ahead of a One Day International (ODI) on 19 July at Lord’s, the Home of Cricket. The first ever Vitality Blast Women’s Finals Day will take place at The Kia Oval on 27 July while The Hundred competition is scheduled to take place across August, where London has two women’s teams – the Oval Invincibles (based at The Kia Oval) and London Spirit (based at Lord’s).

    The summer will also see the return of world class athletics to London Stadium as the 2025 London Athletics Meet is staged on 19 July as part of the Wanda Diamond League series. The 2024 event was a sell out for a second year in a row and featured international superstars including Dina Asher-Smith, Keely Hodgkinson and Femke Bol, with a world class line up expected again this year.

    London remains the world’s top destination for women’s football. On 26 February the England Lionesses, the current European Champions, will host reigning World Champions Spain at Wembley Stadium in a repeat of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final. The Adobe Women’s FA Cup final will take place at the same venue on 18 May.

    London teams also make up almost half of the Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL). Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are all currently competing in the 24/25 WSL, with the season running until May 2025. After a summer break, the 25/26 WSL season will begin in September.

    The capital is also the best city to watch netball, with the Copper Box on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park the home of Netball Super League (NSL) team London Pulse. The new NSL season will run from March to July 2025, with the NSL Grand Final taking place at the O2 Arena on 6 July.

    In basketball, the Playoff Finals will also return to the O2 Arena on May 18, where the top teams from the Women’s and Men’s Super League’s will compete for the coveted title.

    Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “I’m so excited that London is set to be the undisputed global capital for women’s sport in 2025, with some of the world’s biggest events coming to our city next year.

    “I am delighted that we will be playing host to the Women’s Rugby World Cup, while we will also see the historic return of women’s tennis to the Queen’s Club. This is in addition to world class women’s cricket, football, netball, hockey, basketball and athletics in the capital.

    “I would urge Londoners to take up the opportunity to attend some of these amazing events, cheering on our top athletes and sports women. Ensuring London hosts many of the world’s leading sporting events is an important part of our work building a better London for everyone.”

    An estimated six million people attended sporting events across the capital this summer, including the UEFA Champions League Final and European Professional Club Rugby Finals, cementing London’s position as the undisputed sporting capital of the world.*

    Polling from YouGov found that 62 per cent of Londoners feel proud of living in London when major sporting events are hosted, with 72 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds feeling proud. More than two-thirds (69 per cent) of Londoners think that hosting major sporting events impacts positively on London’s economy.**

    The capital was also crowned the world’s leading sporting events host in the 2024 Global Cities Report as well as the best cultural experience destination.***

    Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Managing Director, Sarah Massey said: “With the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 set to capture hearts and headlines globally, the anticipation for the tournament is reaching new heights.

    “We’ve seen unprecedented demand for tickets across the tournament and with the iconic Twickenham Stadium hosting the final, fans can expect an unmissable experience and an incredible celebration of women’s rugby on its biggest stage.”

    The FA’s Women’s Technical Director, Kay Cossington said: “2025 is shaping up to be another momentous year for the women’s game and the Lionesses as we look forward to an unmissable EURO in the summer. Before then, the European champions will take on the world champions Spain at Wembley Stadium in February with another bumper crowd expected through the turnstiles.

    “The Lionesses’ fixtures at Wembley are always so special and reminiscent of that memorable July day in 2022 when the team made history by lifting our first major trophy. Away from England, Wembley Stadium will once again play host to the landmark event in the domestic women’s calendar – the Adobe Women’s FA Cup Final. With the final selling out Wembley for the last two seasons in a row, we’re expecting the May 2025 final to be another unmissable showpiece.”

    The FA’s Women’s Technical Director, Kay Cossington said: “2025 is shaping up to be another momentous year for the women’s game and the Lionesses as we look forward to an unmissable EURO in the summer. Before then, the European champions will take on the world champions Spain at Wembley Stadium in February with another bumper crowd expected through the turnstiles.

    “The Lionesses’ fixtures at Wembley are always so special and reminiscent of that memorable July day in 2022 when the team made history by lifting our first major trophy. Away from England, Wembley Stadium will once again play host to the landmark event in the domestic women’s calendar – the Adobe Women’s FA Cup Final. With the final selling out Wembley for the last two seasons in a row, we’re expecting the May 2025 final to be another unmissable showpiece.”

    The All England Lawn Tennis Club Chief Executive, Sally Bolton said: “There is no doubt that London is a sporting powerhouse and 2025 is set to be a year of fantastic women’s sport for the capital. We look forward to playing our part as we welcome the world to Wimbledon for the 138th staging of The Championship with the world’s best tennis players going head to head on the lawns of SW19.”

    The ECB Director of Women’s Professional Game, Beth Barrett-Wild said: “Off the back of another year of extraordinary growth in 2024, we are set for an unmissable summer of women’s cricket in London in 2025.

    “In June, England Women take on India with two huge games here in the capital; in July, the first ever Vitality T20 Blast Women’s Finals Day is coming to the Kia Oval; and across August, The Hundred will be front and centre with The Final at Lord’s.

    “Last year The Hundred once again broke the global record for total attendance at a women’s cricket competition, with 320,000 fans in attendance, we’ll be hoping to see even more fans this year.

    “All this sets the scene for a huge 2026 when we host the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup here in England, with women’s cricket here in London at the centre of a global competition.”

    Netball Super League Managing Director, Claire Nelson said: “We are incredibly excited to bring the Netball Super League Grand Final to The O2 for the very first time in 2025.

    “The O2 is one of the most prestigious arenas in the world and will provide the perfect backdrop to a world class event and an unforgettable experience for fans, players and everyone involved. As we enter a new professional era for League, this event will be a major moment for our sport that will see us continue to push the boundaries to make our events bigger and better than ever before.”

    UK Sport CEO, Sally Munday said: “2025 is going to be a spectacular year for women’s sport in the UK. In particular,  we are incredibly excited about the Women’s Rugby World Cup, which is set to be a big celebration of Women’s sport with huge potential to unite and inspire people right across the UK. The final at Twickenham Stadium promises to be one of the iconic sporting moments of next year.

    “We know that live sport has a unique place in the hearts of the British public. As our nation’s capital, London is a crucial partner in making live sport matter and maintaining the UK’s world-leading reputation for hosting major sporting events. 

    “We look forward to working together with the Mayor and his team to bring more of the biggest and best sporting events in the world to our shores in 2025 and beyond.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –