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Category: France

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Government of Canada helps Calgary faith-based and community organizations protect themselves from hate-motivated crimes

    MIL OSI Translation. Canadian French to English –

    Source: Government of Canada – in French

    Everyone living in Canada deserves to be and feel safe in their community. In recent years, we have seen an increase in hate incidents in many communities. This is unacceptable, and the federal government is taking action to combat hate and protect communities.

    September 29, 2024 Calgary, Alberta

    Everyone living in Canada deserves to be and feel safe in their community. In recent years, we have seen an increase in hate incidents in many communities. This is unacceptable, and the federal government is taking action to combat hate and protect communities.

    Today, George Chahal, Member of Parliament for Calgary Skyview, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, announced an investment of $183,703 to faith-based and community organizations in Calgary and southern Alberta through the Security Infrastructure Program (SIP).

    On September 24, Minister LeBlanc announced the launch of the new Canada Community Safety Program (CCSP), which aims to replace and improve the work undertaken under the PFPIS based on feedback from communities. The first call for applications will be launched on 1 October 2024.

    Eligible measures include security equipment and materials, minor renovations to enhance security, security and emergency plans and assessments, hate-motivated incident response training, and third-party certified security personnel for a limited period of time.

    Public Safety will contact organizations that have submitted an application under the PFPIS to discuss the status of their application and their participation under the PSCC.

    Organizations wishing to be kept informed of the launch of the next PSCC call for applications are invited to register at distribution list of the National Crime Prevention Strategy.

    “All Canadians deserve to feel safe, no matter where they live, work, gather and worship. As a government, we are committed to ensuring that this is the case. Investments like the one we are making today are just one example of this ongoing commitment.”

    – George Chahal, Member of Parliament for Calgary Skyview, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs

    Gabriel Brunet Press SecretaryOffice of the Honourable Dominic LeBlancMinister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs819 665-6527gabriel.brunet@iga-aig.gc.ca  

    Media RelationsPublic Safety Canada613 991-0657media@ps-sp.gc.ca

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Government of Canada helps Montreal school protect itself against hate-motivated crimes

    MIL OSI Translation. Canadian French to English –

    Source: Government of Canada – in French

    Everyone living in Canada deserves to be and feel safe in their community. In recent years, we have seen an increase in hate incidents in many communities. This is unacceptable, and the federal government is taking action to combat hate and protect communities.

    September 29, 2024Montreal (Quebec)

    Everyone living in Canada deserves to be and feel safe in their community. In recent years, we have seen an increase in hate incidents in many communities. This is unacceptable, and the federal government is taking action to combat hate and protect communities.

    Today, Sameer Zuberi, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities and Member of Parliament for Pierrefonds—Dollard, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, announced an investment of $10,740 to a Montreal school through the Security Infrastructure Program (SIP).

    On September 24, Minister LeBlanc announced the launch of the new Canada Community Safety Program (CCSP), which aims to replace and improve the work undertaken under the PFPIS based on feedback from communities. The first call for applications will be launched on 1 October 2024.

    Eligible measures include security equipment and materials, minor renovations to enhance security, security and emergency plans and assessments, hate-motivated incident response training, and third-party certified security personnel for a limited period of time.

    Public Safety will contact organizations that have submitted an application under the PFPIS to discuss the status of their application and their participation under the PSCC.

    Organizations wishing to be kept informed of the launch of the next PSCC call for applications are invited to register at distribution list of the National Crime Prevention Strategy.

    “Synagogues and community centres are places of worship, reflection and gathering. We have recently seen an unacceptable increase in various forms of discrimination and hate crimes, including anti-Semitism. This investment by the government will help all Canadians be and feel safe.”

    – Sameer Zuberi, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities and Member of Parliament for Pierrefonds—Dollard, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs

    Gabriel Brunet Press SecretaryOffice of the Honourable Dominic LeBlancMinister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs819 665-6527gabriel.brunet@iga-aig.gc.ca  

    Media RelationsPublic Safety Canada613 991-0657media@ps-sp.gc.ca

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Government of Canada helps Regina faith-based and community organizations protect themselves from hate-motivated crimes

    MIL OSI Translation. Canadian French to English –

    Source: Government of Canada – in French

    Everyone living in Canada deserves to be and feel safe in their community. In recent years, we have seen an increase in hate incidents in many communities. This is unacceptable, and the federal government is taking action to combat hate and protect communities.

    September 29, 2024 Regina, Saskatchewan

    Everyone living in Canada deserves to be and feel safe in their community. In recent years, we have seen an increase in hate incidents in many communities. This is unacceptable, and the federal government is taking action to combat hate and protect communities.

    Today, the Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister responsible for Prairie Economic Development Canada, Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and Minister of Northern Affairs, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, announced an investment of $111,904 to religious and community organizations in Regina through the Security Infrastructure Program (SIP).

    On September 24, Minister LeBlanc announced the launch of the new Canada Community Safety Program (CCSP) which aims to replace and improve the work undertaken under the PFPIS based on feedback from communities. The first call for applications will be launched on 1 October 2024.

    Eligible measures include security equipment and materials, minor renovations to enhance security, security and emergency plans and assessments, hate-motivated incident response training, and third-party certified security personnel for a limited period of time.

    Public Safety will contact organizations that have submitted an application under the PFPIS to discuss the status of their application and their participation under the PSCC.

    Organizations wishing to be kept informed of the launch of the next PSCC call for applications are invited to register at distribution list of the National Crime Prevention Strategy.

    “Everyone in Canada deserves to feel safe in their community. That’s why, since 2015, we’ve invested in hundreds of local projects that protect communities threatened by hate-motivated crimes. We’re working with community partners to ensure everyone in Canada can continue to live without fear.”

    – The Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister responsible for Prairie Economic Development Canada, Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and Minister of Northern Affairs, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs

    Gabriel Brunet Press SecretaryOffice of the Honourable Dominic LeBlancMinister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs819 665-6527gabriel.brunet@iga-aig.gc.ca  

    Media RelationsPublic Safety Canada613 991-0657media@ps-sp.gc.ca

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Water unfit for consumption in nine municipalities on the Left Bank – Measures to be taken

    MIL OSI Translation. Government of the Republic of France statements from French to English –

    Source: Switzerland – Canton Government of Geneva in French

    Tap water is unfit for consumption in nine municipalities on the Left Bank. Last night, the rupture of a major pipe located at Quai Gustave Ador caused disruptions in the water supply for residents and surrounding businesses.

    The rupture of a drinking water pipe caused a depression in the network, resulting in the suction of external elements into the water network which serves nine municipalities.

    Municipalities concerned

    These are Thônex, Choulex, Corsier, Vandoeuvres, Collonge-Bellerive, Hermance, Anières, Puplinge and Cologny. Precautionary measures for residents

    if the water has an abnormal appearance or discoloration: do not use it at all if the water is transparent: do not drink tap water or give it to animals; – do not use it to wash food; the water can be used for showering and washing; do not use the water for brushing teeth. On the other hand, boiled water can be consumed and used normally.

    Possible health risks

    Vomiting, diarrhea and gastrointestinal upset.

    If you experience symptoms and they persist, it is recommended that you consult your doctor.

    For more information:

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Global: How Lebanon’s national identity is exploited to justify violence against it

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Rayyan Dabbous, PhD student, Centre for Comparative Literature, University of Toronto

    The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah confirmed on Sept. 28 that its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut a day earlier. Nasrallah is the highest-ranking Hezbollah leader to have been killed since Israel began targeting the group’s leadership.

    Several Hezbollah commanders, and hundreds of Lebanese civilians, have been killed in Israeli attacks in recent weeks. On Sept. 20, Israel launched its heaviest aerial bombing on Lebanon since 2006, killing hundreds of civilians. The attack followed the Sept. 17 coordinated explosions of hand-held wireless pagers allegedly carried by members of Hezbollah (but still also carried by many medical professionals). That assault maimed thousands of Lebanese people.

    Israel says the violent strikes were necessary to preemptively thwart Hezbollah from launching rockets into northern Israel. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Lebanese population: “Israel’s war is not with you, it’s with Hezbollah,” which has long “been using you as human shields.”

    The Telegraph in the United Kingdom proclaimed Israel’s war against Hezbollah as a brave move on behalf of the “West” to “uphold civilization.” Other news outlets, both western and Israeli, also framed the conflict as one for civilization. They also mentioned religion.

    Wars have always required these types of false dichotomies: Christian and Muslim, civilization and barbarism, West and East.

    Generations of Orientalists from the “West” constructed the “East” as a place with distinct cultural identities and values, and one over which the West must triumph.

    The way East and West has historically been framed in Lebanon can help us understand the way the conflict there is being discussed in the Global North. To do this, I briefly outline three time periods to attempt to shed some light on how this framing can be used to justify violence against the nation.

    1. Premodern times: Caught between two empires

    Lebanon has frequently been a battleground between West and East. For aristocracies and clergies in France and Italy, Lebanon first became part of the East under Byzantium (the eastern half of the Roman empire). Later, Lebanon became part of the Islamic and Ottoman empires. It was not religion that defined these West/East splits but aspirations for wealth, resources, power and hegemony.

    Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, in which modern-day Lebanon was situated, economic and political power remained in Christian hands but was transferred from Rome to Constantinople (modern day Istanbul). After eight major waves of Crusades, notorious for their pillages and “collateral damage” even in Christian cities, Western observers came to regard the East as a “treasure” that had been regained.

    In his seminal book Europe and Islam, first published in French in 1978, pre-eminent Tunisian historian Hichem Djaït showed how Christianity in Europe was, from its inception, a political project aimed to both unite against and catch up to Islamic cultural, scientific and economic advancement.

    The East, Djaït emphasized, was regarded as a deformed West, a “parvenu” and “a primitive newcomer” whose civilization was an aberration in Medieval Christian eyes. They regarded Islam’s prophet Muhammad as an internal traitor rather than an external threat. For example, in Dante’s Inferno Muhammad is punished for contributing to the West/East schism.

    Western interest in the East was also, for Djaït, rooted in an envy for how diverse groups co-existed for centuries in the east but not the west.

    II. Caught within colonial expansion

    Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War, Lebanon came under French rule. By this point, the Ottomans had been regarded as “the Sick Man of Europe” since at least the mid-19th century. Global powers exploited this characterization of Lebanon and were activated to send missionaries, build missionary schools, and revamp ports. The French also intervened with the work of sectarian groups. Therefore, especially in the 1920s, the French led a rapid modernizing of Lebanon, characterized as a trade-off between West and East.

    The Syrian playwright Saadallah Wannous dramatized this trade-off in The Drunken Days in a dialogue between an old Lebanese man in his Eastern headwear, the tarbush, and a young Lebanese woman urging him to wear a Western hat:

    Him: The tarbush is a symbol of religion.

    Her: The hat is a symbol of urbanization.

    Him: The tarbush indicates devotion.

    Her: The hat indicates civilization.

    Lebanese intellectuals at the time were aware of this dangerous equation of West with civilization. Palestinian-Lebanese writer May Ziadeh actively worked in the 1920s and 1930s to dispel the false dichotomy between West and East. She encouraged her students to “learn Western languages without forgetting their own” and she believed that “not a single nation in the world has been able to create itself without the input of others.”

    Ziadeh belonged to a time referred to as the Nahda, or Arab Renaissance, when Arab writers wanted to revive the human flourishing once experienced in the medieval Islamic world. These intellectuals favoured a balanced approach between West and East and recognized the modernity the West ushered as a continuation of Eastern achievements.

    III. 1975-2005: Caught between civil war and 9/11

    Whereas questioning the West/East divide united a previous generation of Lebanese Christians and Muslims, the generations that went through the Lebanese civil war (1975–1990) affirmed that divide.

    Western media capitalized on the newly divided allegiances of Lebanese Christians and framed them as torn in a West/East clash.

    Some Lebanese political leaders also promoted this narrative and appealed to the West for support. Meanwhile, the emergence of Hezbollah after Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon became synonymous with a resistance against the West.

    But this narrative obscures the realities of how and why these divides were created. These divides are created by Lebanese groups, including Hezbollah, as well as the West. They boosted, hindered and created each other. For example, in 2018, western media ignored claims of election fraud in Lebanon and instead sensationalized Hezbollah’s victory.

    In a 1985 piece for the London Review of Books, Edward Said, author of Orientalism, cautioned against seeing Beirut as the Paris of the Middle East and Lebanon as its Switzerland, comparisons popular since the 1960s. Such comparisons have been recently recirculated and mourned by both Israeli and Lebanese media.

    For Said, this representation of Lebanon threatened solidarity movements with Arabs and Palestinians by characterizing it as something fundamentally different from the rest of the Arab world.

    But two years after the end of the Lebanese Civil War, American political scientist Samuel P. Huntington promoted the simplistic logic Said warned against and declared a clash of civilizations. The aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks saw a resurgence of Huntington’s theory. It revived in the West the Medieval Christian view of the East, and a desire to act as crusaders who export human rights and defend the world against terrorists.

    We need to once and for all dispose of the West and the East as a clash of civilizations. Militaries and militias should not have to race to eliminate either side. They should instead realize that their fate is as intertwined as their past, and that only dialogue can solve conflict.

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

    – ref. How Lebanon’s national identity is exploited to justify violence against it – https://theconversation.com/how-lebanons-national-identity-is-exploited-to-justify-violence-against-it-239697

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Water unfit for consumption in 9 municipalities on the left bank – SIG press release

    MIL OSI Translation. Government of the Republic of France statements from French to English –

    Source: Switzerland – Canton Government of Geneva in French

    Tap water is unfit for consumption in nine municipalities on the Left Bank. Last night, the rupture of a major pipe located at Quai Gustave Ador caused disruptions in the water supply for residents and surrounding businesses.

    The SIG technical teams immediately intervened to assess the situation and put in place the necessary measures to limit the inconvenience caused. They are actively working to repair the pipeline and are doing everything possible to restore the supply of drinking water as soon as possible [lread more…].

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI China: ​Paris exhibition showcases art by women with disabilities

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    A view of the opening ceremony for the “Beautiful Crafts Workshop Blossoming in Paris” exhibition, featuring cultural and creative works by women with disabilities, in Paris, France, Sept. 3, 2024. [Xinhua]

    An exhibition featuring cultural and creative works by women with disabilities opened in Paris on Sept. 3, coinciding with the atmosphere surrounding the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

    The “Beautiful Crafts Workshop Blossoming in Paris” exhibition, displaying nearly 300 handcrafted items, aims to foster cultural exchange and showcase the talents of people with disabilities. Items on display include silk dolls, cloth tigers, fish skin paintings, wooden combs, wood carvings and ceramics.

    Zhang Haidi, president of Rehabilitation International (RI) and former chairperson of China Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF), expressed hope that the exhibition would gain global recognition and help improve the lives of women with disabilities.

    During the opening ceremony, UNESCO’s assistant director-general for culture, Ernesto Ottone, noted that the exhibition embodies the concept of an inclusive society and sustainable development. He added that the exhibition’s timing, coinciding with the Paralympics, highlights the common features of accessibility, inclusion, and diversity shared by sports and culture.

    The exhibited works originate from over 30 “Beautiful Crafts Workshops” across Chinese provinces, including Guangdong, Shandong, and Hebei. Launched in 2022 as a joint effort by the China Disabled Persons’ Federation and the All-China Women’s Federation, the initiative supports handicraft businesses and organizations that enable women with disabilities to work from home or nearby locations. To date, the program has provided employment for more than 10,000 women with disabilities nationwide.

    Tang Zhanxin, a representative of the “Beautiful Crafts Workshop,” shared her personal experience with the initiative, highlighting how it has enabled many women with disabilities in China to access stable employment and improve their livelihoods.

    China plans to establish 100 additional “Beautiful Crafts Workshops” over the next three years, aiming to provide employment opportunities for 10,000 more women with disabilities.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Kamala Harris the slight favourite to win US election as she narrowly leads in key states

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne

    The US presidential election will be held on November 5. In analyst Nate Silver’s aggregate of national polls, Democrat Kamala Harris leads Republican Donald Trump by 49.3–46.0 – a slight widening of the competition since last Monday, when Harris led Trump by 49.2–46.2.

    President Joe Biden’s final position before his withdrawal as Democratic candidate on July 21 was a national poll deficit against Trump of 45.2–41.2.

    There will be a debate on Tuesday evening US time between the vice-presidential candidates, Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance. Vice-presidential debates in previous elections have not had a significant influence on the contest.

    The US president isn’t elected by the national popular vote, but by the Electoral College, in which each state receives electoral votes equal to its federal House seats (population based) and senators (always two). Almost all states award their electoral votes as winner-takes-all, and it takes 270 electoral votes to win (out of 538 total).

    The Electoral College is biased to Trump relative to the national popular vote, with Harris needing at least a two-point popular vote win in Silver’s model to be the Electoral College favourite.

    In Silver’s polling averages, Harris leads Trump by one to two points in Pennsylvania (19 electoral votes), Michigan (15), Wisconsin (ten) and Nevada (six). If Harris wins all these states, she is likely to win the Electoral College by at least a 276–262 margin. Trump is ahead by less than a point in North Carolina (16 electoral votes) and Georgia (16), and if Harris wins both, she wins by 308–230.

    In Silver’s model, Harris has a 56% chance to win the Electoral College, up from 54% last Monday but down from her peak of 58% two days ago. Earlier this month, there were large differences in win probability between Silver’s model and the FiveThirtyEight model, which was more favourable to Harris. But these models have nearly converged, with FiveThirtyEight now giving Harris a 59% win probability.

    There are still more than five weeks until election day, so polls could change in either Trump’s or Harris’ favour by then. Harris’ one to two point leads in the key states are tenuous, and this explains why Trump is still rated a good chance to win.

    Silver wrote on September 1 that polls in 2020 and 2016 were biased against Trump, but polls in 2012 were biased against Barack Obama. In the last two midterm elections (2022 and 2018), polls have been good. It’s plausible there will be a polling error this year, but which candidate such an error would favour can’t be predicted.

    On Sunday, Silver said if there was a systematic error of three or four points in the polls in either Trump’s or Harris’ favour, that candidate would sweep all the swing states and easily win the Electoral College. There are other scenarios in which one candidate underperforms the polls with some demographics but overperforms with other demographics.

    I wrote about the US election for The Poll Bludger last Thursday, and also covered bleak polls and byelection results in Canada for the governing centre-left Liberals ahead of an election due by October 2025, a dreadful poll for UK Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the new French prime minister, a German state election and a socialist win in Sri Lanka’s presidential election.

    Upwardly revised economic data

    Last Thursday, a revised estimate of June quarter US GDP was released. There was a large upward revision in real disposable personal income compared to the previously reported figures. This has resulted in the personal savings rate being revised up to 4.9% in July from the previously reported 2.9%, and it was 4.8% in August.

    With these upward revisions, Silver’s economic index that averages six indicators is now at +0.25, up from +0.09. As the incumbent party’s candidate, a better economy than was previously believed should help Harris.

    Coalition gains narrow lead in Essential

    In Australia, a national Essential poll, conducted on September 18–22 from a sample of 1,117 people, gave the Coalition a 48–47 lead (including undecided voters) after a 48–48 tie in early September. It’s the Coalition’s first lead in the Essential poll since mid-July.

    Primary votes were 35% Coalition (steady), 29% Labor (down one), 12% Greens (down one), 8% One Nation (steady), 2% UAP (up one), 9% for all Others (up one) and 5% undecided (steady).

    Anthony Albanese’s net approval was up five points since August to –5, with 47% disapproving and 42% approving. Peter Dutton’s net approval was down one to net zero.

    On social media regulations, 48% thought them too weak, 43% about right and 8% too tough. By 67–17, voters supported imposing an age limit for children to access social media (68–15 in July). By 71–12, voters supported making doxing (the public release of personally identifiable data) a criminal offence (62–19 in February).

    By 49–18, voters supported Labor’s Help to Buy scheme, and by 57–13 they supported the build-to-rent scheme. The questions give detail that few voters would know.

    Voters were told the Liberals and Greens had combined to delay Labor’s housing policies in the senate. By 48–22, voters thought the Liberals and Greens should pass the policies and argue for their own policies at the next election, rather than block Labor’s policies. Greens voters supported passing by 55–21.

    Labor keeps narrow lead in Morgan

    A national Morgan poll, conducted September 16–22 from a sample of 1,662 people, gave Labor a 50.5–49.5 lead, unchanged from the September 9–15 Morgan poll.

    Primary votes were 37.5% Coalition (steady), 32% Labor (up 1.5), 12.5% Greens (steady), 5% One Nation (down 0.5), 9.5% independents (down 0.5) and 3.5% others (down 0.5).

    The headline figure is based on respondent preferences. By 2022 election preference flows, Labor led by an unchanged 52–48.

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

    – ref. Kamala Harris the slight favourite to win US election as she narrowly leads in key states – https://theconversation.com/kamala-harris-the-slight-favourite-to-win-us-election-as-she-narrowly-leads-in-key-states-239735

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI China: Experts report big boom in summer travel

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    China’s tourism market rebounded strongly this summer, with travel experts reporting significant growth in passenger numbers, spending, and both inbound and outbound trips as the country continues to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Domestically, travel surged during the summer holiday, which typically runs from early July to late August. The Civil Aviation Administration reported that domestic airlines transported 117 million passengers from July 1 to Aug 20.

    Meanwhile, China Railway Group said it handled 887 million passengers from July 1 to Aug 31, a 6.7 percent increase year-on-year.

    “Summer is always peak season for domestic tourism, but this year, tourists showed more interest in lesser-known destinations and traveled with more reasonable budgets,” said a spokesperson for Tuniu, a travel portal.

    The domestic tourism market performed more evenly throughout the summer, with demand peaking in mid-July and lasting through the end of August.

    Long-distance tours and family trips were the most popular choices — in fact, over half Tuniu’s summer bookings were for far-flung destinations. Besides traditional tourist hot spots like Beijing and Shanghai, smaller destinations such as Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture in Jilin province, Datong in Shanxi province and Chengde in Hebei province gained popularity for their cultural offerings and cooler climates.

    “I took my 6-year-old daughter to Yanji in late July,” said Ye Xiao, a 31-year-old teacher from Beijing, speaking of the county-level city that serves as the seat of Yanbian. “The weather was pleasant, and we enjoyed exploring the Korean ethnic culture. It was a memorable trip with fewer tourists and great food at reasonable prices.”

    China’s inbound tourism also experienced robust growth, buoyed by relaxed visa policies, including the 144-hour transit policy for citizens of 54 countries and the “ChinaTravel” topics that trended on international social media platforms.

    And the 2024 Paris Olympics provided an additional boost to outbound travel, with LY.com reporting a 300 percent increase in hotel bookings in Paris and neighboring areas and an 80 percent surge in flight bookings from China’s major cities to the French capital.

    Qunar, another travel portal, noted that bookings for domestic flights by travelers using non-Chinese passports were 1.8 times higher compared to last year. Trip.com Group reported a 70 percent year-on-year increase in mainland tourism bookings, with South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, and the United States contributing the most visitors. Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou were the top destinations for international tourists.

    Southeast Asia remained the top choice for Chinese traveling overseas due to cheaper flights, affordable hotels and favorable visa policies.

    Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, told China Central Television that this summer marked the highest level of travel enthusiasm in recent years, with increases in the number of travelers, tourism spending and cross-border trips.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Foreign Minister completes successful week of international engagements

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today wrapped up a week of high-level engagements at the United Nations in New York and in Papeete, French Polynesia.

    “Our visit to New York was about demonstrating New Zealand’s unwavering support for an international system based on rules and respect for the UN Charter, as articulated by then Prime Minister Peter Fraser at the UN’s founding on behalf of New Zealand people,” Mr Peters says.

    “The UN Security Council remains at the centre of the international peace and security system. Our bid for a seat on the Security Council for the 2039-40 term is both important and necessary. As a small state and country of the Pacific, we look forward to again bringing a constructive voice to the top table.”

    While in New York, Mr Peters also engaged in several high-level meetings and held talks with a range of counterparts, including from Iceland, Italy, Jordan, Egypt, Netherlands, Costa Rica, Sweden, Kiribati, Maldives, Palestinian Authority, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

    “Our talks in Papeete today with President Moetai Brotherson, French High Commissioner Dominique Sorain, former Presidents Édouard Fritch and Oscar Temaru, Members of Parliament, and business leaders reinforced the warm and enduring relationships between New Zealand, French Polynesia and France”, Mr Peters says.

    Mr Peters is aiming to visit all 17 other Pacific Islands Forum countries in 2024. French Polynesia was the 15th he visited, leaving only New Caledonia and Kiribati to go. 

    Mr Peters returns to New Zealand later today.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: PRESS RELEASE – SIGNING OF THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT & THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW CASTLE AUSTRALIA

    Source: Government of Western Samoa

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    September 23, 2024, Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi (TATTE) Building Level 3.

    The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) and the University of New Castle Australia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to initiate their partnership in promoting scientific, socio-economic and educational international engagement including capability development and research activities on renewable energy for the benefit of both Samoa and Australia.

    The signing of this MOU open doors to a wide range of collaborative efforts. It will promote technical support, knowledge exchange, and capacity-building initiatives that are essential to the sustainable management of our natural resources. Specifically, the partnership will enhance our capacity to design, implement, and monitor joint research projects, with a focus on the development of policies, research design, and educational materials.

    The signing ceremony, held on September 23, 2024 marks a significant milestone in Samoa’s ongoing efforts to transition towards a renewable energy and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. As part of this MOU, both parties will work together to

    (i) establish scientific cooperation in areas of mutual exchange of scientific information including in the publications and policies, research design and the development of educational materials;

    (ii) the design, development and implementation of joint research, capability development and pilot projects and programmes;

    (iii) joint training of MNRE staff through joint Australian-Samoan management of Masters research and PhD programmes.

    “This MOU is more than a formal agreement; it is the beginning of an exciting journey. By combining our resources, expertise and passion, we will address critical environmental challenges, improves capacity in both countries and develop solutions that can make a real difference”, said Lealaisalanoa Frances Brown Reupena.

    Professor Zee Upton, Deputy Vice-Chancellor from the University of New Castle also highlighted the importance of the collaboration, “we are honored to partner with Samoa on this crucial mission to advance renewable energy research. Our joint efforts will contribute to addressing global energy challenges, particularly for small island nations that face disproportionate risks from climate change.”

    The Ministry acknowledges with much appreciation the University of Newcastle Australia and Professor Alan Broadfoot for his leadership and dedication to fostering this partnership.

    END.

    SOURCE – Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Samoa

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI: RIBER receives order to equip an autonomous pilot line for the design and manufacturing of optical devices in Europe

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    RIBER receives order to equip an autonomous pilot line for the design and manufacturing of optical devices in Europe

    Bezons (France), September 30, 2024 – 8:00 am (CET) – RIBER, the global leader for Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) equipment serving the semiconductor industry, is announcing the sale of a fully automated MBE 412 cluster platform in Finland.

    Based in Tampere, Finland, in the land of a thousand lakes, VEXLUM, a leading supplier of advanced laser devices for quantum technology applications, has ordered a MBE 412 cluster system to establish a pilot line for the growth of optical devices covering the visible and near-infrared spectrum. This line will mainly focus on VECSEL (Vertical External Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) structures while also exploring other innovative technologies. 

    The MBE 412 cluster is a platform compatible with 4” substrates, offering great flexibility in terms of equipment, modularity, and adaptability, allowing users to continuously extend the machine’s capabilities. Equipped with the EZ TOOL instrumentation package for real-time in situ growth control and powered by the advanced Crystal XE control software, this fully automated system is the first of its kind in Finland, a key European country for the development and manufacturing of next-generation semiconductors, and the 25th in operation since its launch in 2010.

    This new order will be delivered in 2025.

    About VEXLUM
    Founded in 2017, Vexlum is a spin-off from the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC), Tampere University of Technology. The team has been a leading research group in the area of VECSEL technology for almost two decades. In particular, the company focuses on development of III/V semiconductor materials enabling VECSELs at new wavelengths, scalable manufacturing processes, and application specific systems engineering. Recent breakthroughs include the use of VECSELs for quantum technology applications.

    Vexlum capitalizes on a comprehensive knowledge in epitaxy, optoelectronics processes, and laser systems. The technical expertise is complemented by proven entrepreneurial skills. The company vision is to bring VECSEL technology to high impact applications with unique benefits in performance, cost, and usability.

    About RIBER

    Founded in 1964, RIBER is the global market leader for MBE – molecular beam epitaxy – equipment. It designs and produces equipment for the semiconductor industry, and provides scientific and technical support for its clients (hardware and software), maintaining their equipment and optimizing their performance and output levels.

    Accelerating the performance of electronics, RIBER’s equipment performs an essential role in the development of advanced semiconductor systems that are used in numerous applications, from information technologies to photonics (lasers, sensors, etc.), 5G telecommunications networks and research, including quantum computing.

    RIBER is a BPI France-approved innovative company and is listed on the Euronext Growth Paris market (ISIN: FR0000075954).
    http://www.riber.com

    Contacts

    RIBER : Annie Geoffroy| tel: +33 (0)1 39 96 65 00 | invest@riber.com

    CALYPTUS : Cyril Combe | tel: +33 (0)1 53 65 68 68 | cyril.combe@calyptus.net

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Water unfit for consumption in 9 municipalities on the left bank: establishment of drinking water supply points – SIG press release

    MIL OSI Translation. Government of the Republic of France statements from French to English –

    Source: Switzerland – Canton Government of Geneva in French

    UPDATE: As tap water is unfit for consumption in nine municipalities on the Left Bank, drinking water supply points are being installed. A green line has been set up to answer questions.

    The SIG teams, with the support of the SIS and Civil Protection, are installing twelve drinking water supply points. These are “goats”, taps installed on public property, and mobile tanks. Residents must bring their own containers to obtain drinking water (see the addresses on the attached map). This equipment will remain installed until the water is drinkable again. Nine municipalities are concerned. These are Thônex, Choulex, Corsier, Vandoeuvres, Collonge-Bellerive, Hermance, Anières, Puplinge and Cologny.

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Large salary disparities among cultural workers

    MIL OSI Translation. Government of the Republic of France statements from French to English –

    Source: Switzerland – Department of Foreign Affairs in French

    Federal Statistical Office

    Neuchâtel, 30.09.2024 – Half of cultural workers have a part-time job, 14% have several jobs and a good quarter are self-employed. This is significantly more than in the economy as a whole. In Switzerland, full-time cultural workers earned a median salary of 69,600 francs in 2023, while their part-time colleagues earned 45,700 francs. In this area, a significant gender disparity can be noted: for a full-time position, a woman earned 78,000 francs while a man earned 98,000 francs. These are some of the recent results of the cultural economy statistics of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), which contain, for the first time, detailed data on salaries.

    You will find this press release and further information on this topic on the OFS website (see link below)

    Address for sending questions

    Olivier Moeschler, OFS, Politics, Culture and Media section, tel.: 41 58 463 69 67, e-mail: poku@bfs.admin.ch

    Author

    Federal Statistical Officehttp://www.statistique.admin.ch

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI: Nokia deployments with majority of world’s largest IXPs reflect push for scale, reliability and automation

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Press release
    Nokia deployments with majority of world’s largest IXPs reflect push for scale, reliability and automation

    • Six of the world’s 10 largest IXPs have deployed Nokia networking infrastructure and cumulatively carry close to 45 Tbps of traffic during peak times
    • Performance at scale, security and AI-enhanced operations of Nokia IP, optical and DDoS solutions support buildouts of massive cloud networks
    • Stunning growth of regional clouds driven by unprecedented latency, security and bandwidth pressures as global digital economy flourishes

    30 Sept 2024
    Espoo, Finland: Nokia today reaffirmed its leadership and commitment to the global Internet Exchange market as it continues to work with more than 20 Internet Exchange Providers (IXPs), including six of the world’s 10 largest based on both peak traffic and number of members. As the local interconnection points for more than 5,000 member organizations, these six IXPs cumulatively transport close to 45 Tbps of traffic during peak times – a figure that’s set to grow as the Equinix Global Interconnection Index (GXI) 2024 predicts a stunning 34% five-year CAGR in interconnection bandwidth.

    The expanding digital economy, proliferation of edge compute, and anticipated move of latency-sensitive AI models to regional clouds for local consumption are contributing to the need for what the GXI calls an Interconnection Oriented Architecture® (IOA). According to the GXI 2024 report, “The economics of data, density, velocity and experience demand localized exchange to move the highest volumes of data with the lowest latency to dense clusters of participants and population centers.”

    Built to handle these current and future pressures, the characteristics of the Nokia IP, optical and security solutions align to those identified in the IOA and are central to why the Nokia portfolio has increasingly become the dominant choice of leading IXPs.

    The Nokia FP5 800GE technology, deployed by leading European IXPs including Germany’s DE-CIX and the Netherlands’ NL-ix , provides the fastest possible performance in the industry and is realizing dramatic sustainability gains. Since deploying this technology, NL-ix has shown a reduction in power consumption from 0.8 watts to 0.1 watts per gigabit in parts of its network.

    Thomas King, CTO at DE-CIX, said: “Nokia’s 800GE technology gives us the considerable runway needed to address future traffic growth in a cost- and energy-efficient way. 800GE optics consume the least amount of space and power per bit, and at the same time it provides the most headroom for traffic peaks of the future.”

    Nokia has also played a leadership role in the standardization of Ethernet Virtual Private Networks (EVPNs). With industry-leading functionality and scalability, the SROS implementation of EVPN provides IXPs an ideal toolset to manage the increase in traffic. When Telehouse America selected Nokia to upgrade its NYIIX peering exchange infrastructure in the US, it deployed the Nokia EVPN solution to resolve multiple technical challenges.

    Akio Sugeno, Vice President of Telehouse and founder of NYIIX, said: “EVPN is a game changer for us. It is a next-generation VPN solution that provides a unified architecture, in both the control and data planes, and solved many of our requirements. With our new EVPN implementation from Nokia we police and control broadcast, unknown-unicast and multicast traffic entering our network while also rate-limiting ARP requests, so they do not flood our network. With this same protocol, we are also able to implement load balancing techniques between our edge and the customer’s network to increase resiliency and network availability. Finally, with EVPN’s auto-configuration capabilities we can simplify operational complexity across the entire lifecycle of our VPNs.”

    Additionally, the virulent rise in cybercrime has made anti-DDoS solutions critical. Nokia partnered with NL-ix for an industry-first deployment of an anti-DDoS solution that performs mitigation directly on the router, avoiding dedicated scrubbing centers that would push up transport costs and impact latency. Nokia’s AI-enhanced Deepfield Defender actively detects DDoS attacks and then instructs Nokia’s FP5 silicon to block those packet flows without any impact on other router traffic.

    Jan Hoogenboom, Founder and Chief Vision Officer at NL-ix, said: “With this innovative anti-DDoS solution from Nokia we can provide our customers with security across their entire area of operations as we pursue our goal of zero enterprise downtime. We are now a one-stop-shop for Europe-wide connectivity and security, saving our customers the hassle of working with multiple parties or making complex arrangements to be protected by a third party.”

    Vach Kompella, Senior Vice President and General Manager of IP Networks business at Nokia, said: “As the nerve centers of the Internet, the world’s largest IXPs are host to every type of traffic and customer, and in response they have reset expectations around networking innovation – driving the highest levels of uptime, reliability and security with Nokia solutions. We are proud to be the leading provider of networking infrastructure solutions for these critical organizations.”  

    Nokia has won contracts with 23 IXPs, and has publicly announced wins with Telehouse NYIIX, NL-ix, LINX, LINX NoVa, BIX, DE-CIX, France-ix, ESpanix, LINX Nairobi, TOP-ix and TREX.

    Resources and additional information 
    Webpage: 7750 Service Router | Nokia
    Webpage: FP5 network processor | Nokia
    Webpage: Optical networks | Nokia
    Webpage: Deepfield Defender | Nokia

    About Nokia 
    At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together. 

    As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.  

    With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.

    # # #

    Media inquiries
    Nokia, Corporate Communications
    Email: Press.Services@nokia.com

    Follow us on social media

    LinkedIn X Instagram Facebook YouTube

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Change to the Executive Management Committee

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    30 September 2024 | SAINT HELIER, Jersey – CoinShares International Limited (“CoinShares” or “the Company”) (Nasdaq Stockholm: CS; US OTCQX: CNSRF), Europe’s leading alternative asset manager specialising in digital assets, today announced changes in the composition of the Executive Management Committee.

    Graeme Dickson, Group General Counsel, has resigned to pursue other opportunities and as a result, has been removed from the Executive Management team of the Company with effect from the date of this announcement.

    The Chief Executive Officer, supported by the wider Executive Management team, will carefully consider the options for a successor and will provide further details to the market, when available.

    About CoinShares

    CoinShares is Europe’s leading alternative asset manager specialising in digital assets, that delivers a broad range of financial services across investment management, trading and securities to a wide array of clients that includes corporations, financial institutions and individuals. The firm is headquartered in Jersey, with offices in France, Stockholm, the UK and the US. CoinShares is regulated in Jersey by the Jersey Financial Services Commission, in France by the Autorité des marchés financiers, in the US by the Securities and Exchange Commission, National Futures Association and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.  CoinShares is publicly listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm under the ticker CS and the OTCQX under the ticker CNSRF.

    For more information on CoinShares, please visit: https://coinshares.com
    Company | +44 (0)1534 513 100 | enquiries@coinshares.com
    Investor Relations | +44 (0)1534 513 100 | enquiries@coinshares.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Confederation releases tariff quota for bread cereals earlier than expected

    MIL OSI Translation. Government of the Republic of France statements from French to English –

    Source: Switzerland – Department of Foreign Affairs in French

    Federal Office for Agriculture

    Bern, 30.09.2024 – The 2024 harvest of Swiss bread grains is significantly below the multi-year average; the cold and wet weather is the cause of this decline. The Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) will release the last part of the tariff quota for bread grains on 4 October in order to cover the national demand for grains such as wheat, rye and spelt.

    Frequent rainfall from sowing to harvest has had a negative impact on the quantities and quality of cereals harvested in 2024 in Switzerland and Central Europe. The cereal industry estimates that the need for imports will be significantly increased, which is why it has requested that the last part of the tariff quota, which amounts to 15,000 tonnes, be released earlier than planned. It has also submitted a request for a temporary increase of 20,000 tonnes in the regular quota, which amounts to 70,000 tonnes.

    The Federal Council, which is responsible for increasing the tariff quota for bread grains, will decide on the temporary increase, probably at the end of October.

    By amending the ordinance on agricultural imports, the OFAG has brought forward the release date of the last part of the quota, i.e. 15,000 tonnes of bread cereals, to 4 October 2024. The amendment will come into force on this date.

    Address for sending questions

    FOAG, Communications, tel. 41 58 463 01 07, media@blw.admin.ch

    Author

    Federal Office for Agriculturehttp://www.blw.admin.ch

    Social sharing

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Pilot skills assessed on simulator

    MIL OSI Translation. Government of the Republic of France statements from French to English –

    Source: Switzerland – Department of Foreign Affairs in French

    Federal Office of Civil Aviation

    Bern, 30.09.2024 – Flight simulators have been used for around fifty years in commercial aviation and for training on multi-pilot aircraft. In future, tests to assess the aeronautical skills of pilots of helicopters and complex single-pilot aircraft will take place on simulators. Simulators have several advantages over real-world flights: they are safer, cheaper and more environmentally friendly.

    Currently, several certified helicopter and PC-12 simulators are in operation in Switzerland for pilot training and testing. More will follow. Examiners certified by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) check the aeronautical skills of pilots as part of a flight test. The FOCA has decided that from 1 October 2024, tests of piloting skills on single-pilot aircraft must be carried out on a simulator if a suitable simulator is available. The same will apply from 1 June 2025 for tests on single-pilot helicopters. Several reasons are given for this decision. Firstly, the simulator eliminates the risk of accidents with significant financial consequences. Secondly, it is significantly less expensive than a flight in real conditions. Finally, the simulator does not cause any noise pollution or pollutant emissions.

    Modern simulators are able to faithfully reproduce real situations of visual or instrument piloting by integrating, for example, engine failures, avionics failures or even forced landings. Today, simulators of this type are an integral part of the training and development of professional pilots.

    On the other hand, until recently, the situation was different for simulators on helicopters and on complex or high-performance single-pilot aircraft. Although common European regulations have governed tests and examinations on simulators since 2011, they were rarely used for this purpose, due in particular to an insufficient fleet of aircraft.

    Address for sending questions

    For media professionals: OFAC Communication Telephone: 41 58 464 72 87

    Author

    Federal Office of Civil Aviationhttp://www.bazl.admin.ch

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Translation: The fight against racism in the canton of Vaud

    MIL OSI Translation. Government of the Republic of France statements from French to English –

    Source: Swiss Canton of Vaud – news in French

    Its systemic nature is highlighted by studies. On the occasion of the Assises, the IntégrAction 2024 Prize also rewarded the NELA and Action-parrainages associations.

    Organised by the Cantonal Consultative Chamber of Immigrants (CCCI) chaired by Guy Gaudard, the 2024 Immigration Conference was dedicated on Saturday to the fight against racism, the subject of the 2004 edition. “20 years later, if things have moved forward, the findings have also evolved. Racism is a very real reality in Switzerland”, underlines Isabelle Moret, head of the Department of Economy, Innovation, Employment and Heritage.

    Since then, the Cantonal Office for the Integration of Foreigners and the Prevention of Racism (BCI), created in 2009, has set up a consultation for people facing racism since 2012, which was subsequently supplemented by that of the Lausanne Office for Immigrants (BLI). A new consultation is currently being planned in the north of the canton. To counter systemic racism, action plans are underway or being considered with various cantonal services, including the police, schools and the health sector,

    During the Assizes, Ludovic Vérolet, a lawyer specializing in this field, noted that, while the criminal law against discrimination and incitement to hatred (article 261 bis of the penal code) certainly makes it possible to counter racist acts and behavior, despite 30 years of existence, it still faces challenges in its application (the public dimension of the act is necessary for the offense to be constituted and the definitions of the groups or individuals targeted are very restrictive).

    Denise Efionayi-Mäder, deputy director of the Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies at the University of Neuchâtel, notes the existence of real systemic racism, a racism that goes beyond individual deviant behavior and can unconsciously influence institutions.

    Anthropologist Ninian Hubert van Blijenburgh noted that the scientifically based claim that races do not exist (there is only one human species) must be supplemented by an explanation that accounts for human diversity. He emphasizes that diversity education is essential to counter racist misrepresentations.

    Journalist Julie Eigenmann also presented the exploratory survey “Switzerland in flagrant denial” which brings together testimonies and analyses on various concrete facets of racism. Several articles taken from this survey were exhibited at the Lausanne School of Social Work and Health (HETSL) which hosted the Assises this year.

    The IntegrAction 2024 prize was awarded by the president of the jury, Professor Patrick Bodenmann, head physician of the Department of Vulnerabilities and Social Medicine at the University Center for General Medicine and Public Health (Unisanté), to two winners: on the one hand, the NELA association, which welcomes, supports and supervises young migrants through sponsorships and the implementation of cultural and social projects, and on the other hand, to the Action-parrainages association, which connects families living in the canton and migrants in order to facilitate their integration, by promoting the learning of French and the creation of links with the population.

    Link to the press release

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: DRC President Felix Tshisekedi must be held accountable for human rights violations

    Source: Amnesty International –

    By Jean Mobert Senga, Amnesty International’s DRC researcher

    Speaking at the UN General Assembly on 25 September 2024, President Tshisekedi ignored the continuing deterioration of human rights under his own government. The international community must push him to change course.

    At the start of his first term in 2019, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Felix Tshisekedi promised to protect human rights — but his government appears to have embarked on a crusade against his own pledges.

    The DRC authorities’ response to the armed conflict and inter-communal violence that has ravaged the country for decades has failed to improve the security situation. In some cases, it has made it worse.

    While the international community must address serious human rights abuses by armed groups in eastern DRC, including Rwanda and other countries’ alleged support to some armed groups, it must also increase pressure on President Tshisekedi’s government to uphold human rights, tackle impunity, and address deep-rooted socioeconomic injustices.

    The DRC is enduring one of the most protracted humanitarian crises in the world. From east to west and from north to south, the civilian population faces daily threats of violence from a myriad of armed groups. Congolese soldiers and affiliated militia groups also continue to target civilians and commit horrendous crimes, often with impunity.

    A profound failure

    Internally displaced persons (IDPs), particularly women and girls, disproportionately bear the brunt of this conflict. IDP camps are rife with sexual violence, exacerbated by poor security conditions and insufficient humanitarian aid. The continued failure of the Tshisekedi administration to protect populations made vulnerable by these living conditions is inacceptable.

    The international community must hold the DRC government accountable not only for its failure to prevent and punish sexual violence and attacks against civilians, but also for its inaction in addressing the humanitarian catastrophe. Both the Congolese government and the international community must increase funding for the chronically underfunded humanitarian response to meet the urgent needs of affected populations, including shelter, food, healthcare and education.

    The international community must hold the DRC government accountable not only for its failure to prevent and punish sexual violence and attacks against civilians, but also for its inaction in addressing the humanitarian catastrophe.

    Jean Mobert Senga, DRC Researcher, Amnesty International

    A key contributing factor to the deteriorating human rights situation in the eastern DRC is the ongoing “State of Siege” imposed in North Kivu and Ituri since May 2021. This exceptional measure, which is akin to a state of emergency, has effectively militarized everyday life, concentrating all powers in the hands of military and police officials, including powers which should be those of civilian authorities. Tshisekedi’s government must urgently end the “State of Siege” and work towards a human rights-centred approach to restoring security.

    Meanwhile, a crackdown on dissent has swept the nation under the pretext of defending the country against enemies. Journalists, civil society activists, and political opponents have faced threats, arbitrary detention, and judicial harassment. By weaponizing the judiciary, the Tshisekedi administration has betrayed the hopes and aspirations of those who resisted the repression of their rights under the Kabila regime.

    Equally alarming is the government’s decision in March this year to reinstate the death penalty after more than two decades of hiatus. Military courts have since handed down more than a hundred death penalty sentences, heightening the risk of politically motivated executions.

    The recent tragedy at Makala prison in Kinshasa, where over 120 people died, hundreds were injured, and more than 200 women and girls were subjected to sexual violence, including gang rape, underscores the dire state of prison conditions in the DRC. President Tshisekedi must ensure that the courts conduct a transparent and prompt investigation and prosecute all responsible, including political and security officials who may have failed to prevent these horrific events. The international community must push for and assist in urgent criminal and penitentiary reforms to ensure such tragedies are never repeated.

    Despite repeated calls for justice, the government has so far largely failed to bring both Congolese and foreign perpetrators of crimes under international law to justice. Powerful actors continue to operate with impunity, deepening the cycle of violence. Efforts towards other forms of justice, including compensations and reparations, remain dismally inadequate. Victims and survivors are frustrated by the lack of transparency and the slow pace of these efforts, which often feel more symbolic than substantive.

    Despite repeated calls for justice, the government has so far largely failed to bring both Congolese and foreign perpetrators of crimes under international law to justice. Powerful actors continue to operate with impunity, deepening the cycle of violence.

    Jean Mobert

    It is not only armed conflict that poses an existential threat to thousands of people in the country. The DRC is a critical supplier of copper and cobalt, minerals that are essential to the global transition to renewable energy. However, as highlighted in Amnesty International’s 2023 report “Business as Usual?”, increased investments in the industrial mining sector have led to human rights abuses, including mass forced evictions and environmental pollution, leaving frontline communities in limbo. Toxic pollution and dangerous working conditions continue to plague artisanal miners, particularly in the cobalt-rich southern provinces.

    The international community cannot afford to ignore the grave human rights situation in the DRC any longer. President Tshisekedi’s allies — especially the United States, South Africa, Angola, Belgium, and France — must use their influence to demand accountability for human rights violations.

    This oped first ran in South Africa’s Daily Maverick

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: A new preventive treatment against bronchiolitis in babies will be available from mid-October in the canton

    MIL OSI Translation. Government of the Republic of France statements from French to English –

    Source: Canton of Neuchatel Switzerland

    09/30/2024

    ​This fall, babies will be able to benefit from a new preventive medication against acute bronchiolitis. This viral respiratory disease can cause serious complications, particularly in infants under 3 months old. This treatment is recommended by the Neuchâtel Health Authorities and the Neuchâtel Pediatric Society. It will be offered by pediatricians and at the maternity ward of the Neuchâtel Hospital Network.

    Preventive treatment for acute bronchiolitis will be available for babies from mid-October in the canton of Neuchâtel. It will offer them effective protection to get through the winter period. Indeed, each year in Switzerland, nearly 3,000 children under 12 months are hospitalized due to complications caused by this viral respiratory infection. Infants under 3 months are particularly likely to develop severe complications.

    The Neuchâtel Health Authorities and the Neuchâtel Pediatric Society strongly recommend this new preventive medication. For infants born between April 2024 and September 2024, treatment should be carried out from mid-October by the child’s pediatrician. For those born between October 2024 and March 2025, it will be offered directly at the maternity ward of the Neuchâtel Hospital Network (RHNe). It is also indicated for certain children under 2 years of age with a chronic illness.

    Swissmedic has authorised the marketing of this new treatment (immunisation with a specific antibody) in December 2023. The latter allows an 80% reduction in severe bronchiolitis and offers protection for at least five months. It is reimbursed by compulsory health insurance (AOS).

    Simple preventive measures​

    In order to avoid contamination of babies, simple preventive measures are recommended for those around them:

    Further information is available athttp://www.ne.ch/bronchiolitis.

    BodyRight

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Economics: 21 startups transforming education with AI

    Source: Google

    Picture a world where students, regardless of their background, can learn in a personalized way. Imagine teachers with tools that anticipate their needs, freeing them to focus on what they do best: inspiring and guiding their class. This isn’t a distant dream, but a reality being shaped by entrepreneurs in the Google for Startups Growth Academy: AI for Education program.

    Selected from a pool of more than 600 applicants from across Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the 21 participating startups are all using AI to create more inclusive, engaging and effective educational pathways. From building intelligent tutors that adapt to each student’s pace, to platforms that make education accessible even in remote areas, we can’t wait to see the impact they’ll have on learners around the world.

    Each founder and their team will receive three months of mentorship by Google experts, resources to help grow their technology, business and global reach, and a collaborative community of fellow founders to support one another. Learn more about the Google for Startups Growth Academy: AI for Education cohort:

    • Angaza Elimu (Kenya): An eLearning platform that creates a more personalized and engaging experience, fostering stronger connections between learners and teachers.
    • BLISKO (Poland): An AI-powered platform that personalizes learning for children ages 0-6, that focuses on building strong relationships and creating personalized learning plans that fit each child’s unique needs, abilities and interests
    • Complori (Germany): A hybrid learning platform that equips children, ages 7-16, with hard skills such as technological understanding and programming, and soft skills through live and online group lessons.
    • Correcto (Spain): An AI-powered platform that enhances Spanish writing skills, offering tools tailored for Spanish-speaking users.
    • Digify Africa (South Africa): A high-tech learning platform, delivered via a low-tech interface, that improves access to education for low-income learners.
    • eKidz (Germany): An app that makes acquiring literacy and a new language easy and accessible for every child. Utilizing a purpose-built AI voice recognition students with precise diagnostics and support.
    • EvidenceB (France): An AI tutoring platform that works for any subject, available as a subscription service. Teachers get helpful data insights to guide their instruction.
    • ExamSolutions (UK): An AI-powered tutoring platform combining visual, auditory and textual content tailored for learning and exam preparation for math at GCSE & A-level.
    • Hawkings Education (Spain): An AI online learning system, making the experience more personalized for students and giving teachers better tools.
    • Jotit (Israel): A first of its kind, turning any standard Chromebook or tablet into an all-in-one learning space, creating a focused, distraction-free environment which keeps handwriting at its core.
    • LearnWise AI (Netherlands): A platform empowering universities and colleges worldwide to revolutionize student support through custom AI assistants.
    • MOONHUB (UK): A VR training platform that allows people to train like they were on the job from anywhere, any time to assess how people react to their observed virtual worlds.
    • Optima (UAE): An AI-powered education platform and course creation engine with a focus on data and AI engineering skills. Optima’s approach combines live interactive sessions, self-paced learning and AI-assisted tutoring.
    • OpenCyberAI (United Kingdom): An educational platform dedicated to cybersecurity, offering virtual simulations through interactive training, powered by an AI personalizing your learning path.
    • Pandatron (Finland): A platform supports talent development and helps employees adapt to digital and cultural changes by using AI-powered coaching conversations to identify underlying issues within the organization.
    • SignLab (Norway): An AI sign language digital platform that makes learning more accessible, effective, and affordable.
    • Story Spark (United Kingdom): An AI-powered story generator and reading platform for children combining innovative literacy education with engaging and personalized content.
    • ubiMaster (Germany): A live, personal online tutor platform designed to make learning with experts easy and widely available.
    • Utiva Education (Nigeria): A tech platform that helps people in Africa learn skills needed for global jobs, enabling companies to hire talent across different regions and increasing employment in the region.
    • Wilco (Israel): A platform helping both businesses and software vendors easily provide high-end training and education materials for their employees, candidates or users.
    • Wiloki (France): An online tutoring platform for children ages 7-14, using AI-powered tools to personalize the learning path according to each child’s unique educational profile and motivational triggers.

    As we continue to explore the possibilities of AI in education, one thing is certain: The path towards more personalized, effective and inspiring learning experiences has just begun.

    Learn more about our selected startups at startup.google.com.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Valuing learning

    MIL OSI Translation. Government of the Republic of France statements from French to English –

    Source: Swiss Canton of Vaud – news in French

    A large promotional campaign is planned to support these efforts, as well as the opening of a Cité des métiers in Crissier to provide information and guidance throughout the year. However, to observe real changes, an evolution in the orientation and the end of compulsory schooling will be necessary via the MAT-EO project.

    On the eve of the opening of the career fair on October 1, 2024, State Councilor Frédéric Borloz presented generally stable figures on the career guidance of young people in the Canton. These figures nevertheless show for the first time in a long time a 1% increase in the choice of apprenticeship upon leaving compulsory school (19.3% in 2023 to 20.3% in 2024). The number of young people in pre-gymnasium who directly choose apprenticeship is also up by 2% (7% to 9%). At the same time, transition measures are falling by 0.9% to 24% and enrollments in maturity schools are stable at around 37.7% and have not increased for 3 years. Out of 36,4000 young people in post-compulsory education, the Canton of Vaud has 19,500 young people in apprenticeships compared to 13,950 in general education at the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

    Building bridges between schools and the world of work

    Promoting vocational training is a priority of the 2022-2022 legislative program7 and a priority of the Council of State. For two years, the Department of Education and Vocational Training has continued its efforts and deployed its action plan. In addition to the one-off and symbolic event represented by the Salon des Métiers, an entire ecosystem of measures and systems are now in place and developing. For example, we can cite the organization of meetings between local businesses and students through regional forums. These events are set up in several establishments by the coordinators of the approach to the professional world, now present in all school regions. Thus, young people benefit from opportunities for individual or group internships thanks to the links established with the world of work in each region.

    A City of Trades in Crissier and a campaign to promote apprenticeships

    The head of the training department also announced that the Cité des Métiers project has started. This permanent place dedicated to information and guidance will be available to the population by 2028 at the latest on the site of the future Crissier gymnasium. Various Vaud administration counters will be represented there, academic and professional guidance, training for young people and adults, employment and scholarships. In addition, a campaign to promote apprenticeships will be launched to enhance the image of apprenticeships among young people, parents and teachers. It will help combat stereotypes and show the diversity of professions and career opportunities.

    The Careers Fair and a day of higher education

    Thousands of young people, students and families are expected at the Salon des Métiers 2024, which takes place earlier this year. For the first time, Sunday will be devoted to higher education courses that follow the CFC, whether they are higher education diplomas, federal certificates or professional diplomas.

    Efforts are continuing to highlight the apprenticeship pathway, in several timeframes, for several audiences and in various forms. While some indicators seem rather encouraging, real changes can only be observed with time and by changing the orientation of students at the end of compulsory schooling. In the years to come, this is precisely one of the missions of MAT-EO, the project of the reform of the four-year maturity and compulsory schooling.

    Link to the press release

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Violation of the principles of the rule of law in France resulting from the refusal to recognise the outcome of the parliamentary elections – E-001722/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001722/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Marina Mesure (The Left), Manon Aubry (The Left), Younous Omarjee (The Left), Anthony Smith (The Left), Leila Chaibi (The Left), Arash Saeidi (The Left), Rima Hassan (The Left), Damien Carême (The Left), Emma Fourreau (The Left)

    Following the 2024 parliamentary elections, the New Popular Front (NFP) coalition emerged as the leading parliamentary coalition in the National Assembly. However, breaking with the practice of parliamentary democracies, the President of the Republic refused to invite the NFP-designated candidate Lucie Castets to form a government and to appoint her as Prime Minister. Instead, after maintaining an outgoing government that trampled on the principles of the separation of powers and exceeded its constitutional powers, Emmanuel Macron appointed a Prime Minister from a group that had been defeated at the parliamentary elections: Michel Barnier. Barnier’s programme is directly inspired by the far right; its proposals openly call into question fundamental rights guaranteed by European and international law, including the right of asylum.

    Does the Commission consider that Emmanuel Macron’s refusal to recognise the result of the parliamentary elections, as well as the political orientation of the new Prime Minister, constitute a violation of the principles of the rule of law in France and of the values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union?

    Submitted: 16.9.2024

    Last updated: 30 September 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Luis Vassy Appointed President of Sciences Po

    Source: Universities – Science Po in English

    The decree of the President of the French Republic, issued on the report of the Minister for Higher Education and Research and on the recommendation of the IEP Board, confirming the appointment of Luis Vassy as director of the IEP de Paris, was published in the Journal officiel de la République française (French Official gazette) on 28 September 2024.

    Luis Vassy was also appointed administrator of the National Foundation of Political Science (FNSP) by an order of the Minister for Higher Education and Research, on the recommendation of the FNSP Board, published on 28 September 2024.

    As part of the procedure for appointing the director of Sciences Po, the IEP Board and the FNSP Board both voted in favour of Luis Vassy, after examining the candidates’ proposals on 19 and 20 September.

    Luis Vassy, Chief of Staff for the ministers for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna and Stéphane Séjourné, former French ambassador to the Netherlands, a graduate of Sciences Po and a former student at the École normale supérieure de Cachan (social sciences department) and the École nationale d’administration, takes office on Tuesday, 1 October 2024.

    I am very honoured to become the new President of Sciences Po, a world-class academic institution that contributes to France’s influence. As a former student, I am deeply committed to its mission of promoting social diversity through excellence. At a time when crises and upheavals are multiplying in France and around the world, our country needs an institution that is able to tackle them through knowledge, rather than through fear and isolation.

    Luis Vassy, President of Sciences Po

    Cover image caption: Student entrance at 27 rue Saint-Guillaume, Paris campus (credits: Marta Nascimento / Sciences Po)

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI: OpenHW Group to Join the Eclipse Foundation, Expanding Open Source RISC-V Innovation

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    BRUSSELS and OTTAWA, Oct. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In a joint announcement today, the Eclipse Foundation, one of the world’s leading open source software foundations, and OpenHW Group, a global leader in developing open source RISC-V processor cores and IP, revealed that OpenHW will become part of the Eclipse Foundation. This strategic collaboration, set to be finalised by December 2024, will accelerate the development of open source hardware technologies, offering a robust, open alternative to proprietary architectures. This move will benefit a wide array of industries, including artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, IoT, automotive, and high-performance computing (HPC).

    Founded in 2019, OpenHW Group immediately established a strategic partnership with the Eclipse Foundation, drawing on Eclipse’s expertise to deliver key services, including development processes, IP management, IT infrastructure, and back-office operations. This long-standing collaboration has laid the foundation for a seamless integration, strengthening OpenHW’s mission to provide verified, industrial grade, open source cores that are ready for commercial-grade SoC production.

    As part of this transition, OpenHW Group will be renamed the OpenHW Foundation, bringing its extensive network of more than 100 members and partners into the Eclipse Foundation’s open source ecosystem, including prominent organisations such as Barcelona Supercomputing Center, CEA, Red Hat, Silicon Labs, and Thales. By joining forces with the Eclipse Foundation, OpenHW reinforces its commitment to delivering industry-leading open hardware solutions.

    “Joining the Eclipse Foundation is a transformative moment for OpenHW, solidifying our commitment to delivering trusted open hardware solutions to the global market,” said Florian Wohlrab, CEO of OpenHW Group. “This partnership provides the long-term stability, infrastructure, and open source expertise we need to continue driving innovation in RISC-V hardware, benefiting both our members and the broader industry.”

    Mike Milinkovich, executive director of the Eclipse Foundation, added, “Throughout its five-year history, OpenHW has played a pivotal role in pushing the boundaries of open source hardware. Together, we’re now much better positioned to advance cutting-edge technologies in areas like AI, software-defined vehicles, and the Industrial IoT, further strengthening the role of open source in these critical industries.”

    Bolstering Open Source Hardware Innovation

    By joining the Eclipse Foundation, OpenHW can fully focus on further developing RISC-V hardware, an open, flexible, and cost-effective architecture that enables faster innovation while removing traditional licensing barriers. The open source nature of RISC-V makes it an ideal choice for enterprises looking to disrupt markets, especially in sectors such as AI and automotive, where flexibility and scalability are critical.

    Under the governance of the Eclipse Foundation, the OpenHW Foundation will continue to lead and expand on critical projects and initiatives, including:

    • CVA6: 64/32-bit cores designed for high-performance applications like Linux-based systems. These configurable cores offer an industrial-grade platform for a wide range of applications, including those with advanced safety requirements.
    • CVE4: 32-bit embedded-class cores, optimised for IoT, edge computing, and consumer electronics, powering devices like washing machines, robots, drones, and game controllers. Typically, these cores run real-time operating systems such as Eclipse ThreadX or operate in bare-metal environments.
    • CVE2: Small, power-efficient processors, perfect for deeply embedded control applications, replacing state-machine logic in embedded devices.
    • CVA6 Platform: A vendor-neutral software validation platform supporting a variety of FPGA configurations, including cloud-based solutions like AWS ES2 FPGA instances.
    • Software Initiatives: Ongoing efforts to add extensions, improve compilers, and enhance emulators to ensure robust support for our cores across the latest technologies.

    Join OpenHW and Shape the Future of Open Processor Technologies

    As part of the Eclipse Foundation, the OpenHW Foundation is uniquely positioned to advance its mission of supporting industries ranging from embedded systems to supercomputing. By delivering high-quality, verified RISC-V cores, OpenHW meets the rigorous demands of modern applications, ensuring reliability and innovation across diverse sectors. This transition brings exciting opportunities for both existing and new stakeholders to get involved and help shape the future of open source hardware. We invite members, partners, and other stakeholders to actively engage in advancing RISC-V core development, emulation kits, and software initiatives.

    Whether you’re a developer, researcher, or an organisation, joining the OpenHW Foundation gives you direct access to a vibrant, collaborative community that drives RISC-V-based innovation. Explore opportunities to contribute, influence key initiatives, and make your mark in the open hardware community. New members are welcome to join through the Eclipse Foundation. Visit the Eclipse Membership page to learn how to become part of this exciting new chapter.

    Member Quotes

    Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)
    “At BSC, our mission is to push the boundaries of computer architecture and supercomputing. By working closely with OpenHW, we are contributing to the development of high-performance, open source RISC-V cores that are critical to the future of high-performance computing. We are confident OpenHW joining the Eclipse Foundation will only further enhance this collaboration, offering greater opportunities for impact across the global open hardware ecosystem.” – Miquel Moretó, High Performance Domain-Specific Architectures Group Leader at BSC.

    Bluespec
    “The RISC-V community has made a tremendous impact, with millions of cores already being shipped. We’re excited to see OpenHW Group join the Eclipse Foundation and view it as a significant milestone that will drive innovation across the broader ecosystem. At Bluespec, we recognize the importance of fostering a healthy, open source environment and this collaboration ensures continued development of high-quality, industrial-grade open source RISC-V cores.” – Charlie Hauck, CEO of Bluespec.

    CEA
    “CEA has long been at the forefront of research and development in sectors such as low-carbon energy and microelectronics with its Leti institute. Our collaboration with OpenHW enables us to apply our advanced research to open source processor technology, creating new possibilities for commercial and industrial applications. As a long-time existing Strategic Member of the Eclipse Foundation, we are confident that this transition marks an exciting new chapter in our work with OpenHW, ensuring that we continue to drive meaningful innovation in both open hardware and critical global industries.” – Fabien Clermidy, Head of System Division, CEA-Leti.

    Silicon Labs
    “Silicon Labs is proud to support the OpenHW Foundation’s mission of driving innovation in open source hardware. As a leader in radio modules and wireless technologies, we recognize the importance of robust, verified processor cores that meet the demands of modern IoT applications. The Eclipse Foundation’s strong governance and OpenHW’s RISC-V expertise create a powerful platform for collaboration and growth.” – Daniel Ciooley, CTO and SVP at Silicon Labs

    Thales
    “At Thales, we are deeply committed to advancing cutting-edge technologies, and our collaboration with OpenHW aligns perfectly with this mission. Through initiatives like the Europe Tristan project, we are leveraging open source RISC-V processor cores to deliver innovative, secure solutions for the aerospace and defence sectors. The transition to the Eclipse Foundation strengthens this commitment and positions the OpenHW community to drive further breakthroughs in open hardware.” – Daniel Glazman, CTO Software (KTD), Thales Group.

    About the Eclipse Foundation
    The Eclipse Foundation provides our global community of individuals and organisations with a business-friendly environment for open source software collaboration and innovation. We host the Eclipse IDE, Adoptium, Software Defined Vehicle, Jakarta EE, and over 420 open source projects, including runtimes, tools, specifications, and frameworks for cloud and edge applications, IoT, AI, automotive, systems engineering, open processor designs, and many others. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, the Eclipse Foundation is an international non-profit association supported by over 360 members. Visit us at this year’s Open Community Experience (OCX) conference on 22-24 October 2024 in Mainz, Germany. To learn more, follow us on social media @EclipseFdn, LinkedIn, or visit eclipse.org.

    About OpenHW Group
    OpenHW Group is a global non-profit organisation dedicated to developing, verifying, and delivering high quality, open source RISC-V processor cores and related IP for commercial and industrial applications. With its extensive network of more than 100 members and partners, OpenHW is driving the advancement of open source processor technology across cloud, mobile, IoT, AI, automotive, HPC, and other domains. Through its CORE-V Task Group, the organisation ensures industry-aligned, high-quality development, supporting cutting-edge SoC production worldwide. OpenHW is supported by leading innovators such as Barcelona Supercomputer Center (BSC), CEA, Red Hat, Silicon Labs, and Thales. To learn more, visit openhwgroup.org.

    Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

    Media contacts:
    Schwartz Public Relations (Germany)
    Gloria Huppert/Marita Bäumer
    Sendlinger Straße 42A
    80331 Munich
    EclipseFoundation@schwartzpr.de
    +49 (89) 211 871 -70/ -62

    514 Media Ltd (France, Italy, Spain)
    Benoit Simoneau
    benoit@514-media.com
    M: +44 (0) 7891 920 370

    Nichols Communications (Global Press Contact)
    Jay Nichols
    jay@nicholscomm.com
    +1 408-772-1551

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Meet Myriam Andaloro, a NATO cultural expert on the Middle East and Africa

    Source: NATO

    Myriam Andaloro is a Digital and Cultural Consultant at the NATO Strategic Direction-South Hub – the centre dedicated to increasing NATO’s understanding of and cooperation with partners across the Middle East and Africa. An Italian national of Lebanese descent, Myriam works to establish appropriate and respectful communication with NATO’s southern neighbours by reducing the risk for cultural misunderstandings and raising awareness about cultural sensitivities.

    Connecting cultures for a better understanding: Myriam’s impactful role

    “If I were to leave a footprint in the world, it would be to raise cultural awareness and avoid misunderstandings that can lead to conflicts.”

    Myriam Andaloro

    Born and raised in Lebanon and having lived in Nigeria and now in Italy, Myriam has a natural ability to engage with people from different cultures and religions. Her international background and fascination with multiculturalism, identity and language made her interested in pursuing a career in the area of cultural consultancy and digital communications, which she currently carries out at the NATO Strategic Direction-South Hub, located within the Allied Joint Force Command Naples.

    Myriam’s background and linguistic expertise are a valuable asset for the Hub’s mission to foster constructive relations between NATO and partners from the Middle East, North Africa, the Sahel, Sub-Sahara and adjacent areas. Myriam and her colleagues work to create a welcoming environment, where local experts share their unique perspectives in domains ranging from conflict prevention and security over countering terrorism, socio-economic developments and the Women, Peace and Security agenda to technology and innovation.

    A few examples of roots of instability, which can spill over to NATO territory, are terrorism, radicalisation, human trafficking, crime, migration and environmental problems. Once a comprehensive picture of these security challenges is formed, the Alliance can better anticipate and, where possible, address challenging issues for the benefit of all.

    Bridging NATO and its partners in the South through communication

    As a cultural consultant for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Myriam’s role is to identify and respect regional sensitivities. Myriam and her colleagues work to develop a deep understanding of the traditions of these countries, as well as their populations’ perceptions of NATO, to ensure that what is communicated on NATO’s behalf is understood.

    When Myriam first joined the Hub, her work focused on French and Arabic translations, and on the cultural overview of the Hub’s media products. Her responsibility was to help dispel misconceptions about NATO and appropriately communicate with external key audiences in the Middle East, Africa, and Allied countries, such as military organisations, regional and international experts.  Over time, Myriam started to take on more multifaceted and dynamic responsibilities, and began working on digital content production, focusing on bolstering mutual understanding and respect.

     “Every day looks slightly different. Some days I am busy translating our reports and updating our website, and on other days I am working hard on creating products for our online or in-person events. I often participate in conferences, which is very enlightening because I get to meet all the impressive experts from the Middle East and Africa.”

    While it takes years to positively impact people’s perceptions, Myriam argues that the work of the Hub has been continuously improving the relationship between the Alliance and experts in the South. Knowledge-sharing among them has increased, widening mutual understanding and the scope of future cooperation.

    Storytelling for understanding: NATO’s commitment to accurate cultural representation

    Recently, Myriam assisted NATO’s Allied Command Transformation in the production of a graphic novella titled “How we see the darkness”. The novella – which is based on the paper “Complex Conflicts in Africa” by Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Cincinnati Dr Alexander Thurston – underlines the necessity for external actors, including NATO, to exercise caution while seeking to build peace in Africa.

    Myriam’s role in the project was to ensure that the fictional story depicted an accurate representation of its chosen setting. From examining if the characters were dressed appropriately, to checking whether the architectural style of the region was authentic and religious symbols were accurate, Myriam provided cultural guidance to the graphic contractors to avoid misrepresentations.

    Additionally, Myriam translated the novella into both French and Arabic – making it available to non-English speaking audiences.

    For Myriam, NATO “means the preservation of human rights and security”, two values that the Alliance has always defended. She aims to contribute to that mission by serving as one of NATO’s cultural experts for the South and is willing to help other Alliance bodies improve their knowledge of Middle Eastern and African countries, while promoting accurate and respectful communication.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: 2025 Budget Project: A Commitment to Stability and Sustained Growth

    MIL OSI Translation. Government of the Republic of France statements from French to English –

    Source: Swiss Canton of Vaud – news in French

    The Government thus guarantees the high level of benefits to the population, which it even strengthens in certain sectors, and implements the tax cuts in favor of the population announced in its Purchasing Power Plan.

    Press release of October 1, 2024

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

    MIL Translation OSI

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

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

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

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

    But has anybody ever got Heathcliff and Catherine right?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

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

    Source: Amnesty International –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Nataša Posel, head of Amnesty International Slovenia, said:

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

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

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

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

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

    Timeline

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

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

    MIL OSI NGO –