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Category: Middle East

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: African prisoners made sound recordings in German camps in WW1: this is what they had to say

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Anette Hoffmann, Senior Researcher at the Institute for African Studies and Egyptology, University of Cologne

    During the first world war (1914-1918) thousands of African men enlisted to fight for France and Britain were captured and held as prisoners in Germany. Their stories and songs were recorded and archived by German linguists, who often didn’t understand a thing they were saying.

    Now a recent book called Knowing by Ear listens to these recordings alongside written sources, photographs and artworks to reveal the lives and political views of these colonised Africans from present-day Senegal, Somalia, Togo and Congo.

    Anette Hoffmann is a historian whose research and curatorial work engages with historical sound archives. We asked her about her book.

    How did these men come to be recorded?

    About 450 recordings with African speakers were made with linguists of the so-called Royal Prussian Phonographic Commission. Their project was opportunistic. They made use of the presence of prisoners of war to further their research.

    In many cases these researchers didn’t understand what was being said. The recordings were archived as language samples, yet most were never used, translated, or even listened to for decades.

    The many wonderful translators I have worked with over the years are often the first listeners who actually understood what was being said by these men a century before.

    What did they talk about?

    The European prisoners the linguists recorded were often asked to tell the same Bible story (the parable of the prodigal son). But because of language barriers, African prisoners were often simply asked to speak, tell a story or sing a song.

    We can hear some men repeating monotonous word lists or counting, but mostly they spoke of the war, of imprisonment and of the families they hadn’t seen for years.

    Abdoulaye Niang from Senegal sings in Wolof.
    Courtesy Lautarchiv, Berlin275 KB (download)

    In the process we hear speakers offer commentary. Senegalese prisoner Abdoulaye Niang, for example, calls Europe’s battlefields an abattoir for the soldiers from Africa. Others sang of the war of the whites, or speak of other forms of colonial exploitation.

    When I began working on colonial-era sound archives about 20 years ago, I was stunned by what I heard from African speakers, especially the critique and the alternative versions of colonial history. Often aired during times of duress, such accounts seldom surface in written sources.

    Joseph Ntwanumbi from South Africa chants in isiXhosa.
    Courtesy Lautarchiv, Berlin673 KB (download)

    Clearly, many speakers felt safe to say things because they knew that researchers couldn’t understand them. The words and songs have travelled decades through time yet still sound fresh and provocative.

    Can you highlight some of their stories?

    The book is arranged around the speakers. Many of them fought in the French army in Europe after being conscripted or recruited in former French colonies, like Abdoulaye Niang. Other African men got caught up in the war and were interned as civilian prisoners, like Mohamed Nur from Somalia, who had lived in Germany from 1911. Joseph Ntwanumbi from South Africa was a stoker on a ship that had docked in Hamburg soon after the war started.

    In chapter one Niang sings a song about the French army’s recruitment campaign in Dakar and also informs the linguists that the inmates of the camp in Wünsdorf, near Berlin, do not wish to be deported to another camp.

    An archive search reveals he was later deported and also that Austrian anthropologists measured his body for racial studies.

    His recorded voice speaking in Wolof travelled back home in 2024, as a sound installation I created for the Théodore Monod African Art Museum in Dakar.

    Chapter two listens to Mohamed Nur from Somalia. In 1910 he went to Germany to work as a teacher to the children of performers in a so-called Völkerschau (an ethnic show; sometimes called a human zoo, where “primitive” cultures were displayed).

    After refusing to perform on stage, he found himself stranded in Germany without a passport or money. He worked as a model for a German artist and later as a teacher of Somali at the University of Hamburg. Nur left a rich audio-visual trace in Germany, which speaks of the exploitation of men of colour in German academia as well as by artists. One of his songs comments on the poor treatment of travellers and gives a plea for more hospitality to strangers.

    Stephan Bischoff, who grew up in a German mission station in Togo and was working in a shoe shop in Berlin when the war began, appears in the third chapter. His recordings criticise the practices of the Christian colonial evangelising mission. He recalls the destruction of an indigenous shrine in Ghana by German military in 1913.

    Also in chapter three is Albert Kudjabo, who fought in the Belgian army before he was imprisoned in Germany. He mainly recorded drum language, a drummed code based on a tonal language from the Democratic Republic of Congo that German linguists were keen to study. He speaks of the massive socio-cultural changes that mining brought to his home region, which may have caused him to migrate.

    Together these songs, stories and accounts speak of a practice of extracting knowledge in prisoner of war camps. But they offer insights and commentary far beyond the “example sentences” that the recordings were meant to be.

    Why do these sound archives matter?

    As sources of colonial history, the majority of the collections in European sound archives are still untapped, despite the growing scholarly and artistic interest in them in the last decade. This interest is led by decolonial approaches to archives and knowledge production.

    Sound collections diversify what’s available as historical texts, they increase the variety of languages and genres that speak of the histories of colonisation. They present alternative accounts and interpretations of history to offer a more balanced view of the past.

    Anette Hoffmann 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. African prisoners made sound recordings in German camps in WW1: this is what they had to say – https://theconversation.com/african-prisoners-made-sound-recordings-in-german-camps-in-ww1-this-is-what-they-had-to-say-254127

    MIL OSI –

    July 1, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Why flattering Donald Trump could be dangerous

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jonathan Este, Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor

    This article was first published in The Conversation UK’s World Affairs Briefing email newsletter. Sign up to receive weekly analysis of the latest developments in international relations, direct to your inbox.

    Once again Donald Trump and his senior team are unhappy with their press coverage. Here’s the US president, fresh from his triumph in The Hague, having persuaded Nato’s leaders to open their wallets and agree to up their defence spending to 5% of GDP (apart from Spain, that is, which can expect to hear of triple-digit tariffs coming its way in the near future) – and do the media focus on Trump’s tour de force? Do they hell. Instead they focus on whether his strikes against Iran had been as successful as he claimed.

    As you can imagine, this would have been irksome in the extreme for the president, who might reasonably have expected that the story of the day would be his victory in getting pledges from virtually all Nato’s members to pull their weight in terms of their own defence. Certainly the Nato secretary-general, Mark Rutte, could appreciate the scale of his achievement. Even before the summit, Rutte was talking it up.

    “Donald, you have driven us to a really, really important moment for America and Europe, and the world,” he wrote in a message to Trump as the US president prepared to fly to The Netherlands. “You will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done.”

    The fact that Trump promptly posted this message to his TruthSocial website suggests how important praise is to the the US president. It’s something that many world leaders (including Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin who have become past-masters at pouring honey in the president’s ear) have recognised and are willing to use as a diplomatic tool when dealing with the man Rutte calls “Daddy”.

    Sign up to receive our weekly World Affairs Briefing newsletter from The Conversation UK. Every Thursday we’ll bring you expert analysis of the big stories in international relations.

    But while flattery as a tactic seems to be effective with the US president, Andrew Gawthorpe, a political historian from Leiden University, cautions that flattery, appeasement and compliance are a flawed approach when dealing with a man like Trump. For a start, he writes it means that not much actually gets done and that problems are often merely avoided rather than solved.

    But more worryingly, simply capitulating in the face of Trumpian pressure or ire risks giving this US president the idea that he can do anything he wants. “When his targets roll over, it sends a message to others that Trump is unstoppable and resistance is futile,” writes Gawthorpe. It encourages not just the next presidential abuse of power, but also the next surrender from its victims.



    Read more:
    Why bending over backwards to agree with Donald Trump is a perilous strategy

    We got a taste of what the US president’s anger at being defied sounds like as he prepared to fly to The Netherlands for the Nato summit. Asked about the ceasefire he had negotiated between Israel and Iran, he lashed out at both countries who had breached the peace within hours of agreeing to stop firing missiles at each other. “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing,” he told reporters as he walked to the presidential helicopter.

    Psychologist Geoff Beattie, of Edge Hill University, believes this was no accidental verbal slip. Trump wanted to let the world know how angry he was and chose to use the “f-bomb” as a way of showing it. Beattie looks at what this can tell us about the character of the US president – and how it might reflect a tendency to make rapid decisions based on emotional reactions.



    Read more:
    Trump’s f-bomb: a psychologist explains why the president makes fast and furious statements

    And so to Nato

    What was remarkable about the Nato summit was that it was condensed to one fairly short session which focused solely on the issue of Nato members’ defence budgets. Usually there’s a much broader agenda. Over the past couple of years the issue of Ukraine has been fairly high on the list, but this time – perhaps to avoid any potential divisions – it was relegated to a side issue.

    Perhaps the biggest success for Nato, writes Stefan Wolff, is that they managed to get Trump to the summit and keep him in the room. After all, less than a fortnight previously he walked out of the G7 leaders’ meeting in Canada a day early before authorising the bombing raids on Iran’s nuclear installations (of which more later).

    Wolff, an expert in international security from the University of Birmingham (and a regular contributor to this newsletter) believes that the non-US members realised they had little choice but to comply – or at least to be seen to be complying. There’s a significant capability deficit: “European states also lack most of the so-called critical enablers, the military hardware and technology required to prevail in a potential war with Russia.”

    So keeping the US president onside – and inside Nato with a remaining commitment to America’s article 5 mutual defence pledge – was top of the list this year and something they appear to have pulled off.



    Read more:
    At June’s Nato summit, just keeping Donald Trump in the room will be seen as a victory

    The fact is, writes Andrew Corbett, a defence expert at King’s College London, that Europe and the US have different enemies these days. Europe is still focused on the foe it faced across the Iron Curtain after 1945, against which Nato was designed as a defensive bulwark.

    The US is now far more focused on the threat from China. This means it will increasingly shift the bulk of its naval assets to the Pacific (although the Middle East seems to be delaying this shift at present). This inevitably means downgrading its presence in Europe, something of which European leaders are all-too aware.

    The importance of continuing US involvement in European defence via Nato was underlined, as Corbett highlights, by a frisson of unease when it appeared that the US president might be preparing to reinterpret article 5, which requires that members come to the aid of another member if they are attacked.

    So there was relief all round when the US president reaffirmed America’s commitment to the principle of collective defence. But one feels Rutte will need to use all his diplomatic wiles to keep things that way.



    Read more:
    How Nato summit shows Europe and US no longer have a common enemy

    The trouble with Iran

    Rutte, who has the nickname “Trump whisperer”, is clever enough to know that emollient words will have been just what the US president was looking for given the stress of the past couple of weeks. The decision to launch strikes against Iran was controversial even within his own base as we noted last week.

    But by directly engaging in hostility against Iran, Trump risked embroiling the US in the “forever war” that he always promised his supporters he would avoid. The move was freighted with risk. Nobody knew how Iran might retaliate or how the situation could escalate. There was (and remains) the chance that an angry Iran could try to shut down the Strait of Hormuz. This is one of the world’s most important waterways though which 20% of the world’s oil transits. This would have huge ramifications for the global economy, seriously damaging Iran’s Gulf neighbours and angering China, which gets much of its oil from the region.



    Read more:
    Iran is considering closing the strait of Hormuz – why this would be a major escalation

    For now it appears that Iran has contented itself with performative strikes against US bases in Iraq and Qatar, having given advance warning. This token retaliation was made shortly before the ceasefire was negotiated. Despite a defiant message from Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran is reported to be making noises about coming to the negotiating table. A deal to restore calm to the region would be an achievement indeed.

    But legal questions remain about the US decision to launch strikes. For a start, Article 2(4) of the UN charter strictly forbids the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another state, or “in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations”.

    But, as Caleb Wheeler, an expert in international law from the University of Cardiff writes, it’s a rule that has rarely been either observed or enforced. He points out that the Korean War, when following a resolution of the UN security council, a number of countries went to war with North Korea to defend its southern neighbour which had been attacked in violation of article 2(4), was the high watermark of compliance with the UN on conflict.

    In most other international conflicts since, the use of vetoes by one or another of the permanent members of the security council has effectively prevented the UN acting the way it was supposed to.

    Now, writes Wheeler, there can be little doubt the US has violated article 2(4) by bombing Iran, particularly as Trump expressed his opinion that a regime change might be appropriate. Given that the US is one of the leading lights of the UN, Wheeler thinks you could reasonably expect a degree of condemnation from other world leaders. He worries that the absence of criticism could seriously lower the bar for aggression in the future.



    Read more:
    Bombing Iran: has the UN charter failed?

    And if, as remains unclear at present, Iran’s nuclear programme was not set back by years, as the US claims, but merely by months, then you could expect Tehran to redouble its efforts to acquire a bomb. The Islamic Republic will be mindful of the fact that there has been little talk of bombing North Korea in recent years, for example. Possession of a nuclear deterrent means exactly what it says.

    So, conclude David Dunn and Nicholas Wheeler, these strikes which were conducted on what they feel was the false premise of defence against an “imminent” threat from a nuclear Iran, could actually have the opposite effect of encouraging Iran to rapidly develop its own bomb.



    Read more:
    US attack on Iran lacks legal justification and could lead to more nuclear proliferation

    Elon Musk’s geopolitical eye in the sky

    After Israel began its latest campaign of airstrikes against Iran earlier this month, the government moved to restrict internet access around the country to discourage criticism of the regime and make it difficult for protesters to organise. But in June 14 in response to a plea over social media, Elon Musk announced, appropriately on X, that he would open up access to his Starlink satellite system.

    Joscha Abels, a political scientist at the University of Tübingen, recalls that Starlink became very popular in Iran during the protests that followed the killing of Mahsa Amini in 2022, and which really rocked the regime to its core. He also points to the use of Starlink by Ukraine as a vital communications tool in its defence against Russia over the past three years.

    But Abels warns that what is given is also too easily switched off, as Musk did in Ukraine in 2023. At the time a senior Starlink executive warned that the tool was “never intended to be weaponized”. The concern is that such an important tool, which can make or break a regime or cripple a country’s defence, could be a risk in the hands of a private individual.



    Read more:
    In the sky over Iran, Elon Musk and Starlink step into geopolitics – not for the first time

    World Affairs Briefing from The Conversation UK is available as a weekly email newsletter. Click here to get updates directly in your inbox.

    – ref. Why flattering Donald Trump could be dangerous – https://theconversation.com/why-flattering-donald-trump-could-be-dangerous-259940

    MIL OSI –

    July 1, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Palestine Action: what it means to proscribe a group, and what the effects could be

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Brian J. Phillips, Reader (Associate Professor) in International Relations, University of Essex

    The UK’s home secretary, Yvette Cooper, plans to proscribe the protest group Palestine Action under anti-terror law. This move, if approved by parliament, would criminalise the group’s existence, making it a crime to be a member of the group or to support it in any way.

    Palestine Action emerged in 2020, first drawing attention when its members broke into and spray painted red the UK headquarters of Elbit Systems, an Israeli defence contractor. In the years since, the group has sprayed paint, blockaded or otherwise vandalised a number of institutions it sees as complicit in Israeli military actions, such as a Lockheed Martin facility and two Barclays branches.

    The group’s website describes it as a “direct action movement committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime”.

    The term “direct action” has historically been used for tactics ranging from legal protest to traffic obstruction and property damage, such as animal rights activists smashing laboratory equipment used for experiments on animals. Or, more recently, the roadblocks carried out by Extinction Rebellion.

    Palestine Action’s campaign has caused substantial property damage. Five activists were jailed after a 2022 protest at a Glasgow weapons equipment factory that caused more than an estimated £1 million in damage due to pyrotechnics thrown inside the building.

    Activists are also accused of causing £1 million in damages to Elbit property near Bristol in 2024. Eighteen face charges of aggravated burglary and criminal damage, 16 of whom also face a charge of violent disorder. Nine have pleaded not guilty, while others have not yet entered a plea. During the Bristol attack, one person was accused of assaulting police officers with a sledgehammer, and has pleaded not guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

    The group’s recent spray-painting of two military jets at RAF Brize Norton – reportedly causing millions of pounds in damage, combined with the military nature of the target – seems to have been the breaking point for the home secretary.

    The question is whether all this makes the group a terrorist organisation.

    The terrorist list criteria

    The UK’s list of proscribed groups currently contains 81 organisations, from radical Islamists such as al-Qaida to neo-Nazis such as the Base.

    The legislation behind the list, the Terrorism Act 2000, imposes serious punishments for proscribed organisations’ members or supporters, from a fine to a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Even wearing clothing or publishing an image supporting a proscribed group can be punished by up to six months in prison or a fine of up to £5,000.

    For a group to be proscribed, it needs to be determined by the secretary of state to be “concerned in terrorism”, basically meaning committing or planning terrorist acts. The definition of terrorism is long and legalistic, but is, essentially, the politically-motivated use or threat of actions to intimidate the government or public through violence or destruction, including “serious damage to property”.

    This latter justification, serious property damage, has been invoked by the home secretary in discussing Palestine Action’s planned proscription. So, technically, Palestine Action appears to meet the criteria.

    But there are a variety of groups carrying out serious property damage that have not (yet) been proscribed under anti-terrorism law. Following the same logic, the government could theoretically proscribe Extinction Rebellion and other groups that might not be widely thought of as terrorist organisations.

    Whether it makes sense to proscribe the group, however, is a matter of debate. Proscribing Palestine Action on the basis of its alleged property damage would set a precedent in legally declaring that this type of direct action – vandalism – is considered significant enough to invoke the Terrorism Act in this way.

    Palestine Action is different in an important way from currently proscribed terrorist organisations.

    In Palestine Action’s five years of attacks, it has never killed anyone, or apparently attempted to do so. There have, though, been several injuries allegedly associated with the group. Two people were charged with assaulting an emergency worker at a protest – after the intention to proscribe the group was announced. At some of the group’s actions, members have been charged with assaulting security guards.

    In her statement to parliament, Cooper cited the group’s “impact on innocent members of the public fleeing for safety and subjected to violence”. But the primary focus of the government’s intention to proscribe the group seems to be around serious damage to property, particularly related to national security.

    Many currently proscribed groups have killed thousands of people, from al-Qaida on September 11 or 7/7 to groups like Hamas or Hezbollah attacking Israelis or Boko Haram’s killing sprees in Nigeria.

    There are some less violent proscribed groups. For example, UK-based Islamist group al-Ghurabaa (and the related Saved Sect, also known as al-Muhajiroun) have not been clearly linked to actual violence, although the group is accused of glorifying violence, for example celebrating the 9/11 attacks. It has also apparently inspired terrorist attacks.

    The government’s choice to start using serious property damage as sufficient criteria for terrorist designation would be a substantial change in how anti-terrorism law is applied.

    What happens next?

    If Palestine Action were to be proscribed, the consequences could be substantial.

    Since any support of the group would be a crime, a protest in support of the group – like the one that happened June 23 – could lead to thousands of arrests. If supporters failed to turn out, and the members stopped participating out of fear, it could lead to the end of the group.

    Or the group might shift to strictly legal or less damaging direct actions, like permitted marches or blockades. This would be a clear victory for the government.

    An ultimate goal of proscription is to keep dissident groups protesting legally. It sometimes works. Al-Muhajiroun and other local groups seemingly often tried to walk the fine line of being as extreme as possible, while staying “just within the law”.

    It is also possible that current Palestine Action members form renamed groups and carry on with criminal direct actions. Fragmenting and renaming groups is a common response to proscription, as we have seen with al-Ghurabaa, and with armed groups abroad like Lashkar-e-Taiba, as my own research with my colleague Muhammad Feyyaz has shown.

    This results in counter-terrorism officials playing Whac-A-Mole, frequently updating legislation with aliases and chasing many smaller groups or a broader movement instead of one organisation.

    Overall, the government might be legally justified to proscribe Palestine Action. What parliament must decide, however, is if the group poses enough of a threat to warrant this change to precedent. And officials should think about whether the action is likely to bring about the desired consequences, or if it could radicalise supporters into more violent action.

    Brian J. Phillips works on a research project that receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council.

    – ref. Palestine Action: what it means to proscribe a group, and what the effects could be – https://theconversation.com/palestine-action-what-it-means-to-proscribe-a-group-and-what-the-effects-could-be-259619

    MIL OSI –

    July 1, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Development finance in a post-aid world: the case for country platforms

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Richard Calland, Emeritus Associate Professor in Public Law, UCT. Visiting Adjunct Professor, WITS School of Governance; Director, Africa Programme, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, University of Cambridge

    With the Trump administration slashing US Agency for International Development budgets and European nations shifting overseas development aid budgets to bolster defence spending, the world has entered a “post-aid era”.

    But there is an opportunity to recast development finance as strategic investment: “country platforms”.

    Country platforms are government-led, nationally owned mechanisms that bring together a country’s climate priorities, investment needs and reform agenda, and align them with the interests of development partners, private investors and implementing agencies. They function as a strategic hub: convening actors, coordinating funding, and curating pipelines of projects for investment.

    Think of them as the opposite of donor-driven fragmentation. Instead of dozens of disconnected projects driven by external priorities, a country platform enables governments to set the agenda and direct finance to where it is needed most. That could be renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, resilient infrastructure, or nature-based solutions.

    Country platforms are a current fad. They were the talk of the town at the 2025 Spring meetings of multilateral development banks in Washington DC. Will they quickly fade as the next big new idea comes into view? Or can they escape the limitations and failings of the finance and development aid ecosystem?

    The Independent High Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, on which I serve, is striving to find new ways to ramp up finance – both public and private – in quality and quantity. I agree with those who argue that country platforms could be the innovation that unlocks the capital urgently needed to tackle climate overshoot and buttress economic development.

    The model is already being tested. More than ten countries have launched their platforms, and more are in the pipeline.

    For African countries, the opportunity could not be more timely. African governments are racing to deliver their Nationally Determined Contributions. These are the commitments they’ve made to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as part of climate change mitigation targets set out in the Paris Agreement. Implementing these plans is often being done under severe fiscal constraints.

    At the same time global capital is looking for investment opportunities. But it needs to be convinced that the rewards will outweigh the risks.

    Where it’s being tested

    In Africa, South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Partnership has demonstrated both the potential and the complexity of a country platform. Egypt and Senegal also have country platforms at different stages of implementation. Kenya and Nigeria are exploring similar mechanisms. The African Union’s Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy calls for country platforms across the continent.

    New entrants can learn from countries that started first.

    But country platforms come in different shapes and sizes according to the context.

    Another promising example is emerging through Mission 300, an initiative of the World Bank and African Development Bank, working with partners like The Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, and Sustainable Energy for All. It aims to connect 300 million people to clean electricity by 2030.

    Central to this initiative are Compact Delivery and Monitoring Units. These are essentially country platforms anchored in electrification. They reflect how a well-structured country platform can make an impact. Twelve African countries are already moving in this direction. All announced their Mission 300 compacts at the Africa Heads of State Summit in Tanzania.

    This growing cohort reflects a continental commitment to putting energy-driven country platforms at the heart of Africa’s development architecture.

    Why now – and why Africa?

    A well-functioning country platform can help in a number of ways.

    Firstly, it can give the political and economic leadership a clear goal. The platform can survive elections and show stability, certainty and transparency to the investment world.

    Secondly, national ownership and strategic alignment can reduce risk and build confidence. That would encourage investment.

    Thirdly, it builds trust among development partners and investors through clear priorities, transparency, and national ownership.

    Fourthly, it moves beyond isolated pilot projects to system-level transformation – meaning structural change. The transition in one sector, energy for example, creates new value chains that create more, better and safer jobs. Country platforms put African governments in charge of their own economic development, not as passive recipients of climate finance.

    The country sets its investment priorities and then the match-making with international climate finance can begin.

    Making it work: what’s needed

    Developing the data on which a country bases its investment and development plans, and blending those with the fiscal, climate and nature data, is complex. For this reason country platforms require investment in institutional capacity, cross-ministerial collaboration, and strong coordination between finance ministries, environment agencies and economic planners. And especially, in leadership capability.

    African countries must take charge of this capacity and capability acceleration.

    Second, development partners can respond by providing money as well as supporting African leadership, aligning with national strategies, and being willing to co-design mechanisms that meet both investor expectations and local realities.

    Capacity is especially crucial given the scale of Africa’s needs. According to the African Development Bank, Africa will require over US$200 billion annually by 2030 to meet its climate goals. Donor aid will provide only a fraction of this. It will require smart, coordinated investment and careful debt management. Country platforms provide the structure to govern the process.

    Seizing the opportunity

    Country platforms represent one of the most promising innovations in climate and development finance architecture. Properly designed and led, they offer African countries the opportunity to take ownership of their climate and development futures – on their own terms.

    Country platforms could be the “buckle” that finally enables the supply and demand sides of climate finance to come together. It will require commitment, strategic and technical capability, and, above all, smart leadership.

    Richard Calland works for the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. He is also an Emeritus Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town and an Adjunct Visiting Professor at the University of Witwatersrand School of Governance. He serves on the Advisory Council of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution, Chairs of the Board of Sustainability Education and is a member of the Board of Chapter Zero Southern Africa.

    – ref. Development finance in a post-aid world: the case for country platforms – https://theconversation.com/development-finance-in-a-post-aid-world-the-case-for-country-platforms-257994

    MIL OSI –

    July 1, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Nato leaders pledge increased defence spending – is this really the price for peace and prosperity?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Damian Tobin, Lecturer in International Business, University College Cork

    Kev Gregory / Shutterstock

    Nato leaders agreed to ramp up defence spending to 5% of their countries’ economic output by 2035 at a summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 25. US president Donald Trump, who has spent months saying Europe should take more responsibility for its own security, described the pledge as “a monumental win for the US” and a “big win” for western civilisation.

    A few months earlier, in March, the EU also launched its long-awaited white paper on defence. This provides a blueprint for improving Europe’s readiness to respond to military threats by 2030. On top of the fact that global military spending has surged in the past ten years, these developments indicate that the world’s largest nations now prioritise military over economic diplomacy.

    One of the main ideas behind military diplomacy is that increased defence spending acts as a deterrent to future conflicts. The nuclear arms race between the US and Soviet Union during the cold war provides some support for this argument. The prospect of mutual destruction was so great that it acted as a deterrent to nuclear war.

    But is increased defence spending really the necessary price for greater peace and prosperity? My research on interactions between firms, geopolitics and the political economy of defence indicates that this is no “big win” for society or economic productivity.

    A convoy of naval ships in the Pacific Ocean.
    Rawpixel.com / Shutterstock

    Deterrence requires a level of brinkmanship if it is to work. But as American economist Thomas Schelling pointed out in his 1960 book, The Strategy of Conflict, the problem with brinkmanship is that it relies on deliberately allowing a situation to get somewhat out of hand, with the intention of forcing the other party to back down.

    This can result in strategic blunders. Efforts by the former US president, Richard Nixon, to engineer such a situation in 1969 by threatening to use nuclear weapons in Vietnam failed to gain credibility with the Soviets and North Vietnamese. This undoubtedly helped convince North Vietnam that it could survive the war and locked the US into a much longer conflict.

    The recent confrontation between Israel and Iran also showed that brinkmanship can produce situations where there are significant casualties and no clear long-term resolution. Iran has long recognised that keeping itself near the threshold of nuclear weapons capability would offer a deterrent against external threats.

    But this strategy created many opportunities for error. Israel claimed that Iran was too close to building a nuclear weapon and, alongside the US, launched strikes that they say inflicted significant damage on Iranian nuclear enrichment capabilities and military leadership.



    Read more:
    Israeli aggression and Iranian nuclear brinkmanship made this confrontation all but inevitable

    Beyond this, it is unclear just how much military spending is needed to deter aggression. Nato allies have now committed to a big increase in defence spending – thanks largely to pressure from Trump.

    However, even Nato’s previous objective that countries commit 2% of their national income to defence has proved unattractive for many governments. This has even been the case in post-conflict areas such as the Balkans, where Nato has had a heavy involvement.

    A costly alternative

    Boosting defence spending falls short on delivering economic prosperity, too. Analysing US military spending in the Vietnam war, economist Les Fishman noted in 1967 that military diplomacy was far more costly than its economic equivalent.

    Military production requires continuously high levels of investment to maintain technological progress. This sucks public investment from other parts of the economy.

    That’s not to say defence spending has an entirely negative effect on the economy. Studies have found evidence that US federal funding of military research and development results in significant increases in private business research in sectors such as chemicals and aerospace.

    And, over the past decade, the value of venture capital deals in the US defence industry has grown 18-fold. This far outstrips sectors such as energy and healthcare. But such investment in military-related research and development is also often acknowledged as inefficient and not necessarily the best way to boost productivity.

    Fishman pointed out that the Marshall Plan, which provided substantial economic aid to western Europe after the second world war, had a far higher return for the US.

    Economic stabilisation kept the Soviet Union at bay for relatively small outlay compared to the Vietnam war, where casualties were of such a magnitude that it made any cost-benefit analysis meaningless.

    The Vietnam war proved extremely costly for the US.
    Department of the Army Special Photo Office / Wikimedia Commons

    Boosting defence spending also represents a lost opportunity to invest in more socially beneficial projects. This will worsen the climate crisis.

    According to a study shared with the Guardian in May, the initial rearmament planned by Nato alone could have increased greenhouse gas emissions by almost 200 million tonnes a year. The expanded defence commitment will only increase this further.

    Unlike defence, where the repurposing of civilian technologies for military uses carries a cost to society, many green investments involve beneficial substitutions that reduce the cost of a green transition.

    The substitution of conventional fossil fuel heating and transport systems with heat pumps and electric vehicles, for example, is far more socially beneficial than repurposing civilian satellites for missile systems.

    A final point is that military diplomacy is itself geopolitically destabilising. US efforts to contain communism in Asia during the 1950s and 1960s are a good example. Not only did such efforts see China align its trade with other communist states, it also ensured that self-reliance became a cornerstone of China’s economic strategy.

    This all suggests that the current drive for deterrence-based military spending carries with it a huge cost for society that could ultimately prove economically wasteful and geopolitically destabilising.

    Damian Tobin 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. Nato leaders pledge increased defence spending – is this really the price for peace and prosperity? – https://theconversation.com/nato-leaders-pledge-increased-defence-spending-is-this-really-the-price-for-peace-and-prosperity-255989

    MIL OSI –

    July 1, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Light is the science of the future – the Africans using it to solve local challenges

    Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Andrew Forbes, Professor, University of the Witwatersrand

    Light-based technologies have wide practical applications. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

    Light is all around us, essential for one of our primary senses (sight) as well as life on Earth itself. It underpins many technologies that affect our daily lives, including energy harvesting with solar cells, light-emitting-diode (LED) displays and telecommunications through fibre optic networks.

    The smartphone is a great example of the power of light. Inside the box, its electronic functionality works because of quantum mechanics. The front screen is an entirely photonic device: liquid crystals controlling light. The back too: white light-emitting diodes for a flash, and lenses to capture images.

    We use the word photonics, and sometimes optics, to capture the harnessing of light for new applications and technologies. Their importance in modern life is celebrated every year on 16 May with the International Day of Light.

    Scientists on the African continent, despite the resource constraints they work under, have made notable contributions to photonics research. Some of these have been captured in a recent special issue of the journal Applied Optics. Along with colleagues in this field from Morocco and Senegal, we introduced this collection of papers, which aims to celebrate excellence and show the impact of studies that address continental issues.

    A spotlight on photonics in Africa

    Africa’s history in formal optics stems back thousands of years, with references to lens design already recorded in ancient Egyptian writings.

    In more recent times, Africa has contributed to two Nobel prizes based on optics. Ahmed Zewail (Egyptian born) watched the ultrafast processes in chemistry with lasers (1999, Nobel Prize for Chemistry) and Serge Harouche (Moroccan born) studied the behaviour of individual particles of light, photons (2012, Nobel Prize for Physics).

    Unfortunately, the African optics story is one of pockets of excellence. The highlights are as good as anywhere else, but there are too few of them to put the continent on the global optics map. According to a 2020 calculation done for me by the Optical Society of America, based on their journals, Africa contributes less than 1% to worldwide journal publications with optics or photonics as a theme.

    Yet there are great opportunities for meeting continental challenges using optics. Examples of areas where Africans can innovate are:

    • bridging the digital divide with modern communications infrastructure

    • optical imaging and spectroscopy for improvements in agriculture and monitoring climate changes

    • harnessing the sun with optical materials for clean energy

    • bio-photonics to solve health issues

    • quantum technologies for novel forms of communicating, sensing, imaging and computing.

    The papers in the special journal issue touch on a diversity of continent-relevant topics.

    One is on using optics to communicate across free-space (air) even in bad weather conditions. This light-based solution was tested using weather data from two African cities, Alexandria in Egypt and Setif in Algeria.

    Another paper is about tiny quantum sources of quantum entanglement for sensing. The authors used diamond, a gem found in South Africa and more commonly associated with jewellery. Diamond has many flaws, one of which can produce single photons as an output when excited. The single photon output was split into two paths, as if the particle went both left and right at the same time. This is the quirky notion of entanglement, in this case, created with diamonds. If an object is placed in any one path, the entanglement can detect it. Strangely, sometimes the photons take the left-path but the object is in the right-path, yet still it can be detected.



    Read more:
    Quantum entanglement: what it is, and why physicists want to harness it

    One contributor proposes a cost-effective method to detect and classify harmful bacteria in water.

    New approaches in spectroscopy (studying colour) for detecting cell health; biosensors to monitor salt and glucose levels in blood; and optical tools for food security all play their part in optical applications on the continent.

    Another area of African optics research that has important applications is the use of optical fibres for sensing the quality of soil and its structural integrity. Optical fibres are usually associated with communication, but a modern trend is to use the existing optical fibre already laid to sense for small changes in the environment, for instance, as early warning systems for earthquakes. The research shows that conventional fibre can also be used to tell if soil is degrading, either from lack of moisture or some physical shift in structure (weakness or movement). It is an immediately useful tool for agriculture, building on many decades of research.

    The diverse range of topics in the collection shows how creative researchers on the continent are in using limited resources for maximum impact. The high orientation towards applications is probably also a sign that African governments want their scientists to work on solutions to real problems rather than purely academic questions. A case in point is South Africa, which has a funded national strategy (SA QuTI) to turn quantum science into quantum technology and train the workforce for a new economy.

    Towards a brighter future

    For young science students wishing to enter the field, the opportunities are endless. While photonics has no discipline boundaries, most students enter through the fields of physics, engineering, chemistry or the life sciences. Its power lies in the combination of skills, blending theoretical, computational and experimental, that are brought to bear on problems. At a typical photonics conference there are likely to be many more industry participants than academics. That’s a testament to its universal impact in new technologies, and the employment opportunities for students.

    The last century was based on electronics and controlling electrons. This century will be dominated by photonics, controlling photons.

    Professor Zouheir Sekkat of University Mohamed V, Rabat, and director of the Pole of Optics and Photonics within MAScIR of University Mohamed VI Polytechnic Benguerir, Morocco, contributed to this article.

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

    – ref. Light is the science of the future – the Africans using it to solve local challenges – https://theconversation.com/light-is-the-science-of-the-future-the-africans-using-it-to-solve-local-challenges-256031

    MIL OSI –

    July 1, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: How good are South African kids at maths? Trends from a global study

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Vijay Reddy, Distinguished Research Specialist, Human Sciences Research Council

    School mathematics in South Africa is often seen as a sign of the health of the education system more generally. Under the racial laws of apartheid, until 1994, African people were severely restricted from learning maths. Tracking the changes in maths performance is a measure of how far the country has travelled in overcoming past injustices. Maths is also an essential foundation for meeting the challenges of the future, like artificial intelligence, climate change, energy and sustainable development.

    Here, education researcher Vijay Reddy takes stock of South Africa’s mathematical capabilities. She reports on South African maths performance at grades 5 (primary school) and 9 (secondary school) in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and examines the gender gaps in mathematics achievement.

    What was unusual about the latest TIMSS study?

    The study is conducted every four years. South Africa has participated in it at the secondary phase since 1995 and at the primary phase since 2015. The period between the 2019 and 2023 cycles was characterised by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing and school closures.

    The Department of Basic Education estimated that an average of 152 school contact days were lost in 2020 and 2021. South Africa was among the countries with the highest school closures, along with Colombia, Costa Rica and Brazil. At the other end, European countries lost fewer than 50 days.

    Some academics measured the extent of learning losses for 2020 and 2021 school closures, but there were no models to estimate subsequent learning losses. We can get some clues of the effects on learning over four years, by comparing patterns within South Africa against the other countries.



    Read more:
    COVID learning losses: what South Africa’s education system must focus on to recover

    How did South African learners (and others) perform in the maths study?

    The South African grade 9 mathematics achievement improved by 8 points from 389 in TIMSS 2019 to 397 in 2023. From the trends to TIMSS 2019, we had predicted a mathematics score of 403 in 2023.

    For the 33 countries that participated in both the 2019 and 2023 secondary school TIMSS cycles, the average achievement decreased by 9 points from 491 in 2019 to 482 to 2023. Only three countries showed significant increases (United Arab Emirates, Romania and Sweden). There were no significant changes in 16 countries (including South Africa). There were significant decreases in 14 countries.

    Based on these numbers, it would seem, on the face of it at least, that South Africa weathered the COVID-19 losses better than half the other countries.

    However, the primary school result patterns were different. For South African children, there was a significant drop in mathematics achievement by 12 points, from 374 in 2019 to 362 in 2023. As expected, the highest decreases were in the poorer, no-fee schools.

    Of the 51 countries that participated in both TIMSS 2019 and 2023, the average mathematics achievement score over the two cycles was similar. There were no significant achievement changes in 22 countries, a significant increase in 15 countries, and a significant decrease in 14 countries (including South Africa).

    So, it seems that South African primary school learners suffered adverse learning effects over the two cycles.

    The increase in achievement in secondary school and decrease in primary school was unexpected. These reasons for the results may be that secondary school learners experienced more school support compared with primary schools, or were more mature and resilient, enabling them to recover from the learning losses experienced during COVID-19. Learners in primary schools, especially poorer schools, may have been more affected by the loss of school contact time and had less support to fully recover during this time.

    This pattern may also be due to poor reading and language skills as well as lack of familiarity with this type of test.

    Does gender make a difference?

    There is an extant literature indicating that globally boys are more likely to outperform girls in maths performance.

    But in South African primary schools, girls outscore boys in both mathematics and reading. Girls significantly outscored boys by an average of 29 points for mathematics (TIMSS) and by 49 points for reading in the 2021 Progress in International Reading Study, PIRLS.

    These patterns need further exploration. Of the 58 countries participating in TIMSS at primary schools, boys significantly outscored girls in 40 countries, and there were no achievement differences in 17 countries. South Africa was the only country where the girls significantly outscored boys. In Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique, the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SEACMEQ) reading scores are similar for girls and boys, while the boys outscore girls in mathematics. In Botswana, girls outscore boys in reading and mathematics, but the gender difference is much smaller.

    In secondary schools, girls continue to outscore boys, but the gap drops to 8 points. Of the 42 TIMSS countries, boys significantly outscored girls in maths in 21 countries; there were no significant difference in 17 countries; and girls significantly outscored boys in only four countries (South Africa, Palestine, Oman, Bahrain).

    In summary, the South African primary school achievement trend relative to secondary school is unexpected and requires further investigation. It seems that as South African learners get older, they acquire better skills in how to learn, read and take tests to achieve better results. Results from lower grades should be used cautiously to predict subsequent educational outcomes.

    Unusually, in primary schools, there is a big gender difference for mathematics achievement favouring girls. The gender difference persists to grade 9, but the extent of the difference decreases. As learners, especially boys, progress through their education system they seem to make up their learning shortcomings and catch up.

    The national mathematics picture would look much better if boys and girls performed at the same level from primary school, suggesting the importance of interventions in primary schools, especially focusing on boys.

    Vijay Reddy received funding from the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation and Department of Basic Education.

    – ref. How good are South African kids at maths? Trends from a global study – https://theconversation.com/how-good-are-south-african-kids-at-maths-trends-from-a-global-study-251490

    MIL OSI –

    July 1, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Global crises have hit education hard: 24 years of research offers a way forward for southern Africa

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Emmanuel Ojo, Associate Professor, University of the Witwatersrand

    Global crises have shaped our world over the past two decades, affecting education systems everywhere. Higher education researcher Emmanuel Ojo has studied the impact of these disruptions on educational opportunities, particularly in southern Africa.

    He looked at 5,511 peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2024 to explore what the research suggests about making education systems more resilient. Here, he answers some questions about his review.

    What are the global crises that have undermined education?

    In my review I drew up a table documenting how multiple crises have disrupted education systems worldwide.

    The cycle began with the 2000-2002 dot-com bubble collapse, which reduced education funding and slowed technological integration. This was followed by the 2001 terrorist attacks, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak (2002-2004), Iraq War (2003-2011), Indian Ocean tsunami (2004), and Hurricane Katrina (2005). The Israeli-Palestinian conflict since 2000, global food crisis (2007-2008), financial crisis (2007-2008), and European debt crisis (2010-2012) continued this pattern of disruption.

    More recently, the Ebola epidemic, COVID-19 pandemic, and Russia-Ukraine war have destabilised education systems. Meanwhile, the ongoing climate crisis creates challenges, particularly in southern Africa where environmental vulnerability is high.

    Who suffers most, and in what ways?

    Education has consistently been among the hardest-hit sectors globally. According to Unesco, the COVID pandemic alone affected more than 1.6 billion students worldwide.

    But the impact is not distributed equally.

    My research shows crises have put vulnerable populations at a further disadvantage through school closures, funding diversions, infrastructure destruction and student displacement. Quality and access decline most sharply for marginalised communities. Costs rise and mobility is restricted. Food insecurity during crises reduces attendance among the poorest students.

    In southern Africa, the Covid-19 disruption highlighted existing divides. Privileged students continued learning online. Those in rural and informal settlements were completely cut off from education.

    Climate change compounds these inequalities. Unicef highlights that climate disasters have a disproportionate impact on schooling for millions in low-income countries, where adaptive infrastructure is limited.

    What’s at stake for southern Africa is the region’s development potential and social cohesion. The widening of educational divides threatens to create a generation with unequal opportunities and capabilities.

    What makes southern African education systems fragile?

    My review focused on the 16 countries of the Southern African Development Community, revealing what makes them vulnerable to crisis impacts.

    Southern Africa’s geographic exposure to climate disasters combines with pre-existing economic inequalities. The region’s digital divide became starkly visible during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some students were excluded from learning by limited connectivity and unreliable electricity.

    The region’s systems also rely on external funding. The Trump administration’s sudden foreign aid freeze was a shock to South Africa’s higher education sector. It has affected public health initiatives and university research programmes.

    Research representation itself is unequal. Within the region, South African researchers dominate and other nations make only limited contributions. This creates blind spots in understanding context-specific challenges and solutions.

    Each successive crisis deepens educational divides, making recovery increasingly difficult and costly. Weaker education systems make the region less able to respond to other development challenges, too.

    How can southern Africa build education systems to withstand crises?

    One striking finding from my review was the surge in educational research after the Covid-19 pandemic began – from 229 studies in 2019 to nearly double that in 2020, with continued rapid growth thereafter. This indicates growing recognition that education systems must be redesigned to withstand future disruptions, not merely recover from current ones.

    Research points to a number of ways to do this:

    • Strategic investment in educational infrastructure, particularly digital technologies, to ensure learning continuity.

    • Equipping educators with skills to adapt teaching methods during emergencies.

    • Innovative, context-appropriate teaching approaches that empower communities.

    • Integration of indigenous knowledge systems into curricula, enhancing relevance, adaptability and community ownership.

    • Interdisciplinary and cross-national research collaborations.

    • Protection of education budgets, recognising education’s role in crisis recovery and long-term stability.

    • Community engagement in education, ensuring interventions are culturally appropriate and widely accepted.

    In my view, African philanthropists have a duty to provide the independent financial base that education systems need to withstand external funding fluctuations.

    What’s the cost of doing nothing?

    The economic and social costs of failing to build resilient education systems are profound and long-lasting. Each educational disruption creates negative effects that extend far beyond the crisis period.

    When students miss critical learning periods, it reduces their chances in life. The World Bank estimates that learning losses from the Covid-19 pandemic alone could result in up to US$17 trillion in lost lifetime earnings for affected students globally.

    Social costs are equally severe. Educational disruptions increase dropout rates, child marriage, early pregnancy, and youth unemployment. These outcomes create broader societal challenges that require costly interventions across multiple sectors.

    Spending on educational resilience avoids those costs.

    The question isn’t whether southern African nations can afford to invest in educational resilience, but whether they can afford not to.

    The choices made today will determine whether education systems merely survive crises or make society better. Evidence-based policies and regional cooperation are essential for building education systems that can fulfil Southern Africa’s human potential.

    Emmanuel Ojo receives funding from National Research Foundation (NRF).

    – ref. Global crises have hit education hard: 24 years of research offers a way forward for southern Africa – https://theconversation.com/global-crises-have-hit-education-hard-24-years-of-research-offers-a-way-forward-for-southern-africa-251833

    MIL OSI –

    July 1, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Europe: EU Fact Sheets – Southern Partners – 27-06-2025

    Source: European Parliament

    The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) covers Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia. It consists of bilateral policies between the EU and the 10 individual partner countries, plus a regional cooperation framework, the Union for the Mediterranean. The EU boosted support for democratic transformation under the ENP in 2011, in response to the uprisings in its southern neighbourhood. It further reviewed the ENP in 2015.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    July 1, 2025

  • Which countries are quitting a key landmine treaty and why?

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Ukraine has joined other countries bordering Russia in signalling that it will withdraw from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines, in the face of what they say are growing military threats from Russia.

    NATO members Finland, Poland and the three ex-Soviet Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – have either withdrawn from the convention or indicated that they would do so, citing the increased military danger from their neighbour.

    The moves threaten to reverse decades of campaigning by activists who say there should be a global ban on a weapon that blights huge swathes of territory and maims and kills civilians long after conflicts have abated.

    Countries that quit the 1997 treaty – one of a series of international agreements concluded after the end of the Cold War to encourage global disarmament – will be able to start producing, using, stockpiling and transferring landmines once again.

    COUNTRIES EXITING

    All European countries bordering Russia have announced plans to quit the global treaty,apart from Norway which has only a 200 km (125 mile) border with Russia in its remote Arctic far north, andsaid it was important to maintain stigma around landmines.

    Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that he had signed a decree to pull Ukraine out of the Convention because Russia has used anti-personnel mines extensively in parts of Ukraine during the 40-month-old war.

    Anti-personnel mines, Zelenskiy said, are “often the instrument for which nothing can be substituted for defence purposes”.

    Some European countries have said they fear that Russia could use any pause in fighting to re-arm and target them.

    Officials have suggested a withdrawal could put them on more of an equal footing with Russia which has not signed or ratified the treaty. Other major powers that have not signed include the United States and China.

    U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres in mid-June raised grave concerns about recent withdrawal announcements, and urged all states to adhere to existing treaties and immediately halt any steps towards their withdrawal.

    FUNDING CUTS

    As countries quit the convention, global demining efforts are also backsliding amid “crippling” U.S. funding cuts under President Donald Trump, according to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. Washington had provided more than $300 million a year, or 40% of total international support for removing mines, according to the Landmine Monitor report in 2024.

    A State Department official said in March it had restarted some global humanitarian demining programmes and activities, without giving details. It has previously run major programmes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Laos.

    Anti-personnel landmines are generally hidden in the ground and designed to detonate automatically when someone steps on them or passes nearby. More than 80% of mine victims are civilians, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

    The convention includes provisions to assist victims, many of whom have lost limbs and suffer from other permanent disabilities.

    In June 2025 the U.N. reported that Ukraine had become the most mined country in the world. It said there had been around 800 civilian casualties due to unexploded ordnance.

    (Reuters)

    June 30, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UN Human Rights Council 59: Joint Statement on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Context of Climate Change

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    World news story

    UN Human Rights Council 59: Joint Statement on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Context of Climate Change

    Joint Statement for the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Context of Climate Change. Delivered at the 59th HRC in Geneva.

    Thank you Mr President.

    Austria, Canada, Colombia, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, the Marshall Islands, the Netherlands, Panama, and the United Kingdom thank the Special Rapporteur for her report.

    Climate change and environmental degradation pose a risk to the lives and wellbeing of individuals and communities across the world, especially the most marginalised. This is compounded by the impacts of the fossil fuel life cycle.

    3.5 billion people now live in contexts highly vulnerable to climate change. Rapid and enduring action must be taken to safeguard the full enjoyment of human rights for individuals both now and in the future.

    As per the first Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement adopted at COP28, advancing the transition away from fossil fuels is crucial.

    It deserves mention in this session’s human rights and climate change resolution. 

    We will continue to demonstrate leadership, including through the Global Clean Power Alliance Initiative, and our ambitious and credible 2035 NDC targets. 

    Environmental defenders and Indigenous Peoples are vital stewards of nature. We support their meaningful participation and leadership in climate action.

    Special Rapporteur, what more can states do to build global consensus and advance the transition away from fossil fuels? 

    Thank you.

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    Published 30 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    June 30, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: “Academic Council about People”: competition of teaching staff, remuneration, awards and incentives

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

    © Higher School of Economics

    The final meeting of this academic year took place on June 25. Academic Council of the National Research University Higher School of Economics. And if at previous meetings issues of technological development, international cooperation and financial stability of the university were considered, now the emphasis was placed on social issues.

    “Today, the Academic Council is about people,” said HSE Rector Nikita Anisimov, opening the meeting. Before discussing the main agenda, he reported that the day before, on June 24, in accordance with the decree of the President of Russia, several university employees became recipients of state awards.

    The Order of Friendship was awarded to full professors Viktor Bolotov and Anton Ivanov, and the medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 2nd degree, was awarded to research professor FSN Leonid Polyakov. The honorary title “Honored Worker of Higher Education of the Russian Federation” was awarded to full professor Andrei Klimenko, “Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation” – to full professor Vladislav Podinovsky.

    Nikita Anisimov also recalled that in the recent elections to the Russian Academy of Sciences, four HSE employees elected academicians, seven – corresponding members. “This is evidence of the good potential and power of our university, the dynamics of its development and the attitude towards it,” the rector emphasized.

    The first item on the agenda was the traditional summer competition for filling positions of professorial and teaching staff (PTS). Its preliminary results were reported by HSE Vice-Rector Alexey Koshel and Head of the Commission on Personnel and Awards of the Academic Council Marina Oleshek.

    Alexey Koshel noted that the number of recommended candidates for three- and four-year contracts in Moscow has increased compared to the winter competition. The vice-rector noted that the St. Petersburg campus demonstrated high activity in terms of staff renewal: there are almost as many external candidates for professor vacancies there as internal ones.

    All this speaks to the effectiveness of the chosen vector of development of personnel policy: the university attracts talented teachers and scientists to the positions of teaching staff, with whom it is ready to enter into long-term cooperation. At the same time, the status of a professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics is highly attractive on the market, ensuring serious competition and stable renewal of the academic environment.

    The second issue on the agenda is the system of material motivation of HSE employees. The key element of this system is the Regulation on Remuneration, adopted back in 2015. At that time, it represented a set of the most modern solutions in the education system. Since then, many changes have occurred at the university, in legislation and in the labor market, the requirements and basic expectations of employees have been transformed, the range of best practices for working with material motivation has expanded, so there was a need to develop a new version of the document.

    “A high level of guaranteed wages for full-time employees and a system of academic bonuses have been and remain a serious factor and incentive for the development of the university. The revision of the Regulation on wages has become a logical and necessary step to maintain leadership and motivation of the team, which today works on global projects in science and education, and faces serious professional challenges,” said Alexey Koshel.

    The new regulation includes a support system for young professionals: financial support for the period of adaptation to professional activity, a paid mentoring system, and an allowance for defending dissertations for the degree of candidate of science. The regulation revises and supplements the list of incentive payments and social measures. The model for remuneration of external part-time workers has been changed, and business processes for concluding civil law contracts have been simplified. In addition, digital tools are being developed that allow employees to see all the financial incentives available at the university.

    Vice-Rector of the National Research University Higher School of Economics Alexander Balyshev also noted the importance of maintaining the volume of the university’s investments in academic allowances taking into account inflation. Changes in their structure are possible, but they will remain an incentive tool.

    The proposed innovations were approved by the relevant commissions of the Academic Council, as well as Trade Union of HSE Employees, as its chairman, ordinary professor Dmitry Kuznetsov, spoke about.

    The Academic Council supported the changes: they will come into force in 2026. As Nikita Anisimov emphasized, the material motivation system is a framework that is designed to streamline wages and make people’s lives easier. The new system will become more balanced, transparent and fair, aimed at a systematic increase in the salaries of university employees.

    The meeting also focused on non-material motivation. The Academic Council approved the Regulation on the system of awards and incentives at the National Research University Higher School of Economics. This system exists at the university, but, like the remuneration system, it needs to be modernized. “Its principles should also be clear to the team,” Nikita Anisimov noted. Alexey Koshel spoke in more detail about the innovations in this matter.

    He noted that professional recognition as a tool of non-material motivation does not lose its relevance. “Today, it is important to focus efforts on ensuring that managers at all levels have complete and up-to-date information about the award system and actively use the available tools. The University plans to develop the practice of presenting awards in a solemn atmosphere and make professional recognition a significant event for colleagues and the University as a whole,” said Alexey Koshel.

    The incentive system includes a letter of gratitude and a thank-you note, which will be available to any employee from the first days of work (according to the previously effective rules – with at least one year of experience). The award system includes a certificate of honor from HSE, medals from HSE, honorary badges from HSE and honorary titles (statuses). Two new statuses are “Honorary Worker of HSE” and “Honorary Professor of HSE”, and the latter can be assigned to external colleagues – partners, trustees of the university.

    About the results XXV Yasinsky (April) International Scientific Conference on Problems of Economic and Social Development said the chairman of its program committee, full professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics Fuad Aleskerov.

    He stated that it was possible to preserve all the advantages of the scientific conference: a stable brand, an interdisciplinary program, the involvement of different scientific schools, and the attraction of young scientists, including those from Russian regions. The top 10 countries by the number of foreign speakers included China, India, Qatar, the USA, Belarus, Brazil, Kazakhstan, the UK, South Africa, and Kyrgyzstan.

    The Academic Council decided to rename the conference. Now it will be called the April International Scientific Conference named after E.G. Yasin.

    Concluding the meeting, Nikita Anisimov thanked his colleagues for the involved discussion and for their effective work in the past academic year. He recalled that the admissions campaign had begun at the Higher School of Economics, which would continue after the vacation period.

    “It is important that the university has formed a united and diverse team, which is well represented in the Academic Council. In this unity and diversity lies our strength and our future,” the HSE rector concluded.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    June 30, 2025

  • Wildfires burn in Turkey and France as early heatwave hits

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Firefighters battled wildfires in Turkey and France on Monday as an early heatwave hit the region.

    In Turkey, the wildfires raged for a second day in the western province of Izmir, fanned by strong winds, Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said, forcing the evacuation of four villages and two neighbourhoods.

    Media footage showed teams using tractors with water trailers and helicopters carrying water, as smoke billowed over hills marked with charred trees.

    Turkey’s coastal regions have in recent years been ravaged by wildfires, as summers have become hotter and drier, which scientists say is a result of human-induced climate change.

    In France, where temperatures are expected to peak on Tuesday and Wednesday, wildfires broke out on Sunday in the southwestern Aude department, where temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), burning 400 hectares and forcing the evacuation of a campsite and an abbey, authorities and local media said.

    The fires were under control but not yet extinguished, authorities said on Monday.

    Weather service Meteo France put a record 84 of the country’s 101 departments on an orange heatwave alert from Monday until midweek. About 200 schools will be at least partially shut over the next three days because of the heat, the Education Ministry said.

    HEATWAVE IMPACTS RHINE SHIPPING

    The heatwave has lowered water levels on Germany’s Rhine River, hampering shipping and raising freight costs for cargo owners, commodity traders said.

    The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities such as grains, minerals and oil products. Forecasters said temperatures as high as 40 C are possible in Cologne.

    In Seville, southern Spain, where global leaders were gathering for a United Nations conference, temperatures were expected to hit 42 C.

    Tourists were trying to deal with the heat. “Really hard currently,” Mehrzad Joussefi, from the Netherlands, said.

    Spain is on course for its hottest June on record, the national meteorological service AEMET said.

    Most of the country remains under alert for heat, with AEMET forecasting the peak of the heatwave on Monday.

    “Over the next few days, at least until Thursday, intense heat will continue in much of Spain,” said Ruben del Campo, a spokesperson for the weather agency.

    Italy’s Health Ministry issued heatwave red alerts for 21 cities, including Rome and Milan. Weather forecast website IlMeteo.it said temperatures on Monday would go as high as 41 C in Florence, 38 C in Bologna and 37 C in Perugia.

    The Lombardy region, part of Italy’s northern industrial heartland, is planning to ban open-air work in the hottest times of the day, heeding a request from trade unions, its president said on Monday.

    Heat can affect health in various ways, and experts are most concerned about older people and babies, as well as outdoor labourers and people struggling economically.

    Globally, extreme heat kills up to 480,000 people annually, surpassing the combined toll from floods, earthquakes and hurricanes, and poses growing risks to infrastructure, the economy and healthcare systems, Swiss Re said earlier this month.

    Global surface temperatures last month averaged 1.4 C higher than in the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period, when humans began burning fossil fuels on an industrial scale, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said earlier this month.

    Scientists say the main cause of climate change is greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels. Last year was the planet’s hottest on record.

    (Reuters)

    June 30, 2025

  • Wildfires burn in Turkey and France as early heatwave hits

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Firefighters battled wildfires in Turkey and France on Monday as an early heatwave hit the region.

    In Turkey, the wildfires raged for a second day in the western province of Izmir, fanned by strong winds, Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said, forcing the evacuation of four villages and two neighbourhoods.

    Media footage showed teams using tractors with water trailers and helicopters carrying water, as smoke billowed over hills marked with charred trees.

    Turkey’s coastal regions have in recent years been ravaged by wildfires, as summers have become hotter and drier, which scientists say is a result of human-induced climate change.

    In France, where temperatures are expected to peak on Tuesday and Wednesday, wildfires broke out on Sunday in the southwestern Aude department, where temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), burning 400 hectares and forcing the evacuation of a campsite and an abbey, authorities and local media said.

    The fires were under control but not yet extinguished, authorities said on Monday.

    Weather service Meteo France put a record 84 of the country’s 101 departments on an orange heatwave alert from Monday until midweek. About 200 schools will be at least partially shut over the next three days because of the heat, the Education Ministry said.

    HEATWAVE IMPACTS RHINE SHIPPING

    The heatwave has lowered water levels on Germany’s Rhine River, hampering shipping and raising freight costs for cargo owners, commodity traders said.

    The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities such as grains, minerals and oil products. Forecasters said temperatures as high as 40 C are possible in Cologne.

    In Seville, southern Spain, where global leaders were gathering for a United Nations conference, temperatures were expected to hit 42 C.

    Tourists were trying to deal with the heat. “Really hard currently,” Mehrzad Joussefi, from the Netherlands, said.

    Spain is on course for its hottest June on record, the national meteorological service AEMET said.

    Most of the country remains under alert for heat, with AEMET forecasting the peak of the heatwave on Monday.

    “Over the next few days, at least until Thursday, intense heat will continue in much of Spain,” said Ruben del Campo, a spokesperson for the weather agency.

    Italy’s Health Ministry issued heatwave red alerts for 21 cities, including Rome and Milan. Weather forecast website IlMeteo.it said temperatures on Monday would go as high as 41 C in Florence, 38 C in Bologna and 37 C in Perugia.

    The Lombardy region, part of Italy’s northern industrial heartland, is planning to ban open-air work in the hottest times of the day, heeding a request from trade unions, its president said on Monday.

    Heat can affect health in various ways, and experts are most concerned about older people and babies, as well as outdoor labourers and people struggling economically.

    Globally, extreme heat kills up to 480,000 people annually, surpassing the combined toll from floods, earthquakes and hurricanes, and poses growing risks to infrastructure, the economy and healthcare systems, Swiss Re said earlier this month.

    Global surface temperatures last month averaged 1.4 C higher than in the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period, when humans began burning fossil fuels on an industrial scale, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said earlier this month.

    Scientists say the main cause of climate change is greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels. Last year was the planet’s hottest on record.

    (Reuters)

    June 30, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The first China-Europe train running along the trans-Caspian route departed from Beijing to Baku

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhua) — A train loaded with 104 standard containers of auto parts and mechanical equipment worth more than 15 million yuan departed from Beijing’s Fangshan district on Monday for Azerbaijan’s capital Baku. It is the first China-Europe trans-Caspian train linking Beijing and Baku.

    According to the Beijing branch of China State Railway Corporation (CSRC), the train departed from the Fangshan district station, crossed the state border through the Khorgos checkpoint (Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Northwest China), and arrived at the Caspian port of Aktau (Kazakhstan), from where these goods will be delivered by ferry to the port of Alyat, and then by rail to Baku.

    Transportation of cargo from Beijing to Baku involves the use of the multimodal method “railway – sea – rail”. The cargo will cover a distance of more than 8 thousand km and arrive in Baku in 15 days. Upon arrival in Baku, some of the cargo will be transported to Georgia, Turkey, Serbia and other countries.

    The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route is the southern corridor of the China-Europe international freight routes, and this multimodal “rail-sea-rail” mode, compared with traditional sea transportation, will not only shorten transportation time, but also expand the coverage of relevant services to countries along the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, as well as Central and Eastern European countries and Western European countries, said Wang Chuanmeng, general manager of Beijing Fangshan International Land Port Management Company.

    The launch of the above-mentioned cargo service has created a more convenient and efficient international logistics channel for enterprises in Beijing and surrounding areas, which will help reduce their logistics costs and enhance their competitiveness in the international market, and will effectively promote trade cooperation between China and Azerbaijan and other countries, said a senior official of the Beijing branch of the CGRC. -0-

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    June 30, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Arab States Advance Regional Action through First Coordination Meeting on Marine Disaster Risk Reduction

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    Alexandria, Egypt – 30 June 2025 – Representatives from Arab states, regional organizations, and international partners convened from 28 to 30 June at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT) in Abu Qir for the First Coordination Meeting of the Arab Programme for Reducing Marine Disasters.

    Organized under the auspices of the League of Arab States and hosted by AASTMT, the three-day meeting marked a significant step towards operationalizing the Arab Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction by establishing a coordinated regional programme to address marine disaster risks.

    Strengthening Regional Capacities and Coordination

    The meeting opened with remarks from Dr. Mahmoud Fathallah, Director of the Department of Environment and Meteorology and Supervisor of Humanitarian Affairs, Water Resources, and Disaster Risk Reduction at the League of Arab States, and Dr. Ismail Abdel Ghaffar, President of AASTMT. Speakers highlighted the urgent need to enhance preparedness and reduce risks associated with marine hazards, including intensified storms, sea level rise, oil spills, and pollution that threaten ecosystems, livelihoods, and coastal resilience across the region.

    Key Outcomes

    Participants engaged in four thematic sessions covering:

    • Development of the Arab Programme for Reducing Marine Disasters Concept and the 2025–2027 Action Plan, facilitated by UNDRR and AASTMT experts.
    • Presentations on global and regional marine disaster risk reduction efforts by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), European Union Commission, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and the Arab Network for Environment and Development (RAED).
    • Sharing of national experiences and lessons learned by Arab states.
    • Identification of regional priorities, capacity-building needs, and coordination mechanisms to advance joint action.

    Technical field visits to AASTMT’s Integrated Simulation Complex, Planetarium, Maritime Safety Institute, and College of Maritime Transport and Technology simulators showcased cutting-edge technologies that strengthen preparedness, response, and training capacities.

    Towards a Safer Marine Environment

    • The Arab Programme for Reducing Marine Disasters (2025–2030) aims to:
    • Establish a joint operational framework for preparedness, response, and recovery.
    • Enhance early warning systems and preventive measures in line with international standards.
    • Strengthen emergency response capacities at national and regional levels.
    • Promote the protection of marine environments and biodiversity.
    • Facilitate knowledge exchange and capacity building among Arab states.
    • Advance regional and international cooperation to build marine disaster resilience.

    Next Steps

    The meeting concluded with the adoption of a set of recommendations and an implementation roadmap to guide the programme’s roll-out in the coming years. The League of Arab States, together with AASTMT, UNDRR, and partner organizations, will continue supporting Arab countries to build the technical, scientific, and institutional capacities needed to reduce marine disaster risks and safeguard marine resources as critical lifelines for sustainable development and resilience in the region.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    June 30, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Arab States Endorse Priority Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR): A Step Toward a More Resilient Future

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    Geneva, Switzerland – June 2, 2025

    In a significant step toward enhancing disaster risk reduction across the Arab region, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction for Arab States (UNDRR ROAS) hosted a consultative meeting on the Priority Action Plan for DRR 2025–2027 during the 9th session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2025) in Geneva. The event brought together key stakeholders from Arab governments, international partners, and disaster risk reduction (DRR) experts to discuss and endorse the plan, which aims to transform commitments into tangible actions for disaster resilience.

    The consultation marked a pivotal moment in the region’s disaster risk reduction efforts. With strong representation from Arab states, the event also provided a platform for stakeholders to discuss the outcomes of the 6th Arab Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Forum held earlier in Kuwait, as well as the next steps toward achieving the Sendai Framework’s goals.

    A Unified Vision for Disaster Risk Reduction

    The meeting commenced with opening remarks from Ms. Nora Achkar, Chief of the UNDRR Regional Office for Arab States, who welcomed participants and stressed the importance of the meeting in shaping the future of DRR in the Arab region.

    “This plan represents more than just a roadmap; it is a collective expression of our regional ambition to move from commitment to action. Together, we can pave the way toward a more resilient Arab region,” said Ms. Nora Achkar.

    Ms. Achkar highlighted the key priorities in the plan, which focus on understanding disaster risks, strengthening governance, investing in DRR for prevention and resilience, and enhancing preparedness for effective response and recovery. She thanked the Arab states and partners for their valuable contributions and insights in shaping the plan, emphasizing that its success depends on collaboration and shared commitment.

    In his remarks, Dr. Mustafa Saadi of the League of Arab States (LAS) also underscored the importance of a united regional approach to DRR. As the head of the Arab Coordination Mechanism for Disaster Risk Reduction at the LAS, Dr. Saadi emphasized the collective responsibility of Arab countries to implement the priorities of the Sendai Framework and address the challenges posed by disasters and climate change.

    “The League of Arab States is fully committed to supporting the implementation of this plan, and we look forward to working with all stakeholders to build a more resilient and sustainable future for the Arab region,” Dr. Saadi stated.

    Reflections on the Kuwait Declaration

    Major General Talal Al-Roumi, Chief of the Kuwait Fire Force (KFF), shared reflections on the outcomes of the 6th Arab Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Forum hosted by Kuwait earlier this year. He emphasized Kuwait’s continued commitment to regional disaster risk reduction efforts and the importance of translating declarations into action.

    “The Kuwait Declaration reaffirmed our region’s commitment to resilience. We now look forward to seeing the Priority Action Plan implemented to protect lives and livelihoods across the Arab world,” Major General Al-Roumi stated.

    Key Outcomes from the Working Groups

    Following the opening session, participants were divided into thematic working groups to focus on the four priority areas of the Priority Action Plan 2025–2027:

    • Understanding Disaster Risks
    • Strengthening DRR Governance
    • Investing in DRR Financing for Prevention and Resilience
    • Enhancing Preparedness for Effective Response and Recovery

    Each group reviewed feedback from member states and stakeholders, proposed joint initiatives, and worked toward building consensus on the activities under each priority. These discussions were critical in ensuring that the action plan reflected the diverse needs and priorities of Arab countries while aligning with global DRR commitments.

    Endorsement of the Action Plan

    The consultation concluded with a strong endorsement of the Priority Action Plan 2025–2027, as all parties expressed their commitment to its implementation.

    “The success of this plan depends on all of us,” Ms. Achkar remarked. “This is not just a technical meeting—it’s a platform for regional solidarity, cooperation, and leadership. Today’s discussions bring us one step closer to achieving a more resilient Arab region.”

    Looking Ahead: Collaborative Action for a Resilient Future

    The Priority Action Plan 2025–2027 lays a clear pathway for strengthening disaster risk management across the Arab region. With strong commitment from both Arab states and international partners, the plan is poised to drive transformative change, making the region better prepared for future disasters and building resilience in the face of climate change.

    As countries begin to implement the prioritized actions, the consultative meeting served as a reminder of the power of collaboration in overcoming challenges and ensuring the safety and well-being of communities across the Arab world.

    Key Takeaways from the Consultation:

    The Priority Action Plan 2025–2027 was endorsed by all stakeholders, marking a key milestone in the region’s disaster risk reduction efforts.

    The four priority areas—understanding disaster risks, strengthening governance, investing in DRR financing, and enhancing preparedness—were thoroughly discussed and refined.

    Member states committed to leading joint initiatives in partnership with UNDRR and other stakeholders, ensuring a collective approach to disaster risk reduction.

    With the endorsement of the plan, the Arab region is taking significant steps toward a safer, more resilient future.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    June 30, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: UNESCO promotes community resilience in Trinidad, Cuba, through sustainable tourism and the safeguarding of living heritage

    Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre

    First capacity-building workshop held as part of the Communities for Heritage project in Cuba.

    As part of the regional project “Latin America and the Caribbean: Strengthening capacities for resilient communities through sustainable tourism and heritage safeguarding,” UNESCO held the workshop “Communities for Heritage: Heritage Safeguarding and Sustainable Tourism” in the historic center of Trinidad, a Cuban city recognized as a World Heritage Site along with the Valley de los Ingenios since 1988.

    The event, which was supported by the Cuban National Commission for UNESCO, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism of Cuba, the government of Trinidad, the Office of the Conservator of Trinidad, the National Council for Cultural Heritage, and the Network of Offices of the Historian and Conservator of Heritage Cities of Cuba, represented a key milestone in the implementation of the project in this emblematic heritage site.

    “This workshop is an opportunity to think about the future. A future where heritage is not only preserved, but also inspires new ways of living in our cities, telling our stories, and building more resilient, creative, and sustainable communities.”

    “The protection of cultural heritage is not only a matter of preserving buildings, it is also a way of ensuring that local communities benefit from their legacy and can use it as a source of development”.

    Over several days, the workshop brought together local heritage and tourism stakeholders, including community members, cultural associations, urban planning officials, tour guides, students from the Trinidad School of Tourism, and authorities. The objective was clear: to strengthen collaboration between the culture and tourism sectors to promote community-centered sustainable development.

    The program addressed two main themes:

    1. Promoting sustainable tourism and community participation, exploring responsible practices, regulatory frameworks, and strategies for integrating local identity into tourism experiences. Participants designed sustainable itineraries that reflect the cultural values and assets of Trinidad and the Valley of the Sugar Mills.
    2. Integrating the safeguarding of living heritage into urban planning, with training sessions for local actors to incorporate intangible heritage into urban development processes. At the end of the workshop, concrete actions were proposed to advance this integration.

    Communities are at the heart of heritage management and safeguarding policies and approaches, as they are the ones who create, maintain, and transmit intangible cultural heritage from generation to generation. They also play a key role in the management and supervision of World Heritage properties, contributing significantly to improving the visitor experience.

    In this context, the project supports strategies and mechanisms that recognize and promote community participation in two key areas: visitor management at World Heritage sites and the identification and safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in urban contexts.

    This project is part of UNESCO’s Culture and Digital Technologies Program, with the generous support of the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    June 30, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Meets US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs

    Source: Government of Qatar

    Washington, June 28, 2025

    HE Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi met in Washington, with HE Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs of the United States of America, Allison Hooker on the sidelines of the signing ceremony of the peace agreement between the Republic of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

    During the meeting, they reviewed the close strategic relations between the State of Qatar and the US, ways to support and strengthen them, and the joint efforts that resulted in the peace agreement between Rwanda and the DRC, and the ceasefire agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Israel.

    The two sides also discussed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip, the occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon, and Syria, in addition to a host of topics of mutual interest.

    During the meeting, HE the US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs expressed her country’s appreciation for the role played by the State of Qatar in mediation and conflict resolution, and its continuous efforts to support regional and international stability through peaceful and diplomatic means.

    MIL OSI Africa –

    June 30, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Minister of State at Ministry of Foreign Affairs Meets Chairman of US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Senate Members

    Source: Government of Qatar

    Washington, June 28, 2025

    HE Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi met in Washington with HE Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jim Risch, along with a number Senators.

    During the meeting, the two sides discussed the close strategic relations between the State of Qatar and the United States of America, ways to support and strengthen them, and the joint efforts that resulted in reaching a ceasefire agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Israel.

    The latest developments in the Gaza Strip, the occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon, and Syria were also discussed.

    MIL OSI Africa –

    June 30, 2025

  • Israel interested in ties with Syria and Lebanon, foreign minister says

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Israel interested in ties with Syria and Lebanon, foreign minister says

    Israel is interested in establishing official diplomatic ties with old foes Syria and Lebanon, but will not negotiate the fate of the Golan Heights in any peace agreement, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a press conference on Monday.

    Relations in the region were thrown into uncertainty by more than a year of fighting between Israel and Lebanon from late 2023, in parallel to the war in Gaza, and by the overthrow of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

    Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 after capturing most of the area from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War.

    According to a Reuters report published in May, Israel and Syria’s new Islamist rulers were in direct contact and had held face-to-face meetings aimed at calming tensions and preventing conflict in the border region between the enemies.

    U.S. President Donald Trump met Syria’s president in Saudi Arabia in the same month and urged him to normalise ties with Israel, making a surprise announcement that the U.S. would lift all sanctions on the Islamist-led government.

    Soon after Syria’s Assad was toppled, Israeli troops moved into a demilitarised zone inside Syria, including the Syrian side of strategic Mount Hermon, which overlooks Damascus.

    (Reuters)

    June 30, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Africa: South Sudan’s Minister of Mines to Showcase E&P Prospects at African Mining Week (AMW) 2025

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

    Download logo

    Martin Gama Abucha, Minister of Mines of South Sudan, has joined the upcoming African Mining Week (AMW) conference as a speaker. Minister Abucha will take part in the Ministerial Forum, where he will share insight into South Sudan’s policy frameworks, investment incentives and infrastructure plans aimed at unlocking the full potential of the country’s mining sector. 

    As South Sudan seeks to increase mining investments and drive projects forward, AMW provides an ideal platform for Minister Abucha to outline the country’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with global public and private stakeholders to build a robust and competitive mining value chain. As the premier gathering for mining stakeholders in Africa, the event connects global financiers and project developers with African mining opportunities, facilitating collaboration and deal-signing. Insights shared by Minister Abucha will support future deals. 

    African Mining Week serves as a premier platform for exploring the full spectrum of mining opportunities across Africa. The event is held alongside the African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies 2025 conference from October 1-3 in Cape Town. Sponsors, exhibitors and delegates can learn more by contacting sales@energycapitalpower.com.

    Under Minister Abucha’s leadership, South Sudan’s Ministry of Mines has been accelerating geological mapping to identify exploration hotspots and reduce investment risk. In April 2025, the Ministry hosted a delegation from Qatar, including government officials and mining investors, to discuss opportunities in seismic studies, gold refining and the extraction of lead and critical minerals. The meeting follows Qatari firms such as United Gold investing across South Sudan to establish gold marketing stations. The stations aim to formalize artisanal mining by integrating informal production into the formal economy. 

    Collaborations are also underway with South Africa to leverage the country’s mining expertise, investment portfolio and technology to better understand South Sudan’s mineral landscape. Other partnerships include with Russia’s ROSGEO, the U.S.-based REE-Magnesium and Canada’s CVMR to map the country’s mineral resources and better understand the geology. In November 2024, South Sudan’s national oil company Nilepet announced the discovery of critical minerals following a geological survey conducted in the first half of 2024 and revealed plans to establish a national mining company to support sector growth. 

    Amid these developments, AMW 2025 offers a timely opportunity for Minister Abucha to engage with global geoscience firms, mining investors and African stakeholders to forge new partnerships and strengthen existing collaborations. AMW 2025 panel discussions and project showcases will position South Sudan as an emerging mining destination on the continent. 

    – on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

    MIL OSI Africa –

    June 30, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Israel’s nuclear weapons programme – E-002503/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-002503/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Lynn Boylan (The Left), Kathleen Funchion (The Left)

    In recent public statements, the President of the Commission has repeatedly invoked Israel’s ‘right to self-defence’ and the need for Iran to not acquire a nuclear weapon. No mention has been made of the fact that Israel is itself a nuclear power and is one of only five countries in the world not to have ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel has also not accepted International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards on its nuclear activity.

    In her discussions with the Israeli Government, did the President of the Commission:

    • 1.call on Israel to ratify the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?
    • 2.call on the Israeli Government to accept IAEA safeguards on its nuclear activities?
    • 3.demand a halt to nuclear weapons production and stockpiling by Israel?

    Submitted: 23.6.2025

    Last updated: 30 June 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    June 30, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Bombing of an orthodox church in Damascus – P-002501/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Priority question for written answer  P-002501/2025
    to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
    Rule 144
    Nikolas Farantouris (The Left)

    Yesterday (Sunday 22 June 2025), a suicide bomber who was a member of the Islamic State opened fire before blowing himself up during the Sunday service at the Greek Orthodox church of Prophet Elias in Damascus, killing at least 30 and wounding more than 60 Greek Orthodox Christians. Yesterday’s dramatic events of religious fundamentalism constitute another bloody episode of violence in this ongoing series of attacks on schools, churches, public and private spaces. On 23 January[1], 17 March[2] and 7 April 2025[3], I warned of the massacres orchestrated or tolerated by the Islamist Jolani regime in Syria and called for specific EU action.

    Given the above, can the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy answer the following:

    • 1.Will a delegation of European officials, as well as a team of inspectors, go to Damascus on an exceptional basis to chronicle the attacks and atrocities that have taken place?
    • 2.Will there be an immediate review of the framework of cooperating with and lifting EU sanctions on the Government of Damascus?
    • 3.Will the Jolani regime be required to hold elections in a set timeframe?

    Submitted: 23.6.2025

    • [1] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-10-2025-000295_EN.html
    • [2] https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=642935808482110&id=100082970882824&mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=RXcoxKXUii42yf4D#
    • [3] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-10-2025-001399_EN.html
    Last updated: 30 June 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    June 30, 2025

  • Israel steps up Gaza bombardment ahead of White House talks on ceasefire

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Palestinians in northern Gaza reported one of the worst nights of Israeli bombardment in weeks after the military issued mass evacuation orders on Monday, while Israeli officials were due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by the Trump administration.

    A day after U.S. President Donald Trump urged an end to the 20-month-old war, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected at the White House for talks on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran, and possible wider regional diplomatic deals.

    But on the ground in the Palestinian enclave there was no sign of fighting letting up.

    “Explosions never stopped; they bombed schools and homes. It felt like earthquakes,” said Salah, 60, a father of five children, from Gaza City. “In the news we hear a ceasefire is near, on the ground we see death and we hear explosions.”

    Israeli tanks pushed into the eastern areas of Zeitoun suburb in Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft bombed at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave, residents said.

    At least 25 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday, health authorities said, including 10 people killed in Zeitoun.

    There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which says Palestinian militants embed among civilians. The militant groups deny this.

    The heavy bombardment followed new evacuation orders to vast areas in the north, where Israeli forces had operated before and left behind wide-scale destruction. The military ordered people there to head south, saying that it planned to fight Hamas militants operating in northern Gaza, including in the heart of Gaza City.

    NEXT STEPS

    A day after Trump called to “Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back”, Israel’s strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, a confidant of Netanyahu’s, was expected on Monday at the White House for talks on Iran and Gaza, an Israeli official said.

    In Israel, Netanyahu’s security cabinet was expected to convene to discuss the next steps in Gaza.

    On Friday, Israel’s military chief said the present ground operation was close to having achieved its goals, and on Sunday, Netanyahu said new opportunities had opened up for recovering the hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.

    Palestinian and Egyptian sources with knowledge of the latest ceasefire efforts said that mediators Qatar and Egypt have stepped up their contacts with the two warring sides, but that no date has been set yet for a new round of truce talks.

    A Hamas official said that progress depends on Israel changing its position and agreeing to end the war and withdraw from Gaza. Israel says it can end the war only when Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms.

    The war began when Hamas fighters stormed in to Israel on October 7 2023, killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza in a surprise attack that led to Israel’s single deadliest day.

    Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, has displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.

    More than 80% of the territory is now an Israeli-militarized zone or under displacement orders, according to the United Nations.

    (Reuters)

    June 30, 2025

  • Britain, France and Germany condemn ‘threats’ against head of IAEA watchdog

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Britain, France and Germany condemned on Monday what they described as threats against the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) watchdog, and called on Iran to guarantee the safety of IAEA staff on its territory.

    “France, Germany and the United Kingdom condemn threats against the Director General of the IAEA Rafael Grossi and reiterate our full support to the Agency and the DG in carrying out their mandate,” said a joint statement issued by the foreign affairs ministries of those three countries.

    “We call on Iranian authorities to refrain from any steps to cease cooperation with the IAEA. We urge Iran to immediately resume full cooperation in line with its legally binding obligations, and to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and security of IAEA personnel,” they added.

    Their joint statement did not specify what threats had been made against Grossi.

    On Monday, Iran said it could not be expected to guarantee the safety of IAEA inspectors, so swiftly after its nuclear sites were hit by Israeli and U.S. strikes in the 12-day war that ended with a ceasefire last week.

    “How can they expect us to ensure the safety and security of the agency’s inspectors when Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities were attacked a few days ago?” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told a news conference.

    The IAEA’s board voted earlier this month to declare that Iran was in violation of its obligations under the global nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iranian officials have suggested that vote helped pave the way for Israel’s attacks.

    Baghaei said a parliamentary bill approved by the Guardian Council makes it mandatory for the government to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.

    “Iran shouldn’t be expected to accept its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) when the UN nuclear watchdog has stopped short of condemning the attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites,” Baghaei said.

    (Reuters)

    June 30, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: About 3 thousand Afghan families returned home from Pakistan and Iran in one day

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    KABUL, June 30 (Xinhua) — A total of 2,997 Afghan families (10,661 people) returned home from neighboring Iran and Pakistan on Sunday, the Afghan High Commission for Repatriates’ Issues said on Monday.

    The report said the refugees entered Afghanistan through the Torkham, Spin Boldak and Abresham border crossings. Most of the migrants returned from Iran through the Islam Qala checkpoint.

    More than 1.2 million Afghans will return from neighboring Iran and Pakistan in 2025, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

    The Afghan interim government has repeatedly called on Afghan refugees to return home from abroad to contribute to the reconstruction of their war-torn homeland. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    June 30, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Nato leaders pledge increased defence spending – is this really the price for peace and prosperity?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Damian Tobin, Lecturer in International Business, University College Cork

    Kev Gregory / Shutterstock

    Nato leaders agreed to ramp up defence spending to 5% of their countries’ economic output by 2035 at a summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 25. US president Donald Trump, who has spent months saying Europe should take more responsibility for its own security, described the pledge as “a monumental win for the US” and a “big win” for western civilisation.

    A few months earlier, in March, the EU also launched its long-awaited white paper on defence. This provides a blueprint for improving Europe’s readiness to respond to military threats by 2030. On top of the fact that global military spending has surged in the past ten years, these developments indicate that the world’s largest nations now prioritise military over economic diplomacy.

    One of the main ideas behind military diplomacy is that increased defence spending acts as a deterrent to future conflicts. The nuclear arms race between the US and Soviet Union during the cold war provides some support for this argument. The prospect of mutual destruction was so great that it acted as a deterrent to nuclear war.

    But is increased defence spending really the necessary price for greater peace and prosperity? My research on interactions between firms, geopolitics and the political economy of defence indicates that this is no “big win” for society or economic productivity.

    A convoy of naval ships in the Pacific Ocean.
    Rawpixel.com / Shutterstock

    Deterrence requires a level of brinkmanship if it is to work. But as American economist Thomas Schelling pointed out in his 1960 book, The Strategy of Conflict, the problem with brinkmanship is that it relies on deliberately allowing a situation to get somewhat out of hand, with the intention of forcing the other party to back down.

    This can result in strategic blunders. Efforts by the former US president, Richard Nixon, to engineer such a situation in 1969 by threatening to use nuclear weapons in Vietnam failed to gain credibility with the Soviets and North Vietnamese. This undoubtedly helped convince North Vietnam that it could survive the war and locked the US into a much longer conflict.

    The recent confrontation between Israel and Iran also showed that brinkmanship can produce situations where there are significant casualties and no clear long-term resolution. Iran has long recognised that keeping itself near the threshold of nuclear weapons capability would offer a deterrent against external threats.

    But this strategy created many opportunities for error. Israel claimed that Iran was too close to building a nuclear weapon and, alongside the US, launched strikes that they say inflicted significant damage on Iranian nuclear enrichment capabilities and military leadership.



    Read more:
    Israeli aggression and Iranian nuclear brinkmanship made this confrontation all but inevitable

    Beyond this, it is unclear just how much military spending is needed to deter aggression. Nato allies have now committed to a big increase in defence spending – thanks largely to pressure from Trump.

    However, even Nato’s previous objective that countries commit 2% of their national income to defence has proved unattractive for many governments. This has even been the case in post-conflict areas such as the Balkans, where Nato has had a heavy involvement.

    A costly alternative

    Boosting defence spending falls short on delivering economic prosperity, too. Analysing US military spending in the Vietnam war, economist Les Fishman noted in 1967 that military diplomacy was far more costly than its economic equivalent.

    Military production requires continuously high levels of investment to maintain technological progress. This sucks public investment from other parts of the economy.

    That’s not to say defence spending has an entirely negative effect on the economy. Studies have found evidence that US federal funding of military research and development results in significant increases in private business research in sectors such as chemicals and aerospace.

    And, over the past decade, the value of venture capital deals in the US defence industry has grown 18-fold. This far outstrips sectors such as energy and healthcare. But such investment in military-related research and development is also often acknowledged as inefficient and not necessarily the best way to boost productivity.

    Fishman pointed out that the Marshall Plan, which provided substantial economic aid to western Europe after the second world war, had a far higher return for the US.

    Economic stabilisation kept the Soviet Union at bay for relatively small outlay compared to the Vietnam war, where casualties were of such a magnitude that it made any cost-benefit analysis meaningless.

    The Vietnam war proved extremely costly for the US.
    Department of the Army Special Photo Office / Wikimedia Commons

    Boosting defence spending also represents a lost opportunity to invest in more socially beneficial projects. This will worsen the climate crisis.

    According to a study shared with the Guardian in May, the initial rearmament planned by Nato alone could have increased greenhouse gas emissions by almost 200 million tonnes a year. The expanded defence commitment will only increase this further.

    Unlike defence, where the repurposing of civilian technologies for military uses carries a cost to society, many green investments involve beneficial substitutions that reduce the cost of a green transition.

    The substitution of conventional fossil fuel heating and transport systems with heat pumps and electric vehicles, for example, is far more socially beneficial than repurposing civilian satellites for missile systems.

    A final point is that military diplomacy is itself geopolitically destabilising. US efforts to contain communism in Asia during the 1950s and 1960s are a good example. Not only did such efforts see China align its trade with other communist states, it also ensured that self-reliance became a cornerstone of China’s economic strategy.

    This all suggests that the current drive for deterrence-based military spending carries with it a huge cost for society that could ultimately prove economically wasteful and geopolitically destabilising.

    Damian Tobin 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. Nato leaders pledge increased defence spending – is this really the price for peace and prosperity? – https://theconversation.com/nato-leaders-pledge-increased-defence-spending-is-this-really-the-price-for-peace-and-prosperity-255989

    MIL OSI Analysis –

    June 30, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Nato leaders pledge increased defence spending – is this really the price for peace and prosperity?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Damian Tobin, Lecturer in International Business, University College Cork

    Kev Gregory / Shutterstock

    Nato leaders agreed to ramp up defence spending to 5% of their countries’ economic output by 2035 at a summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 25. US president Donald Trump, who has spent months saying Europe should take more responsibility for its own security, described the pledge as “a monumental win for the US” and a “big win” for western civilisation.

    A few months earlier, in March, the EU also launched its long-awaited white paper on defence. This provides a blueprint for improving Europe’s readiness to respond to military threats by 2030. On top of the fact that global military spending has surged in the past ten years, these developments indicate that the world’s largest nations now prioritise military over economic diplomacy.

    One of the main ideas behind military diplomacy is that increased defence spending acts as a deterrent to future conflicts. The nuclear arms race between the US and Soviet Union during the cold war provides some support for this argument. The prospect of mutual destruction was so great that it acted as a deterrent to nuclear war.

    But is increased defence spending really the necessary price for greater peace and prosperity? My research on interactions between firms, geopolitics and the political economy of defence indicates that this is no “big win” for society or economic productivity.

    A convoy of naval ships in the Pacific Ocean.
    Rawpixel.com / Shutterstock

    Deterrence requires a level of brinkmanship if it is to work. But as American economist Thomas Schelling pointed out in his 1960 book, The Strategy of Conflict, the problem with brinkmanship is that it relies on deliberately allowing a situation to get somewhat out of hand, with the intention of forcing the other party to back down.

    This can result in strategic blunders. Efforts by the former US president, Richard Nixon, to engineer such a situation in 1969 by threatening to use nuclear weapons in Vietnam failed to gain credibility with the Soviets and North Vietnamese. This undoubtedly helped convince North Vietnam that it could survive the war and locked the US into a much longer conflict.

    The recent confrontation between Israel and Iran also showed that brinkmanship can produce situations where there are significant casualties and no clear long-term resolution. Iran has long recognised that keeping itself near the threshold of nuclear weapons capability would offer a deterrent against external threats.

    But this strategy created many opportunities for error. Israel claimed that Iran was too close to building a nuclear weapon and, alongside the US, launched strikes that they say inflicted significant damage on Iranian nuclear enrichment capabilities and military leadership.



    Read more:
    Israeli aggression and Iranian nuclear brinkmanship made this confrontation all but inevitable

    Beyond this, it is unclear just how much military spending is needed to deter aggression. Nato allies have now committed to a big increase in defence spending – thanks largely to pressure from Trump.

    However, even Nato’s previous objective that countries commit 2% of their national income to defence has proved unattractive for many governments. This has even been the case in post-conflict areas such as the Balkans, where Nato has had a heavy involvement.

    A costly alternative

    Boosting defence spending falls short on delivering economic prosperity, too. Analysing US military spending in the Vietnam war, economist Les Fishman noted in 1967 that military diplomacy was far more costly than its economic equivalent.

    Military production requires continuously high levels of investment to maintain technological progress. This sucks public investment from other parts of the economy.

    That’s not to say defence spending has an entirely negative effect on the economy. Studies have found evidence that US federal funding of military research and development results in significant increases in private business research in sectors such as chemicals and aerospace.

    And, over the past decade, the value of venture capital deals in the US defence industry has grown 18-fold. This far outstrips sectors such as energy and healthcare. But such investment in military-related research and development is also often acknowledged as inefficient and not necessarily the best way to boost productivity.

    Fishman pointed out that the Marshall Plan, which provided substantial economic aid to western Europe after the second world war, had a far higher return for the US.

    Economic stabilisation kept the Soviet Union at bay for relatively small outlay compared to the Vietnam war, where casualties were of such a magnitude that it made any cost-benefit analysis meaningless.

    The Vietnam war proved extremely costly for the US.
    Department of the Army Special Photo Office / Wikimedia Commons

    Boosting defence spending also represents a lost opportunity to invest in more socially beneficial projects. This will worsen the climate crisis.

    According to a study shared with the Guardian in May, the initial rearmament planned by Nato alone could have increased greenhouse gas emissions by almost 200 million tonnes a year. The expanded defence commitment will only increase this further.

    Unlike defence, where the repurposing of civilian technologies for military uses carries a cost to society, many green investments involve beneficial substitutions that reduce the cost of a green transition.

    The substitution of conventional fossil fuel heating and transport systems with heat pumps and electric vehicles, for example, is far more socially beneficial than repurposing civilian satellites for missile systems.

    A final point is that military diplomacy is itself geopolitically destabilising. US efforts to contain communism in Asia during the 1950s and 1960s are a good example. Not only did such efforts see China align its trade with other communist states, it also ensured that self-reliance became a cornerstone of China’s economic strategy.

    This all suggests that the current drive for deterrence-based military spending carries with it a huge cost for society that could ultimately prove economically wasteful and geopolitically destabilising.

    Damian Tobin 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. Nato leaders pledge increased defence spending – is this really the price for peace and prosperity? – https://theconversation.com/nato-leaders-pledge-increased-defence-spending-is-this-really-the-price-for-peace-and-prosperity-255989

    MIL OSI Analysis –

    June 30, 2025

  • MIL-OSI China: Iran calls on UN to recognize US, Israel as initiators of ‘aggressors’

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Sunday called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to recognize Israel and the United States as the initiators of the “aggression” against Iran.

    In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UNSC President Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Araghchi urged the Council to fulfill its responsibility in maintaining international peace and security, according to the official IRNA news agency.

    He accused Israel of deliberately targeting residential buildings, civilians, and civilian infrastructure, describing the attacks as a “flagrant breach” of the UN Charter and a “blatant violation” of international law.

    Araghchi said Israel and the United States had also targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities — safeguarded by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — in “grave violation of the UN Charter, the Non-Proliferation Treaty, as well as the IAEA’s instruments and resolutions.”

    The Iranian foreign minister emphasized that the UNSC should hold the “aggressors” accountable and act to prevent the recurrence of such “crimes.”

    On June 13, Israel launched major airstrikes on several areas in Iran, including nuclear and military sites, killing senior commanders, nuclear scientists, and numerous civilians. Iran responded with multiple waves of missile and drone attacks on Israel.

    On June 22, U.S. forces bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities. In retaliation, Iran struck the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

    After 12 days of fighting, a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was reached on Tuesday.

    MIL OSI China News –

    June 30, 2025
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