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Category: Politics

  • MIL-OSI Global: 6 in 10 young South Africans have no jobs. Why some still reject offers of work

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Hannah J. Dawson, Senior Lecturer, Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Johannesburg

    South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. The official rate is 32%, rising to 42% when discouraged job seekers are included. Among young people aged 15 to 24, unemployment reaches a staggering 60%. While much attention has focused on youth exclusion from the labour market and their survival strategies, far less is said about their experiences in precarious jobs, or why some choose to leave low-wage employment.

    Across South Africa, young people are encouraged by the government, NGOs and society to accept unpaid internships, precarious apprenticeships and low-wage jobs on the assumption that these opportunities will lead to better employment. Those who quit or refuse low wage jobs are sometimes derided by employers as “lazy” or “choosy”.

    In 2015 and 2016 I conducted in-depth interviews and a survey with 100 young people (aged 18-35) in the settlement of Zandspruit, near Johannesburg, for my PhD (unpublished). What they told me was that the wage work available to them did not offer a pathway to a dignified life.



    Read more:
    South Africa’s youth are a generation lost under democracy – study

    Their stories challenge society to rethink the relationship between work, dignity and citizenship. Addressing youth unemployment requires more than increasing job numbers. It demands improving job quality and recognising the aspirations of those without work.

    My journal article, based on the PhD research, challenges the assumption that wage employment automatically leads to economic and social inclusion.

    Work around Zandspruit

    Established in the early 1990s as a small informal settlement, Zandspruit now houses over 50,000 residents within a two kilometre radius. Its unplanned expansion reflects its strategic location near new economic hubs, shaped by the shift from an industrial to a service-based economy.

    Most low-end service jobs in surrounding suburbs, malls and industrial hubs offer neither financial security nor routes to what the men in my study saw as respectable adulthood.

    I asked the men about their movement in and out of wage work, job experiences and work trajectories. Most had only held low-wage service jobs, which they ranked hierarchically: manual labour at the bottom, followed by hospitality and cleaning, with security and retail slightly better. Over half (57%) had never stayed in a job for more than a year. Many lasted only weeks or months.

    Short-term contracts were the leading cause of job loss (35%), followed by voluntary quitting (18%) — often due to low wages — and retrenchment (15%). While temporary contracts and retrenchments explain half of all job losses, voluntary quitting is a striking trend in a country with such high unemployment.

    To understand these departures, I interviewed 37 young people, mainly young men, who had left wage work in 2015-2016. They cited exploitative conditions, workplace racism, and financial and social pressures as key reasons. Their decisions reflect not just dissatisfaction with low wages but a deeper aspiration for dignity, social recognition and economic progress. Work, they insisted, should offer more than basic survival.

    Why young men refuse low-wage work

    All the young men I interviewed had cycled through low-paying jobs as security guards, cashiers, golf caddies, petrol attendants and call centre agents. Over half had quit because of dissatisfaction or exploitation.

    The most common reason for quitting was exploitative labour conditions. They spoke of employers bypassing minimum benefits, withholding pay and making unfair deductions. Contracts were rarely made permanent. More than just poor wages or bad working conditions, these jobs offered little prospect of social mobility. Some felt that no matter how hard they worked, they would never earn enough to improve their lives or achieve what they saw as key markers of respected manhood, like marriage, establishing a home and supporting a family.

    Eric, who had moved on from low-end jobs to run a small IT business from home, put it simply:

    When you look for a job, you don’t look for one that will drain you. You need a job that will build you so you have a future tomorrow.

    His words reflect a common view: young men do not judge jobs solely by their ability to provide a means of survival, but by whether they offer a path to stability, dignity and a better future.

    Workplace racism and mistreatment were also factors. Many young men recounted being undermined, insulted or unfairly treated by their superiors. The workplace became a direct encounter with South Africa’s racialised inequalities, where almost all low-wage workers are black and most employers and business owners are white.

    Thatho, who quit a retail job after six months, described his frustration:

    That guy [boss] is yelling at me for five days. On the sixth day I realised it’s too much. I can’t do this. I’m trying my best … It’s better if I left the company cause it’s painful when you work hard and someone says you’re not doing anything.

    Being disrespected in the workplace takes a psychological and emotional toll. For some, quitting was a way to reclaim respect and a degree of autonomy.

    Young men faced financial and social pressures, shaped by the male breadwinner ideal, to improve their own lives and support their families. This responsibility often motivated young men to take up or keep jobs, but it also led some to leave. Some quit in search of better-paying jobs. Others quit to escape the social demands tied to earning a wage.

    One young man, who struggled to send his son to a good crèche, keep his girlfriend happy and support his unemployed siblings, explained:

    Even though I’m working, I’m always left with nothing […] sometimes I feel like I’m drowning.

    The inability of low-wage jobs to meet both personal and social expectations drove some to make a living in the informal economy.

    Rethinking work and citizenship

    Wage labour, often idealised as a path to inclusion and citizenship, falls short for many South Africans. By rejecting such jobs, these young men challenge the notion that “any job is better than no job” and assert their right to economic participation on fair and dignified terms.

    Hannah J. Dawson received funding from the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and the National Research Foundation.

    – ref. 6 in 10 young South Africans have no jobs. Why some still reject offers of work – https://theconversation.com/6-in-10-young-south-africans-have-no-jobs-why-some-still-reject-offers-of-work-249052

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: National Wealth Fund makes first investment in Scotland

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Scottish Secretary welcomes £43.5m boost for sustainable packaging firm that will encourage growth, creating jobs and prosperity

    The National Wealth Fund has made its first investment in Scotland since its transformation to help boost growth as part of the UK Government’s Plan for Change.

    The NWF is committing £43.5m in direct equity for sustainable packaging company Pulpex, which is to build its first commercial-scale manufacturing facility near Glasgow. A further £10m co-investment is coming from the Scottish National Investment Bank with an additional boost coming from existing investors to take the total funds behind the firm to £62m.

    The company has developed a unique fibre-based bottle as an alternative to glass and plastic. The product is manufactured from sustainably-sourced wood pulp and designed to be recycled in the same way as paper or card in normal household recycling streams. Its patented technology results in a recyclable and biodegradable end-product with a lower carbon impact than current glass or plastic packaging.

    Pulpex’s Glasgow plant, which will produce 50 million bottles per year and create the UK’s first fibre bottle supply chain, will create 35 new jobs in Scotland.

    Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said:

    Our Plan for Change is about going further and faster to kickstart economic growth so working people have more money in their pockets.  That’s why we established the National Wealth Fund which in the last six months has fuelled 8,600 jobs and unlocked £1.6 billion of private investment in the industries that turbocharge growth in our economy. This latest NWF investment is welcome news, creating jobs, sustainable growth and opportunity in Scotland.  

    Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said:

    I’m delighted to see this first investment in Scotland from the new National Wealth Fund. Boosting business is a cornerstone of our Plan for Change and will create jobs and opportunities to raise living standards.

    Just last month, we announced that Glasgow had been chosen as one of four areas where the UK Government will develop investment pipelines and this new Pulpex facility, to be built on the outskirts of the city, is a prime example of how supporting regional growth will benefit people right across the UK. The firm’s innovative bottling solution will aid the decarbonisation of our packaging industry and help accelerate our Net Zero goals as we drive delivery of clean power by 2030.

    Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said:

    “This investment by the Scottish National Investment Bank will build on Glasgow’s rich history of innovation and deliver more green jobs for the future. To drive investment into Scotland, we have allocated £200 million to the Bank for the next financial year. The Bank has a strong track record of success and has generated more than £1.4 billion of private sector investment since opening for business in 2020.”

    The investment announced today will enable the construction of Pulpex’s first manufacturing facility to reach commercial-scale capacity. The financing will help create the conditions for growth in both Scotland and the wider alternative packaging sector. 

    A move from plastic and glass to paper packaging will enable a step change in decarbonising the packaging industry and its efforts to increase the recycling rates of consumer goods, with the material benefiting from the highest recycling rates and most sophisticated infrastructure compared to other packaging alternatives.

    In the UK alone, over 38.5 million plastic bottles are used every day, with around 16 million ending up in landfill, being burnt, or littering the environment and waterways, according to Water UK. The UK’s 25 Year Environment Plan aims to double resource productivity and eliminate all avoidable waste, including plastic, by 2050. This means investments in economically viable and ready-to-go options like Pulpex are critical interventions for the future sustainability of the consumer goods industry.

    John Flint, National Wealth Fund CEO, said:

    “We need to recycle more and unlock the growth potential of the circular economy. That requires sophisticated, long-term investment, both in infrastructure and packaging innovation. Exciting technological advancements like Pulpex are a great example of that potential, but they need catalytic investment to scale and commercialise. Through financing Pulpex’s new facility in Glasgow, we will help remove barriers to future investment from private capital and lay the foundations for further growth.”

    Scott Winston, Pulpex, said:

    “Thanks to the National Wealth Fund, the Scottish National Investment Bank, our Pulpex team and to our stakeholders for their continued support. This investment will drive the decarbonisation of the packaging sector using leading edge Material Bioscience to ensure this much-needed alternative to glass and plastic will deliver its ambition. Accelerated by the incredible business ecosystem that flourishes within Glasgow, this will be a visible shining star demonstrating the scalability of Pulpex technology for partners to adopt globally.”

    Updates to this page

    Published 19 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: S. 257, Promoting Resilient Supply Chains Act of 2025

    Source: US Congressional Budget Office

    S. 257 would require the Department of Commerce to assess and prepare for disruptions to supply chains for goods that are critical to national or economic security. The bill would establish an interagency working group to identify actions that the federal government can take to mitigate the economic effects of incidents that cause gaps in manufacturing, warehousing, transportation, and distribution networks for those critical goods. The bill also would require the department to report annually to the Congress on the effectiveness of its efforts.

    Implementing S. 257 would not impose significant new operating requirements on the Department of Commerce and other federal agencies because those agencies are already performing most of the responsibilities that would be required under the bill. CBO estimates that preparing the required assessments and reports would cost less than $500,000 over the 2025‑2030 period. Any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Aldo Prosperi. The estimate was reviewed by Christina Hawley Anthony, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.

    Phillip L. Swagel

    Director, Congressional Budget Office

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Speech by President António Costa at the plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions

    Source: Council of the European Union

    At the 1st plenary session 2025 of the European Committee of the Regions, the President of the European Council, António Costa, emphasized the crucial role of local and regional governments in shaping the future of Europe and its citizens. He called for a united effort to strengthen Europe’s defence, security, and competitiveness, highlighting the importance of multi-level governance to tackle the current challenges that Europe is facing.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CEPA forum held

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Ministry of Commerce today co-organised a forum on the Second Agreement Concerning Amendment to the Mainland & Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) Agreement on Trade in Services (Amendment Agreement II).

    The forum aimed to familiarise business sectors with the liberalisation measures and implementation arrangements of the Amendment Agreement II signed by both sides under the CEPA framework on October 9, 2024.

    The Hong Kong SAR Government thanked the central government for its support for the Hong Kong SAR, with the Ministry of Commerce and relevant authorities actively responding to the Hong Kong SAR Government’s proposal of further opening up the Mainland market to Hong Kong in trade in services and signing the Amendment Agreement II, enabling more Hong Kong businesses and professionals to enter the Mainland market with more preferential treatment.

    Representatives from over 20 central ministries and Hong Kong SAR Government bureaus and departments briefed participants at the forum on the content and implementation arrangements of the Amendment Agreement II as well as the criteria and procedures for application for preferential treatment, and answered questions from the trade.

    Over 350 people, including representatives from local and foreign chambers of commerce, consulates, major trade associations and professional sectors, participated in the forum.

    To be implemented on March 1, the Amendment Agreement II introduces new liberalisation measures across a number of service sectors where Hong Kong enjoys competitive advantages, thus making it easier for Hong Kong service suppliers and professionals to set up enterprises and develop businesses in the Mainland.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is Donald Trump on a constitutional collision course over NATO?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Aaron Ettinger, Associate Professor, International Relations, Carleton University

    Over the past few weeks, United States President Donald Trump has let loose a flurry of executive orders aiming to impose the MAGA agenda unilaterally.

    The legal challenges and judicial stays that have followed speak to the degree to which the limits of presidential authority are at risk in America. These limits include the making and breaking of international treaties.

    In the crosshairs is NATO, the very existence of which is threatened by Trump more than anything else.



    Read more:
    Allies or enemies? Trump’s threats against Canada and Greenland put NATO in a tough spot

    But can he sign an executive order and unilaterally denounce the North Atlantic Treaty — which forms the legal basis of NATO — or any international treaty, for that matter? The answer is uncertain, but perhaps not for long.

    Vice President J.D. Vance has stated on social media that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” suggesting that Trump won’t be checked or balanced by the judiciary or other branches of government. This sets up a high stakes battle over the limits of “legitimate” presidential authority.

    Any unilateral termination of the North Atlantic Treaty would likely end up in the U.S. Supreme Court. This question therefore is about more than just NATO. It’s about the power of the presidency to override Congress, ignore courts, terminate treaties and reshape the international order.

    How to quit an alliance

    To leave NATO, all a member needs to do is say so. Article 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty lays out simple instructions: give notice of denunciation to the U.S. government, which will then tell the other members. Basically, Trump can inform himself and likely post something to social media and the one-year countdown clock begins.

    But can Trump unilaterally withdraw from NATO in a way that’s constitutional? This is where things get ambiguous.

    The more appropriate question is: “Can the U.S. president unilaterally terminate an act of Congress?”

    The U.S. Constitution requires that international treaties have the “advice and consent” of “two-thirds of senators present” to become law. America’s adoption of the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 followed this process. But on treaty termination, the constitution is silent.

    This is remarkable because the U.S. has been terminating treaties since 1798. Naturally, the authority over treaty termination has been debated for just as long.

    The arguments boil down to this: if treaties are regarded as analogous to domestic law, then Trump needs the consent of two-thirds of the Senate to terminate the North Atlantic Treaty.

    If the domestic analogy is rejected or treaties are regarded as falling under the vested powers of the presidency — or as giving the president wiggle room to suspend elements of the agreement — then Trump can do what he wants.

    The Supreme Court’s stance

    Does the Supreme Court have anything to say? No, and deliberately so.

    In 1979, the court dismissed a suit brought by Sen. Barry Goldwater against President Jimmy Carter after Carter terminated a 25-year-old mutual defence treaty with Taiwan. The court dismissed the case as a non-justiciable political question.

    A similar outcome occurred in 2002 when President George W. Bush unilaterally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty with Russia. Members of Congress filed suit, but the case was dismissed by a federal court on the same grounds.

    What we have now is a practice of treaty termination that is governed by the norms of shared power over foreign policy between Congress and the presidency, exactly the kind of guardrails that Trump loves to ignore.

    So it seems that Trump could have a path to denouncing the North Atlantic Treaty. But there’s a twist.

    The Marco Rubio twist

    At the end of 2023, Congress passed the Defense Department budget that included a provision meant to forestall any unilateral withdrawal from NATO.

    Buried deep in the 974-page National Defense Authorization Act is a provision that prohibits the president from “suspending, terminating, denouncing, or withdrawing” from NATO “except with the advice and consent of 2/3 of the Senate.” That clause, spearheaded by then-senator and current Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is critical because of a court decision that’s nearly as old as NATO itself.

    In 1952, in the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer case, the Supreme Court clarified the parameters on executive power. It argued presidential authority on any matter is “is at its lowest ebb” when working against congressional authority.

    The Rubio clause may be the exact constitutional authority that stops Trump in his tracks. But stay tuned: this is all subject to change.

    What’s next?

    In 2025, the conditions for unilateral withdrawal seem to align perfectly for Trump: constitutional ambiguity, antiquated norms of polite governance and deferential courts.

    It might seem that Trump could denounce the North Atlantic Treaty with a few thumbstrokes, but that obscure provision in the Pentagon budget changes things. Any unilateral denunciation of NATO by Trump would set him on a collision course with Congress, and the matter would rocket toward the Supreme Court.

    So far, though, Trump hasn’t raised the spectre of termination. Instead, he has been more interested in increasing the NATO defence spending target to five per cent of GDP, up from two per cent, a requirement that would be difficult for many members to meet.

    It’s possible that including that language in the next NATO summit declaration would be enough for Trump. He’d look tough without the constitutional fight at home. Supporters of NATO, the durability of U.S. treaties and the separation of powers in America can only hope that will be enough.

    Aaron Ettinger 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. Is Donald Trump on a constitutional collision course over NATO? – https://theconversation.com/is-donald-trump-on-a-constitutional-collision-course-over-nato-248363

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: DEI programs are designed to help white people too – here’s how

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Liza Bondurant, Associate Professor of Secondary Math Education, Mississippi State University

    Many DEI programs support students with a disability, about a fifth of whom are white. simonkr/E+ via Getty Images

    While diversity, equity and inclusion may on the surface seem focused on certain groups, in fact DEI programs benefit people from all walks of life – including white people.

    President Donald Trump and other conservatives have increasingly attacked such initiatives as discriminatory based on the presumption that they benefit only students of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

    Most recently, Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 20, 2025, directing federal agencies, including the Department of Education, to eliminate support for DEI positions and projects. The order labels them “illegal and immoral discrimination” and “radical and wasteful.”

    The impact of this sweeping order has been seismic across the U.S. government, private sector and in education in particular as universities have begun eliminating or rebranding their DEI programs and the Department of Education has removed any initiative and even any document or material that referenced diversity, equity or inclusion.

    As professors of education who have studied DEI programs in higher education, we believe these attacks represent a misconception about which groups DEI higher education programs actually support. The reality is, DEI policies help a wide range of people access and succeed in college regardless of their racial or ethnic background.

    Breaking down DEI funding by race

    It’s a challenge to determine the exact percentages of federal DEI funding allocated to groups of students broken down by race and ethnicity. There is limited publicly available data.

    Broadly speaking, a large majority of people within most racial and ethnic groups receive some kind of federal funding – some of which is connected to DEI programs. That includes 81% of Black students, 74% of American Indian/Alaska Native students, 72% of Hispanic or Latino students, 70% of white students, and 66% of Asian students, according to a 2023 report from the National Center for Education Statistics based on data during the 2019-20 academic year.

    The center’s data does not indicate whether those grants were explicitly designated for DEI initiatives. For example, Pell Grants are need-based, but not explicitly DEI.

    That said, DEI initiatives encompass a broad range of programs that support various underrepresented groups, including first-generation college students and students with disabilities. They also benefit women and veterans. Each of these groups invariably includes many white students.

    University DEI programs support underrepresented students from all kinds of backgrounds, such as those who are the first in their family to attend college, about half of whom are white.
    AP Photo/Darron Cummings

    First-generation students

    At most universities, a portion of DEI funding is dedicated to programs designed to support the success of first-generation students, or students whose parents did not graduate from college.

    DEI initiatives enhance first-generation students’ academic success by addressing their unique challenges, such as financial constraints, cultural adjustments and unfamiliarity with college environments. They do this through tailored support programs, inclusive learning communities and mentorship opportunities.

    Research shows that first-generation students are likely to adopt what psychologists call performance avoidance goals – such as the fear of looking incompetent – so they play it safe and don’t try too hard, which can hinder their academic success. But DEI efforts such as faculty engagement programs and dorm communities that mix academics and social support help foster supportive environments that mitigate those challenges.

    National data shows that 56% of college students are first-generation attendees. White students represent 46% of that group, more than any other single race.

    Students with disabilities

    People with disabilities make up the largest minority group in America – and represent a growing share of college students.

    Disability access is a vital yet often overlooked component of DEI efforts, with 20.5% of undergraduate students reporting a disability. Many institutions address this through disability services, which ensure students receive such appropriate testing accommodations as extended exam times, classroom support and access to assistive technology.

    Accommodations for individuals with both sensory and physical disabilities are universally accepted and ensure access to everyone regardless of their ability. DEI initiatives, particularly those focusing on accessibility and support services, play a pivotal role in ensuring students with disabilities have equal opportunities to succeed.

    Given that disabilities affect people from every ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic background, the erasure of DEI programs that support them hurts all groups – and that includes white people, who made up 21.1% of all undergraduate students with disabilities in the 2019-20 academic year.

    We believe it is particularly critical to fund programs that include students with disabilities because, in the past, public providers did not create equitable opportunities for all.

    Before the passage of key legislation such as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, students with disabilities were often excluded from mainstream educational settings or received inadequate support. Even since those laws were enacted, enforcement has been inconsistent, and gaps in accessibility persist today.

    Women and veterans

    In addition to those two groups, DEI programs also target women and veterans.

    For women, who make up more than half of college students, they promote equity in male-dominated fields such as science, technology, engineering and math, and leadership roles in government, academia and the private sector.

    For veterans, DEI programs provide tailored resources like academic support, mental health services and career transition assistance that recognize the unique challenges some of them face in higher education.

    The GI Bill, which provides financial assistance to veterans pursuing higher education, has also gotten caught up in Trump’s DEI purge. While it wasn’t designed back in 1944 as a DEI initiative – and has often failed to ensure equitable access for Black veterans – the Department of Veterans Affairs has recently tried to provide targeted support to veterans of diverse backgrounds. Trump’s order ended those programs.

    While veterans make up only 6% of undergraduate students, the majority of them – about 60% – are white, with 16% Black, 14% Hispanic and 3% Asian.

    Close to home

    Collectively, those groups and others have benefited from the over US$1 billion in grants the Education Department has allocated to DEI programs since 2021.

    Diversity encompasses a lot more than just race, and that’s why DEI programs are intended to benefit a broad range of people who historically have been underrepresented at universities or have lacked support.

    For both of us, the end of these types of programs hits close to home. One of us is white, and one of us is Black, but we’ve both benefited from DEI initiatives aimed at first-generation college students and women.

    We also both have family members who are veterans or who have disabilities and who have received financial support and resources that made a significant difference in their ability to go to college.

    Most American families – even if they don’t realize it – can tell a similar story of how programs aimed at diversity, equity and inclusion helped them achieve the American dream.

    Trump’s order describes DEI programs as “illegal and immoral discrimination programs” and says Americans deserve “a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect.”

    In our view, the orders are more likely to have the opposite effect.

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

    – ref. DEI programs are designed to help white people too – here’s how – https://theconversation.com/dei-programs-are-designed-to-help-white-people-too-heres-how-248989

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: Fortinet Evolves FortiAnalyzer into a Turnkey AI-Driven SecOps Platform for Resource-Constrained Security Teams

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT), the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, today announced significant enhancements to FortiAnalyzer, reinforcing its role in driving faster, smarter security operations (SecOps) all from a single, turnkey hybrid platform tailored for midsize enterprises and teams impacted by the cyber skills shortage.

    FortiAnalyzer is a powerful, streamlined entry point to scale an organization’s security operations center (SOC), providing broad coverage for both on-premises and cloud environments from a single platform. With ready-to-deploy capabilities that deliver complete control with centralized visibility, advanced threat detection, and automated incident response, FortiAnalyzer helps organizations increase their agility and ability to rapidly expand SecOps coverage and use cases without adding complexity.

    “Security teams today are stretched thin, yet they’re expected to defend against increasingly complex and targeted threats,” said Nirav Shah, Senior Vice President, Products and Solutions at Fortinet. “With the latest advancements in FortiAnalyzer, we’ve eliminated the need for additional SecOps tools, making it the ideal turnkey AI-driven security operations platform supporting on-premises and cloud environments. This is a game-changer for lean security teams, allowing them to enhance threat detection, automate incident response, and streamline critical security operations functions from a single platform.”

    AI-Driven Security Operations, Simplified
    As cyberthreats grow more sophisticated and the attack surface expands, organizations—particularly those with resource-constrained security and IT teams—struggle to manage security operations effectively. Recognizing this challenge, Fortinet continues to evolve FortiAnalyzer with cutting-edge AI and automation, ensuring that organizations can detect, investigate, and respond to threats faster and more efficiently without needing a complex, multi-tool security stack.

    The newly enhanced FortiAnalyzer delivers:

    • Unified data lake for centralized visibility: Consolidated network and security logs, security analytics, and compliance reporting from across the Fortinet Security Fabric into a single platform view, with enhanced IoT, SOC, email security, and endpoint dashboards offer deeper insights into high-severity incidents, compromised hosts, and vulnerabilities, reducing complexity for security teams.
    • Advanced threat detection and AI-powered analysis from FortiGuard Labs: Enriched views with integrated threat intelligence, including the FortiGuard Indicator of Compromise (IoC) and Outbreak Detection subscription help analysts identify and address vulnerabilities faster. FortiAnalyzer built-in AI capabilities automatically identify high-priority alerts and downloads relevant event handlers, correlation rules, and reports to help organizations understand an attack’s background, timeline, affected technologies, and related threat intelligence. These capabilities have been further enhanced through zero-trust network access (ZTNA)-based detections and Safeguarding, which detect harmful content to identify and mitigate emerging threats effectively.
    • Automated incident response: New prebuilt SOC automation content packs equip teams with the latest event handlers, playbooks, and third-party log parsers, such as Armis Platform, Microsoft Office 365, and more, enabling security teams to contain and remediate threats with minimal manual intervention.
    • Expanded automation connectors: Enhanced native integrations with FortiAuthenticator, FortiSandbox, FortiWeb, FortiMail, and VirusTotal provide more automation actions, reducing response times and improving incident resolution.
    • Native integration with the Fortinet Security Fabric: Unified interoperability across Fortinet’s cybersecurity solutions ensures end-to-end protection with AI-driven correlation and actionable insights.
    • Third-party device and dynamic SOC service support: Integrations with third-party devices and dynamic SOC services ensure organizations can seamlessly deploy FortiAnalyzer within their existing infrastructure and secure their entire ecosystem with a unified platform.
    • Embedded GenAI assistance: FortiAI, the Gen-AI assistant built into the FortiAnalyzer user experience, maximizes the product capabilities, analytics, and telemetry to help security teams supercharge threat investigation and response at the speed of AI.

    A Smarter Approach to Security Operations

    With these latest innovations, FortiAnalyzer empowers lean security teams to manage hybrid environments at the level of large, well-resourced security operations teams without requiring extensive personnel or multiple security tools. By leveraging AI-driven automation, FortiAnalyzer enables organizations to maximize efficiency at scale without complexity, delivering faster detections, smarter responses, and decreased risk within a unified platform.

    Current FortiAnalyzer customers with FortiGuard subscription services already have access to the new features and capabilities. Content packs are updated regularly, ensuring that organizations keep pace with emerging threats and enabling the expansion of SOC coverage as needs evolve.

    Additional Resources

    About Fortinet
    Fortinet (Nasdaq: FTNT) is a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security. Our mission is to secure people, devices, and data everywhere, and today we deliver cybersecurity everywhere our customers need it with the largest integrated portfolio of over 50 enterprise-grade products. Well over half a million customers trust Fortinet’s solutions, which are among the most deployed, most patented, and most validated in the industry. The Fortinet Training Institute, one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry, is dedicated to making cybersecurity training and new career opportunities available to everyone. Collaboration with esteemed organizations from both the public and private sectors, including Computer Emergency Response Teams (“CERTS”), government entities, and academia, is a fundamental aspect of Fortinet’s commitment to enhance cyber resilience globally. FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s elite threat intelligence and research organization, develops and utilizes leading-edge machine learning and AI technologies to provide customers with timely and consistently top-rated protection and actionable threat intelligence. Learn more at https://www.fortinet.com, the Fortinet Blog, and FortiGuard Labs.

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    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Civilians at breaking point in eastern DR Congo warns top aid official, in call to resume talks

    Source: United Nations 2

    Peace and Security

    As the Security Council prepared to gather on Wednesday to debate the international community’s response to the growing emergency in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN’s top aid official there urged all warring parties to allow lifesaving relief supplies to reach the most vulnerable.

    “The rapid and uninterrupted expansion of the conflict, particularly in South Kivu province, continues to inflict a heavy toll on the civilian population,” said UN humanitarian coordinator for DRC, Bruno Lemarquis. “The population can no longer continue to pay such a heavy price for a conflict that continues to spread and now threatens the stability of the entire region.”

    The veteran aid official’s appeal came as yet more vulnerable people reportedly fled combat zones amid advancing and heavily armed Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. On Sunday the opposition fighters took control of Bukavu – the second major eastern DRC city to fall, in a matter of weeks.

    “It is imperative to put an end to the confrontations” and resume dialogue, Mr. Lemarquis insisted, as he echoed concerns stressed by the UN Secretary-General that the continuing M23 offensive threatens regional stability.

    For aid teams who remain committed to helping vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities impacted by the fighting, Mr. Lemarquis signalled that the most urgent priorities include reopening airports for humanitarian flights in Goma – capital of North Kivu and Kavumu in South Kivu, both now controlled by M23.

    ‘Tense’ situation in Bukavu

    The security situation in Bukavu remains tense, according to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, which also reported that commercial boats have resumed services on Lake Kivu between Bukavu and Goma.

    Humanitarian partners have also reported widespread looting in various part of Bukavu over the weekend, including a UN World Food Programme warehouse containing 7,000 tonnes of supplies.

    “Several churches and collective centres in Bukavu are reportedly hosting displaced people,” OCHA noted in an update, adding that humanitarian assessment activities resumed on Tuesday “and will continue tomorrow as conditions permit”.

    In addition to the urgent need for humanitarian supply flights, the UN aid coordinator urged respect for international law regarding the rights of internally displaced people (IDPs). Just last week, relief agencies expressed concern at a 72-hour ultimatum issued by M23 representatives to IDPs in Goma who were told to go back to their villages.

    “Any return can only take place on a voluntary basis, under safe, dignified and sustainable conditions, in accordance with international principles,” Mr. Lemarquis explained.

    Neutrality at core of mission

    The UN aid coordinator also insisted that relief teams’ “sole mission” was to provide vital assistance and protection to the most vulnerable, “wherever they may be…This action is guided by the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, humanity, and independence, without taking sides or engaging in political considerations.”

    The DRC emergency is one of the most complex humanitarian crises in the world; it follows decades of clashes between the Congolese armed forces and various non-State armed groups, widespread human rights violations and sexual violence.

    Humanitarian needs are staggering and not just in eastern DRC, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, which noted that seven million people within the country are displaced and more than one million have sought asylum beyond the country’s borders.

    Most of these refugees are hosted by Angola, Burundi, the Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia. At the same time, the DRC – a country seven times the size of Germany – also hosts more than half a million refugees and asylum-seekers.

    This latest crisis in DRC’s east has already uprooted hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people in a matter of weeks. Between 10 and 15,000 people have now crossed into neighbouring Burundi in a matter of days.

    “UNHCR urgently calls for increased support to assist refugees and prevent further suffering,” it said in an online appeal. “We also urge an immediate end to hostilities in eastern DRC to prevent more displacement and civilian harm.”

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Climate change is threatening Lake Ontario — lessons from the Little Ice Age show us why we need to adapt

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Daniel Macfarlane, Associate Professor of Environment and Sustainability, Western Michigan University

    Humans have always had a close connection with Lake Ontario. For centuries, this Great Lake has been a backbone of the region’s economy — relied upon for trade, food and industry. But a warming climate could dramatically change this relationship.

    This wouldn’t be the first time climate change has affected how humans use this Great Lake, as I show in my new book The Lives of Lake Ontario: An Environmental History. During the Little Ice Age, which spanned roughly the 14th to 19th centuries, Indigenous and settler societies had to adapt to the cooling Lake Ontario environment.

    As we again face a changing climate, the way our predecessors adapted during the Little Ice Age teaches us why it’s necessary we change how we use and interact with Lake Ontario today.

    The Little Ice Age

    Prior to the onset of the Little Ice Age, the Lake Ontario region was occupied exclusively by different Indigenous Peoples — including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabeg. These groups regularly came to Lake Ontario to hunt, harvest and trade. They were highly attuned to local climate conditions, adapting their agricultural strategies accordingly.

    But the Little Ice Age altered the climate in the region — with average temperatures about 1-2°C lower than normal. I argue in my book that the impact this period’s climate had on the environment and those living in the region helped change the course of empires in North America — both Indigenous and Euro-American.

    This cooler climate led to seasonal unpredictability. This forced the region’s various occupants to adjust their resource and food acquisition strategies. A higher frequency of summer droughts could mean failed crops — while extremely heavy snows made it harder to hunt. These factors may have contributed to the severe decline of Indigenous populations in the region.

    The origins of the fur trade — which dramatically reorganized society and altered political power in the Great Lakes region — are also at least partly attributable to the Little Ice Age. The cooler climate drove the desire for fur in Europe while also affecting the pelt thickness of North American animals.

    The climate during the Little Ice Age also influenced various military campaigns due to its effects on the region’s weather and the lake’s conditions.

    During the War of 1812, for instance, two American warships sank in a sudden summer squall north of Port Dalhousie. A lack of appreciation for the lake’s capriciousness could mean disaster — while those commanders who respected the local environment had the upper hand.

    Agriculture

    But alongside the challenges this cooling climate created, it also provided new opportunities.

    As I contend in my book, climate changes during the period encouraged the diversification of agriculture and food production — such as the cultivation of wheat strains hardy enough to survive cooler conditions. Settlers also believed the mass conversion of forests and wetlands to fields could modify the climate, making it warmer. The influx of settlers reliant on these new types of agriculture fundamentally shaped the emerging political and economic systems around Lake Ontario.

    Heavier ice cover on Lake Ontario actually made winter transportation easier in some ways.

    Temperatures during the Little Ice Age frequently caused a thick freeze in the lake’s nearshore waters. This enabled alternative forms of wintertime travel which were generally cheaper, more flexible, and more dependable than travelling by boat. Skates, sleighs and iceboats were developed for both economic and recreational needs.

    As the Little Ice Age began releasing its grip during the 19th century, Euro-Americans moved to the Lake Ontario basin in larger numbers. This climatic shift proved integral to settler expansion.

    Ice on Lake Ontario enabled cheaper forms of travel.
    (William Armstrong, Public domain/Wikimedia Commons)

    Resilient yet fragile

    The Toronto region could not have become Canada’s economic and cultural capital without the resources of Lake Ontario.

    But all this economic and political growth has come at a tremendous cost. Lake Ontario is now imperilled because of the way we’ve come to rely on it.

    In the 19th century, we cut down forests, dammed and polluted tributaries, dug canals and obliterated fish species in the region.

    In the 20th century, our impacts only expanded: overwhelming pollution, invasive species, urban sprawl, larger canals and hydroelectric dams. These human costs have led to nutrient overloads in the water from wastewater and farming runoff, impoverished biodiversity, fluctuating water levels, toxic chemicals and plastics in the lake.

    This ongoing degradation — coupled with climate change exacerbating ecological challenges and creating new ones — is further undercutting Lake Ontario’s ability to cope with our many abuses.

    A hotter lake could alter the entire food web, which could have ripple effects on local species, energy flows and biodiversity.

    The changing climate is also causing extreme fluctuations in lake levels. Recent record-high levels eroded shorelines — affecting houses and infrastructure while threatening septic systems, nuclear power stations and fuel refineries.

    Resilience

    We’re lucky that Lake Ontario is remarkably resilient. But the lake is being pushed to the brink. We have a small window to both adapt to the already changing climate and prevent it from changing further.

    Of course, the Little Ice Age involved the climate getting cooler, while today it’s getting warmer — with humanity being the primary driver for this changing climate. In the face of climate change, we too can adapt how we use and interact with the lake — just as was done in the Little Ice Age.

    But our response nowadays needs to be as much about stopping old practices as starting new ones. We need to cease contributing to global warming and other negative impacts on Lake Ontario through our unsustainable industry, flawed economic systems and overconsumption, massive pollution and reliance on fossil fuels.

    Daniel Macfarlane 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. Climate change is threatening Lake Ontario — lessons from the Little Ice Age show us why we need to adapt – https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-threatening-lake-ontario-lessons-from-the-little-ice-age-show-us-why-we-need-to-adapt-246292

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Deportation fears create ripple effects across undocumented migrants, legal immigrants and entire communities

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Kristina Fullerton Rico, Research Fellow, Center for Racial Justice, Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials detain a person on Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

    The Trump administration’s plan to deport millions of immigrants living in the country without permission is falling far short of its initial goals in its first few weeks.

    But there has been an increase in immigration raids in multiple cities, including Los Angeles and Miami, since Trump took office.

    After Trump’s inauguration, rumors of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents roaming the streets or showing up at churches and schools have spread on social media and messaging apps, sending waves of panic in immigrant communities from coast to coast.

    When I share my research on the effects of U.S. immigration policies, I find that most people intuitively understand how being deported can upend someone’s life.

    In fact, research shows that deportation, and the risk of deportation, impacts more than just the person who is deported.

    Deporting immigrants often separates individualsfrom their families, exiles them to countries that don’t feel like home, and leaves them poor, with few job prospects.

    Immigrants who are deported also face social stigmas that lead to further isolation and mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety and risk of suicide.

    An undocumented immigrant from Guatemala who plans to leave the country in February 2025 is seen at home with his son in Dover, Ohio, in January.
    Rebecca Kiger for The Washington Post via Getty Images

    A family matter

    Immigrants in the country without permission tend to belong to mixed-immigration-status families, meaning that at least one family member has legal permission to be in the country or has citizenship.

    In some cases, mixed-status families feel pressure to leave the U.S. together if one family member is deported.

    Researchers call this phenomenon “de facto deportation.” It frequently affects young, U.S.-born children whose parents are deported.

    Legal scholars argue that deporting the parents of these young U.S. citizens violates these children’s citizenship rights. Though these children are citizens, their parents’ deportations push them out of the country and away from the lives they would have had in the U.S.

    In other cases, families separate when a mother, father or other adult guardian is deported. This is especially true for immigrants who are deported to dangerous places. Families are also likely to separate if a family member requires specialized medical care for a disability or chronic illness.

    But it is not just actual deportations that cause harm.

    The fear of deportation

    Even when immigrants do not face an immediate risk of deportation, the way they live their lives is shaped by the threat of removal.

    In hostile political climates, including the current moment in the U.S., immigrants feel the risk of deportation acutely.

    Some researchers call the fear of deportation “deportability.” This feeling has a chilling effect, discouraging immigrants from the everyday activities they would otherwise do.

    So far, immigrants’ fear is likely disproportionate to the risk of deportation. But the threat looms so large that immigrants and their families have upended their lives.

    Business owners, teachers and religious leaders across the country have noticed immigrants’ glaring absence in neighborhoods that are usually bustling and now feel deserted.

    In some cases, immigrants are keeping their children home from school. Others avoid going to doctor’s appointments or delay going to the hospital.

    Hostility toward immigrants also has a chilling effect on cultural expression.

    Research shows that Latino immigrants who fear deportation or anti-immigrant prejudice feel coerced to assimilate. They avoid speaking Spanish or their Indigenous language, like Quechua or Náhuatl, in public, and may even hesitate to teach it to their own children.

    Similarly, it can feel dangerous to play music or partake in cultural traditions.

    Spillover effects

    Research has also found that the threat of deportation makes immigrants hesitant to report dangerous conditions at work. Since immigrants are overrepresented in dangerous industries, like construction and meatpacking, this can lead to a higher risk of being injured or even dying on the job.

    Because local law enforcement agencies increasingly cooperate with federal immigration authorities, immigrants may also avoid going to the police – even when they are victims of violent crimes.

    Even in cities where local law enforcement agencies refuse to work closely with ICE, the perception that they might be creates fear in immigrant communities and leads people to underutilize public programs and services.

    People who have permission to be in the country are also afraid

    The fear of immigration enforcement can also extend to a person who speaks a foreign language, is a person of color, or otherwise seems like they might be in the country without permission.

    Perhaps the most striking example of this consists of recent reports that Native American citizens living in Southwest states like Arizona have been increasingly questioned by ICE. In response, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren has advised people to carry proof of their U.S. citizenship.

    Nonwhite U.S. citizens’ fears of being deported are not unprecedented.

    In the 1950s, many U.S. citizens of Mexican ancestry were deported under President Dwight Eisenhower’s mass deportation operation. Trump credits Eisenhower’s program, officially called “Operation Wetback,” after the racist slur, for inspiring his current mass deportation plans.

    More than half a century later, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that between 2015 and 2020, ICE likely arrested 674 U.S. citizens, detaining 121 and deporting 70 of them.

    The entrance to a church in Chicago had a sign on its door on Feb. 10, 2025, informing ICE officials that they were not allowed to enter the building without a court order.
    Luzia Geier/picture alliance via Getty Images

    A sense of despair

    Not surprisingly, anti-immigrant policies and threats can elicit feelings of hopelessness among immigrants. The fear of deportation can lead to significant mental health problems for immigrants and their loved ones, ranging from conditions like anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder to a loss of trust in others and social isolation.

    Children experience fear and confusion about the future of their lives and that of their families.

    Hopelessness can lead to immigrants leaving the country on their own accord. This can happen because immigrants see no future for themselves in the U.S.

    Similarly, immigrants who are detained by government authorities may agree to voluntary departure orders rather than fighting to remain in the country.

    Some consequences of the fear of deportation and anti-immigrant hostility are easy to see, like when children miss school.

    Others – delaying doctor’s appointments, going hungry instead of going to the food bank, tolerating abuse instead of seeking help – are harder to observe, and their negative effects may not be evident for years.

    Kristina Fullerton Rico’s research has received funding from the Russell Sage Foundation and Sociologists for Women in Society.

    – ref. Deportation fears create ripple effects across undocumented migrants, legal immigrants and entire communities – https://theconversation.com/deportation-fears-create-ripple-effects-across-undocumented-migrants-legal-immigrants-and-entire-communities-248817

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Greenland’s rapidly melting ice and landslide-prone fjords make the oil and minerals Trump covets dangerous to extract

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Paul Bierman, Fellow of the Gund Institute for Environment, Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Vermont

    Greenland has large deposits of rare earth minerals along its coasts, but these are also geologically hazardous regions. Alex Hibbert/The Image Bank via Getty Images

    Since Donald Trump regained the presidency, he has coveted Greenland. Trump has insisted that the U.S. will control the island, currently an autonomous territory of Denmark, and if his overtures are rejected, perhaps seize Greenland by force.

    During a recent congressional hearing, senators and expert witnesses focused on Greenland’s strategic value and its natural resources: critical minerals, fossil fuels and hydropower. No one mentioned the hazards, many of them exacerbated by human-induced climate change, that those longing to possess and develop the island will inevitably encounter.

    That’s imprudent, because the Arctic’s climate is changing more rapidly than anywhere on Earth. Such rapid warming further increases the already substantial economic and personal risk for those living, working and extracting resources on Greenland, and for the rest of the planet.

    Arctic surface temperatures have been rising faster than the global average.
    Arctic Report Card 2024, NOAA Climate.gov

    I am a geoscientist who studies the environmental history of Greenland and its ice sheet, including natural hazards and climate change. That knowledge is essential for understanding the risks that military and extractive efforts face on Greenland today and in the future.

    Greenland: Land of extremes

    Greenland is unlike where most people live. The climate is frigid. For much of the year, sea ice clings to the coast, making it inaccessible.

    An ice sheet, up to 2 miles thick, covers more than 80% of the island. The population, about 56,000 people, lives along the island’s steep, rocky coastline.

    While researching my book “When the Ice is Gone,” I discovered how Greenland’s harsh climate and vast wilderness stymied past colonial endeavors. During World War II, dozens of U.S. military pilots, disoriented by thick fog and running out of fuel, crashed onto the ice sheet. An iceberg from Greenland sunk the Titanic in 1912, and 46 years later, another sunk a Danish vessel specifically designed to fend off ice, killing all 95 aboard.

    Now amplified by climate change, natural hazards make resource extraction and military endeavors in Greenland uncertain, expensive and potentially deadly.

    Rock on the move

    Greenland’s coastal landscape is prone to rockslides. The hazard arises because the coast is where people live and where rock isn’t hidden under the ice sheet. In some places, that rock contains critical minerals, such as gold, as well as other rare metals used for technology, including for circuit boards and electrical vehicle batteries.

    The unstable slopes reflect how the ice sheet eroded the deep fjords when it was larger. Now that the ice has melted, nothing buttresses the near-vertical valley walls, and so, they collapse.

    In 2017, a northwestern Greenland mountainside fell 3,000 feet into the deep waters of the fjord below. Moments later, the wave that rockfall generated (a tsunami) washed over the nearby villages of Nuugaatsiaq and Illorsuit. The water, laden with icebergs and sea ice, ripped homes from their foundations as people and sled dogs ran for their lives. By the time it was over, four people were dead and both villages lay in ruin.

    Steep fjord walls around the island are littered with the scars of past rockslides. The evidence shows that at one point in the last 10,000 years, one of those slides dropped rock sufficient to fill 3.2 million Olympic swimming pools into the water below. In 2023, another rockslide triggered a tsunami that sloshed back and forth for nine days in a Greenland fjord.

    A cellphone video captures the June 2017 tsunami wave coming ashore in northwestern Greenland.

    There’s no network of paved roads across Greenland. The only feasible way to move heavy equipment, minerals and fossil fuels would be by sea. Docks, mines and buildings within tens of feet of sea level would be vulnerable to rockslide-induced tsunamis.

    Melting ice will be deadly and expensive

    Human-induced global warming, driven by fossil fuel combustion, speeds the melting of Greenland’s ice. That melting is threatening the island’s infrastructure and the lifestyles of native people, who over millennia have adapted their transportation and food systems to the presence of snow and ice. Record floods, fed by warmth-induced melting of the ice sheet, have recently swept away bridges that stood for half a century.

    As the climate warms, permafrost – frozen rock and soil – which underlies the island, thaws. This destabilizes the landscape, weakening steep slopes and damaging critical infrastructure.

    An excavator tries to save a bridge over the Watson River at Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. Part of the bridge and the machine were eventually swept away by the rushing meltwater from the Greenland Ice Sheet during a heat wave in July 2012.

    Permafrost melt is already threatening the U.S. military base on Greenland. As the ice melts and the ground settles under runways, cracks and craters form – a hazard for airplanes. Buildings tilt as their foundations settle into the softening soil, including critical radar installations that have scanned the skies for missiles and bombers since the 1950s.

    Greenland’s icebergs can threaten oil rigs. As the warming climate speeds the flow of Greenland’s glaciers, they calve more icebergs in the ocean. The problem is worse close to Greenland, but some icebergs drift toward Canada, endangering oil rigs there. Ships stand guard, ready to tow threatening icebergs away.

    An iceberg passes near an oil drilling rig in eastern Canada.
    Geoffrey Whiteway/500px Plus via Getty Images

    Greenland’s government banned drilling for fossil fuels in 2021 out of concern for the environment. Yet, Trump and his allies remain eager to see exploration resume off the island, despite exceptionally high costs, less than stellar results from initial drilling, and the ever-present risk of icebergs.

    As Greenland’s ice melts and water flows into the ocean, sea level changes, but in ways that might not be intuitive. Away from the island, sea level is rising about an inch each six years. But close to the ice sheet, it’s the land that’s rising. Gradually freed of the weight of its ice, the rock beneath Greenland, long depressed by the massive ice sheet, rebounds. That rise is rapid – more than 6 feet per century. Soon, many harbors in Greenland may become too shallow for ship traffic.

    Streams of meltwater flow over the silt-covered surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet as it melts in summer heat near Kangerlussuaq in western Greenland.
    REDA/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

    Greenland’s challenging past and future

    History clearly shows that many past military and colonial endeavors failed in Greenland because they showed little consideration of the island’s harsh climate and dynamic ice sheet.

    Changing climate drove Norse settlers out of Greenland 700 years ago. Explorers trying to cross the ice sheet lost their lives to the cold. American bases built inside the ice sheet, such as Camp Century, were quickly crushed as the encasing snow deformed.

    In the past, the American focus in Greenland was on short-term gains with little regard for the future. Abandoned U.S. military bases from World War II, scattered around the island and in need of cleanup, are one example. Forced relocation of Greenlandic Inuit communities during the Cold War is another. I believe that Trump’s demands today for American control of the island to exploit its resources are similarly shortsighted.

    Piles of rusting fuel drums sit at an abandoned U.S. base from World War II in Ikateq, in eastern Greenland.
    Posnov/Moment via Getty Images

    However, when it comes to the planet’s livability, I’ve argued that the greatest strategic and economic value of Greenland to the world is not its location or its natural resources, but its ice. That white snow and ice reflect sunlight, keeping Earth cool. And the ice sheet, perched on land, keeps water out of the ocean. As it melts, Greenland’s ice sheet will raise global sea level, up to about 23 feet when all the ice is gone.

    Climate-driven sea level rise is already flooding coastal regions around the world, including major economic centers. As that continues, estimates suggest that the damage will total trillions of dollars. Unless Greenland’s ice remains frozen, coastal inundation will force the largest migration that humanity has ever witnessed. Such changes are predicted to destabilize the global economic and strategic world order.

    These examples show that disregarding the risks of natural hazards and climate change in Greenland courts disaster, both locally and globally.

    Paul Bierman receives funding from the US National Science Foundation and the University of Vermont Gund Institute for Environment

    – ref. Greenland’s rapidly melting ice and landslide-prone fjords make the oil and minerals Trump covets dangerous to extract – https://theconversation.com/greenlands-rapidly-melting-ice-and-landslide-prone-fjords-make-the-oil-and-minerals-trump-covets-dangerous-to-extract-249985

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Latest Council Budget plans include £5m boost for neighbourhoods

    Source: City of Manchester

    Manchester City Council is set to invest around £5 million extra funding to keep neighbourhoods clean, green and tidy. 

    The move, proposed in newly-published reports about the Council’s 2025/26 budget to be considered at its Executive meeting on 19 February, will be funded from Manchester’s £5.4 million share of a rebate to councils from Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s waste reserve which was announced last week.  

    The extra funding, to be spent over three years, will be used to improve and support the upkeep of neighbourhoods across the city. In the council’s recent budget consultation this was the top priority identified by residents – with 77.5% of residents putting it among the issues which mattered the most to them.  

    £4.6 million of the extra funding will be invested to boost services to keep neighbourhoods clean, including cleaning, combatting flytipping, maintenance of green spaces and leaf collection. 

    A further £400,000 will be used to overturn a decision taken last year to start charging for replacement recycling bins which would have applied from this April.  

    The remainder will be invested in other neighbourhood priorities including an extra £338,000 towards improved enforcement to tackle damp and mould in private rented sector properties.  

    While significant challenges remain, the Council’s position has improved since planning for its 2025/26 budget began in spring 2024. At that point the then Government had indicated there would be real terms funding cuts for local government which, together with emerging pressures, would have required deep cuts.  

    The incoming Government’s Autumn Statement reversed this position with a real terms increase in Core Spending Power instead. The Government’s financial settlement for the Council, which it received just before Christmas, was better than expected with a number of increases, especially in recognition of the nationwide pressures in social care. Manchester’s Core Spending Power increase of 10.4% is the highest nationally, reflecting a ministerial decision to direct resources to places with high deprivation levels and low council taxbases which had been the hardest hit since 2010. 

    This has meant that while £18.2m of savings from previously published savings identified for 2025/26 are required, the Council will be able to set a balanced budget for 2025/26 which also takes account of ongoing pressures. The savings relate to efficiencies and increased income generation not service reductions.  

    The budget assumes a 4.99% increase in the Council’s element of Council Tax, 2% of which is specifically to support adult social care.  

    Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig said: “We are still dealing with the brutal legacy of 14 years of austerity and cuts to our funding under the previous Government, and that can’t be turned around overnight.  

    “But the improved funding under the current Government, which recognises this legacy, is a step in the right direction. Together with our careful planning, it means we’re able to bring forward a budget which looks to make lives better and improve the city.”  

    Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar, Executive Member for Finance, said: “Residents told us loud and clear in our recent budget consultation that keeping neighbourhoods clean was their top priority and we have responded to that with this extra investment. 

    “We are pleased to be in a position where can deliver a budget that works for Manchester people.”  

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Momnt Partners with ChargeAfter to Expand Financing Options for Contractors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, Feb. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Momnt, a leading fintech company specializing in real-time lending and payment solutions, has partnered with ChargeAfter, the embedded lending platform for point-of-sale financing, to provide home improvement contractors with a broader range of competitive lending options for their customers.

    This partnership enables home improvement contractors using the ChargeAfter platform to offer Momnt’s diverse loan product selection to their customers, leading to increased approval rates and customer satisfaction.

     “This partnership with ChargeAfter is a significant step in enhancing the financing options available to home improvement contractors,” said Chris Bracken, CEO of Momnt. “By integrating with ChargeAfter’s platform, we can provide contractors access to a wider range of competitive financing options, ultimately driving higher conversion rates and increased sales.”

    Contractors leverage ChargeAfter’s platform to seamlessly connect to a network of lenders, and provide personalized financing options that meet diverse customer credit needs. With a single application, ChargeAfter’s waterfall technology instantly matches customers with the best-fit financing choices. This streamlined approach simplifies the financing process for both contractors and customers, which is particularly important for in-home service, where a secure and seamless experience helps create a comfortable interaction.

    “We are thrilled to welcome Momnt to our network further expanding financing opportunities for home improvement contractors and their customers,” said Meidad Sharon, CEO of ChargeAfter. “This partnership will enable merchants to offer competitive prime lending solutions, making home improvement projects more accessible for homeowners. With ChargeAfter’s simple and easy-to-use user experience, post-sale capabilities, and advanced analytics, contractors can seamlessly manage the financing process while maximizing customer approval rates and sales potential.”

    Momnt’s technology seamlessly integrates with ChargeAfter’s platform, offering homeowners access to a variety of flexible financing options that can be viewed without impacting their credit score.

    About ChargeAfter

    ChargeAfter is pioneering the embedded lending network for point-of-sale consumer financing for merchants and financial institutions. Powered by a network of lenders and a data-driven matching engine, ChargeAfter streamlines the distribution of credit into a single, secure, and reliable embedded lending platform. Merchants can rapidly implement ChargeAfter’s omnichannel platform online, in-store, and at every point of sale, enabling them to provide personalized financing choices to their customers. ChargeAfter is backed by investors including Visa, Citi Ventures, Synchrony Financial, Banco Bradesco, MUFG, and more. Users can learn more at chargeafter.com.

    About Momnt

    Momnt is a state-of-the-art financial services technology platform that revolutionizes how merchants offer financing. Through Momnt’s embedded lending solution, businesses can effortlessly provide customers with simple, fast, and affordable financing options, all delivered through a seamless process. Momnt drives growth for merchants, extends personalized financing to consumers, and generates new revenue sources for financial institutions. Users can visit momnt.com to learn more.

    Contact

    Director of Marketing
    Varda Bachrach
    ChargeAfter
    varda.bachrach@chargeafter.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2d1bc6b4-da48-4057-a8ab-517299022b33

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Compass Diversified Director James Bottiglieri Announces Retirement

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WESTPORT, Conn., Feb. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Compass Diversified Holdings (NYSE: CODI) (“CODI” or the “Company”), an owner of leading middle market businesses, announced today that current director James J. Bottiglieri (“Jim”) advised the Board of Directors (the “Board”) on February 14, 2025 that he plans to retire prior to the Company’s 2025 annual shareholders meeting (the “2025 Annual Meeting”). Mr. Bottiglieri will remain on the Company’s Board and as a member of each of the Company’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Audit Committee up and until the Company’s 2025 Annual Meeting. Mr. Bottiglieri joined the Board in December of 2005. He served as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer and as an Executive Vice President of the Company’s Manager from 2005 to 2013. The Company does not currently intend to fill the Board vacancy created by Mr. Bottiglieri’s retirement.

    Elias Sabo, CEO of CODI, commented: “It has been an absolute honor and privilege to work with Jim over the past 20 years. He has been a great leader, director, mentor, and friend. It is difficult to measure the many contributions Jim has made to our organization, beginning with our initial public offering in 2006. His accounting expertise and superior integrity were fundamental in establishing the groundwork we rely on today to ensure strong financial controls and provide transparency to our shareholders. On behalf of our entire organization, I want to express our sincere gratitude to Jim for his years of dedicated service and wish him all the best following his retirement.”

    Larry Enterline, Board Chair, added: “I am happy for Jim to have the opportunity to enjoy a well-earned retirement. Jim is a consummate professional and has worked collaboratively during his tenure to pass along his significant institutional knowledge and assist with the development of the next generation of Board leadership. Although Jim will be missed, his retirement is the culmination of a years-long strategy to refine CODI’s Board and recruit and retain a highly capable group of leaders who are well-equipped to oversee our business and represent the interests of our shareholders.”

    Jim Bottiglieri stated: “I am grateful for the opportunities I’ve been afforded during my tenure with CODI. Being able to support this unique organization through its transformational growth over the past 20 years has been a highlight of my career. At its core, CODI is an organization comprised of exceptional people and has many exciting opportunities for growth in the years ahead.”

    About Compass Diversified (“CODI”)

    Since its IPO in 2006, CODI has consistently executed its strategy of owning and managing a diverse set of highly defensible, middle-market businesses across the branded consumer, industrial, healthcare, and critical outsourced services sectors. The Company leverages its permanent capital base, long-term disciplined approach, and actionable expertise to maintain controlling ownership interests in each of its subsidiaries, maximizing its ability to impact long-term cash flow generation and value creation. The Company provides both debt and equity capital for its subsidiaries, contributing to their financial and operating flexibility. CODI utilizes the cash flows generated by its subsidiaries to invest in the long-term growth of the Company and has consistently generated strong returns through its culture of transparency, alignment and accountability. For more information, please visit compassdiversified.com.

    Forward Looking Statements

    This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements with regard to the expectations related to the future performance of CODI. Words such as “believes,” “expects,” “will,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “continue,” “projects,” “potential,” “assuming,” and “future” or similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions, some of which are not currently known to CODI. In addition to factors previously disclosed in CODI’s reports filed with the SEC, the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements: changes in the economy, financial markets and political environment; risks associated with possible disruption in CODI’s operations or the economy generally due to terrorism, natural disasters, social, civil and political unrest or the COVID-19 pandemic; future changes in laws or regulations (including the interpretation of these laws and regulations by regulatory authorities); general considerations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the markets in which we operate; and other considerations that may be disclosed from time to time in CODI’s publicly disseminated documents and filings. Further information regarding CODI and factors which could affect the forward-looking statements contained herein can be found in CODI’s annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by law, CODI undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    Investor Relations

    Compass Diversified
    irinquiry@compassdiversified.com

    Gateway Group
    Cody Slach
    949.574.3860
    CODI@gateway-grp.com

    Media Relations

    Compass Diversified
    mediainquiry@compassdiversified.com

    The IGB Group
    Leon Berman
    212.477.8438
    lberman@igbir.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Abacus Life Completes the Rebranding of FCF Advisors with New ETF and Fee Reductions

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Abacus Life, Inc. (“Abacus” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: ABL), a pioneering global alternative asset manager specializing in leveraging longevity data and actuarial technology to offer uncorrelated investment opportunities, today announces the rebranding of FCF Advisors to Abacus FCF Advisors, a subsidiary of ABL Wealth.

    This rebrand highlights the manager’s position as a leader in free cash flow investing and analytics by pioneering the FCF Leaders Model, which serves as the foundation for the firm’s quantitative investment process that identifies the most profitable companies. As part of the rebrand, Abacus FCF Advisors announced the launch of the Abacus FCF Small Cap Leaders ETF (ticker: ABLS), and management fee reductions of 5-10 basis points across all ETFs. An 18-month fee waiver of 20 basis points was also introduced on four of the ETFs.

    Ticker Fund Name
    ABFL Abacus FCF Leaders ETF
    ABLG Abacus FCF International Leaders ETF
    ABLD Abacus FCF Real Assets Leaders ETF*
    ABOT Abacus FCF Innovation Leaders ETF*
    ABLS Abacus FCF Small Cap Leaders ETF*
    ABHY Abacus Tactical High Yield ETF*

    *Effective 2/1/2025, a fee waiver of 20 basis points will be offered to these funds for 18 months.

    To celebrate this iconic event, the Abacus FCF Advisors team, along with other executives from ABL Wealth, is ringing the Cboe Global Markets Exchange opening bell today, Wednesday, February 19, 2025.

    “We are thrilled to ring the Cboe bell,” said Jay Jackson, CEO of Abacus Life. “The FCF acquisition, including the rebranded funds and new ETF, constitute significant milestones in Abacus’ ongoing expansion of ABL Wealth and its suite of innovative products, as well as our goal of delivering comprehensive, lifespan-based financial advisory services and products. FCF aligns perfectly with our strategy of providing clients with holistic and tailored financial solutions throughout their lives.”

    About Abacus FCF Advisors

    Abacus FCF Advisors is a leader in free cash flow investing and analytics, having pioneered the Free Cash Flow Leaders Model, which serves as the foundation for the firm’s quantitative investment process. Based on our research for the past decade, constructing a high-conviction portfolio through comprehensive analysis of Free Cash Flow Return on Invested Capital has historically outperformed and delivered superior long-term capital growth. This model prioritizes prudent capital expenditure, low accruals, high cash flow margins, and strong asset turnover. Abacus FCF Advisors has a suite of core and thematic free cash flow equity strategies and offers over 50 customizable free cash flow index strategies covering 8 global equities allocation categories available in ETFs, SMA/white label SMA and model delivery.

    www.abacusfcf.com

    About Abacus

    Abacus is a pioneering global alternative asset manager and market maker specializing in uncorrelated financial products. The company leverages its proprietary, cutting-edge longevity data and actuarial technology to purchase life insurance policies from consumers seeking liquidity. This creates a high-return asset class uncorrelated to market fluctuations for institutional investors.

    With nearly $3 billion in assets under management, including recently-completed acquisitions, Abacus is the only publicly traded global alternative asset manager focused on lifespan-based financial products.

    Abacus is expanding its leading expertise in longevity and lifespan into new growth areas:

    • ABL Wealth – Leverages decades of data and proprietary algorithms to offer longevity-based wealth management platforms that enable financial advisors to create customized plans and provide access to uncorrelated investments.
    • ABL Tech – A groundbreaking technology service that delivers advanced real-time data tracking and analysis for pension funds, governments, insurance companies, retirement associations, and more.

    Through each new channel, Abacus is revolutionizing the future of asset management and financial planning, centered on longevity and lifespan.

    www.Abacuslife.com

    Contacts:

    ABL Wealth

    Fei Xue, CAIA – Vice President, ABL Wealth
    fei@abacuslife.com
    (321) 710-5957

    Abacus Life Investor Relations

    Robert F. Phillips – SVP Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs
    rob@abacuslife.com
    (321) 290-1198

    David Jackson – IR/Capital Markets Associate
    djackson@abacuslife.com
    (321) 299-0716

    Abacus Life Public Relations
    press@abacuslife.com

    Important Information:

    Before investing you should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information is in the statutory and summary prospectuses, a copy of which may be obtained by visiting the Fund’s website at www.abacusfcf.com/ABFL, www.abacusfcf.com/ABLG, www.abacusfcf.com/ABLD, www.abacusfcf.com/ABOT,  www.Abacusfcf.com/ABLS, www.Abacusfcf.com/ABHY. Please read the prospectus or summary prospectus, if available, carefully before you invest.

    Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

    Free Cash Flow (FCF) represents the cash that a company is able to generate after accounting for capital expenditures.

    Distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC. Quasar is not related to Abacus or ABL.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: LM Funding America, Inc. Upgrades Fleet Efficiency and Hashrate with Luxor Firmware by 10-15%

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LM Funding America, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMFA) (“LM Funding” or the “Company”), a Bitcoin mining and technology-based specialty finance company, today announced a strategic partnership between its US Digital Mining and Hosting Co subsidiary (“USDM”) and Luxor Technology Corporation (“Luxor”), a leader in Bitcoin mining software services, for the deployment of LuxOS firmware on the Company’s Bitcoin mining fleet.

    The LuxOS firmware upgrade was completed in early February 2025 and is expected to optimize the Company’s machines, increase efficiency and hashrate, and improve overall system reliability across various operational conditions. LM Funding expects this software upgrade to enhance its Bitcoin mining efficiency by 10-15%, directly resulting in higher profitability and extending machine life.

    Bruce M. Rodgers, Chairman and CEO of LM Funding, stated, “We are very pleased about this partnership as it enhances our hashrate by another 10-15% without any additional hardware investment. This enables us to mine more Bitcoin at higher margins and increase profitability.”

    Aaron Foster, Director of Business Development at Luxor, added, “This partnership represents a critical step forward in optimizing USDM’s mining operations, maximizing uptime, reducing costs, and ensuring systems operate reliably even in challenging conditions. Together with Luxor, the Company is setting a new standard for mining efficiency, profit maximization and performance.”

    About LuxOS
    Technology: LuxOS’s intelligent auto-tuning, machine voltage and frequency are precisely adjusted to maximize hashrate while reducing power consumption. Additionally, LuxOS’s Advanced Thermal Management system proactively maximizes fleet uptime by dynamically adjusting performance based on temperature thresholds, ensuring long-term operation stability.

    Audit and Compliance: Luxor is the only U.S. based firmware to achieve SOC 2 (Type II) certification, demonstrating the Company’s commitment to security, reliability, and compliance. Luxor’s certification ensures that institutional Bitcoin mining operations meet the highest standards set by the industry’s top auditors and best practices.

    About LM Funding America
    LM Funding America, Inc. (Nasdaq: LMFA), operates as a Bitcoin mining and specialty finance company. The company was founded in 2008 and is based in Tampa, Florida. For more information, please visit https://www.lmfunding.com.

    About Luxor Technology Corporation
    Luxor Technology Corporation is a Bitcoin mining software and services company that offers a suite of products catered toward the mining and compute power industry. Luxor’s suite of software and services includes an Antminer ASIC Firmware, an ASIC Marketplace, a Bitcoin mining pool, a Hashrate Derivatives Desk, and a Bitcoin mining data platform.

    Forward-Looking Statements 
    This press release may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” and “project” and other similar words and expressions are intended to signify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guaranties of future results and conditions but rather are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Some of these risks and uncertainties are identified in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and its other filings with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, uncertainty created by the risks of operating in the cryptocurrency mining business, uncertainty in the cryptocurrency mining business in general, problems with hosting vendors in the mining business, the capacity of our Bitcoin mining machines and our related ability to purchase power at reasonable prices, the ability to finance and grow our cryptocurrency mining operations, our ability to acquire new accounts in our specialty finance business at appropriate prices, the potential need for additional capital in the future, changes in governmental regulations that affect our ability to collected sufficient amounts on defaulted consumer receivables, changes in the credit or capital markets, changes in interest rates, and negative press regarding the debt collection industry. The occurrence of any of these risks and uncertainties could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. 

    For investor and media inquiries, please contact:  

    LM Funding America, Inc.
    Investor Relations  
    Orange Group  
    Yujia Zhai  
    LMFundingIR@orangegroupadvisors.com  

    Luxor Technology Corporation
    Director, Business Development
    Aaron Foster
    aaron@luxor.tech

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Rumble and TRUTH Social Sue Brazilian Judge Over Censorship Orders Targeting U.S. Users

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LONGBOAT KEY, Fla, Feb. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —   Rumble (NASDAQ:RUM), the video-sharing platform and cloud services provider, today announced that it has filed a lawsuit along with the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG—owners of TRUTH Social) against Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, alleging that Moraes violated the free speech protections of the First Amendment when he ordered the suspension of the U.S.-based accounts of a specific well-known, politically outspoken user. Rumble and TMTG filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and seek a declaration that de Moraes’ orders are unenforceable in the United States. Neither Rumble nor TMTG have any entities, operations, employees, bank accounts, or businesses in Brazil.

    “Allowing Justice Moraes to muzzle a vocal user on an American digital outlet would jeopardize our country’s bedrock commitment to open and robust debate,” the lawsuit reads. “Neither extraterritorial dictates nor judicial overreach from abroad can override the freedoms protected by the U.S. Constitution and law.”

    Rumble and TMTG claim that not only do Moraes’ orders violate U.S. public policy by undermining America’s basic principle of free speech, but they also violate U.S. sovereignty by asserting that a Brazilian court can exercise jurisdiction over an American company engaged in U.S.-based activity without the consent of the U.S. government.

    The Rumble user Moraes targeted with his gag order was identified in the complaint as Political Dissident A, a former priest and independent journalist who fled Brazil for the United States in 2021 after he was charged with various crimes for the simple act of giving voice to information that Moraes found upsetting and labeled “disinformation.” The justice also issued an order for the political dissident’s detention and attempted, unsuccessfully, to have him extradited to Brazil for trial for his alleged speech crimes.

    “This case is a landmark battle for free speech in the digital age,” said Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski. “In March 2024, the U.S. government formally rejected Brazil’s request to extradite the political dissident, ruling that the charges were nothing more than ‘crimes of opinion’ and violated fundamental free speech protections. This should have ended Moraes’ pursuit of the political dissident. Instead, he is now attempting to sidestep the U.S. legal system entirely—using secret censorship orders to pressure American companies into banning the political dissident worldwide.”

    “The United States has established legal processes for recognizing and enforcing foreign court orders, including Brazil, but those processes require review and approval by U.S. authorities,” said Rumble’s attorneys E. Martin De Luca & Matthew L. Schwartz of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP.  “Alexandre de Moraes is attempting to sidestep U.S. law entirely. Rumble and Trump Media’s lawsuit seeks the protection of a U.S. federal court to ensure that American businesses remain governed by American law and that no foreign court can unilaterally dictate what speech is allowed on American platforms without proper authorization from the U.S. government.”

    Justice Moraes has a troubling history of unlawful, authoritarian censorship of online platforms, including Rumble, which permit free speech on topics that do not meet his personal approval. In December 2023, he demanded that Rumble remove content from a certain creator on the platform. Rather than comply with this unlawful attack on free expression, Pavlovski elected to disable all access to the platform from within Brazil in protest.

    Earlier this month, Justice Moraes abruptly rescinded its censorship order and Rumble restored access to the people of that country. But within days, Moraes became dissatisfied with Political Dissident A content and demanded that the dissident’s account be suspended or else.

    After the U.S. rejected his extradition request of Political Dissident A, Moraes sought to enforce his orders by requiring Brazilian lawyers previously affiliated with Rumble to facilitate service of his censorship directives. The lawsuit contends that this constitutes an improper attempt to manufacture jurisdiction over a U.S.-based company.

    Pavlovski has publicly decried Moraes’ heavy-handed censorship tactics before, including as a witness before the Global Human Rights Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs.

    “We received requests from the Brazilian government to remove certain creators from our platform. The content did not violate our terms and conditions, but instead shared opinions that were ‘unpopular’ in Brazil at the time,” Pavlovski testified. “Every totalitarian regime that has crushed the rights of individuals, has sought to control what people can say and hear. It’s never the good guys doing the censoring.”

    This case has broad implications for free speech and the jurisdictional limits of foreign courts. If foreign judges can extend their censorship rulings to U.S. companies, it raises serious concerns about international legal overreach and the application of First Amendment protections. The lawsuit seeks to ensure that U.S. companies remain governed by U.S. law and constitutional standards.

    TMTG is a plaintiff in the suit because it relies on Rumble’s back-end services for TRUTH Social, including cloud hosting and video streaming. These extraterritorial demands threaten to erase lawful American speech and disrupt TRUTH Social’s core functionality within the United States. 

    ABOUT RUMBLE

    Rumble is a high-growth video platform and cloud services provider, founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Chris Pavlovski, which is creating an independent infrastructure intended to make it impervious to cancellation or censorship by Big Tech. In the most recent numbers publicly available, Rumble, which went public in September 2022, reported 67 million Monthly Active Users in the 3rd Quarter of 2024, up from 53 million the previous quarter, or an increase of 26%.

    On Election Night 2024, concurrent viewers peaked at a record of nearly 1.8 million, according to StreamCharts. Following the election, the Rumble app reached #3 in the Apple App Store in the Photo & Video category, ahead of YouTube. Rumble’s mission is to restore the internet to its roots by making it free and open once again.

    For more information, visit: corp.rumble.com.

    Contact: press@rumble.com 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Data443 Partners with TierPoint to Expand Data Center Footprint

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Collaboration Triples Infrastructure Capacity to Support Rapid Customer Growth and AI Initiatives

    RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Feb. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Data443 Risk Mitigation, Inc. (OTCPK: ATDS) (“Data443” or the “Company”), a data security and privacy software company for “All Things Data Security,” today announced a strategic agreement with TierPoint, a premier provider of secure, connected data center and cloud solutions. This agreement will enable Data443 to triple its data center infrastructure capacity, supporting the company’s rapid customer growth, operational efficiency initiatives, and upcoming artificial intelligence programs.

    Through this collaboration, Data443 will leverage TierPoint’s state-of-the-art facilities to enhance its infrastructure capabilities while optimizing operational expenses. The expansion addresses increasing customer demand for Data443’s comprehensive suite of data security, privacy, and compliance solutions.

    Jason Remillard, Founder and CEO of Data443 commented: “Our partnership with TierPoint came together out of necessity in tripling our data center capacity to meeting the current demands of our growing customer base. Working with TierPoint positions us for future expansion, particularly in the realm of AI-driven security solutions. TierPoint’s robust infrastructure and proven track record make them the ideal partner for these initiatives.”

    “Our support for Data443 highlights TierPoint’s ability to deliver scalable and reliable data center solutions,” said Gus Hoover, Director Data Center Operations at TierPoint. “By scaling quickly to support Data443’s growth and leveraging redundant infrastructure, we’re providing a cutting-edge solution tailored to their needs.”

    The expanded infrastructure will support Data443’s continued innovation in data security and privacy solutions and is expected to generate substantial operational cost savings through improved efficiency and economies of scale.

    The collaboration delivers multiple strategic advantages that will strengthen Data443’s market position and operational capabilities. The immediate tripling of data center capacity will accommodate the company’s rapid customer growth, while enhanced infrastructure capabilities will power next-generation AI initiatives. Additionally, the expanded infrastructure will enable accelerated deployment of new services and solutions, allowing Data443 to respond more quickly to evolving market demands.

    Recently the company announced its acquisition of leading AI email managment provider Breezemail.ai as it continues innovation in the data security realms.

    About TierPoint

    TierPoint (tierpoint.com) is a leading provider of secure, connected IT platform solutions that power the digital transformation of thousands of clients, from the public to private sectors, from small businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises. Taking an agnostic approach to helping clients achieve their most pressing business objectives, TierPoint is a champion for untangling the complexity of hybrid, multi-platform approaches to IT infrastructure, drawing on a comprehensive portfolio of services, from public to multitenant and private cloud, from colocation to disaster recovery, security, and more. TierPoint also has one of the largest and most geographically diversified U.S. footprints, with dozens of world-class, cloud-ready data centers in 20 markets, connected by a coast-to-coast network.

    About Data443 Risk Mitigation, Inc.

    Data443 Risk Mitigation, Inc. (OTCPK: ATDS) provides software and services to enable secure data across devices and databases, at rest and in flight/in transit, locally, on a network or in the cloud. We are All Things Data Security™. With over 10,000 customers in over 100 countries, Data443 provides a modern approach to data governance and security by identifying and protecting all sensitive data regardless of location, platform or format. Data443’s framework helps customers prioritize risk, identify security gaps and implement effective data protection and privacy management strategies. For more information, visit: https://data443.com.

    Forward-Looking Statements 

    This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by use of terms such as “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “may,” “could,” “will,” “should,” “plan,” “project,” “intend,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “pursuant,” “target,” “continue” or the negative of these words or other comparable terminology. Statements in this press release that are not historical statements, including statements regarding Data443’s plans, objectives, future opportunities for Data443’s services, future financial performance and operating results, and any other statements regarding Data443’s future expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, financial conditions, assumptions or future events or performance, or regarding the anticipated consummation of any transaction, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and assumptions, many of which are difficult to predict or are beyond Data443’s control. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the statements. They may relate to the outcome of litigation, settlements and investigations; actions by third parties, including governmental agencies; volatility in customer spending; global economic conditions; inability to hire and retain personnel; loss of, or reduction in business with, key customers; difficulty with growth and integration of acquisitions; product liability; cybersecurity risk; anti-takeover measures in the Company’s charter documents; and the uncertainties created by global health issues, such as the ongoing outbreak of COVID, and political unrest and conflict, such as the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. These and other important risk factors are described more fully in the Company’s reports and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“the SEC”), including in Part I, Item 1A of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 17, 2024, and subsequent filings with the SEC. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this press release, which are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, Data443 undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise.

    “DATA443” is a registered trademark of Data443 Risk Mitigation, Inc.

    All product names, trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this press release are for identification purposes only. Use of these names, trademarks and brands does not imply endorsement.

    For further information:
    Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/data443-risk-mitigation-inc/
    Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZXDhJcx-XgMBhvE9aFHRdA
    Sign up for our Investor Newsletter: https://data443.com/investor-email-alerts/

    To learn more about Data443, please watch the Company’s video introduction on its YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/1Fp93jOxFSg

    Investor Relations Contact:
    Matthew Abenante
    ir@data443.com
    919.858.6542

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Ecowas breakup could push up food prices and worsen hunger in west Africa

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Danielle Resnick, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

    The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) lost three of its founding members on 29 January 2025. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger comprised 16% of the bloc’s population of 424 million and 7% of its economy.

    Some commentators have labelled their departure – first announced a year ago – as “Sahelexit”. The decision to leave Ecowas was made by the three countries’ military leaders and is now poised to take effect legally. The three countries have created the Alliance of Sahel States (Alliance des États du Sahel, AES), a mutual defence and security pact formalised through the Liptako Gourma Charter in 2023.

    The decision to leave Ecowas was prompted after the military leaders launched coups against democratically elected leaders in Mali in 2021, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Niger in 2023. The Ecowas Democracy and Governance Protocol prohibits unconstitutional changes of government. The regional body therefore imposed economic, financial and travel sanctions on each country after each coup.

    Food was exempted from the sanctions. But the resulting increase in transport times and other logistical hurdles contributed to substantial levels of food price inflation in the region. In Niger, for instance, the average market price of rice rose by 38% between July 2023, when sanctions were first imposed, and February 2024, when they were lifted.

    Remaining Ecowas countries were also badly affected. Benin’s revenues at the port of Cotonou, the main transit source for goods going into Niger, fell dramatically. The sanctions on Mali badly hurt revenue generation at the port of Dakar in neighbouring Senegal.

    All sanctions were lifted in February 2024. But the damage was done, and the three states began preparing their departure from the regional body.

    Ecowas has given these three states a transition period until July 2025 in case they backtrack and want to return. But the Alliance of Sahel States leaders have said their decision is irreversible.

    The exit from Africa’s largest political and economic union threatens to disrupt flows of goods, services and people. As a political economist who focuses on agriculture and nutrition policy in much of Africa, I worry that these developments will have serious consequences for food security in a region where almost 17 million children under five are already acutely malnourished.

    Already, the cost of a daily nutritious diet in the three Sahel alliance countries is 110% higher than the daily minimum wage in the west African region. The countries are also among the world’s hunger hotspots. In early 2025, 7.5 million of their population were classified as in crisis, emergency or famine conditions.

    The exit will also imperil regional cooperation on conflict. Insurgent attacks are moving further south of the Sahel.

    This will reduce access to safe, affordable food and deter investments in agro-processing.

    A blow to trade

    The implications of exit are most obvious for trade relations. Although the three countries will remain in the eight-member francophone West African Economic and Monetary Union, they are departing the Ecowas customs union, which includes the region’s anglophone countries. A customs union removes tariffs among its member states and establishes a common external tariff on non-member states. Members experience freer trade with each other while protecting their domestic industries from external competition. Since 2015, import tariffs for intra-Ecowas goods have been eliminated. A common external tariff is levied on imports from non-Ecowas countries.

    Leaving Ecowas means the three countries will have to adhere to the common external tariff rates for their imports into Ecowas member countries. They will also revert to using the World Trade Organisation’s Most Favored Nation rates on imports from Ecowas countries, which are higher for some categories of goods than the Ecowas tariff.

    In other words, for some goods, including agricultural products, imports will be more expensive for all countries. The three states will be further hurt by the community levy, the 0.5% tax Ecowas imposes on goods from non-Ecowas member states to fund the bloc’s budget.

    All three countries are landlocked. Leaving Ecowas means they lose access to ports like Tema in Ghana and Lagos in Nigeria. There will be implications for some of their biggest exports. For instance, almost 60% of Burkina Faso’s vegetable exports and 90% of its live animal exports go to Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.

    Ghana, along with Côte d’Ivoire and Benin, is a key export market for Niger’s onions. Niger also imports a large share of its food products from Nigeria, one of its largest trading partners in the region.

    The tariff and levies therefore could increase the cost of food for consumers in both the Alliance of Sahel States and remaining Ecowas countries.

    The withdrawal of the three countries will also affect food production through diminished access to electricity as well as wheat flour and edible oils. The trio face possible exclusion from the Ecowas West African Power Pool, which aims to increase members’ access to the regional electricity market. Burkina Faso and Niger import most of their electricity from Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria.

    Finally, the livelihoods of Sahelian migrants living in Ecowas countries remain uncertain. Due to the Ecowas freedom of movement protocol, more than 1.3 million Burkinabes and half a million Malians live in Côte d’Ivoire. Many of them run small, informal sector businesses to support their families back home.

    Future scenarios

    Ecowas marks its 50th anniversary in 2025. What could the future look like?

    Junta leaders are proposing various ways in which the relationship between the Alliance of Sahel States and Ecowas will proceed. For instance, they have claimed that they will maintain visa-free travel from Ecowas countries into theirs. But all 12 remaining Ecowas states would have to approve that proposal. The alliance also launched its own passport, but it’s not clear how Ecowas states will treat citizens who use it.

    Another possible scenario is that they will negotiate bilateral agreements with their major Ecowas trading partners and with other countries that offer sea access, such as Mauritania and Morocco. This scenario obviously undermines efforts to enhance regional trade integration.

    Finally, the problems surrounding the “Sahelexit” embody a larger set of tensions. These include whether political objectives should be embedded within trade arrangements — a debate also central to the possible renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act this year – and whether concerns over national sovereignty will undermine regional cooperation on increasing cross-border climate, conflict, and health threats to food security.

    – Ecowas breakup could push up food prices and worsen hunger in west Africa
    – https://theconversation.com/ecowas-breakup-could-push-up-food-prices-and-worsen-hunger-in-west-africa-249195

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: University of Potsdam (UP)

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    Mission

    Since its founding in 1991, the University of Potsdam has excelled in research and teaching and is well positioned both on a national and international scale. The university aims to play an active role among Germany’s leading research universities on a sustained basis. The university actively engages in qualified training of urgently needed skilled personnel and ensure a rapid translation of the latest scientific findings into practice. It is of particular concern to us to win strong political, economic, and social partners. Through its reporting, the university aims to inform, arouse interest, and show connecting factors which improve the density and stability of the university’s network for education, science and knowledge transfer – to the benefit of Brandenburg.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Human Rights Council to Hold its Fifty-Eighth Regular Session from 24 February to 4 April 2025

    Source: United Nations – Geneva

    The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold its fifty-eighth regular session from 24 February to 4 April 2025 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, starting with its high-level segment from 24 to 26 February, when dignitaries representing more than 100 Member States will address the Council.

    The session will open at 9 a.m. on Monday, 24 February under the Presidency of Ambassador Jürg Lauber of Switzerland. Delivering statements at the opening will be the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres; the President of the United Nations General Assembly , Philemon Yang; the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk; as well as the Chief of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis. The Council will be meeting in room XX of the Palais des Nations.

    On Monday, 3 March, the Council is scheduled to hear a global update by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights around the world. The general debate on his global update will start following his presentation of a number of country-specific reports and updates.

    During the session, the Council will hold 30 interactive dialogues with the High Commissioner, his Office and designated experts, with Special Procedure mandate holders and investigative mechanisms, and with Special Representatives of the Secretary-General. The Council will also hold five enhanced interactive dialogues and one high-level dialogue, as well as nine general debates.

    The Council will also hold the annual high-level panel discussion on human rights mainstreaming with a focus on the thirtieth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action; the biennial high-level panel on the death penalty ; panel discussions on early warning and genocide, HIV response and leaving no one behind, and on rights to work and to social security ; the annual interactive debate on the rights of persons with disabilities; the annual discussion on the rights of the child; and a commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

    The Council will examine the situation of human rights in a number of countries under its various agenda items, including the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Nicaragua, Afghanistan and Myanmar under agenda item two; in Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine, Belarus, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and Myanmar under agenda item four; and in Mali, Haiti, Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Central African Republic under agenda item 10.

    The final outcomes of the Universal Periodic Review of 14 States will also be considered, namely those of Norway, Albania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Portugal, Bhutan, Dominica, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Brunei Darussalam, Costa Rica, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Qatar and Nicaragua. 

    Towards the end of the session, the Council will appoint three new members of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

    A detailed agenda and further information on the fifty-eighth session can be found on the session’s webpage . Reports to be presented are available here. 

    First Week of the Session 

    The fifty-eighth regular session will open at 9 a.m. on Monday, 24 February with a short opening meeting, followed by the start of the high-level segment, which will continue until 26 February, and during which the Council will hear addresses by more than 100 dignitaries. Intervening during the high-level segment will be the annual high-level panel discussion on human rights mainstreaming in the afternoon of 24 February and the biennial high-level panel on the death penalty in the morning of Tuesday, 25 February. The general segment will follow the conclusion of the high-level segment in the afternoon of Wednesday, 26 February.

    On Thursday, 27 February, the Council will hold an interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s report on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice, followed by enhanced interactive dialogues on the situation of human rights in Eritrea and on the High Commissioner’s report on Sudan, with the assistance of the designated Expert. Friday, 28 February, will see the conclusion of the discussion on Sudan, followed by an enhanced interactive dialogue on the report of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan. This will be followed by three interactive dialogues, the first on the report of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, the second with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, and the third on the High Commissioner’s oral update on Myanmar.

    Second Week of the Session 

    At the beginning of the second week, on the morning of Monday, 3 March, the Council will hear the High Commissioner’s global update, then conclude the interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s oral update on Myanmar. This will be followed by the presentation of reports on the activities of the Office of the High Commissioner in Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras, and of another report on Cyprus, and oral updates on Sri Lanka and Nicaragua. The Council will then begin the general debate under agenda item two, namely the annual report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General, which will conclude on Tuesday, 4 March. The Council will subsequently begin its considerations under agenda item three on the promotion and protection of all human rights, holding interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.

    On the morning of Wednesday, 5 March, the Council will hold a panel on early warning and genocide prevention, then conclude its interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. This will be followed by an enhanced interactive dialogue on the report of the Office of the High Commissioner on transitional justice. Another panel will be held on Thursday, 6 March on HIV response and leaving no one behind, in addition to two interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights. A third panel will be held in the morning of Friday, 7 March on rights to work and to social security, followed by two interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing and the Independent Expert on the rights of persons with albinism.

    Third Week of the Session 

    The Council will start its third week on Monday, 10 March with a focus on disability, beginning with an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, to be followed by the annual debate on the rights of persons with disabilities. The day will conclude with an interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on foreign debt, which will continue in the morning of Tuesday, 11 March. Two more interactive dialogues will also be held on Tuesday with the Special Rapporteur on the right to food and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.

    Wednesday, 12 March will see a further three interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, and the Special Representatives of the Secretary-General on violence against children and on children and armed conflict, the latter of which will conclude on Thursday, 13 March. The focus on children will continue on Thursday, with the Council also holding its annual discussion on the rights of the child, the theme of which will be early childhood development, and starting an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, which will conclude on Friday, 14 March.

    On Friday, an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the human right to a healthy environment will precede the presentation of reports by the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, the Secretary-General, the High Commissioner and his Office, followed by the start of the general debate on agenda item three.

    Fourth Week of the Session

    The first day of the Council’s fourth week, Monday 17 March, will be devoted to concluding the general debate on agenda item three. From Tuesday, 18 March, consideration of agenda item four, human rights situations that require the Council’s attention, will begin. First on the schedule is a joint interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur and the independent international fact-finding mission on the situation of human rights in Iran, followed by interactive dialogues with the independent international commission of inquiry on Syria, the fact-finding mission on Venezuela and the independent international commission of inquiry on Ukraine.

    On Wednesday, 19 March, after the conclusion of the dialogue with the commission of inquiry on Ukraine, three more separate interactive dialogues will be held with the group of independent experts on the situation of human rights in Belarus and with the Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and in Myanmar.

    Thursday, 20 March, will see the Council hear the presentation of the High Commissioner’s report on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and his oral update of the situation of human rights in Venezuela. This will be followed by the general debate on agenda item four, which will conclude on the morning of Friday, 21 March. On Friday, the Council will also hold an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, before beginning considerations under agenda item five on human rights bodies and mechanisms. After hearing the presentation of reports by the Forum on Minority Issues, the Social Forum, and the Special Procedures of the Council, it will commence the general debate on agenda item five.

    Fifth Week of the Session 

    The Council will start its fifth week on Monday, 24 March with its consideration under agenda item six of the final outcomes of the Universal Periodic Reviews of 14 States: Norway, Albania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Portugal, Bhutan, Dominica, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Brunei Darussalam, Costa Rica, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Qatar and Nicaragua. This consideration will continue through to the morning of Wednesday, 26 March, after which the Council will hold a general debate on agenda item six. This will be followed by the presentation of the reports of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General under agenda item seven, namely the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories, and the general debate on this agenda item. The general debate under agenda item eight – follow-up and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action – is also scheduled to commence on Wednesday afternoon.

    Ending racism will be the Council’s theme for Thursday, 27 March. After concluding the debate under agenda item eight, it will hear the presentation of the report of the intergovernmental working group on the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, then hold its general debate on agenda item nine, namely racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, follow-up to and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. From 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., the Council will also hold a meeting in commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

    Friday, 28 March will begin with the conclusion of the debate under agenda item nine, followed by three interactive dialogues conducted under agenda item 10 on technical assistance and capacity-building. The first dialogue will be with the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali; the second on the High Commissioner’s report on the situation of human rights in Haiti, with the participation of the Independent Expert on the subject; and the third on the High Commissioner’s oral update on the situation of human rights in Ukraine.

    Sixth Week of the Session 

    Monday, 31 March is a United Nations holiday. On Tuesday, 1 April, the Council will hold an enhanced interactive dialogue on oral updates by the High Commissioner and by the team of international experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, followed by an interactive dialogue on the report of the Office of the High Commissioner on technical assistance and capacity building for South Sudan and a high-level dialogue on the Central African Republic. At the end of the day, the Council will hear the annual presentation of the High Commissioner on technical cooperation and his oral update on Georgia, and the presentation of the report of the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation, followed by the general debate on agenda item 10.

    The general debate will conclude on Wednesday, 2 April, and the Council will then start to act on draft decisions and resolutions, appoint three new members of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and adopt the report of the fifty-eighth regular session, before closing the session on Friday, 4 April.

    The Human Rights Council 

    The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system, made up of 47 States, which is responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe. The Council was created by the United Nations General Assembly on 15 March 2006 with the main purpose of addressing situations of human rights violations and making recommendations on them.

    The composition of the Human Rights Council at its fifty-eighth session is as follows: Albania (2026); Algeria (2025); Bangladesh (2025); Belgium (2025); Benin (2027); Bolivia (2027); Brazil (2026); Bulgaria (2026); Burundi (2026); Chile (2025); China (2026); Colombia (2027); Costa Rica (2025); Côte d’Ivoire (2026); Cuba (2026); Cyprus (2027); Czechia (2027); Democratic Republic of the Congo (2027); Dominican Republic (2026); Ethiopia (2027); France (2026); Gambia (2027); Georgia (2025); Germany (2025); Ghana (2026); Iceland (2027); Indonesia (2026); Japan (2026); Kenya (2027); Kuwait (2026); Kyrgyzstan (2025); Malawi (2026); Maldives (2025); Marshall Islands (2027); Mexico (2027); Morocco (2025); Netherlands (2026); North Macedonia (2027); Qatar (2027); Republic of Korea (2027); Romania (2025); South Africa (2025); Spain (2027); Sudan (2025); Switzerland (2027); Thailand (2027); and Viet Nam (2025).

    The term of membership of each State expires in the year indicated in parentheses.

    The President of the Human Rights Council in 2025 is Jürg Lauber (Switzerland). The four Vice-Presidents are Tareq Md Ariful Islam (Bangladesh), Razvan Rusu (Romania), Paul Empole Losoko Efambe (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and a fourth Vice-President to be elected later from the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States. Mr. Efambe will also serve as Rapporteur of the Geneva-based body.

    The dates and venue of the fifty-eighth session are subject to change.

    Information on the fifty-eighth session can be found here , including the annotated agenda and the reports to be presented.

    For further information, please contact Pascal Sim (simp@un.org), Matthew Brown (matthew.brown@un.org) or David Díaz Martín (David.diazmartin@un.org)

    ___________

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

     

    HRC.25.001E

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ecowas breakup could push up food prices and worsen hunger in west Africa

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Danielle Resnick, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

    The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) lost three of its founding members on 29 January 2025. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger comprised 16% of the bloc’s population of 424 million and 7% of its economy.

    Some commentators have labelled their departure – first announced a year ago – as “Sahelexit”. The decision to leave Ecowas was made by the three countries’ military leaders and is now poised to take effect legally. The three countries have created the Alliance of Sahel States (Alliance des États du Sahel, AES), a mutual defence and security pact formalised through the Liptako Gourma Charter in 2023.

    The decision to leave Ecowas was prompted after the military leaders launched coups against democratically elected leaders in Mali in 2021, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Niger in 2023. The Ecowas Democracy and Governance Protocol prohibits unconstitutional changes of government. The regional body therefore imposed economic, financial and travel sanctions on each country after each coup.

    Food was exempted from the sanctions. But the resulting increase in transport times and other logistical hurdles contributed to substantial levels of food price inflation in the region. In Niger, for instance, the average market price of rice rose by 38% between July 2023, when sanctions were first imposed, and February 2024, when they were lifted.

    Remaining Ecowas countries were also badly affected. Benin’s revenues at the port of Cotonou, the main transit source for goods going into Niger, fell dramatically. The sanctions on Mali badly hurt revenue generation at the port of Dakar in neighbouring Senegal.

    All sanctions were lifted in February 2024. But the damage was done, and the three states began preparing their departure from the regional body.

    Ecowas has given these three states a transition period until July 2025 in case they backtrack and want to return. But the Alliance of Sahel States leaders have said their decision is irreversible.

    The exit from Africa’s largest political and economic union threatens to disrupt flows of goods, services and people. As a political economist who focuses on agriculture and nutrition policy in much of Africa, I worry that these developments will have serious consequences for food security in a region where almost 17 million children under five are already acutely malnourished.

    Already, the cost of a daily nutritious diet in the three Sahel alliance countries is 110% higher than the daily minimum wage in the west African region. The countries are also among the world’s hunger hotspots. In early 2025, 7.5 million of their population were classified as in crisis, emergency or famine conditions.

    The exit will also imperil regional cooperation on conflict. Insurgent attacks are moving further south of the Sahel.

    This will reduce access to safe, affordable food and deter investments in agro-processing.

    A blow to trade

    The implications of exit are most obvious for trade relations. Although the three countries will remain in the eight-member francophone West African Economic and Monetary Union, they are departing the Ecowas customs union, which includes the region’s anglophone countries. A customs union removes tariffs among its member states and establishes a common external tariff on non-member states. Members experience freer trade with each other while protecting their domestic industries from external competition. Since 2015, import tariffs for intra-Ecowas goods have been eliminated. A common external tariff is levied on imports from non-Ecowas countries.

    Leaving Ecowas means the three countries will have to adhere to the common external tariff rates for their imports into Ecowas member countries. They will also revert to using the World Trade Organisation’s Most Favored Nation rates on imports from Ecowas countries, which are higher for some categories of goods than the Ecowas tariff.

    In other words, for some goods, including agricultural products, imports will be more expensive for all countries. The three states will be further hurt by the community levy, the 0.5% tax Ecowas imposes on goods from non-Ecowas member states to fund the bloc’s budget.

    All three countries are landlocked. Leaving Ecowas means they lose access to ports like Tema in Ghana and Lagos in Nigeria. There will be implications for some of their biggest exports. For instance, almost 60% of Burkina Faso’s vegetable exports and 90% of its live animal exports go to Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.

    Ghana, along with Côte d’Ivoire and Benin, is a key export market for Niger’s onions. Niger also imports a large share of its food products from Nigeria, one of its largest trading partners in the region.

    The tariff and levies therefore could increase the cost of food for consumers in both the Alliance of Sahel States and remaining Ecowas countries.

    The withdrawal of the three countries will also affect food production through diminished access to electricity as well as wheat flour and edible oils. The trio face possible exclusion from the Ecowas West African Power Pool, which aims to increase members’ access to the regional electricity market. Burkina Faso and Niger import most of their electricity from Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria.

    Finally, the livelihoods of Sahelian migrants living in Ecowas countries remain uncertain. Due to the Ecowas freedom of movement protocol, more than 1.3 million Burkinabes and half a million Malians live in Côte d’Ivoire. Many of them run small, informal sector businesses to support their families back home.

    Future scenarios

    Ecowas marks its 50th anniversary in 2025. What could the future look like?

    Junta leaders are proposing various ways in which the relationship between the Alliance of Sahel States and Ecowas will proceed. For instance, they have claimed that they will maintain visa-free travel from Ecowas countries into theirs. But all 12 remaining Ecowas states would have to approve that proposal. The alliance also launched its own passport, but it’s not clear how Ecowas states will treat citizens who use it.

    Another possible scenario is that they will negotiate bilateral agreements with their major Ecowas trading partners and with other countries that offer sea access, such as Mauritania and Morocco. This scenario obviously undermines efforts to enhance regional trade integration.

    Finally, the problems surrounding the “Sahelexit” embody a larger set of tensions. These include whether political objectives should be embedded within trade arrangements — a debate also central to the possible renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act this year – and whether concerns over national sovereignty will undermine regional cooperation on increasing cross-border climate, conflict, and health threats to food security.

    Danielle Resnick receives funding from the Gates Foundation and the Open Society Foundation.

    – ref. Ecowas breakup could push up food prices and worsen hunger in west Africa – https://theconversation.com/ecowas-breakup-could-push-up-food-prices-and-worsen-hunger-in-west-africa-249195

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Police are failing to deliver a minimum standard of service, according to the UK public

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Adam Crawford, Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of Leeds, and Chair in Policing and Social Justice, University of York

    Eyematter/Shutterstock

    The UK government has doubled the additional funding for neighbourhood policing in England and Wales to £200 million. This is to support its commitment to putting 13,000 new police officers on the streets.

    High-profile cases and scandals have eroded trust in police in the UK. According to some metrics, it is at its lowest level in 20 years. But the key to repairing it could be through neighbourhood policing. After all, this is where most people’s interactions with police happen.

    The government clearly understands this, hence the extra funding – but how do we make sure that the new recruits are delivering a good policing service?

    My colleagues and I within the Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre (University of York and University of Leeds) have recently published research that shows police are failing to meet the public’s minimum standards of service delivery.

    With Professor Ben Bradford, we developed a framework for a “minimum policing standard”. This is a list of things that members of the public, when asked, think the police should simply be able to do as a minimum standard under normal circumstances.

    We asked focus groups around the country – a total of 93 people – to identify what “good” or “effective” policing meant to them. Members of the public felt very strongly that, at minimum, police should be responsive, fair and respectful, as well as engaged and visibly present.

    Interestingly, people were more concerned with how policing is conducted, the quality of the treatment people receive, and the relationship between the police and the communities they serve, than with particular outcomes.

    The three areas that our respondents thought were most important to the minimum standard were:

    • Response: the way police respond to calls for service, follow up and address crime.

    • Behaviour and treatment: the ways officers and the police as an organisation treat individuals and communities.

    • Presence and engagement of police in neighbourhoods.

    How are the police doing?

    We then conducted a nationally representative survey of 1,484 respondents across Britain, and found that they viewed police to be failing across all three areas.

    Less than 30% of people were confident that police are open and transparent with the decisions they make, prioritise the crimes most affecting the respondents’ community, and provide adequate follow-up after a crime has been committed.

    While a majority of our respondents had confidence that police would treat people with respect, less than half thought that police were good role models, or that they built good relationships with the community or with young people. However, the public still retained significant trust in the idea of “the police” as a whole – which gives me and my colleagues hope that things can improve.

    The government’s efforts to reverse declining confidence in police focus on three aspects: internal reform, fighting crime and revitalising neighbourhood policing. Though all of these are important, our research suggests that the last is the most vital.

    Trust in police has consequences for crime too. Research shows that people are more likely to report crime and cooperate with investigations when they feel that the police are fair and respectful.

    Declining officer numbers and experience

    Between 2010 and 2018, police officer numbers declined from 143,734 to 122,405 across England and Wales, an overall loss of over 21,000 officers. Since 2019, this has increased back up to 147,746 by March 2024. But it means that we now have a police workforce that is both younger and less experienced. In March 2024, more than one in three police officers had less than five years’ service.

    The Home Office said that the additional £100 million in funding “reflects the scale of the challenges that many forces face” in building out their neighbourhood policing teams. This funding is to help them reach the aim of putting those extra 13,000 officers on the street by 2029.

    But these new recruits will again be inexperienced, and may not have developed the appropriate social, interpersonal and problem-solving skills to ensure that standards are met in all instances. This could lead to mistakes that set public confidence and trust in policing back further.

    One way to address this would be to limit the range of social problems that police are expected to respond to. Too often, the police are called upon to manage a host of social ills and vulnerable people. They are often filling gaps left by the withdrawal of other public and third sector services, such as mental health services, exacerbated by austerity.

    Yet there has been little critical assessment of what problems the state is asking the police to solve, and whether the police are really the best suited to solve them. Greater clarity about the limited role of the police would help avoid raising unrealistic expectations, and focus attention on the minimum standards that people want from local policing.

    Our research suggests that if police meet a minimum standard in their neighbourhood interactions with the public (the small things), then the public will be more likely to trust police to be fair and trustworthy when it comes to big and complex things like serious organised crime, counter-terrorism and violent offending.

    Adam Crawford receives funding from ESRC, Centre Grant number: ES/W002248/1.
    He is a member of the Police Science Council, a publicly appointed committee that is one of the Scientific Advisory Councils of the UK government, which provides independent advice to the National Police Chiefs’ Council in the UK on science, technology, analysis and research matters relevant to policing policy and operations.

    – ref. Police are failing to deliver a minimum standard of service, according to the UK public – https://theconversation.com/police-are-failing-to-deliver-a-minimum-standard-of-service-according-to-the-uk-public-249219

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Brutalism: Oscar-nominated film has revived interest in a controversial architectural legacy

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Gleb Redko, PhD Researcher in Punk, Brutalism & Psychogeography, School of Architecture Art & Design, University of Portsmouth

    With ten Oscar nominations, The Brutalist has reignited the debate over the legacy of brutalism. The polarising architectural style was shaped by post-war hopes for a better future. But it was also, as historian Adrian Forty argues in his book Concrete and Culture (2012), an “expression of melancholy, the work of a civilisation that had all but destroyed itself in the second world war”.

    The fictional architect at centre of The Brutalist, László Tóth, is an Austro-Hungarian modernist and concentration-camp survivor who moves to America to rebuild his life. His designs, described as “machines”, are inspired by the trauma of camps like Buchenwald and Dachau.

    Emerging from the rubble of the second world war, brutalism became an architectural response to devastation and the pressing need for urban renewal. The destruction caused by the Blitz provided architects with opportunities to design environments reflecting the ideals of the new welfare state: equality, accessibility and functionality for the collective good.

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    This ethical foundation aimed to address the social needs of the post-war era, particularly in housing, education and public welfare infrastructure. Notable examples of the style include the Barbican estate and Southbank Centre in London.

    Architectural critic Reyner Banham, who coined the term brutalism in his 1966 work Brutalism: Ethic or Aesthetic, argued that the movement was more than an aesthetic choice. He championed the work of Alison and Peter Smithson, young British architects who played a crucial role in shaping brutalism through projects like Robin Hood Gardens in London’s Tower Hamlets. For Banham, brutalism was an ethical stance and a form of “radical philosophy” aiming to address the social needs of the post-war era.

    The brutalist style has, however, often been criticsed for what many perceived to be its unappealing, “ugly” aesthetic and alienating qualities. In 1988, King Charles famously compared the National Theatre in London to a nuclear plant, encapsulating the public’s mixed reactions. Similarly the situationists (a French anti-capitalist art movement) denounced brutalist housing estates as “machines for living”. They saw them as oppressive structures that stifled human connection.

    The perception of brutalism is highly dependent on context. In warmer climates like Marseille in France, the play of sunlight on raw concrete gave structures a sculptural quality. In the UK’s wet climate, however, exposed concrete weathered quickly, making buildings appear grey and neglected.

    Yet for brutalist architects, this was never just about aesthetics. They saw their designs as expressions of honesty and social progress, rejecting ornamentation in favour of raw, functional materials that symbolised a new egalitarian society. The very qualities that critics saw as oppressive were, to its proponents, what made brutalism a radical and hopeful architecture.

    Rebellion and reclamation

    Despite their ethical intentions, brutalist buildings often appeared to have an alienating impact on their residents. In his book Making Dystopia (2018), architectural historian James Stevens Curl discusses the Canada Estate in Bermondsey, London, built in 1964, where tenants expressed their disaffection for the environment through acts of vandalism.

    By the 1970s, the optimism surrounding modernist and brutalist projects had begun to collapse, both figuratively and literally. One of the most infamous moments symbolising this failure was the Ronan Point disaster in 1968. A gas explosion on the 18th floor of this newly built tower block in east London caused a partial collapse. Four people were killed and serious concerns were raised about the safety and quality of post-war high-rise housing.

    This tragedy pushed the Clash’s Joe Strummer to write one of the band’s most notable songs, London’s Burning, in 1976. In the late 1970s and 1980s, punks splattered brutalist architecture with graffiti slogans echoing situationist critiques of modern urban life.

    Some referenced punk band names or song lyrics, showing how punk didn’t just adopt the attitude of the situationists but also their language and tactics. Jamie Reid, the architect of the Sex Pistols’ aesthetic, often used images of brutalist structures as a stark backdrop to his punk visuals.

    The punk movement reinterpreted the failure of brutalism not just as an architectural problem but as a broader societal collapse, highlighting issues of alienation, neglect and the erosion of post-war utopian ideals.



    Read more:
    Jamie Reid: the defiant punk art of the man behind the Sex Pistols’ iconic imagery

    Yet, in recent years, the brutalist aesthetic has found a new audience. Online communities, such as Reddit’s 1.5 million-member r/EvilBuildings reflect on buildings and surroundings captured by community members and the impressions these structures leave. Brutalist buildings frequently top the list.

    This renewed interest highlights the complex legacy of a style that was once widely criticised but continues to captivate a broader audience beyond architects.

    Brutalism’s dual legacy, a movement intended to create community but often seen as alienating, continues to shape debates in architecture and urban planning. The controversial nature of this style is evident in the demolition of prominent structures like the Smithsons’ Robin Hood Gardens (2018), the Tricorn Centre in Portsmouth (2004), and the currently ongoing demolition of Cumbernauld town centre in central Scotland.

    These demolitions highlight both brutalism’s polarised reception and the public reassessment of its value. These spaces are more than just concrete. They are sites of memory, rebellion, and ongoing cultural significance, continuously shaping and being shaped by the society around them.

    Gleb Redko 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. Brutalism: Oscar-nominated film has revived interest in a controversial architectural legacy – https://theconversation.com/brutalism-oscar-nominated-film-has-revived-interest-in-a-controversial-architectural-legacy-249627

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Hebden Bridge Flood Alleviation Scheme designs to be put on show

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Officers from the Environment Agency are hosting two events where residents can view final designs for the scheme, ask any questions and meet the project team.

    On Thursday 27 February and Thursday 6 March, designs will be displayed at Hebden Bridge Town Hall.

    People are invited to pop in from 12pm to 8pm to view the designs and ask any questions, prior to the main planning application being submitted to the council.  

    Environment Agency work to reduce flood risk from the River Calder and Hebden Water will consist of raising and strengthening river walls, using glass panels and raising barriers to minimise any intrusion on the iconic views for those living on the riverside.  

    Working in partnership with Calderdale Council, the Hebden Bridge Flood Alleviation Scheme is designed to reduce flood risk from the River Calder and Hebden Water.  

    Jo Arnold, Calderdale Programme and Partnership Manager at the Environment Agency, said: 

    We are really pleased to share our plans for the Hebden Bridge Flood Alleviation Scheme with the local community and we’d encourage all residents to attend to see what the final designs entail, ask questions and provide comment, prior to our plans being submitted for planning approval.  

    It’s a great opportunity to see the designs in detail, find out what the work will entail, ask any questions and speak directly with the team behind the project. 

    This scheme will play a key role in better protecting homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure across the town and support their long-term resilience against flooding. 

    Information on preparing for flooding

    Environment Agency officers will also be on hand to help anyone who’d like information on how to be prepared for flooding, provide practical advice, and help people sign up for flood warnings. 

    Even with flood defences in place, people can never be fully protected against flooding, so the Environment Agency always urge people to check their risk and sign up to flood warnings.

    Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Action and Housing, Cllr Scott Patient, said:

    It’s great news that the Hebden Bridge Flood Alleviation Scheme is reaching the final stages of development and crucial that we now move into delivery. I hope people take the time to find out more about the plans to better protect the town from flooding.

    It’s now nearly ten years since Storm Eva and five years since Storm Ciara caused significant flooding in the upper valley, but the risk is ever present, and we continue to work in partnership to minimise risk and build resilience.

    The planning application is expected to be submitted later this summer. It is anticipated that pre-construction preparation work will commence later in 2025. 

    Hebden Bridge Flood Information Centre on Valley Road continues to open on Mondays and Fridays from 10am to 2pm where people can get any further information.

    The project team can also be contacted by email.

    Updates to this page

    Published 19 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ESFA Update: 19 February 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Latest information and actions from the Education and Skills Funding Agency for academies, schools, colleges, local authorities and further education providers.

    Applies to England

    Documents

    ESFA Update academies: 19 February 2025

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    Details

    Latest for further education

    No edition

    Latest information for academies

    Article Title
    Information general annual grant allocation guide for 2025 to 2026

    Latest information for local authorities

    No edition

    Updates to this page

    Published 19 February 2025

    Sign up for emails or print this page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Ensuring a just transition to net zero

    Source: Scottish Government

    Climate action must benefit all of Scotland, says First Minister.

    First Minister John Swinney has vowed that he will take a collaborative approach to tackling the climate and nature emergency, and that the transition to net zero ‘will abandon no community’.

    Addressing key climate stakeholders at the Glasgow Botanic Gardens, the First Minister said that despite the many examples of government supported actions and projects that are contributing to a more climate resilient Scotland, there is much more to be done.

    He also called once again on the UK Government to at least match the Scottish Government’s investment in securing a future for the Grangemouth refinery.

    The First Minister said:

    “This transition will abandon no community. The importance of safeguarding jobs and livelihoods has never been more stark than in the immediacy of the situation at Grangemouth.

    “If we are going to ensure a future for the site, opportunities for its highly skilled workforce, investment is needed now. That is why yesterday, I announced that the Scottish Government will amend the 2025-26 Budget at this late stage to allocate an additional £25 million for a Just Transition Fund for Grangemouth.

    “Today, I urge the UK Government to at least match our funding – and to use the powers they have to go further.  If this is a Government for the United Kingdom, then Scotland should be getting its fair share of UK-wide investments.”

    The First Minister added:

    “If we are to persuade people to back climate action wholeheartedly, we must speak not only of the costs and challenges – which there will be – but also demonstrate clear and direct household and community benefits where these are possible. Tangible benefits at home, in terms of more jobs, lower energy bills, and new economic opportunities, delivering also tangible benefits for the planet.

    “My approach to Government has always been collaboration, which is why I want this to be the start of an ongoing conversation, with a focus on action, on delivery. I believe that we can only make the progress, and map out the next necessary steps on our climate journey, by bringing together local and central Government, agencies, stakeholders, trade unions, community organisations, and the wider public.”

    Background

    Climate action: First Minister’s speech – 19 February – gov.scot 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Speech by FS at Consensus Hong Kong 2025 (English only)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Speech by FS at Consensus Hong Kong 2025 (English only)
    Speech by FS at Consensus Hong Kong 2025 (English only)
    *******************************************************

         Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at Consensus Hong Kong 2025 today (February 19): Michael (Chairman of Consensus Hong Kong, Mr Michael Lau), Sara (Chief Executive Officer of CoinDesk, Ms Sara Stratoberdha), distinguished guests, industry leaders and innovators, friends from around the world,      It is my pleasure to be here at Consensus Hong Kong 2025. Let me begin by expressing my heartfelt gratitude to CoinDesk for choosing Hong Kong as the first Asian city for hosting this iconic conference. Your decision underscores Hong Kong’s growing prominence as a global hub for Web3 and crypto innovation. This event also reflects our commitment to building a thriving digital asset ecosystem.  Vast potential of Web3 and AI      Consensus 2025 is a congregation of Web3 talent from around the world, and its agenda reflects the most pressing topics and trends in the Web3 space today. From the convergence of AI and blockchain to the tokenisation of real-world assets (RWA), crypto and consumers, and DeFi 2.0 (decentralised finance), the discussions here are set to shape the future landscape of digital finance and the digital economy.      One of the most exciting developments is, of course, the intersection of AI and blockchain, where “dencetralised AI” can unlock many new applications and opportunities. For example, AI can assist blockchain platforms in performing more accurate credit assessments, improving smart contract audits, providing tailored investment advice, and more.      Globally, the application of Web3 in finance is gaining traction. Blockchain innovations not just reduce transaction costs but also enhance market transparency, and the efficiency and accessibility of financial services. Indeed, we are seeing more institutional adoption where traditional banks, asset managers and brokers increasingly integrate digital assets into their offerings. The benefits are clear. The World Economic Forum, for example, estimates that financial institutions could free up some US$100 billion per year by leveraging distributed ledger technology for collateral management.      Hong Kong, with its advanced financial infrastructure and robust regulatory environment, is at the forefront of this transformation. Hong Kong has already made history by issuing the world’s first tokenised government green bonds in 2023, followed by a groundbreaking multi-currency issuance in 2024.       Beyond finance, Web3 plus AI innovations are inspiring a host of applications in the real economy. From streamlining supply chain management to enhancing game players’ experience; and from improving healthcare management to making agricultural and industrial production more intelligent, they are empowering and transforming business operations and public services.        Rapid tech innovation does not come without challenges. Often, the progress of innovation outpaces regulatory response, creating gaps that can lead to substantial risks. The fallout from several crypto exchanges’ failures in recent years serves as vivid reminders that we must pay attention to market integrity, investor protection, money laundering and cybersecurity risks, as financial products and services continue to innovate and digitalise.      On a positive note, the history of financial innovations shows that we learnt and adapted fast, and put in better guardrails and became more resilient. The key to success lies in maintaining an open, fair, balanced and forward-looking regulatory approach that is conducive to the sustainable and responsible development of financial innovation, including Web3. Hong Kong’s unparalleled advantages      This is the path taken by Hong Kong. While some major jurisdictions have recently begun to embrace cryptocurrencies, which has undoubtedly fuelled a boom of the crypto market, Hong Kong stands out as a market with consistent, predictable, forward-looking policies, and a balanced regulatory framework. For innovators and companies committed to building the future of Web3, or financial institutions looking to bridge traditional and digital finance, Hong Kong is where you want to be.       Our regime is premised on the “same activity, same risk, same regulation” principle, which ensures a level playing field for all market participants. In this regard, Hong Kong has already put in place a licensing regime for digital asset trading platforms. Our Securities and Futures Commission has already issued nine such licences, with more in the pipeline. We are also advancing on the regulation of stable coins, and have introduced the relevant piece of legislation.      To facilitate further innovation, regulatory sandboxes have been set up by our regulators to allow innovators to test and refine their ideas, and to get early regulatory feedback. Besides, initiatives like the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Project Ensemble are accelerating the development of tokenisation ecosystems, covering RWAs like fixed income, investment funds, green finance and trade finance.      Indeed, this pro-innovation and collaborative regulatory approach is a unique value proposition of Hong Kong to Web3 innovators and participants.      AI is constantly evolving and increasingly applied to finance. Its convergence with blockchain will create more use cases, with both new opportunities to be captured, and challenges to be addressed. Hong Kong has set out a clear policy stance on the use of AI in financial services. The Government and financial regulators are working closely with the industry to monitor technology and market development and establish a transparent supervisory framework.      Hong Kong’s commitment to Web3 extends beyond regulation. We are investing heavily in the related infrastructure and talent development. Our Cyberport and Science Park have become vibrant hubs for Web3 innovation and fintech, while our universities and partnerships with the industry are nurturing generations of blockchain experts. Through talent admission schemes, we are also attracting top-notch professionals from around the world, ensuring that Hong Kong remains at the cutting edge of technological advancement. Concluding remarks      Ladies and gentlemen, while the tides of change may ebb and flow, the quest for innovation has never stopped. The digital asset market today may somewhat resemble the early days of all great transformative paradigms: as new frontiers emerge, there will always be champions of progress and cautious observers. What remains true is that the market ultimately rewards those who dare to innovate, and adapt and persevere.      The tides of change are upon us, and Hong Kong is ready to ride the wave. As the Web3 ecosystem continues to evolve, Hong Kong will remain a stable, open and vibrant market for digital assets. I am confident that global companies and institutions will join force with us to lead its development.      Once again, my heartfelt thanks to CoinDesk for hosting this event in Hong Kong. I wish you all a productive and inspiring event over the next two days. And do remember to take some time to enjoy Hong Kong, Asia’s world city. Thank you.

     
    Ends/Wednesday, February 19, 2025Issued at HKT 12:30

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ14: Making good use of spaces released from toll collection facilities of road harbour crossings

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         Following is a question by the Hon Chan Chun-ying and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, in the Legislative Council today (February 19):      Question:     In order to implement the HKeToll free-flow tolling service, the Highways Department is demolishing the toll booths, toll islands and toll plaza shelters of the three road harbour crossings (RHCs) and adjusting the traffic lane arrangements. On making good use of the spaces released from the toll collection facilities of RHCs, will the Government inform this Council:(1) as it is learnt that the demolition works of the toll booths, toll islands and toll plaza shelters of the three RHCs have basically been completed, but many water-filled barriers and traffic cones used for the purposes of road works have not yet been removed from the road surfaces in the vicinity of the three RHCs, causing vehicles entering and exiting RHCs to reduce their speed, thus affecting the smooth flow of traffic, and that the Government indicated in its reply to a question from a Member of this Council on November 13 last year that the demolition works involving the three RHCs were not expected to be completed until the second quarter of this year, of the complexities of the remaining works and whether the Government has explored early completion of such works; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;(2) given that in its reply to a question from a Member of this Council on October 18, 2023, the Government indicated that the demolition of all the manual toll booths could release land with an estimated total area of about 23 000 square metres at the three RHCs, whether, apart from using the land to provide more bus stops or improve the existing ones and increase the number of buffer zones, the Government has considered landscaping the RHC entrances to create three scenic cityscapes; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and(3) as it is learnt that there are many advertising spaces at the three RHCs, whether the Government has studied taking this opportunity to revamp these advertising spaces to provide digital advertising screens, three-dimensional advertising screens and projection advertising screens, etc, thereby attracting more advertisers and increasing government revenue; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?Reply:President,     The HKeToll, a free-flow tolling service, has been implemented in all government-tolled tunnel since end-2023 and will be implemented at the Tai Lam Tunnel after the Government takes over it in May this year. The HKeToll enables vehicles to pay tolls remotely without having to stop at the toll booths, thereby enhancing the efficiency of toll collection, and providing more effective traffic management as well as safer and smoother commuting for motorists; and the freed-up areas following the removal of manual toll booths will be utilised to improve the traffic at the tunnel entrances and exits.          Having consulted the Development Bureau and the Transport Department (TD), my reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Chan Chun-ying is as follows:(1) All HKeToll related works at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel (CHT) and Eastern Harbour Crossing (EHC) have been completed, including the removal of toll islands and toll plaza canopies, and adjustment of lane arrangements. The traffic cones currently placed on site mainly aim at guiding vehicles along the lanes and preventing them from entering the shadow area of the central dividers, so as to rationalise the traffic near the tunnel entrances and exits and maintain road safety.     As for the Western Harbour Crossing (WHC), we are currently carrying out road resurfacing and related works in the vicinity of the former toll plaza, which requires removal of the existing concrete pavement of the main traffic lanes at the former toll plaza for repaving the road base as well as the bituminous pavement. As the works are close to existing traffic lanes, bus stops, branch road entrances and exits, etc, they need to be carried out in phases to ensure that the project will not cause significant impact on tunnel operations, traffic conditions and road safety. Upon the completion of the works at the main traffic lane, we will continue the remaining works at the freed-up areas and remove temporary traffic management measures such as water barriers after completion. The relevant departments will complete the works as soon as possible, and it is expected the works at WHC will be completed in the second quarter of this year.(2) The freed-up areas following the removal of toll booths will be used for improving the traffic at the tunnel entrances and exits, including widening the existing space for loading/unloading of buses and access to bus stops, increasing the number of lane-side buffer zones to ensure the safe operation of the tunnels, as well as rationalising traffic lane arrangements, with consideration given to road safety and landscaping. In the long run, the TD will continue to review the future traffic condition of the road section and the spaces available, and proactively consider how to complement the development of the neighbouring areas and improve the traffic and cross-harbour bus service. Besides, taking the CHT as an example, at the Government’s invitation, the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) has conducted a study to re-plan the sites in the vicinity of the Hung Hom Station and the waterfront, including exploring ways to enhance the pedestrian connectivity between Hung Hom and Tsim Sha Tsui East, and improve the passenger bus waiting environment at the CHT. The Government is currently considering MTRCL’s report, and expects stakeholder consultation on the land use proposals will take place by mid-2025.(3) At present, there are a total of 95 advertising panels located at the tunnel entrances and exits, tunnel buildings (such as administration buildings and ventilation buildings) and bus stops of the three road harbour crossings. The tunnel operators under the TD appoint advertising agents through open tender to sell advertising spaces, and the relevant advertising revenue goes to the Government.     The TD has been closely monitoring the market demand for advertising display within the tunnel areas with a view to optimising the use of advertising spaces. The TD also reviews the number and types of advertising panels from time to time, taking into account factors such as cost-effectiveness, avoiding distraction to motorists, road safety and visual impact to nearby residents. To tie in with the market demand and changes to the toll plaza, the TD has commissioned a total of four new advertising panels from November 2024 to January 2025 at the EHC to increase advertising revenue.     The TD will continue to maintain close liaison with tunnel operators and advertising agents to keep in view the market demand for displaying advertisements within the tunnel area, and consider the feasibility of different options, including the proposal in the question, with a view to increasing advertising revenue.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –