Source: African Development Bank Group
The just-concluded Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam marks a pivotal shift in how the continent approaches its energy crisis, from fragmented national efforts to a coordinated continental strategy backed by robust financial commitments and political will.
Category: Politics
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MIL-OSI Economics: Mission 300 Energy Summit: A watershed moment for Africa’s energy future
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MIL-OSI New Zealand: Education – New charter schools open doors to first students
Source: Charter School Agency
Three of the first seven new charter schools | kura hourua open their doors today, marking a huge milestone for education in New Zealand, says Charter School Agency Chief Executive, Jane Lee.
Mastery Schools New Zealand – Arapaki (Christchurch), L’École Française Internationale (Auckland) and Te Rito, Te Kura Taiao (Doubtless Bay) will all welcome their first students with a range of celebrations.
Mastery Schools New Zealand – Arapaki, the first new charter school to be announced last November, will greet its first 60 students with a mihi whakatau including whānau, supporters, Charter School Agency, government and Authorisation Board representatives, as well as founders of Mastery Schools Australia.
L’École Française Internationale will celebrate with students and families by sharing a traditional French breakfast which coincides with la chandeleur (pancake day) in France while Te Rito, Te Kura Taiao will also have a mihi whakatau to welcome its first cohort, with plans for a larger opening celebration in a few weeks.
“Today is a huge day for education. I welcome these schools to the charter school network and applaud the sponsors and education leaders for their vision and strategic approach to lifting student outcomes,” says Ms Lee.
“The introduction of more diverse learning options in our communities opens more choice for families and students and offers a new start for children who have been disengaged or who will benefit from a different approach.
“Charter schools will help children attain attendance and achievement levels and the real value will be realised through them growing in confidence, reaching their potential and ultimately contributing to their communities,” says Ms Lee.
The opening of Mastery Schools New Zealand – Arapaki was particularly significant for the school’s sponsors, Dave and Jo Jessep, whose inspiration to open a charter school stemmed from supporting their daughter’s learning needs.
The Mastery Schools programme is evidence based and focuses on learners who are disengaged from mainstream schools. Each class has a core teacher with three teaching assistants.
Four other new charter schools are scheduled to open in the coming week.
TIPENE, the South Auckland Māori boys boarding school, will welcome its first cohort and whānau with a pōwhiri on 6 February, Waitangi Day, which Associate Minister for Education, David Seymour, will speak at following his attendance at Waitangi.
The BUSY School New Zealand (central Auckland) opens on 7 February and both North West College (Auckland) and Christchurch North College start their terms on 10 February.
More new charter schools which could open later this year or early 2026 will be announced in the coming weeks. The Charter School Agency is also preparing to start an expression of interest process for existing state schools which are interested in becoming charter schools and a new round of applications for sponsors to open new charter schools.
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MIL-OSI New Zealand: Activist News – PSNA tells Foreign Minister Winston Peters to ignore ‘Trump’s bully’ on Israeli soldiers holidaying here
Source: Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa
The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa is telling Foreign Minister Winston Peters to ignore the bullying from pro-Israel Texas senator Ted Cruz and have the courage to stop welcoming Israel solders to New Zealand.
Winston Peters has claimed Israeli media stories that New Zealand has stopped Israeli military visiting New Zealand are false. Ted Cruz had quoted Israeli daily Ha’aretz in a tweet which says “It’s difficult to treat New Zealand as a normal ally within the American alliance system, when they denigrate and punish Israeli citizens for defending themselves.”
PSNA chair John Minto says Peters should not buckle to a Trump-supporting senator who fully backs Israeli genocide.
“Ted Cruz believes Israel should continue defending land it has stolen from Palestinians. He supports every Israeli war crime. New Zealand must be different.
Last September New Zealand voted against the US at the United Nations where we sided with the majority of humanity to give Israel a year to fully get out of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
“So the New Zealand government has a completely different policy position to the US. That should be reflected in the actions of the New Zealand government. We must have an immigration ban on Israeli soldiers who have served in the Israeli military since October 2023 as well as a ban on any Israeli who lives in an illegal Israeli settlement on occupied Palestinian land.”
Minto says it is not clear what the current immigration rules are for different entry categories, but it does seem that some longer stay Israeli applicants are required to declare they have not committed human rights violations before they are allowed in.
“That’s what the Australians are doing. It appears ineffective at preventing Israeli troops having ‘genocide holidays’ in Australia – but it’s a start. We’d like to see a broader, effective, and watertight ban on Israeli troops coming here.”
“Instead of bowing to US pressure New Zealand should be joining the Hague group of countries, as proposed by the Palestine Forum of New Zealand, to take decisive action to prevent and punish Israeli war crimes.”
John Minto
National Chair
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa
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MIL-OSI New Zealand: Palestine Forum of New Zealand Urges Government to Join the Hague Group in Support of Palestine
Source: Palestine Forum of New Zealand
The Palestine Forum of New Zealand calls on the New Zealand government to join the newly formed Hague Group, a coalition of nine nations committed to defending Palestinian rights and holding Israel accountable for its violations of international law.
The Hague Group—comprising South Africa, Malaysia, Namibia, Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Senegal, Honduras, and Belize—has pledged to support the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ) in prosecuting Israeli officials and enforcing legal measures against ongoing crimes in Palestine.
“New Zealand must take a stand for justice and align with nations committed to real action against Israeli war crimes,” said [Spokesperson’s Name]. The Forum urges Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters to demonstrate New Zealand’s commitment to human rights by joining this initiative.
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MIL-OSI New Zealand: SEYMOUR’S SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAMME A FAILURE DAY ONE – Sir Ray Avery GNZM
Source: The Kaizen Group – Sir Ray Avery GNZM
OPINION PIECE – Sir Ray says “It was actually day two when David Seymour’s lunches arrived at schools one hour after lunchtime and principals described it as looking like dog food and they could not even give it away to food banks and it was dumped.”The company who David Seymour awarded the $85 million School lunch programme contract to is the British-based multinational Compass Group, who lost one-third of their school contracts in the original school lunch programme due to poor quality in food and service.Compass has been severely criticised for its catering supply in NZ hospitals.Dr Kelly Garton, spokesperson for The Health Coalition Aotearoa (HCA), has significant concerns about the quality, nutritional standards and quality controls for the new school lunches programme.“Cabinet has given a $85 million contract to a group led by a company that just months ago was forced to do a performance management plan due to poor quality and service,” said Dr Kelly Garton.“Why should New Zealanders have confidence this model will deliver the nutrition and quality growing bodies and minds need?” Garton said.Sir Ray Avery says he has faced a lot of critics on social media because he stated: “The Government doesn’t have any meaningful Governmental Nutritional Standards for School Lunches and this seemed to polarise New Zealanders some who endorsed the New School Lunch initiative and others though that this was the parents’ responsibility.“Both sides of the political system seem to be focused on the process rather than outcomes,” said Sir Ray. “The real issue is what is the desired outcome? It’s trying to close the gap on equality by providing a nutritious meal (that gets eaten) by children who through no fault of their own don’t have the ‘luxury’ of packing one from home so they can focus at school and achieve better educational results and better long-term physical and mental health outcomes.“Not $3 meals produced by a dodgy company with a terrible track record.”David Seymour gave a $85-million-dollar contract to a company that day two “due to problems with their ovens were one hour late for lunchtime” and principals described it as $3 dog food and Seymour said “This is just program teething problems”.Sir Ray is calling out Seymour for awarding the school lunch programme to a company that is well known for awful, sub-standard food in the hospital setting and with many many complaints from schools in the previous School lunch programme.Sir Ray said “I can only presume his decision was based on price so Seymour could claim to have saved millions of dollars with respect to the previous School lunch programme costing $8 per serve but Seymour has wasted $85 million dollars because you can’t fix Compass quality and service problems and our kids will still go hungry because Seymour did not provide them something edible to eat.”Sir Ray says, “Because our Tamariki are such a valuable asset for the future of New Zealand I think Seymour should resign because he has been negligent in appointing a company known for its poor performance with respect to the quality of the food it provides and any competent Minister would have done the necessary due diligence to ensure our Tamariki have the best possible start in life.” -
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Federated Farmers calls for doubling of QEII Trust funding
Source: Federated Farmers
Federated Farmers is calling on the Government to double its funding for the QEII National Trust to ensure it can continue to meet demand from farmers.“The QEII Trust has a stellar track record of working with landowners to permanently protect special areas of bush, wetland and biodiversity,” Federated Farmers vice president Colin Hurst says.“It’s an utter disgrace that QEII’s base government funding has remained unchanged at $4.3 million for a decade, despite rising demand for its help.“In real terms, that’s a huge cut in funding.”The QEII National Trust was established in 1977, with Federated Farmers dairy chair (the late) Gordon Stephenson a key instigator.Its core function is to encourage protection of natural and cultural features on private land. The trust partners with landowners who voluntarily protect their land without selling or donating it.Covenants ensure threatened species and special areas of bush and wetland are protected for future generations, in perpetuity. Subsequent landowners can’t alter this protection.Covenants now cover 187,774 hectares – the vast majority on farms. That is an area of land over double the size of Tongariro National Park.The QEII Trust celebrated its 4000 th covenant in 2014/15. Now, nearly 10 years later, it has 5,200 covenants to be managed and monitored – a 28% increase in demand, with no change in government base funding.For comparison, the Department of Conservation’s funding went from $470m to $718m over that same 10-year period.“With that big hike in the amount of covenanted land, there is clearly huge buy-in from farmers,” Hurst says.“Voluntary initiatives like the QEII Trust have huge support in rural communities and are a far better approach than heavy-handed and impractical SNA rules.”The trust leverages outside funding and bequests, and works with district and regional councils. In 2021 it also secured $8m of Jobs for Nature funding, spread over four years.But that runs out in June this year and the trust is warning it will have to scale back the number of new covenants it can support.A 2017 study by Waikato University’s Institute for Business Research found that covenanting landowners together spend an estimated $25 million of their own money every year to protect native species and special areas in their QEII covenantsLoss of potential income from other alternative uses of land under covenant was estimated to be between $443-$638 million between 1977 and 2017.Farmers and other landowners pitch in with environmentalists, volunteers and council staff to carry out planting, pest control, fencing and other work on covenanted sites.“It represents farmer commitment, and great bang for buck, on conservation.“The Government needs to step up its contribution to keep up the pace,” Hurst says. -
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Health and Politics – GenPro focuses BIM on helping new Health Minister improve access to primary healthcare
Source: General Practice Owners Association (GenPro)
General practice owners, pleased the new Health Minister identifies access to primary healthcare as a top priority, have put forward their views on how Minister Brown could reduce waiting times to see a doctor.
In a Briefing to the Incoming Minister, the General Practice Owners Association focuses on three key actions critical to reducing waiting times.
GenPro Chair Dr Angus Chambers says doctors are on the same page as the Minister as every day they see the frustration of patients not able to make appointments in a timely way or register with their local GP.
Dr Chambers said improving access was more than just about funding, though that’s an important part of the solution in the short term.
“The new Health Minister needs to recognise the importance of primary healthcare and respond to its urgent need for financial support so it can deliver the essential services Kiwis need,” Dr Chambers says.
“Being enrolled with a GP means people are less likely to attend an emergency department, and it also reduces per-patient costs on our health system.
“Investment in hands-on general practice will directly support the government’s aim of reducing waiting times at emergency departments. No other investment has any evidence of supporting the achievement of this target,” Dr Chambers says.
Greater support right now for primary healthcare is critical. General practice has been degraded over two decades. Funding hasn’t kept pace with increasing costs, health needs are more complex, and the ability of general practices to raise revenue is restricted by fees controls. For all these reasons, general practice is in a precarious financial position, the BIM says.
GenPro’s three key areas to reducing waiting times are:
Better funding for primary health care services
Fair pay for family doctor teams
Increasing the family doctor workforce
While all are important, funding is a critical issue because it’s created or exacerbated other problems, such as staff shortages, crowded emergency departments, and reduced services as general practices restrict enrolments or exit after-hours care.“Minister Brown has a lot to read to prepare for his new role, but GenPro’s briefing must be near the top of the pile. General practice is in a parlous state and his influence on funding is desperately needed so we can arrest the decline in primary healthcare, reduce waiting lists, and give communities the healthcare they need and deserve,” Dr Chambers says.
GenPro members are owners and providers of general practices and urgent care centres throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. For more information visit www.genpro.org.nz
GenPro-Briefing-to-Minister (ref. https://genpro.org.nz/assets/Uploads/PDFs/250123-GenPro-Briefing-to-Minister.pdf ) -
MIL-OSI Global: Donald Trump’s tariff wallop demonstrates the brute power of an imperial presidency
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Daniel Drache, Professor Emeritus, Department of Politics, York University, Canada
As promised, United States President Donald Trump has imposed punishing tariffs on all exports from Canada and Mexico, leading to retaliatory tariffs from Canada.
Canada’s closest ally has torn up the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade deal negotiated only seven years ago. The rationale behind what the Wall Street Journal editorial board has called “the dumbest trade war in history” isn’t even clear.
The pessimistic view is that if Canada doesn’t give Trump everything he wants, he will bulldoze the country with more tariffs, sanctions on banks, enhanced border inspections and even a travel ban — everything he recently threatened to do to Colombia.
Canada’s political class is scrambling because the U.S. has long been a cultural sibling and an economic partner. But now it is toxic, threatening and untrustworthy. Will Canada sign another trade deal with Trump in office? The chances recede the longer the tariffs remain in place.
Iron-fisted
It’s never been more clear that Trump is obsessive, seldom a bluffer and always iron-fisted. He seems to have planned and executed this tariff bomb to cause maximum pain and chaos. Now he says the European Union is next on his list.
Trump is counting on his new majorities in U.S. Congress to ram through his radical right populist agenda, forcing other countries to play a role in his melodrama.
In response to Trump’s charge that the U.S. subsidizes Canadian trade, former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper pointed out that half of America’s imported oil comes from Canada, and its price is significantly discounted due to a lack of pipeline capacity. “It’s actually Canada that subsidizes the United States in this regard,” Harper said.
Nevertheless, Trump’s preferred foreign policy tactic is to hit first with economic sanctions and negotiate later. With his near total grip on U.S. government, he can now achieve all his aims through tariffs.
Read more:
Canada-U.S. tariff war: How it will impact different products and industries
The imperial presidency
Trump’s vision for his imperial presidency is organized around an old idea: the revenue tariff. Before income taxes, border tariffs were the primary source of income for government. But back then, government did a lot less.
For example, America’s 19th-century navy of wooden sailing ships was purchased with tariffs. But it would be impossible to fund modern-day health care, student loans and $13 billion aircraft carriers with tariff revenues.
A recent study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics shows the math doesn’t add up. Tariffs are levied on imported goods and are worth about US$3 trillion. American income tax is levied on incomes and are worth more than US$20 trillion. Government would have to be much smaller, and tariffs would have to be so high they would choke American trade, for tariffs to make economic sense.
And yet Trump has a broad mandate. In the summer of 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. United States that presidents require a broadly defined “presumptive immunity from prosecution for … official acts.”
This decision has given Trump the legal clout to force the entire federal government to answer to the president himself.
Read more:
US Supreme Court immunity ruling ideal for a president who doesn’t care about democracy
War against democracy
Trump is using his vast new mandate to wage multiple wars simultaneously. These wars against the guardrails of liberal democracy require the punishment of his enemies inside his own party.
Read more:
Canada should be preparing for the end of American democracy
Republicans who have voted against Trump legislation during his first term faced high-profile challenges in the primaries as he funded their opponents. Today, the war is waged against those who are insufficiently loyal, including the highest ranks of the Coast Guard and the FBI.
The war against the administrative state involves the mass firing of independent inspectors, federal lawyers and thousands of civil servants to be replaced by foot soldiers personally loyal to the leader.
The Trump administration has sent out “deferred resignation” notices that invite the entire civil service to resign. This is the tactic Trump’s key adviser, Elon Musk, implemented at X, and it suggests a wave of firings will soon begin.
Nonsensical trade war
The trade war against Canada and Mexico is peculiar because neither country has expressed any willingness to abolish the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is among the achievements of Trump’s first administration.
Nevertheless, the paranoid Trump seems to be convinced that he got a raw deal in 2018, and so he wants to scrap the whole treaty and negotiate something tougher that brings more jobs home.
In 2024, the cars that were ranked most “American” in terms of their content and final assembly were made by Tesla, Honda and Volkswagen. By comparison, the best-selling the Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck ranked No. 43 on the list. What Trump considers American and non-American isn’t clear, even to voters.
A new Bank of Canada forecast predicts that American tariffs may reduce Canadian GDP by six per cent. The federal government is planning an enormous bailout package to compensate for widespread job losses like the one offered to businesses and individuals during the pandemic.
Unsurprisingly, Trump divides Canada’s leadership. Alberta and Saskatchewan have publicly criticized the Team Canada approach. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith refused to sign the joint federal/provincial statement and played to her secessionist base.
Read more:
Why Alberta’s Danielle Smith is rejecting the Team Canada approach to Trump’s tariff threats
Even so, former Alberta premier Jason Kenney recognizes the peril, arguing that Alberta needs to “be prepared to retaliate … we can’t be wusses about this; we have to have a spine.”
What’s next?
Canada is an export-led economy based on natural resources. Its strength lies not in refusing to buy California wine or Florida orange juice. Its main sources of leverage are oil and gas, potash and uranium, rare earth minerals, timber products and hydroelectric power. But of all these, oil, uranium, and hydro-electric power are Canada’s biggest guns.
It’s not yet clear how effective the Canadian government’s strategy will be. Previous rounds of retaliation after the steel and aluminum tariffs in Trump’s first term did not drive him to the negotiating table. It’s also unclear what the CEOs of Canada’s branch-plant multinational corporations will do when their loyalties are divided between Trump and Canada.
Furthermore, it’s anyone’s guess how much the dissent of western Canadian premiers has hurt Canada’s case with Trump. Certainly, his preferred tactic is to divide and conquer.
Finally, it’s unclear if Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s “Captain Canada” approach will earn the respect or disdain of Republicans — although, ultimately, it doesn’t matter what the rest of the American political class thinks because Trump and his inner circle are calling all the shots.
In practical terms, there is little Canada can do to address the false accusations that it’s complicit in the illicit drug trade and in migrants crossing the border into the U.S. Facts don’t matter to Trump. He will eventually come up with a demand, and if Canada doesn’t give in, he will ramp up the economic pain.
Welcome to the post-liberal world order.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Donald Trump’s tariff wallop demonstrates the brute power of an imperial presidency – https://theconversation.com/donald-trumps-tariff-wallop-demonstrates-the-brute-power-of-an-imperial-presidency-247524
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MIL-OSI USA: Sen. Mike Hodges: Week Three Under the Gold Dome
Source: US State of Georgia
The third week of the 2025 Legislative Session has wrapped up, and we’re staying focused on passing commonsense legislation that puts Georgia families, businesses and communities first.
Last week’s snow may have delayed budget hearings for a few days, but it didn’t slow us down. The General Assembly has been hard at work in joint sessions, carefully reviewing budget requests to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. Passing a balanced budget is not only our constitutional duty—it’s the foundation of a responsible government that serves its people.
One of the most crucial budget proposals this session is Governor Brian P. Kemp’s plan to return $1 billion in surplus funds to taxpayers directly. Thanks to years of conservative budgeting and fiscal responsibility, we can give back to the hardworking Georgians who keep our state running. This is just part of the $2.2 billion in statewide allocations designed to benefit families, businesses, and communities across Georgia. I’m proud to support Gov. Kemp’s efforts to strengthen our economy by putting more money back in your pockets.
Another key priority is ensuring communities hit hardest by Hurricane Helene have the necessary resources to rebuild. Gov. Kemp has proposed $614.72 million in recovery funding, including $150 million for the Governor’s Emergency Fund to help with debris removal and housing assistance. Another $300 million will go to the Georgia Department of Transportation to restore roads and infrastructure. Many rural counties are still reeling from this storm, and we’re committed to ensuring they get the support they need to recover and move forward.
Back at the Capitol, we went straight to work this week, advancing legislation that reflects our values and priorities. Regardless of political agenda, the safety and wellbeing of Georgians is always a top priority for all State Senators. One of the bills I’m proud to cosponsor is Senate Bill 27, which would protect vulnerable individuals in our state from stalking and doxing, creating criminal penalties for endangering Georgians through these means. I also cosponsored Senate Bill 29, a measure that would make it easier for law enforcement officials to collect the DNA of criminals arrested for felonies.
This week, I had the pleasure of joining our Glynn County commissioners in meetings with the commissioners of both the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to discuss issues that are vitally important to my friends and neighbors. I am confident these discussions will bear fruit in future efforts to better our roads and bridges and to protect our beaches.
Finally, I want to continue encouraging students ages 12 to 18 to apply for the Senate Page Program. This is an excellent way for young people to see firsthand how the General Assembly works. If you know a student who might be interested, they can apply here.
As always, I’m here to listen. If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas about our work at the Capitol, please don’t hesitate to reach out. It’s an honor to serve you, and I appreciate your trust as we work together throughout the remainder of the 2025 legislative session.
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Sen. Mike Hodges serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Reapportionment and Redistricting. He represents the 3rd Senate District which includes Brantley, Camden, Charlton, Glynn, McIntosh, and a portion of Ware County. He may be reached by phone at (404) 463-1309 or by email at mike.hodges@senate.ga.gov.
For all media inquiries, please reach out to SenatePressInquiries@senate.ga.gov. -
MIL-OSI USA: Sen. Carden Summers: Weeks 2 & 3 Under the Gold Dome
Source: US State of Georgia
The third week of the 2025 Legislative Session has concluded, and we’re staying focused on passing commonsense legislation that puts Georgia families, businesses and communities first.
Last week’s snowstorm may have delayed budget hearings for a few days, but it didn’t slow us down. The General Assembly has been hard at work in joint sessions, carefully reviewing budget requests to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. Passing a balanced budget is not only our constitutional duty—it’s the foundation of a responsible government that serves its people.
One of the most crucial budget proposals this legislative session is Governor Brian P. Kemp’s plan to return $1 billion in surplus funds directly to taxpayers. Thanks to years of conservative budgeting and fiscal responsibility, we’re in a position to give back to the hardworking Georgians who keep our state running. This is just part of the $2.2 billion in statewide allocations designed to benefit families, businesses and communities across Georgia. I’m proud to support Gov. Kemp’s efforts to strengthen our economy by putting more money back in your pockets.
Another key priority is ensuring communities hit hardest by Hurricane Helene have the resources they need to rebuild. Gov. Kemp has proposed $614.72 million in recovery funding, including $150 million for the Governor’s Emergency Fund to help with debris removal and housing assistance. Another $300 million will go to the Georgia Department of Transportation to restore roads and infrastructure. Many rural counties are still reeling from this storm, and we’re committed to making sure they get the support they need to recover and move forward.
One of the bills I’m proud to sponsor is Senate Bill 43. This legislation aims to update the qualifications for bona fide conservation use property and bona fide residential transition property and would increase the maximum acreage needed to qualify to meet these standards. I’m also proud to sponsor Senate Bill 13, legislation which provides the authority to finance and perform duties in connection with projects relating to natural gas facilities. This legislation is not only important to Senate District 13, but to the entire state.
Finally, I encourage students ages 12 to 18 to apply for the Senate Page Program. This is an excellent way for young people to see firsthand how the General Assembly works. If you know a student who might be interested, they can apply on the Senate website here.
If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas about our work at the Capitol, please don’t hesitate to reach out. It’s an honor to serve you, and I appreciate your trust as we work together throughout the remainder of the 2025 legislative session.
# # # #
Sen. Carden Summers serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking and Financial Institutions. He represents the 13th Senate District which includes Ben Hill, Berrien, Crisp, Irwin, Lee, Tift, Turner, and Worth County, as well as a part of Coffee County. He may be reached at (404) 463-5258 or by email at carden.summers@senate.ga.gov.
For all media inquiries, please reach out to SenatePressInquiries@senate.ga.gov.
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MIL-Evening Report: Demolition should be the last resort for Melbourne’s 44 public housing towers – retrofit and upgrade instead
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nigel Bertram, Practice Professor of Architecture, Monash University
Investment in public housing is long overdue. But the current proposal to demolish all 44 of Melbourne’s social housing towers, relocate more than 10,000 residents and redevelop the sites is deeply flawed.
This blanket approach risks repeating the traumatic dislocation of vulnerable communities that happened when the towers were built more than 50 years ago. It also involves wasting money, energy and construction materials.
The state government says the old high-rises are being redeveloped to meet modern standards and house more people. But the decision to demolish and rebuild, rather than upgrade, has been challenged repeatedly.
I coauthored one of the most recent reports from concerned independent architects, urban designers and researchers. Together we argue retrofitting and upgrading existing housing stock, when combined with strategic new building, is technically feasible, cheaper and better for people and the planet.
At the same time, a class action lawsuit is awaiting a legal ruling on whether the government should be forced to release documents justifying demolition over retrofitting.
We know retaining and reusing existing structures saves energy and other resources, ultimately reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Across 44 buildings, this could also save around A$1.5 billion in construction costs.
Playing the numbers game
The federal government has set a national target to build 1.2 million homes by 2029. Victoria has a “bold” target to build 800,000 new homes over the next ten years. But how they go about meeting these targets matters too.
Melbourne’s housing commission towers are home to established communities, where connections between people have developed over a long period. This has immense social value.
The 44 towers also represent substantial embodied carbon. This is the carbon dioxide (CO₂) already emitted in extracting, manufacturing, transporting, installing and eventually disposing of existing concrete, bricks and other reusable materials.
Our analysis of one tower at Atherton Gardens estate revealed a potential saving of 16,000 tonnes of CO₂ through retrofitting. Multiplying this by 44 adds up to more than 700,000 tonnes – roughly equivalent to taking 150,000 cars off the road.
Taking tips from overseas
Overseas, similar postwar housing precincts have been updated and redeveloped in a more careful, considered way. Residents have even been able to stay in place while improvements are made. Such approaches incorporate a mix of renovation and retrofitting of existing buildings, combined with new infill and upgrades to public open spaces.
This approach integrates the precincts into the surrounding city and upgrades facilities to contemporary standards – without wholesale disruption and dislocation of the residents and their established communities.
It’s hard to know whether this work was considered during the decision-making process. The Victorian government and its housing agency Homes Victoria have so far refused to release the relevant reports or documents explaining their reasoning.
Such lack of transparency and consultation led to the launch of the class action. Residents at the Flemington and North Melbourne Estates have come together to argue their human rights were not considered when the decision to demolish their homes was made.
Two reports provide independent analysis
Filling the void, professional groups have undertaken two separate independent studies on a pro-bono basis. These reports analyse the different options based on the available information.
I helped compare three scenarios for a 20-storey tower at Atherton Gardens, Fitzroy. The research analysed two retrofit scenarios for the tower and compared these with a hypothetical equivalent new building.
We established the scope of building works required for each scenario. The team then measured capital cost, embodied carbon and carbon during operation for each case.
We found considerable savings can be made in capital costs (25–30%), embodied carbon (34–36%) and construction time (15–20%) through retrofitting, compared with constructing an equivalent new building.
When multiplied over 44 towers, these savings amount to about A$1.5 billion in raw construction value alone. This is without considering the additional costs of relocating existing residents, providing alternative accommodation during construction, or the social and health and wellbeing costs associated with long-term dislocation of communities.
A separate more detailed report on the Flemington Estate was released in October by charitable not-for-profit design and research practice OFFICE. Both reports independently arrived at very similar solutions for ways to address structural, fire and servicing upgrades.
Breaking down the barriers
Several reasons have been circulated as to why these high-rise towers are unsuitable for retrofitting. The two reports go through each in turn.
The towers are constructed from precast concrete slabs and internal walls are load-bearing. This makes refurbishment difficult, because the majority of walls cannot be moved. The buildings were also designed when the requirement to resist earthquakes was minimal.
A range of other technical hurdles, such as improving acoustic, thermal and fire separation and repairing degraded concrete, would also complicate upgrades. But none of these issues is insurmountable.
Both reports include strategies to address these issues, costed into the estimates. For example, the cost of strengthening to meet earthquake codes has been estimated as $1.73 million in Flemington and $3.85 million for Atherton Gardens. That’s around 3.7% of the total $105 million estimated construction cost for a single Atherton Gardens tower.
Exploring alternatives
The fact a building does not meet current regulatory standards is not in itself a reason for demolition. More than 80% of the city’s buildings would fail to meet these standards, including everything built in the 19th and 20th centuries. Our building codes recognise the value of existing structures and have provisions for renovation scenarios.
Retention and reuse of existing building fabric can achieve results surpassing current legislative standards while minimising waste, retaining the value of existing embodied carbon, and retaining the fabric, character and social memory of the city in the process.
Retrofitting can also avoid the mass displacement of existing residents, who would otherwise need to be accommodated during the construction phase. For instance, construction can allow refurbishment on a floor-by-floor basis, minimising relocation time for residents.
With the right design, skilled consultants, and genuine care for residents, it’s possible to overcome the barriers typically faced when reusing existing building stock.
I am grateful to Simon Robinson of OFFICE for his contributions to this article.
Read more:
Why knock down all public housing towers when retrofit can sometimes be better?
Nigel Bertram has previously received funding from the Australian Research Council
– ref. Demolition should be the last resort for Melbourne’s 44 public housing towers – retrofit and upgrade instead – https://theconversation.com/demolition-should-be-the-last-resort-for-melbournes-44-public-housing-towers-retrofit-and-upgrade-instead-246327
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MIL-Evening Report: Pregnant women can now get a free RSV shot. What other vaccines do you need when you’re expecting?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Archana Koirala, Paediatrician and Infectious Diseases Specialist, University of Sydney
From today, February 3, pregnant women in Australia will be eligible for a free RSV vaccine under the National Immunisation Program.
This vaccine is designed to protect young infants from severe RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). It does so by generating the production of antibodies against RSV in the mother, which then travel across the placenta to the baby.
While the RSV vaccine is a new addition to the National Immunisation Program, it’s one of three vaccines provided free for pregnant women under the program, alongside ones for influenza and whooping cough. Each offers important protection for newborn babies.
The RSV vaccine
RSV is the most common cause of lower respiratory infections (bronchiolitis and pneumonia) in infants. It’s estimated that of every 100 infants born in Australia each year, at least two will be hospitalised with RSV by six months of age.
RSV infection is most common roughly between March and August in the southern hemisphere, but infection can occur year-round, especially in tropical areas.
The vaccine works by conferring passive immunity (from the mother) as opposed to active immunity (the baby’s own immune response). By the time the baby is born, their antibodies are sufficient to protect them during the first months of life when they are most vulnerable to severe RSV disease.
The RSV vaccine registered for use in pregnant women in Australia, Abrysvo, has been used since 2023 in the Americas and Europe. Real-world experience there shows it’s working well.
For example, over the 2024 RSV season in Argentina, it was found to prevent 72.7% of lower respiratory tract infections caused by RSV and requiring hospitalisation in infants aged 0–3 months, and 68% among those aged 0–6 months. This research noted three deaths from RSV, all in infants whose mothers did not receive the RSV vaccine during pregnancy.
This was similar to protection seen in a large multinational clinical trial that compared babies born to mothers who received this RSV vaccine with babies born to mothers who received a placebo. This study found the vaccine prevented 82.4% of severe cases of RSV in infants aged under three months, and 70% under six months, and that the vaccine was safe.
Vaccinating mothers during pregnancy protects the newborn baby.
StoryTime Studio/ShutterstockIn addition to the maternal vaccine, nirsevimab, a long-acting monoclonal antibody, provides effective protection against severe RSV disease. It’s delivered to the baby by an intramuscular injection, usually in the thigh.
Nirsevimab is recommended for babies born to women who did not receive an RSV vaccine during pregnancy, or who are born within two weeks of their mother having received the shot (most likely if they’re born prematurely). It may also be recommended for babies who are at higher risk of RSV due to a medical condition, even if their mother was vaccinated.
Nirsevimab is not funded under the National Immunisation Program, but is covered under various state and territory-based programs for infants of mothers who fall into the above categories.
But now we have a safe and effective RSV vaccine for pregnancy, all pregnant women should be encouraged to receive it as the first line of prevention. This will maximise the number of babies protected during their first months of life.
Flu and whooping cough
It’s also important pregnant women continue to receive flu and whooping cough vaccines in 2025. Like the RSV vaccine, these protect infants by passing antibodies from mother to baby.
There has been a large whooping cough outbreak in Australia in recent months, including a death of a two-month-old infant in Queensland in November 2024.
The whooping cough vaccine, given in combination with diphtheria and tetanus, prevents more than 90% of whooping cough cases in babies too young to receive their first whooping cough vaccine dose.
Similarly, influenza can be deadly in young babies, and maternal flu vaccination substantially reduces hospital visits associated with influenza for babies under six months. Flu can also be serious for pregnant women, so the vaccine offers important protection for the mother as well.
COVID vaccines are safe in pregnancy, but unless a woman is otherwise eligible, they’re not routinely recommended. You can discuss this with your health-care provider.
When and where can you get vaccinated?
Pregnant women can receive these vaccines during antenatal visits through their GP or in a specialised antenatal clinic.
The flu vaccine is recommended at any time during pregnancy, the whooping cough vaccine from 20 weeks (ideally before 32 weeks), and the RSV vaccine from 28 weeks (before 36 weeks).
It’s safe to receive multiple vaccinations at the same clinic visit.
The RSV vaccine is now available for pregnant women under the National Immunisation Program.
Olga Rolenko/ShutterstockWe know vaccination rates have declined in a variety of groups since the pandemic, and there’s evidence emerging that suggests this trend has occurred in pregnant women too.
A recent preprint (a study yet to be peer-reviewed) found a decrease of nearly ten percentage points in flu vaccine coverage among pregnant women in New South Wales, from 58.8% in 2020 to 49.1% in 2022. The research showed a smaller drop of 1.4 percentage points for whooping cough, from 79% in 2020 to 77.6% in 2022.
It’s important to work to improve vaccination rates during pregnancy to give babies the best protection in their first months of life.
We know pregnant women would like to receive information about new and routine maternal vaccines early in pregnancy. In particular, many pregnant women want to understand how vaccines are tested for safety, and their effectiveness, which was evident during COVID.
GPs and midwives are trusted sources of information on vaccines in pregnancy. There’s also information available online on Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation, a collaboration led by the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance.
Archana Koirala is the chair of the Vaccination Special Interest Group and an executive member of the Australia and New Zealand Paediatric Infectious Diseases group of the Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases. She has received funding to her institution from the Australian government Department of Health and Aged Care and NSW government for her research activities.
Bianca Middleton is a member of Vaccination Special Interest Group of the Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases. She is an investigator on several research studies funded by NHMRC/ MRFF, and also an investigator on an industry-sponsored clinical vaccine trial. She does not receive any direct funding from industry.
Prof Margie Danchin receives funding from NHMRC, MRFF, Victorian and Commonwealth government and DFAT and WHO. She is a member of Vaccination Special Interest Group of the Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases (ASID), Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).
Peter McIntyre receives funding from the Health Research Council (New Zealand) and the Otago Medical Research Foundation and until the end of 2024 was a member of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts for immunisation
Rebecca Doyle 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. Pregnant women can now get a free RSV shot. What other vaccines do you need when you’re expecting? – https://theconversation.com/pregnant-women-can-now-get-a-free-rsv-shot-what-other-vaccines-do-you-need-when-youre-expecting-246413
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MIL-Evening Report: Podcasts have helped sway many young American men to the right. The same may well happen in Australia
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Raffaele F Ciriello, Senior Lecturer in Business Information Systems, University of Sydney
Shutterstock The 2024 US presidential election saw a historic shift to the right, driven by the largest swing of young male voters in two decades. Analysts attribute this partly to podcasters like Joe Rogan, whose unfiltered, conversational content bypassed traditional media to mobilise this demographic.
Our own research shows that Donald Trump’s podcast strategy during the election campaign boosted his support by 1% to 2.6%, with more than half of this linked to Rogan’s platform. In contrast, Kamala Harris’s reliance on traditional, curated media lacked the authenticity that resonated with Trump’s base.
This trend has clear parallels in Australia, where media strategy has long mirrored the US. In 1949, Robert Menzies used radio to reassure the public, much like Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “fireside chats”. In the 1980s, television brought Bob Hawke into voters’ homes, showcasing charisma akin that of John F. Kennedy in his earlier televised debates. Kevin Rudd’s 2007 “Kevin 07” campaign effectively mirrored Barack Obama’s use of social media to engage younger voters. Similarly, Scott Morrison’s 2019 campaign emulated Trump-style microtargeting on Facebook to connect with specific demographics.
Today, podcasts have become the latest battleground for political influence. Their conversational, long-form format enables politicians to address complex issues in a direct, personal manner. This medium resonates particularly with younger voters, who are increasingly turning away from traditional media.
The 2025 federal election will likely see a turning point in the influence of podcasts on election campaigns, and even the outcome.
The Australian podcasting landscape
Podcast consumption in Australia continues to rise, with listenership increasing by 8.7% in early 2024. This comes after reaching a record 43% in 2023, up from 17% in 2017.
Dubbed “the world’s most avid podcast listeners”, Australian men aged 18–34 dominate the audience, drawn to popular news and politics podcasts such as ABC News Top Stories and The Party Room, as well as global hits like The Joe Rogan Experience.
Podcasts appeal through their intimacy and authenticity, fostering a “close-knit friend group” atmosphere. Younger voters increasingly use podcasts to explore issues such as housing affordability and climate change.
Rogan’s podcast exemplifies this appeal, particularly among young Australian men. With 80% of his audience male, and half aged 18–34, Rogan’s unapologetic masculinity and focus on topics such as combat sports, hunting and societal controversies position him as a counterbalance to identity politics. His “living room” style, seen during Trump’s three-hour appearance, makes polarising or extremist ideas more palatable. This reflects a broader cultural shift among young men toward what they see as “traditional values”.
While podcasts often feature diverse viewpoints, their unregulated nature can expose listeners to harmful ideologies, fostering echo chambers or radicalisation. Misinformation spreads more easily in these spaces, as evidenced by the US, where fragmented media contributed to the rise of Trumpism. Although Australia’s stricter campaign finance laws and media regulations reduce such risks, they cannot eliminate them entirely.
As the 2025 election nears, understanding how podcasts shape voter behaviour is critical for balanced political discourse and social cohesion.
Australia’s political landscape
Recent polls show the Liberal-National Coalition leading Labor 53.1% to 46.9% in two-party preferred voting, with 39% of voters preferring Peter Dutton as prime minister compared with Anthony Albanese’s 34%. While the Coalition uses Trump-style strategies, Albanese appears to have a problem with male voters.
Dutton emulates Trump in using podcasts to connect directly with young male voters and amplify culture war themes, anti-woke sentiment, and populist rhetoric.
His Elon Musk-inspired push for a “government efficiency” department mirrors Trump’s populist promises of cutting “wasteful spending”.
The Coalition has tapped into a broader cultural shift among young men. Many of these men have gravitated toward influencers like Andrew Tate – alleged rapist and human trafficker with ambitions to become UK prime minister – whose divisive rhetoric reinforces regressive ideals.
Surveys reveal 28% of Australian teenage boys admire Tate, while 36% find him relatable. Moreover, half of surveyed schools link his influence to negative behavioural changes.
These strategies seem to work, with polls showing increased male voter support for the Coalition (52.7% to Labor’s 47.3%).
Australia’s compulsory voting and multi-party preferential system encourage broad-based appeals. But they also risk amplifying polarisation.
Australia’s concentrated media ownership, dominated by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, further shapes public discourse by amplifying conservative perspectives.
Although younger Australians – especially women – remain a strong progressive base for Labor, the rise of right-wing podcasts and their impact on young male voters poses a significant challenge. The Coalition’s ability to connect with this demographic via podcasts, leveraging dissatisfaction and cultural shifts, could shape the election’s outcome.
Opportunity and risk
Podcasts present both opportunities and risks for Australian politics. They offer a powerful platform for politicians to engage younger voters on crucial issues, fostering deeper connections. However, their unregulated nature enables the spread of misinformation and the normalisation of polarising ideas.
To address this, voters should critically evaluate podcast content, fact-check claims using resources such as RMIT ABC Fact Check and AAP FactCheck, and seek diverse perspectives. Politicians, meanwhile, must use podcasts strategically, balancing authenticity with accountability.
Progressive ideas could better resonate with young male audiences by reframing topics such as climate action, housing affordability and workplace equity as opportunities for leadership, empowerment and responsibility. Partnering with relatable influencers and using accessible, conversational podcast formats can help progressives connect with this demographic.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Podcasts have helped sway many young American men to the right. The same may well happen in Australia – https://theconversation.com/podcasts-have-helped-sway-many-young-american-men-to-the-right-the-same-may-well-happen-in-australia-248135
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MIL-Evening Report: How psychologists kick-started AI by studying the human mind
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Ludlow, Lecturer in Psychology, Swinburne University of Technology
The Mark I Perceptron used one of the first artificial neural networks to identify letters of the alphabet. National Museum of the U.S. Navy / Wikimedia Many people think of psychology as being primarily about mental health, but its story goes far beyond that.
As the science of the mind, psychology has played a pivotal role in shaping artificial intelligence, offering insights into human cognition, learning and behaviour that have profoundly influenced AI’s development.
These contributions not only laid the foundations for AI but also continue to guide its future development. The study of psychology has shaped our understanding of what constitutes intelligence in machines, and how we can address the complex challenges and benefits associated with this technology.
Machines mimicking nature
The origins of modern AI can be traced back to psychology in the mid-20th century. In 1949, psychologist Donald Hebb proposed a model for how the brain learns: connections between brain cells grow stronger when they are active at the same time.
This idea gave a hint of how machines might learn by mimicking nature’s approach.
Psychologist Frank Rosenblatt designed the perceptron in imitation of the connections in the human brain.
Frank Rosenblatt / WikimediaIn the 1950s, psychologist Frank Rosenblatt built on Hebb’s theory to develop a system called the perceptron.
The perceptron was the first artificial neural network ever made. It ran on the same principle as modern AI systems, in which computers learn by adjusting connections within a network based on data rather than relying on programmed instructions.
A scientific understanding of intelligence
In the 1980s, psychologist David Rumelhart improved on Rosenblatt’s perceptron. He applied a method called backpropagation, which uses principles of calculus to help neural networks improve through feedback.
Backpropagation was originally developed by Paul Werbos, who said the technique “opens up the possibility of a scientific understanding of intelligence, as important to psychology and neurophysiology as Newton’s concepts were to physics”.
Rumelhart’s 1986 paper, coauthored with Ronald Williams and Geoffrey Hinton, is often credited with sparking the modern era of artificial neural networks. This work laid the foundation for deep learning innovations such as large language models.
In 2024, the Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to Hinton and John Hopfield for work on artificial neural networks. Notably, the Nobel committee, in its scientific report, highlighted the crucial role psychologists played in the development of artificial neural networks.
Hinton, who holds a degree in psychology, acknowledged standing on the shoulders of giants such as Rumelhart when receiving his prize.
Self-reflection and understanding
Psychology continues to play an important role in shaping the future of AI. It offers theoretical insights to address some of the field’s biggest challenges, including reflective reasoning, intelligence and decision-making.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates recently pointed out a key limitation of today’s AI systems. They can’t engage in reflective reasoning, or what psychologists call metacognition.
In the 1970s, developmental psychologist John Flavell introduced the idea of metacognition. He used it to explain how children master complex skills by reflecting on and understanding their own thinking.
Decades later, this psychological framework is gaining attention as a potential pathway to advancing AI.
Fluid intelligence
Psychological theory is increasingly being applied to improve AI systems, particularly by enhancing their capacity for solving novel problems.
For instance, computer scientist François Chollet highlights the importance of fluid intelligence, which psychologists define as the ability to solve new problems without prior experience or training.
An example question from a test of ‘fluid intelligence’ designed by Francois Chollet.
ARC PrizeIn a 2019 paper, Chollet introduced a test inspired by principles from cognitive psychology to measure how well AI systems can handle new problems. The test – known as the Abstract and Reasoning Corpus for Artificial General Intelligence (ARC-AGI) – provided a kind of guide for making AI systems think and reason in more human-like ways.
In late 2024, OpenAI’s o3 model demonstrated notable success on Chollet’s test, showing progress in creating AI systems that can adapt and solve a wider range of problems.
The risk of explanations
Another goal of current research is to make AI systems more able to explain their output. Here, too, psychology offers valuable insights.
Computer scientist Edward Lee has drawn on the work of psychologist Daniel Kahneman to highlight why requiring AI systems to explain themselves might be risky.
Kahneman showed how humans often justify their decisions with explanations created after the fact, which don’t reflect their true reasoning. For example, studies have found that judges’ rulings fluctuate depending on when they last ate — despite their firm belief in their own impartiality.
Lee cautions that AI systems could produce similarly misleading explanations. Because rationalisations can be deceptive, Lee argues AI research should focus on reliable outcomes instead.
Technology shaping our minds
The science of psychology remains widely misunderstood. In 2020, for example, the Australian government proposed reclassifying it as part of the humanities in universities.
As people increasingly interact with machines, AI, psychology and neuroscience may hold key insights into our future.
Our brains are extremely adaptable, and technology shapes how we think and learn. Research by psychologist and neuroscientist Eleanor Maguire, for example, revealed that the brains of London taxi drivers are physically altered by using a car to navigate a complex city.
As AI advances, future psychological research may reveal how AI systems enhance our abilities and unlock new ways of thinking.
By recognising psychology’s role in AI, we can foster a future in which people and technology work together for a better world.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. How psychologists kick-started AI by studying the human mind – https://theconversation.com/how-psychologists-kick-started-ai-by-studying-the-human-mind-248542
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MIL-OSI New Zealand: Pukekohe rail electrification completed
Source: New Zealand Government
The completion of the Papakura to Pukekohe rail electrification project will provide commuters with more reliable and efficient journeys and help reduce congestion on our roads, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says.
“Auckland’s electrified commuter rail network currently stops at Papakura, with commuters further south from Pukekohe having to take a diesel train to Papakura and then change trains, with a sometimes long and frustrating wait,” Mr Bishop says.
“The further extension of electrification on the southern line to Pukekohe was first announced by then-Prime Minister Sir Bill English and Transport Minister Simon Bridges in 2017. Work began in 2022 and is now complete, along with a redeveloped station at Pukekohe. From tomorrow, passengers travelling from Pukekohe will enjoy direct, quieter, low-carbon journeys on AT’s modern electric trains.
“It’s exciting to see this important project finally finished. Over the next two decades 100,000 more people are expected to be living in the area south of Papakura, with more than 40,000 homes to be built in the area. Employment is expected to grow by 50,000 jobs.
“Enabling this growth by investing in our public transport network will ensure this growing part of Auckland is better connected, more attractive to move into, and offers more choice for people needing to get into and around the city.
“Auckland’s rail network is hugely important to the city and the government is investing more than $2 billion to rebuild, renew, and extend services in advance of the City Rail Link opening in 2026, which will be transformational for our biggest city.
“The next step of rail investment will be three new stations between Pukekohe and Papakura, at Drury, Ngākōroa (west of Drury) and Paerātā. Construction is expected to be completed at Drury and Paerātā stations toward the end of 2025, followed by Ngākōroa in 2026.
“Later this year, the Third Main Line project will also be finished, which includes building a new line in the busiest part of the network between Westfield and Wiri Junctions in South Auckland, building an additional platform and track at Middlemore Station and major improvements around Quay Park (central Auckland) to separate Eastern Line commuter trains from freight trains at the entrance to Port of Auckland.
“I want to thank the many contractors and other agencies who have worked incredibly hard over the last few years to make today a reality, as well as commuters and the wider community for their patience as these works have been delivered.
“There is still a lot of work on the rail network to be completed, but we are making good progress.”
Notes to editor:
The electrification project included:
- Installing more than 800 mast structures.
- 130km of overhead electric line to power electric trains.
- The redevelopment of Pukekohe Station, with new modern passenger and staff facilities, longer platforms to accommodate modern electric trains, a new stabling yard and additional rail tracks that will allow the through-running of freight services in the future.
- Building platforms only for the three Drury stations.
Auckland Unlimited / Auckland Council’s economic masterplan estimates that over the next two decades:
- 100,000 more people are expected to be living in the area south of Papakura.
- More than 40,000 homes will be built (7,000 homes in Drury East, 1,300 in Drury, 5,000 on the Paerata Rise, and 12,500 in Pukekohe).
- Employment in the area is expected to grow by 50,000 jobs.
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MIL-Evening Report: KiwiSaver shakeup: private asset investment has risks that could outweigh the rewards
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron Gilbert, Professor of Finance, Auckland University of Technology
New Zealand’s superannuation is no longer enough to live on for the country’s retirees. Research has found people need hundreds of thousands in savings to live a comfortable life after work.
But the KiwiSaver scheme, introduced in 2007 to encourage New Zealanders to build their retirement savings, continues to be a political football. Since its creation, there have been multiple tweaks to the scheme, threatening to undermine its core purpose: supporting New Zealanders in their retirement.
In late 2024, the government proposed changes that would make it easier for KiwiSaver managers to invest in private assets.
The government says these changes could unlock billions to fund essential infrastructure or to provide capital for businesses, outcomes that could benefit the country as a whole.
But the changes required to enable investing in private assets – such as reduced transparency around fees – are concerning and may not be worth the limited benefits it would bring to KiwiSaver members.
Expanding KiwiSaver
At the moment KiwiSaver managers predominantly invest in publicly traded assets, specifically stocks and bonds.
The changes would open up KiwiSaver investors to a wide range of opportunities such as infrastructure projects (for example, toll roads), unlisted companies (KiwiBank has already been suggested by one provider) and property investments, among others.
Increasing private asset exposure from the current 2-3% of funds under management to a level similar to Australian super funds (15%+) could unlock significant investment for infrastructure or business capital.
But while there is definite appeal in using more KiwiSaver money to build roads and other essential infrastructure, the benefits to investors may be more modest.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment argues private assets may increase fund returns and should reduce risk for investors by reducing fund exposure to stock and bond markets.
But to achieve these possible outcomes KiwiSaver members risk being locked into a fund provider or having their funds split across providers when they opt to move. There is also the concern that transparency around the fees being charged by managers could worsen.
Gumming up the works
The advantage of the current system of investing in publicly traded assets is that they are relatively cheap to trade, can be bought or sold quickly and their market value is constantly known.
Private assets are none of these things.
Fund managers are currently required to release your funds within ten days when you opt to switch manager. Large investments in private assets that can not be sold quickly, or even worse, may be distressed (where the value is currently significantly below what it was bought for), could create a liquidity issue for a fund if a lot of investors decide to switch.
To encourage managers to invest in private assets the proposed changes would allow your existing fund manager to hold onto a portion of your investment until private assets could be liquidated if they deemed it in your best interest.
Essentially, you may have to stay with a fund manager for an indeterminate period even if you want to change, presumably while still paying them fees on the funds they are looking after.
New Zealand’s retirees rely on KiwiSaver to top up insufficient superannuation payments.
Stramp/ShutterstockHiding fees
The government’s changes also suggest allowing managers to change the way the fees they report is calculated.
To encourage managers to invest in private assets, the government has proposed allowing them to exclude the costs associated with private assets from their reported fees. Why? Because private asset investing is significantly more expensive.
Managers may need to build specialised teams to evaluate private asset investments. There are substantial costs (consultants, lawyers, experts etc) incurred when evaluating these investments in the same way that a home buyer faces costs such as builder and valuer reports.
Additionally, managers will need to hire valuers periodically to reevaluate the value of the assets, resulting in more costs.
Removing private asset costs from disclosures will make it harder for New Zealanders to compare the fees on different funds.
Multiple other problems
Several other problems also exist with the plan.
The KiwiSaver market is relatively fragmented with 21 providers, nearly half of which manage less than NZ$1 billion in assets. Many private asset investments would require tens of millions, which means funds run the risk of becoming heavily exposed to just a few large investments. Only a handful of funds currently have the size to effectively use private assets to reduce investor risk.
There is also the difficulty in valuing private assets. Valuers can provide a best guess, but it will depend largely on what the market is willing to pay at the time you come to sell.
What is also unclear is how the value of private assets will be reflected in the unit prices that impact the price at which you buy into or sell out of fund. This introduces yet more opacity to a system that is currently transparent.
KiwiSaver will increasingly become a critical aspect of New Zealanders’ retirement. Changes to it need to be carefully considered and evaluated to avoid undermining confidence in KiwiSaver and to ensure that they support the primary goal, ensuring financial security in retirement. It is not clear that this change meets that threshold.
Aaron Gilbert 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. KiwiSaver shakeup: private asset investment has risks that could outweigh the rewards – https://theconversation.com/kiwisaver-shakeup-private-asset-investment-has-risks-that-could-outweigh-the-rewards-247684
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MIL-OSI USA: Governor Hochul is a Guest on MSNBC’s ‘The Weekend’
Source: US State of New York
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” with Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez.
AUDIO: The Governor’s remarks are available in audio form here.
A rush transcript of the Governor’s remarks is available below:
Symone Sanders Townsend, MSNBC: Well, President Donald Trump just defended his tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, saying online in part, quote, “Will there be some pain? Yes, maybe, and maybe not, but we will make America great again, and it will be all worth the price that must be paid.” Joining us now to discuss is New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
Michael Steele, MSNBC: Welcome, Governor. That tweet is the musings of a man who has no clue the impact of what he just did. Let’s take, for example, in 2022, total New York-Canada trade increased to $42.6 billion. As we can show on the graph, this rise was comprised of a 19 percent increase in exports and a 28 percent rise in imports.
The states are the ones that will carry the burden of his illiberal, unhinged reaction to whatever — we don’t know. But he somehow thinks that this is a public policy of engaging a tariff war that, somehow, a state like yours is going to be immune from. Talk to us about what this means and Canada’s response potentially to the citizens of your state.
Governor Hochul: Well, we’re deeply concerned about this. We have a strong trade arrangement, and they’ve been partners of ours since the beginning of our country. New York State has one of the largest borders with any country in the world because, you know, we have the water line — the water and land crossings.
But, there’s a synergy between our two communities. Canada and New York State are really– it’s like all part of one region, and we have a lot of trade between us, and it’s critically important for our farmers, and our manufacturers, and all the areas we produce materials that Canada needs that we get that across the border with ease.
Now, Canada — and this is not a surprise — is already talking about retaliatory tariffs on our products. So, our businesses are going to feel it immediately. And also just, why are we doing this? New York State is the economic engine of the country. When you do something that hurts New York — because we are in such close proximity to Canada — it’s going to have a ripple effect across the country, and I’m concerned about that.
So, if this is a temporary measure to get the attention of the other countries — Mexico and Canada, in particular — to talk about fentanyl coming across the border, we’ll continue focusing on that; I’m putting more money on the border to stop that as well, right here in the State of New York. But this is going to be an additional tax on New York residents and American residents overall, and I don’t see a way around that. This is what we’re facing right now.
In a time when I’m working so hard to put money back in New Yorkers pockets, an additional $1,300, $1,400 a year is going to take that money right back out. So consumers are the ones who are going to bear the brunt of this, and that’s what concerns me so much.
Alicia Menendez, MSNBC: You know, Governor, during the past presidential campaign, there were so many Democrats who tried to make it clear that even if you live in a Democratic state, even if you live in a blue state, you would be impacted by some of the proposed changes from this Republican party, from Donald Trump.
We’re now seeing that play out in real time when it comes to abortion access. This, from the Washington Post, you have a New York doctor who’s been charged with prescribing abortion pills to a Louisiana girl. The case appears to be the first instance of criminal charges against a doctor accused of sending abortion pills to another state since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
You have said you would never, under any circumstances, turn this doctor over to the State of Louisiana under any extradition request. What other mechanisms are available to you to protect health care workers in New York?
Governor Hochul: I will protect this doctor and all health care workers because this is the continued collateral damage of the overturning of Roe v. Wade that we saw at that moment and we sound the alarms about it, but, sadly, this is the law right now where it’s left to individual states. But, I have to protect my doctors, and my doctors have a right to prescribe FDA-approved medication via telehealth. And for having a doctor in the State of New York who simply answered the call of a mother who wanted to get this prescription filled legally and now to be facing jail time and conviction as a, you know, an accomplice to murder here — where has this country gone? It feels like we’ve lost our minds.
We’re now penalizing doctors who are trying to do what they can in a state like Louisiana that has 60 percent higher maternal mortality rates — sometimes, these medication-assisted abortions can be life saving for someone who’s having complications. My gosh, what has this country come to? So I will continue to stand up strongly to support women’s rights to abortion. This is my mother’s generation’s fight. It’s something we all took for granted, and it’s not there for my daughter — and it better be back in place for my granddaughter. These are the values we espouse in New York, and I will protect this doctor.
I will never, ever sign an extradition agreement to send this doctor into harm’s way to be prosecuted as a criminal for simply following her oath.
Symone Sanders Townsend, MSNBC: Governor Hochul, can we turn to talk about immigration? New York State has literally been in the, I would argue, the top of mind for some Trump administration officials. We have this from our colleague Jonathan Allen on Friday. U. S. President Donald Trump’s new Homeland Security Secretary made sure cameras were rolling when she joined federal agents to arrest migrants in New York City. Secretary Kristi Noem said the publicity created around the arrest was to show that the new administration was taking a different, tougher approach.
What are your thoughts about these stunts is what it looks like, because if you look at the numbers, actually, the Trump administration– these raids aren’t necessarily new, they’re just bringing cameras and the secretaries to execute what ICE had been doing even when President Biden was in office. So I just, your reaction to the target that is on, essentially the backs of people who are migrants in this country, undocumented, but also people who are American citizens who are also being swept up into some of these rates.
Governor Hochul: That’s right, that’s right. So let’s level-set here. ICE has come into the State of New York for many years, whether it’s someone who’s already served time in a prison and they were being removed back to their country if they’ve been convicted of a crime here; if they have a warrant for an arrest, there is cooperation from state and local officials — that is nothing new. So, there’s a lot of drama around this, but I have to make sure that yes, we keep our streets safe, that we remove the gangs that have been terrorizing some of our neighborhoods — yes, that is critically important; I’ll support anyone who can do that. But, we will not let people get swept up into raids when they are simply here trying to earn a living.
What I wanted to do? I want to put people to work. I have 400,000 open jobs in the State of New York at all levels. I have a database with 52,000 jobs of people who said if we can get migrants work authorization, which I desperately need from the federal government, that it’s a whole new ballgame — they’ll hire them. So, this is good for our economy if we can take the people who’ve already come here. And again, our borders are too fluid, they were too open. I believe that we need a strong national immigration policy like the kind I worked on when I was a Staffer for Senator Moynihan and Ronald Reagan, work with Democrats.
I still have hope that there can be a bipartisan approach to dealing with this and have our borders protected, but let’s deal with what has happened already. We have people who are in our communities and children are not going to school now because they’re afraid of their parents being swept up if they pick them up.
And people are cowering in church basements. This is the State of New York. We’re not going to let this happen here. We will work with law enforcement. We’ll make sure that the criminal element is gone, we all want them gone, but we also have a place in our State and we can take care of people who’ve already been here, who are already contributing to our tax base.
They’re doing jobs that so many others didn’t want to do, so let’s recognize that as well.
Symone Sanders Townsend, MSNBC: Governor Kathy Hochul, thank you very much for your time this morning.
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MIL-OSI United Kingdom: PM meeting with Chancellor Scholz of Germany: 2 February 2025
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
The Prime Minister hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at Chequers this afternoon.
The Prime Minister hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at Chequers this afternoon.
The leaders began by reflecting on the progress made between the UK and Germany in recent months, including through the signing of the Trinity House Agreement on defence, and Joint Action Plan on irregular migration. They agreed on the importance of maintaining the momentum towards an even stronger bilateral partnership.
Turning to the situation in Ukraine, the Prime Minister updated on his recent visit and reiterated that it was important to ensure the country was in the strongest possible position in the coming months, so that peace could be achieved through strength.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine had underscored the importance of scaling up and coordinating defence production across Europe, the leaders agreed.
Updating on the government’s Strategic Defence Review, which would be published later this year, the Prime Minister said it would encompass the lessons learned in Ukraine, and the need to out-manoeuvre Putin’s ongoing aggression and hostile activity across Europe.
Reflecting on the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza, the leaders welcomed the ongoing release of hostages and underscored the importance of seeing through all phases of the deal through.
A two-state solution that ensured a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestine was key, the Prime Minister added.
The leaders also discussed the Prime Minister’s visit to the EU Council tomorrow, and the reset between the UK and the European Union.
The Prime Minister said he was committed to strengthening the UK’s relationship with the EU to drive greater growth and closer security ties, which he believed would benefit all sides.
The leaders looked forward to speaking again tomorrow.
Updates to this page
Published 2 February 2025
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MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Press release: PM meeting with Chancellor Scholz of Germany: 2 February 2025
Source: United Kingdom – Prime Minister’s Office 10 Downing Street
The Prime Minister hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at Chequers this afternoon.
The Prime Minister hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at Chequers this afternoon.
The leaders began by reflecting on the progress made between the UK and Germany in recent months, including through the signing of the Trinity House Agreement on defence, and Joint Action Plan on irregular migration. They agreed on the importance of maintaining the momentum towards an even stronger bilateral partnership.
Turning to the situation in Ukraine, the Prime Minister updated on his recent visit and reiterated that it was important to ensure the country was in the strongest possible position in the coming months, so that peace could be achieved through strength.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine had underscored the importance of scaling up and coordinating defence production across Europe, the leaders agreed.
Updating on the government’s Strategic Defence Review, which would be published later this year, the Prime Minister said it would encompass the lessons learned in Ukraine, and the need to out-manoeuvre Putin’s ongoing aggression and hostile activity across Europe.
Reflecting on the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza, the leaders welcomed the ongoing release of hostages and underscored the importance of seeing through all phases of the deal through.
A two-state solution that ensured a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestine was key, the Prime Minister added.
The leaders also discussed the Prime Minister’s visit to the EU Council tomorrow, and the reset between the UK and the European Union.
The Prime Minister said he was committed to strengthening the UK’s relationship with the EU to drive greater growth and closer security ties, which he believed would benefit all sides.
The leaders looked forward to speaking again tomorrow.
Updates to this page
Published 2 February 2025
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MIL-OSI Global: Students cheating with generative AI reflects a revenue-driven post-secondary sector
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Salmaan Khan, Assistant Professor (LTF), Department of Criminology, Toronto Metropolitan University
The higher education sector continues to grapple with the advent of generative artificial intelligence (genAI), with much of the concern focused on ethical issues around student misconduct.
GenAI models such as ChatGPT offer students untraceable and economic means of churning out answers and term papers on any given subject.
For many instructors, this means traditional forms of course evaluation are now ineffective. The question that faculty and administration across the sector are asking is: how can we effectively assess and evaluate student competence on a given subject?
An equally significant question that needs to be asked — but remains relatively absent in current discussion — is the following: what existing conditions in higher education are shaping the scale and nature of the impact of genAI on learning?
As I argue in a recent article in the Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, widespread use of genAI among students needs to be understood as reflecting economic, structural and learning conditions specific to post-secondary education today.
This is not to justify violations of academic integrity codes. Rather, it is to emphasize that only by considering the realities of their milieu can educators contemplate more critical and engaged learning. It is also to underscore that this problem begs more systemic reforms.
The context
Since the mid-1980s, a political ideology that values the free market and the deregulation of government services has continued to inform federal and provincial levels of government — neoliberalism.
Read more:
What exactly is neoliberalism?
In this context of deregulation, higher education has been undergoing what can be described as a “neoliberal turn.” This has happened as successive governments have either initiated or tacitly allowed for consistent funding cuts to public services in the education, health-care and social-service sectors.
Similar trends have been identified for federal and provincial government funding for higher education across the country, which is in steady decline as revenues from tuition fees continue to make up an increasing share.
The impacts of neoliberal policies have, for higher education, translated into a number of effects:
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The marketization of education as a private investment for individual students, as opposed to a public good, as public investment shrinks;
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A rise in tuition fees and increase in student debt;
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A restructuring of academic labour where casual and low-paid contract faculty now make up half the academic workforce.
A 2018 Policy Options report notes a correlation between a decrease in public funding and increased class sizes: “In 2005, just under 25 per cent of first-year Ontario university courses had more than 100 students. By 2018, that number was 32 per cent.” Large classes, the report notes, reduce opportunities for more student-faculty contact, and result in a poorer learning experience for the students.
Institutions have shifted as they increasingly adopt the competitive and cost-cutting measures needed to survive amid receding public funding.
Universities are now more “revenue-driven and expenditure-adverse,” with administrators prioritizing activities that enhance the institution’s revenue, such as research work or the securing of grants. Falling by the wayside is the practice of teaching and the education of students.
Read more:
With precarious jobs, work identities shift — including for contract academics
The impact on students
A recent report published by Wiley surveyed more than 2,000 undergraduate students at institutions of higher education in North America on the topic of academic integrity in the era of AI.
Of the students surveyed, a majority noted the role of emerging technologies, such as ChatGPT, in making it easier to cheat than before. When asked why more students may turn toward cheating, almost half responded that because education is so expensive, there is an added pressure to pass or attain certain grades.
Thirty six per cent of students said they are more willing to cheat because it is hard to balance going to school with work or family commitments.
Read more:
ChatGPT: Student insights are necessary to help universities plan for the future
Many students face significant hardships in making ends meet while the cost of living rises.
(Shutterstock)Pressures facing students
There are innumerable pressures facing undergraduate students today. Neoliberal cuts to education have drastically increased the cost of education, and many students face significant hardships in making ends meet as wages stagnate while the cost of living rises.
When I ask my students about their employment situation, most are working part-time. Many are working full-time while juggling a full course load and some even take more than a full course load.
When larger numbers of students are batched into lecture halls, there are fewer opportunities for active student-teacher engagement, characterized by dialogue,
which is a key ingredient in fostering engaged and critical learning. In this context, should we be surprised if students feel disconnected?In the same Wiley report, students noted they are more likely to resort to cheating if they do not sense the significance of the course material to either their own lives or to the real world.
A case for structural change
These conditions are not isolated, nor are they the flaw of only one educational institution. They reflect broader structural conditions.
The crisis spurred by concerns with student ethics or of the use of genAI to cheat on assigned work must be understood within this larger context, as opposed to being seen as emerging from features specific to genAI.
If provided with the right conditions, genAI — as with other digital learning tools like PowerPoint slides or game-based platforms — can be harnessed in the service of developing more engaged learning practices.
However, doing so will require fundamental transformations to the higher education industry, and to its existing pedagogical commitments.
Salmaan Khan 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. Students cheating with generative AI reflects a revenue-driven post-secondary sector – https://theconversation.com/students-cheating-with-generative-ai-reflects-a-revenue-driven-post-secondary-sector-247304
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MIL-OSI Global: How political polarization informed Mexico’s protests against femicide
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Arturo Tejeda Torres, Sessional instructor, Department of Social Sciences, University of Alberta
Between 2015 and 2024, more than 8,000 women were killed in Mexico because of their gender.
These crimes are referred to as femicides and, unlike homicides, are not the consequence of private or personal disputes. Instead, they are the result of a culture of oppression and domination that historically has targeted women and perpetuated a patriarchal society.
While the number of femicides has decreased in recent years, there has not been any significant decline, and it remains a serious crisis. According to government data, around 10 women and girls across Mexico are killed every day by intimate partners or other family members. Worsening the crisis is Mexico’s systemic impunity, with many crimes going unreported or uninvestigated, and unreliable data masking the true scale of this problem.
As a result, femicides in Mexico have been described as “another pandemic” — one driven by a deeply embedded machismo culture of violence against women, combined with a lack of transparency and justice from the state.
In response to this crisis, protests led by feminist groups have gained increasing attention in recent years. They have urged Mexican society to recognize the severity of this problem and called on authorities to act. However, the polarized political climate in Mexico has undermined the demands of these demonstrations.
Polarization shaped public conversation
My doctoral research focused on examining the political and public discourse surrounding protests against gender-based violence in Mexico. More specifically, my work analysed how polarizing narratives, especially on social media platforms, affected these demonstrations.
In 2020, feminist collectives organized the annual International Women’s Day march alongside a silent strike called #UnDiaSinNosotras (#ADayWithoutUs) in which women abstained from all public activities for an entire day.
While the support for these protests grew, even from conservative groups traditionally opposed to feminist ideals, speculations emerged about the movement being used opportunistically to undermine the left-wing federal government.
Initially, then-president Andrés Manuel López Obrador expressed solidarity with feminist groups. However, after refusing to revise his strategy on femicide, he warned that conservative elements could be infiltrating the protests. This created an unusual scenario where conservative groups backed feminist demands while the left-wing federal government dismissed them.
Such a turbulent political climate raises several questions: Did conservative groups suddenly embrace progressive feminist ideals? Did feminist groups align with conservatives despite historically opposing their ideas? Did the left-wing government adopt conservative positions to counter feminist movements? More importantly, how did this scenario impact the calls of the protests against femicide?
A fluid polarization
Polarization is typically framed as a stark and often stagnant political divisions between two dominant and opposing narratives. However, the interactions produced in scenarios like Mexico’s feminist protests suggest more fluid dynamics.
Rather than a rigid conflict between two opposing sets of ideals, polarization here should been seen as a relationship between narratives that are constantly reshaped and defined by each other.
This can be observed in how the narratives aligned with the federal government and those opposing it demonstrated apparent contradictions based on the other’s positioning regarding the protests.
Following this, it can be interpreted that conservative groups backed the protests as a way of reinforcing their opposition to the government. Similarly, the left-wing governing party, typically associated with more progressive ideals, appeared as dismissive of the protests and their demands to distance itself from perceived conservative influences.
Viewing polarization this way helps explain how unlikely allies find themselves on the same side of particular issues. In this context, polarization is less about fixed beliefs and values and more about maintaining a distinct identity relative to the opposing side. In essence, polarization becomes an exercises in being as opposed as possible to the other side.
Obscuring social issues
My analysis of social media comments about the protests revealed they centred on two themes: debates on whether the feminist movement was being co-opted by conservative forces and criticism of López Obrador and his administration.
In both cases, the discussions shifted away from the urgent issue of femicides, ignoring the protests’ central calls. Moreover, these conversations reinforced existing political divisions rather than addressing the root problem. This way, the interplay between the narratives involved created a polarized environment in which political rivalries overshadowed meaningful discussion of the structural violence against women.
In other words, polarized dynamics can obscure urgent and immediate social issues, contributing to impunity and a lack of action.
The Mexican political landscape reveals how forms of violence and oppression can be reproduced and reinforced through the interactions happening around them. In this sense, addressing femicides requires not only structural modifications to current strategies but also changing how this issue is discussed.
It’s also essential to recognize how polarization, as a fluid dynamic, shapes the public space. Doing this can provide insights into how meaningful action can happen in the context of today’s social and political debates framed by stark perceived divisions.
Arturo Tejeda Torres does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. How political polarization informed Mexico’s protests against femicide – https://theconversation.com/how-political-polarization-informed-mexicos-protests-against-femicide-246974
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MIL-OSI USA: Shapiro Administration Hosts Maternal Healthcare Roundtable with Pennsylvanians Affected by Substance Use Disorder to Inform Strategic Plan to Improve Maternal Health Outcomes
Source: US State of Pennsylvania
January 31, 2025 – West Chester, PA
Shapiro Administration Hosts Maternal Healthcare Roundtable with Pennsylvanians Affected by Substance Use Disorder to Inform Strategic Plan to Improve Maternal Health Outcomes
Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones, along with leadership from the departments of Human Services (DHS) and Health (DOH), joined substance use disorder (SUD) treatment providers, those with lived experience, local government and judicial officials, and others for a roundtable discussion to seek feedback on the development of Commonwealth’s Maternal Health Strategic Plan specific to the SUD-related care for pregnant and postpartum women.
At the roundtable, Shapiro Administration leaders learned firsthand what barriers Pennsylvanians experience when trying to access SUD maternal health care and heard about the role stigma plays in accessing care.
“The Shapiro Administration understands the impact of substance use disorders on pregnant and postpartum women and their children,” said Secretary Davis-Jones. “DDAP and our sister agencies are committed to implementing a comprehensive plan to ensure that pregnant women don’t just survive before, during, and after pregnancy-but truly thrive.”
Interviews Include:
Dr. Latika Davis-Jones – Secretary, PA Dept. of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP)
Dr. Debra Bogen – Secretary, PA Dept. of Health
Dr. Val Arkoosh – Secretary, PA Dept. of Human Services
CJ – Client, West Chester
Sommer – Client, Coatesville
Jamie Johnson – Exec. Dir. of Chester County Drug & Alcohol -
MIL-OSI Global: Canada-U.S. tariff war: How it will impact different products and industries
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Sylvanus Kwaku Afesorgbor, Associate Professor of Agri-Food Trade and Policy, University of Guelph
U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed a 25 per cent tariff on most Canadian goods. A senior governmental official said they are expected to come into effect on Feb. 4.
This tariff will have significant economic consequences on both sides of the border, as the U.S. and Canada share one of the largest bilateral trade relationships in the world.
A key concern is the highly integrated supply chains between the two countries. Many goods cross the border multiple times as intermediate inputs before becoming final products. Imposing tariffs at any point in this supply chain will raise production costs and increase prices for a wide range of goods traded between the U.S. and Canada.
For Canada, the tariffs on Canadian products will significantly affect Canada’s competitiveness in the U.S. market by driving up prices. Such tariffs could pose serious challenges for various sectors in Canada, given the country’s heavy reliance on the U.S. economy.
Effects on different sectors
The impact of U.S. tariffs on Canadian prices is likely to differ across sectors and products, depending on their reliance on the U.S. market.
Sectors with a higher dependence on U.S. trade are likely to experience more severe disruptions. If the tariffs make certain products uncompetitive, Canadian producers may struggle to secure alternative markets in the short term.
Industries such as agriculture, manufacturing and energy will experience varying degrees of impact. Energy products and motor vehicles, which represent Canada’s largest exports to the U.S., are expected to be among the most adversely affected.
In the agricultural and forestry sector, wood and paper products, along with cereals, are among Canada’s largest exports to the U.S., with the U.S. accounting for 86 to 96 per cent of these exports, according to data from the World Integrated Trade Solution.
In the energy and mineral sector, crude oil is Canada’s top export, reaching US$143 billion in 2023, with 90 per cent destined for the U.S. Given its critical role as Canada’s largest export across all sectors, it is not surprising that Trump has noted crude oil would subject to a lower tariff of 10 per cent.
Canada’s dependence on U.S. trade
When examining the impact on different products, it’s not only the value of trade that matters, but also the share of trade. The share of trade indicates how reliant Canada is on the U.S. compared to other markets.
A high trade share with the U.S. suggests a product is particularly vulnerable to trade disruptions, as Canada depends heavily on the U.S. market for that product. Conversely, a lower share indicates that Canada has diversified suppliers, which reduces its dependence on the U.S.
Read more:
Trump’s tariff threat could shake North American trade relations and upend agri-food trade
For instance, in 2023, Canada’s top exports to the U.S. included vehicles and parts, nuclear machinery and plastics, according to data from the World Integrated Trade Solution. The U.S. accounted for 93 per cent of vehicle and parts exports, 82 per cent of nuclear machinery exports, and 91 per cent of plastics exports.
This data highlights Canada’s extreme dependence on the U.S. market, making these industries within the manufacturing sector highly susceptible to the tariff. This could harm jobs in the manufacturing sector, which is vital to employment in Canada, providing jobs for over 1.8 million people.
Canada’s reliance on the U.S. is also evident in imports. In 2023, vehicle imports totalled US$92 billion, with the U.S. accounting for 58 per cent of that amount.
The dependence is also evident in the agri-food and forestry sector, where Canada heavily relies on U.S. imports. This suggests that retaliatory tariffs on agricultural goods from the U.S. could have a substantial impact on food prices in Canada.
Retaliatory tariffs and inflationary pressures
Canada has announced it’s imposing $155 billion of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports in response. This could contribute to inflationary pressures within Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says this includes immediate tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods as of Tuesday, followed by further tariffs on $125 billion worth of American products in 21 days’ time to “allow Canadian companies and supply chains to seek to find alternatives.”
This will include tariffs on “everyday items such as American beer, wine and bourbon, fruits and fruit juices, including orange juice, along with vegetables, perfume, clothing and shoes,” and also on major consumer products like household appliances, furniture and sports equipment, and materials like lumber and plastics.
Given Canada’s significant dependence on U.S. imports, the retaliatory tariffs will raise the cost of American goods entering the country, further driving up consumer prices and exacerbating inflation.
In its latest policy rate announcement, the Bank of Canada warned of the severe economic consequences of Trump’s tariffs, highlighting their potential to reverse the current downward trend in inflation.
What should Canada do now?
Canada must extend its economic diplomacy efforts beyond the Trump administration, engaging with the U.S. Congress and Senate to advocate for the reconsideration of tariffs on Canadian goods. The Canadian government should persist in leveraging this channel to push for a reversal of the tariffs. This kind of broader negotiation remains the most effective approach to mitigating trade tensions and ensuring stable economic relations with the U.S.
At the same time, Canada must reduce dependence on the U.S. market by adopting a comprehensive export diversification strategy. While the U.S. remains a convenient and accessible trade partner, expanding into emerging and developing markets would help mitigate risks and create more stable long-term trade opportunities.
Read more:
Trump’s tariff threat is a sign that Canada should be diversifying beyond the U.S.
One effective way to achieve export diversification is by expanding free trade agreements (FTAs) with emerging and developing economies. Currently, Canada has 15 FTAs covering about 51 countries, but there is room for expansion. However, signing FTAs alone is insufficient; Canada must ensure these agreements translate into tangible trade growth with partner countries.
International politics is increasingly shaping global trade, making it imperative for Canada to proactively manage diplomatic and trade relations. In recent years, tensions have emerged with key partners such as China, India and Saudi Arabia. These countries could all become potential markets for Canadian products. Given that China is Canada’s second-largest export destination, there is significant potential to expand trade ties.
Additionally, countries like the United Arab Emirates present promising markets, particularly for agricultural products, as the UAE imports about 90 per cent of its food.
Boosting innovation and productivity
Canada stands at a critical juncture in its trade relationship with the U.S. While diplomatic efforts remain essential to averting harmful tariffs, they cannot be the country’s only line of defence.
Boosting productivity is one of the most effective ways for Canada to improve its competitiveness in global markets. Canadian producers should prioritize innovation and the adoption of advanced technologies to enhance efficiency and maintain a competitive edge, particularly as they seek to expand beyond the U.S.
In response to potential U.S. tariffs, the Canadian government should implement a bailout strategy to provide short-term relief and mitigate revenue losses to firms that will be mostly affected. Additionally, Canada should leverage its embassies and consulates worldwide to promote exports and help affected firms identify and access new market opportunities.
By doing this, Canada can position itself as a more self-reliant and competitive player in the global economy — one less vulnerable to shifting U.S. policies.
Sylvanus Kwaku Afesorgbor receives funding from the OMAFRA and the USDA. He is affiliated with the Centre for Trade Analysis and Development (CeTAD Africa).
Naduni Uduwe Welage and Promesse Essolema do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Canada-U.S. tariff war: How it will impact different products and industries – https://theconversation.com/canada-u-s-tariff-war-how-it-will-impact-different-products-and-industries-248824
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MIL-OSI Security: Funding confirmed for national violence and public protection centre
Source: United Kingdom National Police Chiefs Council
Government funding to establish a dedicated national hub that will centralise policing’s response to violence against women and girls and wider crimes associated with vulnerability has been confirmed today (Sunday, 2 February).
The creation of a dedicated policing hub will support forces with specialist knowledge and training for investigators and officers, and lead on a national approach to preventing these crimes from happening, with other agencies.
Police chiefs declared violence against women and girls a national emergency last year, and called for a whole-system approach that brings together criminal justice partners, government bodies and industry, to tackle the threat through prevention.
Policing mobilised its response to tackle violence against women and girls at a national level by establishing a dedicated taskforce sat within the National Police Chiefs’ Council in 2021. Since then, the taskforce has worked with the College of Policing, the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme, the Child Sexual Exploitation taskforce, government and support organisations to drive consistency and best practice across all forces in England and Wales.
Building on the successes of programs like Operation Soteria, the new centre will work with academics to ensure an evidence-based approach, transforming the way policing looks at and responds to these crimes.
T/CC Maggie Blyth, National Police Chief’s Council lead for Violence Against Women and Girls said: “We welcome the official announcement and the financial support of government to implement a national policing centre to further protect victims and enhance our specialist capability to target perpetrators.
“We already have the foundations in place, we have a strong partnership across the College of Policing (CoP), National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and specialised programmes to drive better consistency in policing’s response to violence against women and girls.
“Our officers work tirelessly every day to bring offenders to justice and keep people safe, but we need to do more and that starts with equipping our officers with the right training and support to be able to investigate effectively, in the same way as we would provide specialist training to firearms or public order officers.
“We also need to listen and support victims through the criminal justice process and alongside partners, we will drive improvements for swifter justice and a quicker more robust response when people seek our help.
“As we set out last year, the threat and scale of violence against women and girls (VAWG), has reached epidemic levels and it is estimated that at least 1 in every 12 women will be a victim of VAWG every year (2 million victims) and 1 in 20 adults in England and Wales will be a perpetrator of VAWG every year (2.3 million perpetrators). The figures are probably even higher, so we must act now to stop male-perpetrated violence, and we are committed to transforming the policing of public protection, so we have a national standard to decrease harm and cost to society.
“The national centre forms part of our wider work with government on our shared commitment to reform policing and ensure forces have the people and resources they need to keep the public safe.”
Assistant Chief Constable Tom Harding, the College of Policing’s Director of Operational Standards, said:
“Every year, at least one in 12 women will be the victim of violence. This is a startling and unacceptable statistic and one which we, collectively, must commit ourselves to changing.
“Policing is dedicated to protecting women and girls by targeting those who seek to harm them; and ensuring victims have the confidence to come forward, that they are listened to, treated compassionately and receive the best possible service.
“That’s why we’ll place victims at the heart of the new centre and work across law enforcement, government and key stakeholders in both the public and voluntary sectors to boost the training we give to officers working in this area.
“The College of Policing will support forces to achieve the highest possible standards and, building on the success of the existing programmes, we will provide policing with the data, research and insight to improve the response to violence against women and girls.
“I’m grateful to the government for the support and funding provided.”
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MIL-Evening Report: Palestine prisoners’ release ‘symbolic win’ showing unity in face of occupation, says academic
Asia Pacific Report
Sultan Barakat, a professor at Qatar’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University, says the release of Palestinian prisoners is a “symbolic win” rather than a victory for the Palestinians, primarily showing the inhumane conditions they live under.
“Israel can capture people in the West Bank and Gaza because they all live in a confinement area under the control of Israel,” he told Al Jazeera.
Dr Barakat discussed the way Palestinians were “arbitrarily rounded up, taken to prison and treated badly” by Israel.
A total of 183 Palestinian prisoners were released today from Israeli jails as part of the exchange for three Israeli hostages under the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.
They included 18 serving life sentences and 54 serving lengthy sentences, as well as 111 detained in Gaza since 7 October 2023.
Dozens of Palestinians released from Israeli jails showed signs of torture and starvation, said the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.
Barakat stressed that the release of prisoners also “shows the unity of the Palestinians in the face of occupation”.
“The prisoners are not all necessarily Hamas sympathisers — some were at odds with Hamas for a long time,” the academic said.
“But they are united in their refusal of occupation and standing up to Israel,” he added.
Hamas ‘needs to stay in power’
Another academic, Dr Luciano Zaccara, an associate professor at Qatar University’s Gulf Studies Center, told Al Jazeera that Hamas needed to stay in power for the ceasefire agreement to be implemented in full.“How are you going to reconstruct Gaza without Hamas? How are you going to make this deal complied [with] if Hamas is not there?” he questioned.
Dr Zaccara also said Israel seemed to have no plan on what to do in Gaza after the war.
“There was never a plan,” he said, adding that Israel did not want Hamas or the Palestinian Authority in the enclave running the administration.
The Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, quoting a security source, reported that the Red Cross had expressed “outrage” at how the Israel Prison Service handled the Palestinian prisoners being released from Ketziot Prison.
Ha’aretz said the Red Cross alleged that the prisoners were led handcuffed with their hands above their heads and bracelets with the inscription “Eternity does not forget”.
The newspaper quoted the Israel Prison Service spokesman as saying that “the prison warders are dealing with the worst of Israel’s enemies, and until the last moment on Israeli soil, they will be treated under prison-like rule.
“We will not compromise on the security of our people.”
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MIL-OSI United Kingdom: G7 Foreign Ministers’ statement on the escalation of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
G7 Foreign Ministers have issued the following statement strongly condemning the Rwanda-backed M23 offensive in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the the capture of Minova, Saké and Goma.
We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, strongly condemn the Rwanda-backed M23 offensive in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in particular, the capture of Minova, Saké and Goma. We urge M23 and the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) to cease their offensive in all directions. We call for the urgent protection of civilians.
We also call for an end to all direct and indirect support to the M23 and all non-state armed groups in the DRC. This offensive constitutes a flagrant disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC. We also condemn M23’s intention to continue expansion into South Kivu.
This latest M23 offensive has led to a dramatic increase in displaced civilians in Goma and across eastern DRC, on top of the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people since the start of the M23 offensive in January. We deplore the devastating consequences of the renewed M23 and RDF offensive, worsening already difficult humanitarian conditions.
G7 Foreign Ministers call for the rapid, safe and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians and reiterate that humanitarian personnel must be provided assurances of safety.
We urge all parties to return to the negotiating table and honour their commitments under the Luanda Process. We urge the M23 to withdraw from all controlled areas. We also urge all parties to fully commit to a peaceful and negotiated resolution of the conflict.
We reiterate our full support to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) to protect civilians and stabilize the region and call on all parties to respect its mandate.
Attacks against peacekeeping personnel are entirely unacceptable. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the fallen peacekeepers of MONUSCO and the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (SAMIDRC).
We strongly condemn all attacks against diplomatic missions in Kinshasa. We urge the Congolese authorities to take all appropriate steps to protect diplomats and the premises of diplomatic missions, as is their responsibility in accordance with international law.
Updates to this page
Published 2 February 2025
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MIL-OSI Africa: Education in Zimbabwe has lost its value: study asks young people how they feel about that
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Kristina Pikovskaia, Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh
Education, especially higher education, is a step towards adulthood and a foundation for the future.
But what happens when education loses its value as a way to climb the social ladder? What if a degree is no guarantee of getting stable work, being able to provide for one’s family, or owning a house or car?
This devaluing of higher education as a path to social mobility is a grim reality for young Zimbabweans. Over the past two decades the southern African country has been beset by economic, financial, political and social challenges.
These crises have severely undermined the premises and promises of education, especially at a tertiary level. A recent survey by independent research organisation Afrobarometer found that 90% of young Zimbabweans had secondary and post-secondary education compared to 83% of those aged between 36 and 55. But 41% of the youth were unemployed and looking for a job as opposed to 26% of the older generation.
The situation is so dire that it’s become a recurring theme in Zimdancehall, a popular music genre produced and consumed by young Zimbabweans. “Hustling” (attempts to create income-generating opportunities), informal livelihoods and young people’s collapsed dreams are recurrent topics in songs like Winky D’s Twenty Five, Junior Tatenda’s Kusvikira Rinhi and She Calaz’s Kurarama.
I study the way people experience the informal economy in Zimbabwe and Zambia. In a recent study I explored the loss of education’s value as a social mobility tool in the Zimbabwean context.
My research revealed how recent school and university graduates think about the role of education in their lives. My respondents felt let down by the fact that education no longer provided social mobility. They were disappointed that there was no longer a direct association between education and employment.
However, the graduates I interviewed were not giving up. Some were working towards new qualifications, hoping and preparing for economic improvements. They also thought deeply about how the educational system could be improved. Many young people got involved in protests. These included actions by the Coalition of Unemployed Graduates and the #ThisGown protests, which addressed graduate unemployment issues. Some also took part in #ThisFlag and #Tajamuka protests, which had wider socio-economic and political agendas.
Understanding history
To understand the current status and state of education in Zimbabwe it’s important to look to the country’s history.
Zimbabwe was colonised by the British from the late 19th century. The colonial education system was racialised. Education for white students was academic. For Black students, it was mostly practice-oriented, to create a pool of semi-skilled workers.
In the 1930s education was instrumental in the formation of Zimbabwe’s Black middle class. A small number of Black graduates entered white collar jobs, using education as a social mobility tool. The educational system also opened up somewhat for women.
Despite some university reforms during the 1950s, the system remained deeply racialised until the 1980s. That’s when the post-colonial government democratised the education system. Primary school enrolment went up by 242%, and 915% more students entered secondary school. In the 1990s nine more state universities were opened.
However, worsening economic conditions throughout the 1990s put pressure on the system. A presidential commission in 1999 noted that secondary schools were producing graduates with non-marketable skills – they were too academic and focused on examinations. Students’ experiences, including at the university level, have worsened since then.
The decline has been driven by systemic and institutional problems in primary and secondary education, like reduced government spending, teachers’ poor working conditions, political interference and brain drain. This, coupled with the collapse of the formal economic sector and a sharp drop in formal employment opportunities, severely undermined education’s social mobility function.
‘A key, but no door to open’
My recent article was based on my wider doctoral research. For this, I studied economic informalisation in Zimbabwe’s capital city, Harare. It involved more than 120 interviews during eight months of in-country research.
This particular paper builds on seven core interviews with recent school and university graduates in the informal sector, as well as former student leaders.
Winky D’s “Twenty Five” is about young Zimbabweans’ grievances. Some noted that education had lost part of its value as it related to one’s progression in society. As one of my respondents, Ashlegh Pfunye (former secretary-general of the Zimbabwe National Students Union), described it, young people were told that education was a key to success – but there was no door to open.
Some of my respondents were working in the informal sector, as vendors and small-scale producers. Some could not use their degrees to secure jobs, while others gave up their dreams of obtaining a university degree. Lisa, for example, was very upset about giving up on her dream to pursue post-secondary education and tried to re-adjust to her current circumstances:
I used to dream that I will have my own office, now I dream that one day I’ll have my own shop.
Those who had university qualifications stressed that, despite being unable to apply their degrees in the current circumstances, they kept going to school and getting more certification. This prepared them for future opportunities in the event of what everyone hoped for: economic improvement.
Historical tensions
Some of my interviewees, especially recent university graduates and activists, were looking for possible solutions – like changing the curriculum and approach to education that trains workers rather than producers and entrepreneurs. As Makomborero Haruzivishe, former secretary-general of the Zimbabwe National Students’ Union, said: “Our educational system was created to train human robots who would follow the instructions.”
Entrepreneurship education is a popular approach in many countries to changing the structure of classic education. In the absence of employment opportunities for skilled graduates, it is supposed to provide them with the tools to create such opportunities for themselves and others.
In 2018, the government introduced what it calls the education 5.0 framework. It has a strong entrepreneurship component. It’s too soon to say whether it will bear fruit. And it may be held back by history.
For example, the introduction of the Education-with-Production model in the 1980s, which included practical subjects and vocational training, was met with resistance because it was seen as a return to the dual system.
Because of Zimbabwe’s historically racialised education system, many students and parents favour the UK-designed Cambridge curriculum and traditional academic educational programmes. Zimbabwe has the highest number of entrants into the Cambridge International exam in Africa.
Feeling let down
The link between education and employment in Zimbabwe has many tensions: modernity and survival, academic pursuits and practicality, promises and reality. It’s clear from my study that graduates feel let down because the modernist promises of education have failed them.
– Education in Zimbabwe has lost its value: study asks young people how they feel about that
– https://theconversation.com/education-in-zimbabwe-has-lost-its-value-study-asks-young-people-how-they-feel-about-that-244661 -
MIL-OSI Africa: Sudan war: ethnic divisions are being used to cover up army failures – peace scholar
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Jan Pospisil, Associate Professor at the Centre for Peace and Security, Coventry University
Sudan’s civil war has devastated the country and strained relations with neighbouring South Sudan. Events in January 2025 have stirred up xenophobic feelings in Sudan and outrage in its southern neighbour, heightening the risk of regional instability.
Early in the year, the Sudanese Armed Forces captured Wad Madani, a town in Sudan’s central Al Gazira state. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces had seized control of the town at the start of Sudan’s civil war in April 2023.
In the days following the army’s takeover of Wad Madani, various images and videos surfaced online. They showed brutal reprisals from the soldiers, including systemic killings and torture. Some of these acts were ethnically targeted against South Sudanese workers employed in the region’s agricultural schemes.
These images sparked outrage in South Sudan. This led to anti-Sudanese riots in the capital Juba and other cities on 16 January 2025, resulting in fatalities, injuries and widespread looting.
The Sudanese army formed a committee to investigate the attacks in Wad Madani. The credibility of these investigation is questionable, however, given that the committee is composed of army loyalists.
Further hurting the investigation’s credibility was a statement a few days later from the army’s second-in-command, Mohamed al-Atta, alleging that South Sudanese fighters constitute 65% of the Rapid Support Forces.
These events have strained relations between Sudan and South Sudan, compounding an already volatile association.
They also highlight a war strategy the Sudanese army is pursuing to gain domestic support: that the Rapid Support Forces is primarily composed of foreigners, in this case, South Sudanese fighters.
Read more: War in Sudan puts South Sudan in danger too: the world’s youngest nation needs a stable neighbour
This rhetoric has been fuelled by historical tensions between Sudan and South Sudan arising from the liberation war and the latter’s subsequent independence. South Sudan’s independence resulted in the loss of valuable oil resources for Sudan.
Further, the narrative that the Rapid Support Forces largely comprises foreign fighters – helpfully for the army – feeds and taps into nationalistic and xenophobic sentiments in Sudan. These sentiments date back to the post-independence efforts of the ruling elite to establish an Islamic and Arab state. This marginalised smaller ethnic groups.
The army’s rhetoric is further supported by the overlap of tribal and ethnic affiliations across Sudan’s borders, including South Sudan and Chad. There are also the numerous reports of the paramilitary group receiving support from foreign players like the United Arab Emirates.
I have studied transition processes and conflict dynamics in Sudan and South Sudan for more than 15 years. In my view, the army has used the narrative that the Rapid Support Forces is a foreign one to rally domestic support – and distract attention from its own actions and failures.
The strategy
The leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces has frequently emphasised the Rizeigat origins of the paramilitary forces’ leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, or Hemedti.
The Rizeigat tribe spans both the Darfur and Chad border. This has supported claims that the Rapid Support Forces includes Chadians. Reports of the paramilitary group recruiting in Chad and the presence of Chadian militants in Khartoum have further reinforced this portrayal.
When it comes to South Sudanese involvement, there is documented evidence of South Sudanese fighters participating in the Sudan conflict. However, the scale of their involvement is grossly overstated. Even the highest estimates from my research contacts suggest fewer than 5,000 South Sudanese fighters have been involved. This is a mere fraction of the Rapid Support Forces’ estimated 100,000-strong militia.
Read more: Sudan is burning and foreign powers are benefiting – what’s in it for the UAE
Another contributing factor to the narrative around South Sudanese involvement is the South Sudan People’s Movement/Army. This is an opposition group that operates along the Sudan-South Sudan border. It targets South Sudanese government forces, sometimes using Sudan as a base of operations.
Since the onset of the war, I have learned in the course of my work that some South Sudan People’s Movement/Army troops have aligned with the Rapid Support Forces and participated in battles across Khartoum. Others have used their time in Sudan to acquire weapons and supplies for operations in South Sudan.
However, these opposition fighters are primarily motivated by pragmatic considerations. These include access to resources and political leverage, rather than any ideological alignment with the paramilitary group’s broader goals. These goals include reshaping the power dynamics in Sudan.
The South Sudanese group’s leader Stephen Buay has formally denied any links with the Rapid Support Forces. However, he has occasionally praised the paramilitary troops’ push against the Sudanese army.
Buay is participating in peace talks in Nairobi, where he has collaborated with other South Sudanese opposition figures to form a new joint force. This underscores his focus on South Sudan rather than Sudan.
The implications
Against this background, al-Atta’s claim that South Sudanese fighters make up most of the Rapid Support Forces is best understood as part of a broader strategy to justify the army’s actions and rally nationalist sentiment.
This strategy, however, worsens ethnic and regional tensions. It scapegoats South Sudanese fighters and further entrenches divisions between the two nations.
Read more: How militia groups capture states and ruin countries: the case of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces
This rhetoric aligns with the Sudanese army regime’s broader propaganda efforts, which frequently vilify perceived outsiders or adversaries to consolidate power and justify its actions on the battlefield.
This approach risks perpetuating the cycle of violence, mistrust and regional instability.
– Sudan war: ethnic divisions are being used to cover up army failures – peace scholar
– https://theconversation.com/sudan-war-ethnic-divisions-are-being-used-to-cover-up-army-failures-peace-scholar-248325 -
MIL-OSI Global: Education in Zimbabwe has lost its value: study asks young people how they feel about that
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Kristina Pikovskaia, Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh
Zimbabwean students and graduates are actively seeking change to the education system. AFP via Getty Images Education, especially higher education, is a step towards adulthood and a foundation for the future.
But what happens when education loses its value as a way to climb the social ladder? What if a degree is no guarantee of getting stable work, being able to provide for one’s family, or owning a house or car?
This devaluing of higher education as a path to social mobility is a grim reality for young Zimbabweans. Over the past two decades the southern African country has been beset by economic, financial, political and social challenges.
These crises have severely undermined the premises and promises of education, especially at a tertiary level. A recent survey by independent research organisation Afrobarometer found that 90% of young Zimbabweans had secondary and post-secondary education compared to 83% of those aged between 36 and 55. But 41% of the youth were unemployed and looking for a job as opposed to 26% of the older generation.
The situation is so dire that it’s become a recurring theme in Zimdancehall, a popular music genre produced and consumed by young Zimbabweans. “Hustling” (attempts to create income-generating opportunities), informal livelihoods and young people’s collapsed dreams are recurrent topics in songs like Winky D’s Twenty Five, Junior Tatenda’s Kusvikira Rinhi and She Calaz’s Kurarama.
I study the way people experience the informal economy in Zimbabwe and Zambia. In a recent study I explored the loss of education’s value as a social mobility tool in the Zimbabwean context.
My research revealed how recent school and university graduates think about the role of education in their lives. My respondents felt let down by the fact that education no longer provided social mobility. They were disappointed that there was no longer a direct association between education and employment.
However, the graduates I interviewed were not giving up. Some were working towards new qualifications, hoping and preparing for economic improvements. They also thought deeply about how the educational system could be improved. Many young people got involved in protests. These included actions by the Coalition of Unemployed Graduates and the #ThisGown protests, which addressed graduate unemployment issues. Some also took part in #ThisFlag and #Tajamuka protests, which had wider socio-economic and political agendas.
Understanding history
To understand the current status and state of education in Zimbabwe it’s important to look to the country’s history.
Zimbabwe was colonised by the British from the late 19th century. The colonial education system was racialised. Education for white students was academic. For Black students, it was mostly practice-oriented, to create a pool of semi-skilled workers.
In the 1930s education was instrumental in the formation of Zimbabwe’s Black middle class. A small number of Black graduates entered white collar jobs, using education as a social mobility tool. The educational system also opened up somewhat for women.
Despite some university reforms during the 1950s, the system remained deeply racialised until the 1980s. That’s when the post-colonial government democratised the education system. Primary school enrolment went up by 242%, and 915% more students entered secondary school. In the 1990s nine more state universities were opened.
However, worsening economic conditions throughout the 1990s put pressure on the system. A presidential commission in 1999 noted that secondary schools were producing graduates with non-marketable skills – they were too academic and focused on examinations. Students’ experiences, including at the university level, have worsened since then.
The decline has been driven by systemic and institutional problems in primary and secondary education, like reduced government spending, teachers’ poor working conditions, political interference and brain drain. This, coupled with the collapse of the formal economic sector and a sharp drop in formal employment opportunities, severely undermined education’s social mobility function.
‘A key, but no door to open’
My recent article was based on my wider doctoral research. For this, I studied economic informalisation in Zimbabwe’s capital city, Harare. It involved more than 120 interviews during eight months of in-country research.
This particular paper builds on seven core interviews with recent school and university graduates in the informal sector, as well as former student leaders.
Winky D’s “Twenty Five” is about young Zimbabweans’ grievances. Some noted that education had lost part of its value as it related to one’s progression in society. As one of my respondents, Ashlegh Pfunye (former secretary-general of the Zimbabwe National Students Union), described it, young people were told that education was a key to success – but there was no door to open.
Some of my respondents were working in the informal sector, as vendors and small-scale producers. Some could not use their degrees to secure jobs, while others gave up their dreams of obtaining a university degree. Lisa, for example, was very upset about giving up on her dream to pursue post-secondary education and tried to re-adjust to her current circumstances:
I used to dream that I will have my own office, now I dream that one day I’ll have my own shop.
Those who had university qualifications stressed that, despite being unable to apply their degrees in the current circumstances, they kept going to school and getting more certification. This prepared them for future opportunities in the event of what everyone hoped for: economic improvement.
Historical tensions
Some of my interviewees, especially recent university graduates and activists, were looking for possible solutions – like changing the curriculum and approach to education that trains workers rather than producers and entrepreneurs. As Makomborero Haruzivishe, former secretary-general of the Zimbabwe National Students’ Union, said: “Our educational system was created to train human robots who would follow the instructions.”
Entrepreneurship education is a popular approach in many countries to changing the structure of classic education. In the absence of employment opportunities for skilled graduates, it is supposed to provide them with the tools to create such opportunities for themselves and others.
In 2018, the government introduced what it calls the education 5.0 framework. It has a strong entrepreneurship component. It’s too soon to say whether it will bear fruit. And it may be held back by history.
For example, the introduction of the Education-with-Production model in the 1980s, which included practical subjects and vocational training, was met with resistance because it was seen as a return to the dual system.
Because of Zimbabwe’s historically racialised education system, many students and parents favour the UK-designed Cambridge curriculum and traditional academic educational programmes. Zimbabwe has the highest number of entrants into the Cambridge International exam in Africa.
Feeling let down
The link between education and employment in Zimbabwe has many tensions: modernity and survival, academic pursuits and practicality, promises and reality. It’s clear from my study that graduates feel let down because the modernist promises of education have failed them.
Parts of this research have been funded by the University of Oxford and the Leverhulme Trust (ECF-2022-055).
– ref. Education in Zimbabwe has lost its value: study asks young people how they feel about that – https://theconversation.com/education-in-zimbabwe-has-lost-its-value-study-asks-young-people-how-they-feel-about-that-244661
-
MIL-OSI Global: Sudan war: ethnic divisions are being used to cover up army failures – peace scholar
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Jan Pospisil, Associate Professor at the Centre for Peace and Security, Coventry University
Sudan’s civil war has devastated the country and strained relations with neighbouring South Sudan. Events in January 2025 have stirred up xenophobic feelings in Sudan and outrage in its southern neighbour, heightening the risk of regional instability.
Early in the year, the Sudanese Armed Forces captured Wad Madani, a town in Sudan’s central Al Gazira state. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces had seized control of the town at the start of Sudan’s civil war in April 2023.
In the days following the army’s takeover of Wad Madani, various images and videos surfaced online. They showed brutal reprisals from the soldiers, including systemic killings and torture. Some of these acts were ethnically targeted against South Sudanese workers employed in the region’s agricultural schemes.
These images sparked outrage in South Sudan. This led to anti-Sudanese riots in the capital Juba and other cities on 16 January 2025, resulting in fatalities, injuries and widespread looting.
The Sudanese army formed a committee to investigate the attacks in Wad Madani. The credibility of these investigation is questionable, however, given that the committee is composed of army loyalists.
Further hurting the investigation’s credibility was a statement a few days later from the army’s second-in-command, Mohamed al-Atta, alleging that South Sudanese fighters constitute 65% of the Rapid Support Forces.
These events have strained relations between Sudan and South Sudan, compounding an already volatile association.
They also highlight a war strategy the Sudanese army is pursuing to gain domestic support: that the Rapid Support Forces is primarily composed of foreigners, in this case, South Sudanese fighters.
Read more:
War in Sudan puts South Sudan in danger too: the world’s youngest nation needs a stable neighbour
This rhetoric has been fuelled by historical tensions between Sudan and South Sudan arising from the liberation war and the latter’s subsequent independence. South Sudan’s independence resulted in the loss of valuable oil resources for Sudan.
Further, the narrative that the Rapid Support Forces largely comprises foreign fighters – helpfully for the army – feeds and taps into nationalistic and xenophobic sentiments in Sudan. These sentiments date back to the post-independence efforts of the ruling elite to establish an Islamic and Arab state. This marginalised smaller ethnic groups.
The army’s rhetoric is further supported by the overlap of tribal and ethnic affiliations across Sudan’s borders, including South Sudan and Chad. There are also the numerous reports of the paramilitary group receiving support from foreign players like the United Arab Emirates.
I have studied transition processes and conflict dynamics in Sudan and South Sudan for more than 15 years. In my view, the army has used the narrative that the Rapid Support Forces is a foreign one to rally domestic support – and distract attention from its own actions and failures.
The strategy
The leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces has frequently emphasised the Rizeigat origins of the paramilitary forces’ leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, or Hemedti.
The Rizeigat tribe spans both the Darfur and Chad border. This has supported claims that the Rapid Support Forces includes Chadians. Reports of the paramilitary group recruiting in Chad and the presence of Chadian militants in Khartoum have further reinforced this portrayal.
When it comes to South Sudanese involvement, there is documented evidence of South Sudanese fighters participating in the Sudan conflict. However, the scale of their involvement is grossly overstated. Even the highest estimates from my research contacts suggest fewer than 5,000 South Sudanese fighters have been involved. This is a mere fraction of the Rapid Support Forces’ estimated 100,000-strong militia.
Read more:
Sudan is burning and foreign powers are benefiting – what’s in it for the UAE
Another contributing factor to the narrative around South Sudanese involvement is the South Sudan People’s Movement/Army. This is an opposition group that operates along the Sudan-South Sudan border. It targets South Sudanese government forces, sometimes using Sudan as a base of operations.
Since the onset of the war, I have learned in the course of my work that some South Sudan People’s Movement/Army troops have aligned with the Rapid Support Forces and participated in battles across Khartoum. Others have used their time in Sudan to acquire weapons and supplies for operations in South Sudan.
However, these opposition fighters are primarily motivated by pragmatic considerations. These include access to resources and political leverage, rather than any ideological alignment with the paramilitary group’s broader goals. These goals include reshaping the power dynamics in Sudan.
The South Sudanese group’s leader Stephen Buay has formally denied any links with the Rapid Support Forces. However, he has occasionally praised the paramilitary troops’ push against the Sudanese army.
Buay is participating in peace talks in Nairobi, where he has collaborated with other South Sudanese opposition figures to form a new joint force. This underscores his focus on South Sudan rather than Sudan.
The implications
Against this background, al-Atta’s claim that South Sudanese fighters make up most of the Rapid Support Forces is best understood as part of a broader strategy to justify the army’s actions and rally nationalist sentiment.
This strategy, however, worsens ethnic and regional tensions. It scapegoats South Sudanese fighters and further entrenches divisions between the two nations.
Read more:
How militia groups capture states and ruin countries: the case of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces
This rhetoric aligns with the Sudanese army regime’s broader propaganda efforts, which frequently vilify perceived outsiders or adversaries to consolidate power and justify its actions on the battlefield.
This approach risks perpetuating the cycle of violence, mistrust and regional instability.
Jan Pospisil receives funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through the PeaceRep research programme.
– ref. Sudan war: ethnic divisions are being used to cover up army failures – peace scholar – https://theconversation.com/sudan-war-ethnic-divisions-are-being-used-to-cover-up-army-failures-peace-scholar-248325
