NewzIntel.com

Category: Transport

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Investigation team calling for information about former police officer

    Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

    Investigation team calling for information about former police officer

    Monday, 24 March 2025 – 1:08 pm.

    As was announced on 26 February, Tasmania Police is conducting an investigation into former police officer Dale Cook, who has been charged with allegedly accessing child exploitation material.
    Acting Commissioner Jonathan Higgins said the investigation is examining Cook’s entire career to determine whether he used his position as a police officer to commit child sexual abuse crimes or any other criminal offending and identify any misconduct during his employment with Tasmania Police.
    “The investigation has independent oversight by the Integrity Commission and is being run concurrently with the criminal case he is currently facing charges over,” Acting Commissioner Higgins said.
    “We strongly encourage anyone with information to come forward, as every piece of information, no matter how small, can be key to the outcome of an investigation.”
    “The investigators would like to hear from anyone with information by 5 May 2025, however information after this time will of course still be examined.”
    “The specialist investigation team recognises the need to offer choice and confidentiality to anyone wanting to provide information.”
    There are several ways information can be provided to investigators.
    This includes:

    Sending a direct email to the investigation team at cookinvestigation@police.tas.gov.au
    Submitting an online form which allows you the option or remaining anonymous, or providing your details if you are willing to be contacted.
    Submitting a report to the Tasmania Police Professional Standards online portal.
    If you would like to meet in person, contact the investigation team at cookinvestigation@police.tas.gov.au and they will arrange this at a time and place that ensures confidentiality.

    “An important part of the investigation is also receiving any relevant information from people who have previously been in the workplace with Dale Cook, and our staff are being contacted to facilitate this.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Plan ahead for northbound closures on SH20

    Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

    Overnight road rehabilitation work on State Highway 20 (SH20) northbound between Cavendish Drive and the SH20A link will get underway this week.

    Work will be carried out between 10pm and 5am over 10 nights between Wednesday 26 March and Monday 14 April 2025. There will be no work on Friday and Saturday nights.

    Work will begin at Cavendish Drive, with a full northbound closure in place on SH20 between Cavendish Drive and Massey Road. Work will then move further north, with a full northbound closure between Massey Road and Walmsley Road, including the link to SH20A.  

    Stage 1: Full northbound closure on SH20 between Cavendish Drive to Massey Road 

    During this time the following ramps will be closed.   

    • Cavendish Drive northbound on-ramp   
    • Cavendish Drive to Puhinui Road northbound service lane   
    • Puhinui Road northbound off-ramp and on-ramp  
    • Massey Road northbound off-ramp  

    Detour via: Puhinui Road, Wylie Road, Station Road, Buckland Road and Massey Road.  

    Stage 2:  Full northbound closure on SH20 between Massey Road and Airport (SH20A) Link.

    During this time the following ramps will be closed.   

    • Massey Road northbound on-ramp    
    • SH20 northbound to SH20A southbound link    
    • SH20A northbound to SH20 northbound link  

    Detour via:   

    • For motorists travelling northbound on SH20: Please use the recommended detour via Massey Road, Robertson Road, Walmsley Road, Coronation Road and Rimu Road.  
    • For motorists travelling from SH20A: Please use the recommended detour via Kirkbride Road, McKenzie Road, Coronation Road and Rimu Road.

    These works are weather dependent and may change from advertised dates.

    To view updates to schedule, go to www.nzta.govt.nz/asm/upcoming-maintenance

    For real time updates, visit www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz(external link)

    If you would like to stay informed about these and other works, sign up(external link) to our resident email notifications.

    NZTA thanks everyone for their patience and support while we carry out this important maintenance. 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: The most important thing the Government will do

    Source: ACT Party

    The Haps

    At least one left wing chat room went ballistic about last week’s Free Press. The idea that men are oppressed seemed to trigger them so badly they missed the central point: The world is not made up of groups oppressing each other, but individuals trying to make the most of their time on earth.

    The most important thing the Government will do

    New Zealand in a nutshell is the best land in the world that you can’t build a home (or a quarry, or a road, or a water treatment plant, or a power station) on. Nearly every major problem we face begins with the difficulty in getting consent to build things.

    Why are young people disillusioned and leaving the country? Why are poor households spending over half their income on housing? Why is the Government spending billions on rental subsidies? Why are a worrying number of people facing retirement still paying rent? Why is the economy infamously imbalanced towards housing? It’s too hard to build houses and the services that connect them together.

    In this area ACT’s, and especially Simon Court’s, hard work in opposition is paying off for the whole country. Late last year Cabinet signed off on the engine room work Simon has been doing with RMA reform Minister Chris Bishop.

    The work started in 2022 with ACT’s paper Building New Zealand and Conserving Nature. The paper contains the details that Cabinet signed off as shaping the Government’s new Resource Management laws.

    It begins, “ACT proposes a shift in principle on Resource Management. At present the underlying principle is the 1980s paradigm of ‘sustainable development.’ This has never been defined in a way that is practical to implement… Instead, the principle of resource management should be to preserve the enjoyment of property… On a property rights basis, they can do anything that does not harm others’ enjoyment of property. It dramatically reduces the range of people who have an interest in someone else’s use of their own property.”

    Therein lies the heart of the Government’s reforms, based on ACT’s Coalition commitment to “replace the Resource Management Act 1991 with new resource management laws premised on the enjoyment of property rights as a guiding principle.”

    It says laws plural and there will be two laws under the Government’s reforms. One to guide urban development and planning, and another to guide environmental protection. As ACT has long said, it’s never made sense that the same law protecting Fiordland governs whether a horse paddock in Henderson can have two homes built on it.

    Building and Conserving Nature carries on to set out other principles; how water should be taken, how discharges to land and water should be managed within environmental limits, and how nationwide codes would replace every council reinventing every wheel for basic activities. These ideas also shine through in the Government’s plans, and they will make an enormous difference to the future of this country.

    Reforms like this make us proud to support ACT. The basic ideas of less regulation and more respect for private property rights are core party philosophy. They’re also becoming real with the Government’s reforms. Most importantly they are the solution to our country’s deepest problems.

    When the next generation can see their pathway to living in a property-owning democracy, the whole society changes. People who are physically invested in the community, with the security to build a life and start a family if they choose, are different types of citizens.

    Making it easier to build a water treatment plant, a road, a subdivision, and a home at the end of it may be the most important change this country can make, and it’s ACT what did that.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: (WIP) High Court says no to travelling Group Costs Orders

    Source: Allens Insights (legal sector)

    Impact on class action landscape: Victoria’s magnet effect 7 min read

    In the first of a string of upcoming decisions about the class action landscape, the High Court of Australia handed down judgment in Bogan v Smedley on 12 March 2025.1 The Court held that a group costs order (GCO) made in a class action commenced in the Supreme Court of Victoria could not travel to the Supreme Court of New South Wales and that, consequently, neither could the proceeding.

    Key takeaways 

    Background

    The legislative regime

    Group costs orders

    In every state and territory across Australia, legislation prohibits a law practice from charging contingency fees. Since July 2020, however, Victorian legislation has contained an exception for GCOs—orders allowing the representatives of plaintiffs in a class action to recover as costs a specified percentage of any award or settlement obtained in the proceeding.

    To make a GCO, the Supreme Court of Victoria must be satisfied that it is ‘appropriate or necessary to ensure that justice is done in the proceeding’.2

    Transfer of proceedings

    At the heart of this proceeding was s1337H(2) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), which allows a court to transfer a proceeding to another court if it appears to the first court that, ‘having regard to the interests of justice’, it is more appropriate for the second court to determine the matter.

    Notably, this provision only applies to a proceeding with respect to a civil matter arising under, relevantly, the Corporations Act or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth) (ASIC Act).

    The Arrium proceeding

    On 14 August 2020, a class action was commenced in the Supreme Court of Victoria against the directors of Arrium Ltd (Arrium) and its auditor, alleging contraventions of the Corporations Act, the ASIC Act and the Australian Consumer Law. There was evidence that the proceeding was originally intended to be filed in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, where Arrium had its principal place of business and where the relevant events had largely taken place. The High Court inferred that the ultimate choice to file in Victoria rather than NSW was to take advantage of the availability of GCOs.

    The plaintiffs applied for a GCO on 2 February 2021. On 26 February 2021, one of the defendants applied to transfer the proceeding to the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

    The Supreme Court of Victoria made orders that the GCO application be determined first, before the transfer application. As noted by the High Court, no objection was taken to that order at the time. A GCO was then made in favour of the plaintiffs’ solicitors entitling them to 40% of any award or settlement (the Arrium GCO).

    The transfer application was not ultimately dealt with by the Supreme Court of Victoria. Instead, three questions arising on that application were removed to the Victorian Court of Appeal:

    1. whether the Arrium GCO would remain in force if the proceeding were transferred to the Supreme Court of New South Wales;
    2. if not, whether the absence of the Arrium GCO in the Supreme Court of New South Wales was a relevant factor to the transfer application; and
    3. whether the proceeding should be transferred.

    Decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal

    In respect of those questions, the Victorian Court of Appeal unanimously held that:

    1. the Arrium GCO would not remain in force if the proceeding were transferred to the Supreme Court of New South Wales;
    2. this was relevant to (and decisive of) the transfer application; and
    3. the proceeding should not be transferred.

    The same questions were subsequently removed to the High Court for determination.

    Summary of findings

    A majority of the High Court (Chief Justice Gageler, Justices Gordon, Gleeson, Jagot and Beech-Jones ) and Justice Edelman (in separate reasons) reached the same conclusion on each question as the Court of Appeal. Justice Steward disagreed on the second question, holding that the availability or not of a GCO in the Supreme Court of New South Wales was not relevant to the transfer application.

    Would the Arrium GCO remain in force in NSW?

    The parties agreed that the Supreme Court of New South Wales had no power to make an order in the nature of the Arrium GCO. The issue for the High Court instead turned on whether a provision of the Corporations Act would give legal force to the Arrium GCO if the proceeding were transferred.

    The High Court held that it would not. To the contrary, the provision could only apply if the Supreme Court of New South Wales had power to make an order providing for at least ‘similar steps’ to the Arrium GCO. The parties agreed it did not have that power and, accordingly, the Arrium GCO could not be carried into NSW. 

    Was the absence of the Arrium GCO relevant to the transfer application?

    The majority held that the absence of the Arrium GCO could not be ignored in considering whether transfer to NSW was in ‘the interests of justice’. Importantly, it was agreed between the parties that there was not a realistic prospect of alternative funding being obtained in the absence of the Arrium GCO. In this regard the majority stated that the capacity of the plaintiffs and class members to obtain access to justice ‘bear[s] vitally’ on the interests of justice,4 a sentiment echoed by Justice Edelman.5 In the views of the majority and Justice Edelman, these matters were decisive of the transfer application because, on the facts of the case, there was a ‘considerable risk’ that the proceeding would not be able to continue without the GCO.6

    By contrast, Justice Steward held that the Arrium GCO was not relevant to, and so not determinative of, the transfer application. His Honour disagreed with the majority on the basis that a GCO offers a plaintiff an advantage (a way of ensuring the financial viability of a proceeding) and imposes on a defendant a corresponding disadvantage (being subjected to a proceeding which would not be viable in any other jurisdiction). To consider the Arrium GCO a relevant factor would, in his Honour’s view, be for the court to ‘play favourites’.7 As his Honour noted, NSW did not cease to be a place where the plaintiffs could obtain justice merely because Victoria introduced laws introducing an exception to an otherwise national ban on contingency fees, and nor did those laws mean NSW was not a suitable forum in which to litigate class actions.

    Will a GCO always anchor proceedings to Victoria?

    The majority also noted that common factors bear on the determination of GCO applications and transfer applications. As noted above, the former involves consideration of whether the GCO is appropriate or necessary to ensure that justice is done, while the latter involves an inquiry into ‘the interests of justice’. While the High Court stopped short of articulating a general rule, its reasoning suggests that where a GCO has been made (because the court is satisfied that it is appropriate or necessary to ensure that justice is done), that will tend in favour of it being in the interests of justice that the proceeding remains in Victoria.

    Looking ahead

    One route not taken by the parties in this case was to challenge the sequence in which the Supreme Court of Victoria dealt with the GCO and transfer applications. If the transfer application was heard before the making of the GCO, the transfer application would have been decided by reference only to the connections the proceeding had to Victoria and NSW respectively. It remains to be seen what the attitude of the courts will be to that kind of challenge, however, it may be one strategy open to parties faced with similar circumstances in future.

    The majority’s reasoning also suggests a potential shift in the High Court’s approach to considering factors relevant to the ‘interests of justice’ and similar assessments. The High Court previously held that whether an action can proceed is not relevant to that inquiry.8 By contrast, in Bogan v Smedley, the majority and Justice Edelman held that whether the action could proceed was relevant to an inquiry into whether the transfer was ‘in the interests of justice’. As further matters come before the High Court which require a similar analysis, it will be interesting to monitor the extent to which the Court considers the survival of a proceeding to be relevant to ‘ensuring justice is done’.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Giving rivers room to move: how rethinking flood management can benefit people and nature

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christina McCabe, PhD Candidate in Interdisciplinary Ecology, University of Canterbury

    Shutterstock/S Watson

    When we think about flood management, higher stop banks, stronger levees and concrete barriers usually come to mind. But what if the best solution – for people and nature – isn’t to confine rivers, but to give them more space?

    This alternative is increasingly being considered as an approach to mitigating flood risk. But allowing rivers room to move also delivers ecological benefits far beyond flood risk reduction. It supports biodiversity, improves water quality and stores carbon.

    As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme floods, rethinking our approach to managing floodplain rivers has never been more urgent.

    Climate change, floods and river confinement

    Climate change is amplifying flood risks worldwide, and Aotearoa New Zealand is no exception. Large floods are expected to become much more frequent and severe, threatening communities, infrastructure and ecosystems.

    Many of these risks are made worse by past management decisions that have artificially confined rivers within narrow channels, cutting them off from their natural floodplains.

    Floodplain river systems have historically been dynamic, shifting across landscapes over time. But extensive stop banks, modification of river channels and land development have restricted this natural variability.

    Strangling rivers in this way transfers and heightens flood risks downstream by forcing water through confined channels at greater speeds. It also degrades ecosystems that rely on the natural ebb and flow of river processes.

    The Waiau River, a gravel-bed braided river in the South Island, has been constrained by land development, primarily for agriculture.
    Background satellite image: Google (c) 2025 Airbus, CC BY-SA

    Giving rivers space to roam

    The idea of allowing rivers to reclaim space on their floodplains is not new.

    In the Netherlands, the Room for the River programme was a response to flooding in 1995 that led to large-scale evacuations of people and cattle. In England, predictions that economic risks associated with flooding will increase 20-fold within this century ignited the Making Space for Water strategy.

    However, these initiatives typically remain focused on flood protection, overlooking opportunities to maximise ecological benefits. Our new research shows that well-designed approaches can deliver ecological gains alongside flood protection.

    This is crucial because floodplain river systems are among the most valuable ecosystems. They provide about a quarter of all land-based ecosystem services such as water retention and pollutant filtration, as well as educational, recreational and cultural benefits.

    Managing rivers for variability

    A fundamental shift in river management involves acknowledging and accommodating natural variability. Floodplain rivers are not static: they change across landscapes and through time, responding to seasonal flows, sediment movement and ecological processes.

    Braided rivers are an example of floodplain rivers that have natural variability and diverse habitat types.
    Angus McIntosh, CC BY-SA

    Our research synthesises the ecological processes that are enabled when floodplain rivers have room to move.

    Rivers that are not unnaturally confined are typically more physically complex. For instance, along with the main river channel, they might have smaller side channels, or areas where the water pools and slows, springs popping up from below ground to re-join the surface waters, or ponds on the floodplain.

    A diverse range of habitats supports a rich variety of plant and animal life. Even exposed gravel, made available in rivers that flow freely, provides critical nesting sites for endangered birds.

    Biodiversity is not one-dimensional. Instead, it exists and operates at multiple scales, from a small floodplain pond to a whole river catchment or wider. In a dynamic, ever-changing riverscape, we might find the genetic composition of a species varying in different parts of the river, or the same species of fish varying in their body size, depending on the habitat conditions.

    These examples of natural biological variability enable species and ecosystems to be resilient in the face of uncertain future conditions.

    Rivers that have room to move on their floodplains are highly dynamic. This diagram shows the main types of ecological variability in a free-flowing river: physical variability, habitat heterogeneity and variable ecosystem processes.
    Adapted from McCabe et al. 2025 Nature Water, CC BY-SA

    At a larger scale, the type and number of species that live in different floodplain river habitats also varies. This diversity of biological communities produces variation in the functions ecosystems perform across the river, such as the uptake of nutrients or processing of organic matter. This can even help to diversify food webs.

    These variations mean not all species or groups of species in the river will be vulnerable to the same disturbances – such as droughts or floods – at the same time. This is because plants and animals in rivers have evolved to take advantage of long-term rhythms of floods and droughts in different ways.

    For instance, the cottonwood poplars of the southwest United States time their seed release with the highly predictable rhythms of snowmelt-driven spring floods in that part of the world. In Aotearoa New Zealand, whitebait fish species typically deposit their eggs during high autumn flows, which then get transported to sea as larvae during high winter flows.

    Some animals need multiple habitats within the river for different stages of life. Other creatures travel from afar to use river floodplains for only a short time. The latter includes the banded dotterel (Charadrius bicinctus), endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand. This bird travels as far as 1,700km to nest on braided-river gravels each spring. Banded dotterels are in decline, and they rely on habitats provided by rivers that have space to roam.

    The endangered black-fronted tern (Chlidonias albostriatus) uses gravel bar habitats on river floodplains for nesting.
    Angus McIntosh, CC BY-SA

    A call for more sustainable river management

    As climate change accelerates, we must rethink how we manage our waterways. Reinforcing levees and deepening channels may seem like logical responses to increased flood risk, but these approaches often exacerbate long-term vulnerabilities and transfer risk elsewhere.

    We call for practitioners to broaden the scope of values included in river management policy and programmes to include ecological variability.

    Nature-based solutions are approaches that seek to benefit both people and nature. By working with nature rather than against it, we can create landscapes that are more resilient, adaptive, and supportive of both people and biodiversity.

    It’s time to embrace a new paradigm for river management – one that sees rivers not as threats to be controlled, but as lifelines to be protected and restored.

    Christina McCabe receives funding through an Aho Hīnātore doctoral research scholarship at the University of Canterbury.

    Jonathan Tonkin receives funding from a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship and the Centre of Research Excellence Te Pūnaha Matatini. He also receives funding from the Antarctic Science Platform and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

    – ref. Giving rivers room to move: how rethinking flood management can benefit people and nature – https://theconversation.com/giving-rivers-room-to-move-how-rethinking-flood-management-can-benefit-people-and-nature-251225

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: The Gift of Water: How the Lesotho Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project is Transforming Lives

    Source: African Development Bank Group

    “Water is life; when there is no water, it is as if there are no people living.”

    These profound words from ‘Masechefo Sechefo, a Community Councilor at Ha Sekete village, capture the essence of existence in rural Lesotho before the African Development Bank’s transformative intervention.

    In a country where water ironically constitutes 30% of the nation’s GDP, many rural Basotho paradoxically lived without access to clean water. This stark contradiction defined daily life until the Lesotho Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project began changing the narrative in the communities.

    The Lesotho Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project is connected to the Metolong Dam Water Supply Programme, a collaborative initiative between the government and partners.

    The Long Walk For Water

    Before the project, women and girls in villages across Maseru and Berea districts would wake before dawn to begin their daily ‘pilgrimage’ to distant springs and unprotected wells. The journey often stretched more than a kilometer each way, with women carrying heavy containers while navigating challenging mountain terrain.

    “Where we used to fetch water, it was so far that there could have been challenges, perhaps the risk of being attacked or harmed by criminals,” recalls ‘Masechefo.

    At Sekete Primary School, the situation was equally dire. Headteacher Sello Matlali remembers: “We had to send children to fetch water from the unprotected wells around our communities. It was about one and a half kilometers walk from the school.”

    This daily expedition meant losing children’s classroom time and productive hours for women. Worse still, the unprotected water sources harbored pathogens causing diarrheal diseases that disproportionately affected the community’s most vulnerable members.

    A Project That Flows Like Life Itself

    When the African Development Bank’s initiative reached these communities, it didn’t merely install infrastructure – it unleashed potential.

    The project, set to conclude in March 2025 after more than a decade of implementation, has delivered remarkable results: 190 kilometers of pipeline to distribution networks, water storage reservoirs with a total capacity of 3.48 million liters, and 166 public water points serving approximately 28,266 people across eight zones in Maseru and Berea districts.

    The numbers tell only part of the story. Moses Tembo, the project’s task manager at the African Development Bank, highlights the impact: “From the data collected through the project, you could see that many people’s lives have been changed. Most people were drawing water from springs and unprotected wells, and the incidence of diarrheal diseases was quite high.”

    Beyond water supply, the project expanded sanitation infrastructure, – constructing 266 sanitation facilities for vulnerable households and 284 toilets at schools and healthcare facilities.

    A massive water reservoir constructed as part of the Lesotho Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project

    “It Was Like Our Birthday”

    At Sekete Primary School, the transformation has been profound. “When water was supplied, it was like our birthday,” Sello Maltali exclaims, his eyes bright with emotion. “The African Development Bank came to our rescue when we were in serious problem.”

    The school now boasts eight water taps and proper sanitation facilities – eight toilets for boys, seven for girls, and a dedicated facility for children with disabilities. This thoughtful design has created an inclusive learning environment where all 500 students can focus on education rather than basic survival needs.

    “We live the life we never lived before,” Matlali reflects. “We forget the past. We talk of it as history.”

    The impact extends beyond convenience. The school has witnessed increased enrollment and reduced disease transmission. Students can now pursue agricultural education, which teaches them self-reliance and food production skills.

    Women Liberated, Communities Transformed

    For women like ‘Masechefo, the project has delivered more than water – it has brought dignity and safety. “This project has brought a big change in our lives and our families. There is cleanliness in our homes and on our bodies.”

    The transformation has touched every aspect of community life. Residents found employment during construction— collecting stones, laying bricks, mixing cement, and completing roofing work. This approach ensured that the community benefited from the completed infrastructure and the process itself.

    Mamosili Kikine, the project’s technical adviser, explains: “The beneficiaries are using water for different purposes, like cooking and washing. The schools and clinics in these zones are also benefiting.”

    Climate Resilience: Protecting the Future

    As the base project nears completion, an additional component introduced in 2019 focuses on climate resilience. This component educates communities about preserving watersheds and forests to ensure sustainable water resources.

    “Lesotho is very much dependent on water for its economy and the wellbeing of people,” task manager Tembo explains. “The water reserves 10 years ago, 20 years ago, are not the same at the moment.”

    By protecting water sources through this education, the project aims to secure these life-giving resources for future generations.

    Water: A Celebration of Life

    As the African Development Bank joined in celebrating World Water Day on March 22, the communities served by this project understand its significance profoundly. They have experienced life with and without clean water –and know which they prefer.

    “Without water, there is no life,” declares headteacher Sello Matlali. “Water shortage is death. We cannot have food. We cannot bathe. We cannot wash our hands. We are vulnerable to disease.”

    The project’s legacy extends beyond pipes and reservoirs. It has fundamentally altered the relationship between communities and water – creating not just consumers but stewards of this precious resource.

    For the people of Lesotho’s rural communities, water is no longer just a substance—it’s the embodiment of possibility, dignity, and future prosperity. In a country blessed with abundant water resources that benefit neighboring nations, the African Development Bank has ensured that Lesotho’s citizens can finally share in this natural wealth.

    And for that, as Sello Matlali puts it, “It is very joyous.”

    A Nurse’s Story

    Mots’elisi Makhele, the only community health nurse serving approximately 2,000 people in her rural community, has witnessed a remarkable transformation thanks to the African Development Bank’s water supply and sanitation project.

    “We used to have a small community tap where 2,000 people would queue, and because of the drought, we wouldn’t have enough water some days,” Makhele recalls, adding that this single tap served everyone—elderly women, small children, and her clinic.

    Community nurse Mots’elisi Makhele stands by the tap that previously served around 2,000 people and indicates the houses now connected to modern facilities constructed through the Lesotho Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project.

    The health consequences were severe. “I couldn’t do normal birth deliveries because there was no water,” said Makhele. “There was an increased rate of waterborne infections, and I had many babies with malnutrition because the water was not clean.”

    The African Development Bank project transformed the community by providing individual household taps and proper sanitation facilities. The clinic received two proper toilets and a washing station where patients can wash their hands.

    The impact has been profound. “After initiating this project, the incidence rate of diarrheal diseases and malnutrition has decreased,” Makhele said excitedly.

    A stream that Kesete Village residents relied on for water before modern facilities were constructed through the AfDB-Funded Lesotho Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project.

    Deteriorated sanitation facilities at Hamaja Primary School prior to the intervention.

    New sanitation facilities at Hamaja Primary School built under the Lesotho Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project. The project delivered more than 266 sanitation facilities for vulnerable households and installed 284 toilets in schools and healthcare facilities.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Samsung Unveils New Refrigerator Lineup Equipped With Screens and Enhanced AI Vision Inside Feature

    Source: Samsung

    Samsung Electronics today announced the global rollout of its latest lineup of smart refrigerators, reinforcing the “Screens Everywhere” vision introduced at CES 2025. This expansion includes the introduction of the 9-inch AI Home screen1 on the 4-Door, 4-Door French Door and Side-by-Side refrigerators, as well as an enhanced Family Hub screen on select French Door and Side-by-Side models. An enhanced AI Vision Inside2 feature is integrated on select 4-Door and 4-Door French Door models, refining food identification and streamlining meal planning to ensure a more intuitive kitchen experience for users.
     
    “By offering a wide array of refrigerator options across type and also screen sizes, we are expanding choices to meet diverse household requirements,” says Jeong Seung Moon, EVP and Head of the R&D Team for Digital Appliances Business at Samsung Electronics. “Consumers can enjoy greater flexibility in choosing fridge designs while benefiting from the AI-powered smart home experience Samsung provides.”
     
     
    A Smarter Way To Manage Food, Home, Family Communication and Entertainment
    Samsung’s new refrigerators incorporate the intuitive 9” AI Home screen and 32” or 21.5” Family Hub screens, which are designed to enhance four key areas of daily life: Food, Home, Family Communication and Entertainment. The first category, food, is especially powered by the upgraded AI Vision Inside, which adds four more food items to the list of recognizable types for a total of 37. Furthermore, adding on to fresh food items, AI Vision Inside can now also recognize processed food items. Refrigerators with the enhanced AI Vision Inside will recognize and recommend users to save processed food items that have been placed inside multiple times, allowing up to 50 items to be saved with designated names.3 Based on the improved food list, the screen will provide tailored recipe recommendations and meal planning,4 making home cooking more seamless and personalized.
     
    Beyond food, the screens also enhance smart home connectivity. The latest advancements provide deeper integration into the smart home ecosystem, making the refrigerator a central hub capable of controlling connected appliances throughout the entire home. With the integration of Map View, users can monitor and control Samsung appliances and even third-party smart home devices5 like lights and smart plugs. There’s also SmartThings Energy,6 which helps users track and optimize their energy consumption, facilitating greater efficiency in everyday life. The intuitive display provides users with access to a great deal of information about their home, with users also being able to issue voice commands through Bixby.7
     
    The new Daily Board feature keeps everyone informed and connected. Placed at the heart of the home, the refrigerator screen delivers real-time updates throughout the day — whether it’s the morning weather and schedule before heading to work, or daily energy consumption reports in the evening. Users can also easily access their schedules through voice commands and receive tailored responses. By recognizing each family member’s voice and replying accordingly, Bixby will serve as both a helpful assistant for the entire household and for each person individually.8 Additional family-focused features include a shared gallery for storing precious memories and a calendar to help with daily planning.
     
    Samsung’s latest refrigerators also redefine entertainment in the kitchen, allowing users to stay engaged while cooking or spending time with family. With Spotify integration, users can listen to their favorite music or podcasts directly from their fridge.9 SmartView Mirroring enables seamless screen sharing from smartphones or Samsung TVs, and the dedicated gallery feature lets families display their favorite photos, adding a personal touch to the kitchen.
     
     
    The Next Generation of Refrigeration

    The 4-Door Refrigerator is designed to meet the needs of modern households with its innovative features.10 The 9” AI Home applied on select models allows the refrigerator to integrate seamlessly with the smart home ecosystem. Models that incorporate Hybrid Cooling technology11 keep produce fresh for even longer, while also allowing extra space12 by utilizing a peltier module that is compact in size for cooling. By utilizing the conventional compressor and the Peltier module together, AI Hybrid Cooling is capable of providing additional cooling whenever necessary, such as when the internal temperature increases or when AI predicts a potential rise.13 When users put in a large amount of groceries after shopping or open the door multiple times in the summer, the Peltier module will assist the compressor to maintain a consistent internal temperature.
     
    The 4-Door Refrigerator also comes in Kitchen Fit design, allowing agile installation that requires only a tiny gap of just 4mm from the sides and 20mm from the top. Also, the refrigerator’s doors have been enhanced with SpaceMax insulation technology that uses less amount of high-efficiency insulation, increasing the space in the doors by 56% compared to previous models equaling 10L in capacity.14 Users can also enjoy convenience with the wide opening door that opens more than 90 degrees, and the food showcase to store frequently used items.
     

     
    The 4-Door French Door Refrigerator, launching in North America, is available in various configurations, including a 32” Family Hub and a 9” AI Home. This flexibility allows users to choose the best fit for their kitchen. The Auto Open Door15 feature ensures hassle-free accessibility with just a gentle tap, making it accessible to everyone in all kinds of situations to effortlessly access the inside of the fridge. It also has a Beverage Center that includes a water dispenser and a 1.4L Auto-Fill Water Pitcher that is dishwasher safe16 and BPA free.17 Apart from ensuring that fresh, filtered water is always available, the pitcher also allows users to infuse their water with fruits and herbs.
     

     
    The Side-by-Side Refrigerator also offers multiple screen options, including the 21.5” Family Hub and 9” AI Home.18 The model, featuring an Auto Open Door that opens up widely makes it simpler to reach stored items,19 is designed for users who prioritize easy access and organization. Select European models are equipped with Hybrid Cooling technology — as seen in the 4-Door refrigerator — to maintain freshness by preventing temperature fluctuations.
     
    All three types of refrigerators come with the AI Energy Mode feature, allowing users to reduce energy consumption by up to an additional 10%.20 Users can choose to activate the mode always or when electricity bills are expected to exceed the preset target.
     
    With these latest innovative solutions, Samsung continues to push the boundaries of the connected kitchen, transforming the refrigerator into an intelligent hub that enhances food management, smart home integration and entertainment. By seamlessly blending AI-enabled convenience with energy efficiency, Samsung is redefining how users interact with their appliances and bringing the future of the smart home to life.
     
     
    1 A Wi-Fi connection and a Samsung account are required to access the AI Home, our network-based service, including apps, and other smart features available through your refrigerator. You may need to use a separate device e.g. your laptop/desktop or mobile device, to create/log into a Samsung Account. If you choose not to log-in, you will not be able to enjoy any features available on the AI Home, such as the services available on the SmartThings App and the phone call features. Recipe recommendations and Bixby accessible through the AI Home utilize AI (based on deep learning models, which may be updated periodically to improve accuracy). To access your AI recipe recommendations, click on the ‘Food’ service within the SmartThings App in the AI Home menu.2 Available on select T-Type and French Door refrigerator models. As of April 2025, AI Vision Inside can recognize 37 food items like fresh fruits and veggies. If the food is not recognizable, it may be listed as an unknown item. AI Vision Inside cannot identify or list any food items in the fridge door bins or freezer. It recognizes food items based on deep learning models, which may be updated periodically to improve accuracy.3 Processed foods are limited to those that keep a certain packaged form. AI Home recommends to save the item after it has been input more than 4 times during 30 days.4 Requires login to the Samsung account. The recommendations and meal plans may not fit personal preferences in some cases.5 A Wi-Fi connection and a Samsung account are required. Third-party devices must by SmartThings compatible.6 Available on Android and iOS devices. All devices should be connected to Wi-Fi or other wireless network, and registered with a single Samsung Account. The energy usage and estimated cost shown in SmartThings Energy may differ from your actual usage and cost. Availability may vary by country, region, service provider, network environment, or device, and may change without notice.7 Bixby is Samsung’s brand of Internet of Things (IoT) voice assistant. Its service availability may vary depending on the country, language, and dialect.8 Available starting from 2025 May through over-the-network update. Customized answering is available on select usage cases such as accessing Calendar, Gallery, Find my Phone.9 Available in all countries excluding China, Qatar, Yemen, Russia, Sudan10 Available in North America, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East in 2025. Available screen sizes may vary.11 Available on select models of the 4-Door refrigerator in 2025.12 Based on internal testing, compared to existing Samsung RF9000D model (RF65DG9H*-Global, RF23DB99*-NA/LATAM)13 The Peltier element is a semiconductor-based component that cools using just electricity, without refrigerant. It operates when either the temperature in the refrigerator rises above the normal range or AI predicts that the temperature will rise in 5 minutes due to a long period of food storage or cleaning, based on an analysis of the user’s refrigerator opening and closing pattern.14 Based on internal testing, compared to Samsung RF60DB9KF*** model launched in Korea. The capacity may vary by models, region, and feature specifications.15 An automatic closing function is not available. The actual angle that the doors open may vary due to the installation circumstances and usage conditions, like storing heavy items in the door bins. The user may need to adjust how the refrigerator is installed if the doors don’t open properly. The touch sensors can be turned on/off from the display or SmartThings app and the default setting is ‘Off’. The Auto Open Door function may be activated inadvertently by contact with any body part or by a child or pet.16 Tested for 125 cycles in accordance with the “Mechanical dishwashing resistance of utensils” test method (BS EN 12875-1:2005) and certified as dishwasher safe by SGS.17 Bisphenol A (BPA) is found in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins, which are often used in food and beverage containers, and has been linked with possible adverse health effects.18 Available in Europe, Southeast Asia, China, the Middle East, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).19 You can select the door opening level using the SmartThings App (SmartThings is available on Android and iOS devices. A Wi-Fi connection and a Samsung account are required). The ‘Wide-open’ option automatically opens the door by an angle of 80 degrees or more, but the door does not close automatically. The ‘Semi-open’ option reduces the force required to open the door, and automatically closes the door after a certain period of time if the door is left open. The actual angle that the doors open may vary due to the installation circumstances and usage conditions, like storing heavy items in the door bins.20 The test results are based on a comparison of the factory setting temperature when using AI Energy mode and without using AI Energy mode. Results may vary depending on the usage conditions and patterns. AI Energy Mode can be activated in SmartThings Energy, which is available on Android and iOS devices. SmartThings Energy requires Wi-Fi connection and a Samsung account.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Samsung Launches Next-Gen Odyssey Gaming Monitors That Showcase Immersive 3D and OLED Excellence

    Source: Samsung

    Samsung Electronics today announced the availability of its newest Odyssey gaming monitors, as well as the ViewFinity S8. The 2025 Odyssey lineup includes the revolutionary Odyssey 3D, the stunning Odyssey OLED G8 — which features an industry-first 4K, 240Hz screen — and the ultrawide Odyssey G9. These monitors, which push the boundaries of immersion and excellence, have been meticulously designed to deliver excellence to modern gamers.
     
    “At Samsung, we are committed to delivering cutting-edge display technology that enhances the gaming experience,” said Hoon Chung, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “The new Odyssey monitors represent a significant leap forward in innovation, visual quality and performance, empowering gamers to fully immerse themselves and perform at their best.”
     
     
    Entering the World of 3D Gaming on the Odyssey 3D

     

     
    The new Odyssey 3D (G90XF model) 27” monitor introduces a groundbreaking 3D gaming experience that does not require dedicated glasses. Advanced eye-tracking technology and a proprietary lenticular lens deliver a natural-looking high-definition 3D image, accessible through the Reality Hub app,1 which makes the action jump out of the screen to bring new energy and immersion to games and video content.
     
    Samsung is actively collaborating with major game developers to make the most out of this 3D technology. These collaborations include:
     
    Nexon for The First Berserker: Khazan, launching on March 28
    Neowiz for the critically acclaimed Lies of P. The company’s first downloadable content (DLC), Overture, is scheduled for release this summer.
     
    The partnering developers now have an unprecedented level of control over 3D effects, enabling them to bring their creative visions to life with precision. Samsung plans to continuously expand its partnerships with more global game studios.
     
    In addition to 3D gaming, the Odyssey 3D features AI video conversion, which can transform video content into 3D, breathing new life into nearly all content.2 Every scene of compatible content is analyzed and converted to 3D for consistent 3D effects with less eye strain.

     
    The Odyssey 3D also boasts impressive gaming performance. A 165Hz refresh rate and 1ms Gray-to-Gray (GtG) response time keep gaming responsive and smooth on its 4K screen, while AMD FreeSync Premium and NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible reduce choppiness and screen lag, even during fast and complex gameplay.
     
    Edge Lighting takes 3D immersion to the next level by filling the gaming environment with lighting that adapts to games. It fills the space under the monitor with colors that synchronize with the screen’s lighting, enhancing the 3D screen and bringing game environments into real life.
     
     
    Odyssey OLED G8 Features Highest Pixel Density on a 27’’ Screen

     
    The unmatched picture quality of OLED gets a performance boost on the new Odyssey OLED G8(G81SF model). Available in 27” and 32” models, the 27” has 166 pixels-per-inch — the industry’s highest pixel density for a screen that size — and the industry’s first 4K monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate. Both sizes of the OLED G8 bring groundbreaking performance and visual quality together.
     
    The new 4K QD-OLED visuals deliver amazing details, with enhanced colors and contrast ratio from any viewing angle thanks to quantum dot technology. Boosted by VESA DisplayHDR TrueBlack 400, it delivers near-infinite contrast that makes vibrant colors pop, even at the high, typically 250nit brightness. Glare Free technology certified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) allows the screen to produce less reflection, reducing distractions during use.
     
    The screen’s image is protected by Samsung OLED Safeguard+. The proprietary Dynamic Cooling System uses the industry-first Pulsating Heat Pipe to diffuse heat five times better than standard graphite sheets, without adjusting brightness. This protects the screen from burn-in, prolonging the life of the screen.
     

     
    The 240Hz refresh rate and .03ms GtG response time make the Odyssey OLED G8 a top performance gaming monitor, with fast and smooth screen movements. It supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible to prevent stuttering, tearing and jittering. These performance features combine to make gaming ultra smooth, responsive and immersive.
     
    The Odyssey OLED G8 also makes a stylish addition to any gaming setup. The slim metal design fits any aesthetic, while Core Lighting+ surrounds the user with lighting based on the screen. And it’s all easy to set up, thanks to the ergonomic stand.
     
     
    Odyssey G9 Allows More Gamers To Experience Curved Ultrawide Gaming

     
    The Odyssey G9 (G91F model) brings ultrawide gaming to more people with a simplified approach that does not sacrifice performance. Its 49’’ Dual QHD display features a 1000R curve, wrapping high-quality visuals and exciting gameplay around the user.
     
    A 144Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time keep gameplay responsive and quick, while AMD FreeSync Premium Pro allows the action to flow without tearing or stuttering. The VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification brings colors to vivid life with clarity, while HDR10+ GAMING enhances the screen with optimized brightness, contrast and color range for a dynamic picture.
     

     
    The Odyssey G9 also delivers exceptional multitasking ability, with Picture-by-Picture and Picture-in-Picture features. With these, two different devices can be viewed at the same time, with flexible size options available in Picture-in-Picture mode. The Odyssey G9 also helps users get to games faster with the Auto Source Switch+, which detects connected devices and automatically displays them when they are turned on.
     

    ViewFinity S8 Encapsulates Comfort and Efficiency

     
    In addition to the 2025 gaming monitors, Samsung is launching the 37” ViewFinity S8 (S80UD model), the largest 16:9 4K Samsung monitor to date. With a screen approximately 34% larger than the previous model, the ViewFinity S8 maximizes productivity and efficiency on its 4K screen. HDR10 and the ability to accurately portray 1 billion colors give professionals the tools to do their jobs effectively and efficiently.
     
    The ViewFinity S8 is designed for comfort and efficiency. Its ergonomic design is certified by TÜV Rheinland as an Ergonomic Workspace Display, and its Intelligent Eye Care is TÜV-certified for reducing strain on users’ eyes.3 Devices can be connected to use for work through a 90W USB-C connection, and multiple inputs can be controlled on the monitor with a keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) switch, making it easy to connect work and leisure devices to the multipurpose monitor.
     
    For more information, please visit here.
     

     
     
    Availability
    The new Odyssey 3D, Odyssey OLED G8 and Odyssey G9 are available for pre-order starting today. For more information, please visit here.
     
     
    1 Reality Hub must be installed. The app can be downloaded from Samsung.com or Microsoft Store. Only the games that are specified in the Reality Hub can be transferred for 3D gaming.2 To activate 3D conversion, Reality Hub must be running in the system tray and video must be in full screen. Some video players may not support 3D conversion. 3D conversion is not available for DRM content or when HDR mode is enabled. 3D conversion only supported with NVIDIA graphics cards. RTX 3080 or higher recommended. For optimal 3D performance, the following PC specifications are recommended: CPU: Intel i7 or higher, AMD Ryzen 7 1700X or higher.3 Technischer Überwachungsverein (TÜV) Rheinland is one of the world’s leading testing service providers and tests, inspects and certifies technical systems and products.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Former Filipino president Duterte’s arrest by the ICC – 20 journalists killed during his presidency

    Pacific Media Watch

    Paris-based global media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has recalled that 20 journalists were killed during the six-year Philippines presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, a regime marked by fierce repression of the press.

    Former president Duterte was arrested earlier this week as part of an International Criminal Court investigation into crimes against humanity linked to his merciless war on drugs. He is now in The Hague awaiting trial.

    The watchdog has called on the administration of current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to take strong measures to fully restore the country’s press freedom and combat impunity for the crimes against media committed by Duterte’s regime.

    “Just because you’re a journalist you are not exempted from assassination, if you’re a son of a bitch,” Rodrigo Duterte said in his inauguration speech on 30 June 2016, which set the tone for the rest of his mandate — unrestrained violence against journalists and total disregard for press freedom, said RSF in a statement.

    During the Duterte regime’s rule, RSF recorded 20 cases of journalists killed while working.

    Among them was Jesus Yutrago Malabanan, shot dead after covering Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war for Reuters.

    Online harassment surged, particularly targeting women journalists.

    Maria Ressa troll target
    The most prominent victim was Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and founder of the news site Rappler, who faced an orchestrated hate campaign led by troll armies allied with the government in response to her commitment to exposing the then-president’s bloody war.

    Media outlets critical of President Duterte’s authoritarian excesses were systematically muzzled: the country’s leading television network, ABS-CBN, was forced to shut down; Rappler and Maria Ressa faced repeated lawsuits; and a businessman close to the president took over the country’s leading newspaper, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, raising concerns over its editorial independence.

    “The arrest of Rodrigo Duterte is good news for the Filipino journalism community, who were the direct targets of his campaign of terror,” said RSF’s Asia-Pacific bureau director Cédric Alviani.

    RSF’s Asia-Pacific bureau director Cédric Alviani . . . “the Filipino journalism community were the direct targets of [former president Rodrigo Duterte]’s campaign of terror.” Image: RSF

    “President Marcos and his administration must immediately investigate Duterte’s past crimes and take strong measures to fully restore the country’s press freedom.”

    The repression carried out during Duterte’s tenure continues to impact on Filipino journalism: investigative journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio has been languishing in prison since her arrest in 2020, still awaiting a verdict in her trial for “financing terrorism” and “illegal possession of firearms” — trumped-up charges that could see her sentenced to 40 years in prison.

    With 147 journalists murdered since the restoration of democracy in 1986, the Philippines remains one of the deadliest countries for media workers.

    The republic ranked 134th out of 180 in the 2024 RSF World Press Freedom Index.

    Source report from Reporters Without Borders. Pacific Media Watch collaborates with RSF.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Pro-Palestinian protesters challenge NZ’s Winston Peters at state of the nation speech

    Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. –

    Like a relentless ocean, wave after wave of pro-Palestinian pro-human rights protesters disrupted New Zealand deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters’ state of the nation speech at the Christchurch Town Hall yesterday.

    A clarion call to Trumpism and Australia’s One Nation Party, the speech was accompanied by the background music of about 250 protesters outside the Town Hall, chanting: “Complicity in genocide is a crime.”

    Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) co-chair John Minto described Peters’ attitude to Palestinians as “sickening”.

    Inside the James Hay Theatre, protester after protester stood and spoke loudly and clearly against the deputy Prime Minister’s failure to support those still dying in Gaza, and his failure to denounce the ongoing genocide.

    Ben Vorderegger was the first of nine protesters who appealed on behalf of people who have lost their voices in the dust of blood and bones, bombs and sniper guns.

    Before he and others were hauled out, they spoke for the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza — women, men, doctors, aid workers, journalists, and children.

    Gazan health authorities have reported that the official death toll is now more than 50,000 — but that is the confirmed deaths with thousands more buried under the rubble.


    The Christchurch Town Hall protest.            Video:PSNA

    Real death toll
    The real death toll from the genocide in Gaza has been estimated by a reputed medical journal, The Lancet, at more than 63,000. A third of those are children. Each day more children are killed.

    One by one the protesters who challenged Peters were manhandled by security guards to a frenzied crowd screaming “out, out”.

    The deputy Prime Minister’s response was to deride and mock the conscientious objectors. He did not stop there. He lambasted the media.

    At this point, several members of his audience turned on me as a journalist and demanded my removal.

    Pro=Palestine protesters at the Christchurch Town Hall yesterday to picket Foreign Minister Winston Peters at his state of the nation speech.Image: Saige England/APR

    This means that not only is the right to free speech at stake, the right or freedom to report is also being eroded. (I was later trespassed by security guards and police from the Town Hall although no reason was supplied for the ban).

    Inside the Christchurch Town Hall the call by Peters, who is also Foreign Minister, to “Make New Zealand Great Again” continued in the vein of a speech written by a MAGA leader.

    He whitewashed human rights, failed to address climate change, and demonstrated loathing for a media that has rarely challenged him.

    Ben Vorderegger in keffiyeh was the first of nine protesters who appealed on behalf of Palestinans before
    being thrown out of the Christchurch Town Hall meeting. Image: Saige England/APR

    Condemned movement
    Slamming the PSNA as “Marxist fascists” for calling out genocide, he condemned the movement for failing to talk with those who have a record of kowtowing to violent colonisation.

    This tactic is Colonial Invasion 101. It sees the invader rewarding and only dealing with those who sell out. This strategy demands that the colonised people should bow to the oppressor — an oppressor who threatens them with losing everything if they do not accept the scraps.

    Peters showed no support for the Treaty of Waitangi but rather, endorsed the government’s challenge to the founding document of the nation – Te Tiriti o Waitangi. In his dismissal of the founding and legally binding partnership, he repeated the “One Nation” catch-cry. Ad nauseum.

    Besides slamming Palestinians, the Scots (he managed to squeeze in a racist joke against Scottish people), and the woke, Peters’ speech promoted continued mining, showing some amnesia over the Pike River disaster. He did not reference the environment or climate change.

    After the speech, outside the Town Hall police donned black gloves — a sign they were prepared to use pepper-spray.

    PSNA co-chair John Minto described Peters’ failure to stand against the ongoing genocide of Palestinians as “bloody disgraceful”.

    The police arrested one protester, claiming he put his hand on a car transporting NZ First officials. A witness said this was not the case.

    PSNA co-chair John Minto (in hat behind fellow protester) . . . the failure of Foreign Minister Winston Peters to stand against the ongoing genocide of Palestinians is “bloody disgraceful”. Image; Saige England/APR

    Protester released
     The protester was later released without any charges being laid.

    A defiant New Zealand First MP Shane Jones marched out of the Town Hall after the event. He raised his arms defensively at protesters crying, “what if it was your grandchildren being slaughtered?”

    I was trespassed from the Christchurch Town Hall for re-entering the Town Hall for Winston Peters’ media conference. No reason was supplied by police or the Town Hall security personnel for that trespass order..

    “The words Winston is terrified to say . . . ” poster at the Christchurch pro-Palestinian protest. Image: Saige England/APR

    It is well known that Peters loathes the media — he said so enough times during his state of the nation speech.

    He referenced former US President Bill Clinton during his speech, an interesting reference given that Clinton did not receive the protection from the media that Peters has received.

    From the over zealous security personnel who manhandled and dragged out hecklers, to the banning of a journalist, to the arrest of someone for “touching a car” when witnesses report otherwise, the state of the nation speech held some uncomfortable echoes — the actions of a fascist dictatorship.

    Populist threats
    The atmosphere was reminiscent of a Jorg Haider press conference I attended many years ago in Vienna. That “rechtspopulist” Austrian politician had threatened journalists with defamation suits if they called him out on his support for Nazis.

    Yet he was on record for doing so.

    I was reminded of this yesterday when the audience called ‘out out’ at hecklers, and demanded the removal of this journalist. These New Zealand First supporters demand adoration for their leader or a media black-out.

    Perhaps they cannot be blamed given that the state of the nation speech could well have been written by US President Donald Trump or one of his minions.

    The protesters were courageous and conscientious in contrast to Peters, said PSNA’s John Minto.

    He likened Peters to Neville Chamberlain — Britain’s Prime Minister from 1937 to 1940. His name is synonymous with the policy of “appeasement” because he conceded territorial concessions to Nazi Germany in the late 1930s, fruitlessly hoping to avoid war.

    “He has refused to condemn any of Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians, including the total humanitarian aid blockade of Gaza.”

    Refusal ‘unprecedented’
    “It’s unprecedented in New Zealand history that a government would refuse to condemn Israel breaking its ceasefire agreement and resuming industrial-scale slaughter of civilians,” Minto said.

    “That is what Israel is doing today in Gaza, with full backing from the White House.

    “Chamberlain went to meet Hitler in Munich in 1938 to whitewash Nazi Germany’s takeovers of its neighbours’ lands.

    “Peters has been in Washington to agree to US approval of the occupation of southern Syria, more attacks on Lebanon, resumption of the land grab genocide in Gaza and get a heads-up on US plans to ‘give’ the Occupied West Bank to Israel later this year.

    “If Peters disagrees with any of this, he’s had plenty of chances to say so.

    “New Zealanders are calling for sanctions on Israel but Mr Peters and the National-led government are looking the other way.”

    New Zealand First MP Shane Jones marched out of the Town Hall after the event, dismissing protesters crying, “what if it was your grandchildren being slaughtered?” Image: Saige England/APR

    Only staged questions
    The conscientious objectors who rise against the oppression of human rights are people Winston Peters regards as his enemies. He will only answer questions in a press conference staged for him.

    He warms to journalists who warm to him.

    The state of the nation speech in the Town Hall was familiar.

    Seeking to erase conscientiousness will not make New Zealand great, it will render this country very small, almost miniscule, like the people who are being destroyed for daring to demand their right to their own land.

    Saige England is a journalist and author, and a member of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA). She is a frequent contributor to Asia Pacific Report and Café Pacific.

    Part of the crowd at the state of the nation speech by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters at the Christchurch Town Hall yesterday. Image: Saige England/APR

    This article was first published on Café Pacific.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Government of Canada signs pharmacare agreement with Government of Yukon to improve universal access to free medications

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Government of Canada signs pharmacare agreement with Government of Yukon to improve universal access to free medications
    zaburke
    March 20, 2025 – 2:18 pm

    This is a joint news release between the Government of Canada and the Government of Yukon.  

    No one should have to choose between paying for prescription drugs and putting food on the table. That’s why the Government of Canada is taking action so Canadians can get the medication they need, regardless of their ability to pay.

    Today, Canada’s Minister of Health Kamal Khera and the Government of Yukon’s Minister of Health and Social Services Tracy-Anne McPhee, announced the signing of a pharmacare agreement to invest up to $9.5 million over four years to provide universal access to contraceptive and diabetes medications for residents of the Yukon. The funding from this agreement will also improve access to diabetes devices and supplies.

    Through this historic agreement, Yukon residents will receive public coverage for a range of contraceptives and diabetes medications at little to no cost. This will support the reproductive freedom of more than 12,000 Yukoners and make sure that over 3,000 residents with diabetes can access essential medications to reduce their risk of serious health complications and improve their quality of life.

    Yukon residents can anticipate beginning to receive coverage for these products not later than January 2026.

    This announcement is an important step forward to improve health equity, affordability and health outcomes for Canadians. The Government of Canada will continue working with the provinces and territories, Indigenous Peoples, partners and stakeholders to make sure every Canadian has access to the essential medications and medical devices they need. 
     

    This national pharmacare agreement with Yukon represents a significant step in ensuring Yukoners have improved access to the essential medications they need. Today’s announcement reflects our shared commitment to building a stronger healthcare system for all Canadians.

    Minister of Health Kamal Khera

    The cornerstone of the Canadian health care system is that access is based on need, not ability to pay. By ensuring that all Yukoners can access essential diabetes medications and supplies and contraceptives without facing financial barriers, our government is taking real action to build a more inclusive, equitable health care system. We’re proud to join other jurisdictions who have signed on to this agreement, and we will continue working with the Government of Canada to support Yukoners and their health care needs.

    Minister of Health and Social Services Tracy-Anne McPhee 

    Quick facts

    • In 2021, Statistics Canada found that one in five adults in Canada did not have the insurance they needed to cover their medication costs.

    • On October 10, 2024, the Pharmacare Act received Royal Assent and immediately came into force. To date, three other provinces – Manitoba, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island – have reached a pharmacare agreement with the Government of Canada. 

    Media contact

    Matthew Kronberg
    Press Secretary
    Office of the Honourable Kamal Khera
    Minister of Health
    343-552-5654

    Media Relations
    Health Canada and Public Health Agency of Canada
    613-957-2983 
    media@hc-sc.gc.ca 

    Laura Seeley
    Cabinet Communications
    Government of Yukon
    867-332-7627
    laura.seeley@yukon.ca   

    Ayodeji Awobamise
    Department of Health and Social Services
    Government of Yukon
    867-332-8342
    ayodeji.awobamise@yukon.ca 
        
    Public Inquiries:
    613-957-2991
    1-866-225-0709
     

    News release #:

    25-123

    Related information:

    About Pharmacare
    Prescription drug insurance coverage
    Government of Canada signs pharmacare agreement with Yukon to improve universal…

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Trump’s ‘transactional foreign policy’ hits deadlock

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    In the two months since taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has been aggressively pursuing its foreign policy agenda under the belief that everything is subject to “deals,” triggering wide backlash in international society.

    The essence of Trump’s foreign policy is “purely transactional,” said an article on the U.S. website The National Interest.

    “All I know, is… deals”

    “My whole life is deals. That’s all I know, is deals,” said Trump following his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron about a month ago.

    When it comes to the means to facilitate these deals, as Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, put it, “We could do that with carrots, and we can do that with sticks.”

    On the issue of the Ukraine crisis, to facilitate negotiations between the parties, the Trump administration threatened that Russia would face U.S. sanctions if it refused to participate in talks, and that Ukraine would lose U.S. aid if it declined to negotiate.

    The United States has also coveted Ukraine’s resources, initially demanding rare earth elements, followed by oil, natural gas and other mineral resources.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky strongly opposed these demands at first. His fiery clash with Trump at the White House on Feb. 28 shocked the world, prompting the United States to suspend military aid to Ukraine and cut off intelligence-sharing.

    When they spoke by phone on Wednesday, Trump even suggested to Zelensky that the United States could help run, and possibly own, Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to a statement by the U.S. presidential administration.

    On the Palestinian question, Trump demanded that Hamas release detained Israeli hostages, threatening that “or it is OVER for you” on March 5 in a post on Truth Social.

    Trump also proposed to “clean out” Gaza in late January and used the suspension of aid as leverage to pressure Egypt and Jordan to accept Palestinians.

    To address the issues of illegal immigration and fentanyl within the United States, the Trump administration wielded the “tariff stick” against Mexico and Canada. According to the Trump administration’s logic, these two major problems were caused by Canada and Mexico, and if they are not resolved, tariffs will be imposed.

    Trump also set his sights on Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.

    He said that the United States would take control of Greenland “one way or the other,” refusing to rule out economic or military coercion. Trump said he would consider imposing tariffs on Denmark “at a very high level” if it resisted his offer to acquire the territory.

    Referring to Trump’s book where he talks about his experiences as a hotel developer, Sina Toossi, a fellow at the U.S. think tank Center for International Policy, told AFP: “He approaches diplomacy the way he approached real estate in ‘The Art of the Deal:’ — escalate tensions, maximize threats, push the situation to the brink of disaster and then, at the last minute, strike a deal.”

    “Transactional foreign policy” reaches impasse

    “My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier,” Trump declared in his inaugural address on Jan. 20. But how effective is his “transactional foreign policy?”

    After Trump’s phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, U.S. media believe that Russia has in effect rejected the U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire plan for Russia and Ukraine.

    The Washington Post reported that the call between the U.S. and Russian leaders highlighted differences more than agreement.

    Meanwhile, Ukraine is also dissatisfied with the proposal to halt attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure within 30 days, hoping to extend the ceasefire to include other civilian infrastructure.

    Zelensky said that Ukraine has no intention of transferring the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which the Trump administration is interested in.

    As with Ukraine, Trump has pledged to bring “peace” to the Middle East, but his failure to facilitate “deals” through coercion and pressure has led to the rekindling of the flames of war in Gaza and Yemen.

    After “full coordination with the United States,” the Israeli military resumed large-scale airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, signaling the collapse of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

    Additionally, the U.S. military began large-scale military operations against Yemen’s Houthi group on March 15. In retaliation, the Houthis claimed to have attacked U.S. aircraft carriers multiple times.

    After the Trump administration launched its “tariff war,” many countries implemented countermeasures. On March 12, the Canadian government announced a 25-percent retaliatory tariff on 29.8 billion Canadian dollars’ (20.7 billion U.S. dollars’) worth of U.S. goods.

    On the same day, the European Commission declared that the European Union (EU) would impose retaliatory tariffs on 26 billion euros’ (28.3 billion U.S. dollars’) worth of U.S. goods starting in April, targeting items such as beef, poultry, whiskey and motorcycles.

    Trump’s tariffs “are an act of self-harm,” The Economist said in a recent article.

    Trump’s remarks about Greenland have also increased anti-American sentiment on the island. To protest Trump’s remarks about acquiring the territory, an anti-American rally was held on March 15 in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, with thousands of demonstrators marching to the U.S. Consulate there.

    Danish and EU officials also voiced their support for Greenland. “I believe that Greenland will remain part of the Danish Commonwealth for quite some time,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said recently.

    “To all the people of Greenland and of Denmark as a whole, I want to be very clear that Europe will always stand for sovereignty and territorial integrity,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday.

    The Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun commented Thursday: “Another major offensive has begun in the Middle East, and Russia declined to endorse a full ceasefire in Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump’s diplomacy based on deals has apparently stalled.”

    A more dangerous world

    Analysts believe that the root cause of the impasse in “transactional foreign policy” lies in Trump’s sole focus on U.S. interests. He disregards the demands and needs of others, especially those of conflicting parties, and makes no effort to address the underlying issues.

    “For Trump, foreign policy isn’t about carefully negotiated peace deals. It’s about performance, leverage and crafting a narrative that sells,” Toossi said.

    Trump’s ability to create bargaining chips out of thin air and force concessions through coercion and inducement rely on the United States’ military and economic strength, analysts said.

    The essence of his “transactional foreign policy” is nothing more than coercion diplomacy rooted in power, serving the narrow self-interests of the United States. Rather than solving problems at their root, it ignores the concerns of relevant parties and pressures them to accept U.S. terms.

    “Team Trump claims that its dealmaking will bring peace and that, after 80 years of being taken for a ride, America will turn its superpower status into profit,” said The Economist in an article.

    “Instead it will make the world more dangerous, and America weaker and poorer,” it added. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Russia-Ukraine ceasefire negotiations still in early stages

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    This photo taken on March 18, 2025 shows an exterior view of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday that achieving a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine conflict remains a complex challenge requiring substantial efforts, emphasizing that negotiations are still in their early stages.

    “I want to remind you that President (Vladimir) Putin certainly supports the idea of a ceasefire … This is a very complex matter and a lot of work remains to be done. We are only at the beginning of this path,” Peskov told local media.

    He underscored that Western nations are unlikely to swiftly lift sanctions against Russia, urging the country to pursue development under the current constraints.

    Despite geopolitical tensions, Peskov said that Moscow and Washington should not allow disagreements to derail mutually beneficial cooperation.

    “We can disagree on something, but it does not mean that we should let it obstruct pragmatic cooperation,” he added.

    U.S. President Donald Trump has recently talked with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts respectively to negotiate a ceasefire. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Yangtze River Delta witnesses progress in green, integrated ecological development

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

    Yangtze River Delta witnesses progress in green, integrated ecological development

    Updated: March 24, 2025 08:55 Xinhua
    An aerial drone photo taken on March 17, 2025 shows a bridge on Yuandang Lake linking Wujiang District of Suzhou City in east China’s Jiangsu Province and Qingpu District of east China’s Shanghai. Through joint protection and governance, the lake has now become a tourist attraction. In recent years, Wujiang District of Suzhou City has worked together with Qingpu District of Shanghai and Jiashan County of Zhejiang Province to promote green development through joint protection and governance of ecological environment, intelligent management and setting up emission trading systems, as part of a campaign to accelerate the construction of demonstration zones for green and integrated ecological development of the Yangtze River Delta. [Photo/Xinhua]
    An aerial drone photo taken on March 17, 2025 shows a bridge on Yuandang Lake linking Wujiang District of Suzhou City in east China’s Jiangsu Province and Qingpu District of east China’s Shanghai. [Photo/Xinhua]
    Waterfowls are pictured on Yuandang Lake in east China on March 17, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    Staff members from ecological environment departments in Wujiang District of Suzhou City in Jiangsu Province, Qingpu District of Shanghai and Jiashan County of Zhejiang Province conduct joint water quality monitoring on the Taipu River in Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China’s Jiangsu Province, March 18, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    An aerial drone photo taken on March 17, 2025 shows a bridge on Yuandang Lake linking Wujiang District of Suzhou City in east China’s Jiangsu Province and Qingpu District of east China’s Shanghai. [Photo/Xinhua]
    Law enforcement officers from ecological environment departments in Wujiang District of Suzhou City of Jiangsu Province, Qingpu District of Shanghai and Jiashan County of Zhejiang Province check monitoring equipment at an industrial waste water treatment plant in Wujiang District of Suzhou City in Jiangsu Province, March 18, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    A drone photo taken on March 17, 2025 shows a staff member checking an automatic water quality monitoring station by the Taipu River in Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China’s Jiangsu Province. [Photo/Xinhua]
    A drone patrols to collect data for an intelligent management platform developed to protect the environment of the Taipu River in Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China’s Jiangsu Province, March 17, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    An aerial drone photo taken on March 18, 2025 shows cargo ships sailing on Fenhu section of Taipu River in Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China’s Jiangsu Province. Taipu River, which originates from Taihu Lake in the west and flows into Huangpu River in the east, is a key river in the demonstration zones for green and integrated ecological development of the Yangtze River Delta. [Photo/Xinhua]
    A staff member introduces an intelligent management platform developed to protect the environment of the Taipu River in Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China’s Jiangsu Province, March 17, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    Staff members from the environmental monitoring station of Wujiang test waste water samples collected at an industrial waste water treatment plant in Wujiang District of Suzhou City in Jiangsu Province, March 18, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    An aerial drone photo taken on March 18, 2025 shows a view of Taipu River in Wujiang District of Suzhou City, east China’s Jiangsu Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Appeal for information following fatal crash, Whakatane

    Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

    Attributable to Sergeant Shane Tailby, Eastern Bay of Plenty Road Policing:

    Police are appealing for information following a fatal crash in Whakatane yesterday, (Sunday 23 March).

    Around 4:55pm Police responded to Ohope Road after a car and a motorbike collided.

    It appears the motorbike has been travelling at speed around the corner where they have slid out onto their side into the opposite lane, a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction has then struck the motorbike, with the impact resulting in the car flipping onto its roof.

    The motorbike rider was located in a critical condition and CPR was commenced, however sadly they died at the scene.

    The driver was taken to Whakatane Hospital with minor injuries, and was discharged last night.

    The investigation into the cause of the crash remains ongoing and Police are asking anyone that witnessed the crash or has information that may assist in our investigation to contact Police.

    You can report information to us via 105 either online or over the phone. Please reference file number: 250323/2112.

    ENDS

    Issued by Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Invercargill Police appealing for information following aggravated robbery

    Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

    Police are appealing for information following an aggravated robbery at a commercial premises in Invercargill.

    At around 3.30am this morning, Police were alerted to four people entering a store on North Road with two armed with knives and another with a trye iron.

    The group targeted cigarettes and tobacco before fleeing the area in a vehicle.

    Thankfully, the two store employees are uninjured however they are understandably shaken by the incident.

    Invercargill Police would like to speak with anyone who may have witnessed the aggravated robbery or may have information that could assist in our investigation.

    Police would also like to hear from anyone who may have CCTV or dashcam footage in the North Road area between 12am and 5am this morning.

    Anyone who may have information that can assist Police in our investigation is urged to contact us online at 105.police.govt.nz, clicking “Update Report” or by calling 105.

    Please use the reference number 250324/2633.

    Information can also be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 11

    ENDS

    Issued by Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Man charged after police seize shortened semi-automatic rifle from vehicle

    Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

    Man charged after police seize shortened semi-automatic rifle from vehicle

    Monday, 24 March 2025 – 10:19 am.

    A man has been charged with multiple firearms and drug-related offences after police seized a shortened semi-automatic rifle and a significant quantity of cash during a vehicle search at Westbury yesterday.
    Uniform officers from Central North attempted to intercept a vehicle on Mary Street before locating the vehicle parked behind a Westbury business.
    The driver – a 33 year old Kings Meadows man- was drug tested and returned a positive result.
    During a subsequent search of his vehicle, police located and seized a shortened semi-automatic rifle, quantities of methylamphetamine, illegal stimulants and prescription drugs and more than $120,000 in cash believed to be proceeds of crime.
    The driver was charged with multiple firearm and drug-related offences, including possess prohibited firearm to which a firearms licence may not be issued, possess shortened firearm, possess controlled drug and dealing with property suspected of being proceeds of crime.
    He was detained to appear in the Launceston Magistrates Court today.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Next 5,000: avoid common CGT errors

    Source:

    Our engagement with Next 5,000 privately owned and wealthy groups reveals a range of common capital gains tax (CGT) mistakes. These are usually the result of the mischaracterisation of information and poor record keeping. They include:

    • cost base errors
    • reporting of transactions in the wrong year, or not at all
    • incorrect characterisation of ordinary income as capital income
    • beneficiaries that fail to gross up discounted share of capital gain distributed by trusts
    • unsubstantiated carried forward capital losses
    • inability to substantiate assets sold to related parties.

    Consequences for getting things wrong 

    Failing to correctly prepare tax returns can lead to audits and amendments. These can be time consuming and costly, highlighting the importance of accurate CGT reporting and record keeping.

    For example, a Next 5,000 group incorrectly characterised a transaction as ordinary income instead of capital income when lodging their tax return. The group acquired a property while it was in the process of being subdivided and developed, and shortly afterwards marketed the property for sale.

    During our audit, we concluded the property sale wasn’t simply the mere realisation of an asset but part of a profit-making undertaking where the intention was to generate a return.

    We amended the group’s tax returns, which increased their tax liability by over
    $5 million, plus penalties and interest of over $1 million.

    To avoid these type of issues, you should note that certain capital losses, disposals, and business CGT concession claims will attract our attention.

    How to get things right

    To ensure compliance and accuracy in CGT reporting, you need to:

    • understand the nature of the transaction and asset
    • keep records of everything that may be relevant to working out whether you’ve made a capital gain or loss from a CGT event
    • obtain independent professional valuations to support assets sold between related parties.

    By addressing these key areas, Next 5,000 groups can ensure compliance and avoid the pitfalls associated with CGT errors.

    Keep up to date

    We have tailored communication channels for medium, large and multinational businesses, to keep you up to date with updates and changes you need to know.

    Read more articles in our online Business bulletins newsroom.

    Subscribe to our free:

    • fortnightly Business bulletins email newsletterExternal Link
    • email notifications about new and updated information on our website – you can choose to receive updates relevant to your situation. Choose the ‘Business and organisations’ category to ensure your subscription includes notifications for more Business bulletins newsroom articles like this one.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Update: Serious crash, Symonds Street

    Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

    Police remain at the scene of an earlier crash in Symonds Street.

    We can now advise five people sustained injuries following the single vehicle crash.

    One person was transported to hospital in a critical condition and four others suffered moderate to minor injuries.

    Police are aware of speculations surrounding the cause of the crash.

    This remains under investigation, however at this early stage we believe drugs or alcohol may have been a factor.

    Symonds Street remains closed from Wellesley Street to Grafton Road and diversions are in place.

    ENDS.

    Holly McKay/NZ Police

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Pro-Palestinian protesters challenge Peters at state of the nation speech

    SPECIAL REPORT: By Saige England in Christchurch

    Like a relentless ocean, wave after wave of pro-Palestinian pro-human rights protesters disrupted New Zealand deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters’ state of the nation speech at the Christchurch Town Hall yesterday.

    A clarion call to Trumpism and Australia’s One Nation Party, the speech was accompanied by the background music of about 250 protesters outside the Town Hall, chanting: “Complicity in genocide is a crime.”

    Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) co-chair John Minto described Peters’ attitude to Palestinians as “sickening”.

    Inside the James Hay Theatre, protester after protester stood and spoke loudly and clearly against the deputy Prime Minister’s failure to support those still dying in Gaza, and his failure to denounce the ongoing genocide.

    Ben Vorderegger was the first of nine protesters who appealed on behalf of people who have lost their voices in the dust of blood and bones, bombs and sniper guns.

    Before he and others were hauled out, they spoke for the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza — women, men, doctors, aid workers, journalists, and children.

    Gazan health authorities have reported that the official death toll is now more than 50,000 — but that is the confirmed deaths with thousands more buried under the rubble.

    Real death toll
    The real death toll from the genocide in Gaza has been estimated by a reputed medical journal, The Lancet, at more than 63,000. A third of those are children. Each day more children are killed.

    One by one the protesters who challenged Peters were manhandled by security guards to a frenzied crowd screaming “out, out”.

    The deputy Prime Minister’s response was to deride and mock the conscientious objectors. He did not stop there. He lambasted the media.

    At this point, several members of his audience turned on me as a journalist and demanded my removal.

    Pro-Palestine protesters at the Christchurch Town Hall yesterday to picket Foreign Minister Winston Peters at his state of the nation speech. Image: Saige England/APR

    This means that not only is the right to free speech at stake, the right or freedom to report is also being eroded. (I was later trespassed by security guards and police from the Town Hall although no reason was supplied for the ban).

    Inside the Christchurch Town Hall the call by Peters, who is also Foreign Minister, to “Make New Zealand Great Again” continued in the vein of a speech written by a MAGA leader.

    He whitewashed human rights, failed to address climate change, and demonstrated loathing for a media that has rarely challenged him.

    Ben Vorderegger in keffiyeh was the first of nine protesters who appealed on behalf of Palestinans before
    being thrown out of the Christchurch Town Hall meeting. Image: Saige England/APR

    Condemned movement
    Slamming the PSNA as “Marxist fascists” for calling out genocide, he condemned the movement for failing to talk with those who have a record of kowtowing to violent colonisation.

    This tactic is Colonial Invasion 101. It sees the invader rewarding and only dealing with those who sell out. This strategy demands that the colonised people should bow to the oppressor — an oppressor who threatens them with losing everything if they do not accept the scraps.

    Peters showed no support for the Treaty of Waitangi but rather, endorsed the government’s challenge to the founding document of the nation – Te Tiriti o Waitangi. In his dismissal of the founding and legally binding partnership, he repeated the “One Nation” catch-cry. Ad nauseum.

    Besides slamming Palestinians, the Scots (he managed to squeeze in a racist joke against Scottish people), and the woke, Peters’ speech promoted continued mining, showing some amnesia over the Pike River disaster. He did not reference the environment or climate change.

    After the speech, outside the Town Hall police donned black gloves — a sign they were prepared to use pepper-spray.

    PSNA co-chair John Minto described Peters’ failure to stand against the ongoing genocide of Palestinians as “bloody disgraceful”.

    The police arrested one protester, claiming he put his hand on a car transporting NZ First officials. A witness said this was not the case.

    PSNA co-chair John Minto (in hat behind fellow protester) . . . the failure of Foreign Minister Winston Peters to stand against the ongoing genocide of Palestinians is “bloody disgraceful”. Image; Saige England/APR

    Protester released
     The protester was later released without any charges being laid.

    A defiant New Zealand First MP Shane Jones marched out of the Town Hall after the event. He raised his arms defensively at protesters crying, “what if it was your grandchildren being slaughtered?”

    I was trespassed from the Christchurch Town Hall for re-entering the Town Hall for Winston Peters’ media conference. No reason was supplied by police or the Town Hall security personnel for that trespass order..

    “The words Winston is terrified to say . . . ” poster at the Christchurch pro-Palestinian protest. Image: Saige England/APR

    It is well known that Peters loathes the media — he said so enough times during his state of the nation speech.

    He referenced former US President Bill Clinton during his speech, an interesting reference given that Clinton did not receive the protection from the media that Peters has received.

    From the over zealous security personnel who manhandled and dragged out hecklers, to the banning of a journalist, to the arrest of someone for “touching a car” when witnesses report otherwise, the state of the nation speech held some uncomfortable echoes — the actions of a fascist dictatorship.

    Populist threats
    The atmosphere was reminiscent of a Jorg Haider press conference I attended many years ago in Vienna. That “rechtspopulist” Austrian politician had threatened journalists with defamation suits if they called him out on his support for Nazis.

    Yet he was on record for doing so.

    I was reminded of this yesterday when the audience called ‘out out’ at hecklers, and demanded the removal of this journalist. These New Zealand First supporters demand adoration for their leader or a media black-out.

    Perhaps they cannot be blamed given that the state of the nation speech could well have been written by US President Donald Trump or one of his minions.

    The protesters were courageous and conscientious in contrast to Peters, said PSNA’s John Minto.

    He likened Peters to Neville Chamberlain — Britain’s Prime Minister from 1937 to 1940. His name is synonymous with the policy of “appeasement” because he conceded territorial concessions to Nazi Germany in the late 1930s, fruitlessly hoping to avoid war.

    “He has refused to condemn any of Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians, including the total humanitarian aid blockade of Gaza.”

    Refusal ‘unprecedented’
    “It’s unprecedented in New Zealand history that a government would refuse to condemn Israel breaking its ceasefire agreement and resuming industrial-scale slaughter of civilians,” Minto said.

    “That is what Israel is doing today in Gaza, with full backing from the White House.

    “Chamberlain went to meet Hitler in Munich in 1938 to whitewash Nazi Germany’s takeovers of its neighbours’ lands.

    “Peters has been in Washington to agree to US approval of the occupation of southern Syria, more attacks on Lebanon, resumption of the land grab genocide in Gaza and get a heads-up on US plans to ‘give’ the Occupied West Bank to Israel later this year.

    “If Peters disagrees with any of this, he’s had plenty of chances to say so.

    “New Zealanders are calling for sanctions on Israel but Mr Peters and the National-led government are looking the other way.”

    New Zealand First MP Shane Jones marched out of the Town Hall after the event, dismissing protesters crying, “what if it was your grandchildren being slaughtered?” Image: Saige England/APR

    Only staged questions
    The conscientious objectors who rise against the oppression of human rights are people Winston Peters regards as his enemies. He will only answer questions in a press conference staged for him.

    He warms to journalists who warm to him.

    The state of the nation speech in the Town Hall was familiar.

    Seeking to erase conscientiousness will not make New Zealand great, it will render this country very small, almost miniscule, like the people who are being destroyed for daring to demand their right to their own land.

    Saige England is a journalist and author, and a member of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA). She is a frequent contributor to Asia Pacific Report.

    Part of the crowd at the state of the nation speech by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters at the Christchurch Town Hall yesterday. Image: Saige England/APR

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI China: Wang Yi meets Japan-China friendship groups to enhance ties

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, meets with representatives from seven Japan-China friendship groups in Tokyo, Japan, March 23, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission, on Sunday met with representatives from seven Japan-China friendship groups, highlighting the importance of bilateral cooperation amid global uncertainties.

    Noting the increasing instability in the international situation, Wang emphasized that China is determined to shoulder its responsibilities as a major power, work together with other nations to safeguard peace and security in Asia, and promote human development and progress.

    As close neighbors and two major global economies, China and Japan must reassess the value of their relationship, reaffirm the significance of their friendship, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, and consolidate the strength of friendly people-to-people ties to promote the sustained, healthy, and stable development of China-Japan relations, Wang said.

    While acknowledging the long-term dedication of the seven friendship groups in advancing bilateral friendship, Wang urged them to press forward in the direction of peaceful and friendly cooperation to make new contributions to safeguarding the fundamental interests of both peoples.

    He outlined three key areas for strengthening ties, including maintaining the political foundation, enhancing dialogue and exchanges across various sectors, and cultivating successors for China-Japan friendship.

    The China-Japan Joint Statement must be strictly observed, with particular emphasis on properly handling historical issues and the Taiwan question, and resisting any distortions, falsifications, or actions that undermine the foundation, Wang stressed.

    He also called for encouraging the younger generation to participate actively in friendship initiatives, ensuring the legacy of bilateral cooperation is carried forward.

    Attending the meeting were Hiroshi Moriyama, chairman of the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians’ Union and secretary-general of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, President of the Japanese Association for the Promotion of International Trade Yohei Kono, as well as leaders of other friendship groups.

    Representatives from the groups emphasized the critical importance of China-Japan friendship for both nations and their peoples, pledging efforts to continue fostering exchanges at local and youth levels and further strengthen the bond between the peoples of China and Japan.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Taoyaomen highway-railway bridge under construction in China’s Zhejiang

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

    Taoyaomen highway-railway bridge under construction in China’s Zhejiang

    Updated: March 24, 2025 07:14 Xinhua
    A man works at the construction site of Taoyaomen highway-railway bridge in east China’s Zhejiang Province, March 22, 2025. The second layer of concrete pouring for the foundation cap of Pier 5 of the bridge, a crucial cross-sea passage connecting Cezi Island and Fuchi Island of the Zhoushan Islands, was completed on Saturday, marking the transition of the bridge construction into the main tower phase. The 1,531-meter-long bridge, with a main span of 666 meters, serves as a key project of the Ningbo-Zhoushan Railway. [Photo/Xinhua]
    An aerial drone photo taken on March 22, 2025 shows the foundation cap of Pier 5 of the Taoyaomen highway-railway bridge in east China’s Zhejiang Province. [Photo/Xinhua]
    A man works at the construction site of Taoyaomen highway-railway bridge in east China’s Zhejiang Province, March 22, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    An aerial drone photo taken on March 22, 2025 shows the foundation cap of Pier 5 of the Taoyaomen highway-railway bridge in east China’s Zhejiang Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Serious crash, Symonds Street

    Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

    Emergency services are responding to a serious crash in Auckland Central.

    The crash, on Symonds Street, was reported to Police just after midday.

    At this early stage it appears a vehicle has collided with a tree and a pedestrian.

    One person has been transported to hospital in a critical condition and two other people have suffered moderate injuries.

    Symonds Street is closed from Wellesley Street to Grafton Road and diversions are in place.

    Motorists are advised to expect delays.

    The Serious Crash Unit has been notified.

    ENDS.

    Holly McKay/NZ Police

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Fraudulent asbestos removals catch up with industry veteran

    Source: Worksafe New Zealand

    Solid ethics and legal compliance must underpin the asbestos industry, WorkSafe New Zealand says, after an unlicensed asbestos remover was sentenced for pocketing more than $20,000 by misrepresenting his employer.

    Barrie John Crockett was in a project management role at Demasol Limited. Between December 2021 and June 2022, Mr Crockett used Demasol’s name and letterhead to invoice three customers who paid into his personal bank account for work totalling $21,938. A dissatisfied customer contacted Demasol, leading to an investigation that revealed the illegal activity following Mr Crockett’s redundancy in May 2022.

    As Demasol was not involved in the work, it cannot give any assurance that the asbestos removal was carried out in line with the regulatory requirements. It also remains unclear exactly where the removed asbestos was disposed.

    “Not only is this dangerous work for an unlicensed person to do, but someone like Mr Crockett who had worked in the industry for over 25 years should have known far better. This type of criminal behaviour is not worth the risk because offenders will be held responsible,” says WorkSafe’s Head of Authorisations and Advisory, Kate Morrison.

    Most asbestos removals need to be carried out by a licensed asbestos remover, and the work must be notified to WorkSafe under the under the Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016.

    “Licensing exists for a reason and removal work is tightly regulated to ensure safety. Circumventing the rules is both reckless and deceitful when the harm done by asbestos exposure is well known. An estimated 220 people die each year from preventable asbestos-related diseases in New Zealand. A system with trained and qualified people to remove this dangerous material is critical to better safety for workers and all New Zealanders,” says Kate Morrison.

    Asbestos fibres can be blown a long way from a poorly managed removal site. The airborne fibres are so small they’re invisible to the naked eye, and can cause harm when breathed in. There are no safe levels of exposure, so there are no excuses for not managing asbestos safely.

    High-risk activities including asbestos removal are a priority focus within WorkSafe’s new strategy. We are focusing particularly on high-risk sectors and high-risk activities which may result in acute, chronic or catastrophic harm.

    Read about WorkSafe’s priority plan for Permitting
    Read WorkSafe’s latest guidance on managing asbestos

    Background

    • Barrie Crockett was sentenced at Auckland District Court on 21 March 2025.
    • An order to pay $15,000 in reparations was imposed, alongside a sentence of 140 hours community work.
    • Barrie Crockett was charged under sections 240(1)(a) and 241(a) of the Crimes Act 1961
      • By deception and without claim of right, obtained possession of a pecuniary advantage, namely $21,938.75
    • The maximum penalty is seven years imprisonment.

    Media contact details

    For more information you can contact our Media Team using our media request form. Alternatively:

    Email: media@worksafe.govt.nz

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: 90 recruits join Wing 386

    Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

    The 90 recruits of Wing 386, alongside their patron Dame Noeline Taurua, were welcomed to the Royal New Zealand Police College (RNZPC) last week.

    “The constabulary recruiting team has worked incredibly hard to deliver 90 recruits onto Wing 386 and we are really happy to have increased our wing capacity sooner than initially planned,” 500 Programme Director, Superintendent Kelly Ryan says.

    “Other groups within Police providing specialist services to some of our recruiting processes such as Emergency Communication Centre, Vetting and Safer People have provided additional support to make this possible.”

    Last year Police announced it would increase the potential capacity of recruit wings at the RNZPC from 80 to 100 from April 2025. The change was in response to a major surge in applications and will help ensure quality applicants move through the pipeline and into training faster.

    Since the announcement, changes have been made to the RNZPC to facilitate the larger wings.

    “Enabling even 10 more recruits to join a wing is a significant jump and required a lot of planning and additional support for training. We look forward to welcoming even more recruits in our wings of up to 100 in the months ahead,” Superintendent Ryan says.

    “The median time between application and starting at RNZPC has already reduced by more than 90 days over the last year.

    “We’re focused on making sure our process is fit-for-purpose, so applicants flow through each step quickly and our standards continue to be robust.”

    The increased capacity at the RNZPC, and a training facility to come in Auckland soon, will support Police’s work to deliver on the Government’s commitment of 500 additional officers.

    “Achieving this growth in recruits requires a huge effort from across the entire organisation for attracting, selecting, and training the new officers,” Superintendent Ryan says.

    “Research is very clear, the most effective way to recruit police officers is through our own staff identifying, encouraging, and supporting people they know would be great to apply.

    “It’s critical that everyone leans in on this, so we get the very best people into our organisation.”

    Districts have also demonstrated strong support by putting in place at least one full time constabulary member to actively engage and take ownership of their district’s recruiting.

    “Whether you’re taking your first steps into the workforce or considering a career change, the best time to apply is right now.

    “The earlier you apply, the sooner you’ll be ready to start your training into a one of the most rewarding careers there is,” Superintendent Ryan says.

    ENDS

    Issued by the Police Media Centre

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Union Minister Shri Manohar Lal Reviews Progress of Urban Development on his visit to Odisha

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 23 MAR 2025 5:47PM by PIB Delhi

    Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs and Power, Government of India,Shri Manohar Lal reviewed the implementation and progress of key urban development initiatives and infrastructure projects.

    Highlighting the potential of Odisha’s urban centers, the Minister emphasized the need to develop Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, and Khordha as Growth Hubs to drive regional economic development. The focus will be on improving infrastructure, encouraging industrial and commercial growth, and promoting sustainable urbanization through strategic planning and public-private partnerships.

    A major point of discussion was the proposal for developing a new city as part of the Greater Bhubaneswar area. The Hon’ble Minister assured support for the project and advised the State Government to explore funding opportunities under the 15th Finance Commission and the Urban Challenge Fund.

    To promote sustainable urban mobility, the Central Government has approved the deployment of 400 electric buses for Odisha under the Pradhan Mantri e-Bus Sewa Scheme. The Minister also reviewed the proposed Bhubaneswar Metro project and reaffirmed full support from the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs to address the city’s growing public transport needs.

    In a key housing initiative, Bhubaneswar served as the launch site for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). The proposal for 50,000 new houses under PMAY-Urban (PMAY-2) was discussed, and the Hon’ble Minister assured continued coordination with the State Government for its expeditious approval.

    The Minister lauded Odisha’s progress under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), particularly in achieving milestones such as the 24×7 water supply project currently underway in 18 cities.

    Under the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0, the state has shown commendable improvements in sanitation and waste management. The Hon’ble Minister directed the State to prioritize clearing legacy waste sites to reclaim land and create greener urban spaces.

    Further, the Hon’ble Minister emphasized intensified implementation of the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme, urging the State Government to ensure wider outreach and faster credit access for street vendors across Odisha.

    The visit reflects the Centre’s commitment to strengthening urban development and improving the quality of life for citizens through close cooperation with State Governments.

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    SK

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Union Minister Shri Manohar Lal Reviews Power Sector in Odisha

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 23 MAR 2025 3:21PM by PIB Delhi

    Union Minister of Power and Housing & Urban Affairs, Shri Manohar Lal, visited Bhubaneswar and held a detailed review meeting with senior officials of the Government of Odisha on the state’s power sector development today.

    The discussions covered key issues including fly ash utilization, capacity addition, transmission infrastructure, and power allocation.

    During the meeting, on the issue of achieving fly ash utilization targets Shri Manohar Lal assured that a joint meeting with the Ministries of Coal, Environment, and Railways will be convened to address the issue comprehensively, including the provision of adequate rail rakes for long-distance transportation of fly ash.

    Highlighting the need to meet growing power demands, the State Government informed that Odisha currently has 20 GW of operational coal-based thermal power capacity, with an additional 10 GW in the pipeline, expected to be commissioned over the next 5–6 years. The Union Minister encouraged the development of more pit-head thermal power plants in Odisha, including through joint ventures with GENCOs of other states.

    On the transmission front, Odisha shared its intra-state planning strategy and recent progress in strengthening supply to cities like Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Hon’ble Minister was also apprised of the steps taken by the Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL) to resolve Right of Way (RoW) issues. He informed that the proposal for establishing a Green Energy Corridor within the intrastate transmission network of Odisha will be taken up by MNRE after March 31, 2025, upon completion of the compilation process.

    Regarding the inclusion of Odisha in the subsequent phase of the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), the Union Minister assured that the matter would be taken up appropriately. On power allocation, he stated that Odisha will receive adequate power from Phase-II of NLCIL’s Talabira Thermal Power Project in line with Ministry of Power guidelines.

    The visit reflects the Centre’s commitment to strengthening Odisha’s power infrastructure and facilitating sustainable growth in the energy sector.

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Skill gap issues need to be addressed through industry-academia-govt partnerships and apprenticeship-embedded curriculum: Jayant Chaudhary

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 23 MAR 2025 3:57PM by PIB Delhi

    “In today’s knowledge driven world, right skill set gives us both the merit as well as national growth” – highlighted Sh. Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Speaking as the Chief Guest of the 3rd Annual Technical Festival “EPITOME 2025” of Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya Vadodara, through a video conference. Sh. Chaudhary emphasized that “Transportation is all about acceleration, and it accelerates growth. Future of Logistics is green and digital, and AI driven predictive maintenance shall be a key driver”.

    Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya successfully concluded its 3rd Annual Tech-Fest “EPITOME’25”. The fest over the course of two days covered immersive technical sessions from industry experts, deliberation over technological application for economy growth and display of path-breaking ideas for real world applications.

    The Minister emphasized the role of Logistics efficiency, and PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan. He mentioned that the investment by the country in multimodal logistics, aviation, railways, maritime etc are opening up global career pathways for the youth. However, the entire sector (Railways, Aviation, Logistics etc) being highly technical in nature, requires highly skilled manpower. Industry, Academia and Government must work in synergy for creating these skilled professionals to reduce errors and increase efficiency.

    Highlighting the role of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, he mentioned that doubling of India’s startup ecosystem by 2030, from 1.2 lakh to 2.4 lakh, is projected to create 50 million jobs, including direct white-collar roles, gig economy opportunities, and indirect jobs across industries and; therefore sector-specific skilling programs and encouraging startup culture are extremely important. The Govt of India has recently announced 60,000 crores scheme to upgrade ITIs.

    Strongly praising the “Industry-driven” approach of Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, Sh. Chaudhary advised the university to partner and mentor NSTIs to significantly enhance the reskilling and upskilling initiatives.

    The event was a hub of exchanging ideas, fostering steadfast collaborations, mentoring of young minds along with exploring and forming new alliances. It featured addresses from various industry leaders and from entities of social significance all highlighting the role of education institutes in cultivating young minds to reinforce and propel India towards Viksit Bharat by 2047.

    The 2-day technical festival with the theme “Transport 360: Land, Air, Sea and Beyond” attracted several top companies in the sector. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Hemang Joshi (MP of Vadodara) spoke about the PM’s vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 and very important role of Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya in it. At the occasion, Prof. Manoj Choudhary (Vice-Chancellor, Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya) briefed about the progress of university in its “Industry-driven Innovation-led” vision. Leading experts in the Transportation and Logistics sector joined to deliberate and exchange ideas: Davinder Sandhu (DB Engineering), Suraj Chettri (Airbus), Anil Kumar Saini (Alstom), Andreas Foerster (Tata Advanced Systems), Jaya Jagadish (AMD), Prof. Vinayak Dixit (UNSW Australia), Praveen Kumar (DFCCIL) and Maj. Gen. R. S. Godara.

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Cycling not only enhances health but also builds character, says Dr Manuskh Mandaviya during ‘Fit India Sundays on Cycle’ in Lucknow

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Cycling not only enhances health but also builds character, says Dr Manuskh Mandaviya during ‘Fit India Sundays on Cycle’ in Lucknow

    Dr Mansukh Mandaviya leads 500-plus riders during ‘Fit India Sundays on Cycle’ in Lucknow; Paralympians Nitesh Kumar, Manisha Ramdass support fight obesity campaign

    Posted On: 23 MAR 2025 3:52PM by PIB Delhi

    Honourable Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Dr Mansukh Mandaviya led more than 500 riders during the ‘Fit India Sundays on Cycle’ here along with Minister of State for Sports & Youth Welfare, Govt of Uttar Pradesh, Girish Chandra Yadav,  Principal Secretary (Sports) Manish Chauhan and Secretary (Sports) Uttar Pradesh Suhas Yathiraj.

    Spreading Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message of fighting obesity and indulging in a healthy and active lifestyle, Dr Mandaviya said “Cycling not only enhances one’s health but also builds character.”

    The Union Sports Minister completed a 3 kilometre ride from Marine Drive (Samajik Parivartan Sthal) to Samta Mulak Chauraha to 1090 Chauraha and back along with senior officials from Sports Authority of India (SAI) and members of MyBharat intitiative and Physical Education Foundation of India (PEFI).

    Organised by SAI’s Netaji Subhas Regional Centre in Lucknow, the cycling drive witnessed huge enthusiasm from young boys and girls and 100-plus athletes from the local National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) who also grooved to Zumba performances prior to the cycling drive.

    Addressing the media after the cycle rally, Dr Mandaviya encouraged citizens to incorporate cycling in their daily routines to fight obesity and reduce air pollution levels across the country.

    “Cycling not only enhances one’s health but also builds character, boosts confidence and shapes the future of our nation. It is not just a mode of transport, but a key step towards a healthier, more sustainable future. By adopting cycling as part of our daily lives, we can improve our physical well-being, reduce pollution and contribute to a greener environment. I urge every citizen to embrace cycling, not only as a hobby but as a regular part of their lifestyle for the benefit of their health and our planet. Let us all make fitness a priority, for a healthy youth is the strength of a prosperous state and country,” he said.

    Sh. Girish Chandra Yadav, Hon’ble Minister of State for Sports and Youth Welfare, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh, remarked: “Fitness is the foundation of a strong and vibrant society. For our youth to succeed in life, both physically and mentally, it is essential that we instill the values of discipline, hard work and fitness.”

    In Delhi, the ‘Fit India Sundays on Cycle’ saw the presence of Paris Paralympics para badminton medallists Nitesh Kumar and Manisha Ramadass. The athletes were in Delhi to participate in the ongoing Khelo India Para Games 2025. Smt Sminu Jindal, founder of Svayam, the official accessibility partner of KIPG 2025, was also present to motivate the participants. Nitesh, Manisha and Ms. Jindal flagged off the event that was supported by PEFI and witnessed participation of more than 600 people.

    In Mumbai, Asian Games medal-winning javelin thrower Kishore Jena participated in the cycling movement at picturesque Aksa Beach.

    Till now, the nationwide cycling drive has been organised across 5000 locations with approximate participation of 2 lakh-plus individuals. The movement also promotes environment-friendly practices to decrease air pollution levels across the country. The initiative is being conducted across multiple States & Union Territories with participation from cycling enthusiasts, athletes, coaches, sports science experts, amongst others.

    Previously, the cycling event witnessed participation of Indian Army jawans, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and prominent sports stars like Lovlina Borgohain, Sangram Singh, Shanky Singh, Nitu Ghanghas, Saweety Boora, Paris Paralympics bronze medallist Rubina Francis and Simran Sharma (para world champion) apart from celebrities like Rahul Bose, Amit Sial and Gul Panag, to name a few.

    The ‘Fit India Sundays on Cycle’ is organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS), in collaboration with the Cycling Federation of India (CFI), My Bikes and MY Bharat. Events are simultaneously held nationwide at SAI Regional Centres, National Centres of Excellence (NCOEs) and the Khelo India centres (KICs).

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    Himanshu Pathak

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: World water Day 2025

    Source: Government of India

    World water Day 2025

    ”If ever a third world war is fought over water, India will not be a part of it. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, we are building a water-secure future.”- Shri CR Patil

    Ministry of Jal Shakti  Launches ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain – 2025’ on World Water Day to Promote Water Conservation

    This year World Water Day Govt of India emphasises water conservation and management through community participation and innovative strategies.

    Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain – 2025’ to Drive Community-Led Water Conservation and Sustainability Across 148 Districts

    Posted On: 22 MAR 2025 9:40PM by PIB Delhi

    Marking World Water Day, the Ministry of Jal Shakti, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change and the Government of Haryana, launched the much-anticipated sixth edition of Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain – 2025 in Panchkula, Haryana. The event aimed to emphasise water conservation and management through community participation and innovative strategies and witnessed the enthusiastic participation of over 10,000 citizens, stakeholders, and water sector professionals from across the country. Organised by the National Water Mission, Ministry of Jal Shakti, this is the first time the campaign  gets its launch outside Delhi — symbolising a broader outreach to the grassroots.

    The campaign, themed “जल संचय जन भागीदारी: जन जागरूकता की ओर”, (Peoples’ Action for Water Conservation – Towards Intensified Community Connect ) underscores the importance of water security, rainwater harvesting, and groundwater recharge in the face of climate change and growing water challenges. A major highlight was the nationwide virtual launch of Jal Shakti Abhiyan 2025 across the country, with special emphasis on 148 focus districts. This was followed by the launch of the “Jal-Jangal-Jan: Ek Prakritik Bandhan Abhiyan” [Water-Forest-People: The Intrinsic Bond campaign], in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, aimed at restoring ecological connections between forests, rivers, and springs.AV films were also launched on these initiatives, under Jal Shakti Abhiyan, MoEFCC and Government of Haryana.
     

    The event  witnessed the presence of esteemed dignitaries, including Shri Nayab Singh Saini, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Haryana; Shri C.R. Patil, Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti; Smt. Shruti Choudhary, Hon’ble Minister for Irrigation & Water Resources, Haryana.

    Shri C. R. Patil, Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti, highlighted that the transformative progress in India’s water sector is a result of the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.HMoJS remarked that earlier, issues of water availability and quality were not part of mainstream national discourse. Today, due to PM’s leadership, clean drinking water in adequate quantity is reaching citizens’ doorsteps across India. Shri Patil underscored the need for recharging water sources, adding: “We often speak of धन संचय (saving wealth), but more important is जल संचय (saving water).” He reiterated that community participati on is key, and true water security can only be achieved when every citizen contributes.

    HMoJS advocated for the principle of “Catch the Rain where it falls”, stating that water from each village must be recharged within the same village. If implemented effectively, this approach can resolve water scarcity at both local and national levels.

    Addressing the gathering, Shri Nayab Singh Saini, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Haryana, reaffirmed the state’s commitment to sustainable water governance. The CM highlighted Haryana’s efforts in water-efficient agriculture, micro-irrigation, and rejuvenation of traditional water bodies.The CM praised the Jal Shakti Abhiyan as a powerful platform for turning awareness into action, and committed that Haryana would lead by example in implementing rainwater harvesting, recharge structures, and participatory water management.

    In her address, Smt. Shruti Choudhary, Hon’ble Minister for Irrigation & Water Resources, Haryana, stressed that water conservation must become a true Jan Andolan (people’s movement).She outlined Haryana’s recent reforms in the water sector and emphasized the vital role of local governance, women, and youth in protecting and sustainably managing water resources. The minister also called for integrating traditional knowledge with modern science to address today’s water challenges.

    Several impactful projects were inaugurated under the umbrella of Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (JSA:CTR) and Swachh Bharat Mission–Grameen (SBM-G). These includes:
    – Rainwater harvesting systems
    – Borewell recharge projects
    – Micro-irrigation initiatives
    – Release of a Compendium of Best Practices under Jal Shakti Abhiyan

    Key infrastructure inaugurated under SBM-G includes:
    – Community Sanitary Complexes
    – Liquid Waste Management Systems
    – Gobardhan Project
    – Solid Waste Management Shed

    In Haryana,  significant water governance initiatives were launched:
    – Mukhyamantri Jal Sanchay Yojana, reinforcing the theme “Jal Sanchay, Janbhagidari”
    – Water Resources Atlas, providing scientific mapping of water availability for improved planning
    – An Online Canal Water Management System, enhancing irrigation efficiency and transparency

    – e-booklet on Integrated water resources management

    An award ceremony was held to felicitate progressive farmers, 
     women champions, Water User Associations (WUAs), NGOs, and Self Help Groups for their outstanding contributions to water conservation and management.

    The Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain – 2025 has laid the foundation for an inclusive, strategic, and people-driven approach to water conservation. On World Water Day, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to the principle of “हर बूंद अनमोल” (Every Drop Counts) and moved decisively toward a secure and sustainable water future under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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    Dhanya Sanal K

    Director

     

     

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