Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Xi meets European Council president, European Commission president in Beijing
BEIJING, July 24 — Chinese President Xi Jinping met with President of the European Council Antonio Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Beijing on Thursday.
Source: New Zealand Government
Associate Health Minister David Seymour is welcoming steps to provide medical practitioners with more tools to treat people with depression, with Medsafe publishing guidelines for experts wanting to prescribe Psilocybin.
“This is huge for people with depression who’ve tried everything else and are still suffering. If a doctor believes psilocybin can help, they should have the opportunity to do what’s best for their patient,” says Mr Seymour.
“Recent changes have put New Zealand’s settings in line with Australia, where authorised prescribers have been using psilocybin in clinical settings for some time.
“Psilocybin remains an unapproved medicine, but one highly experienced psychiatrist has already been granted authority to prescribe it to patients with treatment-resistant depression.
“This is excellent news for their patients, but there are other Kiwis in need in different parts of New Zealand who might have an appropriate practitioner nearby.
“Practitioners must meet a series of requirements to gain approval, including being registered with the Medical Council with a current practicing certificate, a good understanding and experience of the medicines and the psychotherapeutic processes involved in psychedelic-assisted therapy, and a detailed proposal of how they will administer the treatment that has been peer reviewed and will be considered by Medsafe.
“Soon more practitioners will have the ability to use this medicine, meaning more patients will benefit.”
Note to editors: Guidelines can be found here.
Source: Hong Kong Information Services
Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn today began a visit to Beijing by calling on the National Cultural Heritage Administration, the Ministry of Housing & Urban-Rural Development and the Ministry of Human Resources & Social Security.
This morning, Ms Linn called on National Cultural Heritage Administration Deputy Administrator Qiao Yunfei. They discussed the organisation of artefact exhibitions, youth exchange activities and talent training, as well as research on antiquities, nominations for World Heritage status, and the application of technology in heritage conservation.
Ms Linn then called on the Ministry of Housing & Urban-Rural Development, and briefed a team led by Vice Minister Qin Haixiang on developments in Hong Kong’s construction sector.
The two parties exchanged views on the application of technology to reduce construction costs and enhance productivity, and on promoting the establishment of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Construction Standards.
They also spoke about leveraging Hong Kong’s certification system and high degree of internationalism in the development of Modular Integrated Construction and other innovative construction technologies, and about the rehabilitation and redevelopment of old buildings.
Afterwards, Ms Linn and her delegation had lunch with Minister Ni Hong, and compared experiences of construction and urban development in both places.
In the afternoon, Ms Linn met Human Resources & Social Security Vice Minister Yu Jiadong to exchange views on talent development in the construction industry.
Topics discussed included integrating Hong Kong construction professionals into the Mainland’s “Professional Title” evaluation mechanism, mutual recognition of various professional qualifications between the Mainland and Hong Kong, formulating Greater Bay Area skill standards and implementing the “One Examination, Multiple Certification” arrangement for skilled technicians and workers in the construction sector.
Ms Linn thanked the Ministry of Housing & Urban-Rural Development and the Ministry of Human Resources & Social Security for their strong support of the long-term development of Hong Kong’s construction industry.
She also expressed hope that the construction and engineering sectors of the Mainland and Hong Kong can deepen exchanges and co-operation to jointly promote the high-quality development of the bay area’s construction industry, and to establish Hong Kong as an international infrastructure centre.
The development chief later joined participants on a study tour looking at national water infrastructure, culture and technology. Together, they visited the Tuancheng Lake Regulating Pond, a terminal on the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.
She also had dinner with study tour participants and heard about their experiences.
Source: US Geological Survey
Once a year USGS Flagstaff Campus employees steal away to a place of science discovery in our own neighborhood. On May 29, folks from the five science centers hung posters or pictures and shared current research with each other, showcasing the work they are doing on the Flagstaff Campus. For many of us, being available to connect annually, has become our happy place.
Researchers from the Astrogeology Science Center (ASC), Arizona Water Science Center (AzWSC), Geology, Minerals, Energy and Geophysics Science Center (GMEGSC), Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC), and Western Geographic Science Center (WGSC) gather to share their ongoing research and recently published results. These gives us opportunities to develop new connections, exchange ideas and skillsets, and grow research areas in ways that we wouldn’t normally be provided access or exposure. Although we may work down the hall from each other, this annual event provides us the opportunity to cross-pollinate topics and build new collaborations.
“It is a combination of in-reach (like out-reach but among five centers) and social function (minus the adult beverages), said Dr. Tim Titus, Research Space Scientist, from the Astrogeology Science Center.
Dr. Titus, and Dr. Lori Pigue, Physical Scientist with ASC, ensured our happy place would be found again this year, helping to foster a sense of community on campus.
“There’s a bit of heavy lifting that goes into putting up the poster boards, making sure everyone knows that it’s happening and finding a poster or presentation from a past conference to recycle, but it’s worth it in the end.” Dr. Pigue shares.
Another participant said, “Feeling that connection with our neighbors and our immediate surroundings in a relaxed environment, would be even greater if we had longer than a 2-hr visit.”
Source: ForeignAffairs4
Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Kim Dovey, Professor of Architecture and Urban Design, The University of Melbourne
Balinese officials have begun the demolition of more than 40 businesses at Bingin Beach, a popular tourist spot in the Uluwatu region.
In June, the Balinese House of Representatives determined the settlement is on public land, and is therefore illegal and needs to be demolished. But I’d argue it doesn’t.
The Bingin Beach coastal settlement began development in the 1970s as an informal surfer hub at the base of a steep escarpment. The beach is a few hundred metres long and largely disappears at high tide.
Originally lined with a string of makeshift warungs (small food stores) and cheap accommodations, the settlement has grown incrementally over the decades, up and along the escarpment, with an intensive mix of surf shops, restaurants and small hotels.
The steepness of the slope precludes vehicle access. The only public access is via two somewhat narrow pedestrian stairways.
While it initially served the surfer community, the settlement now caters to a broader tourist market, with some rooms going for upwards of US$150 per night.
But after more than 50 years of incremental development, the House of Representatives has declared the settlement was illegally constructed on state land, and has ordered the demolition of 45 buildings – effectively the entire settlement.
While most of the buildings seem highly durable, the demolition order is based on illegality, and not durability. A spokesperson for the traders argues most of the businesses are locally owned, and livelihoods are at stake.
The former farmland at the top of the escarpment is also covered with tourist developments that mostly emerged since 2010, and now extend up to a kilometre inland. This is a much more familiar landscape for Bali: a mix of walled hotel compounds and private villas, with manicured gardens and swimming pools.
However, one could scarcely call this larger settlement “planned”. Shops and restaurants emerge wherever they can find a market along the narrow roads. There are no sidewalks and pedestrians are constantly engaged in an anxious game of negotiated passing.
The infrastructure of roads and lanes has also been designed incrementally, across the former farm fields, as the settlement developed. The resulting street network is convoluted and largely unwalkable. The most common street sign is “no beach access this way”.
I’m an academic, architect and urban planner who studies informal settlements and informal urbanism more generally. In this context “informal” can mean illegal, makeshift and unplanned, but it can also mean incremental, adaptive and inventive.
Informal settlement is the means by which a large proportion of Indonesians produce affordable housing. It is also the most traditional form of indigenous housing globally.
After many decades of governments trying to demolish such settlements, the overwhelming consensus across the United Nations Human Settlements Programme is that wholesale demolition is rarely an answer. On-site formalisation and upgrading is the more sustainable pathway.
When engaging with informal settlements, we need to preserve the infrastructures that work and only demolish where necessary. The Bingin Beach escarpment settlement has proven sustainable and has become an integral part of the local heritage.
Its demolition will destroy livelihoods and displace the surfing market, while feathering other nests.
So why is it being demolished? Perhaps to clear the ground for the next round of up-market resorts – what urban studies research calls “accumulation by disposession”. Bingin is widely seen as a major real estate hotspot for investment.
One of the key dangers of informal settlement is “overdevelopment”. Without
formal planning codes, density can escalate to destroy the very attraction that produced the settlement.
Most buildings along the Bingin Beach escarpment are two to four storeys, and step back with the slope of the escarpment. The exception is the 2019 addition of the Morabito Art Cliff hotel that rises more than six storeys, obscuring the natural landscape, blocking views, and setting a precedent for more of the same.
If everyone in the area built like this, the Bingin settlement would be replaced with a cliff of buildings. To demolish this one building would set a useful precedent of containing the settlement to a sustainable scale.
A few hundred metres south-west of Bingin Beach, a different story unfolds near the beach known as Impossibles. Here, a precarious limestone cliff largely precludes access to the beach, and the clifftop has long been lined with low-rise tourist compounds.
This earlier layer of development is now being demolished and replaced with larger, denser resorts as part of the Amali project which claims a “rare cliff-front location”. The location is “rare” because about half of the 50-metre-high cliff has been excavated to construct villa units quite literally in the cliff.
This excavation was well underway when, in May 2024, it caused much of the remaining natural cliff face to collapse onto the beach and into the ocean. It remains unclear whether the excavation was formally approved. Either way, it prompts the question: what if everyone did that?
The Bingin escarpment and the Impossibles cliff face represent very different kinds of development. One is incremental, irregular and geared to its social and environmental context, while the other is large-grain and environmentally destructive. It makes no sense to demolish the former in order to make way for the latter.
It is imperative to not only save the Bingin Beach settlement, which is part of Bali’s surfing heritage, but also to awaken from the impossible dream of building more and more villas on this fragile and limited coastland.
Kim Dovey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Bali is built on informal and ‘illegal’ settlements. Bulldozing Bingin Beach misses the real threat of overdevelopment – https://theconversation.com/bali-is-built-on-informal-and-illegal-settlements-bulldozing-bingin-beach-misses-the-real-threat-of-overdevelopment-261755
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Michigan Gary Peters
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) responded to the approval of Michigan’s request for a major disaster declaration following the catastrophic ice storm that impacted communities throughout Northern Michigan and the Eastern Upper Peninsula in late March. In May, Peters and Slotkin sent a letter to President Trump urging his swift approval of this declaration to support areas affected by the storm. With this declaration, critical assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance Program will be available to communities in Alcona, Alpena, Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Montmorency, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle, Kalkaska and Mackinac Counties, as well as the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians.
“I’m pleased that funding is coming to Northern Michigan to bolster the ongoing recovery efforts following the ice storm this March,” said Senator Peters. “The State of Michigan and local emergency managers continue to work hard because this job is not finished, and I’ll keep fighting to help our communities get the resources they need to bounce back stronger.”
“This is welcome news and a big step for the many Michiganders who are still recovering from the once-in-a-generation ice storm in Northern Michigan and the UP in March,” said Senator Slotkin. “There is still more work ahead, but my office is here to help Michiganders navigate the federal disaster process to rebuild and recover.”
The National Weather Service has ranked this as one of the most significant ice storms ever recorded in Northern Michigan. State and federal officials estimate the storms caused more than $137 million in immediate response costs, and inflicted severe damage to homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure, including leaving residents without power for weeks. The long-term impacts to local government, industries, and residents remain to be seen.
FEMA’s Public Assistance Program provides assistance to eligible applicants, including local governments, to respond and recover from major disasters. In Michigan, the authorized funding can be used for debris removal and emergency protective measures such as eligible overtime work and permanent restoration of infrastructure. For additional information regarding the federal assistance, please contact the MSP Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division at 517-243-0149.
Peters and Slotkin have fought to aid Northern Michigan’s impacted communities from the start. In the days following this devastating storm, the lawmakers wrote to Governor Whitmer expressing their willingness to support any federal support needed as part of the State of Michigan’s response. In June, Peters and Slotkin called on the Small Business Administration to approve the State of Michigan’s Rapid Administrative Disaster Declaration request for eligible counties, which was later approved by SBA Administrator Loeffler.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Miami, FL, July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA) (“MARA” or the “Company”), a leading digital energy and infrastructure company, today announced the pricing of its upsized offering of $950 million aggregate principal amount of 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2032 (the “notes”). The notes will be sold in a private offering to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). MARA also granted to the initial purchasers of the notes an option to purchase, within a 13-day period beginning on, and including, the date on which the notes are first issued, up to an additional $200 million aggregate principal amount of the notes. The offering is expected to close on July 25, 2025, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
The notes will be unsecured, senior obligations of MARA. The notes will not bear regular interest, and the principal amount of the notes will not accrete. MARA may pay special interest, if any, at its election as the sole remedy for failure to comply with its reporting obligations and under certain other circumstances, each pursuant to the indenture. Special interest, if any, on the notes will be payable semi-annually in arrears on February 1 and August 1 of each year, beginning on February 1, 2026 (if and to the extent that special interest is then payable on the notes). The notes will mature on August 1, 2032, unless earlier repurchased, redeemed or converted in accordance with their terms. Subject to certain conditions, on or after January 15, 2030, MARA may redeem for cash all or any portion of the notes at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid special interest, if any, to, but excluding, the redemption date, if the last reported sale price of MARA common stock has been at least 130% of the conversion price then in effect for a specified period of time ending on, and including, the trading day immediately before the date MARA provides the notice of redemption. If MARA redeems fewer than all the outstanding notes, at least $75 million aggregate principal amount of notes must be outstanding and not subject to redemption as of the relevant redemption notice date.
Holders of notes may require MARA to repurchase for cash all or any portion of their notes on January 4, 2030, if the last reported sale price of MARA’s common stock on the second trading day immediately preceding the repurchase date is less than the conversion price, or upon the occurrence of certain events that constitute a fundamental change under the indenture governing the notes at a repurchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid special interest, if any, to, but excluding, the date of repurchase. In connection with certain corporate events or if MARA calls any note for redemption, it will, under certain circumstances, be required to increase the conversion rate for holders who elect to convert their notes in connection with such corporate event or notice of redemption.
The notes will be convertible into cash, shares of MARA’s common stock, or a combination of cash and shares of MARA’s common stock, at MARA’s election. Prior to May 1, 2032, the notes will be convertible only upon the occurrence of certain events and during certain periods, and thereafter, at any time until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date.
The conversion rate for the notes will initially be 49.3619 shares of MARA common stock per $1,000 principal amount of notes. The conversion rate will be subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events.
MARA estimates that the net proceeds from the sale of the notes will be approximately $940.5 million (or approximately $1,138.5 million if the initial purchasers exercise in full their option to purchase additional notes), after deducting the initial purchasers’ discounts and commissions but before estimated offering expenses payable by MARA.
MARA expects to use approximately $18.3 million of the net proceeds from the sale of the notes to repurchase approximately $19.4 million in aggregate principal amount of its existing 1.00% convertible senior notes due 2026 (the “1.00% 2026 convertible notes”) in privately negotiated transactions with the remainder of the net proceeds to be used to pay the approximately $36.9 million cost of the capped call transactions (as described below), to acquire additional bitcoin and for general corporate purposes, which may include working capital, strategic acquisitions, expansion of existing assets, and repayment of additional debt and other outstanding obligations.
In connection with any repurchase of the 1.00% 2026 convertible notes, MARA expects that holders of the 1.00% 2026 convertible notes who agree to have their notes repurchased and who have hedged their equity price risk with respect to such notes (the “hedged holders”) will unwind all or part of their hedge positions by buying MARA’s common stock and/or entering into or unwinding various derivative transactions with respect to MARA’s common stock. The amount of MARA’s common stock to be purchased by the hedged holders or in connection with such derivative transactions may be substantial in relation to the historic average daily trading volume of MARA’s common stock. This activity by the hedged holders could increase (or reduce the size of any decrease in) the market price of MARA’s common stock, including concurrently with the pricing of the notes, resulting in a higher effective conversion price of the notes. MARA cannot predict the magnitude of such market activity or the overall effect it will have on the price of the notes or MARA’s common stock.
In connection with the pricing of the notes, MARA entered into privately negotiated capped call transactions with certain of the initial purchasers or their respective affiliates and certain other financial institutions (the “option counterparties”). If the initial purchasers exercise their option to purchase additional notes, MARA expects to use a portion of the net proceeds from the sale of such additional notes to enter into additional capped call transactions with the option counterparties. The capped call transactions will cover, subject to anti-dilution adjustments, the number of shares of common stock underlying the notes sold in the offering. The capped call transactions are generally expected to reduce potential dilution to the common stock upon any conversion of notes and/or offset any cash payments MARA is required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted notes, as the case may be, with such reduction and/or offset subject to a cap.
The cap price of the capped call transactions is initially approximately $24.14 per share, which represents a premium of approximately 40.0% over the U.S. composite volume weighted average price of MARA’s common stock from 2:00 p.m. through 4:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, which was $17.2413, and is subject to certain adjustments under the terms of the capped call transactions.
MARA has been advised that, in connection with establishing their initial hedges of the capped call transactions, the option counterparties or their respective affiliates expect to purchase shares of common stock and/or enter into various derivative transactions with respect to the common stock concurrently with or shortly after the pricing of the notes. This activity could increase (or reduce the size of any decrease in) the market price of the common stock or the notes at that time. In addition, the option counterparties or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to the common stock and/or purchasing or selling the common stock or other securities of MARA in secondary market transactions from time to time prior to the maturity of the notes (and are likely to do so during any observation period related to a conversion of the notes, in connection with any redemption of the notes, any fundamental change repurchase of the notes or any exercise of a holder’s optional repurchase right, and, to the extent MARA unwinds a corresponding portion of the capped call transactions, following any other repurchase of the notes). This activity could also cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of the common stock or the notes, which could affect the ability of noteholders to convert the notes and, to the extent the activity occurs during any observation period related to a conversion of notes, it could affect the number of shares of common stock, if any, and value of the consideration that noteholders will receive upon conversion of the notes.
The notes are being offered and sold to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act. The offer and sale of the notes and the shares of MARA’s common stock issuable upon conversion of the notes, if any, have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction, and the notes and any such shares may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. The offering of the notes is being made only by means of a private offering memorandum.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, the notes, nor shall there be any sale of the notes in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Nothing in this press release shall be deemed an offer to purchase MARA’s 1.00% 2026 convertible notes.
About MARA
MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) deploys digital energy technologies to advance the world’s energy systems. Harnessing the power of compute, MARA transforms excess energy into digital capital, balancing the grid and accelerating the deployment of critical infrastructure. Building on its expertise to redefine the future of energy, MARA develops technologies that reduce the energy demands of high-performance computing applications, from AI to the edge.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans, and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the estimated net proceeds of the offering, the anticipated use of such net proceeds, including any repurchases of the Company’s existing convertible notes, the expected impact of the capped call transactions, and the anticipated closing of the offering. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including uncertainties related to market conditions and the completion of the offering, uncertainties related to the satisfaction of closing conditions for the sale of the notes, the other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of MARA’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 3, 2025 and the risks described in other filings that MARA may make from time to time with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and MARA specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.
MARA Company Contact:
Telephone: 800-804-1690
Email: ir@mara.com
MARA Media Contact:
Email: mara@wachsman.com
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
FAIRFAX, Va., July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Voice2Me.ai, the boutique firm driving innovation in enterprise AI voice intelligence, today announced major platform expansions that sets a new standard for AI voice automation with secure, production-grade agents now available across Salesforce, PEGA, and ServiceNow. Building on its success in the ServiceNow certified store, the company’s ultra-secured AI voice agents are now available across Salesforce and PEGA platforms, demonstrating how enterprises can deploy top AI voice agents that are ready to take your call across multiple enterprise ecosystems.
Voice2Me.ai Customer Support
Strategic Platform Expansion Beyond ServiceNow
Voice2Me.ai’s expansion from its flagship ServiceNow integration to Salesforce and PEGA represents a significant milestone in making the best AI voice agents accessible across all major enterprise platforms. The company’s certified and approved ServiceNow apps in the ServiceNow store, has driven deeper trust and recognition in the industry, establishing Voice2Me.ai as the go-to provider for building AI voice agents for production-grade enterprise environments.
“Our expansion beyond ServiceNow proves that organizations across all platforms are hungry for top AI voice agents that deliver both security and simplicity,” said Eva Karnaukh, CEO of Voice2Me.ai. “We’re not just building AI voice agents – we’re creating intelligent conversation platforms that transform how enterprises communicate across their entire technology stack.”
Enterprise-Grade Security and Model-Agnostic Architecture
Voice2Me.ai’s platform distinguishes itself through enterprise-grade security architecture combined with a large-model agnostic approach that delivers fast, secure, and scalable AI voice intelligence. This foundation ensures that AI voice agents are ready to take your call while maintaining the highest standards of data protection across all integrated platforms.
“The question isn’t whether AI voice agents are ready to take your call – it’s whether your enterprise platform can deliver the conversational experiences your customers expect with military-grade security,” added Karnaukh. “Our model-agnostic approach ensures that regardless of your enterprise architecture, you can deploy the best AI voice agents that integrate seamlessly with your existing workflows.”
Advanced Technical Innovation for Production Environments
Voice2Me.ai goes beyond voice enabling multimodal resolution that lets midmarket – enterprise teams speak, see, and solve in real time. From voice to visual context, our agents understand inputs the way humans do. Built to scale across critical industries like healthcare, insurance, and government, the platform pairs advanced telephony with secure AI orchestration for end-to-end support.
Key technical innovations include:
With zero data persistence, FedRAMP/HIPAA readiness, and human-in-the-loop controls, the platform is trusted by government, healthcare, and financial services alike.
Future Roadmap and Platform Strategy
Following successful deployments across ServiceNow, Salesforce, and PEGA, Voice2Me.ai is strategically planning its next integration with either Appian or Workday, depending on market priorities. This expansion strategy demonstrates the company’s commitment to making top AI voice agents available across all major enterprise platforms while maintaining the security and performance standards required for building AI voice agents for production.
Global Operations and Professional Services Excellence
With operations spanning the United States, Europe, and Asia, Voice2Me.ai has positioned itself as a global disruptor of enterprise platform capabilities. The company’s boutique professional services team ensures smooth and fast deployment, helping customers elevate their enterprise platform experience with modern development and AI-powered architecture.
Voice2Me.ai’s approach focuses on three core principles:
Industry Impact and Market Leadership
As enterprises increasingly seek solutions for building AI voice agents for production environments, Voice2Me.ai’s comprehensive approach addresses the full spectrum of conversational AI needs. From showing organizations how to deploy top AI voice agents that integrate natively with existing platforms to providing the infrastructure for AI voice agents that are ready to take your call with enterprise-grade security, the company has established itself as the definitive source for production-grade voice intelligence.
The company’s commitment to ethical, secure, and responsible AI development ensures that all implementations maintain the highest standards of data protection and regulatory compliance while delivering the performance enterprises demand.
Platform Availability and Enterprise Adoption
Voice2Me.ai’s expanded platform integrations are available immediately, with enterprises able to deploy the best AI voice agents across ServiceNow (available in the certified store), Salesforce, and PEGA environments. The company’s model-agnostic architecture ensures that organizations can leverage the most advanced AI capabilities while maintaining the security and scalability required for production deployments.
Organizations interested in learning more about building AI voice agents for production environments can access comprehensive resources and technical documentation through Voice2Me.ai’s platform. The company’s fast, secure, and scalable architecture enables rapid deployment of top AI voice agents that are ready to take your call across any enterprise platform.
About Voice2Me.ai
Voice2Me.ai is the leading boutique firm specializing in enterprise AI voice intelligence solutions. Founded in Fairfax, Virginia, the company delivers the best AI voice agents for production environments across major enterprise platforms including ServiceNow (certified store), Salesforce, PEGA, with planned expansions to Appian and Workday. With operations in the US, Europe, and Asia, Voice2Me.ai empowers organizations to build AI voice agents with enterprise-grade security and model-agnostic architecture, providing fast, secure, and scalable conversational AI solutions for enterprises worldwide.
Media Contact: Eva Karnaukh, CEO Voice2Me.ai Email: press@voice2me.ai Website: voice2me.ai
Learn More:
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8214011f-b8b3-4d8d-9dbe-9ad08e50e7be
Source: Reserve Bank of India
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@ Based on Reserve Bank of India (RBI) / Clearing Corporation of India Limited (CCIL).
– Not Applicable / No Transaction.
** Relates to uncollateralized transactions of 2 to 14 days tenor.
@@ Relates to uncollateralized transactions of 15 days to one year tenor.
$ Includes refinance facilities extended by RBI.
* Net liquidity is calculated as Repo+MSF+SLF-Reverse Repo-SDF.
Ajit Prasad
Deputy General Manager
(Communications)
Press Release: 2025-2026/772
Source: New Zealand Government
Police Minister Mark Mitchell today announced the retirement of statutory Deputy Commissioner of Police, Tania Kura.
Ms Kura has served in the statutory Deputy Police Commissioner role since her appointment on 18 April 2023.
Deputy Commissioner Kura notified the Governor-General yesterday of her intention to retire from the role and the New Zealand Police in November this year.
Ms Kura has served in the police for 37 years, graduating from the Royal New Zealand Police College in 1988. She started her career as a constable in Christchurch before working her way through the ranks to be Area Commander Hawkes Bay in 2012 and District Commander Eastern from 2017. She moved to Wellington in 2020 to be based at Police National Headquarters, taking up the role of Deputy Commissioner Leadership and Capability.
“I wish to acknowledge Deputy Commissioner Kura for her service, and I wish her and her family the best for the future,” Mr Mitchell says.
Statutory Deputy Commissioners of Police are appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Public Service Commission has started a recruitment process for both Deputy Commissioner positions
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
DAVENPORT, Iowa – Two Muscatine men were sentenced on July 22, 2025, to federal prison for drug and gun crimes, related to an officer involved shooting in Muscatine on May 29, 2024.
According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, on May 29, 2024, Juan Aldo Beltran Delgado, 34, and Isidro Barajas, Jr., 30, drove to a residence in Muscatine, Iowa, to await the delivery of a package they expected to contain more than 4.5 pounds of methamphetamine. Law enforcement observed Beltran Delgado and Barajas pick up the package from the residence and attempted to stop their vehicle. Beltran Delgado was driving the vehicle and drove over 100 miles per hour through Muscatine, drove through multiple red lights, attempting to evade law enforcement. Ultimately, Beltran Delgado crashed into two other vehicles near Highway 61 and Cedar Street. After crashing, both Beltran Delgado and Barajas fled from the car on foot carrying firearms. Officers arrived in the area and Beltran Delgado shot at officers. Officers were able to take both Beltran and Delgado and Barajas into custody.
Beltran Delgado was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison, followed by a five-year term of supervised release, following his plea to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, attempted possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and carrying and discharging a firearm during an in relation to his drug trafficking. Barajas was sentenced to 32 years in federal prison, followed by a ten-year term of supervised release, following his plea to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, attempted possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, carrying and displaying a firearm during an in relation to his drug trafficking, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. There is no parole in the federal system.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Muscatine County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Department of Public Safety, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, Scott County Sheriff’s Office, Muscatine Police Department, Cedar County Sheriff’s Office, Muscatine County Drug Task Force, Johnson County Drug Taskforce, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Artaviyon Cornel Williams, 24, of Tallahassee, Florida, was sentenced in federal court for illegal possession of a machinegun. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Our brave law enforcement officers are increasingly encountering violent criminals and seizing firearms that have been illegally modified to fire as fully automatic machineguns. My office is committed to staunchly supporting law enforcement efforts to keep our communities safe from violent criminals.”
Court documents reflect that law enforcement obtained an arrest warrant for Williams for an aggravated assault that had occurred on June 28, 2024, outside the Table Lounge in Tallahassee. Witnesses advised Williams broke up a fight involving his girlfriend by brandishing a firearm, firing a round into the air, and pointing the firearm at one woman and telling her “I’ll kill you.” Officers located Williams on July 6, 2024, outside the Table Lounge and arrested him on the outstanding warrant. When arrested, Williams had a stolen Glock pistol in his waistband which had been illegally modified to fire as a machinegun. Williams had a second, loaded, extended-round magazine in a pocket.
Williams received a sentence of 42 months in prison, which will be followed by three years of supervised release.
“The Tallahassee Police Department remains committed to removing illegal firearms from our streets,” said Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell. “Modifying a weapon to function as a machine gun is not only illegal, but also reckless and puts innocent lives at risk. We’re proud to work alongside our federal partners to ensure those who engage in this kind of violent behavior are held accountable.”
The case involved an investigation by the Tallahassee Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney James A. McCain prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
As part of its PSN strategy, the United States Attorney’s Office is encouraging everyone to lock their car doors, particularly at night. Burglaries from unlocked automobiles are a significant source of guns for criminals in the Northern District of Florida. Please do your part and protect yourself by locking your car doors.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Dovey, Professor of Architecture and Urban Design, The University of Melbourne
Balinese officials have begun the demolition of more than 40 businesses at Bingin Beach, a popular tourist spot in the Uluwatu region.
In June, the Balinese House of Representatives determined the settlement is on public land, and is therefore illegal and needs to be demolished. But I’d argue it doesn’t.
The Bingin Beach coastal settlement began development in the 1970s as an informal surfer hub at the base of a steep escarpment. The beach is a few hundred metres long and largely disappears at high tide.
Originally lined with a string of makeshift warungs (small food stores) and cheap accommodations, the settlement has grown incrementally over the decades, up and along the escarpment, with an intensive mix of surf shops, restaurants and small hotels.
The steepness of the slope precludes vehicle access. The only public access is via two somewhat narrow pedestrian stairways.
While it initially served the surfer community, the settlement now caters to a broader tourist market, with some rooms going for upwards of US$150 per night.
But after more than 50 years of incremental development, the House of Representatives has declared the settlement was illegally constructed on state land, and has ordered the demolition of 45 buildings – effectively the entire settlement.
While most of the buildings seem highly durable, the demolition order is based on illegality, and not durability. A spokesperson for the traders argues most of the businesses are locally owned, and livelihoods are at stake.
The former farmland at the top of the escarpment is also covered with tourist developments that mostly emerged since 2010, and now extend up to a kilometre inland. This is a much more familiar landscape for Bali: a mix of walled hotel compounds and private villas, with manicured gardens and swimming pools.
However, one could scarcely call this larger settlement “planned”. Shops and restaurants emerge wherever they can find a market along the narrow roads. There are no sidewalks and pedestrians are constantly engaged in an anxious game of negotiated passing.
The infrastructure of roads and lanes has also been designed incrementally, across the former farm fields, as the settlement developed. The resulting street network is convoluted and largely unwalkable. The most common street sign is “no beach access this way”.
I’m an academic, architect and urban planner who studies informal settlements and informal urbanism more generally. In this context “informal” can mean illegal, makeshift and unplanned, but it can also mean incremental, adaptive and inventive.
Informal settlement is the means by which a large proportion of Indonesians produce affordable housing. It is also the most traditional form of indigenous housing globally.
After many decades of governments trying to demolish such settlements, the overwhelming consensus across the United Nations Human Settlements Programme is that wholesale demolition is rarely an answer. On-site formalisation and upgrading is the more sustainable pathway.
When engaging with informal settlements, we need to preserve the infrastructures that work and only demolish where necessary. The Bingin Beach escarpment settlement has proven sustainable and has become an integral part of the local heritage.
Its demolition will destroy livelihoods and displace the surfing market, while feathering other nests.
So why is it being demolished? Perhaps to clear the ground for the next round of up-market resorts – what urban studies research calls “accumulation by disposession”. Bingin is widely seen as a major real estate hotspot for investment.
One of the key dangers of informal settlement is “overdevelopment”. Without
formal planning codes, density can escalate to destroy the very attraction that produced the settlement.
Most buildings along the Bingin Beach escarpment are two to four storeys, and step back with the slope of the escarpment. The exception is the 2019 addition of the Morabito Art Cliff hotel that rises more than six storeys, obscuring the natural landscape, blocking views, and setting a precedent for more of the same.
If everyone in the area built like this, the Bingin settlement would be replaced with a cliff of buildings. To demolish this one building would set a useful precedent of containing the settlement to a sustainable scale.
A few hundred metres south-west of Bingin Beach, a different story unfolds near the beach known as Impossibles. Here, a precarious limestone cliff largely precludes access to the beach, and the clifftop has long been lined with low-rise tourist compounds.
This earlier layer of development is now being demolished and replaced with larger, denser resorts as part of the Amali project which claims a “rare cliff-front location”. The location is “rare” because about half of the 50-metre-high cliff has been excavated to construct villa units quite literally in the cliff.
This excavation was well underway when, in May 2024, it caused much of the remaining natural cliff face to collapse onto the beach and into the ocean. It remains unclear whether the excavation was formally approved. Either way, it prompts the question: what if everyone did that?
The Bingin escarpment and the Impossibles cliff face represent very different kinds of development. One is incremental, irregular and geared to its social and environmental context, while the other is large-grain and environmentally destructive. It makes no sense to demolish the former in order to make way for the latter.
It is imperative to not only save the Bingin Beach settlement, which is part of Bali’s surfing heritage, but also to awaken from the impossible dream of building more and more villas on this fragile and limited coastland.
Kim Dovey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Bali is built on informal and ‘illegal’ settlements. Bulldozing Bingin Beach misses the real threat of overdevelopment – https://theconversation.com/bali-is-built-on-informal-and-illegal-settlements-bulldozing-bingin-beach-misses-the-real-threat-of-overdevelopment-261755
Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH, July 24 (Xinhua) — The Thai military said on Thursday that a clash broke out on the border with Cambodia after the Cambodian side opened fire.
In turn, a spokesman for the Cambodian Defense Ministry said that Cambodian soldiers clashed with Thai soldiers in a disputed border area on Thursday. –0–
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
.
Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
KYIV, July 24 /Xinhua/ — Ukraine has secured the release of more than a thousand servicemen as part of the agreements reached at peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey, the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported on Telegram on Wednesday.
In total, Ukraine and Russia have conducted nine stages of prisoner exchanges under the Istanbul agreements. During the latest exchange, wounded and seriously ill servicemen were released.
Among those released are reportedly representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State Border Service, the National Guard and the National Police. –0–
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
.
Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 24 (Xinhua) — Local fishermen went down to Lake Xingkai (Khanka) on Tuesday and cast their nets to haul in the first batch of fish, marking the end of the seasonal fishing ban on the largest lake on the China-Russia border, Zhongxinshe News Agency reported.
Lake Xingkai, located in the southeast of Heilongjiang Province /Northeast China/ and in the Primorsky Territory of the Russian Far East, is the largest border lake of the two countries. Its water surface area is 4,380 square kilometers.
Shinkai has rich fish resources. According to research, there are 65 species of fish in the lake. In order to ensure biodiversity and promote sustainable fisheries development, a seasonal fishing ban has been in place in this lake since 1952.
This year, a 40-day fishing ban on the lake began in early June.
According to a local border control official, patrols will be stepped up during the fishing season and measures will be taken to prevent and combat illegal fishing activities to ensure security and stability in the border areas. -0-
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
.
Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Kim Dovey, Professor of Architecture and Urban Design, The University of Melbourne
Balinese officials have begun the demolition of more than 40 businesses at Bingin Beach, a popular tourist spot in the Uluwatu region.
In June, the Balinese House of Representatives determined the settlement is on public land, and is therefore illegal and needs to be demolished. But I’d argue it doesn’t.
The Bingin Beach coastal settlement began development in the 1970s as an informal surfer hub at the base of a steep escarpment. The beach is a few hundred metres long and largely disappears at high tide.
Originally lined with a string of makeshift warungs (small food stores) and cheap accommodations, the settlement has grown incrementally over the decades, up and along the escarpment, with an intensive mix of surf shops, restaurants and small hotels.
The steepness of the slope precludes vehicle access. The only public access is via two somewhat narrow pedestrian stairways.
While it initially served the surfer community, the settlement now caters to a broader tourist market, with some rooms going for upwards of US$150 per night.
But after more than 50 years of incremental development, the House of Representatives has declared the settlement was illegally constructed on state land, and has ordered the demolition of 45 buildings – effectively the entire settlement.
While most of the buildings seem highly durable, the demolition order is based on illegality, and not durability. A spokesperson for the traders argues most of the businesses are locally owned, and livelihoods are at stake.
The former farmland at the top of the escarpment is also covered with tourist developments that mostly emerged since 2010, and now extend up to a kilometre inland. This is a much more familiar landscape for Bali: a mix of walled hotel compounds and private villas, with manicured gardens and swimming pools.
However, one could scarcely call this larger settlement “planned”. Shops and restaurants emerge wherever they can find a market along the narrow roads. There are no sidewalks and pedestrians are constantly engaged in an anxious game of negotiated passing.
The infrastructure of roads and lanes has also been designed incrementally, across the former farm fields, as the settlement developed. The resulting street network is convoluted and largely unwalkable. The most common street sign is “no beach access this way”.
I’m an academic, architect and urban planner who studies informal settlements and informal urbanism more generally. In this context “informal” can mean illegal, makeshift and unplanned, but it can also mean incremental, adaptive and inventive.
Informal settlement is the means by which a large proportion of Indonesians produce affordable housing. It is also the most traditional form of indigenous housing globally.
After many decades of governments trying to demolish such settlements, the overwhelming consensus across the United Nations Human Settlements Programme is that wholesale demolition is rarely an answer. On-site formalisation and upgrading is the more sustainable pathway.
When engaging with informal settlements, we need to preserve the infrastructures that work and only demolish where necessary. The Bingin Beach escarpment settlement has proven sustainable and has become an integral part of the local heritage.
Its demolition will destroy livelihoods and displace the surfing market, while feathering other nests.
So why is it being demolished? Perhaps to clear the ground for the next round of up-market resorts – what urban studies research calls “accumulation by disposession”. Bingin is widely seen as a major real estate hotspot for investment.
One of the key dangers of informal settlement is “overdevelopment”. Without
formal planning codes, density can escalate to destroy the very attraction that produced the settlement.
Most buildings along the Bingin Beach escarpment are two to four storeys, and step back with the slope of the escarpment. The exception is the 2019 addition of the Morabito Art Cliff hotel that rises more than six storeys, obscuring the natural landscape, blocking views, and setting a precedent for more of the same.
If everyone in the area built like this, the Bingin settlement would be replaced with a cliff of buildings. To demolish this one building would set a useful precedent of containing the settlement to a sustainable scale.
A few hundred metres south-west of Bingin Beach, a different story unfolds near the beach known as Impossibles. Here, a precarious limestone cliff largely precludes access to the beach, and the clifftop has long been lined with low-rise tourist compounds.
This earlier layer of development is now being demolished and replaced with larger, denser resorts as part of the Amali project which claims a “rare cliff-front location”. The location is “rare” because about half of the 50-metre-high cliff has been excavated to construct villa units quite literally in the cliff.
This excavation was well underway when, in May 2024, it caused much of the remaining natural cliff face to collapse onto the beach and into the ocean. It remains unclear whether the excavation was formally approved. Either way, it prompts the question: what if everyone did that?
The Bingin escarpment and the Impossibles cliff face represent very different kinds of development. One is incremental, irregular and geared to its social and environmental context, while the other is large-grain and environmentally destructive. It makes no sense to demolish the former in order to make way for the latter.
It is imperative to not only save the Bingin Beach settlement, which is part of Bali’s surfing heritage, but also to awaken from the impossible dream of building more and more villas on this fragile and limited coastland.
Kim Dovey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Bali is built on informal and ‘illegal’ settlements. Bulldozing Bingin Beach misses the real threat of overdevelopment – https://theconversation.com/bali-is-built-on-informal-and-illegal-settlements-bulldozing-bingin-beach-misses-the-real-threat-of-overdevelopment-261755
MIL OSI –
Source: Airservices Australia
I’d like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet and pay my respects to Elders past and present.
It’s an honour to join you today at the Anika Foundation fundraising lunch. The Foundation supports vital work on youth mental health research, awareness and education, in which I have a strong personal interest.
I’m proud to uphold the tradition of the Reserve Bank Governor speaking at this event to support an organisation that is making a real difference.
My remarks today centre on the dual objectives of monetary policy: ‘price stability’, which means maintaining low and stable inflation; and full employment, which I will talk about in more detail later.
I’ll explore how these aims have shaped the Monetary Policy Board’s strategy in recent years. As part of that, I will reflect on the relationship between the labour market and inflation over that time, and how conditions in the labour market have evolved to the present day.
Now is a good time to revisit these subjects, following the agreement two weeks ago of an updated Statement on the Conduct of Monetary Policy, which sets out the common understanding of Government and the Board on key elements of the monetary policy framework.
But before I turn to that, I’ll start with an update on recent monetary policy settings.
If you cast your mind back to 2022, you will recall that inflation was higher than it had been in decades, peaking at 7.8 per cent at the end of that year. It was this rise in inflation that required a tightening in monetary policy over 2022 and 2023, with the cash rate increasing from almost zero to 4.35 per cent over that period.
Over the past couple of years, we have made meaningful progress in bringing inflation down. Higher interest rates have been working to bring aggregate demand and supply closer towards balance. We expect headline inflation in the June quarter to be in the lower half of our 2–3 per cent target range – although that partly reflects the ongoing effect of temporary cost-of-living relief. As that effect unwinds, we expect headline inflation to pick up to around the top of the band at the end of this year and into the first part of 2026.
To help look through temporary factors like this, we also pay close attention to trimmed mean inflation (published quarterly), which provides a good guide to underlying inflation trends. This measure has also been easing, but it’s still a bit higher than headline inflation. At 2.9 per cent in the March quarter, year-ended trimmed mean inflation was under 3 per cent for the first time since 2021.
We expect trimmed mean inflation to fall a little further in the June quarter in year-ended terms. However, the monthly CPI Indicator data, which are volatile, suggest that the fall may not be quite as much as we forecast back in May. We still think it will show inflation declining slowly towards 2½ per cent, but we are looking for data to support this expectation.
Encouragingly, as inflation has slowed, the labour market has eased only gradually and the unemployment rate is relatively low. I’ll have more to say on developments in the labour market later.
Since February, we have reduced the cash rate by 50 basis points. The Board continues to judge that a measured and gradual approach to monetary policy easing is appropriate. Global economic and policy developments have so far been largely in line with our baseline May forecasts, and the likelihood of a severe downside ‘trade war’ appears to have diminished. But there is still uncertainty and unpredictability in the global economy. The Board’s view is that monetary policy is well placed to respond decisively to adverse international developments if needed.
Our longstanding strategy has been to bring inflation back to target while preserving as many of the gains in the labour market as possible. This approach meant that interest rates in Australia did not rise as high as they did in some other economies, and so we may not need to lower them as much on the way down.
We also know that Australians continue to feel cost-of-living pressures, with the average level of prices now notably higher than it was just a few years ago. That is why we want to make sure that inflation remains low and stable from here on in. Low and stable inflation is good for households, good for jobs, good for communities and good for the economy.
Stepping back from current policy settings and the inflationary episode of recent years, I now want to reflect on the framework that guides the Board’s decisions more generally.
The RBA’s monetary policy objectives are set out in legislation. Our overarching goal is to promote the economic prosperity and welfare of the Australian people, both now and into the future. For the Board, this means setting monetary policy in a way that best achieves both price stability and full employment.
These goals are often referred to as our ‘dual mandate’ and are longstanding objectives of the RBA.
Over time, low and stable inflation and full employment go hand in hand. Low and stable inflation – or price stability – is a prerequisite for strong and sustainable employment growth because it creates favourable conditions for households and businesses to plan, invest and create jobs without having to worry about inflation. So our two objectives are complementary over the longer term.
Even in the shorter term, the two objectives often go hand in hand. For example, when there are ups and downs in demand, inflation tends to rise as the labour market tightens, and fall as it loosens. So a monetary policy response that returns inflation to target will, in time, also move the labour market towards full employment.
But sometimes there are developments that push up inflation at the same time as they weigh down demand – and therefore employment. This includes sharp increases in energy prices and supply disruptions that push up prices more broadly. As I’ll discuss in a moment, such ‘negative supply shocks’ were part of the reason for the high inflation of recent years, though they were not the only factor.
In the face of supply shocks that push up prices, we need to think about possible trade-offs: how do we balance our two goals in these circumstances?
If a supply disruption is temporary and modest, monetary policy should mostly ‘look through’ it. Raising interest rates makes little sense if inflation is expected to ease once temporary supply disruptions are resolved – it would only weaken the job market.
By contrast, when a supply shock is likely to have a longer lasting effect on the economy and inflation there may be stronger grounds for monetary policy to respond.
A key concern here is that the longer inflation stays high, the more households’ and businesses’ expectations for future inflation could increase. This could, in turn, lead to second-round effects on inflation as households and businesses build higher expectations into their decisions.
But if households and businesses instead maintain a high level of confidence that the Board will do what is needed to return inflation to target, inflationary shocks will have less effect on price and wage setting. That means we can look through adverse supply shocks to a greater extent – even those that we think could last for some time.
This highlights another important way in which our objectives are complementary – and it’s something I want to emphasise. Having a strong track record of low and stable inflation puts us in the best possible position to support employment. It means there is less risk of inflation getting out of control, which allows inflation to be brought down with smaller increases in interest rates than otherwise. This in turn keeps the labour market closer to full employment.
That is why maintaining well-anchored inflation expectations is a key benefit of inflation targeting frameworks, as I will return to in a moment, and why it is important that inflation returns to be sustainably in our target range.
So how did this dual mandate shape our policy response to the post-pandemic rise in inflation?
First, the starting point for our monetary policy settings mattered – these were of course very accommodative, with the cash rate effectively at zero.
Second, the causes of the pick-up in inflation were crucial. The initial pick-up in inflation was partly driven by some of the supply factors I have mentioned. Temporary disruptions in global supply chains during the pandemic led to strong increases in goods prices, and the war in Ukraine caused a spike in global energy prices.
But it was also clear that demand was part of the story. Accommodative fiscal and monetary policy settings in the pandemic period supported strong growth in demand for goods during lockdowns, and this demand strength interacted with supply constraints to amplify inflationary pressures. Then, as lockdowns eased and the economy started to recover, demand for services also recovered strongly. As a result, conditions in product markets and labour markets were very tight by mid-2022.
It was clear that we needed to increase interest rates to bring about a better balance between demand and supply, which would help to ease domestic price pressures. This need was reinforced by a concern that longer run inflation expectations could increase. If this happened, it would add to inflationary pressure and would ultimately require a larger policy response, and higher job losses.
Although it was clear that we needed to raise interest rates to slow demand growth, it was less clear how quickly demand pressures needed to ease, how persistent global shocks or their effects would be, and how much we could afford to ‘look through’ those effects.
The Board could have chosen to match the more significant rate increases of some other central banks to bring inflation back to target more quickly. But this could have risked a sharper and more persistent increase in the unemployment rate.
Instead, the Board judged that a measured approach was consistent with its dual mandate. We increased the cash rate quickly at first – but we didn’t go as high as some other central banks. We then held the cash rate for over a year, even as some other central banks started easing monetary policy. Throughout, we kept a close eye on longer term inflation expectations, to ensure they remained anchored to the target.
This strategy was designed to rein in inflation while also preserving as many of the gains in the labour market as possible – an example of our dual mandate in practice.
How has this played out so far?
Since the peak of inflation in 2022, headline inflation has declined by over 5 percentage points. And over the same period there has been a relatively modest easing in labour market conditions. The unemployment rate has increased from around 3.5 per cent in mid-2022 to 4.2 per cent in the June quarter this year, and remains low by historical standards.
Crucially, the share of the population in work has remained around record highs; this is in contrast to declines in many other advanced economies (Graph 1).
The fact that unemployment has remained low and employment growth has remained strong is remarkable – and very welcome.
And it is striking that the increase in the unemployment rate has been small compared with the large decline in inflation. This is especially true compared with previous episodes of disinflation in Australia (Graph 2).
Why is this?
Part of the answer is that the supply-driven price increases that I mentioned earlier did turn out to be temporary, even if they flowed through to the economy over a long period of time (Graph 3). As these supply disruptions eventually subsided and oil prices declined, price pressures eased.
And also as I mentioned earlier, the Board were very alert to the risk that inflation expectations could increase. Crucially, that did not happen.
Instead, households and businesses continued to believe that inflation would return to the target range (Graph 4). This limited any so-called ‘second-round’ effects on inflation, which allowed inflation to fall without a sharp rise in the unemployment rate.
This demonstrates the point I made earlier about how our two objectives can be complementary. A history of low and stable inflation, and the resulting public confidence in the inflation target, enabled the Board to adopt a strategy that protected the labour market as much as possible while still ensuring inflation came down.
I’ve already highlighted the comparatively modest increase in the unemployment rate over the past few years from a very low level, and that overall employment has continued growing. The rate of layoffs has increased only a little and remains at a remarkably low level by historical standards (Graph 5). The share of workers who are long-term unemployed also remains low.
These are good outcomes – as job losses are an especially painful way for the labour market to adjust to tighter monetary policy. Losing a job can be one of the most stressful events in someone’s life, and it can have far-reaching implications for families and communities.
While the unemployment rate has risen since its trough in late 2022, including an uptick in the month of June, there has been significant jobs growth in aggregate. Instead, the labour market has adjusted in some other – less disruptive – ways.
First, job vacancies have declined from a very high level as firms have slowed hiring activity.
Second, the average number of hours that people are working has declined. This follows a period when hours had increased sharply due to very strong demand for workers (Graph 6).
Having your hours cut is tough, but it’s often preferable to losing a job altogether. And it’s worth noting that some of this decline in hours has been voluntary, especially over the past year or so.
Third, there has been a decline in the share of workers voluntarily leaving their jobs (the ‘quits rate’). This suggests there could be less need for firms to compete to attract and retain workers, implying less upward pressure on wages growth than otherwise (Graph 7).
In summary, the gradual easing in labour market conditions has so far been most evident in fewer job vacancies, reductions in hours worked and declining rates of voluntary job switching.
These shifts aren’t without their challenges, but they all tend to be less disruptive than outright job losses.
I should note that the RBA can’t wave a magic wand and control how adjustments in the labour market play out. Interest rates are too blunt an instrument for that, and I am not here to claim credit for the fact that the adjustment has so far taken place in a less costly way.
By the same token, because the labour market can adjust in different ways, we do not ‘target’ any one adjustment mechanism, such as a set number of job losses, as we seek to bring demand and supply back into balance. Indeed, there have been substantial job gains over this period.
Let me bring the labour market story up to date.
Our overall assessment at the time of our most recent forecast in May was that there was still some tightness in the labour market, and we expected it to ease a little over the remainder of this year.
A broad range of indicators underpinned this assessment, and in many ways not much has changed. Firms still report significant difficulties finding labour, even if this constraint has eased somewhat recently. The ratio of vacancies to unemployed people remains high (Graph 8). At the same time, unit labour costs have been increasing strongly.
In May we also highlighted the possibility that labour market conditions could be less tight than we thought. As I noted earlier, the low rate of job switching may imply less upward pressure on wage growth than otherwise. And the quarterly rate of underlying inflation has recently been around a pace that would be consistent with 2½ per cent in annual terms.
For that reason, our May forecasts for wages growth and inflation incorporated some downwards judgement to reflect the possibility that there is more capacity in the labour market – and the economy more broadly – than is suggested by our usual assessment.
Last week brought us the latest labour market data, which confirmed that the unemployment rate increased in the June quarter. Some of the coverage of the latest data suggested this was a shock – but the outcome for the June quarter was in line with the forecast we released in May. That on its own suggests that the labour market moved a little further towards balance, as we were anticipating. While the June monthly data showed a noticeable pick-up in the unemployment rate, other measures – such as the vacancy rate – have been stable recently. More broadly, leading indicators are not pointing to further significant increases in the unemployment rate in the near term.
Nevertheless, the risks we highlighted in May remain. As always, there is uncertainty around how labour market conditions stand relative to full employment, and we will continue to closely monitor incoming labour market data. Our August Statement on Monetary Policy will provide a full updated assessment of labour market conditions and the outlook.
So, to conclude, our goals of low and stable inflation and full employment are closely linked and generally reinforce each other.
A critical feature of the recent high-inflation period is that longer term inflation expectations remained anchored. This has enabled the Board’s monetary policy strategy of bringing inflation down in a relatively gradual way so as to limit the easing in labour market conditions.
Much of the rebalancing of demand and supply in the labour market that has occurred in recent years has been reflected in declines in job vacancies, hours worked and voluntary job switching. There are many ways the labour market can adjust. The RBA doesn’t ‘target’ a specific outcome, like a certain unemployment rate or number of job losses, to reach full employment.
Monetary policy cannot control how the adjustment happens, but if it can occur while keeping employment strong – and even growing – that is a great outcome for workers, families, communities and the economy.
In the end, the best way to promote the economic welfare of Australians is by achieving low and stable inflation alongside full employment.
And that is what the Board is constantly striving for.
Thank you and I look forward to taking your questions.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall
Washington – On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), led the re-introduction of the No Surprises Act Enforcement Act along with Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colorado). The No Surprises Act, originally passed in 2020, instills key patient protections and ensures an efficient resolution process for disputes between health insurers and providers. However, the resolution process is not being executed as Congress intended.
Specifically, the No Surprises Act Enforcement Act will reinforce the original intent of the No Surprises Act by closing enforcement gaps through increasing penalties for parties who are non-compliant with payment deadlines. The bill also increases transparency in reporting requirements.
“Surprise medical bills can have devastating economic impacts on families’ checkbooks. The idea that health insurers are breaking the law and unfairly punishing patients and providers is unbelievable,” said Senator Marshall. “Our legislation ensures that out-of-network medical bills are resolved promptly and fairly, with enhanced penalties for any failure by the health insurers to do so. We are keeping our promises to the American people, who often feel helpless battling the powerful insurers and the health care industry. This bill will double down to ensure this law is properly enforced.”
“For too long, surprise medical bills left Coloradans on the hook for high, unexpected costs after a hospital visit. That’s why I introduced bipartisan legislation in 2019 to ban this harmful practice, and I was glad to see the No Surprises Act signed into law,” said Senator Bennet. “This legislation ensures that health care providers and insurance companies are upholding their obligations under that law.”
The House companion bill was introduced by Reps. Greg Murphy (R-North Carolina-03), Raul Ruiz (D-California-25), John Joyce (R-Pennsylvania-13), Kim Schrier (D-Washington-8), Bob Onder (R-Missouri-3), and Jimmy Panetta (D-California-19).
“Nearly five years ago, the bipartisan No Surprises Act was signed into law to eliminate surprise medical billing,” said Representative Murphy, M.D. “Although this historic legislation became law, big insurance companies have not been held accountable for paying what they owe. My bill cracks down on those that are willfully defying the law and doubles down on protecting patients. I am grateful for the continued bipartisan support to put patients first and prevent Americans from being crushed by medical debt from surprise billing.”
“As an emergency physician, I’ve seen how delayed payments to providers hurt patients in underserved communities,” said Representative Ruiz. “The No Surprises Act Enforcement Act will ensure accountability for both insurers and providers, so health officials can enforce the law effectively and patients can receive timely, uninterrupted care.”
“The No Surprises Act was the culmination of months of bipartisan work to ensure patients do not face surprise medical bills when receiving medical services outside of their network. Unfortunately, implementation of this law has been deeply flawed, often flagrantly ignoring Congressional intent,” said Representative Joyce, M.D. “By introducing the bipartisan No Surprises Act Enforcement Act, we can ensure balance in the way the No Surprises Act is being enforced by enacting necessary penalties for those not complying promptly with the law itself.”
“In 2020, I was proud to join my colleagues in supporting the No Surprises Act, a bipartisan bill to protect patients from unexpected medical bills when emergency care is provided out of network,” said Representative Schrier, M.D. “The No Surprises Enforcement Act will hold insurers and providers equally responsible for upholding the guidelines set by the No Surprises Act and continue to protect patients.”
“When Congress passed the No Surprises Act in 2020, it had one mission: protect patients from crippling, unexpected medical bills. But now, far too many insurance companies are skirting the law by refusing to pay providers on time, shifting costs back onto families, and even surprise billing patients. That’s unacceptable,” said Representative Onder. “The No Surprises Act Enforcement Act holds insurers accountable by applying the same penalties to insurers that already exist for providers. This bipartisan bill sends a clear message: our parents, our kids, and everyday Missourians deserve accountability, transparency, and fairness, no matter who’s at fault.”
“Gaps in the enforcement of the No Surprises Act have allowed some providers and insurers to sidestep the law and leave patients vulnerable to unexpected medical bills,” said Representative Panetta. “Our bipartisan No Surprises Act Enforcement Act would increase penalties and close enforcement loopholes to give this law more teeth and dissuade bad actors. We need to be doing all we can to shield working families from costly, surprise medical expenses and restore fairness and accountability across our health care system.”
Click here to read the full bill text.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall
Washington – On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), led the re-introduction of the No Surprises Act Enforcement Act along with Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colorado). The No Surprises Act, originally passed in 2020, instills key patient protections and ensures an efficient resolution process for disputes between health insurers and providers. However, the resolution process is not being executed as Congress intended.
Specifically, the No Surprises Act Enforcement Act will reinforce the original intent of the No Surprises Act by closing enforcement gaps through increasing penalties for parties who are non-compliant with payment deadlines. The bill also increases transparency in reporting requirements.
“Surprise medical bills can have devastating economic impacts on families’ checkbooks. The idea that health insurers are breaking the law and unfairly punishing patients and providers is unbelievable,” said Senator Marshall. “Our legislation ensures that out-of-network medical bills are resolved promptly and fairly, with enhanced penalties for any failure by the health insurers to do so. We are keeping our promises to the American people, who often feel helpless battling the powerful insurers and the health care industry. This bill will double down to ensure this law is properly enforced.”
“For too long, surprise medical bills left Coloradans on the hook for high, unexpected costs after a hospital visit. That’s why I introduced bipartisan legislation in 2019 to ban this harmful practice, and I was glad to see the No Surprises Act signed into law,” said Senator Bennet. “This legislation ensures that health care providers and insurance companies are upholding their obligations under that law.”
The House companion bill was introduced by Reps. Greg Murphy (R-North Carolina-03), Raul Ruiz (D-California-25), John Joyce (R-Pennsylvania-13), Kim Schrier (D-Washington-8), Bob Onder (R-Missouri-3), and Jimmy Panetta (D-California-19).
“Nearly five years ago, the bipartisan No Surprises Act was signed into law to eliminate surprise medical billing,” said Representative Murphy, M.D. “Although this historic legislation became law, big insurance companies have not been held accountable for paying what they owe. My bill cracks down on those that are willfully defying the law and doubles down on protecting patients. I am grateful for the continued bipartisan support to put patients first and prevent Americans from being crushed by medical debt from surprise billing.”
“As an emergency physician, I’ve seen how delayed payments to providers hurt patients in underserved communities,” said Representative Ruiz. “The No Surprises Act Enforcement Act will ensure accountability for both insurers and providers, so health officials can enforce the law effectively and patients can receive timely, uninterrupted care.”
“The No Surprises Act was the culmination of months of bipartisan work to ensure patients do not face surprise medical bills when receiving medical services outside of their network. Unfortunately, implementation of this law has been deeply flawed, often flagrantly ignoring Congressional intent,” said Representative Joyce, M.D. “By introducing the bipartisan No Surprises Act Enforcement Act, we can ensure balance in the way the No Surprises Act is being enforced by enacting necessary penalties for those not complying promptly with the law itself.”
“In 2020, I was proud to join my colleagues in supporting the No Surprises Act, a bipartisan bill to protect patients from unexpected medical bills when emergency care is provided out of network,” said Representative Schrier, M.D. “The No Surprises Enforcement Act will hold insurers and providers equally responsible for upholding the guidelines set by the No Surprises Act and continue to protect patients.”
“When Congress passed the No Surprises Act in 2020, it had one mission: protect patients from crippling, unexpected medical bills. But now, far too many insurance companies are skirting the law by refusing to pay providers on time, shifting costs back onto families, and even surprise billing patients. That’s unacceptable,” said Representative Onder. “The No Surprises Act Enforcement Act holds insurers accountable by applying the same penalties to insurers that already exist for providers. This bipartisan bill sends a clear message: our parents, our kids, and everyday Missourians deserve accountability, transparency, and fairness, no matter who’s at fault.”
“Gaps in the enforcement of the No Surprises Act have allowed some providers and insurers to sidestep the law and leave patients vulnerable to unexpected medical bills,” said Representative Panetta. “Our bipartisan No Surprises Act Enforcement Act would increase penalties and close enforcement loopholes to give this law more teeth and dissuade bad actors. We need to be doing all we can to shield working families from costly, surprise medical expenses and restore fairness and accountability across our health care system.”
Click here to read the full bill text.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Tampa, FL, July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ferlita Nussel Dowell (FND) Financial Group, a member of Advisory Services Network, LLC, has launched a personalized financial services model to help investors navigate today’s volatile market environment. This personalized approach centers on creating fully customized financial plans based on each client’s unique goals, risk tolerance, and life stage, departing from prebuilt portfolio templates often used across the industry.
The rollout comes as investors face heightened uncertainty around inflation, market swings, estate goals, and retirement timelines. With this model, FND Financial Group aims to meet the growing demand for responsive and tailored financial guidance, implementing a client-first process that adapts to changing circumstances. The firm’s leadership sees this as an opportunity to reshape how wealth planning is delivered, placing education, transparency, and collaboration at the center of client interactions.
“We recognize that traditional wealth management services have often been perceived as exclusive, accessible only to those with substantial assets. This has been a longstanding industry norm. However, our firm is committed to breaking this mold by providing bespoke wealth management solutions to each client, regardless of their asset level. Our mission is to help ensure that all clients have access to personalized financial strategies tailored to their unique needs,” said Colton Nussel, Partner at FND Financial Group.
What’s New in the Personalized Services Model
The firm’s personalized financial services model incorporates a suite of financial services, including retirement planning, investment management, income strategies, estate planning coordination, and ongoing financial coaching within a unified, personalized framework. Rather than fitting clients into prebuilt investment portfolios, FND financial advisors co-create plans that adapt to both market conditions and life events.
The model introduces the firm’s unique FND Financial Process, a three-step planning framework – Familiarize, Navigate, Deliver – that translates client conversations into customized, actionable strategies. This structured process ensures each plan reflects the client’s individual vision while remaining flexible enough to adjust to market shifts or life transitions.
Partner Austin Ferlita explains the philosophy behind this shift, “Financial planning is no longer about fitting people into models. It’s about building models around people – their goals, their lives, and the transitions they face along the way.”
This framework supports ongoing alignment between the client’s goals and their financial plan, particularly as personal circumstances or market conditions change. The approach offers an alternative to static, one-size-fits-all models by emphasizing flexibility in the planning process.
Key Benefits of the Personalized Services Model
The launch of FND Financial Group’s personalized financial services comes amid significant changes in the financial services industry. As technology and automation play an increasingly prominent role in asset management, clients are demanding more human-centered planning that accounts for nuance, emotions, and changing needs.
The firm’s approach responds to this shift by offering:
Strategic Rollout and Impact
FND Financial Group has already begun onboarding new and existing clients into the updated planning framework. Early feedback has been positive, with clients citing improved clarity around their financial objectives and greater confidence in the firm’s ability to adapt to their evolving needs.
“Behind every portfolio is a real person with real goals and concerns. Our job is to make sure their financial plan reflects not just the numbers, but the life they’re working so hard to build,” adds Matthew Dowell, Partner at FND Financial Group.
Internally, the model also brings greater consistency to the firm’s advisory operations, helping advisors streamline onboarding and maintain alignment across the planning process. While every client receives a fully personalized plan, the structured nature of the process helps prevent any critical component from being overlooked.
To learn more about FND Financial Group’s personalized financial approach or to schedule a consultation, please visit https://www.fndfg.com/.
About Ferlita Nussel Dowell Financial Group
FND Financial Group focuses on crafting personalized financial strategies that reflect each client’s unique goals, life stage, and priorities. Their comprehensive approach addresses all aspects of financial well-being, including income planning, investments, tax strategies, healthcare, and legacy planning. As fiduciary advisors, the firm is dedicated to helping clients build, preserve, and transfer wealth with clarity and confidence. Through thoughtful guidance and long-term support, FND Financial Group empowers individuals and families to move forward with financial strategies tailored to their lives.
Media Contact
Company Name: Ferlita Nussel Dowell Financial Group
Contact Number: 813-692-6202
Email: info@fndfg.com
Country: United States
Website: https://www.fndfg.com/
Socials: @fndfinancial
Disclaimer: This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies (including product offerings, regulatory plans and business plans) and may change without notice. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
Advisory services offered through FND Wealth Management, A Member of Advisory Services Network, LLC. Insurance products and services offered through Ferlita Nussel Dowell Financial Group. Advisory Services Network, LLC and Ferlita Nussel Dowell Financial Group are not affiliated.
Ferlita Nussel Dowell Financial Group does not provide tax or legal advice. Consult with your tax or legal professional prior to making any financial decisions for your personal situation.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
NEW ORLEANS, July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until September 16, 2025 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Neogen Corporation (NasdaqGS: NEOG), if they purchased the Company’s shares between January 5, 2023 through June 3, 2025, inclusive (the “Class Period”). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
Get Help
Neogen investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nasdaq-neog/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options.
About the Lawsuit
Neogen and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.
On April 9, 2025, the Company disclosed a quarterly revenue decrease of 3.4% to $221 million due to integration issues and again cut its FY25 guidance and noted that capital expenditures were expected to be $100 million as a result of lowered adjusted EBITDA and a pull-forward of integration-related capital expenditures into FY25, as well as announcing the departure of its CEO. On this news, the price of Neogen’s shares plummeted 28% to close at $5.02 per share, on a volume of 47 million shares. Then, on June 4, 2025, the Company disclosed that it expected “EBITDA margin to probably be around the high-teens” which represented a considerable drop from the previous quarter’s profit margin of 22%. On this news, the price of Neogen’s shares fell an additional 17%, to close at $4.96 per share.
The case is Operating Eng’rs Constr. Indus. & Misc. Pension Fund v. Neogen Corp., et al., No. 25-cv-00802.
About ClaimsFiler
ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations.
To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Thai tourists learn about products at a trendy toy shop on Nanjing Road in east China’s Shanghai on July 17, 2025.
China now has unilateral visa exemption for 47 countries and transit visa exemption for 55 countries, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said on July 11.
Fueled by relaxed visa rules, there has been a significant increase in the number of foreign passport holders entering China, leading to a surge in inbound tourism consumption.
Positioned as a world-class tourism hub with global appeal, Shanghai Municipality has witnessed the strong consumption vitality of inbound tourism in the first half of this year. (Xinhua/Chen Haoming)
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
The U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday that it is opening an investigation into Harvard University’s continued eligibility as a sponsor for the Exchange Visitor Program, which allows foreign students and scholars to participate in exchange programs in the United States.
The investigation marks the Trump administration’s renewed effort to restrict the admission of overseas students at the country’s oldest university.
“To maintain their privilege to sponsor exchange visitors, sponsors must comply with all regulations, including conducting their programs in a manner that does not undermine the foreign policy objectives or compromise the national security interests of the United States,” U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio said in a statement.
“The investigation will ensure that State Department programs do not run contrary to our nation’s interests,” said Rubio.
A spokesperson for Harvard University said in a statement that this investigation is “yet another retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights,” while noting that Harvard is committed to continuing to comply with the applicable Exchange Visitor Program regulations.
Earlier this week, Judge Allison Burroughs from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts held a hearing on the Trump administration’s cuts to Harvard’s federal funding — an estimated total of over 2.6 billion U.S. dollars.
In a social media post, U.S. President Donald Trump called the judge “a total disaster,” pledging that his administration would file an immediate appeal should the ruling go against them.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), oversaw on Wednesday a firing contest involving artillery sub-units of large combined units of the Korean People’s Army, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Thursday.
The contest examined the sub-units’ capability in carrying out a night march, combat deployment and firing attack on an unexpected enemy target in coastal regional environment and summer conditions, the report said.
Kim, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, expressed his satisfaction with the contest and its result.
Lauding the artillery force as the core arm of the country’s armed forces, Kim stressed the need to continuously and rapidly develop DPRK-style artillery tactics and combat methods.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Ongoing reforms at the tech-focused STAR Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, part of China’s continued efforts to give more financial support to the private economy, will further spur technology innovation and facilitate high-quality economic growth in the country, said experts.
The comments came after two new private economy-focused subindexes were officially launched at the STAR Market on Wednesday.
The SSE STAR Private-owned Enterprises Index will track all private companies trading on the STAR Market.
Public data show that there were 422 such companies by the end of June, with a combined market capitalization of 3.5 trillion yuan ($490 million). Among these, 171 reported increases both in sales revenue and net profit last year, 37 companies posted a 50 percent year-on-year increase in turnover, while 64 firms saw a 50 percent surge in annual net profit.
Another subindex, SSE STAR Private-owned Enterprises 50 Strategy Index, was also launched on Wednesday.
The index constituents are 50 private companies with high research expenditure and strong profitability. Companies specializing in semiconductors, computers and biomedicine account for about 68.5 percent weighting in the new index.
The total market cap of its 50 constituents reached 1.2 trillion yuan by the end of June. The average daily trading value of these companies came in at 16.1 billion yuan in 2024.
Fang Yi, chief strategist at Guotai Haitong Securities, said that index-based investments have been maturing at the STAR Market after the board started trading six years ago. More products have been designed and introduced based on these indexes, boosting market activity and diversifying the investor pool, he said.
A total of 32 STAR Market subindexes have been launched so far, deriving 86 STAR Market exchange-traded funds with a total market value of over 250 billion yuan. Half of these subindexes were rolled out after the release of eight additional reform policies for the STAR Market in June last year, according to SSE and China Securities Index Co Ltd.
According to market tracker Wind Info, there are about 3,478 private companies trading on mainland’s major exchanges, accounting for two-thirds of all the A-share companies. Their combined market cap topped 31.7 trillion yuan, accounting for 38.5 percent of the A-share market total.
More important, A-share listed private companies saw their combined research investment exceeding 650 billion yuan for a second consecutive year in 2024. Research expenditure was equal to 3.8 percent of their annual sales revenue last year, 1.2 percentage points higher than the A-share market average.
A large number of STAR Market companies specialize in future-oriented industries such as biological manufacturing, quantum technology, embodied intelligence and 6G, which are at an early stage in China, said experts from Changjiang Securities.
Focusing on hard technologies, cutting-edge technologies and market-based pricing, the STAR Market has served as a major venue for the Chinese capital market to facilitate technology innovation, said Tian Xuan, head of Tsinghua University’s National Institute of Financial Research.
China has also been advancing efforts to inject more vitality into the private sector. The Private Sector Promotion Law, which took effect in May, has unveiled substantial measures regarding the investment and financing of private enterprises.
Apart from announcing a set of new STAR Market reform policies at the Lujiazui Forum in June, China Securities Regulatory Commission Chairman Wu Qing stressed that unprofitable yet quality innovation-driven companies will be supported to seek public listings.
With concerted efforts from various government bodies, financing provided to private enterprises will be increased and their costs lowered. These companies’ technology innovation and green transition will be better supported, said Tian Lihui, head of the Institute of Finance and Development at Nankai University.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
China’s internet sector is gaining robust growth momentum, driven by technological advances in artificial intelligence, which has become a vital force bolstering the country’s high-quality economic development and industrial upgrades, said officials, experts and company executives.
Highlighting China’s great achievements in the development of internet infrastructure, they said bolstering application of cutting-edge AI in a wider range of sectors is crucial for nurturing new quality productive forces and establishing a modern industrial system.
They made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the 2025 China Internet Conference, which started on Wednesday in Beijing.
According to the Internet Society of China, the user base of generative AI products has reached 249 million, accounting for 17.7 percent of the total population, which highlights the country’s widespread adoption of AI across various sectors.
As the country is advancing the deep integration of digital technologies with the real economy, the popularization rate of digital research and design tools in key industry enterprises now stands at 80.1 percent, significantly improving production efficiency and lowering operational costs of enterprises.
Zhang Yunming, vice-minister of industry and information technology, said more efforts are needed to promote original and disruptive technological innovations, with a focus on key areas such as advanced computing, AI and quantum information.
China will push ahead with the construction of new-type information infrastructure, vigorously upgrade traditional industries, bolster the development of emerging industries and future-oriented industries, and accelerate the cultivation of new quality productive forces.
Shang Bing, president of the Internet Society of China, emphasized the importance of speeding up the establishment of computing power infrastructure, achieving breakthroughs in crucial technologies, such as 5G-Advanced and 6G, and quantum communication, and leveraging AI technology to promote the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing.
The AI agent — a system that autonomously performs actions by designing workflows using related tools — has gained worldwide attention and witnessed explosive growth since the start of this year. It is more advanced than a chatbot because it not only provides suggestions or answers, but also executes complex tasks across a multitude of industries, delivering tangible results.
Wu Hequan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said AI has contributed to 48 percent of global internet traffic growth, and is driving disruptive changes in network architecture, adding that the development direction of AI will shift from generative AI to AI agents, and the internet sector will enter into the era of AI agents.
China boasts abundant application scenarios, and all industries have the opportunity to be reshaped by AI agents, which can serve as digital partners and digital employees to analyze people’s working processes and enhance efficiency, said Zhou Hongyi, founder of Chinese internet enterprise 360 Security Group, estimating the next two years will be a crucial period for the implementation of such technology.
He said currently, large language models have some limitations, while calling for more efforts to create AI agents with different specialties by combining different industries and professional fields. These agents will look like virtual advisors or experts with specialized expertise, he added.