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Category: AM-NC

  • MIL-OSI Europe: OLAF played key role in Ukraine’s uncovering of massive underground pesticide production

    Source: European Anti-Fraud Offfice

    Press release 20/2025 
    PDF version

    A far-reaching investigation coordinated by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has played a central part in uncovering a sophisticated criminal network in Ukraine which engaged in mass production and counterfeiting of agrochemical products. These were falsely labelled under some of the leading agrochemical brands in Europe and the USA. As a result, Ukrainian authorities conducted 89 searches across the country that led to the seizure of hundreds of tons of illicit products worth over 2.3 million EUR. 

    Ukrainian authorities recently dismantled a large-scale criminal network producing and selling illicit pesticides on an industrial scale. Police raids uncovered several underground workshops and resulted in the confiscation of more than 175 tons of counterfeit agrochemicals as well as raw materials for their production. These were ordered from China and contained potent and poisonous substances. 

    In addition, a separate production of packaging for these products was discovered, together with fake labels, plastic packaging, holographic security elements of various trademarks and seals of business entities. Part of the seized products are believed to have been intended for European market, posing a significant threat to food security, environmental safety and legitimate agrochemical companies. You can read more about the operation in the press release of the Ukrainian State Customs Service here and the National Police of Ukraine here.

    OLAF’s role in the operation focused on strategic gathering, analysis and sharing of intelligence as well as cross-border coordination that led to the setting up of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) between Romania, Ukraine and OLAF under the umbrella of EUROJUST. The investigation started in 2023 with a 2024 to the seizure of additional 1000 litres of counterfeit crop protection products in Romania and in the end helped to identify and later dismantle the source: an illegal large-scale manufacturing operation in Ukraine. 

    National Police of Ukraine, Department for Combating Smuggling and Violations of Customs Rules of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, Office of the Prosecutor General in Ukraine as well as Financial and economic Police Bihor county in Romania and Public Prosecution office Oradea in Romania provided critical support during the operation. 

    Ville Itälä, Director-General of OLAF, said: “This is a textbook example of how operational actions unfold across borders. What started like isolated seizures in Bulgaria and Romania turned out to be the surface of a much deeper operation in Ukraine. Thanks to the methodical investigation and strong cooperation with our partners, we were able to trace the supply chain all the way to the source. This way, we help to protect not only European markets but also legitimate businesses, farmers and the environment.”

    OLAF remains committed to tackling cross-border crime and protecting the European Union from the dangers posed by counterfeit products. 

    OLAF mission, mandate and competences:
    OLAF’s mission is to detect, investigate and stop fraud with EU funds.    

    OLAF fulfils its mission by:
    •    carrying out independent investigations into fraud and corruption involving EU funds, so as to ensure that all EU taxpayers’ money reaches projects that can create jobs and growth in Europe;
    •    contributing to strengthening citizens’ trust in the EU Institutions by investigating serious misconduct by EU staff and members of the EU Institutions;
    •    developing a sound EU anti-fraud policy.

    In its independent investigative function, OLAF can investigate matters relating to fraud, corruption and other offences affecting the EU financial interests concerning:
    •    all EU expenditure: the main spending categories are Structural Funds, agricultural policy and rural development funds, direct expenditure and external aid;
    •    some areas of EU revenue, mainly customs duties;
    •    suspicions of serious misconduct by EU staff and members of the EU institutions.

    Once OLAF has completed its investigation, it is for the competent EU and national authorities to examine and decide on the follow-up of OLAF’s recommendations. All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a competent national or EU court of law.

    For further details:

    Pierluigi CATERINO
    Spokesperson
    European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
    Phone: +32(0)2 29-52335  
    Email: olaf-media ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (olaf-media[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
    https://anti-fraud.ec.europa.eu
    LinkedIn: European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
    X: x.com/EUAntiFraud
    Bluesky: euantifraud.bsky.social

    If you’re a journalist and you wish to receive our press releases in your inbox, please leave us your contact data.
     

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • PM Modi flags off four new Amrit Bharat trains in poll-bound Bihar

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off four new Amrit Bharat trains in Bihar’s Motihari on Friday and also laid the foundation stone and inaugurated multiple development projects worth over Rs 7,200 crore.

    The Amrit Bharat will runs between Rajendra Nagar Terminal (Patna) and New Delhi, Bapudham Motihari and Delhi (Anand Vihar Terminal), Darbhanga and Lucknow (Gomti Nagar), and Malda Town and Lucknow (Gomti Nagar) via Bhagalpur.

    PM Modi also handed over keys to some beneficiaries as part of the Griha Pravesh ceremony for 12,000 beneficiaries and released over Rs 160 crore to 40,000 beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin.

    He also released Rs 400 crore to around 61,500 Self-Help Groups in Bihar under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). With a special focus on women-led development, over 10 crore women have been connected to Self-Help Groups (SHGs).

    The visit by PM Modi comes ahead of the Assembly elections, which are set to be held in the state later this year.

    In line with his commitment to boost connectivity and infrastructure, PM Modi dedicated multiple rail projects to the nation. It includes automatic signalling between the Samastipur-Bachhwara rail line that will enable efficient train operations in this section. The doubling of the Darbhanga-Thalwara and Samastipur-Rambhadrapur rail lines is part of the Darbhanga-Samastipur doubling project, worth over Rs 580 crore, which will enhance the capacity of train operations and reduce delays.

    Another rail project includes the development of infrastructure for maintaining Vande Bharat trains at Patliputra. Automatic signalling on the Bhatni-Chhapra Gramin rail line (114 km) to enable streamlined train operations. Upgradation of the traction system in the Bhatni-Chhapra Gramin section to enable higher train speeds by strengthening the traction system infrastructure and optimising energy efficiency.

    The Darbhanga-Narkatiaganj rail line doubling project is worth approximately Rs 4,080 crore, aimed at increasing sectional capacity, enabling the operation of more passenger and freight trains, and strengthening connectivity between North Bihar and the rest of the country.

    (ANI)

  • INS Nistar, India’s first indigenous diving support vessel, commissioned in Visakhapatnam

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    In a boost to India’s maritime capabilities, INS Nistar, the country’s first indigenously designed and constructed Diving Support Vessel (DSV), was commissioned into the Indian Navy on Friday in Visakhapatnam. The commissioning ceremony took place in the presence of Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, senior naval officials, and representatives from Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), the shipbuilder.

    INS Nistar is the first of two DSVs being built by HSL and is equipped for complex deep-sea saturation diving and submarine rescue operations, a capability limited to a few global navies. It features cutting-edge equipment including Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), a Self-Propelled Hyperbaric Lifeboat, and Diving Compression Chambers, enabling salvage operations up to 300-metre deep. The vessel also serves as a mother ship for the Indian Navy’s deep submergence rescue vessel.

    Speaking at the ceremony, MoS Defence Sanjay Seth hailed the induction as a major milestone in the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, noting that all 57 warships currently under construction for the Navy are being built indigenously. He praised the Navy and the Indian shipbuilding industry for their innovation and commitment to self-reliance.

    Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi described INS Nistar as both a “technological asset” and an “operational enabler.”

    “Nistar will provide critical submarine rescue support to the Indian Navy as well as our regional partners. This will enable India to emerge as a ‘Preferred Submarine Rescue Partner’ in this region. The commissioning of Nistar is testimony to the growing capability and maturity of our maritime industrial base, and another shining example of Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” he said.

    With over 80% indigenous content and the participation of 120 MSMEs, the 118-meter vessel -displacing more than 10,000 tons – marks a leap forward in India’s undersea warfare and rescue capabilities. It replaces the erstwhile INS Nistar, a Soviet-origin ship decommissioned in the 1980s.

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Have your say on early designs for key city centre gateway

    Source: City of Wolverhampton

    Cleveland Road connects the city centre to the newly transformed Royal Quarter.

    The consultation is urging people to have their say on how it can best be used as an active travel corridor with improved walking and cycling facilities, and connectivity across the Ring Road.

    Public drop in sessions have been arranged where people can see the illustrative designs and find out more – attendees can even enjoy a virtual walkthrough using a VR headset.

    The project team will be at the Urban Room in Queen Square (WV1 1TH) between 11am and 3pm on Monday (July 21) and the YMCA in Cleveland Road (WV2 1BJ) on Wednesday (July 23) between 12pm and 4pm.

    If you are unable to attend either session, you can view the illustrative views at Cleveland Road Early Design Options and leave your feedback online.

    City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Transport, Councillor Qaiser Azeem, said: “The Royal Quarter has undergone significant regeneration in recent years, with hundreds of homes delivered and the iconic Royal Hospital building being brought back into use to create a thriving new neighbourhood.

    “It is now important we hear from the community about what they think Cleveland Road can best serve them as a key gateway to the city centre.

    “I urge people to have their say on the early design options in person or online so we can build a clear picture of how we can best develop proposals.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: More schools to benefit from solar panels

    Source: City of Sunderland

    Thirteen maintained city schools are to benefit from the installation of solar panels (PV) over the next six months.

    The City Council successfully applied for £345,000 from the Mayoral Renewable Energy Fund in a partnership with the North East Combined Authority (NECA).

    The Mayoral Renewable Energy Fund is a £10m fund for Mayoral Strategic Authorities and forms part of the Government’s Great British Energy early delivery phase for 2025/26 

    The schools were chosen based on a requirement to deliver community benefits where financial savings from the solar panels could be used to help provide wider activities to support the local community. This community benefit could take many forms and will be at the discretion of each school but could include, books, IT equipment or additional support to clubs or days out for children.

    Leader of Sunderland City Council, Councillor Michael Mordey said: “Rising energy costs have been a major financial pressure in schools for several years now. This is great news about the panels and a great opportunity to lower costs and release further funding into school budgets.

    “Funding that previously went on energy bills can now go to where it really matters and where it benefits pupils, the community and our city. The council will be working with the schools in coming months to assist with panel installation and seeing a switch-on that is going to bring many financial, social and environmental benefits.”

    The 13 sites benefiting from the Great British Energy scheme are in addition to a £500,000 investment programme of solar panels at 25 city schools. This scheme was agreed earlier this year as part of the council’s budget to also help schools reduce their energy costs in the coming years.

    The full list of school sites in the energy scheme announcement is:

    Name

    Area

    Barmston Village Primary School

    Washington

    Castletown Primary School

    Sunderland

    Easington Lane Primary School

    Houghton

    Grangetown Primary School

    Sunderland

    Grindon Infant School and Nursery

    Sunderland

    Hudson Road Primary School

    Sunderland

    Hylton Castle Primary School

    Sunderland

    Marlborough Primary School

    Washington

    Shiney Row Primary School

    Houghton

    Southwick Primary School

    Sunderland

    The Link School

    Sunderland

    Wessington Primary School

    Washington

    Willow Wood Primary School

    Sunderland

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: City scoops £490k lottery funding to improve residents’ access to nature

    Source: City of Sunderland

    Sunderland has secured £490,000 lottery funding to help communities across the city get back to nature.

    The City Council’s bid to the Nature Towns and Cities Programme is one of only 19, benefitting 40 towns and cities nationally, to be awarded funding.

    Nature Towns and Cities is a coalition of organisations united by the ambition to enable millions more people to experience nature in their daily lives, particularly those places and communities currently lacking access to quality green space.

    The first of its kind, the new programme announced by Natural England, National Trust and The National Lottery Heritage Fund aims to help at least 100 places across the UK to become greener, healthier, happier places for people to live and work over the next 10 years. 

    Welcoming the grant funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Councillor Michael Mordey, Leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “We’re delighted to have been awarded this funding which is all about improving our residents’ access to nature and helping them to enjoy some of the fantastic greenspaces, coastline and riverbanks on their doorstep.

    “As we all know, getting out into the fresh air can really help us to clear our minds and take time for ourselves 

    “This funding will help us to support our communities, making it as easy as possible to access nature, which in turn will help to create a real sense of pride in the local environment.”

    “So, we’ll be looking to work with residents and partners over the coming weeks and months to help us develop the plans further and make sure that we’re making the most of this grant funding to support our residents to enjoy the nature on their doorstep.” 

    Sunderland’s project will bring organisations across the city together to better connect residents with local greenspaces.  The funding secured will also help communities to improve their health and wellbeing by making it easier to access nature.

    Led by Sunderland City Council in partnership with Durham Wildlife Trust and the voluntary sector, the project will also be supported by other key partners within the city.

    Plans include a focus on linking community greenspaces, parks, transport routes and the city’s coastline and riverbanks, connecting people and creating a sense of pride in the local environment.

    The project will bring together organisations citywide to work in partnership to increase understanding of the benefits of the natural environment via volunteering opportunities, outdoor activities, training and nature-based social prescribing.

    This will include:

    • The creation of new education courses in conservation and horticulture
    • Undertaking ecological surveys and preparing management plans for the city’s precious Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) sites which include Tunstall Hills and Claxheugh Rocks to ensure that the city continues to preserve its natural heritage.
    • Working with public health commissioned services, social prescribers and anti-social behaviour organisations and supporting communities to engage in and deliver nature based activities
    • Distributing small grants, once the delivery stage of the project is underway, to support communities across Sunderland to develop the skills and capacity to conserve nature sustainably

    The City Council will be looking to work with residents and partners over the coming weeks and months to further develop the plans and take them forward.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Road Closure and Diversions for Slessor Concerts

    Source: Scotland – City of Dundee

    18/07/25

    A number of major road closures and diversions will be in place in Dundee City Centre and Waterfront for the forthcoming Discovery Festival at Slessor Gardens on Friday July 25, Saturday July 26 and Sunday July 27. 

    Motorists and people visiting the city centre are being advised that key routes including Thomson Avenue will be affected, with a diversion around the city centre ring road for traffic travelling from west to east at certain times. 

    Meanwhile, Nethergate between West Marketgait and Whitehall Street will only be available for buses and taxis at certain times. 

    Some city centre bus stops will be relocated during the closures. Please refer to operators for up-to-date information. 

    Dundee City Council has produced a map to show the closures and diversions which is available on its website here 

    Details of closures are  

    Friday, July 25 Ocean Colour Scene – Closures between 4pm and midnight 

    Saturday, July 26 80s Calling!  Closures from 11.30am to midnight  

    Sunday, July 27 Tom Jones Closures from 2pm to midnight 

    • Alternative routes for vehicles are available via South Marketgait / West Marketgait / North Marketgait / East Marketgait

      In addition, the following roads as well as Slessor Gardens will be closed for five working days from Tuesday July 22 until Monday July 28 to allow set up and then clearing of the site. 

    • Earl Grey Place East 

    • Earl Grey Place West 

    • South Castle Street 

    • South Crichton Street 

    The Discovery Festival is being organised by the Liz Hobbs Group. 

    Jimmy Discovers Employment

    Jimmy Discovers Employment

    A Dundee man has set sail on a new career after receiving all hands on deck support from the Council’s employability service.Jimmy Moran, 60, was previously a training instructor at Michelin for…

    17/07/25

    Accreditation Secured to Support Dundee’s Living Wage City Campaign

    Accreditation Secured to Support Dundee’s Living Wage City Campaign

    A local security system supplier has signed up to be the latest business in the city to become Living Wage accredited.SPG Integrated, based in the Dundee Technology Park, are a firm who specialise in…

    15/07/25

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Coming up next week at the London Assembly W/C 21 July

    Source: Mayor of London

    PUBLICATIONS

    Wednesday 23 July

    Blue light status of emergency response vehicles

    Transport Committee

    The Transport Committee will write to Transport for London and the British Transport Police about their decision to take away the blue light status of emergency response unit vehicles, which was one of the key recommendations of the London Assembly 7/7 Review Committee’s 2006 report on the response to the tube and bus bombings.

    MEDIA CONTACT: Josh Hunt on 07763 252 310/ [email protected]

     

    PUBLIC MEETINGS

    Tuesday 22 July

    Capital funding and delivery

    Budget and Performance Committee – The Chamber, City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, 10am

    Transport for London (TfL) has proposed an extension of the Bakerloo line from Elephant and Castle, to Lewisham, including the potential for a further extension beyond Lewisham to Hayes and Beckenham Junction.

    The project is estimated to cost between £5.2 billion to £8.7 billion (at 2021 prices), with an additional £800 million to £1.9 billion required to extend the line further to Hayes.

    The London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee will hear from experts and TfL on the potential funding options for the Bakerloo line extension, and other new and future capital projects.

    Guests are:

    • Professor Tony Travers, Professor in Practice and Associate Dean, the London School of Economics
    • John Kavanagh, Programme Director, Infrastructure, Business LDN 
    • Chris Whitehouse, Technical Director, WSP 
    • Maurice Lange, Analyst, Centre for Cities 
    • Manish Gupta, Corporate Finance Director, TfL 
    • Lucinda Turner, Director of Spatial Planning, TfL

    MEDIA CONTACT: Tony Smyth on 07763 251 727 / [email protected]

     

    Wednesday 23 July

    Paying for and building transport projects at low cost

    Budget and Performance Committee – The Chamber, City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, 10am

    According to reports, Madrid tripled the length of its metro system in just 12 years — faster and cheaper than almost any other city in the world. The 35-mile (56 kilometre) program of expansion between 1995 and 1999 cost around $2.8 billion (in 2024 prices). London’s Jubilee Line Extension, built at the same time as Madrid’s expansion, cost nearly ten times more per mile than Madrid’s program.

    The London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee will hear from experts on why the cost for building transport infrastructure in the UK is much higher than neighbouring countries.

    Guests are:

    • Ben Hopkinson, Head of Housing & Infrastructure, Centre for Policy Studies
    • Dr Alexander Budzier, Chief Executive Officer, Oxford Global Projects 
    • Gareth Dennis, Railway Engineer and writer, Railnatter

    MEDIA CONTACT: Tony Smyth on 07763 251 727 / [email protected]

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: 2024 Progress report: UN Plan of Action on disaster risk reduction for resilience

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    The 2024 Progress Report of the United Nations Plan of Action on Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience summarizes progress towards achieving the three UN Plan of Action commitments, based on the Results Framework. It reflects on collective achievements, opportunities, challenges, and the UN system’s capacity to deliver high-quality support to countries on disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate change adaptation and resilience building.

    The United Nations Plan of Action on Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience (UN Plan of Action) is the contribution by the United Nations to ensure the implementation of the Sendai Framework contributes to a risk-informed and integrated approach to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.​

    View the 2024 achievements in digital format and the overall progress of the UN Plan of Action.

    Download

    Links last checked: 18 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Global: AI-powered early-warning systems under the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    This case study was collected through a Call for Good Practices on Reducing Risk across SDG Transitions, launched by the UN DRR Focal Points Group in 2024.

    SDGs addressed: 13 | 11 | 9 (digital transformation theme)

    The UN-backed Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative aims to cover everyone on Earth with timely, life-saving alerts by 2027. Its AI Sub-Group, convened by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) with WMO, UNDRR and IFRC, integrates artificial-intelligence tools across the four pillars of early-warning systems-risk knowledge, detection & forecasting, warning dissemination and preparedness. Working with governments, tech firms and communities, the group pilots machine-learning models that fuse satellite, radar, social-media and IoT data to sharpen hazard forecasts and send population-specific alerts in near real time.

    Innovation & success factors

    • AI fusion of complex datasets-weather, exposure, mobility-raises forecast accuracy.
    • Optimised message routing chooses channels, languages and geofences for each group.
    • Multi-stakeholder governance (UN agencies + private tech + civil society) ensures ethical, equitable deployment.

    Key impacts

    • Improved lead times for tropical-cyclone and flash-flood warnings in pilot countries (e.g., +30 min average).
    • Targeted reach-algorithms tailor SMS, radio or app alerts to last-mile users, increasing timely action.
    • Policy influence-15 governments adopt AI guidelines for DRR under EW4All technical-assistance tracks.

    Lessons learned for replication or adaptation

    1. Equity first: AI roll-outs must bridge, not widen, the digital divide.
    2. Cross-sector partnerships accelerate innovation and scaling.
    3. Ethical frameworks & data privacy are non-negotiable for public trust.
    4. Continuous training keeps models accurate amid climate-system change.
    5. Local language & culture matter as much as algorithmic performance.

    Organisations involved

    • UN entities: ITU (lead), WMO, UNDRR, IFRC
    • Government partners: National meteorological & telecom agencies in pilot countries (e.g., India, Fiji, Kenya)
    • Private sector: AI cloud providers, mobile-network operators
    • Civil society & academia: Local DRR NGOs, research labs developing ethical-AI frameworks

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Moldova: Disaster-resilience scorecards guide urban planning and budgeting in five cities

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    This case study was collected through a Call for Good Practices on Reducing Risk across SDG Transitions, launched by the UN DRR Focal Points Group in 2024.

    SDGs addressed: 11 (Sustainable Cities & Communities) | 13 (Climate Action)

    Chișinău, Leova, Anenii Noi, Sîngera and Căușeni joined UNDRR’s Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) network to tackle limited finance, data gaps and centralised decision-making. Through participatory workshops in 2020-24, municipal staff, emergency services and partners completed the Disaster Resilience Scorecard, identifying weaknesses in governance, data management and inclusive planning. The findings fed four city reports (two co-facilitated by IOM and UN Women) and catalysed the Chișinău Resilience Strategy 2024-2030, which embeds Leave-No-One-Behind principles.

    Innovation & success Factors

    • Structured diagnostics – scorecards translate complex resilience gaps into concrete priorities.
    • Participatory approach – workshops engage mayors, finance, health & education staff, boosting ownership.
    • Systems thinking – links planning, budgeting and data-sharing across departments.

    Key impacts

    • 4 city resilience reports endorsed (Leova, Anenii Noi, Sîngera, Căușeni).
    • Chișinău Resilience Strategy 2024-2030 adopted by council.
    • Raised awareness – mayors connect resilience goals to annual budgets.
    • Gender & inclusion – Căușeni workshop analysed gender-budgeting gaps.

    Lessons learned for replication or adaptation

    1. Scorecards simplify risk analysis for resource-constrained cities.
    2. Mayor buy-in is critical for policy adoption and financing.
    3. Peer-to-peer learning helps small cities overcome capacity gaps.
    4. Medium-term wins keep political interest alive beyond election cycles.

    Organisations involved

    • Lead UN entity: UNDRR
    • Supporting UN agencies: IOM, UN Women (one workshop each)
    • Local partners: City mayors & departments (health, education, finance), General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU)
    • Beneficiaries: Entire populations of the five participating cities (≈ 700 000), with a focus on women, the elderly and low-income groups.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Export Awards – Trimax Mowing Systems wins Exporter of the Year at ExportNZ ASB Bay of Plenty Export Awards

    Source: EMA

    Trimax Mowing Systems, a manufacturer and exporter of premium mowing equipment, has won the ExportNZ ASB Bay of Plenty Exporter of the Year Award at a gala event this evening held at the Mercury Baypark arena in Mount Maunganui.
    Kiwi-made lawn mowers used by groundskeepers at Windsor Castle
    Trimax has sold more than 33,000 lawn mower decks worldwide from its base in Tauranga, with revenue having tripled in the last five years. The New Zealand-made lawn mowers are trusted by groundskeepers in locations as varied as Windsor Castle in the UK to multiple PGA golf courses in the United States.
    High-precision control devices sold to alternative fuel markets globally
    Oasis Engineering, a manufacturer of high-pressure control devices for gases, won the Excellence in Innovation Award. The company first rose to fame in the 1980s by developing a ball valve for CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) tanks, which became the industry standard.
    Today, Oasis Engineering operates a specialist high-precision turning and machining factory in Tauranga, from where it exports control devices to more than 40 countries. The company is recognised as an exemplar in the use of automation and robotics, and for outstanding product development in the global alternative fuel market.
    Providing cloud-based workspaces for US healthcare professionals
    The Best Emerging Business Award was won by Carepatron, a provider of secure, cloud-based healthcare workspaces for clinicians to manage clients, appointments and payments.
    The company uses technology, and AI in particular, in its customer support and product development. Founded in 2021, today Carepatron is hyperscaling exports into the US market, where it is growing rapidly.
    Individuals making significant contributions to export success
    There were two joint winners of the Export Achievement Award, which recognises an individual who has made a material contribution to the export success of a business. These were Sarah Webb of LawVu and Karl Stevenson of Bluelab.
    Sarah Webb has been a founding force behind LawVu, which provides cloud-based legal workspaces for in-house legal teams. Currently, the Chief Operating Officer, Webb has been instrumental in transforming LawVu into a globally recognised legal tech platform.
    Karl Stevenson is the Head of Product at Bluelab, a manufacturer of precision instruments for measuring pH, electrical conductivity and temperature in controlled agricultural environments.
    Stevenson is recognised as a champion of design thinking in New Zealand’s export sector. He has also made a lasting impact on the Tauranga business community, having co-founded local Design Thinking Meetups, which foster a culture of innovation and collaboration, and are open to everyone from entrepreneurs to engineers.
    Tauranga entrepreneur Steve Saunders recognised with Services to Export Award
    Finally, the Services to Export Award was presented to Steve Saunders for his outstanding contribution to the exporting success of the Bay of Plenty region. The co-founder of Robotics Plus, and numerous other exporting businesses, Saunders has served for 12 years on Priority One, the economic development organisation for the Western Bay of Plenty.
    He co-founded the Newnham Park Innovation Centre, as well as Mount Pack & Cool, one of the largest and most technologically advanced packhouses in the Bay of Plenty.
    Saunders champions Māori investment in agriculture and innovation, and is a long-time supporter of the Young Innovators Awards for Year 7-13 students.
    Celebrating the Bay of Plenty exporting community
    The awards celebrate the exceptional achievements of Bay of Plenty businesses and individuals who export goods and services to markets around the world.
    The event is proudly supported by principal sponsor ASB, as well as Sharp Tudhope, Air NZ Cargo, Page Macrae, Zespri, and Orbit Travel, and supporting partners NZTE, Comvita and Port of Tauranga.
    The awards are organised by the EMA on behalf of ExportNZ. EMA Chief Executive John Fraser-Mackenzie says, “The EMA is an integral part of the Bay of Plenty business community, so we’re delighted these awards showcase the inspiring businesses and individuals from the region who are succeeding in offshore markets. Well done to all the winners!
    “The awards are more than just recognition, they’re a platform for sharing insights, fostering collaboration, and strengthening the network of export-focused companies that drive the region’s economic success.”
    Chair of the ExportNZ BoP Executive Committee Warwick Downing says, “This year’s winners exemplify the innovation, resilience, and global ambition that define the Bay of Plenty’s export community.
    “Their success is a testament to the region’s ability to compete, and thrive, on the world stage.”
    Head of Trade Finance at ASB Bank Mike Atkins says, “We congratulate all the winners; they are true export champions of the Bay of Plenty region.
    “At ASB, we are passionate about enabling exporters to scale up, be it through working capital funding or other advisory initiatives across productivity, sustainability, clean tech, and food and fibre. Our partnership with ExportNZ in celebrating these awards underscores that commitment.”
    Executive Director of ExportNZ Josh Tan says, “These awards showcase the significant contribution this region makes to New Zealand’s exporting success.
    “Congratulations to all the winners on their outstanding achievements, which highlight the export sector’s strong start to the year and reinforce our nation’s well-earned reputation for quality in products and services.”
    Complete list of winners and full judges’ citations –  ExportNZ ASB Bay of Plenty Export Awards
    1. Exporter of the Year – in partnership with Sharp Tudhope
    Winner: Trimax Mowing Systems – a designer and manufacturer of tractor-powered rotary and flail mowers for commercial use.
    Highly Commended: LawVu
    This award recognises the outstanding success of a business that is established in its international growth journey, with more than five years of international operations and total annual revenue above $5 million.
    Judges’ citation: The judges were impressed by Trimax’s continued commitment to innovate and grow in their niche but hugely valuable market. The company has built up extensive dealer networks in the United States, the UK and Australia, and Trimax mowers are trusted by groundmen in locations as varied as England’s Windsor Castle to PGA golf courses in the United States.
    The company’s leadership has embedded innovation and product development throughout the enterprise, and their growth in recent times shows that this is paying divid

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Cheung Kwok-kwan meets SZ official

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan met President of the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration Liu Xiaochun in Shenzhen today to discuss bilateral collaboration in sports dispute resolution.

     

    Mr Cheung said that the Department of Justice is committed to promoting the diversified development of sports dispute resolution services in Hong Kong and is actively promoting co-operation with the Mainland and other overseas regions in this field, so as to build the city into a sports dispute resolution services centre in the Asia-Pacific region.

     

    He highlighted that Hong Kong has been recognised and trusted by the international community for its arbitration and mediation services and that it maintains a rich pool of talent in sports dispute resolution services.

     

    Noting that Shenzhen has long been Hong Kong’s close partner in arbitration and has been actively participating in the national development of sports arbitration, Mr Cheung stated that he hopes both places can strengthen co-operation in sports dispute resolution, giving full play to the Greater Bay Area’s advantages of “one country, two systems and three jurisdictions” and promoting the sports dispute resolution services in both places with innovative thinking.

     

    The Deputy Secretary for Justice added that the department is taking forward the pilot scheme on sports dispute resolution as announced in the Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address at full steam.

     

    The invitation for the industry to submit proposals for the pilot scheme’s operation has begun to identify a suitable administering body and a technology service provider to provide a fast, reliable and neutral resolution mechanism for sports disputes.

     

    The period for submission of proposals will close on July 31 and the scheme is expected to be launched in the second half of the year.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Biden-Appointed Judge Ignores Biological Reality and the Rule of Law, Orders Illegal Alien Released

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: Biden-Appointed Judge Ignores Biological Reality and the Rule of Law, Orders Illegal Alien Released

    WASHINGTON – Biden-appointed U

    S

    District Judge Amy Baggio recently ordered the release of Odalis Jhonatan Martinez-Velasquez, a male illegal alien from Mexico, after caving to pressure from immigration and transgender activists—ignoring the rule of law and promoting gender ideology fanaticism

    Velasquez illegally entered the country in 2023 and released under the Biden administration

    He was lawfully detained on June 2, 2025, and processed for expedited removal

    Velasquez was placed into ICE’s male detention center in accordance with the President’s Executive Order and for the safety of women in ICE custody

    “Velasquez—a biological male—was placed in a men’s facility in alignment with the President’s Executive Order and for the safety of women in ICE custody

    The President made it clear on Day One: DHS will not buy into radical gender ideology when detaining illegal aliens,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin

      “An immigration judge, not a district judge, has the authority to decide if Odalis Jhonatan Martinez-Velasquez should be released or detained

    The activist judge is ignoring the biological reality of sex, undermining ICE’s commitment to promoting safe, secure, and humane environments for women in custody, and subverting the American people’s mandate to restore commonsense to our immigration system and reject extreme gender fanaticism

    ” 

    Image

    On January 20, President Donald J

    Trump signed Executive Order of Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, prohibiting DHS from detaining males in women’s detention centers

    Velasquez is no exception

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Mexican Illegal Alien Charged for Orchestrating ‘Kidnapping’ Hoax

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: Mexican Illegal Alien Charged for Orchestrating ‘Kidnapping’ Hoax

    WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after the Department of Justice, in coordination with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles, arrested and filed charges against Mexican illegal alien Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon for fabricating a false story to smear federal law enforcement

    Earlier this month, legacy media ran with a false story that ICE agents and bounty hunters “kidnapped” Calderon at gunpoint and held her hostage in a warehouse

    After her family held a press conference orchestrated by their attorney, ICE spent days investigating the kidnapping claims and searching for her — at times, literally detention cell to detention cell

    “Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon was never arrested or kidnapped by ICE or bounty hunters—this criminal illegal alien scammed innocent Americans for money and diverted limited DHS resources from removing the worst of the worst from Los Angeles communities

    Politicians and activist media peddled these smears that were designed to demonize law enforcement and evade accountability

    Calderon will now face justice and the media and politicians who swallowed and pushed this garbage should be embarrassed

    ”

    Calderon is charged with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers and if convicted, faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: DHS Axes Wasteful, Misdirected Grants, Saves Taxpayers $18.5M

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: DHS Axes Wasteful, Misdirected Grants, Saves Taxpayers $18

    5M

    lass=”text-align-center”>The Department of Homeland Security is gutting dozens of partisan and wasteful grants that failed to counter terrorism threats, saving taxpayers $18

    5 Million

    WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is slashing waste at the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3), cutting $18

    5 million in misappropriated spending that do not meet the stated goal of CP3 to prevent terrorism or targeted violence

    CP3, a minor DHS Policy sub-office, with no operational role in monitoring or preventing terrorist attacks, had become a cash cow for radical activists under the Biden Administration—funneling taxpayer dollars to push woke, partisan agendas and silencing dissent

    After a strategic review, DHS is discontinuing the funding of grants that have no legitimate nexus to protecting the homeland from the threat of terrorism

    Terminated Grants Include:

    $209,406

    70 to the “Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders” group, which promoted radical gender ideology in K–12 schools, targeting students as young as kindergartners and flagging parental concerns as risks

    $288,760

    66 to CenterLink, a nonprofit focused on LGBTQ issues, not terrorism prevention

    $851,836

    13 to the Eradicate Hate Global Summit, a DEI organization focused on silencing ideological opposition

    $206,260

    00 to the United States Esports Association, which targeted gamers with “woke” content under the pretext of violence prevention

    $479,816

    00 to the One World Strong program, which labeled traditional male behaviors as extremist and stigmatizing young males

    $651,311

    81 to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and Strong Cities Network, which promoted biased anti-extremism initiatives, LGBTQ+ propaganda, and prioritized radical groups over broader community concerns

    “These cancellations reflect DHS’s commitment to fiscal responsibility and national security,” said a Senior DHS official

    “By eliminating wasteful and ideologically driven programs, we are redirecting resources to initiatives that uphold American values, respect the rule of law, and effectively combat terrorism and violence

    ”
    # # #

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Disaster Recovery Center Opens July 18 in Georgetown

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: Disaster Recovery Center Opens July 18 in Georgetown

    Disaster Recovery Center Opens July 18 in Georgetown

    AUSTIN, Texas – A Disaster Recovery Center will open Friday, July 18, in Williamson County to offer face-to-face help to survivors who had damage or losses from the severe storms and flooding in Central Texas

    Homeowners, renters and eligible non-residents may receive FEMA assistance for losses not covered by insurance

    Survivors with homeowners’ or renters’ insurance should first file a claim with their insurance company as soon as possible

    If your policy does not cover all your damage expenses, you may be eligible for federal assistance

    The Disaster Recovery Center is located at:Williamson County EMS North Campus, Classroom A & B3189 SE Inner Loop, Suite AGeorgetown, TX 78626Hours: 8 a

    m

    to 7 p

    m

    dailyFEMA and the U

    S

    Small Business Administration are supporting the Texas Division of Emergency Management, which is leading efforts to help survivors apply for federal disaster assistance

    Center specialists can also identify potential needs and connect survivors with local, state and federal agencies as well as nonprofit organizations and community groups

     Disaster Recovery Centers are accessible to people with disabilities and those with access and functional needs

    They are also equipped with assistive technology

    If you need a reasonable accommodation or an American Sign Language interpreter, call 833-285-7448 (press 2 for Spanish)

    Survivors may visit any Disaster Recovery Center

    No appointment is needed

    You have until Thursday, Sept

    4, to apply for FEMA disaster assistance

    Here’s how: Visit DisasterAssistance

    govUse the FEMA mobile appCall the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362

     Lines are open from 6 a

    m

    to 10 p

    m

    CT daily

    If you use a relay service, captioned telephone or other service, you can give FEMA your number for that service

    Helpline specialists speak many languages

    Press 2 for Spanish

    Visit any Disaster Recovery Center to receive in-person assistance

    Two recovery centers are open in Kerrville and San Angelo

     To find one close to you, use your ZIP code to search FEMA

    gov/DRC

    For an accessible video on how to apply for assistance, go to Three Ways to Register for FEMA Disaster Assistance – YouTube

     For the latest information about the Texas recovery, visit fema

    gov/disaster/4879

    Follow FEMA Region 6 on social media at x

    com/FEMARegion6 and at facebook

    com/FEMARegion6
    toan

    nguyen
    Thu, 07/17/2025 – 21:07

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Jalux Americas, Inc. (dba J.sweets) Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Tree Nuts and Milk in L’espoir Brand Cookies

    Source: US Food and Drug Administration

    Summary

    Company Announcement Date:
    July 14, 2025
    FDA Publish Date:
    July 17, 2025
    Product Type:
    Food & BeveragesAllergens
    Reason for Announcement:

    Recall Reason Description
    Undeclared milk and tree nuts (almonds and macadamia nuts)

    Company Name:
    Jalux Americas, Inc.(dba J.sweets)
    Brand Name:

    Brand Name(s)
    L’espoir

    Product Description:

    Product Description
    L’espoir and Drycapot cookies,

    Company Announcement
    July 14, 2025, Jalux Americas, Inc.(dba J.sweets) of El Segundo, CA is recalling 32 units of L’espoir Brand L’espoir cookies and 28 units of L’espoir Brand Drycapot cookies, because they may contain the following undeclared allergens: in L’espoir – undeclared milk; and in Drycapot – undeclared tree nuts (almond and macadamia nuts). People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk and/or tree nuts (almond and macadamia nuts) run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products.
    The recalled products were distributed in California, Illinois and Washington and sold exclusively at J.sweets stores in Torrance, CA; San Jose, CA; Arlington Heights, IL;, and Lynnwood, WA. The L’espoir was sold at J.sweets stores between May 26 – June 30, 2025 and the Drycapot was sold at J.sweets stores between May 31 – June 30, 2025. There were no online sales of these products.
    Specific information on how the recalled cookies can be identified is as follows:

    L’espoir: packaged in a gold plastic bag, 5 cookies/bag; with code L4FN, and best before date of 09mm26dd/2025yy; Bar code number 4 942737 200147
    Drycapot: packaged in a gold plastic bag, 5 cookies/bag; with code D4FN, with best before date of 09mm/26dd/2025yy; Bar code number 4 942737 210191

    No illnesses have been reported to date.
    The recall was initiated after it was discovered during an inventory audit that L’espoir product containing Milk and the Drycapot product containing Tree Nuts were inadvertently distributed in packaging that did not reveal the presence of those allergens.
    This recall is being made with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
    Consumers who have purchased L’espoir L4FN and Drycapot D4FN products with the best before date of 09/26/2025 are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-310-524-1078 from 09:00 to 17:00 Pacific Standard Time.

    Company Contact Information

    Consumers:
    1-310-524-1078

    Product Photos

    Content current as of:
    07/17/2025

    Regulated Product(s)

    Topic(s)

    Follow FDA

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA, Oxford Discover Warmer Uranus Than Once Thought

    Source: NASA

    KEY POINTS

    Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune each emit more energy than they receive from the Sun, meaning they have comparatively warm interiors.
    NASA’s Uranus flyby with Voyager 2 in 1986 found the planet colder than expected, which challenged ideas of how planets formed and evolved.
    However, with advanced computer modeling and a new look at old data, scientists think the planet may actually be warmer than previously expected.

    For millennia, astronomers thought Uranus was no more than a distant star. It wasn’t until the late 18th century that Uranus was universally accepted as a planet. To this day, the ringed, blue world subverts scientists’ expectations, but new NASA research helps puzzle out some of the world’s mystique. 

    Uranus is unlike any other planet in our solar system. It spins on its side, which means each pole directly faces the Sun for a continuous 42-year “summer.” Uranus also rotates in the opposite direction of all planets except Venus. Data from NASA’s Voyager 2 Uranus flyby in 1986 also suggested the planet is unusually cold inside, challenging scientists to reconsider fundamental theories of how planets formed and evolved throughout our solar system.
    “Since Voyager 2’s flyby, everybody has said Uranus has no internal heat,” said Amy Simon, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “But it’s been really hard to explain why that is, especially when compared with the other giant planets.”
    These Uranus projections came from only one up-close measurement of the planet’s emitted heat made by Voyager 2: “Everything hinges on that one data point,” said Simon. “That is part of the problem.” 
    Now, using an advanced computer modeling technique and revisiting decades of data, Simon and a team of scientists have found that Uranus does in fact generate some heat, as they reported on May 16 in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society journal. 
    A planet’s internal heat can be calculated by comparing the amount of energy it receives from the Sun to the amount it of energy it releases into space in the form of reflected light and emitted heat. The solar system’s other giant planets — Saturn, Jupiter, and Neptune — emit more heat than they receive, which means the extra heat is coming from inside, much of it left over from the high-energy processes that formed the planets 4.5 billion years ago. The amount of heat a planet exudes could be an indication of its age: the less heat released relative to the heat absorbed from the Sun, the older the planet is.
    Uranus stood out from the other planets because it appeared to give off as much heat as it received, implying it had none of its own. This puzzled scientists. Some hypothesized that perhaps the planet is much older than all the others and has cooled off completely. Others proposed that a giant collision — the same one that may have knocked the planet on its side — blasted out all of Uranus’ heat. But none of these hypotheses satisfied scientists, motivating them to solve Uranus’ cold case.
    “We thought, ‘Could it really be that there is no internal heat at Uranus?’” said Patrick Irwin, the paper’s lead author and professor of planetary physics at the University of Oxford in England. “We did many calculations to see how much sunshine is reflected by Uranus and we realized that it is actually more reflective than people had estimated.”
    The researchers set out to determine Uranus’ full energy budget: how much energy it receives from the Sun compared to how much it reflects as sunlight and how much it emits as heat. To do this, they needed to estimate the total amount of light reflected from the planet at all angles. “You need to see the light that’s scattered off to the sides, not just coming straight back at you,” Simon said.
    To get the most accurate estimate of Uranus’ energy budget yet, Oxford researchers developed a computer model that brought together everything known about Uranus’ atmosphere from decades of observations from ground- and space-based telescopes, including NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility in Hawaii. The model included information about the planet’s hazes, clouds, and seasonal changes, all of which affect how sunlight is reflected and how heat escapes.

    The researchers found that Uranus releases about 15% more energy than it receives from the Sun, a figure that is similar to another recent estimate from a separate study funded in part by NASA that was published July 14 in Geophysical Research Letters. These studies suggest Uranus it has its own heat, though still far less than its neighbor Neptune, which emits more than twice the energy it receives.
    “Now we have to understand what that remnant amount of heat at Uranus means, as well as get better measurements of it,” Simon said.
    Unraveling Uranus’ past is useful not only for mapping the timeline of when solar system planets formed and migrated to their current orbits, but it also helps scientists better understand many of the planets discovered outside the solar system, called exoplanets, a majority of which are the same size as Uranus.
    By Emma FriedmanNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Aircraft Begins Taxi Tests

    Source: NASA

    [embedded content]

    NASA/Jacob Shaw

    NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft has officially begun taxi tests, marking the first time this one-of-a-kind experimental aircraft has moved under its own power.
    NASA test pilot Nils Larson and the X-59 team, made up of NASA and contractor Lockheed Martin personnel, completed the aircraft’s first low-speed taxi test at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, on July 10, 2025.
    The taxiing represents the X-59’s last series of ground tests before first flight. Over the coming weeks, the aircraft will gradually increase its speed, leading up to a high-speed taxi test that will take the aircraft just short of the point where it would take off.
    During the low-speed tests, engineers and flight crews monitored how the X-59 handled as it moved across the runway, working to validate critical systems like steering and braking. These checks help ensure the aircraft’s stability and control across a range of conditions, giving pilots and engineers confidence that all systems are functioning as expected.
    The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which aims to demonstrate quiet supersonic flight by reducing the loud sonic boom to a quieter “thump.” Data gathered from the X-59 will be shared with U.S. and international regulators to inform the establishment of new, data-driven acceptable noise thresholds related to supersonic commercial flight over land.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEWS RELEASE: DCCA DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS (THROUGH JUNE 2025)

    Source: US State of Hawaii

    NEWS RELEASE: DCCA DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS (THROUGH JUNE 2025)

    Posted on Jul 17, 2025 in Latest Department News, Newsroom

    STATE OF HAWAIʻI

    KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI

     

    JOSH GREEN, M.D.

    GOVERNOR

    KE KIAʻĀINA

     

    KA ʻOIHANA PILI KĀLEPA

     

    NADINE Y. ANDO

    DIRECTOR

    KA LUNA HOʻOKELE

     

    DENISE P. BALANAY

    SENIOR HEARINGS OFFICER

    DCCA DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS

    (Through June 2025)

     

    July 15, 2025

    HONOLULU – The state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) and its respective state Boards and Commissions released a summary of disciplinary actions through the month of June 2025, taken on individuals and entities with professional and vocational licenses in Hawai‘i. These disciplinary actions include dispositions based upon either the results of contested case hearings or settlement agreements submitted by the parties. Respondents enter into settlementagreements as a compromise to claims and to conserve on the expenses of proceeding with an administrative hearing.

    The DCCA and the Boards and Commissions are responsible for ensuring those with professional and vocational licenses areperforming up to the standards prescribed by state law.

     

     

    Respondent:     Madali LLC dba King Cuts

    Case Number:   BAR 2024-266-L

    Sanction:          $500 fine

    Effective Date:   6-3-25

     

    RICO alleges that Respondent permitted an unlicensed person to perform barber activities in Respondent’s barber shop, inpotential violation of HRS § 439A-16(a)(3). (Board approved Settlement Agreement.)

    Respondents:   N&J Nails LLC and Thanh Ngan Ngyuen

    Case Number:   BAR 2025-6-L

    Sanction:          $1,000 fine

    Effective Date:   6-3-25

     

    RICO alleges that Respondents permitted an unlicensed person to perform activities requiring a beauty operator license, inpotential violation of HRS § 439A-16(a)(3). (Board approved Settlement Agreement.)

     

    Respondent:     Kiani K. Costabrum aka Kiana K. Costabrum (Kaua‘i)

                              dba Bare Beauty Kauai

    Case Number:   BAR 2025-0040-L

    Sanction:          $2,000 fine

    Effective Date:   6-3-25

     

    RICO alleges that Respondent offered and provided facials and/or lash extension services on the premises of a studio that was not a beauty shop, in potential violation of HRS §§ 439A-3(b) and 439A-16(a)(4). (Board approved Settlement Agreement.)

     

    Respondents:   Mikey’s Barber & Hairstyling Salon LLC and Canh T. Nguyen

    Case Number:   BAR 2025-10-L

    Sanction:          $500 fine

    Effective Date:   6-3-25

     

    RICO alleges that Respondents permitted an unlicensed person to perform barbering activities in Respondents’ barber shop, inpotential violation of HRS § 439A-16(a)(3). (Board approved Settlement Agreement.)

     

     

     

    Respondent:     Christine D. Caguioa

    Case Number:   RNS 2024-19-L

    Sanction:          License probation 2 years, continuing education, $750 fine

    Effective Date:   6-6-25

     

    RICO alleges it received a complaint that Respondent used another nurse’s login credentials to enter the weight of a patient in a patient’s electronic record without authorization, in violation of HRS § 457-12(a)(6) and HAR § 16-89-60(7)(C). (Board approved Settlement Agreement.)

    REAL ESTATE COMMISSION

     

    Respondent:  ALEXA RAE THROPP (Hawaiʻi)

    Case Number: REC 2024-534-L

    Sanction:         $750 fine

    Effective Date: 6-27-25

    RICO alleges that Respondent entered a plea of nolo contendere on May 16, 2024, to one count of Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence of an Intoxicant, in potential violation of HRS § 436B-19(14). (Commission approved Settlement Agreement.)

     

    Respondent:  Myriam Haynal (Hawaiʻi)

    Case Number: REC 2024-409-L

    Sanction:         $7,000 fine

    Effective Date: 6-27-25

     

    RICO alleges that on May 13, 2024, Respondent was convicted for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, in potential violation of HRS §§ 436B-19(12), 436B-19(14), 436B-19(17) and 467-14(20). (Commission approved Settlement Agreement.)

     

     

    Respondent:     RPC2B, LLC

    Case Number: PHA 2024-26-L

    Sanction:          $900 fine

    Effective Date: 6-19-25

    RICO alleges that Respondent was disciplined by the state of New Jersey, in potential violation of HRS § 436B-19(13). (Boardapproved Settlement Agreement.)

     

    Respondent:     Walgreens.com, Inc. dba Walgreens #02445

    Case Number: PHA 2025-3-L

    Sanction:          $11,000 fine

    Effective Date: 6-19-25

    RICO alleges that Respondent was disciplined by the state of Nevada on or about August 16, 2024, Respondent was disciplined by the state of Nevada in January 2016 based on allegations its employee incorrectly verified a prescription, Respondent was disciplined by the state of Texas in April 10, 2019, on Respondent’s December 1, 2016 application, Respondent answered “No” to the question “Has the applicant or any other personnel of the applicant been found in violation of any state or federal drug laws including the illegal use of drugs or improper distribution of drugs,” Respondent failed to timely notify the Board of the April 2019 disciplinary action, and on February 4, 2025, Respondent was disciplined by the state of Texas, in potential violation of HRS §§ 436B-19(13), 436B-19(15), 461-21(a)(1), 461-21(a)(2), 461-21(a)(4), and 461-21(a)(9) and HAR § 16-95-110(a)(9). (Board approved Settlement Agreement.)

    Respondent:     Empower Clinic Services LLC dba Empower Pharmacy

    Case Number: PHA 2025-7-L; PHA 2025-8-L

    Sanction:          $500 fine

    Effective Date: 6-19-25

    RICO alleges that Respondent was disciplined by the states of Virginia and Illinois, in potential violation of HRS § 436B-19(13). (Board approved Settlement Agreement.)

    BusinessCheck is an online platform designed to serve as a comprehensive resource for researching licensed professionals. This tool empowers users to verify licenses, review complaint histories and discover when a business was established, all in one place. Please visit businesscheck.hawaii.gov to verify a professional’s license status, confirming their qualifications, compliance with regulations and accountability to a governing body.

     

    # # #

    Media Contact:

    Communications Office

    Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, State of Hawai‘i

    Phone: 808-586-2760

    Email: [email protected]

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: California sends more search and rescue crews to Texas

    Source: US State of California 2

    Jul 17, 2025

    SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the deployment of 3 additional Urban Search and Rescue Team (US&R) members to Texas to assist with ongoing response efforts related to severe flooding impacts.  A total of 42 California US&R members are now in Kerr, Texas supporting the mission.  

    This deployment of Human Remains Detection (HRD) Teams includes canines and their handlers. Today’s deployment comes from the Oakland Fire Department and Sacramento Fire Department.   Los Angeles County, Menlo Park, Orange County and Riverside County all have team members on the ground in Texas aiding in the search.  

    California personnel deployed use highly-developed and specialized skills to assist emergency operations in and around the hardest hit areas of flooding.  The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Service (Cal OES) is working in close coordination with Texas and through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC).

    We help our fellow Americans in times of need. California is proud to assist in the ongoing response to the devastating Texas floods.

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    Canine teams from California have been requested, and been approved for, extending their work assignments from 14 to 21 days.  To prevent overworking the dogs, a rotation schedule has been implemented where the canines work two consecutive days in the field, followed by a rest day at Base of Operations. 

    “This is a very difficult task. I appreciate the hard work being done by our crews under very difficult conditions,” said Cal OES Director Nancy Ward. “Cal OES is proud to help those in need in Texas.”  

    This deployment builds on California’s far-reaching efforts to aid other states during emergencies. In 2023, California deployed Urban Search and Rescue members to Hawaii to support wildfire response. In 2022, California deployed firefighters, disaster recovery experts, and other personnel to Montana, New Mexico, and Oregon. In 2021, California sent fire engines to assist Oregon’s response to the Bootleg Fire and Specialized Urban Search and Rescue Resources teams to Florida following the Surfside condo collapse.

    This deployment does not impact California’s emergency response and firefighting capabilities.

    Press releases, Recent news

    Recent news

    Jul 17, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom and Acting Governor Eleni Kounalakis issued the following statement regarding the death of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Parole Agent Joshua Lemont Byrd:“This is a heartbreaking loss. Agent Byrd…

    Jul 17, 2025

    News What you need to know: Governor Newsom announced the High Speed Rail Authority is suing the Trump administration over its illegal termination of federal grants funding the project. SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the High Speed Rail Authority…

    Jul 17, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – As Governor Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders continue to work on extending the state’s preeminent climate program – Cap-and-Invest – new reports out this week highlight how critical the program is to the state’s economic future, and how…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: California sues to stop Trump’s politically motivated attack on high-speed rail

    Source: US State of California 2

    Jul 17, 2025

    What you need to know: Governor Newsom announced the High Speed Rail Authority is suing the Trump administration over its illegal termination of federal grants funding the project.

    SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the High Speed Rail Authority is suing the Trump administration over its politically-motivated termination of $4 billion in federal grants to the project.

    The lawsuit alleges that termination of the agreements is petty, political retribution, motivated by President Trump’s personal animus toward California and the high-speed rail project, not by facts on the ground. 

    Trump’s termination of federal grants for California high-speed rail reeks of politics. It’s yet another political stunt to punish California.

    In reality, this is just a heartless attack on the Central Valley that will put real jobs and livelihoods on the line. We’re suing to stop Trump from derailing America’s only high-speed rail actively under construction. 

    Governor Gavin Newsom

    Today’s action comes as the project enters the track laying phase, is actively building across 171 miles, has built more than 50 major railway structures – including bridges, overpasses, and viaducts – and completed over 60 miles of guideway. 

    In the last year, high-speed rail has marked significant progress – with all environmental reviews spanning 463 miles from Los Angeles to the Bay Area complete, the electrification of Caltrain complete, trainset selection underway, station and track construction on deck, continued work with partner rail systems to create a southwest regional high-speed rail network, and more than 15,000 good paying jobs created. Passenger service is expected in the coming years, between 2030 and 2033.

    High speed rail is a key part of Governor Newsom’s build more, faster agenda delivering infrastructure upgrades and creating jobs throughout the state.

    Press releases, Recent news

    Recent news

    Jul 17, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – As Governor Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders continue to work on extending the state’s preeminent climate program – Cap-and-Invest – new reports out this week highlight how critical the program is to the state’s economic future, and how…

    Jul 16, 2025

    News What you need to know: With the Trump administration illegally terminating grant agreements funding California high-speed rail, Governor Newsom said the state is “putting all options on the table” to fight Trump’s action. SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom issued…

    Jul 16, 2025

    News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Jennifer Osborn, of Orangevale, has been appointed Director at the California Department of Industrial Relations. Osborn has been Chief Deputy Director at the California Department of…

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Met appeals for public’s help to keep Carnival safe in 2025

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    The Met is appealing for anyone with information about groups or individuals intending to engage in violence at this year’s Notting Hill Carnival to come forward.

    Officers are working with the independent charity Crimestoppers as part of a plan to keep Carnival free from knife crime, serious violence and violence against women and girls.

    Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward, the police commander for this year’s event, said: “Notting Hill Carnival is an iconic event in London’s cultural calendar which is celebrated by many from across the capital, the UK and beyond. With less than six weeks to go before this year’s event, the Met continues to work closely with organisers and partners to ensure it’s a safe and spectacular experience for those visiting.

    “Regrettably, amongst the millions of carnivalists who have attended over many years there has been a tiny minority of individuals intent on causing serious harm to others, including violent crime and sexual offences.

    “Their actions stand in stark contrast to the traditions and values of Carnival and I welcome those voices in the community who have stood up to condemn violence and serious criminality at the event. I fully support the organisers’ recent announcement of a new, innovative partnership with the Elba Hope Foundation to divert young people away from crime and particularly knife crime.

    “Carnival’s growing popularity and size creates unique challenges. Around 7,000 officers and staff will be deployed each day over the coming August Bank Holiday weekend. Their priority is to keep people safe, including preventing serious violence, such as knife crime and violence against women and girls.”

    The Met’s activity has already started with a focus on deterring or preventing those who pose the greatest threat to public safety and the security of Carnival:

    • We are sharing intelligence with forces across the country to identify those violent gangs who are planning to attend Carnival.
    • We are working with others, including local authorities and the courts, to seek banning orders to exclude those attending who have a history of violence or sexual offending at Carnival.
    • We are carrying out pre-emptive intelligence-led arrests and searches of those believed to be in possession of weapons or involved in the supply of drugs. Last year there were 160 such arrests prior to the event for offences including possession of firearms, drugs supply, rape and other serious sexual assaults.
    • During the Bank Holiday weekend we will be using live facial recognition cameras on the approach to and from Carnival, outside the boundaries of the event itself, to help officers identify and intercept those who pose a public safety risk before they get to the crowded streets of Notting Hill, and to ensure those attending are able to get home safely.
    • We will be deploying screening arches at some of the busiest entry points, using stop and search powers to prevent knives and other deadly weapons being carried at Carnival.

    But to keep Carnival as safe as it is spectacular we also need the public’s help.

    That is why we have, once again, partnered with Crimestoppers to make it easier for anyone with information to report it anonymously.

    Crimestoppers is an independent charity, not part of the police and 100 per cent anonymous. Their commitment to protect people’s identity is iron-clad – they won’t ask for a name and can’t identify any telephone numbers or IP addresses if you are reporting online.

    All you need to do is call 0800 555 111 or visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org

    DAC Ward added: “The best way to prevent serious crime at Carnival, including violence and sexual offending, is to intervene and target the small number of dangerous offenders before they get to the event.

    “If you know anyone who may be planning to take a knife or weapon to Carnival, if you worry that they’re part of a group going with the intent to commit offences or confront rival groups, or that they are being put under pressure or being exploited, or if you have any other information that could help, then please speak up and stand up for Carnival. In doing so, you could be saving a life.”

    Further information about the use of Live Facial Recognition (LFR):

    So far in 2025 there have been 111 deployments of LFR, resulting in 512 arrests.

    During the Bank Holiday weekend, LFR will be deployed on the approaches to Carnival, but not within the boundaries of the event.

    Officers will be searching for people who are marked as being wanted on the Police National Computer, those who are shown as missing (including young people who may also be at risk of either criminal or sexual exploitation) and those subject to sexual harm prevention orders because of the risk they pose, particularly to women and girls.

    LFR cameras capture live footage of people passing by and compare their faces against a bespoke watchlist of wanted offenders.

    If a match is detected, the system generates an alert. An officer will then review the match and decide if they wish to speak with the individual.

    Officers conduct further checks, such as reviewing court orders or other relevant information, to determine if the person is a suspect.

    Importantly, an alert from the system does not automatically result in an arrest – officers make a decision about whether further action is necessary following engagement.

    There are robust safeguards in place regarding LFR. if a member of the public walks past an LFR camera and is not wanted by the police, their biometrics are immediately and permanently deleted.

    For more on the Met’s use of LFR, visit Live Facial Recognition | Metropolitan Police

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: CMA letter to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Correspondence

    CMA letter to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health

    The Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA’s) letter to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health about fertility patients and consumer protection.

    Documents

    CMA letter to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health

    PDF, 232 KB, 9 pages

    Details

    The CMA’s letter to the government to share the update report on the CMA’s work on a voluntary pricing initiative to help fertility patients compare clinics’ prices and reiterate the view that patients would benefit from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) being given a more flexible range of regulatory tools.

    Updates to this page

    Published 18 July 2025

    Sign up for emails or print this page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-Evening Report: From ‘Stone Age’ treasury boss to National Party Senator: John Stone 1929-2025

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra

    AUSPIC

    John Owen Stone AO was a legendary leader of the Commonwealth Treasury. He was secretary (departmental head) from January 1979 to September 1984 but was an intellectual driving force before then as deputy secretary from 1971 to 1978.

    Over those years he dealt with eight treasurers: Billy Snedden, Gough Whitlam, Frank Crean, Jim Cairns, Bill Hayden, Phillip Lynch, John Howard and Paul Keating.

    It is a sign of his influence that those years were dubbed the “Stone Age” by South Australian Premier Don Dunstan and others.

    Former Defence Department heads Arthur Tange and Tony Ayers were at various times called the “last of the mandarins” but Stone is probably truly the last.

    In 1978 journalist Paul Kelly called Stone “one of the two men who ran the nation”, the other being then prime minister Malcolm Fraser.

    It is hard to think of any later public servant about whom that could be said.

    Stone’s entry in the Senate’s biographical dictionary captures him well:

    he could be charming, witty and flattering, but he is often decried as being obstinate and arrogant.

    A Reserve Bank official is said to have said “I wish I was as certain about one thing as John Stone is about everything.”

    This obduracy cemented the Treasury’s reputation for arrogance and weakened its influence.

    Early years – from physics to economics

    John was born in 1929, the elder of two sons of a farmer and a primary school teacher. His childhood was spent in the Western Australian wheat belt. But after his parents divorced when he was 12, he moved with his mother to Perth.

    He attended Perth Modern School where contemporaries included Bob Hawke, Rolf Harris and Maxwell Newton.

    He graduated with first-class honours from the University of Western Australia in 1950, majoring in mathematical physics, and served as president of the students’ association.

    While there he met Billy Snedden, who two decades later would be Prime Minister William McMahon’s treasurer and with whom Stone would work as treasury deputy secretary.

    In 1951 he won a Rhodes scholarship. He initially enrolled for a physics degree at Oxford, but switched to economics, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

    He joined Australia’s Treasury, initially in its London office, in 1954. The same year he married Nancy Hardwick, a biochemical researcher, and they would have five children.

    The mandarin who put Treasury first

    Stone was an admirer of fellow Rhodes scholar Sir Roland Wilson, the longest-serving Treasury secretary with doctorates from Oxford and Chicago.

    Along with Wilson, Stone was a strong critic of the 1965 report of the Committee of Economic Inquiry known as the Vernon Report which called for greater planning and an independent economic advisory committee whose advice would have rivalled Treasury’s and succeeded in having Prime Minister Menzies reject it.

    In the late 1960s as treasury’s representative he was an executive director at the International Monetary Fund and defied his treasurer William McMahon by voting against the introduction of Special Drawing Rights that gave members rights over other members’ reserves.

    Stone believed that was why he was passed over for the secretary’s position when Frederick Wheeler was appointed in 1971.

    At treasury in the 1970s, Stone publicly clashed with members of a global environmental group called the Club of Rome about whether there were environmental limits to economic growth.

    During a public meeting in Canberra in 1973, he argued the world would not run out of the resources it needed because price rises would create incentives to use them more efficiently and develop substitutes.

    These ideas permeated the treasury’s second economic research paper called Economic Growth – is it Worth Having? which he heavily influenced.

    Stone claimed to have personally drafted the words in Treasurer Bill Hayden’s 1975 budget statement that said Australia was

    no longer operating in that simple Keynesian world in which some reduction in unemployment could, apparently, always be purchased at the cost of some more inflation.

    Stone was the driving force behind the subsequent Fraser government’s mantra of “fight inflation first”.

    As a senior Treasury officer, Stone was often openly contemptuous of politicians. He would share these views with journalists at the bar of the Hotel Canberra and in later years at the bar of the National Press Club.

    He was particularly critical when politicians had the temerity to take advice from what he termed “meretricious players” from outside the treasury.

    This attitude led Stone to oppose even the sort of free-market measures he might be expected to like when they were advocated by someone else.

    He unsuccessfully opposed the Whitlam government’s cuts to tariffs in 1973 and some of the recommendations of the Campbell Committee of Inquiry into Australia’s financial system in 1981.

    Fraser is said to have said Stone “believes in the deregulation of everything he does not regulate”.

    Stone also opposed the Hawke government’s decision to float the dollar in 1983.

    He argued the timing was wrong and that the dollar would appreciate, weakening the economy. After rising for a short time, the dollar actually depreciated and the economy performed strongly.

    Ludicrously, Stone denied having ever opposed it.

    Many in the Labor Party had wanted Stone sacked when it came to power in 1983, but Keating kept him on, partly to reassure financial markets. As Keating’s confidence in his own judgement grew, Stone’s influence waned.

    Stone announced his resignation just before the August 1984 budget and made a scathing attack on many of the government’s policies in his 1984 Shann Memorial Lecture at the University of Western Australia.



    Read more:
    Happy birthday AUD: how our Australian dollar was floated, 40 years ago this week

    Politics post-treasury

    Stone isn’t the only treasury official to have gone into politics. Leslie Bury even became treasurer. Jim Short and Arthur Sinodinos became assistant treasurers.

    But Stone was the only former head of the treasury to enter politics. He served as a National Party Senator for Queensland from 1987 to 1990, having been part of the Joh for Canberra campaign which had as its organising principle the anointing of Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen as prime minister.

    He was the Senate running mate to Sir Joh’s wife Flo Bjelke-Petersen.

    Stone was twice the Coalition’s finance spokesman, but he was something of a loose cannon. John Howard dropped him from the front bench for a time after he said “Asian immigration has to be slowed”.

    He apparently held ambitions to be treasurer. In 1990 he resigned from the Senate to contest a seat in the House of Representatives that would have made that easier given treasurers are traditionally members of the lower house.

    Stone failed to win it. He then reneged on an earlier promise by nominating to return to his Senate seat. Faced with uproar in the party, he withdrew and his meteoric political career was over.

    He co-founded the HR Nicholls Society, which pressed for the deregulation of industrial relations laws, and the Samuel Griffith Society which concerned itself with states’ rights.

    Stone was active in the Institute of Public Affairs and wrote frequently in Quadrant. He opposed republicanism, centralism, trade unionism, multiculturalism and climate action.

    He died aged 96 and is survived by five children.

    John Hawkins was a senior economist at the Australian Treasury where he wrote a series of biographical essays on Australian treasurers.

    Selwyn Cornish is the Reserve Bank of Australia historian and a former Australian Treasury official.

    – ref. From ‘Stone Age’ treasury boss to National Party Senator: John Stone 1929-2025 – https://theconversation.com/from-stone-age-treasury-boss-to-national-party-senator-john-stone-1929-2025-216360

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: From ‘Stone Age’ treasury boss to National Party Senator: John Stone 1929-2025

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra

    AUSPIC

    John Owen Stone AO was a legendary leader of the Commonwealth Treasury. He was secretary (departmental head) from January 1979 to September 1984 but was an intellectual driving force before then as deputy secretary from 1971 to 1978.

    Over those years he dealt with eight treasurers: Billy Snedden, Gough Whitlam, Frank Crean, Jim Cairns, Bill Hayden, Phillip Lynch, John Howard and Paul Keating.

    It is a sign of his influence that those years were dubbed the “Stone Age” by South Australian Premier Don Dunstan and others.

    Former Defence Department heads Arthur Tange and Tony Ayers were at various times called the “last of the mandarins” but Stone is probably truly the last.

    In 1978 journalist Paul Kelly called Stone “one of the two men who ran the nation”, the other being then prime minister Malcolm Fraser.

    It is hard to think of any later public servant about whom that could be said.

    Stone’s entry in the Senate’s biographical dictionary captures him well:

    he could be charming, witty and flattering, but he is often decried as being obstinate and arrogant.

    A Reserve Bank official is said to have said “I wish I was as certain about one thing as John Stone is about everything.”

    This obduracy cemented the Treasury’s reputation for arrogance and weakened its influence.

    Early years – from physics to economics

    John was born in 1929, the elder of two sons of a farmer and a primary school teacher. His childhood was spent in the Western Australian wheat belt. But after his parents divorced when he was 12, he moved with his mother to Perth.

    He attended Perth Modern School where contemporaries included Bob Hawke, Rolf Harris and Maxwell Newton.

    He graduated with first-class honours from the University of Western Australia in 1950, majoring in mathematical physics, and served as president of the students’ association.

    While there he met Billy Snedden, who two decades later would be Prime Minister William McMahon’s treasurer and with whom Stone would work as treasury deputy secretary.

    In 1951 he won a Rhodes scholarship. He initially enrolled for a physics degree at Oxford, but switched to economics, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

    He joined Australia’s Treasury, initially in its London office, in 1954. The same year he married Nancy Hardwick, a biochemical researcher, and they would have five children.

    The mandarin who put Treasury first

    Stone was an admirer of fellow Rhodes scholar Sir Roland Wilson, the longest-serving Treasury secretary with doctorates from Oxford and Chicago.

    Along with Wilson, Stone was a strong critic of the 1965 report of the Committee of Economic Inquiry known as the Vernon Report which called for greater planning and an independent economic advisory committee whose advice would have rivalled Treasury’s and succeeded in having Prime Minister Menzies reject it.

    In the late 1960s as treasury’s representative he was an executive director at the International Monetary Fund and defied his treasurer William McMahon by voting against the introduction of Special Drawing Rights that gave members rights over other members’ reserves.

    Stone believed that was why he was passed over for the secretary’s position when Frederick Wheeler was appointed in 1971.

    At treasury in the 1970s, Stone publicly clashed with members of a global environmental group called the Club of Rome about whether there were environmental limits to economic growth.

    During a public meeting in Canberra in 1973, he argued the world would not run out of the resources it needed because price rises would create incentives to use them more efficiently and develop substitutes.

    These ideas permeated the treasury’s second economic research paper called Economic Growth – is it Worth Having? which he heavily influenced.

    Stone claimed to have personally drafted the words in Treasurer Bill Hayden’s 1975 budget statement that said Australia was

    no longer operating in that simple Keynesian world in which some reduction in unemployment could, apparently, always be purchased at the cost of some more inflation.

    Stone was the driving force behind the subsequent Fraser government’s mantra of “fight inflation first”.

    As a senior Treasury officer, Stone was often openly contemptuous of politicians. He would share these views with journalists at the bar of the Hotel Canberra and in later years at the bar of the National Press Club.

    He was particularly critical when politicians had the temerity to take advice from what he termed “meretricious players” from outside the treasury.

    This attitude led Stone to oppose even the sort of free-market measures he might be expected to like when they were advocated by someone else.

    He unsuccessfully opposed the Whitlam government’s cuts to tariffs in 1973 and some of the recommendations of the Campbell Committee of Inquiry into Australia’s financial system in 1981.

    Fraser is said to have said Stone “believes in the deregulation of everything he does not regulate”.

    Stone also opposed the Hawke government’s decision to float the dollar in 1983.

    He argued the timing was wrong and that the dollar would appreciate, weakening the economy. After rising for a short time, the dollar actually depreciated and the economy performed strongly.

    Ludicrously, Stone denied having ever opposed it.

    Many in the Labor Party had wanted Stone sacked when it came to power in 1983, but Keating kept him on, partly to reassure financial markets. As Keating’s confidence in his own judgement grew, Stone’s influence waned.

    Stone announced his resignation just before the August 1984 budget and made a scathing attack on many of the government’s policies in his 1984 Shann Memorial Lecture at the University of Western Australia.



    Read more:
    Happy birthday AUD: how our Australian dollar was floated, 40 years ago this week

    Politics post-treasury

    Stone isn’t the only treasury official to have gone into politics. Leslie Bury even became treasurer. Jim Short and Arthur Sinodinos became assistant treasurers.

    But Stone was the only former head of the treasury to enter politics. He served as a National Party Senator for Queensland from 1987 to 1990, having been part of the Joh for Canberra campaign which had as its organising principle the anointing of Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen as prime minister.

    He was the Senate running mate to Sir Joh’s wife Flo Bjelke-Petersen.

    Stone was twice the Coalition’s finance spokesman, but he was something of a loose cannon. John Howard dropped him from the front bench for a time after he said “Asian immigration has to be slowed”.

    He apparently held ambitions to be treasurer. In 1990 he resigned from the Senate to contest a seat in the House of Representatives that would have made that easier given treasurers are traditionally members of the lower house.

    Stone failed to win it. He then reneged on an earlier promise by nominating to return to his Senate seat. Faced with uproar in the party, he withdrew and his meteoric political career was over.

    He co-founded the HR Nicholls Society, which pressed for the deregulation of industrial relations laws, and the Samuel Griffith Society which concerned itself with states’ rights.

    Stone was active in the Institute of Public Affairs and wrote frequently in Quadrant. He opposed republicanism, centralism, trade unionism, multiculturalism and climate action.

    He died aged 96 and is survived by five children.

    John Hawkins was a senior economist at the Australian Treasury where he wrote a series of biographical essays on Australian treasurers.

    Selwyn Cornish is the Reserve Bank of Australia historian and a former Australian Treasury official.

    – ref. From ‘Stone Age’ treasury boss to National Party Senator: John Stone 1929-2025 – https://theconversation.com/from-stone-age-treasury-boss-to-national-party-senator-john-stone-1929-2025-216360

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Catalysing Sustainable & Green Infrastructure Financing for Achieving Net Zero – Inaugural Address delivered by Shri M Rajeshwar Rao, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India – July 03, 2025 – at the Conference on Green Infrastructure Finance at College of Agriculture Banking, RBI, Pune

    Source: Reserve Bank of India

    Catalysing Sustainable & Green Infrastructure Financing for Achieving Net Zero
    (Inaugural Address delivered by Shri M Rajeshwar Rao, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India – July 03, 2025 – at the Conference on Green Infrastructure Finance at College of Agriculture Banking, RBI, Pune)

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Secretary-General of ASEAN briefs the Diplomatic Corps and the Media on Key Takeaways from the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Source: ASEAN

    At the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat today, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, briefed the diplomatic corps and the media on the key outcomes of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM), Post-Ministerial Conferences (PMC), 26th ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, 15th EAS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, 32nd ASEAN Regional Forum and Related Meetings, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 8-11 July 2025. Representatives from ASEAN Committees in Third Countries and International Organisations (ACTCs) also joined the Briefing virtually. Dr. Kao shared the key takeaways from the series of meetings, which underscored ASEAN Centrality, the continued relevance of ASEAN-led mechanisms, and the strong support from external partners for ASEAN Community-building efforts, following the recent adoption of ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future by the ASEAN Leaders in May 2025. The briefing was livestreamed to the general public via the ASEAN Secretariat’s YouTube channel.
     

    The post Secretary-General of ASEAN briefs the Diplomatic Corps and the Media on Key Takeaways from the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Ireland: Amnesty’s head urges Irish government to press ahead with Occupied Territories Bill

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Following a two-day visit in which she met with Ireland’s head of state and head of government, among other senior officials, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said:

    “While the EU has betrayed its principles through its shameful decision not to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, we applaud Ireland for its bold efforts to stop Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. The EU’s refusal to take action to hold Israel accountable highlights the need for Ireland and other likeminded member states to urgently take unilateral or concerted steps to bring their actions in line with international law, which takes precedence over both EU and national law.

    “We urge the Irish government to press ahead quickly with the Occupied Territories Bill to demonstrate that when the EU fails to act on its values, principled states like Ireland will take a stand. The bill would be a powerful, much-needed tool for international justice and must be strengthened to include banning all imports and exports of goods and services to and from Israeli settlements in illegally occupied Palestinian territory, as well as investments in them.

    Ireland must stay firm in its convictions and commitment to justice

    “Despite the fearmongering and efforts by certain parties to derail the bill, Ireland must stay firm in its convictions and commitment to justice. This legislation is rooted in international law and would enable Ireland to fully comply with the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 advisory opinion on Israel’s unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory.

    “Passage of the bill would set a strong example to EU states to unilaterally suspend all forms of cooperation with Israel that may contribute to its grave violations of international law. It cannot be ‘business as usual’ while Palestinians are starved and slaughtered while seeking aid or under relentless Israeli attacks in Gaza, or killed and forcibly displaced by state-backed Israeli settler violence, devastating military operations and suffocating movement restrictions in the West Bank.

    This would set a strong example to EU states to unilaterally suspend all forms of cooperation with Israel that may contribute to its grave violations of international law

    “From its own experiences of colonization, famine and conflict to its leading role in international efforts to end apartheid in South Africa, Ireland has repeatedly shown that it can stand up to bullies and consistently punched above its weight in global diplomacy. Its principled stance on Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza is another milestone and further proof that Ireland will not tolerate the destruction of the rules-based order so painstakingly built over the last 80 years.

    “We applaud Ireland for being one of the few European states to strongly condemn Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and other crimes under international law committed in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and for its courageous calls for concrete action to stop the bloodshed and carnage. In doing so, Ireland has acted as a vital counterweight to those states still arming Israel, excusing its atrocities and enabling its lasting impunity.”

    We applaud Ireland for for its courageous calls for concrete action to stop the carnage

    During her visit to Dublin on 16 and 17 July, Agnès Callamard met with President Micheal D. Higgins, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Attorney General Rossa Fanning, Senator Frances Black, and Liam Herrick, the Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, as well as local human rights defenders and civil society organizations.

    MIL OSI NGO –