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Category: APEC

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Defendants Arrested in Serbia for Allegedly Directing Interstate Stalking and Harassment of L.A.-Based Critic of China’s President

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    LOS ANGELES – Serbian law enforcement authorities have arrested two foreign nationals, Cui Guanghai, 43, of China, and John Miller, 63, of the United Kingdom, at the request of the United States, the Justice Department announced today.

    The United States today unsealed its criminal complaint alleging that Cui and Miller coordinated and directed a conspiracy to harass, intimidate, and threaten a Los Angeles resident (the victim) who had been publicly critical of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

    According to court documents, beginning in October 2023, Cui and Miller enlisted two individuals (Individual 1 and Individual 2) inside the United States to carry out a plot to prevent the victim from protesting President Xi’s appearance at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November 2023. The victim had previously made public statements in opposition to the policies and actions of the PRC government and President Xi.

    Unbeknownst to Cui and Miller, Individual 1 and Individual 2 were affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI.

    In the weeks leading up to the APEC summit, Cui and Miller directed and coordinated an interstate scheme to surveil the victim, to install a tracking device on the victim’s car, to slash the tires on the victim’s car, and to purchase and destroy a pair of artistic statutes created by the victim depicting President Xi and President Xi’s wife.

    A similar scheme took place in the spring of 2025, after the victim announced that he planned to make public an online video feed depicting two new artistic statutes of President Xi and his wife. In connection with these plots, Cui and Miller paid two other individuals (Individual 3 and Individual 4), approximately $36,500 to convince the victim to desist from the online display of the statues. Unbeknownst to Cui and Miller, Individual 3 and Individual 4 were also affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI.

    A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    If convicted, Cui and Miller face the following maximum penalties: five years in federal prison for conspiracy and five years in federal prison for interstate stalking.

    The FBI is investigating the case. The United States thanks the Ministry of Justice of Serbia, the Ministry of Interior of Serbia, and the Republic Public Prosecutor’s Office of Serbia for the assistance in this matter. The United States will seek extradition of Cui and Miller and looks forward to working in partnership with the Republic of Serbia’s Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Justice.          

    Assistant United States Attorneys David Ryan, Chief of the National Security Division, and Amanda B. Elbogen of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section, along with Trial Attorneys Leslie Esbrook and Menno Goedman of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance provided by Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin P. Taibleson for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Trial Attorney Goran Krnaich of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Two Foreign Nationals Arrested in Serbia for Directing Interstate Stalking and Harassment Scheme Targeting Los Angeles-Based Critic of Chinese President Xi Jinping

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Yesterday, Serbian law enforcement authorities arrested two foreign nationals, Cui Guanghai, 43, of China, and John Miller, 63, of the United Kingdom, at the request of the United States. Today, the United States unsealed its criminal complaint alleging that Cui and Miller coordinated and directed a conspiracy to harass, intimidate, and threaten a Los Angeles resident (the Victim) who had been publicly critical of President Xi Jinping.

    According to court documents, beginning in October 2023, Cui and Miller enlisted two individuals (Individual 1 and Individual 2) inside the United States to carry out a plot to prevent the Victim from protesting President Xi’s appearance at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November 2023. The Victim had previously made public statements in opposition to the policies and actions of the PRC government and President Xi.

    Unbeknownst to Cui and Miller, Individual 1 and Individual 2 were affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI.

    In the weeks leading up to the APEC summit, Cui and Miller directed and coordinated an interstate scheme to surveil the Victim, to install a tracking device on the Victim’s car, to slash the tires on the Victim’s car, and to purchase and destroy a pair of artistic statutes created by the Victim depicting President Xi and President Xi’s wife.

    A similar scheme took place in the spring of 2025, after the Victim announced that he planned to make public an online video feed depicting two new artistic statutes of President Xi and his wife. In connection with these plots, Cui and Miller paid two other individuals (Individual 3 and Individual 4), approximately $36,500 to convince the Victim to desist from the online display of the statues. Unbeknownst to Cui and Miller, Individual 3 and Individual 4 were also affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI.

    If convicted, Cui and Miller face the following maximum penalties: five years for conspiracy and five years for interstate stalking.

    The FBI is investigating the case. The United States thanks the Ministry of Justice of Serbia, the Ministry of Interior of Serbia, and the Republic Public Prosecutor’s Office of Serbia for the assistance in this matter. The United States will seek extradition of Cui and Miller and looks forward to working in partnership with the Republic of Serbia’s Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Justice.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Ryan and Amanda B. Elbogen for the Central District of California, and Trial Attorneys Leslie Esbrook and Menno Goedman of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin P. Taibleson for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Trial Attorney Goran Krnaich of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

    A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Foreign Nationals Arrested in Serbia for Directing Interstate Stalking and Harassment Scheme Targeting Los Angeles-Based Critic of Chinese President Xi Jinping

    Source: United States Attorneys General 13

    Yesterday, Serbian law enforcement authorities arrested two foreign nationals, Cui Guanghai, 43, of China, and John Miller, 63, of the United Kingdom, at the request of the United States. Today, the United States unsealed its criminal complaint alleging that Cui and Miller coordinated and directed a conspiracy to harass, intimidate, and threaten a Los Angeles resident (the Victim) who had been publicly critical of President Xi Jinping.

    According to court documents, beginning in October 2023, Cui and Miller enlisted two individuals (Individual 1 and Individual 2) inside the United States to carry out a plot to prevent the Victim from protesting President Xi’s appearance at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November 2023. The Victim had previously made public statements in opposition to the policies and actions of the PRC government and President Xi.

    Unbeknownst to Cui and Miller, Individual 1 and Individual 2 were affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI.

    In the weeks leading up to the APEC summit, Cui and Miller directed and coordinated an interstate scheme to surveil the Victim, to install a tracking device on the Victim’s car, to slash the tires on the Victim’s car, and to purchase and destroy a pair of artistic statutes created by the Victim depicting President Xi and President Xi’s wife.

    A similar scheme took place in the spring of 2025, after the Victim announced that he planned to make public an online video feed depicting two new artistic statutes of President Xi and his wife. In connection with these plots, Cui and Miller paid two other individuals (Individual 3 and Individual 4), approximately $36,500 to convince the Victim to desist from the online display of the statues. Unbeknownst to Cui and Miller, Individual 3 and Individual 4 were also affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI.

    If convicted, Cui and Miller face the following maximum penalties: five years for conspiracy and five years for interstate stalking.

    The FBI is investigating the case. The United States thanks the Ministry of Justice of Serbia, the Ministry of Interior of Serbia, and the Republic Public Prosecutor’s Office of Serbia for the assistance in this matter. The United States will seek extradition of Cui and Miller and looks forward to working in partnership with the Republic of Serbia’s Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Justice.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Ryan and Amanda B. Elbogen for the Central District of California, and Trial Attorneys Leslie Esbrook and Menno Goedman of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin P. Taibleson for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Trial Attorney Goran Krnaich of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

    A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: From Paris to Washington: The Jessup Journey of a Remarkable Team

    Source: Universities – Science Po in English

    Maria (Marysia) Szuster, Gabrijela Papec, Linn Junge, Fanny Burdin-Egloffe, Tatiana Van den Haute

    Each year, the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition brings together thousands of law students from across the globe, challenging them to tackle the most complex and contested issues in public international law.

    For five first-year students at Sciences Po Law School, the 2025 edition was more than just a competition — it was an intense, transformative experience that pushed them to their intellectual and personal limits.

    From winning the French national rounds to representing France on the world stage in Washington D.C., this remarkable team not only proved their legal acumen but also exemplified resilience, teamwork, and passion. In this article, they reflect on what it took to get there, the lessons they learned along the way, and the advice they would give to those ready to take on the Jessup challenge.

    « The Sciences Po Law School warmly thanks Clifford Chance for its valuable support in the 2025 Jessup Moot Court Competition. This contribution helped our team reach the top 16 worldwide, a remarkable achievement. It reflects both the talent of our students and the value of strong academic-professional partnerships. »

    Sébastien Pimont, Dean, and Julie Babin d’Amonville, Executive Director

    Can you introduce yourself?

    Linn Junge, a first-year student in Economic Law, did Jessup for the second time this year, having won the French championship and advanced to the round of 16 in 2023 with Sciences Po Reims. Hailing from Germany but having also lived in the US, Linn was the team’s captain, and oralist for both Respondent and Applicant.

    Gabrijela Papec from Croatia was a world-renowned debater in high school and during the undergraduate degree, skills she leveraged to the best effect in her role as oralist for the Applicant. She is in the English track, alongside Linn and Maria.

    Tatiana Van den Haute is a Lebanese first year law student in Droit Économique.  After completing her undergraduate degree at Sciences Po, Campus du Havre with an exchange in Taipei, she spent another year working there as a policy analyst. She was able to apply her analytical and public speaking experiences in her role as an oralist for Respondent.

    Fanny Burdin-Egloffe is a French student in the first year of the French track in Droit Économique. After a year as a research assistant at the University of Sydney, she brought her analytical and legal research skills to her role as of counsel for this year’s Jessup team.

    Maria (Marysia) Szuster is a Polish fist year student in Economic Law with a particular passion for human rights and refugees’ access to education. The skills she gained as a research assistant at Yale University and a writer for the American Bar Association on grave human rights violations she applied in research and finding arguments in Jessup this year. 

    What motivated you to participate in the 2025 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition?

    For many of us, law and politics are equal passions and two sides of the same coin. International law as a field combines these two disciplines like perhaps no other arena—international law is most closely based on, after all, the political decisions of states. The Jessup Competition perfectly embodies this intersection, standing as the world’s oldest, largest, and most prestigious moot court competition. 

    What makes Jessup particularly valuable is the opportunity it provides students to spend eight months conducting deep research on widely debated and unresolved topics in international law. Beyond being a rare luxury within our fast-paced curriculum, this extended engagement allows participants to dive autonomously into aspects of public international law that fall outside the ordinary courses, exploring issues we would otherwise never encounter. The challenge of doing that in itself while going through our first year of law school called to all of us. Along with this intellectual challenge, participating in the Jessup opens doors to connecting with a community of like-minded people in all stages of their careers who share a passion for the competition and public international law as a whole.

    Can you tell us about your preparation process for the competition?

    Our first major task was learning how to balance our considerable coursework with researching public international law and this year’s problem, from scratch.  The first phase of research culminated in the memorial writing phase, which was all the more complicated given that our team was spread across the world when the deadline came nearing in January 2025 during our Winter break. Nevertheless, we managed to submit two excellent memorials before returning to Paris, where we earnestly began preparing for the oral rounds.

    Knowing how much effort it takes to learn, within a month, to become distinguished oralists and researchers, we met and practiced our pleading between three and five times a week until the national rounds at the end of February. 

    To our immense joy, we were crowned French national champions of the Jessup on March 1, having gone undefeated throughout all of the rounds. Despite the stress and fatigue that had worn on us over the course of the rounds, we managed to convince a unanimous jury to send us to Washington as the French representative team—a privilege that Sciences Po Law School has not been able to enjoy in seven years.

    With that in mind, the preparation period for Washington was, if anything, even more intense than that for the nationals. On the one hand, we knew competition would be even more stiff, seeing that only the best of the best would be in Washington, and on the other, we had to arrange travel, accommodation, and funding in close collaboration with the Sciences Po Law School. All along, however, we continued to reach out to countless professors, friends, and connections whose advice and critiques were absolutely invaluable in continuously augmenting the quality of our performance as a team. The reward was significant. We advanced to the Octofinals in Washington, putting us within the 16 best teams in the world out of the more than 800 that competed this year. Only once in Jessup history has France advanced further than this.

    Gabrijela Papec, Linn Junge received awards during the national rounds. Could you tell us more about that experience and what it meant to your team?

    Jessup is 100% a team effort, but watching two of our team members get the recognition they deserve for all their hard work and talent was incredibly satisfying. The fact that both of the top speaker awards at the national rounds went to our team demonstrated what a resounding victory our team collectively enjoyed. So while Gabrijela and Linn are undoubtedly deserving of this award individually, we all felt it was more of a collective accolade.

    Gabrijela also got 17th best oralist in the world at the international rounds, which is an incredible achievement in itself and felt like a validation both of her exceptional performance and all of our efforts.

    Do you have any advice for future students who might want to participate in the next edition of the Jessup Moot?

    When starting out, read and re-read the problem at length – then make sure you understand how international law works. Read commentaries on treaties and cases, know the histories of the institutions, conventions and treaties that you’re dealing with and why they are relevant. The issues that the Jessup will throw at you are qualified as ‘hard problems’ in international law, meaning that they are by nature unresolved and can be argued both ways. Stand on the shoulders of those who studied those problems in depth before you, in order to gain as holistic an understanding as possible of what they represent and the implications your arguments have. 

    Be passionate about it. This competition will take a big part of your life for 8 months, so might as well be obsessed with it. On this note, the team dynamic is everything. It starts on a personal level: because of the intensity, it is imperative that you get along with your team members. Knowing each other well will be invaluable in understanding how to best support one another over the course of the journey—from initial research to competing. From there, you need to stay accountable to one another, because everyone has to do their job, especially in the written drafting phase. And lastly: open communication is key. Again, the timeframe of the competition is too large to let slight frustrations and issues between team members fester until they become proper problems. If you accept the intensity and commitment, it will be a ride that you will be forever grateful for!

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Media Registration Opens for APEC Ministerial Meetings in Jeju Singapore | 21 April 2025 Issued by the APEC Secretariat Media registration is now open for the APEC ministerial meetings to be held in Jeju, Republic of Korea, from 12 to 16 May 2025.

    Source: APEC – Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

    Media registration is now open for the APEC ministerial meetings to be held in Jeju, Republic of Korea, from 12 to 16 May 2025. These include the APEC Human Resources Development Ministerial Meeting, the APEC Education Ministerial Meeting and the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting.

    These back-to-back high-level meetings will bring together ministers, senior officials and stakeholders across the APEC region to advance collaboration on workforce development, inclusive education and trade and investment policy amid ongoing global transitions.

    The 7th APEC Human Resources Development Ministerial Meeting, taking place on 12 May, will mark the first such meeting in over a decade since 2014. It will focus on two key priorities: building flexible and vibrant labor markets and advancing policies that prepare workers and employers for jobs of the future. Ministers will also discuss how APEC can respond to workforce disruptions triggered by digital transformation, demographic shifts and global uncertainties.

    The 7th APEC Education Ministerial Meeting, convening on 14 May, will highlight APEC regional strategies to bridge educational gaps and foster innovation in the era of artificial intelligence and digital transformation. Ministers will explore how to drive personalized education innovation through digital technology, strengthen global learning partnerships and achieve shared prosperity in the APEC region through sustainable education.

    The APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting, taking place on 15 and 16 May will discuss key priorities, including: 1) promoting innovation for trade facilitation; 2) strengthening connectivity through the multilateral trading system; and 3) advancing collaboration to achieve prosperity through sustainable trade. The meeting will serve as a key moment to reinforce regional economic cooperation in the lead-up to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting later this year.

    Key Media Opportunities (KST, UTC+9):

    • Monday, 12 May at 4:00 PM – Press Conference: APEC Human Resources Development Ministerial Meeting (HRDMM)
    • Tuesday, 13 May at 4:00PM – Press Conference: APEC Economic Outlook: What’s Ahead for the Region?
    • Wednesday, 14 May at 2:00 PM – Press Conference: APEC Second Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM2)
    • Wednesday, 14 May at 5:00 PM – Press Conference: APEC Education Ministerial Meeting (AEMM)
    • Friday, 16 May at 2:30 PM – Press Conference: APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT)

    Please note the schedule is subject to change. Updates will be posted in the media lounge.

    Media Accreditation:

    Media representatives must be accredited in advance. To request the media registration link, please email [email protected] with the subject line: MEDIA [Economy name/organization name].

    Accredited media will receive an ID badge, which will grant access to the press conferences. Badges can be collected starting 11 May 2025 at the APEC Information Desk in ICC JEJU.

    Media Lounge:

    A dedicated media lounge will be available on the second floor of ICC JEJU for all accredited media from 11 to 16 May 2025, operating at the following times (KST, UTC+9):

    • Sunday, 11 May: 14:00–18:00
    • Monday, 12 May to Friday, 16 May: 09:00–18:00 daily

    For media inquiries, please contact:
    [email protected]
    [email protected]

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI: VelocityEHS Joins National Safety Council TechHub Marketplace

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, April 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — VelocityEHS, the global leader in EHS & ESG software solutions, is proud to announce its inclusion in the NSC TechHub Marketplace, a new online directory from the National Safety Council (NSC) designed to help companies easily find and connect with trusted safety technology providers.

    The TechHub Marketplace streamlines the process for businesses seeking technology solutions tailored to their unique safety risks.

    Organizations can browse provider listings, filter results by technology type, hazard focus, use applications, and access insights from partners and sponsors, including white papers, case studies, webinars, and more, all on the latest advancements in workplace safety.

    “Our mission at VelocityEHS is to simplify complex EHS challenges through innovative technology,” said Matt Airhart, CEO of VelocityEHS. “By joining the NSC TechHub Marketplace, we’re making it easier for organizations to discover and implement cutting-edge solutions that enhance workplace safety and sustainability.”

    “At NSC, we work closely with companies to identify technologies that reduce risk in their workplaces,” said Emily Whitcomb, Director of Innovation at the National Safety Council. “With the TechHub Marketplace, we can now take employers through the next logical step—connecting them with top-tier technology providers. This is a game-changer in our mission to save lives.”

    How VelocityEHS Helps Organizations Solve Safety Challenges

    VelocityEHS provides businesses with intuitive, data-driven solutions to proactively manage risk, protect employees, and improve overall workplace health and safety. The Ergonomics Solution, highlighted in the NSC TechHub Marketplace, support EHS professionals in building safer, more sustainable workplaces:

    • AI-Powered Ergonomics: Many workplace injuries stem from poor ergonomics. Velocity’s motion-capture AI technology helps businesses identify risks before they become injuries, enabling early intervention and continuous improvement. This innovation has earned VelocityEHS a perfect 3.0/3.0 score for Ergonomics in the Verdantix 2025 EHS Green Quadrant analysis.
    • Patented Innovation: VelocityEHS holds multiple U.S. patents for its pioneering use of AI and machine learning in Ergonomics software. These include breakthrough methods for root-cause analysis, natural language processing, and computer vision techniques, allowing organizations to quickly analyze worker exertion levels from simple video footage.

    Additional VelocityEHS Capabilities

    In addition to the TechHub-listed offerings, VelocityEHS delivers a broader range of capabilities, some include:

    • The VelocityEHS Accelerate® Platform: A unified suite of solutions that simplifies how companies manage Safety, Ergonomics, Chemical Management, and Operational Risk—helping them stay compliant and reduce incidents with greater efficiency.
    • Market-leading Chemicals Management Software: Recognized by independent research firm Verdantix for its advanced technology, enabling medium- to high-risk companies to streamline chemical management workflows and exceed compliance requirements.
    • AI-Powered Contractor Safety Feature: A groundbreaking feature that automates contractor verification processes, flags risks, and provides intelligent recommendations. This solution helps ensure compliance with safety standards while reducing administrative burden—delivering up to 70%-time savings over traditional contractor management methods.

    To learn more about VelocityEHS, visit www.EHS.com.

    Learn more about the NSC TechHub Marketplace at www.nsc.org/techhub.

    About VelocityEHS 

    Relied on by more than 10 million users worldwide to drive operational excellence and achieve outstanding outcomes, VelocityEHS is the global leader in true SaaS enterprise EHS & ESG technology. The VelocityEHS Accelerate® Platform is the definitive gold standard, delivering best-in-class software solutions for managing Safety, Ergonomics, Chemical Management, and Operational Risk. In addition, Velocity offers world-class applications for Contractor Safety & Permit to Work, Environmental Compliance, and ESG.

    The VelocityEHS team includes unparalleled industry expertise, with more certified experts in health, safety, industrial hygiene, ergonomics, sustainability, the environment, AI, and machine learning than any other EHS software provider. Recognized by the EHS industry’s top independent analysts as a Leader in the Verdantix 2025 Green Quadrant Analysis, VelocityEHS is committed to industry thought leadership and to accelerating the pace of innovation through its software solutions and vision. Its privacy and security protocols, which include SOC2 Type II attestation, are among the most stringent in the industry. 

    VelocityEHS is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with locations in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Tampa, Florida; Oakville, Ontario; London, England; Perth, Western Australia; and Cork, Ireland. For more information, visit www.EHS.com.  

    About the National Safety Council

    NSC is America’s leading nonprofit safety advocate – and has been for 110 years. As a mission-based organization, we work to eliminate the leading causes of preventable death and injury, focusing our efforts on the workplace, roadway, and impairment. We create a culture of safety to not only keep people safer at work but also beyond the workplace so they can live their fullest lives.

    Media Contact 
    Jennifer Sinkwitts 
    jsinkwitts@ehs.com 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI China: China, Malaysia pledge support for ASEAN

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

    KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — China and Malaysia have pledged support for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

    The two countries made the announcement on Thursday in a joint statement released in the context of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Malaysia.

    The two sides reaffirmed to uphold ASEAN centrality and support the bloc in strengthening ASEAN-led mechanism in promoting an open and inclusive regional architecture that is peaceful, stable and conducive to regional development, growth and prosperity, said the statement.

    They also reiterated to jointly enhance the building of a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home, so as to build a closer ASEAN-China community with a shared future, it said.

    Malaysia supports China in hosting APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting 2026 and supports Hong Kong’s accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, it added.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Full text of Xi’s signed article in Malaysian media

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

    KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday published a signed article titled “May the Ship of China-Malaysia Friendship Sail Toward an Even Brighter Future” in Malaysian media outlets including Sin Chew Daily, The Star and Sinar Harian ahead of his arrival in Malaysia for a state visit.

    The following is the full text of the article:

    May the Ship of China-Malaysia Friendship Sail Toward an Even Brighter Future

    Xi Jinping

    At the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, I will soon pay a state visit to Malaysia. This will be my second visit to your beautiful country in 12 years. I look forward to experiencing Malaysia’s remarkable progress and transformation in person, and meeting with Malaysian friends to celebrate our friendship and plan for future cooperation.

    China and Malaysia are friendly neighbors across the sea. The Maritime Silk Road stood witness to the millenium-old friendly exchanges between our countries. As a Malay proverb puts it, “air dicincang tidak akan putus,” or “water can’t be cut apart.” Through the ages, such strong bonds of friendship between our peoples have grown from strength to strength. Over 1,300 years ago, Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing of the Tang Dynasty traveled to the Malay Peninsula on his pilgrimage voyage and produced the earliest known written account of the ancient kingdom of Kedah. More than 600 years ago, Chinese navigator and explorer Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty and his fleet called at Malacca during five of his seven historic expeditions. His visits planted seeds of peace and friendship. To this day, the Sam Po Kong Temple, Bukit Cina, and Princess Hang Li Poh’s Well endure as a living testament to the local community’s everlasting veneration of the legendary Chinese navigator. Some 80 years ago, when the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression reached a critical juncture, the Nanyang Volunteer Drivers and Mechanics from Malaysia braved immense dangers to reach China’s Yunnan Province, and helped keep the Burma Road operational, as it was a vital lifeline of China’s wartime supplies. Today this remarkable story of courage still echoes in the hearts of both peoples. As we honor our shared past and embrace the future, our two countries must work together to give fresh momentum to our ship of friendship that has sailed through the long river of history, and ensure that it forges ahead steadily toward brighter horizons.

    We must keep a firm grip on the strategic helm that guides our ship of friendship. Fifty-one years ago, breaking through the gloom of the Cold War, leaders of China and Malaysia made the decision to establish diplomatic relations, pioneering a groundbreaking new chapter in relations between China and ASEAN countries. China and Malaysia have since respected each other’s development paths while maintaining strategic independence. We have provided mutual support on issues vital to our respective core interests and on our major concerns, setting an exemplary model for two countries to prosper together through mutually beneficial cooperation. In 2023, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and I agreed on building the China-Malaysia community with a shared future. The decision marked a new milestone in the bilateral relations. China and Malaysia must enhance strategic communication, increase mutual political trust, follow through on the Belt and Road cooperation plan between the two governments, strengthen the synergy between our development strategies, expand experience sharing on national governance, and promote our bilateral relations through high-standard strategic cooperation.

    We must expand results-oriented cooperation which serves as the ballast that steadies our ship of friendship. In 2024, China-Malaysia trade reached 212 billion U.S. dollars, up by nearly 1,000 times the level at the inception of our diplomatic relations. China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years. Malaysian durians can now be delivered directly from orchards to Chinese supermarkets within 24 hours, and they are immensely popular among Chinese consumers. To date, the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park has received a total investment of over 11 billion yuan (1.5 billion dollars), and will create many long-term jobs when all its planned projects are completed with production reaching their designed capacity. Our bilateral cooperation potential is being progressively realized in the digital economy, green development, industrial investment and transport infrastructure construction. We must deepen mutually beneficial collaboration, advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and strengthen cooperation on industrial and supply chains, with a focus on the digital economy, green economy, blue economy and tourism economy, so as to advance modernization of both countries.

    We must fuel the engines of people-to-people exchanges to propel our ship of friendship forward. China and Malaysia have mutually granted visa exemption to each other’s nationals. The year 2024 saw nearly 6 million mutual visits between the two countries, which exceeded the pre-COVID level. “Malaysia, truly Asia,” the tourism promotional ad that highlights the unique charm of Malaysia’s culture, history and landscape, has inspired numerous Chinese tourists to visit Malaysia for leisure vacations or sightseeing. More and more Malaysian tourists are traveling to China to appreciate its historical legacy and experience its contemporary vibe. I hope our peoples will visit each other as often as family. Our two countries must promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges so as to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples, especially the younger generation.

    We must harness the momentum of collaboration at the multilateral level. China and Malaysia are both major developing countries in the Asia-Pacific. We are also emerging market economies and members of the Global South. We have similar positions on safeguarding international fairness and justice and on advancing open and inclusive development. We have maintained close collaboration within multilateral mechanisms, including East Asia cooperation, APEC and the UN. China welcomes Malaysia as a BRICS partner country. Its inclusion in the organization aligns with the historic trend of the Global South’s pursuit of solidarity-driven collective advancement and serves the common interests of developing countries. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, the 80th anniversary of the founding of the UN, and the 70th anniversary of the Bandung Conference. As we honor these milestones, our two countries must strengthen mutual cooperation in international and regional affairs, and champion the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the Bandung Spirit. We must uphold the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law, and promote fairer and more equitable global governance. We must uphold the multilateral trading system, keep global industrial and supply chains stable, and maintain an international environment of openness and cooperation.

    As a community with a shared future, China and Malaysia share the smooth times and the rough, stand united in peace and crisis, and thrive and endure together. “Share weal and woe,” a popular proverb in both countries, defines the very essence of such a relationship. We must stay ahead of the times, surge forward with unyielding resolve, and jointly build a brighter future of development, growth and prosperity.

    Having weathered storms of the times, the friendly relations and cooperation between China and ASEAN countries have emerged stronger and more resilient. China was the first ASEAN dialogue partner to accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, and the first to establish a free trade area and a comprehensive strategic partnership with ASEAN. China-ASEAN cooperation is the most results-oriented and productive in the region. China and ASEAN pulled together in solidarity in response to multiple challenges, such as the Asian financial crisis, the global financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing headwinds against economic globalization. Our bilateral cooperation is more robust than ever. In 2024, China-ASEAN trade exceeded 980 billion dollars, making us each other’s largest trading partner for five consecutive years. The Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area upgrade negotiations have substantially concluded. More and more premium specialty products from ASEAN countries are now finding their way into millions of Chinese families, while Chinese literary works, animations, films and TV productions are increasingly captivating audiences in ASEAN countries with the rich tapestry of Chinese culture and the warm pulse of contemporary life in China.

    China firmly supports ASEAN unity and community-building, and supports ASEAN centrality in the regional architecture. China fully supports Malaysia in its role as the ASEAN chair for 2025 and looks forward to Malaysia serving as a stronger bridge between the two sides as the country coordinator for China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations. Through its modernization, China is striving to build itself into a great modern socialist country in all respects, and advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts. Chinese modernization follows a path of peaceful development. China will promote global peace, development and shared prosperity with other countries through mutually beneficial cooperation. The Chinese economy is built on a solid foundation, with multiple strengths, high resilience and vast potential for growth. The core conditions supporting its long-term positive growth remain firmly in place, with the underlying upward trend unchanged. China has set its target for economic growth at around five percent for 2025. We will continue to pursue high-quality development, expand high-standard opening up, share development opportunities with other countries, and bring greater stability and certainty to the regional and global economy.

    Unity brings strength, and cooperation leads to mutual success. China will work with Malaysia and other ASEAN countries to combat the undercurrents of geopolitical and camp-based confrontation, as well as the countercurrents of unilateralism and protectionism, in keeping with the historical trend of peace and development. We must brave the waves ahead and advance the high-level strategic China-Malaysia community with a shared future, and jointly build a stronger China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Stronger Immunization Policies Needed as Vaccine Confidence Falls Singapore | 10 April 2025 Issued by the APEC Health Working Group A new APEC report raises concerns over declining vaccine confidence and uptake across the region, increasing the risk of preventable disease outbreaks and underscoring the urgent need for stronger immunization policies and cross-border collaboration.

    Source: APEC – Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

    A new APEC report raises concerns over declining vaccine confidence and uptake across the region, increasing the risk of preventable disease outbreaks and underscoring the urgent need for stronger immunization policies and cross-border collaboration.

    Findings from the updated APEC Regional Dashboard on Vaccination Across the Life-Course reveal gaps in vaccine access, financing and data collection, with only eight economies meeting the 95 percent measles herd immunity threshold in 2023—a 27 percent drop from 2022. The dashboard also highlights a decline in vaccine confidence, with adults in at least 16 APEC economies increasingly questioning the safety, effectiveness and importance of vaccines.

    “Strengthening life-course immunization is critical to building resilient healthcare systems and ensuring economic sustainability across APEC economies,” said Dr Victor Yosef Melt Campos, Chair of the APEC Health Working Group.

    “A well-vaccinated population is not only healthier but also more productive, contributing to stronger communities and a more robust workforce,” Dr Campos added. “Investing in immunization helps economies safeguard public health, enhance social well-being, and create a foundation for sustainable growth and prosperity.”

    Developed by the APEC Vaccines Task Force under the Health Working Group, the dashboard tracks progress on the APEC Action Plan on Vaccination Across the Life-Course, a regional strategy that supports member economies in expanding vaccine access, strengthening immunization programs and preparing for future health challenges.

    The dashboard highlights the need to expand immunization programs beyond childhood to include adolescents, adults and at-risk groups. Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic underscore the importance of scalable, adaptable strategies to strengthen vaccine uptake across different population segments.

    Gaps in data collection and assessment remain a critical challenge, according to the dashboard. Only one-third of APEC economies currently track the indirect benefits of vaccination, despite growing evidence that adult vaccines can return up to 19 times their initial investment.

    Additionally, just over half of APEC economies have a comprehensive framework to assess both the economic and social benefits of immunization. Strengthening evidence-based policymaking and ensuring that vaccine investments align with broader economic and public health goals will be key to improving immunization outcomes across the region.

    The dashboard also underscores the importance financial sustainability for immunization programs. The dashboard highlights best practices, including free vaccines for older adults, multi-year procurement contracts and tax levies to support vaccine programs.

    Pandemic preparedness remains a key priority. While 90 percent of APEC economies have established preparedness strategies, fewer have introduced catch-up vaccination plans to address routine immunization disruptions. Strengthening surveillance systems, harmonizing regulatory frameworks and ensuring rapid vaccine deployment in response to outbreaks will be essential to mitigating future health crises​

    With 2025 marking the halfway point for both the APEC Action Plan on Vaccination Across the Life-Course and the WHO Immunization Agenda 2030, the dashboard urges member economies to accelerate efforts to strengthen immunization systems. Sustainable and adaptable policies will be essential to ensuring resilient vaccination programs amid evolving public health challenges.

    The APEC Vaccines Task Force remains committed to fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing to support economies in enhancing immunization coverage. For more information, visit this page or contact [email protected].

    For further details and media inquiries, please contact:
    [email protected] 

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Speech on foreign affairs and trade

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Kia ora and good morning everyone.
    Before I start, can I acknowledge the Wellington Chamber of Commerce for the opportunity to speak to all of you this morning.
    It comes at a difficult time for the global economy, with rising rhetoric, escalating tariffs, and the prospect of further retaliation to come.
    I had originally planned to take this opportunity to speak about my Government’s plan for economic growth – to create jobs, lift incomes, and put more money back in the wallets of Kiwis.
    I will still touch on that.
    It’s my Government’s top priority and it frames just about every decision we take here in Wellington as we focus on improving the lives of all New Zealanders.
    But with markets rocked and exporters facing uncertainty, I know there’s one topic front of mind for many businesses and many households.
    So this morning I want to take some time to speak to those events and make the case for free trade and the rules-based international order.
    Trade is the lifeblood of the New Zealand economy.
    Whether it’s our incredible farmers and growers, our outstanding tourism industry, or our burgeoning tech sector, Kiwis businesses thrive when we compete on the world stage.
    Our success isn’t an accident – and it didn’t happen overnight.
    Successive generations of trade negotiators and political leaders have invested in relationships offshore, and worked hard to complete deals like CER, the China FTA, the CPTPP, and the more recent EU, UK, UAE and GCC FTAs.
    Business leaders have moved rapidly, too – finding fresh opportunities for growth in emerging markets, and developing outstanding products back home that put New Zealand on the map.
    Our rural economy in particular represents the very best of open and competitive trade – selling into difficult markets, with no direct financial support, and consistently coming out on top.
    I could – and often do – speak at length about the contribution exporters make to the domestic economy.
    But trade goes both ways.
    Yes, export growth will be critical to improving New Zealand’s economic prospects in the coming years.
    But the removal of New Zealand’s own trade barriers and embrace of goods and services imported from offshore has also led to a major improvement in our quality of life in recent years.
    Our clothing is more affordable, our cars are more reliable, our diets are more diverse, and our holidays in Bali and Europe are a nice contrast to summers at the lake or the beach.
    Free trade of goods purchased from offshore has also supported growth in productivity.
    Kiwi exporters rely on the trucks, tractors, jet engines, computers, and smart phones we buy from overseas that make their businesses tick.
    And it’s not realistic to expect that in a country of just five million people, we could make everything we need here at home.
    Political leaders have tried that before in New Zealand – and it didn’t end well.
    Older generations will remember the efforts we went to.
    Governments imposed strict import controls and encouraged cars and televisions to be assembled here at home.
    And like today, conflict offshore occasionally helped to send prices spiralling – but the response looked very different.
    In the late 1970s, politicians imposed “carless days”, with stickers on your vehicle dictating which days you could drive to work, and which days you caught a ride with a friend or just walked into town instead.
    There was no “work from home” in 1979.
    Agriculture, today the backbone of our economy, was heavily subsidised and much less productive, much less diverse than the efficient and entrepreneurial sector thriving in New Zealand today.
    Those failed policies weren’t just foolish economics.
    They reflected the best efforts of political leaders to insulate New Zealand from an era of major social and geopolitical change.
    History shows those best efforts were a mistake, that required years of difficult choices and careful recovery.
    New Zealanders paid the price then.
    I don’t intend for them to do so again.
    Which brings us to today.
    The events of recent days are the most significant challenge to the rules-based trading system since the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was formed in 1947.
    Action, reaction, and response have shocked financial markets.
    As the Minister of Finance highlighted earlier this week, the direct impact on the New Zealand economy from the US tariffs announced last week is likely to be around $900 million or roughly 0.2% of GDP.
    But the second order consequences of a region and a world retreating from trade and increasingly uncertain about its economic future will be more significant, despite the welcome news of de-escalation this morning.
    I know for many businesses keeping an eye offshore and for those New Zealanders watching their KiwiSaver accounts, that could be confronting.
    The exporters I’ve spoken to in recent days remain buoyant, rightly confident in the quality of their product, and their ability to navigate choppy waters.
    But for countries whose prosperity is underpinned by global trade, the months ahead will be challenging for their economic interests.
    Many commentators will see these events as just the next step in a longer-term trend towards economic security and national resilience, as countries insure themselves against emerging geopolitical threats.
    Others have gone further, declaring an end to the era of free markets, free trade, and free people, and the rules-based international order underpinning it.
    For my part, I’m not ready to throw in the towel quite yet. Kiwis have worked too hard and for too long, to give up on the values and institutions which have seen our country and the region we live in thrive.
    So, for as long as I am Prime Minister, New Zealand will keep making the case for trade as a cornerstone of our prosperity.
    Yes, we are a small country – but stature has never been a barrier to our success.
    Take the P3 – a proposed trade agreement which began life under negotiation at APEC between New Zealand, Singapore, and Chile in the early 2000s.
    Three small countries, practicing what we preach – and doing everything we could to create opportunity for our people through trade.
    Today, that agreement lives on as the CPTPP and covers a dozen countries, including New Zealand and Australia, Canada, much of Asia, and most recently the United Kingdom.
    In total, that’s roughly 15% of global economic activity, or $13 trillion USD – a long way from where we started just over twenty years ago.
    The United Kingdom might be the most recent accession, but I expect they won’t be the last.
    New Zealand will continue to work with like-minded countries to promote free trade as a path to prosperity and explore the role of the CPTPP in strengthening that vision.
    One possibility is that members of the CPTPP and the European Union work together to champion rules-based trade and make specific commitments on how that support plays out in practice.
    My vision is that includes action to prevent restrictions on exports and efforts to ensure any retaliation is consistent with existing rules.
    Collective action, and a collective commitment, by a large portion of the global economy would be a significant step towards preserving free trade flows and protecting supply chains.
    Clearly though, efforts at collective action won’t be enough to support New Zealand’s economic interests.
    As Prime Minister, I have a responsibility to do everything I can to both bolster the existing rules-based order and to further strengthen New Zealand’s position offshore.
    It’s why I have put so much emphasis on deepening our relationships with partners around the region, with visits throughout South-East Asia, Korea and Japan, the United States, and to India last month as we commenced negotiations for a free trade agreement.
    It’s why my Government has worked so hard to close out fresh agreements with the UAE and GCC that enable additional trade and investment.
    It’s why we hosted an Investment Summit in Auckland, making the case both for New Zealand as an outstanding place to do business and for the opportunity to enter long-term infrastructure partnerships.
    It’s why on Monday this week the Minister of Defence and I launched the Government’s Defence Capability Plan, that lifts defence expenditure to 2% of GDP and ensures New Zealand pulls its weight for many years to come.
    It’s why I will be on the phone later today to world leaders comparing notes on world trade, and testing what we can do together to buttress the rules-based trading system.
    And it’s why I will be heading to the United Kingdom later this month to meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, to talk trade, security, and the geopolitical backdrop in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.
    We can’t make the case for New Zealand sitting at home.
    We have to position ourselves as advocates both for our own economic interests and the institutions that underpin them.
    I’m very lucky to lead a Government with so many Ministers dedicated to that task, whether that’s the Foreign Minister, the Minister of Trade, or the Minister of Defence, each of whom having already made a number of significant achievements supporting New Zealand’s interests offshore.
    Back home, the volatility offshore is a fresh reminder of just how important our focus on economic growth will be in the coming years.
    As I said recently at our Investment Summit in Auckland, New Zealand can be a shelter from the global storm.
    That brings a serious opportunity from ensuring our business environment is as welcoming as possible for investment and growth.
    We are making serious inroads into that task.
    Earlier this year, Minister for Economic Growth Nicola Willis published our Government’s Going for Growth Agenda, which outlines a range of actions we are taking to get the New Zealand economy moving and realising its vast potential.
    Each of those actions fits into one of five pillars we have identified as critical to lifting economic growth and improving New Zealanders’ standard of living:

    Developing talent,
    Encouraging innovation, science, and technology,
    Introducing competitive business settings,
    Promoting global trade and investment,
    And delivering infrastructure for growth.

    Across each of those pillars, we have Ministers working day and night to drive through reform – in transport, tourism, aquaculture, construction, advanced aviation, mining, energy, agriculture, and horticulture.
    In just the last few weeks, we have presented our plans to replace the Resource Management Act, fix our broken health and safety laws, and make nation-shaping investments like the Northland Expressway.
    We have introduced the Fast Track regime, streamlining the consenting process for projects of regional and national significance.
    We are re-writing the Overseas Investment Act, so major investments from offshore are consented faster and more reliably.
    We are tearing down the barriers to fresh investment in renewable and non-renewable energy, by repealing the oil and gas ban and ushering in new consenting rules for wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal.
    And we are doubling down on efforts to showcase New Zealand to the world, promoting our tourism and international education sectors offshore so we can attract even more people to spend their money here.
    I know there’s more we can do.
    Growth has now returned, and the economy has turned the corner, but our reform agenda will need to continue at pace for us to out-run the challenges to growth facing us from offshore.
    The challenges to the rules-based international order are intense and the strategic environment my government has inherited is more difficult than it has been for many years.
    For New Zealanders who grew up watching events unfold in Europe and the Middle East, it will be confronting to watch strategic competition and the deterioration of rules-based trade come to our neighbourhood, the Indo-Pacific.
    But the response for New Zealand cannot be retreat.
    New Zealanders are at our best when faced with adversity and we thrive when we compete on the world stage.
    To quote my friend the Foreign Minister, this isn’t our first rodeo.
    Our export sector is jam-packed with talented, sharp New Zealanders who make great products – and create jobs here at home while they do it.
    Farmers, growers, wine makers, and start-ups from all around the country investing in our nation’s future because they have confidence that better days lie ahead.
    I’m not ready to call time on the rules-based trading system.
    And I’m not ready for New Zealand to give up on our efforts to advocate for it on the world stage.
    We’re not in this alone.
    The same institutions that have served New Zealand so well for so long, also underpin the prosperity of so many of our friends and partners, many of whom are also continuing to make the case for free and open trade in recent days.
    My government will keep making the case – overseas, here at home, with a strong voice and a consistent message.
    Free trade works.
    It lifts incomes.
    It creates jobs.
    It builds partnerships.
    And it secures peace.
    I think that’s worth fighting for – and I’m up for that fight.
    Thank you.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: HK hosts APEC energy meeting

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    The Joint Meeting of Four Expert Groups of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Energy Working Group (EWG) and two associated events are being held in Hong Kong for the first time this week in a schedule running from yesterday until Friday.

    Secretary for Environment & Ecology Tse Chin-wan and Director of Electrical & Mechanical Services Poon Kwok-ying spoke at today’s session.

    The joint meeting covers energy data and analysis, energy efficiency and conservation, new and renewable energy technologies, and clean fossil energy.

    The meeting is being held in conjunction with the APEC Workshop on Promoting Energy Efficiency Enhancement in Electricity Generation and the 8th Oil & Gas Security Network Forum.

    Mr Tse highlighted in the meeting that APEC economies consume approximately 60% of the world’s energy, and that energy demand and carbon emissions in the region will continue to rise as the member economies pursue rapid and ongoing economic growth and urbanisation.

    This makes it crucial to accelerate the transition to green energy, mitigate climate change risks and ensure energy security and sustainable economic development, he added.

    The environment chief also outlined that Hong Kong is striving to achieve carbon neutrality before 2050, and will cease using coal for electricity generation by 2035.

    He said that the city is actively implementing decarbonisation measures. This includes planning infrastructure to import more zero-carbon electricity from neighbouring regions, enhancing energy efficiency in buildings, developing green transportation and promoting hydrogen energy development.

    Mr Poon spoke about Hong Kong’s energy developments and stressed the importance of maintaining dialogue among APEC members to meet the challenges of climate change.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Joint Meeting of Four Expert Groups of APEC Energy Working Group and associated workshops held in Hong Kong for first time (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Joint Meeting of Four Expert Groups of APEC Energy Working Group and associated workshops held in Hong Kong for first time  
    This joint meeting brings together four expert groups of the APEC EWG for the first time, namely the Expert Group on Energy Data and Analysis, the Expert Group on Energy Efficiency and Conservation, the Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy Technologies and the Expert Group on Clean Fossil Energy. They are being held in conjunction with the APEC Workshop on Promoting Energy Efficiency Enhancement in Electricity Generation and the 8th Oil and Gas Security Network Forum. Over 100 experts and delegates from 18 APEC member economies as well as three international organisations have gathered to share and exchange experiences on topics such as energy security, clean energy, renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy data and analysis, and sustainable development.
     
         Mr Tse said in his welcome remarks that APEC economies consume approximately 60 per cent of the world’s energy. As the member economies pursue rapid and ongoing economic growth and urbanisation, energy demand and carbon emissions in the region will continue to rise, making it crucial to accelerate the transition to green energy, mitigate climate change risks and ensure energy security and sustainable economic development.
     
    He also said that Hong Kong is striving to achieve carbon neutrality before 2050, and will cease using coal for electricity generation by 2035. Hong Kong is actively implementing various decarbonisation measures, including planning infrastructure to import more zero-carbon electricity from neighbouring regions, enhancing energy efficiency in buildings, developing green transportation and promoting hydrogen energy development for achieving a green and sustainable future.
     
         Mr Poon shared Hong Kong’s developments in the field of energy at the meeting. He thanked the APEC member economies for their continuous efforts in combating climate change, and stressed the importance of maintaining a rapport among the members for meeting the challenges from climate change.
     
    Hong Kong has been actively participating in, and hosting meetings of, the APEC EWG and its expert groups, giving full play to the contribution from the energy sector to the economic and social well-being of the APEC region, while mitigating the environmental impact of the energy supply and its use with other APEC member economies. 
    Issued at HKT 16:18

    NNNN

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Media Registration Opens for Ocean-Related Ministerial Meeting Singapore | 08 April 2025 Issued by the APEC Secretariat Media registration is now open for the 5th APEC Ocean-Related Ministerial Meeting (AOMM5) to be held in Busan, Republic of Korea, from 30 April to 1 May 2025.

    Source: APEC – Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

    Media registration is now open for the 5th APEC Ocean-Related Ministerial Meeting (AOMM5) to be held in Busan, Republic of Korea, from 30 April to 1 May 2025.

    Under the theme of “Navigating our Blue Future—Connection, Innovation and Prosperity”, APEC ministers will convene to advance regional cooperation on ocean resilience, sustainable fisheries and economic development in the ocean and fisheries sector.

    The meeting will be chaired by Korea’s Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, Kang Do-Hyung at the Westin Busan Josun Hotel.

    This marks the first time APEC ministers have met to address ocean-related issues in more than a decade, with the last Ocean-Related Ministerial Meeting taking place in Xiamen, China in 2014.

    Read more: 2014 APEC Ocean-Related Ministerial Meeting Joint Statement

    Since then, APEC has continued to promote sustainable ocean and fisheries management, marine debris reduction and coastal resilience through various working groups and cross-fora collaboration. AOMM5 provides a renewed opportunity to accelerate regional action on ocean-related challenges that are critical to the well-being of coastal communities and the long-term prosperity of the Asia-Pacific.

    Key Media Opportunities:

    • Opening Session of AOMM5: Thursday, 1 May, 09:00-9:30 (KST)
    • Press Conference: Thursday, 1 May, 16:30–17:00 (KST)

    Media Accreditation:

    Media representatives wishing to cover the AOMM5 must be accredited in advance. To receive the media registration guidelines, please email [email protected] with the subject line: MEDIA [Economy name/organization name]. The deadline for media accreditation is 20 April 2025.

    A media lounge will be available to all registered media representative and will be located on the 2nd floor of The Westin Josun Busan on the following dates:

    • Wednesday, 30 April from 09:00–18:00 (KST)
    • Thursday, 1 May from 09:00–18:00 (KST)

    For more information please contact:
    [email protected]
    [email protected] 

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI: Lánasjóður sveitarfélaga – Útboð LSS 39 0303 og LSS151155

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Lánasjóður sveitarfélaga hefur ákveðið að efna til útboðs á skuldabréfaflokkunum LSS 39 0303 og LSS151155 fimmtudaginn 10. apríl 2025. Lánasjóðurinn stefnir að því að taka tilboðum að fjárhæð 500 til 1.500 milljónir króna að nafnvirði í skuldabréfaflokknum LSS151155 og að fjárhæð 500 til 1.500 milljónir króna að nafnvirði í skuldabréfaflokknum LSS 39 0303. Lánasjóðurinn áskilur sér rétt til að hækka og lækka útboðsfjárhæð útboðsins, taka hvaða tilboði sem er eða hafna þeim öllum. Lánasjóðurinn hefur boðið aðalmiðlurum sjóðsins Arion banka, Íslandsbanka, Kviku banka, Landsbankanum og Fossum fjárfestingabanka að taka þátt í útboðinu.

    Óskað er eftir tilboðum í samræmi við eftirfarandi lýsingu:

    Fyrirkomulag: “Hollensk” uppboðsaðferð þar sem allir tilboðsgjafar fá sömu ávöxtunarkröfu og hæst er tekið. Heimilt er að afturkalla eða breyta tilboði með sama hætti og tilboðum er skilað inn, sé það gert fyrir lok útboðsfrests.

    Tilboð: Í tilboði skal taka fram ávöxtunarkröfu án þóknunar og tilboðsfjárhæð.  

    Að öðru leyti er vísað til skilmála skuldabréfanna á heimasíðu Lánasjóðs sveitarfélaga

    Tilboð skulu berast fyrir kl. 16:00, fimmtudaginn 10. apríl 2025 til Lánasjóðs sveitarfélaga á netfangið utbod@lanasjodur.is

    Öllum tilboðum verður svarað fyrir kl. 17:00 á útboðsdegi. Uppgjör sölu fer fram þriðjudaginn 15. apríl 2025.

    Nánari upplýsingar veitir Óttar Guðjónsson, framkvæmdastjóri, ottar@lanasjodur.is / s. 515 4949

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Russell Brand charged by the Metropolitan Police Service

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised the Metropolitan Police Service to charge a man following an investigation by detectives.

    The Met has issued a charge and requisition to Russell Brand, 50 (04.02.1975), of Oxfordshire, in connection with the following offences –

    • One count of rape
    • One count of indecent assault
    • One count of oral rape
    • Two counts of sexual assault

    Detectives began investigating in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations, which followed reporting by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times.

    It is alleged that –

    • In 1999 a woman was raped in the Bournemouth area
    • In 2001 a woman was indecently assaulted in the Westminster area of London
    • In 2004 a woman was orally raped and sexually assaulted in the Westminster area of London
    • Between 2004 and 2005, a woman was sexually assaulted in the Westminster area of London

    Russell Brand will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 2 May.

    Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy from the Metropolitan Police who is leading the investigation said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.

    “The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police. A dedicated team of investigators is available via email at CIT@met.police.uk.

    “Support is also available by contacting the independent charity, Rape Crisis at 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line.”

    We urge responsible reporting in line with guidance from the Attorney General’s Office. Editors, publishers, and social media users should take legal advice to ensure they are in a position to fully comply with the obligations to which they are subject under the common law and Contempt of Court Act 1981.

    The charges relate to four separate women.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-Evening Report: What Donald Trump’s dramatic US trade war means for global climate action

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rakesh Gupta, Associate Professor of Accounting & Finance, Charles Darwin University

    US President Donald Trump’s new trade war will not only send shockwaves through the global economy – it also upsets efforts to tackle the urgent issue of climate change.

    Trump has announced a minimum 10% tariff to be slapped on all exports to the United States. A 34% duty applies to imports from China and a 20% rate to products from the European Union. Australia has been hit with the minimum 10% tariff.

    The move has prompted fears of a global economic slowdown. This might seem like a positive for the climate, because greenhouse gas emissions are closely tied to economic growth.

    However, in the long term, the trade war is bad news for global efforts to cut emissions. It is likely to lead to more energy-intensive goods produced in the US, and dampen international investment in renewable energy projects.

    How does global trade affect emissions?

    Traditionally, growth in the global economy leads to greater emissions from sources such as energy use in both manufacturing and transport. Conversely, emissions tend to fall in periods of economic decline.

    Trade tensions damage the global economy. This was borne out in the tariff war between the US and China, the world’s two largest economies, in 2018 and 2019.

    Trump, in his first presidential term, imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of imports from China. In response, China introduced or increased tariffs on thousands of items from the US.

    As a result, the International Monetary Fund estimated global gross domestic product (GDP) would fall by 0.8% in 2020. The extent of its true impact on GDP is difficult to determine due to the onset of COVID in the same year.

    However, Trump’s tariff war is far broader this time around, and we can expect broadscale damage to global GDP.

    In the short-term, any decline is likely to have a positive impact on emissions reduction. We saw this effect during the COVID-19 pandemic, when global production and trade fell.

    But unfortunately, this effect won’t last forever.

    Domestic production isn’t always a good thing

    Every country consumes goods. And according to Trump’s trade plan, which aims to revive the US manufacturing base, the goods his nation requires will be produced domestically rather than being imported.

    Unfortunately, this US production is likely to be inefficient in many cases. A central tenet of global trade is that nations focus on making goods where they have a competitive advantage – in other words, where they can manufacture the item more cheaply than other nations can. That includes making them using less energy, or creating fewer carbon emissions.

    If the US insists on manufacturing everything it needs domestically, we can expect many of those goods to be more emissions-intensive than if they were imported.

    Renewable energy slowdown?

    Globally, investment in renewable energy has been growing. The US trade war jeopardises this growth.

    Renewable energy spending is, in many cases, a long-term investment which may not produce an immediate economic reward. The logic is obvious: if we don’t invest in reducing emissions now, the economic costs in the future will be far worse.

    However, the US tariffs create a new political imperative. Already, there are fears it may trigger a global economic recession and increase living costs around the world.

    National governments are likely to become focused on protecting their own populace from these financial pressures. Business and industry will also become nervous about global economic conditions.

    And the result? Both governments and the private sector may shy away from investments in renewable energy and other clean technologies, in favour of more immediate financial concerns.

    The COVID experience provides a cautionary tale. The unstable economic outlook and higher interest rates meant banks were more cautious about financing some renewable energy projects.

    And according to the International Energy Agency, small to medium-sized businesses became more reluctant to invest in renewable energy applications such as heat pumps and solar panels.

    What’s more, the slowing in global trade during the pandemic meant the supply of components and materials vital to the energy transition was disrupted.

    There are fears this disruption may be repeated following the US tariff move. For example, the duty on solar products from China to the US is expected to rise to 60%, just as demand for solar energy increases from US data centres and artificial intelligence use.

    Few nations can afford to impose retaliatory tariffs on the US imports.

    Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, for example, says this nation will not slap new duties on US imports, saying: “We will not join a race to the bottom that leads to higher prices and slower growth”.

    China, however, can be expected to return fire. Already it has halted imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US for 40 days – a move attributed to trade tensions.

    This may seem like good news for emissions reduction. However, China, like all other nations, needs energy. With less gas from the US, it may resort to burning more coal – which generates more CO₂ when burnt than gas.

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responds to Trump’s tariff announcement.

    An uncertain time

    Free global trade has worldwide benefits. It helps reduce poverty and stimulates innovation and technology. It can improve democracy and individual freedoms.

    And, with the right safeguards in place, global trade can help drive the clean energy transition. Global trade improves efficiency and innovation and technology. This is likely to benefit innovation in clean energy and energy efficiency.

    Trump’s tariff war weakens global trade, and will slow the world’s progress towards decarbonisation. It is a most uncertain time – both for the world’s economy, and its climate.

    Rakesh Gupta does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. What Donald Trump’s dramatic US trade war means for global climate action – https://theconversation.com/what-donald-trumps-dramatic-us-trade-war-means-for-global-climate-action-253740

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Met detectives thank victim-survivors who have come forward following conviction of serial rapist Zhenhao Zou

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    23 women have made reports to the Metropolitan Police Service following their appeal to trace potential victim-survivors of convicted rapist Zhenhao Zou. Detectives believe there are still more women yet to be identified and are renewing their appeal, in the hope that further victim-survivors come forward and access specialist support.

    Zou – a Chinese PHD student who had been living in London – was convicted of raping ten women in March 2025 following an extensive and complex Met investigation. The jury unanimously found him guilty of these rape charges after hearing evidence that he had committed crimes across two continents – both in the UK and in China.

    While detectives identified two of the women Zou was convicted of raping, eight remained unidentified throughout the investigation and subsequent trial.

    Following the conclusion of court proceedings, investigators also revealed that they had evidence to suggest that there may be more than 50 other victim-survivors who had not yet been traced.

    Since the Met’s appeal, 23 women have already made reports and investigators believe there could yet be further victims and survivors of Zou.

    Some of these women currently live in the UK, while others are living in China and other parts of the world. These reports highlight the scale of the international investigation and complexities faced by officers in their pursuit for justice.

    Multiple people have also come forward to share key information and assist with enquires, who officers are treating as potential witnesses.

    Commander Kevin Southworth, who leads public protection at the Metropolitan Police, said: “This is a significant step in our ongoing investigation and I’d like to thank the women who have bravely come forward since our appeal. Our priority remains to offer them the best possible support throughout this immensely difficult time.

    “I would also like thank Londoners and the wider public who have shared our appeal and helped us raise awareness of this case – helping to reach further women and witnesses who we believe will be crucial to the next phase of our investigation.

    “As part of our work to make London safer, officers and staff at the Met are continuing their efforts to tackle violence against women and girls and put victim-survivors at the heart of our response.”

    Specialist officers from the Met have spoken with all of the women who have come forward and enquiries continue into any potential crimes which have not yet been through the criminal justice process.

    Dedicated officers are liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service as they build a file of evidence to submit for further consideration by prosecutors. This will follow Zou’s sentencing, which is scheduled to take place in June 2025.

    As part of this update, the investigation team is once again appealing for further victim-survivors to come forward where they will receive specialist support. Beyond the women who have come forward, officers believe that there are still more victim-survivors to be traced.

    Officers want to reassure any potential victim-survivors that any reports will be fully investigated and dealt with the utmost sensitivity, care and compassion.

    How to contact the police and independent support agencies:

    Reports relating to Zhenhao Zou can be made online via the Major Incident Public Portal (MIPP): https://mipp.police.uk/operation/01MPS25X38-PO1. The MIPP is also available in Simplified Chinese (https://mipp.police.uk/operation/01MPS25X38-PO2 ).

    If you wish to speak to Met detectives or make a report relating to Zou, you can also contact police via email on survivors@met.police.uk

    You can also make a report to police by calling 101 from within the UK, quoting reference 2904/04FEB25.

    If you live in England or Wales and have been affected by this case and would like to seek independent support from specialist agencies, please contact the charity Rape Crisis via their 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line or call them on 0808 500 2222. Specially trained staff are there to listen, answer questions and offer emotional support.

    Zhenhao Zou (20/02/97), of Churchyard Row, Elephant and Castle, London, was found guilty of a total of 28 offences on Wednesday, 25 March following a trial at Inner London Crown Court. The offences are broken down as follows:

    • 11 counts of rape,
    • Three counts of voyeurism,
    • Ten counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image,
    • One count of false imprisonment,
    • Three counts of committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence (relating to the drug Butanediol).

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Working visit of Alexey Overchuk to China

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    On March 27–28, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexey Overchuk paid a working visit to the People’s Republic of China (Hainan Island), heading the Russian delegation at the annual Boao Forum for Asia.

    During his speech at the session “Creating favorable conditions for peaceful development and ensuring overall economic security,” the Deputy Prime Minister spoke in detail about the creation of international partnerships aimed at forming a reliable basis for sustainable economic growth in the Eurasian region, including the construction of transport and logistics systems and an independent payment infrastructure.

    Alexey Overchuk spoke about the initiative of the Greater Eurasian Partnership, put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which implies the interconnectedness of the economies of Eurasia and is based on the idea of economic security and integration.

    The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the Northern Eurasia macro-region serves as an example of multi-level economic integration, where such associations as the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the Eurasian Economic Union, and the Commonwealth of Independent States operate.

    At the same time, in Asia there is the Chinese initiative “One Belt, One Road”, ASEAN, the Organization of the Gulf States and other organizations that unite the countries and regions of the global South. Many countries of Asia and Eurasia, including the three largest economies of the continent – China, India and Russia, participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS. Russia and China are also members of APEC.

    The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that the unification of these multilateral efforts will lead to the creation of the impetus needed to build a more sustainable future and socio-economic progress, develop and implement new technologies, increase economic connectivity, and strengthen intercultural communication in Eurasia.

    During the visit, the Deputy Prime Minister held talks with Vice Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Ding Xuexiang. During the conversation, it was noted that further development of strategic partnership in all sectors of the economy meets the interests of both countries. The trusting dialogue between the leaders of the two countries, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, plays a decisive role in the development of Russian-Chinese cooperation. Mutual high-level visits are planned for the spring-autumn of 2025, timed to coincide with the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of Victory in World War II.

    Alexey Overchuk emphasized that Russia is ready to jointly implement the agreements reached by the heads of the two states and continuously deepen Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction.

    “Russia and China need to expand trade relations, scientific and technical cooperation, and create new production and cooperation chains,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.

    During the talks, it was noted that China remains Russia’s main foreign trade partner. By the end of 2024, mutual trade approached the $245 billion mark. Over 95% of bilateral settlements are conducted in rubles and yuan.

    The parties are implementing joint projects in industry, energy, high technology, space, transport, automotive engineering and other sectors.

    Cultural and humanitarian ties are actively developing. The countries’ mutual interest in each other’s history, culture and traditions is high and continues to grow. The cross-cultural years of Russia and China are being held successfully, more than half of the 230 events of the Russian part have been held.

    Alexey Overchuk also invited representatives of the leadership and business community of the PRC to take part in international economic forums held in Russia – the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June and the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in September 2025.

    Vice Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Ding Xuexiang stressed that relations between China and Russia have become a model of cooperation between major neighboring powers, stating that Beijing, together with Moscow, is ready, in line with the important agreements reached by the heads of state of the two countries, to deepen political contacts and strengthen practical cooperation for the benefit of the peoples of the two countries.

    On the sidelines of the forum, Alexey Overchuk held talks with the Chairman of the Provisional Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus. During the meeting, it was noted that the countries are striving to strengthen friendly relations and develop trade and economic ties on a mutually beneficial basis. According to the results of 2024, mutual trade between Russia and Bangladesh amounted to 2.66 billion dollars.

    The parties discussed issues of cooperation in the fields of industry, energy, food security, and the cultural and humanitarian sphere. The Deputy Prime Minister noted the need to continue work to expand the regulatory framework for bilateral cooperation, emphasizing the importance of activating the format of the Russian-Bangladesh Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation for the development of bilateral relations.

    During the Russian-Pakistani meeting, which also took place on the sidelines of the forum, Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk and Minister of Finance of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Muhammad Aurangzeb considered priority issues on the bilateral agenda, including cooperation in energy and food security.

    The parties noted the active development of Russian-Pakistani cooperation. In 2024, a series of mutual visits took place between governments and parliaments.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Alexey Overchuk spoke in a video message at the plenary session of the International Economic Forum of the CIS Member States

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk spoke at the plenary session of the International Economic Forum of the CIS Member States “New Impetus for the Development of the Greater Eurasian Partnership” held in Moscow.

    From the transcript:

    A. Overchuk: Good afternoon, dear colleagues!

    Alexey Overchuk’s speech in the format of a video address at the plenary session of the International Economic Forum of the CIS Member States “New Impetus for the Development of the Greater Eurasian Partnership”

    15 hours ago

    Thank you very much for the opportunity to share my thoughts on the development of the Greater Eurasian Partnership. The initiative to create the GEP was put forward by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin in his Address to the Federal Assembly back in 2015. Everything that has happened in the world over the past 10 years convinces us that there is no alternative to this path.

    We are witnessing a change in the world order around us. This transformation is based on a set of factors that have caused new problems and contradictions to emerge and have exacerbated old conflicts. As a rule, the underlying cause of any conflicts that humanity has faced in its history is always access to resources, including food, energy, raw materials, labor, and markets.

    Every time history brought productive forces to a new level of development, humanity had a need for new resources. As a rule, this led to conflicts related to redistribution.

    The modern transformation affects issues of food and energy security, as well as new technologies, the implementation of which requires intensive use of critical raw materials and rare earth elements. Their supply is quite limited, and therefore control over them is critically important for the implementation of a new technological turn and maintaining or acquiring leadership positions in the world.

    The solution to the objective problems of our time requires approaches based on the mutual desire to build mutually beneficial relations and cooperation between sovereign states in the interests of the common good, well-being and security of peoples.

    In this context, the initiative of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin to form the Greater Eurasian Partnership is particularly relevant. It is designed to prevent the segmentation of international contacts, their disintegration into disparate blocks and structures, which reduces the overall efficiency of economic activity. The BEP will create a reliable material basis for ensuring sustainable economic growth – a seamless transport and logistics system, a self-sufficient payment architecture, a multilateral platform for innovative cooperation, a wide network of economic corridors.

    The Russian leadership calls for the formation of a contour of equal and indivisible security, mutually beneficial, equitable cooperation and prosperity on the Eurasian continent in the foreseeable future. A special role in the new Eurasian system of security and development is given to issues of the economy, social well-being, integration and mutually beneficial cooperation, solving such problems as overcoming poverty, inequality, climate, ecology, developing mechanisms to respond to the threats of a pandemic and crises in the global economy.

    The Eurasian centers of the multipolar world are based on integration projects, which, as a rule, are formed around large sovereign economies or geographic regions. In the post-Soviet space, integration is of a multi-level nature, which reflects a respectful attitude towards the readiness of individual countries to deepen bilateral and multilateral ties, as well as to participate in the creation of supranational regulatory instruments and the assumption of corresponding obligations. Here we are talking about the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the Eurasian Economic Union and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

    Other integration projects taking shape around major economies and geographic regions of Eurasia include China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the Organization of Turkic States.

    In turn, the sovereign states of Eurasia participate in such system-forming structures as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as well as in BRICS and APEC, which go beyond the geography of Eurasia. It is obvious that these associations have the potential to develop into international platforms where joint decisions will be developed that affect the interests of integration entities formed around the large economies and geographic centers of Eurasia, and interaction with the countries of the global South and the Pacific Ocean basin will be carried out.

    The result of the consolidation of efforts of all participating states and integration entities will be the Greater Eurasian Partnership, which in its essence will be an integration of integrations, giving impetus to sustainable development, socio-economic progress, the development and application of new technologies, the improvement of transport and logistics connectivity, as well as the strengthening of cultural and other ties between the peoples of Eurasia.

    The implementation of this vision will require the convergence of integration projects based on the harmonization of regulatory requirements for financial markets, the conduct of fair multilateral trade and investment, the development of industrial cooperation and the formation of sustainable international value chains, the strengthening of the common contractual framework in matters of food and energy security, environmental protection, as well as the coordination of technological, information and communication, infrastructure and cultural development in Eurasia.

    The construction of the BEP must be carried out in compliance with the principles of international law, respect for interests, consideration of regional and cultural characteristics and levels of development of individual participants, as well as decision-making based on consensus. This is the spirit that we are able to maintain within the Union State, the EAEU and the CIS, so these associations can become an example for developing the mechanisms of the BEP.

    The CIS experience and its active involvement in the “integration of integrations” project are necessary for the successful development of Greater Eurasia. After all, within the Commonwealth, a solid regulatory framework and effective tools for the development of historically established trade, economic and humanitarian ties have been created. These developments can be applied throughout the Eurasian continent.

    It is important that the association is in excellent shape, as evidenced by economic indicators. According to the CIS Statistical Committee, the growth of industrial production for January-October 2024 was 4.2%, the volume of freight traffic – 7.4%, retail turnover – 7.7%. The Commonwealth’s GDP for three quarters of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 increased by 4.4%. Such successes were largely achieved thanks to the development of industrial cooperation, movement along the path of strengthening technological sovereignty based on science and innovation.

    Our trade and economic relations within the Eurasian Economic Union are built in the logic of the values and ideas underlying the Greater Eurasia project. The EAEU’s commitment to unlocking its potential as one of the economic centers of the BEP is enshrined in the Declaration on the Further Development of Economic Processes within the EAEU until 2030 and for the Period up to 2045, “The Eurasian Economic Path”, adopted following the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in St. Petersburg on December 25, 2023. In this strategic document, the heads of state of the EAEU declared their desire to achieve by 2045 the transformation of the EAEU into a self-sufficient, harmoniously developed and attractive macro-region for all countries of the world, possessing economic, technological and intellectual leadership and maintaining a high level of well-being of the population of the member states.

    Work in this area has a positive effect on economic indicators. Thus, in 2024, the EAEU GDP increased by 4.2%. For the EU, for example, the similar indicator, according to preliminary estimates, was only 0.8%.

    The experience of the EAEU can also be a good support for building a space of well-being and prosperity in Eurasia. In particular, the elimination of non-tariff barriers in the EAEU by switching to uniform mandatory requirements for EAEU goods (uniform SPS requirements, uniform technical regulations), as well as the elimination of customs control annually for the period 2015-2023, provided a sustainable increase in the growth rate of the EAEU GDP in the amount of 14.5 billion US dollars. Mutual trade of the EAEU due to these measures was on average 24% higher.

    The EAEU has already achieved significant success in the international arena. The dialogue is being strengthened based on memorandums of cooperation. Important steps in terms of forming the BEP have already been made based on such agreements with the secretariats of the SCO and ASEAN.

    Free trade agreements have been concluded with Vietnam, Serbia and Iran. The latter has recently also become an observer state in the EAEU. The coordination of FTA agreements with a number of other countries is in the final stage. According to our estimates, entering into new FTA agreements could expand the preferential sales market for the union from the current 480 million people to almost 880 million people.

    Dialogue with China is actively developing, with which the EAEU has created a solid basis for interaction in the form of two existing non-preferential trade agreements that underlie the integration of economic processes within the union with the One Belt, One Road initiative.

    The joint search for new solutions and synchronization of the development of integration projects, as well as infrastructure initiatives, work for the benefit of regional interconnectedness, increase the weight of our economies, and form the basis on which a new architecture of global economic relations in Eurasia and beyond can be built.

    Thank you!

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Trump is interested in joining the Commonwealth. It’s not up to him – or even the king

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dennis Altman, Vice Chancellor’s Fellow and Professorial Fellow, Institute for Human Security and Social Change, La Trobe University

    It seems Britain has one key inducement to offer US President Donald Trump: a state visit hosted by King Charles.

    One can only imagine what the king thinks of this, but he will undoubtedly maintain a stiff upper lip and preside over several lavish dinners.

    Following reports of this offer, which would make Trump the only US president to be twice hosted by a British monarch, stories surfaced that the US might become an associate member of the Commonwealth.



    Read more:
    The king has a tricky diplomatic role to play in inviting Trump for a state visit

    There has been no official confirmation of this, but the story has been floated in several British newspapers.

    What is the Commonwealth?

    The Commonwealth came into existence as a means of retaining links with former British colonies, so there is a certain historical justification for the idea.

    Almost all of Britain’s former colonies are now members of the Commonwealth of Nations, with Ireland and the US notable exceptions.

    The Commonwealth is an organisation that ties together 56 countries, including a few in Africa that have been admitted despite not having been British colonies.

    Of the 56, only a minority recognise the British king as their head of state, a point local monarchists are reluctant to acknowledge.

    Indeed, some members of the Commonwealth, such as Malaysia, Brunei and Tonga, have their own hereditary monarchs.

    In theory, all members are democratic, and several, such as Fiji, have at times been suspended from membership for failing on this count.

    Whatever doubts we might have about the state of US democracy, it is hard to argue the US would fail to meet a bar that allows continued membership to states such as Pakistan and Zimbabwe.

    The Commonwealth is largely seen as less important than other international groupings, and its heads of government meetings are often skipped by leaders of the most significant members.

    Other than turning up to the Commonwealth Games, few recent Australian prime ministers have paid it much attention, compared to our membership of the G20 or the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

    Nonetheless, the Commonwealth does include a remarkable range of countries ranging from significant states such as India, Canada and South Africa to the many island states of the Pacific and the Caribbean.

    While its work is largely unreported, it does provide a range of international assistance and linkages that otherwise would be out of reach for its smaller and poorer members.

    Why is Trump interested in joining?

    Trump, it can be assumed, has no interest in the Commonwealth as a means of better working with states such as Namibia and Belize.

    The attraction seems to be linked to his strange reverence for royalty and a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of the British sovereign.

    King Charles is head of the Commonwealth through agreement of its members, probably in recognition of the extraordinary commitment his mother showed as the Commonwealth developed out of the old British Empire. Indeed, she clashed several times with her British ministers because of her loyalty to the Commonwealth.

    But unlike the king’s British – and Australian – crown, this is not a position that belongs automatically to the British monarch.

    So, while inviting Trump to Windsor Castle may be the gift of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, admission to the Commonwealth would require the agreement of all its members.

    Given Trump’s demands to acquire Canada and to punish South Africa for recent land expropriation law, it is hard to imagine unanimous enthusiasm.



    Read more:
    Donald Trump is picking fights with leaders around the world. What exactly is his foreign policy approach?

    Most member states are cautious about being too closely linked to either the US or China, although Australia might end up the last true believer in US alliances. Others, such as Ghana and Pakistan, depend considerably on Chinese aid.

    In a world dominated by increasingly autocratic leaders, a middle power like Australia needs as wide a range of friends as possible. Most of us have only a vague sense of what the Commonwealth entails.

    Like all international institutions, the Commonwealth often seems more concerned with grand statements than actual commitment.

    But there is value in a global organisation whose members claim to be committed to:

    democracy and democratic processes, including free and fair elections and representative legislatures; the rule of law and independence of the judiciary; good governance, including a well-trained public service and transparent public accounts; and protection of human rights, freedom of expression, and equality of opportunity.

    Would Trump’s America meet those demands?

    Dennis Altman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Trump is interested in joining the Commonwealth. It’s not up to him – or even the king – https://theconversation.com/trump-is-interested-in-joining-the-commonwealth-its-not-up-to-him-or-even-the-king-253217

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI: TransUnion Study Finds U.S. Data Breach Severity Reaches New High

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, March 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Despite the volume of U.S. data breaches declining in 2024 from highs reached a year prior, data breach severity reached levels never seen since TransUnion’s measurement began in 2020. These findings were revealed as part of the newly-released TransUnion® (NYSE: TRU)  H1 2025 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report.

    In 2024, the number of primary data breaches dipped to 2,577 from 2,842 the year prior, while third-party data breaches fell precipitously to 515 from 2,731 in 2023. However, the severity of those data breaches increased by 34% from one year earlier, with the primary US Breach Risk Score (BRS)1 rising from 4.1 to 5.6 and third party rising from 4.2 to 5.2. Breach Risk Score is measured on a 1–10 scale, where 1 represents the least severe and 10 most.

    A primary data breach represents a direct attack on an organization. A third-party data breach, also known as a supply-chain attack, value-chain attack, or backdoor breach, is when an attacker accesses an entity’s network via third-party vendors or suppliers — payroll processing or medical billing, for instance.

    The study found that the 2024 U.S. data breaches targeted more high-quality credentials, and consumers reported being targeted by data harvesting scams in every channel, including email, text, phone and online. Exposed identity data enables cybercriminals to power automated, identity-based attacks on organizations and individuals more readily.

    “The reversal of the multi-year U.S. data breach growth is certainly a step in the right direction. However, the significant jump in data breach severity is a cause for concern,” said Steve Yin, global head of fraud at TransUnion. “Breach severity is a leading indicator of future fraud. This year’s growth in severity means organizations must be even more diligent moving forward and work even harder to defend against the oncoming identity fraud attacks such as those in account creations, social engineering scams, and account takeovers.”

    _______________
    1 The BRS is based on the quantity and severity of the particular identity credentials the affected entity determined to have been exposed.

    While U.S. Data Breach Volume Ticked Down in 2024, Data Breach Severity Reached Record Levels
     
      2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
    Volume
    Primary data Breaches 1,248 1,841 1,834 2,842 2,577
    Third-party data breaches 689 567 1,757 2,731 515
    Average Breach Risk Score
    Primary data Breaches 3.9 4.0 4.0 4.1 5.6
    Third-party data breaches 2.8 3.1 3.4 4.2 5.2
    Source: TransUnion TruEmpower™
     

    These data breaches played a key role in significant financial losses faced by consumers due to fraud. Among consumers TransUnion surveyed in 18 countries and regions in November and December 2024, 29% said they lost money due to online, email, phone or text message fraud in the last year. The newly-released TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) H1 2025 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report found that the median amount those consumers said they lost due to fraud in the past year was $1,747.

    Communities and Video Gaming Among Top Industries Targeted by Suspected Digital Fraud Globally
    Communities, which include venues such as online dating and forums, had the highest rate of suspected digital fraud2 attempts globally in 2024. Nearly 12% of all attempted communities transactions were suspected to be digital fraud last year. This is closely followed by video gaming (11%), with gaming (including online betting, poker, etc.) at 8% and retail (8%) rounding out the top four.

    The logistics industry, which has seen growth in shipping fraud (often perpetrated by organized crime rings), saw the greatest suspected digital fraud volume growth globally in 2024, up more than 100% over 2023. That being said, the fraud rate remains at a relatively modest 3%. Gaming also saw a significant year-over-year (YoY) volume change, up 20%. Telecommunications (-79%), insurance (-29%) and video gaming (-23%) saw the greatest decreases in suspected digital fraud volume YoY.

    “Digital fraud on community platforms is by no means a new phenomenon. However, in 2024, it appears that fraudsters targeted these areas with a renewed vigor,” said Richard Tsai, senior director of global fraud solutions at TransUnion. “Cybercriminals, taking advantage of the trust inherent on community-based platforms, targeted members with a wide range of scammer solicitations, the most reported type of digital fraud in communities.”

    For transactions where the consumer or fraudster was located in the U.S., gaming continues to see the highest suspected digital fraud rate. About 14% of attempted transactions were suspected to be digital fraud, roughly the same as 2023. This marks the fifth consecutive year since TransUnion began research on this metric five years ago, where 13% or more of attempted gaming transactions in the U.S. were suspected to be digital fraud.

    _______________
    2 The rate or percentage of suspected digital fraud attempts reflects those which TransUnion customers determined met one of the following conditions: 1) denial in real time due to fraudulent indicators, 2) denial in real time for corporate policy violations, 3) fraudulent upon customer investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon customer investigation — compared to all transactions assessed. The country and regional analyses examined transactions in which the consumer or suspected fraudster was located in a select country or region when conducting a transaction. Global statistics represents every country worldwide and not just the select countries and regions.

    Communities Saw the Highest Suspected Digital Fraud Rates in 2024 Globally, While Logistics Saw the Greatest Volume Increase
         
    Industry Suspected digital fraud attempt rate 2024 Change in volume of suspected digital fraud attempts from 2023 to 2024
    Communities (online dating, forums, etc.) 11.6% +9%
    Video gaming 10.8% -23%
    Gaming (online sports betting, poker, etc.) 7.8% +20%
    Retail 7.6% -45%
    Financial services 4.9% +3%
    Telecommunications 3.0% -79%
    Logistics 2.6% +101%
    Insurance 2.0% -29%
    Government 1.7% +6%
    Travel & leisure 0.9% -38%
    Source: TransUnion TruValidate™
         

    As part of the same aforementioned consumer survey, 11% of U.S. respondents indicated that they were targeted by online, email, phone call or text messaging fraud from August to December 2024 and fell victim to it. Four in 10 respondents (41%) indicated that they were aware of being targeted, but did not fall victim. Among those able to identify being targeted, the most commonly reported fraud scheme in the U.S. was smishing. Smishing is a type of phishing that uses text messages to mislead people into giving away personal information. The term combines “SMS” and “phishing”.

    “While cybercriminals will attack at any time using any channel, they appear to focus on channels most popular in the regions they are targeting,” said Yin. “Text messaging remains incredibly popular in the U.S. and, among many demographic groups, is a far more ubiquitous way to communicate with mobile devices than phone calls. As such, it would stand to reason that smishing would be such a common fraud tactic among fraudsters targeting this region.”

    In contrast, nearly half of respondents (48%) indicated that they were not targeted by these types of fraud at all. This raises questions as to whether these respondents were in fact targeted, yet simply unaware.

    India and South Africa Saw the Greatest Percentage of Respondents Falling Victim to Digital Fraud in H2 2024
             
    Country Targeted and fell victim Targeted but didn’t fall victim Not targeted Most reported fraud scheme
    India 13% 41% 46% Identity theft
    South Africa 13% 55% 31% Phishing
    Dominican Republic 12% 24% 64% Vishing
    Kenya 11% 71% 19% Smishing
    Mexico 11% 31% 58% Stolen credit card
    Namibia 11% 52% 37% Vishing
    Philippines 11% 63% 26% Phishing
    Puerto Rico 11% 25% 63% Stolen credit card
    United States 11% 41% 48% Smishing
    Brazil 10% 30% 60% Vishing
    Rwanda 10% 57% 33% Money mule
    Spain 10% 25% 65% Phishing
    Canada 9% 47% 44% Phishing
    Chile 9% 30% 61% Vishing
    Colombia 9% 33% 58% Vishing
    Zambia 9% 70% 21% Smishing
    Hong Kong 6% 45% 48% Phishing
    United Kingdom 6% 44% 50% Phishing
    Source: TransUnion consumer survey
             

    TransUnion came to its conclusions about digital fraud and data breaches based on intelligence from TransUnion TruValidate and TruEmpower respectively.

    Specific country and regional data in the report include the United States, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and Zambia. Download the TransUnion H1 2025 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report for more information and insights about the global fraud trends.

    About TransUnion (NYSE: TRU)

    TransUnion is a global information and insights company with over 13,000 associates operating in more than 30 countries. We make trust possible by ensuring each person is reliably represented in the marketplace. We do this with a Tru™ picture of each person: an actionable view of consumers, stewarded with care. Through our acquisitions and technology investments we have developed innovative solutions that extend beyond our strong foundation in core credit into areas such as marketing, fraud, risk and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good® — and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences and personal empowerment for millions of people around the world.

    http://www.transunion.com/business

    Contact       Dave Blumberg
    TransUnion
         
    E-mail   david.blumberg@transunion.com
         
    Telephone   312-972-6646
         

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: PNG’s Marape and NZ’s Luxon sign new partnership marking 50 years

    RNZ News

    The prime ministers of New Zealand and Papua New Guinea have signed a new statement of partnership marking 50 years of bilateral relations between the two countries.

    The document — which focuses on education, trade, security, agriculture and fisheries — was signed by Christopher Luxon and James Marape at the Beehive in Wellington last night.

    It will govern the relationship between the two countries through until 2029 and replaces the last agreement signed by Marape in 2021 with then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

    Marking the signing, Luxon announced $1 million would be allocated in response to Papua New Guinea’s aspirations to strengthen public sector institutions.

    “That funding will be able to support initiatives like strengthen cooperation between disaster preparedness institutions and also exchanging expertise in the governance of state owned enterprises in particular,” Luxon said.

    In his response Marape acknowledged the long enduring relationship between the government and peoples of New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

    He said the new statement of partnership was an important blueprint on how the two countries would progress their relationship into the future.

    “Papua New Guinea brings to the table, as far as our relationship is concerned, our close proximity to Asia. We straddle the Pacific and Southeast Asia, we have an affinity to as much as our own affinity with our relations in the Pacific,” Marape said.

    “Our dual presence at APEC continues to ring [sic] home the fact that we belong to a family of nations and we work back to back on many fronts.”

    Meeting Peters
    Today, Marape will meet with Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and leader of the opposition Chris Hipkins.

    Later in the week, Marape is scheduled to travel to Hamilton where he will meet with the NZ Papua New Guinea Business Council and with Papua New Guinea scholarship recipients at Waikato University.

    James Marape is accompanied by his spouse Rachael Marape and a ministerial delegation including Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko, Trade Minister Richard Maru, Minister for Livestock Seki Agisa and Higher Education Minister Kinoka Feo.

    This is Marape’s first official visit to New Zealand following his re-election as prime minister in the last national elections in 2022.

    According to the PNG government, the visit signals a growing relationship between the two countries, especially in trade and investment, cultural exchange, and the newly-added Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme that New Zealand has extended to Papua New Guineans to work in Aotearoa.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI: XRP News: XploraDEX Set to Bring AI-Powered Trading Algorithm to XRP Ledger – Don’t Miss The $XPL Presale!

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ZURICH, March 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The XRP Ledger has long been a leader in speed, efficiency, and low fees, but there’s been one critical missing piece, a truly intelligent, AI-powered trading platform. While other blockchains have leveraged AI to dominate DeFi, XRP traders have been left behind until now.

    XploraDEX is here to change that! As the first AI-powered decentralized exchange (DEX) built on XRPL, XploraDEX is set to revolutionize XRP trading by bringing machine-learning-driven automation, predictive analytics, and high-speed execution to every trader.

    And here’s the kicker the $XPL PreSale is Live, and smart investors are already securing their positions! Don’t wait until AI trading becomes the new normal—get in early and stay ahead of the curve!

    GET XPL TOKENS NOW

    Why XRP Desperately Needs an AI-Powered Trading Platform

    The manual trading method is broken. The crypto markets are fast, volatile, and unforgiving. Human traders are constantly fighting against bots, institutions, and high-frequency trading algorithms, making it nearly impossible to stay consistently profitable.

    Here’s why XRP traders have been struggling:

    Emotional Trading – Fear, greed, and FOMO lead to bad decisions and lost profits.

    Slow Execution – By the time you react to market moves, it’s too late.

    Missed Opportunities – The best trades happen in milliseconds, far faster than any human can execute.

    High Market Volatility – Without AI-driven insights, it’s easy to get liquidated or stuck in bad trades.

    This is why AI trading has taken over traditional finance—and now, it’s finally coming to XRPL!

    PARTICIPATE IN $XPL PRESALE

    How XploraDEX Fixes XRP Trading Forever

    XploraDEX brings AI-powered automation to XRP trading, solving all of the major pain points that have been holding traders back. With $XPL Token at its core, XploraDEX allows traders to:

    Trade Like the Pros – AI-driven algorithms execute trades at optimal price points with lightning speed.

    Stay Ahead of Market Trends – Predictive analytics scan real-time data to find the best opportunities.

    Eliminate Human Error – Let AI remove emotions, hesitation, and indecision from your trades.

    Capitalize on Arbitrage & High-Frequency Trading (HFT) – AI bots detect price inefficiencies across XRPL and exploit them instantly.

    Optimize Liquidity & Minimize Slippage – AI automatically manages liquidity pools to ensure smooth, cost-effective trading.

    $XPL Pre-Sale Round is Live!

    The XPL Token Presale is already attracting major interest, early investors will gain first-mover advantages!

    Buy $XPL Tokens Now: https://sale.xploradex.io

    In Conclusion

    The biggest winners in crypto are the ones who position themselves early before the masses catch on. XPL holders will have access to the most powerful AI trading tools in XRP DeFi. the whales are already accumulating.

    Don’t wait until AI is the new standard—Participate in $XPL Presale Round now and stay ahead: https://sale.xploradex.io

    Stay connected and Join the XploraDEX AI Revolution

    Website | $XPL Token Presale | X | Telegram

    Contact:
    Oliver Muller
    oliver@xploradex.io
    contact@xploradex.io

    Disclaimer: This press release is provided by the XploraDEX. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice.

    Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector—including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining—complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed.

    Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility.

    Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bc09bbb6-8b0e-494a-aa58-7161b4f9d8b3

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Iterate.ai’s Kevin Homer Named CRN Channel Chief Amid AI PC Partnership Success

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SAN JOSE, Calif. and DENVER, March 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Iterate.ai, whose AI platform enables enterprises to build production-ready applications and ready-to-use products for private AI requirements and the AI PC era, today announced that CRN has named Kevin Homer as a 2025 Channel Chief. The recognition comes as Iterate.ai expands its channel-first strategy, bringing secure and local AI processing capabilities to business through recent strategic partnerships with companies including Intel and TD SYNNEX. Iterate.ai’s channel program now has more than 50 partners, with plans to continue expanding rapidly this year.

    Homer has led Iterate.ai’s channel-centric model by establishing partnerships that make Generate—Iterate’s privacy-first AI Assistant—available to over 25,000 resellers. Generate’s ability to process documents more than 1,000 pages locally on AI PCs, among its many other capabilities, positions partners to address growing business demands for secure AI deployment. Unlike cloud-dependent AI assistants, Generate’s proprietary Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) framework ensures sensitive data remains within organizational boundaries while eliminating cloud processing costs.

    “The channel is ideal for what Iterate.ai brings to the market,” said Homer. “Through our recent deals with TD SYNNEX, Intel, and others, we’re empowering partners to drive revenue while delivering AI solutions that protect users’ sensitive data by running entirely on local AI PCs. This has created tremendous services opportunities for our partners as their customers seek more secure ways to leverage AI, while our partner portal and upcoming MDF program provide the resources needed to accelerate their growth.”

    “Kevin’s vision for Iterate.ai in the channel aligns well with our product development and the emergence of AI PCs that demand secure AI deployments,” said Brian Sathianathan, CTO and co-founder of Iterate.ai. “His recognition by CRN validates our strategy of scaling through partners who can deliver complete, secure AI solutions for years to come.”

    Homer brings 25 years of technology sales experience to Iterate.ai, having previously built successful channel programs at LogRhythm and Vericept. His CRN Channel Chief achievement adds to Iterate.ai’s industry recognition; the company has recently been recognized in Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators, named to the KM World AI 100, and had its Interplay-AppCoder LLM awarded the best AI and Machine Learning Model by InfoWorld.

    About Iterate.ai

    Iterate.ai is at the forefront of empowering businesses with state-of-the-art AI solutions, like Generate and its AI low code platform, Interplay. Interplay is cloud-agnostic and can run AI on the edge and in secure private environments. With six patents granted (including “drag-and-drop AI”) and nearly a dozen more pending, Iterate.ai’s platform offers corporate innovators a low-risk, speedy, and systematic way to scale in-house, near-term digital innovation initiatives. With its largest offices in San Jose, CA and Denver, CO, Iterate.ai has a global presence with other offices in North America (Texas, Washington, Arizona), Europe (Stockholm), and Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Singapore).

    Contact

    Kyle Peterson
    kyle@clementpeterson.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e20a4206-0b49-4122-92ed-85343513d9eb

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Canada Contributes CAD 2M to Support Inclusive, Sustainable APEC Growth Gyeongju, Republic of Korea | 14 March 2025 APEC Secretariat Canada is providing a total of CAD 2 million over the next three fiscal years to support APEC’s efforts in promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth across the Asia-Pacific region.

    Source: APEC – Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

    Canada is providing a total of CAD 2 million over the next three fiscal years to support APEC’s efforts in promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth across the Asia-Pacific region.

    The contribution, delivered through a grant arrangement with Global Affairs Canada (GAC) reinforces Canada’s commitment to translating APEC’s policy directions into tangible outcomes that benefit all member economies.

    “This contribution is a significant step in our commitment to ensuring that economic growth in the Asia-Pacific is both inclusive and sustainable,” said Alan Bowman, Canada’s Senior Official for APEC. “By supporting targeted capacity-building initiatives and the work of the Policy Support Unit, we are helping to build a resilient regional economy where even the most vulnerable communities can benefit.”

    Under the grant arrangement, payments will be made in three instalments: CAD 667,000 in 2025; CAD 667,000 in 2026; and CAD 666,000 in 2027. The funds are designated to support key capacity building initiatives that help bridge gaps in economic participation and drive sustainable development.

    Canada’s contribution will support three critical areas of APEC’s work. First, it will bolster the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Sub-Fund, which aims to directly involve developing economies’ MSMEs in project activities that promote inclusive growth and poverty reduction.

    Second, the Women and the Economy Sub-Fund will receive support to advance women’s economic participation, enhancing legal and institutional frameworks to empower female entrepreneurs and workers.

    Finally, a portion of the funds will be directed to the APEC Policy Support Unit, the research and analysis arm of APEC, to strengthen its ability to provide high-quality, evidence-based policy recommendations.

    APEC-funded projects play a vital role in translating the policy directions set by APEC Economic Leaders and Ministers into practical actions. Each year, APEC provides funding for over 100 projects that aim to enhance trade, drive innovation, and promote sustainable development. Canada’s new contribution will add to these efforts by strengthening the capacity of member economies to implement reforms that are critical for long-term prosperity.

    Eduardo Pedrosa, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, highlighted the broader impact of Canada’s contribution. “Canada’s support for our inclusive and sustainable growth initiatives reinforces the shared vision of an Asia-Pacific that is dynamic, open, and resilient. This funding will enhance our ability to deliver quality research, build capacity, and support projects that create real economic opportunities for people across the region.”

    In addition to supporting MSMEs and women’s economic empowerment, the grant will assist in furthering projects that improve the quality of APEC’s deliberations and decision-making processes. The Policy Support Unit provides critical data, analysis, and policy support that help APEC member economies design and implement initiatives aimed at achieving balanced and sustainable growth.

    By contributing to these targeted sub-funds, Canada is not only reinforcing its longstanding commitment to regional cooperation but also setting a precedent for how public funds can be used to foster long-term economic security and prosperity. The impact of this grant will be felt through improved trade environments, strengthened regulatory frameworks, and enhanced capacities that empower businesses and communities alike.

    For further details and media inquiries, please contact:
    [email protected] 

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: APEC Senior Officials Outline Key Priorities for 2025 in Gyeongju Gyeongju, Republic of Korea | 08 March 2025 APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting

    Source: APEC Secretariat

    Senior officials are gathering in the historic city of Gyeongju to outline the year’s key priorities, focusing on enhancing regional connectivity, fostering innovation, and promoting prosperity that benefits all. The discussions are a critical step in shaping the policies that will guide APEC through a rapidly changing global landscape.

    “This is a pivotal moment for our region,” said Ambassador Yoon Seongmee, Chair of the 2025 APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting as she opened the meeting on Saturday. “Our goal is to reinforce our shared commitment to a future that benefits all of our people.”

    “The theme for 2025, ‘Building a Sustainable Tomorrow’, reflects the shared ambition of fostering an open, dynamic, and resilient Asia-Pacific,” Ambassador Yoon added. “To realize this vision, we must prioritize both connectivity and innovation to secure long-term prosperity.”

    Ambassador Yoon also emphasized that 2025 will see APEC prioritize discussions on how to explore avenues for cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI) technology and address the impacts of demographic changes.

    Stressing that rapidly advancing AI technology and demographic shifts have far-reaching impacts across all aspects of our members’ societies, Ambassador Yoon emphasized the need for the region to work together to address these challenges and identify new opportunities in a way that is both sustainable and beneficial to all.

    “It is time for APEC to tackle these trends to ensure that the region remains adaptable and capable of sustained growth,” she stated.

    Eduardo Pedrosa, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, highlighted the concerns of businesses around the region, noting the unpredictable environment where investments are put on hold and fewer jobs are created.

    “Ensuring connectivity means ensuring that trade continues to flow smoothly and that economies across the region remain integrated. APEC plays a key role in fostering these connections and promoting collaboration, especially as we navigate global uncertainties,” said Pedrosa.

    “Through dialogue, stakeholder engagement and partnership, we can continue to create opportunities that benefit everyone, regardless of the challenges that may arise,” Pedrosa added.

    The meeting will see senior officials adopt strategies for deepening regional cooperation. These include bridging digital divide, promoting sustainable growth and fostering innovation through digital trade and policy alignment across member economies.

    Additionally, Ambassador Yoon emphasized that for APEC, often referred to as an “incubator of ideas”, to develop collective responses to these challenges, it is essential to further strengthen cross-fora collaboration among APEC’s various forums, as well as public-private engagement, one of APEC’s key characteristics.

    In the next session on Sunday, senior officials will delve deeper into APEC’s plans to strengthen digital economy integration and tackle issues such as public health, food security, supply chain disruptions and sustainable development.

    “This meeting sets the stage for continued dialogue and collective action, ensuring that the initiatives discussed today will lead to concrete outcomes in the coming months,” conclude Ambassador Yoon.

    A series of sectoral ministerial meetings will follow in the year, further shaping the policy directions that will guide APEC’s work.

    For further details and media inquiries, please contact:  
    [email protected] 
    [email protected]

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: APEC Growth Holds Steady Amid Uncertainty, Calls for Structural Reforms Gyeongju, Republic of Korea | 09 March 2025 APEC Policy Support Unit The report projects GDP growth of 3.3 percent in 2025, following an estimated 3.5 percent expansion in 2024, though a further slowdown to 2.7 percent is anticipated in the coming years.

    Source: APEC – Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

    Economic growth in the APEC region remains stable in the short term, yet medium-term prospects face mounting risks as trade restrictions, fiscal pressures and geopolitical uncertainties continue to evolve, according to the latest APEC Regional Trends Analysis.

    The report projects GDP growth of 3.3 percent in 2025, following an estimated 3.5 percent expansion in 2024, though a further slowdown to 2.7 percent is anticipated in the coming years. Structural challenges, including demographic shifts and rising trade barriers, are expected to weigh on future economic trajectory.

    “The region’s growth trajectory reflects both resilience and vulnerability,” said Carlos Kuriyama, Director of the APEC Policy Support Unit. “While we are seeing steady economic activity, sustained growth will require proactive reforms, particularly in trade policy and fiscal management.”

    Trade performance in the region has shown modest recovery, with merchandise trade in the first nine months of 2024 increasing by 3 to 4 percent in 2024, reversing the sharp contraction seen in 2023 on a year-on-year basis. However, the number of trade remedies surged to 1,043 by the end of 2024, up from 960 in 2023, highlighting ongoing worries on unfair trade practices.

    Moderating inflation trends, on the other hand, offer a measure of relief, with rates easing to 2.6 percent in 2024, compared to 3.8 percent in 2023. This has provided central banks with greater policy flexibility. However, increasing trade restrictions and geopolitical risks could reintroduce price pressures, potentially limiting interest rate adjustments.

    “While inflation has moderated, risks remain,” said Rhea C. Hernando, an analyst with the Policy Support Unit. “Ongoing global risks, rising protectionism, and shifts in trade policy could complicate efforts to maintain price stability in the months ahead.”

    The region’s fiscal position remains fragile, as sustained government expenditures continue to outpace stagnant revenue collection, which has hovered around 28 to 29 percent of GDP for over two decades. Without fiscal adjustments, rising public debt levels could strain economic resilience.

    Meanwhile, global financial volatility has driven investors toward safe-haven assets, pushing gold prices to record highs. Escalating economic and geopolitical uncertainties, reflected in the sharp rise in policy uncertainty indices since 2020, have fueled increased hedging.

    “Macroeconomic stability hinges on careful fiscal planning,” said Glacer Niño A. Vasquez, a researcher with the Policy Support Unit. “Governments need to strike a balance—ensuring fiscal prudence while enhancing investments in infrastructure, digital transformation, and human capital to boost productivity and growth.”

    The report underscores the urgent need for structural reforms to sustain long-term economic momentum. Flexible and coordinated monetary and fiscal policies will be necessary to control inflation while preserving growth potential. Deeper regional cooperation will be essential to foster open trade and investment while addressing shared challenges. Productivity-enhancing reforms that promote innovation, technological adoption, and workforce skills development will also be critical to securing APEC’s long-term economic future.

    “As global uncertainties persist, APEC economies must reinforce trade openness, strengthen policy coordination, and pursue long-term reforms,” Kuriyama concluded. “A forward-looking approach will be crucial in fostering a resilient and sustainable regional economy.”

    For more information on the APEC Regional Trends Analysis, March 2025, visit this page.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Senior Officials Chart Policy Agenda on Economic and Technical Cooperation Gyeongju, Republic of Korea | 07 March 2025 SOM Steering Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation Their collaborative work aims to advance growth and prosperity across all member economies and is a key part of Korea’s forward-looking 2025 host year theme, “Building a Sustainable Tomorrow.”

    Source: APEC – Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

    In a city where tradition and innovation converge, senior officials from across the Asia-Pacific gathered in Gyeongju with representatives from specialized technical working groups and policy partnerships—each focusing on areas such as energy, telecommunications, and skills development—to discuss the year ahead.

    Their collaborative work aims to advance growth and prosperity across all member economies and is a key part of Korea’s forward-looking 2025 host year theme, “Building a Sustainable Tomorrow.”

    “Our agenda for economic and technical cooperation in 2025 is not merely about addressing today’s issues; it’s about laying a solid foundation for the Asia-Pacific of tomorrow,” remarked Cheng Lie, Chair of the APEC SOM Steering Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (SCE).

    “We must harness digital transformation, foster sustainable practices, and drive economic integration to build a future that is both resilient and inclusive,” Cheng Lie added, emphasizing that the region’s long-term prosperity hinges on innovative policy solutions that bridge current challenges with future opportunities.

    Central to the committee’s work is bolstering capacity building across key economic drivers—trade and investment; innovation and digitalization; and sustainable, inclusive growth—with a focus on areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), digitalization, and demographic shifts in the region.

    By leveraging emerging technologies, the SCE’s working groups and policy partnerships aim to accelerate public service delivery and promote a competitive digital economy across the region, envisioning a digital ecosystem that empowers governments, businesses, and citizens alike.

    Environmental sustainability also took center stage, with discussions highlighting the need to integrate green policies into the broader economic agenda. The SCE will continue to lead on the annual Bio-Circular-Green Award, an initiative that recognizes distinguished individuals implementing sustainable approaches.

    Senior officials stressed the importance of collaboration, underscoring that a coordinated approach is essential to overcome the challenges posed by rapid globalization and technological change.

    The outcomes of this meeting will serve as critical input for subsequent APEC discussions, reinforcing the region’s resolve to navigate global challenges with cohesive and forward-looking economic cooperation.

    For further details and media inquiries, please contact:  
    [email protected] 
    [email protected]

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Diversity helps: a new study shows more women on boards can improve how businesses are managed

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ramona Zharfpeykan, Lecturer, Department of Accounting and Finance, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

    Jacob Lund/Shutterstock

    Despite large multinational companies such as Goldman Sachs, Paramount, Google and others removing their diversity, equity and inclusion policies, the evidence is clear: having a diverse team can help businesses make better, more empathetic decisions.

    At the top level, a growing body of research shows having more women on corporate boards leads to better decision-making, stronger governance and improved environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.

    Yet, progress remains slow – even in New Zealand. Though we rank highly on the Human Development Index, the country lags behind in leadership gender equality.

    Women make up 50.8% of the population and hold 40.8% of parliamentary leadership roles. But they hold only 28.5% of board seats and 26.4% of executive roles in the New Zealand’s Stock Exchange (NZX) top 50 companies (the NZX50).

    And while businesses are encouraged to disclose gender diversity policies by the NZX, there are no mandatory quotas, leaving progress uneven.

    However, change is happening. Our new research looked at the the percentage of female directors in NZX-listed firms between 2016 and 2022.

    What we found is positive. Using information from financial infrastructure and data provider LSEG’s database on global financial markets, we identified a rise in the number of female directors on corporate boards. We also saw a corresponding improvement in the firms’ ESG performance.

    Despite making up 50.4% of the population, women hold only 28.5% of board seats and 26.4% of executive roles in NZX50 companies.
    T. Schneider/Shutterstock

    Boosting performance

    Between 2016 and 2022, the proportion of female directors in NZX-listed firms increased from 26% to 36%. These same businesses saw an average 33% improvement in their ESG performance.

    Notably, governance – one of the key ESG pillars – improved significantly, with a 31% increase on average. Governance specifically refers to the effectiveness of the firm’s management systems, board structure and capacity to protect shareholder interests.

    While it’s not possible to say outright that having more women on the board directly influenced governance outcomes, we saw a positive relationship between the two. This suggests having more women in leadership strengthens corporate oversight and ethical decision making.

    Gender diversity does not have the same level of importance in all contexts. While social and environmental performance also improved, this study found no significant link between a more gender-diverse board and these higher scores in social and environmental performance.

    Our findings are supported by overseas research suggesting board diversity does not strongly influence sustainability outcomes when it comes to issues and groups already covered by legislation.

    Therefore, New Zealand’s proactive stance on issues such as the environment, poverty and human rights, as well as encouraging private companies to improve sustainability and transparency, may explain why board diversity had no notable impact on social and environmental performance in this study.

    What women bring to the business

    Our findings align with studies completed overseas.

    In the US, one study found women business leaders tended to prioritise transparency, fairness and stakeholder interests. This made them strong advocates for sustainable and inclusive business practices.

    It’s clear that addressing the gender gap in corporate New Zealand isn’t just about fairness. It’s about economic success. Businesses that embrace diversity perform better, attract top talent and enhance their reputations.

    The solution isn’t simply about enforcing quotas, but ensuring more qualified women are placed in leadership roles. Companies need to move beyond a “compliance mindset” and recognise true diversity strengthens governance, reduces risk and drives long-term success.

    As the world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, businesses need to realise that increasing female representation at the top isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s the smart thing to do.

    Ramona Zharfpeykan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Diversity helps: a new study shows more women on boards can improve how businesses are managed – https://theconversation.com/diversity-helps-a-new-study-shows-more-women-on-boards-can-improve-how-businesses-are-managed-251473

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: APEC Strengthens Science and Innovation Ties, Boosts Collaboration and Inclusive Development Gyeongju, Republic of Korea | 07 March 2025 APEC Policy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation

    Source: APEC – Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

    The APEC Policy Partnership on Science, Technology, and Innovation (PPSTI) opened its 25th meeting last week in Gyeongju, Korea, laying the foundation for discussions on emerging technologies, strengthening scientific collaboration, and fostering inclusive development.

    This year marks a transformative period for PPSTI as the group works towards updating its 10-year strategic plan and strengthening collaboration across economies. In her opening remarks, PPSTI Chair Rahima Kandahari underscored the significance of this year’s meeting, emphasizing the group’s commitment to advancing the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040.

    She highlighted the endorsement of the Mission Oriented Innovation Policy (MOIP), a multi-year process aimed at enhancing the quality and impact of PPSTI initiatives.

    “MOIP is a major milestone and an important step to strengthen the quality and impact of PPSTI projects and, more broadly, support the longevity and efficacy of PPSTI by aligning with expectations set forth by the Steering Committee on ECOTECH,” said Kandahari. “I believe that our combined efforts to implement this approach over the course of this year and beyond will ensure we meet our goals and address broader, grand challenges.”

    Members focused their discussions and showed support for strengthening research collaboration, enhancing talent mobility—including the proposed APEC Scientists Exchange Initiative—and maximizing the socio-economic value of emerging technologies such as quantum science, artificial intelligence, and biotech. Other topics include this year’s key tasks such as boosting science and technology capacity and open science.

    PPSTI Vice Chair Hazami Habib reinforced the importance of innovation in driving economic and social progress, noting that PPSTI provides a platform to address issues such as public health, food security, and digital transformation. “By working together, we can create a robust framework that supports research innovation and adoption of emerging technologies, ensuring that all APEC economies can benefit,” she said.

    Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT Director General Sunghoon Hwang emphasized the economy’s long-standing commitment to science and technology-driven development. He remarked that Gyeongju, with its rich history and cultural significance, serves as an inspiring backdrop for the discussions on advancing cooperation and talent exchange in APEC.

    “Digital innovation, including generative AI, has brought changes we’ve never seen before. We are also facing complex changes that cannot be tackled by one economy alone,” Hwang said. “Against this backdrop, APEC cooperation and PPSTI discussions on science, technology and innovation have become more important than ever.”

    A major highlight of the meeting was the announcement of the APEC Science Prize for Innovation, Research, and Education (ASPIRE). This annual award recognizes young scientists from APEC economies who have made outstanding contributions to sustainable growth and innovation. Korea, this year’s APEC host economy, has committed to supporting ASPIRE and ensuring its continued success.

    “We really want to keep ASPIRE because it has a very high reputation in the field of science and technology innovation,” said Dr Hwanil Park, PPSTI Vice Chair and host representative. “This year, Korea will sponsor the award. However, for long-term sustainability, we need to discuss and reach a consensus on future sponsorship.”

    Under the 2025 theme, “Leading Inclusive Development with APEC Human Resources, Powered by Open Innovation and Emerging Technologies,” PPSTI aims to drive impactful cooperation in science, technology, and innovation.

    The forum’s three key priorities for the year include: strengthening STI capacity through enhanced exchanges of scientists, including women and youth; fostering research and development collaboration through open innovation to address grand challenges; and enhancing linkages by maximizing the socio-economic value of emerging technologies.

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    APEC Media at [email protected] 

    MIL OSI Economics –