NewzIntel.com

Category: Asia Pacific

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Stansbury Fights to Bring More Healthcare Providers to Indian Country

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01)

    ALBUQUERQUE — U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (NM-01) introduced the IHS Provider Expansion Act, which establishes an Office of Graduate Medical Education Programs within the Indian Health Service (IHS). This legislation would expand the existing IHS Residency Program, building from the Shiprock-University of New Mexico (SUNM) Family Medicine Residency which is the first in the nation. 

    “Access to healthcare should not be determined by history or geography,” said Rep. Melanie Stansbury (NM-01). “The IHS Provider Expansion Act is a vital step towards ensuring that Native and Indigenous communities can access healthcare and grow the number of medical professionals serving Native communities. By investing in medical education within the Indian Health Service, we can help expand healthcare and bridge the gap in healthcare disparities that have persisted for far too long.”

    In New Mexico, which is home to 23 Tribal Nations and a population that is nearly 12% Native, access to healthcare services is a pressing issue. Currently, IHS provides services in 37 states to about 2.2 million out of 3.7 million Indigenous people in the country. 

    This bill is projected to directly impact millions of people across the country served by the IHS to improve access to healthcare and medical professionals who understand the unique health challenges faced by Tribal communities. 

    By expanding access through IHS, this bill will also help to address the significant deficit of rural primary healthcare providers across the country. Recent data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows rural areas across the country face a significant deficit in primary care providers, with more than 80 million Americans living in Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs).  

     By expanding graduate medical education opportunities through IHS, we can expect an increase in the number of physicians willing to practice in these underserved regions. 

     Key Provisions of the Legislation: 

    • Establishment of the Office: The Secretary of Health makes permanent the Office of Graduate Medical Education Programs to oversee residency and fellowship initiatives within the IHS. 
    • Creating a Pipeline: The Office will facilitate opportunities for future healthcare professionals, paraprofessionals, and other health-related workers to engage in residency and fellowship programs. 
    • Oversight of Residency Programs: The Office will oversee existing residency and fellowship programs at IHS facilities and support the creation of additional programs aimed at recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals. 
    • Coordination with Academic Institutions: The Office will work in collaboration with academic institutions to strengthen educational ties and enhance training opportunities. 
    • Interagency Working Group: An interagency working group, involving various federal agencies, will assist in the implementation and sustainability of the Office, ensuring ongoing support and resources. 

    Read the bill here. 

    View the press conference here.   

    Other statements of support: 

    “Investing in healthcare for Indian Country means supporting the professionals who provide it. This legislation will help address critical clinical shortages by creating a pipeline of well-trained, culturally competent providers for our tribal communities. We know long-standing vacancies have a negative effect on patient access, quality of care, and employee morale,” said Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03). “By establishing an Office of Graduate Medical Education through IHS, we are taking steps to bridge the gap in care and make sure Native communities have the medical support they deserve.” 

    “With Tribal communities in Arizona and across the country facing a critical shortage of health care professionals, it’s vital that we pass theIHS Provider Expansion Act,”said Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ). “This legislation will address health care worker recruitment and retention challenges at IHS facilities and establish a much-needed pipeline of health care professionals. I’m proud to support fully funding IHS and providing the resources, personnel, and training required to serve Indian Country’s health care needs.”

    “Tribal communities across the country face unacceptable barriers to accessing quality health care—a crisis that is exacerbated by chronic understaffing at the Indian Health Service. As Ranking Member of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees IHS, I’ve heard firsthand how provider shortages lead to delayed care for patients and expensive travel contracts,” said Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine). “By establishing an Office of Graduate Medical Education at IHS that focuses on a dedicated pipeline to recruit and train talented physicians in tribal health systems, this legislation will help build a robust, sustainable workforce tailored to the unique needs of Native communities. I’m proud to be an original cosponsor. Together, we can tear down barriers to quality, culturally-competent care in tribal health systems from Maine to New Mexico and beyond.”

     “The University of New Mexico Health Sciences is very supportive of this legislation that seeks to increase the number of physicians who work caring for Native American populations by supporting residency and fellowship training in Indian Health Service facilities,” said Dan Waldman, MD Vice Chair of Education Department of Family & Community Medicine University of New Mexico.  “The proposed Office of Graduate Medical Education within the Indian Health Service would provide much-needed federal programmatic infrastructure and help create partnerships with academic institutions such as UNM.  Where physicians train has an important impact on where they choose to work after they complete their training, and it can also impact their cultural knowledge of the populations they will ultimately work with.  UNM also recognizes the potential value of expanding “grow your own” professional pipelines, including new opportunities for our local Indigenous medical residents and fellows to remain closer to home.  Attracting, educating, and retaining New Mexico’s health professional talent remains a top priority for UNM Health Sciences educational administration.”

    “First Nations Community HealthSource supports Representative Stansbury’s Indian Health Service (IHS) Provider Expansion Act,” said First Nations Community HealthSource CEO Linda Stone. “First Nations Community HealthSource is New Mexico’s Urban Indian Health Center in Albuquerque. Its mission is to provide a comprehensive healthcare delivery system that addresses the physical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs of urban Indigenous people and other underserved populations in Albuquerque and the surrounding areas. First Nations Community HealthSource faces significant shortages of healthcare professionals, a national and state-wide challenge. The IHS Provider Expansion Act will help alleviate these shortages and improve access to essential healthcare services in American Indian communities.”

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy

    Source: Government of Canada – Prime Minister

    Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

    The leaders discussed the situation on the ground, and Prime Minister Trudeau reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to providing military, financial, humanitarian, and other support to Ukraine until it achieves victory against Russia’s unjustifiable war of aggression.

    Prime Minister Trudeau reaffirmed Canada’s support for President Zelenskyy’s ongoing diplomatic efforts toward a just and sustainable peace. The two leaders also discussed Ukraine’s victory plan, and the Prime Minister conveyed Canada’s support for the plan’s objectives.

    The leaders condemned North Korea’s troop deployment to support Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine.

    The Prime Minister and the President noted the success of the Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of Ukraine’s 10-Point Peace Formula, which was held last week in Montréal, Quebec. They highlighted the efforts made at the Conference to help return deported children, unlawfully detained civilians, and prisoners of war currently held by Russia, as well as to reintegrate them back into their daily lives in Ukraine.

    The leaders agreed to remain in close and regular contact.

    Associated Links

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: North Korea’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch is yet another egregious violation of UN Security Council resolutions: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward, UK Permanent Representative to the UN at the UN Security Council meeting on non-proliferation/Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

    Location:
    United Nations, New York
    Delivered on:
    (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

    The United Kingdom unequivocally condemns the DPRK’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch.

    This was the longest launch ever conducted by the DPRK, lasting 86 minutes.

    This is yet another egregious violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions. It shows that the DPRK continues to advance its illegal nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes, posing a clear threat to global peace and security.

    In 2024 alone, the DPRK has recklessly launched one failed satellite, two intermediate-range ballistic missiles, and at least 36 short-range ballistic missiles. The DPRK also attempted to launch one multiple independently targeted re-entry vehicle.

    Year by year, the DPRK flaunts its growing nuclear capabilities. Yet still, some Council members prevent us from speaking out with one voice.

    This strategy of silence has failed. It is time for us to act, to defend the global non-proliferation architecture, to uphold the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and to deliver on the mandate of this Council to address the most pressing threats to peace and security.

    Colleagues, it is less than a week since we last discussed the DPRK’s flagrant violations of UN Security Council resolutions.

    The Russian Foreign Minister alarmingly said that, “Applying the term denuclearisation to DPRK no longer makes any sense. This is off the table.”

    This statement of fiction, alongside Russia’s veto of the 1718 Committee’s Panel of Experts earlier this year, has emboldened the DPRK to continue its unlawful behaviour knowing it has impunity from a permanent member of this Council.

    I call on Russia, and all Members of this Council, to condemn this launch and restate their commitment to implementing all relevant Council resolutions.

    I urge the DPRK to abandon its illegal nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes, which are diverting resources away from improving the lives of the DPRK’s people.

    The UK is committed to securing peace on the Korean peninsula. We call on the DPRK to take up repeated offers from the United States and the Republic of Korea towards dialogue. Diplomacy is the only route to sustained peace on the peninsula.

    Updates to this page

    Published 4 November 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Brics Summit: Which countries recently joined the bloc? Which want to and why? – FirstPost (India)

    Source: United States Institute of Peace

    Brics is expanding.

    The grouping which originally began with Brazil, Russia, India, China – was coined in 2001 by then Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill – expanded to include South Africa in 2010.

    The bloc was founded as an informal club in 2009 to provide a platform for its members to challenge a world order dominated by the United States and its Western allies.

    Its creation was initiated by Russia.

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    The group is not a formal multilateral organisation like the United Nations, World Bank or the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

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    The heads of state and government of the member nations convene annually with each nation taking up a one-year rotating chairmanship of the group.

    It now represents around 3.5 billion people – 45 per cent of the world’s population.

    Its combined economies are valued at over $28.5 trillion – nearly a third of the global economy.

    But which countries have recently joined? Which want to join now and why? And what does the expansion mean for the West?

    With Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the 16th Brics Summit in Kazan, let’s take a closer look at how Brics is expanding.

    Which countries joined recently?

    Brics in 2023 invited six countries – Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – to become new members of the bloc.

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    The formal invitation was made during a summit in August in Johannesburg.

    While all BRICS members had publicly expressed support for growing the bloc, there were divisions among the leaders over how much and how quickly.

    Members at the time said the move would help reshuffle a world order they view as outdated.

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    In January, five of these nations – Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – said they were joining the BRICS bloc.

    Argentina declined the invitation to join.

    As per Al Jazeera, this came after President Javier Milei took office.

    Milei has vowed to increase ties with the West.

    However, Saudi Arabia later said it is not yet joining the group and that the matter is being considered by its leadership.

    Ultimately, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and UAE joined the bloc.

    Which want to join now and why?

    Dozens of countries have voiced interest in joining the grouping.

    Algeria, Bolivia, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Turkiye, Comoros, Gabon, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia have all expressed interest in joining the forum.

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    Turkiye, a Nato member, formally requested to join BRICS in September.

    As p_er Bloomberg,_ Turkiye is looking to become part of the bloc as it eyes increasing its global influence.

    President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration is looking further than its time-tested allies in the West, people familiar with the development told the outlet.

    Erdogan’s government believes the centre of geopolitics is moving away from the developed economies.

    Turkiye is also eyeing improving its economic relationship with Russia and China.

    Turkiye under President Tayyip Erdogan is looking to join Brics. Reuters

    This is a departure for the NATO member nation which has historically been suspicious of Moscow and been a US ally.

    Turkiye is also thought to be upset over the lack of forward movement in its decades-long attempt to join the European Union.

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    According to Al Jazeera, Thailand said it was interested in joining the grouping during the BRICS Dialogue with Developing Countries held in Russia in June.

    Malaysia too expressed interest in becoming a member ahead of a visit from Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

    The bloc “can help Malaysia’s digital economy grow faster by allowing it to integrate with countries that have strong digital markets and also take advantage of best practices from other members,” Rahul Mishra, associate professor at the Center for Indo-Pacific Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, told DW.

    “Thailand would also be able to draw investments in important industries including services, manufacturing, and agriculture,” Mishra added.

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    Bolivia’s President Luis Arce has expressed interest in BRICS membership.

    His government has said it is determined to curb dependence on the US dollar for foreign trade, instead turning to the Chinese yuan, in line with BRICS leaders’ stated aim to reduce dependence on the US currency.

    Algeria last July it has applied for BRICS membership and to become a shareholder in the New Development Bank, the so-called BRICS Bank.

    The North African nation is rich in oil and gas resources and is seeking to diversify its economy and strengthen partnership with China and other countries.

    The countries hope the bloc can level the global playing field. Most nations view BRICS as an alternative to global bodies viewed as dominated by the traditional Western powers and hope membership will unlock benefits including development finance, and increased trade and investment.

    Dissatisfaction with the global order among developing nations was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic when life-saving vaccines were hoarded by the rich countries.

    “That so many countries are willing to go to Russia, deemed a pariah state not so long ago for having violated international law by invading Ukraine, confirms a trend followed by an increasing number of countries in the world: They don’t want to have to choose between partners,” Tara Varma, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institute, told Al Jazeera.

    Adam Gallagher, writing for USIP.org, noting the size of the bloc, said there are clear economic benefits to joining the grouping.

    “Intra-BRICS trade is one area that the group has found its footing,” Gallagher said. He noted how the June 2024 BRICS foreign minister’s meeting encouraged “enhanced use of local currencies in trade and financial transactions” by Brics members.

    Gallagher said that countries like Malaysia, who want to join the grouping, are looking to form alliances across the globe and preserve their strategic autonomy.

    “For these countries, it’s not about taking sides. Some countries also believe BRICS membership will give them a greater voice and representation in international politics. It’s not all about anti-Western ideology,” Gallagher wrote.

    James Chin, a professor of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania told DW “both Thailand and Malaysia are seen as middle powers.”

    “It’s better for them to join groups like BRICS so that they will have a larger voice in the international arena. But the major benefit will be trade,” Chin added.

    What does the expansion mean for the West?

    Experts say that these growing number of nations who want to join Brics shows that they want their financial independence – and that the established world order may be vulnerable.

    “In the aftermath of the war in Gaza, Russia and China have more effectively harnessed this anti-Western sentiment, capitalising on frustrations over Western double standards as well as the use of sanctions and economic coercion by the West,” Asli Aydintasbas, a Turkish foreign policy expert, was quoted as telling the Brookings Institute as per Al Jazeera.

    “It doesn’t mean that middle powers want to trade US dominance for Chinese, but it means they are open to aligning with Russia and China for a more fragmented and autonomous world.”

    As per Al Jazeera, Brics members and their associates clearly want to decrease their reliance on the US dollar and Europe’s Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network.

    Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim walks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Anwar’s ceremonial reception at India’s Presidential Palace Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, India, August 20, 2024. REUTERS

    This comes after Russia was cut-off from the system in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

    “China now has an alternative to the SWIFT payment system, though limited in use, and countries like Turkiye and Brazil increasingly restructure their dollar reserves into gold,” Aydintasbas added. “Currency swaps for energy deals are also a popular idea – all suggesting a desire for greater financial independence from the West.”

    As per CFR.org, Western nations until now have talked down the bloc as a threat.

    White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has said Brics isn’t a geopolitical rival, while Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has downplayed the de-dollarisation strategy of Russia and China.

    But some argue that the West needs to do some serious introspection.

    “The accusation that the West is arrogant toward the needs of the Global South is serious. It cannot be answered by offering ‘value-based partnerships’ and a ‘rules-based’ multilateralism when the interest of the BRICS is focused on changing those rules in global finance, trade, and other standard-setting procedures,” Günther Maihold, senior fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, was quoted as saying by CFR.org.

    “Ignoring BRICS as a major policy force—something the U.S. has been prone to do in the past—is no longer an option,” Tufts University scholars wrote in 2023.

    It remains to be seen how the US-led West will react.

    With inputs from agencies

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Targeted Sikh Separatist Says India Still Wants Him Dead – Bloomberg

    Source: United States Institute of Peace

    (Bloomberg) — The American Sikh separatist targeted in a foiled assassination plot allegedly planned by India said that intelligence agents in New Delhi still want him dead and said that the Biden administration’s “quiet diplomacy” has failed to deter Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

    “The risk has increased,” Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said in an interview at his office in New York. “The Modi regime has not faced any consequences. They have not been held accountable. Why would they stop?”

    The Indian government has branded him a terrorist and declared that his group Sikhs for Justice — which advocates for a Sikh nation known as Khalistan to be carved out of India’s Punjab state — is an “unlawful organization” that poses a threat to India’s sovereignty.

    Pannun’s case first disrupted US-India ties late last year. That’s when the US Justice Department unsealed a superseding indictment in the Southern District of New York alleging that Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, was recruited by an Indian government employee — known as “CC-1” — to have Pannun killed as part of a broader plan to assassinate overseas activists. At the time, Pannun’s group was organizing unofficial Khalistan referendums among Indian diaspora communities.

    Gupta has plead not guilty.

    India’s Ministry of External Affairs declined to respond to Pannun’s allegation that he remains a target of assassination. A ministry spokesman previously said the indictment was a “matter of concern,” that the allegations run “contrary to government policy” and that there is a “high-level committee” looking into the issue.

    Months earlier in Canada, a Sikh separatist called Hardeep Singh Nijjar — a long-time associate of Pannun’s — was slain in a shooting that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blamed on India, which rejected the accusations as “absurd.” But the US assassination plot on Pannun was foiled, according to the indictment, when an Indian national, operating under the Indian agent’s direction, inadvertently hired an undercover US agent posing as a potential hit-man.

    Indian and US security agencies are in touch, and New Delhi continues to investigate the alleged murder plot, Vikram Misri, India’s foreign secretary, told reporters recently in New Delhi.

    Earlier: India, Canada Meet as Arrests Point to Another Sikh Murder Plot

    The case has been embarrassing for the Biden administration, which has continued to court Modi in an effort to counterbalance China. 

    “The question that this episode raises is whether we really are on the same page with this Indian government, and the extent to which an inclination to want to achieve a broader strategic end is maybe leading us to overlook the actually very transactional nature of the relationship,” said Daniel Markey, a former State Department official who’s now at the US Institute of Peace. 

    The case also represents a collision of geopolitical, criminal and constitutional considerations. India takes separatist movements seriously, given the militant history of the Sikh separatist movement in the 1980s and ongoing political violence in Kashmir. India blames overseas groups for fueling instability and potential violence at home.

    Pannun, who worked at a Wall Street bank before turning to human rights law, now has five security guards to protect him and search the bags of even his close friends and associates, he said. 

    “I can continue to fight for the liberation of Punjab only if I stay alive,” he said. “You are doing a peaceful and democratic referendum, you are sitting at a place — and India has the resources and the proxies and the weapons and the money to kill you. You have to make sure that you survive and you continue the campaign.”

    In a recent twist, Pannun filed a civil case in the US seeking restitution against senior Indian officials he alleges are responsible for the assassination attempt. Those allegations are “unsubstantiated” and “unwarranted,” Misri, the foreign secretary, said.

    In Canada, which saw India expel dozens of diplomats after Trudeau accused India, the government is holding firm on its accusation that India was behind the killing of Nijjar. “That’s the ultimate breach of our country’s sovereignty,” Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told Bloomberg in an interview on Sept. 30. “That can’t happen again.”

    About Sikh Separatists India Is Accused of Targeting: QuickTake

    ‘Terrorism’ Issue

    “For India, the issue is that of terrorism,” said Aparna Pande, a research fellow at the Hudson Institute who put out a report pointing to ties between Khalistan groups and Pakistan, which India blames for fomenting violence in Kashmir. “India also believes that Western countries have shown tolerance towards groups and individuals deemed extremists and terrorists by the Indian government.”

    Western law enforcement agencies are now attempting to balance protecting constitutional guarantees of free speech against what India views as a movement with the intent to break up the country — and that it alleges has ties to criminal gangs and smuggling. India also views Sikh protests outside its consulates and embassies as threatening. 

    Pannun, who was born in Amritsar, India, came to the US as a student. He made the new allegations that his life was still at risk after Sikh separatists in California had their truck “sprayed with bullets,” his group said.

    That new attack is reviving concerns among US lawmakers after the original assassination plot prompted some Democratic senators to call on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to mount a strong diplomatic response “no matter the perpetrator.”

    Senator Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, said it was crucial to investigate the California incident and to “send a strong message deterring potential future efforts to undermine the values of free speech and protest that we as a nation hold dear.”

    Senior Biden administration officials, including White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, have raised Pannun’s case with Modi’s government. Sullivan said in July that the issue “is sensitive, it is something we are working through,” but that the US effort “has been effective, in my view, mostly because it is taking place behind closed doors.” 

    Pannun, however, says that “quiet diplomacy” hasn’t worked “in the last 15 months” and that “it will not work in the next three years.” He also the Biden administration was handling his case differently because of its desire to have a strategic relationship with New Delhi. 

    “Had it been Iran, had it been China, had it been Russia — would the administration’s response be the same?” he asked.

    –With assistance from Laura Dhillon Kane and Sudhi Ranjan Sen.

    (Updates in last paragraph with additional quote.)

    ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Can India shoulder ‘big responsibility’ as peace broker to stop Israel-Gaza war? – The South China Morning Post

    Source: United States Institute of Peace

    India is unlikely to be a peace broker in the Middle East conflict despite calls by Iran to play such a role, with analysts saying New Delhi’s non-interventionist policy and limited influence offer little hope for success in a war-torn region where the US remains the dominant player.

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    Iranian ambassador to India Iraj Elahi said on Saturday that Delhi could participate in the Middle East peace process and convince Israel to halt what he called the genocide in Gaza.

    “We believe that India can play a constructive role … India has good relations with Israel so it can convince Israel to stop the genocide in Gaza, to stop escalation in the region,” Ilahi said during an interview with Asian News International, adding that India had a “big responsibility on its shoulder” as an emerging major power.

    On October 1, Iran launched almost 200 ballistic missiles towards Israel, its second such attack on Israel this year after it struck with more than 300 missiles and drones in April.

    Israel has vowed harsh retaliation, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying on Tuesday that Iran “does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and to retaliate against our enemies”.

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    Daniel Markey, senior South Asia adviser at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) think tank, said India’s strong ties with Israel and diplomatic links with Iran made it one of the few countries which could facilitate peace talks between the two Middle East rivals.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Joint communique from International Charity Regulator leaders

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    From 28-30 October, charity regulators from eight nations gathered in the UK for a three-day meeting.

    Representatives and Heads of Regulators from Australia, Canada, England and Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Singapore, in addition to an observing invitee from the United States, met to discuss matters of mutual interest and concern.

    Regulators recognised the world is currently dealing with substantial challenges including evolving social environments with changing patterns of volunteering, climate change and more natural disasters, cost of living pressures driving higher demand for services and costs of running organisations, and the need to support populations through conflict not seen for a generation. 

    Regulators affirmed that given this current global context, the work of charities and not-for-profit organisations has never been more important. Charities and not-for-profit organisations have a long history of enabling society to adapt, improving the lives of millions globally, and supporting and enabling cohesion where there has been division. Working across sectors to find solutions to the world’s most challenging problems, they are fundamental to world class research, scientific endeavour and policy change that enables health, environmental and animal welfare issues to be advanced.  

    Regulators shared examples of how effective, expert regulation plays a fundamental part in allowing charities to thrive and allows the public to have trust and confidence in the work of charities. Our organisations each contribute to supporting and ensuring strong governance in charities, so that they deliver their charitable purpose for the benefit of all. Regulators have been delighted to advance our shared objectives at this meeting through the exchange of knowledge and best practice. 

    The meeting covered four key themes: 

    Charity registration and charitable status

    Registration is the start of the journey for new charities and trustees, and at the core of each of our roles is making efficient, effective decisions to ensure genuine applicants can begin delivering their charitable purpose.  

    Regulators: 

    • shared improvements to our respective processes for registration, acknowledging the constraints inherent in applying a legal test.  

    • gained valuable insights from other jurisdictions approaches to  improve the quality of applications from prospective charities 

    • shared plans to digitise and improve registration services within jurisdictions 

    • shared trends and case studies on those seeking to abuse charity status but were prevented from doing so 

    • agreed, subject to national jurisdictions laws and restrictions, to improve data sharing to prevent cross border abuse of charity status via the registration process 

    • agreed to explore how to enable simpler but robust registration services for those who work across borders 

    Digital, technology and data

    Regulators are at different stages in their journeys of delivering new digital technologies, with a particular focus across each jurisdiction on using online services to enhance relationships with charity trustees, ensuring we provide charities with the best guidance and tools, as well as driving regulatory efficiency. Regulators discussed experiences in delivering recent innovations, and how charities in their jurisdiction responded, to inform each of our future plans. 

    Regulators: 

    • agreed to share digital and technology plans to enable better cross jurisdiction co-operation and experience for charities and the public 

    • agreed, subject to national laws and regulations, to share emerging trends, issues, impacts of technology on charities, charity regulation and policies to enable the benefits of technology to be exploited whilst mitigating risks and unintended consequences. 

    Communication, education and public trust

    Regulators identified many commonalities in our approaches to using social media, events and guidance to secure greater engagement with charities, particularly those who are traditionally harder to reach or might have less knowledge.  

    Regulators:

    • identified several approaches that have been successfully applied in individual nations and have taken away from the meeting ideas as to how these could potentially be translated into new national initiatives.  

    • welcomed the contribution such work programmes make in delivering our core remit to build public trust and confidence in charity, and in our own effectiveness. 

    Compliance

    Regulators reviewed global trends in charity non-compliance, and how these have been addressed through use of regulatory powers. Discussion of recent domestic cases with international significance, allowed identification of issues in common, that might damage the vast majority of genuine, compliant charities.  

    With many charities and voluntary organisations working extensively across international borders, Regulators:  

    • affirmed that, subject to national laws and regulations, we will continually share appropriate insight so we can each effectively tackle such risks, acting within our legislative frameworks. 

    • affirmed, we each have a central role to play in supporting compliance with The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards, to ensure the substantial amount of money that flows across borders to facilitate the vital work of the sector is safe and secure and charities may continue to deliver vital services to the world’s most vulnerable. 

    The group will be hosted by a different member when they next reconvene in the spring of 2026. Until then, Regulators will continue their online quarterly meetings to build on these positive discussions to ensure lessons continue to be shared and the international community of charity Regulators remains united. 

    Delegate List 

    • David Holdsworth – Chief Executive, England & Wales
    • Orlando Fraser KC – Chair, England & Wales
    • Paul Latham – Director of Communications & Policy, England & Wales
    • Sue Woodward AM – Commissioner, Australia
    • Natasha Sekulic – Assistant Commissioner – General Counsel, Australia
    • Sharmila Khare – Director General, Charities Directorate, Canada
    • Madeleine Delaney – Chief Executive, Ireland
    • Geraldine McCarthy – Head of Communications, Ireland
    • Frances McCandless – Chief Executive, Northern Ireland
    • Punam McGookin – Head of Charity Services, Northern Ireland
    • Martin Tyson – Head of Regulation and Improvement, Scotland
    • Desmond Chin – Commissioner of Charities, Singapore
    • Izyana Baharom – Assistant Director, Singapore
    • Observer: Beth Short – President of the National Association of State Charity Officials, United States

    Ends

    Updates to this page

    Published 4 November 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hickenlooper, Bennet Welcome $7.5 Million in Federal Funding to Deliver Clean Water to Ute Mountain Ute

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper
    Funding comes from senators’ Inflation Reduction Act
    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet welcomed the U.S. Department of Interior’s (DOI) announcement of $7.5 million in federal investment to expand clean drinking water access for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Specifically, the funding will help the Ute Mountain Ute plan and complete 18 miles of a 22-mile waterline to connect Cortez and Towaoc and deliver clean water to the community.
    Two weeks ago, the senators urged the Bureau of Reclamation to explore new opportunities for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Southern Ute Indian Tribe to access federal funding for drought and water supply management.
    “Our tribal communities have long lacked adequate resources to reliably access clean drinking water,” said Hickenlooper. “Thanks to our Inflation Reduction Act, we’re changing that. This $7.5 million will connect Cortez and Towaoc to deliver clean drinking water and create good-paying jobs for the Ute Mountain Ute.”   
    “When the federal government established reservations for Native American Tribes, it promised a permanent and livable homeland for those it had displaced from their ancestral lands. At a time when our country’s Tribes still lack reliable access to clean and safe water in the 21st century, that promise clearly has been denied and critical tribal water infrastructure like this pipeline should be a priority for the federal government,” said Bennet. “This funding is an important step forward to ensure more members of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe can continue to access clean water, and I’m grateful to the Biden/Harris administration for working to fulfill our nation’s promises.”
    “Investing in water infrastructure projects is crucial to ensuring the health, safety and economic prosperity of Indigenous communities,” said Secretary Haaland. “This new program, funded by the President’s Investing in America agenda, will help us ensure all Tribal families and communities have access to the clean, safe drinking water they need in order to thrive.”
    “The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe considers water and its watersheds as a sacred and vital element to life. Stewardship of the environment allows life to flourish and is an obligation of our tribe and people. This grant is a crucial step in finishing the project that we’ve been working on for over 14 years to make sure everyone in our community has access to drinking water,” said Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Chairman Manuel Heart.
    The Ute Mountain Ute’s project is one of 23 projects the DOI selected to receive $82 million from the Inflation Reduction Act’s $550 million allocated for domestic water supply projects for historically disadvantaged communities.
    Hickenlooper and Bennet fought for $8 billion for western water infrastructure, $10 billion for forests, $19 billion for agricultural conservation, and $4 billion for drought in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
    Full list of selected projects available HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: As fighting wears on, many in Myanmar are focused on a new government – Radio Free Asia

    Source: United States Institute of Peace

    For decades, federalism seemed like a distant dream. The war has made it a possibility.

    By Aye Aye Mon with photos and video by Chan Aung for RFA Burmese 2024.10.09 – This story is the last in a five-part series exploring the war in Myanmar and what might come if the fighting stops. Read this story in Burmese.

    For nearly eight decades, the Myanmar dream has been a federal union that ensures equal rights for its scores of ethnic minorities. Federalism is a form of government where states hold significant power, thus allowing the country’s ethnic minorities an important level of self-governance that a top-down, central government typically can’t support.

    Repeated military coups, justified by the perceived threat of national disintegration, have long ensured federalism remains a dream. But with the country’s ethnic minorities working together as never before to push back at the ruling military junta, many wonder if this time could be different. Radio Free Asia spoke with policy makers and analysts, with soldiers and advisers to learn more about the prospects for a government that is truly by the people and for the people.

    Fight for federalism

    In the wake of the Feb. 2021 coup, young people from diverse backgrounds began mobilizing in large numbers, taking up arms to fight the junta. While the immediate focus was to subdue an undemocratic force that had seized power from the democratically elected civilian government, many soldiers told RFA they were fighting for federalism.

    Among them, Barli, a 25-year-old member of the People’s Defense Forces, holds a steadfast belief in federalism.

    “Our efforts are not driven by speculation on whether federalism will materialize. We are committed to establishing a federal government, and we believe that federalism will inevitably prevail. We are fighting for the federation,” he said.

    Captain Saw Kaw, a 37-year-old commander of the Cobra Column, under the Karen National Union, or KNU, is also confident that a federal union will inevitably be established.

    “When the military council collapses, it is essential that all ethnic brothers and sisters live together in harmony and happiness in this country. This is why I firmly believe that a federal union must be established.”

    Major Da Baw, a 32-year-old leader who commands three columns: The Cobra, The Black Panther, and Venom, has committed to continuing the fight for the establishment of a future federal union for the benefit of the people.

    “We must continue to serve for the benefit of people. Our hope is to build a strong federal union that will foster the development of this country and enable its citizens to live in peace.”

    Composed of a number of members of the former civilian government, the National Unity Government, or NUG, has been serving as a government in exile since the coup.

    On March 31, 2021, less than two months after the coup, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the leading body of the NUG, issued the Federal Democracy Charter. This document systematically outlines the direction, goals, process steps, and transitional measures. And while efforts are ongoing to implement these provisions in practice, the near-immediate issuance of such a charter underscored the NUG’s commitment to federalism.

    Their armed wing, the People’s Defense Force, or PDF, meanwhile declared a “people’s defensive war” against the junta on Sept. 7, 2021. Since then, the PDF has been engaged in combat against the coup army, often working in close collaboration with various ethnic armed groups.

    Apart from the majority Bamar ethnicity, Myanmar is home to seven major ethnic groups: Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Chin, Mon, Rakhine, and Shan. Prior to the military coup, there were 18 armed forces in the country. Some of these groups are negotiating peace with the military council, while others have joined a resistance movement. These armed groups vary in size from a few hundred to over fifty thousand members. Since the coup, meanwhile, over 300 PDF units have been established nationwide.

    That level of collaboration has resulted in significant battlefield successes.

    According to the Institute for Strategy and Policy about 74 townships have been seized by anti-junta forces since the coup began. In northern Shan state, the joint Operation 1027 managed to seize 60 percent of the region’s townships.

    These successes lend credence to the idea that all parties may indeed manage to create a federal system post-war, said Zachary Abuza, a professor of Southeast Asian politics and security at the National War College in Washington, D.C.

    “This won’t be easy to achieve, but the promise is what’s made the concerted effort in a half year war against the military junta possible. And they have seen tremendous battlefield successes,” he said. “So, it’s within reach.”

    Laying the groundwork

    As young people risk their lives in combat, the NUG and a range of ethnic leaders are actively engaged in discussion about the formation of a federal union following the conclusion of the war.

    Currently engaged in discussion with the NUG are the KNU, Karenni National Progressive Party, Kachin Independence Organization, and Chin National Front — known as K3C — and Ta’ang National Liberation Army, along with a number of smaller ethnic groups, political parties, civil society organizations, and democracy activists.

    Min Zayar Oo, NUG deputy finance minister, said preliminary agreements outlining military and political co-operations have been reached with various ethnic groups.

    “On the other hand, we are striving to achieve political agreements, particularly concerning the Federal Democracy Charter and the establishment of a robust federal system. We have secured agreements to advance these objectives.”

    These discussions take place online and in secret meetings in Mae Sot, where representatives of many parties now live — although a number of them remain undocumented. Among the chief points of disagreement are how to roll out a federal system, with the NUG wanting to build a “top-down” centralized government while the ethnic leaders want a completely fresh “bottom-up” system where the power comes from the state level and controls the central government, according to the KNU spokesperson, Padoh Saw Taw Nee and the chairman of Karenni Excecutive Council, Khu Oo Reh.

    Priscilla Clapp, a senior advisor to the U.S. Institute of Peace, says the negotiations have clearly been advancing.

    “I would say that federalism is growing right now in the country from the ground up, from the grassroots, and that’s a healthy process. It’s not being imposed from the top.”

    Diverse opinions

    Realizing the federal dream in Myanmar, a nation with 135 ethnic groups including the Bamar, is undeniably challenging after more than 70 years of aspiration.

    Negotiations reached a settlement in early 2021 following the coup, but there has been little progress since then, said Thomas Kean, senior consultant on Myanmar for the International Crisis Group.

    “Discussions about the potential structure of a future federal union are ongoing, but they face significant challenges,” he said. “Mutual distrust has hindered detailed negotiations, and in some cases, it appears that progress has regressed.”

    According to KNU spokesperson Padoh Saw Taw Nee, differences of opinion have emerged from the very beginning.

    “We face challenges with that division of power because extensive top-down centralization has led to hesitations when discussing power sharing. It cannot be resolved in such a manner. To establish a true federal government, we must address and negotiate power-sharing arrangements,” he explained.

    Lway Yay Oo, spokesperson for the The Ta’ang National Liberation Army, which now occupies a number of cities in Shan state where they have begun establishing self-government, said that the TNLA supports a federal system with weak central control.

    “In the context of a federal union, it must ensure true federalism, guaranteeing full self-governance and self-determination. The system should feature a weak central control or mechanisms to limit the central government’s power in favor of the federal states,” she explained.

    Aung Myo, a political and military analyst and former military officer, said that the federalism efforts undertaken by the NUG and the ethnic armed groups remain unsubstantiated and have yet to reach any agreement. The military, meanwhile, is unlikely to conduct elections while retaining power.

    Ethnic leaders, he insisted, “actually want the confederacy. Even if we offer them federalism, they are unlikely to accept it, leading to continued disputes,” he said, pointing to the 2008 constitution — created under military rule — which allows for a form of federalism in the form of all states having full power in the education and health care sectors. At the time of the constitution’s promulgation, many ethnic leaders fought against it.

    Scot Marciel, a Myanmar analyst and former U.S. ambassador for Myanmar, said the process will doubtless be slow given the complex dynamics at play between many of the negotiating parties.

    “As for the process of getting there, it’s difficult because you have a lot of different groups with different interests. And as you suggested you have decades of mistrust and sometimes conflict, not only with the military, but even sometimes among the different ethnic groups. So that’s not surprising. It’s not that distrust or mistrust won’t just disappear overnight.”

    Unification at last?

    Those working to build a genuine federal government, hope there will be a thoughtful distribution of power at the state and district levels, as well as significant efforts to protect the rights of small ethnic groups in minority areas.

    But in some regions, there is scant likelihood of even bringing players to the table.

    Thomas Kean of the International Crisis Group said that convincing groups such as the United Wa State Army, which already has full autonomy in Wa state, and the Arakan Army, which has achieved significant success in current ground fighting in Rakhine state, to join the federation will be challenging.

    “One of the major challenges is encouraging ethnic armed groups to participate in federal governance. These groups already possess a degree of autonomy, and joining the federation would require them to relinquish their current power and administration, which they have secured through ground battles,” he said.

    Bringing armies together as a unified force — something the NUG has put in its Federal Democracy Charter — will also prove challenging.

    Tin Lin Aung, a former military officer and participant in the civil disobedience movement against the junta, admitted that achieving the unification of all these forces will pose a significant challenge even if a federal union is established after the war.

    “The establishment of a federal army is highly unlikely,” he said. “As someone with a military background, I am focused on examining the military aspects, and I maintain that the creation of a federal army is improbable.”

    Focus on the future

    Over the course of more than three years of military coup, there have been 14,758 battles in seven KNU-controlled areas alone. According to Saw Thaw Moe Eh, the second-in-command of the KNU’s Central Information Department, at least 454 KNU/KNLA soldiers have been killed and 1,500 injured. In Karenni areas, there have been 1165 battles resulting in at least 578 deaths of allied fighters, according to data from the Progressive Karenni People Force. Although NUG leaders have acknowledged significant casualties among PDFs, they have not disclosed specific numbers, fearing it might demoralize the young fighters.

    Hnin, the mother of Zin Myo Oo, an underground fighter who suffered severe burns while attempting to detonate mines against the military council army at the end of 2021, said that she is sorry for sacrifices made, but she does not regret them.

    “My son was born well, but it’s deeply painful to see what is happening. Sometimes, I think and cry, but I do so in private, with no regrets at all.”

    And for those fighting for federalism, they feel little doubt that their dream will be reality.

    Nyar Kho, a company commander of the Cobra Column, responded with a smile when asked what he would do next if federalism fails to materialize.

    “I see no reason why it shouldn’t happen. If it doesn’t, I will have to continue fighting.”

    Edited by Abby Seiff.

    Copyright 1998-2024, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content October not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Memes, photojournalism and television debates: 3 images that defined the 2024 US election

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kylie Message, Professor of Public Humanities and Director of the ANU Humanities Research Centre, Australian National University

    Visual images often last in historical and popular memory. This is especially the case in presidential campaigns in the United States, which offer a vast mix of spectacle, surprise and drama.

    An historian of political visual culture can no more predict which images are likely to last the test of time than we can know who will win. But we can explain why some historical images from presidential campaigns resonate.

    This election season has produced the most media savvy and diverse campaign imagery of all time. Cable news, social media and artificial intelligence have created a whole new universe of image-based narratives.

    In this rich visual landscape, here are three images likely to last the test of time.

    1. Trump’s ‘fight!’ photo

    The uncontroversial front-runner for defining image has to be Evan Vucci’s photograph of Donald Trump being led off the stage in Pennsylvania after surviving an assassination attempt in July.

    Many people, including Trump, were quick to elevate the photograph to the iconic status of Joe Rosenthal’s photograph of troops raising the flag on Iwo Jima during the second world war.

    Both are photographed from below and feature the national flag above Americans working against adversity to reach a common goal. Both fit squarely into the tradition of wartime photojournalism.

    Both photographs enjoyed instantaneous popularity: Trump’s image went viral and the Iwo Jima image was featured on a US postage stamp before the war’s end.

    But their greatest similarity resides in the cultural symbolism of the images.

    Both accurately represent an historical moment; a specific point in time. But the point in time has been actively selected to fit a narrative. The narratives projected are deeply held mythologised symbols of aspirational patriotism.



    Read more:
    Elevation, colour – and the American flag. Here’s what makes Evan Vucci’s Trump photograph so powerful

    Visual literacy prompts us to think about which images were discounted in the selection of these historically powerful two. Historical legacies and the national mythologies that fuel these lean toward images of success over pictures of wartime death and suffering.

    This image of Trump fits all the criteria we would typically and probably unconsciously apply when assessing if an image is likely to have long-term significance.

    The baseline characteristic of iconic images is a general bipartisan understanding of what an image “says”. Regardless of whether you agree with the message being conveyed, you understand its social context, why the image is provocative, dramatic or funny (or not), as well as its historical references.

    However, contemporary images are not always so straightforward to read – and in a post-truth AI world, it is harder than ever to decipher the visual culture of politics.

    2. Brat summer and coconut memes

    Kamala Harris’s youth and vision for the future headlined her campaign’s creation of “Kamala HQ”. The strategy adopted the bright green branding and font of Charli XCX’s smash album Brat after the pop star posted on X: “kamala IS brat”.

    Social media has been a critical tool in introducing Harris to voters, especially those of voting age for the first time in 2024. The campaign’s use of social media represented young people as engaged and respected decision makers.



    Read more:
    ‘Kamala IS brat’: how the power of pop music has influenced 60 years of US elections

    Voters have had more than a century to become accustomed to photojournalism. In contrast, a lot of social media representation has arisen from community activism over the past few years. Reporting from women’s marches this past weekend showed links to the visual culture of the protests that followed Trump’s 2016 election.

    Arguably, the most historically significant of this “youth vote” image category are the internet memes of coconuts and coconut trees.

    In a 2023 speech, Harris quoted her mother:

    You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.

    This moment went viral during the 2024 election, and it was not long before people started signalling their support for Harris by adding a coconut emoji to their profile or comments.

    The popularity of the coconut meme by Harris supporters indicates a rejection of the derogatory use of the term “coconut” against people of colour “acting white”.

    The production and reception of memes by younger voters demonstrates a media literacy and sophistication that also requires continuous fact-checking.

    This point was made in Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Harris, which urged her followers to do their own “reliability” checking of information in their feeds after Trump and other conservative figures shared AI-generated images of Swift and her fans allegedly supporting Trump.

    3. The televised debate handshake

    A key image from the debate between Harris and Trump came in the first few minutes, when Harris crossed the stage to offer her hand. It was the first debate handshake in eight years.

    This was a bold action given Trump’s prowling movement on the 2016 debate stage against Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, and his well documented predilection for firm handshakes.

    The handshake is representative of the campaign, which has been called “a referendum on gender”. It evoked the image of strong and confident leadership – a central theme as Harris spoke passionately about reproductive rights and abortion.

    Televised presidential debates are one of the most keenly watched and analysed moments of the presidential election season. Image is everything.

    Their importance is perhaps best indicated by Justin Sullivan’s photograph of President Joe Biden, mouth agape and looking frail beneath the word “presidential” during the June debate this year.

    While they rarely lead to an outcome as extreme as a candidate exiting the race, as ended up happening with Biden, the images and soundbites they generate can resonate for decades.

    During the first ever nationally televised presidential debate in 1960, Republican candidate Richard Nixon was said to be unwell and refused to wear makeup. Compared to his opponent, Democratic nominee John F. Kennedy, he sweated profusely on stage, creating an image that was disastrous to his eventually unsuccessful campaign.

    Between the staged and “gotcha” moments of every presidential campaign, debates provide a unique – and, in 2024, a singular – window into how the candidates relate to each other as humans across an ever-widening ideological divide.

    Kylie Message has received funding from the Australian Research Council.

    – ref. Memes, photojournalism and television debates: 3 images that defined the 2024 US election – https://theconversation.com/memes-photojournalism-and-television-debates-3-images-that-defined-the-2024-us-election-242689

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: What happens if you have a HELP debt and kids? The missed opportunity in Labor’s plan to fix student loans

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Warburton, Honorary Senior Fellow, Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of Melbourne

    Rogut/Pexels , CC BY

    The Albanese government has announced several significant changes to student loans to start in mid-2025.

    These include wiping 20% off debts, increasing the income threshold for compulsory repayments, and changing the amounts people have to repay.

    As well as encouraging Australians to study, the changes aim to provide cost-of-living relief – or, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday:

    putting more dollars in the pockets of people who feel, justifiably, that they’re getting the rough end of the pineapple.

    The changes are certainly an improvement. Unfortunately, they are not as good as they should be – particularly if you have a HELP debt and a family to support.

    What is the point of HELP?

    My analysis of the most recently released tax statistics indicates more than 70% of those required to make a HELP repayment in 2021–22 earned between A$60,000 and A$120,000. Only 20% earned more than $120,000 and less than 10% earned less than $60,000.

    The HECS (now HELP) system was conceived in the 1980s as a way to generate revenue to help the government pay for an expansion of university places.

    It doesn’t matter if people do not repay all of their loans. The primary purpose is to have students who have benefited, and can afford to contribute to the cost of their education, give something back.

    While fairness has always been a key plank of HECS/HELP, there are some major problems with the system. And the changes announced over the weekend continue to ignore them.

    The HECS/HELP system was designed so students would only repay loans if they had the capacity to do so.
    Enrico Della Pietra/ Shutterstock

    What about families?

    Student loan arrangements have never taken account of other government payments and obligations such as social security, taxation rates, taxation rebates and Medicare levies.

    As I have shown in this analysis, for some family types, HELP repayments combine to produce ridiculous effective tax rates.

    Imagine the following scenarios for someone with a HELP debt, earning between $60,000 and $100,000 and who had a pay increase in this income range.

    In 2022-23, if you were single with no kids, the average effective tax rate on the extra earnings was 51%.

    If you were single with two kids aged four and seven, the average effective tax rate on the extra earnings was 77%. If those children were ten and 13, it was 73%.

    The situation is similar in a couple family with two children where only one parent is able to work. The working parent has little incentive to increase their earned income and this won’t change much under the new proposals.

    The reason people in these situations keep so little of their extra earnings is because as family incomes increase, they lose family tax benefits, they pay more tax and their Medicare levy increases.

    There is not enough attention paid to how all these arrangements interact and how they affect people overall.

    We need to know many families are paying HELP

    The government’s plan to increase the HELP repayment threshold to those with an annual income of $67,000 is a welcome improvement. The system was never intended to take money off people with virtually no capacity to pay.

    The government’s plan to simplify the repayment arrangements is also a positive step. The current system has 18 different repayment rates applied to total income, which means people are repeatedly going backwards when they earn extra money. The new plan to only calculate repayments on dollars over the threshold (the marginal rate approach) stops this from happening.

    But the system continues to disregard how people with HELP debts can be in different family circumstances.

    In my work on HELP, I often get asked how many HELP debtors have dependent children. The answer is I do not know and neither does the government.

    None of the data which the government releases provides any information on family circumstances, despite the fact around $4.6 billion was collected from 1.2 million individuals in 2021-22 (the most recent year we have for this data).

    This is vital information to make good policy and fair decisions but we do not have it.

    Could these problems be fixed?

    We could reduce many of the worst impacts here with a single marginal rate for calculating HELP repayments and thresholds which varied depending on the number of children and partner’s income.

    The repayment rate and thresholds could be adjusted to deliver an acceptable repayment level for individuals and sufficient revenue for government to support university funding.

    There is no point in pretending the current system is one in which people have an insignificant level of debt that is repaid quickly after university.

    Typical students today are finishing their degrees owing around $60,000 and many have debts much larger than this. They will continue to make repayments well into their thirties when they have families.

    It is time we had a system that truly recognised this.

    Mark Warburton is a member of the Australian Labor Party and occasional provider of consultancy services to groups such as Universities Australia and the Australian Technology Network.

    – ref. What happens if you have a HELP debt and kids? The missed opportunity in Labor’s plan to fix student loans – https://theconversation.com/what-happens-if-you-have-a-help-debt-and-kids-the-missed-opportunity-in-labors-plan-to-fix-student-loans-242758

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Bird flu has been detected in a pig in the US. Why does that matter?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By C Raina MacIntyre, Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC L3 Research Fellow, Head, Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney

    David MG/Shutterstock

    The United States Department of Agriculture last week reported that a pig on a backyard farm in Oregon was infected with bird flu.

    As the bird flu situation has evolved, we’ve heard about the A/H5N1 strain of the virus infecting a range of animals, including a variety of birds, wild animals and dairy cattle.

    Fortunately, we haven’t seen any sustained spread between humans at this stage. But the detection of the virus in a pig marks a worrying development in the trajectory of this virus.

    How did we get here?

    The most concerning type of bird flu currently circulating is clade 2.3.4.4b of A/H5N1, a strain of influenza A.

    Since 2020, A/H5N1 2.3.4.4b has spread to a vast range of birds, wild animals and farm animals that have never been infected with bird flu before.

    While Europe is a hotspot for A/H5N1, attention is currently focused on the US. Dairy cattle were infected for the first time in 2024, with more than 400 herds affected across at least 14 US states.

    Bird flu has enormous impacts on farming and commercial food production, because infected poultry flocks have to be culled, and infected cows can result in contaminated diary products. That said, pasteurisation should make milk safe to drink.

    While farmers have suffered major losses due to H5N1 bird flu, it also has the potential to mutate to cause a human pandemic.

    Birds and humans have different types of receptors in their respiratory tract that flu viruses attach to, like a lock (receptors) and key (virus). The attachment of the virus allows it to invade a cell and the body and cause illness. Avian flu viruses are adapted to birds, and spread easily among birds, but not in humans.

    So far, human cases have mainly occurred in people who have been in close contact with infected farm animals or birds. In the US, most have been farm workers.

    The concern is that the virus will mutate and adapt to humans. One of the key steps for this to happen would be a shift in the virus’ affinity from the bird receptors to those found in the human respiratory tract. In other words, if the virus’ “key” mutated to better fit with the human “lock”.

    A recent study of a sample of A/H5N1 2.3.4.4b from an infected human had worrying findings, identifying mutations in the virus with the potential to increase transmission between human hosts.

    Why are pigs a problem?

    A human pandemic strain of influenza can arise in several ways. One involves close contact between humans and animals infected with their own specific flu viruses, creating opportunities for genetic mixing between avian and human viruses.

    Pigs are the ideal genetic mixing vessel to generate a human pandemic influenza strain, because they have receptors in their respiratory tracts which both avian and human flu viruses can bind to.

    This means pigs can be infected with a bird flu virus and a human flu virus at the same time. These viruses can exchange genetic material to mutate and become easily transmissible in humans.


    The Conversation, CC BY-SA

    Interestingly, in the past pigs were less susceptible to A/H5N1 viruses. However, the virus has recently mutated to infect pigs more readily.

    In the recent case in Oregon, A/H5N1 was detected in a pig on a non-commercial farm after an outbreak occurred among the poultry housed on the same farm. This strain of A/H5N1 was from wild birds, not the one that is widespread in US dairy cows.

    The infection of a pig is a warning. If the virus enters commercial piggeries, it would create a far greater level of risk of a pandemic, especially as the US goes into winter, when human seasonal flu starts to rise.

    How can we mitigate the risk?

    Surveillance is key to early detection of a possible pandemic. This includes comprehensive testing and reporting of infections in birds and animals, alongside financial compensation and support measures for farmers to encourage timely reporting.

    Strengthening global influenza surveillance is crucial, as unusual spikes in pneumonia and severe respiratory illnesses could signal a human pandemic. Our EPIWATCH system looks for early warnings of such activity, which can speed up vaccine development.

    If a cluster of human cases occurs, and influenza A is detected, further testing (called subtyping) is essential to ascertain whether it’s a seasonal strain, an avian strain from a spillover event, or a novel pandemic strain.

    Early identification can prevent a pandemic. Any delay in identifying an emerging pandemic strain enables the virus to spread widely across international borders.

    Australia’s first human case of A/H5N1 occurred in a child who acquired the infection while travelling in India, and was hospitalised with illness in March 2024. At the time, testing revealed Influenza A (which could be seasonal flu or avian flu), but subtyping to identify A/H5N1 was delayed.

    This kind of delay can be costly if a human-transmissible A/H5N1 arises and is assumed to be seasonal flu because the test is positive for influenza A. Only about 5% of tests positive for influenza A are subtyped further in Australia and most countries.

    In light of the current situation, there should be a low threshold for subtyping influenza A strains in humans. Rapid tests which can distinguish between seasonal and H5 influenza A are emerging, and should form part of governments’ pandemic preparedness.

    A higher risk than ever before

    The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that the current risk posed by H5N1 to the general public remains low.

    But with H5N1 now able to infect pigs, and showing worrying mutations for human adaptation, the level of risk has increased. Given the virus is so widespread in animals and birds, the statistical probability of a pandemic arising is higher than ever before.

    The good news is, we are better prepared for an influenza pandemic than other pandemics, because vaccines can be made in the same way as seasonal flu vaccines. As soon as the genome of a pandemic influenza virus is known, the vaccines can be updated to match it.

    Partially matched vaccines are already available, and some countries such as Finland are vaccinating high-risk farm workers.

    C Raina MacIntyre receives funding from NHMRC (L3 Investigator grant and Centre for Research Excellence) and MRFF (Aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 experimentally and in an intensive care setting) currently. She currently receives funding from Sanofi for research on influenza and pertussis. She is the director of EPIWATCH®️, which is a UNSW, Kirby Institute initiative. She has been an invited speaker at the 2024 Options for The Control of Influenza at four symposia organised by Moderna, Pfizer, Sanofi and Seqirus respectively.

    Haley Stone receives funding from The Balvi Filantropic Fund. Haley Stone would like to acknowledge the support through a University International Postgraduate Award from the University of New South Wales.

    – ref. Bird flu has been detected in a pig in the US. Why does that matter? – https://theconversation.com/bird-flu-has-been-detected-in-a-pig-in-the-us-why-does-that-matter-242688

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Yes, burning gas is bad for the climate. But keeping it in Australia’s energy mix is sensible

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roger Dargaville, Director Monash Energy Institute, Monash University

    Shutterstock

    Both major parties in Australia see a significant role for gas as the world shifts to clean energy in a bid to avert dangerous climate change.

    The Albanese government says new sources of gas are needed to meet demand during the energy transition. And the Coalition, if elected, would expand gas use as it prepares for nuclear power.

    Of course, some people argue that the grave threat of climate change means we should not burn any gas. Others say the strong growth in renewable energy generation and storage means Australia won’t need gas into the future.

    So who is right? As I explain below, renewable energy is a huge part of the solution but doesn’t solve every problem. So keeping some gas-fired generators in the electricity mix, and using them only when necessary, is a sensible compromise.

    Getting to grips with gas

    There are almost 40 large natural gas-fired generators in Australia, and they are an important part of the National Electricity Market.

    According to Open Electricity — a platform for tracking Australia’s electricity transition – the gas facilities generate around 4% of the electricity we consume and comprise about 17% of overall generation capacity.

    The data also shows gas plants in Australia run at just 9% of their overall capacity, meaning they are idle much of the time. Some gas plants get used quite a lot, others only rarely. But when the plants are called on – during times of peak electricity use – their services are vital.

    Overnight, our demand for electricity dips. But when we wake in the morning and start toasting bread and boiling kettles and the like, electricity demand picks up.

    Demand eases off in the middle of the day as the sun rises high in the sky and Australia’s booming rooftop solar reaches its peak electricity output. But when the sun sets and rooftop solar is no longer producing, electricity use peaks. This early-evening demand creates a big challenge to the system.

    That’s why we need technologies that can produce electricity at any time of day or night – and do it quickly. That’s where gas-fired generation – and other “dispatchable” forms of electricity – come in.

    How do gas fired generators work?

    Gas generators come in two main types.

    An “open cycle generator”, also known as a Brayton cycle turbine, is essentially a jet engine. It combusts gas in a chamber to create enormous pressure that spins large fans. This drives a shaft that spins in the generator to produce electricity.

    This technology is relatively cheap to build and can start up very quickly – but it’s also quite inefficient to operate. It uses a lot of expensive fuel, and creates a lot of waste heat.

    The second type is known as a “combined cycle generator”. It also uses a Brayton cycle gas turbine. But it captures exhaust heat from the turbine and uses it to create steam, which in turn powers a second turbine (known as a Rankine cycle). This significantly increases the amount of electricity produced for the same amount of gas burned.

    So while this technology is relatively efficient, it’s also more expensive to build and takes longer to ramp up and down.

    Other types of gas generators exist, but they’re a relatively small part of Australia’s fleet.

    A video explaining how gas turbines work.

    Gas is not the only option

    Gas plants are not the only facilities capable of firming up Australia’s electricity grid as the share of renewables increases.

    Hydro power can also quickly ramp up to meet the evening peak. However the potential for building new conventional hydro in Australia is very limited due to the lack of large river systems and the significant environmental impact on rivers and surrounding areas.

    Coal-fired generators have potential to ramp up production, but are generally not designed to do this every evening. Plus, Australia’s fleet of old coal plants is on a fast path to retirement.

    To maintain the delicate balance of supply and demand, more will be required of gas and hydro, to produce electricity, and batteries and pumped hydro, to store it.

    Pumped hydro works by using excess renewable energy to pump water up a hill. When electricity demand is high, the water is released and passes through a turbine, producing power.

    The potential for pumped hydro energy storage in Australia is large, and some projects are likely to be economically viable. But the projects can face challenges, as demonstrated by delays and cost blowouts facing Snowy 2.0 in New South Wales.

    Large-scale lithium-ion batteries are relatively easy to install. Many projects have been built or are in the pipeline. But batteries are not great for long-duration energy storage.

    All this means gas-fired power generation is likely to have a future in Australia in coming decades.

    The downsides of gas

    Methane is the main component of natural gas. It’s also a potent contributor to global warming.

    During natural gas production and transport, gas leaks inevitably occur. This is a problem for climate change.

    So too is the carbon dioxide produced when the gas is burned to produce electricity.

    To tackle climate change, we must dramatically reduce the amount of gas we use in our electricity system. Gas use should also be eliminated for heating and cooking in our homes and, where possible, in industry.

    So where does that leave us?

    Unfortunately, no perfect solution exists to Australia’s electricity supply-demand conundrum.

    The most likely, most economic and most environmentally acceptable approach is to use a “portfolio” of technologies: lots of batteries and pumped hydro but also some gas.

    Because to keep the system stable and reliable, we need some capacity that will mostly sit idle, getting used on only a few occasions. For that reason, the technologies should be relatively cheap to build and able to run for extended periods when wind and solar generation are abnormally low.

    Gas-fired power – especially open cycle generators – meets that requirement. Pumped hydro and batteries do not.

    The gas plants we keep in the grid will not often be used, and so will produce relatively low amounts of carbon dioxide.

    Nuanced questions remain. What will it cost to keep a gas network operating to serve a fleet of gas generators that run only for a few days a year? Gas pipelines have to be kept pressurised, and the cost of running a gas extraction network for small demand may also be uneconomical.

    Non-fossil options such as biogas, hydrogen or synthetically produced methane are possible longer term options. But they are also expensive. And new technologies – such as flow batteries, thermal energy storage and cryogenic energy storage – are on the horizon.

    So, keeping some gas-fired generators on standby, and using them sparingly as needed, is a reasonable approach. It allows us to reduce emissions as much as possible, and keep our electricity system secure and affordable.

    Roger Dargaville receives funding from the Woodside-Monash Energy Partnership, RACE for 2030 CRC, and he consults for industry and government bodies.

    – ref. Yes, burning gas is bad for the climate. But keeping it in Australia’s energy mix is sensible – https://theconversation.com/yes-burning-gas-is-bad-for-the-climate-but-keeping-it-in-australias-energy-mix-is-sensible-241689

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: China Tightens Grip on Critical Minerals – China Digital Times

    Source: United States Institute of Peace

    China has extended its dominance at home and abroad over critical minerals that are essential to future high-tech and renewable-energy industries. Amid intensifying geopolitical competition, Western countries are increasing their efforts to claw back market share while countries in the Global South, where many of these minerals are mined, are attempting to capitalize on growing global demand. A recent article on the subject by The Economist stated that in 2023 Chinese companies invested roughly $16 billion in foreign mines, the highest figure in a decade, up from less than $5 billion the year before. This month, Chinese companies have announced plans to invest billions of dollars in mines in Afghanistan, Ghana, Zambia, and the Philippines. Keith Bradsher at The New York Times reported that over the past few weeks, the Chinese government has enacted measures to increase its grip over the mining and refining of rare minerals within China by making it harder for foreign companies to purchase them:

    As of Oct. 1, exporters must provide the authorities with detailed, step-by-step tracings of how shipments of rare earth metals are used in Western supply chains. That has given Beijing greater authority over which overseas companies receive scarce supplies.

    China is also taking greater corporate ownership over the mining and production of the metals. In a deal that has received almost no attention outside the country, the last two foreign-owned rare earth refineries in China are being acquired by one of the three state-owned companies that already run the other refineries in China.

    Beijing’s recent moves to take charge of the supply chain include other obscure chemical elements that are also needed by semiconductor manufacturers. On Sept. 15, China’s Ministry of Commerce restricted exports of antimony, a material used in semiconductors, military explosives and other weaponry. Last year, the ministry imposed export controls on two other chemical elements, gallium and germanium, also needed to make chips.

    National security officials have tightened the flow of information about rare earths. They have labeled rare earth mining and refining as state secrets. Last month, the Ministry of State Security announced that two managers in the rare earths industry had been sentenced to 11 years in prison for leaking information to foreigners. [Source]

    In September, a coalition of 14 Western countries and the European Commission formed the Minerals Security Partnership, a new financing network to support critical mineral projects and break China’s dominance over this sector. Despite initiatives like these, the U.S. has struggled to compete with China for critical minerals, for many reasons. One is that Chinese state-owned companies “have periodically flooded world markets with rare earths to drive down the price whenever Western producers try to ramp up production,” Bradsher wrote. Just this week, Chinese mining giant CMOC announced that it reached its full-year cobalt production target three months ahead of schedule. Eric Olander from the China-Global South Project argued that “CMOC’s strategy is unrelated to pricing conditions and more about keeping Western rivals on the sidelines [,…which] gives China an unrivaled advantage over its rivals in the U.S., Europe, and Asia that are moving aggressively to cut Chinese firms out of their supply chains — which, at least for cobalt, is not going to be possible for a very long time.” Eliot Chen at The Wire China wrote about how American policymakers are considering expanding the U.S. stockpile of critical minerals to compete with China, which has been “the master of the game” when it comes to leveraging its stockpiles:

    “China’s stockpile has a dual purpose: one is defensive and the other is economic, to support domestic industry when prices get too high for downstream industries like the electricity sector, and then conversely when prices are too low and domestic producers like copper smelters have difficulty remaining profitable,” says [Gregory Wischer, principal at Dei Gratia Minerals, a critical minerals consultancy]. 

    What, exactly, China stockpiles is not publicly known, and Chinese authorities are rarely transparent about when they buy up and sell down their stockpiles. But because of the country’s dominance over much of the critical mineral supply chain, even rumors of its intentions can produce wild swings in the price of metals. For example, while Chinese lithium producers account for less than 20 percent of mine production, China refines more than two-thirds of the metal. For other metals like graphite, which has vital defense applications, Chinese refiners control more than 90 percent of the market. 

    China’s outsized influence over the market, combined with its heavy investment in mining assets abroad, have helped it consolidate its control over global supply. An about-face by Chinese policymakers over electric vehicle subsidies in 2018, for example, resulted in a glut of lithium on the market. Chinese companies were then able to step in and acquire distressed lithium miners in Australia and Canada relatively cheaply. [Source]

    China’s monopoly over various critical-mineral supply chains in Africa has motivated the U.S. government to increase engagement in the region. A major component of this U.S. strategy is the $4 billion Lobito Corridor project, which seeks to connect the Port of Lobito in Angola to Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, thereby facilitating American and European access to cobalt and copper. But some local observers see selfish motives in this engagement. “This rivalry-driven approach narrows the scope for a partnership with Africa based on mutual benefit and long-term development. The continent, and the DRC in particular, should not be seen merely as a resource base to fuel external interests,” said Carlos Lopes, a professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He added, “Without a genuine commitment to local development, [the Lobito Corridor project] risks perpetuating Africa’s role as a supplier of raw materials rather than fostering economic transformation on the continent.” Analyzing China-Africa critical mineral cooperation in an article last month for the U.S. Institute of Peace, Cobus van Staden explored the potential for U.S.-China cooperation and described how African nations are looking to navigate both sets of relationships to their own benefit:

    The second factor complicating the narrative of direct competition [between the U.S. and China in the region] is the drive from African countries to locate more strategic mineral refining and related manufacturing in Africa. African critical mineral strategies, developed by continental bodies like the African Development Bank, emphasize local refining and value addition, an ambition now enjoying official Chinese support, as well as support from the U.S. through initiatives such as the Minerals Security Partnership among others. For example, the partners involved in the Lobito Corridor have similarly signed agreements with African countries to do more refining locally. These include EU agreements with Zambia and the DRC for mineral-driven value addition, and a trilateral agreement between Zambia, the DRC and the U.S. for domestic electric vehicle supply chain development.

    […] FOCAC 2024 put these complications [including whether Western nations can expand their refining capacities at home despite the potential for environmental and community pushback] in stark relief because it highlighted an increased sense of synergy and coordination around green energy and critical mineral value addition in the China-Africa relationship. A similar focus is developing between the continent and its Western partners. The question now is whether the continent will be able to wield both sets of relationships to its own benefit, even as great-power tensions over critical minerals heat up. [Source]

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rubio Calls Out PwC for Appeasing Communist China

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio

    The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to increase scrutiny of Western auditing and consulting firms, including global consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

    Instead of distancing itself from Communist China, PwC has opted to strengthen its relationship with the regime. Notably, PwC’s China division has consulted for government officials in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where Beijing is committing genocide against Uyghurs and other groups, appointed an apparent CCP member to the head of its China operations, and aligned itself with Beijing’s strategic goals by openly supporting China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

    U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a letter to PwC Global Chairman Mohamed Khande expressing concern over the company’s ties to the CCP and demanding answers on the threat those ties pose to U.S. interests.  

    • “Simultaneous engagements with foreign adversaries are unacceptable. PwC’s apparent deep connections with CCP-controlled entities raise questions about conflicts of interest that could preclude PwC from executing any contract for U.S. federal and state government agencies with fidelity.
    • “Global firms, such as PwC, who have grown prosperous from a free and democratic order governed by American values, can no longer seek to cater to, and profit from, both sides of this conflict.”

    The full text of the letter is below.

    Dear Mr. Khande:

    I write with regard to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s (PwC) relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese government, including Chinese provincial and local government entities, and state-owned companies in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Recently, media outlets have offered noteworthy coverage of the $62 million fine levied on PwC by China’s Ministry of Finance (MOF). While PwC’s questionable auditing work for Evergrande certainly deserves heightened scrutiny, reports have not adequately grappled with conflicts of interest seemingly rising from PwC’s deep entanglements with CCP-controlled and – affiliated entities, and, potentially, the Chinese government.

    PwC and its U.S. subsidiaries have a history of providing consulting services for U.S. federal agencies. Yet, mounting evidence suggests that PwC’s East Asia and China division (PwC China) has consulted government officials in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), where Beijing is engaged in an active genocide against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups, contracted for numerous state-owned enterprises in China, and openly supported CCP efforts to undermine U.S. economic interests through support for in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

    It is no secret that Chinese regulatory authorities have heightened scrutiny around PwC in the wake of its failure to identify $78 billion in misreported revenues by Evergrande. Key decisions made by PwC’s global leadership during this time suggest a pattern of catering to CCP goals when met with regulatory hostility. Until recently, PwC China boasted dozens of the largest Chinese state-owned enterprises on its list of auditing clients, including the Bank of China, China Railway Group Ltd., PetroChina Co. Ltd., People’s Insurance Company of China, and many others. PwC has lost many of these contracts in recent months, as Chinese regulators have discouraged China-based companies from contracting with PwC for auditing services amid the Evergrande fallout. Yet, to my surprise, as Chinese regulators have taken an increasingly hostile posture toward your firm—and sought to wrest control over Western auditors’ operations in mainland China—PwC has responded with attempts to appease the CCP, rather than decouple and de-risk from communist influence.

    In July 2024, amidst the height of Chinese regulatory scrutiny over PwC’s flawed Evergrande audits, PwC leadership appointed Daniel Li as Chairman of its China and East Asia practice. Li appears to be a member of the CCP and serves on the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). The CPPCC is a political instrument that serves atop the CCP’s “united front” system—which is designed to cultivate ties with the entities the Party views as friendly—and steers the CCP’s policy aims. As such, Li’s appointment was a clear effort by PwC to win the trust of CCP authorities amid heightening tension by placing an individual with deep ties to the CCP at the helm of your firm’s China operations. While Hemione Hudson was selected to replace Li at the helm of PwC China last month, Li retains a significant role for PwC China—overseeing your firm’s auditing efforts in China.

    PwC’s deepening ties with the CCP are also evident in your firm’s consulting client selection. The Wall Street Journal reports that, last month, as PwC China’s auditing practice faced hostile regulatory actions over its Evergrande audits, your firm’s consulting unit signed a $200,000 contract with local government authorities in the XUAR. As you know, Beijing is actively committing genocide against Uyghurs and other predominately Muslim ethnic groups in the region. China’s abhorrent oppression of Uyghurs includes modern-day concentration camps, cultural reprogramming efforts, forced labor, and physical torture. Years of mounting evidence now places the reality of these atrocities beyond a shadow of doubt.

    Perhaps most concerning, PwC appears to have acted to publicly align its client engagements with CCP ambitions. PwC’s website openly boasts of the firm’s “Belt and Road United” project, started by your firm in 2017, with the expressed purpose of supporting China’s BRI. A document describing the initiative plainly states, “PwC aligns with the strategy through ongoing support for the Belt & Road Initiative.” In the same document, PwC further claims to be an “enabling influence,” and declares that PwC will “assist government departments and regulators in constructing and improving financial markets and regulatory systems in favor of the B&R Initiative.” The document also openly references the global reach of PwC’s client base, professing that “PwC is dedicated to sharing the full range of resources and practical experience sourced from across our expansive global network” to support BRI.

    PwC’s “Belt and Road United” project appears to have generated several spin-off initiatives in other PwC offices across the globe. For example, PwC Italy’s webpage advertises your firm’s “China Business Group”—a division of PwC with the self-described aim to “support Chinese companies doing business in Italy and successfully develop their external growth strategy in the Italian market.” The document claims that PwC stands at the ready to “support Chinese/Italian government organisations” and “introduce investment opportunities in Italy for potential Chinese clients.” This language appears to be a thinly-veiled attempt of PwC to court the favor of the CCP and secure contracts with Chinese state-owned enterprises by working to expand the influence and reach of Communist China around the globe.

    As noted, PwC and its U.S. subsidiaries consult for many leading U.S. industries, and the company has received substantial revenue from contracts with the U.S. government. When U.S. federal agencies hire private entities for consultation, it is an expectation that contractors will prioritize the best interests of the United States above all others. Simultaneous engagements with foreign adversaries are unacceptable. PwC’s apparent deep connections with CCP-controlled entities raise questions about conflicts of interest that could preclude PwC from executing any contract for U.S. federal and state government agencies with fidelity.

    Accordingly, I ask that you provide responses, along with supporting documentation, to the following questions no later than November 15, 2024:

    1. Please describe the extent of any existing contracts retained by PwC, or its U.S. subsidiaries and affiliates, to provide consulting services for U.S. state and federal government agencies.
    2. Do PwC, or any of its U.S. subsidiaries and affiliates, intend to pursue contracts with U.S. federal agencies in the future?
    3. Has the CCP, or any direct subdivision of the CCP, ever been a client of PwC or any of its subsidiaries?
    4. Has PwC ever provided consulting services for a China-based client that has concurrently been included on the U.S. Department of Defense’s 1260H List, the Department of Treasury’s Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List, or the Department of Commerce’s Entity List? If so, please provide the following information for each client:
      • Name of the company
      • Nature of the company’s work
      • Nature of company’s relationship with the PRC and CCP
      • Duration of PwC’s consulting relationship with the company
      • Nature of PwC’s work on behalf of the company
    5. Do any of PwC’s current or past China-based clients work in the following sectors: military and civil defense, aerospace and aviation, energy and power generation, critical mineral mining and refining, steel and aluminum, new materials, shipbuilding, electric or gas combustion vehicle production, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, microelectronics, telecommunications, biotechnology, or high-speed rail? If so, please provide the following information for each client:
      • Name of the company
      • Nature of the company’s work
      • Nature of company’s relationship with the PRC and CCP
      • Duration of PwC’s consulting relationship with the company
      • Nature of PwC’s work on behalf of the company
    6. As noted above, brochures and materials on PwC’s website openly boast about the firm’s support for China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and its work advancing BRI goals in its consulting engagements abroad. Has PwC ever modified or intentionally crafted its consulting recommendations to U.S. clients, including U.S. federal agencies, in order to recommend cooperation with the BRI or portray the PRC’s BRI in a positive light?
    1. PwC performs hundreds of millions of dollars of work each year on behalf of the U.S.
      Government and American taxpayers. Please describe in detail all policies and safeguards PwC has implemented to ensure that work done on behalf of the United States government does not inform the work that your firm does for Chinese government entities and state-owned enterprises.
    2. PwC’s website lists statistics describing the firm’s work in the “Taiwan region.” Does PwC recognize Taiwan as a free and independent nation state?

    The United States of America, our allies, and Western businesses like PwC, face a fundamental threat. As my office has documented, for more than ten years, the CCP has acted on a concerted plan to supplant the United States as the ascendant global economic power, dominating global trade in the industries that will define the 21st century economy.6 This is not just a conflict over size of economies alone, it is also about which values will define our world. The CCP has been all too willing to commit genocide, oppress and censor citizens, and violate economic norms in its pursuit of power. Yet, it seeks to replace American values for the dignity of the human person and representative government with a global system that reflects its own character. Global firms, such as PwC, who have grown prosperous from a free and democratic order governed by American values, can no longer seek to cater to, and profit from, both sides of this conflict.

    Thank you for your attention to this important matter. 

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: Chief of Naval Operations Inducted into Rhode Island Italian American Hall of Fame

    Source: United States Navy

    Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, a native of Rochester, N.Y., was presented with the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhode Island Italian-American Hall of Fame (RIIAHF), in Providence, R.I., Nov. 2.

    RIIAHF, a non-profit organization, honors individuals who have succeeded at the highest of levels in their respective fields, and awards scholarships annually to rising college freshmen.

    Franchetti was one of three Italian Americans honored this year.

    Her full remarks are below:

    “Well, good evening and Senator Reed, thank you very much for your kind introduction and Grazie Millie to Joe Rocco and the entire team here at the Rhode Island Italian-American Hall of Fame for this incredible recognition. I also want to recognize my fellow award recipients and also the scholarship recipients, I know our future is bright when I got to see all that you’ve accomplished and I know what you will do in the future. Thanks in part to the scholarships that you’ll be receiving here this evening. Senator Reed, Provost of the Naval War College Mariano, ladies and gentlemen, and our veterans in the audience. I just got to meet 102 year, old Army artilleryman who fought in the Pacific in WWII and a Vietnam War Army nurse.

    It’s really an incredible honor to be with you all here this evening to receive this lifetime Achievement Award. As you just heard and saw in the video, my great grandparents came to America in search of the American dream, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and new opportunities for their families. They arrived with the firm belief and the strongest of convictions that if you worked hard learned, all you could and always did things the right way that you and your family would find success in this new land. My Grandfather Rebello Franchetti, a seasoned Stone Cutter. He lived those values. As did my grandmother Chiarina Rhea the matriarch of our family. Together, they laid a strong foundation for my father, Lawrence Franchetti to be the very first person in my family, to go to college, to become an engineer and find his own success as a plant manager. Through the example that they set, they passed on to me, the values, the values that I have now passed on to my own college freshman, Isabel Marie Franchetti, Who studied Italian and learned about our Italian Heritage first-hand when we lived in Bella Napoli as part of our Navy Journey. There is no doubt that these values and the love and the support of my family laid the foundation for my success, as a naval officer, and as the 33rd Chief of Naval Operations. But there’s also no doubt that this award and really my every success is owed to our amazing team of Navy Sailors and civilians, people who come from all across the rich fabric of America. People with whom, I’ve had the opportunity to serve over my 39-year career. And as we sit here tonight, enjoying this wonderful evening. Many of those Sailors and Marines are deployed. They’re standing the watch very far from home. In fact, on any given day, roughly, 110, ships, and 70,000 Sailors and Marines are deployed operating all around the world, all around the clock, to preserve our nation’s security and prosperity, to deter our would-be adversaries, and to stand ready to fight and win decisively if called to do so. I could not be more proud of our Navy and Marine Corps team and I hope you’re proud of them too, so send them a big round of applause.

    And those Sailors Marines are also standing the watch alongside amazing allies and partners including the very capable Marina Militare. The Italian Navy, who I’ve had a chance to work with for many many years. And in case, you didn’t see it in the news, the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group recently conducted a series of operations with the Italian Carrier Strike Group, led by ITS Cavour in the Indo-Pacific, and I can say with confidence that the partnership between the United States Navy and the Italian Navy grows stronger every single day. So, I want to say thank you again to Rhode Island Italian-American Hall of Fame for this incredible honor tonight. I could not be more proud of my Italian American heritage or more grateful for my family’s values that have always helped pave my way. Thank you very much.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Latest update on cases of Clade Ib mpox

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirms 2 additional cases of Clade Ib mpox.

    Two cases of Clade Ib mpox have been detected in household contacts of the first case, the UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) can confirm. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 3.

    The 2 patients are currently under specialist care at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London. The risk to the UK population remains low.

    There has been extensive planning underway to ensure healthcare professionals are equipped and prepared to respond to any further confirmed cases.

    Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UKHSA, said:

    Mpox is very infectious in households with close contact and so it is not unexpected to see further cases within the same household.

    The overall risk to the UK population remains low. We are working with partners to make sure all contacts of the cases are identified and contacted to reduce the risk of further spread.

    Contacts of all 3 cases are being followed up by UKHSA and partner organisations. All contacts will be offered testing and vaccination as needed and advised on any necessary further care if they have symptoms or test positive.

    Previous

    30 October 2024

    The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has detected a single confirmed human case of Clade Ib mpox. The risk to the UK population remains low.

    This is the first detection of this Clade of mpox in the UK. It is different from mpox Clade II that has been circulating at low levels in the UK since 2022, primarily among gay, bisexual and other men-who-have-sex-with-men (GBMSM).

    UKHSA, the NHS and partner organisations have well tested capabilities to detect, contain and treat novel infectious diseases, and while this is the first confirmed case of mpox Clade Ib in the UK, there has been extensive planning underway to ensure healthcare professionals are equipped and prepared to respond to any confirmed cases.

    The case was detected in London and the individual has been transferred to the Royal Free Hospital High Consequence Infectious Diseases unit. They had recently travelled to countries in Africa that are seeing community cases of Clade Ib mpox. The UKHSA and NHS will not be disclosing any further details about the individual.

    Close contacts of the case are being followed up by UKHSA and partner organisations. Any contacts will be offered testing and vaccination as needed and advised on any necessary further care if they have symptoms or test positive.

    UKHSA is working closely with the NHS and academic partners to determine the characteristics of the pathogen and further assess the risk to human health. While the existing evidence suggests mpox Clade Ib causes more severe disease than Clade II, we will continue to monitor and learn more about the severity, transmission and control measures. We will initially manage Clade Ib as a high consequence infectious disease (HCID) whilst we are learning more about the virus.

    Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UKHSA, said:

    It is thanks to our surveillance that we have been able to detect this virus. This is the first time we have detected this Clade of mpox in the UK, though other cases have been confirmed abroad.

    The risk to the UK population remains low, and we are working rapidly to trace close contacts and reduce the risk of any potential spread. In accordance with established protocols, investigations are underway to learn how the individual acquired the infection and to assess whether there are any further associated cases.

    Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting, said:

    I am extremely grateful to the healthcare professionals who are carrying out incredible work to support and care for the patient affected.

    The overall risk to the UK population currently remains low and the government is working alongside UKHSA and the NHS to protect the public and prevent transmission.

    This includes securing vaccines and equipping healthcare professionals with the guidance and tools they need to respond to cases safely.

    We are also working with our international partners to support affected countries to prevent further outbreaks.

    Steve Russell, NHS national director for vaccination and screening, said:

    The NHS is fully prepared to respond to the first confirmed case of this clade of mpox.

    Since mpox first became present in England, local services have pulled out all the stops to vaccinate those eligible, with tens of thousands in priority groups having already come forward to get protected, and while the risk of catching mpox in the UK remains low, if required the NHS has plans in place to expand the roll out of vaccines quickly in line with supply.

    Clade Ib mpox has been widely circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in recent months and there have been cases reported in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Sweden, India and Germany.

    Clade Ib mpox was detected by UKHSA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.

    Common symptoms of mpox include a skin rash or pus-filled lesions which can last 2 to 4 weeks. It can also cause fever, headaches, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.

    The infection can be passed on through close person-to-person contact with someone who has the infection or with infected animals and through contact with contaminated materials. Anyone with symptoms should continue to avoid contact with other people while symptoms persist.

    The UK has an existing stock of mpox vaccines and last month announced further vaccines are being procured to support a routine immunisation programme to provide additional resilience in the UK. This is in line with more recent independent JCVI advice.

    Working alongside international partners, UKHSA has been monitoring Clade Ib mpox closely since the outbreak in DRC first emerged, publishing regular risk assessment updates.

    The wider risk to the UK population remains low.

    UKHSA has published its first technical briefing on clade I mpox which provides further information on the current situation and UK preparedness and response.

    Updates to this page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Press release – Hearing of Commissioner-designate Maroš Šefčovič

    Source: European Parliament

    On Monday, the International Trade and Constitutional Affairs committees questioned Šefčovič, Slovak candidate for Trade and Economic Security/ Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency.

    The committee chairs and political group coordinators will meet without delay to assess the performance and qualification of the Commissioner-designate.

    In his introductory statement, Mr Šefčovič reminded MEPs that trade is “marked by stark competition over disruptive new technologies,  and the weaponisation of economic dependencies”, making trade a “geostrategic tool”.  With the US election imminent, the Commissioner-designate said: “Regardless of the outcome of the US elections, I will put forward an offer of cooperation”. He added that the EU will have to solve its disputes with the US, citing steel and aluminium, and protectionist elements in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

    On inter-institutional relations, he committed to enhancing the Commission’s cooperation with Parliament, not least through the soon to be revamped Framework Agreement. Mr Šefčovič also referred to a Commission’s commitment to follow-up on Parliament’s indirect legislative initiatives, ensure that comprehensive justification would be provided for the use of the extraordinary procedure of Article 122, and facilitate progress on Parliament’s call for a full right of inquiry. Further, he announced an expansion of the EU’s Transparency Register’s scope “to all managers”.

    China

    Mr Šefčovič described China as the most challenging trading partner, one with which the EU needs to rebalance its relationship. He told MEPs that, after EU’s duties on electric vehicles made in China, in place since last week, Commission negotiators are now in talks with Chinese counterparts on price undertakings. “EU is not interested in trade wars, we are looking for rebalancing our relationship with China in areas where we feel our relationship is not fair,” Mr Šefčovič said, citing overcapacity, subsidies, and the lack of level playing field.

    Mercosur, Israel  and FTAs

    MEPs grilled the Commissioner-designate over the ongoing negotiations with Mercosur countries, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Mr Šefčovič pledged to continue work on free trade agreements (FTA) with Mexico and Australia, and said he wants the EU to be more present in Thailand, the Philippines and India. Responding to MEPs, he pointed to the Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement (SIFA) with Angola and the Economic Partnership Agreement with Kenya as new types of agreements that could help the EU.

    Asked by MEPs if the EU was breaching international law as it keeps its trade ties with Israel under the EU-Israel association agreement, Mr Šefčovič said that the agreement “can be changed only by unanimity” among member states.

     

    Priorities for interinstitutional relations

    Many MEPs highlighted the importance of treaty change based on Parliament’s proposals which were inspired by the Conference on the Future of Europe. The Commissioner-designate said that the key to moving forward on this is getting a clear position by the European Council: they will work with the new presidency of Antonio Costa to this aim.

    The debate revolved around the need for reforms to prepare for enlargement and to activate the “passerelle” clause in key policy areas, as well as transparency, with some MEPs bringing up worrying reports about Commission practices. Other topics included better cooperation with national parliaments and applying the findings of the Draghi report in the EU’s institutional architecture.

    Press point

    At the end of the hearing, the Chair of the Committees of International Trade, Bernd Lange, and Constitutional Affairs, Sven Simon, held a press point outside the meeting room: watch it here.

    Next steps

    Based on the committee recommendations, the Conference of Presidents (EP President Metsola and political group chairs) is set to conduct the final evaluation and declare the hearings closed on 21 November. Once the Conference of Presidents declares all hearings closed, the evaluation letters will be published.

    The election by MEPs of the full college of Commissioners (by a majority of the votes cast, by roll-call) is currently scheduled to take place during the 25-28 November plenary session in Strasbourg.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Thales: Launch of the 2024 Employee Share Ownership Plan

    Source: Thales Group

    Headline: Thales: Launch of the 2024
    Employee Share Ownership Plan

    Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) announces the launch of its 2024 employee share ownership plan, running from Monday 4 November to Friday 24 November 2024. This offer is available to Thales employees across 36 countries who are participants in the Group Savings Plan and have at least three months of seniority as of 24 November 24 2024, as well as to the company’s retirees. ​

    The plan offers a 20% discount on the Thales share price, along with a 50% matching contribution on personal investment up to a maximum of €500, funded by Thales. ​

    The objective of this plan is to strengthen the bond between Thales and its employees by providing them with the opportunity to become more closely associated with the Group’s goals, performance, and future successes.

    Terms of the 2024 Employee Share Ownership Plan

    This share offer is available to employees in France, South Africa, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Spain, the United States, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Czech Republic, Romania, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey who are eligible and participate in the Group Savings Plan. ​

    In the United Kingdom, Thales shares will be offered through a Share Incentive Plan (SIP).

    Offered Shares ​

    The Thales share offer to Group employees will be conducted through the transfer of existing treasury shares previously repurchased by Thales under a share buyback programme authorised by the shareholders’ general meeting in accordance with Article L. 22-10-62 of the French Commercial Code. The transfer of shares to employees and retirees participating in the Group Savings Plan will be carried out under the provisions of Articles L. 3332-18 and following of the French Labour Code, except for the offer in the United Kingdom, where it will be conducted under an SIP. ​

    On 3 April 2024, the Board of Directors decided to implement this employee share ownership plan and delegated the necessary powers to the Chairman and CEO for its execution. In line with the Board’s decision, the offer will cover a maximum of 600,000 shares, with a cost cap of €31 million (including the discount and matching contributions in the employee share ownership plan and SIP matching contributions).

    The Chairman and CEO, by delegation from the Board of Directors, set the subscription period dates and acquisition price by decision on 28 October 2024. The acquisition price is set at 80% of the reference price. ​

    The reference price, noted by the Chairman and CEO on 28 October 2024, is the average of Thales’s opening share prices on the Euronext Paris market over the twenty (20) trading days preceding this date, amounting to €149.61. Accordingly, the acquisition price for employees is €119.69. For the offer in the United Kingdom, the acquisition price will be determined in accordance with the applicable SIP rules. ​

    The shares acquired by offer participants, being existing ordinary shares, are fully assimilated with the existing ordinary shares that make up Thales’s share capital. ​

    Offer Conditions

    • Eligible Offer Participants: The offer is open to employees of the included companies who are part of the Group Savings Plan, regardless of their employment contract (permanent or fixed-term, full-time or part-time) and with a minimum of three months’ seniority. Retirees and early retirees from Thales’s French companies who joined the Group Savings Plan prior to their departure are also eligible, provided they have maintained holdings in the Group Savings Plan since retirement or early retirement. ​
    • Included Companies:
      • Thales, with share capital of €617 825 739, headquartered at 4 rue de la Verrerie, 92190 Meudon, France, and ​
      • Thales Group companies in which Thales holds, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the share capital, with headquarters in France, South Africa, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Spain, the United States, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Czech Republic, Romania, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey, who are (or will be) participants in the Group Savings Plan.
    • Participation Methods: Shares will be acquired through employee mutual funds (FCPE) or directly, depending on the country, and via a Trust within the SIP framework. ​
    • Share Purchase Formula: Employees may acquire Thales shares through a classic subscription formula. Employees will receive a 50% matching contribution from their employer on their subscription amount, capped at a maximum contribution of €500. ​
    • Voting Rights: Voting rights attached to the shares will be exercised by the FCPE supervisory board in FCPE countries, and directly by employees in countries where shares are held directly.
    • Subscription Cap: Annual contributions by offer beneficiaries to the Group Savings Plan may not exceed a quarter of their gross annual salary, in accordance with Article L.3332-10 of the French Labour Code. ​
    • Share Retention Requirement: Employees participating in the offer must retain their corresponding FCPE shares or directly held shares for five years, except in cases of early release as defined by Article R. 3334-22 of the French Labour Code or local regulations. For shares acquired through the SIP in the United Kingdom, the retention conditions differ depending on the share type (partnership or matching shares).

    Indicative Operation Timeline ​

    • Subscription Period: From 4 November 2024 (inclusive) to 24 November 2024 (inclusive). ​
    • Offer Settlement Delivery: Scheduled for 17 December 2024. ​

    Listing ​

    Thales shares are listed on the Euronext Paris market (ISIN Code: FR0000121329).

    This press release has been prepared in accordance with the exemption from publication of a prospectus provided for in Article 1.4(i) of Prospectus Regulation 2017/1129.

    International Notice

    This release does not constitute a sales offer or a solicitation to acquire Thales shares. The Thales employee share offer will be conducted only in countries where such an offer has been registered or notified to the relevant local authorities and/or approved by a local authority prospectus, or where an exemption applies regarding the need for a prospectus or offer registration or notification. ​

    More generally, the offer will only take place in countries where all required registration procedures and notifications have been completed, and necessary authorisations obtained. For residents of Israel, the offer is conducted in accordance with the Information Document available on the website dedicated to the offer.

    About Thales

    Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies specialized in three business domains: Defence & Security, Aeronautics & Space, and Cybersecurity & Digital identity.

    It develops products and solutions that help make the world safer, greener and more inclusive.

    The Group invests close to €4 billion a year in Research & Development, particularly in key innovation areas such as AI, cybersecurity, quantum technologies, cloud technologies and 6G.

    Thales has close to 81,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2023, the Group generated sales of €18.4 billion.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI China: DPRK conducts strategic cruise missile test

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) conducted a sea-to-surface strategic cruise missile test on Saturday under the supervision of its top leader to beef up its defense capabilities while its foreign ministry condemned the latest military provocations by the United States and South Korea, state media said Sunday.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Dr Katrina Wruck awarded 2025 Young Australian of the Year

    Source: Australian Ministers for Education

    Congratulations to Dr Katrina Wruck from Queensland for being awarded the national 2025 Young Australian of the Year.

    Katrina has been recognised for research is giving back to remote communities. 

    Based on her research, Katrina has set up a profit-for-purpose business, Nguki Kula Green Labs, which is poised to transform the consumer goods sector by harnessing the power of green chemistry, while inspiring others to step into STEM.

    Katrina’s method of converting mining by-products to zeolite LTA – which can remove contaminants from water that cause hardness – will be commercialised. Her postdoctoral research examines how to break down dangerous ‘forever chemicals’ into benign ones. Altogether, Katrina’s work is a possible foundation for reducing global contamination.

    A proud Mabuigilaig and Goemulgal woman who has long advocated for First Nations knowledge, Katrina also participates in community engagement programs. She is frequently told by the students she speaks to that she’s the first Indigenous scientist they’ve met. Her work has been recognised with several awards and she is already well known in her field.

    What Katrina has accomplished in just a short time is remarkable.

    Her commitment, dedication and care for others demonstrates the best of what young Australians contribute to our communities.

    Katrina was chosen as this year’s Young Australian from an impressive field of state and territory recipients who are all paving the way to a brighter future:

    • Daniel Bartholomaeus, an artist and advocate for the neurodivergent community, from the Australian Capital Territory is a mentor with The With Friends Initiative, a social group for neurodivergent young people. Daniel uses art not only for self-expression but to bridge the gap between neurotypical and neurodiverse people.
    • Maddison O’Gradey-Lee from New South Wales co-founded the Orygen Global Youth Mental Health Fellowship in 2020. Maddison has created a global community that’s combating taboos around mental health and was the first person from Oceania to win the Dalai Lama Peace Fellowship.
    • Victoria’s Aishwarya Kansakar is a globally renowned AI and automation entrepreneur, who was raised amidst Nepal’s civil war and went on to teach herself computing. Today Aishwarya heads Syncrowin, building a world-first AI-powered automation system and is also Women 4 STEM’s chief operating officer, where she leads 300 volunteers, impacting 70 schools and 66,000 women’s STEM careers.
    • Amber Brock-Fabel from South Australia founded the South Australian Youth Forum in 2021 at just 17 years old, ensuring youth voices are heard by lawmakers and relevant organisations. Under Amber’s leadership, the Forum was recently represented at the United Nations Summit of the Future, the National Inquiry into Civics Education and the Australian Conference on Youth Health.
    • From the Northern Territory, Nilesh (Nil) Dilushan’s commitment to community service has led him to co-found two successful community initiatives: The Kindness Shake; and Rotaract Young Professionals Northern Territory. These organisations focus on upskilling young people, addressing literacy gaps and creating employment pathways, making a positive impact on their local communities.
    • Ariarne Titmus OAM from Tasmania has already achieved more in her sporting career than most could ever dream of. Ariarne has demonstrated extraordinary dedication and grit to improve her performance in the pool and is a role model for young swimmers who want to improve and test the boundaries of what is possible. Ariarne holds several world records and has won gold medals in both the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics.
    • Through Elucidate Education, Western Australia’s Jack Anderson passionately pursues greater equity and educational access in Australia and beyond. Jack has led the publication of many textbooks for senior study and coordinates regular trips to remote areas of Western Australia, donating educational materials to the most socio-economically disadvantaged, rural and Indigenous students, empowering them for success. 

    Congratulations to Katrina, and to all the national nominees. You are a source of inspiration for all Australians.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI—Hagerty Joins The Story With Martha MacCallum on Fox News to Discuss Democrats Delaying Trump’s Cabinet Confirmations

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Tennessee Bill Hagerty
    WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Appropriations, Banking, and Foreign Relations Committees and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, yesterday joined The Story With Martha MacCallum on Fox News to discuss his strong support for Pete Hegseth, and Senate Democrats playing political games to delay President Donald Trump’s cabinet confirmations. 

    *Click the photo above or here to watch*
    Partial Transcript
    Hagerty on Democrats’ politically-motivated delay of Trump’s cabinet confirmations: “We’re moving ahead in due course here. I think the biggest difficulty has been the Democrats that are using every procedural move they can, Martha, to try to slow this thing down. Right now, we’re scheduled to vote on Pete [Hegseth] tonight. From that point, we’ll move on to start the clock again for Kristi Noem. That’ll take another thirty hours of work, so Kristi won’t come up again until very early on Sunday morning. Then we’ll start the clock off on Scott Bessent [early Sunday morning]. And they’ll roll forward into Monday, vote on Scott, then go to Sean Duffy and just continue this process. The Democrats have used every procedural mechanism available to them to slow us down. And I’ll just remind you, Martha, we are far, far behind where we were in [former President Barack] Obama’s initial Administration. We’re behind where we were, frankly, with President Trump, his first term, and clearly, [former] President [Joe] Biden. I don’t think the Democrats got the message.”
    Hagerty on his strong support for Pete Hegseth: “Certainly, our members [of the Senate] are all entitled to vote as they’re going to. I’m certainly going to be supportive of Pete because I think if you watch the four-and-a-half-hour confirmation hearing, you’re going to see that Pete is very bright, very energetic, and very talented. He’s going to be able to inspire the troops, recruit and retain as he should. And I hope that all my colleagues will take a very hard look at that and vote in the affirmative tonight.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Sequels of popular franchises gear up for Spring Festival

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    As the Year of the Snake approaches, the festival film market is heating up with fierce competition, as six big-budget movies are set to premiere on Wednesday, the first day of the Chinese New Year.

    Widely regarded as a sign of the maturation of the domestic film industry, five of these titles are sequels to popular franchises, with Hong Kong director Tsui Hark’s martial arts tentpole Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants standing as the sole exception.

    The film, starring pop idol Xiao Zhan as Guo Jing, a skilled martial artist, saw its presale box-office revenue surpass 10 million yuan ($1.37 million) in just 40 minutes after online booking began at 9 am on Jan 19, propelling it to the top of the Spring Festival’s advance ticket revenue charts. It is also the first martial arts film to compete during the festival, the country’s most lucrative box-office season in recent years.

    Many industry insiders attribute its commercial success to the star power of Xiao, who is followed by millions of fans on the popular social platform Sina Weibo, as well as to the influence of the movie’s archetype.

    Adapted from seven chapters of one of the most renowned novels, The Legend of the Condor Heroes, by the late wuxia writer Jin Yong, pen name of Louis Cha Leung-yung (1924-2018), the tale recounts the adventures of Guo Jing and Huang Rong, the protagonist’s once-in-a-lifetime lover, in the martial arts world as they team up to fight and defend the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).

    In addition to Legends of the Condor Heroes leading by a significant margin in presales, three other films have closely followed in presale revenue: the animated film Nezha 2, the suspense comedy Detective Chinatown 1900, and the mythological epic Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force, occupying the second, third and fourth positions, respectively.

    Marking itself as a spinoff prequel to filmmaker Chen Sicheng’s Detective Chinatown franchise, the new film features actors Liu Haoran and Wang Baoqiang as an unlikely duo, following their mystery-solving adventures in San Francisco in 1900.

    As the sequel to the 2019 blockbuster Nezha, Nezha 2 depicts the resurgence of the titular hero and his friend, Aobing, the prince from a dragon clan. The tale follows their journey as they overcome a series of difficulties while confronting an unprecedented crisis: The leader of the dragon clan releases thousands of sea monsters to threaten the existence of humankind.

    Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force picks up where the first movie left off, following Ji Fa, the brave son of a lord, as he returns to his hometown to lead a rebel army in fighting against the tyranny of Yin Shou, whose archetype is King Zhou, the last ruler of the Shang Dynasty (c. 16th century-11th century BC).

    Interweaving mythology and history, the highlight of the film centers on battles among people, celestial beings and monsters. Director Wuershan revealed that a main challenge was representing the 12-meter-tall four sibling giants of the Mo family, powerful figures in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) novel Fengshen Yanyi (The Investiture of the Gods), which serves as a major inspiration for the movie.

    The other two are the military-themed Operation Hadal, a follow-up to Operation Red Sea (2018), and the animated film Boonie Bears: Future Reborn, the 11th installment of the Boonie Bears franchise.

    Chen Jin, an analyst of Beacon, Alibaba Pictures’ real-time information tracker, says the movies competing for this year’s Spring Festival showcase a diverse range of themes and genres, and all are adorned with special-effects scenes. He analyzes that the holiday will serve as a barometer for the entire year’s film market, leading the Chinese film industry toward a better recovery this year.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: November 1st, 2024 Heinrich, Hoeven: Senate Passes Bipartisan Resolution Designating November 2 as National Bison Day

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) announced that the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan resolution they led to designate November 2, 2024, as National Bison Day.

    “Bison represent resiliency and are an enduring symbol of American strength. They have been a critical part of our culture for generations — in New Mexico, across the West, and especially in Indian Country,” said Heinrich. “I’m proud to lead this bipartisan resolution with Senator Hoeven to recognize our national mammal and raise awareness for the ongoing efforts to conserve this unique species.”

    “National Bison Day is an opportunity to commemorate our national mammal and the unique role that bison have played in America,” said Hoeven. “We are fortunate to have the bison as our emblem of the pioneering spirit exemplified by Americans throughout our history.”

    The full text of the resolution is available here.

    Heinrich and Hoeven introduced their bipartisan National Bison Legacy Act in 2015, and the legislation was signed into law in 2016. The National Bison Legacy Act recognized the bison’s significance in American history and designated it as the United States’ national mammal.

    Heinrich and Hoeven are the Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Grassley Announces Cedar Rapids Veterans History Project Event

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley

    BUTLER COUNTY, IOWA – In honor of Veterans Day, the office of U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), along with students from Kirkwood Community College, will host its eighth annual Veterans History Project event to chronicle firsthand accounts of Iowa veterans. 

    “The past informs the present and shapes the future. That’s why the Veterans History Project is so valuable – it preserves our service members’ stories for future generations to learn about their experiences and the sacrifices they made for our great nation,” Grassley said. “I want to offer my deepest gratitude to all the veterans in Iowa for their selflessness, and many thanks to those participating in this year’s event.”

    Event details follow:

    WHAT: Veterans History Project

    WHEN: Friday, November 8, 2024, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. CT

    WHERE: Veterans Memorial Building, 51 1st Avenue Bridge, Cedar Rapids

    While the event will run from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. CT, local media is encouraged to attend from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. CT. Members of the media who wish to attend must RSVP directly to Hannah_Akey@grassley.senate.gov. 

    ***Grassley participated in a question-and-answer (Q&A) session for Iowans about the Veterans History Project. The Q&A is for publication***

    Q&A: Veterans History Project

    With U.S Senator Chuck Grassley

    Q: What is the Veterans History Project?

    A: Approved unanimously by Congress in 2000, the Veterans History Project came about through a grassroots effort to preserve the oral histories of America’s brave service men and women. The Library of Congress serves as the permanent repository for recorded veterans’ interviews submitted from local communities across the United States. The project honors those who have served in uniform and helps ensure future generations understand military service and the realities of war. In addition to audio and video recordings, the mission to preserve the memories and memorabilia from America’s veterans also includes letters, diaries, artwork and photographs. In 2016, Congress expanded the collection to include oral histories from family members memorializing loved ones who died as a result of their military service during war. To date, the collection includes firsthand narratives of U.S. military veterans from World War I through present day. The stories of more than 100,000 veterans are now part of the collection. 

    As a history enthusiast and U.S. Senator, I wanted to help preserve the stories of Iowa’s brave heroes who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. In 2018, my office launched an annual event to interview hometown heroes for the Veterans History Project. Typically held the Friday before Veterans Day, my office invites local veterans to share their stories in a 30- to 60-minute interview. To date, my office has submitted 83 interviews from Iowa veterans at events held across the state, including those recorded at the Iowa Gold Star Museum in Johnston (2018); the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown (2019); the Veterans Post in Waverly (2020); 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City (2021); the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum in Waterloo (2022); and, the Rock Island Arsenal Museum (2023). It is my honor to provide a platform for Iowa veterans and their loved ones, so that their stories aren’t lost to history. Listening to the voices of veterans sharing first-hand accounts of their military service and experiences during wartime is powerful testimony.

    Q: Where will your office hold interviews this year for the Veterans History Project?

    A: On Friday, Nov. 8, my office will host our eighth annual Veterans History Project in Cedar Rapids. I’m pleased to have students from Kirkwood Community College joining us this year to help facilitate the recordings and provide technical support. Interviews will take place at the Veterans Memorial Building, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., located at 51 1st Ave. Bridge, in Cedar Rapids. Iowans interested in participating should contact my office in Cedar Rapids, (319) 363-6832 to schedule their interview. 

    According to the U.S. Census, veterans make up 6.5 percent of Iowa’s population; the Department of Veterans Affairs calculates 193,861 Iowans are among approximately 18 million living veterans in the United States today. Of wartime veterans, Iowa is home to 3,716 World War II veterans; 16,246 from the Korean conflict; 64,900 during Vietnam era; and 65,926 from the Gulf War. Census Bureau data show a shrinking share of U.S. adults are veterans, from about 18 percent of the population in 1980 to six percent in 2022. As fewer people have a direct connection to an active duty service member, or serve in uniform themselves, it’s important to preserve the stories of those who have served in the Armed Forces to ensure their service and sacrifice on behalf of our nation is honored and remembered for generations to come. God bless our veterans and service members currently serving who have answered the call to protect and defend our cherished blessings of freedom.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reps. Davis, Bacon, and Raskin Join National Child Advocates in Thanking the Social Security Administration and Children’s Bureau for Taking an Important Step to Protecting the Federal Benefits of Foster Youth

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Danny K Davis (7th District of Illinois)

    Washington, DC:  November 1, 2024 – Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) welcome the opportunity provided by the joint Request for Information (RFI) on the use and conservation of federal benefits for foster youth, as well as other ways federal agencies may play an appropriate role supporting broader Federal, State, and local efforts to improve the outcomes of foster youth who receive federal benefits, published today by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Children’s Bureau, an office of the Administration for Children & Families (ACF) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 

    In December 2022, Representatives Davis, Bacon, and Raskin urged the Biden Administration to use its executive branch authority to limit the state practice of using the assets and benefits of foster youth to reimburse state costs of care until more comprehensive legislation is enacted. Although Congress will need to act to permanently stop this practice all together, SSA and HHS have statutory and regulatory authority to stop or at least limit this practice now. 

    In August 2023, the Biden Administration encouraged reform efforts and reminded states and tribal child welfare agencies of their responsibility to foster youth when serving as a Social Security Representative Payee for foster youth via a joint letter issued by SSA and ACF.  Further, SSA has taken multiple additional steps to educate its staff and child welfare agencies about the responsibilities of an agency Representative Payee, and ACF has hosted webinars focused on state and local efforts to conserve the federal benefits of foster youth.   

    Importantly, states can stop this practice without any action by the federal government, and many are working to do so.  Four states and jurisdictions (Arizona, Oregon, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia) have enacted comprehensive reform, and an additional six states or jurisdictions (California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, and New York City) have adopted substantial reforms to protect some of the assets and benefits of orphaned and disabled foster youth.  Nine more (Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Washington) have adopted more limited reform ranging from legislation, executive order, resolution, agency policy, state trust, or litigation. Unfortunately, the majority of states still choose to bolster their own financial security rather than help the orphaned and disabled youth, often without the youth, their attorneys, or other caring adults knowing. 

    Today, SSA and the Children’s Bureau took a critical step to better protect foster youth.  The Request for Information from youth, families, and stakeholders on how the use and conservation of federal benefits could improve outcomes for foster youth will serve as the foundation for agency reform – giving the agencies important perspectives on what actions are possible and how to implement those actions to best improve child well-being.  

    “I thank Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley and Administration on Children, Youth and Families Commissioner Rebecca Jones Gaston for taking the important step of collecting information from youth, families, and stakeholders about how Federal, State, and local governments can use and conserve the federal benefits of foster youth to improve their well-being,” said Rep. Davis.  “I proudly lead legislation to protect the benefits and assets of foster youth by stopping states from taking the youths’ funds.  This new request for information serves as a foundation for future agency action.  I am proud to have partnered with Representatives Don Bacon (R-NE) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) to urge executive branch action to help states stop this practice until more comprehensive legislation is enacted. My home state of Illinois is a national leader in this area, and I greatly appreciate the Biden-Harris Administration’s multiple steps to encourage states to protect foster youth.”

    “Foster youth should be able to keep their social security benefits and not be stolen from them by their state,” said Rep. Bacon. “In 2020, Nebraska received over $2.6 million in social security benefits from youth in care. That is their money and being a foster youth is hard enough without the expectation that they pay for the care they received when they were placed into the care of the state due to no fault of their own. The Executive Branch must take action to address this problem.” 

    “States have a duty to care for vulnerable foster children, yet many smash their piggy banks and seize their Social Security benefits to reimburse the costs of their care,” said Rep. Raskin. “I am grateful to Commissioner O’Malley, the Social Security Administration and Children’s Bureau for heeding our calls and taking a closer look to ensure federal benefits are best serving all children and young people in foster care. I have been working to solve this problem since my time in the Maryland State Senate, and today I’m proud to stand with Rep. Danny Davis and Rep. Don Bacon to applaud this further step by the Biden-Harris administration to protect foster kids across America.”

    “Foster youth deserve a fair chance to benefit from their benefits. Now that a majority of states have initiated or taken action to protect foster youth assets, this RFI paves the way for meaningful rules that will help beneficiaries in care thrive. We are grateful for the leadership of SSA and Commissioner O’Malley and look forward to collaborating with SSA and ACF on behalf of impacted youth.” Amy C. Harfeld, JD, National Policy Director, Children’s Advocacy Institute

    “Child welfare agencies have long been taking Social Security benefits from foster children who are disabled or have deceased parents, leaving the children penniless. I applaud the leadership of the Social Security Administration—and the efforts of Representatives Davis, Bacon, and Raskin—in this important step towards better protecting foster youth’s resources for their struggle against the odds as they leave foster care.” Daniel Hatcher, Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore and author of The Poverty Industry

    “Listen to courageous foster youth like Marissa Pike, Katrina White, Ian Marks, Justin Kasieta,  and Anthony Jackson. The Center for the Rights of Abused Children remains focused on stopping states from taking foster youth’s federal benefits and delivering comprehensive reform in a child-centric way. We appreciate federal policymakers engaging on this issue, and we encourage governors and state legislators to take action today.”  J. Kendall Seal, Vice President of Policy, Center for the Rights of Abused Children.

    A copy of the letter by Reps. Davis, Bacon, and Raskin is available here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: $7.7M Awarded to WA Tribes to Boost Drinking Water Safety and Supply

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell
    11.01.24
    $7.7M Awarded to WA Tribes to Boost Drinking Water Safety and Supply
    $3.4M to Lummi, $2.3M to Kalispel, $1.8M to Makah, $111K to Colville, & $74K to Hoh for water infrastructure projects
    EDMONDS, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, announced that five tribes in Washington state will receive grants totaling $7,768,391 for projects to address inadequate water infrastructure and improve the safety and supply of drinking water for their members.
    The money comes from the Bureau of Reclamation’s Tribal Domestic Water Program, one of many important investments championed by Sen. Cantwell in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).  
    The Lummi Tribe received $3,410,000 for a project to increase water supply, upgrade arsenic treatment, and manage saltwater intrusion risk.
    “This money will fund important planning projects for water treatment, alternative water sources, and assessing saltwater intrusion risk,” said Sen. Cantwell. “The projects will help secure supplies of safe, available drinking water for members of the Lummi Tribe.”
    The Tribe will complete a study for an alternative water source, prepare plans and designs for a water treatment plant, and complete necessary environmental compliance and permitting. The Tribe will also complete a Saltwater Intrusion Risk Study and Saltwater Intrusion Risk Management Plan, which aim to mitigate the contamination of freshwater aquifers by the ocean.
    The Kalispel Tribe of Indians received $2,357,536 for water infrastructure planning and design.
    “This funding will jumpstart a Kalispel Tribe project to develop new water sources that the Tribe will own and operate, ensuring reliable access to safe drinking water,” said Sen. Cantwell.
    The Tribe will plan, design, and acquire permits for a domestic drinking water project on the Kalispel Reservation. The project will provide planning and design to develop new water sources owned and operated by the Tribe, and to integrate the new sources with the existing system, providing access to safe, regulated, and clean drinking water to underserved homes and public facilities.
    The Makah Tribe received $1,813,991 for their Community Water System Critical Infrastructure, Community Health & Safety project.
    “The Makah Tribe will use these funds to address water quality and availability issues by finding and developing new sources of water,” said Sen. Cantwell.
    The Tribe will evaluate and identify alternative water supply sources to address water quantity and quality issues impacting water availability for the Makah Community Water System and the health of the community.
    The Confederated Tribes of the Colville received $111,995 for their Keller Water System Main Loop Replacement Design project.
    “The Colville Tribe will use this funding to replace water infrastructure that was destroyed in a flood, reestablishing a second supply of water for residents of the rural town of Keller,” said Sen. Cantwell.
    The Tribe will replace a crucial component of the water system for the isolated Tribal town of Keller, WA. Recent severe floods broke a looping line for the town’s water system. Now the town is reliant on a single water supply line, at risk of interruptions to its water supply from impacts to the main trunk line and water quality degradation from line dead ends. This project proposes to design a replacement looping line suspended from the Silver Creek Road bridge, which will be more resilient in the face of future flood events.
    The Hoh Indian Tribe received $74,869 for their Hoh Tribe Highlands Water System Expansion Plan Development project.
    “This funding will help the Hoh Tribe build infrastructure to ensure that they can provide enough safe drinking water to meet current and future needs,” said Sen. Cantwell.
    The Tribe will develop a Water System Plan to guide the development of an expanded water delivery system and long-term system management in the Highland area. The plan will confirm current water use amounts, estimate future water demand, develop a water system piping network, water quality monitoring and reporting protocols and procedures, and formulate a long-term operations and financial plan.
    Tribal Domestic Water Program funding is available to communities in the 17 western U.S. states served by the Bureau of Reclamation, which will implement the program in two phases. The phase one funding is for planning, design, or construction in fiscal year 2024; and phase two funding will be for construction in fiscal years 2027 and 2028. 
    The IRA invests an overall $550 million to ensure communities or households have reliable access to clean domestic water supplies in historically disadvantaged communities.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Minister Joly and Minister Blair meet with Korean counterparts

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, met today in Ottawa with their Republic of Korea counterparts, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul and Minister of National Defence Kim Yong-hyun for the inaugural Canada-ROK Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting.

    November 1, 2024 Ottawa, Ontario- – Global Affairs Canada

    The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, met today in Ottawa with their Republic of Korea counterparts, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul and Minister of National Defence Kim Yong-hyun for the inaugural Canada-ROK Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting.

    Through new announcements and initiatives, Canada and the Republic of Korea will deepen cooperation as strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific, including through our shared priorities in the North Pacific, and further the significant progress already achieved in our bilateral relations.

    This builds on Minister Joly’s visit to South Korea in July 2024 to launch the Canada-Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Action Plan with Minister Cho, and Minister Blair’s visit in September 2024 to co-host the Republic of Korea-United Nations Command Member States Defence Ministerial with Minister Kim.

    Canada and the Republic of Korea have issued a joint statement to deepen cooperation on shared regional and global issues and to condemn in the strongest possible terms the growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, North Korea’s recent intercontinental ballistic missile launch, and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

    Canada and the Republic of Korea are gravely concerned that large numbers of North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Russia. This is a significant escalation with dangerous implications for security and stability in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region. Together, Canada and the Republic of Korea call on North Korea and Russia to withdraw North Korean troops from Russia. 

    For more than 60 years, Canada and the Republic of Korea have enjoyed a close friendship and longstanding peace and security cooperation that dates back to the Korean War. 

    Today, this partnership facilitated discussions that will help expand collaboration in the years ahead, including during Canada’s G7 Presidency and when the Republic of Korea hosts APEC in 2025. 

    These discussions touched on the Indo-Pacific strategies of our two countries that outline a common vision for ensuring the region remains secure, free and prosperous into the future.

    To help realize this objective, Canada and the Republic of Korea agreed to launch the Canada-Korea Indo-Pacific Dialogue to allow direct collaboration between our Special Envoys for the Indo-Pacific.

    Both countries have agreed to hold these ministerial dialogues on an ongoing basis to continue advancing Canada-ROK cooperation on a range of shared priorities.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Canada-Republic of Korea Foreign and Defence (2+2) Ministerial Meeting joint statement

    Source: Government of Canada News

    We, the ministers of foreign affairs and ministers of national defence of Canada and the Republic of Korea (ROK) met on November 1, 2024, in Ottawa, Canada, for the inaugural Canada-ROK Foreign and Defence (2+2) Ministerial Meeting (“the ministerial”). The ministerial builds upon the elevation of our diplomatic relationship to that of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) and is a key deliverable of the CSP Action Plan launched in July 2024.

    November 1, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

    We, the ministers of foreign affairs and ministers of national defence of Canada and the Republic of Korea (ROK) met on November 1, 2024, in Ottawa, Canada, for the inaugural Canada-ROK Foreign and Defence (2+2) Ministerial Meeting (“the ministerial”). The ministerial builds upon the elevation of our diplomatic relationship to that of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) and is a key deliverable of the CSP Action Plan launched in July 2024.

    Today, through several new announcements and initiatives, we demonstrate our resolve to deepen cooperation to reinforce global stability in the face of interconnected challenges in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. In this, Canada and the ROK are stronger together.

    Partners for global stability

    We condemn in the strongest possible terms North Korea’s deepening military cooperation with Russia in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, including the provision of millions of rounds of ammunition and ballistic missiles to support Russia’s brutal and unjustifiable war of aggression in Ukraine. We are gravely concerned that large numbers of North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Russia, which is a significant escalation with dangerous implications for security and stability in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region. We are closely monitoring what Russia provides North Korea in return for weapons and military personnel, including Russia’s possible provision of sensitive technology to advance North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs. We call on North Korea and Russia to immediately cease these unlawful and destabilizing activities and to withdraw North Korean troops from Russia. Recognizing that the security of the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions are increasingly interconnected, we commit to actively pursuing further measures together with the international community. 

    We call on Russia to withdraw its forces immediately, completely, and unconditionally from all Ukrainian territory to its internationally recognized borders; we reiterate our unwavering support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to protect and defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. 

    We express our deep concern with any nation’s efforts to support Russia’s war economy, such as through the transfer of dual-use materials, including weapons components and equipment, which enable Russia to prolong and sustain its illegal war in Ukraine.

    We condemn North Korea’s nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs, and continued missile launches, including its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test on October 31 (local time), which threatens peace and stability in the region and across the globe, are in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) and international law. It only demonstrates that North Korea continues to prioritize its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs over the well-being of its people, and we call on North Korea to cease its destabilizing actions. We reaffirm that any further nuclear test by North Korea would be met with a strong and resolute response from the international community. We continue to call for the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea’s WMDs. The ROK reiterated the goals of its Audacious Initiative and ‘August 15 Unification Doctrine’ and

    Canada expressed strong support for the ROK’s efforts to achieve a denuclearized, free, peaceful, prosperous, and unified Korean Peninsula.

    Both countries remain committed to multilateral sanctions evasion monitoring efforts and Canada will continue to provide assets via the Canadian Armed Forces’ Operation NEON. 

    We were pleased to join other participating countries last month in launching the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT). We reaffirm the goal of assisting all UN Member States in implementing UN sanctions on North Korea by publishing information on sanctions violations and evasion attempts.

    We highlight the valuable contributions of the United Nations Command (UNC) to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. The ROK commends Canada for its unwavering support of the UNC since its inception, and Canada’s current leadership role within the UNC through its provision of its Deputy Commander. The co-hosting of the UNC Ministerial together this year is a symbol of our powerful ties and shared priorities in the areas of security and defence, and we will continue to collaborate closely to strengthen cooperation among the ROK, UNC and its Member States.

    The ROK and Canada are committed to working together to actively promote and protect human rights in the Indo-Pacific and around the world, including within North Korea and to seeking accountability for human rights violations.

    We reiterate that the situation of human rights in North Korea is intrinsically linked to international peace and security, and we call on North Korea to engage fully and constructively with the international community, including during its upcoming Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council. We also look forward to the next iteration of the Canada-ROK North Korean Human Rights Dialogue.

    Canada and the ROK affirm our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, based on the rule of law and the peaceful resolution of disputes. We continue to advocate for peace and stability throughout the Indo-Pacific region.  We oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific. We reaffirm that maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is indispensable to international security and prosperity.

    Canada and the ROK express their support for the global maritime order based on international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). We express concern about developments in the South China Sea, and emphasize the importance of maintaining peace, security, stability and freedom of navigation and overflight in and above the South China Sea , consistent with UNCLOS.

    Canada appreciates the ROK’s participation in the Conference on the Human Dimension of Ukraine’s 10-Point Peace Formula, hosted by Canada, Ukraine and Norway in Montreal on October 31st, demonstrating our joint resolve to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Canada and the ROK will continue to discuss ways to jointly support Ukraine’s Peace Formula, while providing the support Ukraine requires to secure a just and lasting peace.

    Indo-Pacific partners

    Canada and the ROK acknowledge the Indo-Pacific region’s pivotal role in shaping global geopolitical and economic relations in the 21st century, with long-term implications for our shared prosperity and security. Canada and the ROK share a common vision for the region to be more secure, free, peaceful, prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable.

    In this context, we congratulate the organizers of the successful Canada-Korea Forum held on October 24-26, 2024 in Montreal, and the Korean Peninsula Symposium on October 23, 2024, co-organized with the Embassies of Japan, and the United States.

    To deepen and implement bilateral collaboration in the region, we announce today the launch of the Canada-Korea Indo-Pacific Dialogue, where our respective Special Envoys for the Indo-Pacific will engage on identifying synergies and joining action on shared regional priorities.

    We also look forward to the Indo-Pacific High-Level Forum, co-hosted by the ROK and Australia, in Seoul on December 13, as we recognize the importance of cooperation with the broader community of Indo-Pacific partners.

    In 2025, we look forward to Canada’s G7 Presidency and the ROK’s hosting of APEC. We further elaborated today how our two countries will establish synergies and use our leadership for cooperation on regional and global challenges. Canada looks forward to working with the ROK on advancing G7 priorities as relevant, including building economies that benefit everyone, fighting climate change, and managing rapidly evolving technologies. Furthermore, the ROK and Canada look forward to working together for a productive APEC in 2025.

    As actively engaged global partners, we will deepen our collective engagement with ASEAN, leveraging the ROK-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the Canada-ASEAN Strategic Partnership, while reaffirming our commitment to the principle of ASEAN Centrality.

    Partners in security and defence   

    Canada and the ROK are committed to deepening partnerships in security and advancing shared defence priorities through bilateral and multilateral initiatives.   Canada and the ROK will strengthen bilateral and multilateral exercises, including holding regular Army Staff Talks, with the inaugural edition to be hosted in Canada.  

    We are committed to jointly delivering and collaborating on Women, Peace and Security, so that women have full, meaningful and equal participation in defence and security, peace operations and peace negotiations. As we seek to enhance women’s participation in conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and post-conflict state building, Canada and the ROK will leverage the ROK’s 2024-2025 UNSC seat to jointly advance the Women, Peace, and Security agenda globally as well as in the Indo-Pacific region.

    We will continue to cooperate on maritime safety, and combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, including through detecting dark vessels and joint patrols under Operation North Pacific Guard. We will also continue to explore ways of addressing maritime security challenges in the Indo-Pacific through enhanced maritime domain awareness and relevant instruments such as the Regional Cooperation Agreement Combatting Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP).

    We will further utilize the Canada-Korea Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Materiel Cooperation to share technical information, discuss defence equipment and technology issues of mutual interest, and identify opportunities for bilateral defence materiel cooperation, and hold the 3rd Joint Meeting (Materiel) in Canada in 2025.

    We agree to expand our work within the Canada-Korea Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Research and Development, to encourage collaboration between respective defence research and development organizations.

    Canada welcomes the contribution of the ROK as a NATO partner and commits to working with the ROK to advance its Individually Tailored Partnership Programme. Canada further welcomes the ROK’s recent participation at the NATO Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Brussels. 

    Addressing non-traditional security challenges

    We recognize that climate change is the defining challenge of our time and a threat multiplier that impacts our collective security, including within the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic areas, and we affirm our strong support for NATO’s Climate Change and Security Agenda. 

    We acknowledge that our democratic values, institutions and processes, and our citizens’ fundamental freedoms, are increasingly vulnerable to hybrid and digital threats, such as foreign interference and disinformation, and we will continue to expand our cooperative efforts to combat these threats.

    We are committed to addressing threats and seizing opportunities linked to cybersecurity and emerging technologies, including threats to the rule of law, democracy, and critical infrastructure. We are pleased to announce today that we will hold Canada-Korea Cyber Policy Consultations to exchange information on each other’s policies, strategies and capabilities. Canada is also pleased to note the ROK’s fruitful engagement with the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallin, Estonia, of which Canada is also a member.

    We recognize the importance of the responsible use of artificial intelligence, including in the military domain. Canada commends the ROK for hosting several high-level international gatherings on AI to advance discussions on global AI governance, including the AI Seoul Summit in May 2024, and the Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military domain (REAIM) Summit in September 2024, in Seoul. We strongly support the Seoul Declaration for safe, innovative, and inclusive AI and the principles for the responsible development, deployment, and use of AI in the military domain articulated in the REAIM Blueprint for Action.

    The relationship between our two nations dates back centuries; reinforced by our countries’ collective efforts to defend peace and security on the Korean Peninsula since the Korean War. We commit to meeting in this format on a biennial basis and look forward to the next iteration of this Ministerial in 2026, where we will reflect on and examine how we may further build upon the achievements stemming from today’s discussion.

    Annex – announcements

    Today, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence of Canada and the Republic of Korea announced that our countries have agreed to:

    • Hold this Ministerial on a biennial basis and look forward to its next iteration in 2026 to follow-up on the achievements of today’s discussion.
    • Launch the Canada-Korea Indo-Pacific Dialogue, where our respective Special Envoys for the Indo-Pacific will engage on identifying synergies and joint action on shared regional priorities, including in the North Pacific.
    • Advance bilateral diplomatic intelligence cooperation and analytic exchanges between our respective foreign ministries.
    • Expedite the negotiations to finalize the Agreement on the Protection of Classified Military/Defence Information.
    • Explore measures to facilitate and deepen military operational cooperation.
    • Strengthen bilateral and multilateral exercises, including holding regular Army Staff Talks, with the inaugural edition to be hosted in Canada.
    • Hold the 3rd Joint Meeting (Materiel), hosted by Canada in 2025 under the Canada-Korea Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Materiel Cooperation, and continue to identify and expand opportunities for defence cooperation.
    • Hold Canada-Korea bilateral Cyber Policy Consultations.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Police appealing for information following assault on child in Hamilton

    Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

    Police are appealing for information following the assault of a young girl in Silverdale, Hamilton.

    Detective Sergeant Johnathan O’Byrne says Police received reports of a young girl’s arm being grabbed by a man driving along Silverdale Road at about 8am yesterday, Friday 1 November.

    “The girl was shaken but otherwise physically unharmed.”

    “The man is reported to have been driving a silver van, initially parked on the wrong side of the road, facing toward Morrinsville Road. Members of the public reportedly tooted at the van at the time.

    “Police would like to hear from these members of the public, or anyone who may be able to help us,” Detective Sergeant O’Byrne says. 

    Dashcam footage is requested from anyone driving along Silverdale Road, between Morrinsville Road and Nevada Road, between 8:00am and 8:30am.

    If you have footage, witnessed the incident, or have any information which may assist, please update us online now or call 105.

    Please use the reference number 241101/1449.

    ENDS

    Issued by Police Media Centre 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –