NewzIntel.com

Category: Asia Pacific

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Panasonic HD develops “SparseVLM” technology that doubles the processing speed of Vision-Language Model

    Source: Panasonic

    Headline: Panasonic HD develops “SparseVLM” technology that doubles the processing speed of Vision-Language Model

    Figure 1: Comparison of “SparseVLM” and existing sparsification methods (quoted from the accepted paper)

    Osaka, Japan, July 4, 2025 – Panasonic R&D Company of America (PRDCA) and Panasonic Holdings Co., Ltd. (Panasonic HD), in collaboration with researchers from Peking University, Fudan University, University of California, Berkeley, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, have developed “SparseVLM,” a technology that speeds up Vision-Language Models (VLMs), AI models that can understand and process both visual data such as images and videos, and text data.In recent years, VLMs have seen rapid development. These models can process visual and textual information simultaneously and can answer questions about visual content. However, handling a large amount of data, especially high-resolution images and long videos, leads to longer inference times and higher computational complexity for the AI model. “SparseVLM” adopts a novel approach by focusing solely on the visual information relevant to the input prompt (Figure 1), significantly reducing inference time and computational complexity while maintaining high accuracy in answering questions about images.This research has been accepted for presentation at the 42nd International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML2025), one of the premier conferences for AI and machine learning research. The conference will take place in Vancouver, Canada from July 13 to July 19, 2025.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: ARENA backs Hunter Valley renewable hydrogen project with $432 million

    Source: Ministers for the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science

    Overview

    • Category

      News

    • Date

      04 July 2025

    • Classification

      Hydrogen energy

    Orica’s Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub is set to receive up to $432 million in grant funding as the second recipient of ARENA’s Hydrogen Headstart Program.

    Orica’s Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub (HVHH) will produce renewable hydrogen using a 50-megawatt electrolyser powered by renewable electricity. This hydrogen will replace natural gas in Orica’s ammonia production process, helping to reduce carbon emissions.

    ARENA CEO Darren Miller said that hydrogen has an important role to play in decarbonising heavy industry, particularly where electrification isn’t possible or where other alternatives are limited or don’t exist.

    “Renewable hydrogen is an important decarbonisation lever for applications like ammonia production where hydrogen has traditionally been produced with fossil fuels.”

    “By replacing natural gas-derived hydrogen with clean, renewable alternatives, projects like Orica’s are helping to decarbonise core industrial processes while preserving domestic manufacturing and unlocking new export opportunities,” said Mr Miller.

    “ARENA’s Hydrogen Headstart program is designed to fast-track Australia’s renewable hydrogen industry by supporting large-scale projects that are finding ways to reduce emissions, strengthen industrial competitiveness and position the nation as a global leader in clean energy exports. Orica’s project is a great example of what’s possible.”

    The project represents a major step in decarbonising Orica’s existing Kooragang Island Ammonia Manufacturing Facility and producing low-carbon ammonia and ammonium nitrate for domestic use across mining, agriculture and industrial sectors.

    As part of the funding process, Orica must now work with ARENA to satisfy a number of conditions and demonstrate its ability to meet a range of contractual milestones before the funding is released. Funding under this program is paid based on actual production volumes over a 10-year operating period.

    Orica’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Gandhi said: “We’re grateful for this crucial support, which brings us closer to realising the Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub and advancing the decarbonisation of our Kooragang Island facility – a site we’ve proudly operated for over fifty years. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with ARENA and other Federal and State government agencies to support the transition of Orica’s Kooragang Island manufacturing facility and help shape a cleaner, more resilient future for the Hunter region.”

    This project follows the announcement of the first recipient of Hydrogen Headstart, with $814 million allocated to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ (CIP) 1,500 MW Murchison Green Hydrogen Project in Western Australia. With both projects now announced, Hydrogen Headstart Round 1 has now concluded.

    To date, ARENA has allocated $370 million to 65 renewable hydrogen projects from early-stage research to deployment.

    To find out more about Orica’s project, visit: Hunter Valley Hydrogen Project | Home

    Consultation for Round 2 of Hydrogen Headstart is now open. For more information, visit Round 2 funding page.

    ARENA media contact:

    media@arena.gov.au

    Download this media release (PDF 151KB)

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Djokovic steps up bid for Wimbledon history, Sinner cruises

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

    World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic both cruised into the men’s singles third round at the Wimbledon Championships on Thursday.

    Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a return during the men’s singles second round match between Daniel Evans of Britain and Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Britain, July 3, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)

    Sinner, 23, faced little trouble as he beat Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic 6-1, 6-1, 6-3. The Italian needed just one hour and 40 minutes to wrap up the final match on Center Court and set up a third-round clash with Spaniard Pedro Martinez.

    Earlier, Djokovic also enjoyed a swift win as the 38-year-old Serbian defeated British player Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-2, 6-0.

    “I’m very, very pleased with the performance,” said Djokovic, who spent seven more minutes on court than Sinner. “From the very first point of the get-go, I was really sharp. I didn’t really want to give Dan a chance to come back to the match. I really tried to pressure him constantly from the back of the court.”

    “If I play like today, I feel like I have a very good chance against anybody,” added the seven-time Wimbledon champion, who has reached six finals in the last six editions of the tournament. He won four titles consecutively before being beaten by Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the past two years.

    In the women’s singles, Polish star Iga Swiatek came from a set down to beat American Caty McNally 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, while former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan breezed past Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-1.

    China’s Wang Xinyu, who knocked out 15th seed Karolina Muchova in the first round, lost to Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez 7-5, 7-5 in the second round. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Landmark effort launched at Beijing conference to democratize digital processes

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

    .

    As the digital economy reshapes societies, a critical question emerges: how can its benefits move beyond privileged tech hubs to empower cities everywhere?

    At the 2025 Global Digital Economy Conference in Beijing, more than 40 partner cities spanning Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America answered by launching the Global Digital Economy Cities Alliance (DEC40) — a landmark effort to democratize digital processes.

    While 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) advance rapidly, infrastructure gaps and governance challenges exclude billions, especially in developing nations. DEC40 directly tackles it by institutionalizing multilateral cooperation on cross-border data rules, ethical AI and smart city solutions — frameworks essential for inclusive growth.

    This photo taken on July 2, 2025 shows a sign of the Global Digital Economy Conference 2025 in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

    CHINA’S ROLE AS CATALYST

    “Technologies from industry and academia need multilateral platforms to become true ‘digital public goods,’” stressed Zhao Houlin, former secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, at the conference running from Wednesday to Saturday.

    China’s practical models, showcased through DEC40, offer scalable blueprints: The digital governance platform of the city of Beijing streamlines administrations, serving 500,000 civil servants. Its Level-4 autonomous vehicles logged 170 million km, a replicable testbed for global urban mobility.

    “Urban development in the digital era requires not just technological breakthroughs, but also new ideas for governance and stronger international cooperation,” said Jiang Guangzhi, director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology. “We are ready to share our practice and provide a ‘Beijing Solution.’”

    “These innovations will be shared through the DEC40 platform to help other cities, especially in developing countries, adopt adaptable technology solutions,” Jiang added.

    Under DEC40, Beijing has a preliminary plan to implement three major initiatives. Over the next three years, the Chinese capital aims to provide digital infrastructure planning and consulting services to 100 cities in developing countries, train 100 city-level digital governance officers, and jointly build 10 demonstration projects in smart agriculture and digital healthcare.

    Beijing has already established connections with cities in countries such as Angola and Tajikistan, and the first training course for 50 officials is expected to be launched this year.

    Looking ahead, Rakhimova Durdona Shukurrullayevna, deputy mayor of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, believed that cooperation with Beijing will help ensure every resident shares in digital dividends.

    This photo taken on April 17, 2025 shows a China-developed WeRide Robobus (front) operating at an airport in Zurich, Switzerland. (Xinhua)

    PRIVATE SECTOR’S CROSS-BORDER IMPACT

    Beyond government-led efforts, Chinese private companies are also expanding their global footprint in the digital economy and taking their digital expertise to the world stage.  

    Chinese autonomous driving leaders like Pony.ai and WeRide now operate across more than eight countries, from Paris to Riyadh, contributing to local job creation in operations and tech support.

    “Our expansion attracts global suppliers to invest locally, building industrial clusters,” said Peng Jun, Pony.ai co-founder and chief executive officer.

    And benefits go beyond factories. According to Zhang Yuxue, WeRide’s director of PR and marketing, local partnerships have also led to job creation in areas such as fleet management and technical support.

    As Chinese autonomous driving firms gain global traction, collaboration with global players is deepening. Uber, for instance, has teamed up with WeRide and Pony.ai to integrate Chinese-developed autonomous driving technologies into its ride-hailing platform, starting with pilot operations in the Middle East.

    “It’s clear that the future of mobility will be increasingly shared, electric and autonomous,” said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. “We look forward to working with Chinese leading autonomous vehicle companies to help bring the benefits of autonomous technology to cities around the world.”

    Co-organized with the UN Development Program, the Global Digital Economy Conference signals that “digital inclusion is now a shared governance imperative.” As Beate Trankmann, resident representative of the United Nations Development Program in China, underscored, collective action turns tech potential into “tangible human benefits.”

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Mild Start to Winter, Wetter Than Usual for Many Regions – Earth Sciences New Zealand’s (formerly NIWA) latest monthly climate summary for June 2025

    Source: Earth Sciences New Zealand

    Winter began on a mild and soggy note across much of New Zealand, according to Earth Sciences New Zealand’s (formerly NIWA) latest monthly climate summary for June 2025.
    Temperatures were above or well above average for most of the country, especially across the North Island, Tasman, Otago, eastern Southland, and Fiordland, says Earth Sciences New Zealand climate scientist Gregor Macara. “The nationwide average temperature of 9.4°C was 0.7°C above the June normal, making it the 16th-warmest June on record since 1909.”
    Rainfall was well above normal in many regions including Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Taranaki, Wellington, and much of the South Island. In contrast, dry conditions persisted in northern Northland, eastern Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, and Wairarapa.
    Soil moisture levels reflected the rainfall pattern, says Macara. “Drier-than-normal soils remained in Hawke’s Bay, while soils were wetter than normal across much of eastern South Island, from Marlborough to Dunedin.”
    The highest temperature in June was 23.2°C at Whakatu in the Hawke’s Bay, while Aoraki Mt Cook Airport recorded the lowest temperature of -12.9°C. Milford Sound took the title for the highest one-day rainfall in June with 151 mm on 25 June (that’s more than halfway up a Redband gumboot), while another regular in climate summaries, east coast headland Cape Turnagain, between Hawke’s Bay and Cook Strait, recorded the strongest wind gust at 191 km/h on the 1st of June.
    Among the main centres, Auckland was the warmest, Tauranga the wettest and sunniest, Christchurch the coolest and driest, and Dunedin the least sunny.
    The sunniest four locations in 2025 so far are Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, Auckland, and wider Nelson.
    On 1 July, GNS and NIWA merged to become Earth Sciences New Zealand. 
    More detailed information for regions, cities and monitoring stations is available at https://niwa.co.nz/climate-and-weather/monthly/climate-summary-june-2025

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Fatal crash, SH54, Aorangi

    Source: New Zealand Police

    One person has died following a crash in Aorangi earlier this morning.

    At around 7.50am, Police were notified of a crash involving a car and a pedestrian on SH54/Waughs Road.

    Sadly, despite best efforts of emergency services, the pedestrian died at the scene.

    The road remains closed while the Serious Crash Unit conducts a scene examination.

    ENDS

    Issued by Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Survivors recount toxic gas ordeal at landfill pit

    Source: Worksafe New Zealand

    As a WorkSafe prosecution comes to a close, two workers overcome by fumes from a toxic gas pit have for the first time told of their experience of narrowly dodging death.

    The men were doing an excavation, to try to fix the smell of rotting plasterboard at the Taylorville Resource Park near Greymouth in August 2023. The smell was hydrogen sulphide and the workers were not told of dangerously high levels of the toxic, colourless gas measured weeks before at the contaminated waste facility.

    The excavator operator went into the pit to clear a pump blockage but as he was climbing out fell unconscious and face down into black liquid at the base of the pit, known as leachate. His supervisor saw this from above and twice fell unconscious while trying to rescue him. He eventually managed to climb out and call for help.

    The pit at Taylorville Resource Park where two men were overcome by hydrogen sulphide.

    WorkSafe found inadequate risk assessment and planning for the excavation work, workers not being advised of the risks of hydrogen sulphide, and no gas monitors available on site. Two companies were prosecuted for health and safety failures and have now been sentenced in the Greymouth District Court.

    Both survivors have permanent name suppression. The supervisor suffered from toxic gas exposure and now lives with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

    “Every night for the first six months after the incident and now once a week, I wake up suffering flashbacks thinking I am still in the pit, not being able to breathe, and thinking I am going to die,” says the 64-year-old who has not been able to work since.

    Although the man has been left “in a dark financial situation” he says there have been other losses too.

    “My entire social circle consisted solely of my workmates so when I lost my job, I suddenly lost my social network and became socially isolated and alone… losing my social circle has probably been my biggest loss.”

    “This incident has taken away my life, all my goals and aspirations can no longer be achieved. The mental, physical, and financial impacts have had a profound impact in every area of my life and will continue to do so for a long time.”

    The operator suffered chemical burns to his eyes, chemical pneumonitis, atrial fibrillation, and seizures. He is now 38 and has returned to work. He has no memory of the incident, although he says he “feels bad for what happened” to his colleague “and the stress he had to go through when he pulled me out of the leachate”.

    WorkSafe’s role is to influence businesses to meet their responsibilities and keep people healthy and safe.

    “We salute the courage it has taken for these two survivors to stay strong throughout our investigation and prosecution,” says WorkSafe’s Inspectorate Head, Rob Pope.

    “The experience these men have gone through was both terrifying and completely avoidable. It’s only by sheer luck that both survived. Businesses must manage their health and safety risks, and when they do not we will hold them to account.”

    Read WorkSafe’s guidance on preventing harm from hydrogen sulphide

    Background

    • Taylorville Resource Park Limited and Paul Smith Earthmoving 2002 Ltd were sentenced at Greymouth District Court on 4 July 2025.
    • Taylorville Resource Park was fined $302,500 and Paul Smith Earthmoving $272,250. Reparations of $81,256 were also ordered.
    • Both entities were charged under sections 48(1) and (2)(c) and s 36(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
      • Being a PCBU having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers who work for the PCBU, while the workers were at work in the business or undertaking, namely carrying out the excavation and associated work to access the base of Cell C (the excavation work), did fail to comply with that duty, and that failure exposed workers to a risk of death or serious injury.
    • The maximum penalty is a fine not exceeding $1.5 million.

    Media contact details

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

    Email: media@worksafe.govt.nz

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Australia’s new lung cancer screening program has chosen simplicity over equity, and we’re concerned

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa J. Whop, Associate Director of Research and Senior Fellow, Yardhura Walani, National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research, Australian National University

    Thurtell/Getty Images

    Australia’s lung cancer screening program launched on July 1, and marks real progress and opportunity.

    It aims to reduce the number of people dying from lung cancer by offering regular low-dose CT scans to people who smoke, and those who have quit. The aim is to detect and treat cancer early before it has spread.

    But the program’s design may further disadvantage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who are disproportionately affected by lung cancer.

    So Australia’s first new cancer screening program in almost 20 years risks entrenching health inequities rather than addressing them.

    Lung cancer is a particular burden

    Lung cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are 2.1 times more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer, and 1.8 times likely to die from it, compared with non-Indigenous Australians.

    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are also more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer at a younger age than non-Indigenous Australians.

    Understanding the broader context of lung cancer risk among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is crucial.

    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been paid in tobacco rations rather than wages up until the 1960s, excluded from economic and health systems, and targeted by tobacco industry marketing.

    Indigenous-led tobacco control and quit-smoking programs, such as the Tackling Indigenous Smoking program, have made significant progress in reducing smoking rates. Indigenous communities are leading the resistance against tobacco industry harms.

    However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples face major barriers to lung cancer screening. This is particularly in rural and remote areas where access to GPs, radiology services and culturally safe care is limited.

    Lung cancer screening should account for this

    Initially, the lung cancer screening program was designed with a lower screening age for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – 50 years compared with 55 years for non-Indigenous Australians. This made sense in the face of the earlier and higher risk of lung cancer.

    However, the Medical Services Advisory Committee, the body responsible for assessing applications for public funding, removed this risk-based distinction. Now there’s a general age eligibility of 50-70 years.

    This is a shift from equity (fairness) to equality (sameness). In health, treating everyone equally deepens inequities.

    By contrast, many public health programs strive for equity and reflect the differing needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. For instance, heart health checks and many vaccines are offered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at a younger age.

    There are also possible consequences of lowering the screening age for non-Indigenous Australians from 55 (as originally intended) to 50. Cancer Australia’s report warned this would not provide a favourable balance of benefits and harms, nor would it be cost-effective.

    In this lower-risk population, this could increase the likelihood of detecting slow-growing lung nodules unlikely to cause harm. This can lead to unnecessary tests and procedures, anxiety, psychological distress, overtreatment and even harm.

    While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can also experience these potential harms, the higher risk of lung cancer earlier means the potential benefit from early detection outweighs these risks.

    Let’s call it for what it is – structural racism

    So current eligibility criteria expands the eligibility for lower risk groups. Yet it ignores Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ higher risk and cumulative impacts of remoteness, limited access to health services and other health conditions.

    This decision significantly increases the number of people accessing the program. While this may appear equal on the surface, it risks a misallocation of limited health system resources, particularly in an already overstretched health system.

    That’s a clear example of structural racism – when policies that seem neutral actually uphold longstanding inequities, and reinforce disadvantages.

    This has parallels with concerns raised in the United States. Screening guidelines there have been criticised for failing to account for higher rates of lung cancer in African Americans.

    What should we do next?

    If we’re serious about a commitment to equity in cancer outcomes – as outlined in the Australian Cancer Plan and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cancer Plan – we must ensure screening policies do not inadvertently widen inequities.

    We must revisit who’s eligible for screening and how eligibility is determined. This may mean not only considering age and smoking history, but other factors such as a family history of cancer.

    It might also mean predicting lung cancer risk using models such as the PLCOm2012 risk prediction model. However, this particular model has not been validated in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, which needs to be a priority.

    Instead, the Medical Services Advisory Committee has prioritised the same screening age for all – administrative simplicity over this more sensitive way of assessing risk.

    We must prioritise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on screening waitlists and follow-up, and strengthen the cultural safety of services.

    We must ensure robust data collection and reporting to evaluate the screening program. Evaluation needs to assess if the program delivers equitable access and outcomes, as well as delivering on effectiveness, safety and cost.

    All these actions are essential to address the higher burden of lung cancer among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and uphold equity and the right to health over administrative simplicity.

    This is the final article in our ‘Finding lung cancer’ series, which explores Australia’s first new cancer screening program in almost 20 years. Read other articles in the series.

    More information about the program is available, including for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. If you need support to quit smoking, see your doctor or call Quitline on 13 78 48.

    Lisa J. Whop has received funding from Australian government National Health and Medical Research Council, Cancer Australia, and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Whop is the Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership Group of Cancer Australia and has been an investigator on lung cancer screening consultation projects funded by Cancer Australia. The views in this article are their own.

    Alison Brown has been a co-investigator on lung cancer screening consultation projects funded by Cancer Australia.

    Raglan Maddox has received funding from Australian government National Health and Medical Research Council, Cancer Australia, and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Maddox has been an investigator on lung cancer screening consultation projects funded by Cancer Australia. The views in this article are their own.

    – ref. Australia’s new lung cancer screening program has chosen simplicity over equity, and we’re concerned – https://theconversation.com/australias-new-lung-cancer-screening-program-has-chosen-simplicity-over-equity-and-were-concerned-253614

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Australia’s new lung cancer screening program has chosen simplicity over equity, and we’re concerned

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa J. Whop, Associate Director of Research and Senior Fellow, Yardhura Walani, National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research, Australian National University

    Thurtell/Getty Images

    Australia’s lung cancer screening program launched on July 1, and marks real progress and opportunity.

    It aims to reduce the number of people dying from lung cancer by offering regular low-dose CT scans to people who smoke, and those who have quit. The aim is to detect and treat cancer early before it has spread.

    But the program’s design may further disadvantage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who are disproportionately affected by lung cancer.

    So Australia’s first new cancer screening program in almost 20 years risks entrenching health inequities rather than addressing them.

    Lung cancer is a particular burden

    Lung cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are 2.1 times more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer, and 1.8 times likely to die from it, compared with non-Indigenous Australians.

    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are also more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer at a younger age than non-Indigenous Australians.

    Understanding the broader context of lung cancer risk among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is crucial.

    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been paid in tobacco rations rather than wages up until the 1960s, excluded from economic and health systems, and targeted by tobacco industry marketing.

    Indigenous-led tobacco control and quit-smoking programs, such as the Tackling Indigenous Smoking program, have made significant progress in reducing smoking rates. Indigenous communities are leading the resistance against tobacco industry harms.

    However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples face major barriers to lung cancer screening. This is particularly in rural and remote areas where access to GPs, radiology services and culturally safe care is limited.

    Lung cancer screening should account for this

    Initially, the lung cancer screening program was designed with a lower screening age for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – 50 years compared with 55 years for non-Indigenous Australians. This made sense in the face of the earlier and higher risk of lung cancer.

    However, the Medical Services Advisory Committee, the body responsible for assessing applications for public funding, removed this risk-based distinction. Now there’s a general age eligibility of 50-70 years.

    This is a shift from equity (fairness) to equality (sameness). In health, treating everyone equally deepens inequities.

    By contrast, many public health programs strive for equity and reflect the differing needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. For instance, heart health checks and many vaccines are offered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at a younger age.

    There are also possible consequences of lowering the screening age for non-Indigenous Australians from 55 (as originally intended) to 50. Cancer Australia’s report warned this would not provide a favourable balance of benefits and harms, nor would it be cost-effective.

    In this lower-risk population, this could increase the likelihood of detecting slow-growing lung nodules unlikely to cause harm. This can lead to unnecessary tests and procedures, anxiety, psychological distress, overtreatment and even harm.

    While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can also experience these potential harms, the higher risk of lung cancer earlier means the potential benefit from early detection outweighs these risks.

    Let’s call it for what it is – structural racism

    So current eligibility criteria expands the eligibility for lower risk groups. Yet it ignores Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ higher risk and cumulative impacts of remoteness, limited access to health services and other health conditions.

    This decision significantly increases the number of people accessing the program. While this may appear equal on the surface, it risks a misallocation of limited health system resources, particularly in an already overstretched health system.

    That’s a clear example of structural racism – when policies that seem neutral actually uphold longstanding inequities, and reinforce disadvantages.

    This has parallels with concerns raised in the United States. Screening guidelines there have been criticised for failing to account for higher rates of lung cancer in African Americans.

    What should we do next?

    If we’re serious about a commitment to equity in cancer outcomes – as outlined in the Australian Cancer Plan and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cancer Plan – we must ensure screening policies do not inadvertently widen inequities.

    We must revisit who’s eligible for screening and how eligibility is determined. This may mean not only considering age and smoking history, but other factors such as a family history of cancer.

    It might also mean predicting lung cancer risk using models such as the PLCOm2012 risk prediction model. However, this particular model has not been validated in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, which needs to be a priority.

    Instead, the Medical Services Advisory Committee has prioritised the same screening age for all – administrative simplicity over this more sensitive way of assessing risk.

    We must prioritise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on screening waitlists and follow-up, and strengthen the cultural safety of services.

    We must ensure robust data collection and reporting to evaluate the screening program. Evaluation needs to assess if the program delivers equitable access and outcomes, as well as delivering on effectiveness, safety and cost.

    All these actions are essential to address the higher burden of lung cancer among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and uphold equity and the right to health over administrative simplicity.

    This is the final article in our ‘Finding lung cancer’ series, which explores Australia’s first new cancer screening program in almost 20 years. Read other articles in the series.

    More information about the program is available, including for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. If you need support to quit smoking, see your doctor or call Quitline on 13 78 48.

    Lisa J. Whop has received funding from Australian government National Health and Medical Research Council, Cancer Australia, and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Whop is the Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership Group of Cancer Australia and has been an investigator on lung cancer screening consultation projects funded by Cancer Australia. The views in this article are their own.

    Alison Brown has been a co-investigator on lung cancer screening consultation projects funded by Cancer Australia.

    Raglan Maddox has received funding from Australian government National Health and Medical Research Council, Cancer Australia, and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Maddox has been an investigator on lung cancer screening consultation projects funded by Cancer Australia. The views in this article are their own.

    – ref. Australia’s new lung cancer screening program has chosen simplicity over equity, and we’re concerned – https://theconversation.com/australias-new-lung-cancer-screening-program-has-chosen-simplicity-over-equity-and-were-concerned-253614

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Hong Kong: Same-sex partnerships proposal does not go nearly far enough – Amnesty International

    Source: Amnesty International

    Responding to the Hong Kong government proposing a registration system that would recognize same-sex partnerships formed overseas and grant such couples more rights, Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks said:

    “The Hong Kong government’s proposal does not go nearly far enough in its claim to recognize the rights of same-sex couples in the city.

    “For unmarried same-sex couples in Hong Kong, where it is not legal for them to marry, this proposal provides precisely nothing. They are still denied both recognition of their union and the full array of rights enjoyed by opposite-sex couples.

    “While this proposal affords limited additional rights to couples who have married or registered as civil partners overseas, this falls far short of the CFA’s instruction to establish a framework of recognition in Hong Kong.”

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan | United Nations

    Source: United Nations (video statements)

    Expo 2025 is held in Osaka, Kansai, Japan from 13 April 2025 to 13 October 2025 with the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.” The UN Pavilion at Expo 2025 brings 35 United Nations entities and 15 offices together under the theme “United for a Better Future”.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDVkyzV-I4Y

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Health – Te Whatu Ora refuses to address patient safety concerns – NZNO

    Source: New Zealand Nurses Organisation

    Te Whatu Ora is refusing to address calls to prioritise patient safety by adequately resourcing safe staffing levels, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōputanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says.
    A new offer from Te Whatu Ora to NZNO members has failed to include measures to address staffing concerns despite it being raised continually throughout the bargaining process.
    NZNO Chief Executive Paul Goulter says an earlier offer from Te Whatu Ora committed to acting on safe staffing research the two organisations had agreed to do together.
    “Te Whatu Ora has removed that from their latest offer without explanation. This demonstrates their focus is on cost cutting, not patient safety.
    “A survey of our members shows nurses have grave concerns that continued understaffing is putting their patients at risk. Overworked staff are unable to give patients the care they need and leads to staff burnout,” Paul Goulter says.
    Despite claiming there is no nursing shortage, Te Whatu Ora continues to understaff shifts. NZNO has received staffing figures under the Official Information Act for 631 wards using the safe staffing Care Capacity Demand Management programme (CCDM).
    “These figures show from January to October last year almost half (or 47.1%) of all wards were understaffed 20% of the time. That means nurses and health care assistants are working in understaffed wards at least one shift a week,” Paul Goulter says.
    “We are also continuing to see acute levels of understaffing in emergency departments, mental health, women’s health and children’s wards.”
    Paul Goulter says Te Whatu Ora Acting Chief Executive Robyn Shearer claimed this morning that clinical need “isn’t an easy thing” to resolve through collective bargaining.
    “It is concerning that Robyn Shearer isn’t aware CCDM has been in the Te Whatu Ora/NZNO collective agreement since 2010,” he says.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: DHS Releases Statement on SCOTUS Victory on Criminal Illegal Alien Deportations to South Sudan

    Source: US Department of Homeland Security

    These barbaric criminal illegal aliens will be in South Sudan by Independence Day

    WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security released the following statement on the United States Supreme Court Decision to allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to remove eight barbaric, violent criminal illegal aliens to South Sudan.

    “These sickos will be in South Sudan by Independence Day,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “A win for the rule of law, safety and security of the American people. We thank our brave ICE law enforcement for their sacrifice to defend our freedoms.”

    Below are the individuals ICE is removing from American communities to South Sudan.

    Enrique Arias-Hierro, a Cuban national, was arrested by ICE on May 2, 2025. His criminal history includes convictions for homicide, armed robbery, false impersonation of official, kidnapping, robbery strong arm.

    On April 30, 2025, ICE arrested Cuban national, Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Quinones. He has been convicted of attempted first-degree murder with a weapon, battery and larceny, cocaine possession and trafficking.

    Thongxay Nilakout, a citizen of Laos, was arrested by ICE on January 26, 2025. Nilakout is Convicted of first-degree murder and robbery; sentenced to life confinement.

    On May 12, 2025, ICE arrested Mexican national, Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez. He is Convicted of second-degree murder; sentenced to life confinement.

    Dian Peter Domach, a citizen of South Sudan, was arrested by ICE on May 8, 2024. Domach is convicted of robbery and possession of a firearm, of possession of burglar’s tools and possession of defaced firearm and driving under the influence.

    Kyaw Mya, a citizen of Burma was arrested by ICE on February 18, 2025. Mya is convicted of Lascivious Acts with a Child-Victim less than 12 years of age; sentenced to 10 years confinement, paroled after 4 years.

    Nyo Myint, a citizen of Burma was arrested by ICE on February 19, 2025. Myint is convicted of first-degree sexual assault involving a victim mentally and physically incapable of resisting; sentenced to 12 years confinement. Myint is also charged with aggravated assault-nonfamily strongarm.

    On May 3, 2025, ICE arrested Tuan Thanh Phan, a Vietnamese national. Phan is convicted of first-degree murder and second-degree assault; sentenced to 22 years confinement.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI China: 13th World Peace Forum held in Beijing

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

    More than 1,200 guests from 86 countries and regions have gathered in Beijing to exchange views on maintaining global peace and addressing conflicts at the ongoing 13th World Peace Forum (WPF).

    Themed “advancing global peace and prosperity: shared responsibility, benefit and achievement,” the forum, which runs from July 2 to 4, brings together leading strategists, senior policymakers and former political leaders.

    “In the face of serious and complex international developments and escalating regional conflicts, global peace and development face unprecedented challenges,” said Li Luming, president of Tsinghua University and chairman of the WPF, told the forum at the opening ceremony on Thursday.

    Li noted that amid a turbulent international landscape and rising geopolitical tensions, fostering unity and dialogue is more important than ever.

    Addressing the opening ceremony, former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama emphasized that peace can be achieved not by using force, but through dialogue, and the forum bears great significance in this regard.

    Hatoyama said that it is essential for Japan to work closely with its East Asian neighbors, ASEAN, middle powers in Europe, and the Global South to strengthen its independence from the United States. He emphasized that enhancing trilateral collaboration among Japan, China and the Republic of Korea is particularly important.

    He called on Japan to reduce the potential for conflicts in the region by more clearly stating that it does not support Taiwan independence, and by restraining moves toward Taiwan independence, adding that the Taiwan issue is China’s internal matter.

    The forum comprises four plenary sessions and 18 panel discussions, where participants will share their perspectives on subjects including the international order and world peace, pan-securitization and the global security predicament, the role of the Global South in achieving world peace and prosperity, and major power coordination and conflict resolution.

    Beginning in 2012, Tsinghua University has been co-hosting the forum with the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs. The forum aims to provide a platform of communication and exchange for strategists and think tanks worldwide.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Sudan: Ongoing mass atrocities against civilians in and around El Fasher, North Darfur, documented in latest MSF report

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

    Paris, 4 July 2025— Mass atrocities are underway in Sudan’s North Darfur region, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned in a report today, urging the warring parties to halt indiscriminate and ethnically targeted violence and facilitate an immediate large-scale humanitarian response. MSF is extremely concerned about the threats of a full-blown assault on the hundreds of thousands of people in the state capital of El Fasher, which would lead to further bloodshed.

    As the conflict has intensified in the area since May 2024, civilians have continued to be the main victims. The report Besieged, Attacked, Starved, outlines a desperate situation for civilians in and around El Fasher that requires immediate attention and response. “People are not only caught in indiscriminate heavy fighting between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and their respective allies – but also actively targeted by the RSF and its allies, notably on the basis of their ethnicity,” says Michel Olivier Lacharité, MSF head of emergencies.

    Based on MSF data, direct observations and over 80 interviews conducted between May 2024 and May 2025 with patients and people who were displaced from El Fasher and nearby Zamzam camp, the report exposes systematic patterns of violence that include looting, mass killings, sexual violence, abductions, starvation and attacks against markets, health facilities and other civilian infrastructures.  

    “As patients and communities tell their stories to our teams and asked us to speak out, while their suffering is hardly on the international agenda, we felt compelled to document these patterns of relentless violence that have been crushing countless lives in general indifference and inaction over the past year,” says Mathilde Simon, MSF’s humanitarian affairs advisor.

    Besieged, Attacked, Starved also details how the Rapid Support Forces and their allies conducted a large-scale ground offensive in April on Zamzam displacement camp, outside of El Fasher, causing an estimated 400,000 people to flee in less than three weeks in appalling conditions. A large portion of the camp population fled to El Fasher, where they remained trapped, out of reach of humanitarian aid and exposed to attacks and further mass violence. Tens of thousands more escaped to Tawila, about 60 kilometers away, and to camps across the Chadian border, where hundreds of survivors of violence received care from MSF teams.

    “In light of the ethnically motivated mass atrocities committed on the Masalit in West Darfur back in June 2023, and of the massacres perpetrated in Zamzam camp in North Darfur, we fear such a scenario will be repeated in El Fasher. This onslaught of violence must stop,” says Simon.

    Several witnesses report that RSF soldiers spoke of plans to ‘clean El Fasher’ of its non-Arab community. Since May 2024, the RSF and their allies have besieged El Fasher, Zamzam camp and other surrounding localities, cutting communities from food, water, and medical care. This has contributed to the spread of famine and debilitated the humanitarian response.

    Repeated attacks on healthcare facilities forced MSF to end our medical activities in El Fasher in August 2024 and in Zamzam camp in February 2025. In May 2024 alone, health facilities supported by MSF in El Fasher endured at least seven incidents of shelling, bombing or shooting by all warring parties. Indiscriminate airstrikes conducted by the SAF had devastating consequences, as a 50-year-old woman highlights: “The SAF bombed our neighborhood by mistake, then came to apologise. SAF planes sometimes bombed civilian areas without any RSF [presence], I saw it in different places”.

    The harrowing level of violence on the roads out of El Fasher and Zamzam means that many people are trapped or take life-threatening risk when fleeing. Men and boys are at high risk of killing and abduction, while women and girls are subjected to widespread sexual violence. Most witnesses also report increased risks for Zaghawa communities. “Nobody could get out [of El Fasher] if they said they were Zaghawa,” says a displaced woman. Another man tells us that RSF and its allies were “asking people if they belonged to the Zaghawa, and if they did, they would kill them.”

    “They would only let mothers with small children under the age of five through,” recalls a woman about her journey fleeing to eastern Chad. “Other children and adult men didn’t go through. Men over fifteen can hardly cross the border [into Chad]. They take them, they push them aside and then we only hear a noise, gunshots, indicating that they are dead, that they have been killed […] Fifty families came along with me. Not even one boy of 15 years old or above was among us.”  

    The catastrophic nutritional situation continued deteriorating as the siege tightened: “[Three months ago] in Zamzam, we sometimes had 3 days a week without eating,” one man tells our teams. “Children died from malnutrition. We were eating ambaz [residue of peanuts ground for oil], like everyone, although usually it’s used for animals,” says displaced woman. “Zamzam was completely blocked,” another displaced person tells us. “Water wells depend on fuel and there was no access to fuel, so all of them stopped working. Water was very limited and very expensive.”

    MSF urges the warring parties to spare civilians and respect their obligations under International Humanitarian Law. The RSF and their allies must immediately stop ethnic violence perpetrated against non-Arab communities, lift the siege of El Fasher and guarantee safe routes for civilians fleeing violence. Safe unrestricted access to El Fasher and its surroundings must be granted for humanitarian agencies to provide critically needed assistance.  International actors, including UN institutions and member states, and States who provide support to the warring parties must urgently mobilise and exert pressure to prevent further mass violence and allow emergency aid delivery. The recent unilateral announcements of a possible local ceasefire have not yet been translated into concrete change on the ground, and time is running out.

    MSF is an international, medical, humanitarian organisation that delivers medical care to people in need, regardless of their origin, religion, or political affiliation. MSF has been working in Haiti for over 30 years, offering general healthcare, trauma care, burn wound care, maternity care, and care for survivors of sexual violence. MSF Australia was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF sections committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to people in crisis. In 2022, more than 120 project staff from Australia and New Zealand worked with MSF on assignment overseas. MSF delivers medical care based on need alone and operates independently of government, religion or economic influence and irrespective of race, religion or gender. For more information visit msf.org.au  

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Serious crash – road blocked near Roxburgh

    Source: New Zealand Police

    State Highway 8 between Roxburgh and Millers Flat is blocked following a serious crash.

    The two-vehicle crash happened shortly before 11:15am.

    Indications are that there are serious injuries, and a helicopter is responding.

    The Serious Crash Unit has been advised.

    Diversions are in place at Roxburgh and Millers Flat.

    ENDS

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: On Country and in demand: Tackling remote teacher shortages

    Source:

    04 July 2025

    Sports day on Country.

    When a dry creek bed is your classroom, science connects to the land, and sports day kicks off amid a cloud of red dust, you know you’re on Country out bush.

    For a group of UniSA student teachers, the opportunity to teach in remote South Australia offers more than cultural immersion – it’s a chance to connect with community, embrace new ways of learning, and potentially spark a career in Aboriginal education.

    This National NAIDOC Week, UniSA is highlighting its remote teaching placements in the Anangu Lands, spanning Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) and Yalata Lands, aiming to inspire future teachers, while addressing workforce shortages in regional and remote Australia.

    The timing is significant, with the State’s Aboriginal Education Strategy, Impact Report showing that teaching support in the APY Lands has helped deliver the highest average preschool attendance in five years.

    Already, four of last year’s eight placement students have returned to continue teaching in the APY Lands while completing their degrees.

    With more than 30 years’ experience in Aboriginal education, UniSA’s Associate Director: Regional Engagement, Dr Sam Osborne, says encouraging students to explore remote teaching placements is vital to building the remote workforce.

    “When there’s a teacher shortage in Australia, we know there’s a desperate teacher shortage in rural and remote Australia,” Dr Osborne says.

    “These areas can seem daunting – they’re unfamiliar, far from family and friends, and may lack creature comforts – but they also offer incredibly rewarding experiences in close-knit and supportive communities.

    “Our placement program provides third-year education students with a unique opportunity to spend six weeks living and teaching in Anangu communities, alongside the world’s oldest continuing culture.

    “They live, learn and teach between the classroom, and on Country. Whether it’s working with Elders to link native plants with science, teaching kindy kids colours in Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, or making maths fun by tallying bird species observed on Country.

    “Importantly, students are supported by the community as they learn their craft in a cultural and language context that few Australians ever encounter.”

    The Anangu schools’ partnership includes 10 schools spanning the far north and west of South Australia, including The APY Lands, Maralinga Tjarutja, and Yalata with around 200 local and non-local educators working in these schools.

    UniSA student teachers and team connecting at Yulara.

    Sophia, a third-year UniSA education student who recently returned from a six-week placement in Pipalyatjara Anangu School, says her stay was transformative.

    “One of the first things you notice is the scale of the Australian outback. From the desert plains to endless skies over the mountain ranges, you know you’re about to experience something completely different,” Sophia says.

    “Teaching at an Anangu school was so unique, and it very strongly connected to culture.

    “We often took learning outdoors – using hopscotch or other made-up games to teach language and numbers – which the kids loved because they’re such outdoor people.

    “There were also amazing opportunities to learn from people in the community. On family days, we’d sit with an Elder to hear stories of their history, their travels, or more practical things like how to mix bush medicines or make spears.

    “The local people are beautiful – gentle, kind and insightful, and they have a quiet confidence that really stayed with me.

    “This placement was unlike anything I’ve ever done. I felt welcomed in the community and I can’t wait to return – hopefully next year.”

    The program includes a three-day language and culture orientation run by Iwiri Aboriginal corporation, a mid-placement visit to the UniSA site at Ernabella, and a post-placement debrief at Uluru. Students are supported by experienced staff and take part in on-Country experiences and excursions.

    “This program provides high-quality support for preservice teachers who want to challenge themselves personally and professionally in a new context,” Dr Osborne says.

    “They are developing far more than classroom skills – they’re building cultural understanding, lasting connections, and for many, a sense of purpose that could shape their careers.”

    In partnership with the SA Department for Education, UniSA is also running a two-week field trip for students interested in teaching in remote areas.

    …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

    Contact for interview: Dr Sam Osborne E: Sam.Osborne@unisa.edu.au
    Media contact: Annabel Mansfield M: +61 479 182 489 E: Annabel.Mansfield@unisa.edu.au

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Enquiries ongoing into Hamilton aggravated robbery

    Source: New Zealand Police

    Hamilton Police are following solid lines of enquiry in their investigation of a recent violent aggravated robbery.

    About 1:40pm on Saturday 28 June, two men armed with a firearm entered a bar on Liverpool Street.

    The offenders presented the firearm at the sole worker in the bar and demanded cash before leaving the scene in a stolen vehicle.

    The offenders dumped the stolen car on Islington Street and fled in a waiting Toyota Surf, which was later dumped in Te Awamutu.

    Both vehicles used in the robbery have been recovered by Police and are undergoing forensic testing.

    Hamilton CIB Detective Sergeant Johnny O’Byrne says, thankfully, the victim of this incident was unharmed.

    “However, they are understandably shaken and are receiving support.

    “A dedicated team of detectives are currently following very strong lines of enquiry to locate the offenders and hold them to account,” he says.

    “There is no place in our community for this type of violence against innocent people just going about their work, the use of firearms is of particular concern.”

    ‘Waikato Police would like to reassure the community that we will continue to work hard to hold these offenders to account, and we are asking members of the public with any information regarding this offending or the locations of the offenders to reach out to us,’ Detective Sergeant O’Byrne says.

    Anyone with information can contact Police via 105 quoting file number 250628/3013 or anonymously provide information via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

    ENDS

    Issued by the Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Cleanaway’s proposed acquisition of Contract Resources not opposed

    Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development

    The ACCC will not oppose Cleanaway Waste Management Limited’s (ASX:CWY) proposed acquisition of Contract Resources Group Pty Ltd.

    Cleanaway and Contract Resources both supply a range of industrial services in Australia, including maintenance and cleaning of industrial facilities and equipment. Cleanaway is also one of the largest waste management companies in Australia.

    The ACCC’s review considered the likely effect of the proposed acquisition on competition for the provision of industrial services.

    The review found Contract Resources primarily provides specialist industrial services, such as catalyst handling, which Cleanaway does not supply.

    For other types of industrial services that both Cleanaway and Contract Resources supply, the ACCC’s review found the merged entity would continue to face competition from alternative suppliers and, in some cases, customers would be able to effectively sponsor the entry of a new supplier.

    “Cleanaway and Contract Resources compete mainly for customers in the oil and gas sector. These customers are generally large, well-resourced organisations that could sponsor new entry or sponsor the expansion of existing rival suppliers” ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams said.

    “We have seen oil and gas companies sponsor new entry before”.

    The ACCC’s review also considered the likely effect of the acquisition on competition in the supply of waste management services.

    The review focused on whether the merged entity would be able to profitably leverage Contract Resources’ strong position in the supply of specialist industrial services into Cleanaway’s waste management offering – for example, by requiring customers to acquire their waste management services as a condition of supplying specialist industrial services. 

    The ACCC found that this is unlikely to be a profitable strategy because customers have other options to source these specialist industrial services.

    “Overall, we did not find that the proposed acquisition is likely to substantially lessen competition in the supply of industrial services or waste management services,” Dr Williams said.

    More information can be found on the ACCC’s public register here: Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd – Contract Resources Group Pty Ltd

    Notes to editor

    In considering the proposed acquisition, the ACCC applies the legal test set out in section 50 of the Competition and Consumer Act.

    In general terms, section 50 prohibits acquisitions that would have the effect, or be likely to have the effect, of substantially lessening competition in any market.

    Background

    Cleanaway Waste Management Limited (Cleanaway) proposes to acquire 100 per cent of the shares in Contract Resources Group Pty Ltd (Contract Resources). Contract Resources’ majority shareholders are two private equity firms, SCF Partners Inc and Viburnum Funds Pty Ltd.

    Cleanaway is an Australian-based recycling, waste management, and industrial services company.

    Contract Resources is a specialist provider of industrial services for complex and high value assets in the energy and oil and gas sectors.

    Industrial services involve the provision of maintenance and cleaning services to industrial facilities, plants, and equipment, with many customers for these services operating in the mining, infrastructure, and oil and gas sectors.

    Cleanaway and Contract Resources each provide ‘baseline’ industrial services, including high pressure water services, vacuum loading, non-destructive digging, cold cutting, tank cleaning and maintenance, emergency response, and decontamination and chemical cleaning.

    Contract Resources also provides specialist industrial services such as catalyst handling and specialised mechanical services:

    • ‘catalyst handling’ involves the removal, replacement and maintenance of catalysts used in energy and industrial processes, and
    • ‘specialised mechanical services’ involves the repair and maintenance of complex industrial equipment such as reactors and heat exchangers.

    Customers of specialist industrial services are generally customers in oil, gas and mining sectors.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Transcript – 7:30 with Sarah Ferguson

    Source: Murray Darling Basin Authority

    SARAH FERGUSON: It emerged today that accused child sex offender Joshua Brown may have worked at several child care centres in Victoria longer than authorities originally thought. It means more parents now face the excruciating prospect that their children may be involved and may be required to undergo health screening. On Tuesday, Brown was charged with more than 70 offences, including sexual assault, relating to eight alleged victims at a child care centre in Melbourne’s west. Authorities had also listed more than 20 other centres he’d worked at across the city. These allegations will now be tested in court. But as our reporter Adele Ferguson told us when the story broke, it’s not the first time parents have had to consider the possibility their children may have been the victims of assault while in childcare. 

    ADELE FERGUSON: If you look across at the data, at least one report a day of sexual misconduct comes from child care centres, which is a heck of a lot. 

    SARAH FERGUSON: The latest allegations put pressure on the Federal Government to overhaul the regulation of child care in Australia. Education Minister Jason Clare is the Minister responsible. Jason Clare, welcome.

    JASON CLARE, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: Thank you.

    FERGUSON: Now you learnt about the allegations being made against the child care worker in Melbourne over a week ago. What action did you take?

    CLARE: The first step I took was to put this on the top of the agenda for Education Ministers when we met last week. Last week, two things happened. I was informed that a person had been arrested for the alleged behaviour in child care centres in Victoria. But a second thing happened. The Wheeler Report was released by the NSW Government, and their initial response. And as you know, that was an investigation conducted by the former Deputy Ombudsman of NSW, Chris Wheeler, in response to the Four Corners exposé earlier this year, which revealed horrifying examples of physical abuse and neglect in child care centres. I thought it was necessary to put this at the top of the agenda for Education Ministers last week so we could pull together the recommendations from Chris and he briefed us, but also recommendations from Gabrielle Sinclair, who’s the head of the federal regulator, about what are the next steps we need to take to keep our kids safe in child care.

    FERGUSON: We’ll come to some of those in a minute. I just want to stay with the situation in Melbourne and just repeating that these are now allegations, the man has been charged and will face trial. How is it possible that if you knew a week ago, some parents only found out when they went to the childcare centres that there was a problem?

    CLARE: Let me be very clear. I was informed by the Victorian Government that someone had been arrested, I wasn’t briefed on the details of this, and nor were Ministers at the Education Ministers meeting last week. To the best of my knowledge, the Victorian Government has made sure that they’ve informed parents as soon as they possibly can. As you would have heard —

    FERGUSON: Well, it’s not – it can’t be as soon as they possibly could because we had an incident of a mother on the program last night who did receive a text message. The text message was very confusing. The media were at the child care centre. She didn’t know, walked into a child care centre.

    CLARE: Fair point. Let me correct that. The Victorian Government were informing parents when they believed that they were ready to do so. One of those people is a friend of mine. She’s directly affected by this. Her girls are caught up in this. I know the white-hot anger of all parents that are affected by this and the confusion that they’re facing and feeling right now. I don’t want to make any points specifically about the alleged offender because this will go before the courts. But this is serious, it’s sickening. People want to turn away from this and turn off their TVs, but you can’t. It requires serious action. I’ve been pretty blunt about this today and yesterday. We’re taking action, but not enough action has happened and not fast enough.

    FERGUSON: Alright, let’s talk about that. But just in the case of your friends, and obviously we offer them all our sympathy, how did they find out, and how did they think the matter was treated?

    CLARE: They received a text message.

    FERGUSON: Did they understand the text message?

    CLARE: Yeah, they did. They did, but then they received further details. She’s gone off to see a GP, but to be honest, she’s still confused, wanting to find out what tests she needs to get her daughters to do, whether those tests might cause more trauma than the girls. The girls don’t know about it at the moment. She’s keeping it from them, as you expect that she would. But at some point, they need to get tests done. She needs to know what those tests involve and what the potential impact of them might be on the girls.

    FERGUSON: Are paedophiles targeting child care centres because they can get easy access to children?

    CLARE: We’ve seen evidence of this, Sarah. We saw evidence of this in Queensland, where Australia’s worst paedophile was arrested and charged and convicted a couple of years ago. It’s why I asked the federal regulator to conduct a review into child safety. It’s why the sort of actions that are rolling out now are happening, because you have seen paedophiles do this.

    FERGUSON: We will talk about what came out of that review, but there are figures that show, and these are just in the jurisdictions that have reporting requirements, at least one incident of sexual misconduct a day. And that doesn’t include any figures from Queensland, the Northern Territory and South Australia. How do you defend those statistics?

    CLARE: I don’t. No reasonable person would. What those statistics show you is that we’ve got a serious problem, and we’ve got to take serious action. The honest answer to you is that this job will never be done, that there will always be bad people that try and break through the net. That doesn’t mean that you do nothing, though. That means that we’ve got to do everything that we possibly can to make sure that our children are safe. That’s why people are talking now about CCTV or about an educator register, about improving working with children checks. None of that is a silver bullet. None of that is going to guarantee every child is safe. But all of it are the sort of things that are necessary if we’re fair dinkum about doing our jobs.

    FERGUSON. So, what is your view on each of those things? Just one at a time? CCTV. Should there be CCTV in child care centres?

    CLARE: Yes, there should. Chris talked about this in his report that was handed down last week —

    FERGUSON: When can we expect to see that?

    CLARE: Hang on a sec. So, what Mr. Wheeler said in his report, based on the Four Corners investigation, is that that should be targeted to certain centres based on the fact that some centres haven’t been up to scratch. And so, Education Ministers are looking at –

    FERGUSON: Just hold it. Just hold it there. You’re talking about the need for CCTV in a child care centre that is not up to scratch. Should any centre that is required to have CCTV for the safety of its – for the children attending it, should that centre be in operation?

    CLARE: The short answer to that is no, and that’s why I’m going to introduce legislation when the Parliament returns in the first sitting fortnight that will cut funding to child care centres that aren’t up to scratch, that aren’t meeting the quality and safety standards that Australians would expect and that our kids deserve. This is the big weapon that the Commonwealth Government has to wield here. We fund centres, 70 per cent of the funding for these centres comes from taxpayers —

    FERGUSON. So, you have all the levers.

    CLARE: That is the big lever that the Commonwealth Government has. States have other levers, but that’s the big one. A centre can’t run without taxpayer funding or taxpayer support. And so, that’s why we’ve said this was something that we announced in March. That’s a major important measure to make sure that our kids are safe. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have CCTV as well. Chris gave us recommendations about that, and that’s one of the things Ministers are going through right now.

    FERGUSON: One of the standards that you’ve already talked about that’s coming in in September is mandatory reporting of any physical or sexual abuse within 24 hours. Why not bring that in immediately?

    CLARE: We’re bringing it in as quick as we possibly can. I’m conscious here no one is interested in any excuses here. But the honest answer to this is out of the review that we did, that we asked the National Regulator to conduct for us, they recommended a suite of changes, about 16 different reforms. Some of them are the responsibility of Education Ministers, some the Attorney-General, some building Ministers. One of them was around mobile phones, one of them was around mandatory reporting. I’ve told my department, I’ve told Ministers across the country, we need to implement these as quick as we possibly can, and that’s one of them.

    FERGUSON. So, the beginning of September is the earliest you can possibly do that. There is no mechanism under which you could make that immediate because I think that’s something that people will be puzzled about. If you have an existing requirement that says you have to report within seven days, that seems extremely long. Why can’t you move more quickly on that?

    CLARE: I think anyone listening would say, why is it seven days now?

    FERGUSON: Yes, indeed.

    CLARE: Why hasn’t this been fixed yet?

    FERGUSON: What’s the answer?

    CLARE: The answer is it should have been fixed yesterday. I’m determined to get it fixed as soon as it possibly can. The best advice I’ve got is the way this system works is we can get it done in September.

    FERGUSON: How do you propose to fix a system that fails to punish centres that offer substandard care?

    CLARE: There’s at least two parts to this. The penalties that centres cop at the moment are insufficient. This is another thing that Chris Wheeler pointed to in his report last week. For an individual that breaches —

    FERGUSON: Do you need Chris Wheeler’s report to tell you that?

    CLARE: No. I think any right-minded person, when they find out that a maximum penalty under the existing law for an individual is about $9,000, for a centre or a provider is about $45,000, would say, “well, that’s probably not enough to make sure that people are doing what they should be doing”.

    FERGUSON: Why did it take a television program to make this an urgent matter of business development?

    CLARE: It shouldn’t, but there’s a bit of a history here at the ABC of Four Corners doing the right thing.

    FERGUSON: But I want to know what the Government’s been doing because this information was not held secretly from you or your department.

    CLARE: No, I get all of that —

    FERGUSON: So, what have you been doing for the last three years?

    CLARE: The bottom line is that Ministers haven’t been doing enough fast enough, right?

    FERGUSON: Including you?

    CLARE: Including me, and I take my fair share of responsibility for it. I’ve been pretty blunt about that. But I tell you what, I’ve got the job now and I’m determined to act. Part of that is significantly beefing up those penalties. The other part in answering your question is about cutting off the funding to centres who don’t comply if they’re persistently not meeting safety standards. If they’re persistently not meeting the sort of quality that we expect, whether it’s for a for-profit centre or a not-for-profit community centre, then we’ve got to have the ability to cut off funding, pull the funding for them. That’s what’s going to help get centres up to the sort of safety and quality standards we expect —

    FERGUSON: What should the threshold be? Is one breach of a serious safety standard enough?

    CLARE: We’re working through the details of that bill that I’ll introduce now, so I won’t pre-empt that, but there needs to be stages there so that potentially we can set conditions on centres. But ultimately, you’ve got to have the power to pull the funding.

    FERGUSON: The Federal Government undertook a drive, the Albanese Government, when it came into power, a drive to provide what were urgently needed childcare places across the country. Have you pushed the sector to expand too fast at the expense of children’s safety?

    CLARE: No, I don’t think that’s right. We have seen the centre grow over the last three years. There’s 100,000 more children in early education and care today than there were three years ago.

    FERGUSON: And we’ve got a crisis of quality. So, doesn’t that make the answer to that question yes?

    CLARE: There’s about one and a half million children in the sector right now, so it’s gone from about 1.4 to 1.5. So, we’re seeing that grow. That’s good for parents because it’s an essential service. It’s good to have more children in early education and care because it’s helping to get them ready for school —

    FERGUSON: Sure, but this is a debate about quality.

    CLARE: I get that. I’m determined to make sure that we hit those quality standards. So, the question then is, how do you make sure you hit those quality and safety standards? What do businesses in this sector listen to? Money. And if you cut off the funding, then you end up closing down the centre. That’s going to be the real tool that we’ve got here to help boost those standards.

    FERGUSON: So do you – As things stand, do you accept that there is a correlation between for-profit in this sector and low quality?

    CLARE: What I would say is that in the community or the not-for-profit sector, we’re seeing overwhelmingly higher levels of achieving the sort of quality we want and expect than in the for-profit sector. But whether it’s for-profit or not-for-profit, everybody has to meet those sort of standards. We’ve got to make sure that the safety of our children is number one, and one of the ways we can do that is with the lever of Commonwealth money.

    FERGUSON: Long way to go on this. Thank you very much indeed for coming in. 

    CLARE: Thanks, Sarah.
     

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Desert retrofit housing project boosts energy efficiency and comfort in APY Lands

    Source:

    04 July 2025

    A local tradesmen laying insulation in the roof of an existing home in the APY Lands.

    An ambitious housing project led by the University of South Australia, the SA Government and industry partners is making homes in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands more comfortable and energy efficient.

    The APY Lands Energy Efficiency Retrofit Pilot, part of the national RACE for 2030 Cooperative Research Centre, is improving energy efficiency in desert housing, where summer temperatures soar above 45°C and winter nights plunge below freezing.

    Since launching the pilot in December 2023, the project team has installed energy monitoring devices in 12 households and completed retrofits on six homes in an APY community. The homes are managed by key project delivery partner, the SA Housing Trust.

    The trial retrofits are targeted solutions to reduce air leakage, increase insulation, and reduce thermal bridging – where heat or cold bypasses insulation through the steel building frames.

    With 15 project and industry partners, the team has assessed 20 homes, interviewed residents, installed monitoring equipment, built two test rooms in Adelaide, and modelled over 100 retrofit scenarios.

    In addition to the retrofit work, the team has produced household energy efficiency and trade training education materials in consultation with the community, to ensure residents know how to get the best outcomes in their homes. Local trades will take part in rolling out the retrofits to remaining APY households.

    Lead investigator, UniSA Sustainable Engineering Systems researcher Professor Ke Xing, says the project combines scientific rigour with practical on-the-ground training.

    Local tradespeople were trained on site, supported by housing retrofit experts.

    “This pilot is not only improving living conditions in one of the toughest climates in Australia; it’s also creating a blueprint for future upgrades in remote and regional communities across the country,” Prof Xing says.

    “In the past year we have collaborated closely with the community, local maintenance workers and our industry partners, all of whom have shown an extraordinary commitment.”

    Key findings so far show that addressing uncontrolled air leakage delivers the greatest improvements in thermal comfort and energy efficiency.

    Currently winter – more so than summer – is the most uncomfortable period for APY communities. Households rely heavily on inefficient electric radiant heaters, with some resorting to ovens for warmth – an unsafe and costly practice.

    Upgrades so far include new bulk insulation in the roof and adding continuous insulation to external walls, self-closing exhaust fans, evaporative cooling dampers, and sealing common air leakage points throughout the homes.

    Local tradespeople were trained on-site, supported by custom training resources and guidance from retrofit experts.

    Importantly, residents themselves are noticing the difference.

    “Common feedback from residents was that their homes were cooler this summer, due to the retrofits. That anecdotal feedback supports our early testing, and we are in the process of conducting full evaluations over the 2025 winter,” says Prof Xing.

    UniSA researchers partnered with the SA Department for Energy and Mining, the SA Housing Trust, and community focused organisations such as Healthabitat and Nganampa Health Council. They worked closely with the Iwantja Community Council and local residents, including Aṉangu Energy Education Workers supported by MoneyMob Talkabout.

    The project also involves organisations with technical expertise who have provided knowledge and product support, including the Insulation Council of Australia and New Zealand (ICANZ), Kingspan, Sika Australia, Powertech Energy, Efficiency Matrix, and the Air Tightness Testing and Measurement Association (ATTMA).

    Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation in the Attorney-General’s Department has also partnered and contributed to the project, and TAFE SA, CodeSafe Solutions and Pointsbuild have contributed the development to the trade training program.

    As part of the Pilot’s legacy, trade training programs have been developed to support a broader rollout of housing retrofit skills in remote communities. A “train-the-trainer” event was held in Adelaide in 2024, involving TAFE, SA Housing Trust, Renewal SA and Building Contractor (Furnell’s) staff. Local TAFE students were provided with Net Zero Energy Builder Scholarships to support energy efficient construction in the APY Lands.

    The next steps include re-testing the retrofitted homes and expanding the model to other APY communities.

    “Ultimately, we want this project to inform national guidelines for remote housing upgrades, tailored to the needs and voices of Aboriginal communities,” says SA Department for Energy and Mining Project Manager Lynda Curtis.

    “Aboriginal people have lived in Australia’s desert regions for tens of thousands of years, but temperature extremes have become more pronounced due to climate change,” Ms Curtis says.

    “With broader climate extremes and overall hotter summers predicted for the future, how people are living and maintaining healthy communities on Country is of growing concern, and we are invested in providing solutions to those challenges.”

    Notes for editors

    RACE for 2030 (Reliable, Affordable Clean Energy) is an innovative, collaborative research centre for energy and carbon transition. The Federal Government has provided $68.5 million, supplemented by $280 million in cash and in-kind contributions from partners. Its aim is to deliver $3.8 billion of cumulative energy productivity benefits and 20 megatons of cumulative carbon emission savings by 2030.

    …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

    Contact for interview: Professor Ke Xing E: ke.xing@unisa.edu.au

    Media contact: Candy Gibson M: +61 434 605 142 E: candy.gibson@unisa.edu.au

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: DP World Australia’s proposed acquisition of Silk Logistics not opposed

    Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development

    The ACCC will not oppose DP World Australia Limited’s proposed acquisition of Silk Logistics Holdings Limited (ASX:SLH).

    Following an extensive investigation, including considering detailed responses to its statement of issues, the ACCC concluded that the proposed acquisition would not likely result in a substantial lessening of competition.

    DP World Australia operates container stevedores at the Ports of Botany (Sydney), Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle. On average, DP World Australia services approximately a third of the containers processed at these ports.

    Silk is a national container logistics provider in Australia. It hauls import and export containers using trucks to and from ports where DP World Australia operates.

    The ACCC considered the integration of DP World Australia’s container terminals with Silk’s national container transport and warehousing business and the potential impact on container transport service providers in the supply chain. 

    The ACCC focussed on whether DP World Australia would have the ability and incentive to engage in discriminatory conduct against Silk’s container transport rivals by raising their costs or lowering their quality of access to DP World Australia’s terminals.

    ACCC analysis indicated that DP World Australia is unlikely to engage in forms of discriminatory conduct which would lead to material operational delays and disruption at DP World’s terminals. A reduction in DP World Australia’s ability to efficiently process containers at its terminals would risk DP World Australia losing shipping lines to other terminals, damaging its own business. 

    “Although DP World Australia may be able to engage in subtle forms of discrimination without adversely affecting its primary function as a container terminal, such conduct is unlikely to reach a level so as to substantially lessen competition,” ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams said.

    “DP World Australia would continue to face competition from a range of established and prospective container transport providers.”

    The ACCC has an ongoing role in monitoring Australia’s container freight industry. This involves tracking prices, costs and profits of container terminals, gathering information from the container freight industry, and providing a monitoring report to the government each year.

    More information on the ACCC’s role in this area can be found here: Container stevedoring monitoring.

    Further information on this transaction can be found on the ACCC’s public register: DP World Australia Limited – Silk Logistics Holdings Limited.

    Background

    Container stevedores are responsible for lifting containers on and off container ships. They are a key part of international trade.

    DP World Australia provides port and general logistics services. Its main business is the provision of container stevedoring services and operation of container terminals at each of the Ports of Melbourne, Botany, Brisbane and Fremantle.

    In addition to its stevedoring services, DP World Australia:

    • operates an empty container park in each of the areas surrounding the Ports of Brisbane, Melbourne and Botany,
    • has a 50 per cent interest in a vehicle booking system, that container transport providers use for the purpose of collecting/delivering containers at several Australian ports, and
    • operates a limited fleet of container transport trucks in Melbourne and Sydney.

    DP World Australia is an indirect subsidiary of DP World Limited (DPW). DPW provides freight forwarding and contract logistics services in Australia.

    Silk is an ASX listed port-to-door services provider offering warehousing, distribution and port logistics services. It operates 46 facilities across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.

    Silk’s operations are categorised into two divisions:

    • port logistics: road transport of import and export containers to and from ports in Australia, in addition to ancillary services (such as fumigation, quarantine inspection, packing/unpacking services), and
    • contract logistics: warehousing and distribution services. Warehousing services relate to receiving containerised freight, unpacking it, palletising it, storing it and then packing and dispatching it to the destination. Distribution services refer to the transportation of goods from warehouses to delivery points, such as retail premises, factories or households.

    Below is a diagram summarising the movement of containers along the supply chain and the typical commercial relationships between key parties. The blue boxes refer to parts of the supply chain at the port precinct.

    MIL OSI News –

  • This visit will further cement bilateral ties between our nations: PM Modi thanks Trinidad and Tobago PM for warm welcome

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday (local time), extended his appreciation to the country’s Prime Minister and Cabinet for the grand welcome at the airport.

    In a post on X, the PM said, “Landed in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. I thank Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, distinguished members of the Cabinet and MPs for the gesture of welcoming me at the airport. This visit will further cement bilateral ties between our nations. Looking forward to addressing a community programme in a few hours from now.”

    https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1940883070615175368

    The Prime Minister was greeted with vibrant celebrations as people gathered at the airport, dancing to drumbeats and showcasing traditional music and performances that reflected a blend of local and Indian culture.

    PM Modi also interacted with members of the Indian diaspora, many of whom had waited for hours to catch a glimpse of him.

  • This visit will further cement bilateral ties between our nations: PM Modi thanks Trinidad and Tobago PM for warm welcome

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday (local time), extended his appreciation to the country’s Prime Minister and Cabinet for the grand welcome at the airport.

    In a post on X, the PM said, “Landed in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. I thank Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, distinguished members of the Cabinet and MPs for the gesture of welcoming me at the airport. This visit will further cement bilateral ties between our nations. Looking forward to addressing a community programme in a few hours from now.”

    https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1940883070615175368

    The Prime Minister was greeted with vibrant celebrations as people gathered at the airport, dancing to drumbeats and showcasing traditional music and performances that reflected a blend of local and Indian culture.

    PM Modi also interacted with members of the Indian diaspora, many of whom had waited for hours to catch a glimpse of him.

  • MIL-OSI USA: We Have Only Just Begun

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Ron Johnson

    On July 1, after the longest vote-a-rama in Senate history, the Senate passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by a vote of 51-50. Here is why I voted yes. 

    With President Biden in the White House and majorities in both chambers of Congress, Democrats had every opportunity to repeal the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and increase taxes on “the rich.” They did not do so. Instead of returning to a reasonable pre-pandemic level of spending and deficits, once the economy recovered, they incurred deficits averaging $1.9 trillion over four years. If that wasn’t bad enough, President Biden also left office with open borders and raging wars.  

    By passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, we have avoided a $4 trillion automatic tax increase and a default on our debt. Due to the enormous messes Biden and congressional Democrats left us, we are also providing additional funding for border security and defense.   

    While the bill is a step forward, we have only just begun the difficult task of reducing spending, and there is still a long way to go. A rigorous effort will soon be announced to review every program and every line of the federal budget, looking for ways to reduce spending to a reasonable pre-pandemic level. I look forward to being fully involved in that effort to put America on a path to fiscal sustainability.

    As a follow up to my May 21 Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations’ hearing entitled, The Corruption of Science and Federal Health Agencies: How Health Officials Downplayed and Hid Myocarditis and Other Adverse Events Associated with the COVID-19 Vaccines, I asked witnesses to “send me the science” to back up their hearing testimony. 

    We kept the record open until June 5, during which time Majority’s witnesses submitted hundreds of documents — including peer-reviewed studies — and thousands of citations about COVID-19 vaccine adverse events to accompany their testimonies. These records provide substantial support for the witnesses’ claims regarding the serious health risks associated with the COVID-19 vaccines. 

    At the hearing we released a Majority staff interim report and over 2,400 pages of records detailing the failure of Biden health officials to properly warn the public of the risks of myocarditis and related heart inflammation conditions following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. The hearing featured testimony from Dr. Peter McCullough, Dr. Jordan Vaughn, Dr. James Thorp, Dr. Joel Wallskog, and Mr. Aaron Siri, all of whom were invited  to speak about COVID-19 vaccine adverse events.

    Hawaii Governor Josh Green, the Minority’s witness at the hearing, submitted 33 pages of testimony in his written statement for the hearing. He then submitted 19 links to studies and articles to support his claims about the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines one week after the hearing record officially closed.   

    I allowed Governor Green’s late submission to be included in the official record so that the public can compare the evidence that the governor presented in support of the COVID-19 vaccines to the multitude of documentation indicating the clear health risks associated with the injections.

    Documents and citations that the Majority’s witnesses entered into the record can be viewed here. 

    Governor Green’s submission to the record can be viewed here.

    Congratulations to Class 171 of the Joseph Project. These seven participants spent the week learning how to prepare for opportunities to put them on a successful path in the job market.

    We connect graduates with employers who are ready to hire and help with the job application and interview process. Once employment is secured, the Joseph Project provides transportation (free for one month) to participants to help establish good work habits. 

    While the U.S. Coast Guard Academy is the only service academy that does not require a congressional nomination, my staff stays abreast of the academic and service opportunities provided by this institution for young people in Wisconsin. 

    The other service academies — U.S. Military Academy (West Point), U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy — require a congressional nomination in addition to your application.

    Wisconsin students should be aware the deadline for nomination applications is September 19, 2025. Visit my website for more information. 

    The Senate passed a resolution I introduced designating July as National Sarcoma Awareness Month. The resolution raises awareness of sarcoma, a form of cancer, and honors the life of Hartford’s Melissa Locke and the many other Americans that this disease affects.

    I am pleased that my resolution passed the Senate in honor of Melissa Locke and the countless other Americans who have struggled with this life-threatening disease. I hope we can continue to increase awareness of this complex form of cancer that is diagnosed thousands of times each year.

    My staff is part of the Capitol Brew Crew softball team which plays against other Congressional offices. They are 4-2 overall and the last game of the season is against the team from the Office of Sen. Tammy Baldwin on July 17. Stay tuned!

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Schatz, Cruz Lead Group Of 18 Senators In Urging Secretary Rubio To Bring Home Americans Wrongfully Detained In Venezuela

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Hawaii Brian Schatz

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) led a group of 18 senators in urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to continue efforts to bring home Americans who are currently wrongfully detained in Venezuela. In May, the State Department announced that Venezuela is currently unjustly jailing more Americans than any other country in the world. The letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Jim Risch (R-Idaho).

    “Today, at least eight Americans remain wrongfully detained in Venezuela, denied their freedom, separated from their loved ones, and unable to continue their lives. Their imprisonment is an ongoing injustice that necessitates immediate and decisive action by the U.S. government,” the senators wrote.

    The senators continued, “Nicolás Maduro continues to target, seize, and jail Americans without cause. It is essential that the U.S. government use all tools available to expeditiously secure the return of Americans detained and imprisoned unjustly in Venezuela.”

    The full text of the letter is below and available here.

    Secretary Rubio,

    We commend the Department of State for securing the January 31, 2025 release of six Americans who had been wrongfully detained in Venezuela, as well as the May 20 release of one additional wrongful detainee. Their return is a positive and important step. We write to express our continuing support for your efforts to bring all Americans home from Venezuela.

    Today, at least eight Americans remain wrongfully detained in Venezuela, denied their freedom, separated from their loved ones, and unable to continue their lives. Their imprisonment is an ongoing injustice that necessitates immediate and decisive action by the U.S. government.

    Nicolás Maduro continues to target, seize, and jail Americans without cause. It is essential that the U.S. government use all tools available to expeditiously secure the return of Americans detained and imprisoned unjustly in Venezuela.

    Each day that passes prolongs the suffering of Americans wrongfully detained in Venezuela and their families. The American people are counting on the full weight of the U.S. government being brought to bear in regards to this issue.

    We stand ready to work with you to ensure that every American wrongfully detained in Venezuela is returned home without further delay.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Lost in space: MethaneSat failed just as NZ was to take over mission control – here’s what we need to know now

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Rattenbury, Associate Professor in Physics, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

    Environmental Defense Fund, CC BY-SA

    This week’s announcement of the loss of a methane-detecting satellite, just days before New Zealand was meant to take over mission control, is a blow to the country’s space research sector.

    New Zealand invested NZ$29 million in the MethaneSat mission, built and operated by the US nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund, with a goal of growing the nation’s space industry.

    This would have been accomplished through gaining experience in operating a satellite at the University of Auckland’s Te Pūnaha Ātea Space Institute, and through research led by a team at Earth Sciences New Zealand to use the satellite to measure agricultural sources of methane.

    But on June 20, the satellite lost power and contact with the ground, and appears to be irrecoverable. This is disappointing for everyone on the mission development and operations teams.

    Having been in that position personally when my team lost a miniature satellite after a successful launch, I sympathise. But the benefits New Zealand hoped to gain from the MethaneSat mission will now be limited, at best, and questions need to be asked to learn from the failure.

    Early issues and delays

    The MethaneSat satellite launched in March 2024. New Zealand was meant to take over mission control by the end of last year, but problems with the satellite’s thrusters meant this was delayed to June this year.

    The satellite’s main mission was to detect methane leaks from oil and gas production, but it was also used to track methane sources from agriculture.

    New Zealand was not likely involved in the chain of events leading to the under-performance and delays, nor the eventual loss of the satellite. But as investors in the project, we are entitled to an explanation.

    That a spacecraft fails in orbit is not surprising. The space environment is unforgiving. But there is a question about whether New Zealand should have taken a closer look “under the hood” before investing in MethaneSat.

    The principle of caveat emptor (buyer beware) applies to spacecraft as much as to purchasing a car. While we were not involved in the MethaneSat mission design, satellite construction and testing, we were certainly entitled to relevant information to make a fully informed decision on whether or not to invest.

    Questions remain. During the MethaneSat post-mortem, one could reasonably ask to what extent experts were consulted during the decision-making process to invest in the satellite mission, and who was applying due diligence on behalf of New Zealand taxpayers.

    When earlier issues emerged, to what extent should New Zealand taxpayers, as investors, have been happy with explanations veiled in reported obligations of confidentiality or commercial sensitivity?

    Lessons for future space missions

    New Zealand has scientists and engineers working at publicly-funded universities who can contribute to future decision-making processes for the next taxpayer-funded space mission.

    New Zealand scientists working in the space sector do so knowing full well that the nation’s capacity to fund space missions is limited. Apart from being hard, frustrating, rewarding and unforgiving, working in space is expensive – and there are often delays and setbacks.

    Some of us working in New Zealand space research have been trying to work through how best to advise government on where to spend limited public funding. This will not be an easy task.

    The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) is an international organisation established in 1958 to promote global cooperation in space research. It provides a forum for the exchange of scientific results, sets standards for space data sharing, and advises on space policy and planetary protection.

    New Zealand participates in COSPAR as a national member and its committee comprises space science researchers from across the country. As chair of the New Zealand COSPAR committee, I sent a letter to Minister of Space Judith Collins last year offering our services:

    I believe closer collaboration between COSPAR’s initiatives and New Zealand’s aerospace goals would enhance our mutual objectives and strengthen our contribution to the global aerospace community. Specifically, we are uniquely placed to advise on the range of scientific endeavours currently underway […] that could be at the heart of a national space mission.

    Close scrutiny needed

    New Zealand has more talent and good research ideas than funding to support them. So there has to be a way of choosing between competing ideas.

    Crucially, that selection process has to be fully transparent so the investors – New Zealand taxpayers – can have confidence their investment is being safely bestowed.

    My vision is for a funding process for future space missions that addresses scientific goals relevant to New Zealand and takes advantage of the talent we have.
    There will be applicants who miss out, as there always are in any competitive process. But I would like to see support given to unsuccessful applicants to improve their chances in subsequent attempts.

    I work towards fostering the New Zealand space sector, especially in the areas where we can push back the boundaries of human knowledge via the safe, peaceful and sustainable use of space. This is the excitement I see reflected in the students I teach.

    For a nation with ambitions to utilise space for science, technological development and commercial gain, we also have to acknowledge that failure is a part of that journey. To make the best use of our very limited resources, we must examine our processes in the fullest light of disclosure – regardless of whether the failure was technological or in our decision-making processes.

    Nicholas James Rattenbury works for The University of Auckland. He has received funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and Royal Society Te Apārangi. He is affiliated with Te Pūnaha Ātea Space Institute. He is the current Chair of the New Zealand Committee of COSPAR.

    None of the viewpoints expressed in this article necessarily reflect those held by any of the abovementioned organisations or any other organisation or entity mentioned in the article.

    – ref. Lost in space: MethaneSat failed just as NZ was to take over mission control – here’s what we need to know now – https://theconversation.com/lost-in-space-methanesat-failed-just-as-nz-was-to-take-over-mission-control-heres-what-we-need-to-know-now-260407

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • PM Modi arrives in Trinidad and Tobago to a grand reception, welcomed by PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday (local time) for the second leg of his five-nation tour, where he was accorded a ceremonial Guard of Honour at Piarco International Airport.

    The Prime Minister was received by his counterpart, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who was joined by 38 ministers and four parliamentarians. In a gesture seen as a mark of respect for Indian culture, Persad-Bissessar welcomed PM Modi wearing traditional Indian attire.

    In a post on X, the PM said, “Landed in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. I thank Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, distinguished members of the Cabinet and MPs for the gesture of welcoming me at the airport. This visit will further cement bilateral ties between our nations. Looking forward to addressing a community programme in a few hours from
    now.”

    https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1940883070615175368

    The Prime Minister also interacted with members of the Indian diaspora, many of whom had gathered at the airport hours in advance to catch a glimpse of him.

    During his two-day visit, PM Modi will hold talks with President Christine Carla Kangaloo and Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar. 

    The Prime Minister is also expected to address a joint sitting of Trinidad and Tobago’s Parliament.

  • This visit will further cement bilateral ties between our nations: PM Modi thanks Trinidad and Tobago PM for grand airport welcome

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday (local time), extended his appreciation to the country’s Prime Minister and Cabinet for the grand welcome at the airport.

    In a post on X, the PM said, “Landed in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. I thank Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, distinguished members of the Cabinet and MPs for the gesture of welcoming me at the airport. This visit will further cement bilateral ties between our nations. Looking forward to addressing a community programme in a few hours from now.”

    https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1940883070615175368

    The Prime Minister was greeted with vibrant celebrations as people gathered at the airport, dancing to drumbeats and showcasing traditional music and performances that reflected a blend of local and Indian culture.

    PM Modi also interacted with members of the Indian diaspora, many of whom had waited for hours to catch a glimpse of him.

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Educational performance indicators for TEOs

    Source: Tertiary Education Commission

    Last updated 4 July 2025
    Last updated 4 July 2025

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    We publish information on the performance of tertiary education organisations (TEOs) based on agreed educational performance indicators (EPIs).
    We publish information on the performance of tertiary education organisations (TEOs) based on agreed educational performance indicators (EPIs).

    Educational performance indicator reports
    Our educational performance indicator (EPI) reports are designed to help TEOs manage and monitor their own performance and to deliver on their agreed tertiary education services.
    Provider-based EPI interactive charts
    Provider-based educational performance indicator interactive charts
    For Te Pūkenga, universities, wānanga and private training establishments the provider-based interactive charts provide information about the educational performance of individual TEOs. They include performance information for:

    first year retention rate
    cohort-based qualification completion rate
    course completion rate
    progression rate.

    You can view these EPIs through provider-based interactive charts, which allow you to select and display data across various filters (eg, gender, ethnicity, TEO, part-time/full-time). Note that EPIs for work-based learning are currently unavailable to view as interactive charts. These are available as EPI reports (detailed below).
    EPI reports – current methodology
    Educational performance indicator reports – current methodology
    For providers who deliver work-based learning, the EPI reports provide information about the educational performance of individual TEOs. They include performance information for:

    first year retention rate for apprentices
    cohort-based programme completion rate
    credit achievement rate.

    EPI reports – previous methodology
    Educational performance indicator reports – previous methodology
    For providers who deliver work-based learning, the EPI reports using our previous methodology provide information about the educational performance of individual TEOs. They include performance information for:

    programme completion rate
    credit achievement rate

    For Te Pūkenga, universities, wānanga and private training establishments, the EPI reports using our previous methodology provide information about the educational performance of individual TEOs across four EPIs:

    retention rate
    EFTS – weighted qualification completion rate
    course completion rate
    progression rate.

    The EPI reports also show information about learners at the TEO.
    Methodologies
    Current methodologies
    The documents below describe the methodology for calculating EPIs that were introduced in 2015 and 2016.
    TEOs reporting through the SDR:

    TEOs reporting through the ITR:

    Previous methodologies
    The documents below describe the previous methodologies for calculating the EPIs we used from 2009 until 2016.

    EPIs for SAC-funded organisations (October 2014): Educational Performance Indicators: definitions and methodology – Student Achievement Component and Youth Guarantee funds reported through the SDR – version 8 (PDF 491 KB) 
    EPIs for Youth Guarantee-funded organisations (Oct 2014): Educational Performance Indicators: Definitions and methodology – Student Achievement Component and Youth Guarantee funds reported through the SDR – version 8 (PDF 491 KB) 

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