Source: Reserve Bank of India
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Category: Asia Pacific
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MIL-OSI Economics: Money Market Operations as on April 15, 2025
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MIL-Evening Report: Half of Australian landlords sell their investments after 2 years, adding to renters’ insecurity
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ranjodh B. Singh, Senior Economics and Finance Lecturer, Curtin University
Australia’s renters have to battle rising rents and a lack of available properties. They also face ongoing instability. Our new research suggests half of all landlords sell their investment properties after only two years, adding to renters’ insecurity.
Our study released by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, models the behaviour of landlords using longitudinal data from 2001 to 2021. It looks at what motivates small-scale investors to buy, sell or keep their rental properties.
This work can inform future planning for the private rental sector, which has been projected to continue expanding. Both Labor and the Coalition were strongly criticised for making little mention of renters or supply in their housing policies released on Sunday.
The short-term owners
Those landlords who got rid of their investment after two years, sometimes sooner, often did so because they hadn’t counted on the additional costs of property ownership or their circumstances changed because they divorced or lost their job.
While younger people aged 25–34 years were more likely to buy a rental
property compared to other age groups, this group was also more likely to sell their property sooner.Landlords who sold after two years or less, were more likely to be women, unemployed, unmarried and with low-to-moderate incomes.
How this makes renting less secure
Landlords who sell after a relatively short investment period disrupt the supply of private rental housing, which can potentially have a negative impact on both tenant security and affordability.
This includes unplanned moves for renters after a notice period, as well as possible increases in the amount of rent they have to pay. This type of exposure to precarious housing conditions adversely affects the wellbeing of tenants.
This is especially important given that the share of private renters in Australia has risen over the last 20 years and there is ongoing concern about affordability among private renters. Private renters now represent about 30% of the market.
What motivates landlords?
Understanding the factors that increase the likelihood of landlords holding onto a property will contribute to tenure security in the rental sector.
These landlords tend to have higher educational qualifications, higher incomes and smaller mortgages on their own homes. As such, these landlords are financially stable and are able to withstand the higher economic costs of holding a rental property.
Our findings show there is value in establishing programs that offer education on property investment. This could support landlords’ efforts to hold their rental properties. It could also increase the supply of long-term rental housing for tenants.
As well, there should be more rigorous financial risk assessments by lenders and appropriate regulations so those who buy rental investment properties can afford to hold them.
Potential impact of policy changes
Policy changes that affect the costs of supplying rental housing for landlords could also have affordability consequences for renters.
Landlords will only continue to invest in the rental market if market conditions offer them income relative to their property values.
For instance, policy changes that apply long-term freezes to rent increases will reduce rental yields for landlords. This might in turn hurt the supply of rental properties available to renters.
Changes to policies affecting landlords’ tax positions could also have major impacts on whether they keep their rental investment over time.
For instance, if changes are made to capital gains tax and interest rates that directly increase the landlord’s cost of holding an investment property, they will likely pass these costs on to tenants.
As a consequence, rents would become less affordable. Any changes to tax settings that affect landlords need to be rolled out incrementally. This will avoid destabilising rental markets and reducing the supply of housing available for tenants.
Why we need a secure rental market
Increasing the supply of private rental dwellings would help make renting more affordable.
Individuals who can afford investment properties add to the supply of private rental stock. And if they can hold their rentals for long periods, the rental market becomes even more secure.
Those who can’t hold their rental investments for long can disrupt the supply of private rental housing, with potentially negative impacts on affordability and security.
Our study has focused on individual landlords, which make up the majority of suppliers of rental housing in Australia. However, improving tenure security for renters will require more than just encouraging a stable flow of rental housing from individual landlords.
For instance, increasing institutional investment in rental stock might result in more diverse and affordable housing options for renters.
Social housing is also a crucial source of secure housing for those who cannot compete in the private rental market. There is now an urgent need to redress decades of under-investment in social housing in Australia.
Ranjodh B. Singh has received funding from AHURI.
Chris Leishman receives funding from AHURI, SMCA, ARC, ESRC, the Office of the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Scottish Government, UK Government, Welsh Government, Northern Ireland Government, South Australia Government. He is a non-executive director of Housing Choices Australia, a Trustee for the UK’s Housing Studies Charitable Trust, Chair of the Australasian Housing Studies Association, editor of the Urban Studies journal, guest editor of the Regional Studies, Regional Studies journal. He is not a member of any political party in any country.
Rachel Ong ViforJ is the recipient of an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (project FT200100422). She also receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.
Jack Hewton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Half of Australian landlords sell their investments after 2 years, adding to renters’ insecurity – https://theconversation.com/half-of-australian-landlords-sell-their-investments-after-2-years-adding-to-renters-insecurity-254578
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MIL-OSI China: China, Vietnam hold 9th border defense friendship exchange
Source: China State Council Information Office 2
China and Vietnam have launched a weeklong border defense friendship exchange across designated areas and ports in China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Vietnam’s Lang Son Province.
Now in its ninth edition since launching in 2014, this year’s exchange features an extended schedule and a broader range of activities, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties.
Scheduled from April 11 to 17, the event includes joint medical consultations by military personnel, a naval patrol in the Beibu Gulf, and cultural exchanges between border communities.
From April 11 to 13, military medical teams from both countries treated over 3,100 border residents through joint consultations and home visits, conducted more than 1,300 free checkups, and distributed over 2,000 boxes of medicine.
On April 13, the Vietnamese naval fleet arrived in Beihai, Guangxi — marking its first visit to the city. Troops from both sides participated in activities, including vessel tours, experience sharing and sports events, to strengthen their friendship ahead of the 38th China-Vietnam joint patrol in the Beibu Gulf, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. -
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Release: $10 million for only 215 students in charter schools
Source: New Zealand Labour Party
That equates to about $46,500 per student in charter schools compared to about $9000 per student in a state school.
“Only in David Seymour’s world does it make sense to pour millions into a failed experiment for a couple hundred students yet restrict funding for school lunches for hundreds of thousands of other students,” Labour’s education spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime said.
“Each student in a charter school is costing the taxpayer more than five times what it costs per student in state schools. This is what happened last time. Yet again we are watching public education money being siphoned off into private hands with little transparency.
“This is an insult to the many schools throughout the country who are strapped for cash and sending kids home hungry because of David Seymour’s ideological choices.
“We know from the past failures of charter schools that the high cost does not improve results for students and only puts profits before kids.
“Schools are relying on Erica Stanford to take a stand against these bad ideas, but her silence is deafening.
“Labour has abolished charter schools before and will do so again. They’re a waste of time and money,” Willow-Jean Prime said.
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MIL-OSI New Zealand: Release: Govt doesn’t know how to fund new hospitals
Source: New Zealand Labour Party
The Government’s health infrastructure plan is big on promises but coy on where the money is coming from.
“Simeon Brown says that more than $20 billion is needed but says nothing about where that will be magicked up from,” Labour leader Chris Hipkins said.
“Labour had a plan to fix Nelson Hospital’s infrastructure woes, but the National Government kicked that down the road, and is doing it again. Meanwhile, patients put up with wasps in the wards.
“Work was underway on building Dunedin’s much needed new hospital, but National paused it and cost Dunedin residents years of better care because of it.
“The National Government broke the promise it made to New Zealanders that its cuts wouldn’t affect doctors and nurses providing care for communities. But we’ve seen the impact of chaotic cuts all over the country, most recently in Gisborne and Nelson Hospitals, where staff are stretched thin.
“The plan emphasises car parking but there’s very little new infrastructure focussed on improving health for rural communities.
“Labour is the party that invests in health care and health infrastructure, National is the party that makes chaotic cuts, breaks promises, runs our hospitals down and takes New Zealand backwards,” Chris Hipkins said.
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MIL-Evening Report: Labor and the Greens likely to gain Senate seats at the election
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne
As well as the election for the full House of Representatives, there will be an election on May 3 for 40 of the 76 senators. The 72 state senators have six-year terms, with half of them up for election every three years. The four territory senators are all up for election with each House election.
In a double dissolution election, all senators are up for election, but this election won’t be a double dissolution. State senators elected at this election will begin their six-year term on July 1.
The six states are entitled to equal representation in the Senate, so each state has 12 senators. This system greatly overrepresents Tasmania relative to its population. The ACT and Northern Territory have two senators each.
Senators are elected by proportional representation in their jurisdictions with preferences. At a half-Senate election, with six senators in each state up for election, a quota is one-seventh of the vote, or 14.3%. For the territories, a quota is one-third or 33.3%. Half a quota on primary votes (7.1% in a state) is usually enough to give a party a reasonable chance of election.
Voters will be instructed to number at least six boxes above the line or 12 below the line, but only one box above the line or six below is needed for a formal vote. Preferences are voter-directed, with the group ticket voting system scrapped before the 2016 election. Owing to exhausted votes, the final seats in states are likely to be filled on less than a full quota.
To become law, legislation must pass both the House and Senate in the same form. With the Senate’s proportional representation, it’s very unlikely to be under government control, so governments need to negotiate with other parties to pass their legislation through the Senate.
Party standings and seats up for election
The Coalition holds 30 of the 76 total senators, Labor 25, the Greens 11, One Nation two, the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN) one, the United Australia Party (UAP) one and all others six.
During this term, Lidia Thorpe defected from the Greens, Fatima Payman from Labor and Tammy Tyrrell from JLN. As all three are state senators who were last elected in 2022, none will be up for election until 2028. The Coalition also lost two senators to defections (Gerard Rennick and David Van) – both were last elected in 2019 and will be up for election this year.
Other than the ACT and NT seats, the seats up for election were last up in 2019. At that election, the Coalition won 17 of the 36 state senators, Labor 11, the Greens six, One Nation one and Jacqui Lambie one.
The Coalition and One Nation combined won four of the six Queensland senators. In Tasmania, Labor and the Greens won three seats, the Liberals two and Lambie one. All other states were tied between the left and right blocs.
In the 2022 election, Labor and the Greens combined won four of the six Western Australian senators, Tasmania once again went three Labor and Greens, two Liberals and Tyrrell from JLN, and the other states were tied between the left and right. The state senators elected in 2022 are not up for election.
The four territory senators elected in 2022 will be up for election. In 2022, the ACT split one Labor and one for independent David Pocock, the first time its senators had not split one Labor, one Liberal. The NT is expected to once again be one Labor, one Country Liberal Party.
Here is a table of Senate seats up for election in 2025. I have ignored the defections of Rennick and Van from the Coalition in Queensland and Victoria. The good news for the left is that only Pocock’s ACT seat looks winnable for the right.
Left-wing parties likely to gain Senate seats
For either the left or the right to win four of the six senators for a state, they need to win nearly four quotas of votes or 57%.
The Poll Bludger’s BludgerTrack by state for the House currently gives Labor a 51.9–48.1 lead in New South Wales, a 52.1–47.9 lead in Victoria, a 56.4–43.6 lead in WA and a 54.7–45.3 lead in South Australia. The Coalition leads in Queensland by 52.7–47.3.
On these vote shares, NSW, Victoria, Queensland and SA would be tied 3–3 between the left and right, while the left would probably repeat their 4–2 win in WA from 2022.
A 3–3 split in Queensland would be a gain for the left from the right, as the right are defending a 4–2 split from 2019. A 4–2 win for the left in WA would also be a gain, as WA was 3–3 in 2019.
Tasmania doesn’t have enough polling to be included in BludgerTrack. But analyst Kevin Bonham, who is a Tasmanian, believes the likely outcome is two Labor, two Liberals, one Green and one to Lambie, the same as in 2019.
There haven’t been any ACT Senate polls, but cities are becoming more left-wing, and the ACT is just a city. In 2022, Labor won the ACT by 67.0–33.0 in the House, a 5.3% two-party swing to Labor. It’s plausible that any Trump-inspired backlash against the Coalition will be strongest in the ACT, so it may be difficult for the Liberals to regain their ACT Senate seat.
If Labor and the Greens gain Senate seats in Queensland and WA, Pocock retains in the ACT, and there are no other changes to the left-right balance, the new Senate would have 38 seats for Labor and the Greens, 33 for the Coalition, One Nation and UAP, and one each of Pocock, Lambie, Thorpe, Payman and Tyrrell.
It’s increasingly likely that Labor will win the House election. Labor and the Greens are likely to increase their Senate numbers. If Labor and the Greens hold 38 of the 76 Senate seats after the election, Labor would only need one more vote to pass legislation supported by the Greens but opposed by right-wing parties. The five others are mostly left-wing, so this shouldn’t be difficult.
Candidate nominations down from 2022
Candidate nominations were declared last Friday. The Poll Bludger said Saturday that there will be 330 total candidates for the Senate, down from 421 in 2022. The total number of groups (above the line boxes) dropped from 151 to 118.
Victoria has the most groups with 20, Queensland has 19, NSW and WA 18, SA 16 and Tasmania 12. With only two vacancies each, the ACT has seven groups and the NT eight.
Adrian Beaumont does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Labor and the Greens likely to gain Senate seats at the election – https://theconversation.com/labor-and-the-greens-likely-to-gain-senate-seats-at-the-election-253937
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MIL-OSI New Zealand: Serious crash: East Coast Road, Stillwater
Source: New Zealand Police (District News)
Police are attending a serious crash in Stillwater this afternoon.
At around 2.35pm, a crash involving a car and truck was reported at the intersection of Jackson Way and East Coast Road.
The driver of the car is currently in a critical condition.
The Serious Crash Unit is deploying to the scene.
A section of East Coast Road is currently being diverted.
Northbound traffic is being diverted off at Bawden Road, with southbound traffic being diverted off at Spur Road.
Please expect delays or avoid the area if at all possible this afternoon.
ENDS.
Jarred Williamson/NZ Police
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MIL-OSI Australia: Hong Kong
Source:
We’ve reviewed our advice for Hong Kong and continue to advise exercise a high degree of caution. Hong Kong has strict laws on national security that can be interpreted broadly. You could be detained without charge and denied access to a lawyer (see ‘Local laws’).
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MIL-OSI New Zealand: Cyclone Tam makes for challenging driving
Source: New Zealand Transport Agency
With severe weather arriving ahead of the busy Easter holiday period, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) is advising road users in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty, to be prepared and take extra care on the roads.
Heavy rain and strong winds are forecast, with MetService issuing a severe weather warning from tonight until end of day on Friday 18 April for Coromandel and Western Bay of Plenty.
The orange warning is likely to be extended further into the Waikato and across the Kaimai Range.
With school holidays, and Easter approaching, it’s busier than usual on our roads, and Waikato Journey Manger for NZTA, Andrew Brosnan, urges motorists to be vigilant.
“Essentially, the message is – be ready for difficult driving conditions. There’s the potential for surface flooding and slips. Anticipate that there could be trees or debris on the road just around the next corner. There’s also a risk of downed powerlines – so expect the unexpected.
“If you need to travel, allow extra time for your journey. Slow down and keep a safe following distance from the vehicle in front. Keep your headlights on to increase visibility.
“Thunderstorms are possible on Friday. While the current estimate is up to 250 mm of rain to fall on the Comomandel Ranges, there is potential for this to increase.
“Be aware that streams and rivers may rise rapidly. Strong winds are creating dangerous coastal conditions around the upper North Island, with large waves potentially causing coastal inundation and erosion. The highest risk for the Coromandel is around high tide.”
NZTA contractors are out clearing critical drainage areas on the network and have crews on standby to manage any issues as the weather takes hold.
Road uses should be aware that there may be some areas of the network where traffic management or temporary speed limits are in place. There will be traffic management in place on State Highway 25 at the Pepe Steam Bridge at Tairua over both Easter and Anzac weekends, to help keep traffic moving over the holiday period.
“Please adhere to temporary speed limits and follow the directions of traffic management in work zones, even if you can’t see active work underway. It is there for your protection, the protection of workers and other motorists. This is especially important in poor weather,” Mr Brosnan says.
Plan ahead before you travel with the Easter and Anzac travel advisory in the NZTA Journey Planner.
Easter and Anzac holiday weekends 2025 | NZTA Journey Planner(external link)
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MIL-Evening Report: Politics with Michelle Grattan: Warwick McKibbin on trying to model economic certainty in uncertain times
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Global markets have remained on edge after Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs caused panic worldwide. Now, more than ever, markets and economists are looking for trying to read the implications.
Joining us from Washington DC is Warwick McKibbin,
an internationally renowned economic modeller from the Australian National University whose services are now in high demand. McKibbin is also a former member of the Reserve Bank board.With much earlier talk about whether Australia can do a deal with Trump on tariffs, McKibbon argues,
The best way to deal with the president is to ignore him. And I think that’s to take him off the front page of Australia’s newspapers for example. I think what we should be doing is accelerating a process that was already underway. And that was to open up our trade with other partners around the world, Korea, Southeast Asia, Europe, in particular.
There’s a lot of trading opportunities. Our products – fortunately for us – the ones we sell to the US, we can sell somewhere else. We know that that’s a flexibility we have.
McKibbin says it’s “unlikely” Trump’s trade wars will cause a recession in Australia, but,
the problem we do have is that we haven’t dealt with the key problems that Australia faces, which is low productivity. We have a productivity problem which means [you’re] more likely to have a recession if you’re not growing. The second thing is we haven’t been given enough fiscal space. That is, running budget surpluses when we have full employment. But we’ve been running budget deficits, so our debt-to-GDP ratio has gone up, which means we have got less capacity to respond. But we also have a flexible exchange rate, which is good news. That helped us during the Asian financial crisis and the global financial crisis. We have the central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia, [which] has plenty of capacity to cut interest rates if required.
Our modelling suggests that under the scenario of no change in the severe tariffs that the US put on in the beginning of April, you would probably cut interest rates in Australia by 50 basis points over the year as a result of the tariffs alone.
McKibbin says Australia’s interest rates are “probably a little bit too low”,
I think at the moment where we stand is without this shock Australia’s rates are probably a little bit too low, but probably close to being neutral. This shock will give you an extra 25 to 50 basis points capacity, if you need it. We’re still at full employment, and the bank worries about inflation relative to the target and still above the target if you adjust for the cyclical elements and about employment or output relative to potential which we’re very close to potential, so really there wasn’t a big case for a big interest rate cut.
On the Australian election, McKibbin outlines the need for reforms, which are not being much talked about in this campaign,
We know what the fundamental problems are in Australia. We need serious reform. We need to deal with the tax system not functioning properly. We have a cost of living crisis – our reaction is to pump more money into the housing market, to drive up demand relative to supply. We’re also hitting our own exports of higher education.
And so we’re actually responding completely the opposite way. And both parties are arguing for cutting foreign student numbers. That is a key export of the Australian economy.
The problem with the housing market is lack of supply. You don’t fix the lack of supply by attacking foreign students who are a very, very small part of the demand coming from immigration. And actually those students, they come and they go mostly.
Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Politics with Michelle Grattan: Warwick McKibbin on trying to model economic certainty in uncertain times – https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-warwick-mckibbin-on-trying-to-model-economic-certainty-in-uncertain-times-254591
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MIL-Evening Report: This election, disinformation is swirling on Chinese social media. Here’s how it spreads
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fan Yang, Research fellow at Melbourne Law School, the University of Melbourne and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society., The University of Melbourne
Since 2024, the RECapture research team has been monitoring political disinformation and advertising in Australia.
Our focus is on WeChat, the primary news and information platform for Chinese speakers in Australia, and RedNote (Xiaohongshu), an emerging Chinese information sharing platform similar to Instagram.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Australia use these platforms. They’re often a main source of news.
Our research reveals while Australian news media often focus on foreign interference, in this election cycle, disinformation is being driven by commercial and domestic political interests.
These pose substantial threats to Chinese Australian communities and our democracy.
What is disinformation?
Defining disinformation often hinges on three criteria:
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the truthfulness of the content
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the intent behind its creation and dissemination
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the harm it causes.
However, findings from our 2023 study on the Voice referendum challenge those assumptions. Disinformation isn’t as simple as true or false. It can involve ambiguous intent and produce harm that’s difficult to measure.
Further, Australia’s lack of clear definition for online misinformation and disinformation presents significant challenges for researchers and regulators.
With these limitations, we focus on deliberate misrepresentations of policy positions and the manipulation of political speech intended to influence voter behaviour.
What have we discovered?
We found examples that misrepresented political statements and policies and capitalised on preexisting concerns within migrant communities.
Concerns include potential changes to investor visas, undocumented migration, humanitarian programs and Australia’s diplomatic relations with India, the US and China.
We also found several strategies, such as:
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exaggerating the likelihood of events (like the revival of the Significant Investment Visa – an invitation-only visa for those investing at least A$5 million in certain sectors)
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manipulating timelines and contexts (like re-hyping past news stories to create the impression the events are happening in the present)
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and misaligning visuals and text to suggest misleading interpretations.
While we’re working to better understand who’s behind these cases, we know they’re not political parties. Here are two examples.
This post on RedNote, published in April, referred to several statements, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s speech at the Future of Western Sydney Summit. Albanese stated the government had a “balanced” immigration ratio.
However, the Chinese-language text accompanying the post omitted Labor’s past immigration policies and misrepresented the speech:
Labor grants amnesty to all? Albo embraces immigrants! Good news for Chinese people!
Discussions in the comments largely favoured a class-based immigration system. Users argued the Labor government disproportionately favoured humanitarian immigrants and greater preference should be given to upper and middle-class migrants.
We also found examples on WeChat.
On March 4, the Chinese-language media outlet AFN Daily published an article with the provocative headline:
I am furious! How shameless! Australia is really going to be in chaos!
The headline was sensational and intentionally ambiguous. It attracted reader attention to click through past four advertisements, including one political ad by the Liberal candidate for Bennelong, Scott Yung.
The article claimed the Coalition’s support had surpassed Labor’s, while presenting a segment of a poll in which Labor had actually received greater voter support for its welfare, healthcare and education policies.
The article further claimed the Labor Party had naturalised 12,500 new citizens – predominantly of Indian origin – in an attempt to sway the Chinese audience.
This claim had been explicitly refuted by Tony Burke back in February.
The article challenged this assertion by Burke and reinforced anti-Labor sentiment through racially charged narratives. It emphasised the strengthening diplomatic relations between Australia and India, and highlighted the growing number of South Asian and Middle Eastern migrants in comparison to Chinese migrants.
We also observed ad hoc disinformation narratives triggered by natural disasters or public emergencies.
For example, there was a claim on WeChat suggesting “the election is cancelled because of Cyclone Alfred.” Such disinformation requires timely intervention to prevent its rapid spread and impact.
Why is this so harmful?
The harms of disinformation are often more severe on digital media used by marginalised communities. Our research shows a few reasons why.
The limited regulatory oversight of these platforms makes the harms hard to fully identify and prevent.
Australian regulatory bodies keep intervention to address disinformation on these platforms to a minimum. This reflects broader national concerns around cybersecurity and foreign interference.
Unfortunately, this has resulted in a largely unregulated environment where political disinformation thrives during election cycles.
Finally, we see persistent disinformation narratives – from 2019, 2022, 2023 (around the Voice referendum), through to 2025 – where racial stereotypes intersect with partisan biases.
What can be done?
For Chinese-language platforms, our findings suggest disinformation might be less a product of foreign political actors, propaganda or linguistic barriers. What’s more important are the insular structure of WeChat and RedNote’s media ecosystems.
Tailored civic education and media literacy initiatives can help users to spot disinformation. Currently, grassroots debunking efforts are largely done by community members who comment beneath posts.
But more broadly, we need to support the public to think critically when reading digital news. This would help mitigate the exploitation of racial and gender biases for clicks and political point-scoring.
While automation is sometimes used to detect and debunk disinformation, its application is limited here. WeChat and RedNote prohibit external automated tools. Their own systems for flagging content generated by artificial intelligence don’t always work either.
Individual and coordinated human effort remains the best way to accurately inform Australian communities of their choices this election. This applies whether these communities tune in to mainstream broadcasts, major US-based social media platforms or Chinese language apps.
The authors would like to thank researchers Dan Dai, Stevie Zhang, and Mengjie Cai for their contributions to this project.
The research project is funded by the Susan McKinnon Foundation for the period 2024-2025.
Robbie Fordyce is a member of the grants panel for the Australian Communication Consumer Action Network (ACCAN). He has previously worked on studies of online political content that has been funded by the Australian Research Council and by ACCAN.
Luke Heemsbergen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. This election, disinformation is swirling on Chinese social media. Here’s how it spreads – https://theconversation.com/this-election-disinformation-is-swirling-on-chinese-social-media-heres-how-it-spreads-253849
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MIL-Evening Report: 3 in 4 meth users relapse – outcomes could improve if treatments considered the drug’s effect on impulsive behaviour
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bodeker, Teaching Assistant in Behavioural Psychology, University of Canterbury
Methamphetamine is New Zealand’s most harmful illicit drug and wastewater testing shows its use and availability are on the rise.
Much of the harm results from reckless and impulsive behaviour – including ram raids and gang violence – some people show when under methamphetamine’s influence.
Methamphetamine impairs decision making because it increases the likelihood of users acting impulsively, without regard to risk or long-term consequences.
Impulsivity is a maladaptive pattern of choice behaviour linked to crime, violence and drug use. Research shows higher levels of impulsivity are associated with a higher risk of initiating drug use, increase the amounts used, drop out of rehabilitation programmes and relapse.
Our new research investigates how methamphetamine affects impulsivity in rats. We argue that our findings are applicable to people and could improve treatments to reduce the high relapse rate of about 77% of methamphetamine users.
Stimulant drugs and impulsive behaviour
There has been substantial research and several tests have been developed to measure and define impulsivity. However, the effect of stimulant drugs such as methamphetamine on impulsivity remains unclear.
Some studies report amphetamines reduce impulsivity whereas others have found methamphetamine increases it. A probable cause of these conflicting results is the multi-dimensional nature of impulsivity.
Although often reported as a singular concept, impulsivity comprises several distinct but related components that must be assessed individually.
Laboratory research can help us better understand impulsivity. Specially designed behavioural experiments present animals with choices that provide an equivalent of those humans might experience.
The results can help us unravel the complex nature of impulsivity which we can then translate to human experience and inform treatment programmes. In our research we used rats to study two situations related to impulsivity.
The first is a choice between a smaller reward given sooner or a larger reward received later, known as “delay discounting”. The other choice is between a smaller but certain reward and a larger uncertain reward, known as “probability discounting”. We also examined how the overall magnitude of the rewards affected choice.
How we consider choices
In human studies, people are often asked to make hypothetical choices about money.
In delay discounting, opting for the smaller/sooner reward is an impulsive choice. For example, imagine you are given a choice between $400 now and $500 in one year, and choose the $400 now.
However, if you were asked instead to choose between $40,000 now and $50,000 in one year, you may select the delayed option. When the rewards are larger, we are less likely to choose impulsively.
In probability discounting, choice of the larger/uncertain reward is impulsive. Imagine you are given a choice between $50 for sure or a 50% chance at $100. You might be willing to gamble on the larger amount.
But what if your choice was between $5,000,000 for sure and a 50% chance at $10,000,000? You would be more likely to choose the certain reward because we tend to be less impulsive when the possible loss is greater.
Complex nature of impulsivity
In our research, rats could choose between two alternatives that resulted in food rewards by pressing levers in an experimental chamber.
Some rats completed delay discounting sessions in which they chose between smaller/sooner and larger/later food outcomes. Other rats completed probability discounting sessions and chose between smaller/certain and larger/uncertain outcomes.
We also varied the overall amounts of food to confirm rats were less likely to choose impulsively with larger amounts. We measured the rats’ sensitivity to differences between delay, probability and magnitude.
Results were similar to studies with humans in that the rats’ choices reflected trade-offs between delay, probability and the amount of food. Impulsive choices were reduced with larger amounts.
We then gave the rats gradually increasing doses of methamphetamine and observed how their choices changed. Our results reflected the complex nature of impulsivity. Increasing methamphetamine doses resulted in decreasing sensitivity to the most salient difference between the two choices the rats experienced.
On methamphetamine, more rats chose the larger delayed reward. This means a decrease in impulsive choice because sensitivity to delay was reduced and the smaller/sooner option was less attractive.
However, we found the opposite in probability discounting. Here, methamphetamine increased preference for the larger/uncertain reward, indicating an increase in impulsivity because sensitivity to risk decreased.
Sensitivity to magnitude also decreased, meaning rats were more likely to choose impulsively even when the reward was large.
What this means for people
People are obviously cognitively more complex, but methamphetamine users also demonstrate decreased sensitivity to risk in response to tasks similar to those we used with rats.
Therefore our findings are applicable to human methamphetamine users and highlight that long-term changes to impulsivity should be taken into account in treatment programmes. This is especially important because effects on decision making can persist long after drug use during periods of abstinence.
Psycho-education on impulsivity could be incorporated into existing treatment programmes. This would mean educating methamphetamine users about their increased risks related to decision making and how that may affect treatment outcomes.
The Salvation Army’s Bridge Programme, a well-known drug rehabilitation programme with 20 centres throughout the country, is a good example. It uses a community reinforcement approach as part of their treatment, which involves participants building skills to cultivate rewarding experiences outside of drugs or alcohol use.
Rehabilitation processes could implement a psycho-education component focused on the increased vulnerability to risky choices, regardless of amount, of current and former methamphetamine users. This could raise the personal agency of participants by making them more aware of the increased risk factors for relapse and other negative decision making.
Psycho-education could help release people from the grip of this pervasive and increasingly prolific drug.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. 3 in 4 meth users relapse – outcomes could improve if treatments considered the drug’s effect on impulsive behaviour – https://theconversation.com/3-in-4-meth-users-relapse-outcomes-could-improve-if-treatments-considered-the-drugs-effect-on-impulsive-behaviour-253439
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MIL-OSI China: Xi attends welcome ceremony held by Malaysia’s king
Source: China State Council Information Office
Chinese President Xi Jinping attended in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday a welcome ceremony held by Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.
Xi arrived here Tuesday for a state visit, the second leg of his three-nation Southeast Asia tour.
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MIL-OSI China: China, Vietnam reaffirm commitment to closer ties, broader cooperation
Source: China State Council Information Office
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, and To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, greet the crowd after a grand welcome ceremony as they walk to the CPV Central Committee headquarters for talks in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his state visit to Vietnam on Tuesday with the two neighbors pledging joint efforts to accelerate the building of a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.
To that end, the two sides agreed to work together for stronger political mutual trust, more substantive security cooperation, deeper practical cooperation, more solid popular foundation, closer coordination on multilateral affairs and better management of differences.
Before leaving for Malaysia to continue his three-nation Southeast Asia tour, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said he has full confidence in the future of China-Vietnam relations.
Shared vision for shared future
This year marks the 75th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic ties, a milestone in the two nations’ profound traditional friendship featuring “camaraderie plus brotherhood.”
During Xi’s state visit to Vietnam in December 2023, the two sides agreed to build a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance on the basis of deepening the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.
In his talks with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam on Monday, Xi called for further efforts to fulfill the vision.
The two countries should work to advance their comprehensive strategic cooperation with high quality, ensure steady and sustained progress in building a China-Vietnam community with a shared future, and contribute even more to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, Xi said.
Building the China-Vietnam community with a shared future carries great global significance, Xi said, noting that as the two countries jointly pursue peaceful development, their combined population of over 1.5 billion is jointly advancing toward modernization, which will contribute to regional and global peace and stability while promoting common development.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, holds talks with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, at the CPV Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
To Lam, for his part, said that Xi’s visit would definitely mark a new milestone in the history of friendly exchanges between the two parties and countries, further advancing the building of a Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.
Nguyen Thi Phuong Hoa, a researcher at the Institute for Asia-Pacific Studies under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, said the effort to build a Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance reflects both the continuation and the deepening of the enduring friendship between the two countries.
“It is built on the foundation of political trust, the promotion of commonalities and especially the sharing of benefits and mutual concerns,” she said. “The ultimate goal is to bring benefits to the people of both nations, support each country’s development, and contribute to regional peace and stability.”
Over the past year, the agreement on building a Vietnam-China community with a shared future has already injected fresh momentum into the bilateral relationship, said Nguyen Vinh Quang, vice president of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association, noting that businesses from both sides have demonstrated increased confidence in each other.
March toward modernization
On Monday, the Chinese president also urged the two countries to deepen cooperation across various fields and march toward modernization hand in hand.
While meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Xi called on the two countries to intensify high-level exchanges, strengthen strategic communication, and jointly oppose hegemonism, unilateralism and protectionism.
He called on the two sides to implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, so as to jointly safeguard international fairness and justice, and defend peace, stability, development and prosperity in Asia and beyond.
China and Vietnam, Xi said, should give full play to their geographical advantages of being connected by land and sea, strengthen the alignment of development strategies and tap the potential of industrial cooperation.
He also called on the two countries to steadily advance cooperation in infrastructure development, enhance connectivity and ensure a smooth flow of trade.
The two countries should firmly uphold the multilateral trading system, and work together to push for economic globalization that is more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all, he added.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
In his meeting with Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Tran Thanh Man, Xi pointed out that his state visit to Vietnam once again allowed him to witness the new achievements in Vietnam’s cause of Doi Moi (reform) and personally experience the profound foundation of China-Vietnam friendship.
Facing an international landscape fraught with changes and turbulence, Xi said, China and Vietnam should strengthen confidence in their paths and systems, enhance solidarity and coordination, continue to build the China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, join hands to march toward modernization, and inject more stability and positive energy into the world.
Carry forward traditional friendship
As this year is also designated the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges, a series of activities have been organized and planned to further cement the public support of bilateral relations.
During his meeting with representatives of the Chinese and Vietnamese People’s Friendship Meeting on Tuesday, Xi said that over the years, the peoples of China and Vietnam have stood together through thick and thin, and have jointly written a glorious chapter in the history of China-Vietnam friendship.
He emphasized that China-Vietnam friendship has taken root and sprouted through mutual support between the two peoples, and has blossomed and borne fruit through their solidarity and coordination.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and Vietnamese President Luong Cuong jointly launch the “Red Study Tours” project at the International Convention Center in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, April 15, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
Xi told To Lam during their talks that the two sides should take this year as an opportunity to organize more people-oriented exchange activities, and enhance cooperation in tourism, culture, media, public health and other fields.
While meeting with Pham Minh Chinh, Xi urged the two sides to ensure the success of activities celebrating the 75th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic ties and the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges, so as to tell the stories of friendship, mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as their joint pursuit of modernization.
Particularly, noting that young people are the future and hope of the cause, Xi announced that in the next three years, China will invite Vietnamese youth to China for “Red Study Tours.”
That, he added, will help the younger generation of both countries better understand the hard-won nature of the socialist countries and the great value of China-Vietnam good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation, and will cultivate greater vitality for the development of bilateral relations and the two countries’ respective national development.
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MIL-OSI China: 5.6-magnitude quake hits 42 km SSW of Maguling, Philippines
Source: China State Council Information Office 3
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 jolted 42 km SSW of Maguling, Philippines, at 21:42:46 GMT on Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The epicenter, with a depth of 30.7 km, was initially determined to be at 5.76 degrees north latitude and 124.23 degrees east longitude.
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MIL-OSI China: Xi’s Vietnam visit highlights ‘camaraderie plus brotherhood’
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
HANOI, April 16 — On a balmy April morning in Hanoi, the second floor of the Hanoi International Convention Center hummed with anticipation, as representatives attending the Chinese and Vietnamese People’s Friendship Meeting waited eagerly to welcome a special guest from China.
Around 10 a.m. (0300 GMT), Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, walked into the venue alongside General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and Vietnamese President Luong Cuong. They strolled along the red carpet, smiling and waving to the hundreds of Chinese and Vietnamese delegates gathering there.
Smiles, joy and applause filled the room. It felt, in many ways, like a family reunion.
The Tuesday event was part of Xi’s fourth visit to Vietnam in a decade and his first overseas tour of the year. During each trip, he would quote on multiple occasions late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh’s famous description of China-Vietnam relations — a bond of “camaraderie plus brotherhood.”
That sentiment echoed in his speech on Tuesday, as he traced the deep historical ties between the two nations.
The China-Vietnam friendship took root in the mutual support between the two peoples, Xi said, adding that they fought shoulder to shoulder for the just cause of national independence and liberation, and created a shared revolutionary legacy that shaped their deep friendship featuring “camaraderie plus brotherhood.”
For Nguyen Vinh Quang, vice president of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association, the expression of “camaraderie plus brotherhood” remains the “best testament to that shared history of standing together through storm and stress, with unwavering loyalty.”
“During Vietnam’s resistance wars against France and the United States, we received selfless assistance from China. It is a fact no one can or should ever forget,” he said.
During his previous visits to Vietnam, Xi consistently emphasized the importance of passing on the traditional friendship between China and Vietnam to the younger generation. For him, the foundation of China-Vietnam friendship lies between the two peoples, and the future of this friendship will be created by the young people.
When meeting with Chinese and Vietnamese youth representatives during his visit to Vietnam in 2015, Xi expressed a firm belief that the traditional China-Vietnam friendship will certainly span the long river of history, growing even deeper and newer in spite of time.
When meeting representatives of young Chinese and Vietnamese and people who have contributed to the China-Vietnam friendship during his visit in 2023, Xi expressed the hope that the young people will take the lead in promoting bilateral friendship.
On Tuesday, Xi said that in the next three years, China will invite Vietnamese youth to China for “Red Study Tours,” where they will explore the revolutionary heritage that underpins the bilateral friendship, and experience the dynamism of Chinese modernization.
The launch of the “Red Study Tours” reflects both sides’ commitment to cherishing their shared revolutionary heritage, said Dao Ngoc Bau, director of the Institute of International Relations under the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.
This initiative will help strengthen the friendship between the two peoples, particularly between the younger generations, he said.
One of the attendees, Nguyen Quang Minh, a lecturer at Vietnam’s University of Transport and Communications, said he sensed from the speech “a steadfast resolve of China and Vietnam to pursue development hand in hand.”
“Looking ahead,” he said, “the younger generations of both countries will draw strength from their shared history to drive mutual prosperity and progress.”
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MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for April 16, 2025
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 16, 2025.
Trump’s racist, corrupt agenda – like a bank robbery in broad daylight
EDITORIAL: By Giff Johnson, editor of the Marshall Islands Journal US President Donald Trump and his team is pursuing a white man’s racist agenda that is corrupt at its core. Trump’s advisor Elon Musk, who often seems to be the actual president, is handing his companies multiple contracts as his team takes over or takesWhy the Coalition’s tone-deaf diss track was bound to hit all the wrong notes
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andy Ward, Senior Lecturer in Music, School of Business and Creative Industries, University of the Sunshine Coast Hip-hop is a cultural powerhouse that has infiltrated every facet of popular culture, across a global market. That said, one place you usually don’t see it is on the electionHomelessness – the other housing crisis politicians aren’t talking about
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Parsell, Professor, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland Igor Corovic/Shutterstock Measures to tackle homelessness in Australia have been conspicuously absent from the election campaign. The major parties have rightly identified deep voter anxiety over high house prices. They have responded with a raft ofSuperb fairy-wrens’ songs hold clues to their personalities, new study finds
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Diane Colombelli-Négrel, Senior Lecturer, Animal Behaviour, Flinders University Two superb fairy-wrens (_Malurus cyaneus_). ARKphoto/Shutterstock When we think of bird songs, we often imagine a cheerful soundtrack during our morning walks. However, for birds, songs are much more than background music – they are crucial to attract a‘De-extinction’ of dire wolves promotes false hope: technology can’t undo extinction
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martín Boer-Cueva, Ecologist and Environmental Consultant, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Colossal Biosciences Over the past week, the media have been inundated with news of the “de-extinction” of the dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus) – a species that went extinct about 13,000 years ago. The breakthrough has been achievedStudents are neither left nor right brained: how some early childhood educators get this ‘neuromyth’ and others wrong
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate E. Williams, Professor of Education, University of the Sunshine Coast MalikNalik/ Shutterstock Many teachers and parents know neuroscience, the study of how the brain functions and develops, is important for children’s education. Brain development is recommended as part of teacher education in universities. Neuroscience is evenTrump’s trade war puts America’s AI ambitions at risk
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Zomaya, Professor, School of Computer Science, University of Sydney remotevfx.com/Shutterstock The global trade war triggered by US President Donald Trump earlier this month shows no signs of ending anytime soon. In recent days, China suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals that are vitalMore bulk billing is fine. But what the health system really needs this election is genuine reform
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Worrying signs are emerging about aspects of Australia’s health system, which will require the attention of whoever wins the May election. Despite big moneyHalf way through the campaign, how are the major party leaders faring?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Mills, Honorary Senior Lecturer, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney More than two weeks in, we know one thing for sure. This time, the election campaign does matter. In decades past, when voters were more loyally rusted on to the major parties, newsSafe seat syndrome? Why some hospitals get upgrades and others miss out
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anam Bilgrami, Senior Research Fellow, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University On his campaign trail, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged A$200 million to upgrade St John of God Midland Public Hospital in Perth. He promised more beds and operating theatres, and a redesigned obstetricsAllowing forests to regrow and regenerate is a great way to restore habitat
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Thomas, PhD candidate in Environmental Policy, The University of Queensland Cynthia A Jackson, Shutterstock Queensland is widely known as the land clearing capital of Australia. But what’s not so well known is many of the cleared trees can grow back naturally. The latest state government figuresA century after its discovery, scientists capture first confirmed footage of a colossal squid in the deep
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kat Bolstad, Associate professor, Auckland University of Technology The colossal squid was first described in 1925 based on specimens from the stomach of a commercially hunted sperm whale. A century later, an international voyage captured the first confirmed video of this species in its natural habitat –Students are neither left or right brained: how some early childhood educators get this ‘neuromyth’ and others wrong
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate E. Williams, Professor of Education, University of the Sunshine Coast MalikNalik/ Shutterstock Many teachers and parents know neuroscience, the study of how the brain functions and develops, is important for children’s education. Brain development is recommended as part of teacher education in universities. Neuroscience is evenPagan loaves, Christian bread, a secular treat: a brief history of hot cross buns
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University Jasmine Waheed/Unsplash Hot cross buns aren’t just a sweet snack that appears around Easter. They carry centuries of storytelling in their dough. From ancient gods to modern supermarkets, these sticky spiced buns have crossed many borders and beliefs. Today,US-China trade war leaves NZ worse off, but still well placed to weather the storm – new modelling
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Niven Winchester, Professor of Economics, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Forecasting the potential impact of Donald Trump’s turbulent tariff policies is a fraught business – and fraught for business. The United States president has changed, paused and exempted various categories of goods so often, the onlyCaitlin Johnstone: Every day the Gaza holocaust continues, the empire tells the truth about itself
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone Every day the Gaza holocaust continues, the Western empire tells the truth about itself. The US government is telling you the truth about itself. Israel is telling you the truth about itself. Their Western allies are telling you the truth about themselves.PNG’s ‘chief servant’ James Marape defeats no-confidence vote
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has survived a motion of no confidence against him in Parliament. During the proceedings, livestreamed on EMTV, Speaker Job Pomat announced the results of the vote as 16 votes in favour and 89 against. In moving the motion, the member for Abau,Does Russia have military interest in Indonesia? Here’s what we know – and why Australia would be concerned
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Sussex, Associate Professor (Adj), Griffith Asia Institute; and Fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University A news report that Russia has sought to base long-range aircraft in Indonesia caught Australia’s political leaders by surprise during an already hectic election campaign. The military publication JanesObama praises Harvard for ‘setting example’ to universities resisting Trump
Asia Pacific Report Former US President Barack Obama has taken to social media to praise Harvard’s decision to stand up for academic freedom by rebuffing the Trump administration’s demands. “Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions — rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to makeElection Diary: for a few hours, it seemed possible the Russians might be coming
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra For a few hours on Tuesday afternoon, it seemed just possible the Russians might be sending their planes to a base very near us. A claim on the military and intelligence site Janes that said the Russians were seeking to -
MIL-OSI: Proto Hologram Expands in India with Amitabh Bachchan & Sourav Ganguly
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Hyderabad, India, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Proto Hologram has expanded rapidly across India, with the launch of AI Avatars of Amitabh Bachchan and Sourav “Dada” Ganguly. Based on IP deals created by Hyderbad-based company Ikonz, the Proto avatars are hyper-real, volumetric, digital twins of the icons, that are capable of fully interactive conversations.
The AI Proto Hologram of Mr. Bachchan, one of the biggest international film stars of all time, has already been helping visitors at six branches of IDFC FIRST Bank with information and transactions. It is among the first in the world to enable hologram banking transactions.
Mr. Ganguly’s Proto avatar debuted at an event in Kolkata on April 11th. The newly reappointed chairman of the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee became the first ever cricket star to become a Proto hologram, and was there in person to show, side-by-side, how real the hologram looks. Mr. Ganguly joins Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, UFC CEO Dana White, Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali and other top sports execs and athletes to appear as an AI hologram via Proto.
“It’s an incredible honor to have the great Amitabh Bachchan and Sourav Ganguly appear in Proto hologram form,” said Proto Hologram Founder and Inventor David Nussbaum. “Proto’s AI Persona tools let them – and other spokesmen, experts, executives, doctors, or celebrities – have hyper-real, conversational interactions with customers and fans in any language. It’s perfect for India where there are 22 officially recognized languages — and in reality, over 100 more.”
Proto partner Ikonz is a specialist in licensing IP rights. Ikonz has secured exclusive global rights to Mr. Ganguly’s voice, likeness and mannerisms, enabling the creation of an avatar that authentically captures the charisma, energy, and unique presence of one of cricket’s most celebrated figures. Ikonz’ brands the Proto activations in India HXR.
Amitabh Bachchan said, “This initiative by IDFC FIRST Bank highlights the role of technology in creating immersive customer experiences. It is fascinating to see how innovation continues to redefine connections. I am pleased to see my digital avatar playing a part in this journey.”
See Amitabh Bachchan’s Proto AI Hologram in action at IDFC FIRST bank
Shreepad Shende, Head of Business Excellence and Corporate Strategy at IDFC FIRST Bank, said, “This technology makes banking simpler, faster, and more engaging.”
Mr. Ganguly said he is excited to see his digital avatar come to life via Proto Hologram and to explore the technology’s potential across sports, entertainment, education, and beyond. “Ikonz’s commitment to authenticity and respect for my personal brand gives me full confidence in this partnership,” said Sourav Ganguly.
“Dada has always been at the forefront of cricketing excellence and innovation. With this digital avatar, we’re thrilled to bring his spirit to new audiences and industries around the world. The avatar speaks, moves, and emotes exactly as Sourav Ganguly would,” said Abinav Varma Kalidindi, CEO of Ikonz.
See Sourav Ganguly’s Proto Hologram in action.
Proto also counts dozens of Fortune 500 companies as partners and clients, as well as dozens of major universities, major airports, museums, hospitals, retailers and more. Partners and clients include AARP, Accenture, Amazon AWS, CBS, Delta Airways, HPE, Intec, PwC, Siemens, Softbank, Walmart and Verizon.
The sports world includes over 65 active and retired professional athletes who have invested in Los Angeles-based Proto. The technology has been installed in over 50 major stadiums and arenas, been utilized by the NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, Major League Soccer, NCAA, UFC, WWE, PFL and at events such as the Woman’s World Cup. Most recently Tiger Woods appeared via Proto at his TGL Golf arena in Florida in a partnership with Best Buy. Other athletes who have used Proto include Usain Bolt, Lewis Hamilton, Mary Fowler, Nick Kyrgios, Francis Ngannou and Son Hueng-min.
Among other activations in India, Proto has been seen on the show Bigg Boss Telugu, featuring host Nagarjuna.
About its role managing Mr. Ganguly’s IP, Ikonz states, “By securing exclusive IP rights to Dada’s voice, likeness, and mannerisms, Ikonz ensures that any organisation or brand seeking to leverage the digital avatar will engage directly with Ikonz as the sole representative and licensor. This strategic approach safeguards the integrity of Sourav Ganguly’s personal brand while opening limitless possibilities.”
For more information contact hello@protohologram.com
About Proto Inc.: Proto Inc. is the patented leader in hologram technology and AI spatial computing. Proto devices and its platform are in use across enterprise, finance, healthcare, education, retail, hospitality, sports and entertainment. Invented in Los Angeles and with showrooms and distribution partners around the globe, Proto distributes the large Proto Epic and Proto Luma, the desktop-sized Proto M, and a suite of hologram AI and spatial computing services. Learn more at protohologram.com
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MIL-Evening Report: Trump’s racist, corrupt agenda – like a bank robbery in broad daylight
EDITORIAL: By Giff Johnson, editor of the Marshall Islands Journal
US President Donald Trump and his team is pursuing a white man’s racist agenda that is corrupt at its core. Trump’s advisor Elon Musk, who often seems to be the actual president, is handing his companies multiple contracts as his team takes over or takes down multiple government departments and agencies.
Trump wants to be the “king” of America and is already floating the idea of a third term, an action that would be an obvious violation of the US Constitution he swore to uphold but is doing his best to violate and destroy.
Every time we hear the Trump team spouting a “return to America’s golden age,” they are talking about 60-80 years ago, when white people ruled and schools, hospitals, restrooms and entire neighborhoods were segregated and African Americans and other minority groups had little opportunity.
Every photo of leaders from that time features large numbers of white American men. Trump’s cabinet, in contrast to recent cabinets of Democratic presidents, is mainly white and male.
This is where the US going. And lest any white women feel they are included in the Trump train, think again. Anything to do with women’s empowerment — including whites — is being scrubbed off the agenda by Trump minions in multiple government departments and agencies.
“Women” along with things like “climate change,” “diversity,” “equality,” “gender equity,” “justice,” etc are being removed from US government websites, policies and grant funding.
The white racist campaign against people of colour has seen iconic Americans removed from government websites. For example, a photo and story about Jackie Robinson, a military veteran, was recently removed from the Defense Department website as part of the Trump team’s war on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Broke whites-only colour barrier
Robinson was not only a military veteran, he was the first African American to break the whites-only colour barrier in Major League Baseball and went on to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame for his stellar performance with the Brooklyn Dodgers.How about the removal of reference to the Army’s 442nd infantry regiment from World War II that is the most decorated unit in US military history? The 442nd was a fighting unit comprised of nearly all second-generation American soldiers of Japanese ancestry who more than proved their courage and loyalty to the United States during World War II.
The Defense Department removing references to these iconic Americans is an outrage. But showing the moronic level of the Trump team, they also deleted a photo of the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan at the end of World War II because the pilot named it after his mother, “Enola Gay.”
Despite the significance of the Enola Gay airplane in American military history, that latter word couldn’t get past the Pentagon’s scrubbing team, who were determined to wash away anything that hinted at, well, anything other than white, heterosexual male. And there is plenty more that was wiped off the history record of the Defense Department.
Meanwhile, Trump, his team and the Republican Party in general while claiming to be focused on eliminating corruption is authorising it on a grand scale.
Elon Musk’s redirection of contracts to Starlink, SpaceX and other companies he owns is one example among many. What is happening in the American government today is like a bank robbery in broad daylight.
The Trump team fired a score of inspectors general — the very officials who actively work to prevent fraud and theft in the US government. They are eliminating or effectively neutering every enforcement agency, from EPA (which ensures clean air and other anti-pollution programmes) and consumer protection to the National Labor Relations Board, where the mega companies like Musk’s, Facebook, Google and others have pending complaints from employees seeking a fair review of their work issues.
Huge cuts to social security
Trump with the aid of the Republican-controlled Congress is going to make huge cuts to Medicaid and Social Security — which will affect Marshallese living in America as much as Americans — all in order to fund tax cuts for the richest Americans and big corporations.Then there is Trump’s targeting of judges who rule against his illegal and unconstitutional initiatives — Trump criticism that is parroted by Fox News and other Trump minions, and is leading to things like efforts in the Congress to possibly impeach judges or restrict their legal jurisdiction.
These are all anti-democracy, anti-US constitution actions that are already undermining the rule of law in the US. And we haven’t yet mentioned Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its sweeping deportations without due process that is having calamitous collateral damage for people swept up in these deportation raids.
ICE is deporting people legally in the US studying at US universities for writing articles or speaking about justice for Palestinians. Whether we like what the writer or speaker says, a fundamental principle of democracy in the US is that freedom of expression is protected by the US constitution under the First Amendment.
That is no longer the case for Trump and his Republican team, which is happily abandoning the rule of law, due process and everything else that makes America what it is.
The irony is that multiple countries, normally American allies, have in recent weeks issued travel advisories to their citizens about traveling to the United States in the present environment where anyone who isn’t white and doesn’t fit into a male or female designation is subject to potential detention and deportation.
The immigration chill from the US will no doubt reduce visitor flow resulting in big losses in revenue, possibly in the billions of dollars, for tourism-related businesses.
Marshallese must pay attention
Marshallese need to pay attention to what’s happening and have valid passports at the ready. Sadly, if Marshallese have any sort of conviction no matter how ancient or minor it is likely they will be targets for deportation.Further, even the visa-free access privilege for Marshallese and other Micronesians is apparently now under scrutiny by US authorities based on a statement by US Ambassador Laura Stone published recently by the Journal
It is a difficult time being one of the closest allies of the US because the RMI must engage at many levels with a US government that is presently in turmoil.
Giff Johnson is the editor of the Marshall Islands Journal and one of the Pacific’s leading journalists and authors. He is the author of several books, including Don’t Ever Whisper, Idyllic No More, and Nuclear Past, Unclear Future. This editorial was first published on 11 April 2025 and is reprinted with permission of the Marshall Islands Journal. marshallislandsjournal.com
Freedom of speech at the Marshall Islands High School
Messages of “inclusiveness” painted by Marshall Islands High School students in the capital Majuro. Image: Giff Johnson/Marshall Islands Journal The above is one section of the outer wall at Marshall Islands High School. Surely, if this was a public school in America today, these messages would already have been whitewashed away by the Trump team censors who don’t like any reference to “inclusiveness,” “women,” and especially “gender equality.”
However, these messages painted by MIHS students are very much in keeping with Marshallese society and customary practices of welcoming visitors, inclusiveness and good treatment of women in this matriarchal society.
But don’t let President Trump know Marshallese think like this. — Giff Johnson
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MIL-OSI New Zealand: SH29 Tauriko Enabling Works project driving towards major milestones
Source: New Zealand Transport Agency
Road users will be enjoying 2 new Tauriko West intersections by May, as part of the State Highway 29 (SH29) Tauriko Enabling Works project.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) advises that a new intersection in Tauriko Village, near where the former service station was, will open with a temporary layout on Tuesday 29 April, providing access to a safer, new carpark for Tauriko School and Playcentre.
Motorists will be travelling through a new roundabout at the intersection of SH29 and Redwood Lane from Thursday 1 May, also under temporary layout.
Regional Manager Infrastructure Delivery Waikato/Bay of Plenty, Darryl Coalter, says the opening of these intersections is a step towards a better connected Tauriko West.
“March marked 1 year of construction on this project, and we’re thrilled with the progress that’s being made. These 2 intersections are integral pieces of the puzzle and will result in safer and more efficient ways to move around Tauriko once completed.
“They will open in temporary states to enable new work areas and allow the team to continue their hard work on the surrounding infrastructure, while facilitating traffic to continue flowing.
“We’re also pleased to be handing over a new, safer carpark for the school and Playcentre community.”
The new road off SH29 in Tauriko Village will also link to the planned community in Tauriko West, being developed to help accommodate Tauranga’s growing population.
Tauranga City Tauriko Ward Councillor Marten Rozeboom says the project is reaching a special milestone with the 2 new intersections.
“Regular users of SH29 have seen significant changes take place over the past 12 months, and they’ll soon be able to use the new layout and experience how much easier it makes travelling this route.”
The Tauriko Village intersection will eventually feature additional lanes and be signalised with traffic lights. although it will initially open without lights while the team works on the surrounding infrastructure. This includes constructing retaining and noise walls; stormwater, wastewater, and power upgrades; and widening SH29 to allow for additional lanes and a shared path through Tauriko Village.
The intersection will remain in a temporary configuration until early 2026, with further layout changes to come while work is undertaken on the southern side of SH29. More information will be communicated closer to the time.
At Redwood Lane, traffic will be switched across to the new, temporary single-lane layout, which will see motorists on SH29 shifted slightly to the west of the current state highway lanes to approach the new roundabout.
Once completed, the roundabout will have 2 lanes travelling in each direction. When it first opens it will have 1 lane in each direction while work continues on widening SH29 on the eastern side, along with extending the pedestrian and cycle underpass beneath the road and completing the Kaweroa Drive extension of the roundabout.
The Kaweroa Drive extension, accessed via the fourth leg directly opposite Redwood Lane, won’t be in use until the roundabout works are completed. This is expected be in late 2025/early 2026.
Road users and the local community should prepare for:
Tauriko Village
Overnight on Wednesday April 23 and again on Monday 28 April (between 6pm and 6am) there will be a stop/go and temporary speed limit of 30km/h to relocate the safety barriers on SH29 through Tauriko Village in preparation for a new intersection opening on Tuesday 29 April.
From Tuesday 29 April there will be a stop/go operation and temporary speed limit of 30km/h for night works to install safety barriers along the northern side of SH29 in the Tauriko Village. This work is expected to take 5 nights and continue into the following week.
As part of this work, traffic lanes will be shifted to the southern side of SH29 to allow for the upcoming widening work on the northern side of SH29. Traffic lanes will be maintained in both directions, along with the flush median down the centre of the road and access to businesses and residential properties will remain. However, there will be a reduction in the width of the shoulder along each side of the road, meaning reduced space available for entering and exiting driveways and heading south on SH29.
The work on the northern side of SH29 is expected to take 1 year.
Tauriko Village temporary intersection map [PDF, 188 KB]
Redwood Lane
Night works (between 6pm and 6am) will be carried out ahead of switching traffic onto the roundabout, starting with safety barrier relocation on Tuesday 22 April, followed by resurfacing works from Sunday 27 April for 5 nights. Overnight on Wednesday 30 April, the team will be line marking and preparing the new road, with the new roundabout expected to be in use on the morning of Thursday 1 May. These works will involve stop/go, shoulder closures, rolling blocks, and a temporary 30km/h speed limit on SH29.
People are asked to drive with extra care through the area, while people adjust to the new traffic conditions, allow extra time for their journeys and follow any signage or instructions provided by road workers.
These night works are weather dependent. If work is delayed because of weather or other unforeseen issues, it will be carried out on the next suitable night.
Elsewhere on the project, construction of the major retaining wall on Cambridge Road is well underway in preparation for the new signalised intersection with SH29. This includes a new connection to Whiore Avenue for people walking and cycling and bus access, only.
Work is also underway on the wastewater upgrades in Whiore Avenue and watermains upgrade on SH29, near Gargan Road, starting with investigative works to establish the location of existing underground services.
The SH29 Tauriko Enabling Works are being delivered by NZTA together with Tauranga City Council. Downer is delivering the construction for the project.
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MIL-OSI New Zealand: Power lines down, Silverdale
Source: New Zealand Police (District News)
Police are advising power lines are currently down on Hibiscus Coast Highway in Silverdale.
Lines have come down between the interesections with East Coast and Tavern roads.
Eastbound and westbound traffic is being diverted via East Coast Road and Tavern Road.
Lines contractors are on site.
We advise motorists to avoid the area if at all possible, as traffic has built up in the area.
Please continue to take care on our roads over the coming days.
ENDS
Jarred Williamson/NZ Police
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MIL-OSI New Zealand: Fatal crash: Temple View
Source: New Zealand Police (District News)
Police can confirm one person has died following a crash in Temple View earlier today.
Emergency services were called to the single vehicle crash on Tuhikaramea Road at about 10:30am.
One person died at the scene, a second person received minor injuries.
The road remains closed, while a scene examination is carried out.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre
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MIL-OSI New Zealand: Courts’ caseflow management going digital
Source: New Zealand Government
Kiwis will soon be able to file and track their court cases online as the Government signs off the business case to finally go digital, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Courts Minister Nicole McKee say.
“The new online portal will provide a source of trusted information, and users will receive consistent, timely responses about their cases. This means more certainty, and less anxiety, for everyone involved,” Mr Goldsmith says.
“Current court and tribunal processes are largely paper-based and underpinned by outdated software. These manual processes don’t meet the public’s expectation of a modern, streamlined service.
“This new modern caseflow management system will improve the reliability and efficiency of courts, benefitting everyone involved in the courts.”
“The caseflow management system is set to make a significant difference to everyone who participates in New Zealand’s courts and tribunals,” Mrs McKee says.
“The Family court will benefit first from the new system, which will start to be rolled out from July 2026.
“Planning for a second phase of development for the Civil and Criminal jurisdictions of both the High Court and District Court, is scheduled to begin later this year and expected to go live in the second half of 2027.
“A third and final phase of development will focus on the appeals processes, including the Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court. It will also include rollout for Environment Court, Coroners Court, and the Disputes Tribunal. The third phase is expected to begin in 2027 and go live in late 2028.”
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MIL-OSI New Zealand: Knowledge sharing and practical solutions to feature at Love our Harbour: Manukau Harbour Symposium
Source: Auckland Council
Mana Whenua, government, scientists, community groups and all who care about Te Manukanuka o Hoturoa, the Manukau Harbour, are invited to join in a full day conference on Friday 31 May 2025.
The Symposium is a day where the Manukau Harbour, with its immense value, the challenges it faces, and the extraordinary passion for restoring its wellbeing, is the central focus, says Jon Turner, Chair of the Manukau Harbour Forum.
The forum is a joint committee formed by the nine local boards that surround the harbour, that advocates for better resourcing and a focus on this taonga.
“This is the second biggest harbour in Aotearoa New Zealand. Our harbour is beautiful and has environmental, cultural, economic and recreational value and it deserves more attention”, says Turner.
The Manukau Harbour Symposium will focus on the harbour’s future, and on thinking that can contribute to its improved well-being in the future.
“We aim to tell the full story, across generations and across disciplines of thinking,” says Jon Turner.
Awards
With MC Mandy Kupenga, the Symposium will also announce recipients of the ‘Ngaa Tohu o te Manukau – Celebrating Harbour Champions’ Awards, which recognise individuals, stakeholders, organisations or community groups for their work to protect and restore the mauri of the harbour.
You can nominate someone for an award here until 14 May.
One week before the Symposium the Manukau Harbour Forum will also host a clean-up and restoration event, the Love Your Harbour Day, at Island Road, Māngere. This event is held with the support of Te Motu a Hiaroa Charitable Trust, Auckland Council and SeaCleaners, and targets one of the worst sites for illegal dumping in the region.
The Manukau Harbour Symposium will be held on Friday 31 May in the Auditorium at Green Bay High School. Tickets are $15 each and can be booked through Evenfinda.
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MIL-OSI USA: Photo & Video Chronology — April 15, 2025 — Kīlauea summit UAS flights
Source: US Geological Survey
Photo & Video Chronology — April 15, 2025 — Kīlauea summit UAS flights
On April 15, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists flew UAS (uncrewed aircraft systems) into Halemaʻumaʻu to monitor the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption.
A view of the north and south vents within Halemaʻumaʻu, Kīlauea volcano, on April 15, 2025, taken from the south rim of the caldera. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists measured the height of the crater wall behind the vents using a laser rangefinder. The distance between the lowest part in the center of the south vent and the lava flows at the lava flows at the top of the crater wall is approximately 150 meters (492 feet) on April 15, 2025. With every eruptive episode, this measurement changes as the cones around the vents grow with new material added to them. USGS photo by K. Mulliken. Get Our News
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MIL-OSI Security: U.S and ROK Navy Divers Conclude Successful SALVEX Korea 2025
Source: United States Navy (Logistics Group Western Pacific)
CHINHAE NAVAL BASE, Republic of Korea – U.S. Navy divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1 and their counterparts from the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) successfully concluded Salvage Exercise (SALVEX) Korea 2025, in Chinhae, South Korea on April 11, 2025.
This year’s exercise marked over four decades of partnership, emphasizing enhanced interoperability in a range of complex diving and salvage operations.
Throughout SALVEX Korea 2025, divers participated in a range of practical training evolutions. These included gear familiarization, tactical procedure exchanges, and full-mission profile salvage operations, all designed to enhance their ability to work together seamlessly.
“The ROKN divers are incredibly skilled and professional. They bring a unique perspective and approach to every challenge, and we learn from each other every time we are in the water together,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Nick Blankshine, Company Commander for MDSU Company 1-8. “That shared knowledge and those bonds of trust are essential for facing maritime challenges together.
Divers sharpened their search and recovery expertise, practicing the location and recovery of simulated deceased bodies from a mock wreckage on the sea bed. Showcasing cutting-edge technology, U.S. Navy divers trained their ROKN counterparts on the Diver Augmented Vision Display system, which significantly enhances underwater visibility in challenging conditions.
Divers also conducted deep sea dives to 170 feet, utilizing a wet dive bell deployed from the Tongyeong-class salvage and rescue ship ROKS Gwangyang (ATS-32).
“Being lowered into the ocean inside a dive bell is a surreal experience,” said Navy Diver 3rd Class Anthony Briggs, assigned to MDSU 1. “One minute you’re surrounded by the team, the next it’s just you, your dive partner, and the emptiness of the ocean. It makes you feel small, for sure, but it also reinforces the trust you have in your training and the people on the surface.”
Demonstrating their proficiency with unmanned systems, ROKN divers showcased their remotely operated vehicle, used for underwater exploration and object manipulation. U.S. Navy divers observed the demonstration, sharing their own experiences and insights on utilizing remotely operated underwater vehicle technology in challenging underwater environments. This exchange of knowledge underscored the commitment to shared learning throughout SALVEX.
“Working alongside the ROK navy divers during the search and recovery was an incredible experience. Despite our different backgrounds, we were united by our shared training and commitment to the mission,” said Briggs. “The teamwork showcased during the exercise is a true testament to the power of SALVEX.”
SALVEX Korea 2025 stands as a powerful testament to the enduring U.S. – ROK Alliance and its unwavering commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. Through continued bilateral exercises and cooperation, the U.S. and ROKN stand ready to respond to any challenge.
Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific supports deployed surface units and aircraft carriers, along with regional allies and partners, to facilitate patrols in the South China Sea, participation in naval exercises and response to natural disasters.
Date Taken: 04.11.2025 Date Posted: 04.15.2025 22:01 Story ID: 495398 Location: JINHAE, KR
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MIL-Evening Report: Why the Coalition’s tone-deaf diss track was bound to hit all the wrong notes
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andy Ward, Senior Lecturer in Music, School of Business and Creative Industries, University of the Sunshine Coast
Hip-hop is a cultural powerhouse that has infiltrated every facet of popular culture, across a global market. That said, one place you usually don’t see it is on the election campaign trail.
That’s right, I’m talking about the track “Leaving Labour” – the Liberal-National Coalition’s latest attempt to create beef with the Australian Labor Party, via a hip-hop track from an unnamed artist.
You only need to go as far as the (very entertaining) comments section on the Coalition’s SoundCloud to see what people think of the campaign’s new track, the lyrics of which include such zingers as “I just wanna buy some eggs and cheese, a hundred bucks you kidding me?” and “real prices are at the pinnacle”.
For many, it hasn’t struck the right chord. But that will be no surprise to anyone who knows what hip-hop is really about.
A voice for the oppressed and disenfranchised
Hip-hop has historically been a voice for Black America, and more recently for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and other First Nations peoples.
And while it was traditionally critiqued for being proto-masculine and homophobic, the movement has evolved greatly over the past decade.
With artists such as Lil Baby telling us there are “too many mothers that’s grieving, they kill us for no reason”, and Lil Nas X’s dance with the devil, helping the LGBTQIA+ community rise to prominence while challenging cultural norms, modern hip-hop provides a voice to the disaffected and the oppressed.
Diss tracks: hip-hop through and through
The culture of hip-hop – birthed in the Bronx, New York City, in 1973 – is built on five pillars central to the movement. These are MCing (rapping), DJing (turntablism), breakdancing, graffiti and, last but not least, knowledge.
The first four pillars represent paradigm shifts in the culture of resistance towards non-violent means – initially in African American culture, but today more broadly across the world. The final pillar, knowledge, speaks to the power of education, both formal and street.
The diss (short for disrespect) track is deeply embedded in hip-hop, as it can be considered synonymous with MCing itself. Built on the tradition of Jamaican competitive “toasting”, it was initially a way for MCs to non-violently instigate, battle through, and resolve disputes and conflict.
Over the past 40 year, the diss track has emerged as a form in and of itself, with far-reaching influence. During the East Coast–West Coast hip-hop feuds of the 90s, Biggie Smalls and 2Pac famously traded diss tracks up until both artists were murdered (with the murders often cited as fuelled by the tracks themselves).
In the late 90s and 2000s, artists such as JayZ dissed Mobb Deep and Nas, and vice versa. Nas’ track Ether was so influential it entered the word “ethered” into the hip-hop lexicon as a synonym for being defeated.
Eminem has also established himself as a kind of lyrical assassin, releasing more than 40 diss tracks over some 20 years. His targets have included Limp Bizkit, Mariah Carey, Machine Gun Kelly and Will Smith, to name a few.
More recently, Kendrick Lamar and Drake gained global attention for what can only be described as a beef for the annuls of hip-hop history.
Social media and streaming platforms have increased the speed at which artists can trade blows back and forth.
ShutterstockWhat were they thinking?
So, if diss tracks have a rich history of anti-establishment action, protest, and are largely deployed by minority voices, why would a party campaigning on conservative “mainstream” values commission a hip-hop track to take on its political rival?
It’s less likely the track signals some kind of cultural shift in the Coalition, and more likely it shows a high level of cultural tone-deafness. This is similar to conservative pundit Ben Shapiro, who was heavily criticised for dropping a racist rap track last year after spending most of his career claiming “rap isn’t music”.
As a leader, Dutton has a history of inflaming racial tensions, including by stoking fears of so-called “African gang violence” and calling to boycott the Stolen Generation apology.
It’s difficult for him and his party to justify using the cultural capital of hip-hop in their campaign. Diss tracks are inherently embedded in Black American spaces and history, and can’t be separated from this. When a largely white, Australian political party adopts this medium – with no ties to the culture it came from – it will feel inauthentic.
Michael Idato, culture editor-at-large at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, described the track as “a hip-hop miss with the rhyming genius of a Little Golden Book”. Another headline from Sky News called it a “bizarre election move amid poor polls”.
Also, for a year where arts policies have been all but completely absent from the election trail, it seems disingenuous for the Coalition to now use art for their own means.
Andy Ward does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Why the Coalition’s tone-deaf diss track was bound to hit all the wrong notes – https://theconversation.com/why-the-coalitions-tone-deaf-diss-track-was-bound-to-hit-all-the-wrong-notes-254595
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MIL-OSI China: HK marks national security education day
Source: China State Council Information Office 2
The 2025 National Security Education Day was marked in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Tuesday.
This year’s event, themed “The 10th anniversary of National Security Education Day: advancing toward more in-depth and effective implementation,” attracted more than 1,800 people.
Xia Baolong, head of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, addressed the opening ceremony via video link.
Xia said that the past 10 years have witnessed the full implementation of the overall national security concept and the fiercest struggle in Hong Kong in safeguarding national security.
History and reality showed that attempts of external forces to destabilize Hong Kong and use Hong Kong to contain China will never succeed. Hong Kong compatriots have a tradition of loving the country and Hong Kong. Those who betray the motherland and Hong Kong will never come to a good end, he said.
The practice of “one country, two systems” has entered a new stage, and everyone should cherish it even more, and consolidate and develop Hong Kong’s hard-won sound situation today, he said.
Xia urged people to face up with challenges related to Hong Kong’s development and security, remain vigilant, unite as one, ensure high-level security to support high-quality development, and advance the steady and long-term implementation of the “one country, two systems” principle.
John Lee, chief executive of the HKSAR, said that the international situation is complex and changing, and threats to national security may arise suddenly. Everyone must do their utmost to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, continue to strengthen national security barriers, consolidate security foundation of high-quality development, create a new era of prosperity, and make greater contributions to the nation’s development and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. -
MIL-OSI China: China to do what is necessary to protect cybersecurity
Source: China State Council Information Office
China will continue to do what is necessary to protect its own cybersecurity, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Spokesperson Lin Jian said at a daily news briefing when asked to comment on the Harbin Public Security Bureau saying that they implicated three U.S. agents in cyberattacks during the Asian Winter Games earlier this year.
Lin noted that at the ninth Asian Winter Games, the U.S. government conducted cyberattacks on the information systems of the Games and the critical information infrastructure in Heilongjiang. This move is egregious for it severely endangers the security of China’s critical information infrastructure, national defense, finance, society and production as well as its citizens’ personal information.
“China condemns the above-mentioned malicious cyber activity by the U.S. government,” Lin said.
“We urge the U.S. to take a responsible attitude on the cybersecurity issue, and stop any attack, including cyberattack, and groundless vilification against China,” Lin said, noting that China has raised concerns with the U.S. through various means on its cyberattacks on China’s key infrastructure.
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MIL-OSI USA: Padilla, Colleagues Demand Trump Administration and DOGE Stop Their Attacks on Social Security
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)
Padilla, Colleagues Demand Trump Administration and DOGE Stop Their Attacks on Social Security
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ahead of today’s Social Security Day of Action, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) joined 20 Senators in calling on the Trump Administration and the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) to stop their attacks on Social Security. The letter comes in the wake of the Administration’s repeated actions to weaken the Social Security Administration (SSA), which include staffing cuts, plans for indiscriminate closures of field offices across the country, and limits to phone services.
These actions threaten the roughly 6.3 million Californians who receive critical Social Security benefits, more than any other state in the nation. The cuts are upending the lives of older adults and people with disabilities who rely on the Social Security benefits that they have earned to pay their rent, purchase groceries, and afford medical bills.
“The changes undertaken by SSA leadership and the DOGE disregard the reality of daily life for those millions of Americans,” wrote the Senators. “They are spearheaded by the out-of-touch, unelected leadership of the DOGE. They hurt our nation’s older adults and people with disabilities—our grandparents, our friends, and our neighbors. And they risk debilitating the Social Security System and denying Americans the money they are owed.”
The letter to Acting SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek was led by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee. In addition to Senator Padilla, the letter was also signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
Full text of the Senators’ letter is available here and below:
Dear Acting Commissioner Dudek:
We write to denounce the incessant havoc sparked by the Trump Administration’s continual cuts to the Social Security Administration (SSA). Changes implemented by SSA leadership and the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) include heinous staffing cuts, plans for indiscriminate closures of field offices around the nation, and limits to phone services. It is difficult to see how DOGE’s attacks on the SSA, and the complicity shown by SSA leadership, will improve efficiency when we are already hearing stories upon stories of how SSA’s changes have damaged the system responsible for ensuring timely, accurate payments—upending the lives of older adults and people with disabilities who rely on Social Security benefits that they earned to pay their rent, groceries, and medical bills.
Social Security lifts 22 million Americans, including 16 million older adults, out of poverty. Many older adults rely on Social Security for life-saving sustenance—to ensure they have food to eat, a roof over their heads, and money to pay for medications. In fact, 40 percent of older Americans rely on Social Security as their only source of retirement income. Over seven million veterans received a Social Security benefit in 2024, while SSDI and Supplemental Security Income serve millions of workers with disabilities and their children. DOGE’s attacks on the SSA will break down access to services, affect timely and accurate payment of benefits, and have disastrous consequences for Americans everywhere.
It is precisely because older adults, people with disabilities, and other deserving Americans count on Social Security that we are deeply concerned with efforts by DOGE and SSA leadership to impede access to SSA services. SSA has announced plans to slash at least 12 percent of its workforce, and offered a buyout incentives to staff, at a time when SSA staffing is at a 50-year low. SSA has also announced plans to close six of its ten regional offices, which coordinate and support the efforts of SSA employees. DOGE, meanwhile, has placed dozens of SSA offices across the country on the chopping block. At the same time, SSA has decided to limit the services it makes available over-the-phone, after backing down from broader restrictions following an outcry by older adults and people with disabilities. SSA’s new limits on over-the phone services are still unacceptable, and the process used by SSA—swift revisions after public outcry—suggest the agency is not talking to the Americans who rely on Social Security the most before it makes its decisions. Instead, it appears that SSA leadership is pushing out half-baked ideas that lead to public confusion and panic.
SSA leadership should strive to serve the public, not Elon Musk and his cronies with the DOGE. We are already witnessing the consequences of SSA’s complicity in DOGE’s irresponsible actions and cruel intentions. Scammers have taken advantage of the confusion surrounding SSA changes to defraud older adults. The SSA website crashed 4 times in 10 days because servers were overloaded; phone wait time and foot traffic to field offices have skyrocketed. This chaos does not create “efficiency.” It harms older adults and people with disabilities while undermining a program that is already efficient: Even as Social Security uplifts millions of older adults and people with disabilities, less than one percent of Social Security payments are improper—a percentage that includes underpayments as well as overpayments.
We are pleased that Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is skilled with technology, lives his life with unfettered access to services, and has not experienced what it is like to live with a severe disability or financial hardship. We are also pleased that the Trump Administration’s supposed “leadership” is comfortable enough to believe older adults will not mind a missed Social Security payment. However, their experiences do not reflect the experiences of millions of Americans who rely on Social Security. The changes undertaken by SSA leadership and the DOGE disregard the reality of daily life for those millions of Americans. They are spearheaded by the out-of-touch, unelected leadership of the DOGE. They hurt our nation’s older adults and people with disabilities—our grandparents, our friends, and our neighbors. And they risk debilitating the Social Security System and denying Americans the money they are owed.
In light of our concerns, we ask that you answer the following questions:
Reports indicate that an internal memo proposing changes to the Social Security claims process was circulated within SSA on March 13, 2025. The memo also reportedly details how the changes could significantly impact the ability of Social Security recipients to access their benefits, including through “longer wait times and processing time” and “increased challenges for vulnerable populations.” Please provide:
An unredacted copy of the March 13, 2025 memo, which was sent from Acting Deputy Commissioner Doris Diaz to Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek;
Copies of any other written communications that are related to the March 13, 2025 memo, including e-mail, texts, letters, memorandums, or other documents; and
Copies of any written communications, including e-mail, texts, letters, memorandums, or other documents, related to SSA’s decision to revise its changes to phone services, as announced on March 26, 2025.SSA’s new limitations on over-the-phone services are likely to increase the number of visitors per-week to SSA field offices, a potential impact reportedly detailed by SSA leadership in its March 13, 2025 memo. The DOGE website lists numerous SSA offices throughout the United States that will have their lease terminated, and one analysis suggests that 47 SSA offices are slated for closure.
Please answer the following questions about potential SSA field office closures:
SSA claims in a press release on March 27th that the SSA “has not permanently closed or announced permanent closure of any local field office.” Public reporting shows that multiple SSA field offices across the country were publicly slated for lease termination, many of which were taken off DOGE’s website prior to the press release.
Explain the reason for the removal of the field offices previously listed for lease termination on the DOGE website.Explain why the SSA did not issue a public correction of the information provided on SSA lease termination after its removal off the DOGE website.
Provide detailed information on each location on the DOGE and GSA lease termination lists that include an SSA office, including any locations that include an SSA field office but are leased by other federal departments, such as the General Services Administration. Please include the following information for each location:
What SSA functions operate out of the location, whether the location is open to the public, what services the location provides to the public, and how many members of the public visit the location each day.How the SSA office will be impacted by the lease termination listed on the DOGE website, including which services at the SSA office will cease to be offered to the public and whether the SSA office will be closed entirely.
Which field offices is SSA planning to close, or considering for closure, through December 31, 2026, regardless of whether the location appears on the DOGE lease termination list? Please provide a detailed list that includes the name, city, and state of each field office.
How will SSA analyze the impact of potential field office closures on people who use SSA services in light of SSA’s new limitations on over-the-phone services? If SSA does not plan to include the new limitations on over-the-phone services when analyzing potential field office closures, please explain why.
SSA’s new limitations on over-the-phone services are likely to drive more people to use the SSA website, including “my Social Security” accounts, when filing for benefits or making changes to their payments. Past oversight conducted by the Senate Aging Committee demonstrated that federal departments and agencies often fail to make their websites fully accessible for people with disabilities, as required by law. Further, the unelected billionaire running DOGE demonstrated his callous disregard for people with disabilities when he decimated Twitter’s accessibility team after taking over the company.
How many staff held a role in ensuring SSA website accessibility for people with disabilities on January 20, 2025?
How many staff held a role in ensuring SSA website accessibility for people with disabilities on April 8, 2025?
How many staff with a role in ensuring SSA website accessibility for people with disabilities were fired or accepted a buyout between January 20, 2025 and April 8, 2025?
How many contracts related to ensuring SSA website accessibility for people with disabilities have been delayed or cancelled since January 20, 2025? Please describe each delayed or cancelled contract and provide a justification for each delay or cancellation.
How many tests to evaluate SSA websites for accessibility for people with disabilities have been delayed or cancelled since January 20, 2025? Please provide a justification for each delayed or cancelled accessibility test.
Please describe how SSA consulted with older adults and people with disabilities before making the initial decision, announced on March 18, 2025, to implement new limits to over-the-phone services. Please include the names of groups representing older adults and people with disabilities that were contacted for feedback. If SSA did not conduct this outreach, please explain why.
Please describe how SSA will collect feedback from older adults and people with disabilities on the impact of its limits to over-the-phone services once those limits have been implemented, including:
The groups representing older adults and people with disabilities that SSA will work with to collect feedback; and
The number of in-person meetings, virtual meetings, and town-hall style meetings related to the limits on over-the-phone services that SSA will conduct through December 31, 2026, the planned locations of those events, and plans by SSA leadership to participate in those events and answer questions.If SSA does not plan to collect feedback from older adults and people with disabilities in this fashion, please explain why.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. Please respond by April 22, 2025.
Sincerely,
