Category: Asia

MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Units providing day child care services will not open today

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Units providing day child care services will not open today
Please broadcast the following special announcement immediately, and repeat it at frequent intervals:

“As announced by the Government earlier, units under the Social Welfare Department providing child care centre services, services under the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project, and after school care programmes for pre-primary or primary school children, will not open to the public today (July 11). Members of the public in need may contact the centres or services units concerned for assistance.”
Issued at HKT 5:21

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CategoriesMIL-OSI

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: ICE San Antonio, federal partner investigation results in the sentencing of an illegal alien from Honduras for his role in an alien smuggling conspiracy

Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

SAN ANTONIO – A Honduran national unlawfully residing in the U.S. was sentenced July 9 for his leadership role in a massive alien smuggling conspiracy that spanned three years and involved thousands of aliens from over 11 different countries. The investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Del Rio, with the assistance of various federal and state law enforcement agencies in South Texas.

Enil Edil Mejia-Zuniga, also known as Chino, 34, of Olancho, Honduras, was sentenced July 9 by a federal judge to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in smuggling thousands of aliens into the United States for financial gain. He was also ordered to pay a $4,500 fine. Mejia-Zuniga pleaded guilty to three counts of bringing an alien to the U.S. for financial gain and aiding and abetting.

Co-defendants Monica Hernandez-Palma, 33, of Mexico, and Allyson Elsires Alvarez-Zuniga, 26, of Honduras, entered guilty pleas on April 7, and Aug. 21, 2023, respectively, and are awaiting sentencing. Co-defendant Genyi Arguenta-Flores, 32, of Comayagua, Honduras was sentenced to five years in prison on May 12. A final co-defendant is in custody in Mexico pending an extradition request from the U.S.

“Mejia-Zuniga and his co-conspirators made millions of dollars off the backs of thousands of people whom they smuggled into the U.S,” said Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Matthew R. Galeotti “This case represents the epitome of the ruthless and sophisticated criminal organizations that exploit our borders for personal financial gain. The Criminal Division will not stop investigating these cases until all human smuggling organizations are eradicated and the criminals who operate them are prosecuted.”

“In an effort to satisfy his greed, Mejia-Zuniga facilitated the illegal movement of thousands of Middle Easterners into the U.S,” said U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas. “His actions put our national security at risk. However, thanks to our many federal law enforcement partners, Mejia-Zuniga will no longer be allowed to enrich himself to the detriment of this country.”

“This sentence sends a clear message to those who exploit our immigration system for personal profit,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations San Antonio Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee. “For more than three years, these individuals operated a transnational smuggling ring driven by greed, moving illegal aliens from 11 countries in blatant disregard of the law. The sentencing in this case is a testament to HSI’s commitment to upholding national security. Human smuggling undermines the security of our borders and disrupts lawful immigration processes. HSI will continue to work tirelessly to protect our national security.”

“U.S Border Patrol’s Intelligence and Information Task Force played a critical role in supporting Operation Red Tide through extensive research and analysis,” said Chief of USBP Law Enforcement Operations Directorate Scott Good. “Our team’s exploitation of subpoena returns, and identification of key financial patterns helped bring these smugglers to justice. The USBP will continue working with law enforcement agencies at home and abroad to dismantle criminal networks and secure our nation’s borders.”

According to court documents, from November 2020 through March 2023, the Mejia-Zuniga alien smuggling organization smuggled aliens from Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, India, Pakistan, and Colombia, through Eagle Pass, Texas. Aliens primarily contracted with a Pakistani smuggler based in Brazil to be transported to the U.S. In turn, the Brazilian-based smuggler worked with Mejia-Zuniga, who was based in San Antonio, Texas, to facilitate travel of the aliens from South America to the U.S. Mejia-Zuniga directed operations of the ASO and paid drivers, armed “coyotes,” and stash house operators.

Mejia-Zuniga admitted to smuggling between 2,500 to 3,000 aliens into the U.S in just two years. The organization charged between $6,500 to $12,000 per alien. Mejia-Zuniga admitted that he made $30,000 for every 10 illegal aliens who made it to the Rio Grande River and another $30,000 if those 10 illegal aliens made it to San Antonio.

One of the smuggled aliens reported paying the organization $20,000 to be brought illegally into the U.S along with his brother. The Mejia-Zuniga ASO directed that alien to a stash house in Monterrey, Mexico, where it housed him with 10 other aliens. The ASO later moved the same alien to a stash house in Piedras Negras, Mexico, with another 20 to 25 aliens. Ultimately, an armed coyote guided the group of aliens across the Rio Grande River. Once across the Rio Grande, the Mejia-Zuniga ASO transported the aliens to a hotel in San Antonio.

In addition to witness statements, other evidence gathered during the investigation included wire transfers, customer ledgers, foreign identification documents, and photographs of members of the Mejia-Zuniga ASO with firearms.

HSI Del Rio engaged in an extensive, years-long investigation in Operation Red Tide, which led to the development of this case, with assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol Del Rio Sector, HSI Monterrey, HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force.

Trial Attorney Jenna E. Reed of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Kass for the Western District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

The investigation and arrests of the defendants in Operation Red Tide were coordinated under Joint Task Force Alpha. JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, has been elevated and expanded by the Attorney General with a mandate to target cartels and other transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia that impact public safety and the security of our borders. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the border. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by HRSP and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the Office of Enforcement Operations, and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 390 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 350 U.S. convictions; more than 300 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.

Members of the public can report crimes or suspicious activity by calling the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or by completing the online tip form.

For more information about HSI San Antonio and its public safety efforts in Central and South Texas, follow HSI San Antonio on X at @HSI_SanAntonio.

MIL OSI USA News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Suspension of Day Schools and Rescheduling of Secondary One Registration Day

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Classes of all day schools, including secondary schools, primary schools, special schools, kindergartens, and kindergartens-cum-child care centres, are suspended today (July 11). If classes of evening schools are required to be suspended tonight, the Education Bureau will make the announcement in due course.

Meanwhile, the Secondary One registration originally scheduled for today is rescheduled to next Monday, July 14. If parents are unable to register in person or through an authorised representative on the above dates, please contact the allocated secondary school or the School Places Allocation Section of the Education Bureau (Tel: 2832 7700 or 2832 7740) to make appropriate registration arrangements.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Suspension of Day Schools and Rescheduling of Secondary One Registration Day

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Classes of all day schools, including secondary schools, primary schools, special schools, kindergartens, and kindergartens-cum-child care centres, are suspended today (July 11). If classes of evening schools are required to be suspended tonight, the Education Bureau will make the announcement in due course.

Meanwhile, the Secondary One registration originally scheduled for today is rescheduled to next Monday, July 14. If parents are unable to register in person or through an authorised representative on the above dates, please contact the allocated secondary school or the School Places Allocation Section of the Education Bureau (Tel: 2832 7700 or 2832 7740) to make appropriate registration arrangements.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Albanese’s China mission – managing a complex relationship in a world of shifting alliances

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Laurenceson, Director and Professor, Australia-China Relations Institute (UTS:ACRI), University of Technology Sydney

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese leaves for China on Saturday, confident most Australians back the government’s handling of relations with our most important economic partner and the leading strategic power in Asia.

Albanese’s domestic critics have lambasted him for meeting Chinese leader Xi Jinping before United States President Donald Trump. They are also aggrieved at his refusal to label China a security threat.

But neither criticism really stacks up.

An Albanese-Trump meeting would have happened last month on the sidelines of a G7 gathering in Canada. It was Trump who left early, standing up more leaders than just Albanese.

Nor is Albanese the first Australian prime minister to meet a Chinese president before an American one. His predecessor Tony Abbott caught up with Xi a few weeks after coming to office in 2013, before he had a chance to meet President Barack Obama.

‘Friends, not foes’

Meanwhile, polling indicates just one in five Australians see the relationship with China first and foremost as “a threat to be confronted”. Rather, a clear two-thirds majority see it as “a complex relationship to be managed”.

Albanese is also regarded as more competent than his opposition counterpart in handling Australia’s foreign policy generally – and better at managing the China relationship specifically.

The prime minister’s Chinese hosts also have an incentive to ensure his visit is a successful one.

In the past fortnight, China’s ambassador in Canberra, Xiao Qian, has penned opinion pieces in two of Australia’s biggest media outlets, insisting Australia and China are “friends, not foes” and touting the “comprehensive turnaround” in bilateral ties since Labor won government in May 2022.

Beijing and Washington view each other as their geopolitical priority. Beijing can make it harder for Washington to enlist security allies such as Canberra in this rivalry by maintaining its own strong and constructive bilateral ties with Australia.

And quite apart from the competition with the US, China relied on Australia last year as its fifth largest import source.

Plenty of complaints

None of this is to say Albanese’s visit will be easy, because Australia-China relations are rarely smooth.

Canberra continues to have many complaints about China’s international behaviour.

For example, Foreign Minister Penny Wong recently signed a joint statement with her counterparts in Washington, Tokyo and New Delhi expressing “serious concerns regarding dangerous and provocative actions” by China in the East and South China Seas, and the “abrupt constriction […] of key supply chains”.

Wong has also said the government remains “appalled” by the treatment of Australians imprisoned in China, including Dr Yang Jun, who is facing espionage charges he strongly denies.

Defence Minister Richard Marles has voiced Canberra’s alarm at Beijing’s “no limits agreement” with Moscow, and claimed China has

engaged in the biggest conventional military build-up since the end of the second world war.

However, this assessment is contested by independent Australian analysts.

Beijing also has plenty of complaints. They include Canberra’s ongoing pursuit of closer military cooperation with the US and UK through the AUKUS pact.

There is also the commitment to forcing the sale of the lease to operate the Port of Darwin that is currently held by a Chinese company.

Reliable trading partner

Albanese has already made clear his visit to China will have a strong economic focus.

While grappling with security challenges, any Australian government, Labor or Coalition, must face the reality that last year, local companies sold more to China – worth A$196 billion – than our next four largest markets combined.

China is also, by far, Australia’s biggest supplier, putting downward pressure on the cost of living.

Research produced by Curtin University, commissioned by the Australia-China Business Council, finds trade with China increases disposable income of the average Australian household by $2,600, or 4.6% per person.

In an ideal world, Australia would have a more diversified trading mix.

But again, any Australian government or business must grapple with the reality that obvious major alternative markets, like the US, are not only less interested in local goods and services, but are walking away from their past trade commitments.

Under the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement signed two decades ago, Australian exporters selling to the US faced an average tariff of just 0.1%. But nowadays Washington applies a baseline tariff of 10% on most Australian imports.

Meanwhile, owing to the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement struck in 2015, Beijing applies an average tariff of just 1.1%.

No wonder more Australians now say China is a more reliable trading partner than the US.

This also explains Alabese’s response when he was asked in April if he would support Trump’s trade war against China:

It would be extraordinary if the Australian response was “thank you” and we will help to further hurt our economy

Likewise, Trade Minister Don Farrell is adamant Australia’s interests will determine the Albanese government’s choices, not “what the Americans may or may not want”.

We don’t want to do less business with China, we want to do more business with China.

Deeper trade ties with Asia, including China, are not just about making a buck. Wong has stressed the national security implications of a strong economic relationship:

[It is] an investment in our security. Stability and prosperity are mutually reinforcing.

All of this means Albanese’s six-day visit to China is shaping up to be time well spent.

James Laurenceson 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. Albanese’s China mission – managing a complex relationship in a world of shifting alliances – https://theconversation.com/albaneses-china-mission-managing-a-complex-relationship-in-a-world-of-shifting-alliances-260404

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

July 11, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Does AI actually boost productivity? The evidence is murky

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Whittle, Director, Data61, CSIRO

Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

There’s been much talk recently – especially among politicians – about productivity. And for good reason: Australia’s labour productivity growth sits at a 60-year low.

To address this, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has convened a productivity round table next month. This will coincide with the release of an interim report from the Productivity Commission, which is looking at five pillars of reform. One of these is the role of data and digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI).

This will be music to the ears of the tech and business sectors, which have been enthusiastically promoting the productivity benefits of AI. In fact, the Business Council of Australia also said last month that AI is the single greatest opportunity in a generation to lift productivity.

But what do we really know about how AI impacts productivity?

What is productivity?

Put simply, productivity is how much output (goods and services) we can produce from a given amount of inputs (such as labour and raw materials). It matters because higher productivity typically translates to a higher standard of living. Productivity growth has accounted for 80% of Australia’s income growth over the past three decades.

Productivity can be thought of as individual, organisational or national.

Your individual productivity is how efficiently you manage your time and resources to complete tasks. How many emails can you respond to in an hour? How many products can you check for defects in a day?

Organisational productivity is how well an organisation achieves its goals. For example, in a research organisation, how many top-quality research papers are produced?

National productivity is the economic efficiency of a nation, often measured as gross domestic product per hour worked. It is effectively an aggregate of the other forms. But it’s notoriously difficult to track how changes in individual or organisational productivity translate into national GDP per hour worked.

AI and individual productivity

The nascent research examining the relationship between AI and individual productivity shows mixed results.

A 2025 real-world study of AI and productivity involved 776 experienced product professionals at US multinational company Procter & Gamble. The study showed that individuals randomly assigned to use AI performed as well as a team of two without. A similar study in 2023 with 750 consultants from Boston Consulting Group found tasks were 18% faster with generative AI.

A 2023 paper reported on an early generative AI system in a Fortune 500 software company used by 5,200 customer support agents. The system showed a 14% increase in the number of issues resolved per hour. For less experienced agents, productivity increased by 35%.

But AI doesn’t always increase individual productivity.

A survey of 2,500 professionals found generative AI actually increased workload for 77% of workers. Some 47% said they didn’t know how to unlock productivity benefits. The study points to barriers such as the need to verify and/or correct AI outputs, the need for AI upskilling, and unreasonable expectations about what AI can do.

A recent CSIRO study examined the daily use of Microsoft 365 Copilot by 300 employees of a government organisation. While the majority self-reported productivity benefits, a sizeable minority (30%) did not. Even those workers who reported productivity improvements expected greater productivity benefits than were delivered.

AI and organisational productivity

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to attribute changes in an organisation’s productivity to the introduction of AI. Businesses are sensitive to many social and organisational factors, any one of which could be the reason for a change in productivity.

Nevertheless, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has estimated the productivity benefits of traditional AI – that is, machine learning applied for an industry-specific task – to be zero to 11% at the organisational level.

A 2024 summary paper cites independent studies showing increases in organisational productivity from AI in Germany, Italy and Taiwan.

In contrast, a 2022 analysis of 300,000 US firms didn’t find a significant correlation between AI adoption and productivity, but did for other technologies such as robotics and cloud computing. Likely explanations are that AI hasn’t yet had an effect on many firms, or simply that it’s too hard to disentangle the impact of AI given it’s never applied in isolation.

AI productivity increases can also sometimes be masked by additional human labour needed to train or operate AI systems. Take Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology for shops.

Publicly launched in 2018, it was intended to reduce labour as customer purchases would be fully automated. But it reportedly relied on hiring around 1,000 workers in India for quality control. Amazon has labelled these reports “erroneous”.

More generally, think about the unknown number (but likely millions) of people paid to label data for AI models.

AI and national productivity

The picture at a national level is even murkier.

Clearly, AI hasn’t yet impacted national productivity. It can be argued that technology developments take time to affect national productivity, as companies need to figure out how to use the technology and put the necessary infrastructure and skills in place.

However, this is not guaranteed. For example, while there is consensus that the internet led to productivity improvements, the effects of mobile phones and social media are more contested, and their impacts are more apparent in some industries (such as entertainment) than others.

Productivity isn’t just doing things faster

The common narrative around AI and productivity is that AI automates mundane tasks, making us faster at doing things and giving us more time for creative pursuits. This, however, is a naive view of how work happens.

Just because you can deal with your inbox more quickly doesn’t mean you’ll spend your afternoon on the beach. The more emails you fire off, the more you’ll receive back, and the never-ending cycle continues.

Faster isn’t always better. Sometimes, we need to slow down to be more productive. That’s when great ideas happen.

Imagine a world in which AI isn’t simply about speeding up tasks but proactively slows us down, to give us space to be more innovative, and more productive. That’s the real untapped opportunity with AI.

Jon Whittle works at CSIRO which receives R&D funding from a wide range of government and industry clients.

– ref. Does AI actually boost productivity? The evidence is murky – https://theconversation.com/does-ai-actually-boost-productivity-the-evidence-is-murky-260690

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI: Inception Growth Acquisition Limited Announces Postponement of the Special Meeting to July 25, 2025 and Extension of Redemption Request Deadline

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

New York, July 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Inception Growth Acquisition Limited (the “Company”), a blank check company, today announced that its previously announced special meeting of shareholders (the “Special Meeting”) will be postponed from 10:00 a.m. Hong Kong Time on July 14, 2025 to 10:00 a.m. Hong Kong Time on July 25, 2025 and accordingly, the deadline for stockholders to submit redemption requests will be extended to July 23, 2025.

The physical location of the Special Meeting remains at the offices of Loeb & Loeb LLP, 2206-19 Jardine House, 1 Connaught Place Central, Hong Kong SAR, and virtually via teleconference using the following dial-in information:

US Toll Free +1 866 213 0992

Hong Kong Toll +852 2112 1888

Participant Passcode 2910077#

As a result of the postponement, the deadline for delivery of redemption requests from the Company’s stockholders in connection with the proposed business combination has been extended from July 10, 2025 (two business days before the originally scheduled Special Meeting) to July 23, 2025 (two business days before the postponed Special Meeting). Stockholders who have already submitted redemption requests may revoke such requests prior to the new deadline in accordance with the procedures described in the definitive proxy statement in relation to the Special Meeting (the “Original Proxy Statement”) filed with by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on May 27, 2025, and the supplement (the “Supplement”) to the Original Proxy Statement, which was filed by the Company with the SEC on June 26, 2025.

The record date for determining the Company stockholders entitled to receive notice of and to vote at the Special Meeting remains the close of business on May 27, 2025 (the “Record Date”). Stockholders as of the Record Date are eligible to vote, even if they have subsequently sold their shares.

If you have questions regarding the certification of your position or delivery of your shares, please contact:

Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC
1 State Street 30th Floor
New York, NY 10004-1561
E-mail: spacredemptions@continentalstock.com

Other than as indicated herein, no other changes have been made to the Original Proxy Statement as amended and supplemented by the Supplement, or the proxy card as originally filed and mailed. Stockholders are advised to review the Supplement carefully and to consider it together with the Original Proxy Statement, both available on the SEC’s EDGAR database at www.sec.gov, for complete details regarding the matters to be voted in the Special Meeting.

The Company’s stockholders who have questions regarding the postponement, or the Special Meeting, or would like to request documents may contact the Company’s proxy solicitor, Advantage Proxy, Inc., at (877) 870-8565, or banks and brokers can call (206) 870-8565, or by email at ksmith@advantageproxy.com.

If you have already voted, you do not need to vote again unless you would like to change or revoke your prior vote on any proposal. In addition, stockholders who have already submitted a redemption request with respect to the shares held by them may withdraw such request by contacting our transfer agent. If you would like to change or revoke your prior vote on any proposal, or reverse a redemption request, please refer to the Proxy Statement for additional information on how to do so.

If you have already submitted a proxy and do not wish to change your vote, you need not take any further action. If you have submitted a proxy and wish to change your vote, you may revoke your proxy at any time before it is exercised at the Special Meeting as provided in the Original Proxy Statement. Please note, however, that if your shares are held in street name by a broker or other nominee and you wish to revoke a proxy, you must contact the broker or nominee to revoke any prior voting instructions.

About Inception Growth Acquisition Limited

Inception Growth Acquisition Limited is a blank check company incorporated under the laws of Delaware whose business purpose is to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the date of the Special Meeting, are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements. The Company expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

On May 27, 2025, the Company filed a definitive proxy statement, and on June 26, 2025, the Company filed a supplement to the definitive proxy statement with the SEC in connection with its solicitation of proxies for the Special Meeting. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF THE COMPANY ARE URGED TO READ THE SUPPLEMENT, THE ORIGINAL PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND OTHER DOCUMENTS THE COMPANY FILES WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AS THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the definitive proxy statement (including any amendments or supplements thereto) and other documents filed with the SEC through the web site maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov or by contacting the Company’s proxy solicitor.

Participants in the Solicitation

The Company and its respective directors and officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from shareholders in connection with the Special Meeting. Additional information regarding the identity of these potential participants and their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is set forth in the definitive proxy statement. You may obtain free copies of these documents using the sources indicated above.

Contact

Inception Growth Acquisition Limited
Investor Relationship Department
(315) 636-6638

The MIL Network –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Legislation considered under suspension of the Rules of the House of Representatives during the week of July 14, 2025
Source: US Congressional Budget Office

The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives announces bills that will be considered under suspension of the rules in that chamber. Under suspension, floor debate is limited, all floor amendments are prohibited, points of order against the bill are waived, and final passage requires a two-thirds majority vote.

At the request of the Majority Leader and the House Committee on the Budget, CBO estimates the effects of those bills on direct spending and revenues. CBO has limited time to review the legislation before consideration. Although it is possible in most cases to determine whether the legislation would affect direct spending or revenues, time may be insufficient to estimate the magnitude of those effects. If CBO has prepared estimates for similar or identical legislation, a more detailed assessment of budgetary effects, including effects on spending subject to appropriation, may be included.

CBO’s estimates of the bills that have been posted for possible consideration under suspension of the rules during the week of July 14, 2025, include:
- H.R. 131, Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act, as amended
- H.R. 410, Alaska Native Vietnam Era Veterans Land Allotment Extension Act of 2025
- H.R. 504, Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act
- H.R. 900, Sinkhole Mapping Act of 2025, as amended
- H.R. 1043, La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act
- H.R. 1044, To amend Public Law 99-338 with respect to Kaweah Project permits
- H.R. 1455, ITS Codification Act
- H.R. 1618, Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity Act, as amended
- H.R. 1709, Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act
- H.R. 1717, Communications Security Act
- H.R. 1729, Bolts Ditch Act
- H.R. 1765, Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act of 2025, as amended
- H.R. 1766, NTIA Policy and Cybersecurity Coordination Act
- H.R. 1770, Consumer Safety Technology Act
- H.R. 2037, Open RAN Outreach Act, as amended
- H.R. 2316, Wetlands Conservation and Access Improvement Act of 2025
- H.R. 3657, Hydropower Relicensing Transparency Act, as amended
- S. 1596, Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge Act
MIL OSI USA News –
July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs Signs Agreement with Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians

Source: US State of Oregon

he Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs has signed a formal agreement with the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians that will provide a framework for collaboration and increased resources dedicated to supporting the Tribe’s veterans in accessing their earned federal and state veterans’ benefits.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed Friday, June 27, by ODVA Director Dr. Nakeia Council Daniels and Tribal Council Chairman Delores Pigsley, with Tribal government leaders and representatives, Tribal veterans and ODVA staff gathered to commemorate the historic partnership. The formal signing was hosted at ODVA’s headquarters in Salem.

The agreement will pave the way for the establishment of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians’ first Tribal Veterans Service Officer (TVSO), which will be jointly funded by ODVA and the Tribe to serve Siletz veterans and their families.

“Oregon’s Tribal veterans have long served with honor and distinction, and it is our responsibility to ensure they receive the care and recognition they have earned,” said Dr. Daniels. “By partnering with the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, we are committing to a future where Siletz veterans are served in a way that honors their stories, their service, and their sovereign identity. We’re proud to walk alongside the Tribe in building something that will truly make a difference in the lives of their veterans and families.”

“I am excited for the future of our honored Tribal veterans and the opportunity this brings to them,” said Chairman Pigsley. “Not only to support them but to help advocate for them. This memorandum with the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs is more than a collaboration or a partnership. It’s a commitment to honoring and empowering those who have served our nation. Their deep-rooted connection to the veteran community and unwavering dedication to their well-being make them a trusted and invaluable partner.”

This Memorandum of Understanding is ODVA’s sixth with Oregon’s nine federally recognized Tribes, including the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and, most recently, the Coquille Indian Tribe in May.

Oregon’s statewide network of County and Tribal Veteran Service Offices are collaborative partnerships between the state and counties, or Tribal governments and deliver free local access to veteran benefits for veterans and their families.

Tribal Veteran Service Officers (TVSOs) are trained by ODVA and then accredited by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs through a series of regular trainings facilitated by both agencies. TVSOs provide a wide variety of benefits and services to veterans and their family members, including the development and submission of claims to the federal VA for earned veteran benefits. To learn more about veteran benefits, resources and services near you, or to schedule a session with your local Veteran Service Officer, visit the website of the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs at www.oregon.gov/odva/Services/Pages/Tribal-Veteran-Services.aspx.

MIL OSI USA News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs Signs Agreement with Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians

Source: US State of Oregon

he Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs has signed a formal agreement with the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians that will provide a framework for collaboration and increased resources dedicated to supporting the Tribe’s veterans in accessing their earned federal and state veterans’ benefits.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed Friday, June 27, by ODVA Director Dr. Nakeia Council Daniels and Tribal Council Chairman Delores Pigsley, with Tribal government leaders and representatives, Tribal veterans and ODVA staff gathered to commemorate the historic partnership. The formal signing was hosted at ODVA’s headquarters in Salem.

The agreement will pave the way for the establishment of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians’ first Tribal Veterans Service Officer (TVSO), which will be jointly funded by ODVA and the Tribe to serve Siletz veterans and their families.

“Oregon’s Tribal veterans have long served with honor and distinction, and it is our responsibility to ensure they receive the care and recognition they have earned,” said Dr. Daniels. “By partnering with the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, we are committing to a future where Siletz veterans are served in a way that honors their stories, their service, and their sovereign identity. We’re proud to walk alongside the Tribe in building something that will truly make a difference in the lives of their veterans and families.”

“I am excited for the future of our honored Tribal veterans and the opportunity this brings to them,” said Chairman Pigsley. “Not only to support them but to help advocate for them. This memorandum with the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs is more than a collaboration or a partnership. It’s a commitment to honoring and empowering those who have served our nation. Their deep-rooted connection to the veteran community and unwavering dedication to their well-being make them a trusted and invaluable partner.”

This Memorandum of Understanding is ODVA’s sixth with Oregon’s nine federally recognized Tribes, including the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and, most recently, the Coquille Indian Tribe in May.

Oregon’s statewide network of County and Tribal Veteran Service Offices are collaborative partnerships between the state and counties, or Tribal governments and deliver free local access to veteran benefits for veterans and their families.

Tribal Veteran Service Officers (TVSOs) are trained by ODVA and then accredited by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs through a series of regular trainings facilitated by both agencies. TVSOs provide a wide variety of benefits and services to veterans and their family members, including the development and submission of claims to the federal VA for earned veteran benefits. To learn more about veteran benefits, resources and services near you, or to schedule a session with your local Veteran Service Officer, visit the website of the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs at www.oregon.gov/odva/Services/Pages/Tribal-Veteran-Services.aspx.

MIL OSI USA News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Tribunal Issues Determination of Reasonable Indication of Injury—Steel Strapping from China, South Korea, Türkiye and Vietnam

Source: Government of Canada News (2)

Ottawa, Ontario, July 10, 2025—The Canadian International Trade Tribunal today determined that there is a reasonable indication that the dumping of steel strapping from China, South Korea, Türkiye and Vietnam, and subsidizing of steel strapping from China have caused injury or are threatening to cause injury to the domestic industry.

The Tribunal’s inquiry was conducted pursuant to the Special Import Measures Act as a result of the initiation of dumping and subsidizing investigations by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). The CBSA will continue its investigations and, by August 8, 2025, will issue preliminary determinations.

The Tribunal is an independent quasi-judicial body that reports to Parliament through the Minister of Finance. It hears cases on dumped and subsidized imports, safeguard complaints, complaints about federal government procurement and appeals of customs and excise tax rulings. When requested by the federal government, the Tribunal also provides advice on other economic, trade and tariff matters.

MIL OSI Canada News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Larsen Announces Release of Funding for Local Transportation Projects
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Rick Larsen (2nd Congressional District Washington)

Larsen Announces Release of Funding for Local Transportation Projects

Washington, D.C., July 10, 2025
Today, Representative Rick Larsen released the following statement:

“I’m pleased that funding for several Northwest Washington transportation projects has been released by the Department of Transportation so local governments can move forward with their work as expected.
- $1,238,680 for the Nooksack Indian Tribe to remove a culvert in Jones Creek under a BNSF Railway line in Acme (awarded Fiscal Year 2022)
- $1,876,265 for Lummi Indian Business Council to build a new bus maintenance facility (awarded FY22)
- $8,862,951 for Whatcom Transportation Authority to replace eight 2011 diesel buses with eight low or no emission buses (awarded FY22)
- $9,644,865 for Whatcom Transportation Authority to purchase 11 low or no emission buses to replace three diesel buses and eight hybrid buses (awarded FY23)
- $2,000,000 for the City of Burlington to identify which of the city’s 16 at-grade rail crossings is most suitable for grade separation to improve safety and reduce traffic congestion (awarded FY23)
- $80,000 for the City of Ferndale’s Road Safety Improvement Plan (awarded FY24)
- $95,000 for Samish Indian Nation’s Transportation Safety Action Plan (awarded FY24)
- $100,000 for the City of Sedro-Woolley’s SS4A Action Plan (awarded FY24)
- $18,090,000 for the City of Everett to eliminate two at-grade railroad crossings that pose significant risks to public safety through the construction of an overpass and new integrated roundabout near the Smith Island railroad terminal in Everett (awarded FY24)
- $400,000 for the City of Everett to develop a supplemental Speed Management Plan (awarded FY24)
“I will continue to push Secretary Duffy to release and obligate the funding for other Northwest Washington projects that received awards, such as the $19,500,000 grant for Skagit Transit to renovate its Maintenance, Operations, and Administration Facility and the $2,000,000 grant for to the City of Lynden to complete planning for its project to relocate Pepin Creek (both awarded FY25).”

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MIL OSI USA News –
July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: China Ready to Always Be Bangladesh’s Good Friend, Neighbor, and Partner – Chinese Foreign Minister

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 (Xinhua) — China is willing to always be a reliable and good friend, neighbor and partner of Bangladesh, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday during a meeting with Bangladesh interim foreign minister Touhid Hossain in Kuala Lumpur.

Wang Yi, also a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, said China has always been committed to advancing strategic cooperation with Bangladesh based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and pursuing a policy of good-neighborliness and friendship toward all the Bangladeshi people.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Bangladesh, which is of great significance to both countries, Wang said, adding that China supports Bangladesh’s interim government, the stable and successful holding of the general election in the country, and its pursuit of a development path suited to its national conditions.

As the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry emphasized, Chinese-Bangladesh cooperation is mutually beneficial, and China has introduced a zero customs tariff on all Bangladeshi products, creating opportunities for the development of this country. At the same time, Wang Yi continued, the United States has imposed 35 percent duties on products from Bangladesh, which is classified as one of the least developed countries. The Chinese diplomat described this move as unreasonable and at the same time immoral.

China is firmly committed to building a regional community with a shared future, Wang Yi assured. He pointed out that as the largest neighbor of South Asian countries, China is willing to work with Bangladesh and other South Asian countries to achieve modernization and make common contributions to Asia’s development and rise.

Recalling that the trilateral meeting at the level of deputy foreign ministers of China, Bangladesh and Pakistan was successfully held in the Chinese city of Kunming, Wang Yi expressed hope that joint efforts with Bangladesh and Pakistan would be made to actively promote trilateral cooperation and achieve tangible results.

T. Hossain, for his part, noted that China is a reliable partner and a true friend of Bangladesh, and the development of friendly and cooperative relations with China reflects the consensus of the entire Bangladeshi people.

T. Hossain expressed gratitude to China for its selfless development assistance to Bangladesh over the years. He said Bangladesh firmly adheres to the one-China principle and is willing to learn from China’s experience in governance, expand friendly cooperation in areas such as economy, trade and health, enhance regional multilateral coordination and cooperation, and use the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries as an opportunity to take Bangladesh-China relations to a new level. –0–

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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MIL OSI Russia News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: China Ready to Raise Level of Strategic Interaction with Russia — Chinese Foreign Minister

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 (Xinhua) — China is willing to work with Russia to continuously raise the level of China-Russia strategic cooperation to protect the security and development interests of both countries, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, made the statement during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The Chinese diplomat noted that the heads of the two states maintain strategic communication, guiding the sustainable and long-term development of Chinese-Russian relations in the context of changes unseen in a century.

Last month, Wang Yi recalled, the two heads of state held a telephone conversation and loudly voiced China and Russia’s positions on regional and international hot spot issues.

Noting that China and Russia are important dialogue partners of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Wang Yi stressed that the two countries should strengthen strategic coordination on the platform of East Asia cooperation, uphold an open and inclusive regional cooperation architecture with ASEAN at the center, adhere to the correct development vector of the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum, and promote further consensus-building on development within the framework of the East Asia cooperation mechanism, making it an important engine and positive force for global development.

S. Lavrov, for his part, stated that under the strategic leadership of the heads of the two states, Russia and China maintain close coordination and cooperation, demonstrating the global and strategic significance of bilateral relations. According to him, this is especially important in the current conditions.

Both countries support ASEAN’s central role in regional cooperation and are committed to maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, Lavrov continued, stressing that Russia and China should remain vigilant against attempts by some major powers to sow discord and provoke confrontation in the region.

He assured that Russia will fully support China’s chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and is ready to jointly plan further high-level exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and strengthen communication and interaction in a format such as BRICS.

The parties also exchanged views on the Iranian nuclear issue. S. Lavrov outlined in detail Russia’s position and considerations on this issue.

Wang Yi stressed that force does not bring peace, pressure does not solve problems, and only negotiations and dialogue are the only right path. According to the diplomat, China appreciates Iran’s commitment not to seek to develop nuclear weapons and respects its legitimate right as a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

As permanent members of the UN Security Council and important participants in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program, China and Russia should further strengthen strategic coordination, advance the political and diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue, jointly uphold the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, and promote an early achievement of peace and stability in the Middle East, Wang Yi said.

In addition, the parties exchanged views on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and other international and regional hot spot issues of mutual interest. –0–

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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MIL OSI Russia News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee Stresses the Importance of Dialogue, Cooperation at the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Dialogue among Civilizations

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) — Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, attended and delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the ministerial meeting of the Global Dialogue among Civilizations on Thursday, calling for more active promotion of dialogue and cooperation among world civilizations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to the event participants, which was read at the opening ceremony by Li Shulei, member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee.

In his speech, Cai Qi pointed out that the Global Civilization Initiative, put forward by President Xi Jinping more than two years ago, has received a warm and positive response from the international community.

Cai Qi noted that this initiative is rooted in the best traditional culture of China. Its key essence is to strive for the common while preserving differences, which echoes the cultural concepts of many countries around the world.

The member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee stressed that the path to world peace and development is long and difficult. He called for jointly strengthening research on the diversity of development models, actively promoting the protection of cultural heritage and the development of cultural affairs, strengthening cultural and humanitarian exchanges, and promoting the construction of a diverse and multidimensional global network of dialogue and cooperation among civilizations.

The ministerial meeting on the theme of “Preserving the Diversity of Human Civilizations for World Peace and Development” was jointly organized by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres also sent a congratulatory message to the event, which attracted more than 600 guests from some 140 countries and regions.

Former heads of state and government of Indonesia, Namibia, Japan and Belgium spoke at the opening ceremony. –0–

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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MIL OSI Russia News –

July 11, 2025

MIL-OSI Security: Two Johnstown Residents Each Sentenced to Eight Years or More of Prison for Trafficking Crack Cocaine

Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Two residents of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, were sentenced in federal court on their convictions of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute crack cocaine, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

The sentences imposed by United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan were:

Defendant	Age	Sentence
Kevin Johnson	39	100 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release
Daniel Culmer	58	96 months in prison, to be followed by six years of supervised release

According to information presented to the Court, from in and around March 2021 to July 2021, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Johnson conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of a mixture of crack cocaine. From in and around April 2021 to July 2021, Culmer conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture of crack. Johnson and Culmer were intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of the drugs that they distributed to others. At the time of his offense, Culmer was on supervised release for a prior federal conviction in 2018 in the Western District of Pennsylvania for distributing heroin.

Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of the defendants. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Pennsylvania State Police, Cambria County District Attorney’s Office, Indiana County District Attorney’s Office, Cambria County Sheriff’s Office, Cambria Township Police Department, Indiana Borough Police Department, Johnstown Police Department, Upper Yoder Township Police Department, Richland Police Department, Ferndale Police Department, and other local law enforcement agencies.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

MIL Security OSI –

July 11, 2025

MIL-OSI USA: Hartford Bakery, Inc. Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Hazelnuts in “Lewis Bake Shop Artisan Style ½ Loaf”

Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3

Summary

Company Announcement Date:
July 10, 2025
FDA Publish Date:
July 10, 2025
Product Type:
Food & BeveragesBakery Product/MixAllergens
Reason for Announcement:

Recall Reason Description
Undeclared hazelnuts

Company Name:
Hartford Bakery, Inc.
Brand Name:

Brand Name(s)
Lewis Bake Shop

Product Description:

Product Description
Artisan Style 1/2 Loaf

Company Announcement
EVANSVILLE, IN – July 10, 2025 — Hartford Bakery, Inc. is voluntarily recalling six lots of its “Lewis Bake Shop Artisan Style 1/2 Loaf” as this product may contain undeclared hazelnuts. People with a nut allergy or severe sensitivity to hazelnuts run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reactions if they consume these products.
Out of an abundance of caution, Hartford Bakery, Inc. is removing all units of product included in the six effected lot codes noted below. Hartford Bakery, Inc has determined that no other lot codes were affected.
The recalled “Lewis Bake Shop Artisan Style 1/2 Loaf” products were distributed in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama, and Mississippi retailers, including Kroger and Walmart. The product comes in a flexible plastic bag marked with the following information:

Lot code T10 174010206, T10 174010306, T10 174010406, T10 174020206, T10 174020306, T10 174020406 found on the front panel of packaging.
Net Weight 12OZ (340G), UPC 24126018152 found on the bottom of packaging.
An expiration date of 07/13/2025 found on the front panel of packaging.

The recall was initiated after discovering that approximately 883 loaves of bread from six production lots contained visible hazelnuts and were distributed in “Lewis Bake Shop Artisan Style 1/2 Loaf” packaging. While the packaging states “May Contain Tree Nuts,” it does not state that it “Contains Hazelnuts.” An investigation revealed an error in change of packaging for a hazelnut-containing bread to the implicated white bread product.
While there have been no major reports of injury or illness to date, Hartford Bakery is aware of one customer who experienced digestive discomfort after consumption. Hartford Bakery also received consumer complaints from those who saw the nuts before consuming the product.
Consumers who purchased the implicated products are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact Hartford Bakery at 1-812-425-4642 Monday through Friday, except for holidays, from 8:00am-3:00pm CST.

Company Contact Information

Consumers:
Hartford Bakery, Tracy Wingo
1-812-425-4642,

Product Photos

Content current as of:
07/10/2025

Regulated Product(s)

Topic(s)

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MIL OSI USA News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Human Rights Committee Holds Emergency Meeting with States Parties as the United Nations’ Financial Crisis Threatens its Survival

Source: United Nations – Geneva

The Human Rights Committee today held an emergency meeting with States parties to discuss the financial challenges of the United Nations and the Committee’s future.

Committee Chairperson Changrok Soh, in opening remarks, said the Committee’s ability to fulfil its mandate was under serious threat. Austerity measures had been imposed on it that jeopardised not just its current work, but the very future of the Committee itself.

The Committee’s most pressing concern was the cancellation of its third session this year, Mr. Soh said. This was the first time in its 50-year history that such a cancellation had occurred. Losing a session meant serious delays in reviewing State party reports and in deciding on individual complaints of Covenant violations. Many victims had already waited years for justice. Now, they would wait even longer, he said.

Mr. Soh appealed to States parties to help the Committee find a solution. The Committee needed States’ political will, financial commitment, and concrete support — not only to help it find a way to hold its third session this year, but also to strengthen the system for the future.

In the ensuing discussion, States parties expressed support for the Committee and the treaty body system, and concern regarding the financial crisis and the cancellation of the third session. They called on the Committee to come up with new, sustainable, cost-effective solutions to address the structural issues underpinning the situation, while maintaining its work and integrity.

Concluding the meeting, Mr. Soh said that treaty bodies were not receiving enough funding for their core work. They were doing their best in terms of rationalisation and increasing efficiency, but as allocated resources declined, support for the treaty bodies’ work diminished, creating a vicious cycle.

To address this situation, special measures were needed, such as utilising voluntary contributions transparently, he said. Without a properly functioning treaty body system, human rights protections would weaken around the world. Decisive and urgent action was needed to protect the treaty body system and human rights around the world, he concluded.

Speaking in the meeting were representatives of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as Japan, Spain, Serbia, Egypt, Croatia, Colombia, Russian Federation, Costa Rica, Islamic Republic of Iran and France.

The Human Rights Committee’s one hundred and forty-fourth session is being held from 23 June to 17 July 2025. All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage . Meeting summary releases can be found here . The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed via the UN Web TV webpage.

The Committee will next meet in public at 3 p.m. on Tuesday 15 July to hear the progress report of the Special Rapporteur on follow-up to the Committee’s concluding observations.

Opening Statements by Committee Experts

CHANGROK SOH, Committee Chair, said the Committee had convened the emergency meeting to discuss a single, urgent issue: “The financial challenges of the United Nations and the future of the Human Rights Committee.” The Committee came before States today with a profound sense of urgency.

All members of the Human Rights Committee were deeply honoured to take enormous responsibility for monitoring the implementation of the Covenant. They took this duty very seriously. But today, its ability to fulfil this mandate was under serious threat. The austerity measures imposed on the Committee jeopardised not just its current work, but the very future of the Committee itself.

These were truly unprecedented times — for the Committee and for the entire treaty body system. The Committee’s most pressing concern was the cancellation of its third session this year, scheduled for October and November, as announced by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. This was the first time in the Committee’s 50-year history that such a cancellation had occurred.

The cancellation put the Committee in a very difficult position. Its rules of procedure required it to meet three times a year. This was a fundamental obligation under the Committee’s mandate and indispensable to the effectiveness of its work. If it lost a session, nearly eight months would pass without a single meeting in Geneva. This meant serious delays in reviewing State party reports and in deciding on individual complaints of Covenant violations. Many victims had already waited years for justice. Now, they would wait even longer. Every delay weakened the Committee’s recommendations, diminished their impact, and undermined their ability to prevent further violations.

The Committee recognised that the United Nations’ financial crisis was serious, and that the Secretariat was doing its best under the current constraints. But it was clear that the rules and structures of the system were too rigid to cope with situations like this. For example, in early June, during the Treaty Body Chairs’ meeting, several Chairs explored the possibility of mobilising emergency funding to hold autumn sessions. However, they were told that this was not possible, as treaty bodies were required to rely exclusively on the regular budget to carry out their mandated activities. This rule was intended to safeguard the Committee’s independence. But it made little sense if, in practice, it prevented it from functioning at all when the regular budget fell short. The Covenant clearly obliged the Secretary-General to ensure that the Committee could carry out its work. If the current approach blocked the fulfilment of that obligation, then it needed to change.

The Committee therefore appealed to States parties to help it find a solution. Open and frank communication with the States parties was crucial because, ultimately, it was in States’ interest to ensure that the treaty bodies could continue their vital work, even in difficult times. The Committee needed States’ political will, financial commitment, and concrete support — not only to help it find a way to hold its third session this year, but also to strengthen the system for the future.

The Committee monitored the fundamental rights of individuals in 174 States parties — as part of the approximately 1,400 treaty obligations regularly reviewed by the treaty bodies. This was a remarkable early warning and accountability system — one that States parties created. The Committee urged States to ensure that this system could continue to function effectively. If not, what alternative was available?

This should not be treated as a one-time problem. If this unprecedented cancellation were allowed to be “normalised”, it would set a dangerous precedent. Each time the United Nations faced a funding shortfall, the credibility and effectiveness of the treaty body system, a core pillar of the United Nations’ human rights architecture, would erode further.

There was growing global pushback against human rights, especially the very rights the Committee was mandated to protect. This was not the moment to weaken United Nations human rights mechanisms. On the contrary, the world needed this remarkable early warning and accountability system now more than ever.

The Committee called on States to do three things. First, support the Committee — even at this late stage — in finding a solution to hold its third session this year, and commit to holding all three regular sessions in 2026. Second, allow voluntary contributions from States to be used transparently and responsibly to support the Committee’s work, while fully preserving the independence and impartiality of the treaty bodies. Third, help the Committee function effectively by fulfilling reporting obligations, engaging with the Committee in dialogue, and supporting its work financially and politically, both now and in the long term.

Statements and Questions by States Parties

In the ensuing dialogue, many States expressed appreciation for the ongoing efforts of the Committee and the treaty bodies and their firm commitment to the treaty bodies, which were a cornerstone of the international human rights system. The Committee, they said, made significant contributions to upholding civil and political rights around the world.

Several speakers expressed deep concern about the financial crisis, which was affecting the mandates of all treaty bodies, the Human Rights Council and Special Procedures, among other mechanisms in the United Nations system. This situation had serious implications for these bodies’ important work.

One speaker said that their country had increased contributions to the treaty body system and was paying its dues on time, and had also increased unearmarked financial contributions to the Office of the High Commissioner. The speaker said that the country would work to strengthen the capacity of the Secretariat through its contributions.

Some speakers said treaty bodies needed to work to harmonise their working methods. Cooperation between treaty bodies could lead to solutions to backlogs in individual communications. The Committee had a backlog of over 1,000 individual communications. One speaker asked if the Committee had assessed additional measures to address its backlog.

Many speakers expressed dismay that the Committee’s third session for the year was to be cancelled, and called for an urgent, mitigating solution to be found to hold the Committee’s third session in November. Without this session, the Committee’s backlog of cases would only increase. Was this issue related to the ordinary budget or to liquidity? One speaker suggested using new technologies and virtual meetings to hold the third session. The Committee needed to come up with new, sustainable, cost-effective solutions to address the structural issues underpinning the situation, while maintaining its work and integrity.

Some speakers commended the UN80 initiative and the United Nations’ efforts to address evolving global challenges. However, some speakers said that austerity measures implemented through the UN80 initiative should not affect the work of the treaty bodies and the international human rights system.

One speaker said it was worth exploring the Chair’s proposal regarding the use of voluntary contributions to facilitate the Committee’s third session, provided that there were no legal barriers to this solution and that the independence and impartiality of the Committee were not affected. The speaker commended the Committee’s efforts to find a solution.

Another speaker said that their country had attempted to fund one of the treaty bodies’ mandates directly but had been told that funding could only come from the regular budget. If a voluntary funding scheme for the Committee was established, it needed to be established for all the treaty bodies and other mechanisms receiving funds from the regular budget. The speaker said that their country would support solutions proposed by States, while working within the norms of the United Nations’ system.

A speaker said that one State had traditionally contributed significantly to the funding of the human rights system; the reasons for its sudden cessation of funding needed to be examined. States were the owners of the treaty body system.

One speaker said multilingualism needed to be an essential value of the treaty bodies; it should not be sacrificed to achieve budgetary austerity.

Responses by Committee Experts and Others

A Committee Expert said States were authors of the Covenant and the Optional Protocol on individual communications. The harmonisation of working methods related to individual communications began around three years ago, both formally and informally. There was no resistance from the Committee in this regard. The Human Rights Committee received the largest number of individual communications, given the broad scope of the Covenant. It was proud of its record in dealing with these communications. Delays in issuing decisions on communications affected the relevance and legitimacy of the decisions that the Committee adopted. The Committee had had only three days this session to assess individual communications, while it had had a full week previously.

The Secretariat had exerted efforts to maintain its staff in the financial crisis. The Committee had a human resources issue; there was a lack of staff to assess individual complaints, prepare draft decisions, and assess follow-up to the Committee’s decisions. The issue of resources needed to be addressed; simply freeing up time in sessions to assess individual communications would not fix the backlog.

Digitisation was a long-standing structural issue for the Committee. The system that the Committee worked with was not sufficiently digitised.

Another Committee Expert said the Committee welcomed States’ support and was encouraged by their presence in the dialogue. The Committee received over half of all the individual communications received by the treaty body system. If the Secretariat could not prepare individual cases for assessment, the Committee could not assess them. Without sufficient pre-sessional working time, the Committee’s backlog would only increase. Diplomats in Geneva understood the complexities of the treaty body system. They needed to mobilise with colleagues in New York to support treaty bodies’ efficiency.

This was the first time that the Committee had organised a special, focused meeting, and it had been very successful. It would be helpful to have annual meetings with States, as well as emergency meetings to discuss urgent issues.

One Committee Expert proposed that the Committee use digital technologies to hold the third session remotely. A decision on this issue needed to be taken rapidly. However, this was not a solution to the structural problems the Committee faced. The Committee needed to take slow steps forward in this situation.

Another Committee Expert said that the young generation was questioning the capacity of the human rights system to protect human rights, in the context of the recent increase in violations of human rights and international humanitarian law around the world. The Committee was witnessing the emergence of new challenges, including in relation to climate change and artificial intelligence. It was considering how to address these challenges while preserving human rights. The Committee’s objective was not to level accusations at States; it was to accompany them on their journey toward achieving the best implementation of their commitments. Member States needed to support the Committee now, in the same manner as they had supported it for decades.

A Committee Expert thanked States parties for their support to the international human rights system. States had created the Committee, recognising the need to monitor and protect civil and political rights. The Committee had an enormous workload and required appropriate financial resources, so that the Secretariat could hire necessary human resources to facilitate its work. The Expert called on States to take initiatives to address the crisis. Solutions needed to address the overall structural crisis over the long term.

CHANGROK SOH, Committee Chair, said the Committee would present a proposal to States regarding the use of voluntary contributions for holding the third session, but only States could approve this. Mr. Soh expressed support for the idea of holding annual meetings with States parties.

The Committee met online during the COVID-19 pandemic. It found that these meetings were not effective for various reasons, including time difference and limitations on dialogue and interpretation. The treaty body Chairs had discussed this issue, but had decided that online meetings were not an effective option. However, the Committee would continue to use digital technology, including artificial intelligence, to increase the efficiency of its work.

WAN-HEA LEE, Chief, Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Section, Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights , said that, in the past, the Office of the High Commissioner had reduced the working time of pre-sessional working groups to manage the financial crisis. The working group for the third session had been cancelled.

In the past, the treaty bodies had been facing a liquidity crisis. Dues were being paid, but did not reach the treaty bodies in a timely manner. However, it was not an issue of liquidity anymore. The budget of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for this year had been cut, and the situation had moved from a liquidity to a financial crisis. The financial outlook for next year was also not bright.

DINA ROSSBACHER, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights , said that there was a structural problem in terms of the processing of decisions related to individual communications. The formula adopted by Member States regarding the processing of individual communications had not been fully adopted and this had been exacerbated by the financial crisis. The Committee had taken several steps to address the situation, including efforts to align working methods and increase the efficiency of processing individual communications. Last year, the Committee adopted a record number of decisions on communications – over 450. However, the large backlog remained, and the situation remained urgent.

Statements and Questions by States Parties

States expressed support for the work of the Committee, the treaty bodies and the human rights system. It was the responsibility of States to support the work of the Committee, one speaker said.

Speakers said creative initiatives were needed to address the financial situation, including digital meetings. One State expressed support for the Committee’s efforts to harmonise and increase efficiency for its work.

One speaker said the Committee needed to further consider the cultural diversity of States in preparing its concluding observations. If the Committee did not consider challenges such as terrorism and unilateral coercive measures, its recommendations would be considered irrelevant to the realities on the ground in some countries. The speaker called on the Committee to prepare a general comment on the impact of unilateral coercive measures on civil and political rights.

Responses by a Committee Expert

A Committee Expert said the treaty bodies were implementing innovative methods to review States parties. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women had this year conducted a special, informal meeting in Fiji to review States parties in the region. This initiative was funded by States parties, and could be a model for other Committees to follow. The application of simplified procedures to individual communications would not be sufficient for fully addressing the Committee’s backlog.

Closing Remarks

CHANGROK SOH, Committee Chair, said treaty bodies were at the core of the human rights architecture. However, the Committee’s third session would not happen without extraordinary measures, and this trend would continue if the Committee continued to rely on the United Nations’ regular budget. Less than five per cent of the United Nations’ regular budget was allocated to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The treaty body system was not receiving enough funding for its core work. It was doing its best in terms of rationalisation and increasing efficiency. But as allocated resources declined, support diminished, creating a vicious cycle.

To address this situation, special measures were needed, such as utilising voluntary contributions transparently. Without a properly functioning treaty body system, human rights protections would weaken around the world. Decisive and urgent action was needed to protect the treaty body system and human rights around the world.

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This document is produced by the United Nations Information Service at Geneva and is intended for public information; it is not an official document.
The English and French versions of our news releases are different because they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.

CCPR25.017E

MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Overlooked and underestimated: Sand and dust storms wreak havoc across borders

Source: United Nations 2

That’s how much sand and dust enters the atmosphere on an annual basis according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)’s annual report on the storms which scatter such particles across borders worldwide.

The UN weather agency’s reports warns that while the amount of dust decreased marginally in 2024, the impact on humans and economies is increasing.

WMO estimates that over 330 million people across 150 countries are affected by sand and dust storms, leading to premature deaths and other health consequences in addition to steep economic costs.

More than just a dark sky

“Sand and dust storms do not just mean dirty windows and hazy skies. They harm the health and quality of life of millions of people and cost many millions of dollars,” said Celeste Saulo, the Secretary-General of WMO.

While the movement of sand and dust is a natural weather process, increased land degradation and water mismanagement have, in the past few decades, exacerbated the prevalence and geographic spread.

Dust and sand particles – 80 per cent of which come from North Africa and the Middle East – can be transported thousands of kilometres across borders and oceans.

“What begins in a storm in the Sahara, can darken skies in Europe. What is lifted in Central Asia, can alter air quality in China. The atmosphere does not recognize borders,” said Sara Basart, WMO Scientific Officer, at a briefing in Geneva.

And this is precisely what happened in 2024. Dust and sand from the Western Sahara travelled all the way to Spain’s Canary Islands. And fierce winds and drought in Mongolia brought dust to Beijing and northern China.

Fast-growing challenge

“These extreme weather events are not local anomalies. Sand and dust storms are fast becoming one of the most overlooked yet far-reaching global challenges of our time,” said a senior official on Thursday morning speaking on behalf of Philémon Yang, President of the General Assembly.

The storms can obscure sunlight, altering ecosystems on land and in the ocean. In addition to environmental impacts, these weather occurrences have profound impacts on humans and their economies.

“Once considered seasonal or localised, sand and dust storms have escalated into a persistent and intensifying global hazard,” said Rola Dashti, the co-chair of the UN Coalition on Combating Sand and Dust Storms.

Between 2018-2022, over 3.8 billion people were exposed to dust particles, with the worst-affected regions experiencing dust exposure 87 per cent of the time during that same period.

These particles exacerbate cardiovascular diseases and have other adverse health effects, leading to 7 million premature deaths each year especially among already vulnerable populations.

Mr. Yang referred to this as the “staggering human toll”: from an economic perspective, storms can lead to a 20 per cent reduction in crop production among rural communities, pushing them towards hunger and poverty.

In the Middle East and North Africa alone, economic losses in 2024 as a result of sand and dust storms accounted for 2.5 per cent of the regional GDP.

Can’t go it alone

WMO is calling on the international community to invest more in early warning systems and data tracking.

“No country, no matter how prepared, can face this challenge alone. Sand and dust storms are a trans-boundary threat that demands coordinated, multisectoral and multilateral action,” said Ms. Dashti.

With 2025-2034 declared the Decade on Combating Sand and Dust Storms, Mr. Yang said this should prove a turning point. He urged Member States to move from awareness to action – and fragmentation to coordination.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Kennedy on Putin: “We need to cut off his sale of oil.”

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana)

Watch Kennedy’s comments here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) delivered the following remarks on the U.S. Senate floor:

“Now, regardless of how you feel about the war in Ukraine, I think most fair-minded people can agree on two things. Number one: Vladimir Putin, who runs Russia—not the people of Russia, but their leadership—is a thug. He’s a pirate. He has blood under his fingernails. He can’t be trusted.

“The second thing that I think most fair-minded Americans can agree on is that we would all like to see the war ended. . . . I think Ukraine is willing to negotiate a reasonable settlement, but it takes two to tango, and we are not going to have a settlement until President Putin decides it is in his best interest to stop the war. “Not in Russia’s best interest because I don’t think he cares about his people. I think the war will stop when Putin thinks it is in his best interest.

“And I don’t think he is going to think it is in his best interest until he feels the pressure, Mr. President, because dealing with Putin is like dealing with most tyrants: It is like hand-feeding a shark. You can’t reason with them. You have to make them feel the pain.

“A lot of people think of Russia and think of Putin as this gigantic country with a lot of wealth and power, and that is not really the case. Yes, they have nuclear weapons, but, actually, the Russian economy is pretty small. . . . The Russian economy is only about $2 trillion. New York state, in America, has a bigger economy than Russia, and I think we need to keep that in mind.

“Russia’s economy is also not terribly diversified. It is mostly oil. . . . Number one: The price of oil is down. We know that. Number two: Russia is spending all of its money fighting the war with Ukraine, which has hurt other parts of its economy.

“The point I am trying to make, Mr. President, is: When you are dealing with a tyrant like Putin and you are trying to bring him to the negotiating table, what you have to do is get him down and choke him. And the way to get President Putin down and choke him is through his cash flow. Putin—and, remember, I am not talking about the good people in Russia. I am talking about their leadership. I am talking about Vladimir Putin, the thug.

“Putin is only able to prosecute his war through cash flow generated by his sale of oil. That is the only way. Without that cash flow from oil, he can’t continue. We need to cut off his money. We need to cut off his sale of oil.

“Now, we already have sanctions on Russia, and Europe has sanctions on Russia, but Russia has figured out how to evade those sanctions and continue to sell its oil. For example, India is buying a lot of Russia’s oil. China is buying a lot of Russia’s oil, but we can stop that.

“We have a bill—87 of us have signed on— that would apply what is called secondary sanctions on Russia. Our bill would not only sanction Russia and its sale of oil, but it would sanction everybody who buys Russian oil, a big difference.

“It would say to those who want to buy Russian oil: If you want to buy Russian oil, have at it—knock yourself out—but you are not going to be able to do business with America, and you are not going to be able to use the American dollar, which is the world’s currency, to do business in America. It will put Putin on his knees within three months, and he won’t have any choice but to come to the bargaining table.

“Now, President Trump has been very patient. President Biden wasn’t patient; he was giving. I remember when President Biden said to Putin: Well, you know, we don’t want you to go into Ukraine, but if it is just a little excursion, it might be okay. I remember that. What do you think Putin did? Do you remember hand-feeding a shark? He went right into Ukraine.

“President Trump, on the other hand, has really tried to be rational and negotiate with Putin and say: Look, we need to have an amicable solution to satisfy both sides. Ukraine is willing. Putin has done nothing but embarrass our president and our country.

“The time has come to put Russia on its knees. I hate to see it for the Russian people, but the time has come to put Putin on his knees. Get him down and choke him. The only way you are going to do that is to cut off his cash flow. And the only way you are going to cut off his cash flow is to cut off his oil sales because that is at least a third—and probably 40%—of his money.

“We have no choice. Otherwise, this war could go on forever.

“Now, we have the bill locked, loaded, and ready to go. We are waiting for President Trump to give us the high sign because we want to stay together. The president is the one who is trying to negotiate the peace, but I hope President Trump will seriously consider letting us pull the trigger because it is the only thing—it is the only thing—that is going to get Vladimir Putin to the table.

“I wish the world weren’t like that. There are just some people—I don’t know why. If I make it to heaven, I am going to ask. But there are some people in this world, they are not sick; they are not misunderstood; they are not mixed up. It is not really that their mom or daddy didn’t love them enough. They are just bad people. They are. And some of them run countries, and one of them is Vladimir Putin. So, let’s go do what we have to do.”

Watch Kennedy’s speech here.

MIL OSI USA News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Language skills of the European External Action Service (EEAS) – P-002779/2025

Source: European Parliament

Priority question for written answer P-002779/2025
to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Rule 144
Barry Andrews (Renew)

As the European Union’s diplomatic service, the EEAS plays an important role in promoting peace, prosperity, security and the interests of Europeans across the globe.

Can the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy confirm:

How many EEAS staff in total (excluding local staff) speak the following languages fluently: Mandarin, Arabic, Russian, Urdu, Farsi, Hindi, Turkish, Indonesian, Swahili and Hausa.

Submitted: 9.7.2025

Last updated: 10 July 2025

MIL OSI Europe News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: China, Japan Can Build Constructive, Stable Relations to Meet New Era: Chinese FM

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 (Xinhua) — China and Japan can jointly advance strategic and mutually beneficial China-Japan relations and strive to build constructive and stable bilateral ties that meet the requirements of the new era, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, made the statement during a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya.

Noting that China and Japan are important neighbors, Wang Yi noted that the significance of their interstate relations goes far beyond bilateral relations.

As the Chinese diplomat recalled, this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and this is an important opportunity to soberly assess history and pave the way for the future.

China hopes that Japan will learn profound lessons from history and adhere to the path of peaceful development, Wang continued, adding that on this basis, bilateral relations can inject greater certainty and new impetus into the development of the region and the world as a whole.

The head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that China’s policy towards Japan always maintains stability and continuity. He expressed hope that the Japanese side will form an objective and correct perception of China and adhere to a positive and rational policy towards China.

Wang Yi recalled that the four Sino-Japanese political documents contain clear provisions on the Taiwan issue. Japan must strictly abide by them, ensure that words correspond to deeds, and maintain the political basis of interstate relations, the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry emphasized.

Takeshi Iwaya, for his part, noted that recently a number of positive results have been achieved in relations between Japan and China, which demonstrated the proper state of bilateral ties. The two countries, the head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry pointed out, need to further strengthen communication, reduce differences, expand cooperation and promote the stable development of strategic and mutually beneficial Japanese-Chinese relations.

Speaking about the Taiwan issue, Takeshi Iwaya assured that Japan has not changed its position set out in the 1972 Japan-China Joint Statement.

Noting that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, Takeshi Iwaya said Japan intends to take history seriously, look to the future and continue on the path of peaceful development.

He added that Japan looks forward to working with China to strengthen exchanges at all levels and advance cooperation in various fields. –0–

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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MIL OSI Russia News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Russian Foreign Minister and US Secretary of State Discuss Bilateral Relations and Global Situation

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

Moscow, July 10 /Xinhua/ — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday to discuss bilateral relations and the global situation, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.

“In development of the agreements reached by the presidents of Russia and the United States, including during their last telephone conversation on July 3, a thorough comparison of watches was conducted on the entire spectrum of issues on the bilateral agenda and the situation in the world. A substantive and frank exchange of opinions took place on the settlement around Ukraine, the situation around Iran and Syria, as well as a number of other international problems,” the statement says.

It is noted that the mutual commitment to finding peaceful solutions to conflict situations, restoring Russian-American economic and humanitarian cooperation, and unimpeded contacts between the societies of the two countries, which, in particular, could be facilitated by the resumption of direct air traffic, was confirmed.

“The constructive and mutually respectful dialogue between the foreign policy departments of Russia and the United States on a growing range of issues of mutual interest will continue,” the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement emphasized. –0–

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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MIL OSI Russia News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Four men arrested by Police National Security Department

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The National Security Department (NSD) of the Hong Kong Police Force took enforcement actions on July 9 and arrested four men, aged between 15 and 47, who were suspected of illegally participating in the Hong Kong Democratic Independence Alliance, which was established in China’s Taiwan region and engaged in activities aimed at committing subversion, in contravention of the offence of subversion under Article 22 of the National Security Law. The arrested persons are being detained for investigation.

     The Hong Kong Democratic Independence Alliance was established in 2024 through a social media platform, with the objectives of committing subversion and achieving “Hong Kong independence”. The organisation has publicly expressed its stance in support of secession and subversion on various occasions. Investigation revealed that the arrested persons held different roles within the organisation and were actively involved in its affairs, including planning publicity, liaising with external forces and organising related activities.

     Police stressed that any person or organisation inciting secession, subversion or endangering national security in any form is committing a serious offence. Any person who contravenes the offence of “subversion” is liable to a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Police will ensure that the law is observed and strictly enforced, and will take resolute actions to hold offenders accountable. All illegal acts will be followed up to this end.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Dutch and European business leaders share insights on “Financial Services and FinTech, Business and Professional Services” at annual NHKBA summer event (with photos)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Netherlands Hong Kong Business Association (NHKBA), with the support from the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels, organised the annual summer event under the theme “Financial Services and FinTech, Business and Professional Services” on July 7 (Amsterdam time) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The event gathered around 100 representatives from Dutch and European business leaders, and Hong Kong representatives to exchange insights on key sectors under the theme.

Speaking at the event, the Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs to the European Union, Ms Shirley Yung, highlighted the resilience of Hong Kong’s economy amid global challenges. She emphasised, “Under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle, Hong Kong has maintained a solid institutional foundation of the rule of law, independent judiciary, robust regulatory regime, a low and simple tax system, and free flow of people, goods, capital and information, and has remained a trusted gateway to Asia and a market for global capital.”

Ms Yung cited Hong Kong’s rankings in a number of recent surveys as one of the world’s top three international financial centres, among the top three in global competitiveness, the freest economy in the world, and home to five universities ranked in the world’s top 100.

She further underlined that financial services remain a pillar of Hong Kong’s economy. She remarked, “Our deep capital markets, efficient banking system, and strong legal and regulatory infrastructure provide an ecosystem in which businesses from around the world can thrive. We are also embracing the future through fintech innovation.”

Ms Yung also updated the audience on Hong Kong’s latest efforts to refine financial regulation to balance innovation with investor protection, including the recent completion of legislation on stablecoins. She also discussed Hong Kong’s leading role in green and sustainable bond issuance in Asia.

The NHKBA annual summer event concluded with networking sessions and engaging discussions on how Dutch and European enterprises can benefit from Hong Kong’s role as a “super connector” between Europe, Asia, and China. The evening culminated in a dinner reception, at which the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, spoke on Hong Kong’s distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support from the motherland while being closely connected to the world under the “one country, two systems” principle.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Commissioner of Customs and Excise visits Urumqi Customs and attends launching ceremony of Fuzhou Customs District’s Fujian-Guangdong-Hong Kong Single E-lock Scheme (with photos)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

â€‹The Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Chan Tsz-tat, yesterday (July 9) completed his four-day visit to the Urumqi Customs District and the Fuzhou Customs District. He attended the launching ceremony of the Fuzhou Customs District’s Fujian-Guangdong-Hong Kong Single E-lock Scheme during his visit.

During July 6 to 8, Mr Chan visited the Urumqi Customs to meet with the Director General in the Urumqi Customs District, Mr Hao Weiming. The two exchanged views on the promotion of Hong Kong’s economic and trade ties and exchanges with Xinjiang, as well as the exploration of co-operation opportunities and enhancement of collaboration between the two sides. Mr Chan also visited the Urumqi International Land Port, the Operation Monitoring and Inspection Control Centre of the Urumqi Customs District, and the Kalasu Ground Crossing to learn more about the intelligent cargo monitoring and customs clearance process of the China-Europe Railway Express in Urumqi. He expressed hope that both sides could reinforce the complementary strengths of the country’s southern and western gateways to contribute to the stability of the supply chain between Asia and Europe in the future.

During the visit, Mr Chan and the Vice Chairman of the People’s Government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Mr Zhu Lifan, toured the Khunjerab Ground Crossing Gateway, which is under the Urumqi Customs and has an altitude reaching 5 100 metres, to understand its significance in safeguarding the smooth operation of the China-Pakistan economic corridor and national security. They also discussed issues of mutual concern. Afterwards, they visited the Shuibulanggou Party Spirit Education Base.

Yesterday, Mr Chan went to Fuzhou to continue his visit and attended the launching ceremony of the Fujian-Guangdong-Hong Kong Single E-lock Scheme in Fuzhou Customs. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Chan said that the official launch of the first Customs clearance point of the Scheme in Fuzhou Customs will help further promote interconnections and the flow of goods between Fujian, Guangdong and Hong Kong, marking a new breakthrough in clearance facilitation and co-operation between Mainland and Hong Kong Customs. Meanwhile, Mr Chan said he hopes that the extension of the Scheme to Fuzhou Customs would enhance the efficiency of cross-boundary intermodal transportation, bring Fuzhou’s various products to overseas markets, and consolidate and strengthen Hong Kong’s status and competitiveness as an international maritime centre, international aviation hub and international logistics hub, creating a win-win situation for trade between the two places.

At the event, the first transportation truck carrying transshipment goods departed from the first clearance point in Fuzhou Customs District through the Scheme, and arrived at Hong Kong International Airport via the Shenzhen Bay Control Point this morning (July 10), where the goods were transshipped to overseas destinations. Fujian-Guangdong-Hong Kong Customs could streamline the clearance process and expedite the flow of cargo transshipments by reducing duplicated inspections of the same consignments under the Scheme.

In Fuzhou, Mr Chan also separately met with member of the Leading Party Members Group of Fuzhou Municipal People’s Government Mr Zhang Fan; the Deputy Director General of the Guangdong Sub-Administration of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, Mr Feng Guoqing; and the Deputy Director General in the Fuzhou Customs District, Mr Lin Yuefei. He expressed his gratitude for their dedicated support and co-ordination in extending the Scheme to Fuzhou Customs District, and had discussions on leveraging opportunities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development and deepening co-operation.

Following Xiamen Customs District, Fuzhou Customs District is the second Customs District to implement the Scheme in Fujian Province. Hong Kong and Mainland Customs will continue to proactively expand the Single E-lock Scheme by establishing more clearance points in both places, and plan to extend the Scheme to the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to attract more cargoes to Hong Kong for transshipment and increase the competitiveness of Hong Kong’s shipping and logistics sector.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Update on measles cases in B.C., ensuring people remain protected
Source: Government of Canada regional news

Measles is an extremely contagious virus that can cause severe disease and complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and even death. It can spread through air. People can pass the virus to others before they show symptoms, and the virus can stay suspended in the air in a room for several hours.

Symptoms of measles include fever, cough, runny nose and conjunctivitis. Three to four days after the onset of fever, a rash develops. It generally begins on the face, then spreads rapidly to the rest of the body.

There has been a resurgence of measles activity in Canada in recent years, with several thousand confirmed cases reported nationally in 2025, after 146 cases were reported in 2024. Cases occur largely in people who were unimmunized or under-immunized (only received one dose). There is also significant measles transmission in other parts of the world, including Europe, Asia and Africa. This is usually the source of cases seen in Canada.

Measles vaccines have been part of B.C.’s immunization program since 1969, with a second dose (and a comprehensive catch-up campaign for children, youth, and young adults) added to the schedule in 1996.

In B.C., measles vaccine is provided as measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine for the first dose and is recommended for children beginning at their first birthday. A second dose, generally with measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine (MMRV), is given at school entry (age 4-6 years).

How to check your immunization records:
- Check immunization records for adults and children through the Health Gateway.
- If the records are not in the Health Gateway:
  - Adults and children may have received a paper record at the time of immunization. For example, in B.C., immunizations may be recorded in the Child Health Passport.
  - If the immunization record is incomplete in Health Gateway and people have a paper record, they can submit the record.
  - If people don’t have a paper record, they can:
    
    Contact the health-care provider that gave the vaccines.
    
    Contact the community health nurse if the vaccines were given in a First Nations community.
    
    If people have moved to B.C. from another province or country, contact the immunization provider or local public health unit and ask to have the records sent to them.
MIL OSI Canada News –
July 11, 2025
Khelo Bharat Niti 2025 sets stage for India’s rise as a global sporting powerhouse

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

For generations, sports in India were seen as a pastime squeezed between schoolwork and exams — a hobby on dusty fields rather than a career to aspire to. Limited infrastructure and a societal focus on academics meant few dared to dream of donning the national colours. But over the years, that narrative has steadily transformed, and today, with the launch of Khelo Bharat Niti 2025, India is set to redefine its sporting destiny.

Launched under the vision ‘From Grassroots to Glory’, the landmark policy is poised to reshape the country’s sports ecosystem. Integrating with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Khelo Bharat Niti aims to bridge the gap between classrooms and playgrounds, recognizing sports as an essential component of holistic development. It prioritizes women’s empowerment, outreach to marginalized and tribal communities, and active engagement with the Indian diaspora.

A Vision for the 2036 Olympics

With its eyes set firmly on the global stage, India’s ambitious roadmap includes a strategic push to become a sporting powerhouse by the 2036 Olympics — and to stake its claim as a potential host. This vision is backed by substantial funding: for FY 2025–26, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has been allocated ₹3,794 crore, marking a 130.9% increase from FY 2014–15. Of this, ₹1,000 crore is earmarked for the flagship Khelo India programme alone.

Building the Sporting Ecosystem

The policy focuses on talent identification at the grassroots level, competitive leagues, world-class training, and sports science support. It calls for significant private sector participation through public-private partnerships, corporate social responsibility, and innovative funding models, laying the groundwork for a sustainable sports industry.

Sports are also being positioned as a major economic driver, with an emphasis on boosting sports tourism, hosting international events, and nurturing sports startups. The goal is to transform sports from a niche pursuit into a vibrant sector generating livelihoods and national pride.

A Network of Opportunity

Since its inception in 2016–17 and subsequent expansion in 2021, Khelo India has firmly established itself as a cornerstone of India’s sports revolution. The initiative has approved 326 sports infrastructure projects, committing over ₹3,124 crore to enhance athletic facilities across the nation. Furthermore, it has been instrumental in creating a robust support system for athletes by establishing 1,045 Khelo India Centres and 34 State Centres of Excellence, complemented by 306 accredited academies. This expansive network provides comprehensive support to nearly 2,850 athletes, covering their training needs, equipment, medical care, and stipends. Khelo India also organizes several annual flagship events, including the Khelo India Youth Games, University Games, Para Games, and Winter Games. These 17 editions of events have collectively drawn over 50,000 athletes, showcasing a significant increase in participation and competitive opportunities within the Indian sports landscape.

One of the programme’s standout initiatives is KIRTI (Khelo India Rising Talent Identification), which scouts talent aged 9–18 through 174 Talent Assessment Centres. It aims to propel India into the top-10 sporting nations by 2036, and top-5 by 2047.

Further, the inaugural Khelo India Water Sports Festival is set to take place at Srinagar’s Dal Lake this August, featuring five sports and over 400 athletes — a testament to the policy’s vision of broadening India’s sporting horizons.

Institutional Support for Excellence

The National Sports University, established in Imphal in 2018, is another pillar supporting this vision. The university focuses on sports sciences, management, coaching, and research, training India’s next generation of elite athletes and sports professionals. With global partnerships and a motto of Sports Excellence through Education, Research and Training, it aims to bridge education with high-performance sport.

Stories Beyond the Arena

The impact of these initiatives is visible in countless inspiring journeys. Para-athlete Rohit Kumar, a PhD scholar in Delhi, credits government support for creating equal opportunities for athletes like him. “Progress is possible only when supported by the government and society,” he says. He sees Khelo Bharat Niti 2025 — especially its integration with the NEP — as a transformative step for athletes who wish to balance sports and education.

Athlete Samantha Saver Siddi, from India’s historic Siddi community, echoes this optimism. Practising at Bengaluru’s Jay Prakash Narayan Sports Academy while pursuing her arts degree, Samantha dreams of winning medals for India and credits the policy for creating an environment where such dreams can thrive.

Towards a Sporting Nation

India’s medal tallies — from 57 at Incheon 2014 to 69 at Jakarta 2018, and a record 107 at Hangzhou 2023 — highlight a nation on the rise. As India aims to elevate its global standing, Khelo Bharat Niti 2025 is set to be the blueprint for nurturing talent, expanding opportunities, and building a culture where sports and academics stand shoulder to shoulder.

With its youth population of over 65%, India has the numbers — and now, the resolve — to transform playground dreams into podium moments. The journey from dusty fields to Olympic podiums is no longer a distant dream, but a goal within reach.

July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Lancaster House 2.0: Declaration on Modernising UK-French Defence and Security Cooperation
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Press release

Lancaster House 2.0: Declaration on Modernising UK-French Defence and Security Cooperation

Declaration on Modernising UK-French Defence and Security Cooperation.
The UK and France, as Europe’s only nuclear powers and leading militaries, share a unique responsibility for European and international defence and security. Our two nations represent nearly 40% of the defence budget of European Allies, and more than 50% of European spending on research and technology.

Since the Chequers Declaration in 1995, successive generations of leaders have recognised the intertwined nature of our vital interests, affirming that a threat to one would represent a threat against the other. In 2010, through the Lancaster House Treaties, our nations formalised this shared cooperation to address the challenges of that era: expeditionary warfare and counterterrorism.

Fifteen years later, the threats we face have changed fundamentally with state-on-state conflict rising globally and, since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the return of full-scale war to Europe. We have a shared responsibility to strengthen Euro-Atlantic security and recall, in this regard, the critical deterrence that NATO provides. We reaffirm the importance of intensifying our efforts in support of NATO and acting jointly within it. We also recognise the value of a stronger and more capable European defence that contributes positively to transatlantic and global security and is complementary to, and interoperable with, NATO. In this regard, we underline that the European Union remains a unique and essential partner for NATO. We also welcome the progress we have made on the UK-EU Security Defence Partnership in bringing together our shared interests in protecting the continent.

The UK and France share the same understanding of the threats we face. The return of conventional warfighting at scale in Europe and beyond, strategic competition on the global stage, combined with hostile state activity, rapid expansion in hybrid warfare and disinformation, create a febrile and dangerous international order. States are increasingly using hybrid tactics against us, either directly or using proxies, to undermine our national security and our democracies.

The UK and France are willing and able to act together, decisively, to protect our shared interests, allies, partners in Europe and beyond, values and, fundamentally, our democratic way of life. We must be ready and willing to oppose our adversaries across the full spectrum of national security, requiring a new, whole of society and government approach. We are resolved to deepen and expand our partnership to jointly deter and respond to the heightened challenge these evolving threats pose including cyber, sabotage, espionage, malign use of artificial intelligence and foreign information manipulation and interference. This can only be achieved by the further integration of our Military, National Security, Diplomatic, Intelligence and Economic levers.

It is in this context that we, as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and President of the French Republic, have decided to reboot, modernise and build upon our bilateral defence and security relationship, including under the Lancaster House Treaties, in order to effect a generational shift in both our bilateral cooperation and our joint contribution to the defence of Europe, its citizens and of its interests. Today, we have declared our intent to carry out a series of ambitious projects and new areas of collaboration that will underpin our defence and security relationship for the next fifteen years and beyond.

1. Deepening our longstanding and resolute commitment to cooperation between our independent nuclear deterrents by:

a. Setting out our contribution to the defence of European partners and NATO Allies, and stating that whilst our nuclear forces are independent, they can be coordinated, as set out in the Northwood Declaration;

b. Enhancing mutual understanding of respective nuclear deterrence policies, doctrine and plans, and strengthening our ability to make coordinated decisions in peace time and in crisis;

c. Expanding cooperation on nuclear research (as initiated since 2010) including by making greater use of the facilities in each other’s countries;

d. Coordinating more closely to uphold and reinforce the international non-proliferation architecture; and

e. Establishing a UK-France Nuclear Steering Group to provide political direction for this cooperation, led by the Presidency of the French Republic and the Cabinet Office to coordinate across policy, capability and operations.

2. Launch the Combined Joint Force – overhauling the existing Combined Joint Expeditionary Force to refocus it on the Euro-Atlantic and warfighting at scale to deter, placing it on an operational footing for the first time by endeavouring to:

a. Significantly increase the declared Combined Joint Force (CJF) capacity, up to fivefold, ensuring the ability to plan and command Combined Corps Capability (the highest level of fielded forces in our armies). This Corp can provide the Land component of a broader joint force combining all military functions, as part of NATO or bilaterally. The CJF will facilitate the deployment of a force fully interoperable with NATO and available as the Alliance’s Strategic Reserve; this is a critical step towards the UK and France providing two fully interoperable Strategic Reserve Corps to NATO, enabled by the CJF.

b. Adopt new missions, enabling the CJF to conduct activity in the Euro-Atlantic to deter our adversaries and reassure our Allies and partners, while also being prepared to compete with our adversaries further afield if needed.

c. Establish a mechanism to share, coordinate and synchronise military activity and the deployment of UK and French forces globally, ensuring we are providing the most effective deterrence posture.

d. Establish a dedicated cell to operationalise the CJF, overseeing military strategic coordination and planning through to operational coordination.

e. Maintain the ability for the CJF to integrate additional allies and partners under UK-French leadership and to ensure the CJF is complementary to NATO.

f. Use the CJF structures to underpin the Coalition of the Willing for Ukraine. The force will provide the joint planning framework to cohere the Coalition, ensure joint operational and strategic messaging. It will provide Coalition leadership and command and control for the planning and operational deployment of the Coalition covering all five domains, preparing for the operational deployment of the CJF in the event of a ceasefire – which can be supported by allies.

3. Embark upon an ‘Entente Industrielle’ to enhance capability and industrial co-operation, bringing our defence industries and militaries closer than ever before to strengthen NATO, by endeavouring to:

a. Launch the development phase of the Future Cruise and Anti-Ship Weapon (FC/ASW) programme to provide the next generation of long-range, highly survivable Deep Strike Missiles.

b. Jointly develop the next generation of beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles for our fighter jets, while also extending the Meteor capability, launching a joint study with industry to inform our future development of its successor.

c. Acquire new SCALP & Storm Shadow missiles, following their successful use by Ukraine, upgrading UK and French production lines to bolster national stockpiles to deter our adversaries.

d. Establish a new, joint Complex Weapons Portfolio Office, embedded with OCCAR, through which we will deliver our joint projects within OCCAR, starting with SCALP & Storm Shadow acquisition and also working closely with MBDA to identify the opportunities from our investments and to reduce duplication, working closely with MBDA, starting with studies on Air Dominance and Cooperative Strike future capabilities.

e. Focus greater efforts on integrated air and missile defence (IAMD) in our capability relationship, including (but not limited to) C-UAS and counter-hypersonic capabilities, drawing especially from the Aster family increments, including potentially SAMP/T NG and CAMM.

f. Continue to work closely on current and future long range strike capabilities through the European Long Range Strike Approach (ELSA initiative). Along with our ELSA allies (amongst them Germany), we will remain open to expanding this cooperation to extended-range deep strike capability should military requirements and industrial capacity align. We will be carefully examining, with our defence industries, the capability opportunities this presents.

g Develop a Directed Energy Weapons partnership, sharing information, collaborating on research and projects of shared interest, and exploring industry collaboration on radiofrequency weapons.

h. Collaborate on developing algorithms for synchronised missile and drone strikes using artificial intelligence and machine learning, to build our future interoperability.

i. Explore a combat air interoperability roadmap, including potential collaboration on armaments, to support the connectivity and interoperability of our current and future combat air forces and their contribution to European and NATO air superiority.

j. Commit to align standards for weapons safety and testing, to bring operational benefits and save time and money in our joint programmes.

k. Work closely together on wider export campaigns for UK-French capabilities and establishing a new joint team, with an initial focus on supporting the export of A400M (including through the set up of a NATO High Visibility Project) and identifying further concrete areas for joint export promotion.

l. Recognising the importance of improving European defence industrial resilience, the UK and France will enhance reciprocal market access in defence and security.

4. Develop new cooperation in every domain to enhance military interoperability and support NATO, driven by annual meetings of our Joint Chiefs. This will include:

a. Developing a new Bilateral Vision Statement between the armies and committing to enduring support to NATO through the CJF. This represents operational interoperability at the highest level of fielded forces in our armies, enhancing British and French joint commitments and opportunities offered through the Forward Land Forces in Estonia.

b. Driving naval interoperability in support of warfighting, notably on information, data and communications, leveraging the opportunities of next generation digital architectures, deepening cooperation on maritime air defence, and continuing to coordinate Carrier Strike Group activity. Additionally, expanding cooperation on global maritime domain awareness to better deter maritime hybrid threats, including to critical undersea infrastructure and sanctions circumvention by the Russian Shadow Fleet, with an initial focus on the Channel and the Atlantic. Finally, facilitating mutual access support facilities for naval aircraft and warships.

c. Increasing the complexity of combined Air Defence exercises, cooperating on responses to High-Altitude threats, enhancing cooperation in the development of Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) capabilities, particularly in the integration of Command And Control (C2) systems. Pursuing a joint ambition to develop the A400M into a multi-mission platform, incorporating C2, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and potential strike capabilities. Aiming to synchronise fast jet pilot training to enhance interoperability and efficiency.

d. Enabling interoperability across the space domain, including satellite communications capabilities, developing cooperation and potential joint capability in space control, space-based ISR systems, and Low Earth Orbit satellites. We will jointly spearhead closer operational space coordination and deliver space support to bolster Euro-Atlantic security operations.

e. Sharing best practice in Cyber, with the UK providing support to the French establishment of a Cyber Training Academy, and France supporting the establishment of the UK’s new Cyber & Electromagnetic Command. Jointly galvanising wider NATO Cyber exercise activity, whilst fusing UK-French operational cooperation to act amongst Allies as European leaders in the domain.

5. Reinforce the UK-France integrated defence and security partnership to deter and respond to the full spectrum of threats, by endeavouring to:

a. Work together to make the fullest possible use of the UK-EU Security and Defence Partnership. Noting the shared UK and EU commitment to explore possible mutual involvement in respective defence initiatives, including within the Security Action For Europe (SAFE) instrument, in accordance with the respective legal frameworks, the UK and France will explore possibilities for mutually beneficial enhanced cooperation.

b. Strengthen our defence and security policy coordination and cooperation on key areas for Euro-Atlantic security (Ukraine, NATO, the future of Euro-Atlantic security) and reasserting the unique contribution of our bilateral partnership to European and global security.

c. Exploit areas of policy dialogue and cooperation in countering hybrid threats, Space, Cyber and AI – including through fostering links between national agencies, exchanging doctrines and responsible practices.

d. Launch a new Global Maritime Security Dialogue to cohere our strategic approaches to deterring threats to our shared maritime interests.

e. Establishing a dialogue on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief to build on our existing frameworks and scope future mutual assistance arrangements.

f. Coordinate and align resources to enhance regional resilience, including on maritime security, in the Indo-Pacific in the medium-term and, in accordance with our respective international obligations, provide for reciprocal base access to facilities, including Réunion Island, New Caledonia and French Polynesia.

g. Bring together our intelligence, law enforcement and policy expertise across the overt and covert environments to deter, counter and respond to the full range of hybrid threats including physical threats to people, sabotage and foreign interference, including Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), cyber and espionage. Jointly pursuing attributions and coordinating on sanctions, as well as exploring how we can further lead joint operational efforts to combat the hybrid threats. We will continue our cooperation in NATO, G7 and other multilateral forums.

h. Further strengthen our cooperation to counter FIMI, to raise the costs for states seeking to undermine our security and democratic institutions. We will pursue the interoperability of our systems to analyse FIMI and increase efforts to jointly respond to it, including through exposure, sanctions and strategic communication. We will continue working together to build collective responses to FIMI in multilateral fora.

i. Build on the UK-French Pall Mall Process and the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace, to tackle the threat posed by the proliferation of commercial cyber intrusion capabilities and address the shared challenges we face in cyberspace, and increase the cost to our adversaries through deterrence, sanctions and attributions.

j. Engage in regular technical exchanges and proactively exploring joint research opportunities to harness the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies, while addressing associated national security challenges. The UK and France are uniquely placed to lead international efforts and response capabilities.

k. Jointly maximise our impact against the highest-threat terrorist groups. Internationally, we will deepen our cooperation with Syria, and will look to enhance our coordination against the expanding terrorist threat in sub-Saharan Africa and central Asia. Domestically, we will build resilience against terrorist threats to critical infrastructure, including transport connections between our countries.

6. Enhance communications and institutional exchanges across our two systems, as an enabler to our strengthened partnership across the entirety of defence and national security, by endeavouring to:

a. Develop a new joint UK-France cross government secure communication system.

b. Expand people and training links between the UK and French Militaries, optimising our networks of exchange and liaison officers, with a focus on junior officer exchanges, to develop a shared strategic culture in the next generation of military leaders across all three services.

c. Continue to enable the constant exchange of national security and defence personnel and their families, to constantly deepen and forge our relationship for future generations and to ensure our Armed Forces have the conditions they need to perform effectively, and that they, and their family members, do not experience disadvantages as a result of their service. This might include reciprocal access to rights to work and related facilitations for defence personnel and their household members serving in each other’s countries.

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Published 10 July 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
July 11, 2025
MIL-OSI: OTSAW Announces Official Empanelment as Certified System Integrator for Singapore’s RoMi H Robotics Middleware Framework

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

SINGAPORE, July 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Otsaw Limited (“OTSAW” the “Company”, “we”, “our”) a global developer of autonomous robotics and operations-technology healthcare solutions, announces its official empanelment as a Certified System Integrator (“SI”) under the Robotics Middleware Framework for Healthcare (“RoMi‑H”) Empanelment Program 2025, effective 1 May 2025.

RoMi‑H, regionally known as “Robotics Middleware for Healthcare”, is the national interoperability standard that enables diverse robotic platforms to communicate seamlessly with one another within building infrastructure (e.g., elevators, automated doors), and hospital IT systems such as within Singapore’s Public Healthcare Institutions (“PHIs”). OTSAW’s SI certification allows the Company to participate directly in upcoming RoMi‑H–compliant projects, reinforcing its goal to become a leader in smart‑hospital automation.

“In a future where hospitals rely on a mosaic of robotic platforms, we believe middleware like RoMi‑H is essential for enabling them to work together safely and efficiently,” said Mr Ling Ting Ming, Founder and CEO of OTSAW. “Our empanelment affirms OTSAW’s role as a trusted partner in delivering interoperable robotics solutions that are expected to benefit both healthcare professionals and patients, and the SI certifications aligns well with our growth strategy as we prepare for our next phase of capital formation.”

We believe this SI accreditation delivers a compelling set of strategic advantages for OTSAW and its stakeholders because. This certification serves as a national-level validation of the Company’s technical rigor and system integration expertise under a multi-agency framework recognized globally as a benchmark for healthcare robotics interoperability. The SI accreditation is also expected to unlock access to new robotics deployment opportunities across Singapore’s public healthcare institutions—regarded by some as among the most advanced hospital networks in Asia. The certification is expected to support long-term revenue generation through OTSAW’s integrated operational technology model, which combines hardware solutions with ongoing managed services. Furthermore, successful deployments within this highly regulated environment are expected to provide a high-credibility reference site, which should strengthen OTSAW’s positioning with international health systems seeking to adopt similar smart hospital technologies.

Analysts project the global healthcare robotics market to exceed US $20 billion by 2030, driven by increasing demand for middleware solutions that ensure safe coordination among multi‑vendor fleets (Source: Fortune Business Insights, “Healthcare Robotics Market Forecast,” 2024). We believe RoMi‑H directly addresses this interoperability gap, having already earned international recognition, including a Global Robotics Innovation Award in 2021.

OTSAW brings a decade‑long operating history to the healthcare sector, with robotic deployments in many of Singapore’s government hospitals. Our comprehensive operational technology model offering combines autonomous robots, AI‑driven fleet management, and 24/7 field support—capabilities that we believe readily translate to logistics, security, and inspection use cases beyond healthcare.

About OTSAW

We are a Singapore-based company specializing in autonomous mobile robots (“AMRs”) and robotics solutions, with cutting-edge robotics software development and manufacturing capabilities. Founded in 2015, we are an innovator in advanced robotics autonomy technologies and next-generation artificial intelligence (“AI”). Our mission is to disrupt, revolutionize, and redefine the global facilities management industry with our AI-enabled AMRs and robotics solutions across security, disinfection, last-mile delivery, and healthcare facilities.

Leveraging our core software technologies, robot and machine outdoor autonomy expertise, and AI-enabled AMRs, our products empower customers to enhance productivity, reduce reliance on human capital, and seamlessly integrate automation into their facilities management operations. By addressing labor shortages, rising wages, and labor cost challenges, we aim to empower the entire facilities management industry globally.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts, including statements relating to Otsaw Limited’s expectations regarding the commencement and completion of its proposed public offering and listing, are forward-looking statements. You can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” or “anticipates,” or similar expressions which concern our strategy, plans, or intentions. By their nature, forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact or guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions or changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict or quantify. Our expectations and beliefs are expressed in good faith, and we believe there is a reasonable basis for them. However, there can be no assurance that management’s expectations and beliefs will result or be achieved, and actual results may vary materially from what is expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement in this press release speaks only as of the date of this release. Otsaw Limited undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws.

Contact:
Jules Abraham
CORE IR
+1 (212) 655-0924

The MIL Network –

July 11, 2025

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Category: Asia

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Lancaster House 2.0: Declaration on Modernising UK-French Defence and Security Cooperation

1. Deepening our longstanding and resolute commitment to cooperation between our independent nuclear deterrents by:

2. Launch the Combined Joint Force – overhauling the existing Combined Joint Expeditionary Force to refocus it on the Euro-Atlantic and warfighting at scale to deter, placing it on an operational footing for the first time by endeavouring to:

3. Embark upon an ‘Entente Industrielle’ to enhance capability and industrial co-operation, bringing our defence industries and militaries closer than ever before to strengthen NATO, by endeavouring to:

4. Develop new cooperation in every domain to enhance military interoperability and support NATO, driven by annual meetings of our Joint Chiefs. This will include:

5. Reinforce the UK-France integrated defence and security partnership to deter and respond to the full spectrum of threats, by endeavouring to:

6. Enhance communications and institutional exchanges across our two systems, as an enabler to our strengthened partnership across the entirety of defence and national security, by endeavouring to:

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