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Category: Asia

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for June 6, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on June 6, 2025.

    Defections are fairly common in Australian politics. But history shows they are rarely a good career move
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University For many years now, Australian political scientists have pointed out that that established partisan allegiance is in decline. In 1967, 36% of Coalition supporters and 32% of Labor voters reported lifetime voting

    Premature babies are given sucrose for pain relief – but new research shows it doesn’t stop long-term impacts on development
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mia Mclean, Senior lecturer, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Infants born very preterm spend weeks or even months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) while their immature brains are still developing. During this time, they receive up to 16 painful procedures every day. The most

    Spit or swallow? What’s the best way to deal with phlegm?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Niall Johnston, Conjoint Associate Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney Pop Paul-Catalin/Shutterstock A spitting pot I consider as an essential part of the bed-room apparatus. That’s what French physician René Laennec wrote in 1821. Laennec, who invented the stethoscope, spent his days gazing at his patients’ phlegm.

    Australia is in the firing line of Trump’s looming ‘revenge tax’. It’s a fight we’re unlikely to win
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Graeme Cooper, Professor of Taxation Law, University of Sydney Alexey_Arz/Shutterstock The Australian Labor Party just won an election victory for the ages. Now, it may be forced to walk back one of the key achievements of its first term. Here’s why: United States President Donald Trump is

    ‘HIV shouldn’t be death sentence in Fiji’ – call for testing amid outbreak
    By Christina Persico, RNZ Pacific bulletin editor Fiji’s Minister for Health and Medical Services has revealed the latest HIV numbers in the country to a development partner roundtable discussing the national response. The minister reported 490 new HIV cases between October and December last year, bringing the 2024 total to 1583. “Included in this number

    E-bikes and e-scooters are popular – but dangerous. A transport expert explains how to make them safer
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Rose, Professor in Transport Engineering, Monash Institute of Transport Studies, Monash University nazar_ab/Getty Last weekend a pedestrian in Perth tragically died after being struck by an e-scooter. This followed the death of another person in Victoria last month who was hit and killed by a modified

    ‘There are too many unpleasant things in life without creating more’: why Impressionism is the world’s favourite art movement
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sasha Grishin, Adjunct Professor of Art History, Australian National University Installation view of French Impressionism from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston on display from June 6 to October 5, at NGV International, Melbourne. Photo: Sean Fennessy Impressionism is the world’s favourite art movement. Impressionist paintings create

    ‘Deadly’ sports diplomacy: why Australia’s Indigenous people must be a part of our sports strategy
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stuart Murray, Associate Professor, International Relations and Diplomacy, Bond University Sean Garnsworthy/ALLSPORT Since coming to power in 2022, the Albanese government has focused strongly on the Indo-Pacific. The prime minister’s recent trip to Indonesia was the latest high-level bilateral summit as Australia seeks to recalibrate relationships, enhance

    Making it easier to build a granny flat makes sense – but it’s no solution to a housing crisis
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau RyanJLane/Getty Images As part of its resource management reforms, the government will soon allow “super-sized granny flats” to be built without consent – potentially adding 13,000 dwellings over the next decade to provide “families

    Is black mould really as bad for us as we think? A toxicologist explains
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Peeradontax/Shutterstock Mould in houses is unsightly and may cause unpleasant odours. More important though, mould has been linked to a range of health effects – especially triggering asthma. However, is mould exposure linked to a serious lung disease

    Resident-to-resident aggression is common in nursing homes. Here’s how we can improve residents’ safety
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joseph Ibrahim, Professor, Aged Care Medical Research Australian Centre for Evidence Based Aged Care, La Trobe University Wbmul/Shutterstock The Coroners Court of Victoria is undertaking an inquest into the deaths of eight aged care residents across six facilities, over a nine-month period in 2021. Each death occurred

    We tracked 13,000 giants of the ocean over 30 years, to uncover their hidden highways
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ana M. M. Sequeira, Associate Professor, Research School of Biology, Australian National University Alexandra Vautin, Shutterstock Big animals of the ocean go about their days mostly hidden from view. Scientists know this marine megafauna – such as whales, sharks, seal, turtles and birds – travel vast distances

    ‘No one knew what was happening’: new research shows how domestic violence harms young people’s schooling
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Roberts, Professor of Education and Social Justice, Monash University Taiki Ishikawa/ Unsplash, CC BY Every school around Australia is almost certain to have students who are victim-survivors of family and domestic violence. The 2023 Australian Child Maltreatment Study found neglect and physical, sexual and emotional abuse

    Internal tensions throw PNG anti-corruption body into crisis
    By Scott Waide, RNZ Pacific PNG correspondent Three staffers from Papua New Guinea’s peak anti-corruption body are embroiled in a standoff that has brought into question the integrity of the organisation. Police Commissioner David Manning has confirmed that he received a formal complaint. Commissioner Manning said that initial inquiries were underway to inform the “sensitive

    Tasmania could go to an election just 16 months after its last one. What’s going on?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Hortle, Deputy Director, Tasmanian Policy Exchange, University of Tasmania Tasmania’s Liberal government and its premier, Jeremy Rockliff, have come under huge pressure since the state budget was handed down last week. It’s culminated in the Tasmanian House of Assembly voting to pass a motion of no

    Grattan on Friday: Albanese will need some nuance in facing a female opposition leader
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Anthony Albanese loves a trophy, especially a human one. He prides himself on his various “captain’s pick” candidates – good campaigners he has steered into seats. Way back in the Gillard days, he was key in persuading discontented Liberal Peter

    Punishment for Te Pāti Māori over Treaty haka stands – but MPs ‘will not be silenced’
    RNZ News Aotearoa New Zealand’s Parliament has confirmed the unprecedented punishments proposed for opposition indigenous Te Pāti Māori MPs who performed a haka in protest against the Treaty Principles Bill. Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi will be suspended for 21 days, and MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke suspended for seven days, taking effect

    Virgin Australia is coming back to the share market. Here’s what this new chapter could mean
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rico Merkert, Professor in Transport and Supply Chain Management and Deputy Director, Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney Business School, University of Sydney Petr Podrouzek/Shutterstock It is finally happening. After five years of being a private company, Virgin Australia will relist on the

    GPs asking men about their behaviour in relationships could help reduce domestic violence
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelsey Hegarty, Professor of Family Violence Prevention, The University of Melbourne Domestic violence is increasing in Australia. A new report shows one in three men have ever made a partner feel frightened or anxious. One in 11 have used physical violence when angry. And one in 50

    The Top End’s tropical savannas are a natural wonder – but weak environment laws mean their future is uncertain
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University François Brassard The Top End of Australia’s Northern Territory contains an extensive, awe-inspiring expanse of tropical savanna landscapes. It includes well-known and much-loved regions such as Darwin, Kakadu National Park, Arnhem

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expresses concern over US travel ban from 12 countries

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian –

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

    GENEVA, June 6 (Xinhua) — United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Thursday expressed concern over the new travel ban imposed by the United States.

    In a statement sent to Xinhua, he said the broad and comprehensive nature of the new restrictions raises concerns “from the perspective of international law.”

    According to F. Türk, although international law allows states to regulate their borders sovereignly, they “have an obligation to ensure equal protection of all persons before the law and to prevent discrimination on any grounds, including nationality, origin, religion, migration or other status.”

    “We are also generally concerned that the extremely unfortunate official public statements containing disparaging assessments of those affected by these measures contribute to the stigmatization of people from the countries concerned both in the United States and abroad and may increase their likelihood of facing xenophobic hostility and harassment,” the High Commissioner added.

    US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday completely banning entry into the country for citizens of 12 countries: Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Myanmar, the Republic of Congo, Somalia, Sudan, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and Eritrea. The document will go into effect on June 9. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: We tracked 13,000 giants of the ocean over 30 years, to uncover their hidden highways

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Ana M. M. Sequeira, Associate Professor, Research School of Biology, Australian National University

    Alexandra Vautin, Shutterstock

    Big animals of the ocean go about their days mostly hidden from view. Scientists know this marine megafauna – such as whales, sharks, seal, turtles and birds – travel vast distances to feed and breed.

    But almost a third are now at risk of extinction due largely to fishing, shipping, pollution and global warming.

    Protecting them can be difficult, because we don’t often know where these animals are.

    New research I led sought to shed light on the issue. My colleagues and I gathered 30 years of satellite tracking data to map hotspots of megafauna activity around the globe.

    We tracked 12,794 animals from 111 species to find out where they go. The results reveal underwater “highways” where megafauna crisscross the global Ocean. They also show where megafauna dwell for feeding and breeding. Now we know where these special places are, we have a better chance of protecting them.

    Satellite tracking reveals marine megafauna migration pathways and places of residence.
    Sequeira et al (2025) Science

    Pulling all the data together: a mega task

    For more than 30 years, marine biologists have tagged large animals in the sea with electronic devices and tracked their movements via satellite. The trackers capture data on everything from speed of travel, to direction of movement and where the animals spend most of their time.

    I put a call out to the global research community to bring together the tracking data. I hoped it would help scientists better understand the animals’ movements and identify their favourite places.

    Some 378 scientists from 50 countries responded. We assembled the world’s largest tracking dataset of marine megafauna. It includes species of flying birds, whales, fishes (mostly sharks), penguins, polar bears, seals, dugongs, manatees and turtles. They were tracked between 1985 and 2018, throughout the world’s oceans.

    Ana Sequeira swimming with a whale shark in Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, to collect samples.
    Australian Institute of Marine Science

    Mapping reveals a lack of protection

    When we started analysing the data, it showed the tagged animals used some parts of the ocean more frequently than others. Most of them travelled to the central Indian Ocean, northeast Pacific Ocean, Atlantic north, and waters around Mozambique and South Africa.

    It’s likely this reflects a lack of data from elsewhere. However, these species are known to go to places where they are most likely to find food, so we expect some areas to be used more than others (including the areas we detected).

    Then we were able to identify the world’s most “ecologically and biologically significant areas” for the tracked animals.

    Currently only about 8% of the global ocean is protected. And only 5% of the important marine megafauna areas we identified occur within these existing marine protected areas.

    This leaves all of the other important marine megafauna areas we identified unprotected. In other words, the species using those areas are likely to suffer harm from human activities taking place at sea.

    More than 90% of the important marine megafauna areas we identified are exposed to high plastic pollution, shipping traffic or to intensifying global warming. And about 75% are exposed to industrial fishing.

    We also found marine megafauna tend to spend most of their time within exclusive economic zones. This area lies beyond the territorial sea or belt of water 12 nautical miles from the coast of each country, extending 200 nautical miles from shore. The presence of megafauna in these exclusive economic zones means individual countries could increase the protection afforded within their jurisdictions.

    About 40% of the important marine megafauna areas were located in these zones. But about 60% were on the high seas.

    The future of marine megafauna conservation

    The High Seas Treaty, recently adopted by the United Nations and signed by 115 countries, governs the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological biodiversity on the open ocean.

    Working alongside this treaty, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework aims to protect 30% of the global ocean by 2030. This presents an opportunity to ensure important marine megafauna areas are well represented.

    We used an optimisation algorithm to identify the best areas to protect, when it comes to marine megafauna. We gave priority to areas that are potentially used for feeding, breeding, resting and migrating across all the different species.

    But even if important marine megafauna areas are selected when 30% of the ocean is protected, about 60% of these areas would still stay unprotected.

    Significant risks from human activities will remain. Management efforts must also focus on reducing harm from fishing and shipping. Fighting climate change and cutting down noise and plastic pollution should also be key priorities.

    Like for most megafauna on land, the reign of marine megafauna might come to an end if humanity does not afford these species greater protection.

    Ana M. M. Sequeira receives funding from the Australian Research Council and a Pew Marine Fellowship from the Pew Charitable Trusts. She is also affiliated with the University of Western Australia.

    – ref. We tracked 13,000 giants of the ocean over 30 years, to uncover their hidden highways – https://theconversation.com/we-tracked-13-000-giants-of-the-ocean-over-30-years-to-uncover-their-hidden-highways-254610

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI China: Malaysia and China’s openness for dialogue strengthens civilizational exchanges

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

    Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan, president of the Malaysia-China Friendship Association, attends the “Youth Responsibility in a Shared Future: Islamic-Confucian Dialogue and New Horizons for Malaysia-China Cooperation” forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 5, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Openness for dialogue between Malaysia and China plays a key role in strengthening civilizational exchanges and enhancing people-to-people relations by bridging differences, according to academics and experts at a forum in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

    The Global Civilization Initiative, proposed by China, holds significant theoretical and practical value in promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, building a just and equitable international order, and enhancing mutual understanding, Shao Liang, counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia, told the “Youth Responsibility in a Shared Future: Islamic-Confucian Dialogue and New Horizons for Malaysia-China Cooperation” forum.

    “We are living in a time of tremendous global uncertainty,” said Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan, president of the Malaysia-China Friendship Association, noting that in response to global challenges, there is an urgent need to embrace civilizational dialogue.

    Majid also called on young people to bravely shoulder the responsibilities of the times, promote the ideals of peace, and commit themselves to building an inclusive and harmonious global future.

    For his part, Osman Bakar, rector of International Islamic University Malaysia, said that in today’s increasingly diverse world, cultural exchange and mutual understanding between Malaysia and China are more important than ever.

    He stated that through dialogue and cooperation, young people can become bridges that connect different civilizations, resolve differences, and promote shared values.

    The participating youth representatives generally agreed that young people should contribute to cultural exchange and civilizational dialogue between Malaysia and China. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: China’s efforts on environment inspire countries

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

    China Daily | June 6, 2025

    In Minchinabad, Pakistan’s Punjab province, Muhammad Basit Ghauri, a keen observer of the country’s energy transition, is excited about the progress made there.

    Nearly every home, public building, shop and mosque in the city is adorned with glistening solar panels, many of which were imported from China. This scene was something Ghauri didn’t expect to see in areas so far away from major cities, but the sight of solar panels is becoming ever more common in Pakistan.

    “What used to be a luxury — solar energy — has now become a practical solution for the lower-middle and even lower income households,” said Ghauri, who works for Renewables First, a Pakistani think tank, in an interview ahead of World Environment Day, which fell on Thursday.

    As China pioneers the development of an ecological civilization, the ripple effects of the unwavering commitment of the world’s largest developing nation have extended far beyond its borders, notably benefiting other developing countries like Pakistan.

    Experts and officials are envisioning greener, more sustainable futures for countries in the Global South, drawing inspiration from China’s pioneering advancements in environmental and climate initiatives.

    This resonates strongly with one of the key tenets of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, which emphasizes China’s commitment to jointly promote the construction of a global ecological civilization and get deeply involved in global environmental governance, in order to come up with a worldwide solution for environmental protection and sustainable development.

    For Ghauri, the ongoing energy transition in Pakistan has primarily been propelled by the declining costs of solar energy and the increasing prices of electricity from the country’s unreliable grid, with solar panels from China playing a crucial role in facilitating this shift.

    Pakistan purchased some 16 gigawatts of solar panels from China last year at a cost of more than $2 billion, Ghauri said.

    According to the International Energy Agency, China accounts for approximately 80 percent of global solar photovoltaic module manufacturing and has driven a more than 80 percent reduction in the price of solar panels over the past decade.

    Ghauri said that instead of just importing its solar products, Pakistan can also learn from China’s experiences in developing its solar energy industry.

    “No one has built a stronger solar supply chain than China. They dominate global manufacturing not by accident, but through smart investments and a long-term strategy,” he said.

    Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif visited China in December, engaging in an in-depth discussion with Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu.

    While praising China’s significant achievements in air pollution control, Sharif expressed a sincere desire to strengthen communication and collaboration with China on air quality management, the renewable energy industry and low-carbon development, according to the ministry.

    In interviews with China Daily during the COP29 United Nations climate change conference in Azerbaijan late last year, the environment ministers of Cambodia and Nigeria also expressed their hopes of learning from China’s experiences to advance environmental and climate initiatives in their respective countries.

    Eang Sophalleth, Cambodia’s minister for the environment, said: “China has been through so much in the past 20 years. Those experiences are very rich. Cambodia is going through the same phase of developing. And with that experience, it can help us to minimize the impact on the environment in Cambodia.”

    Balarabe Abbas Lawal, Nigeria’s minister for the environment, underscored that there is significant potential for China to assist developing nations in addressing their climate challenges.

    “China is a country that understands what we are going through because they have gone through it,” he said.

    Dimitri de Boer, director for China at ClientEarth, an environmental law organization, said there is a major opportunity for developing countries to learn from how China is moving toward green and low-carbon development.

    While China has enjoyed impressive economic growth, with people’s living standards having improved significantly, the country has also experienced significant environmental improvement in the past decade, he said.

    “Air pollution dropped by more than half, surface water quality is much better, and cities are becoming greener. China’s carbon emissions are starting to plateau, even while power demand continues to increase every year,” he said.

    De Boer emphasized China’s potential to collaborate with other developing nations in advancing their green and low-carbon development initiatives.

    Solar and wind power are now often more affordable than fossil fuels, with their cost continuing to drop, and electric vehicles are becoming very competitive, de Boer said.

    “Countries with a decent level of industrialization could be very well placed to start producing these green technologies in their countries, providing major new business and employment opportunities,” he added.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Tender period extended for Integrated Waste Management Facilities Phase 2

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (June 6) announced that the tender period for the design, build and operate contract for the Integrated Waste Management Facilities Phase 2 (I∙PARK2) (Contract No. EP/SP/312/24) has been extended to noon on July 18, 2025.
     
         The EPD invited tenders for the contract on December 20, 2024. The tender period was originally scheduled to expire at noon on June 27, 2025.
     
         The extension of the tender period was gazetted today. Details of the tender notice are available on the EPD’s website (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/business_job/business_opp/tender.html).
     
         The EPD has commissioned Binnies Hong Kong Limited as the project’s Engineering Consultant. For enquiries, please contact the person-in-charge, Mr Colin Chan (Telephone: 2601 1000; Fax: 2601 3988; E-mail: BinniesHK@binnies.com).

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Tax time is the ideal time to complete a super health check

    Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

    It’s important people know how much super they have, where it is, and if their employer is paying the right amount. At tax time we encourage everyone to complete a super health check.

    For most people it only takes a few minutes, and most checks can be done on ATO online. The super health check consists of the following 5 checks:

    1. Check your contact details

    2. Check your super balance and employer contributions

    3. Check for lost and unclaimed super

    4. Check if you have multiple super accounts and consider consolidating

    5. Check your nominated beneficiary

    People can do a super health check at any time, but it’s a good idea to do it at least once a year, such as when preparing their tax return. It’s a great way of understanding super and staying in control.

    An additional benefit of completing a super health check could be the early detection of fraudulent activity. If people think there’s been activity on their super account that they haven’t authorised, they should contact their super fund immediately.

    Visit ato.gov.au/SuperHealthCheck for more information or to watch a short that explains each check in more detail.

    The super health check is also available in Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Korean, and Vietnamese.

    Looking for the latest news for Super funds? You can stay up to date by visiting our Super funds newsroom and subscribingExternal Link to our monthly Super funds newsletter and CRT alerts.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Australia down Japan to move to the verge of qualification

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

    Australia almost guaranteed qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by beating Japan on Thursday night.

    Veteran defender Aziz Behich scored the only goal in the 90th minute to steer the Socceroos to a 1-0 victory over Japan at Perth Stadium in Western Australia.

    The result means that Australia has a six-point and +10 goal difference advantage over Saudi Arabia in the race for second place in Group C in the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

    In order to secure second place and qualification for a sixth consecutive World Cup, the Socceroos need only to avoid a heavy defeat against Saudi Arabia in Jeddah on Tuesday, or for Saudi Arabia to fail to beat Bahrain later on Thursday.

    Behich’s goal, his third for Australia and his first since 2012, came against the run of play after Japan had dominated possession throughout the match.

    The chance was created by midfielder Riley McGree, who made a run inside Japan’s defensive box before sending his cross between five teammates.

    Behich, making his 80th appearance for the national team, was the quickest to react and fired a shot from his weaker right foot into the far-right corner, causing the capacity crowd of 57,226 to erupt.

    It marked the Socceroos’ first win against Japan since 2009 and ended Japan’s 21-game unbeaten run.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: FIFA announces draw for U17 Women’s World Cup

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

    The draw for the ninth FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup was announced Wednesday, with the 2025 edition set to feature 24 teams for the first time.

    The tournament will take place in Rabat, Morocco, from October 17 to November 8.

    It will also mark the first time the global event is held in Africa, with the draw ceremony staged at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Rabat.

    Host Morocco will compete in Group A alongside Brazil, Costa Rica and Italy. Defending champion Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has been drawn into Group B with Cameroon, Mexico and the Netherlands.

    China is in Group C with Ecuador, Norway and the United States. Group D includes Canada, France, Nigeria and Samoa.

    Group E features Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, South Korea and Spain, while Japan, New Zealand, Paraguay and Zambia make up Group F.

    The top two teams from each of the six groups, along with the four best third-placed teams, will advance to the round of 16. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Poland edge China, Belgium dominate Thailand in VNL

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

    China suffered its first loss at the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Beijing leg on Thursday, falling to Poland 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-19, 25-21) in a tightly contested match at the National Indoor Stadium.

    Poland opposite Magdalena Stysiak and outside hitter Martyna Czyrnianska each scored 20 points to fire their team to victory. Captain and middle blocker Agnieszka Korneluk added 17, while fellow middle blocker Aleksandra Gryka had 12.

    Magdalena Stysiak (L) of Poland spikes the ball during the Pool 3 match between China and Poland at the Women’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2025 at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, June 5, 2025. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

    After dropping a closely fought opening set, China responded with a spirited performance in the second, making lineup adjustments and gaining momentum through effective blocking and fast-paced attacks. Outside hitters Tang Xin and Wu Mengjie played key roles as the team leveled the scores at one set apiece.

    Zhuang Yushan scored a team-high 17 points, Wu earned 13 points, while Tang contributed 12 points overall, including seven in the second set alone.

    “At the beginning, I felt I performed even better than I did in training,” said Tang, 21. “But later on, I got a bit too excited and started to lose focus. Poland adjusted quickly, especially in the third set – their blockers began targeting me more directly, and I had trouble adapting.”

    The third set saw both teams battling point-for-point early on, but Poland pulled ahead midway with solid defense and consistent execution, eventually taking it 25-19. In the fourth, China made a strong start, racing into a 3-0 lead, but Poland quickly turned the tide with a 14-10 advantage and maintained a narrow lead down the stretch. Despite China’s late push to save a match point, Poland closed out the set 25-21 to seal their second straight win in Beijing.

    “We’re very happy with this win. Coming into the match, we knew it would be difficult, even though we only had a few recent matches to study this ‘new’ Chinese team. Still, we could tell that their players have incredible quality. The younger players may lack experience, but they’ve already shown great technique, talent, and character,” said Poland head coach Stefano Lavarini.

    Lavarini noted that the second set slipped away due to a drop in serving quality and missed opportunities in attack, especially against single blocks. However, he added that in the third set, his team regained its rhythm by stabilizing service and playing with more consistency.

    “We tried to get back to the level we had in the first set. In the fourth set, China changed many players, so we made some tactical adjustments as well – especially in how we adapted to their different middle blockers and attackers,” the 46-year-old Italian explained.

    With the result, Poland improve to 2-0 in the current leg, while China drops to 1-1. Both teams will have a rest day on Friday before returning to action over the weekend.

    Earlier in the day, Belgium earned its first win of the Beijing leg with a 3-1 victory over Thailand (25-22, 25-23, 24-26, 25-22).

    Belgium captain Britt Herbots led the scorers with 31 points, while opposite Pauline Martin added 19. Middle blocker Nathalie Lemmens contributed 14 points, including five blocks, as Belgium’s offensive trio proved decisive.

    “It was a very tough and long match from every perspective,” said Herbots. “Thailand has a unique style of play. There were a lot of fast combinations and long rallies – very tiring on defense. But I’m really happy we got the win. Everyone fulfilled their role, and that’s really important for a team.”

    Belgium will next play against France on Friday, while Thailand will face Türkiye. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: GAZA – Nasser hospital on the frontline: South Gaza’s lifeline must be preserved

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)

    Jerusalem, 5 June 2025 – In southern Gaza, displacement orders and movement restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities on Nasser hospital are pushing this vital medical facility on the brink of becoming non-functional, warns Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

    Ordering hospitals to refuse new patients and making it harder for people to reach places of care has been a pattern aimed at bringing down the hospitals by the Israeli forces through this war. Nasser is the only last remaining vital lifeline for the people in need, and its full functionality must be restored immediately and preserved.

    On 3 June, our teams were told that any movement to Nasser hospital would require authorisation and this would have to be requested with at least 24 hours’ notice. This meant that medical staff due on the day shift could not reach the hospital. The staff from the previous night had to continue working. They ended up staying on shift for 48 consecutive hours.

    The outpatient department remained closed for the whole day.  Ambulances that were able to carry patients to the hospital did so at great risk, as there was a danger they would be shot at because they lacked authorisation. Nasser’s location on the frontline hampers both staff and patient’s ability to access this vital remaining hospital.

    This is happening while people are exhausted, their lives shattered by 20 months of extremely violent war and a suffocating siege where even the distribution of minimal amounts of aid results in devastating massacres. In this context, any remaining medical facility is of critical importance and must be protected.

    The attacks on healthcare are not only carried out through military action. They happen through limitations imposed on the importation of medical supplies, forcing doctors to ration pain relief medicine. They happen through displacement orders, leading to entire hospitals having to shut down at short notice. They happen through harassment and confusing orders issued by Israeli authorities, making it more and more difficult to provide lifesaving care.

    “We have seen this pattern before”, says Jose Mas, head of MSF emergency programmes. “It happened to facilities like Al Awda and the Indonesian hospital, in northern Gaza, where they were first asked to not admit more patients, and a few days later were attacked and practically shut down. Putting Nasser hospital out of service would equate to a death sentence for the most severe patients among wounded adults and children, critically ill patients, and women in need of emergency obstetric care.”

    Nasser hospital is a large referral hospital with many specialist wards not found anywhere else in the south of Gaza including operating theatres, an oxygen plant, ventilators, a blood bank, and incubators. Reducing access to this hospital and blocking the referral of patients who need specialist, emergency care, stops people from receiving treatment that may safe their life.

    In the past few months, MSF medical teams in Nasser hospital have provided care to over 500 patients in the maternity ward, including women requiring surgical care, as well as to more than 400 newborn babies and paediatric patients. The hospital is full of patients with burns and severe trauma.

    Healthcare is under attack everywhere in Gaza. In the morning of 4 June, Israeli forces struck the  MSF supported Al Aqsa hospital three times, the main facility in Deir Al Balah, central Gaza. Although no casualties were reported, it is a stark reminder of how patients, medical staff and health facilities are constantly at great risk in Gaza.

    Our teams have received patients who have been critically injured while trying to get food, as a result of the shootings which have taken place around the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation food distribution centres. This is in addition to the people who have been wounded in the ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Hospitals are overflowing with patients.

    It’s essential that Israeli authorities protect Nasser hospital and guarantee full and unimpeded access to patients and medical staff alike, to avoid more deaths.

    MSF is an international, medical, humanitarian organisation that delivers medical care to people in need, regardless of their origin, religion, or political affiliation. MSF has been working in Haiti for over 30 years, offering general healthcare, trauma care, burn wound care, maternity care, and care for survivors of sexual violence. MSF Australia was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF sections committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to people in crisis. 

    In 2022, more than 120 project staff from Australia and New Zealand worked with MSF on assignment overseas. MSF delivers medical care based on need alone and operates independently of government, religion or economic influence and irrespective of race, religion or gender. For more information visit msf.org.au  

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Minister Sidhu champions rules-based trade with Canada’s Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and World Trade Organization partners

    Source: Government of Canada News

    June 5, 2025 – Paris, France – Global Affairs Canada

    The Honourable Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade, this week concluded his participation in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) and World Trade Organization (WTO) mini-ministerial meeting, in Paris, France.

    At the OECD MCM, Minister Sidhu reaffirmed Canada’s support for the rules-based global trading system and its underpinning values. These include reinforcing the open, stable markets that ensure predictability amidst economic uncertainty, responsibly developing artificial intelligence and standing up for Ukraine. Canada served as vice-chair of the OECD MCM alongside Australia and Lithuania, under the chairship of Costa Rica.

    At the meeting, Canada and the Philippines formally took on the role of the 2025 to 2028 co-chairs of the OECD Southeast Asia Regional Programme (SEARP), a program that was created to address economic and development challenges in Southeast Asia. Minister Sidhu announced that Canada will contribute $2 million to support SEARP’s activities, which align with Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and Strategic Partnership with ASEAN.

    At the WTO mini-ministerial meeting, Minister Sidhu advocated for deep and meaningful reforms of the WTO to ensure its rules are modernized and continue to support a rules-based global trading system. Canada also called for a pragmatic approach to the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference that considers current economic challenges.

    While in Paris, the Minister also hosted a business round table with Canadian companies active in the French market. As Canada seeks to strengthen its collaboration with reliable trading partners, the Minister heard the business representatives’ first-hand perspectives on the opportunities for Canadian businesses in France. 

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Larsen Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Combat Drug Trafficking in Tribal Communities

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Rick Larsen (2nd Congressional District Washington)

    Today, Representative Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Representative Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced the bipartisan Protection for Reservation Occupants Against Trafficking and Evasive Communications Today (PROTECT) Act to combat drug trafficking in tribal communities. The PROTECT Act would expand Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction (STCJ) to allow tribal nations to prosecute non-Native offenders for drug trafficking. It would also allow tribal courts to execute warrants for electronic material to better combat drug traffickers and other criminals.  

    “The opioid epidemic has devastated Northwest Washington,” said Rep. Larsen. “Tribes in my district have continually told me about the unique challenges their courts and law enforcement face to stop drug trafficking on Tribal land. This bill would give Tribes the tools they need to protect tribal sovereignty, save lives and keep Tribes and communities across Northwest Washington safe,” said Larsen.  

    Read the bill text HERE.  

    Representatives Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez (D-Wash.), Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.), Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) also joined as original cosponsors of the bill.  

    Statements of Support:  

    “The opioid and fentanyl epidemic is harming all citizens in Washington State. Our reservations are no different. Our Tribal lands are being targeted by organized crime because of the jurisdictional complexities and other vulnerabilities. The PROTECT Act of 2025 restores Tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians for drug trafficking within our reservation boundaries, helping protect not only the residents on our reservation, but all Washingtonians,” said Teri Gobin, Chairwoman, Tulalip Tribes. 

    “The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians supports the PROTECT Act of 2025, a bill that strengthens tribal criminal justice systems to help combat the opioid-fentanyl epidemic that is devastating our tribal communities. We urge Congress to move swiftly on this bill,” said Leonard Forsman, President, ATNI. 

    “For the past few years, Tribes have been urging Congress to move forward with legislative fixes that recognize our sovereignty and restore jurisdiction over non-tribal predatory drug dealers who are causing great harm at Lummi Nation. We thank everyone who has played a part in making this happen,” said Anthony Hillaire, Chairman, Lummi Nation. 

    “This legislation is important for three key reasons. First, this bill will enhance our ability to investigate crimes, which in turn will help ensure the safety of our community. This bill will allow our Tribal law enforcement to utilize the prompt review by a Swinomish Court judge of a request for a search warrant of social media platforms that will be honored by the platforms, and as a result we can quickly tackle incoming drugs and other illegal activity. Second, this bill helps restore the inherent sovereignty of Tribes by recognizing Tribal criminal jurisdiction over offenses involving drugs and firearms. Restoring Tribal criminal jurisdiction over these offenses will allow for swift and certain repercussions for those who are violating the criminal drug and firearms laws of the Tribe. Third and finally, the ability to utilize the Bureau of Prisons Tribal Prisoner Program (BOP) provides access to a potentially useful resource for Tribes,” said Steve Edwards, Chairman, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. 

    “The Colville Tribes’ law enforcement agency has long been hampered by the omission in federal law that does not allow our tribal courts to compel social media companies to turn over information necessary for our officers to investigate crimes. The PROTECT Act would provide tribal courts this authority and, in the process, allow investigations to proceed faster and more efficiently,” said Jarred-Michael Erickson, Chairman, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. 

    “Any additional tools that Congress can provide us to keep our community safe is a welcome change. The amendments in this bill will assist tribes in fighting the fentanyl epidemic, which will help Indian Country and surrounding communities. We are all safer if we can reduce the effects of drug crimes and related violence that is taking out our youth in unprecedented numbers,” said Dustin Klatush, Chairman, Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation. 

    Larsen Is Focused on Combating Opioid Crisis in Northwest Washington 

    Rep. Larsen is focused on supporting local efforts to combat the opioid crisis and save lives. Last Congress, he introduced a districtwide opioid report outlining a comprehensive framework to combat the crisis. He built on this report by introducing four pieces of legislation: 

    • The Workforce Opportunities for Communities in Recovery Act, which would codify, strengthen, and expand pilot grant funding for community partnerships that promote employment for those recovering from substance use, help workers transition to occupations that support those affected by substance use, and provide supportive services to program participants, such as substance use treatment, peer support services, and mentorship opportunities. 

    • The Closing the Substance Use Care Gap Act, which would expand access to lifesaving, community-based harm reduction initiatives and services and enhance the federal response to the opioid and fentanyl epidemic. 

    Larsen plans to reintroduce all of his opioid-related bills to provide communities with the resources they need to regain the momentum to combat the opioid epidemic and save lives. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Hanmi Bank Hosts Grand Opening Celebration of New Branch in Duluth, Georgia

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DULUTH, Ga., June 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Hanmi Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: HAFC) (“Hanmi”), the holding company for Hanmi Bank, today welcomed local officials and community members to its grand opening celebration for its newest branch in Duluth, Georgia. Honored guests included Georgia State Representative Long Tran (Dist. 80), and Gwinnett County Commissioner Kirkland Carden. They were joined by several Hanmi Bank executives, including Bonnie Lee, President and CEO, Anthony Kim, Chief Banking Officer, and Cindy Yum, who serves as Branch Manager for the new Duluth location.

    The Duluth branch is Hanmi’s first full-service branch in Georgia, located at 2330 Pleasant Hill Road, Suite 100 – less than 30 miles from Atlanta. Georgia continues to be a key hub for Korean business investment and expansion. In fiscal year 2023, Korean companies announced over $10 billion in new investments and the creation of more than 12,600 jobs across the state, according to the Office of the Governor. Total trade between Georgia and Korea reached $17.5 billion last year, underscoring the strength of this dynamic economic partnership.

    “Our expansion in Georgia is an important step in our growth plans, and we’re excited to be a part of this community,” said Bonnie Lee, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hanmi Financial Corporation. “Duluth is a vibrant and diverse city that values business opportunity and community strength. We look forward to supporting local businesses and individuals, and contributing to the continued economic vitality of this region through our relationship-based banking model.”

    Hanmi Bank Duluth Branch offers a comprehensive range of personal and business banking services, including checking and savings accounts, commercial lending, SBA loans, and specialized financial solutions. Bank hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

    About Hanmi Financial Corporation
    Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Hanmi Financial Corporation owns Hanmi Bank, which serves multi-ethnic communities through its network of 32 full-service branches, five loan production offices and three loan centers in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Hanmi Bank specializes in real estate, commercial, SBA and trade finance lending to small and middle market businesses. Additional information is available at www.hanmi.com.

    Contact
    Kelly McAndrew
    Financial Profiles, Inc.
    310-622-8239
    kmcandrew@finprofiles.com

    Source: Hanmi Bank

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1979e6ea-5852-40ca-a7fe-5713ce755da3

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cramer, Bennet Introduce Bill to Strengthen Quad Space Cooperation

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)

    Click here for audio.

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the “Quad,” is an informal strategic forum for the militaries of the United States, Japan, India, and Australia. The partnership between the four countries is built upon common interests: promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific and addressing regional geopolitical challenges.  

    At a time when adversaries like China and Russia are increasingly utilizing space-based capabilities to expand their interests, U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), co-chair of the Senate Space Force Caucus and chair of the Senate Armed Services (SASC) Airland Subcommittee, and Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced the Quad Space Act of 2025. The bill would direct the Secretary of Defense to initiate discussions with Quad countries to identify mutual areas of interest with respect to the formulation of best practices in space, cooperation on space situational awareness, and space industrial policy. 

    The Quad Space Act of 2025 would also require the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, detailing potential areas of mutual interests. Additionally, the report must outline potential steps the Secretary intends to take to formalize cooperation among Quad members. 

    “Maintaining space dominance is vital to protecting the stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region,” said Cramer. “The Quad’s alignment addresses shared security challenges between our countries, and we recognize the importance of space as a strategic domain. The Quad Space Act protects our interests by deepening space cooperation with trusted partners and reaffirming our commitment to advancing a free and open region.”  

    “As China and Russia rapidly develop dangerous space capabilities and behave recklessly in space, the United States must bolster cooperation with our Quad partners to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said Bennet. “The Quad Space Act will enhance our collective capacity to address shared challenges by better ensuring safe and secure space missions, tracking objects and activities in space, and fostering shared innovation.” 

    Click here for bill text.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cotton Introduces Bill to Ban to Protect American Agriculture from Biothreats

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Arkansas Tom Cotton

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Contact: Caroline Tabler or Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353
    June 5, 2025

    Cotton Introduces Bill to Ban to Protect American Agriculture from Biothreats

    Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today introduced the Biothreat Prevention Act, legislation that would ban federal funding for laboratories or research centers that have nationals from China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, or North Korea working on agricultural research.

    “Foreign terrorists that seek to poison and destroy America’s food supply should not have access to American labs and universities,” said Senator Cotton.

    Full text of the bill may be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: We tracked 13,000 giants of the ocean over 30 years, to uncover their hidden highways

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ana M. M. Sequeira, Associate Professor, Research School of Biology, Australian National University

    Alexandra Vautin, Shutterstock

    Big animals of the ocean go about their days mostly hidden from view. Scientists know this marine megafauna – such as whales, sharks, seal, turtles and birds – travel vast distances to feed and breed.

    But almost a third are now at risk of extinction due largely to fishing, shipping, pollution and global warming.

    Protecting them can be difficult, because we don’t often know where these animals are.

    New research I led sought to shed light on the issue. My colleagues and I gathered 30 years of satellite tracking data to map hotspots of megafauna activity around the globe.

    We tracked 12,794 animals from 111 species to find out where they go. The results reveal underwater “highways” where megafauna crisscross the global Ocean. They also show where megafauna dwell for feeding and breeding. Now we know where these special places are, we have a better chance of protecting them.

    Satellite tracking reveals marine megafauna migration pathways and places of residence.
    Sequeira et al (2025) Science

    Pulling all the data together: a mega task

    For more than 30 years, marine biologists have tagged large animals in the sea with electronic devices and tracked their movements via satellite. The trackers capture data on everything from speed of travel, to direction of movement and where the animals spend most of their time.

    I put a call out to the global research community to bring together the tracking data. I hoped it would help scientists better understand the animals’ movements and identify their favourite places.

    Some 378 scientists from 50 countries responded. We assembled the world’s largest tracking dataset of marine megafauna. It includes species of flying birds, whales, fishes (mostly sharks), penguins, polar bears, seals, dugongs, manatees and turtles. They were tracked between 1985 and 2018, throughout the world’s oceans.

    Ana Sequeira swimming with a whale shark in Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, to collect samples.
    Australian Institute of Marine Science

    Mapping reveals a lack of protection

    When we started analysing the data, it showed the tagged animals used some parts of the ocean more frequently than others. Most of them travelled to the central Indian Ocean, northeast Pacific Ocean, Atlantic north, and waters around Mozambique and South Africa.

    It’s likely this reflects a lack of data from elsewhere. However, these species are known to go to places where they are most likely to find food, so we expect some areas to be used more than others (including the areas we detected).

    Then we were able to identify the world’s most “ecologically and biologically significant areas” for the tracked animals.

    Currently only about 8% of the global ocean is protected. And only 5% of the important marine megafauna areas we identified occur within these existing marine protected areas.

    This leaves all of the other important marine megafauna areas we identified unprotected. In other words, the species using those areas are likely to suffer harm from human activities taking place at sea.

    More than 90% of the important marine megafauna areas we identified are exposed to high plastic pollution, shipping traffic or to intensifying global warming. And about 75% are exposed to industrial fishing.

    We also found marine megafauna tend to spend most of their time within exclusive economic zones. This area lies beyond the territorial sea or belt of water 12 nautical miles from the coast of each country, extending 200 nautical miles from shore. The presence of megafauna in these exclusive economic zones means individual countries could increase the protection afforded within their jurisdictions.

    About 40% of the important marine megafauna areas were located in these zones. But about 60% were on the high seas.

    The future of marine megafauna conservation

    The High Seas Treaty, recently adopted by the United Nations and signed by 115 countries, governs the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological biodiversity on the open ocean.

    Working alongside this treaty, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework aims to protect 30% of the global ocean by 2030. This presents an opportunity to ensure important marine megafauna areas are well represented.

    We used an optimisation algorithm to identify the best areas to protect, when it comes to marine megafauna. We gave priority to areas that are potentially used for feeding, breeding, resting and migrating across all the different species.

    But even if important marine megafauna areas are selected when 30% of the ocean is protected, about 60% of these areas would still stay unprotected.

    Significant risks from human activities will remain. Management efforts must also focus on reducing harm from fishing and shipping. Fighting climate change and cutting down noise and plastic pollution should also be key priorities.

    Like for most megafauna on land, the reign of marine megafauna might come to an end if humanity does not afford these species greater protection.

    Ana M. M. Sequeira receives funding from the Australian Research Council and a Pew Marine Fellowship from the Pew Charitable Trusts. She is also affiliated with the University of Western Australia.

    – ref. We tracked 13,000 giants of the ocean over 30 years, to uncover their hidden highways – https://theconversation.com/we-tracked-13-000-giants-of-the-ocean-over-30-years-to-uncover-their-hidden-highways-254610

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘Deadly’ sports diplomacy: why Australia’s Indigenous people must be a part of our sports strategy

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stuart Murray, Associate Professor, International Relations and Diplomacy, Bond University

    Sean Garnsworthy/ALLSPORT

    Since coming to power in 2022, the Albanese government has focused strongly on the Indo-Pacific.

    The prime minister’s recent trip to Indonesia was the latest high-level bilateral summit as Australia seeks to recalibrate relationships, enhance security and, where possible, win the battle for hearts and minds in the region.



    Read more:
    There’s no country more important to Australia than Indonesia. Trouble is, the feeling isn’t mutual

    In a world slipping further into “strategic atrophy,” art, music, food, culture, sport and other forms of soft power are no longer peripheral.

    In the foreword to the recently launched Australian Sports Diplomacy 2032+ strategy, for example, Labor MP Tim Watts stated:

    Sport is an important tool for Australia’s diplomatic engagement at a time when Australia needs to use every dimension of our national power to advance our interests.

    The First Nations of Australia are mentioned in this strategy but it fails to reflect the depth, power and influence Indigenous sports diplomats could bring.

    Arguably, our sports diplomacy would be more authentic, unique and effective (especially in the Pacific) if First Nations people, perspectives and programs were genuinely integrated from the outset – baked in, not bolted on.

    The epic history of First Nations sport

    Indigenous Australians were the first people to play sport on this land.

    Before colonisation, Australia’s population was around 750,000, divided into about 500 nations.

    Though sometimes hostile, these communities shared a common language: sport.

    Physical pursuits served, and still serve, many purposes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: fostering communication, preserving lore, teaching youth to be effective providers and most importantly, practising survival skills.

    Sport was also a civilising force used for social, cultural and diplomatic ends. Games and carnivals increased contact between clans, easing tension, division, xenophobia and misunderstandings that could spark violence.

    Battendi (spear-throwing), Marngrook (football), Koolchee (ball games), and Prun (mock war) are examples of diplomatic games that predate the ancient Greek Olympics by tens of thousands of years.

    Sport became central to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture, identity and diplomacy.

    “Deadly” – a term meaning excellent – sports diplomacy is a more fitting way to describe this unique form of diplomacy. Done well, it offers a more accurate, authentic brand of Australia to the region and beyond.

    The battle for the Blue Pacific

    The “Blue Pacific” – a term describing a shared Pacific culture, identity and collective diplomatic strategy – offers an opportunity to harness the power of deadly sports diplomacy.

    If Australia hopes to win Pacific hearts and minds, it should send more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sports diplomats and teams to countries such as Fiji, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and New Zealand, because the nations of the Blue Pacific deeply respect the old, wise First Peoples of Australia.

    These relationships are built on shared values: culture, family, spirituality and sport.

    The Black Swans – Australia’s First Nations netball team, which debuted at the PacificAus Sports netball series in 2024 – are included as a case study in Sports Diplomacy 2032+. However, it’s the government’s A$600 million NRL project in PNG that has dominated headlines.



    Read more:
    Sports diplomacy: why the Australian government is spending $600 million on a new NRL team in PNG

    The Albanese government’s backing of this initiative has sparked criticism among supporters of other codes in Australia with strong ties to Pacific nations – especially rugby union, which until recently was the code of choice in Fiji and throughout Polynesia.

    A rise in Pacific Island interest in rugby league may impact rugby union, some argue.

    However, rugby league may be a more effective sports diplomacy tool. It enjoys growing popularity in those locations and has undisputed national sport status in PNG, the most populous Pacific nation by far.

    It’s also arguably more “deadly,” with its Indigenous All Stars team and an Indigenous Round.

    In the NRL, 48% of players have Pasifika heritage, and 12% identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, compared to 3% across the Australian population.

    Should rugby union receive similar support? Perhaps, but first, it must address the absence of Indigenous players.

    Since Rugby Australia’s founding in 1949, only 15 Aboriginal men have played Test rugby for Australia.

    What about similar funding for soccer, the national obsession of strategically important near neighbours Solomon Islands and Vanuatu?

    It too has had a relative absence of Indigenous players at Australia’s highest levels, notwithstanding the pioneering careers of Charlie Perkins, John Moriarty, Archie Thompson and recent Matildas Lydia Williams and Mackenzie Arnold.

    Extra time

    Integrating the world’s oldest living culture in Australia’s sports diplomacy program can only enhance our relationships, diplomacy and national brand.

    The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS)’s Share a Yarn initiative is helping lead the way.

    Established in 2020, it connects elite First Nations athletes with respected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mentors.

    Throughout the year, athletes and mentors meet online, attend monthly storytelling sessions and attend an annual cultural connection camp at the AIS campus.

    As Marissa Williamson Pohlman, the first Aboriginal woman to compete in boxing at the Olympics in 2024, noted:

    Mainstream sport can be challenging but having the unwavering support of mob keeps me grounded and focused on my goals.

    The fact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have practised sports diplomacy for more than 60,000 years is a powerful story. It is one that should be celebrated at every international sporting event we attend, bid for, or host.

    Including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, programs and perspectives would strengthen and innovate our strategies, add vital cultural iconography, inspire like-minded nations and help win hearts and minds from Honiara to Hawaii.

    The authors would like to thank Kombumerri woman Emily Pugin (DFAT) and Butchulla/Goreng Goreng Paul Martin for their contribution, teaching and help in commissioning and drafting the report that informs this article.

    Stuart Murray receives funding from The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

    Narelle Bedford 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. ‘Deadly’ sports diplomacy: why Australia’s Indigenous people must be a part of our sports strategy – https://theconversation.com/deadly-sports-diplomacy-why-australias-indigenous-people-must-be-a-part-of-our-sports-strategy-257542

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s justifications for the latest travel ban aren’t supported by the data on immigration and terrorism

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Charles Kurzman, Professor of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

    Taliban fighters guard the former U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, on June 5, 2025. AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi

    The Trump administration on June 4, 2025, announced travel restrictions targeting 19 countries in Africa and Asia, including many of the world’s poorest nations. All travel is banned from 12 of these countries, with partial restrictions on travel from the rest.

    The presidential proclamation, entitled “Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats,” is aimed at “countries throughout the world for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a full or partial suspension on the entry or admission of nationals from those countries.”

    In a video that accompanied the proclamation, President Donald Trump said: “The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted.”

    The latest travel ban reimposes restrictions on many of the countries that were included on travel bans in Trump’s first term, along with several new countries.

    But this travel ban, like the earlier ones, will not significantly improve national security and public safety in the United States. That’s because migrants account for a minuscule portion of violence in the U.S. And migrants from the latest travel ban countries account for an even smaller portion, according to data that I have collected. The suspect in Colorado, for example, is from Egypt, which is not on the travel ban list.

    As a scholar of political sociology, I don’t believe Trump’s latest travel ban is about national security. Rather, I’d argue, it’s primarily about using national security as an excuse to deny visas to nonwhite applicants.

    Terrorism and public safety

    In the past five years, the U.S. has witnessed more than 100,000 homicides. Political violence by militias and other ideological movements accounted for 354 fatalities, according to an initiative known as the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, which tracks armed conflict around the world. That’s less than 1% of the country’s homicide victims. And foreign terrorism accounted for less than 1% of this 1%, according to my data.

    The Trump administration says the U.S. cannot appropriately vet visa applicants in countries with uncooperative governments or underdeveloped security systems. That claim is false.

    The State Department and other government agencies do a thorough job of vetting visa applicants, even in countries where there is no U.S. embassy, according to an analysis by the CATO Institute.

    The U.S. government has sophisticated methods for identifying potential threats. They include detailed documentation requirements, interviews with consular officers and clearance by national security agencies. And it rejects more than 1 in 6 visa applications, with ever-increasing procedures for detecting fraud.

    Members of the Yemeni community and others wave American and Yemeni flags as they gather on the steps of Brooklyn’s Borough Hall to protest President Donald Trump’s first travel ban on Feb. 2, 2017, in New York.
    AP Photo/Kathy Willens

    The thoroughness of the visa review process is evident in the numbers.

    Authorized foreign-born residents of the U.S. are far less likely than U.S.-born residents to engage in criminal activity. And unauthorized migrants are even less likely to commit crimes. Communities with more migrants – authorized and unauthorized – have similar or slightly lower crime rates than communities with fewer migrants.

    If vetting were as deficient as Trump’s executive order claims, we would expect to see a significant number of terrorist plots from countries on the travel ban list. But we don’t.

    Of the 4 million U.S. residents from the 2017 travel ban countries, I have documented only four who were involved in violent extremism in the past five years.

    Two of them were arrested after plotting with undercover law enforcement agents. One was found to have lied on his asylum application. One was an Afghan man who killed three Pakistani Shiite Muslim immigrants in New Mexico in 2022.

    Such a handful of zealots with rifles or homemade explosives can be life-altering for victims and their families, but they do not represent a threat to U.S. national security.

    Degrading the concept of national security

    Trump has been trying for years to turn immigration into a national security issue.

    In his first major speech on national security in 2016, Trump focused on the “dysfunctional immigration system which does not permit us to know who we let into our country.”

    His primary example was an act of terrorism by a man who was born in the U.S.

    The first Trump administration’s national security strategy, issued in December 2017, prioritized jihadist terrorist organizations that “radicalize isolated individuals” as “the most dangerous threat to the Nation” – not armies, not another 9/11, but isolated individuals.

    If the travel ban is not really going to improve national security or public safety, then what is it about?

    Protesters wave signs during a demonstration against President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban on May 15, 2017, in Seattle.
    AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

    Linking immigration to national security seems to serve two long-standing Trump priorities. First is his effort to make American more white, in keeping with widespread bias among his supporters against nonwhite immigrants.

    Remember Trump’s insults to Mexicans and Muslims in his escalator speech announcing his presidential campaign in 2015. He has also expressed a preference for white immigrants from Norway in 2018 and South Africa in 2025.

    Trump has repeatedly associated himself with nationalists who view immigration by nonwhites as a danger to white supremacy.

    Second, invoking national security allows Trump to pursue this goal without the need for accountability, since Congress and the courts have traditionally deferred to the executive branch on national security issues.

    Trump also claims national security justifications for tariffs and other policies that he has declared national emergencies, in a bid to avoid criticism by the public and oversight by the other branches of government.

    But this oversight is necessary in a democratic system to ensure that immigration policy is based on facts.

    Charles Kurzman has received funding for research on terrorism from the National Institute of Justice and the National Science Foundation.

    – ref. Trump’s justifications for the latest travel ban aren’t supported by the data on immigration and terrorism – https://theconversation.com/trumps-justifications-for-the-latest-travel-ban-arent-supported-by-the-data-on-immigration-and-terrorism-255471

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Moscow hosts photo exhibition in honor of 80th anniversary of Victory in Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and World Anti-Fascist War

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    Moscow, June 5 (Xinhua) — A photo exhibition titled “Shoulder to Shoulder – Towards a Common Victory” dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War was held at the Chinese Cultural Center in Moscow on Thursday.

    The event featured unique photographs from the Xinhua archive, which captured key events of the war years and the heroic feat of the Chinese people in the war, and also reflected the contribution of China and the Soviet Union to the victory over fascism and militarism. In addition, visitors were able to see modern photographs telling about the development of Russian-Chinese military and cultural-humanitarian cooperation in recent years.

    Opening the exhibition, First Deputy Chairperson of the Russian-Chinese Friendship Society Galina Kulikova recalled that on May 9, Russia solemnly celebrated the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The festive parade on Red Square was attended by leaders of a number of foreign countries, and the main guest was the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, she noted.

    “These events are a tribute to the Great Victory of our countries. We, on the Western Front, and China, on the Eastern Front, won a decisive victory. This Victory was achieved by our countries at the cost of more than 64 million lives. In the name of those who gave their lives so that we can gather today, celebrate these dates, and solve the problems that the heads of our states set for us, we are obliged to and will always remember them,” said G. Kulikova.

    The Plenipotentiary Minister of the Chinese Embassy in the Russian Federation Zhang Wei noted the dedication of the peoples of China and Russia in the fight against militarism and fascism, as well as the fact that during the war a deep friendship arose between the countries, which became a powerful incentive for the comprehensive development of bilateral relations.

    “At the new historical starting point of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War, under the strategic leadership of the leaders of the two countries, China and Russia will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder, interact side by side, and hand in hand advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. Together, we will write a brilliant chapter of just and peaceful development,” he stressed.

    The First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs of the Russian Federation, former Russian Ambassador to China Andrei Denisov, for his part, pointed out that the joint statement of the Russian Federation and China, adopted following the state visit of Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping to Moscow, said a lot about the war, about preserving and passing on historical memory to younger generations, and preventing the distortion of historical truth.

    “The Soviet Union and China are named at the very beginning of the first chapter of the joint statement as ‘the main theatres of military operations in Europe and Asia’. It is emphasized that they have become ‘two key forces’ in the fight against fascism and militarism,” he added, noting that he is looking forward to the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, which will be held in China in September. According to him, this will be a significant political event.

    Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Dmitry Novikov expressed the opinion that the photo exhibition will become part of the commemorative events dedicated to the two 80th anniversaries. He noted that in China, as in Russia, great attention is paid to preserving the memory of the war and the fight against the falsification of history.

    “This is extremely important from the point of view of ensuring that such tragedies do not happen again. It depends on each of us that the horrors of wars, the horrors of fascist terror do not happen again. Our peoples, who made the greatest sacrifices on the altar of Victory, can, must and are obliged to do more for this than others,” he emphasized.

    The exhibition was prepared by the Xinxia Asia-Europe Bureau, China lmage Group, the Russian-Chinese Friendship Society and the Chinese Cultural Center. The co-organizers were the Union of Chinese Entrepreneurs in Russia and the Passion company. The event was held with the support of the Chinese Embassy in the Russian Federation. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: June 5th, 2025 Heinrich, Luján Introduce Legislation to Combat Obesity Epidemic

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) introduced the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act to combat the obesity crisis in the United States by providing regular screenings. The bill would also prevent diseases associated with obesity through expanded coverage of new health care specialists and chronic weight management medications for Medicare recipients.

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diseases associated with obesity such as heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes, and certain types of cancer are the leading causes of preventable death in the U.S. The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act would work to directly prevent these comorbidities.

    The legislation is led by U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) Alongside Heinrich and Luján, the legislation is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Chris Coons (D-Del.).

    The following organizations have endorsed the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Academy of Pas, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American Association of Nurse Practitioners, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, American Diabetes Association, American Gastroenterological Association, American Medical Group Association, American Psychological Association, American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, American Society for Nutrition, Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations, Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists, Black Woman’s Health Imperative, Boehringer-Ingelheim, ConscienHealth, Currax, Diabetes Leadership Council, Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition, Eli Lilly and Company, Endocrine Society, Gerontological Society of America, Global Liver Institute, Healthcare Leadership Council, HealthyWomen, Intuitive Surgical, MedTech Coalition for Metabolic Health, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, National Consumers League, National Council on Aging, National Hispanic Medical Association, National Kidney Foundation, Novo Nordisk, Obesity Action Coalition, Obesity Medicine Association, Ro, Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance, The Obesity Society, Trust for America’s Health, WW Weight Watchers International, and YMCA of the USA.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Five countries elected to serve on UN Security Council

    Source: United Nations – Peacekeeping

    Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia, and Liberia were elected on Tuesday to serve as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, with two-year terms beginning in January 2026.

    They will serve through the end of 2027 on the UN body responsible for maintaining international peace and security.

    They will join the five non-permanent members elected last year – Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama, and Somalia – who will serve through 2026. The incoming members will succeed Algeria, Guyana, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, and Slovenia, whose terms end in December 2025.

    The Security Council has 15 members: five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States – who hold veto power, and ten non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly for staggered two-year terms.

    Elections are held annually by secret ballot, with seats allocated by regional group. Candidates must secure a two-thirds majority in the 193-member General Assembly to be elected.

    Vote tally

    A total of 188 Member States participated in the election, which required only one round of balloting.

    In the African and Asia-Pacific group, Bahrain received 186 votes, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) garnered 183 votes, and Liberia received 181 votes, with one country abstaining.

    In the Eastern European group, Latvia received 178 votes while 10 countries abstained.

    In the Latin America and the Caribbean group, Colombia received 180 votes, with eight countries abstaining.

    Debut for Latvia

    Latvia will take a seat on the Council for the first time in its history.

    With the exception of Latvia, all the elected countries have previously served: Colombia seven times, the DRC twice, and Bahrain and Liberia once each.

    Regional groups

    The non-permanent seats on the Security Council are distributed according to four regional groupings: Africa and Asia; Eastern Europe; Latin America and the Caribbean; and the Western European and other States group.

    This year’s election filled five seats: two allocated to Africa, one to Asia-Pacific, one to Eastern Europe, and one to Latin America and the Caribbean.

    By Vibhu Mishra

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Jack Kaye Retires After a Storied Career at NASA

    Source: NASA

    Jack Kaye [NASA HQ—Associate Director for Research, Earth Science Division (ESD)] has decided to retire on April 30, 2025, following 42 years of service to NASA – see Photo 1. Most recently, Kaye served as associate director for research of the Earth Science Division (ESD) within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD). In this position, he was responsible for the research and data analysis programs for Earth System Science that addressed the broad spectrum of scientific disciplines from the stratopause to the poles to the oceans.

    A New York native, Kaye’s interest in space was piqued as a child watching early NASA manned space launches on television. He would often write to NASA to get pictures of the astronauts. In high school, he started an after school astronomy club. Despite a youthful interest in Earth science, as he explained in a 2014 “Maniac Talk” at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Kaye pursued a slightly different academic path. He obtained a Bachelor’s of Science in chemistry from Adelphi University in 1976 and a Ph.D. in theoretical physical chemistry at the California Institute of Technology in 1982. For his graduate studies, he focused on the quantum mechanics of chemical reactions with an aim toward being able to understand and calculate the activity.
    Following graduate school, Kaye secured a post-doctoral position at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, where he studied the chemistry of Earth’s atmosphere with a focus on stratospheric ozone. It was while working in a group of meteorologists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center that Kaye returned to his roots and refocused his scientific energy on studying Earth.
    “NASA had a mandate to study stratospheric ozone,” Kaye said in an interview in 2009. “I got involved in looking at satellite observations and especially trying to interpret satellite observations of stratospheric composition and building models to simulate things, to look both ways, to use the models and use the data.”
    Kaye has held numerous science and leadership positions at NASA. He began his career at GSFC as a researcher for the Stratospheric General Circulation and Chemistry Modeling Project (SGCCP) from 1983–1990 working on stratospheric modeling.  In this role, he also worked on an Earth Observing System Interdisciplinary proposal.  His first role at NASA HQ was managing  as program scientist for the Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program (ACMAP), as well as numerous other missions. In this role, he was a project scientist for the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS) series of Shuttle missions. While managing ATLAS, Kaye oversaw the science carried out by a dozen instruments from several different countries. He also managed several other Earth Science missions during this time. See the link to Kaye’s “Maniac Talk.”
    Kaye entered the Senior Executive Service in 1999, where he continued to contribute to the agency by managing NASA’s Earth Science Research Program. In addition, Kaye has held temporary acting positions as deputy director of ESD and deputy chief scientist for Earth Science within SMD. Throughout his career he has focused on helping early-career investigators secure their first awards to establish their career path—see Photo 2.

    On numerous occasions, Kaye spoke to different groups emphasizing the agency’s unique role in both developing and utilizing cutting-edge technology, especially remote observations of Earth with different satellite platforms – see Photo 3. With the launch of five new NASA Earth science campaigns in 2020, Kaye stated, “These innovative investigations tackle difficult scientific questions that require detailed, targeted field observations combined with data collected by our fleet of Earth-observing satellites.”

    Kaye has also represented NASA in interagency and international activities and has been an active participant in the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), where he has served for many years as NASA principal of the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. He served as NASA’s representative to the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology and chaired the World Meteorological Organization Expert Team on Satellite Systems. Kaye was named an honorary member of the Asia Oceania Geoscience Society in 2015. He previously completed a six-year term as a member of the Steering Committee for the Global Climate Observing System and currently serves an ex officio member of the National Research Council’s Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability and the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, as well as a member of the Roundtable on Global Science Diplomacy.
    NASA has honored Kaye with numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Medal in 2022 and the Meritorious Executive in the Senior Executive Service in 2004, 2010, and 2021. In 2024 he was awarded the NASA-USGS Pecora Individual Award honoring excellence in Earth Observation. He was named a Fellow by the American Meteorological Society in 2010 and by the American Association of the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2014. Kaye was elected to serve as an office of the Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Science section of the AAAS (2015–2018). AGU has recognized him on two occasions with a Citation for Excellence in Refereeing.
    Over the course of his career Kaye has published more than 50 papers, contributed to numerous reports, books, and encyclopedias, and edited the book Isotope Effects in Gas-Phase Chemistry for the American Chemical Society. In addition, he has attended the Leadership for Democratic Society program at the Federal Executive Institute and the Harvard Senior Managers in Government Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
    “The vantage point of space provides a way to look at the Earth globally, with the ability to observe Earth’s interacting components of air, water, land and ice, and both naturally occurring and human-induced processes,” Kaye said in a November 2024 article published by Penn State University. “It lets us look at variability on a broad range of spatial and temporal scales and given the decades of accomplishments, has allowed us to characterize and document Earth system variability on time scales from minutes to decades.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: USA: Trump’s travel ban will harm people seeking safety, spread hate and discrimination

    Source: Amnesty International –

    In response to President Trump imposing a new discriminatory travel ban on visitors from Afghanistan, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, and a partial ban on people from another seven countries, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said:

    “President Trump’s new travel ban is discriminatory, racist, and downright cruel. By targeting people based on their race, religion, or nationality, from countries with predominantly Black, Brown and Muslim-majority populations, this blanket ban constitutes racial discrimination under international human rights law. It also spreads hate and disinformation, reinforcing the notion that these populations are more likely to pose security risks or engage in acts of violence. 

    “This arbitrary travel ban also violates the right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution and the US obligation to protect them under international and national refugee law. With the right to seek asylum already non-existent at US borders, it will further inflict terrible suffering on people who are fleeing war-torn regions, massive human rights violations and other dangerous situations and seeking safety in the United States.

    This travel ban is yet another iteration of the Trump administration’s persistent trampling on the rights of immigrants and those seeking safety.

    Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General

    “This travel ban is no different than the ones that President Trump put into place in his first term. It is based on racism and xenophobia and has nothing to do with national security or keeping anyone safe.

    “Through targeting and detaining immigrants for exercising practicing their right to free speech, separating families, mass deportations and more, President Trump’s actions have already put tens of millions of people in the United States at risk. And now, this travel ban is yet another iteration of the Trump administration’s persistent trampling on the rights of immigrants and those seeking safety.

    “Communities thrive when governments prioritize the safety of all people, regardless of nationality, religion, or race. Amnesty International will never stop fighting for a world in which everybody is treated with dignity, immigrants and people seeking safety are welcomed and recognized for their contributions to society, and communities are united.”

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Labubus, Sonny Angels and Smiskis: Are blind toy boxes just child’s play or something more concerning?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Eugene Y. Chan, Associate Professor of Marketing, Toronto Metropolitan University

    Collectible figurines on display at Pop Mart in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, on April 29, 2025. (Shutterstock)

    If you’ve seen videos of people tearing into tiny toy packages online, or noticed teens obsessing over pastel-coloured figurines at the mall, you’ve probably encountered the global craze for blind box toys.

    These small collectibles — usually figures of cartoonish characters — are sold in sealed packaging that hides which specific item is inside. You might get the one you want, or you might not. That uncertainty is part of the thrill.

    Unlike traditional toys, these figures are marketed as collectibles. Many are part of themed series, with some designs labelled as “rare” or “secret,” appearing in as few as one in every 144 boxes. This sense of exclusivity fuels repeat purchases and has spawned a resale market where rare figures can command hundreds of dollars.

    Popular among children and adults alike, blind box toys have grown into a billion-dollar industry. One of the more popular brands is Pop Mart, a Chinese toy company founded in 2010 known for its collectible designer toys sold in mystery packs.

    Gen Z consumers, in particular, have embraced blind box toys both as a nostalgic pastime and as a form of legitimate collecting. The proliferation of unboxing videos on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, where creators open dozens of blind boxes on camera, has added to their appeal.

    For many fans, these toys offer more than just cuteness: they also provide suspense, surprise and a rush of dopamine with every box opened. But how did this niche product become a global obsession?

    From Tokyo streets to western malls

    The origins of blind box toys trace back to East Asia. Capsule toy vending machines called gashapon originated in Japan in the 1960s. By the 1980s, they had become a cultural fixture. These machines dispense small toys in opaque plastic balls, with customers never quite sure which item they’ll receive.

    In the early 2010s, Chinese companies like Pop Mart adapted the gashapon model for the mainstream retail space. Instead of vending machines, they began selling artist-designed vinyl toys in blind boxes at dedicated boutiques.

    A tourist uses a gashapon machine in Osaka, Japan, in 2024. Gashapon machines are similar to the coin-operated toy vending machines seen outside grocery stores and other retailers in North America.
    (Shutterstock)

    Pop Mart’s success helped transform the blind box into a mainstream commercial phenomenon. Characters like Molly, Skullpanda and Dimoo became instant hits, combining Japanese kawaii esthetics with western pop art sensibilities.

    Pop Mart figures have since developed a cult-like following. Many consumers treat the toys as affordable art objects, displayed in cabinets, on purses or traded online.

    Today, blind box retail stores have expanded globally from Asia to Europe and North America. In October 2024, Pop Mart opened its first store in the Midwestern United States, located on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile at The Shops at North Bridge. The store offers exclusive products and taps into the growing demand for collectibles among American consumers.

    The psychology behind the mystery

    What makes blind box toys so hard to resist?

    Their success relies on a psychological principle known as variable-ratio reinforcement — the same reward pattern that makes slot machines so addictive.

    You never know exactly when you’ll score the item you’re after, but the possibility that the next box might contain it keeps people coming back. This unpredictability keeps people engaged, especially when the potential reward is framed as rare or valuable.

    Cconsumer psychology research also suggests that anticipation plays a major role. Studies show that dopamine, the brain’s reward chemical, spikes not just when we get what we want, but when we anticipate it. The sealed packaging, the suspense of unwrapping and the hope for a rare figure all heighten this effect.

    Sonny Angels on display in a store in Shenzhen, China, in March 2019.
    (Shutterstock)

    For younger collectors, the excitement of “the chase” can foster compulsive buying habits. This effect is amplified by the social influence of watching unboxings online or seeing friends complete their sets, and it becomes a powerful loop.

    Even when buyers don’t get the figure they want, the sunk cost fallacy — the feeling that they’ve already invested too much time or money to walk away — keeps them buying more.

    The hidden costs of blind boxes

    As blind box toys surge in popularity, they have drawn criticism from consumer advocates, psychologists and environmentalists alike.

    Some worry that blind boxes normalize gambling-like behaviours, especially among children. The randomness, excitement and promise of rare rewards closely mirror the mechanisms behind loot boxes in video games — another product that has sparked global concern over youth exposure to gambling psychology.

    Several countries, including Belgium and the Netherlands, have regulated loot boxes under gambling laws. Blind boxes, though currently unregulated, may be next in line for scrutiny.



    Read more:
    Blind bags: how toy makers are making a fortune with child gambling

    There are also environmental concerns. Many blind box toys come in excessive packaging — plastic wraps, foil bags, cardboard boxes — most of which is discarded immediately. The collectibles themselves are often made of non-recyclable plastics, raising questions about sustainability in an era of rising consumer awareness over waste.

    Even among adult fans, some critics question whether blind boxes are designed less to bring joy and more to trigger compulsive consumption. The joy of collecting, they argue, is increasingly overshadowed by the mechanics of engineered desire.

    What should we make of the blind box boom?

    Blind box toys are not inherently harmful, and for many, they’re a source of fun, nostalgia and self-expression. They also offer an accessible way for consumers to engage with designer art in a collectible, miniature form, as many of them are created by individual artists.

    But blind box toys also raise deeper questions about how modern marketing leverages psychological triggers associated with gambling, especially when it comes to children.

    As these toys continue to gain traction in the West, it’s worth asking more critical questions, like: are we buying into mystery or are we being sold obsession and compulsion?

    The blind box trend reflects broader shifts in how products are marketed, how value is perceived and how consumer behaviour is shaped in a digital, attention-driven economy. Understanding the forces at play may be the first step toward more informed — and perhaps more mindful — collecting.

    Eugene Y. Chan 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. Labubus, Sonny Angels and Smiskis: Are blind toy boxes just child’s play or something more concerning? – https://theconversation.com/labubus-sonny-angels-and-smiskis-are-blind-toy-boxes-just-childs-play-or-something-more-concerning-257611

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Government continues to proactively follow up on water quality incidents at Queen’s Hill Estate and Shan Lai Court

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Government continues to proactively follow up on water quality incidents at Queen’s Hill Estate and Shan Lai Court 
    So far, all water samples have complied with the Hong Kong Drinking Water Standards, including the Rapid Toxicity Test (light emitting bacteria) and Carcinogenic Benzo(a) pyrene for testing carcinogens. These two parameters were negative in all the results of the water samples tested. While ensuring that the water quality met standards, the WSD also conducted traceability work and passed 126 samples of materials collected from each block in the estates for the Government Laboratory’s testing on June 3. Preliminary test results indicated that most of the samples consist of bitumen mixed with resin.
     
    Bitumen was commonly used as a protective coating to prevent rust inside steel water pipes around the world in earlier years. It is an inert material and is insoluble in water. According to experts’ views, bitumen will not release materials harmful to human body after mixing with water. In other words, even if drinking water has come into contact with water pipes coated with bitumen, relevant water quality will still comply with the drinking water standards. However, after prolonged use of water pipes, bitumen coating is prone to spalling, which is not durable and affects the clarity of drinking water and the public’s perception. Therefore, bitumen coated steel pipes have been replaced with durable epoxy resin-coated steel pipes for water supply pipes laid after 2005.
     
    As to whether drinking water containing bitumen will affect health, the WSD commissioned an expert consultant in 2020 to conduct an experiment by boiling 10 grams of bitumen in three litres of hot water. The result confirmed that no toxic substances were released. Currently, the sediments (bitumen) in the water samples taken from Queen’s Hill Estate are three-thousandth of the amount used in that experiment (per litre), so members of the public need not worry even if they have consumed drinking water with bitumen.
     
    According to records, the relevant pipes in the Queen’s Hill Estate and Shan Lai Court do not contain bitumen materials. Furthermore, following a similar water quality incident at Queen’s Hill Estate in 2022, the WSD installed screen filters outside the Queen’s Hill Estate in December 2022, which can block substances larger than 0.1 millimeters in diameter. Since then, the WSD has regularly inspected the condition of the filters on a weekly basis. After receiving a report on the water quality incident on May 30, the WSD checked the filters again and confirmed it remained intact, without any damage. Given that the sediments found within the estate exceed 0.1mm, they should not have entered the estate’s water supply system after the filters were installed (i.e. after December 2022). Upon reviewing the information, it was found that there is a section of steel water pipe upstream coated with bitumen on the inner wall. As such, the WSD reckoned that the sediments are likely residual bitumen materials that flowed into the pipes of the Queen’s Hill Estate from the aforementioned steel pipe before December 2022. As for the resin material, based on its color, appearance, and chemical composition, it is likely due to the flaking off of the protective layer of water valves.

    The WSD will continue the investigation based on the above assumptions, and as always, will submit the investigation report of this incident to the Drinking Water Safety Advisory Committee for review.
     
    Currently, the WSD will enhance the flushing of pipes to remove any residual bitumen materials, and strengthen water sampling. Sampling and testing will be conducted daily until no related sediments are found. The valves in the water supply system will also be checked. Any materials that have flaked off will be replaced if necessary. Understanding the public’s concerns regarding this incident, the WSD will continue to arrange temporary water supply through water tanks.
     
    To address the issue, maintenance teams of the HD have responded swiftly by installing additional nine screen filters with a density that can block impurities with a diameter of 0.1 millimetres or larger on the existing facilities in Queens Hill Estate and Shan Lai Court. The HD also continued to install additional filtering facilities with the same density that can block impurities with a diameter of 0.1 millimetres or larger in Queens Hill Estate and Shan Lai Court (seven and six respectively) today (June 5). The works will be completed today. Within a short period of time, the HD has tried its best to have 22 new filtering facilities installed, hoping that by quickly providing an effective, multi-layered protective filtration system, residents can feel more at ease when consuming the water.
     
    To further alleviate public concerns, the WSD will release the test results of water samples on its website every morning.
    Issued at HKT 23:36

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Home and Youth Affairs Bureau held training seminar for members of District Councils (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Home and Youth Affairs Bureau held training seminar for members of District Councils  
    ​Based on the needs of DC members, the HYAB has been arranging different training sessions and visits to assist DC members in discharging their duties, so as to improve the efficacy of district work and serve the people better. The training seminar today focused on how to enhance communications with the media, and to promote the good practices of building management.
     
    ​The Under Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Mr Clarence Leung, attended the training seminar and delivered a speech. He said that under the improved district governance system, the DCs, the District Services and Community Care Teams (Care Teams) and other district organisations and groups worked hand-in-hand in serving the people. District work had to be done with the people at heart for it to be effective and efficient. The HYAB and the Home Affairs Department (HAD) had therefore continued to provide various training for DC members. For example, the HAD had arranged for DC members to attend mediation training in batches starting from May. Mr Leung hoped the relevant training could help DC members better discharge their duties, further improve the efficacy of district governance and thereby building a harmonious community together.
     
    ​​Today’s training seminar had two parts. In the first part, a guest speaker shared with DC members the latest media landscape and skills in engaging with the media. Through strengthening communications with the media, members of the public could better understand DC members’ work under the improved district governance system more effectively through the media, so that DC members could better serve as the bridge between the Government and the people, while telling good stories of the DCs.
     
    ​Before the second part of the training seminar, the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, addressed DC members, saying that the Government had always placed emphasis on district work. She quoted the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Zhou Ji, that the DCs, “the three district committees” (the Area Committees, the District Fight Crime Committees and the District Fire Safety Committees) and Care Teams are the troika after improvements to district governance, and reminded DC members to strengthen collaboration with “the three district committees” and Care Teams, and address and resolve people’s conflicts at early stages. Miss Mak emphasised that building management was one of the key aspects of district work, and encouraged DC members to be familiar with relevant legislation, so as to provide support and assistance to owners and residents in need and facilitate the smooth operation of building management.
     
    ​Afterwards, in the second part, the guest speaker shared with DC members the relevant information on the Building Management (Amendment) Ordinance 2024 (the Amendment Ordinance), which would come into effect on July 13. As early as December last year, HAD organised two briefing sessions for DC members. In view of the imminent commencement of the Amendment Ordinance, HAD provided training to DC members again on the content and requirements of the Amendment Ordinance, with a view to enabling DC members to provide effective assistance to owners and residents in dealing with building management issues when necessary. The key objectives of the Amendment Ordinance are to enhance the transparency and accountability of the operation of owners’ corporations (OCs), for example, in respect of large-scale maintenance works or high-value procurement, and to provide better protection for members of the management committees (MCs) of OCs. The Amendment Ordinance also includes new provisions relating to the keeping of documents relating to building management and the responsibilities of the MCs in keeping such documents.
    Issued at HKT 23:19

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Missing man in Sheung Shui located

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Missing man in Sheung Shui located 
    Wong Sum-wah, aged 77, went missing after he was last seen in a shopping mall on Choi Yuen Road in the afternoon on June 2. His family then made a report to Police.

    The man was located at the junction of Morrison Street and Des Voeux Road Central in Central tonight (June 5). He sustained no injuries and no suspicious circumstances were detected.
    Issued at HKT 23:18

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Situation in Cambodia and Commission action to address it – E-001938/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001938/2025/rev.1
    to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
    Rule 144
    Ilhan Kyuchyuk (Renew)

    Grave concerns from the EU, the UN and international non-governmental organisation reports led to a November 2024 Parliament resolution demanding action on Cambodia. The need for stronger EU policy is highlighted by Cambodia’s protection of suspects in the assassination of EU national, Lim Kimya, in Bangkok. It is also emphasised by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s finding, linking Huione Group, connected to the Prime Minister’s cousin Hun To, to cybercrime that impacts EU citizens. This trend contradicts EU principles and the everything but arms (EBA) trade scheme.

    • 1.What detailed action plan has the Commission developed to implement the demands of the 2024 Cambodia Resolution, and what mechanisms are in place to monitor and evaluate its impact?
    • 2.Given Cambodia’s continued failure to comply with its obligations under the EBA regulations, what concrete steps will the Commission propose to address these breaches and does the Commission still consider the EBA to be effective, and if not, what alternative regulatory frameworks will the Commission consider?
    • 3.Regarding Cambodia’s non-cooperation on the Lim Kimya extradition, what diplomatic and legal measures will the European External Action Service undertake and does the Commission believe that current EU legislation is sufficient to address instances of transnational repression emanating from or facilitated by Cambodia, or is new legislation deemed necessary to protect EU citizens?

    Submitted: 14.5.2025

    Last updated: 5 June 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICE releases 2024 SEVP annual report

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 2024 Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) annual report detailing trends in the foreign student population studying in the United States is now available. The 2024 calendar year report analyzes data in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a web-based system that the Department of Homeland Security uses to maintain and manage information on foreign students and exchange visitors who enter the United States temporarily and solely for the purpose of pursuing a full course of study or participating in a U.S. Department of State-designated program.

    The total number of active F-1 and M-1 student records in SEVIS was 1,582,808 in calendar year 2024, an increase of 5.3 percent from calendar year 2023. These foreign students were from more than 229 countries and territories.

    Asia had the largest number of active foreign student records in the United States, with 1,134,953 foreign students, accounting for 71.7 percent of the foreign student population. The 422,335 foreign student records from India represented an increase of 11.8 percent compared to 2023, while the 329,541 foreign student records from China represented a small decrease of 0.25 percent compared to 2023.

    California schools enrolled the largest number of foreign students at 237,763 while New York schools enrolled the second largest number of foreign students at 172,522.

    Roughly 91 percent of all foreign students were enrolled in an SEVP-certified associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral program. Specifically, foreign students in the United States pursued 1,434,748 degrees in higher education, which is an increase of nearly 82,000 from calendar year 2023. Bachelor’s or master’s degrees were the most popular, accounting for 79 percent of higher education degrees sought.

    There was a decrease in the number of SEVP-certified schools eligible to enroll foreign students with 7,234 SEVP-certified schools in 2024 compared to 7,683 schools in 2023.

    In 2024, the total number of unique foreign student SEVIS records with work authorization through a form of practical training was 381,140. This number removes duplicate counts for foreign students who may have had more than one work authorization issued in 2024. Foreign students may participate in more than one type of training program in the course of a year and thus may be counted multiple times. The number of foreign students approved for each type of practical training without removing duplicates was 194,554 through (optional practical training) OPT, 95,384 through STEM OPT (science, technology, engineering and math optional practical training) and 130,586 through CPT (curricular practical training).

    The report lists the top 25 employers for students participating in pre- and post-completion OPT, STEM OPT and CPT in calendar year 2024.

    The full 2024 SEVIS by the Numbers report can be viewed online, as well as previous years SEVIS data. Both SEVP and the Department of State use SEVIS to maintain critical information that allows DHS to protect national security and monitor foreign students and exchange visitors.

    ICE reviews SEVIS records for potential violations and refers cases with possible national security concerns to its field offices for further investigation. Additionally, SEVP analyzes student and school records for administrative compliance with federal regulations related to studying in the United States.

    Learn more about SEVP

    MIL OSI USA News –