Category: Australia

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: RAF King’s Birthday Honours 2025Kings’ Birthday Honours List 2025 – Military Division.13 Jun 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Royal Air Force

    King’s Birthday Honours List 2025 – Military Division

    PROMOTIONS IN AND APPOINTMENTS TO THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MOST HONOURABLE ORDER OF THE BATH

    As Knight Commander  

    Air Marshal J.J. Stringer CBE 

    As Companion (CB)  

    Air Vice-Marshal M.W.J Chappell  

    Air Vice-Marshal A.P.T. Smith 

    PROMOTIONS IN AND APPOINTMENTS TO THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MOST EXCELLENT ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

    As Commanders (CBE) 

    Air Commodore I.J. Sharrocks OBE 

    Group Captain A. Burton 

    As Officers (OBE)

    Group Captain A.P. Baron 

    Group Captain P. Baroni 

    Group Captain R.L. Dixon  

    Wing Commander G.A. Lonsdale 

    Wing Commander T.C. Page 

    Wing Commander A.N. Pandya 

    As Members (MBE)

    Acting Wing Commander D.C. McCrae 

    Squadron Leader C.B.M. Emmerson 

    Squadron Leader J.R. Rushton 

    Squadron Leader T.A. Smith 

    Squadron Leader M.D. Sugden 

    Squadron Leader D.J. Taudevin 

    Squadron Leader J.K. Wilyman 

    Flight Lieutenant R.K. Mehta 

    Flight Lieutenant M.W. Norman 

    Captain R.M. St J. Sheehan (British Army) 

    Warrant Officer C. Hamilton 

    Staff Sergeant E. Oppong (British Army) 

    Sergeant G.L. Jones 

    Corporal E-J. Bangura 

    King’s Volunteer Reserves Medal

    Sergeant D.J. Tyler 

    Associate Member of The Royal Red Cross 

    Flight Sergeant (now Acting Warrant Officer) S.L. Roberts 

    King’s Birthday Honours list 2025 – Civilian Division

    PROMOTIONS IN AND APPOINTMENTS TO THE CIVILIAN DIVISION OF THE MOST EXCELLENT ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

    As Members (MBE) 

    Mr R.P. O’Connor  

    Reverend J.M. Pitkin 

    British Empire Medal  

    Mr J.R. McGlasson 

    MERITORIOUS SERVICE MEDAL

    Warrant Officer M.A. Coupland 

    Warrant Officer N. Dutton 

    Master Aircrew P.A. Goss 

    Master Aircrew R.A. Jones 

    Master Aircrew T.J.M. Millar 

    Warrant Officer M. Rees-Martin MBE 

    Warrant Officer D.K. Rose 

    Master Aircrew D.V. Russell 

    Master Aircrew S.F. Severn 

    Warrant Officer S.W. Thorpe 

    Flight Sergeant (now Acting Warrant Officer) O.R. Watkins 

    Flight Sergeant R.C. Atha 

    Flight Sergeant S.J. Dutton 

    Flight Sergeant D. Farrell 

    Flight Sergeant R.E. Mauchline 

    Flight Sergeant R.M. Pugh 

    Acting Flight Sergeant C.M. Irvine 

    CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF COMMENDATIONS

    Wing Commander K.E. Ingram MBE 

    Squadron Leader (now Wing Commander) A.H. Stewart 

    Squadron Leader N.J.D. Bell 

    Flight Lieutenant A. Carter 

    Flight Lieutenant G. Feetham 

    Sergeant P.M. Taylor 

    Acting Sergeant N.T. Egan 

    Corporal G.P. Dutton 

    Corporal L.D. Evans 

    Corporal J.F. Scott 

    Acting Corporal D.J. Purves 

    Air Specialist Class 1 B. Dudgeon 

    Team Commendations 

    Air Finance Strategic Financial Planning Team 

    Department of Medicine, RAF R&S, RAF Cranwell 

    Protector Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisation, RAF Waddington 

    Tactical Operations Centre Light eXperimental (TOC-X) Delivery and Innovations Team 

    27 Squadron Engineering 

    DEPUTY CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF & AIR AND SPACE COMMANDER COMMENDATIONS

    DEPUTY CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF COMMENDATIONS

    Squadron Leader E.L. Brooks 

    Squadron Leader R.J. Kemplay 

    Flight Lieutenant M.J. Wade 

    Mrs N.J. Skelton 

    Team Commendations 

    Project NEXUS – DEIMOS Team 

    Qatar Air Programme Office 2024 

    Trial CHAINMAIL 2 Team 

    R&S Select Processing Team 

    Ground Combat and Security Profession Enlisted Aviator Career Management Team 

    ANY Desk Career Management 

    AIR AND SPACE COMMANDER COMMENDATIONS

    Wing Commander T.P. Nassif 

    Squadron Leader B.P. Burton 

    Squadron Leader P.M. Dunkley 

    Squadron Leader S.E. Evans 

    Major M.G. Fairchild (US Space Force) 

    Squadron Leader E.E. Leonard 

    Squadron Leader C.J. Marsh 

    Squadron Leader L.M. Ryder 

    Squadron Leader D.A. Yule 

    Flight Lieutenant (now Acting Squadron Leader) B.L. Dzekashu 

    Lieutenant M.P. Anelli (Royal Navy) 

    Warrant Officer G. Pringle 

    Chief Petty Officer T.A. Fenwick (Royal Navy) 

    Flight Sergeant D.J. Gillam 

    Flight Sergeant G.L. Hobbs 

    Acting Flight Sergeant (now Chief Technician) J.W. Kelly 

    Sergeant (now Staff Sergeant) R. Limbu (British Army) 

    Sergeant T.A. Marley 

    Air Specialist Class 1 (now Acting Corporal) J.P.J. Eldridge 

    Air Specialist Class 1 T.D. Magill 

    Mr A.P. Bowell 

    Mrs C. Sherman 

    Team Commendations 

    RAF Pay Team, London Main Building 

    11 Group A5 

    Engineering Profession Advisor Team 

    RAF Medical Board 

    Engineering Team, Number II (Army Cooperation) Squadron, RAF Lossiemouth 

    Air Battlespace Training Centre, RAF Waddington  

    45 Squadron Mission Aircrew ISR Acoustics Team 

    RAF Coningsby Duty Fire Crew 

    Spitfire Crash Incident Officers 

    RAF Cranwell ACE Team 

    RAF Odiham Project PALES Team 

    AIR OFFICERS COMMANDING COMMENDATIONS

    AIR OFFICER COMMANDING NO. 1 GROUP COMMENDATIONS

    Lieutenant Commander P. Armstrong (Royal Navy) 

    Lieutenant Commander N.E. Baker (Royal Navy) 

    Squadron Leader D.C.D. Berris 

    Squadron Leader K.M. Hickinbotham 

    Squadron Leader S.I. Roxburgh 

    Flight Lieutenant D.A. Breslin 

    Flight Lieutenant M.R. Crosby-Jones 

    Flight Lieutenant A.M. Dale 

    Flight Lieutenant K. Jamison 

    Flight Lieutenant L.O. Matthews 

    Flight Lieutenant W.L.D. Mountfield 

    Flight Lieutenant D. Scarr 

    Flight Lieutenant R. Wallace 

    Lieutenant W.R. Sankey (Royal Navy) 

    Acting Flight Lieutenant V. Logan 

    Warrant Officer C.P. Harker 

    Flight Sergeant D.T. Best 

    Flight Sergeant J.A. Bracewell 

    Chief Petty Officer G. Parker (Royal Navy) 

    Chief Technician W.A. Byrne 

    Sergeant N.J. Lindley 

    Acting Sergeant R.G. Archer 

    Acting Sergeant J.A. Grimmer 

    Air Specialist Class 1 (Technician) T.A. Bond 

    Air Specialist Class 1 (Technician) O-J. Whitehead 

    Mr L. Maple 

    Mr S. Williams 

    Team Commendations 

    Number 54 Squadron – Protector Training Flight 

    BBMF CAw Management 

    Number 56 Squadron E-7 Wedgetail Operator Subject Matter Expert Team 

    BAE Systems Civilian Qualified Flying Instructor 

    Joint Air Delivery Test & Evaluation Unit – Engineering Section, RAF Brize Norton 

    29 Squadron Typhoon Display Team, RAF Coningsby 

    Number 14 Squadron Shadow Qualified Flying Instructors, RAF Waddington 

    A Flight, ISR Enabling Squadron, 1ISR Wing, Royal Air Force Waddington 

    Number 99 Squadron C-17 ZZ173 Air Ground Engineers, RAF Brize Norton 

    Royal Air Force Falcons 2024 Parachute Display Team, RAF Brize Norton 

    AIR OFFICER COMMANDING NO. 2 GROUP COMMENDATIONS

    Squadron Leader S.J. Jackson 

    Squadron Leader D.C. Netherton 

    Squadron Leader R.D. Scothern 

    Flight Lieutenant D. Anderson 

    Flight Lieutenant P. Crutchlow 

    Flight Lieutenant L.J. Eagle 

    Flight Lieutenant B.R. Garwood 

    Flight Lieutenant A.J. Mawdsley 

    Acting Flight Lieutenant R. Howarth 

    Flying Officer P. Shingler 

    Chief Technician A.J. Hunt 

    Flight Sergeant E.L. Dye 

    Flight Sergeant M. Eastaugh 

    Flight Sergeant M.J. Ellson 

    Flight Sergeant J.H.R. McClymont 

    Flight Sergeant G. Teague 

    Flight Sergeant N.H. White 

    Sergeant S.B. Brandt 

    Sergeant D.J. Cooper 

    Sergeant A.C. Lockwood 

    Sergeant P.R. Stockley 

    Corporal M.T. Ferguson 

    Corporal T.M. Grainger 

    Corporal G.F.E. Melling 

    Corporal C.J. Mills 

    Corporal S.A. Palmer 

    Corporal G.J. Sutton 

    Corporal R.P. Worthington 

    Acting Corporal R.P. Swatman 

    Air Specialist Class 1 (Technician) J.G. Evans 

    Air Specialist Class 1 H.C. Rhind-Tutt 

    Mr I. Aitkenhead 

    Mr A. Barber 

    Mr D. Clarke 

    Mr A. Stewart 

    Team Commendations

    Crisis Response Team 

    RAF Police Support to Operation ROMAJI 

    Royal Air Force Benson Air Traffic Control Squadron 

    Tactical Communications Wing Project LETSRIG Team 

    Air Control Essentials Course Training Team 

    144 Signals Unit Deployable Air Defence Flight and 19 Squadron Portreath Detachment 

    RAF Regiment Apprenticeship Centre 

    Medical and Dental Servicing Section 

    Joint Aircraft Recovery and Transportation Squadron Operation LORIEN Recovery Team 

    A Life Saving Team at RAF Waddington 

    RAF Odiham Wildlife Control Unit 

    RAF Odiham Catering Flight 

    Royal Air Force Lossiemouth Mobility Support Section 

    Royal Air Force Coningsby Armament Engineering Flt 

    RAF Leeming Police and Security Flt 

    RAF Boulmer Beacon Community Centre 

    78 Squadron Flight Safety Team 

    Project KIMBINU GRIFFIN 

    RAF Marham Force Protection Training Flight 

    Polytunnel and Wellness Area Team (Whole Force Personnel and Families) 

    RAF Marham Physical Education Flight 

    HQ 2 Group Force Generation Team 

    1 AMW HQ Plans Team 

    AIR OFFICER COMMANDING NO. 11 GROUP COMMENDATIONS

    Squadron Leader J. Ives 

    Squadron Leader G. Ivison 

    Squadron Leader M.J. Pickford 

    Squadron Leader S. Wain 

    Flight Lieutenant E.D.M. Haylock 

    Flight Lieutenant B.A. Ter Haar 

    Colour Sergeant S.C. Hopkins (British Army) 

    Air Specialist Class 1 T. Ogden 

    Air Specialist Class 1 J. Smart 

    S. Fogden 

    Team Commendation

    11 Group A7 Operational Training Centre 

    AIR OFFICER COMMANDING NO. 22 GROUP COMMENDATIONS

    Acting Major C. Reid (British Army) 

    Acting Squadron Leader J.C. Blackie  

    Acting Squadron Leader R.D. Jones  

    Flight Lieutenant J. Orrell 

    Flight Lieutenant S.S. Toomer 

    Flight Lieutenant I.A. Torrance 

    Warrant Officer 2 K.A. Feldsmann (British Army) 

    Warrant Officer 2 D. Rai (British Army) 

    Flight Sergeant T.J. Elton  

    Staff Sergeant J.L. Willis (British Army) 

    Sergeant D.S. Wilkinson 

    Mrs S. Gwilliam 

    Team Commendations

    School of Army Aeronautical Engineering Aviation Academy 

    No 1 Radio School, Cyber Security Flight 

    Number 1 Radio School, Digital Systems and Applications Flight 

    Central Flying School (Helicopters) Squadron Training Team 

    Whittle Section, Trainee Support Squadron, No 1 School of Technical Training 

    Assurance and Governance Squadron, Learning and Development Wing 

    Defence College of Technical Training HQ Finance Team 

    Hawk Syllabus Development Team 

    Headquarters Defence College of Technical Training – TDA Plans Team 

    Essex Wing Warrant Officer’s Team, Royal Air Force Air Cadets  

    CHAPLAIN-IN-CHIEF (ROYAL AIR FORCE) COMMENDATIONS

    Reverend (Squadron Leader) N. Galloway MBE 

    Mr P. Morcombe 

    COMMANDER UK SPACE COMMAND COMMENDATION

    Captain C.M. Reeds (British Army) 

    Team Commendations  

    No.1 Space Operations Squadron Training Team 

    DIRECTOR CAPABILITY AND PROGRAMMES COMMENDATIONS

    C. Young 

    DIRECTOR SUPPORT COMMENDATIONS

    Flight Sergeant C.D. Andrews 

    Mr A. Collinson 

    K. Patel  

    DIRECTOR DIGITAL COMMENDATIONS

    Flight Lieutenant R.S. Hall 

    Flight Lieutenant A.C. Metcalfe 

    Flying Officer D. Huckstepp

    DIRECTOR RESERVES COMMENDATIONS

    Flight Sergeant C.G. Smith 

    Team Commendations 

    RAuxAF100 Standard Parade Delivery Team 

    501 Sqn Operation SILK PURSE Team 

    COMMANDER JOINT AVIATION COMMAND COMMENDATIONS

    Commander Joint Aviation Command Commendations    

    Flight Lieutenant C. Rudyk-Smith 

    Flight Lieutenant M.A. Stoodley 

    Flight Sergeant N.K-C. Bargery 

    Chief Technician S.A. Grant 

    Chief Technician C.J.M. Maisey 

    Chief Technician R.N. McCarthy 

    Sergeant D.J. Dickson 

    Sergeant K.S. Potts 

    Sergeant R.S. Worker 

    Acting Sergeant J.P. Jenkins 

    Corporal D.J. White 

    Team Commendations 

    Chinook CAMO Team 

    7 Sqn R1 Detachment 

    CAE Aircrew Training Service (Puma staff) 

    VICE CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF COMMENDATIONS

    Wing Commander H.M. Parr 

    Squadron Leader J.P.J. Casson 

    COMMANDER UNITED KINGDOM STRATEGIC COMMAND COMMENDATIONS

    Wing Commander D.E. Wilson 

    Squadron Leader (now Acting Wing Commander) S. Davies 

    Squadron Leader M. Bradley 

    Squadron Leader F.A. Merino 

    Squadron Leader L.G.J. Scott 

    Sergeant (now Acting Flight Sergeant) L.P. Buttery 

    Air Specialist Class 1 (now Acting Corporal) A.R. Harvey 

    DEPUTY COMMANDER UNITED KINGDOM STRATEGIC COMMAND COMMENDATIONS

    Squadron Leader M.J. Rankine 

    Squadron Leader A.F. Xavier 

    Flight Sergeant A. Maltman 

    COMMANDER FIELD ARMY AND COMMANDER STANDING JOINT COMMAND (UK) COMMENDATIONS AND COMMANDER ALLIED RAPID REACTION CORPS COMMENDATIONS

    COMMANDER FIELD ARMY COMMENDATION

    Flight Lieutenant D. Graham 

    COMMANDER STANDING JOINT COMMAND (UK) COMMENDATION

    Squadron Leader R.A. Lee 

    Warrant Officer C.L. Wheeler 

    COMMANDER ALLIED RAPID REACTION CORPS COMMENDATIONS

    Sergeant C.A. Brown 

    Royal Air Force Operational Honours List

    APPOINTMENT TO THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MOST EXCELLENT ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

    As Officer (OBE)

    Group Captain H.M. Bishop  

    Distinguished Flying Cross  

    Flight Lieutenant J.A. Chadwick 

    Air Force Cross 

    Acting Squadron Leader (now Squadron Leader) J.M.G. Hawkins 

    Flight Lieutenant S.B. Watson 

    King’s Commendation for Bravery in the Air  

    Flight Lieutenant M.M.T. Howell 

    King’s Commendation for Valuable Service 

    Squadron Leader (now Wing Commander) I.D.E. Robinson 

    Squadron Leader G.R. McKay 

    Squadron Leader B.R.M. Tripp 

    Flight Sergeant J.P. Graham 

    CHIEF OF JOINT OPERATIONS, JOINT COMMANDER’S COMMENDATIONS

    Chief of joint Operations Commendation

    Squadron Leader D.G. Tipler 

    Joint Commanders Commendation  

    Wing Commander A.P. Machin 

    Lieutenant Colonel A.A.R. Townend (British Army) 

    Squadron Leader F.Y. Allery 

    Squadron Leader J. Marlowe 

    Squadron Leader E.M. Thomas 

    Flight Lieutenant B.F.J. Brook 

    Team Commendations 

    Crew of Custom46 XIII Sqn RAF 

    Op Underhill Atlas Team 

    Op Underhill Planning and Liaison Team 

    Royal Air Force Non-Operational Gallantry Award – Commendation  

    Air and Space Commander Commendation  

    Air Specialist Class 1 (Technician) J.D. Coombs-Hoar 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • South Africa shed ‘chokers’ tag, clinch historic World Test Championship title

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    South Africa won the World Test Championship on Saturday, completing a remarkable turnaround to beat Australia by five wickets as they successfully chased down an imposing 282-run target.

    But it was an edgy finish as they took 27.4 overs to slowly score the 69 runs needed to secure success on the fourth day at Lord’s after resuming at 213-2 overnight.

    In so doing, South Africa completed a successful pursuit of the joint second-highest winning fourth-innings total in test history at the London venue.

    It was a first major cricket triumph for South Africa, who had earned an unwanted reputation for failure when on the cusp of victory over the last decades in limited overs competitions.

    This was their first appearance in the WTC final, with opener Aiden Markram delivering a heroic innings of 136 to ensure success.

    Markram, who reached his century late in the third day, added 34 more runs on Saturday, accumulating carefully before falling to a sharp catch by Travis Head with six runs needed to win.

    Kyle Verreynne hit the winning run and was four not out at the end along with David Bedingham, who scored an unbeaten 21.

    NERVES

    “It was the most nervous I’ve ever been. I didn’t want to come out and bat but when Aiden went out I had to,” said Verreynne.

    South Africa started the fourth day favourites to win but nervy, given a litany of past disasters, and would have been further on edge when captain Temba Bavuma was out in the third over of the morning.

    A rising delivery from Australia skipper Pat Cummins took an edge and saw Bavuma depart, having added only one run to his overnight total of 65.

    Australia made two unsuccessful reviews of not out decisions as they sought a further breakthrough before Mitchell Starc clean bowled Tristan Stubbs for eight with 41 runs still needed.

    Markram and Bedingham then diligently put together a 35-run partnership to see them to the brink of success, before the win was secured in the last over before lunch.

    South Africa, who came into the contest as underdogs, won the toss on the opening day and gambled by putting Australia into bat. But with Kagiso Rabada returning figures of 5-51, they were vindicated as the defending champions were dismissed for 212.

    South Africa, who came into the contest as underdogs, won the toss on the opening day and gambled by putting Australia into bat. But with Kagiso Rabada returning figures of 5-51, they were vindicated as the defending champions were dismissed for 212.

    South Africa’s reply of 138 meant Australia had a 74-run lead, significantly increased after scoring 207 in their second innings, with their tail order recovering after they had slumped to 73-7.

    But South Africa profited from a dramatic change in the pitch conditions – after 24 wickets fell on the first two days – to patiently bat themselves to a landmark victory.

    -REUTERS

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Young People Are ‘Worthy Ambassadors of Friendship’ Between China and Central Asia

    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

    ASTANA, June 14 (Xinhua) — Young people are the hope for the future. In recent years, cooperation between China and Central Asian countries has rapidly expanded and deepened, with a series of key initiatives promoting the development of the younger generation, strengthening mutual understanding between peoples, and working for the long term.

    Chinese President Xi Jinping has responded to letters from Central Asian students studying in China, encouraging them to be ambassadors of friendship and bridges of cooperation, supported joint Chinese-Kazakh universities, strengthened exchanges between young generations, encouraged mutual understanding, and promoted the joint development of the Lu Ban Workshops between China and Central Asian countries, opening the way to a brighter future for more and more young people from the region. The attention and care of the Chinese President have inspired young people to make new contributions to building a closer community with a shared future for China and Central Asia, and filled their common development and prosperity with youthful energy.

    CHAIRMAN XI JINPING’S ORDER

    “President Xi Jinping told us: be worthy ambassadors of friendship and bridges of cooperation between China and Central Asia. This is his order for us and at the same time a sign of trust,” young Turkmen Rakhman Bayramdurdyev recalls with excitement how he received a reply letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping two years ago.

    In 2023, Rahman, who was then a graduate student at the China University of Petroleum (Beijing), wrote a collective letter to the Chinese President along with his comrades from Central Asian countries. The young people shared their impressions of studying and living in China, expressed their desire to learn, strengthen cooperation, and contribute to building a community with a common future for China and Central Asia.

    “I remember my classmates and I were very excited when we received a response from Chairman Xi Jinping!” says Rahman.

    Rahman began his student life at the China University of Petroleum back in 2010. Over the course of 13 years, the young man successively completed undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate programs. At the time of receiving the letter from Xi Jinping, he was preparing to defend his dissertation and thinking about his future after graduation.

    “The friendship between China and Central Asian countries should be developed and passed on from generation to generation by more and more determined and active young people. You are not only witnesses and beneficiaries of the relations between China and Central Asia, but also their creators and disseminators,” these warm and encouraging words of the PRC leader strengthened Rahman’s determination to become an ambassador of China and Central Asian culture.

    The young man decided to stay in China and became an employee of the Institute of International Education of the China University of Petroleum /Beijing/. “I want to share my experience with other students from Central Asia and other countries, help them get to know China and understand it better,” he says.

    “I am always available,” is how Rahman describes his nearly two-year tenure at the institute. He helps new international students overcome language barriers and cope with everyday difficulties, schedules classes, and monitors exams and academic performance. In this intense but fulfilling job, Rahman has witnessed the growth and development of international students in China and gained a deeper understanding of the friendly relations between China and Central Asia.

    “Studying and living in China over the years has completely changed me, shaped me,” says Rahman.

    According to Yu Donghai, deputy director of the Institute of International Education at China University of Petroleum (Beijing), the university maintains extensive cooperation with educational institutions in Central Asian countries. Over the past twenty years, more than two thousand students from the region have studied here, and they now play an active role in strengthening exchanges and cooperation between China and Central Asian countries in many areas.

    June is graduation time. One of the authors of the letter to President Xi Jinping, student Mohammed Polat, is about to complete an unforgettable education in China. In eight years, he went from a preparatory course where he did not speak a word of Chinese to a master’s degree in business management and fluency in the language. “Studying in China changed my life,” he says with sincere gratitude.

    The 24-year-old Kazakh is looking forward to the second China-Central Asia summit. He hopes that more young people from Central Asia will be able to come to China to study, and Chinese companies will be able to work more actively in the region. “I am ready to contribute to building a bridge of friendship,” says Mukhammed.

    PROMOTING FRIENDSHIP DEVELOPMENT

    In recent years, in the context of sustainable development of cooperation with China in all areas, interest in this country and its language has been growing in Central Asian countries. “I decided to study Chinese because I consider it the language of the future,” Yerasyl Mukhtaruly, a student at the Kazakhstan branch of Beijing Language and Culture University, told Xinhua.

    In July 2024, when Xi Jinping visited Kazakhstan, he and the country’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev attended the opening ceremony of the Kazakhstan branch of Beijing Language and Culture University. Astana International University President Serik Irsaliev still remembers that day well.

    According to him, the attention of the heads of the two states is “very high responsibility”. “This year, about 100 of our students are completing their studies at the branch on language courses. After that, they will take the HSK exam and determine their future profession,” said S. Irsaliev.

    Yerasyl, 20, is one of the first students at the branch. He studied Chinese for almost nine months in preparatory courses. It was difficult at first, but the young man increasingly felt the depth of Chinese culture and understood better what he was striving for in life.

    The student recalls that at first he often made mistakes in tones, and the countless hieroglyphs were difficult to remember. “I have to spend more than an hour or even two hours every day studying hieroglyphs. I have to write them every day. Speaking practice also helps,” he said, adding that he is gradually overcoming difficulties.

    In the future, he plans to work in the fields of translation, international business or diplomacy. “I believe that everyone who studies Chinese contributes to the development of friendship between Kazakhstan and China,” Yerasyl noted.

    An unusual relic is kept behind glass in the Kazakhstan branch of Beijing Language and Culture University: a copy of President K.-Zh. Tokayev’s student ID card, which he obtained when he briefly studied abroad at Beijing Language and Culture University. Local students are very proud to have studied at the same university as the head of state. “President Tokayev also studied at Beijing Language and Culture University, which is of particular importance to us,” said Alina Abildinova, who is attending preparatory language courses.

    She told Xinhua that she loves Chinese tea culture and hopes to have the opportunity to study and work in China in the future. “Modern China can provide young people with various opportunities, allowing us to confidently move into the future,” she said.

    A VALUABLE PRACTICE OPPORTUNITY

    In the training lab of Lu Ban’s Workshop in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, about ten local students are working intently with measuring instruments under the guidance of a teacher. This is the “youngest” Lu Ban Workshop in Central Asia – it opened in October last year.

    Last July, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov in Astana during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. During the meeting, he stressed that the two sides should make full use of platforms such as the Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Center for Chinese Culture, and the Lu Ban Workshop in Kyrgyzstan to cultivate new successors to the Chinese-Kyrgyz friendly cooperation.

    The workshop was created through the joint efforts of the Zhejiang Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower and the Kyrgyz State Technical University named after I. Razzakov. Over the course of more than six months of its operation, more than four thousand students have received technical training here.

    Head of Lu Ban Workshop Akylbek Chymyrov told Xinhua that the country is experiencing a serious shortage of engineering personnel in areas such as hydropower, electrical engineering, road and bridge construction. At the same time, infrastructure projects for the construction of hydroelectric power plants, highways are being actively implemented, and construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway has begun. “The main advantage is that we are training highly qualified personnel together with our Chinese partners. Students receive modern knowledge, study modern technologies and standards,” he says.

    “Here we learn how to use the latest surveying instruments and equipment, and we also study drone technologies, which is new and very interesting for us,” said Aalybek uulu Erbol, a second-year student at the Kyrgyz State Technical University named after I. Razzakov, studying geodesy. According to him, the technical equipment makes the workshop especially attractive, which is rare at other universities. “This practical opportunity is very valuable for us,” he emphasized.

    The Chinese leader has always paid great attention and supported the establishment of “Lu Ban Workshops” in the Central Asian countries. In May 2023, in his keynote speech at the China-Central Asia Summit, he especially noted the need to increase the number of “Lu Ban Workshops” in the Central Asian states. To date, the “Lu Ban Workshop” in Tajikistan has been successfully operating for more than two years, preparations are underway to open a second workshop in Kazakhstan, and the first workshop in Uzbekistan was opened last year. These projects are actively promoted throughout Central Asia and contribute to the training of personnel for the socio-economic development and modernization of the countries in the region.

    “Lu Ban Workshop”, established by the East Kazakhstan Technical University named after D. Serikbayev jointly with the Tianjin Vocational Institute, began operations in December 2023 and became the first in Kazakhstan. In recent years, Chinese car brands have become increasingly popular in Kazakhstan. Taking into account the future need for specialists in the automotive industry, maintenance and repair, the Kazakh side chose the automotive industry as the main direction of training in this workshop.

    “Lu Ban’s Workshop gives students the opportunity to immediately move from theory to practice,” notes Anasyr Mirashev, head of the workshop at the D. Serikbayev East Kazakhstan Technical University. “The teacher can demonstrate everything visually, and the students can do all the work with their own hands. This gives them great opportunities.”

    “I chose Lu Ban’s Workshop because it is the most promising project today,” says second-year master’s student Ilyas Isakanov. He said that thanks to training at the workshop, he became familiar with the latest technologies in the automotive industry and hopes to use the knowledge he gained in the future to help more people. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Fatal crash – Beswick

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    NT Police are currently investigating a fatal crash that occurred in Beswick this morning.

    Around 7:30am, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre received reports of a single vehicle crash that occurred along Central Arnhem Road. Four occupants were in the vehicle at the time of the collision.

    Maranboy and Beswick police members attended as well as Barunga clinic staff.

    One 47-year-old male, believed to be the driver, and one 14-year-old female were pronounced deceased at the scene.

    The two surviving passengers sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were conveyed to Katherine Hospital for treatment.

    Major Crash Investigation Unit have carriage of the incident and investigations are ongoing.

    Police urge anyone with information about the incident to make contact on 131 444. Please quote reference number P25160079.

    The lives lost on Territory roads now stands at 18.

    MIL OSI News

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Accidental drowning – Palmerston

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    The Northern Territory Police Force is investigating following an accidental drowning incident that occurred in Palmerston this afternoon.

    Around 3:30pm, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre received reports that a 4-year-old male had been located unresponsive in a pool in his backyard. The male was extracted from the water and CPR was commenced.  

    Police and St John Ambulance attended and continued CPR; however, he was pronounced deceased at the scene.

    Major Crime have carriage have carriage of the incident and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

    MIL OSI News

  • MIL-Evening Report: Twyford condemns weak action by NZ over Israel’s ‘ruthless’ apartheid

    Asia Pacific Report

    Labour MP for Te Atatu Phil Twyford criticsed the New Zealand government today for failing to take stronger action against Israel over its genocide and starvation strategy in Gaza, saying that at the very least the ambassador should be expelled.

    Speaking at a rally in Henderson organised by the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa in West Auckland suburbs for the first time in the 88th week of protest, Twyford said: “The Israeli government is operating in an apartheid state.

    “They subject the Palestinian people under their military.

    “People who are under international law they are obliged to protect,” he told about 500 protesters.

    “They are subjecting them to the most ruthless, most brutal system of apartheid.”

    It was a story of “ethnic cleansing, dispossesion, terror routinely visited upon Palestinian people on a daily basis in their land”, said Twyford, who is Labour Party spokesperson on immigration, disarmament and foreign affairs.

    “And it is being done, not only by the forces of Zionism, but by the Western world complicit, knowing, understanding and actively conniving in that dispossession and repression.”

    Widely condemned move
    Twyford referred to the government’s move this week alongside four other countries to impose sanctions on two far-right ministers in the the Israeli cabinet, illegal settlers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, which has been widely condemned as too little and too late.

    Labour MP Phil Twyford speaking at the Henderson pro-Palestinian humanitarian rally today . . . Palestinians are subjected by Israel to “the most ruthless, most brutal, system of apartheid.” Image: Asia Pacific Report

    Leading British journalist Jonathan Cook this week criticised Britain, Australia, Canada and Norway along with New Zealand, saying they may have been “seeking strength in numbers” to withstand retaliation from Israel and the United States.

    “But in truth, they have selected the most limited and symbolic of all the possible sanctions they could have imposed on the Israeli government.”

    Israel was also condemned by speakers at the rally for its “unprovoked attack” on Iran and its strategy of forced starvation on the Palestinian people in Gaza and the repression in occupied West Bank.

    The death toll in Gaza was almost 62,000 Palestinians — more than 17,000 of them children — and Israel had also killed at least 78 people in the first waves of attacks on Iran.

    Meanwhile, in a statement today, the PSNA said it was appalled at the deportation of a Palestinian New Zealander from Egypt.

    PSNA said it had conveyed to the Egyptian government its “shock and anger” at the deportation of Rana Hamida who had travelled to Egypt to take part in the Global March to Gaza.

    “This Jew stands for Palestine” and “Sanction Israel now” placards at today’s Henderson rally. Image: APR

    Egyptian deportations over ‘global march’
    Egyptian authorities have deported dozens of people, including Spanish, Swedish, Finnish, Moroccan, Greek and US citizens.

    The Global March to Gaza is due to start this weekend in Egypt with thousands of people from throughout the world taking part.

    PSNA co-chair John Minto said the march was to “express humanity’s outrage” at the ongoing Gaza-wide bombing and starving of the Palestinian population by Israel.

    “Egypt’s action in deporting activists can only be seen as assisting Israel’s attacks against the Palestinian population,” he said.

    “Unfortunately, Egypt has a long history of collaboration with the US and Israel to stifle the Palestine liberation struggle. This is in sharp contrast to the Egyptian people who are as appalled and angry as the rest of humanity at Israel’s horrendous war crimes.”

    Minto said the following message from Rana as she returned to New Zealand — she was due at Auckland International Airport this afternoon:

    ‘The more we will roar’
    “The Egyptian authorities, along with other governments, think that blocking humanity from this act of solidarity will stop because of them blocking people from being there and doing the job that they continue failing to do.

    “They are so mistaken — the more complicit and enabling they get in their inaction and in this case their active participation, the more we will rise, and roar.

    “We are escalating as you awaken the dragons within us.

    “We will sing louder and we will walk longer — with our hiking shoes in the Sinai desert, or barefoot towards your embassies.

    “We will disrupt your meetings, we will crowd your phone with calls and emails, and we will be the light that blinds your robotic heart and melts it alongside the lies you stand for.

    “This is not about us, it is about HUMANITY within us that is dying and being oppressed in various forms, it is about the humans enduring hell in Gaza, West Bank and Falastine as a whole.

    “Muslims, Jews and Christians together.

    “It is about NEVER AGAIN.

    “Boycott, divest — we will not stop we will not rest.”

    Pro-Palestinian and anti-genocide protesters at the Henderson rally today with Te Atatu MP Phil Twyford speaking. Image: APR

    Expel Israeli ambassador call
    In an earlier statement in the wake of Israel’s attack on Iran, PSNA called on the government to immediately expel the Israeli ambassador from New Zealand.

    Minto said Israel’s strikes on Iran were “unprovoked, unilateral and a massive threat to humanity everywhere”.

    “This is such a dangerous action, that diplomatic weasel words about Israel are not acceptable. Israel is an out-of-control rogue state playing with the future of humanity. We must send it the strongest possible message.”

    “Israel’s using its often repeated lies and misinformation to attempt to justify it’s unconscionable violence and aggression.”

    Minto pointed to Iran’s right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.

    “Even US intelligence officials have made is clear very recently that Iran is NOT on the way to produce a nuclear weapon.”

    “And neither is Iran committed to the ‘annihilation’ of Israel.

    ‘Liberation for Palestine’
    “Iran does not support Israel as a racist, apartheid state and wants to see liberation for Palestine.

    “In this, Iran has, along with the overwhelming majority of countries in the world, called for an end to Israel’s military occupation of Palestine, the end of its apartheid policies directed against Palestinians and the return of Palestinian refugees.”

    New Zealand had the same policies, Minto said.

    However, he condemned NZ’s “appeasement of this apartheid state, as our government and other Western countries have done over 20 months”.

    A “Save the world from evil Zionism” placard at the Henderson rally today. Image: APR

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI China: Olympic champion Zheng reaches first career grass-court semifinal

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

    China’s Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen reached the semifinals on grass for the first time in her career as she knocked out home sensation Emma Raducanu 6-2, 6-4 at the Queen’s Club Championships here on Friday.

    Zheng, 22, entered the WTA 500 tournament as the top seed and received a bye in the first round.

    She needed two hours and 11 minutes to beat McCartney Kessler from the United States 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in the second round on Thursday and seemed to repeat the story on Friday as she was broken twice at the beginning of the second set.

    “My first serves dropped a lot since the start of the second set and it’s kind of destructive on grass court,” said Zheng after the match. “My opponent was actually in a low period, but I gave her chances to come back.”

    “But I adjust quicker than I did in my previous match and I’m pleased that I could turn around the table in the second set,” adde the world No. 5.

    When Raducanu was facing breaking points in the sixth game of the first set, Zheng asked for a timeout to change for a pair of new trainers before breaking Raducanu for the first time.

    “I couldn’t keep going as I have slipped a few times,” Zheng explained. “Since I arrived here, I was wearing the shoes from last year’s Wimbledon. I know exactly when I should change shoes either on the hard court or the clay court, but I’m not sure while playing on grass. I did ask for opinion from my coach ahead of my first match. He said maybe later and I felt all right yesterday.”

    Zheng suffered first-round exit at the Wimbledon Championships in the past two years, but she believed she has already gained more experience from the two matches she played this year.

    “I have better understanding while playing on grass and I know which shot I should use in different situations,” said Zheng. “But I need to keep winning on grass and have more matches to play on the surface.”

    Zheng will face Amanda Anisimova on Saturday as the American defeated Emma Navarro 6-3, 6-3.

    The other semifinal will be between Australian Open champion Madison Keys from the United States and German qualifier Tatjana Maria. Enditem

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cole Votes in Favor of Rescinding Wasteful Spending

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04)

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACTOlivia Porcaro 202-225-6165

    Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after co-sponsoring and voting in favor of the Recissions Act of 2025, which rescinds $9.4 billion of wasteful spending identified by President Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE):

    “Responsible governance means prioritizing fiscal sanity and holding Washington accountable. Just as everyday Americans make tough choices and cut costs, so should the government,” said Congressman Cole. 

    “This rescissions package is part of that objective, as it will advance accountability and save hard-earned tax-payer dollars. It is another step in fulfilling the promise President Trump and House Republicans made to the American people – to change the trajectory of our fiscal glide path and restore discipline across federal agencies,” said Congressman Cole.

    “I commend Majority Leader Scalise’s work and willingness to hear various perspectives on this proposal. Taken as a whole, this effort reflects a shared understanding that the status quo cannot remain, and I am steadfast in my support of advancing that comprehensive mission. This is just the start, as we will continue to reevaluate federal spending and target investments where they are needed most,” said Congressman Cole.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cole Secures $1.45 Billion in Disaster Recovery for American Communities

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04)

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACTOlivia Porcaro 202-225-6165

    Washington, D.C. – Through his legislation, The American Relief Act, Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) secured about $1.45 billion for the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Fiscal Year 2025 Disaster Supplemental Grant Program. This disaster recovery funding will be used by American communities that received major disaster declarations due to hurricanes, wildfires, severe storms and flooding, tornadoes, and other natural disasters occurring in 2023 or 2024. After the EDA money was announced, Congressman Cole released the following statement:

    “As a lifelong Oklahoman, I know just how much destruction natural disasters, like tornadoes, can cause. In fact, just last year, the towns of Sulphur and Marietta in Oklahoma’s Fourth District were devastated by tornadoes. Now, with this EDA grant funding, communities will be able to not only rebuild but also plan for long-term recovery and future resiliency,” said Congressman Cole.I look forward to seeing this funding being put to good use and I thank President Trump and Secretary Lutnick for their commitment to helping Americans.”

    How to apply for assistance:

    If you are a state, local or tribal government, an economic development district, a higher education institution, an economic development organization, a public or private non-profit working with local government, or a public-private partnership for public infrastructure you are an eligible applicant for this disaster supplemental grant program.

    Additionally, projects must be located in, primarily serve, or demonstrably benefit one or more communities in areas that received a major disaster designation occurring in calendar years 2023 and 2024. You can check eligibility here.

    Readiness and implementation grant applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted or a Notice of Funding Opportunity is canceled.

    Industry Transformation grant applications are due Tuesday, March 3, 2026 at 5:00 pm Eastern Time.

    Applications must be submitted online through the EDA’s portal. You can find the portal here. The required materials are detailed in Section D.2 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity.

    Please stay tuned for future announcements as additional disaster assistance is released and available to Oklahomans.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for June 14, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on June 14, 2025.

    Fijian in Abu Dhabi worried about Pacific communities in Middle East
    By Susana Suisuiki, Presenter/producer of RNZ Pacific Waves Fiji’s Embassy in Abu Dhabi says it is closely monitoring the situation in Iran and Israel as tensions remain high. Israel carried out a dozen strikes against Iranian military and nuclear sites on Friday, claiming it acted out of “self-defence”, saying Iran is close to building a

    Eugene Doyle: Team Genocide and the West’s war on Iran
    COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle I have visited Iran twice. Once in June 1980 to witness an unprecedented event: the world’s first Islamic Revolution. It was the very start of my writing career. The second time was in 2018 and part of my interest was to get a sense of how disenchanted the population was —

    Greta Thunberg tried to shame Western leaders – and found they have no shame
    ANALYSIS: By Jonathan Cook in Middle East Eye If you imagined Western politicians and media were finally showing signs of waking up to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, think again. Even the decision this week by several Western states, led by the UK, to ban the entry of Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, two far-right

    News of the Air India plane crash is traumatic. Here’s how to make sense of the risk
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Deakin University simonkr/Getty Images On Thursday afternoon local time, an Air India passenger plane bound for London crashed shortly after takeoff from the northwestern Indian city of Ahmedabad. There were reportedly 242 people onboard, including two pilots and ten cabin crew. The

    News of the Air India plane crash is traumatic. Here’s how to make sense of the risk
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Deakin University simonkr/Getty Images On Thursday afternoon local time, an Air India passenger plane bound for London crashed shortly after takeoff from the northwestern Indian city of Ahmedabad. There were reportedly 242 people onboard, including two pilots and ten cabin crew. The

    Selwyn Manning Analysis: Israel clearly saw an opportunity to strike Iran. Here’s the trip-wire… UPDATED
    Analysis and Notes by Selwyn Manning: Prep for Radio New Zealand – Israel Strikes Against Iran – June 13, 2025. Listen to the audio from 3:00 minutes in. Over the last 24 hours, the atomic control agency IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) formed a view at its UN Geneva meeting, that there was so-called evidence

    Selwyn Manning Analysis: Israel clearly saw an opportunity to strike Iran. Here’s the trip-wire…
    Analysis and Notes by Selwyn Manning: Prep for Radio New Zealand – Israel Strikes Against Iran – June 13, 2025. Listen to the audio from 3:00 minutes in. Over the last 24 hours, the atomic control agency IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) formed a view at its UN Geneva meeting, that there was so-called evidence

    Why did Israel defy Trump – and risk a major war – by striking Iran now? And what happens next?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University; and Vice Chancellor’s Strategic Fellow, Victoria University Alarmed by an intelligence assessment that Iran will be able to produce nuclear weapons within months if not weeks, Israel has launched a massive air campaign

    Just one man survived the Air India crash. What’s it like to survive a mass disaster?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Smith, Associate Professor and Discipline Lead (Paramedicine), La Trobe University Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British citizen returning from a trip to India, has been confirmed as the only survivor of Thursday’s deadly Air India crash. “I don’t know how I am alive,” Ramesh told family, according to

    Speculation about the cause of Air India crash is rife. An aviation expert explains why it’s a problem
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natasha Heap, Program Director for the Bachelor of Aviation, University of Southern Queensland It has only been a few hours since Air India flight AI171 crashed in Ahmedabad, killing more than 260 people, yet public speculation about the causes of the disaster is already rife. Parts of

    What do we know about the Air India crash? How did one man survive? What now? An aviation safety expert explains
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Guido Carim Junior, Senior Lecturer in Aviation, Griffith University The back of Air India flight 171 after it crashed into a residential building in Ahmedabad. Sam Panthaky / AFP via Getty Images An Air India flight crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad in northwest India on Thursday

    The Daily Blog calls for NZ to immediately expel Israeli envoy for unprovoked attack on Iran
    OPINION: By Martyn Bradbury, editor of The Daily Blog The madness has begun. We should have suspected something when the cloud strike shut down occurred. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to continue war so that he is never held to account. This madness is the last straw. NZ must immediately expel the Israeli Ambassador

    Trump may push Albanese on defence spending, but Australia has leverage it can use, too
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Corben, Research Fellow, Foreign Policy and Defence, University of Sydney Ahead of a prospective meeting between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump at the G7 Summit Canada, two key developments have bumped defence issues to the top of the alliance agenda. First, in

    How long is a vagina? And how do I know if mine is ‘short’?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keersten Fitzgerald, Lecturer in General Practice, University of Sydney Jarrod Simpson/Getty We often use the word vagina to describe everything “down there”, but that’s not actually anatomically correct. The vagina is the stretchy, muscular tube that connects the external genitalia, or vulva, to the cervix, which is

    ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for June 13, 2025
    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on June 13, 2025.

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI USA: Brownley, CA Delegation Members Demand Trump Withdraw National Guard and Marines from LA

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Julia Brownley (D-CA)

  • MIL-OSI Australia: UPDATE: Arrest – Indecent assault and burglary – Parap

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    A 29-year-old male has been arrested in relation to an indecent assault and burglary that occurred in Parap on Tuesday night.

    Around 6pm Friday evening, police located and arrested the alleged offender at an address in Ludmilla.

    The 29-year-old remains in police custody and has been charged with Gross Indecency without consent, Aggravated burglary and Theft. He will face court 16 June 2025.

    Police continue to urge anyone with information about the incident to make contact on 131 444. Please quote reference number P25156934. Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

    MIL OSI News

  • MIL-OSI Australia: 20th anniversary of disappearance of Steven Williams

    Source: New South Wales – News

    Today marks the 20th anniversary of the disappearance of Steven Williams, a former president of the Gypsy Jokers.

    Steven Williams was last seen at the Gepps Cross Hotel on the afternoon of 14 June, 2005.  His white Ford Falcon was later found abandoned in the hotel car park.

    It is suspected Steven Williams was murdered.  His body has never been found, and his disappearance was declared a Major Crime.

    In late 2005, a call was made to Crime Stoppers which led police to searching a trucking company at Gillman.

    It is believed that Mr Williams, a debt collector, was dropped at Gillman by an associate – most likely to collect money from someone who worked there.

    It is likely his body was removed from the business in the rear of a white utility – covered by a tarpaulin – seen parked in a street adjacent to the property later the same day.

    Despite extensive searches over the years, no trace of him has ever been found.

    Steven Williams was 38 when he went missing, leaving behind a young daughter.

    Major Crime detectives believe this case is solvable; and that there are people who know exactly what happened to Steven Williams.

    Detective Sergeant Paul Ward, Major Crime Investigation Branch, said, “Despite the code of silence in outlaw motorcycle gangs, we have received information over the past 20 years regarding the circumstances of Steve’s disappearance, as well as potential burial sites.

    “Over the last 20 years, friendships and loyalties may have changed.  People are 20 years older, they may now have children of their own.  I ask them to put themselves in Blayze Williams’ position, growing up not knowing what happened to her father.

    “For the sake of the Steven Williams’ family, if you have information, please contact Crime Stoppers and help find his remains and bring him home to his family.”

    A $200,000 reward is still on offer for information that leads to a conviction, or the recovery of Steven Williams’ remains.

    Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au – you can remain anonymous.

    MIL OSI News

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: MSF permanently closes hospital and ends support to 13 health facilities in Ulang County following violent looting

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

    Juba, June 14, 2025—Due to safety and security concerns, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has made the decision to permanently close its hospital in Ulang, Upper Nile State, as well as withdraw its support to 13 primary health facilities in the county. MSF suspended all its medical services on 14 April 2025 after armed individuals forced their way into the hospital and its offices, threatened both staff and patients, and violently looted and destroyed property throughout the facility.

    The hospital infrastructure, in which MSF had invested millions of euros, was completely destroyed. In addition, intruders looted medicines worth €135,000—enough to run the hospital for months and care for thousands of patients. This has left the hospital in ruins and unable to function.

    “They took everything: medical equipment, laptops, patients’ beds and mattresses from the wards, and approximately nine months’ worth of medical supplies, including two planeloads of surgical kits and drugs delivered just the week before. Whatever they could not carry, they destroyed,” says Zakaria Mwatia, MSF head of mission for South Sudan.

    “The extensive losses from the looting have left us without the necessary resources to continue operations. We have no other option but to make the difficult decision to close the hospital and our support to 13 primary healthcare facilities, as they all relied on the hospital for medical supplies, referrals, and technical support.”

    This was the second attack on MSF in the area in less than three months. In January, two clearly marked MSF boats on their way to Ulang after delivering medical supplies to Nasir County Hospital were shot at by unknown gunmen, forcing everyone on board to jump into the water and swim to safety. Less than a month after the looting, another MSF hospital was bombed in Old Fangak, forcing MSF to suspend activities.

    Such attacks on healthcare facilities severely disrupt access to healthcare services by the communities, who depend on MSF for medical assistance. The closure of MSF facilities has left the area spanning more than 200 kilometres, from the Ethiopian border to Malakal, without any secondary healthcare facility. With the closure of the Ulang Hospital, pressure has increased significantly on the few remaining health structures, especially in Malakal, which has recorded an influx of patients in recent weeks.

    “The security situation in the area remains volatile, with ongoing clashes in neighbouring regions. MSF prioritises the safety of its staff and patients and the integrity of our services, but the current environment makes it impossible to ensure either. We are deeply concerned by the growing trend of attacks on healthcare and the devastating impact this has on communities. We urgently call for the protection of patients, healthcare workers, and medical facilities at all times,” Mwatia adds.

    Since its launch in 2018, the MSF project in Ulang has provided vital healthcare services to over 150,000 people across Ulang County. This included running a secondary care hospital and supporting 13 primary healthcare facilities throughout the region. Over the past seven years, MSF has carried out more than 139,730 outpatient consultations, admitted 19,350 patients, treated 32,966 cases of malaria, and assisted 2,685 maternal deliveries, among other essential services. During this time, MSF also facilitated patient referrals by boat along the Sobat River, provided support to Nasir County Hospital, and responded to multiple emergencies and disease outbreaks.

    Despite these closures, MSF remains committed to responding to the healthcare needs of displaced and vulnerable people in Ulang and Nasir counties. A mobile emergency team is assessing the needs and preparing to provide short-term healthcare services along the Sobat Corridor, wherever security conditions allow. MSF continues to provide healthcare services in its other projects in Upper Nile State, including in Malakal and Renk Counties.

     

    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 United Kingdom: The King’s Birthday Honours 2025 – Police, Fire and Ambulance

    Source: Scottish Government

    Recipients of blue light service medals in Scotland.

    King’s Police Medal 

    Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie, Police Scotland 

    King’s Fire Service Medal 

    Volunteer Leader Gerry Ralston, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service 

    Watch Commander John Aitchison, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service 

    King’s Ambulance Service Medal 

    Scottish Ambulance Service Corporate Risk Manager, Sarah Stevenson, Scottish Ambulance Service 


    KING’S POLICE MEDAL
     

    Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie, Police Scotland 

    Former Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie joined Strathclyde Police in 1991 and retired in April 2025 after 33 years’ police service. He was an experienced Major Events Commander, Strategic Firearms Commander, and Public Order Gold Commander. He was instrumental in the roll-out of naloxone to all frontline police officers, making Police Scotland the first force globally to implement a nationwide roll-out of the opioid reversing medication. Under his leadership, a national naloxone co-ordination unit was established, prior to national rollout. During his time at Police Scotland, 13,216 operational officers completed the training, more than 10,500 frontline officers were equipped with naloxone while on duty and officers administered naloxone to over 630 individual incidents involving suspected opioid overdoses.

    In 2021, ACC Ritchie was instrumental in the creation, development and delivery of Police Scotland’s International Academy and the wider international strategy for Police Scotland. He has represented and showcased Police Scotland globally, hosting visits to the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Germany, and Columbia. In 2023, he led a Scottish delegation to the Global Law Enforcement & Public Health Association Conference in Sweden where he outlined Scotland’s public health approach to addressing underlying inequalities. That same year, ACC Ritchie was appointed Executive Lead for Operational Support, a broad area of responsibility ranging from road policing to the planning and preparation for events and counter terrorism incidents. He was responsible for major events planning in Scotland and was involved in the COP-26 conference held in Glasgow, Operation Unicorn, following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and the Interpol General Assembly, which saw senior policing officials from across the world descend on Glasgow to discuss international cooperation.  ACC Ritchie also led on Royalty and VIP Protection in Scotland, ensuring Police Scotland worked closely with the Metropolitan Police in relation to the security of protected persons.  

    KING’S FIRE SERVICE MEDAL 

    Volunteer Leader Gerry Ralston, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service 

    Volunteer Leader Ralston is an On Call Firefighter recognised for his work at Salen Community Fire Station on the Isle of Mull, and across East and West Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute. The on-call firefighter joined the Salen Volunteer Unit as a Firefighter in 1988. He has helped design and deliver initiatives aimed at improving how the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service identify, recruit, and retain On Call Firefighters. Volunteer Leader Ralston also helps drive forward programmes aimed at educating and informing the community, such as CPR awareness, and delivers engagement sessions to Tobermory High School. 

    He has organised and raised over £8000 for different causes and charities including The Fire Fighters Charity, Cancer Research UK, Stroke Foundation, the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow and, in July this year, will tackle a 62-mile event for Cancer Research UK. During the pandemic, he facilitated test and protect at Craignure Community Fire Station, taking time out with his main employment to assist the community. He has been at the forefront of all fundraising efforts undertaken by Salen Community Fire station and regularly supports Tobermory Fire Station with their annual open day including donations supporting the Firefighters Charity and other deserving local charities and projects. 

    Watch Commander John Aitchison, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service 

    Watch Commander John Aitchison has been a member of the Fire and Rescue Service in Scotland for over 21 years – initially joining Grampian Fire Brigade – where he was first posted to Altens Fire Station, Aberdeen. He was promoted to Crew Commander in 2006, where he served at Aberdeen’s Central Fire Station. It was while working here in 2007 that he became a member of Operation Florian, a charity that organises fundraising for international humanitarian aid. In 2008, as part of the project, Watch Commander Aitchison led a convoy of donated fire engines from Aberdeen to Macedonia. On their arrival, the watch commander and his team provided two weeks of training to local fire crews with the donated equipment. He would go on to complete the trip a further two times – returning to provide further training and equipment. 

    In 2011, Watch Commander Aitchison joined the United Kingdom International Search and Rescue as a Crew Leader and Sector Medic, and is on standby to attend national and international emergencies. As a member of this team, he was sent to help the response to the Nepal Earthquake in 2015 and the earthquake in Türkiye in 2023. His work in this area led to difficulties with his mental wellbeing. Determined to not let this define him, he went on to co-found Talk Group 20 Aberdeen – a peer support group for firefighters which aims to safeguard mental wellbeing. He also co-founded the organisation, Fire Aid Nepal, a project which aims to support, and future prepare the Nepalese community following the devastating quake 10-years-ago. In 2023, he played an integral role in forming the first ever fire and rescue service for the Mount Everest region and, in 2024, received a Pride of Scotland Award for his work in Nepal which has also attracted letters of thanks from King Charles III. He was promoted to Watch Commander in 2020, where he is currently a national urban search and rescue instructor. 

    KING’S AMBULANCE SERVICE MEDAL  

    SAS Corporate Risk Manager, Sarah Stevenson, Scottish Ambulance Service 

    As Corporate Risk Manager for the Scottish Ambulance Service, Ms Stevenson has worked tirelessly to embed robust and effective risk management arrangements across the organisation, embedding this at local and board levels. 

    She also recently led a significant project to replace a 20-year-old IT risk management system to record risk and adverse events. This two-year project has resulted in substantial improvements for all staff, including easier reporting access and annual recurring savings of more than £13000.  

    Ms Stevenson personally led the training and awareness programme for the new system, leading staff engagement sessions and developing video tutorials and other tools to assist staff and improve accountability and responsibility. The system – which went live in March this year – has received positive feedback from Scottish Ambulance Service staff.  

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: GAZA – June 13 – Lives at risk as communications down at Gaza’s hospitals

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

    Flash Quote by Jose Mas, Head of MSF Emergency Programmes:

    “Our teams in Gaza are witnessing another chaotic day as the carnage at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution sites continues unabated, internet connection is cut off at mass scale after an attack that hit communications lines, and Israeli forces issued new displacement orders in the blocks that include Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

    On 11 June, MSF-supported Al Mawasi Primary Health care clinic received 32 casualties including three dead on arrival. The ICRC field hospital received 160 casualties including five dead on arrival and three with severe wounds who were declared dead shortly after. Today ICRC field hospital saw 125 people wounded with three declared dead upon arrival. Most of those killed and wounded are Palestinians that were seeking urgent assistance at GHF distribution sites.

    The delivery of supplies by private logistics and security firms, as well as local armed actors under the guise of aid, disregarding humanitarian principles, imposing access restrictions on humanitarian agencies in terms of movements, supplies, as well as constantly displacing the population all with the backdrop of 20 months of intense daily bombardment, is pushing Gaza’s fragile social order to the brink of collapse.

    The partial loss of communication has dealt another severe blow to the already decimated humanitarian and medical response, putting the lives of our patients and staff at imminent risk. We have barely heard from our teams in Gaza for over 12 hours. The lack of internet and limited phone connections makes it even harder for humanitarian and medical teams to coordinate movements of staff and supplies, call ambulances, and manage our teams’ security in one of the world’s deadliest war zones.

    Moreover, the possibility of Nasser hospital being subjected to bombardment or damaged by attacks in the area or hardly being accessible anymore is harrowing. Nasser hospital has wards that cannot be moved without putting patients’ lives at grave danger, as their specialist equipment cannot be found anywhere else in southern Gaza, including incubators for the 17 babies currently in intensive care. The hospital is already functioning over capacity, as are other hospitals in Gaza.”

    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: Update 4: Alberta wildfire update (June 13, 3:30 p.m.)

    Source: Government of Canada regional news (2)

    MIL OSI Canada News

  • MIL-OSI Security: Met officers and staff recognised in the King’s Birthday 2025 Honours

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    The outstanding Met police officers and staff come from across all ranks of the organisation and reflect the bravery, compassion and commitment to public service of our people.

    Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said:

    “Every year it is fantastic to see Met officers and staff being recognised for all their hard work and dedication. They demonstrate the best of the Met and are a true credit to the organisation.

    “I would like to share my warmest congratulations with all of the recipients, they should feel incredibly proud of this achievement.

    “The recipients of this year’s award are excellent examples of the people and talent that help the Met thrive and keep Londoners safe. As always we are grateful for the work that they have done and continue to do.”

    The recipients are:

    Adam Cox, Lead Intelligence Analyst MO2– British Empire Medal

    Awarded for his work around understanding gangs and criminality, his work has been pivotal in the identification and capture of extremely dangerous, high risk gang members and the safeguarding of vulnerable children.

    Detective Superintendent Katherine Goodwin– King’s Police Medal

    Awarded for her broad and complex work covering the Special Enquiry Team, Specialist Casework team, Coroners and Major Inquiries teams.

    Detective Constable Dawn Jeffries- King’s Police Medal

    Awarded for her 30 year policing career, specifically her work in the development and evolution of the Family Liaison Advisory Team.

    Police Constable Heath Keogh– King’s Police Medal

    Awarded for his work in designing and launching the LEAD initiative – Local Environmental Awareness on Dogs. This initiative creates a tool kits for early intervention and escalation of risk to create successful early interventions with dog owners.

    Retired Detective Constable Julia Wellby– King’s Police Medal

    Awarded for her 32 years in service specifically for the role she played in developing the Family Liaison role within the Counter Terrorism Network.

    Chief Inspector Christopher Conrad- Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO)

    Awarded by the Sovereign, independent of the Government, to recognise loyal service to the Monarchy.

    Sergeant Richard Jackson – Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO)

    Awarded by the Sovereign, independent of the Government, to recognise loyal service to the Monarchy.

    Sergeant Robert Galloway – Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO)

    Awarded by the Sovereign, independent of the Government, to recognise loyal service to the Monarchy.

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI Security: Assault and threat to federal agents among 331 cases filed in SDTX in support of Operation Take Back America

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    HOUSTON – A total of 332 individuals have been charged in cases filed from June 6-12 in border-security related matters, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. 

    The cases include 10 that involve human smuggling. A total of 205 people are charged with illegally entering the country, while another 109 face charges of felony reentry after prior removal. Most of those individuals have prior felonies such as narcotics, violent crime, immigration crimes and more. Other relevant cases include those involving other immigration crimes as well as an assault and threat to federal officers.

    One of those is Maria Isabel Cruz-Salas, a Mexican national who lives in San Benito. The criminal complaint alleges that while authorities were conducting a lawful immigration enforcement action at a local establishment, they encountered Cruz-Salas. When they attempted to detain Cruz-Salas, she allegedly kicked a federal agent in the face. If convicted, she faces up to eight years in prison.

    Another woman facing charges this week is Michelle Lee Varela, who allegedly threatened to shoot a federal agent in the course of his duties. Law enforcement had been requesting information regarding the status of her husband in the United States. She used profanity and threatened to shoot if they tried to take him into custody. The charges allege law enforcement advised her to consider her remarks as she had just threatened a federal agent, but she continued in an elevated voice and a threatening tone.  

    “The Southern District of Texas takes allegations of threatened violence against law enforcement very seriously,” said Ganjei. “Immigration authorities must be able to carry out their lawful duties free from violence or threats, and those that attempt to obstruct or harm such agents will be held accountable.”

    Among those also charged this week are Paulina Lopez-Bello and Juan Eliud Calva-Lopez, both Mexican nationals. According to court documents, authorities discovered fraudulent lawful permanent resident cards and Social Security documents at their residence in South Texas. According to the charges, both individuals used the counterfeit materials to secure employment in the United States. They allegedly paid $300 for the fake identification. If convicted of fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents, they face up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

    Roberto Carlos Moncada-Pena, a Mexican national living in Mission, faces charges of human smuggling. The criminal complaint alleges authorities encountered Moncada-Pena during a traffic stop where they discovered three illegal aliens in the vehicle. Upon searching his apartment, law enforcement discovered 10 additional illegal aliens. If convicted, Moncada-Pena faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 possible fine.

    In addition to the new cases, also announced this week was the sentencing of four Mexican nationals, all of whom have been previously convicted of illegal reentry into the United States, among other crimes. Josue Rodriguez-Rodriguez has been removed 10 times. He now faces another 69-month federal prison sentence.  

    Jose Manuel Cruz-Diaz, Adrian Villa-Morales and Jose De Jesus Soto-Gonzalez have been removed at least twice before and have various felony convictions such as evading arrest with a motor vehicle, methamphetamine distribution, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and aggravated assault family violence. Sentences in federal court this week ranged from 21-57 months. 

    Also of note was the sentencing of a Nigerian man who had illegally resided in Houston. Omokehinde Muyiwa Oyegoke-Tewogbade and co-conspirators schemed to steal U.S. mail containing new credit cards and bank statements intended for account holders. They contacted financial institutions to activate the stolen cards, increased credit limits and altered account information. They then used the cards to purchase goods, services, gift cards, cash and merchandise at retail stores. In total, they fraudulently activated at least 120 stolen credit cards, causing an estimated $1 million in losses to Chase Bank. He is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment

    These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – Homeland Security Investigations, ICE – Enforcement and Removal Operations, Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

    The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.

    Under current leadership, public safety and a secure border are the top priorities for this district. Enhanced enforcement both at the border and in the interior of the district have yielded aliens engaged in unlawful activity or with serious criminal history, including human trafficking, sexual assault and violence against children.  

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas remains one of the busiest in the nation. It represents 43 counties and more than nine million people covering 44,000 square miles. Assistant U.S. Attorneys from all seven divisions including Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo work directly with our law enforcement partners on the federal, state and local levels to prosecute the suspected offenders of these and other federal crimes. 

    An indictment or criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI: Onex Canada Asset Management Inc. Announces Proposed Changes to Liquid Fund Product Lineup

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TORONTO, June 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Onex Canada Asset Management Inc. (the “Manager”) today announced proposals to terminate or change the investment objectives for certain of its mutual funds.

    Following the completion of the proposed changes, Onex will continue to offer investors a strong line-up of public and private liquid strategies, including Onex Global Special Situations, Onex U.S. Equity, Onex High Yield Bond, Onex Senior Credit, Onex Direct Lending and, if the investment objective change is approved, an Onex Global Equity strategy. These strategies all offer differentiated client solutions with an emphasis on long-term investment performance.

    Changes to Onex International Fund

    Effective on or about September 26, 2025, the Manager proposes to change the investment objective of Onex International Fund to a global mandate and change the fund’s name to “Onex Global Equity Fund” to reflect its new investment objective, subject to obtaining all necessary approvals.

    The current investment objective of Onex International Fund is “to achieve capital appreciation by investing primarily in a variety of growth and value securities listed on international exchanges outside of Canada and the United States”. The new investment objective of this fund will be “to seek to achieve long-term capital appreciation, by investing primarily in a portfolio of global equity securities with attractive risk reward dynamics”.

    The fund will continue to be managed in accordance with its current investment objective, and if the objective change is approved, the fund will then be managed in accordance with its new investment objective.

    The investment objective change is subject to approval by securityholders of Onex International Fund. If the objective change is approved, the fund’s name will change to Onex Global Equity Fund and a new performance fee will be introduced.

    The Manager intends to charge the fund a performance fee that will not exceed 20% of the series net asset value (NAV) of each series of the fund if the series NAV exceeds the return of a specified benchmark over the same period. More particulars regarding the performance fee, including the benchmark, will be set out in the amendment to the simplified prospectus of the fund.

    Securities of this fund will continue to be available for purchase at all times.

    Securityholders of Onex International Fund will be asked to vote on the proposed investment objective change at a special meeting to be held on or about September 23, 2025. More particulars regarding this matter, including any tax implications will be set out in the meeting materials sent to Onex International Fund securityholders.

    If the investment objective change is not approved, the Manager will terminate Onex International Fund.

    Fund Terminations

    The Manager intends to terminate Onex Dividend Distribution Fund, Onex Premium Income Trust and Onex Premium Income Fund (each, a “Terminating Fund”) on or about August 27, 2025.

    Each Terminating Fund will be closed to purchases by new and existing investors effective as of the close of business on June 13, 2025.

    Securityholders of Onex Premium Income Fund can redeem or switch their securities until the close of business on July 31, 2025, provided the securityholder has given the Manager a written request for redemption at least two (2) business days prior to the redemption date, as set out in the offering memorandum of the fund.

    Securityholders of Onex Dividend Distribution Fund and Onex Premium Income Trust can redeem or switch their securities until the close of business on the business day prior to the termination date in accordance with the procedures set out in the simplified prospectus.

    A notice will be mailed to securityholders of Onex Dividend Distribution Fund and Onex Premium Income Trust at least 60 days prior to the termination date and to securityholders of Onex Premium Income Fund at least 45 days prior to the termination date.

    On or before the termination date, the Manager will liquidate the assets of each Terminating Fund and, after paying or making adequate provision for the liabilities of the Terminating Fund, distribute the cash proceeds (including any final income or capital gains) on a pro rata basis to the Terminating Fund’s securityholders of record on the termination date. In anticipation of the termination, each Terminating Fund may make distributions to its securityholders prior to the termination date.

    For further information about the funds, please visit https://www.onex.com/onex-private-wealth.

    Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed or insured by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government deposit insurer, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

    About Onex Canada Asset Management Inc.

    Onex Canada Asset Management Inc. is a subsidiary of Onex Corporation (TSE: ONEX) and offers access to differentiated investment platforms including public mutual funds and a range of private investment strategies and opportunities. For more information, please visit https://www.onex.com/onex-private-wealth.

    CONTACT INFORMATION:

    Please email: ir@onex.com with a copy to advisorinfo@onex.com for questions about the proposed changes.

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former CFO Of Sf Seafood Wholesaler Convicted For Embezzling Over $9 Million From Company

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Defendant Used Stolen Funds to Pay for Personal Travel, Luxury Purses, and College Tuition

    SAN FRANCISCO – A federal jury yesterday convicted Antonietta Nguyen of multiple counts of wire fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to transport monetary instruments for the purpose of laundering, and tax evasion in connection with a scheme to embezzle millions of dollars from a San Francisco-based seafood company. The jury’s verdict followed a two-week trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Illston.

    Nguyen, 57, of Brisbane, was a minority shareholder of ABS Seafood, a private Former CFO Of Sf Seafood Wholesaler Convicted For Embezzling Over $9 Million From Companyseafood wholesaler and importer, and served as the company’s Chief Financial Officer. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from January 2014 to around May 2020, Nguyen fraudulently used a company credit card and funds from the company’s bank account to pay for millions of dollars of expenses on her personal credit cards. She also charged personal expenses to her corporate credit card, which were then paid for by the company. Nguyen used the stolen funds to pay for personal travel, purses and other luxury goods from Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Goyard, Chanel, and Neiman Marcus, property taxes for one of her residences, and college tuition fees for a relative. The evidence presented at trial showed that Nguyen misappropriated approximately $2.7 million in company funds over the course of six-and-a-half years.

    The jury also found that Nguyen devised an inflated invoice scheme involving family members who operated Pescaderia Pacifica International, Inc., a Filipino seafood exporter that was one of ABS’s top vendors and main source for tuna imported into the United States. Nguyen caused ABS to pay over double the true value of the imported seafood by creating false invoices that Nguyen hid from others at the company. Her family members then split the proceeds, with some of the money being wired back to bank accounts in the United States in the names of Nguyen’s husband and daughters.

    The evidence presented at trial also showed that Nguyen evaded personal income taxes that she and her spouse owed for tax years 2018 and 2019 by underreporting the amount of joint taxable income they had for those two years.

    “The defendant devised multiple ways to defraud her business partners of several millions of dollars and got away with it for over six years. She exploited her position of trust in order to fund a lavish lifestyle for herself and her family members,” said United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian. “The jury’s verdict today holds the defendant accountable for her long-running fraud scheme.”

    “Antonietta Nguyen’s conviction reflects the serious consequences of the scheme she orchestrated to defraud her business partners,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani. “As CFO, she systematically stole millions from her own company to bankroll a lavish lifestyle, betraying the responsibilities of her position. The FBI remains committed to working with our partners to uncover and stop financial crimes, and to ensure those who commit them are held fully accountable.”

    “Antonietta Nguyen’s brazen multi-million-dollar embezzlement scheme is a betrayal and breach of trust against her employer and runs afoul of well-established financial law. Her conviction is befitting and a strong deterrent, sending a clear message that white-collar crime has serious consequences.” said IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Oakland Field Office Special Agent in Charge Linda Nguyen. “IRS-CI Special Agents are the experts at tracking down ill-gotten gains and bringing financial criminals to justice.”

    Nguyen was released on bond. Nguyen’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 10, 2025 before Judge Illston. Defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine for the count of conspiracy to transport monetary instruments for the purpose of laundering, and five years in prison and a $100,000 fine for each count of willful tax evasion. Any sentence will be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sailaja M. Paidipaty and Colin Sampson are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Sara Slattery, Janice Pagsanjan, and Kathy Tat. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and IRS-CI.
     

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI: Real IQ Test Online | Quick IQ Test with Instant Results [Accurate & Legit] – Special 2025 Announcement

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    San Francisco, CA, June 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  Quick IQ Test has launched its most advanced IQ testing experience yet. The official IQ test 2025 is now live for anyone seeking a real IQ test online with instant, reliable results. This updated version delivers greater accuracy, a smoother interface, and smarter analytics, raising the standard for real IQ tests you can take from home.

    ⇒ Start a Real IQ Test with Instant Results at QuickIQTest.org

    Built with a refined scoring engine, the test measures key cognitive abilities, including reasoning, memory, pattern recognition, and problem-solving. Once completed, users receive a detailed report instantly—no delays, no hidden steps. It’s a real IQ test designed for individuals who value clear, science-based results.

    The 2025 version is fully optimized for mobile devices, with faster load times and a clean, focused interface. Whether you’re using a phone, tablet, or desktop, this legitimate IQ test runs seamlessly, providing a distraction-free environment that supports sharp thinking and optimal performance.

    ⇒ Try the Real Online IQ Test Millions Trust – QuickIQTest.org

    If you’re wondering how to take a real IQ test online or where to take a real IQ test, QuickIQTest.org offers an efficient, accessible solution. The process is simple: no account needed, no waiting for results, and no gimmicks. It’s a quick IQ test designed for students, professionals, job seekers, and anyone curious about their cognitive profile.

    This isn’t a game or casual quiz—it’s a real free IQ test developed using verified psychometric models. The format is based on fluid intelligence principles and structured for speed, balance, and measurable outcomes. It’s one of the most accurate IQ test options available online today.

    Whether you’re searching for a real IQ test free, a short IQ test, or a reliable IQ test that delivers legitimate results, QuickIQTest.org provides a smart and secure platform you can trust.

    Explore the latest in cognitive testing with the official IQ test 2025—the trusted way to assess your intelligence with clarity, precision, and immediate feedback.

    ⇒ Take a Legit Real IQ Test with Accurate Scoring!

    What Is a Real IQ Test?

    IQ, or Intelligence Quotient, is a score that reflects your ability to solve problems, recognize patterns, and think logically. A real IQ test online measures your cognitive abilities using scientifically designed questions to deliver a reliable score.

    Unlike casual quizzes or games, a real IQ test provides insights into memory, reasoning, and mental speed. It helps individuals understand how they process information, solve challenges, and make decisions in both academic and real-world settings.

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    The Purpose of an IQ Test

    A well-structured, accurate IQ test is designed to assess key mental functions like logic, spatial reasoning, pattern recognition, and processing speed. These insights are useful for self-assessment, educational planning, career decisions, and personal development.

    A legit IQ test online, like the one offered at QuickIQTest.org, uses validated questions and a reliable scoring system to deliver measurable, science-backed results. Whether you’re a student, professional, or simply curious, this tool helps you understand your thinking style quickly and effectively.

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    Where Did IQ Tests Come From?

    IQ testing originated with French psychologist Alfred Binet, who created the first intelligence assessments to support students in schools. Over the years, these tests have evolved with advancements in psychology and technology.

    Today’s Official IQ Test 2025 at QuickIQTest.org builds on that foundation, combining modern research and a digital-friendly format to provide a smarter, more refined experience for anyone seeking a real IQ test online.

    ⇒ Try QuickIQTest.org for a Real, Trusted IQ Test

    What Types of Intelligence Are Measured?

    A complete IQ test real measures both fluid and crystallized intelligence. Fluid intelligence focuses on reasoning, pattern recognition, and problem-solving. Crystallized intelligence includes learned knowledge, like vocabulary and general information.

    A real free IQ test also evaluates visual-spatial awareness, memory, logic, and attention to detail. The Quick IQ Test covers all these areas, offering a balanced look at how your mind processes and analyzes information.

    If you’re looking for the most accurate IQ test online, balance is key. QuickIQTest.org achieves this through a wide variety of validated questions designed to provide honest, actionable feedback.

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    How Do Online IQ Tests Work?

    The Quick IQ Test features a fast, focused format that delivers immediate feedback. You’ll answer a series of multiple-choice questions that test your ability to identify patterns, solve visual problems, and reason logically.

    The structure is distraction-free and easy to navigate, whether you’re taking the test on a phone, tablet, or computer. It’s ideal for anyone who wants a quick IQ test online without hassle.

    ⇒ Try a Real IQ Test Online – Accurate & Fast!

    Common Question Types in a Real IQ Test

    At QuickIQTest.org, the official IQ test online features a mix of visual-spatial and numerical reasoning questions. You might be asked to spot differences in images, complete pattern sequences, or solve logic-based math problems.

    These types of tasks are used in professional testing environments and are designed to accurately measure fluid intelligence. That’s why many people seeking a legitimate IQ test online choose this trusted format.

    ⇒ Start a Trusted Real IQ Test Today

    Time Limits and Accuracy

    This real IQ test uses a timed structure to ensure consistency and fairness. While the pace is steady—not rushed—it captures your natural processing speed, which is a critical element of cognitive ability.

    While some users prefer an untimed experience, a timed, reliable IQ test ensures results are comparable across users. QuickIQTest.org has implemented this system for users who want accurate scores with minimal bias.

    How IQ Scoring Works

    Once you complete the test, your answers are analyzed using real psychometric models. You’ll receive an IQ score along with a breakdown of your reasoning, memory, logic, and speed.

    There’s no need to register, wait for an email, or give personal information. Everything is immediate and private. This makes it a preferred choice for anyone searching for a free real IQ test with honest, fast results.

    ⇒ Get Legit IQ Test Results Now at QuickIQTest.org

    Where to Take a Real IQ Test Online

    Many ask: Where can I take a real IQ test that’s actually legitimate and reliable? The answer is QuickIQTest.org. This platform provides a straightforward process, quick feedback, and accurate scoring—all without the need to sign up or share personal data.

    Whether you’re seeking a short IQ test online, a fast IQ test online, or wondering how to take a real IQ test from the comfort of home, this platform offers a practical solution.

    Why Take an IQ Test Online?

    Taking a real IQ test online has many benefits:

    • Immediate results: Know your score within minutes.
    • Private and secure: No registration or personal info required.
    • Accessible anywhere: Take it on any device.
    • Research-based: Uses real psychometric frameworks.
    • Flexible: Designed for both quick assessments and in-depth analysis.

    This makes QuickIQTest.org one of the most trusted options for people looking for a legitimate IQ test with proven accuracy.

    ⇒ Take a Fast and Accurate IQ Test at QuickIQTest.org

    Perfect for Students, Professionals, and Curious Minds

    IQ tests can support school applications, career planning, or personal growth. A legit IQ test helps you identify strengths and potential areas to improve, making it a valuable tool for long-term development.

    If you’re curious about your thinking style or cognitive strengths, a real IQ test like the one at QuickIQTest.org gives you honest feedback you can use.

    A Real Free IQ Test You Can Trust

    If you’re still wondering where to take a real IQ test without hidden fees or sign-ups, start with QuickIQTest.org. It’s fast, flexible, and designed to deliver science-based results you can trust—whether you want a real IQ test free, a quick IQ test, or the most accurate IQ test you can find online today.

    ⇒ Take a Verified IQ Test Online Now on QuickIQTest.org

    Free vs. Paid Online IQ Tests: What You Need to Know

    If you’re looking to take a real IQ test online, you’ll quickly notice a wide range of options. Some are free and quick, while others require payment and promise deeper insights. But not all IQ tests are equal, and understanding the differences between a free, real IQ test and a pai,d legitimate IQ test online can help you make a smarter choice.

    ⇒ Real IQ Test Online – Start with Confidence!

    What Free IQ Tests Usually Offer

    Many people search for a real, free IQ test to get a quick glimpse into their cognitive abilities. These tests typically offer a handful of basic questions, often covering pattern recognition, visual puzzles, and short logic or math tasks. While they can be entertaining and a helpful starting point, they’re often limited in scope.

    Free versions don’t always provide an accurate IQ test result. Most lack in-depth scoring, detailed analysis, or a reliable structure based on psychometric research. Some free IQ test sites may also collect emails or serve ads instead of delivering real value. That’s why choosing a legitimate IQ test from a trustworthy source like QuickIQTest.org is so important.

    ⇒ Start a Real IQ Test That’s Backed by Data – QuickIQTest.org

    When It’s Worth Paying for a Real IQ Test

    If you’re serious about evaluating your cognitive strengths, a paid test is the better route. The Official IQ Test 2025 at QuickIQTest.org offers a full assessment including fluid intelligence, spatial reasoning, and pattern analysis. This real IQ test gives immediate results and actionable insights.

    People often ask, “Where can I take a real IQ test?” or “How to take a real IQ test that’s actually legit?”—and the answer often leads to paid platforms with research-backed designs. A legit IQ test online will offer structured scoring, real-time feedback, and a balanced mix of question types to ensure a reliable IQ test experience.

    ⇒ Try QuickIQTest.org – Real IQ Test, Real Accuracy

    Why QuickIQTest.org Stands Out

    QuickIQTest.org provides a real IQ test experience without gimmicks. You simply take the test, get your score instantly, and receive a breakdown of your reasoning skills. There are no upsells or long wait times. That’s why it’s a go-to site for users asking, “Where to take a real IQ test online?” or “What’s the most accurate IQ test available today?”

    Their platform is optimized for any device—desktop, tablet, or mobile—and offers a smooth and fast IQ test online experience. It’s ideal for anyone seeking a short IQ test online that still delivers genuine results.

    ⇒ Fast, Accurate IQ Testing Now at QuickIQTest.org

    Red Flags: What to Avoid

    Not every IQ test you find online is the real deal. Watch out for these warning signs:

    • Promises of “instant genius” or inflated scores
    • Hidden payment requirements before showing results
    • Lack of clear test structure or explanation
    • Redirects to unrelated products or services

    For a legitimate IQ test online, transparency and simplicity matter. QuickIQTest.org is clear about what it offers and delivers real, research-informed results.

    ⇒ Take the Legit IQ Test for 2025 at QuickIQTest.org

    How to Prepare for a Real IQ Test Online

    Whether you’re taking a quick IQ test online or a full-length, real IQ test, preparation helps improve focus and confidence. Here’s how to get ready.

    Know the Question Types

    Most real IQ tests use a mix of verbal, numerical, and visual-spatial questions. These formats test how well you recognize patterns, solve problems, and think logically. Familiarity can give you an edge.

    Common question formats include:

    • Visual puzzles: identifying missing parts or matching patterns
    • Numerical logic: solving sequences or simple math problems
    • Abstract reasoning: choosing shapes that follow a logical progression

    To experience these formats only, try the short IQ test at QuickIQTest.org. It’s designed to mirror what a legit IQ test feels like, with intuitive structure and real-time feedback.

    ⇒ Get Real, Fast IQ Scores Today at QuickIQTest.org

    Create a Stress-Free Testing Environment

    Anxiety can affect performance on even the most accurate IQ test online. Reduce stress with a few simple steps:

    • Choose a quiet location with no distractions
    • Silence notifications on your devices
    • Use deep breathing exercises to calm your mind
    • Ensure a strong and stable internet connection

    A little preparation makes a big difference. Tests from QuickIQTest.org are user-friendly and designed to minimize stress, helping you focus on your thinking, not the test format.

    ⇒ Take the IQ Test That Everyone’s Talking About

    Keep Your Mind Sharp

    To get the most from your real IQ test, stay mentally active. Play brain games, solve puzzles, or work through logic problems a few days before the test. Activities like Sudoku, crosswords, or memory challenges help train the types of skills measured in a legit IQ test.

    Avoid last-minute cramming. IQ tests aren’t about facts—they’re about how you think. That’s why a reliable IQ test like the one at QuickIQTest.org focuses on reasoning over knowledge.

    ⇒ Try the Most Accurate IQ Test Online

    Be Test-Ready

    Before you start, check that your device is charged, your internet connection is reliable, and your space is distraction-free. With those basics in place, you’re ready to take a real IQ test online that gives you fast, accurate insights.

    Whether you’re curious about your IQ or using the results for academic or career planning, QuickIQTest.org is a trusted destination. Start with their quick IQ test, then explore deeper with the Official IQ Test 2025, one of the most accurate IQ tests online, designed for real results and personal growth.

    ⇒ Find Out Your Score with a Legit IQ Test

    Most Accurate Online IQ Tests in 2025: What to Look For

    In 2025, the demand for accurate online IQ testing continues to grow. Whether you’re curious about your cognitive strengths or using results for academic or career purposes, choosing a real IQ test online that delivers valid and consistent results is essential. Unfortunately, many online options offer inflated or meaningless scores that don’t reflect true ability.

    To ensure reliability, the most accurate IQ test should follow modern cognitive science standards, assessing key areas such as logic, spatial reasoning, verbal comprehension, and pattern recognition. If you’re searching for where to take a real IQ test that actually provides useful insights, here’s what to look for.

    ⇒ Try This Quick and Reliable IQ Test

    What Makes an IQ Test Accurate and Reliable

    Not all IQ tests meet the same standard of rigor. A legit IQ test is structured to evaluate multiple areas of intelligence through scientifically validated methods. Tests using outdated formats, overly simple questions, or uncalibrated scoring systems are more likely to provide misleading results.

    To be considered an accurate IQ test, the following elements are essential:

    • Scientifically Validated Questions
      Reliable IQ tests use a question bank developed and reviewed by psychologists and cognitive researchers, ensuring each question measures specific cognitive skills.
    • Calibrated Scoring Systems
      Scores should be normalized across diverse test-taker populations to ensure accuracy and fairness across age, background, and education levels.
    • Regular Updates
      The most accurate platforms revise their content regularly to avoid predictability and to reflect ongoing research in intelligence testing.

    If you’re wondering how to test your IQ with confidence or want to know where to take a real IQ test without gimmicks, these criteria should guide your decision.

    ⇒ IQ Test with Real Results – Take It Now

    Why QuickIQTest.org Delivers Reliable Results in 2025

    One of the platforms leading the way in online IQ testing is QuickIQTest.org. Known for offering a real IQ test online, this platform combines scientific structure with a clean, intuitive user experience. It’s frequently recommended by individuals and educators alike who are looking for a legit IQ test that doesn’t rely on flashy claims or inflated scores.

    This year, QuickIQTest.org released an updated version of its real IQ test 2025, featuring new question types that better assess fluid intelligence, spatial logic, and abstract reasoning. Unlike many static tests, this one uses adaptive algorithms that adjust difficulty based on performance—an advanced method that reduces score distortion and ensures a more accurate IQ test result.

    ⇒ Take the Official IQ Test at QuickIQTest.org

    Updated Content and Adaptive Testing for Better Accuracy

    What sets QuickIQTest.org apart is its commitment to continuous improvement. Every question added to its database is reviewed for clarity, fairness, and relevance. The emphasis is on evaluating problem-solving and reasoning, not memory or prior knowledge, making the test more objective and one of the most legitimate IQ test options available online.

    Whether you’re looking for a short IQ test to get a general sense of your abilities or a deeper dive into your cognitive profile, QuickIQTest.org has both a free real IQ test and full-length options. The platform is suitable for casual users and those who want measurable insights into how they think and solve problems.

    ⇒ Begin Your Accurate IQ Test Now on QuickIQTest.org

    Trust, Transparency, and Social Proof

    QuickIQTest.org has earned its place among trusted IQ test providers through positive user feedback and word-of-mouth recommendations. Thousands of users have taken the real IQ test online and praised its ease of use, fast results, and fair scoring.

    In addition to individual praise, the test has gained attention in academic and educational communities. It’s often cited as a reliable tool for assessing general reasoning skills—especially when evaluating how people approach complex tasks. This credibility makes it a strong option for anyone searching for the most accurate IQ test available in 2025.

    Choosing the Right Online IQ Test

    With its adaptive testing, expert-reviewed questions, and straightforward format, QuickIQTest.org continues to be a trusted place to take a real IQ test online. It’s designed for anyone seeking clarity, not gimmicks. Start with a free real IQ test, then try the full version for deeper insights into your mental strengths and processing style.

    ⇒ Start the Legit IQ Test at QuickIQTest.org

    Understanding Your IQ Score: What It Really Means in 2025

    When you take a real IQ test online, you’ll receive a numerical score. But that number is only valuable if you understand what it measures—and what it doesn’t. A legit IQ test offers more than a quick result. It provides meaningful insight into how your brain handles logic, memory, and pattern recognition, helping you better understand your cognitive strengths.

    What Does Your IQ Score Mean?

    Most real IQ tests use a standard scoring system where the average is set at 100. This helps compare results across the population in a fair and meaningful way. Scoring above or below 100 doesn’t determine your potential or worth—it simply places your performance within a broader context.

    ⇒ Take the IQ Test That Reflects Your Potential

    Here’s a general guide to interpreting IQ scores:

    • Below 85: Below average. This may suggest different learning styles or unique problem-solving strategies, but it does not measure motivation or creativity.
    • 85–115: Average range. Most people fall here, showing balanced reasoning and comprehension skills.
    • 116–129: Above average. Individuals in this range often excel in logic, abstraction, and critical thinking.
    • 130 and above: Considered gifted. This score typically reflects advanced problem-solving and quick mental processing.

    When you test your IQ using a reliable IQ test, understanding your score can support academic planning, career development, or personal growth.

    ⇒ Want Real Results? Take This IQ Test

    What IQ Tests Don’t Measure

    Even the most accurate IQ test has limitations. IQ scores reflect certain types of intelligence—mainly logical reasoning and problem-solving—but they do not measure emotional intelligence, motivation, social skills, or creativity. These qualities play a major role in real-life success but are not captured in standard IQ assessments.

    A legitimate IQ test will never claim to define your full intelligence. Instead, it offers a snapshot—a helpful reference, not a fixed label.

    ⇒ Discover Your Strengths with an IQ Test

    Going Beyond the Number: Personality Insights from QuickIQTest.org

    QuickIQTest.org enhances the testing experience by including personality insights with every result. The Official IQ Test 2025 now offers feedback on how users manage pressure, solve problems, and approach challenges.

    While many search for a free real IQ test, those who take QuickIQTest.org’s version often discover the added value in its comprehensive approach. The updated platform includes:

    • Real-time scoring feedback
    • Adaptive question difficulty
    • Personality trait mapping

    This pairing of IQ and personality insights gives a well-rounded view of your cognitive profile—something not all online IQ tests offer.

    ⇒ Trusted by Thousands – Take Your IQ Test at QuickIQTest.org

    Clear Score Interpretation That Makes Sense

    Some online tests provide a raw number without context. QuickIQTest.org stands out by showing how your score compares across different groups and question types. You’ll know which sections challenged you and where you excelled.

    This feedback supports:

    • Students who want to shape their study habits
    • Professionals, seeking to build focus or improve decision-making
    • Curious individuals, eager to explore their thinking style

    If you’re wondering where to take a real IQ test that delivers actionable insights, QuickIQTest.org offers an accurate, modern solution.

    ⇒ Challenge Your Mind with an IQ Test

    Designed for All Ages: IQ Tests for Kids, Teens, and Adults

    Not all IQ tests adjust for age, and that can skew results. Children, teenagers, and adults process information differently, so accurate testing must reflect that.

    QuickIQTest.org uses age-adjusted scoring to ensure fairness. Whether you’re a parent testing your child, a student preparing for college, or an adult measuring personal growth, the platform delivers results calibrated for your age group.

    Why age matters:

    A 10-year-old and a 35-year-old might answer the same question correctly, but their scores should reflect how their peers performed. The Official IQ Test 2025 handles this behind the scenes, using updated scoring models for all age ranges.

    ⇒ IQ Test Built for All Ages – Try It

    Different Types of Intelligence Measured

    The IQ test at QuickIQTest.org focuses on cognitive performance, but the way this appears may vary by age or experience:

    • Educational Intelligence: Useful for teens planning academics or college.
    • Cognitive Intelligence: Problem-solving, logic, and pattern recognition.
    • Social Intelligence: While not fully measured, decision-making and reasoning are influenced by life experience.

    This flexibility makes QuickIQTest.org a strong choice for anyone seeking a legit IQ test that works across age groups.

    ⇒ Find Out Where You Rank – Take the IQ Test

    Benefits for Individuals, Schools, and Employers

    IQ testing has a range of applications:

    • Schools: Identify gifted students or tailor learning approaches.
    • Teens: Use test results for career and academic guidance.
    • Adults: Track cognitive strengths and areas for improvement.
    • Employers: Although not always required, many individuals use a real IQ test online to benchmark performance or focus on personal development.

    When used thoughtfully, IQ results can lead to practical self-improvement and goal setting.

    Built with Usability in Mind

    QuickIQTest.org designed the real IQ test 2025 to be intuitive and mobile-friendly. The platform adapts to each test-taker’s pace, and the interface is clear enough for both younger and older users. If you’re asking how to test your IQ or searching for where to take a real IQ test, this platform offers clarity, speed, and reliability in one place.

    ⇒ Take a Science-Backed IQ Test at QuickIQTest.org

    Is an Online IQ Test Legitimate?

    Many people ask: Can a digital test be trusted?

    The short answer: Yes—if it’s based on psychometric science.

    While clinical IQ tests are administered in person by professionals, a real IQ test online uses similar question types and scoring methods for broader accessibility.

    What sets QuickIQTest.org apart:

    • A psychometric-based question bank
    • Balanced and adaptive question structure
    • Real-time feedback and age-adjusted scoring
    • No gimmicks, pop-ups, or vague claims

    If you’re looking for a legit IQ test with proven credibility, QuickIQTest.org offers a trustworthy and accurate IQ test backed by thousands of satisfied users and repeat visitors.

    ⇒ Get Verified IQ Results at QuickIQTest.org

    Frequently Asked Questions 


    Is the Quick IQ Test a real IQ test?

    Yes. QuickIQTest.org offers a real IQ test online based on recognized psychometric methods. The questions are designed to accurately measure your reasoning, pattern recognition, and problem-solving abilities. The test reflects genuine cognitive ability, not guesswork.

    Where can I take a real IQ test?

    You can take a real IQ test online directly at QuickIQTest.org. The platform provides a simple, private, and secure experience with instant results. It suits students, professionals, and anyone curious about their cognitive strengths.

    Is Quick IQ Test legit?

    Yes. QuickIQTest.org is a legitimate IQ test platform with thousands of users worldwide. The site uses updated algorithms, verified question banks, and standardized scoring to provide real data, not entertainment quizzes.

    How accurate is the online IQ test?

    The Quick IQ Test is considered one of the most accurate IQ tests online. It measures several types of intelligence and provides consistent, repeatable scores. The new Official IQ Test 2025 version includes a refined scoring system for improved precision.

    Can I take a real IQ test free?

    You can begin with a real free IQ test at QuickIQTest.org. Free versions include core questions and a basic score. You can unlock the full report for a full breakdown, including personality insights and expanded metrics.

    How to test your IQ quickly?

    To test your IQ quickly, visit QuickIQTest.org. The short IQ test takes only a few minutes and gives you instant results. No downloads or prep are needed.

    What does an IQ score mean?

    Your IQ score shows how your cognitive skills compare to others in your age group. Scores typically range from below 85 (lower range) to above 130 (gifted range). A score of around 100 is considered average.

    How long does a Quick IQ Test take?

    The full test at QuickIQTest.org takes about 10–12 minutes. It’s a short IQ test designed for fast results without losing depth or reliability.

    What makes QuickIQTest.org a trusted platform?

    QuickIQTest.org is a reliable IQ test provider. It uses proven methods, clear scoring, and no gimmicks. The Official IQ Test 2025 version brings updates in accuracy, mobile access, and feedback tools, making it one of the most trusted real IQ tests online today.

    Final Thoughts

    QuickIQTest.org continues to lead in 2025 as a trusted source for real IQ testing online. With the launch of its Official IQ Test 2025, the platform has raised the bar in speed, accuracy, and user experience. The improved scoring system, mobile compatibility, and deeper analysis make it a reliable tool for anyone looking to test their intelligence from home.

    This real IQ test online offers more than basic number puzzles. It evaluates reasoning, logic, and cognitive patterns with precision. Designed for all age groups, QuickIQTest.org remains a go-to option for academic planning, career assessment, or personal growth.

    With clear scoring, real-time results, and high user trust, it is one of the most accurate IQ test platforms online. If you’re wondering how to take a real IQ test or where to find a legit IQ test in 2025, start with QuickIQTest.org.

    Media Contact

    Company: Quick IQ Test

    Contact Person: Sean C. Bailey

    Email: support@quickiqtest.org

    Address: 3445 Canterbury Drive, New York, NY 10016, USA

    URL: https://quickiqtest.org/

    Phone: +1 646-598-0584

    Content Accuracy Disclaimer
    Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in this article. However, due to the dynamic nature of product formulations, promotions, and availability, details may change without notice. The publisher makes no warranties or representations as to the current completeness or accuracy of any content, including product claims, pricing, or ingredient lists.
    It is the responsibility of the reader to verify product information directly through the official website or manufacturer prior to making a purchasing decision. Any reliance placed on the information in this article is done strictly at your own risk.
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    The publisher only promotes products that have been independently evaluated and deemed potentially beneficial to readers. However, this compensation may influence the content, topics, or products discussed in this article. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliate partner or product provider.
    All product reviews and descriptions reflect the author’s honest opinion based on available public data, user feedback, and scientific references at the time of writing. The inclusion of affiliate links does not influence the objectivity or integrity of the content. However, readers are encouraged to independently verify product information and consult with healthcare professionals prior to purchase or use.
    No warranties, either expressed or implied, are made about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, or suitability of the content provided. The publisher and all affiliated parties expressly disclaim any and all liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of any information contained herein.
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    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Pioneering traditional music school marks 25 years

    Source: Scotland – Highland Council

    A major milestone in Highland musical education is to be celebrated with a special concert in Inverness.

    The National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music in Plockton is celebrating its 25th anniversary and on Thursday (19 June) past and present students will come together at Eden Court Theatre in a showcase of the very best from the Scottish traditional scene.

    Known as Sgoil Chiùil na Gàidhealtachd, the Centre has been a cornerstone in nurturing some of the country’s most talented young musicians while preserving Scotland’s rich musical heritage. This celebratory performance highlights the Centre’s legacy as the only one of its kind in Scotland.

    Highland Council vice convener Cllr Biz Campbell said: “Congratulations to Sgoil Chiùil na Gàidhealtachd, the national centre of excellence in traditional music based at Plockton High School.

    “The school has done such marvellous work to support traditional music and culture in our region and what better place to have this precious asset than at Plockton High, in the heart of the Highlands.

    “Some of our very best musicians have come through the school and it is fantastic to see them teaming up with the next generation to celebrate the 25th anniversary. Here’s to many more.”

    The concert will feature a stellar line-up of alumni who have gone on to forge highly successful careers. Returning to perform alongside current students are:

    • Innes White (originally from Dingwall & he will be the Musical Director the event), multi-instrumentalist known for collaborations with Julie Fowlis, Eddi Reader, Karen Matheson, Sian, Siobhan Miller and many others
    • Kim Carnie (Oban), singer-songwriter, member of popular folk group, Mànran, and TV presenter
    • Ewan Robertson (Carrbridge) and Conal McDonagh (Poolewe) of award-winning folk group, Breabach
    • Catriona Hawksworth (Perthshire) and Megan Macdonald (Lairg), members of six-piece band, Heisk
    • Malin Lewis (Skye), acclaimed piper and instrument maker
    • Mairearad Green, Achiltibuie musician, composer and artist
    • Charlie Grey (Fort Augustus) and Joseph Peach (Achiltibuie), celebrated fiddle and piano duo
    • Deirdre Graham (Breakish, Skye), Gaelic singer and tutor at the Centre, who will also act as Bean an Taighe (host) for the evening

    These musicians will be joining the current intake of talented young musicians back in Plockton for rehearsals prior to the event, where the future generation will learn from the alumni.

    The concert will also mark the official launch of the Centre’s 24th album, Mic’d Up, featuring performances by the current students. Recorded last year, the album is a collection of traditional and contemporary material that showcases the skill, creativity, and collaboration at the heart of the Centre’s work.

    Mike Vass, Centre Manager, said: “It’s a real honour to celebrate 25 years of the Centre with so many of our talented alumni and current students.

    “This event is not just a celebration of our past, but a testament to the strength and future of traditional music in Scotland.

    “The fact that so many former students have gone on to successful careers – and are now returning to perform – is incredibly moving and a powerful reminder of what this Centre is all about.”

    The Centre opened in May 2000 with just nine students, including Breabach’s Ewan Robertson, who returns as both tutor and performer, offering intensive training led by some of Scotland’s foremost traditional musicians.

    Today, the Centre continues to offer exceptional musical education, with tuition from a team of renowned tutors such as fiddler Gordon Gunn; Gaelic singers Deirdre Graham and Rachel Walker; singer-songwriter Siobhan Miller; multi-instrumentalist Hamish Napier; fiddle player/guitarist Innes Watson; harpist Ingrid Henderson; pianist Mhairi Hall; and composer/producer Mike Vass, who also serves as Centre Manager.

    The 25th anniversary celebration takes place at Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, on 19th June.

    Tickets are available now online via the Eden Court website.

    For more information about the Centre, visit www.plocktonmusicschool.com.

    About The National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music

    • Sgoil Chiùil na Gàidhealtachd (National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music) is the only Centre of Excellence in Scotland dedicated exclusively to Scottish traditional music.
    • The Centre offers first-class tuition and a comprehensive learning experience including individual instruction, ensemble work, masterclasses, performance, recording, and music history.
    • The Centre aims to provide high-quality education, support career pathways in traditional music, and foster strong links within both the local and wider traditional music communities.
    • In 1999, the Scottish Executive established its Excellence Fund for education, and invited the 32 Scottish local authorities to submit bids for appropriate projects. Recognising the wealth of traditional music activity generated by the Fèis movement and others, The Highland Council submitted a bid for a residential Centre of Excellence specialising in traditional music.
    • The bid was successful, and the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music was established at Plockton High School in May 2000 with funding of £500,000 over three years from the Scottish Executive’s Excellence Fund, with additional input from The Highland Council.

    Issued by Katie Mackenzie PR and by Highland Council

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Australia’s naval nuclear propulsion: AUKUS update to IAEA Board of Governors, June 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    Australia’s naval nuclear propulsion: AUKUS update to IAEA Board of Governors, June 2025

    Update by Australia, the UK and the USA (AUKUS) to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors on Australia’s naval nuclear propulsion programme

    Thank you, Chair.

    I have the honour of speaking on behalf of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States to provide an update to the Board of Governors on Australia’s naval nuclear propulsion (NNP) program.

    Chair,

    Bilateral consultations between Australia and the Agency on the safeguards and verification approach for Australia’s program, including an arrangement under Article 14 of Australia’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA), are ongoing.

    As the Director General stated in his report to this Board last November, these consultations are guided by the relevant provisions of the Agency’s Statute, and Australia’s CSA and Additional Protocol (AP). The topics under discussion include the structure and content of Australia’s Article 14 arrangement; provisions for advance notification, reporting and verification prior to the entry of nuclear material into the arrangement; and the circumstances under which the arrangement will apply.

    Technical discussions also continue on ways to facilitate possible verification and monitoring activities, and on the structure of material balance areas, facilities and sites at relevant locations in Australia, within the framework of Australia’s CSA and AP. 

    Chair,

    We reaffirm the fundamental commitment that ensures our approach sets the highest non-proliferation standard. Australia’s program will be subject to a robust package of safeguards and verification measures, enabling the Agency to continue to fulfil its technical objectives for Australia at all stages. Throughout the lifecycle of Australia’s conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines the Agency will continue to verify that there has been no diversion of nuclear material, no misuse of facilities, and no undeclared nuclear material or activities in Australia. 

    As the Director General has stated, Australia’s Article 14 arrangement, once finalised, will be referred to this Board for appropriate action – which we fully support. When the Article 14 arrangement comes before the Board of Governors, in the fullness of time, we expect it to be judged on its non-proliferation merits, on the basis of the Director General’s technical assessment.

    Chair,

    We remain committed to updating the Board on relevant developments concerning our three countries’ cooperation on NNP, as we have done since September 2021.

    Australia is continuing to build our capacity to operate and maintain our future conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines through support and training from the US and UK. To this end, consistent with the phased approach we announced in March 2023, Australia is receiving regular port visits from American nuclear-powered submarines at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia – which will continue and be supplemented in future by UK visiting submarines. There is a long history of US and UK submarines visiting Australia, and port visits by many nations are carried out regularly around the world.  Our cooperation is proceeding in full compliance with AUKUS partners’ respective international obligations, including Australia’s obligations under its CSA and AP, and under the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty.

    As the Director General confirmed in his report last November, the Agency continues to undertake independent verification activities in relation to Australia’s program; and Australia continues to provide the Agency all information required under its CSA and AP.

    Chair,

    We support the Director General’s ongoing commitment to report to the Board on NNP programs, as he judges appropriate. He did this last November, and he has also done so at this Board in the Safeguards Implementation Report for 2024. We continue to welcome technically focused discussions at the Board, under agenda items proposed by the Director General and guided by his reporting.

    AUKUS partners remain committed to transparency and setting the highest non-proliferation standard for Australia’s NNP program. We welcome opportunities to present information and address genuine questions regarding Australia’s NNP program. Since 2023 we have co-hosted a side event on our non-proliferation approach at each NPT PrepCom meeting – most recently on 1 May in New York. We will continue to provide updates to the Board and in other fora, as appropriate.

    Thank you, Chair.

    Updates to this page

    Published 13 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI USA: Tomorrow Is Officially “Vets Get Outside Day” After Senators King, Cassidy Resolution Passes Senate Unanimously

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution introduced by U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), both members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (SVAC), marking Saturday, June 14th as “Veterans Get Outside Day.” The resolution encourages veterans, especially those struggling with mental health challenges, to spend time in the great outdoors. Veterans have free lifetime access to National Parks and Maine State Parks.
    “From beach walks on the rocky coast to a challenging hike in the woods, Maine’s extraordinary outdoor spaces can bring moments of calm during the most difficult times,” said Senator King. “I hope that ‘Vets Get Outside Day’ will encourage Maine veterans to find a relaxing outdoor space that helps them process their daily stressors. It’s a simple way to promote two of Maine’s greatest treasures — the great outdoors and our brave veterans.”
    “Resuming civilian life can be isolating,” said Senator Cassidy. “When veterans stay active and connected with their community, their mental health and quality of life improve. That is what today is all about.”
    The resolution calls on veterans battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury, depression, anxiety, or other mental health challenges to walk, run, hike, bike ride, or simply spend time outside on June 14th, 2025, as part of an effort improve mental health Over 460,000 veterans were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries between 2020 and 2024, and there were 6,407 veteran suicide deaths in 2022. Studies have shown that spending time outdoors in nature can have positive impact on an individual’s mental health and lessen feelings of isolation.
    Veterans can dial 9-8-8 and then press 1 to be connected with the Veterans Suicide and Crisis Lifeline available 24-hours a day.
    Representing one of the states with the highest rates of military families and veterans per capita, Senator King is a staunch advocate for America’s servicemembers and veterans. A member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC), he works to ensure American veterans receive their earned benefits and that the VA is properly implementing various programs such as the PACT Act, the State Veterans Homes Domiciliary Care Flexibility Act, and the John Scott Hannon Act. Recently, Senator King introduced bipartisan legislation to help reduce suicides among veterans by providing free secure firearm storage to veterans. In addition, he helped pass the Veterans COLA Act, which increased benefits for 30,000 Maine veterans and their families.
    Senator King has also introduced bipartisan legislation to improve care coordination for veterans who rely on both VA health care and Medicare. Earlier this year, he cosponsored the bipartisan Major Richard Star Act that would provide more combat-injured veterans with their full earned benefits. He also joined Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, in introducing bipartisan legislation to permanently authorize a program that would expand access to veteran disability claims exams. Recently, Senator King teamed up with Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) to introduce a bipartisan bill that would make the veterans’ benefit claims process more streamlined and fair. Earlier this year, Senator King was honored by the Disabled American Veterans as its 2025 Legislator of the Year. Last year, he was recognized by the Wounded Warrior Project as the 2024 Legislator of the Year for his “outstanding legislative effort and achievement to improve the lives of the wounded, ill, and injured veterans.” 

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: MAINE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION APPROVES RATE CHANGES FOR CENTRAL MAINE POWER COMPANY

    Source: US State of Maine

    June 13, 2025

    Hallowell, Maine – The Maine Public Utilities Commission (Commission) has approved changes to electric rates for customers of Central Maine Power Company (CMP) resulting from recent decisions in multiple cases, including the annual stranded cost revenue requirement (Docket No. 2025-00019) and CMP’s annual compliance filing (Docket No. 2025-00018). These changes will take effect on July 1, 2025.

    For a typical residential customer using 550 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per month, the total bill increase will be approximately $4.91 per month.

    “These rate changes reflect our statutory obligations and are primarily driven by costs that have already been incurred or approved, including those that support the states energy and climate policy goals,” said Commission Chair Philip L. Bartlett II. This years net increase is driven primarily by storm recovery costs.

    CMPs annual compliance filing (Docket No. 2025-00018) includes recovery of previously approved costs such as storm restoration. To mitigate rate impacts, costs associated with Tier 3 storms-those with costs exceeding $15 millionwill be recovered over a two-year period, rather than one.

    The stranded costs included in Docket No. 2025-00019 are largely incurred due to legislation enacted to support Maines climate and clean energy initiatives. These costs include expenses associated with renewable energy contracts and Net Energy Billing.

    Also contributing to the total bill impact are adjustments to the Efficiency Maine Trust assessment rates and changes to transmission service rates, which are set by the regional transmission operator and reviewed through federal regulatory processes.

    The Commission encourages customers to take advantage of resources available through Efficiency Maine, as well as state and federal energy assistance programs to help manage energy costs. Visit www.maineelectrichelp.com for more information.

    All public documents in these cases are available on the Commissions Online Case Management System. Please reference Cases 2022-00152, 2025-00018, 2025-00019, 2024-00137, and 2025-00139.

    About the Commission

    The Maine Public Utilities Commission regulates electric, telephone, water and gas utilities to ensure that Maine citizens have access to safe and reliable utility service at rates that are just and reasonable for all ratepayers, while also helping to achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Commission programs include Maine Enhanced 911 Service, and gas safety programs. Philip L. Bartlett, II serves as Chair, Patrick Scully and Carolyn Gilbert serve as Commissioners.


    CONTACT: Susan Faloon, Media Liaison CELL: 207-557-3704 EMAIL: susan.faloon@maine.gov

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Business Owner and Town of Cortlandt Employee Sentenced to Prison for $2.4 Million Environmental Crime Scheme

    Source: US FBI

    Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that GLENN GRIFFIN, the owner and president of Griffin’s Landscaping Corporation, was sentenced to two years in prison for a scheme in which GRIFFIN bribed a Town of Cortlandt employee to gain unauthorized access to a Town facility to dump loads of unauthorized materials.  GRIFFIN was also sentenced for a separate bid-rigging scheme.  The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Vincent L. Briccetti.

    On May 20, 2025, ROBERT DYCKMAN, the former Assistant General Foreman for the Town of Cortlandt, was sentenced by Judge Briccetti to a year and a day in prison for his participation in the bribery and dumping scheme.  As part of their sentences, GRIFFIN and DYCKMAN were each ordered to pay $2.4 million in restitution to their victims.

    “Glenn Griffin and Robert Dyckman’s corruption not only damaged public land and fragile wetlands but also undermined the public’s faith in our government and institutions” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton.  “Griffin, a successful business owner and president, bribed Dyckman so that he could save money and, in the process, illegally dump harmful, unauthorized materials on public property generating $2.4 million in damages.  Moreover, Griffin then took government money to remove and haul away the very materials that he had illegally dumped.  Together with our law enforcement partners, we are committed to rooting out such brazen and wasteful corruption.” 

    According to statements made in public filings and court proceedings:

    Illegal Dumping Scheme

    From 2018 until February 2020, GRIFFIN and DYCKMAN engaged in an unauthorized dumping scheme.  DYCKMAN gave GRIFFIN and his employees unauthorized access to Arlo Lane, a Cortlandt facility, to dump hundreds of large truckloads of unauthorized materials such as thick concrete, cement with rebar, tiles, bricks, large rocks, and soil.  After the illegal dumping, GRIFFIN billed and received payments from the Town of Cortlandt for removing and hauling away the very materials that GRIFFIN had illegally dumped at Arlo Lane with DYCKMAN’s assistance.

    DYCKMAN generally allowed GRIFFIN and his employees to access Arlo Lane on Saturdays or after working hours.  To carry out the scheme, DYCKMAN would attempt to clear senior Town of Cortlandt management away from Arlo Lane around the time of the unauthorized dumping.  When DYCKMAN arranged for a subordinate Town of Cortlandt worker to work overtime when GRIFFIN was dumping unauthorized loads, DYCKMAN would falsely record the worker’s overtime as having occurred during the week in order to conceal the scheme.

    In exchange for access to Arlo Lane, GRIFFIN paid DYCKMAN cash bribes.

    GRIFFIN and DYCKMAN were ordered to pay the Town of Cortlandt and the Westchester Land Trust, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization which owns damaged wetlands abutting the Town of Cortlandt’s Arlo Lane property, a total of $2.4 million to remediate and restore their property following GRIFFIN’s and DYCKMAN’s criminal conduct.

    Bid-Rigging Scheme

    Between 2015 and 2018, Griffin also engaged in a bid-rigging scheme.  GRIFFIN defrauded the village of Croton-on-Hudson for work on its schools, and the hamlet of Verplanck for work at its fire department.  GRIFFIN made sham, non-competitive, and inflated bids on behalf of entities that GRIFFIN did not work for or have authorization to submit bids on behalf of, so that GRIFFIN would be the low bidder in a pool of purportedly competitive bids and receive public money for work on the projects. Based on these sham, non-competitive, and inflated bids, GRIFFIN was awarded contracts with a combined value exceeding $133,000.

    *                *                *

    In addition to the prison term, GRIFFIN, 56, of Cortlandt, New York was sentenced to three years of supervised release and a $50,000 fine.  He was also ordered to forfeit $220,000 and pay $2.4 million in restitution, with $1.2 million due to the Town of Cortlandt and $1.2 million due to the Westchester Land Trust.  On August 26, 2024, GRIFFIN pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Victoria Reznik to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

    In addition to the prison term, DYCKMAN, 53, of Verplanck, New York, was sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $2.4 million in restitution, with $1.2 million due to the Town of Cortlandt and $1.2 million due to the Westchester Land Trust.  On August 26, 2024, DYCKMAN pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Reznik to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. 

    Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Westchester County Police Department in this investigation.  Mr. Clayton also thanked the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and the New York City Department of Investigation for their assistance in the investigation.

    This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys David R. Felton and James McMahon are in charge of the prosecution.

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Oxford businesses to receive goodwill payments for Botley Road disruption

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Oxford businesses to receive goodwill payments for Botley Road disruption

    Network Rail will write to the affected local businesses that qualify to receive a share of up to £850,000 this week.

    Credit: Network Rail

    • government confirms up to £850,000 in payments to Oxfordshire businesses impacted by Network Rail disruption
    • some small, local businesses most impacted by delayed works may be eligible to receive one-off, goodwill payments to acknowledge disruption caused
    • Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, visits site to see progress on the Botley Road works – on track to be fully completed next summer 

    Some small businesses in Oxford most affected by works at Botley Road station may be eligible to receive goodwill payments, following the government today (13 June 2025) confirming up to £850,000 of Network Rail funding to acknowledge the local disruption.   The funding was confirmed today as the Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, visited the site to see Network Rail’s progress on the major improvements to the city’s railway station and Botley Road as part of the Oxford Station Enhancements Project.  

    The one-off goodwill payments are being offered in recognition of the disruption resulting from delays to the scheme, which businesses can apply to Network Rail for.

    Network Rail will write to the affected businesses this week who qualify for this financial support and a process is being developed to take discussions further.

    However, following a reset of the project in January, progress has been made and Network Rail are on track to deliver the new cycle and walkway in August 2025 and will fully reopen Botley Road in August 2026. 

    Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, said: 

    I’m pleased that Network Rail can now offer payments to those eligible small, local businesses affected and while it can’t undo all the hardship businesses have faced, it recognises the trouble the delays have caused. 

    I’m glad the project is now on track. I will continue to hold Network Rail to account and engage with the local community.  

    I look forward to the scheme being completed, so Oxford can benefit from more frequent and accessible transport links to boost growth in this bustling city.

    Following delays owing to the discovery of a large Victorian arch under Botley Road and difficulties moving water pipes, Network Rail launched a new plan to keep the project moving forward early this year.  

    Since the reset, the project has hit key milestones, including the early completion of a new clean water pipe by Thames Water. The next big step is to divert the sewer system, which is on track to finish later this year. 

    Marcus Jones, Network Rail’s Western Route Director, said: 

    We know the delays to this project have been frustrating, and we’re sorry for the disruption they’ve caused. The good news is that the project is now firmly back on track, and we’re making strong progress. We’re committed to keeping the community informed as we deliver a safer, more accessible Oxford station for everyone.

    Network Rail has been keeping the community informed through monthly public events and business workshops, offering updates and support. New banners, posters and digital screens have also been put up around the station and Botley Road to keep everyone updated and remind people that local businesses are open as usual. The free Botley Flyer bus service now runs 7 days a week, helping people get to the city centre and extra security measures have been put in place to keep pedestrians safe. 

    Additional support includes new disabled drop-off bays, an audio guide map for easier navigation and improved lighting and CCTV around the station. 

    Network Rail will set out the process for applying in the coming weeks.

    Rail media enquiries

    Media enquiries 0300 7777878

    Switchboard 0300 330 3000

    Updates to this page

    Published 13 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI Global: Troops on US streets in more ways than one while Trump considers axing Aukus defence pact

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rachael Jolley, International Affairs Editor

    This article was first published in The Conversation UK’s World Affairs Briefing email newsletter. Sign up to receive weekly analysis of the latest developments in international relations, direct to your inbox.


    It’s Donald Trump’s birthday this weekend, and he is planning a big bash to celebrate. There will be a full-colour parade in the nation’s capital. Expected to attend are a whole bunch of military vehicles, from a second world war bomber to M1 Abrams battle tanks to Paladin self-propelled howitzers.

    The cavalcade will take a route through the grander streets of Washington DC making its way along Constitution Avenue all the way to the Lincoln memorial, with an expected 6,600 soldiers in attendance. The whole thing is estimated by the Associated Press to cost around US$45 million (£33 million).

    This splashy show of Trump’s power and the US’s military strength could serve as a warning to anyone who was thinking of crossing the US right now. Trump is, of course, the commander-in-chief of the US forces. And he was using the full strength of his position, some argue going beyond it, when he sent the national guard and the marines – bypassing the state governor – to the streets of Los Angeles in the past few days.

    There are now, according to ABC News, more US troops on the streets of LA than in Syria and Iraq. This was necessary, Trump claimed, to address protests over immigration raids that broke out around LA. Something that Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesperson, said this week was “exactly what the American people voted for”.

    While Trump is testing how far he can flex his political and military muscle at home, as the Open University’s Sinead McEneaney has detailed, he is also using what some historians have called unprecedented use of power, by sending in the marines to take action against Americans, while California governor Gavin Newsom said the troops were not wanted, or needed.




    Read more:
    Trump’s clash with California governor over LA protests has potential to influence next presidential race


    Newsom is pushing back hard, and publicly, against Trump. Something, that Natasha Lindstaedt at the University of Essex, believes could propel Newsom higher up the Democrat selection list for a presidential nomination.




    Read more:
    Trump’s use of the national guard against LA protesters defies all precedents



    Sign up to receive our weekly World Affairs Briefing newsletter from The Conversation UK. Every Thursday we’ll bring you expert analysis of the big stories in international relations.


    While signalling his military strength to those on the streets of California, Trump has also been sending a strong message to his erstwhile international allies that he might not be quite as willing to share his military hardware with them as they might have thought they had been promised. The US administration has opened a review of the Aukus (the Australia, UK and US defence pact) and in particular its nuclear submarine deal, to see whether it meets the “America first” criteria. This deal was due to help all three countries scale up their submarine capacity.

    Australia already transferred US$500 million to the US this year, as part of a down payment on the deal, with the expectation of receiving used US submarines in the near future. Canberra and London have been speedily revising their reliance on Trump as a security partner in the past few months. This is yet another signal from Washington that they definitely should.

    John Blaxland , a professor at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, argues that Trump is angling to renegotiate the Aukus deal but won’t scrap it.

    “There are a few key reasons for this. We’re several years down the track already. We have more than 100 Australian sailors already operating in the US system. Industrially, we’re on the cusp of making a significant additional contribution to the US submarine production line. And finally, most people don’t fully appreciate that the submarine base just outside Perth is an incredibly consequential piece of real estate for US security calculations.”




    Read more:
    Trump may try to strike a deal with AUKUS review, but here’s why he won’t sink it


    Meanwhile, Mark Beeson, an adjunct professor at the University of Technology Sydney and Griffith University, believes that Australia is locked into the foreign and strategic policies of “an increasingly polarised, authoritarian and unpredictable regime” and should rethink its international relationships.

    Beeson quotes an essay from another Australian academic, Hugh White, from Australian National University: “It is classic Trump to expect more and more from allies while he offers them less and less.”




    Read more:
    Goodbye to all that? Rethinking Australia’s alliance with Trump’s America


    Russia’s battlefield count

    In a military arena where most of the world would like Trump to apply a little more pressure, he continues to hold back and Vladimir Putin continues not to do a peace deal. Putin showed no sign of calling off his troops (or drones) from attacking Ukraine this week.

    But as the onslaught continued Russia is expected to hit a horrific target this month, 1 million casualties in the war. Hundreds of thousands of Russians have died forcing Putin to get increasingly creative in coming up with ways to fill the gaps on the battlefields.

    According to some reports he is sending the wounded back to fight before they are fully recovered, as well as offering large financial incentives to those who join up, and their families. The conflict continues and the death toll does, too. As Russian politics expert Jenny Mathers at the University of Aberystwyth points out, even before the war the country had a demographic crisis, and now that is even more extreme.

    Russian women who want to earn the newly reinstated “Mother Heroine” award by bearing and raising ten or more children may struggle to find men to father them now, and after the war. Putin, like Trump, is fond of suggesting there is a glowing future for those who support him. The Russian leader has even created a Time of Heroes programme for war veterans who are promised a fast track into an elite career on their return from battle. Whether, of course, they do return when an estimated 53 casualties are being lost per square kilometre of land gained in eastern Ukraine is not a gamble many would like to take.




    Read more:
    Putin forced to send wounded back to fight and offer huge military salaries as Russia suffers a million casualties



    Sign up to receive our weekly World Affairs Briefing newsletter from The Conversation UK. Every Thursday we’ll bring you expert analysis of the big stories in international relations.


    ref. Troops on US streets in more ways than one while Trump considers axing Aukus defence pact – https://theconversation.com/troops-on-us-streets-in-more-ways-than-one-while-trump-considers-axing-aukus-defence-pact-258874

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Nuclear safeguards and the NPT: AUKUS Side Event, May 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    Nuclear safeguards and the NPT: AUKUS Side Event, May 2025

    Combined statements of the UK, Australia, and the US from the NPT PrepCom AUKUS Side Event on 1 May 2025

    Australian statement as delivered by Vanessa Wood, Ambassador for Arms Control and Counter-Proliferation

    Thank you all for joining us today. And thanks to my colleague Ambassador Larsen for his introduction.

    As many of you may recall, and as Ambassador Larsen noted in his introductory remarks, the AUKUS partners held a side event on naval nuclear propulsion at the 2023 and 2024 NPT PrepCom meetings. Following on from the updates provided at last year’s side event, I would like to further update you on progress with Australia’s naval nuclear propulsion (NNP) programme.

    First, an overview of the Optimal Pathway.

    What we call the ‘Optimal Pathway’ is a phased approach for Australia to acquire conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines.

    Phase 1 of the Optimal Pathway is currently underway, focused on building capacity and familiarity for Australia to safely operate and steward nuclear-powered submarines. This phase is supported by increased port visits to Australia by UK and US nuclear-powered submarines – which are already occurring.

    Under Phase 2, from the early 2030s Australia plans to acquire three Virginia-class submarines from the US – with an option to seek approval for a further two boats, if needed. Our objective is to ensure there is no capability gap during the retirement of Australia’s existing fleet of diesel-electric submarines.

    We will simultaneously progress Phase 3 to develop next generation submarines known as SSN-AUKUS, a UK design incorporating technology from all three AUKUS partners. The United Kingdom will deliver its first British-built SSN-AUKUS in the late 2030s, and the first Australian-built SSN-AUKUS will be completed in the early 2040s.

    It is important to highlight two points. First, this is a replacement capability for our existing submarines. Australia is transitioning from six diesel-electric submarines to eight conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines. It is a sovereign decision Australia has taken in response to more challenging strategic circumstances in our region.

    Second, this is about acquiring a naval nuclear propulsion capability. The submarines will be conventionally armed. The only nuclear element is the propulsion system.

    Now to briefly address naval nuclear propulsion in the context of Australia’s obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). 

    Australia’s NNP programme is fully consistent with its nuclear non-proliferation obligations and commitments, including under the NPT, the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Rarotonga) and our safeguards agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

    NNP was foreseen by the drafters of the NPT. Indeed, a mechanism was provided for this in Article 14 of the IAEA’s model Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA). As IAEA Director General Grossi has stated, Article 14 was developed with the specific intent to address the use of nuclear material for NNP – whether produced domestically or imported.

    The model CSA – which contains this Article – was approved by the IAEA Board of Governors in 1971. This is the basis for CSAs agreed with Member States over more than 50 years, including Australia’s CSA.

    The NPT, the IAEA Statute, the CSA and, in Australia’s case also the Additional Protocol (AP), provide a firm legal basis and obligation for the IAEA Director General and Secretariat to engage directly with Member States – and confidentially to protect sensitive information – in the development and implementation of safeguards.

    Australia’s non-proliferation approach for NNP is being developed on this basis and it will operate within the framework of Australia’s CSA and AP.

    As part of developing a non-proliferation approach for Australia’s NNP programme, we commenced formal technical consultations with the IAEA Secretariat in May 2023. These consultations are ongoing. Topics being discussed in the consultations include:

    Legal and technical aspects of an Article 14 arrangement for Australia, including the arrangement’s structure and content;

    Provisions for advance notification, reporting and verification prior to the entry of nuclear material into an Article 14 arrangement;

    The circumstances under which the Article 14 arrangement applies, its duration and the point at which safeguards under Australia’s CSA and AP re-apply;

    Ways to facilitate verification and monitoring activities, as well as additional voluntary transparency measures;

    And discussions regarding the structure of material balance areas, facilities and sites at relevant locations in Australia, within the framework of Australia’s CSA and AP.

    Our consultations follow the longstanding practice of the IAEA engaging bilaterally with Member States on their own safeguards and verification arrangements, in accordance with the Agency’s statutory mandate and authority, which I touched upon earlier. All IAEA Member States share a strong interest in protecting their fundamental right to engage bilaterally, and in-confidence, with the IAEA on the establishment and implementation of their safeguards and verification arrangements.

    Turning to Australia’s approach to non-proliferation.

    We are working to make sure Australia’s Article 14 arrangement sets the highest non-proliferation standard. But to be clear, this does not mean we intend to create or impose a model arrangement on others.

    The objective is to develop a robust approach that ensures that the IAEA continues to meet its technical safeguards verification objectives for Australia throughout the submarines’ lifecycle. That is, for the IAEA to have confidence that there has been no diversion of declared nuclear material; no misuse of nuclear facilities; and no undeclared nuclear material or activities.

    This is what we see as fundamental to our non-proliferation approach.

    In developing an Article 14 arrangement, the IAEA will need to account for factors that are specific to Australia’s NNP program. In Australia’s case, a number of these program-specific factors also offer important non-proliferation advantages. For example: 

    Australia will not undertake enrichment, reprocessing or fuel fabrication for NNP;

    Australia will receive the nuclear fuel for propulsion in complete, welded power units: and;

    The nuclear fuel Australia will receive cannot be used in nuclear weapons without further chemical processing – requiring facilities that Australia does not have and will not seek.

    Our commitment to the non-proliferation regime is reflected in the trilateral AUKUS Agreement for Cooperation Related to Naval Nuclear Propulsion (ANNPA), which entered into force on 17 January this year. ANNPA stipulates the transfer of nuclear material and equipment from the UK and the US to Australia can occur only after Australia has an Article 14 arrangement in place with the IAEA.  My American colleague, Paul, will address this topic in more detail.

    We support the IAEA Director General’s commitment that, once Australia’s Article 14 arrangement is developed, it will be transmitted to the IAEA Board for appropriate action, guided by the Director General’s technical assessment of the arrangement’s non-proliferation provisions.

    In November last year, IAEA Director General Grossi issued his third report on Australia’s NNP programme (the previous reports were issued in 2022 and 2023). At our request, this report, and the previous two reports, have been published on the IAEA website. I commend the reports to all who are interested in how the IAEA and Australia have been working together to support the non-proliferation element of Australia’s NNP program. 

    The Director General’s report confirms we have kept the Secretariat informed of all relevant developments and have continued to fulfil all reporting requirements under Australia’s CSA, AP and subsidiary arrangements, in keeping with our impeccable non-proliferation record. The report outlines relevant developments since 2023 including:

    That the Agency has continued to conduct its independent verification activities in relation to Australia’s NNP programme within the framework of Australia’s safeguards agreements, and

    How Australia has been supporting this work, including by facilitating the IAEA’s collection of environmental samples, and enabling a transparency visit to a naval base that will be used for the maintenance of nuclear-powered submarines.

    To recap other key developments since our last side event at the 2024 PrepCom:

    In October 2024, we announced a plan to establish a naval shipbuilding and sustainment precinct at Henderson in Western Australia. In due course, this will be the home of depot-level maintenance and contingency docking of Australia’s future conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines.

    In late August-early September 2024, a maintenance activity was conducted on a US Virginia class nuclear-powered submarine at HMAS Stirling naval base in Western Australia. Australian personnel participated in planned maintenance and repairs on the non-nuclear components of the submarine. This marked a significant step forward in supporting Australia’s development of necessary workforce skills. Australia engaged with the IAEA to ensure transparency ahead of this activity.

    In conclusion, I want to express my thanks for your attendance at this event, and your interest in this matter. This is the third side event we have convened in the context of the NPT PrepCom process, as part of our continued commitment to engage regularly and transparently on Australia’s NNP program. 

    AUKUS partners will keep providing updates on relevant developments at the IAEA Board of Governors and General Conference – as we have done consistently since AUKUS was announced in September 2021.

    We fully support the Director General’s commitment to continue to report to the IAEA Board of Governors on Australia’s NNP program, as he judges appropriate. We welcome constructive discussions in the Board based on his reports.

    An important recent development is the entry into force of the ANNPA, which my American colleague Paul will discuss next.

    Thank you.

    US statement as delivered by Paul Watzlavick, Senior Bureau Official, Bureau of International Security and Non-Proliferation

    Thank you, Ambassador Wood.

    As you just heard from my Australian colleague, the entry into force of the AUKUS Naval Nuclear Propulsion Agreement (ANNPA) in January was an important step toward Australia’s acquisition of a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered, submarine capability. Specifically, ANNPA permits the continued communication and exchange of information related to naval nuclear propulsion, as well as the transfer of naval nuclear propulsion plants, related equipment, and material to Australia for a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability. ANNPA cements AUKUS partners’ non-proliferation commitments in accordance with the NPT by making them legally binding on Australia, the United Kingdom, and United States. As we have prioritised since the start of the AUKUS partnership in 2021, this is yet another way that we are demonstrating our commitment to setting the highest standard of non-proliferation in an open and transparent manner.

    Significantly, ANNPA reaffirms partners’ respective commitments under the NPT: those of the US and UK as Nuclear Weapon States, and those of Australia as a Non-Nuclear Weapon State. ANNPA allows the US and UK to provide information, material, and equipment to Australia solely for a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability, not for nuclear weapons. Additionally, ANNPA reaffirms Australia’s commitment as a Non-Nuclear Weapon State to not receive the transfer of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or control of nuclear weapons. Under the Agreement, Australia is prohibited from enriching uranium, producing nuclear fuel, or reprocessing spent nuclear fuel for naval nuclear propulsion. ANNPA also makes clear that the United Kingdom and United States will only provide Australia with nuclear fuel in complete, welded power units. Ambassador Kitsell will go into further detail on this point later.

    I would now like to cover some of the major provisions of ANNPA, which provides a legal framework to enable the parties to continue sharing naval nuclear propulsion information and for the United States and United Kingdom to transfer nuclear material and equipment to Australia. Most importantly, ANNPA requires that a satisfactory arrangement meeting the highest non-proliferation standard under Article 14 of Australia’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement be in place between Australia and the IAEA before any transfer of nuclear material under the Agreement. The safeguards arrangement must not only be satisfactory to Australia and the IAEA in this regard, but the AUKUS partners must have a shared view that safeguards arrangement meets the highest non-proliferation standard. The AUKUS partners have affirmed that they understand that this means that the Article 14 arrangement must allow the IAEA to fulfil its core technical objectives at all stages of the lifecycle of Australia’s conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine programme.

    Despite the AUKUS partners’ continued dedication to non-proliferation, ANNPA has been the subject of deliberate disinformation. To be clear:

    First, ANNPA requires Australia and the IAEA to reach an agreement on safeguards. ANNPA authorizes the transfer of nuclear material only when a satisfactory safeguards and verification arrangement is in place between Australia and the IAEA.

    Second, neither ANNPA – nor any provisions within it – constitute a substitute or alternative for IAEA safeguards. Indeed, claims that the Agreement allows the Parties applying our own verification mechanisms instead are incorrect. The Article (VII.E) in question is commonly contained in agreements for civil nuclear cooperation – including in most from the US, UK, and Australia – and provides a mechanism to ensure that safeguards measures, obligations, principles, procedures and assurances will continue to be applied in all circumstances. We believe that not having such a mechanism would be irresponsible.

    Third, ANNPA’s requirements are consistent with Australia’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA. ANNPA obligates the partners to protect naval nuclear propulsion information and related classified information from disclosure, including disclosure to the IAEA, but the partners are committed to developing a safeguards and verification arrangement that protects such information from disclosure while allowing the IAEA to complete its technical objectives. As noted, this is consistent with Article 14 of Australia’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, which specifically provides that such arrangements with the IAEA “shall not involve any approval or classified knowledge of the military activity or relate to the use of the nuclear material therein.” Importantly, the ANNPA specifically obliges the UK and US to ensure that Australia provides the IAEA with other information and access necessary to fulfil Australia’s safeguards obligations to the IAEA.

    We value sessions such as this one to openly offer clarity on how we are developing our approach consistent with our respective international obligations. I have spoken to you about an important step in our partnership, the ANNPA, and will now turn to Ambassador Kitsell to cover wider areas of misinformation that have unfortunately persisted about the AUKUS partnership.

    UK statement as delivered by Corinne Kitsell, Ambassador and UK Permanent Representative to IAEA and CTBTO

    Thank you, Paul.

    It is excellent to see so many delegates in the room for this discussion, and a pleasure to join my US and Australian colleagues on this panel.  You’ve already heard from Ambassador Wood and Mr Watzlavick about the AUKUS programme, our non-proliferation approach, and how the entry into force of the ANNPA bolsters our non-proliferation commitments. 

    My aim today is to address some common misconceptions about the AUKUS endeavour. I hope to offer clarity and reassurance on some of the issues we are asked most frequently. 

    AUKUS is still a relatively new partnership, and it is natural and expected that there are questions about the work we are undertaking. That is why, since AUKUS began in September 2021, all three partners have engaged openly and transparently with the international community.

    My aim today is to ensure you are equipped with the facts about the work we are undertaking in relation to nuclear non-proliferation and to ensure our dialogue, at this meeting and others, remains grounded in truth. This includes underlining four important points, that: 

    First, AUKUS is fully in line with our respective international obligations;

    Second, the transfer of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) between Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) and Non-Nuclear Weapon States (NNWS) does not contravene the NPT;

    Third, Australia’s Article 14 arrangement will not remove nuclear material from IAEA oversight, and;

    Fourth, why attempts to legitimise a parallel intergovernmental discussion on AUKUS should be rejected.

    First, AUKUS is fully in line with all three partners’ respective international obligations. Including the NPT and Australia’s obligations under the Treaty of Rarotonga. Some have made claims to the contrary, often based on conjecture or disregard for our commitment to our international obligations. Accordingly, it is worth reiterating again that our cooperation under AUKUS has nothing to do with nuclear weapons. 

    Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines will use nuclear material solely as a power source for propulsion. All three AUKUS partners take our obligations under the NPT extremely seriously. As per Article 2 of the Treaty, Australia does not have and will not seek to acquire nuclear weapons. Consistent with their obligations under Article 1, neither the UK nor the US will provide any assistance, encouragement or inducement for Australia to do so. 

    Relatedly, we recognise that there is interest in the safety of nuclear-powered vessels. Some have also inquired about the management of spent fuel from Australia’s submarine programme. I can reassure you that nuclear safety and stewardship are fundamental to our cooperation under AUKUS. For over 60 years, the UK and the US have operated more than 500 naval nuclear reactors. Collectively, they have travelled over 240 million kilometres without a reactor accident or release of radioactive material that adversely affected human health or the environment. Our approach to AUKUS is underpinned by this unmatched safety record, as well as Australia’s experience operating nuclear research reactors and conducting nuclear science activities. 

    Claims that AUKUS will undermine the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone – either in terms of the presence of nuclear weapons or the dumping of radioactive waste at sea – are incorrect. Naval nuclear propulsion is not prohibited by the Treaty of Rarotonga, and Australia’s acquisition of a conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability is entirely consistent with the Treaty. As a responsible nuclear steward, Australia will be responsible for the management, disposition, storage, and disposal of any spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste from their programme. The Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Act 2024 also reaffirms that Australia will not manage, store, or dispose of spent nuclear fuel or reactors from decommissioned UK or US submarines. 

    Second, Australia’s submarine fuel will be subject to a robust package of safeguards and verification measures. We know that much has been made of the fact that Australia’s submarines will be powered by Highly Enriched Uranium. Let me be clear – the HEU fuel that will power Australia’s submarines will be subject to a robust package of safeguards and verification measures developed in consultation with the IAEA. The fuel for Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines will be provided to Australia by the UK and US in complete, welded power units that will not require refuelling in their lifetime. This has several advantages, including:

    Eliminating the need for Australia to enrich uranium;

    Reducing the production of spent fuel, and;

    Avoiding the need to maintain a stockpile of fresh nuclear fuel.

    Removing nuclear material from these sealed units is a complex and highly visible process. This would also render the power unit, and hence the submarine, inoperable. There is no incentive for Australia to pursue such a course of action.

    Additionally, the nuclear fuel Australia will receive cannot be used in nuclear weapons without further chemical processing. This would require facilities that Australia does not have and will not seek. The IAEA will be able to verify the absence of these facilities, including by use of Australia’s Additional Protocol.

    Separately, you may have heard that the transfer of HEU from a NWS to a NNWS is unprecedented or contravenes the NPT. Both claims are incorrect. The transfer of nuclear material at any enrichment level among States Parties is not prohibited by the NPT, provided the transfer is carried out in accordance with relevant safeguards obligations. Such transfers can and do take place between Nuclear Weapon States and Non-Nuclear Weapon States. Like many Member States here, AUKUS partners remain fully committed to HEU minimisation for civilian nuclear applications.

    Third, naval nuclear propulsion was foreseen by the drafters of the NPT and will not remove nuclear material from IAEA oversight. As Ambassador Wood has already made clear, naval nuclear propulsion was foreseen by the drafters of the NPT and discussed during the negotiations to develop the model CSA. This has been repeatedly confirmed by the IAEA Secretariat, including by Director General Grossi in September 2022 and March 2023.  Article 14 is the specific provision included in the IAEA’s model CSA to provide a mechanism for activities including naval nuclear propulsion.

    The development and use of this technology, and the application of Article 14, is therefore not a ‘loophole’ – and calling it such is often a deliberate attempt to mislead. As DG Grossi noted in May 2023, and I quote, “the Agency’s role in this process is foreseen in the existing legal framework and falls strictly within its statutory competences”.

    And let me be clear, Australia’s Article 14 arrangement will not remove nuclear material from IAEA oversight. The Agency will be enabled to continue meeting its technical objectives throughout the lifecycle of Australia’s submarines. Verifying that there has been no diversion of nuclear material; no misuse of nuclear facilities; and no undeclared nuclear material or activities in Australia. 

    Fourth, the IAEA has the authority to negotiate directly and in-confidence with Member States. The IAEA has the clear authority under its Statute, and extensive precedent, to negotiate directly and in-confidence with individual Member States on the establishment and application of safeguards and verification arrangements.

    You may encounter attempts to legitimise a so-called intergovernmental discussion on AUKUS. If you do, we urge you to remember the following: Australia’s current engagement with the IAEA is not a new phenomenon. As DG Grossi has stated, the IAEA already conducted bilateral discussions with another Member State on an Article 14 arrangement in the past. Many will be aware that the IAEA is also engaging with Brazil on an arrangement for the use of nuclear material under safeguards in naval nuclear propulsion under Article 13 of the Quadripartite Safeguards Agreement. 

    The international safeguards system relies on the IAEA’s ability to carry out its verification mission independently and impartially – free from political deliberations. Interference would politicise the IAEA’s independence, mandate, and technical authority, and establish a deeply harmful precedent.

    Any suggestion that the IAEA Board of Governors, or the opportunity for proper deliberation, will somehow be bypassed in the case of AUKUS is also false. DG Grossi has committed to report, as appropriate, on naval nuclear propulsion programmes to the Board, as he last did last in November 2024. AUKUS partners welcome discussion of such programmes at the Board, under apolitical agenda items put forward by the DG and informed by his reporting. Once Australia and the IAEA Secretariat have agreed an Article 14 arrangement, it will be transmitted to the Board for appropriate action. AUKUS partners fully support this. 

    To summarise, Australia, the UK, and US strongly support the NPT as the cornerstone of the global non-proliferation regime. We remain committed to setting the highest non-proliferation standard for naval nuclear propulsion under an Article 14 arrangement. I hope you will leave here today clear in the knowledge that AUKUS is fully in line with our international obligations, including those in the NPT, and confident in the principles and legitimacy of our approach and our engagement with the IAEA. We will continue to engage openly and transparently with the international community on good faith queries. In that spirit, I will pass back to Ambassador Larsen for any questions from the audience.

    Updates to this page

    Published 13 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom