NewzIntel.com

Category: Australia

  • MIL-OSI: Bitget Wallet Partners with Mastercard and Immersve to Introduce Zero-Fee Crypto Card

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, July 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitget Wallet has teamed up with payments leader Mastercard and infrastructure provider Immersve to launch a new crypto-linked card that allows users to make payments directly from their digital wallets at the more than 150 million merchants that accept Mastercard globally. The product aims to drive ease of use and efficiency in the crypto card space.

    The card will be available through the Bitget Wallet app and supports real-time funding via onchain swaps and deposits. Leveraging Mastercard Digital First technology, users can apply for the card digitally and within minutes add it to their mobile wallets for use at both physical and online merchants.

    Powered by Immersve, a Mastercard-licensed issuer, transactions are settled onchain through crypto to fiat conversion while adhering to Mastercard’s regulatory framework, including KYC and AML requirements. The card will first be rolled out in the United Kingdom and European Union, with plans to expand to Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand in the coming months.

    The launch comes amid continued interest in practical crypto applications and efforts by the payments ecosystem to connect blockchain-enabled solutions to the financial mainstream. Bitget Wallet, which reports over 80 million users globally, is positioning the card as a way to extend self-custodied assets into everyday commerce. The product also includes optional incentives such as transaction-based rewards, yield on idle balances in wallet, and one-time bonuses for completing identity verification.

    “Crypto payments should be as seamless and secure as traditional transactions. With this partnership, Bitget Wallet users can now pay with crypto anywhere Mastercard is accepted,” said Jamie Elkaleh, CMO at Bitget Wallet. “We’re seeing massive demand for real-world crypto utility, and this collaboration with Mastercard and Immersve provides the infrastructure to make that vision a reality.”

    “Digital wallets are quickly becoming as ubiquitous as email addresses. At Mastercard, we’re committed to working with innovative companies like Bitget Wallet and Immersve to make crypto transactions simple, secure, and accessible at scale,” said Scott Abrahams executive vice president, Global Partnerships at Mastercard. “This is a critical step in bringing digital assets closer to mainstream utility.”

    “Partnering with forward-thinking teams like Mastercard and Bitget Wallet is exactly how we scale real-world crypto use,” said Jerome Faury, CEO of Immersve. “We’re bridging the gap between Web3 and traditional finance, allowing users to spend crypto as easily as they spend fiat—on a global scale.”

    For more information on how Bitget Wallet is enabling seamless crypto payments, visit Bitget Wallet website web3.bitget.com and blog.

    About Bitget Wallet
    Bitget Wallet is a non-custodial crypto wallet designed to make crypto simple, seamless and secure for everyone. With over 80 million users, it brings together a full suite of crypto services, including swaps, market insights, staking, rewards, a DApp browser, and crypto payment solutions. Supporting 130+ blockchains, 20,000+ DApps, and a million tokens, Bitget Wallet enables seamless multi-chain trading across hundreds of DEXs and cross-chain bridges. Backed by a $300+ million user protection fund, it ensures the highest level of security for users’ assets. Its vision is Crypto for Everyone — to make crypto simpler, safer, and part of everyday life for a billion people.

    For more information, visit: X | Telegram | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn | TikTok | Discord | Facebook

    About Immersve
    Immersve is a principal member of the Mastercard network. Its issuing-as-a-service platform supports both centralised and decentralised payment experiences. Exchanges, web3 wallets and DeFi protocols can easily integrate with Immersve’s APIs and smart contracts to transact anywhere Mastercard is accepted. Immersve is a registered Financial Services Provider. For more information on the APIs go to docs.immersve.com.

    Join our waitlist and Discord community for more information: https://discord.gg/HZZJjsBk

    About Mastercard www.mastercard.com
    Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re building a resilient economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

    Media Contacts:
    Mastercard Communications Contact: Biz.Cozine@mastercard.com
    Bitget Communications Contact: media.web3@bitget.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/eca20f1d-d156-4594-a96b-dc99ee024060

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Two bodies found in house in Sydney suburb

    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

    SYDNEY, July 4 (Xinhua) — The bodies of two men were found in a house in a Sydney suburb, police said Friday.

    According to the statement, officers responded to reports of concern for residents at a home in the suburb of Surry Hills on Thursday where the man’s body was discovered.

    After the crime scene was established and during the subsequent search, the body of a second man was discovered in another room.

    Initial police investigations show both men died at different times within the last month.

    No arrests have been made. Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the men’s deaths. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Winter in the City brings the heat with delicious food, fire and free world-class entertainment

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    As part of ACT Government’s ‘One Government, One Voice’ program, we are transitioning this website across to our . You can access everything you need through this website while it’s happening.

    Released 04/07/2025

    With free daily entertainment, spectacular fire shows, and a celebration of local food and culture, the City Renewal Authority and local businesses have made Canberra’s City Centre the hottest spot in town these July school holidays.

    From Saturday 5 July to Saturday 19 July 2025, City Walk will feature a 14-metre-wide stage hosting free performances up to five times a day including circus, theatre, musical comedy acts. Each evening is capped off by choreographed fire performances.

    During the day, families can enjoy a variety of performances. Week one features the space-themed adventure of Mission to the Moon and the clever, acrobatic comedy of the Circus Firemen. In week two, the stage comes alive with the playful music of Lucky Jim and the renowned high-energy spectacle of Circus Oz ‘Non-Stop’.

    After dark, the City Centre will light up with three fire performances. Local amateurs will open the show, followed by the headline display from Flux Entertainment, whose pyrotechnics have captivated audiences nationwide since their appearance on Australia’s Got Talent.

    Winter in the City will wrap up in a special edition of The Forage on Saturday 19 July, bringing together Canberra’s best street food, live music, fire performances and shows from Circus Oz. From 12pm to 9pm, City Walk will be filled with the sounds, smells, and tastes of winter.

    A marketing campaign highlighting the best of City and Braddon’s hospitality and retail businesses will run alongside the free entertainment program, encouraging Canberrans to enjoy a day or night out and support local traders.

    Winter in the City is supported by the City Centre Marketing and Improvements Levy. More program information including show times is available at winter.inthecity.com.au .

    Winter in the City

    • What: Free daytime family entertainment and nightly fire performances.
    • Where: City Walk, next to the City Centre merry-go-round.
    • When: 2pm–8pm daily, Saturday 5 July – Saturday 19 July 2025.
    • Cost: Free to attend. No bookings required.
    • More info: winter.inthecity.com.au

    Quotes attributable to Michael Pettersson, Minister for Business, Arts and Creative Industries

    “Last year, Winter in the City contributed an estimated $2.72 million to the City Centre’s economy. This is money spent in our local cafes, restaurants, retailers and bars. We hope to see an even greater contribution this year.”

    This year’s program of free, world-class entertainment on offer, encourages people to come into the City Centre to shop, eat, and celebrate winter.”

    “It’s all about creating a lively, welcoming atmosphere that Canberrans can enjoy and that benefits our city businesses.”

    Quotes attributable to Belinda Neame, Founder, The Forage

    “The Forage is back for its eleventh year and is teaming up with Winter in the City to bring an unforgettable mid-winter feast to Canberra’s City Centre.”

    “This exciting collaboration will transform the city into a hub of sizzling street eats, cosy firepits, and live entertainment. Visitors can explore a curated lineup of food from some of Canberra’s best restaurants and mobile food and beverage vendors.”

    – Statement ends –

    Michael Pettersson, MLA | Media Releases

    «ACT Government Media Releases | «Minister Media Releases

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Fashion meets music at dazzling BazaarGala in Shanghai

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

    The inaugural BazaarGala brought together celebrities from the worlds of fashion and music for a two-day event in Shanghai’s Jiading district on June 28-29, attracting over 30,000 attendees and generating more than 1.5 billion online engagements.

    Zimomo from the Labubu franchise appears on stage with pop icon Jackson Wang during the 2025 BazaarGala in Shanghai, June 28, 2025. [Photo courtesy of SMG]

    The event, organized by Shanghai Media Group (SMG) in partnership with Harper’s Bazaar China and Warner Music China, featured a red carpet, awards presentation and concert.

    On the first day, celebrities from the fashion, music, film and TV industries, including Amy Chen, Victor Ma, Mika Hashizume, Teens in Times (TNT), Victoria Song, Sun Nan, Tan Jianci, Jackson Wang, Wen Muye, Zhang Ruonan and even the global pop culture phenomenon Labubu, walked the red carpet, showcasing their style and generating significant buzz.

    Pop group Teens in Times (TNT) perform during the 2025 BazaarGala in Shanghai, June 28, 2025. [Photo courtesy of SMG]

    The gala celebrated excellence across multiple industries, honoring standout talents including Zhang Ruonan as the actress of charism, Wen Muye as influential director, and TNT as national group. The event crowned Jackson Wang and Victoria Song as BazaarGala King and Queen, respectively, while recognizing Tan Jianci with the fashion and music super icon distinction, and Sun Nan as national singer, among other recipients.

    “I’m just doing my thing the best way I know how,” pop star Jackson Wang said during his acceptance speech. His new album, “MagicMan 2,” which he says reflects his journey of self-discovery, is set for release on July 18.

    “Take care, and focus on yourselves first,” Wang told the crowd at Shanghai International Circuit. “Honestly, we’re all drowning in information overload every day — it’s easy to lose sight of who we are. That’s why I hope we in showbiz can give you positive energy. Let the stars you love uplift you when life gets hard.”

    The evening’s notable moments also included Jackson Wang’s onstage interaction with Zimomo, a character from the popular Labubu franchise.

    Pop singer Mark Tuan performs during the 2025 BazaarGala in Shanghai, June 29, 2025. [Photo courtesy of SMG]

    An ensuing concert featured high-energy performances by artists including Victor Ma, Liu Yu, Nana and Didi Ouyang, Qi Wei, TNT and Sun Nan, drawing enthusiastic responses from fans.

    The event continued into the next day with a spectacular, genre-spanning eight-hour performance marathon featuring 10 acts, including Leon Chan, Mark Tuan, Sha Yiting, Shan Yichun, and Stringer.

    Zhang Ruonan accepts the actress of charisma award during the 2025 BazaarGala in Shanghai, June 28, 2025. [Photo courtesy of SMG]

    The two-day extravaganza featured approximately 100 artists and generated widespread attention on social media, with related hashtags appearing on hot search lists 113 times.

    Tan Jianci accepts the fashion and music super icon award during the 2025 BazaarGala in Shanghai, June 28, 2025. [Photo courtesy of SMG]

    Organizers said they have ambitious plans for future editions. “It was my vision to fuse music and fashion for innovation, breaking boundaries and setting new standards through premium production to establish a fashion benchmark for 2025,” said Wang Xiaobai, general manager of the Entertainment Innovation Department at Trends Media Group and director of Harper’s Bazaar. “This event will continue in the future, as its debut has generated exceptional anticipation.”

    MIL OSI China News –

  • Trump eyes simple tariff rates over complex talks, says letters going out Friday

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    President Donald Trump said Washington will start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they will face on imports to the United States, a clear shift from earlier pledges to strike scores of individual deals.

    Acknowledging the complexity of negotiating with over 170 nations, Trump told reporters before departing for Iowa on Thursday that the letters will be sent to 10 countries at a time, laying out tariff rates such as 20% to 30%.

    “We have more than 170 countries, and how many deals can you make?” Trump said. “They’re very much more complicated.”

    The Republican president said he expected “a couple” more detailed agreements with other countries after Wednesday’s announcement of a trade deal with Vietnam.

    However, he said he preferred to notify most other countries of a specific tariff rate, skipping detailed negotiations.

    Trump’s comments underscored the challenges of completing trade agreements on everything from tariffs to non-tariff barriers such as bans on agricultural imports.

    Top Trump aides said in April they would work on 90 deals in 90 days, an ambitious goal that was met with skepticism from trade experts familiar with arduous and time-consuming trade deals of the past.

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg Television that about 100 countries are likely to see a reciprocal tariff rate of 10% and predicted a “flurry” of trade deals announced before a July 9 deadline when tariffs could rise sharply.

    If 10% tariffs were given to 100 countries, that would be fewer than originally envisioned by the Trump administration.

    Its original reciprocal tariff list showed 123 jurisdictions that would be given a 10% tariff rate – mostly small countries, along with some territories such as Australia’s uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands.

    Trump sent markets into a tailspin on April 2 with sweeping reciprocal tariff rates ranging from 10% to 50%, although he temporarily reduced the tariff rate for most countries to 10% to allow time for negotiations through July 9.

    Many countries with an initial 10% duty rate have not had any negotiations with the Trump administration, with the exception of Britain, which reached a deal in May to keep a 10% rate and won preferential treatment for some sectors including autos and aircraft engines.

    Major trading partners now involved in negotiations were hit with much higher tariff rates, including 20% for the European Union, 26% for India and 24% for Japan. Other countries that have not engaged in trade talks with the Trump administration face even higher reciprocal tariffs, including 50% for the tiny mountain kingdom of Lesotho, 47% for Madagascar and 36% for Thailand.

    Trump on Wednesday announced an agreement with Vietnam that he said cuts U.S. tariffs on many Vietnamese goods to 20% from his previously threatened 46%. Many U.S. products would be allowed to enter Vietnam duty free.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-Evening Report: Lyssavirus is rare, but deadly. What should you do if a bat bites you?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vinod Balasubramaniam, Associate Professor (Molecular Virology), Monash University

    Ken Griffiths/Getty Images

    A man in his 50s has died from lyssavirus in New South Wales after being bitten by a bat several months ago.

    This is Australia’s fourth human case of bat lyssavirus and the first confirmed case in NSW since the virus was first identified in 1996 in a black flying fox in Queensland.

    So what is lyssavirus? And how can you protect yourself if you come into contact with a bat?

    A close relative of rabies

    Australian bat lyssavirus belongs to the Rhabdoviridae family, the same group of viruses that causes rabies.

    It primarily infects bats. Active monitoring suggests fewer than 1% of healthy bats carry the virus, though prevalence rises to 5–10% in sick or injured bats.

    In bats, the virus often causes no obvious symptoms, though some show neurological signs such as disorientation, aggression, muscle spasms and paralysis. Some will die.

    The virus has been confirmed in all four mainland flying fox species (Pteropus alecto, P. poliocephalus, P. scapulatus and P. conspicillatus) as well as the yellow-bellied sheathtail bat (Saccolaimus flaviventris), a species of microbat.

    However, serological evidence – where scientists test for antibodies in bats’ blood – suggests other microbats could be susceptible too. So we should be cautious with all Australian bat species when it comes to lyssavirus.

    Rare, but potentially deadly

    Unlike rabies, which causes roughly 59,000 human deaths annually, predominantly in Africa and Asia, human infection with bat lyssavirus is extremely rare.

    Australian bat lyssavirus, as the name suggests, is unique to Australia. But other bat lyssaviruses, such as European bat lyssavirus, have similarly caused rare human infections.

    Human infection with bat lyssavirus occurs through direct contact with infected bat saliva via bites, scratches or open skin. It can also occur if our mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth) are exposed to bat saliva.

    There’s no risk associated with bat faeces, urine, blood, or casual proximity to roosts.

    If someone has been exposed, there’s an incubation period which can range from weeks to more than two years. During this time the virus slowly moves through the body’s nerves to the brain, staying hidden and symptom-free.

    Treating the virus during the incubation period can prevent the illness. But if it’s not treated, symptoms are serious and it’s invariably fatal.

    The nature of the illness in humans mirrors rabies, beginning with flu-like symptoms (fever, headache, fatigue), then quickly progressing to severe neurological disease, including paralysis, delirium, convulsions, and loss of consciousness. Death generally occurs within 1–2 weeks of symptom onset.

    All four recorded human cases in Australia – three in Queensland (in 1996, 1998 and 2013) and the recent NSW case – have been fatal.

    There’s no effective treatment once symptoms develop

    If someone is potentially exposed to bat lyssavirus and seeks medical attention, they can be treated with post-exposure prophylaxis, consisting of rabies antibodies and the rabies vaccine.

    This intervention is highly effective if initiated promptly – preferably within 48 hours, and no later than seven days post-exposure – before the virus enters the central nervous system.

    But no effective treatment exists for Australian bat lyssavirus once symptoms develop. Emerging research on monoclonal antibodies offers potential future therapies, however these are not yet available.

    So what’s the best protection? And what if a bat bites you?

    Pre-exposure rabies vaccination, involving three doses over one month, is recommended for high-risk groups. This includes veterinarians, animal handlers, wildlife rehabilitators, and laboratory workers handling lyssaviruses.

    It’s important for members of the public to avoid all direct contact with bats. Only vaccinated, trained professionals, such as wildlife carers or veterinarians, should handle bats.

    Public education campaigns are essential to reduce risky interactions, especially in bat-populated areas.

    If you get bitten or scratched by a bat, it’s vital to act immediately. Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water for at least 15 minutes, apply an antiseptic (such as betadine), and seek urgent medical attention.

    This tragic case in NSW underscores that while extremely rare, bat lyssavirus is an important public health threat. We need to see enhanced public awareness and ensure vaccination for high-risk groups, alongside ongoing bat monitoring and research into new treatments.

    Vinod Balasubramaniam does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Lyssavirus is rare, but deadly. What should you do if a bat bites you? – https://theconversation.com/lyssavirus-is-rare-but-deadly-what-should-you-do-if-a-bat-bites-you-260495

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: UPDATE #2: Arrest – Hit and run – Leanyer

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    The Northern Territory Police Force has arrested a 43-year-old male after he handed himself into police in relation to a hit and run in Leanyer on Friday 27 June 2025.

    The white Holden Commodore station wagon has been seized. He is expected to be charged with a number of offences later this evening.

    Police would like to thank members of the public who called 131 444 to provide information.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Firearms safe seized after search

    Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

    Firearms safe seized after search

    Friday, 4 July 2025 – 4:14 pm.

    A 55-year-old woman is facing a court summons for offences under the Firearms Act, with police alleging she was trying to sell a non-compliant gun safe on social media.
    Acting on a public tip-off, police conducted a search of a property in southern Tasmania on Friday and seized a firearms safe along with an amount of ammunition that was not stored correctly.
    Police allege the safe was non-compliant because it was easily penetrable and had an insufficient locking mechanism.
    It is an offence under section 106A of the Firearms Act 1996, to advertise the sale of a firearms safe unless it complies with the requirements under the Act.
    Having firearms and ammunition stored correctly in a compliant safe reduces the risk of these items falling into the wrong hands.
    More information on storage and safekeeping can be found online at www.fas.police.tas.gov.au
    Anyone with information about firearm offences is asked to contact police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at crimestopperstas.com.au. Information can be provided anonymously.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: UPDATE #3: Death – Serious harm – Alice Springs

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    A 28-year-old male has passed away today following a serious assault that occurred during a disturbance in Alice Springs in May.

    On 15 May 2025, police attended a large disturbance in the Alice Springs CBD where the male, who was 27-years-old at the time, suffered a serious stab wound to the chest.

    Detectives from the Crime Command arrested a 22-year-old male and subsequently charged him with Acts intended to cause serious harm. He first appeared in Alice Springs Local Court on 19 May 2025 and was remanded to reappear on 24 July 2025.

    This morning, the male died at Alice Springs Hospital.

    Police are in consultation with the Department of Public Prosecutions to determine whether charges are to be upgraded following the victim’s death.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: List of disasters

    Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

    In response to a disaster you may wish to collect funds or make donations to help victims. This page provides a list of declared disasters.

    For more information see:

    Australian disaster relief fund list

    For a fund to be eligible for endorsement as an Australian disaster relief fund, the disaster must meet various legal requirements.

    The following listed disasters meet these legal requirements.

    Tax deductions for donations to these funds can usually only be claimed for the first 2 years after the disaster is declared.

    If the disaster you wish to collect funds for isn’t listed here, direct your enquiries to the relevant state of territory authority.

    Developed country disaster relief fund list

    For a fund to be eligible for endorsement as a developed country disaster relief fund, the disaster must be recognised by a Treasury minister as a disaster.

    Tax deductions for donations to these funds can usually only be claimed for the first two years after the disaster is declared.

    There are no current developed country disasters recognised by a Treasury minister.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: List of disasters

    Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

    In response to a disaster you may wish to collect funds or make donations to help victims. This page provides a list of declared disasters.

    For more information see:

    Australian disaster relief fund list

    For a fund to be eligible for endorsement as an Australian disaster relief fund, the disaster must meet various legal requirements.

    The following listed disasters meet these legal requirements.

    Tax deductions for donations to these funds can usually only be claimed for the first 2 years after the disaster is declared.

    If the disaster you wish to collect funds for isn’t listed here, direct your enquiries to the relevant state of territory authority.

    Developed country disaster relief fund list

    For a fund to be eligible for endorsement as a developed country disaster relief fund, the disaster must be recognised by a Treasury minister as a disaster.

    Tax deductions for donations to these funds can usually only be claimed for the first two years after the disaster is declared.

    There are no current developed country disasters recognised by a Treasury minister.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: List of disasters

    Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

    In response to a disaster you may wish to collect funds or make donations to help victims. This page provides a list of declared disasters.

    For more information see:

    Australian disaster relief fund list

    For a fund to be eligible for endorsement as an Australian disaster relief fund, the disaster must meet various legal requirements.

    The following listed disasters meet these legal requirements.

    Tax deductions for donations to these funds can usually only be claimed for the first 2 years after the disaster is declared.

    If the disaster you wish to collect funds for isn’t listed here, direct your enquiries to the relevant state of territory authority.

    Developed country disaster relief fund list

    For a fund to be eligible for endorsement as a developed country disaster relief fund, the disaster must be recognised by a Treasury minister as a disaster.

    Tax deductions for donations to these funds can usually only be claimed for the first two years after the disaster is declared.

    There are no current developed country disasters recognised by a Treasury minister.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: International exchange instruments list

    Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

    About exchange instruments

    Exchange instruments are negotiated by the ATO with foreign jurisdictions to foster more effective and efficient partnerships.

    These instruments include memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and establish the framework for our collaboration.

    List of exchange instruments

    See a list of our current international exchange instruments in the following table.

    International exchange instruments

    Country

    Name

    Scope

    Type of exchange instrument

    China

    The State Tax Administration of the People’s Republic of China

    Cooperation

    MOU

    France

    The French Tax Administration

    Mutual Assistance in Tax Recovery

    MOU

    Indonesia

    The Competent Authority of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia

    Exchange of information

    MOU

    Latvia

    The Competent Authority of the Government of The Republic of Latvia

    Automatic exchange of information

    MOU

    Netherlands

    The Competent Authority of the Netherlands

    Automatic exchange of information

    MOU

    Palau

    The Bureau of Revenue and Taxation

    Cooperation

    MOU

    Papua New Guinea

    The Internal Revenue Commission

    Cooperation

    MOU

    Saudi Arabia

    The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority

    Cooperation

    MOU

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Firearms and 6.2kg of cannabis seized in state’s North-West

    Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

    Firearms and 6.2kg of cannabis seized in state’s North-West

    Friday, 4 July 2025 – 2:05 pm.

    Police have seized about 6.2kg of cannabis, a quantity of cannabis plants and shortened firearms in searches of two properties in the state’s North-West.
    Police will allege ‘grow rooms’ and equipment for cannabis production were also located at the properties at Kindred and in Devonport.
    The 6.2kg of cannabis seized equates to about 2500 street deals.
    A 30-year-old man from the North-West has been arrested and charged with several firearms and drugs offences, including trafficking in cannabis and possessing unregistered firearms.
    An initial search of a property at Kindred on Tuesday by officers from the Western Drugs and Firearms Unit, Serious Organised Crime Unit and specialist resources located firearms including a shortened .22 bolt action rifle and a shortened 12-gauge shotgun.
    Police also seized two butterfly knives, an automatic knife, 12g of the drug ice, 3.7kg of cannabis, plus cannabis plants and drug utensils.
    In a search of a Devonport property, also on Tuesday, police seized a further 2.5kg of cannabis, cannabis plants, and a quantity of meat with security tags attached.
    The 30-year-old man appeared in the Burnie Magistrates Court on Wednesday and has been bailed to reappear at a later date.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Charges – Assault police – Malak

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    The Northern Territory Police Force arrested three people in relation to assaulting police while attending an unrelated incident in Malak last night.

    About 6:30pm, Casuarina General Duties police attended a residence in Malak in relation to an ongoing investigation. A group of people were gathered and police initiated enquiries and removed drug paraphernalia from the scene.

    A 16-year-old male allegedly attempted to regain possession of the drug paraphernalia and was placed under arrest after he disregarded police directions. The youth resisted arrest and assaulted an officer by biting him. A 48-year-old male and a 55-year-old female from the group then allegedly assaulted the attending police whilst they were affecting the youth’s arrest. Additional police attended the scene, and all three alleged offenders were apprehended.

    As a result, one police member had to attend Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) for treatment, while another member received minor injuries.

    The male youth was later charged with two counts of assault police, resist police and furnish false name to a police officer.

    The adult male and adult female were both charged with assault police.

    All three offenders will appear in Court today.

    Acting Senior Sergeant Christopher Humphries said “No one deserves to be assaulted in their line of work no matter the job.

    “This behaviour will not be tolerated, and police will arrest those who choose to put the safety of our officers at risk.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Call for information – Burglary – Sadadeen

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    NT Police are calling for information following a burglary at a residence in Sadadeen overnight.

    Around 7:50am, police received reports that a residence on Mariae Place had been unlawfully entered, with unknown offenders allegedly stealing a set of keys once inside the residence. They subsequently used the keys to steal a red Mitsubishi ASX, which contained a compound bow and arrows belonging to the victim.

    The vehicle was later located abandoned on Laver Court, Sadadeen with the arrows inside; however, the compound bow was taken from the vehicle.

    The offenders remain outstanding, and investigations are ongoing.

    Anyone with information is urged to make contact on 131 444. Please quote reference number P25178760. Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via crimestoppersnt.com.au.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: District sites of the Summer in Moscow project have prepared a program until the end of July

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    Project “Summer in Moscow” offers a rich program in July. In addition to major festivals, district venues host master classes on weekends — from painting and decorating to sewing accessories and creating models. Musical and theatrical groups perform on stage with shows for the whole family. Anyone can take part in the events free of charge and without prior registration.

    Master classes on Tverskaya Square and surrounding areas

    On Saturdays and Sundays from July 5 to 20 from 13:00 to 19:00 Tverskaya Square will become creative workshop in the open air. The youngest participants will be able to make their own kite and launch it into the sky at 13:00 and 17:00, and at 14:00 and 18:00 they will be able to make a stained glass fish out of foil and paint it with bright markers. At 15:00 there will be a master class called “Glass Tale”, where they will be asked to assemble a mosaic picture with images of animals from many colored elements. At 16:00 you will be able to make a “Sun Catcher” amulet from natural materials and learn about the history of this decoration.

    Also on weekends from July 5 to 27 at the intersection of Molodtsova and Sukhonskaya streets, you are invited tosummer creativity club. Every Saturday (July 5, 12, 19 and 26) you can paint a wooden candlestick here at 2:00 PM, a salt and pepper shaker at 4:00 PM, a tray for soulful summer tea parties at 5:00 PM and a wooden comb with views of Russian expanses at 6:00 PM. In addition, on these days at 1:00 PM, a master class will offer to decorate a kitchen towel with stamps depicting summer apples, and at 3:00 PM – to paint a summer field in a picture with bright colors. The same master class awaits guests on Sundays at 1:00 PM.

    In addition, on July 6, 13, 20 and 27 at 2:00 PM visitors will make a box with summer decor, at 3:00 PM they will decorate a cutting board in Russian style, and at 4:00 PM they will add summer accents by painting a miniature chair for the home. At 5:00 PM you can create a clay vase with three-dimensional patterns, at 6:00 PM – paint a wooden block in the shape of a heart.

    In June, 33 district family festivals were held as part of the Summer in Moscow project

    A series of master classes will be held in Kurkino “Summer at the Dacha”, where they will teach you how to decorate country houses and plots.

    Thus, on July 5 at 13:00, those who wish will embody the ideas of a country house design in a model created using the technique of doll miniatures. On July 6 at 14:00, they will learn to paint vases for a summer garden. On July 12 at 17:00, teachers will help to sew a book cover with a summer print, and on July 13 at 15:00, they will paint a picture on a mini-canvas to decorate country house walls.

    IN Serebryakova passage You can add bright items to your collection of accessories for training. Thus, on July 5 at 13:00 visitors will sew a mat for sports activities. On July 6 at the same time, everyone will make a bag for sneakers, and at 15:00 they will paint a bottle for fitness in their own style. On July 12 at 16:00 guests will create a diary of sports achievements, and on July 13 at 16:00 they will make a skipping rope.

    New site onStarting street invites travel lovers to master classes. On July 5 at 15:00, guests will sew a comfortable travel pillow for long trips, on July 6 at 13:00 they will decorate a case for headphones, on July 12 at 14:00 they will paint a container for summer drinks, and on July 13 at 17:00 they will create a travel diary.

    On Krasnodarskaya Street, thematic master classes are planned for every Saturday and Sunday in July.beach theme. The program on July 5 and 6 at 13:00 includes assembling and painting Lego models of “Beach Vacation” and “Underwater Bathyscaphe”, on July 12 at 14:00 and July 27 at 16:00 — applying fashionable prints to a beach bag with fabric markers, on July 13 at 14:00 and July 26 at 15:00 — summer decoration of a waterproof phone case.

    In addition, on July 19 at 4:00 PM, each participant will use ceramic markers to paint a decorative plate with a marine theme, and on July 20 at 3:00 PM, they will paint a glass with a straw with summer patterns.

    Performances on summer stages

    Children’s performances from Moscow theatres will be shown on the stages of district venues:

    — July 5 at 16:00 on Profsoyuznaya Street — “About Ivanushka” (Maska Theatre);

    — July 6 at 16:00 on Pererva Street — “The Thumbelina Girl” (Parabazis Theatre);

    — July 6 at 16:00 on Aviatsionnaya Street — “Royal Croquet” (Happy People Theatre);

    — July 12 at 16:00 in the Olympic Village — “Tales from the Chest” (“Skomoroshkin Theatre”);

    — July 19 at 17:15 on Koptevsky Boulevard — “The Sea Princess” (Parabazis Theatre).

    Each performance is not just a play, but an interactive production with audience involvement. Bright decorations, live music and professional actors will create a truly festive atmosphere for audiences of all ages.

    Visitors will also enjoy vocal and dance numbers by famous musical groups. On Tverskaya Square on July 5 at 17:00 you can listen to folk songs performed by artists of the show group “Rusko”, and at 19:15 – beatbox and rap, which will be presented by musician Vakhtang. On July 6 at 17:00 folk singer Anna Sizova will perform here accompanied by the show ballet “Ethno-summer”, at 19:15 – rock group “LEO”.

    The Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve will open the July weekend stage program with singer Masha Koltsova: she will sing her hits on July 5 at 17:00. On the same day at 19:15, the Sunny group will perform rock songs on the guitar. On July 6 at 17:00, the musical philosopher Svyat Shatalov will take the stage with profound compositions, and at 19:15, the singer and model Tatyana Magidova.

    Also on July 5 at 17:00 visitors will be able to hear the soulful songs of the duet “Rimskie” in Zelenograd, on July 6 at 17:00 – folk hits of Victoria Bars on Matveevskaya Street, on July 6 at 19:15 – the powerful vocals of Misha Zhitov in the park near Golyanovsky Pond, as well as other performers.

    Project sites “Summer in Moscow”— is a place for relaxation, creativity and inspiration. The program is updated every week and offers residents of the capital to spend the summer with benefit and pleasure.

    Project “Summer in Moscow”— the main event of the season. It brings together the most vibrant events of the capital. Every day, charity, cultural and sports programs are held in all districts of the city, most of which are free. The Summer in Moscow project is being held for the second time, and this season will be more eventful: new, original and colorful festivals and events will be added to the traditional ones.

    Get the latest news quicklyofficial telegram channel the city of Moscow.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

    https: //vv.mos.ru/nevs/ite/156183073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Hong Kong’s light fades as another pro-democracy party folds

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Clift, Lecturer in Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney

    Thomas Yau/Shutterstock

    The demise of one of Hong Kong’s last major pro-democracy parties, the League of Social Democrats, is the latest blow to the city’s crumbling democratic credentials.

    The league is the third major opposition party to disband this year. The announcement coincides with the fifth anniversary this week of the national security law, which was imposed by Beijing to suppress pro-democracy activity.

    The loss of this grassroots party, historically populated by bold and colourful characters, vividly illustrates the dying of the light in once-sparkling Hong Kong.

    The city is now greyed and labouring under a repressive internal security regime that has crushed civil society’s freedoms and democratic ambitions.

    Authoritarian crackdown

    The world witnessed Hong Kong at its brightest during the 2014 Umbrella Movement, when hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy protesters camped out on city streets for several months.

    We also saw the brutal sequel in 2019, when paramilitarised police sought to put down further civil unrest and protesters fought back.

    Since then, “lawfare” has been the preferred strategy of China’s national government and its Hong Kong satellite. The new approach has included a vast security apparatus and aggressive prosecutions.

    When Beijing intervened in July 2020, it was nominally about national security. In reality, the new law was designed and used to bring Hongkongers to heel.

    Civil freedoms were further curtailed by a home-grown security law, introduced last year to fill the gaps.

    International standards such as the Johannesburg Principles, endorsed by the United Nations, require national security laws to be compatible with democratic principles, not to be used to eliminate democratic activity.

    Prison or exile

    The League of Social Democrats occupied the populist left of the pro-democracy spectrum. It stood apart from contemporaries such as the Democratic Party and the Civic Party, which were dominated by professionals and elites, and have since been disbanded.

    The League was most notably represented by the likes of “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung– known for his Che Guevara t-shirts and banana-throwing – and broadcaster and journalism academic Raymond Wong Yuk-man, also known as “Mad Dog”.

    Despite their rambunctious styles, these men had real political credentials and were repeatedly elected to legislative office. But Leung is now imprisoned for subversion, while Wong has left for Taiwan.

    Leung Kwok-hung was sentenced to subversion under the national security law.
    Edwin Kwok/Shutterstock

    Party leaders such as Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit and Figo Chan Ho-wun were also prominent within the Civil Human Rights Front. It was responsible for the annual July 1 protest march that attracted hundreds of thousands of people every year. The front is yet another pro-democracy organisation that has dissolved.

    Sham and Chan have been jailed for subversion and unlawful assembly under the colonial-era Public Order Ordinance, which has been used to prosecute hundreds of activists.

    Zero tolerance

    The demise of these diverse organisations are not natural occurrences, but the result of a deliberate authoritarian programme.

    Under China, Hong Kong’s political system has been half democratic at best. But it now resembles something from the darkest days of colonialism, with pre-approved candidates, appointed legislators and zero tolerance for critical voices.

    The effort to eliminate opposition has seen the pro-independence National Party formally banned and scores of pro-democracy figures jailed after mass trials.

    Activists and watchdogs are stymied by the national security law. It criminalises – among other things – engagement and lobbying with international organisations and foreign governments.

    Distinctive voices such as law professor Benny Tai Yiu-ting, media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and firebrand politician Edward Leung Tin-kei have been jailed and silenced, as have many moderates and lesser-known figures.

    Shattered dreams

    Then there are the millions of ordinary Hongkongers whose dreams of a liberal and self-governing region under mainland China’s umbrella – as promised in the lead up to the 1997 handover – have been shattered.

    Some activists have fled overseas. The more outspoken are the subjects of Hong Kong arrest warrants.

    But countless ex-protesters remain in the city, where it is impermissible to speak critically of power, and where mandatory patriotic education may ensure new generations will never even think to speak up.

    Much blame lies with the British, who failed to institute democratic elections until the last gasp of their rule in Hong Kong. This was despite the colony tolerating liberalism and habit-forming democratic activity over a longer period.

    Now China, after almost three decades in charge, has responded to democratic challenges by defaulting to authoritarian control. Hong Kong can only be grateful it has been spared a Tiananmen-style incident. Nor has it experienced the full genocidal extent of the so-called “peripheries playbook” Beijing has used in Tibet and Xinjiang.

    Turmoil and authoritarian swings in the United States and elsewhere give China an opportunity to present as a voice of reason on the international stage.

    But we should not forget its commitment to repressive politics at home, nor what its support of belligerent regimes such as Putin’s Russia might mean for Taiwan, the region and the world.

    Above all, we should not forget the people, in Hong Kong and elsewhere, who made it their life’s work to achieve democracy only to be rewarded with prison or exile.

    Brendan Clift does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Hong Kong’s light fades as another pro-democracy party folds – https://theconversation.com/hong-kongs-light-fades-as-another-pro-democracy-party-folds-260186

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Hong Kong’s light fades as another pro-democracy party folds

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Clift, Lecturer in Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney

    Thomas Yau/Shutterstock

    The demise of one of Hong Kong’s last major pro-democracy parties, the League of Social Democrats, is the latest blow to the city’s crumbling democratic credentials.

    The league is the third major opposition party to disband this year. The announcement coincides with the fifth anniversary this week of the national security law, which was imposed by Beijing to suppress pro-democracy activity.

    The loss of this grassroots party, historically populated by bold and colourful characters, vividly illustrates the dying of the light in once-sparkling Hong Kong.

    The city is now greyed and labouring under a repressive internal security regime that has crushed civil society’s freedoms and democratic ambitions.

    Authoritarian crackdown

    The world witnessed Hong Kong at its brightest during the 2014 Umbrella Movement, when hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy protesters camped out on city streets for several months.

    We also saw the brutal sequel in 2019, when paramilitarised police sought to put down further civil unrest and protesters fought back.

    Since then, “lawfare” has been the preferred strategy of China’s national government and its Hong Kong satellite. The new approach has included a vast security apparatus and aggressive prosecutions.

    When Beijing intervened in July 2020, it was nominally about national security. In reality, the new law was designed and used to bring Hongkongers to heel.

    Civil freedoms were further curtailed by a home-grown security law, introduced last year to fill the gaps.

    International standards such as the Johannesburg Principles, endorsed by the United Nations, require national security laws to be compatible with democratic principles, not to be used to eliminate democratic activity.

    Prison or exile

    The League of Social Democrats occupied the populist left of the pro-democracy spectrum. It stood apart from contemporaries such as the Democratic Party and the Civic Party, which were dominated by professionals and elites, and have since been disbanded.

    The League was most notably represented by the likes of “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung– known for his Che Guevara t-shirts and banana-throwing – and broadcaster and journalism academic Raymond Wong Yuk-man, also known as “Mad Dog”.

    Despite their rambunctious styles, these men had real political credentials and were repeatedly elected to legislative office. But Leung is now imprisoned for subversion, while Wong has left for Taiwan.

    Leung Kwok-hung was sentenced to subversion under the national security law.
    Edwin Kwok/Shutterstock

    Party leaders such as Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit and Figo Chan Ho-wun were also prominent within the Civil Human Rights Front. It was responsible for the annual July 1 protest march that attracted hundreds of thousands of people every year. The front is yet another pro-democracy organisation that has dissolved.

    Sham and Chan have been jailed for subversion and unlawful assembly under the colonial-era Public Order Ordinance, which has been used to prosecute hundreds of activists.

    Zero tolerance

    The demise of these diverse organisations are not natural occurrences, but the result of a deliberate authoritarian programme.

    Under China, Hong Kong’s political system has been half democratic at best. But it now resembles something from the darkest days of colonialism, with pre-approved candidates, appointed legislators and zero tolerance for critical voices.

    The effort to eliminate opposition has seen the pro-independence National Party formally banned and scores of pro-democracy figures jailed after mass trials.

    Activists and watchdogs are stymied by the national security law. It criminalises – among other things – engagement and lobbying with international organisations and foreign governments.

    Distinctive voices such as law professor Benny Tai Yiu-ting, media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and firebrand politician Edward Leung Tin-kei have been jailed and silenced, as have many moderates and lesser-known figures.

    Shattered dreams

    Then there are the millions of ordinary Hongkongers whose dreams of a liberal and self-governing region under mainland China’s umbrella – as promised in the lead up to the 1997 handover – have been shattered.

    Some activists have fled overseas. The more outspoken are the subjects of Hong Kong arrest warrants.

    But countless ex-protesters remain in the city, where it is impermissible to speak critically of power, and where mandatory patriotic education may ensure new generations will never even think to speak up.

    Much blame lies with the British, who failed to institute democratic elections until the last gasp of their rule in Hong Kong. This was despite the colony tolerating liberalism and habit-forming democratic activity over a longer period.

    Now China, after almost three decades in charge, has responded to democratic challenges by defaulting to authoritarian control. Hong Kong can only be grateful it has been spared a Tiananmen-style incident. Nor has it experienced the full genocidal extent of the so-called “peripheries playbook” Beijing has used in Tibet and Xinjiang.

    Turmoil and authoritarian swings in the United States and elsewhere give China an opportunity to present as a voice of reason on the international stage.

    But we should not forget its commitment to repressive politics at home, nor what its support of belligerent regimes such as Putin’s Russia might mean for Taiwan, the region and the world.

    Above all, we should not forget the people, in Hong Kong and elsewhere, who made it their life’s work to achieve democracy only to be rewarded with prison or exile.

    Brendan Clift does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Hong Kong’s light fades as another pro-democracy party folds – https://theconversation.com/hong-kongs-light-fades-as-another-pro-democracy-party-folds-260186

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Hong Kong’s light fades as another pro-democracy party folds

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Clift, Lecturer in Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney

    Thomas Yau/Shutterstock

    The demise of one of Hong Kong’s last major pro-democracy parties, the League of Social Democrats, is the latest blow to the city’s crumbling democratic credentials.

    The league is the third major opposition party to disband this year. The announcement coincides with the fifth anniversary this week of the national security law, which was imposed by Beijing to suppress pro-democracy activity.

    The loss of this grassroots party, historically populated by bold and colourful characters, vividly illustrates the dying of the light in once-sparkling Hong Kong.

    The city is now greyed and labouring under a repressive internal security regime that has crushed civil society’s freedoms and democratic ambitions.

    Authoritarian crackdown

    The world witnessed Hong Kong at its brightest during the 2014 Umbrella Movement, when hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy protesters camped out on city streets for several months.

    We also saw the brutal sequel in 2019, when paramilitarised police sought to put down further civil unrest and protesters fought back.

    Since then, “lawfare” has been the preferred strategy of China’s national government and its Hong Kong satellite. The new approach has included a vast security apparatus and aggressive prosecutions.

    When Beijing intervened in July 2020, it was nominally about national security. In reality, the new law was designed and used to bring Hongkongers to heel.

    Civil freedoms were further curtailed by a home-grown security law, introduced last year to fill the gaps.

    International standards such as the Johannesburg Principles, endorsed by the United Nations, require national security laws to be compatible with democratic principles, not to be used to eliminate democratic activity.

    Prison or exile

    The League of Social Democrats occupied the populist left of the pro-democracy spectrum. It stood apart from contemporaries such as the Democratic Party and the Civic Party, which were dominated by professionals and elites, and have since been disbanded.

    The League was most notably represented by the likes of “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung– known for his Che Guevara t-shirts and banana-throwing – and broadcaster and journalism academic Raymond Wong Yuk-man, also known as “Mad Dog”.

    Despite their rambunctious styles, these men had real political credentials and were repeatedly elected to legislative office. But Leung is now imprisoned for subversion, while Wong has left for Taiwan.

    Leung Kwok-hung was sentenced to subversion under the national security law.
    Edwin Kwok/Shutterstock

    Party leaders such as Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit and Figo Chan Ho-wun were also prominent within the Civil Human Rights Front. It was responsible for the annual July 1 protest march that attracted hundreds of thousands of people every year. The front is yet another pro-democracy organisation that has dissolved.

    Sham and Chan have been jailed for subversion and unlawful assembly under the colonial-era Public Order Ordinance, which has been used to prosecute hundreds of activists.

    Zero tolerance

    The demise of these diverse organisations are not natural occurrences, but the result of a deliberate authoritarian programme.

    Under China, Hong Kong’s political system has been half democratic at best. But it now resembles something from the darkest days of colonialism, with pre-approved candidates, appointed legislators and zero tolerance for critical voices.

    The effort to eliminate opposition has seen the pro-independence National Party formally banned and scores of pro-democracy figures jailed after mass trials.

    Activists and watchdogs are stymied by the national security law. It criminalises – among other things – engagement and lobbying with international organisations and foreign governments.

    Distinctive voices such as law professor Benny Tai Yiu-ting, media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and firebrand politician Edward Leung Tin-kei have been jailed and silenced, as have many moderates and lesser-known figures.

    Shattered dreams

    Then there are the millions of ordinary Hongkongers whose dreams of a liberal and self-governing region under mainland China’s umbrella – as promised in the lead up to the 1997 handover – have been shattered.

    Some activists have fled overseas. The more outspoken are the subjects of Hong Kong arrest warrants.

    But countless ex-protesters remain in the city, where it is impermissible to speak critically of power, and where mandatory patriotic education may ensure new generations will never even think to speak up.

    Much blame lies with the British, who failed to institute democratic elections until the last gasp of their rule in Hong Kong. This was despite the colony tolerating liberalism and habit-forming democratic activity over a longer period.

    Now China, after almost three decades in charge, has responded to democratic challenges by defaulting to authoritarian control. Hong Kong can only be grateful it has been spared a Tiananmen-style incident. Nor has it experienced the full genocidal extent of the so-called “peripheries playbook” Beijing has used in Tibet and Xinjiang.

    Turmoil and authoritarian swings in the United States and elsewhere give China an opportunity to present as a voice of reason on the international stage.

    But we should not forget its commitment to repressive politics at home, nor what its support of belligerent regimes such as Putin’s Russia might mean for Taiwan, the region and the world.

    Above all, we should not forget the people, in Hong Kong and elsewhere, who made it their life’s work to achieve democracy only to be rewarded with prison or exile.

    Brendan Clift does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Hong Kong’s light fades as another pro-democracy party folds – https://theconversation.com/hong-kongs-light-fades-as-another-pro-democracy-party-folds-260186

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Transcript – Sky News AM Agenda

    Source: Murray Darling Basin Authority

    KENNY HEATLEY: Joining me live is Education Minister Jason Clare. Really appreciate your time, Minister. Thanks so much. Wow, tough week.

    JASON CLARE, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: Thanks, mate.

    HEATLEY: Take us through the Commonwealth ‘Kindy Cops’, so it’s been called in the media today, and the unannounced spot checks on daycare centres. What powers exactly will they have?

    CLARE: This is just one of the things that we’re doing. The bottom line, I’ve been pretty blunt this week, is that whilst action is being taken here to keep our kids safe in our early education and care centres, not enough has been done and not fast enough.

    One of the things we will do is introduce legislation in the first sitting fortnight when Parliament comes back, which is about pulling the funding of child care centres that aren’t up to scratch, that are persistently failing in meeting the safety and quality standards that we as a country expect of them. One of the big weapons that the Commonwealth has, probably the biggest, is the funding that we provide to child care centres. Something like $16 billion dollars a year. Centres run based on that funding, if they don’t get it, they can’t operate. And what I’m saying is, if they’re not meeting those standards that we expect, then we should have the power to pull that funding off them. So, the bill will do that. The bill will also make sure that centres that aren’t meeting those minimum standards can’t expand and open another centre. But there’s another thing that the bill will do as well, and that gives the sort of people who work in my department, who investigate fraud in child care centres the ability to do spot checks, unannounced visits. They won’t need a warrant, they won’t need the police to come with them when they’re investigating fraud in child care centres. And the fact is, this happens. I’ve invested an extra $200 million dollars into the investigation of child care fraud over the last few years, and it’s clawed back about $300 million for taxpayers. It can involve a child care centre that claims that they might have a child there three days a week. The fact is, they’re only there two days a week, but they’re claiming three days a week. This will give powers to my department and my investigators to go in and check if the child is actually there. It’s just one of the things that we do to improve the integrity of this system, as well as the things we need to do to improve safety for children.

    HEATLEY: So, how many of these inspectors do you see coming on board and doing these checks across the country, and I guess, how much will it cost? You know, that sort of thing? Have we gotten that far yet?

    CLARE: I’ve got about 150 people who work in the investigative team in the department, but there are also investigators in the state-based regulators who can support our work as well. As I said, it costs money, but ultimately it saves the taxpayer money. The investment of about an extra $200 million dollars over the last few years has clawed back more than that in money we’ve saved from the fraud investigations we do.

    HEATLEY: Is the Government considering implementing real-time updates on working with children checks based on criminal records? And how difficult is that, considering that pretty much every state and territory has different standards?

    CLARE: It is difficult, but people aren’t interested in excuses; they want action. And this is one of the things that the Attorney-General, Michelle Rowland, spoke about the other day. Attorneys-General are going to meet next month and look at the steps that must be taken to improve criminal record checks and the criminal record check system. Part of it is about information sharing across borders, part of it is about making sure that it’s updated in near real-time. I caution that none of this is a silver bullet here. I’m not going to comment specifically on the case in Victoria because it will be before the court, but in other examples we’ve found people who’ve been convicted of assaulting children in child care centres where they had a criminal record check. Why? Because they didn’t have a criminal record and so they got through the system. The truth is here, there’s no silver bullet. There’s a whole bunch of things that we need to do, and this work will never end. There are always going to be more things that we need to do here because there’s always going to be people who are going to try and break through the net to try to do the dastardly things that we’ve seen other people do.

    HEATLEY: Goodstart is going to install CCTV in all of its centres, hundreds of them. Will you make it mandatory in daycare centres?

    CLARE: This is one of the things that Education Ministers, Early Education Ministers are going to talk about when we meet next month as well. It was a recommendation out of an independent review that New South Wales did and that it was released last week. One of the things that having a CCTV camera in a child care centre can do is if there’s somebody that’s potentially up to no good, they know the camera’s there. It means it’s less likely that they’re going to act. So, it’s one of the things we’re looking at right now —

    HEATLEY: Or they know which spots aren’t covered by CCTV and will potentially take a child there.

    CLARE: That’s why they have to be in the right places. If deterrence is going to work, how you set them up is just as critical as whether you’ve got them there at all.

    HEATLEY: Minister, there’s been a conversation this week about whether men should be working in child care centres at all. Do you have a view of that?

    CLARE: I was asked this question yesterday and I said, have a look at the Four Corners exposé, which revealed some pretty horrendous examples of physical abuse and neglect in our child care centres. And those examples weren’t men, they were women. This is not just about men or women. Whoever works in our child care centres, we’ve got to make sure that the safety of our system and the quality of our system is up to scratch. We’ve had a Royal Commission, I’ve commissioned a child care safety review, all of the recommendations that come out of that sort of work don’t talk about this. We know what we need to do. They recommend things like CCTV, like improving the Working with Children Check, like a national register of the people who work in our child care centres. They’re the sort of things we need to do. We’ve just got to crack on and do it.

    HEATLEY: Yeah, and there’s already staff shortages. And men can also be excellent role models in education settings, which is important for young children. But ratios are a problem, aren’t they? And there’s just too many kids per educators. And this may potentially allow educators to be on their own with children for long periods of time.

    CLARE: A little bit of good news when it comes to the number of people working in the sector, there are more now than there were three years ago. Part of that is because of the pay rise that’s rolling out now, the 15 per cent pay rise. A couple of years ago, people were leaving the sector in droves because they could get more money working at Bunnings or Woolies. That’s changing. Goodstart, who you mentioned, who are rolling out the CCTV cameras, they’re also seeing a massive uptick in job applications. I think something like 20 or 30 per cent. And across the board, we’re seeing a drop in vacancies of more than 20 per cent. So, more people wanting to work in the sector.

    Another thing that we need to look at here, mate, is the training that people get, both at TAFE and at university and on the job, to make sure that the fantastic people who work in this sector. And I’ve got to tell you, as angry as the parents are who are affected by this, and I know how you know the white hot anger that mums and dads are feeling in Victoria, because one of them is my friend and she’s made it bloody clear to me just how angry and confused she is with what’s happening at the moment. I’m angry too. But the other group of Australians who are furious at the moment are the fantastic people who work in these centres, whose reputations have been affected by what’s happening right now. I take my hat off to them. I know every mum and dad who have children in our centres take their hat off to them as well. The work they do is incredibly important, and we need more of them. We’ve got to make sure that the training that we provide them provides them with the supports they need, not just to do the job and to keep our kids safe, but to identify people at the centre who may be up to no good.

    HEATLEY: Just finally, Minister, Victoria has appointed former Labor Premier Jay Weatherill to lead the state’s child care inquiry, despite facing calls to resign after overseeing a child protection system in disarray in South Australia following a damning royal commission. Is he the right person, do you think? Do you have any view on that?

    CLARE: Look, I’m not interested in who does the work. I’m interested in the work that they do, in the recommendations that come out of this rapid review on the 15th of August. People are interested in action. I strongly support the work that the Victorian Government is doing in rolling out reform as quick as possible. The New South Wales Government is doing that as well. I think most Australians want to make sure that the politicians here, whether it’s state or federal, are working together and that we’re acting as quick as we possibly can. I want to see action. I want to see what comes out of that review.

    HEATLEY: Jason Clare thanks for making time for us today. Really appreciate it. It’s an important issue and we look forward to hearing that progress through Parliament in a few weeks time. Thanks again.

    CLARE: No worries, mate.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Back to Back Theatre tackles an epic Shakespearian conflict – set in a factory, with cardboard props

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Hunter, Senior Lecturer in Art and Performance, Deakin University

    Jeff Busby/Back To Back Theatre/ACMI

    Back to Back Theatre is one of Australia’s national treasures. Over 30 years this dynamic Geelong-based company – an ensemble of actors who are perceived to have intellectual disabilities – has built a dynamic body of innovative work renowned for its formal experimentation.

    Led by director Bruce Gladwin, the company is internationally acclaimed, including winning the International Ibsen Award in 2022 and the Venice Biennale Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre in 2024.

    Commissioned by ACMI, Back to Back’s latest offering is a screen project that reenacts a section of Shakespeare’s Henry V: the battle of Agincourt.

    Back to Back’s Agincourt draws from iconic film performances such as Laurence Olivier’s Henry V, but places the action in a factory in North Geelong. This industrial re-imagining is replete with hi-viz vests, concrete floors, and a very idiosyncratic costume design consisting of coats of armour made entirely out of cardboard.

    Agincourt begins with the desperate English monarch Henry V (Sarah Mainwaring) calling to his exhausted troops to take up arms against the marauding French, who are marching determinedly down the suburban street towards them.

    The English prepare for war, fortifying the factory space and gathering themselves for an inevitable onslaught, and a heinous confrontation ensues.

    Language and time

    More than 100 community members contributed to this work. A key aim was to ensure North Geelong residents and factory workers were given the opportunity to work as an artist, either in front of the camera or behind the scenes. The audition process included the proviso that every person made their own costume.

    Gladwin works closely with cinematographer/editor Rhian Hinkley and the actors to employ the elements of language and time in very specific ways.

    The performers’ natural speech patterns bring a real spaciousness in the vocal delivery to Shakespeare’s lines. There are also subtitles throughout the work.

    At times a split screen is used which repeats action at slightly differing angles, often in extreme closeup.

    These elements crystallise the audience’s focus, bringing a particular attention to the rich language of Shakespeare. We slow down, we read, we listen. We have time to let the words land, and to see the actors in their own unguarded, vulnerable moments.

    We see the actors in their own unguarded, vulnerable moments.
    Jeff Busby/Back To Back Theatre/ACMI

    The performances are strong. In particular, Mainwaring as a set-upon Prince Hal is compelling. Her laser stare is juxtaposed with a slightly wavering physicality which brings the first soliloquy into monumental, rousing proportion as she rallies the troops with the ominous pronouncement “We shall be remembered”.

    Do-it-yourself aesthetic

    Design and sound are front and centre in this 23-minute film. The actors worked with local company Boxwars to make their costumes and props, and Agincourt’s factory setting provides the background for the do-it-yourself aesthetic which features an impressive array of ornately decorated cardboard costumes.

    Props are also made from cardboard and we see swirling maces, pointed lances, bows and arrows, and fearfully brandished swords. The detail is brilliant.

    It is hard to describe the satisfaction of viewing a violent battle staged with cardboard – an inherently theatrical material which has the capacity to be firm and resilient but also to disintegrate spectacularly over time.

    (If you aren’t aware of the delightful cardboard community that is Boxwars, I highly recommend checking out their numerous YouTube videos: you won’t be disappointed.)

    A mythic, epic conflict

    The idea of staging an epic conflict in such a playful way seems outrageous, but there is a mythic quality to the work – the call to arms, the messy scrabbling, the physicality – that transcends the silliness. In the end, there is a kind of gravitas to the action.

    Over the course of the film, Agincourt moves from a grand and heroic sensibility to a sweaty, bloody depiction of war.

    Helmeted riders on horses (made from old mattresses) are pushed into the fray amid forklifts, trolleys and pallets of yarn. Beautiful woven fabrics play backdrop to regal pronouncements as the bricked walls of this industrial space are transformed into a chaotic battlefield.

    The actors worked with local company Boxwars to make their costumes and props.
    Jeff Busby/Back To Back Theatre/ACMI

    Gladwin uses his cast of thousands (and stunt directors) to great effect, creating phalanxes of archers raising bows in unison, or lines of soldiers in rows, swords at the ready.

    These orderly patterns are juxtaposed with fight scenes which become more and more volatile as soldiers wade through pulped paper-mud and drag bodies across the concrete floor.

    The sound design is suitably battle worn, accompanying the slow motion death scenes and bloodied faces with war cries, horses galloping and whinnying and the squelch of bodily disembowelment.

    Towards the end of the film, the factory becomes, once again, a work space.

    As the workers in this supported employment service go about their tasks – stripping mattresses, recycling materials, packaging kindling, objects deconstructed and re-purposed – a discussion ensues about how the workers want to be treated: as individuals … or as soldiers.

    Agincourt can be read as a contemporary comment on the viciousness and futility of war. But it is also a charge to action for those whose influence has been underestimated.

    Agincourt is at ACMI, Melbourne, until February 1 2026.

    Kate Hunter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Back to Back Theatre tackles an epic Shakespearian conflict – set in a factory, with cardboard props – https://theconversation.com/back-to-back-theatre-tackles-an-epic-shakespearian-conflict-set-in-a-factory-with-cardboard-props-257545

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Avoid bad breath, don’t pick partners when drunk: ancient dating tips to find modern love

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History, The University of Western Australia

    Henryk Siemiradzki via Wikimedia Commons

    To love and be loved is something most people want in their lives.

    In the modern world, we often see stories about the difficulties of finding love and the trials of dating and marriage. Sometimes, the person we love doesn’t love us. Sometimes, we don’t love the person who loves us.

    Ancient Greeks and Romans also had a lot to say about this subject. In fact, most of the issues people face today in their search for love are already mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature.

    So, what did they say? And is the advice they put forward still relevant for modern people?

    Advice for finding a lover

    The Roman poet Ovid (43BCE–17CE) wrote a poem called The Art of Love (Ars Amatoria). In it, he offered advice for those who are still single.

    First, Ovid says, you should make an effort to find someone you’re interested in. Your lover “will not come floating down to you through the tenuous air, she must be sought”.

    As suitable places to find a lover, Ovid recommends walking in porticos and gardens, attending the theatre, or (surprisingly enough) lingering near law courts.

    You need to catch someone’s eye and then invent an excuse to talk with them, he says.

    Seek your lover in the daytime, says Ovid. Be careful of the night. You won’t choose the right person if you’re drunk. And you can’t see their face properly if it’s too dark – they might be uglier than you think.

    Second, Ovid says you need to look presentable. Make sure your clothes are clean and you have a good haircut. Moreover, keep yourself groomed properly at all times:

    Do not let your nails project, and let them be free of dirt; nor let any hair be in the hollow of your nostrils. Let not the breath of your mouth be sour and unpleasing.

    Ovid’s The Art of Love may be regarded as a kind of love manual. But aside from making personal efforts to find a lover, people could also use matchmakers.

    However, matchmaking was a difficult process. Sometimes matchmakers didn’t tell the truth about the situations of the parties involved. So the Athenian writer Xenophon (430–353 BCE) says people were sometimes “victims of deception” in the matchmaking process.

    What if you’re not in love?

    The ancients recognised that not being in love can be a problem. They thought it bad for your mental and physical health, but also for society more broadly.

    For example, the Roman writer Claudius Aelian (2nd–3rd century CE) in his Historical Miscellany says soldiers who are in love will fight better than soldiers who are not in love:

    In the heat of battle when war brings men into combat, a man who is not in love could not match one who is. The man untouched by love avoids and runs away from the man who loves, as if he were an outsider uninitiated into the god’s rites, and his bravery depends on his character and physical strength.

    According to Aelian, the Spartans had a punishment for men who did not fall in love:

    Any man of good appearance and character who did not fall in love with someone well-bred was also fined, because despite his excellence he did not love anyone […] lovers’ affection for their beloved has a remarkable power of stimulating the virtues.

    So, when two people are in love, they can inspire each other and bring out the best in one another. Being in love can help a person become better and achieve more.

    Fighting for and keeping a lover

    If we are lucky, the person we love will also love us back, and we won’t have any love rivals.

    But what happens when the person we love is also loved by someone else? We may need to put in more effort to win the affection of that person, but sometimes this brings us into conflicts.

    For example, the Roman orator and politician Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BCE), in his On the Orator, tells how Gaius Memmius, Roman tribune of the year 111 BCE, apparently took a bite out of his love rival’s arm, “when he had a quarrel with him at Tarracina over a girlfriend”.

    Some ways to keep one’s lover interested that are mentioned in ancient sources include showing off one’s wealth.

    For example, in one of the plays of the poet Alexis (375–275 BCE) a young man who is in love puts on a large banquet to impress his girlfriend with a display of wealth. Engagements were at that time sometimes cancelled if it turned out the husband was too poor.

    Of course, things did not always work out, and people had grievances against former lovers. One particularly famous invective was from the poet Martial (38–104 CE) to a woman called Manneia:

    Manneia, your little dog licks your face and lips. Small wonder that a dog likes eating dung!

    Timeless concerns

    Today, we often see debates about whether it’s better to stay single or get into a relationship.

    The same goes for antiquity. In the 4th-century BCE play Arrephoros or The Pipe Girl by poet Menander, one character says:

    If you’ve got any sense, you won’t get married […] I’m married myself – which is why I’m advising you not to do it.

    Others lamented that they missed their opportunity for love. So the poet Pindar (6th–5th century BCE) wrote a poem regretting that he could not make the much younger Theoxenus his boyfriend:

    You should have picked love’s flowers at the right time, my heart, when you were young. But as for the sparkling rays from Theoxenus’ eyes, whoever looks on them and is not roiled with longing has a black heart forged with cold fire out of steel or iron.

    Clearly, finding a lover was as difficult then as it is now.

    Konstantine Panegyres does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Avoid bad breath, don’t pick partners when drunk: ancient dating tips to find modern love – https://theconversation.com/avoid-bad-breath-dont-pick-partners-when-drunk-ancient-dating-tips-to-find-modern-love-250792

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 4, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 4, 2025.

    Astronomers have spied an interstellar object zooming through the Solar System
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kirsten Banks, Lecturer, School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology K Ly / Deep Random Survey This week, astronomers spotted the third known interstellar visitor to our Solar System. First detected by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) on July 1, the

    Avoid bad breath, don’t pick partners when drunk: ancient dating tips to find modern love
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History, The University of Western Australia Henryk Siemiradzki via Wikimedia Commons To love and be loved is something most people want in their lives. In the modern world, we often see stories about the difficulties of finding love and the

    Back to Back Theatre tackles an epic Shakespearian conflict – set in a factory, with cardboard props
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Hunter, Senior Lecturer in Art and Performance, Deakin University Jeff Busby/Back To Back Theatre/ACMI Back to Back Theatre is one of Australia’s national treasures. Over 30 years this dynamic Geelong-based company – an ensemble of actors who are perceived to have intellectual disabilities – has built

    Australia’s new lung cancer screening program has chosen simplicity over equity, and we’re concerned
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa J. Whop, Associate Director of Research and Senior Fellow, Yardhura Walani, National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research, Australian National University Thurtell/Getty Images Australia’s lung cancer screening program launched on July 1, and marks real progress and opportunity. It aims to reduce the

    Lost in space: MethaneSat failed just as NZ was to take over mission control – here’s what we need to know now
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Rattenbury, Associate Professor in Physics, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Environmental Defense Fund, CC BY-SA This week’s announcement of the loss of a methane-detecting satellite, just days before New Zealand was meant to take over mission control, is a blow to the country’s space research

    Rare wooden tools from Stone Age China reveal plant-based lifestyle of ancient lakeside humans
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bo Li, Professor, Environmental Futures Research Centre, School of Science, University of Wollongong Excavation at the Gantangqing site. Liu et al. Ancient wooden tools found at a site in Gantangqing in southwestern China are approximately 300,000 years old, new dating has shown. Discovered during excavations carried out

    I’ve seen the brain damage contact sports can cause – we all need to take concussion and CTE more seriously
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Health Science, Swinburne University of Technology AAP Image/The Conversation, CC BY Concussion in sport continues to make headlines, whether it be class actions, young men flocking to the highly violent “RunIt” activity or debate about whether Australian rules football

    NZ will soon have no real interisland rail-ferry link – why are we so bad at infrastructure planning?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images) Another week, another Cook Strait ferry breakdown. As the winter maintenance season approaches and the Aratere prepares for its final months of service, New Zealand faces a self-imposed crisis. The government

    Mauna Loa Observatory captured the reality of climate change. The US plans to shut it down
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Sen Gupta, Associate Professor in Climate Science, UNSW Sydney Izabela23/Shutterstock The greenhouse effect was discovered more than 150 years ago and the first scientific paper linking carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere with climate change was published in 1896. But it wasn’t until the 1950s that

    6 simple questions to tell if a ‘finfluencer’ is more flash than cash
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitrios Salampasis, Associate Professor, Emerging Technologies and FinTech | FinTech Capability Lead, Swinburne University of Technology Oleg Golovnev/Shutterstock Images of flashy sports cars. Lavish lifestyle shots. These are just some of the red flags consumers should watch out for when they turn to social media for financial

    Grattan on Friday: how two once hot-button issues this week barely sparked media and political interest
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Political and news cycles often work in a certain and predictable way. Issues flare like bushfires, then rage for weeks or even months, until they are finally extinguished by action or fade by being overtaken by the next big thing.

    How many serious incidents are happening in Australian childcare centres? We don’t really know
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Harper, Lecturer, School of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney Catherine Delahaye/ Getty Images This week, a Melbourne childcare worker was charged over alleged sexual abuse of young children in his care. Families are justifiably appalled and furious – with 1,200 children urged to be

    Too much vitamin B6 can be toxic. 3 symptoms to watch out for
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Selena3726/Shutterstock Side effects from taking too much vitamin B6 – including nerve damage – may be more widespread than we think, Australia’s medicines regulator says. In an ABC report earlier this week, a spokesperson for the Therapeutic Goods

    Too much vitamin B6 can be toxic. 3 symptoms to watch out for
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Selena3726/Shutterstock Side effects from taking too much vitamin B6 – including nerve damage – may be more widespread than we think, Australia’s medicines regulator says. In an ABC report earlier this week, a spokesperson for the Therapeutic Goods

    10 steps governments can take now to stamp out child sexual abuse in care settings
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Mathews, Distinguished Professor, School of Law, Queensland University of Technology Recent cases of prolific alleged child sexual abuse in Melbourne and other Australian early childhood education and care settings have shocked even experienced people who work to prevent child sexual abuse. Parents are right to be

    Tears, trauma and unpaid work: why men in tinnies aren’t the only heroes during a flood disaster
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca McNaught, Research Fellow, Rural and Remote Health, University of Sydney Dan Peled/Getty Images When flooding strikes, our screens fill with scenes of devastated victims, and men performing heroic dinghy rescues in swollen rivers. But another story often goes untold: how women step in, and step up,

    The takeaway from the Venice Biennale saga: the art world faces deep and troubling structural inequality
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grace McQuilten, Professor of Art and Associate Dean, Research and Innovation, School of Art, RMIT University Creative Australia’s decision earlier this year to rescind the selection of artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino as Australia’s 2026 representatives at the Venice Biennale sent shockwaves through the arts

    The Rainbow Warrior saga: 1. French state terrorism and NZ’s end of innocence
    COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle Immediately after killing Fernando Pereira and blowing up Greenpeace’s flagship the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbour, several of the French agents went on a ski holiday in New Zealand’s South Island to celebrate. Such was the contempt the French had for the Kiwis and the abilities of our police to pursue

    Does eating cheese before bed really give you nightmares? Here’s what the science says
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charlotte Gupta, Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Appleton Institute, HealthWise Research Group, CQUniversity Australia Phoenixns/Shutterstock, The Conversation, CC BY Have you heard people say eating cheese before bed will cause you to have vivid dreams or nightmares? It’s a relatively common idea. And this week, a new study

    Experiencing extreme weather and disasters is not enough to change views on climate action, study shows
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Omid Ghasemi, Research Associate in Behavioural Science at the Institute for Climate Risk & Response, UNSW Sydney STR / AFP via Getty Images Climate change has made extreme weather events such as bushfires and floods more frequent and more likely in recent years, and the trend is

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 4, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 4, 2025.

    Astronomers have spied an interstellar object zooming through the Solar System
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kirsten Banks, Lecturer, School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology K Ly / Deep Random Survey This week, astronomers spotted the third known interstellar visitor to our Solar System. First detected by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) on July 1, the

    Avoid bad breath, don’t pick partners when drunk: ancient dating tips to find modern love
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History, The University of Western Australia Henryk Siemiradzki via Wikimedia Commons To love and be loved is something most people want in their lives. In the modern world, we often see stories about the difficulties of finding love and the

    Back to Back Theatre tackles an epic Shakespearian conflict – set in a factory, with cardboard props
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Hunter, Senior Lecturer in Art and Performance, Deakin University Jeff Busby/Back To Back Theatre/ACMI Back to Back Theatre is one of Australia’s national treasures. Over 30 years this dynamic Geelong-based company – an ensemble of actors who are perceived to have intellectual disabilities – has built

    Australia’s new lung cancer screening program has chosen simplicity over equity, and we’re concerned
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa J. Whop, Associate Director of Research and Senior Fellow, Yardhura Walani, National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research, Australian National University Thurtell/Getty Images Australia’s lung cancer screening program launched on July 1, and marks real progress and opportunity. It aims to reduce the

    Lost in space: MethaneSat failed just as NZ was to take over mission control – here’s what we need to know now
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Rattenbury, Associate Professor in Physics, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Environmental Defense Fund, CC BY-SA This week’s announcement of the loss of a methane-detecting satellite, just days before New Zealand was meant to take over mission control, is a blow to the country’s space research

    Rare wooden tools from Stone Age China reveal plant-based lifestyle of ancient lakeside humans
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bo Li, Professor, Environmental Futures Research Centre, School of Science, University of Wollongong Excavation at the Gantangqing site. Liu et al. Ancient wooden tools found at a site in Gantangqing in southwestern China are approximately 300,000 years old, new dating has shown. Discovered during excavations carried out

    I’ve seen the brain damage contact sports can cause – we all need to take concussion and CTE more seriously
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Health Science, Swinburne University of Technology AAP Image/The Conversation, CC BY Concussion in sport continues to make headlines, whether it be class actions, young men flocking to the highly violent “RunIt” activity or debate about whether Australian rules football

    NZ will soon have no real interisland rail-ferry link – why are we so bad at infrastructure planning?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images) Another week, another Cook Strait ferry breakdown. As the winter maintenance season approaches and the Aratere prepares for its final months of service, New Zealand faces a self-imposed crisis. The government

    Mauna Loa Observatory captured the reality of climate change. The US plans to shut it down
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Sen Gupta, Associate Professor in Climate Science, UNSW Sydney Izabela23/Shutterstock The greenhouse effect was discovered more than 150 years ago and the first scientific paper linking carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere with climate change was published in 1896. But it wasn’t until the 1950s that

    6 simple questions to tell if a ‘finfluencer’ is more flash than cash
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitrios Salampasis, Associate Professor, Emerging Technologies and FinTech | FinTech Capability Lead, Swinburne University of Technology Oleg Golovnev/Shutterstock Images of flashy sports cars. Lavish lifestyle shots. These are just some of the red flags consumers should watch out for when they turn to social media for financial

    Grattan on Friday: how two once hot-button issues this week barely sparked media and political interest
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Political and news cycles often work in a certain and predictable way. Issues flare like bushfires, then rage for weeks or even months, until they are finally extinguished by action or fade by being overtaken by the next big thing.

    How many serious incidents are happening in Australian childcare centres? We don’t really know
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Harper, Lecturer, School of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney Catherine Delahaye/ Getty Images This week, a Melbourne childcare worker was charged over alleged sexual abuse of young children in his care. Families are justifiably appalled and furious – with 1,200 children urged to be

    Too much vitamin B6 can be toxic. 3 symptoms to watch out for
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Selena3726/Shutterstock Side effects from taking too much vitamin B6 – including nerve damage – may be more widespread than we think, Australia’s medicines regulator says. In an ABC report earlier this week, a spokesperson for the Therapeutic Goods

    Too much vitamin B6 can be toxic. 3 symptoms to watch out for
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Selena3726/Shutterstock Side effects from taking too much vitamin B6 – including nerve damage – may be more widespread than we think, Australia’s medicines regulator says. In an ABC report earlier this week, a spokesperson for the Therapeutic Goods

    10 steps governments can take now to stamp out child sexual abuse in care settings
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Mathews, Distinguished Professor, School of Law, Queensland University of Technology Recent cases of prolific alleged child sexual abuse in Melbourne and other Australian early childhood education and care settings have shocked even experienced people who work to prevent child sexual abuse. Parents are right to be

    Tears, trauma and unpaid work: why men in tinnies aren’t the only heroes during a flood disaster
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca McNaught, Research Fellow, Rural and Remote Health, University of Sydney Dan Peled/Getty Images When flooding strikes, our screens fill with scenes of devastated victims, and men performing heroic dinghy rescues in swollen rivers. But another story often goes untold: how women step in, and step up,

    The takeaway from the Venice Biennale saga: the art world faces deep and troubling structural inequality
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grace McQuilten, Professor of Art and Associate Dean, Research and Innovation, School of Art, RMIT University Creative Australia’s decision earlier this year to rescind the selection of artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino as Australia’s 2026 representatives at the Venice Biennale sent shockwaves through the arts

    The Rainbow Warrior saga: 1. French state terrorism and NZ’s end of innocence
    COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle Immediately after killing Fernando Pereira and blowing up Greenpeace’s flagship the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbour, several of the French agents went on a ski holiday in New Zealand’s South Island to celebrate. Such was the contempt the French had for the Kiwis and the abilities of our police to pursue

    Does eating cheese before bed really give you nightmares? Here’s what the science says
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charlotte Gupta, Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Appleton Institute, HealthWise Research Group, CQUniversity Australia Phoenixns/Shutterstock, The Conversation, CC BY Have you heard people say eating cheese before bed will cause you to have vivid dreams or nightmares? It’s a relatively common idea. And this week, a new study

    Experiencing extreme weather and disasters is not enough to change views on climate action, study shows
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Omid Ghasemi, Research Associate in Behavioural Science at the Institute for Climate Risk & Response, UNSW Sydney STR / AFP via Getty Images Climate change has made extreme weather events such as bushfires and floods more frequent and more likely in recent years, and the trend is

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: In Memoriam: Wes Hildreth, 1938-2025

    Source: US Geological Survey

    Wes receiving a Meritorious Service Award in 2004.

    Wes was born on August 17, 1938, in Newton, MA, and lived most of his early life in the Boston and San Francisco Bay areas. He studied at Harvard, where he majored in geology with a minor in government (BA, 1961). Receiving a Harvard Sheldon Fellowship, he traveled around the world alone in 1961-62. In 1963, he drove his Volkswagen van to Panama and back. After two years at Harvard graduate school in international affairs, he withdrew, alienated by bitterness over the Vietnam War. Between 1966 and 1970, Wes was a National Park Service naturalist at Muir Woods, Glacier Bay, Grand Canyon, Olympic, and Death Valley national parks.  

    Wes returned to graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1970, intending to map Precambrian stratigraphy in Death Valley. Instead, he met Prof. Ian Carmichael and soon found himself studying igneous petrology and volcanology in an exceptionally fruitful environment with talented fellow students, including his future wife, Gail Mahood (geology professor at Stanford University). That period was characterized by the advent of precise and comprehensive trace-element analyses, the transformation from wet chemistry to X-ray fluorescence, and from mineral picking to the then still-primitive electron microprobe. Wes’s 1977 PhD on the Bishop Tuff ignited a global interest in large-scale silicic volcanism and magmatism that continues undiminished. He joined the USGS in 1977, where he remained a research leader for his whole career.  

    The many outstanding features of Wes’s productive career reflect his intertwined interests in mapping volcanoes and understanding large-scale magmatic processes. He combined the two (with a sometimes-intimidating gravitas) through numerous intensive, field-focused studies mostly in the U.S. and Chile. For more than 45 years, he did so with Judy Fierstein, an indefatigable field collaborator and the artistic talent behind their many geologic maps. Their work made heavy use of USGS analytical facilities and was made possible by the high-quality geochronology provided by the USGS argon dating laboratory.  

    Several facets of Wes’s research, often made with U.S. and international collaborators, stand out:  

    • Wes’s petrologic study of the rhyolitic Bishop Tuff, pioneering in its detail and comprehensiveness, challenged models for generating wide ranges in trace-element abundances in the erupted products. After what Wes himself referred to as “…the wild-goose chase of Soret effects in magma chambers,” his subsequent comparisons with other ignimbrites and related plutonic systems and the efforts of many other workers led to what has become widely known as the “mush model,” which is now a central paradigm for the generation of silicic magmas.  
    • Turning to the ultimate driver of silicic magmatism, Wes recognized the fundamentally basaltic nature of most continental crustal magmatism and developed enduring concepts for what are now termed trans-crustal magmatic systems. His original 1981 concepts were further developed in 1988 to outline (using Chilean examples) the roles of crustal thickness and deep crustal processes (the MASH model) in the generation of arc magmas.  
    • At the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field, Wes and his colleagues were the first to document the contrast between the narrow ∂18O range in the ignimbrites and the much lighter isotopic values of the earliest post-collapse lavas. His interpretation, that meteoric water was involved, initiated much research on the role of hydrothermally altered crust in the origins of low-d18O rhyolites and influenced the understanding of upper crustal silicic magma bodies.  
    • Studies of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes in Alaska yielded fundamental insights into how a complicated volcanic plumbing system beneath Novarupta and Katmai caldera led to a remarkable diversity of magmas erupting in the 1912 eruption.  
    • Wes’s contribution to the 1986 geologic map of the island of Pantelleria in Italy stands as the most detailed study of a peralkaline rhyolite volcanic center. It remains an important contribution to understanding the physical volcanology of low-viscosity felsic magmas and their associated calderas, as well as the chronology of volcanic ashes across the Mediterranean.  
    • Late in his career Wes turned to his love of basic field geology and stratigraphy and published compelling studies on the landscape evolution of eastern Sierra Nevada, including the geology and geomorphology of the Long Valley Caldera region, the evolution of the Owens River gorge, and the nature and timing of development of the eastern Sierra Nevada escarpment.  
    • A major legacy of Wes’ productive career at the USGS are the detailed geologic maps and descriptions of volcanic histories for Mount Adams, Mount Baker, Three Sisters, and Simcoe Mountains in the Cascade Range of Washington and Oregon; Mammoth Mountain and Long Valley Caldera in eastern California; Katmai in Alaska; Quizapu-Descabezado and Laguna del Maule in Chile, and Pantelleria in Italy. In Wes’s words: “I’ve emphasized on-foot authentic geologic mapping of blank spots on the map, largely in wilderness or otherwise uninhabited areas.”  

    Wes received wide recognition and awards during his career, including Fellow of the Geological Society of America (1985), Fellow (1995) and Bowen Award (1985) from the American Geophysical Union, Thorarinsson Medalist of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (2004), and a Meritorious Service Award from the Department of the Interior (2004). Wes and Judy Fierstein jointly received the 2019 Florence Bascom Mapping Award from the Geological Society of America. In response to the award, Wes noted that it “celebrated what I love doing best.”  

    Wes was an avid reader and maintained a broad knowledge of global affairs, which was seeded by his travels through the Harvard Sheldon Fellowship. To colleagues, he offered three-thousand-year perspectives on the roots of conflicts in the Middle East and Europe. Before starting fieldwork each day, he scrutinized and read aloud portions of the daily academic commentary on current domestic affairs.  

    Wes was also a lifelong runner. He ran cross-country for the Harvard Crimson, and he finished in 29th place in the 1960 Boston Marathon. While traveling the world on the Sheldon Fellowship, he spent two months training at an immersion running camp in Australia. Between 1955 and 1972, Wes competed in the Dipsea Race for a grueling 12 km over the flank of Mt. Tamalpais, just north of San Francisco. On June 6, 2025, just two weeks before his death, Wes was inducted into the Dipsea Foundation Hall of Fame. In his acceptance speech, he said, “Distance running can be as much a lifestyle as a competitive sport. At age 87, I still hit the road for an hour every day – 365 days – slower every year, but the mentality and fitness support my geological day job,” and “there’s a spiritual component – the freedom of the hills – the simple gift of communion with the landscape.”  

    Wes was an outstanding geologist who had broad interests, including aspects of regional geology well outside of his recognized specialties in volcanology and igneous petrology. His insights and contributions have been of the highest quality and promise to last over time. At the time of his death, Wes was still carrying out work in the Sierra Nevada, the Mono Basin, the Cima volcanic field (all in California), and the Mina volcanics in western Nevada near where he died. His body of work, meticulously detailed, authoritatively stated, and contained within beautifully written papers, remains as an enduring memorial to his creativity, knowledge, and influence.  

    Contributed by: Charlie Bacon, Andy Calvert, Judy Fierstein, Shaul Hurwitz, Jake Lowenstern, Tom Sisson (all USGS Volcano Science Center), Gail Mahood (Stanford University), and Colin Wilson (Victoria University, NZ) 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Two charged over drive-by shooting at North Plympton

    Source: New South Wales – News

    Two men have now been charged over a drive-by shooting at a North Plympton barber shop in February.

    Just before 9.30pm on Thursday 20 February police were called to a business on Hawson Avenue after five shots were fired at the building.

    Fortunately, no one was inside the building at the time and there were no reports of injuries.

    Southern District Detectives and Crime Scene investigators attended to examine the scene.

    Following investigations, this morning (Friday 4 July) Serious and Organised Crime Branch detectives arrested two men over the matter.

    A 24-year-old Croydon Park man was charged with discharge a firearm to damage property, contravene a Firearms Prohibition Order and possess a firearm without a licence.

    A 49-year-old Fulham man, who was initially arrested in February, but charges were not pursued, was rearrested and charged with assisting an offender in connection with this incident.

    They were both refused police bail and will appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court later today.

    Anyone with information about illegal firearms in the community is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au

    CO TBA

    MIL OSI News –

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

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

    Overview

    • Category

      News

    • Date

      04 July 2025

    • Classification

      Hydrogen energy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    ARENA media contact:

    media@arena.gov.au

    Download this media release (PDF 151KB)

    MIL OSI News –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    MIL OSI China News –

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

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

    .

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

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

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

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

    CHINA’S ROLE AS CATALYST

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    PRIVATE SECTOR’S CROSS-BORDER IMPACT

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    MIL OSI China News –