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Category: Business

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ4: Unleashing “silver productivity”

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         Following is a question by the Hon Lam Chun-sing and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (July 9):
     
    Question:
     
         In May this year, the Government announced various measures to promote the silver economy. There are views that in terms of unleashing “silver productivity”, the authorities should introduce more measures to help grass-roots elderly to overcome employment difficulties and improve employment conditions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
     
    (1) as quite a number of grass-roots elderly persons have relayed that under the existing labour importation policies, employers tend to hire younger imported workers, resulting in fewer job opportunities for the elderly, particularly for the job categories covered by the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme, whether the Government will consider tightening such scheme, for example, by setting quota ceilings for all job categories, so as to enhance employment opportunities for the elderly;
     
    (2) as some elderly job seekers have relayed that even if they met the job requirements, some employers explicitly indicated that they refused to hire them due to their advanced age, whether the authorities will actively study the enactment of legislation to combat age discrimination in the workplace; and
     
    (3) given that the Government proposed in 2023 to increase tax deduction for Mandatory Provident Fund voluntary contributions made by employers for their employees aged 65 or above to encourage them to make contributions for mature employees, with a view to increasing the retirement savings of the silver-haired group, and proposed in the 2024 Policy Address to put the relevant measure under the work of the Working Group on Promoting Silver Economy, of the progress of taking forward the relevant measure?

    Reply:
     
    President,
     
         The Government has been implementing various measures to assist job seekers in securing employment. Taking account of the employment needs of older and middle-aged persons, the Government provides diversified employment support and promote elderly-friendly employment practices to encourage and assist them to re-enter or remain in the employment market, and to unleash the labour force of older persons.
     
         On July 15 last year, the Labour Department (LD) launched the three-year Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme to encourage persons aged 40 or above who have not been in paid work for three consecutive months or more to re-join the employment market. Each eligible participant who has worked for 12 months continuously will be provided with a re-employment allowance up to $20,000. Response to the Scheme is very favourable. As at June this year, over 45 000 participants and nearly 23 000 placements were recorded. About a quarter of the participants and placements are persons aged 60 or above. In tandem with the above Scheme, the LD, through the training subsidy of the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged, encourages employers to hire persons aged 40 or above and provide them with training to uplift the work skills of older and middle-aged persons.
     
         In consultation with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB), the reply to the Member’s question is as follows:
     
    (1) On the premise of ensuring employment priority for local workers, the Government suitably allows employers to apply for importation of workers to replenish the labour force in Hong Kong. The LD has implemented the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) since September 4, 2023 to suspend the general exclusion of the 26 job categories as well as unskilled or low-skilled posts from labour importation under the previous Supplementary Labour Scheme for two years.
     
         When implementing the ESLS, the LD is committed to safeguarding employment priority for local workers. Applicant employers of the ESLS must undertake a four-week local recruitment exercise and give priority to employing suitable local workers to fill the vacancies at a salary not lower than the prevailing median monthly wage of a comparable position in the market. The ESLS requires that employers taking on local job seekers through any recruitment channels during the local recruitment period must not offer employment terms less favourable than those agreed by the LD, nor can they impose on job seekers any restrictive requirements such as age or gender. The ESLS also requires employers to meet the manning ratio requirement of full-time local employees to imported workers of 2:1 on a continuous basis. At the same time, employers shall not displace serving local workers with imported workers. To protect the employment opportunities of local workers, employers should retrench imported workers first in the event of redundancy.
     
         To further strengthen the protection of employment priority for local workers, the LD implemented new measures on June 17, including displaying the names of applicant companies on the Interactive Employment Service website when publishing the job vacancies in respect of the ESLS applications which pass the initial screening and commence the four-week local recruitment process after that date to increase the transparency of local recruitment and encourage job seekers to apply for relevant jobs.
     
    The LD will review the experience and effectiveness of the ESLS, including the Scheme’s coverage, operation and implementation arrangements, measures to promote and ensure employment priority for local workers (including older persons), measures to protect the rights and benefits of imported workers, as well as other requirements and matters relating to the ESLS. The Government will take full account of and balance the views of stakeholders during the review when mapping out the future arrangements of the ESLS.

    (2) The Government is committed to eliminating all forms of discriminatory ideas and behaviours. In the realm of employment, the Government encourages employers to adopt the principle of “Count on Talent, Not Age in Employment” when assessing the abilities of candidates or employees, and use reasonable and standardised selection criteria. According to the results of a survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department, the vast majority of respondents did not view age as an important factor affecting employment, reflecting that age discrimination is not a major problem in Hong Kong’s employment market.
     
         The Government will continue to promote and uphold equal employment opportunities by disseminating and advocating the message of fairness in employment, as well as strengthening training and retraining to enhance the employability of individuals across all age groups.
     
    (3) The proposed tax initiative to employers to make more Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) voluntary contributions for their employees aged 65 or above aims to encourage more mature employees to consider staying in the labour force and continue to contribute to economic growth after reaching age 65 while increasing their retirement savings. Given that there were views on the limited effect for this standalone measure and recommendations that this measure should be combined with the other initiatives on silver economy for creating synergy, the Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address announced that this proposal would be included in the work of the Working Group on Promoting Silver Economy (Working Group). Upon review, the Working Group considered that the proposal has complicated the policy objective of MPF, and the restriction on employees receiving voluntary contributions also casts doubt on the effectiveness of the proposal. In terms of encouraging the elderly to join the labour force, the Working Group has already rolled out various targeted measures to help unleash “silver productivity” as part of the 30 measures for promoting silver economy announced on May 27 this year, such as accord priority to post-50s for receiving training consultation service, reviewing the Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme and Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged, and stepping up the promotion of elderly-friendly employment practices. The Government considers that resources should be concentrated on the aforementioned measures to promote employment of older persons in a more focused and direct manner.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • Trump says steep copper tariffs in store as he broadens his trade war

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would impose a 50% tariff on imported copper and soon introduce long-threatened levies on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, broadening his trade war that has rattled markets worldwide.

    One day after he pressured 14 trading partners, including powerhouse U.S. suppliers like South Korea and Japan, with fresh tariff letters, Trump reiterated his threat of 10% tariffs on products from Brazil, India and other members of the BRICS group of countries.

    He also said trade talks have been going well with the European Union and China, though he added he is only days away from sending a tariff letter to the EU.

    Trump’s remarks, made during a White House cabinet meeting, could inject further instability into a global economy that has been shaken by the tariffs he has imposed or threatened on imports to the world’s largest consumer market.

    U.S. copper futures jumped more than 10% after Trump’s announcement of new duties on a metal that is critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, the power grid and many consumer goods. They would join duties already in place for steel, aluminum and automobile imports, though it was unclear when the new tariffs might take effect.

    U.S. pharmaceutical stocks also slid following Trump’s threat of 200% tariffs on drug imports, which he said could be delayed by about a year.

    Other countries, meanwhile, said they would try to soften the impact of Trump’s threatened duties after he pushed back a Wednesday deadline to August 1.

    Trump’s administration promised “90 deals in 90 days” after he unveiled an array of country-specific duties in early April. So far only two agreements have been reached, with the United Kingdom and Vietnam. Trump has said a deal with India is close.

    Trump said countries have been clamoring to negotiate.

    “It’s about time the United States of America started collecting money from countries that were ripping us off … and laughing behind our back at how stupid we were,” he said.

    He said late Tuesday that “a minimum of seven” tariff notices would be released on Wednesday morning, and more in the afternoon. He gave no other details in his Truth Social post.

    Trading partners across the globe say it has been difficult to negotiate even framework agreements with the U.S. given the haphazard way new tariffs are announced, complicating their internal discussions about concessions.

    HIGHEST LEVELS SINCE 1934

    Following Trump’s announcement of higher tariffs for imports from the 14 countries, U.S. research group Yale Budget Lab estimated consumers face an effective U.S. tariff rate of 17.6%, up from 15.8% previously and the highest in nine decades.

    Trump’s administration has been touting those tariffs as a significant revenue source. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington has taken in about $100 billion so far and could collect $300 billion by the end of the year. The United States has taken in about $80 billion annually in tariff revenue in recent years.

    The S&P 500 finished slightly lower on Tuesday, a day after Wall Street markets sold off sharply following Trump’s new tariffs announcement.

    Trump said he will “probably” tell the European Union within two days what rate it can expect for its exports to the U.S., adding that the 27-member bloc had been treating his administration “very nicely” in trade talks.

    The EU, the largest bilateral trade partner of the U.S., aims to strike a deal before August 1 with concessions for key export industries such as aircraft, medical equipment and spirits, according to EU sources. Brussels is also considering an arrangement that would protect European automakers with large U.S. production facilities.

    However, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil warned that the EU was prepared to retaliate if necessary.

    “If we don’t reach a fair trade deal with the U.S., the EU is ready to take counter measures,” he said in the lower house of parliament.

    Japan, which faces a possible 25% tariff – up from 24% first threatened in April – wants concessions for its large automobile industry and will not sacrifice its agriculture sector, a powerful domestic lobby, for the sake of an early deal, top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said on Tuesday.

    South Korea, which also faces a possible 25% tariff, said it planned to intensify trade talks over the coming weeks “to reach a mutually beneficial result.”

    Washington and Beijing agreed to a trade framework in June, but with many of the details still unclear, traders and investors are watching to see if it unravels before a separate, U.S.-imposed August 12 deadline or leads to a lasting detente.

    “We have had a really good relationship with China lately, and we’re getting along with them very well. They’ve been very fair on our trade deal, honestly,” Trump said, adding that he has been speaking regularly with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

    Trump said the United States would impose tariffs of 25% on goods from Tunisia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan; 30% on South Africa and Bosnia and Herzegovina; 32% on Indonesia; 35% on Serbia and Bangladesh; 36% on Cambodia and Thailand; and 40% on Laos and Myanmar.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to ‘rapid heat death attribution study’ as released by Imperial’s Grantham Institute

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Scientists comment on a heat-related death attribution study released by the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London. 

    Dr Akshay Deoras, Research Scientist at the University of Reading, said:

    “Robust techniques used in this study leave no doubt that climate change is already a deadly force in Europe. Think of the Earth like an oven. In the past, heatwaves were like turning the oven up for a short burst. But with climate change, it is as if we have permanently set the oven to a higher temperature. It takes much less to reach dangerous levels of heat that can be fatal.

    “The June 2025 heatwave across parts of Europe and the UK was not simply a natural disaster—it was supercharged by fossil fuel emissions, costing countless lives in major cities. Heatwaves are now more frequent and intense because our planet’s baseline temperature is higher due to greenhouse gas emissions. Without urgent action to reduce fossil fuel emissions, these extreme heat events will become even more common and severe, putting greater pressure on health systems, disrupting daily life, and threatening the safety of communities across Europe.”

    Prof Richard Allan, Professor of Climate Science at the University of Reading, said:

    “A warming climate sure as hell makes heatwaves worse.  This forensic analysis combining observations, simulations and health data has shown how much more dangerous the recent European heatwave was across several cities with the higher levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  

    “Even without these rapid attribution studies, it is blindingly obvious from the multiple lines of evidence that when weather conditions generate heatwaves, they are more intense, meaning that moderate heat becomes dangerous and record heat becomes unprecedented. The other side of the coin is that as one part of the globe bakes and burns, another region can suffer intense rainfall and catastrophic flooding as a warmer, thirstier atmosphere saps the moisture from one region and winds blow this excess moisture into storm systems elsewhere.  

    “Communities need to adapt to an increasingly dangerous world through more resilient infrastructure and improved warning systems, yet it is only with rapid and massive cuts in greenhouse gases through collaboration across all sectors of society that worsening of weather extremes can be reined in.”

     

    Dr Chloe Brimicombe, climate scientist at the Royal Meteorological Society, said:

    “The study quickly shows how 65% of heatwave deaths in the last European heatwave can be linked to human-induced climate change in different cities. This is important because it shows that reducing emissions, which would stop an increase in heatwaves, could save lives. 

    “We are facing more heatwaves this summer across Europe, with many regions also moving towards drought which increases heat and risk of wildfires increase too. We could see more deaths in heatwaves this summer. Research like this is important and being used more in climate litigation cases where groups take countries and companies to court over climate change. 

    “It’s possible this study has even underestimated deaths slightly because it’s not taking into account the built environment and we know that often poorer parts of cities are more impacted because they are less “green” which means they heat up even more. 

    “The results are a model summary of an increase in deaths over populations of cities during a heat period. But in reality the realisation of the risk of cardiac arrest is different to someone drowning. And that is why it’s important to issue heat warnings to everyone because there are a lot of different ways someone dies during a heatwave. 

    “We need to talk about other heatwave impacts like pressure on transport, energy and food supplies. And we quickly need to think about how heat impacts economies as part of loss and damage. We also need to consider the rise in people attending hospital. We don’t really know enough about how heat impacts breastfeeding women and newborns, for example. 

    “Heatwaves silently pressure our society. For some individuals this is now from before birth to the day they die.”

    ‘Climate change tripled heat-related deaths in early summer European Heatwave’ by Ben Clarke et al. is an unpublished ‘rapid heat death attribution study’ led by scientists at Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.  The embargo lifted at 5am UK time on Wednesday 9 July 2025.

    Declared interests

    Richard Allan: “No conflicting interests”

    Chloe Brimicombe: “No disclosures”

    For all other experts, no reply for our request for DOIs was received. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: 60 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza – sources

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    GAZA, July 9 (Xinhua) — At least 60 Palestinians, including six freed prisoners and a medical worker, were killed in Israeli airstrikes and shelling in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Palestinian sources said.

    Six people were killed in Israeli shelling of two tents housing displaced persons in Khan Younis in southern Gaza and the town of Al-Zawayda in the central part of the enclave, Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bazal told Xinhua.

    Hamas said in a press statement that the six were prisoners released from Israeli jails and deported from the West Bank to Gaza.

    According to M. Bazal, in western Gaza City, an Israeli airstrike on a Palestinian gathering in the Rimal area killed six people, including two children and two women, while an Israeli airstrike on a house in the Tal al-Hawa area killed four, including a baby.

    Five people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in al-Tuffa in eastern Gaza City. Three others were killed when an Israeli drone bomb hit a residential neighborhood in the al-Zeitoun neighborhood in southern Gaza City, Bazal said. He said two people, including a child, were killed in Israeli bombing of the al-Tuffa and Sheikh Radwan neighborhoods.

    A car bombing in the city of Deir el-Balah in the heart of the Palestinian enclave killed two more people, he added.

    Meanwhile, the Nasser Medical Complex said in a brief press statement that 25 Palestinians had been killed since dawn on Tuesday in separate airstrikes on the al-Mawasi area in western Khan Younis.

    According to Palestinian medical sources, a medical worker was also killed while on duty as a result of Israeli shelling in the same area.

    Six Palestinians, including three children, were killed in Israeli shelling near a US-backed aid distribution centre in the northern town of Rafah in the southern enclave, sources said.

    The Israeli side has not yet commented on these incidents. –0–

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

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Fun Food Taiwan 2.0: Let the FUN Begin! 2025 Fun Food Taiwan Awards Ceremony Grandly Held at Taipei International Food Show

    Source: Republic of China Taiwan

    The 2025 Fun Food Taiwan Awards Ceremony, hosted by the Industrial Development Administration (IDA), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), and organized by the Food Industry Research and Development Institute (FIRDI), took place on June 25 at the 7th floor of Hall 2, Nangang Exhibition Center, in conjunction with the Taipei International Food Show. The grand event drew enthusiastic participation from industry, government, academia, and media representatives.

    During the ceremony, Secretary-General Mr. Kuo-Hsuan Chen of the Industrial Development Administration (IDA), MOEA, emphasized the vitality of innovation and transformation displayed by Taiwan’s food industry. The awarded entries reflect major trends, including health-focused processing, environmental sustainability, innovative packaging, the use of local ingredients, and lively demonstrating the diversity and competitiveness of Taiwan’s food industry. He expressed confidence that this award will serve as a launching point for enterprises to pursue excellence and strengthen their brands, opening up broader opportunities for Taiwan’s quality food products in global markets. IDA pledged continued collaboration across sectors to guide Taiwan’s food industry toward greater value creation, intelligence, and sustainability-allowing Taiwan’s food brands to shine internationally.

    Launched in 2020, “Fun Food Taiwan” has focused on value-driven food innovation and international connections. Entering its 2.0 phase in 2025, the program introduces three new evaluation pillars: Evolution, Decarbonization, and Experience, supporting food companies in enhancing competitiveness and branding. Under the theme “Trend 2.0, Let the FUN Begin”, this year’s award attracted 119 companies and 264 product entries. Following a rigorous multi-stage review process-including qualification review, requirement checks, preliminary, semi-final, and final evaluations-90 products from 63 companies were recognized with the Fun Food Taiwan Award. Among them, 17 products received top honors including Gold Awards, Silver Awards, and Special Prizes under the three new pillars.

    Award Highlights
    Baked Goods:

    1.Gold Award: SHI FENG SHIANG 40th Anniversary Gift Box by SHI FENG SHIANG 1985 TAIWAN PASTRY.
    Merging artistic aesthetics with traditional cake molds; low-sugar, additive-free, trans-fat-free; recyclable and minimalist packaging showcasing sustainability.

    2.Silver Award: Pineapple Financier by Cheese Duke Co., Ltd.
    Low-oil, low-sugar, additive-free; carbon footprint certified.

    3.Silver Award: Jiachuan rice snack gift box by TONG BAE FOOD CO., LTD.
    Made with 100% Taiwanese rice; additive-free, trans-fat-free with rich texture.

    4.Special Prize – Evolution: Layered Tofu Rock Handmade Pancakes by TSAI JI ENTERPRISE CO., LTD.
    Represents Keelung’s local spirit, blends cultural depth with eco-conscious design.

    5.Special Prize – Decarbonization: red dragon fruit pastryby County Specialty Industry Co., Ltd.
    Targets carbon reductions in electricity and fuel use by 2026; implements green energy and energy-saving equipment.

    6.Special Prize – Experience: Lace Rice Crisp-Hand Carved Wooden Gift Box by Joy Joy Golden
    Infuses marine flavors and culture, with traditional Taiwanese window frame wood boxes and floral tile designs.

    Prepared Foods:

    7.Gold Award: Fermented Pineapple Chili Sauce by Leezen Company Limited.
    Made with native Taiwanese pineapple and naturally fermented chili; additive-free, low-carbon processing.

    8.Silver Award: Taro Pork Meatball (Additive Free) by ZHEN FANG CO., LTD.
    Made with contract-farmed pork and rich taro; 100% additive-free, user-friendly, aligned with modern health trends.

    9.Special Prize – Evolution: Cold-Smoked Albacore Tuna Slices by Zheng Cheng Aquatic Products Co., Ltd.
    Rare cold-smoke technique with distinctive packaging conveying ocean identity and brand strength.

    10.Special Prize – Decarbonization: Creamy Pumpkin Calendula Noodles by Yuan Yung Fong Foods. Co., Ltd.
    Clear decarbonization targets: 15-20% carbon emission reduction, over 15% energy savings.

    11.Special Prize – Experience: Signature Collection – Black Truffle Tuna by Blaire & Claire Company.
    Rich truffle flavor with elegant minimal packaging and golden spoon detail creating a surprising unboxing moment.

    Other Food Categories:

    12.Gold Award: Mesona Tea by Yuanlin Food Co., Ltd.
    Uses local Taiwanese ingredients; reduced sugar, additive-free; chic packaging blends youthful visuals for market expansion.

    13.Silver Award: Three-Time Roasted Bamboo Salt by DUO LI DUO FOODS CORPORATION.
    Pure, natural, sodium-reduced; artistic floral packaging conveys premium image, adheres to ISO 14067.

    14.Silver Award: Amazake by RUHN CHAN INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD.
    Alcohol-free, sugar-free, additive-free formula with multiple functional ingredients and eco-friendly Japanese minimal packaging.

    15.Special Prize – Evolution: Fragrant Bloom – Taiwanese Blossom Tea by LuYuan Tea
    Rich flavor and layered taste using local spices; block print-style packaging tells tea-making stories.

    16.Special Prize – Decarbonization: Taiwan Corn Snacksby Djulis International Food Company Limited.
    Made with local sweet corn; additive-free, low-burden; reusable packaging and clear decarbonization plan targeting 10% annual carbon reduction.

    17.Special Prize – Experience: BalsaUme by BALSALIA INC.
    De-seeded aged plum blended with balsamic vinegar for a unique aroma; distinctive bottle shape with memorable minimalist packaging aligns with premium brand identity.

    Award Showcase During the Taipei International Food Show
    During the Taipei International Food Show (June 25-28), a dedicated “Fun Food Taiwan” display area (Booth S0123) is set up on the 4th floor of Hall 2, Nangang Exhibition Center. It features physical exhibits of the award-winning products and invites both domestic and international visitors to experience the new charm and high quality of Taiwanese food-paving the way for future global collaboration.

    Spokesperson:
    Deputy Director-General Pei-Li Chen
    Industrial Development Administration
    Tel: +886-2-2754-1255 ext. 2903
    Mobile: +886-925-775-150
    Email: plchen@ida.gov.tw

    Business Contact:
    Section Chief Ku-Sung Weng
    Livelihood Chemical Industry Division
    Industrial Development Administration
    Tel: +886-2-2754-1255 ext. 2301
    Mobile: +886-926-002-537
    Email: ksweng@ida.gov.tw

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI: HERE and Genesys Partner to Tackle Distracted Driving and Deliver Next-Generation Navigation Experiences in India

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • Strategic collaboration brings dynamic maps, real-time traffic updates and integrated safety features to Indian vehicles
    • Partnership supports India’s automotive shift toward software-defined, connected driving experiences

    Mumbai, India – HERE Technologies, the global leader in digital mapping and location data, and Genesys International, a leading Indian geospatial solutions company, have joined forces to radically improve the in-car navigation experience and strengthen road safety efforts across India.

    Together, HERE and Genesys International are planning to develop a next-generation, in-car navigation system that targets distracted driving. The companies are focused on providing Indian drivers with a seamless digital cockpit user experience with rich features that include live map and navigation capabilities, road hazard alerts and real-time traffic information from HERE, alongside integrated Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) functions from Genesys International.

    Approximately 80,000 people are killed in road crashes every year across India, with more than 3,000 fatalities attributed to mobile phone use, according to India’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. This presents a clear opportunity to integrate in-car navigation and the vehicle systems to reduce driver distraction, enhance safety and deliver advanced user experiences.

    A recent HERE survey involving a representative sample of road users across India revealed 98% of respondents expressed concerns about road safety. Furthermore, 91% of respondents believed ADAS functions are key for road safety. The shift toward Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs) and the broader digital transformation in the automotive sector is creating momentum for change. As automakers in India look to match global trends, embedded navigation systems that work seamlessly with a vehicle’s safety and infotainment platforms are becoming essential.

    “There is a clear call from road users in India for more accessible and advanced vehicle safety technologies, including ADAS,” said Deon Newman, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Asia Pacific, at HERE Technologies. “Our collaboration with Genesys International bridges global expertise and local innovation enabling automakers to integrate intelligent, ADAS-ready solutions that support safer, smarter, and more connected driving experiences in India.

    In recent years, Indian automotive manufacturers have begun offering digital navigation systems in newer models. However, solutions have faced challenges in keeping pace with the expectations of today’s drivers. To address this gap, this partnership combines HERE Navigation’s customizable, digital cockpit-ready software with ADAS from Genesys International to deliver a dynamic, intuitive and safe in-vehicle experience. Powered by AI, HERE’s mapping architecture provides real-time updates on road conditions, speed limits, real-time traffic, optimized routes for EV, and charging stations, ensuring precise, context-aware guidance for drivers.

    Commenting on this partnership, Sajid Malik, Chairman & Managing Director of Genesys International Corporation, said: “This partnership with HERE is a significant step in our effort to improve the safety and intelligence of India’s roads. We are combining our India-specific ADAS map technology with HERE’s worldwide navigation platform to assist automakers in offering truly connected, context-aware driving experiences. This strategic partnership supports India’s automotive transition to software-defined, connected mobility by providing Indian cars with integrated safety features, dynamic maps, and real-time traffic updates.”

    HERE has a strong presence in India, with over 3,000 employees working across offices in three major Indian cities. Committed to the principle of “Made in India, for India”, this partnership reinforces the commitment of both companies to support OEMs in shaping the future of mobility in India – one that prioritizes safety, convenience, and real-time intelligence.

    Looking ahead, HERE and Genesys International plan to jointly innovate on advanced mobility solutions focused on keeping drivers safe on the roads in India. As part of their long-term vision and commitment to India, both companies will explore the establishment of a dedicated mobility innovation center in India, where local teams will co-develop and pilot solutions that directly addresses the challenges Indian drivers face daily.

    Customers of HERE include nearly every global automaker, leaders in transportation and logistics, and public sector agencies worldwide. HERE is the global market leader for automotive-grade maps designed to power navigation, advanced driving assistance, EV and automated driving systems. More than 54 million vehicles today rely on maps from HERE for advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving functions. HERE location data and software services have now been used in 222+ million vehicles globally.

    Genesys International Corporation Ltd. is a leading provider of advanced mapping, surveying, and geospatial solutions. With over 23 years of domain expertise and 2,000+ professionals, Genesys delivers high-precision 3D mapping, ADAS-ready HD maps, and cutting-edge digital twin and AI-driven platforms. Headquartered in Mumbai with multiple production centers, Genesys serves a global client base—including Fortune 500 companies and SMEs—across automotive, infrastructure, utilities, and e-governance sectors. As one of the world’s largest LiDAR acquisition and processing firms, Genesys has mapped over 2 million kilometers, powering critical applications in navigation, autonomous systems, and smart mobility, shaping the future of connected, safe, and sustainable transportation.

    Media Contacts

    Genesys International Corporation

    investors@igenesys.com

    Branding Edge

    Shreeya Namjoshi

    +91 7715836283

    shreeya@Brandingedgestrategies.com

    HERE Technologies

    Vanessa Lee

    +65 9188 6199

    Vanessa.lee@here.com

    About Genesys International Corporation

    Genesys International Corporation Ltd is a premier advanced mapping company. With a team of over 2,000 professionals along with the nationwide Genesys constellation of sensors, the company is building the new India map stack. Genesys International has unique expertise, encompassing an understanding of emerging consumer applications related to mapping technology and the capability to provide cutting-edge solutions on the enterprise and government markets.

    About HERE Technologies
    HERE has been a pioneer in mapping and location technology for 40 years. Today, HERE’s location platform is recognized as the most complete in the industry, powering location-based products, services and custom maps for organizations and enterprises across the globe. From autonomous driving and seamless logistics to new mobility experiences, HERE allows its partners and customers to innovate while retaining control over their data and safeguarding privacy. Find out how HERE is moving the world forward at here.com. 

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    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin Slams Republicans’ So-Called “One Big, Beautiful Bill” Which Slashes Health Care Coverage For 17 Million Americans To Provide Massive Tax Breaks For Billionaires

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

    July 08, 2025

    Durbin voted against final passage of the bill last week

    WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today slammed the Republicans’ so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will slash Medicaid, Affordable Care Act, and Medicare coverage for 17 million Americans to provide massive tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. During his speech, Durbin underscored the dangers of this Republican bill, which was signed into law by President Trump on the Fourth of July.

    “Americans across this nation overwhelmingly opposed this bill—and for good reason. This bill signed by the President on the Fourth of July was the largest cut to health care and the largest cut to nutrition assistance in history, slashing more than $1 trillion from health care programs like Medicaid and $200 billion from SNAP. Seventeen million Americans will lose their health insurance, health insurance premiums will rise for another 20 million families, and three million people will have food taken off the table, including kids, seniors, and veterans… Why would the government do these things to so many innocent people? In this case, very simply, to give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and big corporations with the richest Americans seeing $400,000 back in their pockets every year because of this legislation,” said Durbin.

    More than 300 rural hospitals may be forced to close because the Republican bill cripples the Medicaid program that keep our rural hospitals and their communities afloat. Illinois hospitals at risk of closing includes HSHS St. Francis Hospital in Litchfield, Illinois, where Medicaid pays for 53 percent of hospitalizations; St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia, Illinois, where Medicaid pays for 42 percent of hospitalizations; and OSF St. Clare Hospital in Princeton, Illinois, where Medicaid covers 45 percent of hospitalizations.

    Durbin continued, “Aside from hospitals, this bill will also have major consequences on American energy… This bill kills solar, wind, and EV tax credits enjoyed by companies and consumers alike, all but ceding the future of electricity to China and risking billions of dollars of investments in renewable energy, ironically mostly in Republican states. And while working families grapple with the consequences of these cuts, they’ll also see their family home expenses increase by $1,000 a year—utility bills are going up because of this bill.”

    During his floor speech, Durbin highlighted a constituent, Isaiah Rogers, who will be impacted by the Republican bill. Isaiah is a 61-year-old man who was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. As a result of his diagnosis, he has not been able to return to his job trimming trees and has been working small side jobs. Medicaid pays for Isaiah’s doctors’ visits and insulin. A single father without a high school degree, he’s concerned the bill’s cuts and changes to Medicaid will result in him losing his health coverage.

    Durbin continued, “And if Isaiah loses Medicaid, he’ll no longer be able to afford his insulin and other medications, and he may face a diabetic complication or even suffer a stroke. What would that mean for his 12-year-old son? It’s unconscionable to think the other party would pull-the-plug on life-saving health coverage and deny food from our most needy children—but that’s exactly what they voted for.”

    Durbin then highlighted Democrats’ efforts to push back on the bill. Over the course of 27 hours, Senate Democrats forced votes on a slew of amendments to put Republicans on-notice and show their constituents how they’re betraying them. It was the longest vote-a-rama in Senate history.

    “It [the amendments] included Republicans voting against: Nursing home care and home health aides, food assistance for children and veterans, protections for Medicaid, clean energy jobs… and an expansion of the Child Tax Credit… all to give billionaires another tax cut instead. In the end, three sensible Senate Republicans looked at this ugly betrayal of a bill and agreed that they couldn’t be part of the process. I commend them, but sadly, it wasn’t enough. And who swooped in to cast the decisive vote? Vice President Vance… This Vice President cast the deciding vote that will be painful for so many families across America.”

    Durbin concluded, “As the effects of this bill take shape and slither their way through our communities, my Republican colleagues will have to look their constituents in the eye and explain their votes. They will have to explain to the farmer who now must drive 50 miles to the nearest hospital why they voted to shut his community’s hospital doors. They will have to explain to the grandmother in a nursing home why her care is being slimmed down because of cuts to Medicaid, and they will have to explain to the young mother who is preparing to have a baby why there is no longer a maternity ward in her county. This bill flies in the face of American values that we celebrate on the Fourth of July. The other party has a lot of explaining to do and the American people are going to face the consequences.”

    The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that Senate Republicans’ proposal will cost $4.45 trillion, but despite the price tag, the legislation primarily helps billionaires at the expense of American working families. In fact, this legislation provides a huge, permanent tax cut of nearly $350,000 for multimillionaires and billionaires while people earning $40,000 a year will see a comparatively meager average tax decrease of $442 per year.

    Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

    Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

    Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • Supreme Court clears way for Trump to pursue mass federal layoffs

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for Donald Trump’s administration to pursue mass government job cuts and the sweeping downsizing of numerous agencies, a decision that could lead to tens of thousands of layoffs while dramatically reshaping the federal bureaucracy.

    Tuesday’s ruling stemmed from an executive order Trump issued in February ordering agencies to prepare for mass layoffs. At Trump’s direction, the administration has come up with plans to reduce staff at the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, State, Treasury, Veterans Affairs and more than a dozen other agencies.

    In a brief unsigned order, the court said the Trump administration was “likely to succeed” in its argument that his directives were legally within his power.

    The decision is the latest win for Trump’s broader efforts to consolidate power in the executive branch. The Supreme Court has sided with Trump in several cases on an emergency basis since he returned to office in January, including clearing the way for implementation of some of his hardline immigration policies.

    The Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday lifted San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Susan Illston’s order in May that temporarily blocked large-scale federal layoffs while the case proceeded.

    Illston had ruled that Trump exceeded his authority in ordering the government downsizing without consulting Congress, which created and funded the agencies in question.

    “As history demonstrates, the president may broadly restructure federal agencies only when authorized by Congress,” Illston wrote.

    While Tuesday’s decision cleared one major legal obstacle for the White House, the court noted that it was not assessing the legality of any specific layoff plans at federal agencies.

    Those layoff proposals, some of which were submitted earlier this year, could still face legal challenges on a variety of grounds, including union opposition, statutory restrictions and civil service protections.

    The White House said in a statement that the decision is a “definitive victory for the president and his administration” that reinforced Trump’s authority to implement “efficiency across the federal government.”

    However, two White House sources familiar with the matter, who asked to remain unidentified, said the ruling did not permit agencies to execute layoffs immediately. One of the sources said additional delays or legal hurdles “could alter the scope and timing of the cuts.”

    A group of unions, nonprofits and local governments that sued to block the administration’s mass layoffs said the ruling “dealt a serious blow to our democracy and puts services that the American people rely on in grave jeopardy” and vowed to continue fighting as the case proceeds.

    The plaintiffs had warned in court filings that Trump’s plans, if allowed to proceed, would result in hundreds of thousands of layoffs.

    A Reuters/Ipsos poll in April found that Americans narrowly favored Trump’s campaign to downsize the federal government, with about 56% saying they supported the effort and 40% opposed. Their views broke down along party lines, with 89% of Republicans but just 26% of Democrats supportive.

    Some agencies whose downsizing plans had been put on hold said they would resume advancing those efforts.

    “We will continue to move forward with our historic reorganization plan,” the State Department, which has proposed laying off nearly 2,000 employees, said on X.

    DOGE CUTS

    Upon taking office in January, Trump launched a massive campaign to cut the 2.3-million strong federal civilian workforce, led by billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency.

    Musk and his mostly young lieutenants immediately moved into key government agencies, fired workers, gained access to government computer systems and virtually shuttered two agencies – the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

    Trump and Musk said the bloated federal bureaucracy needed to be downsized. Federal workers’ unions and most Democrats say the cuts so far, and the plans for further mass layoffs, have been carried out haphazardly, leading to chaos inside many agencies and threatening important public services such as the processing of Social Security claims.

    By late April, about 100 days into the effort, the government overhaul had resulted in the firing, resignations and early retirements of 260,000 civil servants, according to a Reuters tally.

    Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the sole member of the nine-person court to publicly dissent from Tuesday’s decision, criticizing the “court’s demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this president’s legally dubious actions in an emergency posture.”

    Tuesday’s decision extended Trump’s winning record at the Supreme Court since taking office. The court has let Trump’s administration resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own without offering them a chance to show the harms they could face and end temporary legal status previously granted on humanitarian grounds to hundreds of thousands of migrants.

    In addition, it has allowed Trump to implement his ban on transgender people in the U.S. military, blocked a judge’s order that the administration rehire thousands of fired employees and curbed the power of federal judges to impose nationwide rulings impeding presidential policies.

    Most of these decisions have been issued as emergency orders, known colloquially as the shadow docket, that respond to applications for immediate action from the court.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Money Market Operations as on July 08, 2025

    Source: Reserve Bank of India
    (Amount in ₹ crore, Rate in Per cent)
      Volume
    (One Leg)    		 Weighted
    Average Rate    		 Range
    A. Overnight Segment (I+II+III+IV) 5,95,739.88 5.15 4.00-6.25
         I. Call Money 18,712.20 5.26 4.50-5.35
         II. Triparty Repo 3,90,353.65 5.13 5.09-5.27
         III. Market Repo 1,84,543.48 5.19 4.00-5.40
         IV. Repo in Corporate Bond 2,130.55 5.41 5.35-6.25
    B. Term Segment      
         I. Notice Money** 128.40 5.19 4.90-5.27
         II. Term Money@@ 847.00 – 5.35-5.75
         III. Triparty Repo 3,274.10 5.23 5.12-5.26
         IV. Market Repo 0.00 – –
         V. Repo in Corporate Bond 0.00 – –
      Auction Date Tenor (Days) Maturity Date Amount Current Rate /
    Cut off Rate
    C. Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF), Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) & Standing Deposit Facility (SDF)
    I. Today’s Operations
    1. Fixed Rate          
    2. Variable Rate&          
      (I) Main Operation          
         (a) Repo          
         (b) Reverse Repo          
      (II) Fine Tuning Operations          
         (a) Repo          
         (b) Reverse Repo          
    3. MSF# Tue, 08/07/2025 1 Wed, 09/07/2025 1,072.00 5.75
    4. SDFΔ# Tue, 08/07/2025 1 Wed, 09/07/2025 2,14,021.00 5.25
    5. Net liquidity injected from today’s operations [injection (+)/absorption (-)]*       -2,12,949.00  
    II. Outstanding Operations
    1. Fixed Rate          
    2. Variable Rate&          
      (I) Main Operation          
         (a) Repo          
         (b) Reverse Repo          
      (II) Fine Tuning Operations          
         (a) Repo          
         (b) Reverse Repo Fri, 04/07/2025 7 Fri, 11/07/2025 1,00,010.00 5.47
    3. MSF#          
    4. SDFΔ#          
    D. Standing Liquidity Facility (SLF) Availed from RBI$       5,747.11  
    E. Net liquidity injected from outstanding operations [injection (+)/absorption (-)]*     -94,262.89  
    F. Net liquidity injected (outstanding including today’s operations) [injection (+)/absorption (-)]*     -3,07,211.89  
    G. Cash Reserves Position of Scheduled Commercial Banks
         (i) Cash balances with RBI as on July 08, 2025 9,38,848.80  
         (ii) Average daily cash reserve requirement for the fortnight ending July 11, 2025 9,52,318.00  
    H. Government of India Surplus Cash Balance Reckoned for Auction as on¥ July 08, 2025 0.00  
    I. Net durable liquidity [surplus (+)/deficit (-)] as on June 13, 2025 5,62,116.00  
    @ Based on Reserve Bank of India (RBI) / Clearing Corporation of India Limited (CCIL).
    – Not Applicable / No Transaction.
    ** Relates to uncollateralized transactions of 2 to 14 days tenor.
    @@ Relates to uncollateralized transactions of 15 days to one year tenor.
    $ Includes refinance facilities extended by RBI.
    & As per the Press Release No. 2019-2020/1900 dated February 06, 2020.
    Δ As per the Press Release No. 2022-2023/41 dated April 08, 2022.
    * Net liquidity is calculated as Repo+MSF+SLF-Reverse Repo-SDF.
    ¥ As per the Press Release No. 2014-2015/1971 dated March 19, 2015.
    # As per the Press Release No. 2023-2024/1548 dated December 27, 2023.
    Ajit Prasad          
    Deputy General Manager
    (Communications)    
    Press Release: 2025-2026/678

    MIL OSI Economics –

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

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – 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 –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: ‘Next time bring my daughter’: Barbara Demick reunited a Chinese family with the stolen ‘missing twin’ adopted in the US

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Kathryn Shine, Associate Professor, Journalism, Curtin University

    Reunited twins Esther (left) and Shuangjie Barbara Demick

    At the end of a long road trip through rural China in 2009, American journalist Barbara Demick had an encounter that would change the course of her life. In the previous days, she had interviewed several parents whose children had been forcibly removed from them by government officials. Demick suspected there may be a link between the missing children and China’s booming international adoption industry.

    She had enough for her story, but some instinct compelled her to follow the next lead to remote Gaofeng Village, high in the mountains of Hunan Province.

    Her driver could only take her so far. The dirt road ended at a stream, where she was met by local woman Zanhua Zeng and her daughter Shuangjie. They guided her across a makeshift bridge and into the village where “everything was in the process of falling down or going up”.

    Zanhua Zeng and daughter Shuangjie, meeting Barbara Demick in a moment that would change all their lives.
    Barbara Demick

    There, she learnt about two-year-old Fangfang, daughter of Zanhua and twin sister of Shuangjie, violently taken from her aunt’s care in 2002. Government officials had told the family they were in breach of China’s One Child Policy and were not allowed to keep the baby. They had no idea what had happened to their daughter and sister.

    Zanhua’s parting words were: “Come back again and next time bring my daughter.”

    Review: Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: From China to America, A True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins – Barbara Demick (Text)

    Extraordinary consequences

    At the time, Demick had no premonition of the significance the Zeng family and their story would play in her life – and those of many others. But in writing a front-page report for the Los Angeles Times about the links between China’s stolen children and international adoptions, including a small piece about the missing twin Fangfang, she started a chain of events with extraordinary consequences.

    Fangfang (renamed Esther), in the referral photo supplied by the orphanage.

    For Zanhua and Shuangjie, it would eventually lead to a reunion with Fangfang, accompanied by Demick, who helped organise it. She was to develop an enduring connection with the family – and with Fangfang’s adoptive American family, too.

    Daughters of the Bamboo Grove does what the best stories do: humanises a big issue. In this case, China’s one child policy and the international adoption industry it created.

    Demick’s book is a story of China, and of incomprehensible government control. But as told through this case of the separated twins, it’s also a story of family, identity, loss and resilience.

    It’s personal and moving, but also thoroughly researched, strengthened with compelling and confronting statistics and anecdotes.

    The twins’ meeting as young women was documented by Barbara Demick for the Los Angeles Times.

    Demick outlines the population growth that led to the introduction of the One Child Policy in 1979 and the rise of the State Family Planning Commission, set up to enforce the law limiting most Chinese families to one child.

    “Family Planning morphed into a monstrous organization that dwarfed the police and military in manpower,” she writes. “By the 1990s, it was estimated that eighty-three million Chinese worked at least part-time for Family Planning.” (By comparison, China’s combined armed forces were estimated to number roughly three million at the time.)

    The organisation was “intrusive in the extreme”, with female workers having to report when they had their periods and, in some cases, show their blood-stained sanitary pads. After giving birth to their first child, women were forced to have an IUD or were sterilised.

    People who violated the law received fines of two to six times their annual income. If violators were civil servants, they could lose their jobs. In rural areas, where people were less reliant on government jobs, the policy was implemented with “brute force”.

    People were beaten. Sometimes their homes were demolished or set on fire. “If you violate the policy, your family will be destroyed,” read a sign on a wall not far from the Zeng’s home. Family Planning officials regularly checked even the most remote villages, sometimes tipped off by neighbours.

    If a woman was discovered to be pregnant after having a child, she would be forced to undergo an abortion. The methods were “crude, often barbaric,” Demick writes. “Doctors would sometimes induce labor and then kill the baby with an injection of formaldehyde into the cranium before the feet emerged.”


    Although Chinese people, particularly those from rural communities, often wanted to have bigger families, they had no power to fight the authorities. Those who tried to quietly subvert the system were ruthlessly punished.

    These practices were so common, they were generally accepted. But when government officials started to take babies from families who had defied the policy, resistance grew. Other families started reporting cases like what had happened to Fangfang. Family Planning had forcibly removed children, refusing to provide any details about their whereabouts.

    Officials miscalculated in 2005 when they dared to take a boy, Demick writes. He lived in a town, attended school and was not as poor as some of the other affected families. The school made a complaint, which was supported by a local politician. The boy was returned to his family after 29 days.

    Hearing about this case emboldened other families to mobilise and fight back. These were among the first families Demick met when she travelled to cover the story of the missing children in 2009.

    Child trafficking by ‘good Samaritans’

    In the meantime, news was starting to emerge about the child trafficking of children through Chinese orphanages, with “good Samaritans” who “rescued” babies being paid increasingly large amounts of money. “The orphanages were competing with one another to procure babies,” Demick writes.

    Chinese babies were in high demand for international adoption, and it had become a lucrative business. One Hunan orphanage director later told police they started a service to allow foreigners to adopt babies in 2001; they were charged a US$3,000 cash donation per baby. In some cases, the babies genuinely needed homes and families, Demick writes, but the payment was “in effect a bounty that incentivised a wave of kidnapping of female babies and toddlers”.

    Shaoyang Social Welfare Institute, where Esther spent the last six months of her life in China.
    Barbara Demick

    It gradually became clear that many of the children removed by Family Planning officials were among the wave of Chinese babies and toddlers adopted by families from other countries, all of whom paid significant fees to do so, as well as donating to the orphanages. It was later revealed that orphanages routinely fabricated information about how and where the babies had been reportedly left.

    By the time Demick’s reports were published in 2009, nearly 100,000 babies had been sent out of China, more than half to the US. The worldwide number would reach 160,000 by 2024, when China ended its international adoption program.

    Demick’s story about stolen babies, plus other reports from within China and elsewhere, stunned the international adoption community and parents of Chinese adoptees around the world. Until then, China was perceived to be the most ethical choice for international adoption. For adoptive parents who now feared their adopted children could be taken from them, the revelations were terrifying, Demick says.

    Marsha and Esther (background) in their Texas kitchen.
    Barbara Demick

    One of these parents was a Texan women named Marsha. She and her husband Al had adopted two Chinese girls: Victoria in 1999 and Esther in 2002. Through developing connections among families who had adopted from China, Demick came across Marsha – and realised Esther may be Fangfang: the missing twin.

    She was correct. However, the story was far from resolved, which explains, in part, why Demick had plenty of material for her book.

    Reporter as dogged detective

    Daughters of the Bamboo Grove is a testament to dogged reporting. Demick’s skills as a researcher, interviewer – and effectively, a detective – imbue the book with substance and credibility.

    She handles difficult subject matter sensitively, portraying the Zeng family in China and adoptive mother Marsha in the US with empathy. She acknowledges the challenges they faced and recognises their devotion to their children.

    Her descriptions of the twin sisters, Shuangjie and Esther, are perceptive and gentle. Restraint is a powerful writing tool and Demick uses it here to great effect.

    This is the moment where the twins first meet, outside the Zeng family home in China:

    When everybody was out of the van, the two of them stood next to each other, side by side, facing the photographer. Nobody embraced. Nobody spoke. I imagined the twins as bride and groom in an arranged marriage, meeting for the first time, willing to pose for the photographer but not yet able to engage in conversation.

    Twins Esther (left) and Shaungjie, separated most of their lives, meet for the first time since babyhood.
    Barbara Demick

    Demick came to this story with the perspectives and limitations of an American journalist, but has gone to remarkable lengths to hear and convey the voices of Chinese people impacted by the One Child Policy.

    At the same time, she challenges Western paternalistic ideas around adoption, questioning the view expressed by many she encounters that the Chinese children adopted by Westerners were lucky, guaranteed to have better lives elsewhere.

    China’s One Child Policy was not formally abolished until 2015. In its 35 years, it did almost unimaginable damage, concludes Demick:

    the policy shattered marriages, led to the deaths of countless children and suicides of parents, and left China with a population expected to continue declining into the next century. It was all encompassing, leaving almost everyone a victim or perpetrator or both.

    For the hundreds of thousands of children sent out of China during this period, the legacy of One Child endures. As Demick writes, they are

    citizens of their adopted countries but tethered by blood to another family and country they struggle to comprehend. Living in this in-between space between worlds.

    In dedicating Daughters of the Bamboo Grove to Chinese adoptees around the world, Demick says she hopes in some small way it helps them to understand where they came from, and how they got to where they are today.

    Kathryn Shine 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. ‘Next time bring my daughter’: Barbara Demick reunited a Chinese family with the stolen ‘missing twin’ adopted in the US – https://theconversation.com/next-time-bring-my-daughter-barbara-demick-reunited-a-chinese-family-with-the-stolen-missing-twin-adopted-in-the-us-259993

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: What makes a good AI prompt? Here are 4 expert tips

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Sandra Peter, Director of Sydney Executive Plus, Business School, University of Sydney

    FOTOSPLASH/Shutterstock

    “And do you work well with AI?”

    As tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot and other generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems become part of everyday workflows, more companies are looking for employees who can answer “yes” to this question. In other words, people who can prompt effectively, think with AI, and use it to boost productivity.

    In fact, in a growing number of roles, being “AI fluent” is quickly becoming as important as being proficient in office software once was.

    But we’ve all had that moment when we’ve asked an AI chatbot a question and received what feels like the most generic, surface level answer. The problem isn’t the AI – you just haven’t given it enough to work with.

    Think of it this way. During training, the AI will have “read” virtually everything on the internet. But because it makes predictions, it will give you the most probable, most common response. Without specific guidance, it’s like walking into a restaurant and asking for something good. You’ll likely get the chicken.

    Your solution lies in understanding that AI systems excel at adapting to context, but you have to provide it. So how exactly do you do that?

    Crafting better prompts

    You may have heard the term “prompt engineering”. It might sound like you need to design some kind of technical script to get results.

    But today’s chatbots are great at human conversation. The format of your prompt is not that important. The content is.

    To get the most out of your AI conversations, it’s important that you convey a few basics about what you want, and how you want it. Our approach follows the acronym CATS – context, angle, task and style.

    Context means providing the setting and background information the AI needs. Instead of asking “How do I write a proposal?” try “I’m a nonprofit director writing a grant proposal to a foundation that funds environmental education programs for urban schools”. Upload relevant documents, explain your constraints, and describe your specific situation.

    Angle (or attitude) leverages AI’s strength in role-playing and perspective-taking. Rather than getting a neutral response, specify the attitude you want. For example, “Act as a critical peer reviewer and identify weaknesses in my argument” or “Take the perspective of a supportive mentor helping me improve this draft”.

    Task is specifically about what you actually want the AI to do. “Help me with my presentation” is vague. But “Give me three ways to make my opening slide more engaging for an audience of small business owners” is actionable.

    Style harnesses AI’s ability to adapt to different formats and audiences. Specify whether you want a formal report, a casual email, bullet points for executives, or an explanation suitable for teenagers. Tell the AI what voice you want to use – for example, a formal academic style, technical, engaging or conversational.

    In a growing number of roles, being able to use AI is quickly becoming as important as being proficient in office software once was.
    Shutterstock

    Context is everything

    Besides crafting a clear, effective prompt, you can also focus on managing the surrounding information – that is to say on “context engineering”. Context engineering refers to everything that surrounds the prompt.

    That means thinking about the environment and information the AI has access to: its memory function, instructions leading up to the task, prior conversation history, documents you upload, or examples of what good output looks like.

    You should think about prompting as a conversation. If you’re not happy with the first response, push for more, ask for changes, or provide more clarifying information.

    Don’t expect the AI to give a ready-made response. Instead, use it to trigger your own thinking. If you feel the AI has produced a lot of good material but you get stuck, copy the best parts into a fresh session and ask it to summarise and continue from there.

    Keeping your wits

    A word of caution though. Don’t get seduced by the human-like conversation abilities of these chatbots.

    Always retain your professional distance and remind yourself that you are the only thinking part in this relationship. And always make sure to check the accuracy of anything an AI produces – errors are increasingly common.

    AI systems are remarkably capable, but they need you – and human intelligence – to bridge the gap between their vast generic knowledge and your particular situation. Give them enough context to work with, and they might surprise you with how helpful they can be.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. What makes a good AI prompt? Here are 4 expert tips – https://theconversation.com/what-makes-a-good-ai-prompt-here-are-4-expert-tips-260502

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: WeTrade Earns Australian Financial Licence from ASIC

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LIMASSOL, Cyprus, July 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WeTrade Group, a leading global financial broker, has achieved a significant milestone by securing a licence from the ASIC for its Australian entity, WeTrade Capital (Australia) Pty Ltd (Licence No. 544624). This licence is a key part of WeTrade’s plan to grow in Asia-Pacific and operate with strong regulatory oversight. 

    Trusted Trading, Backed by Australian Regulation 

    The ASIC licence enables WeTrade to provide regulated financial services in Australia, one of the world’s most respected and well-regulated financial markets. This move follows WeTrade’s recent expansion into Europe and demonstrates the company’s ongoing commitment to delivering secure and transparent trading experiences globally. 

    A Word from WeTrade’s CEO: Why This Matters 

    “We are proud to add another prestigious licence to our growing global portfolio. Securing the ASIC licence not only reinforces our reputation as a trusted, multi-asset broker, but also enables us to offer enhanced protection and regulated financial services to more clients worldwide,” said George Miltiadou, CEO of WeTrade. 

    For clients, this matters because regulation by ASIC, one of the world’s most respected financial authorities, means greater trust and accountability. It assures traders that WeTrade operates under strict Australian financial laws, with transparent practices and strong safeguards in place to protect client funds. 

    In an industry where trust is everything, being regulated helps clients trade with greater confidence, knowing they are working with a broker that meets the highest standards of compliance and integrity. 

     In Trust We Trade – Strengthening Global Presence  

    This latest authorisation expands WeTrade’s international regulatory footprint and positions the Group to pursue new opportunities in Australia and surrounding markets. It also underscores the Group’s focus on operating under the supervision of respected regulatory bodies around the world. 

    As WeTrade expands its global reach, the focus remains clear: build a safer, more transparent, and more rewarding trading experience for clients everywhere. 

    About WeTrade 
     
    WeTrade is a globally recognised financial broker, founded in 2015, offering innovative online trading services across a diverse range of CFD instruments. Known for its strong client protection, ultra-low spreads, and award-winning loyalty programs, WeTrade is dedicated to making trading both successful and rewarding. 

    Media Contact

    Organization: WeTrade

    Contact Person Name: CHONG PEI ZHOU

    Website: https://www.wetradebroker.com/

    Email: contactus@wetradebroker.com

    Disclaimer: This press release is provided by WeTrade. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice. Investing in crypto and mining related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector–including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining–complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed. Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility.

    Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2741254a-71f5-4d60-aa06-111ea627393d

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: WeTrade Earns Australian Financial Licence from ASIC

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LIMASSOL, Cyprus, July 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WeTrade Group, a leading global financial broker, has achieved a significant milestone by securing a licence from the ASIC for its Australian entity, WeTrade Capital (Australia) Pty Ltd (Licence No. 544624). This licence is a key part of WeTrade’s plan to grow in Asia-Pacific and operate with strong regulatory oversight. 

    Trusted Trading, Backed by Australian Regulation 

    The ASIC licence enables WeTrade to provide regulated financial services in Australia, one of the world’s most respected and well-regulated financial markets. This move follows WeTrade’s recent expansion into Europe and demonstrates the company’s ongoing commitment to delivering secure and transparent trading experiences globally. 

    A Word from WeTrade’s CEO: Why This Matters 

    “We are proud to add another prestigious licence to our growing global portfolio. Securing the ASIC licence not only reinforces our reputation as a trusted, multi-asset broker, but also enables us to offer enhanced protection and regulated financial services to more clients worldwide,” said George Miltiadou, CEO of WeTrade. 

    For clients, this matters because regulation by ASIC, one of the world’s most respected financial authorities, means greater trust and accountability. It assures traders that WeTrade operates under strict Australian financial laws, with transparent practices and strong safeguards in place to protect client funds. 

    In an industry where trust is everything, being regulated helps clients trade with greater confidence, knowing they are working with a broker that meets the highest standards of compliance and integrity. 

     In Trust We Trade – Strengthening Global Presence  

    This latest authorisation expands WeTrade’s international regulatory footprint and positions the Group to pursue new opportunities in Australia and surrounding markets. It also underscores the Group’s focus on operating under the supervision of respected regulatory bodies around the world. 

    As WeTrade expands its global reach, the focus remains clear: build a safer, more transparent, and more rewarding trading experience for clients everywhere. 

    About WeTrade 
     
    WeTrade is a globally recognised financial broker, founded in 2015, offering innovative online trading services across a diverse range of CFD instruments. Known for its strong client protection, ultra-low spreads, and award-winning loyalty programs, WeTrade is dedicated to making trading both successful and rewarding. 

    Media Contact

    Organization: WeTrade

    Contact Person Name: CHONG PEI ZHOU

    Website: https://www.wetradebroker.com/

    Email: contactus@wetradebroker.com

    Disclaimer: This press release is provided by WeTrade. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice. Investing in crypto and mining related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector–including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining–complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed. Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility.

    Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2741254a-71f5-4d60-aa06-111ea627393d

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Are ‘ghost stores’ haunting your social media feed? How to spot and avoid them

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology

    CC BY

    The offer pops up in your social media feed. The website is professional and the imagery illustrates an Australian coastal region, or chic inner-CBD scene.

    The brand name indicates this exclusive fashion retailer is based in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, or an exclusive enclave such as Double Bay or Byron Bay.

    The businesses have history, having apparently been “established” 30–40 years ago, and a story. The owners have reluctantly decided to close or relocate, resulting in significant discounts.

    However, behind the illusion of prestige and luxury, is cheap, poorly manufactured clothing from Chinese factories.

    The recent growth of these online “ghost stores” has led the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission to issue public warning notices about four websites.

    Everly-melbourne.com, willowandgrace-adelaide.com, sophie-claire.com and doublebayboutique.com are the four named.

    A new type of scam

    The ACCC’s Targeting Scams report estimated Australians lost A$2.74 billion in 2023. Most losses were from investment scams ($1.3 billion), remote access scams ($256 million), and romance scams ($201.1 million).



    Read more:
    3.5 million Australians experienced fraud last year. This could be avoided through 6 simple steps

    However, online ghost store scams are so new, researchers and government agencies have not yet had time to measure the financial impact these businesses are having on consumers or legitimate fashion businesses.

    It is possible a consumer, once stung by a ghost store scam, will be less likely to shop with a legitimate online fashion retailer.

    This type of emerging scam was touched on in a 2015 report called Framework for a Taxonomy of Fraud. The report noted there were businesses selling “worthless or non-existent products”. Their sites made:

    misleading claims about products that are exaggerated, undervalued, or non-existent.

    Since the beginning of 2025, the ACCC reports it has received at least 360 complaints about 60 online ghost retailers. It says many more may be operating across several social media sites.

    Tricky tactics

    Ghost stores use a variety of tactics to attract unsuspecting customers.

    Price: Customers regularly assume higher prices mean higher quality. Most customers seeing a “leather” jacket for $19.74 on Temu would expect low quality. However, a silk maxi-dress from Everly Melbourne reduced from $209.95 to $82.95 – a 60% saving – seems reasonable and reflective of normal mid-season clearance pricing. That fact it’s still priced at more than $80 also implies good quality.

    Cosmopolitan localism: Researchers have reported that so-called cosmopolitan localism fosters meaningful consumer relationships with brands. Consumers are more likely to trust a business based in Melbourne or Byron Bay over one based internationally.

    Adding images of a physical store front creates credibility and “realness”. Customers feel confident to buy from a little business based in Melbourne, Sydney or somewhere well known to them.

    Storytelling: Storytelling can influence shoppers’ emotions and affect purchasing. It helps stimulate deeper emotional connections to a brand. Ghost stores will regularly create a narrative around “going out of business” to justify price discounts and pull on heart-strings.

    Layout: A professionally developed website, with high-quality images, detailed product information, online payment methods and order tracking, creates the illusion of authenticity. Researchers have found luxury brand website designs can create a strong sense of luxury. This increases a willingness to buy.

    How to spot a “ghost”

    When the post indicates “closing today” or “closing down sale ends tonight”, it is very easy to impulsively jump in to take advantage of the savings. However, before you click, check for these red flags:

    1. The website does not provide a contact phone number or physical address for the store. There might just be an email address or web form. Simply entering the suspected store into google maps will indicate no physical location.

    2. The website domain is “.com” rather than “.com.au”. This indicates the store is not an Australian-based business.

    3. Is the business registered? ABN Lookup is the free public view of the Australian Business Register – a quick search will identify that the Double Bay designer isn’t registered locally.

    4. Review platforms, including Trustpilot, often have negative reviews for the business, whereas the business’ website only features very positive reviews.

    5. The images of products or even the owner maybe AI generated. For example, Harry – Melbourne, is apparently an artisan watchmaker. However, simply right-clicking on the image reveals Harry is an AI-generated image.

    A cautionary note

    Online shopping is risky. You can’t physically touch or interact with the product to determine its quality. Three types of risks are common when shopping online. These are performance risk (it doesn’t work, doesn’t fit well, or the quality is poor), financial risk (losing your money on a poor-quality product), and time-loss risk (refund processing takes weeks).

    As such, customers must trust the online retailer to act honestly and describe products accurately. When trust is breached, consumers will naturally become cautious even about legitimate online retailers.

    As ghost stores scams increasingly populate social media feeds, unsuspecting consumers will continue to get caught out. This will leave legitimate retailers exposed to scepticism and mistrust.

    Gary Mortimer receives funding from the Building Employer Confidence and Inclusion in Disability Grant, AusIndustry Entrepreneurs’ Program, National Clothing Textiles Stewardship Scheme, National Retail Association and Australian Retailers Association.

    – ref. Are ‘ghost stores’ haunting your social media feed? How to spot and avoid them – https://theconversation.com/are-ghost-stores-haunting-your-social-media-feed-how-to-spot-and-avoid-them-260583

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Speech by FS at Hong Kong – Korea Capital Markets Conference (English only) (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the Hong Kong – Korea Capital Markets Conference held in Seoul, Korea today (July 9):

    Mr Seo (Chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association, Mr Seo Yoo-seok), Greg (Managing Director and Head of Markets, the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Mr Gregory Yu), Ms Ding Chen (Chief Executive Officer of CSOP Asset Management Limited), ladies and gentlemen,
    Hong Kong: what’s up

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: NZ Post is the latest company to drop its climate targets – another sign business is struggling to decarbonise

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pii-Tuulia Nikula, Associate Professor, School of Business, Eastern Institute of Technology

    Getty Images

    NZ Post committed to cutting its emissions by 32% by 2030 (based on 2018 levels), but recently announced it would abandon its climate target.

    The company was part of the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi), the leading international body allowing businesses worldwide to set and validate targets which they can then promote as backed by science.

    More than 10,000 businesses have joined SBTi and the database currently includes 36 New Zealand businesses with active targets or commitments.

    In recent years, however, well known businesses have been abandoning SBTi. NZ Post’s decision follows Air New Zealand’s announcement to withdraw last year and Auckland Airport’s less publicised decision not to renew its SBTi target.

    NZ Post was one of the early adopters of SBTi in New Zealand. Its initial commitment in 2018 included not only the company’s own direct emissions (known as scope 1) but also purchased energy (scope 2) and other indirect emissions (known as scope 3, such as emissions from air freight or waste disposal).

    In the past few years, NZ Post has signalled its intention to update its target to pursue even greater reductions of 42%. In 2023, it made a commitment to align itself with a pathway to achieve net zero by 2050.

    But the company has now decided to fully withdraw from SBTi. NZ Post’s website announcement states:

    After careful consideration and a thorough assessment of both technical feasibility and financial implications, it has become clear that our target is no longer feasible at a technical level and, given the scale of investment required, under present economic conditions.

    NZ Post seems to have found itself in the contradiction between economic objectives and climate action. Ambitious climate action seems to rarely win such a battle.

    The company was already questioning its ability to meet its SBTi targets in its 2022 and 2023 climate disclosures. Its parcel volumes were growing and it struggled with emissions associated with heavy freight and aviation.

    It also stated its emissions had increased due to the acquisition of Fliway Group, improved supply-chain data, and emission factor changes. This indicated it would struggle to meet even less ambitious climate targets.

    Why this is a problem

    One might commend NZ Post for their transparency in disclosing their decision to withdraw from SBTi. However, so far the announcement hasn’t been included in the company’s media releases and remains tucked away in the sustainability section.

    The broader issue is that businesses can use SBTi to gain reputational value without following up with required decarbonisation. The current SBTi setup has some limitations that allow such behaviour.

    For instance, companies can make an SBTi commitment and promote it for two years before having to submit an actual target for validation. Businesses can also promote their SBTi targets for years without making required progress. Finally, some SBTi businesses provide limited reporting, making assessment of their progress difficult.

    In a 2025 consultation, SBTi acknowledged some of these problems and signalled its plan to enhance tracking and accountability.

    Climate action vs profitability

    There are other issues that make transparency limited. For instance, businesses such as Air New Zealand seem to be able to withdraw from the SBTi and fully disappear from the SBTi public target dashboard, making it difficult to track those that have decided to withdraw.

    While most SBTi businesses are probably not joining the scheme with the intention of “carbonwashing”, the ability of many to meet their targets seems uncertain.

    In business contexts, climate action remains subordinate to profitability and revenue growth objectives. Hence, not many businesses are willing to pursue all potential ways to meet their targets as this would require making difficult decisions around economic objectives.

    Many companies struggle to make progress towards science-based goals or don’t have credible transition plans aligned with the goal to keep overall warming at 1.5°C.

    The question remains whether the current SBTi engagement of businesses genuinely reflects ambitious climate action or whether it is merely designed to give stakeholders the impression of global progress through symbolic commitments.

    In its 2024 climate disclosure NZ Post states:

    The more organisations committed to the science-based reductions, the greater our collective ability to achieve decarbonisation.

    The opposite is true as well. The decision of NZ Post and other companies to drop their SBTi targets may diminish the collective ability of businesses in New Zealand to achieve decarbonisation aligning with global climate goals.

    SBTi’s plan to implement new monitoring and reporting mechanisms would enhance accountability. However, it will not make meeting targets any easier. Committing to and promoting ambitious but potentially unrealistic targets can cause reputational damage.

    A safer pathway for many businesses wanting to do as much as they can within the boundaries of the current economic system may be a public disclosure of their support for climate action, transparency about the actions the business is taking, and providing transparent and detailed emissions reporting.

    Pii-Tuulia Nikula 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. NZ Post is the latest company to drop its climate targets – another sign business is struggling to decarbonise – https://theconversation.com/nz-post-is-the-latest-company-to-drop-its-climate-targets-another-sign-business-is-struggling-to-decarbonise-260589

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Ask the ECB Forum: defence, tariffs and AI – insights from top experts

    Source: European Central Bank (video statements)

    Can an increase in defence spending affect investments in green energy and digital infrastructure? What do US tariff threats mean for the ECB? How does the ECB support smaller countries in the Eurosystem? And is AI an opportunity or a risk for the financial future?

    In the last episode of our Sintra series, our host Stefania Secola takes us on a walk around the ECB Forum and gets top experts to answer your questions.

    The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank.

    Published on 9 July 2025 and recorded during the ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra between 30 June and 2 July 2025.

    In this episode:
    02:05 Defence spending
    Can an increase in defence spending affect investments in green energy and digital infrastructure?

    08:08 Tariffs
    How do US tariff threats affect the economy? What do they mean for the ECB? And what are the opportunities for Europe?

    14:14 Smaller vs. bigger economies in the Eurosystem
    Does the ECB prioritise bigger economies over smaller ones? Do smaller countries, such as Slovenia, benefit from the ECB’s monetary policy?

    18:55 Artificial intelligence
    Is AI an opportunity or a risk for the financial future?

    Further readings:
    Gensler, G., Johnson, S., Panizza, U. and Weder di Mauro, B.: The Economic Consequences of The Second Trump Administration: A Preliminary Assessment
    https://cepr.org/publications/books-and-reports/economic-consequences-second-trump-administration-preliminary

    The ECB Podcast: AI: economic game changer or job taker?

    ECB Instagram
    https://www.instagram.com/europeancentralbank/

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40gWLnVP98U

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Exclusive: Russian-Chinese EXPO is one of the key events influencing the development of trade and economic cooperation — Russian Trade Representative to China

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    Ekaterinburg /Russia/, July 9 /Xinhua/ – The Russian-Chinese EXPO, which is being held for the 9th time, is one of the key events influencing the development of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, said Russian Trade Representative to China Alexey Dakhnovsky.

    “The Russian-Chinese EXPO is one of the key events influencing the development of bilateral trade and economic cooperation,” A. Dakhnovsky said in an interview with the Xinhua news agency.

    According to him, the significance of this event is difficult to overestimate. Russia and China have created a “basis for deepening cooperation, in order to develop industrial cooperation, technology transfer, investment cooperation, in order to work in innovative areas. And it is very important, A. Dakhnovsky is sure, that the Russian-Chinese EXPO is taking place simultaneously with the Innoprom exhibition, the largest exhibition in Russia demonstrating the achievements of Russian industry. “It seems to me that Chinese companies and Russian companies should use the chance they have to intensify bilateral cooperation in new areas,” the trade representative noted.

    Touching on the topic of regional cooperation, he said that the main event of EXPO for many years has been the regional forum, in which representatives of many Chinese and Russian regions participate.

    “We already have quite a lot of agreements between regions on cooperation, on twinning. These agreements need to be translated into a more practical plane, that is, against the background of developing humanitarian cooperation, we should also develop practical things, that is, trade, investment and technological cooperation,” A. Dakhnovsky emphasized. –0–

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

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Xiplomacy: Xi’s reply inspires American, Chinese youths to carry on friendship forged through pickleball

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

    Xi’s reply inspires American, Chinese youths to carry on friendship forged through pickleball

    “We are extremely honored to receive a response from President Xi,” said Jeffrey Sullivan, head of the U.S. youth pickleball cultural exchange delegation from Montgomery County, Maryland.

    Chinese President Xi Jinping recently replied to the delegation’s letter, congratulating them on their successful visit to China. In April, Sullivan led a group of 44 teachers and students from 13 U.S. schools to China under Xi’s “50,000 in Five Years” initiative, which aims to bring 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in a five-year span.

    After visiting Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, the delegation sent a letter to Xi, expressing their gratitude for the initiative, noting they had forged unforgettable friendships with Chinese youths during the trip.

    In his reply, Xi said he was pleased to see that pickleball has become a new bond for youth exchanges between China and the United States. The future of China-U.S. relations depends on the youth, said Xi, expressing the hope that the delegation members will become a new generation of ambassadors for friendship between the two countries and make greater contributions to enhancing the friendship between the two peoples.

    A TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEY

    “Thank you again for your vision and commitment to providing opportunities for our students and our countries to come together and build friendships, relationships and cultural learning opportunities,” the delegation wrote in the letter to Xi.

    Hailing the trip as life-changing, Sullivan said it enabled his delegation to immerse themselves in the Chinese culture and experience interpersonal relationships.

    “That was made possible because of the hospitality of the Chinese people, who opened their doors to us, who served us wonderful food, who had wonderful performances showcasing the culture and traditions of China,” he said, adding, “It (the visit) would be something that we would take with us forever.”

    Echoing Sullivan, Wang Pengfei, one of the initiators of the tour, said, “We want young Americans to see today’s China for themselves.”

    “Every high-five on the court, every hands-on experience in traditional craft workshops and every visit to a high-tech company is reshaping how they perceive China’s development,” said Wang.

    For student Isabella Brant, celebrating her birthday in China was the most memorable part of the trip. She recalled playing pickleball with her Chinese partners on that day, receiving flowers, but more importantly, gaining friendship.

    “Definitely life-changing!” said Brant, adding, “I was a little nervous to go over to China, but it definitely changed my perspective on things and how I viewed everything.”

    NEW BONDS

    “It was an amazing trip for our students to build friendships through sport,” Sullivan said, adding that the exchange between American and Chinese youths during this tour is “not just on the pickleball court, but also off the court.”

    Pickleball, a paddle sport that originated in the United States that blends elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis, is easy to pick up for beginners and has rapidly gained popularity in China.

    According to Sullivan, Montgomery is the first U.S. school district to offer pickleball as a varsity sport, as this activity is fully inclusive and continues to bring people of all ability levels together.

    The Montgomery County public schools have now begun cooperation with Shenzhen Nanshan District Education Bureau, education groups of Beijing Middle School and Beijing No. 10 Middle School to establish long-term partnerships, with pickleball included as a key area of exchange.

    “I witnessed firsthand how the power of sports can transcend borders and bring people from different cultural backgrounds closer together,” said Xie Yuan, a student from Wenhua School in Shenzhen who took part in the event.

    Speaking of the friends she made during the tour, Ella Geary, a student from the delegation, said, “I find it amazing that you can just instantly bond with someone who lives on the other side of the globe.”

    Echoing Geary, Sullivan’s daughter, Reagan Sullivan, also a student from the delegation, depicted the bonds they built as “amazing and unbreakable.”

    Pickleball has become a new bond for building friendships, she said.

    PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE FRIENDSHIP

    In April 1971, a 15-member U.S. table tennis delegation took a historic trip to China, becoming the first delegation of Americans to visit China in decades.

    Recalling the China-U.S. “Ping-Pong Diplomacy” 54 years ago, Sullivan said that sports have a unique power to bring people together.

    Beyond discovering China’s cultural charm and technological innovation, many students played Ping-Pong for the first time. Sullivan said a visit to the China Table Tennis Museum gave them deeper insight into the history of “Ping-Pong Diplomacy,” which once helped bridge U.S.-China relations.

    Upon hearing Xi’s reply, Stephen Mull, former U.S. acting undersecretary of state for political affairs, emphasized the unifying power of sports.

    “It encourages each participant to be the very best version of himself or herself while underscoring the common humanity that binds us all together on the field of play,” he explained.

    “Pickleball has served as a unique and joyful bridge between our two cultures, one that allowed for connection, mutual respect and shared learning. Like your vision, we believe that sports engagement is essential in building the foundation for lasting international friendship,” the delegation wrote in the letter to Xi.

    The vision refers to Xi’s “50,000 in Five Years” initiative, launched in November 2023. Nearly 15,000 American youth visited China by the end of 2024 under the initiative, observing China with their own eyes and traveling the expanse of the country on their own feet.

    “If I had the opportunity, I would definitely go back,” said Joel Geary, a student from the delegation.

    “We are all part of the ‘50,000 in Five Years’ initiative,” said Sun Yuyan, a student who participated in the event from Shanghai Luwan High School, adding, “The future of China-U.S. relations should be a shared future shaped by our generation, one that lives up to the promise of our youth.”

    “I would love to organize additional exchanges and opportunities, whether it’s through pickleball or other sports, using them as a platform to bring people together,” said Sullivan.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Xiplomacy: Xi’s reply inspires American, Chinese youths to carry on friendship forged through pickleball

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

    Xi’s reply inspires American, Chinese youths to carry on friendship forged through pickleball

    “We are extremely honored to receive a response from President Xi,” said Jeffrey Sullivan, head of the U.S. youth pickleball cultural exchange delegation from Montgomery County, Maryland.

    Chinese President Xi Jinping recently replied to the delegation’s letter, congratulating them on their successful visit to China. In April, Sullivan led a group of 44 teachers and students from 13 U.S. schools to China under Xi’s “50,000 in Five Years” initiative, which aims to bring 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in a five-year span.

    After visiting Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, the delegation sent a letter to Xi, expressing their gratitude for the initiative, noting they had forged unforgettable friendships with Chinese youths during the trip.

    In his reply, Xi said he was pleased to see that pickleball has become a new bond for youth exchanges between China and the United States. The future of China-U.S. relations depends on the youth, said Xi, expressing the hope that the delegation members will become a new generation of ambassadors for friendship between the two countries and make greater contributions to enhancing the friendship between the two peoples.

    A TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEY

    “Thank you again for your vision and commitment to providing opportunities for our students and our countries to come together and build friendships, relationships and cultural learning opportunities,” the delegation wrote in the letter to Xi.

    Hailing the trip as life-changing, Sullivan said it enabled his delegation to immerse themselves in the Chinese culture and experience interpersonal relationships.

    “That was made possible because of the hospitality of the Chinese people, who opened their doors to us, who served us wonderful food, who had wonderful performances showcasing the culture and traditions of China,” he said, adding, “It (the visit) would be something that we would take with us forever.”

    Echoing Sullivan, Wang Pengfei, one of the initiators of the tour, said, “We want young Americans to see today’s China for themselves.”

    “Every high-five on the court, every hands-on experience in traditional craft workshops and every visit to a high-tech company is reshaping how they perceive China’s development,” said Wang.

    For student Isabella Brant, celebrating her birthday in China was the most memorable part of the trip. She recalled playing pickleball with her Chinese partners on that day, receiving flowers, but more importantly, gaining friendship.

    “Definitely life-changing!” said Brant, adding, “I was a little nervous to go over to China, but it definitely changed my perspective on things and how I viewed everything.”

    NEW BONDS

    “It was an amazing trip for our students to build friendships through sport,” Sullivan said, adding that the exchange between American and Chinese youths during this tour is “not just on the pickleball court, but also off the court.”

    Pickleball, a paddle sport that originated in the United States that blends elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis, is easy to pick up for beginners and has rapidly gained popularity in China.

    According to Sullivan, Montgomery is the first U.S. school district to offer pickleball as a varsity sport, as this activity is fully inclusive and continues to bring people of all ability levels together.

    The Montgomery County public schools have now begun cooperation with Shenzhen Nanshan District Education Bureau, education groups of Beijing Middle School and Beijing No. 10 Middle School to establish long-term partnerships, with pickleball included as a key area of exchange.

    “I witnessed firsthand how the power of sports can transcend borders and bring people from different cultural backgrounds closer together,” said Xie Yuan, a student from Wenhua School in Shenzhen who took part in the event.

    Speaking of the friends she made during the tour, Ella Geary, a student from the delegation, said, “I find it amazing that you can just instantly bond with someone who lives on the other side of the globe.”

    Echoing Geary, Sullivan’s daughter, Reagan Sullivan, also a student from the delegation, depicted the bonds they built as “amazing and unbreakable.”

    Pickleball has become a new bond for building friendships, she said.

    PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE FRIENDSHIP

    In April 1971, a 15-member U.S. table tennis delegation took a historic trip to China, becoming the first delegation of Americans to visit China in decades.

    Recalling the China-U.S. “Ping-Pong Diplomacy” 54 years ago, Sullivan said that sports have a unique power to bring people together.

    Beyond discovering China’s cultural charm and technological innovation, many students played Ping-Pong for the first time. Sullivan said a visit to the China Table Tennis Museum gave them deeper insight into the history of “Ping-Pong Diplomacy,” which once helped bridge U.S.-China relations.

    Upon hearing Xi’s reply, Stephen Mull, former U.S. acting undersecretary of state for political affairs, emphasized the unifying power of sports.

    “It encourages each participant to be the very best version of himself or herself while underscoring the common humanity that binds us all together on the field of play,” he explained.

    “Pickleball has served as a unique and joyful bridge between our two cultures, one that allowed for connection, mutual respect and shared learning. Like your vision, we believe that sports engagement is essential in building the foundation for lasting international friendship,” the delegation wrote in the letter to Xi.

    The vision refers to Xi’s “50,000 in Five Years” initiative, launched in November 2023. Nearly 15,000 American youth visited China by the end of 2024 under the initiative, observing China with their own eyes and traveling the expanse of the country on their own feet.

    “If I had the opportunity, I would definitely go back,” said Joel Geary, a student from the delegation.

    “We are all part of the ‘50,000 in Five Years’ initiative,” said Sun Yuyan, a student who participated in the event from Shanghai Luwan High School, adding, “The future of China-U.S. relations should be a shared future shaped by our generation, one that lives up to the promise of our youth.”

    “I would love to organize additional exchanges and opportunities, whether it’s through pickleball or other sports, using them as a platform to bring people together,” said Sullivan.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 9, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 9, 2025.

    Teeth record the hidden history of your childhood climate and diet
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya M. Smith, Professor in the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution & Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University Douglas Sacha / Getty Images The climate we live in affects our lives in profound ways: hot summers, cold winters, dry spells and wet weather

    Netflix’s Shark Whisperer wants us to think ‘sexy conservation’ is the way to save sharks – does it have a point?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hopkins, Senior Lecturer in Education (Curriculum and Pedagogy), University of the Sunshine Coast Netflix In the new Netflix documentary Shark Whisperer, the great white shark gets an image makeover – from Jaws villain to misunderstood friend and admirer. But the star of the documentary is not

    How do coronial inquests work? Here’s what they can and can’t do
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marc Trabsky, Associate Professor of Law, Monash University Northern Territory Coroner Elizabeth Armitage’s inquest findings into the death of Kumanjayi Walker have sparked conversations across Australia. The coroner found the NT police officer who shot Walker, Zachary Rolfe, was “racist”, and she couldn’t exclude the possibility that

    Greek and Roman nymphs weren’t just sexy nature spirits. They had other important jobs too
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kitty Smith, PhD Candidate in Classical Greek and Roman History, University of Sydney Acteon, having accidentally seen the goddess Diana and her nymphs bathing, begins to change into a stag. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. George S. Amory, Object Number: 64.208. Could you ever be

    American science is in crisis. It’s a great opportunity for Australia to snap up top scientists
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kylie Walker, Visiting Fellow, National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University Stellalevi / Getty Images Science in the United States in in trouble. The National Science Foundation, a key research funding agency, has suffered devastating funding cuts under the current administration. Critics say

    Some young people sexually abuse. Here’s how to reduce reoffending by up to 90%
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jesse Cale, Associate Professor of Criminology, Deputy Director Research (Griffith Youth Forensic Service), Griffith University When we think about who’s responsible for sexual abuse in Australia, we usually picture adults. But young people are responsible for a substantial proportion of sexual offences nationwide. Up to a third

    XFG could become the next dominant COVID variant. Here’s what to know about ‘Stratus’
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Griffin, Professor, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, The University of Queensland visualspace/Getty Images Given the number of times this has happened already, it should come as little surprise that we’re now faced with yet another new subvariant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID. This new subvariant

    Can a pizza box go in the yellow bin – or not? An expert answers this and other messy recycling questions
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pooria Pasbakhsh, Research Fellow in Polymer Upcycling, The University of Melbourne ViDCan/Shutterstock Have you ever gone to toss something into the recycling bin – a jam jar, a pizza box, a takeaway container encrusted with yesterday’s lunch – and wondered if you’re doing it right? Perhaps you

    AI is driving down the price of knowledge – universities have to rethink what they offer
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Dodd, Professional Teaching Fellow, Business School, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau For a long time, universities worked off a simple idea: knowledge was scarce. You paid for tuition, showed up to lectures, completed assignments and eventually earned a credential. That process did two things: it

    Academic slams NZ government over ‘compromised’ foreign policy
    Asia Pacific Report A prominent academic has criticised the New Zealand coalition government for compromising the country’s traditional commitment to upholding an international rules-based order due to a “desire not to offend” the Trump administration. Professor Robert Patman, an inaugural sesquicentennial distinguished chair and a specialist in international relations at the University of Otago, has

    Interest rates are on hold at 3.85%, as the Reserve Bank opts for caution over mortgage relief
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stella Huangfu, Associate Professor, School of Economics, University of Sydney Thurtell/Getty Images The Reserve Bank of Australia has kept the cash rate at 3.85%, after cutting it in February and May. Those earlier moves were aimed at supporting the economy as growth slowed and inflation eased. This

    The US has high hopes for a new Gaza ceasefire, but Israel’s long-term aims seem far less peaceful
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ali Mamouri, Research Fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University US President Donald Trump has hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for dinner at the White House, where he has declared talks to end the war in Gaza are “going along very well”. In turn, Netanyahu revealed he

    What makes a good AI prompt? Here are 4 expert tips
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sandra Peter, Director of Sydney Executive Plus, Business School, University of Sydney FOTOSPLASH/Shutterstock “And do you work well with AI?” As tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot and other generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems become part of everyday workflows, more companies are looking for employees who can answer

    Saying goodbye is never easy: why we mourn the end of our favourite TV series
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Gerace, Senior Lecturer and Head of Course – Positive Psychology, CQUniversity Australia Netflix Has the ending of Squid Game left you feeling downhearted? The South Korean megahit struck a nerve with audiences worldwide, with millions logging in to Netflix to follow protagonist Seong Gi-hun and fellow

    Are chemicals to blame for cancer in young people? Here’s what the evidence says
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) Cancer is traditionally known as a disease affecting mostly older people. But some worrying trends show cancer rates in younger people aged under 50 are on the

    ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 8, 2025
    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 8, 2025.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 9, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 9, 2025.

    Teeth record the hidden history of your childhood climate and diet
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya M. Smith, Professor in the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution & Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University Douglas Sacha / Getty Images The climate we live in affects our lives in profound ways: hot summers, cold winters, dry spells and wet weather

    Netflix’s Shark Whisperer wants us to think ‘sexy conservation’ is the way to save sharks – does it have a point?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hopkins, Senior Lecturer in Education (Curriculum and Pedagogy), University of the Sunshine Coast Netflix In the new Netflix documentary Shark Whisperer, the great white shark gets an image makeover – from Jaws villain to misunderstood friend and admirer. But the star of the documentary is not

    How do coronial inquests work? Here’s what they can and can’t do
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marc Trabsky, Associate Professor of Law, Monash University Northern Territory Coroner Elizabeth Armitage’s inquest findings into the death of Kumanjayi Walker have sparked conversations across Australia. The coroner found the NT police officer who shot Walker, Zachary Rolfe, was “racist”, and she couldn’t exclude the possibility that

    Greek and Roman nymphs weren’t just sexy nature spirits. They had other important jobs too
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kitty Smith, PhD Candidate in Classical Greek and Roman History, University of Sydney Acteon, having accidentally seen the goddess Diana and her nymphs bathing, begins to change into a stag. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. George S. Amory, Object Number: 64.208. Could you ever be

    American science is in crisis. It’s a great opportunity for Australia to snap up top scientists
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kylie Walker, Visiting Fellow, National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University Stellalevi / Getty Images Science in the United States in in trouble. The National Science Foundation, a key research funding agency, has suffered devastating funding cuts under the current administration. Critics say

    Some young people sexually abuse. Here’s how to reduce reoffending by up to 90%
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jesse Cale, Associate Professor of Criminology, Deputy Director Research (Griffith Youth Forensic Service), Griffith University When we think about who’s responsible for sexual abuse in Australia, we usually picture adults. But young people are responsible for a substantial proportion of sexual offences nationwide. Up to a third

    XFG could become the next dominant COVID variant. Here’s what to know about ‘Stratus’
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Griffin, Professor, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, The University of Queensland visualspace/Getty Images Given the number of times this has happened already, it should come as little surprise that we’re now faced with yet another new subvariant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID. This new subvariant

    Can a pizza box go in the yellow bin – or not? An expert answers this and other messy recycling questions
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pooria Pasbakhsh, Research Fellow in Polymer Upcycling, The University of Melbourne ViDCan/Shutterstock Have you ever gone to toss something into the recycling bin – a jam jar, a pizza box, a takeaway container encrusted with yesterday’s lunch – and wondered if you’re doing it right? Perhaps you

    AI is driving down the price of knowledge – universities have to rethink what they offer
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Dodd, Professional Teaching Fellow, Business School, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau For a long time, universities worked off a simple idea: knowledge was scarce. You paid for tuition, showed up to lectures, completed assignments and eventually earned a credential. That process did two things: it

    Academic slams NZ government over ‘compromised’ foreign policy
    Asia Pacific Report A prominent academic has criticised the New Zealand coalition government for compromising the country’s traditional commitment to upholding an international rules-based order due to a “desire not to offend” the Trump administration. Professor Robert Patman, an inaugural sesquicentennial distinguished chair and a specialist in international relations at the University of Otago, has

    Interest rates are on hold at 3.85%, as the Reserve Bank opts for caution over mortgage relief
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stella Huangfu, Associate Professor, School of Economics, University of Sydney Thurtell/Getty Images The Reserve Bank of Australia has kept the cash rate at 3.85%, after cutting it in February and May. Those earlier moves were aimed at supporting the economy as growth slowed and inflation eased. This

    The US has high hopes for a new Gaza ceasefire, but Israel’s long-term aims seem far less peaceful
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ali Mamouri, Research Fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University US President Donald Trump has hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for dinner at the White House, where he has declared talks to end the war in Gaza are “going along very well”. In turn, Netanyahu revealed he

    What makes a good AI prompt? Here are 4 expert tips
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sandra Peter, Director of Sydney Executive Plus, Business School, University of Sydney FOTOSPLASH/Shutterstock “And do you work well with AI?” As tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot and other generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems become part of everyday workflows, more companies are looking for employees who can answer

    Saying goodbye is never easy: why we mourn the end of our favourite TV series
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Gerace, Senior Lecturer and Head of Course – Positive Psychology, CQUniversity Australia Netflix Has the ending of Squid Game left you feeling downhearted? The South Korean megahit struck a nerve with audiences worldwide, with millions logging in to Netflix to follow protagonist Seong Gi-hun and fellow

    Are chemicals to blame for cancer in young people? Here’s what the evidence says
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) Cancer is traditionally known as a disease affecting mostly older people. But some worrying trends show cancer rates in younger people aged under 50 are on the

    ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 8, 2025
    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 8, 2025.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: A new direction “Integration of solutions using artificial intelligence technologies” has opened at the Higher College of Informatics of NSU

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Novosibirsk State University –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    The Higher College of Informatics of Novosibirsk State University has received a license and is opening a new specialty, “Integration of Solutions Using Artificial Intelligence Technologies.” This is a modern secondary vocational education (SVE) program aimed at training qualified specialists in working with AI. Recruitment for the new program has already started and will amount to up to 30 people. The training is designed for a period of 3 years and 10 months in full-time form.

    Graduates of the program will receive the qualification of “artificial intelligence specialist” and acquire skills in developing, integrating and implementing AI solutions in various fields: industry, medicine, education, finance and service industries. During the training, students will study the basics of artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data processing, as well as working with intelligent systems and robotics.

    — Our new program is different in that students will work on real cases of industrial partners, train neural networks on the most productive graphics cluster beyond the Urals — this is the pilot cluster of the Lavrentyev supercomputer center, which we launched in 2024. The teachers will be research associates of the NSU Research Center for Artificial Intelligence — leading experts in AI in our country. From this point of view, our program is unique: no other educational institution of secondary vocational education in our region provides such opportunities, — says Alexey Okunev, director of the Higher College of Informatics at NSU.

    Those who enroll in the new program will gain the skills of training, customizing, and implementing products based on artificial intelligence. The development of new artificial intelligence tools will be taught in this program, which distinguishes it from other programs presented at the NSU VKI.

    A new direction has just appeared: the Higher College of Informatics of NSU received a license in June of this year. Recruitment is conducted on a fee-paying basis based on 9 classes, next year it is planned to receive budget places.

    The NSU VKI has already noted a great deal of interest in the program, although recruitment was only recently announced. One of the reasons is the high demand on the market for specialists who can work with AI. Some IT companies, when hiring, require programming skills using AI assistants. And the new program teaches how to use artificial intelligence in professional work.

    — The demand for process automation using artificial intelligence exceeds the supply of specialists on the market. In the field of AI, even graduates with the skills of a beginner programmer can find good vacancies. It is important to note that we do not need those who are doing “my first project on YOLO”. We need specialists in optimizing the performance of AI solutions, their integration with other IT products. The use of artificial intelligence on autonomous and robotic devices is also gaining popularity, — adds Alexey Okunev.

    NSU VKI teachers closely follow trends in both products and market applications of artificial intelligence. Therefore, the new direction has great prospects for further development.

    — Now, in addition to autonomous AI, prompt engineering is gaining popularity, that is, the creation of effective and accurate prompts (hints) for working with large language models (Large Language Model, LLM); as well as information search using Retrieval Augmented Generation (generation supplemented by search), when LLMs respond to a request based on data obtained as a result of searching in external sources. In the near future, we hope to implement these, currently advanced, developments in our courses, — adds Alexey Okunev.

    The admissions campaign for the 2025–2026 academic year in four specialties is ongoing at the NSU Higher College of Informatics.

    For all questions related to admission, you can contact the admissions office of VKI NSU: by mail Admission@mer.K. NSU.ru and phone: 7 (383) 373-11-61

    Up-to-date information, as well as answers to questions of interest, can be obtained in official group of VKI NSU on VKontakte

     

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

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Netflix’s Shark Whisperer wants us to think ‘sexy conservation’ is the way to save sharks – does it have a point?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hopkins, Senior Lecturer in Education (Curriculum and Pedagogy), University of the Sunshine Coast

    Netflix

    In the new Netflix documentary Shark Whisperer, the great white shark gets an image makeover – from Jaws villain to misunderstood friend and admirer.

    But the star of the documentary is not so much the shark, but the model and marine conservationist Ocean Ramsey (yes, that’s her real name).

    The film centres on Ramsey’s self-growth journey, with the shark co-starring as a quasi-spiritual medium for finding meaning and purpose (not to mention celebrity status).

    The film, and some in it, are happy to attribute Ramsey’s success as a shark conservation activist to how driven and photogenic she is. Ramsey says “People look first and listen second. I’ll use my appearance, I’ll put myself out there for a cause.”

    Her husband, the photographer Juan Oliphant, enthuses she is good for sharks partly because she is so beautiful and uses all the attention she attracts in the selfless service of sharks.

    The image of the long-haired, long-limbed young woman in a bikini swimming above an outsized great white shark is not a new one.

    Primal fears and fantasies

    Since Jaws (1975), generations have been fascinated and titillated by filmic images and promotional materials of bikini-clad young women juxtaposed with dangerous sharks.

    The heroine of Deep Blue Sea (1999) is a neuroscientist – however the film and its promotional materials still require her to appear in a wet t-shirt and underwear while pursued by a massive shark monster.

    The poster for 1999’s Deep Blue Sea.
    IMDB

    The Shallows (2016) presents countless images of its bikini-clad heroine, with partially exposed bottom and long legs marked by bite marks as a kind of meat to be consumed – not least by the voyeuristic lens of the camera.

    The poster for 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019) features a bikini-clad young woman with legs dangling precariously in front of the gaping jaws of an unnaturally large great white.

    I have previously explored the psychosexual symbolism of these films and images. These films were never really about actual sharks. They are about very human fears and fantasies about being exposed and vulnerable.

    Whisperer and the Ocean Ramsey website tap into the collective fascination with dangerous sharks fuelled by popular culture. Many online images show Ramsey in a bikini or touching sharks – she’s small, and vulnerable in the face of great whites. As with forms of celebrity humanitarianism, what I have dubbed “sexy conservationism” leaves itself open to criticism about its methods – even if its intentions are good.

    The paradox of Shark Whisperer – and indeed the whole Ocean Ramsey empire – is it both resists and relies on Jaws mythology and iconography to surf the image economy of new media.

    Saving, not stalking

    Ramsey and Oliphant are on a mission not just to save individual sharks, but to change the public perception of great whites to a more positive one.

    This mission is reiterated in Shark Whisperer and in the Saving Jaws documentary linked to the website, which also promotes a book, accessories and shark-diving tours.

    Shark Whisperer both resists and relies on the mythical status of the shark brought to us by Jaws.
    Netflix

    It is reassuring to know proceeds from the bikini you buy from the official website are donated to shark conservation. But the (often sexualised) media attention which fuels the whole enterprise still depends on tapping into the legacy of popular culture representations of great whites as fearsome monsters.

    In footage, Ramsey seems to spend most of her time with smaller tiger sharks, yet her website and the Shark Whisperer film foreground her rare close encounters with an “enormous” or “massive” great white as the climax and cover shot.

    Shark Whisperer also includes the kind of “money shots” we have come to expect: images of a large great white tearing at flesh (here, a whale carcass) with blood in the water. Images like these arouse our collective cultural memory of the filmic great white as the ultimate bestial predator.

    In its climactic scene, Whisperer strategically deploys eerie music to build the suspense and foretell the appearance of the enormous great white which rises from the depths. Again echoes of Jaws are used to stimulate viewing pleasures and sell the mixed messages of sexy shark conservation.

    A story of (personal) growth

    The self-growth narrative which underpins Whisperer will feel familiar to shark film fans. Jaws was always about overcoming fears and past traumas, as in the scene where Quint and Brody compare their real and metaphorical scars.

    The poster for the 2022 film Shark Bait.
    IMDB

    Over the past decade, a new generation of post-feminist shark films have used sharks as metaphorical stalkers to tell stories about women overcoming past trauma, grief, “inner darkness” or depression.

    In The Reef: Stalked (2022) the heroine must overcome the murder of her sister. In Shark Bait (2022) the heroine must rise above a cheating partner. In The Shallows, the heroine is processing grief.

    Whisperer also leans into the idea of Ramsey fighting inner demons on a journey to self-actualisation.

    And while Ramsey has undoubtedly raised the profile of shark conservation, as a model-designer-conservationist-entrepreneur she has also disseminated another more dubious message: that the way to enact influence and activism is through instagrammable images of beautiful models in high risk situations.

    Happy endings

    The end credits of Whisperer are a montage of happy endings: Ramsey frolics with sharks and shows off her diamond ring. There is even an ocean-themed wedding scene.

    Yet beneath all the glossy surface lies a sombre reality: globally at least 80 million sharks are killed every year.

    The Ramsey website and the film rightly remind us of this. They also remind us that, thanks in part to the hashtag activism of Ocean Ramsey and her millions of fans and followers, Hawaii was the first state in the United States to outlaw shark fishing.

    So, Ramsey may be right to argue her ends justify the means.

    Susan Hopkins 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. Netflix’s Shark Whisperer wants us to think ‘sexy conservation’ is the way to save sharks – does it have a point? – https://theconversation.com/netflixs-shark-whisperer-wants-us-to-think-sexy-conservation-is-the-way-to-save-sharks-does-it-have-a-point-260290

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Netflix’s Shark Whisperer wants us to think ‘sexy conservation’ is the way to save sharks – does it have a point?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Susan Hopkins, Senior Lecturer in Education (Curriculum and Pedagogy), University of the Sunshine Coast

    Netflix

    In the new Netflix documentary Shark Whisperer, the great white shark gets an image makeover – from Jaws villain to misunderstood friend and admirer.

    But the star of the documentary is not so much the shark, but the model and marine conservationist Ocean Ramsey (yes, that’s her real name).

    The film centres on Ramsey’s self-growth journey, with the shark co-starring as a quasi-spiritual medium for finding meaning and purpose (not to mention celebrity status).

    The film, and some in it, are happy to attribute Ramsey’s success as a shark conservation activist to how driven and photogenic she is. Ramsey says “People look first and listen second. I’ll use my appearance, I’ll put myself out there for a cause.”

    Her husband, the photographer Juan Oliphant, enthuses she is good for sharks partly because she is so beautiful and uses all the attention she attracts in the selfless service of sharks.

    The image of the long-haired, long-limbed young woman in a bikini swimming above an outsized great white shark is not a new one.

    Primal fears and fantasies

    Since Jaws (1975), generations have been fascinated and titillated by filmic images and promotional materials of bikini-clad young women juxtaposed with dangerous sharks.

    The heroine of Deep Blue Sea (1999) is a neuroscientist – however the film and its promotional materials still require her to appear in a wet t-shirt and underwear while pursued by a massive shark monster.

    The poster for 1999’s Deep Blue Sea.
    IMDB

    The Shallows (2016) presents countless images of its bikini-clad heroine, with partially exposed bottom and long legs marked by bite marks as a kind of meat to be consumed – not least by the voyeuristic lens of the camera.

    The poster for 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019) features a bikini-clad young woman with legs dangling precariously in front of the gaping jaws of an unnaturally large great white.

    I have previously explored the psychosexual symbolism of these films and images. These films were never really about actual sharks. They are about very human fears and fantasies about being exposed and vulnerable.

    Whisperer and the Ocean Ramsey website tap into the collective fascination with dangerous sharks fuelled by popular culture. Many online images show Ramsey in a bikini or touching sharks – she’s small, and vulnerable in the face of great whites. As with forms of celebrity humanitarianism, what I have dubbed “sexy conservationism” leaves itself open to criticism about its methods – even if its intentions are good.

    The paradox of Shark Whisperer – and indeed the whole Ocean Ramsey empire – is it both resists and relies on Jaws mythology and iconography to surf the image economy of new media.

    Saving, not stalking

    Ramsey and Oliphant are on a mission not just to save individual sharks, but to change the public perception of great whites to a more positive one.

    This mission is reiterated in Shark Whisperer and in the Saving Jaws documentary linked to the website, which also promotes a book, accessories and shark-diving tours.

    Shark Whisperer both resists and relies on the mythical status of the shark brought to us by Jaws.
    Netflix

    It is reassuring to know proceeds from the bikini you buy from the official website are donated to shark conservation. But the (often sexualised) media attention which fuels the whole enterprise still depends on tapping into the legacy of popular culture representations of great whites as fearsome monsters.

    In footage, Ramsey seems to spend most of her time with smaller tiger sharks, yet her website and the Shark Whisperer film foreground her rare close encounters with an “enormous” or “massive” great white as the climax and cover shot.

    Shark Whisperer also includes the kind of “money shots” we have come to expect: images of a large great white tearing at flesh (here, a whale carcass) with blood in the water. Images like these arouse our collective cultural memory of the filmic great white as the ultimate bestial predator.

    In its climactic scene, Whisperer strategically deploys eerie music to build the suspense and foretell the appearance of the enormous great white which rises from the depths. Again echoes of Jaws are used to stimulate viewing pleasures and sell the mixed messages of sexy shark conservation.

    A story of (personal) growth

    The self-growth narrative which underpins Whisperer will feel familiar to shark film fans. Jaws was always about overcoming fears and past traumas, as in the scene where Quint and Brody compare their real and metaphorical scars.

    The poster for the 2022 film Shark Bait.
    IMDB

    Over the past decade, a new generation of post-feminist shark films have used sharks as metaphorical stalkers to tell stories about women overcoming past trauma, grief, “inner darkness” or depression.

    In The Reef: Stalked (2022) the heroine must overcome the murder of her sister. In Shark Bait (2022) the heroine must rise above a cheating partner. In The Shallows, the heroine is processing grief.

    Whisperer also leans into the idea of Ramsey fighting inner demons on a journey to self-actualisation.

    And while Ramsey has undoubtedly raised the profile of shark conservation, as a model-designer-conservationist-entrepreneur she has also disseminated another more dubious message: that the way to enact influence and activism is through instagrammable images of beautiful models in high risk situations.

    Happy endings

    The end credits of Whisperer are a montage of happy endings: Ramsey frolics with sharks and shows off her diamond ring. There is even an ocean-themed wedding scene.

    Yet beneath all the glossy surface lies a sombre reality: globally at least 80 million sharks are killed every year.

    The Ramsey website and the film rightly remind us of this. They also remind us that, thanks in part to the hashtag activism of Ocean Ramsey and her millions of fans and followers, Hawaii was the first state in the United States to outlaw shark fishing.

    So, Ramsey may be right to argue her ends justify the means.

    Susan Hopkins 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. Netflix’s Shark Whisperer wants us to think ‘sexy conservation’ is the way to save sharks – does it have a point? – https://theconversation.com/netflixs-shark-whisperer-wants-us-to-think-sexy-conservation-is-the-way-to-save-sharks-does-it-have-a-point-260290

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Greek and Roman nymphs weren’t just sexy nature spirits. They had other important jobs too

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Kitty Smith, PhD Candidate in Classical Greek and Roman History, University of Sydney

    Acteon, having accidentally seen the goddess Diana and her nymphs bathing, begins to change into a stag. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. George S. Amory, Object Number: 64.208.

    Could you ever be truly alone in the woods of ancient Greece or Rome? According to myth, the ancient world was filled with wild animals, terrifying monsters, and mischievous deities. Among them were nymphs: semi-divine female figures that personified elements of the natural world.

    But nymphs offer us more than just stories of sexy nature spirits.

    They can reveal how ancient people thought about their world and connected with their landscape through mythology.

    Personifying elements of nature

    Nymph was a broad category in myth. It encompassed almost every semi-divine woman and girl in myth, including a number of goddesses. The sea goddess Thetis and the underworld river Styx were both sea nymphs as well as goddesses.

    Nymphs were typically portrayed as young, exceptionally beautiful women in art and literature. The word “nymph” in ancient Greek could even be used to mean “young girl” or “unmarried woman” when applied to mortal women.

    Despite this etymological connection, many nymphs were married or mothers or gods. Amphitrite was the wife of Poseidon, and her sister Metis, the personification of wisdom, was Zeus’ first wife, according to Hesiod’s Theogony. Maia was the mother of Hermes, the messenger god.

    What links all nymphs was their connection with the natural world. Nymphs typically personified elements of nature, like bodies of water, mountains, forests, the weather, or specific plants.

    This carving derives from a passage in The Iliad that describes the nereid Thetis, mother of the hero Achilles, and other nereids carrying newly forged armour to her son.
    The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Bothmer Purchase Fund, 1993, Object Number: 1993.11.2

    The nymph Daphne

    One of the most quintessential nymphs was Daphne (or Laurel, in Latin). According to the Roman poet Ovid in his poem the Metamorphoses, Daphne was a stunningly beautiful nymph who lived in the forest.

    Daphne had chosen to follow in the footsteps of Artemis (Diana), the goddess of the hunt, by being a huntress and abstaining from sex and marriage. But her beauty would be her downfall.

    One day the god Apollo saw Daphne and immediately tried to pursue her. Daphne did not feel similarly and fled through the forest. Apollo chased and nearly caught her.

    But Daphne’s father Peneus, a river god, saved his daughter by transforming her into the laurel tree.

    Like many nymphs, Daphne’s myth was an origin story for her namesake tree and its significance to the god Apollo.

    But her story also followed one of the most common tropes in nymph myths – the trope a nymph transformed into her namesake after running away from a male deity.

    Different nymphs for trees, water, mountains, stars

    There were even special names for different types of nymph.

    Daphne was a dryad, or tree nymph. Oreads (mountain nymphs) are referenced in Homer’s Iliad. There were three different types of water nymph: the saltwater oceanids and nereids, and the freshwater naiads.

    Nymphs lived in the wilderness. These untamed places could be dangerous but they also held precious natural resources that nymphs personified, such as special trees and springs.

    Spring nymphs personified one of the most precious resources of all: freshwater.

    It was hard to find freshwater in the ancient world, especially in places without human infrastructure. Cities were often built around springs.

    The nymph Arethusa was the personification of the spring Arethusa in Sicily. Today, you can visit the Fountain of Arethusa in modern day Syracuse.

    No matter where you looked in the ancient landscape, there were nymphs – even in the sky.

    The Pleiades and Hyades were two sets of daughters of the god Atlas who eventually were transformed into stars.

    Their myths gave an origin for two sets of constellations that were used for navigation and divination.

    The Pleiades and Hyades constellations were visible to the naked eye, and can still be seen today.

    This painting depicts the god Bacchus (the Roman equivalent of the wine god Dionysus) lounging with some nymphs in a landscape.
    Abraham van Cuylenborch/The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Object Number: 25.110.37

    The divine presence in nature

    Although myths may feel like a fictional story told to kids, nymph myths show that ancient myth is inseparable from the ancient landscape and ancient people.

    The natural world was imbued with a divine presence from the gods who physically made it – Gaia (Earth) was literally the soil underfoot. Nymphs were a part of this divine presence.

    This divine presence brought with it a very special boon: the gift of inspiration.

    Some writers (such as Plato) referred to this sort of natural inspiration as being “seized by the nymphs” (νυμφόληπτος or nympholeptus).

    Being present in nature and present in places with nymphs could bring about divine inspiration for philosophers, poets and artists alike.

    So, if you ever do find yourself alone in a Grecian wood, you may find yourself inspired and in good company – as long as you remain respectful.

    Kitty Smith is a member of the Australian Society for Classical Studies and of Australasian Women in Ancient World Studies.

    – ref. Greek and Roman nymphs weren’t just sexy nature spirits. They had other important jobs too – https://theconversation.com/greek-and-roman-nymphs-werent-just-sexy-nature-spirits-they-had-other-important-jobs-too-258287

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: AI is driving down the price of knowledge – universities have to rethink what they offer

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Patrick Dodd, Professional Teaching Fellow, Business School, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

    For a long time, universities worked off a simple idea: knowledge was scarce. You paid for tuition, showed up to lectures, completed assignments and eventually earned a credential.

    That process did two things: it gave you access to knowledge that was hard to find elsewhere, and it signalled to employers you had invested time and effort to master that knowledge.

    The model worked because the supply curve for high-quality information sat far to the left, meaning knowledge was scarce and the price – tuition and wage premiums – stayed high.

    Now the curve has shifted right, as the graph below illustrates. When supply moves right – that is, something becomes more accessible – the new intersection with demand sits lower on the price axis. This is why tuition premiums and graduate wage advantages are now under pressure.

    According to global consultancy McKinsey, generative AI could add between US$2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion in annual global productivity. Why? Because AI drives the marginal cost of producing and organising information toward zero.

    Large language models no longer just retrieve facts; they explain, translate, summarise and draft almost instantly. When supply explodes like that, basic economics says price falls. The “knowledge premium” universities have long sold is deflating as a result.

    Employers have already made their move

    Markets react faster than curriculums. Since ChatGPT launched, entry-level job listings in the United Kingdom have fallen by about a third. In the United States, several states are removing degree requirements from public-sector roles.

    In Maryland, for instance, the share of state-government job ads requiring a degree slid from roughly 68% to 53% between 2022 and 2024.

    In economic terms, employers are repricing labour because AI is now a substitute for many routine, codifiable tasks that graduates once performed. If a chatbot can complete the work at near-zero marginal cost, the wage premium paid to a junior analyst shrinks.

    But the value of knowledge is not falling at the same speed everywhere. Economists such as David Autor and Daron Acemoglu point out that technology substitutes for some tasks while complementing others:

    • codifiable knowledge – structured, rule-based material such as tax codes or contract templates – faces rapid substitution by AI

    • tacit knowledge – contextual skills such as leading a team through conflict – acts as a complement, so its value can even rise.

    Data backs this up. Labour market analytics company Lightcast notes that one-third of the skills employers want have changed between 2021 and 2024. The American Enterprise Institute warns that mid-level knowledge workers, whose jobs depend on repeatable expertise, are most at risk of wage pressure.

    So yes, baseline knowledge still matters. You need it to prompt AI, judge its output and make good decisions. But the equilibrium wage premium – meaning the extra pay employers offer once supply and demand for that knowledge settle – is sliding down the demand curve fast.

    What’s scarce now?

    Herbert Simon, the Nobel Prize–winning economist and cognitive scientist, put it neatly decades ago: “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” When facts become cheap and plentiful, our limited capacity to filter, judge and apply them turns into the real bottleneck.

    That is why scarce resources shift from information itself to what machines still struggle to copy: focused attention, sound judgement, strong ethics, creativity and collaboration.

    I group these human complements under what I call the C.R.E.A.T.E.R. framework:

    • critical thinking – asking smart questions and spotting weak arguments

    • resilience and adaptability – staying steady when everything changes

    • emotional intelligence – understanding people and leading with empathy

    • accountability and ethics – taking responsibility for difficult calls

    • teamwork and collaboration – working well with people who think differently

    • entrepreneurial creativity – seeing gaps and building new solutions

    • reflection and lifelong learning – staying curious and ready to grow.

    These capabilities are the genuine scarcity in today’s market. They are complements to AI, not substitutes, which is why their wage returns hold or climb.

    What universities can do right now

    1. Audit courses: if ChatGPT can already score highly on an exam, the marginal value of teaching that content is near zero. Pivot the assessment toward judgement and synthesis.

    2. Reinvest in the learning experience: push resources into coached projects, messy real-world simulations, and ethical decision labs where AI is a tool, not the performer.

    3. Credential what matters: create micro-credentials for skills such as collaboration, initiative and ethical reasoning. These signal AI complements, not substitutes, and employers notice.

    4. Work with industry but keep it collaborative: invite employers to co-design assessments, not dictate them. A good partnership works like a design studio rather than a boardroom order sheet. Academics bring teaching expertise and rigour, employers supply real-world use cases, and students help test and refine the ideas.

    Universities can no longer rely on scarcity setting the price for the curated and credentialed form of information that used to be hard to obtain.

    The comparative advantage now lies in cultivating human skills that act as complements to AI. If universities do not adapt, the market – students and employers alike – will move on without them.

    The opportunity is clear. Shift the product from content delivery to judgement formation. Teach students how to think with, not against, intelligent machines. Because the old model, the one that priced knowledge as a scarce good, is already slipping below its economic break-even point.

    Patrick Dodd 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. AI is driving down the price of knowledge – universities have to rethink what they offer – https://theconversation.com/ai-is-driving-down-the-price-of-knowledge-universities-have-to-rethink-what-they-offer-260493

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: A Shakespearean, small-town murder: why Australia became so obsessed with the Erin Patterson mushroom case

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Xanthe Mallett, Criminologist, CQUniversity Australia

    The “mushroom murder trial”, as it has popularly become known, has gripped Australia over the past 11 weeks. More than that, it’s prompted worldwide headlines, multiple daily podcasts, and even YouTube videos of self-proclaimed “body language experts” assessing defendant Erin Patterson’s every move.

    There’s an ABC drama series in the works. Acclaimed Australian author Helen Garner has been in the courtroom.

    But why did this tragedy, in which three people died and a fourth was lucky to survive, grip the public consciousness in way no other contemporary Australian case has?



    Read more:
    Erin Patterson has been found guilty in the mushroom murder trial. Legal experts explain why

    A not-so-wholesome family lunch

    On July 29 2023, in a sleepy town called Leongatha in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges in Victoria, a very normal woman called Erin Patterson made an ostensibly very normal lunch of beef Wellington.

    She was cooking for her in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, and Heather’s husband Ian. Erin’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was also invited, but chose not to attend.

    Simon and Erin had two children, a boy and a girl, who did not attend the lunch either.

    Shortly after the lunch, all four guests were admitted to hospital with suspected gastroenteritis. Erin Patterson also presented to hospital, but refused to be admitted.

    Within a few days, Gail, Don, and Heather all died as a result of what was later confirmed as poisoning with Amanita phalloides, better known as death cap mushrooms.

    Ian survived, but he was lucky. He spent seven weeks in hospital and needed a liver transplant.

    The questions became, how did the mushrooms get into the beef Wellington? Was this an awful accident or something more sinister?

    Public obsession

    These questions became the focus of very significant public and media attention.

    Erin Patterson spoke to the media in the days after the incident. She presented as your typical, average woman of 50.

    That is, in my opinion, where the obsession with this case began.

    This case had the feel of a Shakespearean drama: multiple deaths within one family, death by poison, and a female protagonist.

    The juxtaposition between the normality of a family lunch (and the sheer vanilla-ness of the accused) and the seriousness of the situation sent the media into overdrive.

    Then there were the lies. Patterson lied about foraging for mushrooms, and about having cancer to encourage the guests to attend.

    The location also played a huge part. Leongatha is known for its staggering natural beauty and thriving food and wine scene. It’s hardly a place where the world expected a mass murderer to live.

    However, the perception that rural areas are utopias of safety and social cohesion, and cities are dark and dangerous places, is a myth.

    One study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare paints a different picture.

    For serious assault cases that resulted in hospitalisation, for major cities the rates were 65 per 100,000 people. In rural areas, this rose to 1,244 people per 100,000. And for murder, in very remote areas the rate was five per 100,000 population, but fewer than one per 100,000 in urban areas.

    Then there was Erin Patterson’s unusual behaviour. She disposed of the desiccator in which the mushrooms she had foraged were dehydrated. She used multiple phones, one of which underwent multiple factory resets on in the days following the lunch. One of these resets was done remotely after police seized her phone.

    There are also the much-discussed plates. The court heard she prepared her meal on a different-coloured plate to those of her other guests so they were easily identifiable.

    The public latched onto these details, each providing a new talking point around water coolers or spurring new Reddit threads dedicated to unpacking their significance.

    The courtroom as a stage

    Ultimately, after three months, Erin Patterson was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. She pleaded not guilty.

    The trial lasted 40 days. The prosecution alleged Patterson intentionally poisoned her guests, whereas the defence suggested it was all an awful, tragic accident.

    The jury took six and a half days to deliberate. During that time, various media outlets did everything they could to keep the story on the front page.

    Bizarre pieces began appearing online from credible sources such as the ABC, profiling people who had attended court. They included stories of people turning down work to attend the court daily, cases of friendships blossoming during the trial between regular attendees, and the outfit choices of locals turning up every day to watch the drama unfold.

    There were also articles profiling local cafe owners and how they felt about being at the centre of the legal theatrics. The daily podcasts continued even when news from the courtroom didn’t.

    The vibe felt more appropriate for a royal visit than a triple murder trial.

    It seemed everyone in Australia was gripped by one event, united in a way few other things could manage. We all waited with bated breath to see what the 12 men and women of the jury would decide.



    Read more:
    Justice on demand? The true crime podcasts serving up Erin Patterson’s mushroom murder trial

    Humanity behind the spectacle

    The end to this strange and unique criminal case came on Monday July 7.

    The result? Guilty on all four counts. Erin Patterson is formally a mass murderer, though many in the court of public opinion had reached the same conviction months earlier.

    Leongatha will always be known for being the setting of (arguably) the most infamous multiple murder case in Australian history. It will join Snowtown in South Australia (home of the “bodies in the barrell” murder case), Kendall in New South Wales (where William Tyrrell disappeared), and Claremont in Western Australia (the murder or disappearance of three women) as places forever linked to tragic crimes.

    While the trial is over, there’s much more content still to come, the public’s appetite yet to be satiated.

    But the final word should be saved for the Patterson and Wilkinson families. This is an awful tragedy, and there are no winners. Ian and Simon have lost loved ones. The Patterson children have lost grandparents and now have to come to terms with the fact their mother caused those deaths intentionally.

    Amid the spectacle, it’s easy to lose sight of the humanity at the centre. As the media spotlight dims, may the families get the privacy and respect they deserve.

    Xanthe Mallett 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. A Shakespearean, small-town murder: why Australia became so obsessed with the Erin Patterson mushroom case – https://theconversation.com/a-shakespearean-small-town-murder-why-australia-became-so-obsessed-with-the-erin-patterson-mushroom-case-259982

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: OCR steady as she goes

    Source: New Zealand Government

    The Government’s responsible fiscal management has supported the Reserve Bank to keep the Official Cash Rate low, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.

    The Reserve Bank of New Zealand today announced it would keep the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 3.25 per cent while continuing to foreshadow further reductions in the OCR.

    “There has been a 2.25 percentage point reduction in the Official Cash Rate since August last year – easing the cost of borrowing and delivering much needed cost of living relief for many New Zealand households,” Nicola Willis says.

    “While many Kiwis are already experiencing lower mortgage repayments off the back of previous OCR reductions, more will benefit when they re-fix their mortgage this year, meaning the positive effects of previous rate drops will continue to flow-through our economy over the coming months.

    “Lower interest rates free-up household budgets for spending elsewhere and they ease the path for those wishing to enter the housing market. They also provide relief to interest-rate sensitive sectors of the economy, including building and construction, with lower interest rates often providing a kick-start for big new projects. 

    “Despite global uncertainty, the Government is continuing to drive New Zealand’s economic recovery forward. Our careful stewardship of the Government books and our ongoing efforts to reduce costly laws and regulations mean inflation and interest rates can stay lower than would otherwise be the case.

    “Gone are the days of reckless economic management fueling the flames of inflation and interest rates – New Zealand now has steady hands at the wheel, and a Government that is determined to keep our economic fundamentals in good order.”

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –