Amid relentless rainfall and worsening weather conditions in Uttarakhand, around 40 devotees returning from Kedarnath Dham were rescued by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) on Thursday after being stranded near the Sonprayag landslide zone.
The pilgrims were stranded following a sudden landslide around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, which blocked the route with debris, making further movement impossible.
The landslide struck near Sonprayag, a key transit point along the Kedarnath Yatra route. Responding swiftly, SDRF teams launched a high-risk nighttime rescue operation.
Video footage released by the SDRF showed personnel carefully navigating through dangerous terrain and heavy debris to evacuate the stranded pilgrims to safety.
The hill state continues to face widespread disruption due to ongoing heavy rainfall. The Badrinath National Highway was blocked near Badrish Hotel in Umtta following another landslide, according to Chamoli Police.
Similarly, the Yamunotri National Highway has sustained severe damage, with sections of the road between Silai Band and Ojri washed away due to incessant downpours.
Multiple agencies, including the SDRF, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), local police, and forest department personnel, are working in coordination to assist pilgrims and residents alike. Teams are creating temporary trails, providing transportation, and guiding people through alternate safe routes to ensure timely and secure transit.
Essential services have also been significantly impacted.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), heavy rain and thunderstorms accompanied by lightning are likely to persist across several districts.
“Intense to very intense spells of rain are expected at isolated locations in Dehradun, Pauri Garhwal, Tehri, Nainital, and Bageshwar districts,” the IMD said in a statement.
Other hilly districts are also likely to experience thunderstorms with lightning and heavy rainfall in isolated pockets in the coming days.
Four people died, 30 were missing and 31 survived after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near the Indonesian island of Bali, the country’s Search and Rescue agency said on Thursday, as rescuers raced to find victims in the rough sea.
The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving East Java province’s Banyuwangi port on its way to Bali late on Wednesday, the agency said on Thursday.
The boat was carrying 53 passengers and 12 crew members, as well as 22 vehicles, the agency said.
A search for the missing is underway although it is being hampered by strong currents and winds, the agency said, adding it had deployed a helicopter to the location and 13 underwater rescuers.
Video provided by the national rescue agency Basarnas showed what appeared to be the body of one person being carried to shore from a fishing boat in calm seas.
There has been no official statement on the nationalities of the passengers, but a manifest list broadcast by news channel MetroTV indicated there were no foreigners on board.
Ferries are a common mode of transport in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, and accidents are common as lax safety standards often allow vessels to be overloaded without adequate life-saving equipment.
A small ferry capsized in 2023 near Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, killing at least 15 people.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Summer Library Festival 2025 to explore local cultural stories with readers A series of interesting parent-child workshops will be held at public libraries in various districts, where parents and children can learn more about the life and culture of Hong Kong, such as the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival, street food and the love for giant pandas through making handicrafts together such as small ornaments, clay keychains and origami. Young readers can participate in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) workshops with their parents to make mini neon signs and distinctive music boxes, while learning about the science behind them. For teenaged and adult readers, they can participate in the Landscape Painting with Hong Kong Characteristics workshops to learn about drawing and painting Hong Kong’s beautiful scenery with coffee and pencils, or the Transportation 3D Origami workshops to make paper crafts of Hong Kong’s public transport icons.
Storytelling workshops with the theme of traditional festivals will also be held at public libraries in various districts. Children will learn about the significance of traditional festivals and make related handicrafts in the workshops to cultivate their interest in reading. The storytelling workshops will be conducted in Cantonese, Putonghua or English.
All activities are free of charge. Seat reservations are required for some of the programmes. For details, please visit the SLF 2025 website. Members of the public can also visit the “Reading is Joyful” Facebook page (
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The weather of June 2025 was hotter and drier than usual in Hong Kong, mainly attributed to the stronger subtropical ridge covering southeastern China. The monthly mean minimum temperature of 27.1 degrees was 0.6 degrees above the normal and one of the fifth highest on record for June. The monthly mean maximum temperature of 31.5 degrees and the monthly mean temperature of 28.9 degrees were 0.8 degrees and 0.6 degrees above their corresponding normals and both were among the seventh on record for June. The total rainfall in the month was 237.3 millimetres, about 48 per cent of the normal of 491.5 millimetres. With all six months drier than usual, the accumulated rainfall recorded in the first half of the year was only 444.4 millimetres, about 41 per cent of the normal of 1 082.5 millimetres for the same period and the fifth lowest on record for the same period.
With the easterly airstream prevailing over the coast of Guangdong replaced by a southerly airstream, it was hot with sunny periods and there were one or two showers in Hong Kong on the first two days of the month. When a trough of low pressure moved across the coast of Guangdong on June 3, the local weather turned mainly cloudy with a few showers. An upper-air disturbance and a surface trough of low pressure brought showers to the northern part of the South China Sea and its coastal areas the next day. Locally, it was cloudy with showers. There were thunderstorms in the afternoon. More than 20 millimetres of rainfall were recorded over Lantau Island and the western part of the New Territories. While it was still mainly cloudy with one or two showers on June 5, it became hot with sunny periods the next day, as the anticyclone aloft covering the coast of southeastern China strengthened gradually. Under the dominance of the anticyclone aloft, the local weather was generally fine with prolonged heat from June 7 to 10. It was extremely hot on June 10 with the maximum temperature at the Observatory soaring to 35.6 degrees, levelling the record maximum for June since records began in 1884. The maximum temperature at Lau Fau Shan even reached 38.9 degrees, the highest record so far since the setup of the station in 1985.
Wutip formed as a tropical depression over the central part of the South China Sea on the night of June 10. It tracked generally west-northwestward towards Hainan Island and intensified gradually. Its outer rainbands occasionally brought squally showers to the northern part of the South China Sea and the coast of Guangdong. The Observatory issued the first tropical cyclone warning signal of the year on June 11. Locally, the weather deteriorated gradually with a few squally showers that day. While there were sunny intervals during the day, there were also isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Wutip further intensified into a severe tropical storm on June 12 and gradually turned to a north-northeasterly track over Beibu Wan, skirting the western coast of Hainan Island and Leizhou Peninsula in the following two days. Under the influence of Wutip’s outer rainbands, there were squally showers locally from June 12 to 14, with thunderstorms on June 12 and 13. The showers were heavy with more than 30 millimetres of rainfall recorded over most parts of the territory on June 13. The strong winds associated with Wutip affected the Pearl River Estuary and its vicinity on June 15. Local winds were generally strong, occasionally reaching gale force on high ground. Winds moderated progressively later in the afternoon. While moving northeastwards further into inland areas, Wutip weakened gradually and finally degenerated into an area of low pressure on the evening of June 15. Locally, there were still a few squally showers that day.
Under the influence of an active southwesterly airstream, showers and thunderstorms affected Hong Kong on June 16 and 17. The showers were heavy with squally thunderstorms on June 17. More than 30 millimetres of rainfall were generally recorded over the territory, and rainfall even exceeded 70 millimetres in the northern part of the New Territories, Tsuen Wan and Sai Kung Districts. With a southerly airstream affecting the coast of Guangdong, it was hot with sunny intervals in the following five days. Meanwhile, there were also occasional showers, with isolated thunderstorms on June 19 and 20. More than 20 millimetres of rainfall were recorded over the eastern part of the New Territories on June 20, and the eastern parts of Hong Kong Island and the New Territories on June 21. While the southerly airstream continued to bring showers and isolated thunderstorms at first on June 23, with an anticyclone aloft covering southern China, the weather became generally fine and very hot that afternoon, and remained so in the following two days. Furthermore, an area of low pressure over the central and northern parts of the South China Sea intensified into a tropical depression on June 25 and moved northwestward towards the eastern part of Hainan Island and Leizhou Peninsula. Its outer rainbands brought heavy showers and squally thunderstorms to Hong Kong the next day. Around 30 millimetres of rainfall were generally recorded over the territory, and rainfall even exceeded 50 millimetres over Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. A broad trough of low pressure and an upper-air disturbance affected the coast of Guangdong and brought showers and thunderstorms over the territory on June 27 and 28. The showers were heavy in the small hours of June 28, around 30 millimetres of rainfall were recorded over many places, and rainfall even exceeded 50 millimetres over Tai Po. With the broad trough of low pressure lingering over the coast of Guangdong, the weather remained mainly cloudy with occasionally heavy showers and thunderstorms on the last two days of the month. Around 20 millimetres of rainfall were recorded over Kowloon East and Sha Tin on June 29. More than 30 millimetres of rainfall were recorded over most parts of the territory, and rainfall even exceeded 50 millimetres in Kowloon East and the eastern part of the New Territories on June 30.
Three tropical cyclones occurred over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific in June 2025.
Details of issuance and cancellation of various warnings/signals in the month are summarised in Table 1. Monthly meteorological figures and departures from normal for June are tabulated in Table 2.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Land Registry releases statistics for June Land registration ——————- * The number of sale and purchase agreements for all building units received for registration in June was 7 271 (+12.9 per cent compared with May 2025 and +38.6 per cent compared with June 2024)
* The 12-month moving average for June was 5 812 (3.0 per cent above the 12-month moving average for May 2025 and 19.6 per cent above that for June 2024)
* The total consideration for sale and purchase agreements of building units in June was $66.4 billion (+33.2 per cent compared with May 2025 and +61.6 per cent compared with June 2024)
* Among the sale and purchase agreements, 5 955 were for residential units (+16.7 per cent compared with May 2025 and +54.4 per cent compared with June 2024)
* The total consideration for sale and purchase agreements in respect of residential units was $61.1 billion (+59.7 per cent compared with May 2025 and +77.0 per cent compared with June 2024)
Statistics on sales of residential units do not include sale and purchase agreements relating to sales of units under the Home Ownership Scheme, the Private Sector Participation Scheme, the Tenants Purchase Scheme, etc, unless the premium of the unit concerned has been paid after the sale restriction period.
Figures on sale and purchase agreements received for the past 12 months, the year-on-year rate of change and breakdown figures on residential sales have also been released.
As deeds may not be lodged with the Land Registry until up to 30 days after the transaction, these statistics generally relate to land transactions in the previous month.
Land search ————- * The number of searches of land registers made by the public in June was 409 789 (+1.5 per cent compared with May 2025 and +14.8 per cent compared with June 2024)
The statistics cover searches made at the counter, through the self-service terminals and via the Integrated Registration Information System Online Services. Issued at HKT 15:00
A decision by Washington to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine prompted warnings by Kyiv on Wednesday that the move would weaken its ability to defend against intensifying airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Ukraine said it had called in the acting U.S. envoy to Kyiv to underline the importance of military aid from Washington continuing, and cautioned that any cut-off would embolden Russia in its war in Ukraine.
The Pentagon’s decision – tied to concerns that U.S. military stockpiles are too low – began in recent days and includes 30 Patriot air defence missiles, which Ukraine relies on to destroy fast-moving ballistic missiles, four people familiar with the decision said on Wednesday.
It also includes nearly 8,500 155mm artillery shells, more than 250 precision GMLRS (mobile rocket artillery) missiles and 142 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, they said.
“The Ukrainian side emphasised that any delay or procrastination in supporting Ukraine‘s defence capabilities will only encourage the aggressor to continue the war and terror, rather than seek peace,” Ukraine‘s foreign ministry said.
The defence ministry said it had not been officially notified of any halt in U.S. shipments and was seeking clarity from its American counterparts.
A Ukrainian source familiar with the situation said the decision was a “total shock.”
Deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly said the decision was made “to put America’s interests first” following a Department of Defense review of military support around the world.
“The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned — just ask Iran,” she said, referring to U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities last month.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the U.S. needed to take care of its stockpiles but told Fox News that “in the short term, Ukraine cannot do without all the support it can get” when it comes to ammunition and air defence systems.
RUSSIAN AIRSTRIKES
Dozens of people have been killed in recent airstrikes on Ukrainian cities and Russian forces, which control about a fifth of Ukraine, have been making gains in the east.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the decision risks Ukrainian lives, undermines Washington’s credibility and will make it harder to end the war.
“This sends a message to not just our allies, like Ukraine and our European allies, but it sends a message to our adversaries, to China, to North Korea, to Russia, that our allies can’t count on the United States,” she told WKBK radio in her home state New Hampshire.
Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January, he has softened Washington’s position towards Russia, seeking a diplomatic solution to the war and raising doubts about future U.S. military support for Kyiv.
Trump said last week he was considering selling more Patriot air defence missiles to Ukraine after meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Fedir Venislavskyi, a member of the Ukrainian parliament’s national security and defence committee, said the decision to halt shipments was “very unpleasant for us“.
In an email, the Pentagon said it was providing Trump with options to continue military aid to Ukraine in line with the goal of ending the war.
Elbridge Colby, undersecretary of defence for policy, said it was “rigorously examining and adapting its approach…while also preserving U.S. forces’ readiness.”
All weapons aid was briefly stopped in February, with a second, longer halt in March. Washington resumed sending the last of the aid approved under the previous administration, of Democratic President Joe Biden, but no new aid to Ukraine has been announced.
The Kremlin welcomed the news of a halt, saying the conflict would end sooner if fewer arms reached Ukraine.
Kyiv residents expressed alarm at the Pentagon’s decision.
“If we end up in a situation where there’s no air defence left, I will move (out of Kyiv), because my safety is my first concern,” said Oksana Kurochkina, a 35-year-old lawyer.
On the battlefield, a halt in precision munitions would limit the capacity of Ukrainian troops to strike Russian positions farther behind the front line, said Jack Watling, a military analyst at the Royal United Services Institute.
“In short, this decision will cost Ukrainian lives and territory,” he said.
In a major scientific breakthrough, Indian researchers have developed a new green energy material that could revolutionize energy storage technology. Scientists from the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bengaluru, in collaboration with Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), have engineered a lanthanum-doped silver niobate (AgNbO₃) compound that significantly enhances supercapacitor performance.
Supercapacitors, known for their rapid charging and discharging abilities, often fall short in energy storage capacity. The new material overcomes this limitation by increasing energy density without sacrificing speed or stability.
Led by Dr. Kavita Pandey, the team introduced lanthanum—a rare-earth element—into silver niobate nanoparticles, improving their electrical conductivity and shrinking particle size to increase surface area. This led to a remarkable 118% energy retention after repeated use and an unprecedented 100% coulombic efficiency, meaning no energy was lost during charging cycles.
A prototype asymmetric supercapacitor using the new material successfully powered an LCD display, pointing to potential real-world applications in everything from portable electronics to renewable energy systems.
Published in the Journal of Alloys and Compounds, the study positions lanthanum-doped AgNbO₃ as a leading candidate for high-performance, eco-friendly energy storage. Researchers now aim to explore similar doping strategies in other materials and scale up production to enable commercial use.
This innovation marks a significant step in India’s contribution to sustainable energy solutions amid the global push for cleaner and more efficient technologies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s conferment with Ghana’s highest civilian honour, the Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana, has been hailed by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar as a tribute to his unwavering commitment to amplifying the voice of the Global South. Jaishankar also described the honour as a reflection of the deep-rooted cooperation and enduring friendship between India and Ghana.
In a post on X, Jaishankar said, “Fitting that PM @narendramodi has been conferred with Ghana’s national honour – the ‘Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana’. It is a recognition of his steadfast efforts in strengthening the voice of the Global South. Also a testament to our cooperation and friendship with Ghana.”
PM Modi was conferred with The Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana, the country’s highest civilian honour, by President John Mahama on Wednesday (local time). PM Modi thanked Ghana’s President for the honour and called it a “matter of immense pride”.
“It is a matter of great pride and honour for me to be conferred with Ghana’s national award, The Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana, by the President. I express my heartfelt gratitude to President Mahama ji, the Government of Ghana and the people of Ghana. I humbly accept this honour on behalf of 1.4 billion Indians,” PM Modi said.
He said he dedicated the award to the youth of both countries.”I dedicate this award to the aspirations of our youth, their bright future, our rich cultural diversity and traditions and the historic ties between India and Ghana,” he said.
The award was presented during PM Modi’s visit to Ghana, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in more than 30 years. During his visit, PM Modi held talks with Ghana President Mahama and the two leaders agreed to elevate their relationship to a “Comprehensive Partnership.”
During the joint press briefing, PM Modi said, “The President and I have agreed to elevate our bilateral relationship to the level of a ‘Comprehensive Partnership.’ India is more than just a partner; it stands as a co-traveller in Ghana’s journey toward nation-building.”
“In the defence and security sector, we will progress with the guiding principle of ‘Security through Solidarity.’ Collaboration will be strengthened in key areas such as armed forces training, maritime security, defence supply chains, and cybersecurity,” he added.
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
They put it up for sale cultural heritage site, built at the beginning of the last century. This was reported Ekaterina Solovieva, Minister of the Moscow Government, Head of the Moscow Department of City Property.
The building is located at the address: Kanatchikovskiy proezd, building 7. The future owner of the property will have to rent a plot of land of about one thousand square meters on which the property is located.
“Entrepreneurs will be able to purchase from the city a historic non-residential building built in the early 20th century in the Donskoy District. The cultural heritage site of regional significance, the “Residential Building”, is part of the ensemble of buildings and structures of the Kanatchikovo station (1903-1908, architects A.N. Pomerantsev and P.I. Rashevsky, engineers S.D. Kareisha, A.D. Proskuryakov, P.Ya. Kamenev). The area of the two-story house is almost 340 square meters. The winner of the auction will have to carry out restoration work and adapt it for modern use, which will allow the historical site to be preserved in the future,” said Ekaterina Solovyova.
The Kanatchikovo station was built in the 1910s for the Moscow Ring Railway. The building was made in the Art Nouveau style. The object received its name in honor of a large estate owned by the merchant Kozma Kanatchikov.
Today, the architectural monument may be of interest to investors who are considering the Southern Administrative District as a place for business development. The building is located three minutes’ drive from the Third Transport Ring, next to Gagarin Square.
All information about the real estate objects put up for auction is presented on the capital’s investment portal. You can learn more about them, study the lot documentation and the rules for holding auctions in the section “Moscow Trades”.
“The capital regularly puts real estate up for auction – from small premises for coffee shops to historic mansions. Purchasing objects from the city is convenient and transparent, and most importantly, all the main stages are held online. Applications for participation in the auction for the sale of a historic building in the Donskoy district will be accepted until July 24, and the auction will take place on August 5,” added the head of the capital’s Department of Competition Policy
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
In 2025, the celebration of City Day in Moscow will take place on the second weekend of autumn – September 13 and 14. The corresponding decree was signed Sergei Sobyanin.
Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @mos_sobyanin
This year Moscow celebrates its 878th birthday. Traditionally, festive events will take place in the historical center, parks, cultural, educational and social institutions, as well as at sites in residential areas of the capital.
The program for celebrating City Day will be approved in the near future.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect
Source: People’s Republic of China – Ministry of National Defense
BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhua) — China announced at a press conference on Thursday that an evening gala will be held on Sept. 3 in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.
The event will be jointly organized by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the China Media Group, the Political Work Department of the China Military Commission and the Beijing municipal government, according to the State Council Information Office.
China designated Sept. 3 as Victory Day to mark the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on Sept. 2, 1945.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
In the heart of Hefei, Luyang is a prosperous and vigorous district with a 2,000-year-old history. Known as Luzhou in ancient times, the district is the cultural center home to many of Hefei’s historical landmarks, and offers every visitor unexpected cultural experiences.
Stretching nearly a kilometer, the Huaihe Road Pedestrian Street in Luyang district was once a bustling commercial hub during the Tang and Song dynasties, flourishing further in the Ming and Qing eras.
Huaihe Road Pedestrian Street in Luyang district, Hefei, Anhui province. [Photo by “Luyang Release” WeChat Account]
Today, revitalized as a main street of modernity and backstreets of rustic charm, it merges the old and new. Nestled on the street are ancient sites like the Jiaonutai and the Former Residence of Li Hongzhang, where the city’s memories are continually reimagined. This harmonious blend of history and innovation has made the area a must-visit destination and a hotspot for emerging industries.
Drawing on its rich past, Luyang is preserving its unique character and identity. By advancing its “Old Town Preservation and Renewal” strategy, the district is reshaping historical cityscape and reigniting cultural legacy.
The Hefei City Urban Memory Museum in Hefei, Anhui province. [Photo by “Luyang Release” WeChat Account]
In October 2024, the Hefei City Urban Memory Museum opened its doors, featuring cutting-edge digital exhibits — from immersive light projections and interactive systems to VR experiences — across 58 installations and 37 short films. These technologies breathe new life into the city’s history, making exhibitions both captivating and educational while deepening the integration of culture and tourism.
Leveraging its top-tier scientific resources, Luyang has pioneered sci-tech education tours, with 13 provincial/city-level research and tourism bases and nine curated routes. In 2025, these attracted over 150,000 visitors, showcasing the district’s thriving innovative tourism scene.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
The 2025 BRICS Seminar on Governance and Cultural Exchanges Forum was held on Monday in Rio de Janeiro, bringing together experts to discuss how the bloc can promote stability in an era of global transformation.
Yu Yunquan, president of the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies (ACCWS), and Cimar Azeredo Pereira, special advisor to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), delivered keynote speeches at the event.
Yu Yunquan, president of the ACCWS, delivers a keynote speech at the 2025 BRICS Seminar on Governance and Cultural Exchanges Forum in Rio de Janeiro, June 30, 2025. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]
Yu emphasized that in an era where certainty and stability are becoming increasingly scarce global resources, it is imperative to further strengthen Greater BRICS cooperation to promote an equitable and orderly multipolar world and foster inclusive economic globalization, thereby maintaining a stable development environment.
He also stressed the need to enhance exchanges of governance experiences and knowledge-sharing to explore independent development paths, actively participate in setting global governance agendas to steer orderly development processes, and deepen cross-cultural dialogues to cultivate an inclusive atmosphere for development.
Cimar Azeredo Pereira, special advisor to the IBGE, delivers a keynote speech at the 2025 BRICS Seminar on Governance and Cultural Exchanges Forum in Rio de Janeiro, June 30, 2025. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]
Azeredo Pereira emphasized that statistical cooperation among BRICS countries plays a pivotal role in enhancing mutual understanding and trust among member states. By adopting collaborative and innovative approaches to address emerging statistical challenges in the digital era, such cooperation proves fundamental in advancing sustainable development and economic integration within the BRICS framework.
Participating delegates unanimously recognized China’s significant contributions to global development and governance, particularly its leadership in fostering BRICS and Global South collaboration. China’s global initiatives were widely recognized as providing crucial platforms for fostering shared progress in development, security and cultural exchange.
The main forum was chaired by Xin Feng, director of the Comprehensive Business Department of China International Communications Group (CICG). Sun Jingxin, vice president of the ACCWS, presented two research reports on behalf of the project team: “Greater BRICS Cooperation: A Pillar of Stability and Progress in a Changing World” and “Global Survey: BRICS Cooperation in the New Era of Global Development 2025.”
The forum was organized jointly by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, China International Communications Group, and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics.
Immediately after killing Fernando Pereira and blowing up Greenpeace’s flagship the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbour, several of the French agents went on a ski holiday in New Zealand’s South Island to celebrate.
Such was the contempt the French had for the Kiwis and the abilities of our police to pursue them. How wrong they were.
A new prologue by former prime minister Helen Clark and a preface by Greenpeace’s Bunny McDiarmid, along with an extensive postscript which bring us up to the present day, underline why the past is not dead; it’s with us right now.
Written by David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report, who spent 11 weeks on the final voyage of the Warrior, the book is the most remarkable piece of history I have read this year and one of those rare books that has the power to expand your mind and make your blood boil at the same time. I thought I knew a fair bit about the momentous events surrounding the attack — until I read Eyes of Fire.
Heroes of our age The book covers the history of Greenpeace action — from fighting the dumping of nuclear and other toxic waste in European waters, the Arctic and the Pacific, voyages to link besieged communities across the oceans, through to their epic struggles to halt whaling and save endangered marine colonies from predators.
The Rainbow Warrior’s very last voyage before the bombing was to evacuate the entire population of Rongelap atoll (about 320 people) in the Marshall Islands who had been exposed to US nuclear radiation for decades.
This article is the first of two in which I will explore themes that the book triggered for me.
Neither secret nor intelligent – the French secret intelligence service
Jean-Luc Kister was the DGSE (Direction-générale de la Sécurité extérieure) agent who placed the two bombs that ripped a massive hole in the hull of the Warrior on 10 July 1985. The ship quickly sank, trapping Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira inside.
Former colonel Kister was a member of a large team of elite agents sent to New Zealand. One had also infiltrated Greenpeace months before, some travelled through the country prior to the attack, drinking, rooting New Zealand women and leaving a trail of breadcrumbs that led all the way to the Palais de l’Élysée where François Mitterrand, Socialist President of France, had personally given the order to bomb the famous peace vessel.
Robie aptly calls the French mission “Blundergate”. The stupidity, howling incompetence and moronic lack of a sound strategic rationale behind the attack were only matched by the mendacity, the imperial hauteur and the racist contempt that lies at the heart of French policy in the Pacific to this very day.
Thinking the Kiwi police would be no match for their élan, their savoir-faire and their panache, some of the killers hit the ski slopes to celebrate “Mission Accompli”. Others fled to Norfolk Island aboard a yacht, the Ouvéa.
Tracked there by the New Zealand police it was only with the assistance of our friends and allies, the Australians, that the agents were able to escape. Within days they sank their yacht at sea during a rendezvous with a French nuclear submarine and were evenually able to return to France for medals and promotions.
Two of the agents, however, were not so lucky. As everyone my age will recall, Dominique Prieur and Alain Mafart, were nabbed after a lightning fast operation by New Zealand police.
With friends and allies like these, who needs enemies? We should recall that the French were our allies at the time. They decided, however, to stop the Rainbow Warrior from leading a flotilla of ships up to Moruroa Atoll in French Polynesia where yet another round of nuclear tests were scheduled. In other words: they bombed a peace ship to keep testing bombs.
By 1995, France had detonated 193 nuclear bombs in the South Pacific.
David Robie sees the bombing as “a desperate attempt by one of the last colonial powers in the Pacific to hang on to the vestiges of empire by blowing up a peace ship so it could continue despoiling Pacific islands for the sake of an independent nuclear force”.
The US, UK and Australia cold-shouldered New Zealand through this period and uttered not a word of condemnation against the French. Within two years we were frog-marched out of the ANZUS alliance with Australia and the US because of our ground-breaking nuclear-free legislation.
It was a blessing and the dawn of a period in which New Zealanders had an intense sense of national pride — a far cry from today when New Zealand politicians are being referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for war crimes associated with the Gaza genocide.
The French State invented the term ‘terrorism’ I studied French History at university in France and did a paper called “La France à la veille de révolution” (France on the eve of revolution). One of the chilling cultural memories is of the period from September 1793 to July 1794, which was known as La Terreur.
At the time the French state literally coined the term “terrorisme” — with the blade of the guillotine dropping on neck after neck as the state tried to consolidate power through terror. But, as Robie points out, quoting law professor Roger S. Clark, we tend to use the term today to refer almost exclusively to non-state actors.
With the US and Israel gunning down starving civilians in Gaza every day, with wave after wave of terror attacks being committed inside Iran and across the Middle East by Mossad, the CIA and MI6, we should amend this erroneous habit.
The DGSE team who attached limpet mines to the Rainbow Warrior did so as psychopathic servants of the French State. Eyes of Fire: “At the time, Prime Minister David Lange described the Rainbow Warrior attack as ‘nothing more than a sordid act of international state-backed terrorism’.”
Don’t get me wrong. I am not “anti-French”. I lived for years in France, had a French girlfriend, studied French history, language and literature. I even had friends in Wellington who worked at the French Embassy.
Curiously when I lived next to Premier House, the official residence of the prime minister, my other next door neighbour was a French agent who specialised in surveillance. Our houses backed onto Premier House. Quelle coïncidence. To his mild consternation I’d greet him with “Salut, mon espion favori.” (Hello, my favourite spy).
What I despise is French colonialism, French racism, and what the French call magouillage. I don’t know a good English word for it . . . it is a mix of shenanigans, duplicity, artful deception to achieve unscrupulous outcomes that can’t be publicly avowed. In brief: what the French attempted in Auckland in 1985.
Robie recounts in detail the lying, smokescreens and roadblocks that everyone from President Mitterrand through to junior officials put in the way of the New Zealand investigators. Mitterrand gave Prime Minister David Lange assurances that the culprits would be brought to justice. The French Embassy in Wellington claimed at the time: “In no way is France involved. The French government doesn’t deal with its opponents in such ways.”
It took years for the bombshell to explode that none other than Mitterrand himself had ordered the terrorist attack on New Zealand and Greenpeace!
We the people of the Pacific We, the people of the Pacific, owe a debt to Greenpeace and all those who were part of the Rainbow Warrior, including author David Robie. We must remember the crime and call it by its name: state terrorism.
The French attempted to escape justice, deny involvement and then welched on the terms of the agreement negotiated with the help of the United Nations secretary-general.
A great way to honour the sacrifice of those who stood up for justice, who stood for peace and a nuclear-free Pacific, and who honoured our own national identity would be to buy David Robie’s excellent book.
I’ll give the last word to former Prime Minister Helen Clark:
“This is the time for New Zealand to link with the many small and middle powers across regions who have a vision for a world characterised by solidarity and peace and which can rise to the occasion to combat the existential challenges it faces — including of nuclear weapons, climate change, and artificial intelligence. If our independent foreign policy is to mean anything in the mid-2020s, it must be based on concerted diplomacy for peace and sustainable development.”
You cannot sink a rainbow.
Eugene Doyle is a writer based in Wellington. He has written extensively on the Middle East, as well as peace and security issues in the Asia Pacific region. He contributes to Asia Pacific Report and Café Pacific, and hosts the public policy platform solidarity.co.nz
Immediately after killing Fernando Pereira and blowing up Greenpeace’s flagship the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbour, several of the French agents went on a ski holiday in New Zealand’s South Island to celebrate.
Such was the contempt the French had for the Kiwis and the abilities of our police to pursue them. How wrong they were.
A new prologue by former prime minister Helen Clark and a preface by Greenpeace’s Bunny McDiarmid, along with an extensive postscript which bring us up to the present day, underline why the past is not dead; it’s with us right now.
Written by David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report, who spent 11 weeks on the final voyage of the Warrior, the book is the most remarkable piece of history I have read this year and one of those rare books that has the power to expand your mind and make your blood boil at the same time. I thought I knew a fair bit about the momentous events surrounding the attack — until I read Eyes of Fire.
Heroes of our age The book covers the history of Greenpeace action — from fighting the dumping of nuclear and other toxic waste in European waters, the Arctic and the Pacific, voyages to link besieged communities across the oceans, through to their epic struggles to halt whaling and save endangered marine colonies from predators.
The Rainbow Warrior’s very last voyage before the bombing was to evacuate the entire population of Rongelap atoll (about 320 people) in the Marshall Islands who had been exposed to US nuclear radiation for decades.
This article is the first of two in which I will explore themes that the book triggered for me.
Neither secret nor intelligent – the French secret intelligence service
Jean-Luc Kister was the DGSE (Direction-générale de la Sécurité extérieure) agent who placed the two bombs that ripped a massive hole in the hull of the Warrior on 10 July 1985. The ship quickly sank, trapping Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira inside.
Former colonel Kister was a member of a large team of elite agents sent to New Zealand. One had also infiltrated Greenpeace months before, some travelled through the country prior to the attack, drinking, rooting New Zealand women and leaving a trail of breadcrumbs that led all the way to the Palais de l’Élysée where François Mitterrand, Socialist President of France, had personally given the order to bomb the famous peace vessel.
Robie aptly calls the French mission “Blundergate”. The stupidity, howling incompetence and moronic lack of a sound strategic rationale behind the attack were only matched by the mendacity, the imperial hauteur and the racist contempt that lies at the heart of French policy in the Pacific to this very day.
Thinking the Kiwi police would be no match for their élan, their savoir-faire and their panache, some of the killers hit the ski slopes to celebrate “Mission Accompli”. Others fled to Norfolk Island aboard a yacht, the Ouvéa.
Tracked there by the New Zealand police it was only with the assistance of our friends and allies, the Australians, that the agents were able to escape. Within days they sank their yacht at sea during a rendezvous with a French nuclear submarine and were evenually able to return to France for medals and promotions.
Two of the agents, however, were not so lucky. As everyone my age will recall, Dominique Prieur and Alain Mafart, were nabbed after a lightning fast operation by New Zealand police.
With friends and allies like these, who needs enemies? We should recall that the French were our allies at the time. They decided, however, to stop the Rainbow Warrior from leading a flotilla of ships up to Moruroa Atoll in French Polynesia where yet another round of nuclear tests were scheduled. In other words: they bombed a peace ship to keep testing bombs.
By 1995, France had detonated 193 nuclear bombs in the South Pacific.
David Robie sees the bombing as “a desperate attempt by one of the last colonial powers in the Pacific to hang on to the vestiges of empire by blowing up a peace ship so it could continue despoiling Pacific islands for the sake of an independent nuclear force”.
The US, UK and Australia cold-shouldered New Zealand through this period and uttered not a word of condemnation against the French. Within two years we were frog-marched out of the ANZUS alliance with Australia and the US because of our ground-breaking nuclear-free legislation.
It was a blessing and the dawn of a period in which New Zealanders had an intense sense of national pride — a far cry from today when New Zealand politicians are being referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for war crimes associated with the Gaza genocide.
The French State invented the term ‘terrorism’ I studied French History at university in France and did a paper called “La France à la veille de révolution” (France on the eve of revolution). One of the chilling cultural memories is of the period from September 1793 to July 1794, which was known as La Terreur.
At the time the French state literally coined the term “terrorisme” — with the blade of the guillotine dropping on neck after neck as the state tried to consolidate power through terror. But, as Robie points out, quoting law professor Roger S. Clark, we tend to use the term today to refer almost exclusively to non-state actors.
With the US and Israel gunning down starving civilians in Gaza every day, with wave after wave of terror attacks being committed inside Iran and across the Middle East by Mossad, the CIA and MI6, we should amend this erroneous habit.
The DGSE team who attached limpet mines to the Rainbow Warrior did so as psychopathic servants of the French State. Eyes of Fire: “At the time, Prime Minister David Lange described the Rainbow Warrior attack as ‘nothing more than a sordid act of international state-backed terrorism’.”
Don’t get me wrong. I am not “anti-French”. I lived for years in France, had a French girlfriend, studied French history, language and literature. I even had friends in Wellington who worked at the French Embassy.
Curiously when I lived next to Premier House, the official residence of the prime minister, my other next door neighbour was a French agent who specialised in surveillance. Our houses backed onto Premier House. Quelle coïncidence. To his mild consternation I’d greet him with “Salut, mon espion favori.” (Hello, my favourite spy).
What I despise is French colonialism, French racism, and what the French call magouillage. I don’t know a good English word for it . . . it is a mix of shenanigans, duplicity, artful deception to achieve unscrupulous outcomes that can’t be publicly avowed. In brief: what the French attempted in Auckland in 1985.
Robie recounts in detail the lying, smokescreens and roadblocks that everyone from President Mitterrand through to junior officials put in the way of the New Zealand investigators. Mitterrand gave Prime Minister David Lange assurances that the culprits would be brought to justice. The French Embassy in Wellington claimed at the time: “In no way is France involved. The French government doesn’t deal with its opponents in such ways.”
It took years for the bombshell to explode that none other than Mitterrand himself had ordered the terrorist attack on New Zealand and Greenpeace!
We the people of the Pacific We, the people of the Pacific, owe a debt to Greenpeace and all those who were part of the Rainbow Warrior, including author David Robie. We must remember the crime and call it by its name: state terrorism.
The French attempted to escape justice, deny involvement and then welched on the terms of the agreement negotiated with the help of the United Nations secretary-general.
A great way to honour the sacrifice of those who stood up for justice, who stood for peace and a nuclear-free Pacific, and who honoured our own national identity would be to buy David Robie’s excellent book.
I’ll give the last word to former Prime Minister Helen Clark:
“This is the time for New Zealand to link with the many small and middle powers across regions who have a vision for a world characterised by solidarity and peace and which can rise to the occasion to combat the existential challenges it faces — including of nuclear weapons, climate change, and artificial intelligence. If our independent foreign policy is to mean anything in the mid-2020s, it must be based on concerted diplomacy for peace and sustainable development.”
You cannot sink a rainbow.
Eugene Doyle is a writer based in Wellington. He has written extensively on the Middle East, as well as peace and security issues in the Asia Pacific region. He contributes to Asia Pacific Report and Café Pacific, and hosts the public policy platform solidarity.co.nz
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grace McQuilten, Professor of Art and Associate Dean, Research and Innovation, School of Art, RMIT University
Creative Australia’s decision earlier this year to rescind the selection of artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino as Australia’s 2026 representatives at the Venice Biennale sent shockwaves through the arts sector.
For many artists and arts workers, it reinforced concerns around participation and access for those from culturally and racially diverse backgrounds.
This week’s reinstatement of the artistic team offers some comfort. However, the entire incident has reinforced that, while diversity in the arts is celebrated, inclusion at the highest level can’t be taken for granted.
Some worrying stats
Our 2024 survey of more than 900 visual and craft artists, and visual arts workers (who we define as workers who support the visual arts sector), revealed several concerning findings in relation to opportunity and inclusion for culturally and racially diverse creatives.
The first key finding was more than 67% of artists and 78% of arts workers felt there were cultural and/or access-related barriers to them participating in the sector.
The second was culturally diverse workers in the sector tended to identify as “early career” rather than “established”. This points to challenges for career progression and, in turn, to systemic and structural barriers to career development.
Of all the people we surveyed, 17% of visual artists and 20% of visual arts workers reported being of a culturally diverse background. Of these, only 15% of artists and 14% of arts workers reported being at an “established” career stage.
By contrast, among the general population of artists (including those without a diverse background), 30% of the artists reported being “established” in their careers, along with 26% of arts workers.
Art shouldn’t be at the behest of politics
Issues around political censorship and cultural bias in the sector were not a focus of our survey, which was conducted nine months after the war in Gaza began, and before Creative Australia’s selection (and swift cancellation) of the 2026 Venice Biennale team.
Nonetheless, respondents were concerned their political views, and/or their cultural or racial background, could impact their likelihood of advancing a career in the sector.
Some respondents explained if they were no longer working as an artist or arts worker in five years’ time, it would most likely be due to “systemic discrimination” and “increasing censorship prevalent in this industry”.
According to an independent review into the Sabsabi decision (and its reversal):
While no formal assessment was undertaken, it is clear that there was a general awareness within Creative Australia, among those with knowledge of the selected Artistic Team, that the decision had the potential to be controversial. The Panel heard that, at the time, the decision was described as ‘bold’ or ‘courageous’. The source of potential controversy was seen to lie in the fact of selecting any artist with heritage connected to the Middle East at a time when conflict in that region was so emotive and polarising, rather than because of the proposed nature of the work to be undertaken at the 2026 Venice Biennale.
Entrenched harmful biases
Sadly, the negative response from politicians to the initial selection of Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino gave credibility to our respondents’ concerns.
One participant told us “being called Ahmed* is a bit of a disadvantage given the international situation”.
Another said “only certain cultures and political plights are given support”.
Financial security is also potentially at risk. As one respondent explained, the main barrier to their personal financial security were political values. “My work is at risk when governments change,” they said.
Artists and arts workers from culturally and racially diverse backgrounds also reported more significant impacts from the cost-of-living crisis, along with poorer mental health and work-life balance.
Importantly, our findings don’t stand in isolation. Similar issues have been identified by Diversity Arts Australia, who in 2022 reported on the significant negative impacts of the pandemic on First Nations artists and artists of colour.
Also, in 2021, Creative Australia reported on problems around inclusion and access for culturally diverse communities in the arts and cultural sector.
What might progress look like?
Our research involved making a number of policy recommendations to tackle these issues.
For one thing, there is a clear need for organisational change. On this front, arts organisations and employers should invest in cultural competency training for all staff and board members. They should also prioritise professional development and career growth for culturally and racially diverse staff.
To drive meaningful change, funding incentives should be introduced to support diverse leadership. This should include higher pay for culturally and/or racially diverse leaders whose backgrounds lead them to having added responsibility in the workplace.
The sector also needs greater transparency around cultural and racial representation in staffing and leadership roles, including board roles. This will promote accountability and help drive cultural change.
Finally, success for artists from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds requires the Australian art world to engage with multiple world views – and understand not all art will be immediately accessible to all audiences.
The controversy surrounding Creative Australia’s biennale backflip offers an opportunity for the visual arts sector to reckon with deep and troubling issues of structural inequity, along with broader questions of free expression – especially in a fraught political climate.
These issues are wider than the art world. But what better place to start?
*Name changed to protect identity.
Grace McQuilten received funding from the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Projects funding scheme (project LP200100054). The views expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Australian government or Australian Research Council.
Kate MacNeill received funding from the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Projects funding scheme (project LP200100054). The views expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Australian government or Australian Research Council.
When flooding strikes, our screens fill with scenes of devastated victims, and men performing heroic dinghy rescues in swollen rivers. But another story often goes untold: how women step in, and step up, to hold their stricken communities together.
Unprecedented floods in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales in 2022 are a case in point. Our research shows female leadership was the hidden backbone of community recovery in the aftermath of the emergency. Women rose to leadership roles, filling crucial gaps left by formal disaster responses. As one woman told us:
I mean there’s some blokes around, I’ve got to give them some credit, but, yeah, I’m amazed … it was always the women saying, what do you need? What can I help with?
And long after the disaster had passed and the media had moved on, women were still there, quietly leading sustained recovery efforts from their homes, community halls and online networks.
But while the labour of men was generally supported and recognised, the complex and difficult work of women was largely overlooked.
In February and March 2022, the region experienced catastrophic flooding and landslips. About 11,000 homes were inundated. Health care facilities were damaged and disrupted. Emergency services were overwhelmed and many communities were cut off, some for weeks.
In response, the community stepped up in extraordinary ways. Our research explored the particular contribution of women to this effort.
The research focused on the contribution of women to community recovery after the Lismore floods. Dan Peled/Getty Images
‘No one else was going to do it’
The research involved interviews with people involved in the flood response and recovery. We also examined notes from public events and transcripts from a NSW government inquiry into the floods.
We found that, despite facing immense challenges, women played an essential role in sustaining their communities during and after the crisis.
For example, they coordinated food relief, managed donation hubs, organised volunteers and provided emotional support to neighbours and strangers. As one female interviewee told us:
It was more than about food … people would just come and then we’d just hug them and they’d just cry … the food relief turned into something deeper.
Emergency-management environments are often dominated by men. As a result, female community organisers often felt excluded from formal decision-making. As one woman told us:
every face in the meeting was a white middle-aged guy with a buzz cut. And, and I was like, there is no women. There is no diversity. There was no sense of community or that whole recovery space.
One woman cited the example of a local council celebrating “men in their dinghies” who took part in a flood rescue, while failing to recognise women who collectively contributed many thousands of unpaid hours towards the recovery effort:
here we are with just simply a trillion women doing all of the childcare, all of the cooking, all of the soft labour, literally everything plus being on dinghies … and there’s just nothing for us.
Some women took unpaid leave from work to coordinate recovery activities in their communities, because, as one woman told us, “no one else was going to do it”.
Women’s roles were not limited to unskilled tasks and care work. Women also brought professional skills to the recovery effort, such as event management, IT, nursing, communications, clinical psychology, trauma healing, business management, social work and public health.
Women: there for the long term
We found while men’s involvement in disaster recovery tended to be concentrated on specific short-term rescue and response, women tended to remain active for months or even years.
For example, two years after the flooding disaster, at a gathering of grassroots community-disaster
organisers, 87% of names on the contact list were female.
Some women continued to volunteer their labour, while others managed to obtain short-term funding. Whether paid or unpaid, the women experienced overwhelm and felt exhausted by the long-term effort, and some experienced vicarious trauma. However, their sense of community responsibility prevented them from stepping back.
Rethinking who we see as leaders
The research confirms women’s contributions are consistently overlooked during and after a disaster. It reflects a broader trend in Australia, where women’s labour is historically undervalued.
Women’s disaster work – coordinating volunteers, providing emotional care and advocating for their communities – was often unsupported by government and continued long after official agencies left.
Yet, these contributions remained largely invisible.
Three years after the floods, many women in the Northern Rivers are preparing for the next emergency, and women comprise the majority of community resilience groups in the region.
Women must be recognised and supported to ensure the health and wellbeing of disaster-affected communities. The health and wellbeing of these women themselves must also be paramount.
More government and private funding is vital. Where possible, philanthropic community grants should also be expanded.
The recently formed Northern Rivers Community Resilience Alliance involves 50 grassroots groups combining to provide peer support, advocate together, seek joint funding and provide training. Such networks can provide ongoing support to community organisers.
As Earth’s climate becomes more hostile and extreme weather events become more likely, there is an urgent need to support community efforts – and to rethink who we see as leaders in times of disaster. Building resilient communities starts with recognising and resourcing the people doing the work – including local women.
The authors acknowledge Emma Pittaway, Loriana Bethune and Dominica Meade who co-authored the research upon which this article is based.
Rebecca McNaught receives funding from The Peregrine Foundation and Gender and Disasters Australia. She is a board member of not-for-profit Plan C and President of the volunteer group the South Golden Beach, New Brighton and Ocean Shores Community Resilience Team. She attends the Northern Rivers Community Resilience Alliance.
Jo Longman has received funding from the NSW State Government Disaster Risk Reduction Fund and the Healthy Environments and Lives Innovation Fund. She is affiliated as a volunteer with Plan C’s research team.
Recent cases of prolific alleged child sexual abuse in Melbourne and other Australian early childhood education and care settings have shocked even experienced people who work to prevent child sexual abuse. Parents are right to be outraged, scared and uncertain.
The most pressing issue, then, is what we do about it.
Regulation and practice is still falling short, despite all our knowledge and prior recommendations. We have the benefit of the gold-standard Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (including Volume 6 on making institutions child-safe). We can also draw on rigorous scientific work about how best to prevent child sexual abuse in child and youth-serving organisations.
Criminal history checks are essential, but many offenders will not have a criminal record. These checks are only one part of an entire safety system. Other measures are arguably even more important.
The federal government, together with states and territories, recently announced new measures. However, these are acknowledged as only a first step.
Children have a right to be safe from sexual violence. Continued failure is unacceptable. National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds’ demand for a national inquiry, which can fully understand current limitations in the system and create a comprehensive blueprint for reform, is compelling.
The established evidence has already identified some of these pillars of reform. Here are ten key actions for policy-makers to create key components of safe early childhood education and care settings.
1. Policy. Every organisation needs to operate under a comprehensive policy about child safety. This should include specific guidelines for the prevention of sexual abuse. The policy should also include clear definitions and objectives, and be driven by a zero-tolerance approach.
2. Safe screening and hiring. Every organisation needs to recruit staff through rigorous processes, including criminal history checks (supported by information-sharing within and between jurisdictions). But this is only a starting point. Staff are educators and carers, not babysitters; they should be properly qualified and appropriately remunerated.
Should men be banned from employment in these settings? Employment discrimination based on gender is likely a step too far, but considerations of risk are important and children’s best interests are paramount. Nearly all sexual abuse of young children is by men, and stringent measures could be employed when recruiting men to child-related positions.
3. Code of conduct. A detailed code of conduct is essential. This is the operating manual for the organisation and its staff, and should be made available to parents. A robust code will specify what conduct is prohibited, and what is required. It will have special rules for high-risk situations – for example, bathrooms, changing clothes, physical interaction, and technology use.
4. Supervision and monitoring. A safe organisation must have appropriate measures for the implementation of the safety framework. It must also monitor the framework and its components. For example, there must be: appropriate staff supervision, recording of the approach to safety and its implementation, external auditing and oversight. Parents should be involved in oversight.
All childcare centres should have rigorous prevention, supervision and reporting procedures in place. Shutterstock
5. Environmental risk reduction. Often called “situational crime prevention”, these are actions to create safe environments. It can include measures to prohibit secluded spaces, and improve lines of sight and visibility. This can also include ensuring appropriate ratios of staff to children.
6. Reporting of suspected cases. Across Australia, there are now clear legal requirements for practitioners in these settings to report suspected cases of child sexual abuse. Every organisation needs to ensure its staff knows about these duties, and how to comply with them. Every organisation then needs to deal appropriately with any report that is made.
7. Education and training. Child sexual abuse is a complex field. Staff and leaders need high-quality education and training about child sexual abuse (including its nature, indicators and outcomes), organisational policy, reporting processes, legal and ethical obligations, and the protections they have as employees.
Good education increases knowledge, attitudes and appropriate reporting, and overcomes ignorance, apathy, fear and inaction. This education needs to be multidisciplinary, high-standard, and itself the subject of oversight and monitoring. It is not clear we have high-quality education of practitioners in Australia, both when obtaining qualifications and especially in service.
8. Leadership. We need knowledgeable and ethical leadership in child- and youth-serving organisations, and by regulators and policy-makers alike.
Knowledge about child sexual abuse, and empathy towards children and young people, are preconditions for effective and ethical responses. Organisational leaders set the tone for the broader organisation. If leaders are seen to be knowledgeable, ethical and authentically committed to child safety, it is far more likely staff will be inspired to emulate these qualities.
9. Oversight, enforcement and improvement. The entire system needs to be overseen by an effective regulatory framework and an efficient national regulator.
We need to create comprehensive and stringent regulatory requirements for provider accreditation. Providers that do not meet these standards should be compelled to meet them, or lose funding and eligibility to operate. It is insufficient to be merely “working towards” the standards.
Other accountability mechanisms should also be created; for example, owners of childcare centres could be subject to appropriate financial and other penalties.
10. Locate prevention in these settings as part of a national strategy. As a nation, we have made progress in reducing the prevalence of child sexual abuse in organisational settings. This is partly due to tighter regulation through child-safe standards, legal requirements to report suspected cases of abuse and associated better reporting, and increased social awareness.
However, no case is acceptable, and we have the capacity and duty to dramatically reduce the prospect that any individual can be a prolific offender. These prevention principles apply equally in schools and other settings serving children and youth.
We have work to do: among all Australians aged 16 and over, nationally representative data has shown one in four experienced child sexual abuse. In contemporary Australia, this abuse is still prevalent, with data from 16–24-year-olds showing one in three girls are affected, and one in seven boys. The next generation of prevention is already here, but we know what is required to meet this challenge.
This can be a turning point for Australia. The social and economic return from taking children’s rights seriously and investing in prevention far outweighs the cost of inaction. Safe, effective early childhood education and care is a nation-building strategy, both required for today’s workforce and a key factor in educating and developing young Australians.
Ben Mathews has received grant funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Department of Social Services, the National Office for Child Safety in the Attorney-General’s Department, the Australian Institute of Criminology, and the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse. He takes sole responsibility for the views in this article.
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
The digital station of Maryina Roshcha station on the Big Circle Line of the metro has had its thematic design updated. On the escalator vault, passengers will see summer symbols — a fan, a sun lounger and a glass of refreshing lemonade — and will also receive reminders from the character of the digital stations about the need to wear hats.
Thematic inscriptions and illustrations are displayed by projectors installed in 11 escalator lights.
“Digital stations are a step into the future that significantly increases the level of passenger comfort. At Maryina Roshcha, we have implemented innovative solutions that provide personalized service: digital navigation, a digital Live Communication stand with the chatbot Alexandra, as well as an improved design of turnstiles. On behalf of Sergei Sobyanin, we are creating a modern infrastructure that meets the highest requirements,” said the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Transport and Industry
Digital images have become a new channel of communication with passengers. Mini-projectors display information contactlessly, without damaging the materials of the escalator vault. Muscovites and guests of the capital can, for example, find out about the weather in the area of the metro station in real time. You can share your opinion about the new communication technology using QR codes, which are placed on touch navigation steles and the digital stand “Live communication” in the lobby.
Previously, thematic design also appeared on the escalator vault of the digital station before the New Year and on the eve of spring.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
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Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
A farmer from the Lipetsk region regularly delivers vegetables and fruits to special military operation (SVO) fighters, and also responds to requests for help from residents of border areas.
Vladimir lives with his family in the village of Putyatino. For over 16 years, he has been engaged in agriculture and brings vegetables and fruits to Moscow for sale. His faithful assistants on the farm are his wife and sister. Vladimir’s stall at the weekend fair in the Eastern Administrative District is a real kaleidoscope of gifts of nature: apples, potatoes, carrots, beets, onions and seasonal berries. He also sends all these products to soldiers and residents of border areas.
Organizational issues of sending food products are usually handled by his friend from his native village, it is from her that Vladimir learns what and when needs to be transferred. But there are other cases: when help is needed urgently, people turn to him for assistance directly.
“One day, my fellow countrymen called me because I was at a fair in Moscow at the time: I urgently needed to buy and deliver a stretcher to the border region. Without leaving my work at the counter, I managed to team up with acquaintances and friends, find transport, and by midnight the stretcher was there,” Vladimir said.
At such moments, he admits, you especially clearly understand how important any help is, even if it seems insignificant.
“For me, as a farmer and citizen, it is important not just to pass on something, but to really help, even if it costs me nothing. The most important support is that which allows you to maintain strength, health and fighting spirit. And it is not only food, sometimes it is enough for a soldier to just know that there are people ready to help,” Vladimir shared.
Products are brought to Moscow fairs from more than 40 Russian regions. According to Sergei Sobyanin, since the beginning of 2025, weekend fairs have already been visited two million Human.
Each supplier guarantees the quality and freshness of its products, and specialists State Veterinary Service of Moscow check it before sending it to the shelves. The fair pavilions are provided with all the necessary trade and refrigeration equipment. They are located near metro stations and other crowded places.
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Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
About 10 thousand Moscow large and medium-sized enterprises showed a positive financial result for the first quarter of 2025. Their total profit amounted to almost 2.9 trillion rubles. This was reported by Maria Bagreeva, Deputy Mayor of Moscow, Head of the Moscow Department of Economic Policy and Development.
Profitable organizations include companies that had a positive financial result during this period, i.e., income from their work exceeded expenses. The sample does not include state and municipal institutions, banks, as well as insurance organizations and pension funds.
“Based on the results of the first quarter of 2025, almost 10 thousand enterprises were considered profitable – this is about 70 percent of large and medium-sized companies operating in the capital. They received a profit of 2.9 trillion rubles, which is 9.5 percent more than the result of January – March 2024,” noted Maria Bagreeva.
About 19 percent of the total profit, or 549 billion rubles, was received by large and medium-sized enterprises in the trade sector. About 13 percent each came from companies in the financial sector (excluding banks, insurance companies and pension funds) and the manufacturing industry – 380 billion and 360 billion rubles, respectively.
In the first quarter of 2025, large and medium-sized companies engaged in educational activities increased their profits the most: compared to the same period last year, it grew by 55 percent and amounted to 5.1 billion rubles. In the transportation and storage sector, the indicator increased by 51 percent – to 287 billion rubles, in the real estate sector, it grew by 47 percent – to 102 billion rubles, added Maria Bagreeva.
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Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
Since the beginning of the renovation program, over 70 thousand families have moved from more than 1.2 thousand old houses to new apartments. The new buildings are located in all administrative districts of the capital. This was reported by the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Urban Development Policy and Construction Vladimir Efimov.
“The resettlement of residents under the renovation program began in 2018, when a new building in the east of the capital in the Severnoye Izmailovo district was handed over for settlement. Today, the number of such houses exceeds 380, and over 70 thousand families have moved into new apartments. More than 12.7 thousand of them celebrated housewarming in the Eastern Administrative District, and over 12.4 thousand more in the South-East. In the west and north of the capital, 8.2 thousand families moved into new apartments with finished improved finishing,” said Vladimir Efimov.
For a more comfortable move under the renovation program, the city provides participants with movers and a car free of charge. The service can be ordered on the mos.ru portal as part of the super service “Moving under the renovation program” or from the administrators of the resettlement information centers.
“Of all the families that moved, about 75 percent — more than 53.5 thousand — used the “Moving Assistance” service. In particular, in the southeast of the capital, over 9.6 thousand families ordered movers and a car, in the east — over 9.4 thousand. In the Northern Administrative District, 7.6 thousand families left requests for the transportation of things from an old apartment to a new one,” clarified the Minister of the Moscow Government, Head of the Department of Urban Development Policy
The area around all new buildings is being improved according to the standards of the renovation program: trees and shrubs are being planted in the courtyards, flower beds are being laid out, and children’s and sports grounds are being set up.
In the capital Department of Information Technology noted that general instructions available in the super service will help you prepare for the move “Moving under the renovation program” on the mos.ru portal. With its help, you can find out how the move is organized, get information about the necessary documents for drawing up a contract, and also use links to useful services. If the parameters are configured correctly, instructions for a specific life situation will be available.
Earlier, Sergei Sobyanin reported that this year new housing was received under the renovation program more than 18 thousand Muscovites.
The renovation program was approved in August 2017. It concerns about a million Muscovites and provides for the resettlement of 5,176 houses. The Moscow mayor ordered to increase the pace of implementation of the renovation program intwice.
Moscow is one of the leaders among regions in terms of construction volumes. High rates of housing construction correspond to the goals and initiatives of the national project “Infrastructure for life”.
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Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
More than 100 raised platforms will appear at the capital’s tram stops. This will make boarding and disembarking passengers more comfortable.
“This year, specialists from the city’s infrastructure complex will install more than 100 raised platforms at tram stops. They will appear on Budyonny Avenue, Sudostroitelnaya, Borisa Galushkina, Krasnokazarmennaya, Klara Tsetkin, Khalturinskaya, Kalanchevskaya, Timiryazevskaya streets and others. We will equip 94 regular platforms on islands and 13 Vienna-type platforms – with a raised section of the roadway. In addition, it is planned to install waiting pavilions made of impact-resistant glass at all tram stops,” said the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Housing and Public Utilities and Improvement
“Today, Moscow has more than 430 elevated platforms at tram stops. They are located at the same level as the low floor of trams, which makes it easier for people with limited mobility, as well as passengers with strollers and bicycles, to board and disembark. As a result, trips become even more comfortable, safer and faster. We are developing tram infrastructure on the instructions of Sergei Sobyanin,” said Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Transport and Industry
The elevated platforms are equipped with ramps and convenient approaches to the tram. This makes boarding and disembarking comfortable for all passengers, including people with limited mobility, people with strollers and bicycles – it is enough to take just one step to get on and off the tram. In addition, thanks to the elevated platforms, the likelihood of road accidents involving pedestrians at tram stops is reduced to a minimum.
To make the streets safer and more beautiful, specialists also bury overhead cable lines, renew the pavement of sidewalks and roadways, install new lighting poles, and carry out landscaping.
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Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
Over the past two years, specialists from the capital’s oncopsychological service have conducted more than 22,000 consultations. This was reported by Anastasia Rakova, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Social Development.
“Along with advanced medical care, we pay special attention to the psychological state of both the patient and his relatives. Internal stability and a positive attitude are an important part of the treatment process, on which, among other things, its effectiveness depends. Facing an oncological diagnosis is always stress, anxiety and worries. That is why two years ago we created the Moscow Oncopsychological Service, which today operates in all outpatient oncological care centers. During this time, specialists have conducted over 22 thousand consultations for patients and their relatives,” said Anastasia Rakova.
In addition, in June of this year, a pilot project to provide psychological support to families with children was launched at the Outpatient Oncology Care Center of the Morozov Children’s Hospital. Oncopsychologists help parents to live through difficult feelings and emotions, explain how to properly communicate with children and support them during treatment. Support for those who have encountered cancer remains one of the key priorities of Moscow’s social policy, which has been implementing its own standard of oncological care for five years now. Psychological rehabilitation begins from the moment a cancer disease is suspected. At all stages of treatment – from diagnosis to the period of remission – the service’s specialists help patients cope with their experiences, accept the situation, prepare for treatment, learn to manage anxiety and physical discomfort.
In outpatient oncology care centers, you can get a consultation with an oncopsychologist without an appointment on the day of your request. In addition, remote formats are also available. Thus, over two thousand consultations have been conducted on the online platform “Psychology for Life” in two years of the service’s operation, and over 1.4 thousand requests for psychological assistance by phone have been received through the “EMIAS. INFO” application in the five months since the launch of the new service. Oncopsychologists promptly contact those who have applied, provide emergency support and, if necessary, invite them to an in-person appointment, an online session or to the “Equal to Equal” support group.
Over 400 meetings have been held within the framework of the Peer-to-Peer support group. More than 1,600 people took part in them. In an atmosphere of trust and complete understanding, patients and their loved ones can discuss their fears and experiences not only with a professional oncopsychologist, but also with those who have already gone through a similar path and overcome the disease. Group members talk about ways to overcome the psychological difficulties they face on the path to recovery. Since December last year, you can also join such meetings online.
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KARL STEFANOVIC: Well, the crisis gripping Australia’s child care sector is deepening, with a second man charged in connection to an abuse investigation that led to the arrest of a Melbourne worker.
JAYNE AZZOPARDI: The Victorian Government has announced a major crackdown which will include a phone ban inside centres. But action is needed at a national level and it is needed now. So, for more on this, we’re bringing in Federal Education Minister Jason Clare. Minister, good morning to you. You revealed yesterday that you actually know a family that has been impacted by all of this. How are they doing?
JASON CLARE, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: One of my best friend’s daughters is caught up in this. Two of her little girls. She’s burning with rage, as you would expect her to be, and we’ve spoken a bit over the last 48 hours. She’s angry, she’s confused, she’s feeling all of the guilt and shame and anger that any mum or dad would be feeling when you get that notification. And she’s grappling with what she needs to do now to make sure that her girls are safe.
This is sickening and it’s serious. It’s not the sort of stuff we like to talk about on breakfast TV. But people can’t turn away. We’ve got to act here. There’s steps that we’ve already taken, but not enough and not fast enough. One of the things that I will do as the Minister for Education, is, when the Parliament returns later this month, introduce legislation that will cut off funding to child care centres that aren’t meeting our safety standards or our quality standards. If they’re repeat offenders, if they’re not meeting the sort of safety standards that we meet, that we need and we demand as a country, then we’ve got to cut off their funding. That’s the big weapon that the Commonwealth Government has to wield here.
STEFANOVIC: I’ll circle back to some of those things in a second. This is such a difficult case, right, and it’s difficult too, because there’s a running narrative on the side of this and they’re just charges. But there are so many families affected and, you know, one. And I was just thinking about this the other day. Jayne has kids as well, and I was just going, if that was me, I don’t know what I’d do, but I’d be baying for blood. So, to try and wrestle all those emotions around this is incredibly difficult.
CLARE: And she is. She is. Look, it’s impossible to put yourself in that position until you’re there. I’ve got a sense of it because of the fact that it’s one of my best friends. And these are allegations put aside this individual case. There was an individual that was arrested, charged and convicted with serious acts. Australia’s worst serial paedophile was arrested for actions in child care centres in Queensland a couple of years ago. It’s what prompted me to conduct a child safety review. It’s what’s prompted the actions on mobile phones in centres, as well as mandatory reporting. But it’s also the reason why we’ve got to go further, whether that’s a national register of workers in centres or the sort of action that’s now being taken in NSW and in Victoria around CCTV. Or for that matter, the action that I will take as Minister to introduce that legislation to cut funding to centres that aren’t up to scratch. The fact is that about 70 per cent of the funding that runs the centre comes from Australian taxpayers, comes from the Commonwealth Government through the child care subsidy. It’s what makes these centres work. And if they’re not working in the interest of our kids, then we’ve got to have the power to be able to cut that funding off.
AZZOPARDI: Minister, as a dad yourself, who would be personally paying child care centres, as we do, to look after our children and to have the expectation that they are going to be not only safe, but nurtured and nourished, do you think your Government has done enough here?
CLARE: The honest answer is no, of course we haven’t. We haven’t done enough and we haven’t done it fast enough.
You’re right. One of my little guys is in child care right now. Can I use this opportunity to say thank you to all of the extraordinary child care workers, early educators across the country. They’re as angry as I am, as my friend is right now. I remember the day that we told my big guy, my 8 year old, that Louise was pregnant with his little brother. The first thing he said when we told him that he was going to be a big brother is, “I can’t wait to tell Kelly.” And Kelly is the woman that looked after him when he was in early education and care. And that reminds me that that special bond and connection that our children have with our educators. This is an essential service for mums and dads to help them get back to work. But it’s much more than that for our kids. It helps them to get ready for school, it helps them to get ready for life. Every educator out there that’s seeing this is angry and furious as well. And the responsibility rests with me as well as every other educator in the country to make sure that we make our centres safer than they are today. Not enough’s been done, more needs to be done.
STEFANOVIC: We had a lady on just about half an hour ago saying the men at these child care centres should be banned. There are going to be all sorts of people wanting certain reforms, some of them easily done, some of them not. So, is that something that you would consider?
CLARE: I don’t think that’s going to be the solution here. Have a look at the Four Corners exposé from earlier this year that Adele Ferguson led on. That showed abuse in our child care centres and neglect in our centres, and they weren’t blokes. We’ve had a Royal Commission, we’ve had the child care safety review that I led. We’ve got recommendations there around registers and CCTV and legislation. We know what we need to do, Karl. Now, the obligation on us is to get busy and implement these recommendations.
STEFANOVIC: So, what’s stopping you? And I know you’re a really hardworking guy. I know you deeply feel this story, you raised the Four Corners story. When that happened, we all said, let’s change it, let’s install these reforms and let’s protect our kids. Nothing happened. So, what’s it going to be?
CLARE: People watching aren’t interested in bloody excuses, they’re interested in action. When we got the Four Corners Report, we said we’d introduce that legislation and that’s what I’ll do when Parliament returns. The New South Wales Government also commissioned the former Deputy Ombudsman to do a review. We got that report last week and the former Deputy Ombudsman briefed Education Ministers on Friday. That’s where CCTV reform’s coming from. That’s where increasing penalties and more information for parents is coming from. We’ve got to bring all of these recommendations together. That’s happening now and we’ve got to actually do the work, we’ve got to implement them.
AZZOPARDI: So, when parents who are watching now, what can you tell them? When will this all be in place?
CLARE: Number one, there’s already action being taken on mobile phones. But more action will happen in September when regulations come into effect. Legislation will be introduced into the Federal Parliament when Parliament returns in the first sitting fortnight. And as I said, that’s about cutting off funding to bad actors, to people that aren’t up to scratch when it comes to the safety of our kids. And Early Education Ministers will meet again next month on the next stage of reform.
There’s another part to this as well, Jane, and that’s the Working With Children Checks. Not enough has been done to make sure that they work in the interest of our kids. They’re not a silver bullet because a lot of these offenders haven’t got a criminal record. So, they’re not caught by the system. But the Attorney-General has said yesterday that Attorney-Generals across the country will meet next month to make sure they work better, that there’s exchange of information, but that they’re also updated in near real-time. And Victoria and New South Wales have also announced a package of reforms. I strongly back that. We want to see that rolled out right across the country.
STEFANOVIC: I know your pain will help motivate you to get this done. It needs to be done, pronto. There’s so much, so much at stake. Jason, thank you. And a reminder, a dedicated advice line for parents impacted in Melbourne has been established. You can call 1800 791 241. Just still rattled by all that story.
A beloved dog who went missing for two days has been safely rescued after falling down an abandoned mine shaft in the Wombat State Forest in Langdons Hill.
Peggy, a Kelpie-Border Collie cross, was out bushwalking with her owners when she suddenly took off into the bush and didn’t return.
After two long days of searching on foot, Peggy’s owners tracked her down on Tuesday evening (1 July) and contacted CFA’s Oscar 1 rescue team for assistance.
Crews quickly arrived on scene,and,following a challenging three-hour operation, Peggy was successfully extricated from the shaft, remarkably, totally unharmed.
Her owners said it was a huge relief to have her home, safe and sound.
“The first night was windy, so it was hard to hear anything at first. But the next night the wind dropped off and I heard her faint bark coming from across the ridge,” said the owner.
“Thankfully we found her about four metres down an old shaft.”
This isn’t the first time a member of Peggy’s family has found themselves in a rough spot.
“A couple of years ago, her brother Terry fell into a shaft about 20 metres deep. The Oscar 1 team assisted us on that occasion as well,” said the owner.
“We can’t thank them enough, they were amazing.”
CFA District 15 Commander Damien Scott was the incident controller and praised the teamwork on display.
“This was a great example of how our specialist rescue crews, and local brigades work together to get the job done,” Damien said.
“The Oscar 1 team brought their expertise to a very tricky situation and did a fantastic job bringing Peggy to safety.
“It’s always a good day when everyone goes home safe–humans and dogs alike.”
Peggy is now back at home, safe and in good spirits after her unexpected doggone adventure.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The Northern Territory Police Force are continuing to call for information in relation to a hit and run in Leanyer on Friday, 27 June 2025.
About 7:05pm on Friday, emergency services received reports of a hit and run along Leanyer Drive and responded to the incident. A female and male were allegedly struck with the female suffering serious injuries.
Initially police called for information relating to any witnesses of a white Yaris or Getz hatchback in the area at the time; however, upon further investigation police do not believe it was a hatchback and instead are looking for a white Holden Commodore VE Calais SS Station Wagon as pictured. The white Holden Commodore is believed to be missing the passenger side mirror and may have damage on the left side of the vehicle following the incident.
Police are encouraging the driver to make contact on 131 444.
Anyone who may have witnessed this car within the vicinity of Leanyer Drive around the time of this incident, particularly anyone with dash cam footage, is urged to contact police on 131 444. Please quote reference number NTP2500065618.
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today met with the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Singapore to ASEAN, H.E. Gerard Ho, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. They discussed and exchanged views on the work of ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat, focusing on preparations for the upcoming series of ministerial meetings to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, later this month.
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If it is up to the European Commission, the options open to member states when it comes to deciding not to consider the substance of an asylum request will be expanded in cases in which the person in question can receive protection in another, safe country outside the EU. The government, along with other member states, asked the commission to come up with a proposal which should ensure that fewer people end up coming to the Netherlands and that we get a grip on migration.
It is currently the case that the substance of an asylum application cannot be considered if the asylum seeker in question has a link to another safe country outside the EU. The proposal would legally allow for this also to be the case in situations in which an asylum seeker has already travelled through another safe country, or in which the EU or the Netherlands have agreements in place with a safe country for the asylum procedure to be conducted there.
As Minister van Hijum for Asylum and Migration explains: “The Netherlands argued for this in Brussels, so it’s good that the European Commission has come up with this proposal. It will establish a legal basis for not every asylum application having to be processed in the Netherlands. We’re continuing to work hard in the European context to get a grip on migration and that’s what I’m committed to going forwards.”
Changing the ‘safe third country’ concept will make it easier to decide that an asylum request is not going to be considered because there is another safe country the asylum seeker in question can go to. However, certain conditions do apply. For example, the asylum seeker must actually be able to gain access to that safe country. In addition, international law and the Asylum Procedures Directive set out criteria a country must meet in order to be considered safe. That will continue to be the case.
Moreover, the point of departure is still that anyone seeking asylum should be able to do so safely. However, if agreements exist with a third country, the asylum application will not necessarily have to be processed in the Netherlands or the European Union. In the coming period, the Netherlands is committed to completing the negotiations on this proposal, both with the other member states and the European Parliament, as soon as possible.
Azentio Software (“Azentio”) (www.Azentio.com), a leading technology enabler in the banking, financial services, insurance (BFSI), and enterprise resource planning (ERP) sectors, today announces the appointment of Harikrishnan Venkataramanan as President – ERP.
With over 25 years of experience in enterprise technology, including more than two decades in senior leadership at Ramco Systems, Hari brings a rare combination of strategic vision and deep executional expertise. His appointment marks a pivotal moment in Azentio’s journey to transform and scale its ERP business across high-growth markets.
Hari has led ERP transformations across industries and geographies, delivering double-digit growth, sustained client success, and cutting-edge innovation in complex enterprise environments. He is known for building agile, customer-focused organizations that unlock real business value.
In his new role, Hari will lead Azentio’s ERP strategy across product, engineering, and go-to-market, with a focus on expanding into new verticals, accelerating product innovation, and elevating customer experience. His leadership will be key to shaping the next generation of Azentio’s ERP offerings for sectors such as manufacturing, distribution, and financial management.
Sanjay Singh, CEO of Azentio, commented: “Hari joins us at a transformative time for our ERP business. His track record of growth, innovation, and customer-centric execution makes him the ideal leader to drive our ambitions forward. We are thrilled to welcome him into the Azentio leadership team as we sharpen our focus on regional momentum and product excellence.”
Harikrishnan Venkataramanan, President – ERP, added: “I’m energised by the opportunity to lead Azentio’s ERP business into its next phase. Today, ERP is about far more than operations, it’s about enabling intelligent, connected, and scalable enterprises. With Azentio’s strong regional foundation and product DNA, I’m excited to unlock new value for our customers and partners.”
Hari’s appointment reinforces Azentio’s commitment to delivering transformative, industry-specific ERP solutions that empower businesses to scale, adapt, and lead in a rapidly evolving market landscape.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Azentio Software Private Limited.
About Azentio: Azentio is a leading provider of purpose-built, intelligence-driven technology solutions designed to transform the banking, financial services, insurance (BFSI), and enterprise resource planning (ERP) sectors. By combining cutting-edge innovation with deep domain expertise, Azentio empowers businesses to accelerate growth, enhance operational efficiency, and stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market. With a strong presence across the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia, Azentio delivers world-class technology that streamlines processes and delivers tangible results, enabling organizations to achieve sustainable success. For more information on Azentio, please visit www.Azentio.com.