Category: Europe

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China Increases Number of Countries Allowed 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit to 55

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) — China has added Indonesia to the list of countries whose citizens enjoy 240-hour visa-free transit, bringing the total number of such countries to 55, the National Immigration Administration said Thursday.

    Starting Thursday, Indonesian passport holders will be able to enter China through any of 60 checkpoints in 24 provincial-level regions in the country and stay in the country without a visa for up to 240 hours or 10 days before heading on to their next destination, the ministry said.

    The measure is part of China’s broader efforts to boost international travel and exchanges. -0-

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI Russia: EU, Spain, UK and Gibraltar reach agreement on future Gibraltar deal

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    BRUSSELS, June 12 (Xinhua) — Senior officials from the European Union (EU), Spain and Britain, along with representatives from Gibraltar, reached agreement in Brussels on Wednesday on key aspects of a future EU-UK treaty on Gibraltar, aimed at removing border barriers and promoting regional prosperity.

    “The future agreement is without prejudice to the respective legal positions of Spain and the United Kingdom regarding sovereignty and jurisdiction,” the joint statement said.

    According to the statement, the aim of the future agreement is to ensure the prosperity of the region by removing all physical barriers, checks and controls on persons and goods moving between Spain and Gibraltar.

    This will be done while maintaining the Schengen area, the EU single market and the customs union.

    As for the movement of people, checks at the checkpoint between Gibraltar and La Linea in Spain will be abolished for those who cross the border daily for work. Double checks will be carried out at the port and airport of Gibraltar.

    With regard to goods, close cooperation between both customs authorities and the abolition of checks on goods will lead to the creation of a customs union between the EU and Gibraltar.

    The future agreement also covers areas such as state aid, taxation, labour relations, environment, trade and sustainable development, anti-money laundering, transport, environment, cohesion and employment. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • Trump met with cheers, boos at Kennedy Center as he attends ‘Les Miserables’

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    U.S. President Donald Trump was greeted with a high-volume mix of boos and cheers on Wednesday as he took his seat for his first production at the Kennedy Center, the performing arts facility he has subjected to a conservative takeover.

    The mixed reception for Trump and his wife Melania as they arrived in the presidential box before a performance of “Les Miserables” reflected the heightened emotions that have been unleashed by his overhaul of the cultural center.

    Trump has pushed out its former chairman,fired its longtime president and pledged to overhaul an institution that he criticized as too liberal. The center, a leading U.S. arts facility, had long enjoyed bipartisan support.

    Ticket sales have fallen since and some shows, including the hit “Hamilton,” have canceled their appearances at the 2,300-capacity theater.

    At Wednesday’s performance, several drag queens in full regalia sat in the audience, likely in response to Trump’s criticism of the venue for hosting drag shows.

    One person shouted “Viva Los Angeles” as Trump stepped out of the presidential box at the intermission. Trump has sent military troops to quell protests against his immigration raids in that city.

    Trump’s appearance was meant to boost fundraising for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and he said donors raised over $10 million.

    “We’re going to make it incredible. We have all the funding. We raised a lot tonight, and we’ll put in a lot of money to bring it back to the highest level,” a tuxedo-clad Trump told reporters after other administration officials arrived on the red carpet.

    SUBSCRIPTIONS DOWN

    Still, overall year-on-year subscription revenue was down 36% to $2.8 million as of early June for next season, which begins in the autumn, according to a person briefed on the data. Theater subscriptions, normally a major revenue driver for the center, were down 82%.

    A Kennedy Center official said the comparisons reflected in those subscription sales were not accurate because the center had launched its subscription renewal campaign later in 2025 than 2024.

    “Our renewal campaign is just kicking off,” Kim Cooper, senior vice president of marketing, said in a statement. Cooper also noted the center had launched a new subscription option that allowed customers to “mix and match” genres and said more announcements of shows were coming.

    The Kennedy Center depends on revenue from tickets and subscriptions as well as donations to operate. Ticket sales for “Les Miserables” have been robust, according to another Kennedy Center official.

    Donors who pay $100,000 to $2 million got to attend a reception before the show, receive a photo with the president and be seated in good locations in the theater.

    “We’ve raised a little more than $10 million for tonight, which is pretty remarkable, and it’s an organization that needs the money right now,” said Ric Grenell, a close Trump ally and former ambassador to Germany who now heads the Kennedy Center.

    Under his leadership, the center has sought to add more conservative-leaning programming, including a show that Grenell has described as a celebration of the birth of Christ.

    Trump said he particularly enjoyed “Les Miserables,” a musical about citizens rising up against their government. “I’ve seen it many times, it’s one of my favorites,” he said.

    Along with the first lady, Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also attended.

    Vance was likewise met with boos when he attended a Kennedy Center show with his wife earlier this year.

    Trump has zeroed in on drag shows to argue that the Kennedy Center had lost its way before he took office. But multiple upcoming musicals on the Kennedy Center’s agenda include characters dressed in drag, such as “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Chicago.”

    Other musicals have pulled out, according to a former Kennedy Center official.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former CEO of Guam Helicopter Company Sentenced to 405 Months in Federal Prison for Criminal Aviation Violations

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Hagåtña, Guam – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that John D. Walker, age 60, was sentenced by Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood in the District Court of Guam to 405 months imprisonment.  On September 9, 2022, a jury returned guilty verdicts against Walker and his company, Hansen Helicopters, Inc., on 110 counts involving conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) and National Transportation Safety Board (“NTSB”), aircraft parts fraud that caused serious bodily injury and death, employing a mechanic without a mechanic’s certificate, registration violations involving helicopters, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.  Walker was also ordered to pay a $250,000 fine, and a $9,900 special assessment fee.  Walker forfeited $58,407,513, which represented the proceeds of aircraft parts fraud and wire fraud, in addition to $11,770,000, which represented the amount of money involved in the money laundering offenses.

    Hansen Helicopters, Inc., was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the FAA and NTSB, in addition to aircraft parts fraud that caused serious bodily injury and death.  Hansen received a five-year term of probation, a $4,900,000 fine, and a $2,000 special assessment fee.

    Walker subverted aviation laws and regulations, enforced by the FAA and NTSB, which protect public health and safety.  Walker used at least 48 shell companies, most incorporated internationally, to operate an illicit helicopter/pilot/mechanic leasing business in Guam. By concealing that his aircraft were unregistered or illegally registered, unairworthy, and maintained and operated by uncertificated airmen, Walker entered fraudulent lease agreements with numerous tuna boat companies.  He earned over $400 million dollars through his scheme. He concealed his crimes by forging documents, counterfeiting aircraft parts, and bribing aviation officials.

    “The defendants built helicopters from an assortment of discarded frames and counterfeit parts,” stated United States Attorney Anderson. “They blatantly disregarded aviation laws to build and operate aircraft that should never have left the ground.  Fishing companies throughout the Pacific region relied on these aircraft for spotting tuna.  Unfortunately, the defendants’ quest for money resulted in the deaths of many pilots.  This was a difficult case to investigate and prosecute, but well worth federal resources. I commend our law enforcement partners on bringing these defendants to justice.”

    “Unchecked greed and flagrant disregard for aviation safety create a recipe for disaster with catastrophic results,” said Special Agent in Charge Cory LeGars of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Western Region. “This sentencing epitomizes the criminal justice system’s commitment to holding individuals and companies accountable for egregious illicit conduct. I commend the relentless efforts of our special agents and the outstanding collaboration between our law enforcement, prosecutorial, and regulatory partners, whose collective efforts brought this complex and hazardous fraud scheme to justice.”

    “How many times have we heard, ’It’s just money…’ when it comes to financial crime?” asked Special Agent in Charge Adam Jobes, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Seattle Field Office. “This case shows that all too often, innocent people suffer catastrophic harm because of someone else’s greed. Financial crime is not victimless, and IRS-CI will continue to protect our communities from people like Mr. Walker who put their greed above all else.”

    “Over several years, Mr. Walker engaged in a multi-layered scheme to bribe public officials and defraud the government, significantly jeopardizing public safety in the process,” said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter. “The FBI remains steadfast and persistent in our efforts to investigate these schemes and bring bad actors to justice.”

    This investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and in partnership with the Customs and Quarantine Agency of Guam.

    Assistant United States Attorney Stephen F. Leon Guerrero, Special Assistant United States Attorney Marie L. Miller, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Samantha R. Miller prosecuted this case.

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI Economics: ASEAN TVET Council advances inclusive skills development for rural and regional communities

    Source: ASEAN

    MELAKA, 12 June 2025 -The 4th Regional Policy Dialogue of ASEAN TVET Council on “TVET for Rural and Regional Advancement” was successfully convened on 11–12 June 2025 in Melaka, Malaysia. The Dialogue brought together approximately 220 participants both onsite and online from ASEAN Member States and partner organisations, representing ministries of labour, education, and economic planning, TVET institutions, industry leaders, and international development partners.
     
    Hosted by the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development of Malaysia with the support of the ASEAN Secretariat, Aus4ASEAN Digital Transformation and Future Skills Initiative (funded by the Government of Australia), and RECOTwin (funded by the Government of Germany), and the Dialogue provided a platform for participants to exchange strategies and good practices on how TVET can serve as a driver of inclusive, sustainable growth in rural and regional communities across ASEAN.
     
    Key discussions focused on expanding access to TVET, fostering technopreneurship, promoting green and digital skills, and aligning curricula with the demands of high-growth, high-value sectors. The Dialogue concluded with actionable insights and recommendations to guide ASEAN’s collective efforts toward enhancing employability, productivity, and socio-economic resilience through skills development.
     
    During the Dialogue, the Study Report on the Promotion of Business Engagement Models for Upskilling and Reskilling of the ASEAN Workforce was launched on 12 June 2025. Coordinated by the ASEAN Secretariat under the guidance of ASEAN Senior Labour Officials Meeting (SLOM) and with the support of the Aus4ASEAN Digital Transformation and Future Skills Initiative, the Study explores how ASEAN businesses are adapting to rapid changes in technology, Industry 4.0, and the green economy by investing in workforce upskilling and reskilling. It emphasises the importance of inclusive training and stronger engagement between governments, businesses, and TVET institutes. Find out more about the Study here.
     
    ###

    The post ASEAN TVET Council advances inclusive skills development for rural and regional communities appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.

    MIL OSI Economics

  • MIL-OSI China: Real Madrid announce squad for Club World Cup

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

    New Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso has named a 34-player squad for the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.

    Alonso has included several players recovering from injury, such as Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy, Antonio Rudiger and Eduardo Camavinga.

    Kylian Mbappe (R) of Real Madrid vies with Josko Gvardiol of Manchester City during the UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off second leg football match between Real Madrid and Manchester City in Madrid, Spain, on Feb. 19, 2025. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)

    The former Bayer Leverkusen manager has also called up new signings Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold, along with 10 players from the club’s B-team.

    Real Madrid also announced that Alexander-Arnold will be officially presented to the press on Thursday at the club’s Valdebebas training ground.

    The team is set to fly to the U.S. on Thursday. Real Madrid opens the tournament against Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal on June 18 in Miami, followed by matches against Mexico’s Pachuca on June 22 and Austria’s RB Salzburg on June 27.

    Full Squad:

    Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois, Andriy Lunin, Fran Gonzalez, Sergio Mestre.

    Defenders: Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Lucas Vazquez, Fran Garcia, Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy, Dean Huijsen, Youssef, Jacobo, Raul Asencio, Fortea, Diego Aguado.

    Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Fede Valverde, Luka Modric, Aurelien Tchouameni, Arda Guler, Dani Ceballos, Chema, Victor Munoz, Mario Martin.

    Forwards: Vinicius Jr., Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo, Endrick, Brahim Diaz, Gonzalo.

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI: Griffin Global Asset Management Announces the Delivery of Six Boeing 737 MAX 9 Aircraft to United Airlines

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DUBLIN, June 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Griffin Global Asset Management (“Griffin”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into long-term lease agreements for six new Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft to United Airlines. The aircraft delivered over the course of April and May 2025.

    “We are thrilled to partner with United and welcome them as a new customer. These six new technology Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft are key to United’s fleet plan and we look forward to building on our long-term partnership with the United team in the years ahead,” said Eric Hild, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Griffin Global Asset Management.

    “We are pleased to work with Griffin on this transaction, as we grow our Boeing MAX 9 fleet in accordance with our United Next plan. They provide increased gauge, a great customer experience and will contribute to higher margins,” said Mike Leskinen, Chief Financial Officer of United Airlines. 

    This transaction is consistent with United’s fleet plan and aircraft delivery expectations as outlined in its 1Q25 investor update on April 15th, 2025.

    About Griffin Global Asset Management

    Griffin is a commercial aviation leasing and alternative asset management business with offices in Dublin, Ireland, Puerto Rico, and Los Angeles, CA. Griffin’s team of professionals works closely with airlines, manufacturers, maintenance providers, and financiers to deliver innovative capital solutions globally.

    For more information visit www.griffingam.ie or www.griffingam.com

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-Evening Report: What’s the potential effect of sanctions on Israeli ministers? Here’s what my research shows

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anton Moiseienko, Senior Lecturer in Law, Australian National University

    Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the UK this week announced sanctions against two members of the Israeli cabinet: National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

    This is a momentous development. The governments concerned make it clear that they consider Ben-Gvir and Smotrich to be involved in “serious abuses of Palestinian human rights”, including “a serious abuse of the right of individuals not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.

    This is an allegation rarely levelled against sitting ministers of a democratic state, predictably causing the Israeli government to protest.

    While diplomatic consequences play out, what are sanctions anyway, and what do they mean for Ben-Gvir and Smotrich?

    3 direct consequences

    “Sanctions” is a broad umbrella term. Whole countries can be sanctioned, but so can be individuals.

    Sanctions on individuals are imposed by means of a government placing them on its national sanctions list, such as Australia’s Consolidated List (which now features both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich).

    Three direct consequences flow from such a sanctions designation.

    First, all of the sanctioned person’s assets in the relevant country are frozen. This means that, while in principle they remain the sanctioned person’s property, they cannot be used or sold. This places those assets in limbo, potentially for a very long time.

    Second, no person within the sanctioning state’s jurisdiction – that is, no one in its territory, nor any of its citizens or residents – is allowed to make money or other resources available for the benefit of the sanctioned person.

    So, it is an offence for anyone in Australia to send funds to anyone on the Consolidated List. Interestingly, there is no prohibition on receiving money from sanctioned persons.

    Third, sanctioned persons are subject to an entry ban.

    So, if a foreigner is sanctioned by the Australian government, their permission to enter Australia will be denied or revoked.

    Legal challenges are possible. For example, in 2010, the daughter of a Burmese general studying at Western Sydney University unsuccessfully sued the foreign minister for sanctioning her and cancelling her visa based on her family ties.

    The sanctions against Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are what’s known as “Magnitsky” sanctions.

    This refers not to the substance of sanctions, but rather the reasons for their adoption, namely alleged corruption or human rights abuse, rather than other forms of wrongdoing. The imposition of sanctions on those grounds was pioneered by two US statutes named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian whistleblower killed in a Moscow prison.

    In the case of the Israeli ministers, human rights abuses are alleged.

    Sanctions can hurt in other ways, too

    But what is the practical effect of these kinds of sanctions designations?

    After all, many people sanctioned by Australia will not have any property in the country, will never receive any money from Australia, and may never contemplate visiting.

    One might be tempted to conclude that, in those circumstances, sanctions are ineffectual. But the reality is more complicated.

    In 2023, together with the London-based International Lawyers Project, I conducted the first study of the effect (or impact) of “Magnitsky” sanctions, focussing on the first 20 individuals sanctioned for alleged corruption under the US Global Magnitsky Act 2016.

    We found there were no less than ten types of effects that sanctions might have.

    And in at least two-thirds of the case studies we looked at, sanctions had an impact.

    This may be skewed by the high-profile nature of those first 20 corruption-related designations under the 2016 act, which included former heads of states and major businesspeople. Still, sanctions can mean more than their direct impact.

    Of these categories of effects, private sector action is especially important. This involves businesses globally dropping the targeted person as a customer even when not legally required to do so.

    For example, non-Australian banks are not bound by Australian sanctions. But, once Australian sanctions are in place, they feed into major private-sector sanctions databases that are used by banks worldwide.

    Global banks may well decide that – once someone is accused of human rights abuse, corruption or other misconduct by a credible government – keeping the targeted person on the books is no longer worthwhile, not least reputationally.

    For US sanctions, this effect is turbocharged by the fact virtually all banks need to route US dollar transactions via the US financial system, and they cannot do so on behalf of a sanctioned person. Banks soon drop such customers.

    In a famous example, Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong, complained of having to keep piles of cash at home due to US sanctions precluding any Hong Kong bank from taking her on as a customer. (To be clear, the US has not imposed any sanctions on Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, and has opposed their designation by Australia and others.)

    Could Ben-Gvir and Smotrich fight these sanctions?

    Australian sanctions would not have such a profound impact, but they are a reputational irritant at the very least.

    This may account for the (failed) judicial challenges brought against Australian sanctions by two Russian oligarchs, Alexander Abramov and Oleg Deripaska, as well as another billionaire’s more successful petitioning of Australia’s foreign minister to lift the sanctions against him.

    In general, contesting sanctions in court is exceedingly difficult. Few claimants succeed, in Australia or elsewhere.

    It is far more likely the sanctions against Ben-Gvir and Smotrich will result in diplomatic discussions and lobbying behind the scenes.

    Anton Moiseienko has received funding from the Open Society Foundations in connection with the research cited in this article.

    ref. What’s the potential effect of sanctions on Israeli ministers? Here’s what my research shows – https://theconversation.com/whats-the-potential-effect-of-sanctions-on-israeli-ministers-heres-what-my-research-shows-258692

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-Evening Report: What will be the effect of Australia’s sanctions on Israeli ministers? Here’s what my research shows

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anton Moiseienko, Senior Lecturer in Law, Australian National University

    Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the UK this week announced sanctions against two members of the Israeli cabinet: National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

    This is a momentous development. The governments concerned make it clear that they consider Ben-Gvir and Smotrich to be involved in “serious abuses of Palestinian human rights”, including “a serious abuse of the right of individuals not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.

    This is an allegation rarely levelled against sitting ministers of a democratic state, predictably causing the Israeli government to protest.

    While diplomatic consequences play out, what are sanctions anyway, and what do they mean for Ben-Gvir and Smotrich?

    3 direct consequences

    “Sanctions” is a broad umbrella term. Whole countries can be sanctioned, but so can be individuals.

    Sanctions on individuals are imposed by means of a government placing them on its national sanctions list, such as Australia’s Consolidated List (which now features both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich).

    Three direct consequences flow from such a sanctions designation.

    First, all of the sanctioned person’s assets in the relevant country are frozen. This means that, while in principle they remain the sanctioned person’s property, they cannot be used or sold. This places those assets in limbo, potentially for a very long time.

    Second, no person within the sanctioning state’s jurisdiction – that is, no one in its territory, nor any of its citizens or residents – is allowed to make money or other resources available for the benefit of the sanctioned person.

    So, it is an offence for anyone in Australia to send funds to anyone on the Consolidated List. Interestingly, there is no prohibition on receiving money from sanctioned persons.

    Third, sanctioned persons are subject to an entry ban.

    So, if a foreigner is sanctioned by the Australian government, their permission to enter Australia will be denied or revoked.

    Legal challenges are possible. For example, in 2010, the daughter of a Burmese general studying at Western Sydney University unsuccessfully sued the foreign minister for sanctioning her and cancelling her visa based on her family ties.

    The sanctions against Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are what’s known as “Magnitsky” sanctions.

    This refers not to the substance of sanctions, but rather the reasons for their adoption, namely alleged corruption or human rights abuse, rather than other forms of wrongdoing. The imposition of sanctions on those grounds was pioneered by two US statutes named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian whistleblower killed in a Moscow prison.

    In the case of the Israeli ministers, human rights abuses are alleged.

    Sanctions can hurt in other ways, too

    But what is the practical effect of these kinds of sanctions designations?

    After all, many people sanctioned by Australia will not have any property in the country, will never receive any money from Australia, and may never contemplate visiting.

    One might be tempted to conclude that, in those circumstances, sanctions are ineffectual. But the reality is more complicated.

    In 2023, together with the London-based International Lawyers Project, I conducted the first study of the effect (or impact) of “Magnitsky” sanctions, focussing on the first 20 individuals sanctioned for alleged corruption under the US Global Magnitsky Act 2016.

    We found there were no less than ten types of effects that sanctions might have.

    And in at least two-thirds of the case studies we looked at, sanctions had an impact.

    This may be skewed by the high-profile nature of those first 20 corruption-related designations under the 2016 act, which included former heads of states and major businesspeople. Still, sanctions can mean more than their direct impact.

    Of these categories of effects, private sector action is especially important. This involves businesses globally dropping the targeted person as a customer even when not legally required to do so.

    For example, non-Australian banks are not bound by Australian sanctions. But, once Australian sanctions are in place, they feed into major private-sector sanctions databases that are used by banks worldwide.

    Global banks may well decide that – once someone is accused of human rights abuse, corruption or other misconduct by a credible government – keeping the targeted person on the books is no longer worthwhile, not least reputationally.

    For US sanctions, this effect is turbocharged by the fact virtually all banks need to route US dollar transactions via the US financial system, and they cannot do so on behalf of a sanctioned person. Banks soon drop such customers.

    In a famous example, Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong, complained of having to keep piles of cash at home due to US sanctions precluding any Hong Kong bank from taking her on as a customer. (To be clear, the US has not imposed any sanctions on Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, and has opposed their designation by Australia and others.)

    Could Ben-Gvir and Smotrich fight these sanctions?

    Australian sanctions would not have such a profound impact, but they are a reputational irritant at the very least.

    This may account for the (failed) judicial challenges brought against Australian sanctions by two Russian oligarchs, Alexander Abramov and Oleg Deripaska, as well as another billionaire’s more successful petitioning of Australia’s foreign minister to lift the sanctions against him.

    In general, contesting sanctions in court is exceedingly difficult. Few claimants succeed, in Australia or elsewhere.

    It is far more likely the sanctions against Ben-Gvir and Smotrich will result in diplomatic discussions and lobbying behind the scenes.

    Anton Moiseienko has received funding from the Open Society Foundations in connection with the research cited in this article.

    ref. What will be the effect of Australia’s sanctions on Israeli ministers? Here’s what my research shows – https://theconversation.com/what-will-be-the-effect-of-australias-sanctions-on-israeli-ministers-heres-what-my-research-shows-258692

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China’s Hainan Island Braces for Typhoon Vitip

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    HAIKOU, June 12 (Xinhua) — South China’s Hainan Province raised its flood and typhoon alert level to III from IV at 2:50 p.m. on Wednesday.

    Typhoon Witip’s epicenter was located about 270 kilometers southeast of Sanya at 6 p.m. Wednesday, with winds of up to 18 meters per second and atmospheric pressure at the epicenter of 993 hectopascals, according to the provincial meteorological office.

    Earlier on Wednesday, Hainan was placed on typhoon alert level four after a tropical depression over the South China Sea strengthened into its first typhoon this year in the morning.

    Strong winds and rainfall have already affected Sansha City, China’s southernmost city, as a maximum of 108.6 mm of rainfall was recorded there between 8:00 a.m. Tuesday and 7:00 a.m. Wednesday, with wind gusts of up to 18.7 meters per second.

    Meteorologists predict that Vitip will move west at about 10 km per hour, gradually gaining strength as it approaches the southern coast of Hainan Island. It is expected to make landfall in the area on Friday.

    At present, all marine cargo terminals in Sanya have stopped operations and all marine engineering projects have been suspended. According to the city’s Maritime Affairs Bureau, a total of 1,205 people on 11 offshore platforms have been evacuated to safe areas.

    Let us recall that China has adopted a four-level emergency response system for flood-related emergencies, where level 1 is the highest.

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Number of ships leased in Tianjin Dongjiang FTZ reaches 1,000 units

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    TIANJIN, June 12 (Xinhua) — A signing ceremony for the leasing of the 1,000th ship was held at the Dongjiang Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in north China’s Tianjin City on Wednesday.

    As the largest ship financing and leasing center in mainland China, Dongjiang FTZ has officially joined the world’s leasing centers with 1,000 ships under management.

    The milestone leased vessel is a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility built in Singapore. The total investment in the project was nearly US$1.8 billion, including about US$1.2 billion in lease financing.

    According to Shi Jinfeng, an official with the Dongjiang FTZ administration, the deal marks another milestone in the development of offshore ship leasing in Dongjiang and is the largest cross-border syndicated leasing project in mainland China in terms of both funding volume and number of participants.

    Specializing in the leasing industry, Dongjiang FTZ serves over 90 percent of the cross-border leasing transactions of ships and marine engineering equipment in mainland China.

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Chinese students with disabilities realize their college dreams with improved assistance

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) — Among the 13.35 million Chinese applicants who took this year’s gaokao, the nationwide college entrance examination, more than 14,000 people with disabilities received the help they needed to realize their dreams of higher education.

    This year, China’s Gaokao was held from June 7 to 10. A total of 16 visually impaired examinees in 12 provincial-level administrative units used special examination materials printed in Braille in special rooms with extended time allotted for completing the tasks. All visually impaired examinees were allowed to bring Braille pens, tablets, drawing tools, and other assistive devices.

    As for examinees with hearing impairments, they were exempted from listening questions in foreign language tests and were allowed to wear hearing aids, cochlear implants and other hearing devices.

    Disabled examinees were guaranteed access to wheelchairs and mobility aids in examination rooms. Applicants who had difficulty writing papers due to upper limb impairments or loss were given 30 percent more time than other examinees.

    According to official statistics, in 2025, the number of disabled people in the country who passed the gaokao exams using preferential assistance measures was 140 times more than in 2012. Now, this practice has become more regular and institutionalized. -0-

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI China: American trio into quarterfinals at Queens Club

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

    American trio Emma Navarro, Amanda Anisimova and Madison Keys all advanced in the women’s singles round of 16 at the Queen’s Club Championships on Wednesday.

    Third seed Navarro came from a set down to defeat Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.

    The world No. 10 struggled to find her rhythm in the opening set and faced a match point in the grueling second, but the former Wimbledon quarterfinalist gradually raised her level and sealed the win in 2 hours and 47 minutes.

    Navarro will face fellow American Anisimova in the quarterfinals after the world No. 15 outplayed British wild card Sonay Kartal 6-1, 6-3.

    Australian Open champion Keys overcame a shaky start to defeat Russian qualifier Anastasia Zakharova 6-3, 6-2.

    Keys admitted she had trouble early on. “Once I did, I feel like I played really well,” the second seed said during her on-court interview.

    Meanwhile, sixth seed Karolina Muchova was knocked out of the WTA 500 event in west London by German qualifier Tatjana Maria, 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-1.

    China’s Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen will face American McCartney Kessler in the second round on Thursday.

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-Evening Report: Trump may try to strike a deal with AUKUS review, but here’s why he won’t sink it

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University

    The Pentagon has announced it will review the massive AUKUS agreement between the United States, United Kingdom and Australia to ensure it’s aligned with US President Donald Trump’s “America first” agenda.

    The US undersecretary of defence for policy, Elbridge Colby, is reportedly going to oversee the review.

    The announcement has raised concern in Australia, but every government is entitled to review policies that their predecessors have made to consider whether or not there’s a particular purpose.

    The UK has launched a parliamentary inquiry into AUKUS too, so it’s not actually unreasonable for the US to do the same.

    There’s a degree of nervousness in Australia as to what the implications are because Australia understandably has the biggest stake in this.

    But we need to consider what Colby has articulated in the past. In his book, The Strategy of Denial: American Defence in the Nature of Great Power Conflict, he made the case the US could “prepare to win a war with China it cannot afford to lose – in order to deter it from happening”.

    So, with a deterrent mindset, he sees the need for the US to muscle up militarily.

    He’s spoken about the alliance with Australia in very positive terms on a couple of occasions. And he has called himself an “AUKUS agnostic”, though he has expressed deep concern about the ability of the submarine industrial base in the US to manufacture the ships quickly enough.

    And that leads to the fear the US Navy would not have enough submarines for itself if Washington is also sending them to Australia.

    As part of the deal, Australia would eventually be able to contribute to accelerating the production line. That involves Australian companies contributing to the manufacture of certain widgets and components that are needed to build the subs.

    Australia has already made a nearly A$800 million (US$500 million) down payment on expanding the US industrial capacity as part of the deal to ensure we get some subs in a reasonable time frame.

    There’s also been significant legislative and industrial reforms in the US, Australia and UK to help facilitate Australian defence-related industries unplug the bottleneck of submarine production.

    There’s no question there’s a need to speed up production. But we are already seeing significant signs of an uptick in the production rate, thanks in part to the Australian down payment. And it’s anticipated the rate will significantly increase in the next 12–18 months.

    Even still, projects like this often slide in terms of timelines.

    Why the US won’t spike the deal

    I’m reasonably optimistic that, on balance, the Trump administration will come down on the side of proceeding with the deal.

    There are a few key reasons for this:

    1) We’re several years down the track already.

    2) We have more than 100 Australian sailors already operating in the US system.

    3) Industrially, we’re on the cusp of making a significant additional contribution to the US submarine production line.

    And finally, most people don’t fully appreciate that the submarine base just outside Perth is an incredibly consequential piece of real estate for US security calculations.

    Colby has made very clear the US needs to muscle up to push back and deter China’s potential aggression in the region. In that equation, submarines are crucial, as is a substantial submarine base in the Indian Ocean.

    China is acutely mindful of what we call the “Malacca dilemma”. Overwhelmingly, China’s trade of goods and fossil fuels comes through the Malacca Strait between Malaysia and Indonesia’s island of Sumatra. The Chinese know this supply line could be disrupted in a war. And the submarines operating out of Perth contribute to this fear.

    This is a crucial deterrent effect the US and its allies have been seeking to maintain. And it has largely endured.

    Given nobody can predict the future, we all want to prevent a war over Taiwan and we all want to maintain the status quo.

    As such, the considered view has been that Australia will continue to support the US to bolster its deterrent effect to prevent such a scenario.

    Could Trump be angling for a deal?

    As part of the US review of the deal, we could see talk of a potential slowdown in the delivery rate of the submarines. The Trump administration could also put additional pressure on Australia to deliver more for the US.

    This includes the amount Australia spends on defence, a subject of considerable debate in Canberra. Taking Australia’s overall interests into account, the Albanese government may well decide increasing defence spending is an appropriate thing to do.

    There’s a delicate dance to be had here between the Trump administration, the Australian government, and in particular, their respective defence departments, about how to achieve the most effective outcome.

    It’s highly likely whatever decision the US government makes will be portrayed as the Trump administration “doing a deal”. In the grand scheme of things, that’s not a bad thing. This is what countries do.

    We talk a lot about the Trump administration’s transactional approach to international relations. But it’s actually not that different to previous US administrations with which Canberra has had to deal.

    So I’m reasonably sanguine about the AUKUS review and any possible negotiations over it. I believe the Trump administration will come to the conclusion it does not want to spike the Australia relationship.

    Australia has been on the US side since federation. Given this, the US government will likely make sure this deal goes ahead. The Trump administration may try to squeeze more concessions out of Australia as part of “the art of the deal”, but it won’t sink the pact.

    However, many people will undoubtedly say this is the moment Australia should break with AUKUS. But then what? What would Australia do instead to ensure its security in this world of heightened great power competition in which Australia’s interests are increasingly challenged?

    Walking away now would leave Australia more vulnerable than ever. I think that would be a great mistake.

    From 2015 to 2017 John Blaxland received funding from the US Department of Defense Minerva Research Initiative (subsequently disbanded by the Trump administration). This was used to write a book (with Greg Raymond) entitled “The US Thai Alliance and Asian International Relations” (Routledge, 2021). John currently is a fulltime employee of the ANU.

    ref. Trump may try to strike a deal with AUKUS review, but here’s why he won’t sink it – https://theconversation.com/trump-may-try-to-strike-a-deal-with-aukus-review-but-heres-why-he-wont-sink-it-258798

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for June 12, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on June 12, 2025.

    Trump may try to strike a deal with AUKUS review, but here’s why he won’t sink it
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University The Pentagon has announced it will review the massive AUKUS agreement between the United States, United Kingdom and Australia to ensure it’s aligned with US President Donald Trump’s “America first” agenda. The US undersecretary of defence

    Why are sunsets so pretty in winter? There’s a simple explanation
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chloe Wilkins, Associate Lecturer and PhD Candidate, Solar Physics, University of Newcastle nelo2309/Shutterstock If you live in the southern hemisphere and have been stopped in your tracks by a recent sunset, you may have noticed they seem more vibrant lately. The colours are brighter and bolder, and

    After weeks of confusion and chaos, Tasmania heads back to the polls on July 19
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Hortle, Deputy Director, Tasmanian Policy Exchange, University of Tasmania The Tasmanian government has called a state election for July 19, the fourth in a little over seven years. Following days of high drama, Governor Barbara Baker finally granted Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s election request, saying there

    Goodbye to all that? Rethinking Australia’s alliance with Trump’s America
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Beeson, Adjunct professor, Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney Even the most ardent supporters of the alliance with the United States – the notional foundation of Australian security for more than 70 years – must be having some misgivings about the second coming of Donald

    A reversal in US climate policy will send renewables investors packing – and Australia can reap the benefits
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Downie, Professor, Australian National University President Donald Trump is trying to unravel the signature climate policy of his predecessor Joe Biden, the Inflation Reduction Act, as part of a sweeping bid to dismantle the United States’ climate ambition. The Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, is a

    ‘Hard to measure and difficult to shift’: the government’s big productivity challenge
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bartos, Professor of Economics, University of Canberra Higher productivity has quickly emerged as an economic reform priority for Labor’s second term. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has laid down some markers for a productivity round table in August, saying he wants it to build the “broadest possible

    Extreme weather could send milk prices soaring, deepening challenges for the dairy industry
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milena Bojovic, Lecturer, Sustainability and Environment, University of Technology Sydney Australia’s dairy industry is in the middle of a crisis, fuelled by an almost perfect storm of challenges. Climate change and extreme weather have been battering farmlands and impacting animal productivity, creating mounting financial strains and mental

    201 ways to say ‘fuck’: what 1.7 billion words of online text shows about how the world swears
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martin Schweinberger, Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, The University of Queensland Our brains swear for good reasons: to vent, cope, boost our grit and feel closer to those around us. Swear words can act as social glue and play meaningful roles in how people communicate, connect and express

    Were the first kings of Poland actually from Scotland? New DNA evidence unsettles a nation’s founding myth
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University An illustration from a 15th-century manuscript showing the coronation of the first king of Poland, Boleslaw I. Chronica Polonorum by Mathiae de Mechovia For two centuries, scholars have sparred over the roots of the Piasts, Poland’s first documented royal

    Medical scans are big business and investors are circling. Here are 3 reasons to be concerned
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sean Docking, Research Fellow, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University wedmoments.stock/Shutterstock Timely access to high-quality medical imaging can be lifesaving and life-altering. Radiology can confirm a fractured bone, give us an early glimpse of our baby or detect cancer. But behind the x-ray, ultrasound,

    ‘Microaggressions’ can fly under the radar in schools. Here’s how to spot them and respond
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Leslie, Lecturer in Curriculum and Pedagogy with a focus on Educational Psychology, University of Southern Queensland Klaus Vedfelt/ Getty Images Bullying is sadly a common experience for Australian children and teenagers. It is estimated at least 25% experience bullying at some point in their schooling. The

    New Zealand’s ‘symbolic’ sanctions on Israel too little, too late, say opposition parties
    By Russell Palmer, RNZ News political reporter Opposition parties say Aotearoa New Zealand’s government should be going much further, much faster in sanctioning Israel. Foreign Minister Winston Peters overnight revealed New Zealand had joined Australia, Canada, the UK and Norway in imposing travel bans on Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar

    More deaths reported out of Sugapa in West Papua clashes with military
    By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Further reports of civilian casualties are coming out of West Papua, while clashes between Indonesia’s military and the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement continue. One of the most recent military operations took place in the early morning of May 14 in Sugapa District, Intan Jaya in Central

    Q+A follows The Project onto the scrap heap – so where to now for non-traditional current affairs?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne Two long-running television current affairs programs are coming to an end at the same time, driving home the fact that no matter what the format, they have a shelf life. The Project on Channel

    Sanctioning extremist Israeli ministers is a start, but Australia and its allies must do more
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Whyte, Scientia Associate Professor of Philosophy and ARC Future Fellow, UNSW Sydney The Australian government is imposing financial and travel sanctions on two far-right Israeli ministers: Itamar Ben-Gvir (the national security minister) and Bezalel Smotrich (finance minister). This is a significant development. While Australia has previously

    Malaria has returned to the Torres Strait. What does this mean for mainland Australia?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Webb, Clinical Associate Professor and Principal Hospital Scientist, University of Sydney Aspect Drones/Shutterstock Malaria is one of the deadliest diseases spread by mosquitoes. Each year, hundreds of millions of people worldwide are infected and half a million people die from the disease. While mainland Australia was

    Is regulation really to blame for the housing affordability crisis?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Gurran, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Sydney ymgerman/Shutterstock The Albanese government has a new mantra to describe the housing crisis, which is showing no signs of abating: homes have simply become “too hard to build” in Australia. The prime minister and senior ministers

    NZ’s goal is to get smoking rates under 5% for all population groups this year – here’s why that’s highly unlikely
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Janet Hoek, Professor in Public Health, University of Otago Getty Images Next week is “scrutiny week” in parliament – one of two weeks each year when opposition MPs can hold ministers accountable for their actions, or lack thereof. For us, it’s a good time to take stock

    Labor’s win at the 2025 federal election was the biggest since 1943, with its largest swings in the cities
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne We now have the (almost!) final results from the 2025 federal election – with only Bradfield still to be completely resolved. Labor won 94 of the 150

    What are the ‘less lethal’ weapons being used in Los Angeles?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samara McPhedran, Principal Research Fellow, Griffith University After United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested multiple people on alleged immigration violations, protests broke out in Los Angeles. In response, police and military personnel have been deployed around the greater LA area. Authorities have been using

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI China: EU, Spain, UK, Gibraltar reach deal on future border-free agreement

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

    People walk on the street in Gibraltar, March 30, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Senior officials from the European Union (EU), Spain and the United Kingdom (UK), along with Gibraltar representatives, reached an agreement in Brussels on Wednesday on the core aspects of a future EU-UK treaty concerning Gibraltar, aimed at removing border barriers and promoting regional prosperity.

    “The future Agreement is without prejudice to the respective legal positions of Spain and the United Kingdom with regard to sovereignty and jurisdiction,” said a joint statement.

    The goal of the future agreement is to secure the prosperity of the region by removing all physical barriers, checks and controls on persons and goods circulating between Spain and Gibraltar, according to the statement.

    This will be done while preserving the Schengen area, the EU single market, and custom union.

    Regarding the circulation of people, checks at the crossing point between Gibraltar and Spain’s La Linea will be removed for people who cross daily to go to work. Dual checks will be carried out at Gibraltar port and airport.

    Regarding goods, a strong cooperation between both custom authorities and lifting checks on goods will lead to a custom union between the EU and Gibraltar.

    Other areas to be covered by the future agreement include State aid, taxation, labour, environment, trade and sustainable development, anti-money laundering, transport, environment, cohesion and employment. 

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI China: Stars light up China’s summer cinemas as market seeks rebound

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

    Actress Zhang Ziyi poses during a photocall for the film “She’s got no name” at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 25, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

    After a notable box office boost over the Duanwu Festival holiday — powered by Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” — and with a wave of high-profile films like star-studded “She’s Got No Name” joining the schedule, China’s summer movie season, running from June 1 to Aug. 31, is heating up alongside the weather.

    With the Aug. 8 release of Guan Hu’s “Dongji Island” announced on Wednesday, the three-month window — seen by industry observers as China’s most important movie period second only to the Spring Festival holiday — now boasts a lineup of more than 70 domestic and foreign films, ranging from crime thrillers and historical features to animated fantasies and Hollywood imports.

    But beneath the packed schedule lies an urgent question: which ones will be this year’s runaway hits? It’s more than a popularity contest. After a 44 percent drop in 2024’s summer takings from the year prior, the Chinese film market is looking to the season for signs of resilience and perhaps revival. That rebound, if it comes, may hinge on whether one or several high-performing films can once again galvanize the public and drive momentum across the board.

    Some in the industry see “She’s Got No Name,” set for release on June 21, as the season’s first real momentum builder. “If ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,’ which opened on May 30, served as a soft launch,” film critic and Shandong-based cinema manager Dong Wenxin told Xinhua, “then ‘She’s Got No Name,’ packed with stars, may be the one to spark the summer’s first real surge.”

    Directed by Peter Chan and starring Zhang Ziyi, Jackson Yee, Zhao Liying and Lei Jiayin, the highly anticipated noir-tinged thriller is based on a sensational 1945 murder in Shanghai. A sharp re-edit of the 150-minute Cannes version that drew polarized responses last year, the upcoming release runs 96 minutes, now promoted as the first installment of a two-part series. Anticipation remains high: Chan spent eight years on the script, rebuilt historic Shanghai alleyways for the shoot, and framed the story through the lens of gendered violence.

    Dong sees the next major box office surge arriving in late July, driven by the release of period comedy “The Lychee Road” on July 25 and historical feature “731,” currently titled “731 Biochemical Revelations” in English, on July 31. In an interview with Xinhua, Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association, also expressed particular interest in the two titles, as well as “Dongji Island.”

    The Zhao Linshan directed “731,” which stars Jiang Wu and Wang Zhiwen, revisits the horrific World War II-era human experiments conducted by Japan’s Unit 731, documenting a painful chapter of history while portraying the Chinese people’s heroic resistance. Leading all summer titles in advance interest with over 600,000 “want to see” clicks on film platform Maoyan, the film could emerge as a cultural flashpoint for both its emotionally charged subject and patriotic undertones.

    Also grounded in history, “Dongji Island,” starring Zhu Yilong, recounts the true story of Chinese fishermen rescuing over 300 British prisoners of war in October 1942, after the Japanese transport ship “Lisbon Maru” was torpedoed and left to sink, despite being secretly packed with more than 1,800 prisoners. The same events were previously explored in Fang Li’s critically acclaimed 2024 documentary, “The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru.”

    Comedy remains a genre with mass appeal. Based on a popular novel by Ma Boyong, “The Lychee Road” is directed by comedian Da Peng, who also stars in the lead role. The film follows a Tang Dynasty (618-907) official tasked with the near-impossible mission of transporting fresh lychees — typically perishable within days — on a grueling 2,500-km journey from Lingnan in southern China to the capital, Chang’an. His desperate ingenuity in overcoming the logistical challenge becomes a sharp satire of bureaucratic absurdity.

    Rao said the film’s source material already boasts a strong fan base, and its TV drama adaptation has helped warm up audiences ahead of the theatrical release. “Comedy films are almost a necessity during summer,” he added, noting the film’s box office potential.

    Also among the anticipated local releases are the mystery drama “Malice,” written and supervised by Chen Sicheng, known for his commercial instincts and previous hits in the suspense genre; an animated fantasy from Light Chaser Animation adapted from the Qing Dynasty short story collection “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio;” “The Stage,” a big-screen adaptation of the comedy of the same name by comedian Chen Peisi; and the animated drama “Nobody,” which adapts an episode from the acclaimed “Yao-Chinese Folktales” animation series.

    Hollywood titles, despite their waning allure in China, remain an essential piece of the competitive puzzle this summer. “Jurassic World Rebirth” (July 2) brings back dinosaurs and picks up the story after the events of 2022’s “Jurassic World: Dominion.” The franchise’s popularity in China, where each of the three previous entries surpassed 1 billion yuan (139 million U.S. dollars) in box office takings, makes it one of the few American titles with breakout potential.

    Other high-profile imports include “How to Train Your Dragon” (June 13), “F1 The Movie” starring Brad Pitt (June 27), and James Gunn’s “Superman” (July 11).

    Voicing “cautious optimism” over the summer box office, Rao said the Chinese film market is undergoing structural changes, and that only films with truly “hardcore” cinematic elements, the kind that can only be fully appreciated in a theater for their uniquely immersive audiovisual power as a modern technological art form, can effectively draw large audiences.

    From 2017 to 2019, China’s summer box office each surpassed 16 billion yuan, with 2023 setting an all-time seasonal high of 20.62 billion yuan. But 2024 saw a steep drop to 11.64 billion yuan.

    “Based on the current slate, this summer is unlikely to reach the heights of 2023 or the pre-pandemic years,” noted industry blog Yingshi Fengxiangbiao. “Still, if a breakout hit surpassing 3 billion yuan emerges, the season could yet outpace last year.”

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The 8th Cashmere and Wool Exhibition will open in July

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    The 8th China (Ordos) International Cashmere & Wool Expo will be held from July 18 to 20, 2025 in Dongsheng District, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

    Ordos City is a world-famous agglomeration area of cashmere industry, with more than 360 cashmere enterprises, with an annual processing capacity of 50% of the country and 33% of the world. The market value of Ordos Group is more than 100 billion yuan. This group also took the lead in drafting international cashmere standards.

    This year, the exhibition will attract leading international brands from the UK, France, Italy and other countries, as well as domestic leading enterprises. More than 200 exhibitors are expected to take part in the exhibition.

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Public country-by-country (CBC) reporting

    Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

    WARNING!

    Public CBC reporting and country-by-country (CBC) reporting are different measures. For information about CBC reporting, go to Country-by-country reporting

    What is Public CBC reporting

    Public country-by-country (CBC) reporting is a regime (the regime) that requires certain large multinational enterprises to publish selected tax information to the public. This information must be reported either on a CBC basis or on an aggregated basis. Under the regime, the parent entity generally has the reporting obligation, rather than the Australian subsidiary (Public CBC reporting parent).

    The regime applies for reporting periods starting from 1 July 2024. For a Public CBC reporting parent with a reporting period end of 30 June, this will be from 1 July 2024. Reports are due within 12 months of the end of the reporting period.

    If a Public CBC reporting parent has a reporting period that does not end on 30 June, the regime will first apply from the start of the relevant period that occurs after 1 July 2024. For example, if a Public CBC reporting parent’s reporting period is from 1 April to 31 March, the regime will first apply for its reporting period starting 1 April 2025, with the first report due before 31 March 2027.

    The Public CBC reporting parent publishes their Public CBC report by providing selected tax information to the ATO in the approved form. We then facilitate the publication of the information on an Australian Government website.

    Public CBC reporting provides information to the public and enables better assessment of whether an entity’s economic presence in a jurisdiction aligns with the amount of tax they pay in that jurisdiction.

    Public CBC reporting requires disclosures about:

    • the revenues, profits and income taxes of the global group
    • the activities of the global group
    • an entity’s international related party dealings.

    Note: Public CBC reporting and country-by-country (CbC) reporting are different measures. For information about CBC reporting, go to Country-by-country reporting.

    Who is required to report

    An entity must report for a reporting period if all of the following apply:

    • it is a CBC reporting parent for the preceding period
    • it is an entity of the type specified
    • it satisfies the requirements for that reporting period.

    An entity is of the specified type if it is any one of the following:

    • constitutional corporation
    • trust, provided each of the trustees is a constitutional corporation
    • partnership, provided each of the partners is a constitutional corporation.

    ‘Constitutional corporation’ means a foreign corporation (one not formed within Australia), or a trading or financial corporation formed within the limits of the Commonwealth.

    An entity satisfies the requirements for a reporting period if all of the following apply:

    • it was a CBC reporting parent for a period that includes the whole or a part of the preceding reporting period
    • it was a member of a CBC reporting group at any time during the reporting period
    • at any point during the reporting period, it, or a member of its CBC reporting group, was an Australian resident or a foreign resident operating an Australian permanent establishment
    • $10 million or more of its aggregated turnover for the reporting period was Australian-sourced
    • it was not an exempt entity or included in a class of exempt entities.

    An entity is a CBC reporting parent for a reporting period if all of the following apply:

    • it is not an individual
    • if it is a member of a CBC reporting group at the end of the period; it is not controlled by any other member of the CBC reporting group at the end of the period
    • its annual global income for the period is $1 billion or more.

    Registration by Public CBC reporting parents

    Registration by Public CBC reporting parents allows for more efficient processing and helps to simplify the process of:

    • giving the Public CBC report to the ATO
    • requesting an extension of time to provide the Public CBC report
    • requesting an exemption from reporting obligations for a reporting period.

    The registration process doesn’t differentiate between resident and non-resident Public CBC reporting parents. A non-resident Public CBC reporting parent without an ATO reference number (ARN) will be automatically issued with an ARN as part of this registration process.

    Registration is also beneficial as it enables a Public CBC reporting parent entity to provide authorisation for representatives to act on its behalf. This includes having representatives satisfy its obligations, such as lodging the Public CBC report or applying for a Public CBC reporting exemption. Representatives can include:

    • designated officers or employees of the CBC reporting parent
    • an authorised representative of the Australian subsidiary
    • an adviser
    • other nominated person.

    The Public CBC registration form is in a fillable portable document format (PDF), and lodgment is via email. Upon lodgment, we will send an email acknowledging receipt.

    To get the form, see Public country-by-country (CBC) registration form (NAT 75645). You can also read the Instructions to complete Public country-by-country registration.

    Public CBC reporting obligations

    The reporting obligation is on the Public CBC reporting parent (whether located overseas or in Australia) to report selected tax information to us.

    An Australian subsidiary of a foreign entity generally does not have any reporting obligation of its own for a reporting period. An exception to that general principle is if a foreign entity does not include the Australian subsidiary in its group’s consolidated accounts, and the Australia subsidiary qualifies as a Public CBC parent entity in its own right.

    The Public CBC reporting parent entity must give the Public CBC report electronically in the approved form to the ATO within 12 months after the end of the relevant reporting period.

    An update to correct any material errors must be given to us within 28 days of the Public CBC reporting parent identifying or otherwise becoming aware of that error.

    Penalties apply for non-compliance.

    What is jurisdictional reporting

    For Australia and specified jurisdictions determined by the Minister, particular information must be published on a CBC basis.

    For operations in other jurisdictions, the Public CBC reporting parent has the choice to publish information on either a CBC basis or an aggregated basis.

    Specified jurisdictions list

    The Minister’s determination of jurisdictions for Public CBC reporting is provided by legislative instrument. The specified jurisdictions are outlined in the Taxation Administration (Country by Country Reporting Jurisdictions) Determination 2024External Link.

    Specified jurisdictions

    Specified jurisdictions that have a comprehensive international tax agreement with Australia:

    • Singapore
    • Switzerland.

    Other specified jurisdictions

    Other specified jurisdictions:

    • Andorra
    • Anguilla
    • Antigua and Barbuda
    • Aruba
    • Barbados
    • Bahamas
    • Bahrain
    • Belize
    • Bermuda
    • British Virgin Islands
    • Cayman Islands
    • Cook Islands
    • Curacao
    • Dominica
    • Gibraltar
    • Grenada
    • Guernsey
    • Hong Kong
    • Isle of Man
    • Jersey
    • Liberia
    • Mauritius
    • Monaco
    • Montserrat
    • Nauru
    • Niue
    • Panama
    • Republic of the Marshall Islands
    • Saint Kitts and Nevis
    • Saint Lucia
    • Saint Maarten (Dutch Part)
    • Saint Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Samoa
    • San Marino
    • Seychelles
    • Turks and Caicos Islands
    • US Virgin Islands
    • Vanuatu.

    Public CBC information to be reported

    The Public CBC reporting parent is required to publish the following information:

    • its own legal name
    • the names of each entity in the CBC reporting group
    • a description of the CBC reporting group’s approach to tax
    • information about Australia and specified jurisdictions, on a CBC basis
    • information about its other jurisdictions, either on a CBC or aggregated basis.

    Information required to be reported

    If the Public CBC reporting parent chooses to report on a CBC basis for all jurisdictions in which the group operates, it doesn’t need to publish any information on an aggregated basis.

    However, if the Public CBC reporting parent only publishes information on a CBC basis for Australia and the specified jurisdictions, it must publish information for all other jurisdictions on an aggregated basis.

    Australia and specified jurisdictions

    The Public CBC reporting parent is required to report the following information for Australia and specified jurisdictions:

    • name of the jurisdiction
    • description of main business activities
    • number of employees (on a full-time equivalent basis) at the end of the reporting period
    • revenue from unrelated parties
    • revenue from related parties that are not tax residents of the jurisdiction
    • profit or loss before income tax
    • book value at the end of the reporting period of tangible assets, other than cash and cash equivalents
    • income tax paid (on a cash basis)
    • income tax accrued (current year)
    • reasons for the difference between income tax accrued (current year) and the amount of income tax due if the income tax rate applicable to the jurisdiction were applied to profit and loss before income tax
    • currency used in calculating and presenting the above information.

    Other jurisdictions (aggregated information)

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    The information required to be reported has been adopted from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 207: Tax 2019 (GRI 207) reporting standard. The GRI 207 may be used as a source of guidance in interpretating the publishing requirements. Greater detail on the interpretation of terms is contained in the BEPS Action 13 Guidance and OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines.

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    The Public CBC reporting parent is required to publish the information on an Australian Government website by giving the information in the approved form to the ATO. The approved form is in XML Schema format, and lodgment is via email. Upon lodgment, we will send an email acknowledging receipt.

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    The ATO’s role

    We will facilitate the publication of the reported information as soon as practicable on the Australian Government website.

    The first publication is expected to be released in late 2026.

    Extension of time to provide the Public CBC report

    The Public CBC report is due within 12 months after the end of the relevant reporting period. For example, for the reporting period ending 30 June 2025, the Public CBC report is due by 30 June 2026.

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    If a Public CBC reporting parent becomes aware of a material error in any of the published information, they must rectify the error by providing the corrected information to the ATO. The entity must provide the corrected Public CBC report in its entirety to us by email.

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    For a non-material error, the entity may choose to rectify the error by providing the corrected Public CBC report in its entirety to us by email.

    If a material or non-material error is rectified by the Public CBC reporting parent, we will publish the corrected information on the Australian Government website as soon as practicable. 

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    Exemptions to Public CBC reporting

    The purpose of the Public CBC reporting regime is to enhance tax transparency. However, a Public CBC reporting parent may seek an exemption from reporting obligations from the ATO. We have the discretion, for a single reporting period, to grant an entity a:

    • full exemption
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    Guidance on how we will administer the exemption will be made available in mid-2025. For updates, see [4148] Public country-by-country reporting transparency measure and exemption discretions.

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    A government-related entity that is a CBC reporting entity can be relieved from the regime for one or more reporting periods by written notice from the ATO.

    We will provide further guidance for government-related entities in late 2025.

    MIL OSI News

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Czech Republic’s power capacity to reach 32.6GW in 2035, forecasts GlobalData

    Source: GlobalData

    Czech Republic’s power capacity to reach 32.6GW in 2035, forecasts GlobalData

    Posted in Power

    The Czech Republic boasts one of the lowest levels of power import dependence in Europe, thanks to its substantial reserves of hard coal. Nevertheless, the nation is committed to phasing out coal by 2033 and is in the process of establishing a comprehensive framework to support an inclusive transition. This transition is catalyzing investments in nuclear power, renewable energy sources, and natural gas. Against this backdrop, power capacity in the country is expected to reach 32.6GW in 2035, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.3% during 2024-35, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

    GlobalData’s latest report, “Czech Republic Power Market Outlook to 2035, Update 2025 – Market Trends, Regulations, and Competitive Landscape,” reveals that annual power generation in Czech Republic is expected to increase at a CAGR of 0.6% during 2024-35 to reach 76.4TWh.

    The Czech Republic has set a strategic goal to close the majority of its coal plants by 2033. The updated National Energy Plan, released in December 2024, emphasizes the expansion of nuclear energy and the utilization of renewable resources. The plan sets forth objectives to increase the contribution of nuclear energy to 44% and that of renewable energy sources to 28% in the nation’s electricity generation by 2030.

    Attaurrahman Ojindaram Saibasan, Senior Power Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Nuclear energy is pivotal to the Czech Republic’s strategy for phasing out coal. The government endorses the expansion of nuclear capacity, particularly at the Dukovany and Temelín facilities. State participation in financing and the establishment of long-term offtake agreements are instrumental in shaping the trajectory of nuclear development, with the aim of reducing reliance on external energy sources by enhancing domestic nuclear generation.”

    In April 2025, the Czech competition authority dismissed appeals from Electricité de France (EDF), thereby confirming the selection of South Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) for the construction of two new 1GW reactors at the Dukovany site. Valued at over 400 billion Czech koruna (approximately $18.2 billion), this project represents the most substantial energy investment in the nation’s history.

    Saibasan concludes: “The power sector presents opportunities in generation, transmission, and smart metering. Investment prospects seem particularly promising in areas such as gas-based power plants, turbines, and related equipment. In the transmission arena, the Czech Republic’s status as a net power exporter means that a substantial volume of electricity crosses its borders. While there is currently no congestion, the potential for such an occurrence in the future is significant.”

    MIL OSI Economics

  • MIL-OSI China: Russia, Ukraine confirm swap of bodies of fallen soldiers

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

    Russia has transferred 1,212 bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers to Ukraine, Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky said Wednesday.

    Medinsky said on Telegram that 27 bodies of Russian soldiers were returned, adding that the work will continue over the next few days.

    Both sides will also begin exchanging seriously wounded prisoners from Thursday, he said.

    The repatriation of the deceased was made possible with the help of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other agencies, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said Wednesday in a statement.

    The agency also expressed gratitude to the International Committee of the Red Cross for its support in facilitating the return of the bodies.

    The return is part of a deal made during the talks between Russia and Ukraine in Türkiye’s Istanbul on June 2.

    During their last round of talks, Russia and Ukraine agreed on an “all-for-all” exchange involving seriously ill and wounded prisoners, as well as soldiers under the age of 25, according to Medinsky.

    Under the agreement, the first stage of the prisoner swap was carried out on Monday. 

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI China: Russian gymnasts to return to int’l games: sports federation

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

    Russian gymnasts and judges will return to international competitions as neutral participants, local media reported Wednesday, citing the Russian Gymnastics Federation.

    Alisa Medvedeva of Russia competes during the individual all-around qualifications at the 2024 International Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament in Doha, Qatar, on Nov. 20, 2024. (Photo by Nikku/Xinhua)

    The participation of Russian athletes and judges has been confirmed in a series of international gymnastics competitions, according to a statement by the federation cited by TASS news agency.

    The federation noted that efforts are ongoing for Russian athletes to resume full-fledged participation in international sports.

    In March 2022, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) suspended Russian and Belarusian gymnastics from its tournaments. Later, the international federation eased the sanctions, allowing the two countries’ athletes to compete as neutrals.

    The Russian Gymnastics Federation said earlier in April that the country’s athletes would not participate in the upcoming FIG competitions despite being granted neutral status, citing “numerous unfounded and biased refusals” to grant such status to athletes. 

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI China: Man City bolster midfield with Reijnders signing

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

    Manchester City completed the club’s fourth signing of the summer on Wednesday with the announcement that Dutch international midfielder Tijjani Reijnders has joined from AC Milan.

    AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders (front) shoots to score during a Serie A football match between AC Milan and Parma in Milan, Italy, Jan. 26, 2025. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua)

    Reijnders costs 46.5 million pounds (63 million U.S. dollars) and has agreed a five-year deal.

    The 26-year-old arrives soon after City completed the signing of Rayan Cherki from Olympique Lyon, and the club insists he will be able to play in the forthcoming FIFA Club World Cup, although the announcement of his arrival was made after the transfer window closed on Tuesday evening.

    City coach Pep Guardiola has also seen left back Rayan Ait Nouri and goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli added to his squad in a busy start to the summer.

    “I am ecstatic to be signing for Manchester City: City are one of the biggest teams in the world, with the best coach, world-class players and outstanding facilities,” said Reijnders on the club website.

    “Under Pep Guardiola, City have won so many titles and I want to help keep that going with a lot more success in the coming years,” added the player who has already won 22 caps for the Netherlands.

    With the signings of Reijnders and Cherki, Guardiola will hope to have covered the departure of Kevin de Bruyne, while Ait Nouri should give balance at left back after arriving from Wolverhampton Wanderers. 

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI China: Depay equals scoring record as Dutch thrash Malta

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

    Memphis Depay on Tuesday night netted twice for the Netherlands in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Malta (8-0) in Groningen and equaled Robin van Persie as Dutch all-time top scorer.

    The 31-year-old opened the scoring against Malta with a penalty in the 9th minute and in the 16th minute he smashed home the second goal. With his 49th and 50th goal for his country, he equaled all-time top scorer Robin van Persie.

    Depay debuted for the Netherlands against Türkiye (2-0 win) in October 2013 and produced his first goal at the 2014 World Cup against Australia (3-2 win). His record year was 2021 with 17 goals for his country.

    The other goals were scored by captain Virgil van Dijk, Xavi Simons, Donyell Malen (twice), Noa Lang and Micky van de Ven.

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI China: China suffer opening loss in VNL Xi’an leg

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

    Peng Shikun (L) of China spikes the ball during the Pool 3 match between China and Japan at the Men’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2025 in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, June 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)

    World No. 1 Poland started the 2025 Men’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Xi’an leg on the right foot as it overcame the Netherlands 3-1 on Wednesday, while Japan defeated host China in straight sets.

    In the season opener, last year’s bronze medalist, Poland, was tested by 13th-ranked the Netherlands, who delivered a resilient performance and created several tense moments for the world’s top-ranked side.

    The first set saw both teams locked at 22-22 before Poland pulled away with three consecutive points to take it 25-22. In a near repeat in the second set, the teams were again tied at 22-22, but this time the Netherlands seized the chance to win 25-22.

    “We were leading in almost every set, but at times we lost our focus and allowed them back into the game,” said Poland’s outside hitter Artur Szalpuk, who finished with a game-high 19 points.

    The Dutch continued to press in the third and fourth sets, testing Poland’s defense, but the Poles remained composed in the key moments, clinching both sets 25-22 to seal the match.

    “It was a tough game for us, because many players had their first match in the VNL. So for sure, it was a lot of emotion for them. It was a hard fight, but I think we played good and we took three points,” Szalpuk added. “Now, we need to take a quick rest, because tomorrow we have another important game [against Japan].”

    Host China fell to world No. 6 Japan 25-23, 25-14, 25-22. Although China held a lead midway through the third set, it failed to turn the match around, as China head coach Vital Heynen commented that “we don’t use the chances”.

    “If you look at the details of the first set, we played very well. If you look at the statistics, we are better than Japan, but we don’t use the chances. We made a couple of unnecessary mistakes, and that’s a pity. We were not playing smart enough, and we didn’t play together as a team.”

    “I was hoping we would play like we do in training – perfectly as a team, knowing each other well and knowing what to do. But today I see a lot of mistakes in the team together. I guess it’s the pressure. The pressure makes you start to doubt things we are doing on training, and that we have to find back,” he added.

    China will face Serbia on Thursday, who beat Türkiye 3-1 (12-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-23) late Wednesday. 

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Baldwin, Reed Demand Written Answers from RFK, Jr. on Firings of Childhood Lead Poisoning Experts at CDC

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Jack Reed (D-RI) are demanding written answers from the Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in response to detailed questions on the Trump Administration’s firing of childhood lead experts. On numerous occasions in Senate hearings, Secretary Kennedy has claimed that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is not shuttering the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, and that cities requesting help, like Milwaukee, would receive it when needed. He also claimed, incorrectly, that CDC experts were on the ground in Milwaukee providing assistance. However, after applying for support from the CDC to help mitigate lead found in school classrooms, Milwaukee Public Schools was notified that their request for support was denied because the Trump administration fired the entire Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Surveillance Branch. Local officials continue to confirm that the requested aid is not being provided, and the Secretary has provided no documentation that the fired employees have been rehired, as Baldwin demanded.

    “You offered to follow up with more specifics, which we have not yet received, and to provide responses in a timely manner,” wrote the Senators in a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

    “The CDC’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program has played an essential role for many years in identifying lead hazards in homes and the associated risk to children and helping direct resources to the families and communities most in need,” the Senators continued.

    The crisis in Milwaukee has shuttered six schools and displaced 1,800 children. Senator Baldwin visited Milwaukee Public Schools’ Frances Starms Discovery Learning Center to meet with parents whose children’s health was at risk and schools were closed this year because of lead hazards. Senator Baldwin also pressed Kennedy on the firings at a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing. Senator Baldwin and Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI-04) demanded that the Trump administration reinstate the fired CDC lead poisoning experts and approve Milwaukee’s plea for federal assistance to help keep children safe.

    The full letter is available here and below.

    Dear Secretary Kennedy:

    During the May 20, 2025, hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Budget request, you were asked to clarify the status of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. You offered to follow up with more specifics, which we have not yet received, and to provide responses in a timely manner. We have included additional questions below and ask that you respond no later than June 16, 2025:

    1. Is the CDC’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program operational? Does the Program currently have any staff? If so, how many staff? How many staff were working for the Program as of January 20, 2025 compared to now?
    2. Soon after the April 1, 2025 reduction in force (RIF), you noted in an interview that some of the terminations could “be mistakes.” Was the decision to terminate the staff within the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention branch a mistake?
    3. HHS has reinstated some employees previously terminated by the RIFs, citing health and safety concerns. Does HHS have the ability to reinstate employees from the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention branch in order to deploy to areas like Milwaukee, Wisconsin that are in need of assistance?
    4. During the hearing, reiterating a comment you made the week prior at a HELP Committee hearing, you said, if Congress appropriates the funding for the CDC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, it will be spent. Has CDC released fiscal year 2025 funding to the 62 states and localities it supports to address gaps in service? How much funding has been spent by the Program in fiscal year 2025? How much funding has been spent by the Program since January 20, 2025?
    5. The fiscal year 2026 budget request proposes continuing funding for the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program outside of CDC and within the proposed Administration for a Healthy America. How does HHS plan to effectuate this program when all program staff have reportedly been terminated? Does HHS plan to hire new experts?
    6. During the hearing, when asked about the status of the Program, you said that a team from the Program was on the ground in Milwaukee to deal with the ongoing crisis of lead contamination in schools. The City of Milwaukee has refuted that claim. Has CDC sent any staff to Milwaukee in response to their request for technical assistance to help with the lead issue in schools? This request is unrelated to the support that was provided to the state last month to certify and calibrate lab equipment.
    7. Has the CDC deployed any teams or provided technical assistance related to the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program since the April 1st reductions in force at HHS? Please outline any activities or work conducted by the Program since this date.
    8. The Rhode Island Department of Health is in year four of a five-year grant from the CDC’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. Will CDC follow through on its commitment and provide year five funding later this year?

    The CDC’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program has played an essential role for many years in identifying lead hazards in homes and the associated risk to children and helping direct resources to the families and communities most in need. We look forward to your timely responses to these questions, as your answers will help inform the Subcommittee’s fiscal year 2026 bill.

    Again, thank you for your testimony and your commitment to follow up on our questions.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Global: 201 ways to say ‘fuck’: what 1.7 billion words of online text shows about how the world swears

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Martin Schweinberger, Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, The University of Queensland

    Our brains swear for good reasons: to vent, cope, boost our grit and feel closer to those around us. Swear words can act as social glue and play meaningful roles in how people communicate, connect and express themselves – both in person, and online.

    In our new research published in Lingua, we analysed more than 1.7 billion words of online language across 20 English-speaking regions. We identified 597 different swear word forms – from standard words, to creative spellings like “4rseholes”, to acronyms like “wtf”.

    The findings challenge a familiar stereotype. Australians – often thought of as prolific swearers – are actually outdone by Americans and Brits, both in how often they swear, and in how many users swear online.

    Facts and figures

    Our study focused on publicly available web data (such as news articles, organisational websites, government or institutional publications, and blogs – but excluding social media and private messaging). We found vulgar words made up 0.036% of all words in the dataset from the United States, followed by 0.025% in the British data and 0.022% in the Australian data.

    Although vulgar language is relatively rare in terms of overall word frequency, it was used by a significant number of individuals.

    Between 12% and 13.3% of Americans, around 10% of Brits, and 9.4% of Australians used at least one vulgar word in their data. Overall, the most frequent vulgar word was “fuck” – with all its variants, it amounted to a stunning 201 different forms.

    We focused on online language that didn’t include social media, because large-scale comparisons need robust, purpose-built datasets. In our case, we used the Global Web-Based English (GloWbE) corpus, which was specifically designed to compare how English is used across different regions online.

    So how much were our findings influenced by the online data we used?

    Telling results come from research happening at the same time as ours. One study analysed the use of “fuck” in social networks on X, examining how network size and strength influence swearing in the UK, US and Australia.

    It used data from 5,660 networks with more than 435,000 users and 7.8 billion words and found what we did. Americans use “fuck” most frequently, while Australians use it the least, but with the most creative spelling variations (some comfort for anyone feeling let down by our online swearing stats).

    Teasing apart cultural differences

    Americans hold relatively conservative attitudes toward public morality, and their high swearing rates are surprising. The cultural contradiction may reflect the country’s strong individualistic culture. Americans often value personal expression – especially in private or anonymous settings like the internet.

    Meanwhile, public displays of swearing are often frowned upon in the US. This is partly due to the lingering influence of religious norms, which frame swearing – particularly religious-based profanity – as a violation of moral decency.

    Significantly, the only religious-based swear word in our dataset, “damn”, was used most frequently by Americans.

    Research suggests swearing is more acceptable in Australian public discourse. Certainly, Australia’s public airing of swear words often takes visitors by surprise. The long-running road safety slogan “If you drink, then drive, you’re a bloody idiot” is striking – such language is rare in official messaging elsewhere.

    Australians may be comfortable swearing in person, but our findings indicate they dial it back online – surprising for a nation so fond of its vernacular.

    In terms of preferences for specific forms of vulgarity, Americans showed a strong preference for variations of “ass(hole)”, the Irish favored “feck”, the British preferred “cunt”, and Pakistanis leaned toward “butt(hole)”.

    The only statistically significant aversion we found was among Americans, who tended to avoid the word “bloody” (folk wisdom claims the word is blasphemous).

    Being fluent in swearing

    People from countries where English is the dominant language – such as the US, Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland – tend to swear more frequently and with more lexical variety than people in regions where English is less dominant like India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Ghana or the Philippines. This pattern holds for both frequency and creativity in swearing.

    But Singapore ranked fourth in terms of frequency of swearing in our study, just behind Australia and ahead of New Zealand, Ireland and Canada. English in Singapore is increasingly seen not as a second language, but as a native language, and as a tool for identity, belonging and creativity. Young Singaporeans use social swearing to push back against authority, especially given the government’s strict rules on public language.

    One possible reason we saw less swearing among non-native English speakers is that it is rarely taught. Despite its frequency and social utility, swearing – alongside humour and informal speech – is often left out of language education.

    Cursing comes naturally

    Cultural, social and technological shifts are reshaping linguistic norms, blurring the already blurry lines between informal and formal, private and public language. Just consider the Aussie contributions to the July Oxford English Dictionary updates: expressions like “to strain the potatoes” (to urinate), “no wuckers” and “no wucking furries” (from “no fucking worries”).

    Swearing and vulgarity aren’t just crass or abusive. While they can be used harmfully, research consistently shows they serve important communicative functions – colourful language builds rapport, expresses humour and emotion, signals solidarity and eases tension.

    It’s clear that swearing isn’t just a bad habit that can be easily kicked, like nail-biting or smoking indoors. Besides, history shows that telling people not to swear is one of the best ways to keep swearing alive and well.

    Martin Schweinberger has received funding from from the Centre for Digital Cultures and Society and the School of Languages and Cultures at the University of Queensland. He is currently funded by the Language Data Commons of Australia, which has received investment from the Australian Research Data Commons, funded by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.

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

    ref. 201 ways to say ‘fuck’: what 1.7 billion words of online text shows about how the world swears – https://theconversation.com/201-ways-to-say-fuck-what-1-7-billion-words-of-online-text-shows-about-how-the-world-swears-257815

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI USA: Bipartisan House Members Urge Secretary Rubio to Save Program Tracking Kidnapped Ukrainian Children

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)

    This follows a bipartisan appropriations request to reunite children with their families while holding war criminals accountable.

    Contact: Alexis.Torres@mail.house.gov

    Washington, D.C.—Today, U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), an active member of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, led a bipartisan group of colleagues in urging State Secretary Marco Rubio to maintain funding for the Conflict Observatory at Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab. Months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Conflict Observatory began collecting, analyzing, and preserving information related to Russian war crimes, including Putin’s abduction and concealment of Ukrainian children within Russia’s adoption system.

    “Without your immediate action, the Conflict Observatory will be forced to shutter by July 1st, and its ongoing research identifying more kidnapped Ukrainian children will end. Although the Conflict Observatory’s database of children has been transferred to Europol, it will quickly become out-of-date in a matter of weeks—hindering efforts to ensure every child is returned to family. No explanation has been given to us as to why funding for the Conflict Observatory has been terminated. We are part of a bipartisan effort to seek the relatively modest amount of appropriations necessary to continue this invaluable work during the next fiscal year. We ask that you utilize your authority to keep the Conflict Observatory open until our appropriation request can become law,” wrote the lawmakers.

    Earlier this year, the Trump administration illegally terminated Congressionally authorized funding for the Conflict Observatory before reinstating a six-week funding allotment to transfer all research and data to Ukrainian organizations and Europol, the European Union’s agency for law enforcement cooperation. The lawmakers note that Europol and other organizations do not have the specific expertise and resources needed to successfully navigate open-source intelligence and Russian websites to locate missing children.

    “Research must continue unabated to maintain the rigorous process of identifying every Ukrainian child abducted by Russia. The Conflict Observatory has verified that at least 19,500 children have been forcibly deported from occupied areas of Ukraine, funneled into reeducation camps or adopted by Russian families, and their identities erased. The actual number of children remaining in Russia is presumably significantly higher, with a Russian official stating in July 2023 that Russia had brought 700,000 children from conflict zones in Ukraine to Russia. Many kidnapped Ukrainian children have not yet been identified due to the Kremlin changing their names, place of birth, and date of birth,” the lawmakers continued.

    To ensure the United States upholds its core democratic values, Rep. Doggett and more than 50 colleagues submitted a bipartisan request last month to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State and Related Programs calling for no less than $8 million to be included in its Fiscal Year 2026 government funding bill to continue tracking kidnapped Ukrainian children. With President Trump cruelly terminating funding for critical foreign and domestic programs, the forced closure of the Conflict Observatory is yet another abhorrent example of this administration dismantling our nation’s status as a global superpower.

    Today’s full letter can be read here. Rep. Doggett’s bipartisan appropriations request can be found here.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Shaheen Presses Hegseth on Tariff Disruption to America’s Defense Industrial Base, National Security

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen

    (Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a senior member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services and Appropriations Committees, today questioned U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Caine during a Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hearing examining the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget request for the U.S. Department of Defense. During her questioning, Shaheen pressed Hegseth on the impacts of the administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum on the defense industrial base, supply chain lead times and our overall military readiness. Click here to watch Shaheen’s full remarks and questions.  

    Key Quotes from Shaheen: 

    • On the impacts of steel and aluminum tariffs on lead times and the defense industrial base, Shaheen said: “Mr. Secretary, when you were asked about the impact of President Trump’s tariffs under Section 232 on the defense industrial base, you commented that you’re in the business of tanks, not trade—but you can’t buy tanks without trade. And the administration’s steel and aluminum tariffs are having an impact on the lead times for our defense industrial base. […] And how are we going to address that if we need munitions or tanks or whatever it is, and we don’t have the steel and aluminum because of the tariffs?” 
    • On Secretary Hegseth’s comments that the first Trump administration gave javelins to Ukraine, Shaheen said: “Let me just correct the record here before I close. I’m out of time. But, Mr. Secretary, you pointed out that javelins were given to Ukraine during the first Trump administration, and I support that. But I would point out that [President Trump] was impeached over holding up giving those javelins and equipment to Ukraine. So I think as we look at the record, we ought to try and be accurate about how we portray things.” 

    In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth last month, Shaheen raised concerns about how the President’s trade war harms defense supply chains and ultimately weakens America’s military readiness. The Senator expressed how tariffs on imports will increase prices for the Department of Defense’s defense acquisitions – harming its purchasing power and further raising costs on small businesses.  

    Citing national security concerns and a lack of qualifications on the Senate floor, Shaheen announced in January that Hegseth would be the first nominee for Secretary of Defense that she opposed since joining the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in 2011. 

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin Meets With Illinois Members Of The Ukrainian Congress Committee Of America

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

    June 11, 2025

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, today met with Illinois members of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) who are in Washington, D.C. for their “Ukraine Days” advocacy effort. During the meeting, they discussed Putin’s unjustified and unprovoked war in Ukraine, President Trump’s continued manipulation by Russian President Putin, and what Congress can do to help our Ukrainian allies. They also discussed Durbin’s bill that prohibits the United States from recognizing the Russian Federation’s claim of sovereignty over Crimea or any other forcibly seized Ukrainian territory. 

    “The Chicago-area is home to thousands of Ukrainian Americans. I am fortunate to represent them in the U.S. Senate, and I welcomed them to the Capitol today,” said Durbin. “During our meeting, we discussed this Administration’s failure to end Russia’s war in Ukraine ‘on day one’, as President Trump had boasted. Instead, Trump’s actions have alienated and bullied our allies around the world.  We also discussed the need to pass various legislation, including a strong Russia sanctions bill that is supported by more than 80 Senators, that President Trump bewilderingly keeps asking to be delayed as Putin relentlessly bombs Ukraine.”

    A photo of the meeting is available here.

    In March, Durbin asked for unanimous consent (UC) to pass a simple resolution he introduced condemning Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children and called on Russia to work with the international community to return all abducted Ukrainian children to their families. Senate Republicans rejected Durbin’s UC request.

    In February, Durbin introduced the Protecting our Guests During Hostilities in Ukraine Act, legislation that would provide temporary guest status to Ukrainians and their immediate family members who are already in the United States through the “Uniting for Ukraine” parole process. The bill allows Ukrainians to stay and work in the U.S. until the Secretary of State determines that hostilities in Ukraine have ceased and it is safe for them to return. Bill text can be found here.

    Durbin has also joined U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and others in leading a simple resolution that expresses continued solidarity with the people of Ukraine and condolences for the loss of thousands of lives to Russian aggression; rejects Russia’s attempts to militarily seize sovereign Ukrainian territory; reaffirms U.S. support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine; and states unequivocally that Ukraine must be at the table for negotiations on its future.

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    MIL OSI USA News