NewzIntel.com

Category: Europe

  • MIL-OSI Security: Georgia Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Possessing Machinegun at Hospital

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Defendant, a Rap Musician Known as Quez 2RR, Had Stolen Weapon in Labor and Delivery; Federal Case Linked to Ongoing Metro Atlanta Shooting Investigation

    MACON, Ga. – A Henry County resident who had a stolen Glock 9mm handgun with a loaded 30-round extended magazine capable of converting to a fully automatic weapon while at the Labor and Delivery unit of a hospital was sentenced to serve more than five years in prison—above federal sentencing guidelines—for his crime.

    Terrell Monquez Searcy, 21, of McDonough, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 66 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self on June 4. Searcy previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a machinegun on March 21, 2025. There is no parole in the federal system.

    “Holding people found in possession of machineguns and with illegal conversion devices accountable for breaking federal law remains a top priority in the Middle District of Georgia,” said Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker. “This case exemplifies how law enforcement and prosecutors work together to effectively remove illegal firearms and other dangerous destructive devices from the streets in order to make our communities safer.”

    “Machinegun conversion devices are fueling a deadly uptick in gun violence, turning routine firearms into weapons of war,” said ATF Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge Thomas Crawford of the Atlanta Field Division. “This case is yet another example of why ATF is committed to aggressively identifying and removing these illegal devices from our communities.”

    According to court documents, the stipulation of facts and other statements made in Court, Monroe Police Department officers were dispatched to Piedmont Walton Hospital on Aug. 17, 2023, after a nurse observed Searcy in a Labor and Delivery room with a handgun, which is prohibited in the hospital. When hospital security came to the room, Searcy admitted he did have a handgun and that he put it under the couch cushion. He gave the firearm—a Glock Model 17 9mm handgun with a loaded 30-round extended magazine—to security and remained in the room. Hospital security noticed that a full auto sear pin appeared to have been attached to the rear of the slide, making the firearm a machinegun, prompting the call by hospital security to police. Police ran the serial number on the firearm and found out it was reported stolen from Walton County, Georgia. Searcy was taken into custody.    

    ATF agents tested the firearm and confirmed it did function as a machinegun. Further investigation revealed that Searcy, a rapper known as Quez 2RR, had showcased a pistol with what appeared to be a machinegun conversion device in music videos on a YouTube channel. In a music video titled “Traffic,” Searcy rapped, “I pop out a switch on the back of my Glock” and “I put a switch on the back of my Glock, just to clean up the street when it’s time for that action.” At one point in the video, Searcy’s holding a pistol in his waistband with what appears to be a machinegun conversion device attached to the back.

    Following the federal indictment charging Searcy with possessing a machine gun in August 2024, agents located Instagram messages between Searcy and a female law enforcement officer with the Clayton County Police Department. Between January and March 2023, Searcy asked the police officer to run his information to see if there were any warrants for his arrest. The police officer also provided information to Searcy regarding an active homicide investigation. During an interview with Clayton County Police Department detectives, the officer admitted to providing Searcy with information on an active homicide investigation and advising Searcy when she located active warrants for his arrest.

    On Feb. 11, 2025, members of the ATF, McDonough Police Department and Henry County Sheriff’s Office executed a federal search warrant at Searcy’s residence in McDonough, Georgia. Searcy and two other men were in the home along with several firearms. The defendant told agents that he had been living at the residence for a couple of months, that he slept with a Draco firearm under his bed and that the Glock 17 found in the living room belonged to him. ATF agents submitted test fires from both firearms to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) to determine if either firearm had been used in other crimes. The Micro Draco recovered from Searcy’s bedroom returned with several NIBIN leads, including two from the DeKalb County Police Department. Both DeKalb County incidents indicated that the Micro Draco was used in a drive-by shooting in DeKalb County where four people, including two juveniles, were shot inside their homes. Each shooting occurred within just days of Searcy receiving information from the Clayton County police officer on the active Clayton County homicide where his friend was shot and killed.

    The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case, with assistance from the City of Monroe Police Department, Clayton County Police Department, McDonough Police Department, Henry County Sheriff’s Office, the Dekalb County Police Department and the Piedmont Walton Hospital Security Department.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Peach prosecuted the case for the Government.
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kaptur Statement On Ukrainian Drone Strikes On Russian Aircraft And Military Targets

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)

    Toledo, OH – Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Co-Chair and Co-Founder of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus released the following statement on reporting of successful Ukrainian drone strikes operations deep into Russian territory, which hit airfields including the Belaya air base in Russia’s Irkutsk region, destroying more than 40 Russian planes deep in Russian territory.

    “For the continuing horror Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has exacted on the people and free nation of Ukraine, this multiple strike by Ukrainian drones on key Russian military air field assets is long overdue,” said Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09). “Russia is the 3rd largest military in world. It encompasses 11 time zones and is rich in oil and minerals. Its population is more than 3 times the size of Ukraine. Nonetheless Putin covets the territory of Ukraine, the lowest income nation in Europe. Despite the odds, Ukraine’s soldiers and citizenry have nobly resisted Russia’s invasion since 2014 to regain their Liberty.”

    “This comes while Russia also is enlisting thousands of North Korean troops who are being forced to fight by their Dictator Kim Jong Un. Today as June begins, may President Trump use all his persuasive power and impose further sanctions on Russia, or work with Congress to do so. I hope that we can soon bring the warring parties to negotiate an end to this unnecessary and costly war defiling Europe and our planet,” concluded Congresswoman Kaptur.

    # # #

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Allen Continues to Stand with the American LSPTV Industry

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Rick Allen (R-GA-12)

    This week, Congressman Rick W. Allen (GA-12) led a bipartisan, bicameral group of his colleagues in sending letters to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Chair Amy Karpel in support of the American low-speed personal transportation vehicle (LSPTV) industry.

    In the letter to Secretary Lutnick, Congressman Allen, Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02), and Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) write: “We commend the U.S. Department of Commerce for its hard work in conducting the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on Low Speed Personal Transportation Vehicles from the People’s Republic of China. These investigations are critical to ensuring the unfairly traded Chinese imports do not continue to injure the American LSPTV industry.”

    The Members continue: “We are very concerned, however, by the actions being taken by Chinese LSPTV producers to circumvent and evade the trade relief needed by the domestic industry. It is clear to us that, since the Department’s preliminary determinations, Chinese LSPTV producers have responded, not by abiding U.S. trade rules, but rather by re-labeling and re-organizing their supply chains in an effort to skirt those very trade disciplines… We ask the Department to take all steps necessary to ensure that Chinese producers do not continue to erode U.S. trade measures, especially given the significant levels of dumping and subsidization that the agency has already found to exist among LSPTV imports from China.”

    In the letter to Chair Karpel, Congressman Allen and 24 of his colleagues write: “Facing large and increasing volumes of dumped and subsidized imports from China, the American LSPTV industry filed antidumping and countervailing duty cases in June 2024… With the aid of substantial Chinese government subsidies, these imported vehicles are being sold below U.S. market prices, taking sales and revenue from domestic producers and underselling and depressing U.S. prices.”

    The Members conclude: “In short, it is critical that our trade remedy laws accurately address unfair trade practices so that U.S. workers and businesses can compete on a level playing field. Domestic LSPTV manufacturers represent a quintessential American industry, and trade relief is crucial to ensuring that they do not continue to be injured by unfair Chinese import competition.”

    To read the full letter to Secretary Lutnick, CLICK HERE.
    To read the full letter to Chair Karpel, CLICK HERE.

    BACKGROUND: The Central Savannah River Area, encompassing Georgia and South Carolina, has long been the epicenter of U.S. golf cart manufacturing. It is home to two large producers that deliver electric vehicle models for personal and recreational transportation – PTVs, LSVs, and golf carts. Congressman Allen has been at the forefront of this issue since June 2024 and continues to seek relief for domestic LSPTV producers:

    • June 2024: Allen Leads Letter to USTR Urging Ambassador Tai to Expand Definition and Combat the Importation of Chinese-Subsidized Electric Vehicles
    • November 2024: Allen Leads Letter Urging Commerce Department to Stand by U.S. Manufacturers
    • December 2024: Commerce Department Finds China Unfairly Subsidized Low-Speed Transportation Vehicle Industry
    • January 2025: Commerce Department Establishes Antidumping Duties for Chinese LSPTV’s

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: EU Archives: Nelson Mandela visits the Commission, Schengen Agreement signed, Bono in Brussels

    Source: European Commission (video statements)

    The European Commission has welcomed numerous prominent guests, like Nelson Mandela and “U2” lead singer Bono. But these were not the only important events this week. Dive further with us into the European Commission’s audiovisual archives and discover important anniversaries with our new weekly AV history teaser!

    Upcoming anniversaries in the teaser:

    · 1975: Greece applies for membership in the European Communities
    · 1985: Signing of the Schengen Agreements
    · 1990: Nelson Mandela, former President of the African National Congress, meets with Commission President Jacques Delors
    · 2005: “U2” lead singer Bono visits the European Commission and its President José Barroso

    Get the complete material from our archive:
    https://europa.eu/!kqRcrj
    https://europa.eu/!3D8QgT
    https://europa.eu/!HrqRxm
    https://europa.eu/!w3F8HM

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wIjuG_uaC8

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Romanian national sentenced for defrauding hundreds of banking customers

    Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

    PROVIDENCE, R.I. — An illegally present Romanian national described in court documents as an “undeterred serial scammer” has been sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison and will face deportation proceedings after a joint U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation found he had stolen and used the personal banking information of hundreds of victims.

    Mario Demarco, aka Marius Lupu aka David Adamec, 30, pleaded guilty in January to a charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He was sentenced June 3 to 33 months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release. Additionally, the court ordered Demarco to pay restitution totaling $16,567.06.

    ICE Homeland Security Investigations has lodged an immigration detainer and he will face removal proceedings after he has completed his criminal sentence.

    Court documents show that beginning in October 2022, Demarco traveled up and down the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic installing skimming devices on ATMs. These devices intercepted hundreds of customers’ debit card and banking information, which Demarco used to create fraudulent debit cards. The bogus cards were then used to make unauthorized cash withdrawals, attempted withdrawals and purchases.

    Throughout the course of the conspiracy, Demarco installed skimming devices on at least 10 ATMs and compromised at least 952 cards. Demarco owes restitution to 15 different banks.

    ICE HSI Providence led the investigation with assistance from the Warwick Police Department, the Cranston Police Department, the East Greenwich Police Department, North Kingstown Police Department, the East Providence Police Department, the Boston Police Department, the New York City Police Department, and the Stratford Police Department in Connecticut.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Nouvelle traduction : Nations unies – Sanctions américaines contre quatre juges de la Cour pénale internationale (06.06.25)

    Source: Republic of France in English
    The Republic of France has issued the following statement:

    France learned of the establishment of new U.S. sanctions against four International Criminal Court judges, in addition to those already imposed on its chief prosecutor.

    Once again, it calls on the United States to withdraw all of these measures.

    France expresses its solidarity with the judges targeted by this decision and reaffirms its unwavering support for the ICC and its staff, who play a vital role in the fight against impunity. Together with its European partners and other States Parties to the Rome Statute, it will remain committed to ensuring that the Court can independently and impartially continue its efforts to obtain justice for the victims of the most serious crimes.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Art dealer jailed for terrorism offence

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    An art dealer from London has been jailed after an investigation by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command revealed £140,000 of sales to a suspected financier of the proscribed group Hizballah.

    Oghenochuko Ojiri 53 (05.05.72) of west London, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday, 6 June after he admitted eight counts of failing to make a disclosure during the course of business within the regulated sector, contrary to section 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000.

    Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said:

    “This prosecution, using specific Terrorism Act legislation, is the first of its kind and should act as a warning to all art dealers that we can, and will, pursue those who knowingly do business with people identified as funders of terrorist groups.

    “Oghenochuko Ojiri wilfully obscured the fact he knew he was selling artwork to Nazem Ahmad, someone who has been sanctioned by the UK and US Treasury and described as a funder of the proscribed terrorist group Hizballah.

    “Financial investigation is a crucial part of the counter-terrorism effort. A team of specialist investigators, analysts and researchers in the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit works all year round to prevent money from reaching the hands of terrorists or being used to fund attacks.”

    Ojiri was arrested on 18 April 2023 in Wrexham on the same day the UK Government announced sanctions against Nazem Ahmad, a wealthy art collector, based in Lebanon, suspected of providing funding to Hizballah, a proscribed organisation.

    Officers subsequently obtained a warrant to seize a number of artworks belonging to Ahmad held in two UK-based warehouses.

    The artwork, including a Picasso and Andy Warhol paintings, were seized on 4 May 2023 and the NTFIU obtained a forfeiture order later the same year. The artwork, valued at almost £1 million, is due to be sold and the funds will be reinvested back into the police, CPS and Home Office.

    The Met’s investigation into Ojiri was carried out in partnership with US Homeland Security, which is conducting a wider investigation into alleged money laundering by Ahmad using shell companies.

    Officers from the NTFIU analysed a series of invoices for sales of art by Ojiri and identified that eight purchases were completed with names inserted on the invoices that were not Ahmad’s – despite Ojiri knowing the sale was being conducted for him and on his behalf.

    The art market became regulated in 2019 under Anti-Money Laundering regulations. This brought the art market in line with other regulated sectors such as banking and solicitors. The regulator is HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

    People who operate in the art market, like gallery owners, must be registered with the HMRC as an Art Market Participant (AMP), undertake due diligence and report any suspicions of money laundering or terrorist financing.

    Detectives from the NTFIU recovered WhatsApp messages on Ojiri’s mobile phone from 31 January 2020, which showed Ojiri discussing the new money laundering regulations with a colleague.

    Analysis of messages and web history on Ojiri’s mobile phone also showed that he was aware of the financial sanctions by the US Treasury against Ahmad due to his suspected involvement in being a high-level financier of Hizballah.

    In police interview, Ojiri apologised for his actions but denied that money or greed were the motivating factors behind dealing with Ahmed, claiming it was the excitement and kudos of dealing with a ‘name’ in the art collecting world.

    Ojiri pleaded guilty to the charges, which relate to a period from October 2020 to December 2021, at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 9 May.

    On Friday, 6 June Ojiri was sentenced to two years and six months’ imprisonment.

    The prosecution, believed to be the first of its kind, followed an investigation by the NTFIU, alongside the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) in HM Treasury, HMRC, and the Met’s Art and Antiques Unit.

    Bethan David, Head of the CPS Counter Terrorism Division, said: “It is clear that Oghenochuko Ojiri was aware of new money laundering regulations in the art world and that he had knowledge of Nazem Ahmad’s background.

    “Ojiri engaged in activity designed to conceal the identity of the true purchaser by changing the details on invoices and storing Mr Ahmad’s name under a different alias in his mobile phone.

    “His motivation appears to be financial along with a broader desire to boost his gallery’s reputation within the art market by dealing with such a well-known collector.

    “This prosecution is believed to be the first of its kind, and the CPS will not hesitate to bring criminal charges against individuals who flout the law in this way.”

    Louise MacDonald, Deputy Director of Economic Crime at HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said:

    “This landmark case clearly shows how government and law enforcement is effectively tackling those who may fund terrorism.

    “As a money laundering supervisor, we know criminals prey on weaknesses. That’s why we work tirelessly with sectors like the art market to ensure they have the defences in place to stop criminals in their tracks.”

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Isha Foundation’s Meditation App Surpasses ChatGPT’s Launch Pace, Signals Global Demand for Digital Stillness

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Los Angeles, CA, June 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As artificial intelligence dominates headlines, one of the fastest-growing wellness apps is turning heads for a different reason: silence. The Isha Foundation recently launched Miracle of Mind, a free meditation app that recorded over 1 million downloads in just 15 hours, outpacing even ChatGPT’s original adoption rate.

    Founded by spiritual leader Sadhguru, the app combines ancient yogic practices with adaptive technology to offer a simple, evidence-based approach to mental wellness. Its core is a 7-minute guided meditation designed to help users reduce stress, enhance focus, and build inner resilience.

    “People are overwhelmed—by information, by screens, by pressure. This app meets them where they are,” said an Isha Foundation spokesperson.

    Key Features:

    • Multilingual interface (English, Hindi, Tamil, Spanish, Russian) with plans for expansion
    • Gamified challenges, including streaks and badges
    • 100% free access — no subscriptions or in-app purchases

    The app’s methodology is grounded in research from Indiana University, Harvard University, University of Tennessee, Rutgers University, and University of Florida affiliated researchers, which have previously validated Isha’s meditation techniques for reducing stress and improving emotional regulation.

    Momentum & Impact

    • 45% of users are first-time meditators, primarily aged 18–34
    • 70% of users returned to the app within the first week, a retention rate that rivals leading meditation apps like Calm and Insight Timer
    • Self-reported outcomes include 34% drop in anxiety and improved sleep in six weeks
    • Rated 4.8/5 stars across 80,000+ global reviews

    The platform also features a dynamic AI chatbot—“Ask Sadhguru”—trained on over 50,000 hours of his teachings to provide real-time insights.

    Already in use by over 2 million individuals worldwide, Miracle of Mind is scaling faster than most mental health platforms in the nonprofit sector. When the app introduces upgrades such as biofeedback integration, augmented reality meditation environments, and personalized generative meditation tailored to user behavior, it could become even more engaging and exciting..

    As the mental health crisis intensifies globally, Isha Foundation’s Miracle of Mind offers something increasingly rare: an accessible path inward, rooted in wisdom, powered by technology, and available to all.

    Miracle of Mind is available for free on iOS and Android platforms.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Equasens: availability of AGM preparatory materials

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Villers-lès-Nancy, 6 June 2025 – 6:00 p.m. (CET)

    PRESS RELEASE

    ANNUAL ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING

    MEETING NOTICE

    ON-LINE AVAILABILITY OF MEETING MATERIALS

    WEBCAST LIVE

    EQUASENS hereby provides notice to shareholders of the Annual Ordinary General Meeting to be held on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 at 5.30 pm at the Company’s registered office located in Villers-lès-Nancy (Technopôle de Nancy-Brabois – 5 Allée de Saint Cloud).

    The original French language version of the agenda and the resolutions submitted by the Board of Directors to the Ordinary Annual General Meeting were published in the French publication for legal announcements (Bulletin des Annonces Légales Obligatoires) on 16 May, 2025 (https://www.journal-officiel.gouv.fr/pages/balo-annonce-unitaire/?q.id=id_annonce:20250516250176059).

    The Meeting Notice was published on the June 6, 2025 in the BALO (https://www.journal-officiel.gouv.fr/pages/balo-annonce-unitaire/?q.id=id_annonce:20250606250278068) and in the Official Journal “La Gazette France” (https://www.lagazettefrance.fr/annonce-legale/91361579) including the procedures for participating and voting and the main methods to exercise shareholders’ rights.

    Both of these notices are available on the Company’s website: www.equasens.com. Translations are also available https://equasens.com/investisseurs/assemblee-generale/.

    Pursuant to article R. 22-10-23 of the French commercial code, EQUASENS has also made available, since June 4, 2025, all the documents and information prescribed by this article and the voting form on its website www.equasens.com – Section Investisseurs, Assemblée Générale tab.

    For the purpose of communications between the Company and its shareholders, it is strongly recommended that requests or documents be sent, in priority, by email, to the following address: actionnaires@equasens.com.

    In accordance with Article R22-10-29-1 of the French Commercial Code, the Annual General Meeting will be broadcast live online in its entirety. Information on how to connect to this live webcast will be made available no later than 48 hours before the Annual General Meeting on the Company’s website www.equasens.com – Section Investisseurs, Assemblée Générale tab. In addition, as required by law, a replay of the meeting will also be available on the same website for subsequent viewing

    About Equasens Group

    Founded over 35 years ago, Equasens Group, a leader in digital healthcare solutions, today employs over 1.300 people across Europe.
    Equasens Group’s specialised business applications facilitate the day-to-day work of healthcare professionals and their teams, working in private practice, collaborative medical structures or healthcare establishments. The Group also provides comprehensive support to healthcare professionals in the transformation of their profession by developing electronic equipment, digital solutions and healthcare robotics, as well as data hosting, financing and training adapted to their specific needs.
    And reflecting the spirit of its tagline “Technology for a More Human Experience”, the Group is a leading provider of interoperability solutions that improve coordination between healthcare professionals, their communications and data exchange resulting in better patient care and a more efficient and secure healthcare system.

    Listed on Euronext Paris™ – Compartment B

    Indexes: MSCI GLOBAL SMALL CAP – GAÏA Index 2020 – CAC®SMALL and CAC®All-Tradable
    Included in the Euronext Tech Leaders segment and the European Rising Tech label

    Eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (“Service à Réglement Différé” – SRD) and equity savings accounts invested in small and mid-caps (PEA-PME).
    ISIN: FR 0012882389 – Ticker Code: EQS

    Get all the news about Equasens Group www.equasens.com and on LinkedIn

    CONTACTS

    EQUASENS Group
    Analyst and Investor Relations:
    Chief Administrative and Financial Officer: Frédérique Schmidt
    Tel: +33 (0)3 83 15 90 67 – frederique.schmidt@equasens.com

    Financial communications agency:
    FIN’EXTENSO – Isabelle Aprile

    Tel.: +33 (0)6 17 38 61 78 – i.aprile@finextenso.fr

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Pfluger’s Bill to Unlock Domestic LNG Potential Advanced by House Energy Subcommittee

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11)

    Read his remarks as delivered below:

    H.R. 1949, Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act, is commonsense. And when you look at section three of the Natural Gas Act, it requires that natural gas exports to countries that have a free trade agreement with the United States be approved without delay. For countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the U.S., the energy secretary is required to approve export requests unless they find that such exports will not be consistent with the public interest.

    Therefore, the Natural Gas Act includes a rebuttable presumption in favor of authorizing U.S. LNG exports in early 2024, after succumbing to political pressure from environmental activists. The previous administration announced a ban on issuing export permits to non-FTA countries while it reviewed the climate impacts of U.S. LNG.

    During this ban, America’s energy dominance took a major hit. Russia overtook the U.S. as the leading gas supplier to Europe. Long-term American contracts were not only jeopardized, but they were actually damaged – some of them irreparably – and globally, buyers were forced to look toward less clean sources. Thankfully, the Trump administration quickly reversed this ban, and just last week, the DOE issued its first LNG export approval.

    My legislation is simple. The Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act would ensure that a ban is never placed on U.S. LNG exports again. By removing DOE from the process, export restrictions would be repealed, and LNG exports would have equal treatment with other commodities. LNG exports unequivocally benefit our economy, domestic prices, our security, and partners and allies around the world that want our product.

    Congress needs to act to remove the politics from these exports, just as this committee did when it lifted the crude oil export ban in 2015. The IEA expects global gas demand to reach record highs in the coming years, underscoring the need for new LNG supply. It must be the United States, not Iran, not Russia, not any other adversary, who meets this demand and supplies affordable, clean, and abundant LNG to the world.

    I urge my colleagues to support this very commonsense legislation and to vote in favor of H.R. 1949. I yield back.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Chinese authorities have allocated 580 million yuan to strengthen flood prevention measures.

    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 6 (Xinhua) — Chinese authorities have allocated 580 million yuan (about 80.73 million U.S. dollars) to provincial-level regions to strengthen local flood control efforts, the Ministry of Finance said Friday.

    The funds, provided jointly by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Water Resources, were sent to 29 provincial-level regions as well as the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

    Local authorities have been ordered to carry out in-depth inspections for hidden hazards at hydraulic structures that are critical to flood control, such as river and lake dams, reservoirs and key seawalls.

    They were also ordered to make every effort to work on flood prevention and preparation during China’s main flood season. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The Central Bank of the Russian Federation reduced the key rate from 21 to 20 percent.

    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

    Moscow, June 6 /Xinhua/ — The Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia on Friday decided to lower the key rate from 21 to 20 percent per annum.

    “Current inflationary pressure, including persistent inflation, continues to decline. While domestic demand continues to outpace the ability to expand the supply of goods and services, the Russian economy is gradually returning to a balanced growth trajectory,” the Central Bank of the Russian Federation said in a press release.

    The Bank of Russia predicts “a prolonged period of tight monetary policy.”

    “Further decisions on the key rate will be made depending on the speed and sustainability of the decline in inflation and inflation expectations,” the Central Bank of the Russian Federation said in a statement.

    According to the Bank of Russia’s forecast, given the current monetary policy, annual inflation will return to 4 percent in 2026. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Rosatom CEO Asks IAEA Director General to Become Mediator in Issues of Using American Fuel at Zaporizhzhya NPP

    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

    Moscow, June 6 /Xinhua/ — Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev has asked International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi to mediate on the issue of using American fuel at the Zaporizhzhya NPP. He told reporters following talks with the IAEA chief in Kaliningrad.

    “An important point – we have spoken about it many times – is the issue of American fuel, fuel from Westinghouse… At today’s consultations, we discussed this topic with the IAEA leadership, and I asked Mr. Grossi to become a mediator in resolving this problem in cooperation with the American side – both in the person of the company and in the person of government bodies, in the person of nuclear supervision. We are grateful to the IAEA Director General for the positive steps in response. I very much hope that we will find this solution in cooperation directly with the fuel manufacturer and determine its future fate,” TASS quotes the head of Rosatom as saying.

    R. Grossi announced that the IAEA will take part in the World Atomic Week in Moscow, which will take place in September 2025.

    “The good news for the global nuclear industry is that a major event will be held in the second half of this year in September in Russia, in Moscow, and the IAEA is going to participate in this event. This is a major event for the development of the nuclear industry in the world,” said R. Grossi. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Ukraine Attacks Two Russian Military Airfields

    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

    Kyiv, June 6 /Xinhua/ – Ukraine attacked two airfields and other important military facilities in Russia on Friday night, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) reported on Telegram.

    The Engels airfield in the Saratov region in the southwest of the Russian Federation, which is a concentration site for Russian combat aircraft following an operation carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on June 1, came under attack.

    At least three fuel and lubricant tanks caught fire at the airfield and dozens of explosions were heard.

    The Dyagilevo airfield in the Ryazan region in western Russia, where air tankers and escort fighters are based, was also attacked. They are used to support missile strikes on Ukrainian territory. In addition, Russian strategic bombers fly out of Dyagilevo.

    According to preliminary data, a fire broke out in the target area; the information is being verified.

    In addition, a number of other Russian military facilities came under fire. In particular, a logistics point in the Kursk region of Russia was hit. The results of the attack are being clarified.

    All strikes were carried out by units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in cooperation with other components of the Defense Forces.

    On June 1, the SBU carried out a special operation called “Web”, during which it attacked airfields in several regions of the Russian Federation. According to the service’s estimates, 34 percent of Russian strategic aviation aircraft were damaged as a result of the strikes. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China’s foreign trade in services shows rapid growth in first four months of 2025

    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 6 (Xinhua) — China’s foreign trade in services grew rapidly in the first four months of 2025, with travel-related services registering a sharp uptick, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed Friday.

    According to the agency, the volume of foreign trade in services in the country during the reporting period exceeded 2.63 trillion yuan (about 366.1 billion US dollars), increasing by 8.2 percent year-on-year.

    In particular, service exports reached nearly 1.13 trillion yuan, up 14.6 percent from a year earlier, while imports grew 3.9 percent to exceed 1.5 trillion yuan, leaving a trade deficit of 375.02 billion yuan.

    Trade in tourism-related services continued its rapid growth momentum, rising 14.7 percent year on year to 756.78 billion yuan, the data showed.

    At the same time, the volume of trade in knowledge-intensive services showed a 5.5 percent increase year-on-year and approached the mark of about 1.02 trillion yuan. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Murder investigation launched following disappearance of a woman from Ilford

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    A murder investigation has been launched by Met detectives following the disappearance of a woman from Ilford.

    Yajaira Castro Mendez, aged 46, was reported missing to police on Saturday, 31 May, having left her home on the morning of Thursday, 29 May.

    Today, a man known to her appeared in court charged with her murder, and detectives are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

    Chief Superintendent Jason Stewart, who leads policing in Camden, said: “Officers have been working around the clock to find Yajaira. She has not been seen or heard from by her family or friends since the date she was reported missing.

    “Yajaira’s disappearance was initially treated as a missing person investigation led by local officers. The investigation was then transferred to the Met’s Specialist Crime Command on Thursday, 5 June after a range of extensive further enquiries very sadly suggested she has come to harm. Yajaira’s family continue to be supported by specialist officers, and we are keeping them updated with developments.

    “I understand the impact this news may have on our local community, however we do have a man charged and in custody and we are not searching for anyone else at this stage. The man and Yajaira are believed to be known to each other.

    “Detectives continue to investigate the circumstances and there are crime scenes in place across Camden and Lambeth. We thank the community for their patience while we carry out our enquiries and ask that any one with information please comes forward.”

    Yajaira is a Colombian national who has been residing in the UK.

    Officers are appealing for anyone with any information relating to Yajaira’s disappearance to contact police via 101 or @MetCC quoting CAD 3020/06JUN25.

    To remain 100 per cent anonymous call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit Crimestoppers-uk.org.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Letter to Ofwat regarding Environment Performance Assessment Category 1 water pollution incidents

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Correspondence

    Letter to Ofwat regarding Environment Performance Assessment Category 1 water pollution incidents

    Letter from the Environment Agency to Ofwat regarding Environment Performance Assessment Category 1 water pollution incidents.

    Documents

    Letter to Ofwat regarding water industry category 1 incidents

    HTML

    Details

    Letter from Philip Duffy, Chief Executive, Environment Agency to David Black, Chief Executive, Ofwat regarding Environment Performance Assessment Category 1 water pollution incidents.

    Updates to this page

    Published 6 June 2025

    Sign up for emails or print this page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Press Release – Economic Development Committee looks to boost inter island and regional travel for 2025 and beyond Friday 06 June 2025

    Source: Channel Islands – States of Alderney

    Media Release
    Date: June 6th 2025
    Economic Development Committee looks to boost inter island and regional travel for 2025 and beyond

    The Economic Development Committee (EDC) has made provision of transport links to and from the island a key objective over the first six months of 2025.
    EDC has continued its subsidised support to Alderney Ferry Services, which has moved over 10,000 passengers between Alderney and Guernsey since its establishment 3 years ago. This has proved in recent years that it is essential to the island both economically and socially and bolsters the tourism and visitor offering. This renewed agreement could also run till 2027 subject to review by both parties.

    The Committee has also undertaken a tender process for a sea link service on the largely unexploited Jersey route. Water Taxi CI was selected as the operator for the route for 2025 with a view to extending to 2026, the operator is currently undertaking a marketing campaign in Jersey working with Visit Alderney.

    Chair of Economic Development Stuart Clark said:
    “As a first step, ensuring the ferry service between Alderney and Guernsey continued was of paramount importance for the Committee. It supports the visitor economy and residents alike, whilst complementing the air services provided by Aurigny on the lifeline routes, which are provided under the public service obligation”

    He added, “A successful tender process for the Jersey route is also a great step forward in developing inter-island connectivity. We’re pleased that Water Taxi CI is committing to an intense marketing campaign to ramp up the service and there has been an encouraging amount of traction on social media since the States of Alderney’s announcement about the service on 23rd May”.

    Breaking new ground, The Committee has also struck agreement with the Government of Jersey and Ports of Jersey, working on a joint venture which provides limited subsidy support to Finistair, an airline out of France, operating between Alderney and Brest via Jersey on a trial basis between June and August this year.

    “This is an exciting opportunity for our island, not only in respect of inter-island travel, but for regional connectivity too. We’re of the view that Finistair and Water Taxi Ci will complement one another and provide us valuable data for the demand on this route, without detracting in any material way from the two critically important PSO lifeline routes operated by Aurigny. It demonstrates Alderney’s desire to encourage economic revitalisation by improving connectivity to and from the island, as has been expressed in several States’ debates on Alderney’s connectivity in Guernsey.”

    The Government of Jersey’s Minister for Sustainable Economic Development, Deputy Kirsten Morel, said: “I am pleased to have worked with the States of Alderney to improve the links between our islands by delivering a new air route for this summer. I look forward to continuing to build on these links to find new areas of cooperation and learn from each other in areas such as tourism, heritage and energy.”

    Ends 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman David Scott Announces Key Priorities for Georgia’s 13th District in the 2026 Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman David Scott (GA-13)

    WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Congressman David Scott (GA-13), a senior member of the House Agriculture and House Financial Services Committees, announced a list of legislative priorities in the upcoming Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill. These program requests will help create good-paying jobs for residents and businesses in the 13th district and rebuild Georgia’s roads, bridges, and transit infrastructure. 

    “In every vote I cast and every bill I fight for, I remain focused on prioritizing the people I represent in the 13th District,” said Congressman David Scott. “This year’s Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill provides us with an opportunity to build on the success of House Democrats’ landmark 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure bill, which I proudly voted for. The priorities I have requested in this reauthorization will improve public transportation services across the Atlanta metro area. These programs will protect the architectural integrity of our roads, reduce roadway deaths, protect small businesses impacted by transportation construction, and create good paying jobs. I look forward to working closely with the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to move these priorities across the finish line.”

    Reauthorization of surface transportation programs is the process by which Congress renews, revises, and funds major federal transportation programs that support highways, public transit, rail, and safety initiatives. Grants provide funding directly to states, local governmental entities, and regional commissions to improve Georgia’s transportation infrastructure. Reauthorization ensures continuity, funding, and policy direction of core federal transportation programs.

    Below are summaries of the surface transportation programs Congressman David Scott requested in 2026:

    1.       Department of Transportation Wide: Increasing the federal cost-share match for transportation projects from 80% to 90% to allow local entities to more easily complete infrastructure projects. (Atlanta Regional Commission)

    2.      Department of Transportation Wide: Develop a voluntary centralized product registry to help localities meet existing “Build America, Buy America” requirements. (Atlanta Regional Commission)

    3.      Federal Highway Administration: Requesting to maintain the 80,000-pound weight limit for trucks on roadways to protect the structural integrity of our roads. (GA-13 Elected Officials)

    4.      Federal Highway Administration: Increasing the percentage of the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) provided based on population to bring more federal grant funding to the metro Atlanta area. (Atlanta Regional Commission)

    5.      Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak, and Federal Transit Administration: Building upon the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act by increasing the total public transit and passenger rail investment in the 2026 reauthorization to help transit authorities increase and expand services. (MARTA)

    6.      Federal Transit Administration: Request to streamline the approval process for capital projects so that local transit authorities like the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) can more quickly extend bus routes across the metro Atlanta region. (MARTA)

    7.      Federal Highway Administration: Reauthorizing the Safe Streets for All Program (SS4A), which helps local governments create plans and infrastructure to reduce roadway deaths. (League of American Cyclists)

    8.     Department of Transportation Wide: Reauthorize the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program, to remove barriers for minority- and women-owned businesses in securing contracts with the Department of Transportation. (Congressional Black Caucus)

    9.      Department of Transportation Wide: Codifying the definition of “labor organization” in infrastructure projects to increase good-paying, union jobs for federal transportation programs. (Transport Workers Union of America)

    10.  Federal Transit Administration: Incentivizing transit projects to prioritize the needs and concerns of small businesses impacted by transit construction. (MARTA)

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: IDEX Biometrics ASA: Final result of the Subsequent Offering

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, HONG KONG OR THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN.

    Reference is made to the stock exchange notice from IDEX Biometrics ASA (the “Company”) on 21 May 2025 regarding the commencement of the subscription period (the “Subscription Period”) in the subsequent offering (the “Subsequent Offering”) consisting of up to 600,000,000 new shares (the “Offer Shares”) in the Company at a subscription price of NOK 0.01 per share (“Offer Price”). The Subscription Period commenced on 22 May 2025 and expired on 5 June 2025.

    By the end of the Subscription Period, the Subsequent Offering was 8x oversubscribed. Pursuant to the resolution by the Extraordinary General Meeting dated 11 April 2025, the Company’s board of directors has today resolved to allocate and issue a total of 600,000,000 Offer Shares at the Offer Price in accordance with the allocation criteria set out in the prospectus dated 21 May 2025, raising gross proceeds of NOK 6 million.

    Investors that are allocated Offer Shares can access information on the number of Offer Shares allocated to them through VPS on or about 6 June 2025. The due date for payment of the Offer Shares is on 11 June 2025.

    Subject to duly and timely payment of the Offer Shares, the share capital increase pertaining to the Subsequent Offering is expected to be registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises (“NRBE”) on or about 13 June 2025. Following registration of the share capital increase associated with the Subsequent Offering in the NRBE, the Company’s share capital will be NOK 44,316,309.99 consisting of 4,431,630,999 shares, each having a par value of NOK 0.01.

    The Offer Shares will be delivered to the VPS accounts of the subscribers shortly thereafter, expected on or about 13 June 2025. A separate announcement will be made when the share capital increase has been registered. The Offer Shares will have equal rights and rank pari passu with the Company’s other shares.

    Arctic Securities AS is acting as manager in connection with the Subsequent Offering (the “Manager”). Ræder Bing advokatfirma AS is acting as the Company’s legal advisor.

    For further information, please contact:

    Kristian Flaten, CFO, Tel: +47 95092322

    E-mail: ir@idexbiometrics.com

    IMPORTANT NOTICE

    This announcement is not and does not form a part of any offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any securities of the Company. Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful or would require registration or other measures.

    The securities referred to in this announcement have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and accordingly may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in accordance with applicable U.S. state securities laws. The Company does not intend to register any part of the offering in the United States or to conduct a public offering of securities in the United States.

    In any EEA Member State, this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors in that Member State within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation, i.e., only to investors who can receive the offer without an approved prospectus in such EEA Member State. The “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129, as amended (together with any applicable implementing measures) in any Member State. This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at persons in the United Kingdom that are (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the “Order”) or (ii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom this announcement may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”).

    This communication must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is available only for relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. Persons distributing this communication must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so.

    The issue, subscription or purchase of shares in the Company is subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. Neither the Company nor the Managers assume any responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions. The distribution of this release may in certain jurisdictions be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this release comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Matters discussed in this announcement may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by words such as “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “strategy”, “intends”, “estimate”, “will”, “may”, “continue”, “should” and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions. Although the Company believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond their control. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this release by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not make any guarantee that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements in this announcement are free from errors nor does it accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in this announcement or any obligation to update or revise the statements in this announcement to reflect subsequent events. You should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this announcement. The information, opinions and forward-looking statements contained in this announcement speak only as at its date and are subject to change without notice. The Company does not undertake any obligation to review, update, confirm, or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that arise in relation to the content of this announcement. This announcement is for information purposes only and is not to be relied upon in substitution for the exercise of independent judgment. It is not intended as investment advice and under no circumstances is it to be used or considered as an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities of the Company. The distribution of this announcement and other information may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this announcement or such other information should come are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions. This announcement is an advertisement and is not a prospectus for the purposes of the Prospectus Regulation as implemented in any Member State.

    About IDEX Biometrics:

    IDEX Biometrics ASA (OSE: IDEX) is a global technology leader in fingerprint biometrics, offering authentication solutions across payments, access control, and digital identity. Our solutions bring convenience, security, peace of mind and seamless user experiences to the world. Built on patented and proprietary sensor technologies, integrated circuit designs, and software, our biometric solutions target card-based applications for payments and digital authentication. As an industry-enabler we partner with leading card manufacturers and technology companies to bring our solutions to market. For more information, visit www.idexbiometrics.com  

    About this notice:

    This notice was issued by Kristian Flaten, CFO, on 6 June 2025 at 17:20 CET on behalf of IDEX Biometrics ASA. The information is published in accordance with section 5-8 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act (STA) and released in accordance with section 5-12 of the STA.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Modelling superfunds

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    News story

    Modelling superfunds

    We used actuarial modelling to help the Department for Work and Pensions assess the effectiveness of possible options to regulate superfunds.

    Credit: iStockPhoto

    We helped the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) with its response – Consolidation of defined benefit schemes – to a 2018 consultation. The response set out that the proposed authorisation regime will assess whether a superfund:

    • has a viable business model
    • is financially sustainable
    • is well governed
    • has a high probability of being able to pay member’s benefits when required

    Modelled and tested

    The Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) assessed possible regulatory parameters to determine if a suitable authorisation regime might meet superfund policy objectives.

    We modelled an example superfund, as at 31 December 2022, to test a range of technical provision (TP) discount rates, profit triggers and some possible investment strategies. We used these techniques to determine expected outcomes for the superfund members and investors.

    Results

    Modelling results suggest a TP discount rate of around gilts plus 0.75% and a profit trigger of 150% of the capital requirement for authorisation may come closest to achieving superfund policy objectives at the effective date of the calculations.

    Under the modelling assumptions this provided a balance between superfund commercial viability and reasonable cost of entry against a controlled risk to members’ benefits from superfund failure.

    The DWP used this analysis to support the consultation response to move forward with plans for a superfund regulatory regime. DWP will determine the suitable levels of risk and affordability required for the final regulatory framework.

    GAD’s analysis

    Report co-author and Deputy Government Actuary Matt Gurden said: “This was a complex and detailed analysis of the wide range of factors which can affect superfunds.

    “We modelled an example superfund, in discussion with DWP. The long-term objective was for this example scheme to reach a buyout level of funding when most non-pensioners had retired.”

    Updates to this page

    Published 6 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: No cannabis in HK Haribo candies

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    The Government today said it tested 58 samples of Haribo candy products in Hong Kong and none of them contained tetrahydrocannabinol, a cannabis component.

    The Government Laboratory tested the 58 samples that had already been removed from shelves in the city, after overseas reports suggested that Haribo candies may be contaminated and tested positive for cannabis.

    Upon receiving relevant information, the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department’s Centre for Food Safety contacted local food traders and consulted authorities in the Netherlands.

    The affected batch of products was not imported into Hong Kong, the Government said.

    For prudence sake, the centre had previously informed the trade to temporarily remove the brand’s candies from shelves. The relevant traders have been informed of the test results.

    The Government will continue to closely monitor the situation and take appropriate action as needed.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: UK What is the Journal? 📚 | House of Commons

    Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)

    The Journal Office holds a complete record of all decisions made in the House of Commons Chamber since 1547.

    A Journal is created for every Parliament session. Two newly printed and bound Journals have arrived to be added to the shelves.

    The Journal is created from a document called Votes and Proceedings which is produced every day by a team of clerks, including Gavin.

    Curious to find out more? You can find Votes and Proceedings by date online https://commonsbusiness.parliament.uk/search?SearchTerm=Votes+and+Proceedings

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ozafvBxuLg

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: TRA investigates hot-rolled steel plate from South Korea

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    TRA investigates hot-rolled steel plate from South Korea

    The TRA has opened an anti-dumping investigation into imports of hot-rolled steel plate from South Korea.

    The Trade Remedies Authority has today (6 June 2025) opened a new investigation into imports of hot-rolled steel plate from South Korea.

    Hot-rolled steel plates are flat steel products often used in bridge construction, machine manufacturing and shipbuilding.

    The new investigation is in response to an application by UK producer Spartan UK Ltd, which has alleged that imports of hot-rolled steel plate products from South Korea are being dumped into the UK and that these dumped imports are causing injury to domestic industry.

    According to the TRA’s initial analysis, imports of hot-rolled steel plate from South Korea have grown from 14 million tonnes in 2021 to more than 40 million tonnes last year.

    Where the TRA recommends a remedy is necessary, it will conduct an Economic Interest Test to assess whether the implementation of the remedy is in the UK’s economic interest.

    Interested parties can contribute to this investigation by visiting the TRA’s public file.

    Background information

    • The period of investigation for this case will be between April 1 2024 and March 31 2025.
    • The Trade Remedies Authority is the UK body that investigates whether new trade remedy measures are needed to counter unfair import practices and unforeseen surges of imports.
    • The TRA is an arm’s length body of the Department for Business and Trade.
    • UK industries concerned about imports have been able to submit applications for a new trade remedy measure since January 2021. These applications are considered by the TRA to see if there are grounds for an investigation.

    Updates to this page

    Published 6 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What the UK’s ‘Nato-first’ defence approach tells us about Britain’s place in a volatile world

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nick Whittaker, Subject Lead in Social Sciences & Law, University of Sussex

    Since the end of the cold war, the relevance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) has regularly been questioned, even by its most prominent leaders. Its members, therefore, find it necessary to remind each other and the world of its value from time to time.

    The latest example of this is the UK government’s new strategic defence review, which announces a “Nato-first” posture.

    Nato has long been a cornerstone of UK foreign, defence and security policies. But this marks a particularly strident prioritisation of the organisation. It comes just a few years after Boris Johnson’s government began moving the country’s foreign and defence policy priorities towards the Indo-Pacific.

    It tells us much about how Keir Starmer’s administration sees the UK’s place in the world in an unsettled era: as both an influential ally of the US and a reliable partner to European powers, eager to maintain regional and global influence.

    Signed in 1949, the North Atlantic treaty committed its original 12 members to collective security: an attack on one would be an attack on all. In the shadow of the second world war, Nato went further than the nascent United Nations in its defence and security commitments. It brought together a somewhat eclectic mix of states straddling the Atlantic, from the North American behemoths of the US and Canada to tiny Iceland and Luxembourg, the dictatorship of Salazar’s Portugal and the democracies of Norway and Belgium.

    The UK’s participation was largely heralded across an enthusiastic parliament. Winston Churchill, then leader of the opposition, praised this new “fraternal association”. The foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, celebrated the community of interest [and] cooperation with like-minded people”. UK politicians saw Nato as a means to connect with the US and Canada in particular.

    Want more politics coverage from academic experts? Every week, we bring you informed analysis of developments in government and fact check the claims being made.

    Sign up for our weekly politics newsletter, delivered every Friday.

    The language at the time also reflected the casting of the Soviet Union as a threat to European security. Although the UK welcomed Nato as a liberal democratic organisation dominated by English-speaking peoples, its primary purpose was always to act as a strategic counterweight to the influence and encroachment of the Soviet Union in Europe. Hence the claimed irrelevance of Nato in the 1990s after the cold war, and its renewed importance today in the face of Russian aggression.

    As always with UK foreign and defence policies, the relationship with the US is paramount. The UK’s Nato-first position is no exception. Starmer clearly believes he can forge a working relationship with the US president. Although seemingly far from natural bedfellows (although neither were John F. Kennedy and Harold Macmillan or even, politics aside, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher), Donald Trump appears unthreatened by the sober, understated Starmer.

    The thought within Starmer’s foreign policy circle may well be that a loud and unequivocal statement of the UK’s commitment to Nato could help persuade Trump to stay the course with an organisation that he has often threatened to pull the US out of.

    If, on the other hand, Starmer et al are more pessimistic and fear Trump making good on his threats, Nato clearly remains an attractive proposition in terms of the UK’s defence policy. While it does commit the UK to the defence of, say, the Baltic States and Finland, by the same token, Nato puts the UK in lockstep with fellow nuclear power, France, as well as the growing military power of Germany and significant others such as Turkey. In uncertain times, such allies are to be valued.

    Global influence

    Even before Brexit, a fear of losing global and regional influence has stalked every British government since 1945.

    Questioning the wisdom of the departure from the EU remains a Westminster taboo. Yet one might forgive the incoming Labour government for feeling the chill of isolation while Trump occupies the White House and Russia threatens the continent. Nato thus also represents a valuable opportunity to retain regional and global influence. Note the language in Starmer’s introduction to the report when he refers to a desire to “lead in Nato”.

    Can Starmer’s ‘Nato-first’ pivot convince Trump to stay?
    Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street, CC BY-NC-ND

    While the other defenestrated European colonial powers found post-1945 influence through the Francophonie or becoming leading civilian forces in what became the EU, the UK had the Commonwealth and Nato. These were the prime proxies for the lost colonial influence, even during the long EU interregnum.

    Without the EU and with a more restive Commonwealth, Nato is of even greater importance. Although France’s president Emmanuel Macron is generally enthusiastic about Nato, there is a history of French ambivalence. The UK could well make the claim to be the most steadfastly committed of all the larger European members.

    This renewed commitment to Nato from the UK government is consistent with the historic prioritisation of the organisation by successive administrations. The difference here is the urgency of the context: Europe faces an unprecedented military threat, while the US president is unpredictable and dubious in his attitude towards continental defence.

    The Nato-first stance is a recognition of grim, strategic realities and also a “Hail Mary”, both pragmatic and hopeful. The UK is not alone in desperately hoping to keep the US commitment to European security alive. The strategic review’s commitment to a Nato-first policy may help – at the very least, it signals a UK administration keen to maximise its influence and retain robust ties with European allies.

    Nick Whittaker 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. What the UK’s ‘Nato-first’ defence approach tells us about Britain’s place in a volatile world – https://theconversation.com/what-the-uks-nato-first-defence-approach-tells-us-about-britains-place-in-a-volatile-world-258336

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The UK is gearing up for autonomous warfare – but missing the reality of war today

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Anthony King, Professor of War Studies, University of Exeter

    The UK is facing a security crisis. Great power competition has returned, and the threat of hostility from Russia, China, Iran and North Korea is increasing. The west can no longer assume military superiority, and the UK can no longer depend unconditionally on the US. The character of war itself is changing as new technology is introduced.

    This is the situation laid out in the latest strategic defence review. The implications for the UK are clear: the country must prepare for high-intensity, protracted war, not counter-insurgency operations like Iraq or Afghanistan.

    In order to address these challenges, the review says, “the UK must pivot to a new way of war.” Nuclear weapons are important here, and will be renewed and expanded. But the recommendations in the review focus on conventional weaponry and, above all, new remote and autonomous technology.

    Want more politics coverage from academic experts? Every week, we bring you informed analysis of developments in government and fact check the claims being made.

    Sign up for our weekly politics newsletter, delivered every Friday.

    The ongoing Ukraine war underpins much of the thinking about the military changes the UK needs to make. That conflict has demonstrated a significant change in the character of 21st-century warfare. Most obviously, it has involved a proliferation of cheap, expendable remote systems, some of which have autonomous capabilities.

    Remote first-person-view drones, and drones controlled by unjammable fibre-optic cables, have become ubiquitous on the frontline – reconnoitring, targeting and striking troops on both sides. They have made conventional strategic manoeuvres at the front almost impossible, while also striking civilian and military targets deep in Russia and Ukraine.

    At sea, uncrewed naval drones have struck Russian shipping and infrastructure in Crimea. The Ukrainian armed forces have also developed a digital battle management system and live-data, AI-enabled targeting system, drawing together information from satellite, open-source, ground-sensor and signal intelligence. This has allowed Ukrainian commanders to see deeply across the battlespace, and target Russian forces with an unprecedented depth and precision.

    As a result of remote systems enabled by digitised targeting, military forces have become exponentially more lethal in close battle – and also in the deep.

    The strategic defence review aims for the UK to incorporate these two elements into its war-fighting capabilities, recommending massive investment in remotely controlled and autonomous systems.

    It calls for the UK to create a “leading, tech-enabled defence power”. Part of this involves integrating UK forces and the construction of a unified “digital targeting web”. This would be fed by sensors from every domain (land, air and sea) so that all forces have access to the same intelligence and a common operating picture. The idea is that a target identified in one domain might be prosecuted by forces in another, to “enhance the Armed Forces’ precision and lethality at scale and reach”.

    In order to achieve this, the review also calls for improved and more innovative relationships between British defence, tech and industry. Once again, a lot has been learnt from Ukraine, whose industrial and tech sectors have been integrated into the war from the start.

    The missing link

    The review’s authors – three external experts led by former defence secretary and Nato chief, Lord Robertson – are correct to highlight the increasing importance of remote (and sometimes autonomous) systems in warfare. They are clear that military forces should increasingly draw on live data, processed by artificial intelligence, to help them understand the battlespace, plan and target. The UK must remain competitive with peer enemies who are developing these capabilities.

    However, even assuming that all of this is affordable at 2.5% of the UK’s GDP from 2027 (a 0.2% rise from where defence spending is now), there is a serious gap in the review’s proposals.

    As a scholar who has studied war in the 21st century, and has just completed a book on AI and war, I believe the document vastly overexaggerates the capability of AI and autonomy. For example, it states:

    In modern warfare, simple metrics such as the number of people and platforms deployed are outdated and inadequate. It is through dynamic networks of crewed, uncrewed, and autonomous assets and data flows that lethality and military effect are now created.

    This analysis presumes that autonomy will be vital in the future, and implies it will displace the need for large numbers of human combatants. In fact, true autonomy is still rare in combat – and will remain so, according to my research.

    Even if autonomous drone swarms appear, they will not eliminate the need for human programmers or operators behind the frontline. AI has limited military functions which require a huge amount of human input.

    Defence secretary John Healey being shown unmanned and autonomous units on a demonstration.
    UK MOD Crown Copyright 2025

    The review prioritises preparedness for protracted inter-state war. But it ignores the blindingly obvious from Ukraine: the imperative of mass.

    The Ukrainian frontline combat forces have expanded to about 300,000 – Ukraine claims its whole force, including allied fighters, is around 1 million. There are about 400,000 Russian combat troops in Ukraine. Casualties have been eye-watering: the Russians have suffered about 800,000 casualties, the Ukrainians nearly 500,000.

    In my view, the strategic defence review has been mesmerised by the prospect of new technology – and, perhaps, by some wishful thinking.

    In 21st-century war, troop mass matters. Fleets of drones and the most sophisticated digital targeting will be irrelevant without human forces willing to fight and to operate them.

    What is the review’s answer to this? While acknowledging that in the cold war, the British fielded forces of 311,000, UK regular armed forces are to remain the same size: 136,000, of which the army will consist of only 73,000 troops and staff.

    The review proposes that active reserves (volunteer, part-time forces) will be increased by 20%, and that the strategic reserve (ex-regulars) “is central to military mobilisation and must be reinvigorated”.

    It is not surprising that the review’s authors have offered such thin solutions to the question of mass. There has been profound resistance from successive governments, Whitehall and civil society to any expansion in the size of British military forces in the UK. But it is doubtful that an expanded reserve and a reinvigorated strategic reserve will be remotely enough for the UK to fight and win a war of any kind in the coming decade.

    Anthony King 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. The UK is gearing up for autonomous warfare – but missing the reality of war today – https://theconversation.com/the-uk-is-gearing-up-for-autonomous-warfare-but-missing-the-reality-of-war-today-258240

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Consultation launched into permit ‘minded to’ decision

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Consultation launched into permit ‘minded to’ decision

    The Environment Agency has launched a consultation into its ‘minded to’ decision to issue a permit to a Bury landfill.

    Valencia Waste Management applied for an environmental permit to increase the permitted quantities for treatment of mixed non-hazardous waste at its Pilsworth South waste management facility at Pilsworth Road.

    After reviewing 291 responses from the original consultation last year the Environment Agency is ‘minded to’ issue the environmental permit.

    This means after exploring the issues and concerns that have been raised, it can’t find any reason to refuse the application, but is yet to make a final decision.

    A draft permit document and draft decision document is on the Environment Agency’s Citizen Space page.

    The consultation into the ‘minded to’ decision documents will close at the end of Thursday 3 July 2025.

    EA wants to ‘hear people’s views’

    Nigel Glasgow, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency in Greater Manchester,

    We have carefully considered all the documents provided to us by Valencia Waste Management as well as the consultation comments and currently can’t find any reason to refuse the permit application.

    We want to hear people’s views on the draft decision and those interested are encouraged to view the draft documents and provide comments.

    We will make our final decision once we have reviewed the responses to this consultation.

    The purpose of the treatment is to recover the metals, wood and plastic for recycling, and to prepare the combustible wastes for use in energy recovery off-site.

    The residual waste will, where possible, be used in landfill engineering, otherwise it will be disposed of in the landfill.

    The treatment will take place in a purpose-built building with specialised equipment capable of treating up to 250,000 tonnes per year.

    The original consultation into this application took place ended on 23 August 2024.

    The Environment Agency may only refuse a permit application if it does not meet one or more of the legal requirements under environmental legislation, including if it will have an unacceptable impact on the environment or harm human health.

    If all the requirements are met, it is legally obliged to issue a permit. 

    The draft decision document explains the Environment Agency’s decision-making and outlines how it has considered the comments from the original consultation. The draft permit outlines the conditions would need to meet if the permit is granted.

    The Environment Agency will only issue the permit if it is satisfied the operator could comply with the permit conditions and has appropriate systems in place to operate the incinerator without causing harm to the environment, human health or wildlife.

    People can respond to the consultation directly on the website or alternatively by email to pscpublicresponse@environment-agency.gov.uk

    Background

    Environmental permits 

    • Environmental permits set out strict legal conditions by which an operator must comply in order to protect people and the environment. Should an environmental permit be issued, the Environment Agency has responsibility for enforcing its conditions. 
    • Our powers include enforcement notices, suspension and revocation of permits, fines and ultimately criminal sanctions, including prosecution. 
    • We may only refuse a permit if it does not meet one or more of the legal requirements under environmental legislation, including if it will have a significant impact on the environment or harm human health. If all the requirements are met, we are legally required to issue a permit. 

    Consultation responses  

    • Responses to the consultation can be made electronically. 
    • People can respond directly on the website or alternatively by email to pscpublicresponse@environment-agency.gov.uk
    • Those unable to view the documents or make representation via the consultation website or by email should contact the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506.

    Updates to this page

    Published 6 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: “Our program is an intensive path of personal and professional transformation”

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

    Three groups, more than 100 students, successfully completed the MBA program. Over a year and a half, they completed 16 educational modules, including two on-site ones: to China and to Lake Baikal. The 2025 graduates include entrepreneurs, founders of successful businesses, and top managers of leading Russian companies: Sber, VTB, Rostelecom, NOVATEK, Rosatom, Yandex.Technologies, Almaz-Antey Concern, SKB Kontur, Belkacar, SONET Group, and others.

    Volkov Dmitry Leonidovich

    First Deputy Director of the Higher School of Business

    “The MBA program not only provides knowledge, but also strong networking in the leadership community; for a modern entrepreneur and top manager, it is extremely important to remain in the educational environment and continue learning throughout life.”

    The updated MBA program of the HSE Graduate School of Business covers key areas of modern management: from strategic management and corporate finance to marketing, operations management and innovation, including the use of AI in business.

    All graduates note an important advantage of the HSE Graduate School of Business: a very strong team of teachers, which unites both practitioners, leaders of successful businesses, and outstanding representatives of academic science from across the HSE University.

    Positioning itself as a first-choice business school, HSE has invested a lot of effort into developing its MBA program, including innovative educational formats: business simulations, interactive projects, group assignments to develop practical skills and networking among program students.

    The hallmarks of the MBA program at the Higher School of Business at the National Research University Higher School of Economics are effective on-site modules. The leadership intensive is traditionally held on Lake Baikal and is aimed at developing team management skills, crisis management, and the ability to make decisions under stress and in situations of uncertainty.

    And the recent overseas module was organized jointly with Fudan University, one of the leading centers of business education in Asia. The university is among the best universities in China and Asia, widely recognized for its high level of teaching, quality of scientific research and international programs in the field of economics and management. The overseas modules are the leaders in the most positive feedback from the program participants.

    The final part of the program was the defense of final projects. Participants presented solutions for a wide range of industries: from energy and tourism to industrial production and digital services. Among the initiatives: development of a new data management product, launch and development of a business community, a service for generating income from excess energy capacity, a strategy for bringing self-propelled electric lifts to market.

    The graduation ceremony took place at the HSE campus. The graduates were congratulated by the program teachers and the business school management.

    Koptsev Vladimir Sergeevich

    Head of the MBA program at the Higher School of Business, National Research University Higher School of Economics

    “Our program is an intensive path of personal and professional transformation. We see how students change over the course of a year and a half: their confidence grows, their horizons expand, their ability to make strategic decisions strengthens. It is especially valuable that they leave the program with a clear understanding of their role in business and with a readiness for new challenges.”

    During their studies, participants not only expanded their professional horizons, but also built new strong horizontal connections—the alumni community remains one of the program’s key resources.

    Ekaterina Artemenkova

    Director of the Financial Department, Insurance Company “Guardia”

    “I asked my classmates to name three associations with the program and collected them in a word cloud. The most frequent word turned out to be unexpected, but very accurate – “pleasure”. In the program, we learned to enjoy studying, communicating, challenges. And, perhaps, the main thing we learned was the ability to maintain inner calm in the most stressful situations and to see opportunities even in difficulties.”

    Andrey Dementyev

    Founder of the family project “Elephant Park” in Sochi

    “Over these one and a half years, we have not only mastered the tools of strategic management, Agile and financial analysis – we have learned to see value in people, in the team, in the environment. We have learned from each other, admired, supported – and it is in this atmosphere that ideas, projects and a real team are born.”

    Olga Komleva

    Director of IT Solutions Department, SONET Group of Companies

    “This morning, when I was driving to the airport, I was thinking that this is my last trip as part of the MBA program. It is a warm sadness and great pride at the same time. We have gained knowledge, found friends, and most importantly, made the right choice by coming here. I would like to wish everyone not to lose interest, to study and move forward.”

    The graduation of the HSE Graduate School of Business MBA program has become a significant contribution to the preparation of innovative responsible leaders who change organizations and the world. Start of a new cohort MBA programs is scheduled for this fall and the admissions campaign has already begun.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: IMF Executive Board Concludes 2025 Article IV Consultation with Spain

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    June 6, 2025

    • The Spanish economy has been performing strongly, supported by services exports and labor force growth. Growth is expected to remain significantly above the euro area average in the near term, before slowing gradually as its recent drivers normalize and demographic aging intensifies. Most risks are to the downside, including from a further escalation of trade measures and domestic political fragmentation.
    • The authorities should seize the growth momentum to more swiftly rebuild fiscal space and reduce sovereign debt risks through a clearer consolidation strategy grounded in well-identified tax increase and spending reduction priorities. Additional measures should also be taken to address fiscal pressures from rising future pension expenditures, and to improve the pension system’s safeguard clause.
    • Raising productivity is key to boosting income per capita gains, which have been modest since the pandemic. This should be achieved through a new wave of reforms to facilitate firms’ scaling-up and strengthen innovation.

    Washington, DC: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the Article IV Consultation for Spain.[1] The authorities have consented to the publication of the Staff Report prepared for this consultation.[2]

    With a growth rate of 3.2 percent in 2024, Spain has been one of the fastest-growing economies in the euro area. Growth has been fueled by robust services exports and labor force growth, including due to immigration. Because high GDP growth has been accompanied by high employment growth, GDP per capita gains have been more modest. Despite recent progress, Spain still has one of the lowest employment rates in Europe, and a persistent gap in (hourly labor) productivity vis-à-vis the euro area and—even more so—the US.

    Growth is projected to reach 2.5 percent in 2025 before slowing to 1.8 percent in 2026 as export and working-age population gains normalize. Growth will be primarily supported by private domestic demand, including due to a decline in the household saving rate and a pickup in investment. Inflation is projected to decline further and return close to the ECB’s target by end-2025.

    Executive Board Assessment[3]

    The Spanish economy has continued to outperform the euro area but per-capita income gains have been more modest. Two major drivers of Spain’s strong growth have been, on the supply side, labor force growth, and on the demand side, services exports. Labor force growth has particularly benefitted from recent migration inflows, which have risen sharply above pre-pandemic levels. Services exports have been fueled by the strong post-COVID recovery in tourism, but also by improvements in the performance of Spanish exporters in non-tourism services. Amid strong exports and still subdued imports, the external position in 2024 is preliminarily assessed to be stronger than implied by medium-term fundamentals and desirable policies. Because high GDP growth has been accompanied by high employment growth, GDP per capita gains have been more modest. Still, Spain reduced its per-capita income gap vis-à-vis the highest-income euro area economies by over 3 percentage points during 2022-24, helped by an acceleration in productivity growth. Despite recent progress in reducing the unemployment rate, it remains the highest in the euro area at about 11 percent. Looking through recent volatility, disinflation has continued to proceed steadily.

    Growth is projected to remain robust in the near term and to slow gradually thereafter as its recent drivers normalize, with risks predominantly to the downside. Growth should remain strong at 2.5 percent in 2025 before declining to about 1.8 percent next year, close to its medium-term potential. On the demand side, tourism is expected to expand at a slower rate, while a weaker global environment—including elevated trade policy uncertainty and US tariffs—will also weigh on external demand. This drag is expected to be partly offset by robust domestic demand, including a pick-up in investment. On the supply side, a gradual slowdown in net migration and demographic aging will slowly weigh on labor force gains. Key downside risks include an escalation of trade measures, particularly those involving the EU, and domestic political fragmentation, which could hamper the response of fiscal policy in the event Spain’s deficit reduction fell short of its commitments or market concerns about sovereign risks were to emerge.

    The authorities should seize upon the strong growth momentum to more swiftly rebuild fiscal space and reduce sovereign debt risks, in the context of an enhanced medium-term fiscal plan. Staff projects that, in the absence of further consolidation measures besides social security contribution increases from the 2021-2023 pension reforms and the non-indexation of PIT brackets (about 1 percent of GDP overall over 2025-29), the deficit would stabilize above 2 percent of GDP by 2030, while the debt-to-GDP ratio would remain above 90 percent before rising again in the longer term as fiscal pressures from aging intensify. Weighing fiscal risks on the one hand, and the economy’s strong cyclical position on the other, staff recommends frontloading the authorities’ planned 3 percent of GDP adjustment over 2025-2029 rather than 2025-2031. This effort, which would require about 2 percentage points of GDP in new measures, should be underpinned by an enhanced medium-term fiscal plan that lays out well-identified tax increase and spending reduction priorities. Harmonizing VAT and enhancing environmental taxation would deliver the recommended effort while reducing economic distortions. Given the widening projected gap between pension expenditures and social security contributions over the coming decades, pension reforms should also be undertaken, prioritizing employment-friendly options. Should downside risks materialize, fiscal policy should remain flexible, letting automatic stabilizers play out. Temporary discretionary support should be considered only in the event of a severe shock and provided sovereign funding costs remain low.

    Systemic risks in the financial system remain low but ongoing efforts to further bolster its resilience should be maintained. Banks are well-capitalized, liquid, and profitable, though capital ratios are still somewhat below euro area peers. Household and corporate balance sheets are sound, supported by low debt and rising incomes. The rapid growth in house prices has eroded affordability and should be primarily addressed through measures that stimulate housing supply. While it does currently not raise financial stability risks, pre-emptive borrower-based measures should be considered if there were early signs of an easing in lending standards. Staff supports the ongoing phasing-in of the one-percent positive neutral CCyB and encourages continued implementation of other 2024 FSAP recommendations to further enhance resilience.

    Fostering income-per-capita convergence toward higher-income advanced economies requires further raising the employment rate and boosting productivity. Despite recent progress, Spain still has one of the lowest employment rates in Europe, and its (hourly labor) productivity gap vis-à-vis the euro area—which has itself been falling behind the US—remains about as wide as it was 25 years ago. Enhancing activation policies and financial incentives for jobseekers is key to durably reducing unemployment to single digits. The planned reduction of the working week in the private sector should be carefully designed to mitigate adverse effects on output and workers’ incomes, with a major role for collective bargaining including in setting the level and remuneration of overtime. Closing the productivity gap will require reforms that facilitate firms’ scaling-up and innovation. These include completing both the Spanish and EU single markets for goods and services, streamlining firm size-related tax and regulatory thresholds, boosting venture capital through progress toward the CMU complemented by domestic incentives, and promoting excellence in higher education—including through greater autonomy and performance-based funding of universities.

    Spain: Selected Economic Indicators

    (Annual percentage change, unless noted otherwise)

    Projections 1/

    2022

    2023

    2024

    2025

    2026

    2027

    Demand and supply in constant prices

    Gross domestic product

    6.2

    2.7

    3.2

    2.5

    1.8

    1.7

    Private consumption

    4.8

    1.8

    2.9

    2.1

    2.0

    1.9

    Public consumption

    0.6

    5.2

    4.1

    3.5

    1.7

    1.9

    Gross fixed investment

    3.3

    2.1

    3.0

    5.0

    2.1

    1.2

    Total domestic demand

    3.9

    1.7

    2.9

    2.9

    2.0

    1.8

    Net exports (contribution to growth)

    2.5

    1.2

    0.4

    -0.2

    -0.1

    0.0

    Exports of goods and services

    15.0

    3.3

    3.4

    2.2

    2.5

    3.1

    Imports of goods and services

    7.8

    0.4

    2.6

    3.0

    3.2

    3.4

    Potential output 

    2.1

    2.7

    2.6

    2.6

    2.3

    2.1

    Output gap (percent of potential)

    1.1

    1.1

    1.6

    1.6

    1.1

    0.7

    Prices

    GDP deflator

    4.7

    6.2

    3.0

    2.4

    2.4

    2.4

    Headline Inflation (average)

    8.3

    3.4

    2.9

    2.2

    2.0

    2.1

    Headline Inflation (end of period)

    5.5

    3.3

    2.8

    1.9

    1.9

    2.1

    Core inflation (average)

    5.2

    5.8

    3.0

    1.9

    2.0

    2.0

    Core inflation (end of period)

    6.7

    4.0

    2.6

    1.8

    2.0

    2.0

    Employment and wages

    Unemployment rate (percent of total labor force)

    13.0

    12.2

    11.3

    11.1

    11.0

    11.0

    Labor costs, private sector

    2.6

    5.6

    4.7

    3.5

    3.4

    3.4

    Employment

    3.6

    3.1

    2.2

    1.3

    0.9

    0.7

    Balance of payments (percent of GDP)

    Current account balance

    0.4

    2.7

    3.0

    2.5

    2.4

    2.2

    Net international investment position

    -57.7

    -51.3

    -44.0

    -38.5

    -33.5

    -29.7

    Public finance (percent of GDP)

    General government balance

    -4.6

    -3.5

    -3.2

    -2.8

    -2.4

    -2.3

    Primary balance

    -2.5

    -1.7

    -1.3

    -0.6

    0.1

    0.1

    Structural balance

    -5.3

    -4.1

    -3.1

    -3.2

    -2.8

    -2.7

    General government debt

    109.4

    105.0

    101.8

    100.7

    99.1

    97.7
           

    Sources: IMF, World Economic Outlook; data provided by the authorities; and IMF staff estimates.

    1/ The projections incorporate spending financed by the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (including the grant and the loan component) amounting to about 0.7, 1.7, 1.3 and 0.3 percent of GDP from 2024 to 2027.
                           

    [1] Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.

    [2] Under the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, publication of documents that pertain to member countries is voluntary and requires the member consent. The staff report will be shortly published on the www.imf.org/en/Countries/ESP page.

    [3] At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chairman of the Board, summarizes the views of Executive Directors, and this summary is transmitted to the country’s authorities. An explanation of any qualifiers used in summings up can be found here: http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm.

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Camila Perez

    Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/06/05/pr25183-spain-imf-executive-board-concludes-2025-article-iv-consultation-with-spain

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Illegal Aliens Face Federal Charges in Cobb County Methamphetamine Lab Bust

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ATLANTA – Juan Perez-Maldonado and Francisco Garcia Gomez, both illegal aliens from Mexico, appeared in federal court on June 4, 2025, following their arrests on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Garcia Gomez and a third illegal alien from Mexico, Filemon Hernandez-Jijon, were also charged with possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully present in the United States. 

    “Our law enforcement partners worked swiftly to disrupt a suburban drug lab, seize numerous firearms, and arrest two illegal aliens allegedly responsible for manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Criminals who traffic illegal drugs in our communities will be identified, found, and prosecuted with deliberate speed.”

    “DEA remains focused on keeping America safe and protecting the homeland from by removing dangerous drugs from our communities and bringing criminals to justice,” said Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Atlanta Division. “Keeping our communities safe is our highest priority.”

    According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: On June 3, 2025, DEA agents saw Filemon Hernandez-Jijon allegedly supply two kilograms of methamphetamine to a drug customer in the Smyrna, Georgia area. Law enforcement later observed Hernandez-Jijon traveling to and from a mobile home located in Marietta, Georgia.

    Hours later, DEA agents executed a federal search warrant at the mobile home and encountered Juan Perez-Maldonado and Francisco Garcia Gomez there. A third person fled the scene. Inside the mobile home, agents discovered an active laboratory used to convert liquid methamphetamine into a crystal-like form, as well as at least 13 kilograms of what appeared to be the finished drug product. In addition, agents located two handguns, including one hidden in the tank of a toilet, and money remitter receipts bearing Garcia Gomez’s and Hernandez-Jijon’s names. Outside the home, agents recovered acetone, several empty coolers, and other materials commonly used to produce crystalized methamphetamine.

    In connection with this investigation, agents executed another federal search warrant at an apartment in Smyrna. In a baby’s crib, agents located a bag containing a loaded Glock pistol, two additional loaded firearm magazines, and identification for Perez-Maldonado. Elsewhere in the apartment, agents found a Springfield XD firearm and a mechanical press used to press powder into kilogram bricks.

    The investigation further revealed that Perez-Maldonado and Hernandez-Jijon had been previously deported and removed from the United States.

    Hernandez-Jijon is currently a fugitive. If you have any information on the whereabouts of Hernandez-Jijon, please contact your local law enforcement agency.

    Members of the public are reminded that the complaint only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

    This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with valuable assistance provided from the Marietta-Cobb-Smyrna Narcotics Unit and the DeKalb County Police Department – HIDTA Task Force.

    Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Schwarzl and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebeca M. Ojeda are prosecuting the case.

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

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.gov.

    For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6000. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

    MIL Security OSI –