Category: France

MIL-OSI: Societe Generale: the Board of Directors launches a co-option procedure of a woman Director
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS LAUNCHES A CO-OPTION PROCEDURE OF A WOMAN DIRECTOR

Press release

Paris, 28 May 2025

The Board of Directors, on 28 May 2025, acknowledged the resignation of Mrs. Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier from her duties as Director of Societe Generale, incompatible with her new professional responsibilities.

This resignation was notified to Societe Generale with immediate effect.

Consequently, in accordance with Article L. 225-24 paragraph 4 of the French Commercial Code, upon the proposal of the Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee, a co-option procedure of a woman director has been launched.

Mr. Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Chairman of the Board of Directors, thanks Mrs. Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier for her participation in the work of the Societe Generale Board of Directors.

Press contacts:
Jean-Baptiste Froville_+33 1 58 98 68 00_ jean-baptiste.froville@socgen.com
Fanny Rouby_+33 1 57 29 11 12_ fanny.rouby@socgen.com

Societe Generale

Societe Generale is a top tier European Bank with around 119,000 employees serving more than 26 million clients in 62 countries across the world. We have been supporting the development of our economies for 160 years, providing our corporate, institutional, and individual clients with a wide array of value-added advisory and financial solutions. Our long-lasting and trusted relationships with the clients, our cutting-edge expertise, our unique innovation, our ESG capabilities and leading franchises are part of our DNA and serve our most essential objective – to deliver sustainable value creation for all our stakeholders.

The Group runs three complementary sets of businesses, embedding ESG offerings for all its clients:
- French Retail, Private Banking and Insurance, with leading retail bank SG and insurance franchise, premium private banking services, and the leading digital bank BoursoBank.
- Global Banking and Investor Solutions, a top tier wholesale bank offering tailored-made solutions with distinctive global leadership in equity derivatives, structured finance and ESG.
- Mobility, International Retail Banking and Financial Services, comprising well-established universal banks (in Czech Republic, Romania and several African countries), Ayvens (the new ALD I LeasePlan brand), a global player in sustainable mobility, as well as specialized financing activities.
Committed to building together with its clients a better and sustainable future, Societe Generale aims to be a leading partner in the environmental transition and sustainability overall. The Group is included in the principal socially responsible investment indices: DJSI (Europe), FTSE4Good (Global and Europe), Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Refinitiv Diversity and Inclusion Index, Euronext Vigeo (Europe and Eurozone), STOXX Global ESG Leaders indexes, and the MSCI Low Carbon Leaders Index (World and Europe).

In case of doubt regarding the authenticity of this press release, please go to the end of the Group News page on societegenerale.com website where official Press Releases sent by Societe Generale can be certified using blockchain technology. A link will allow you to check the document’s legitimacy directly on the web page.

For more information, you can follow us on Twitter/X @societegenerale or visit our website societegenerale.com.

Attachment
- Societe-Generale_Co-option-procedure
The MIL Network –
May 29, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Israel must immediately let aid into Gaza and enable the UN to operate: UK statement at the UN Security Council

Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Speech

Israel must immediately let aid into Gaza and enable the UN to operate: UK statement at the UN Security Council

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East.

I thank Special Coordinator Sigrid Kaag and Dr Sidwah for their briefings today, which painted a catastrophic picture.

Let me pay tribute to you and to your humanitarian and health worker colleagues working tirelessly to alleviate this suffering.

I will make three points.

First, the UK has always supported Israel’s right to defend itself. It suffered a heinous attack by Hamas on 7 October, and hostages have been through an unimaginable ordeal. We reiterate our call for their immediate and unconditional release and accountability for those responsible.

But as my Prime Minister has said, we strongly oppose the Israeli Government’s escalating military action in Gaza which is wholly disproportionate.

An immediate ceasefire, not more bloodshed, is the way to secure the release of the hostages and stop the endless cycle of violence.

Second, as we have heard again today, the level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable. Civilians face starvation, displacement and trauma.

The UN warned of the risks from the Israeli Government’s plan for aid delivery. In Rafah yesterday, we saw this warning become a reality. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation lost control of its distribution centre, with multiple casualties reported and great distress for those desperately seeking aid.

In contrast, the UN has a clear plan to deliver lifesaving aid at scale. It contains robust mitigations against aid diversion. Brave humanitarians stand ready to do their jobs. 9,000 trucks wait at the border.

Our message to Prime Minister Netanyahu is clear: let aid in and enable the UN to operate, now.

We reiterate our support for the UN, OCHA and all its aid agencies.

We also reject the Israeli Government’s unacceptable intention to take control of the Gaza Strip. Permanent forced displacement is a breach of international humanitarian law.

Third, President, in the West Bank, violent settlers continue to assault and abuse Palestinians, forcing entire communities to flee. In Jerusalem, provocative visits to Holy Sites and inflammatory language by Israeli ministers are adding to the tensions.

On 20 May, the UK announced further sanctions on individuals and entities promoting violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

We will continue to act against those committing these abuses.

President, the UK will not give up on a two-state solution, and we will continue to work closely with France, Saudi Arabia and all our partners towards a successful conference in June, which moves us towards this goal.

And finally, let me finish by condemning the horrific murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim in Washington DC last week, and offering condolences to their families and to their colleagues.

Updates to this page

Published 28 May 2025

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

May 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Secretary-General of ASEAN welcomes President of the French Republic to the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat

Source: ASEAN – Association of SouthEast Asian Nations

Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today welcomed President of the French Republic, H.E. Emmanuel Macron, to the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. This historic visit underscored France’s steadfast commitment to deepening the ASEAN-France Development Partnership, as both sides celebrate the fifth anniversary of their relations this year. This visit is part of the President’s regional tour, which includes Indonesia, Singapore and Viet Nam.

The post Secretary-General of ASEAN welcomes President of the French Republic to the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.

MIL OSI Economics –

May 29, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: McCaul, Bipartisan Congressional Delegation Attend Pope Leo XIV’s Inaugural Mass
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Michael McCaul (10th District of Texas)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) — chairman emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee — attended the inaugural Mass of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV along with a bipartisanCongressional delegation.

“As a Catholic, chairman emeritus of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and a proud American, I was deeply honored to attend the inaugural Mass of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV — the first American pope — alongside leaders from around the world,” said Chair Emeritus McCaul. “Faith should be a great unifier — a force for peace, as Pope Leo powerfully reminded us today. On this historic morning, I join people of faith around the world in praying that his pontificate, guided by the Holy Spirit, may bring about a more peaceful, just, and compassionate world.”

McCaul attends Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural Mass

McCaul’s photos from the Vatican

McCaul lays a flower on Pope Francis’ tomb

The Members of the Congressional Delegation are:
1. The Honorable French Hill
2. The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
3. The Honorable Rosa DeLauro
4. The Honorable Michael McCaul
5. The Honorable Joe Courtney
6. The Honorable Mike Kelly
7. The Honorable Ann Wagner
8. The Honorable Nanette Barragan
9. The Honorable Madeleine Dean
10. The Honorable Stephanie Bice
11. The Honorable Michelle Fischbach
12. The Honorable Andrew Garbarino
13. The Honorable Mariannette Miller-Meeks
14. The Honorable Jeff Hurd
###

MIL OSI USA News –
May 29, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Thousands of youngsters take part in Aberdeen Big Sing 2025

Source: Scotland – City of Aberdeen

An impressive 3,000 Primary Four pupils from across the city came together to sing as one big choir at the Aberdeen Big Sing 2025 spectacular in the Duthie Park today (Wednesday 28 May).

Now in its third year, Aberdeen Big Sing is a celebration event which offers children aged 8-10-years-old the opportunity to enjoy the feel good factor that music and song can offer, a positive shared experience, and the chance to make new friendships.

Councillor Martin Greig, Convener of Aberdeen City Council’s Education and Children’s Services Committee, said: “The music and song from the young people was wonderful. It was lovely to hear the children from our twin city of Clermont-Ferrand taking part in this year’s Big Sing. My thanks go to everyone involved who helped make this such an enjoyable event. This was a great opportunity to link up in advance of the Tall Ships which will travel from France to Aberdeen in July.”

Councillor Jessica Mennie, vice-convener of the Education and Children’s Services Committee, said: “Aberdeen Big Sing 2025 was wonderful. It was clear from the fabulous performances by all the Primary Four pupils that they and the Aberdeen City Music Service vocal team have put in a lot of effort and enthusiasm to produce such a great event.”

The children had been taught the songs by Aberdeen City Council’s Music Service specialist vocal team. Members of the team have been visiting schools since August 2024 with their time funded through Creative Scotland’s Youth Music Initiative.

Morag Macdonald, Youth Music Initiative Manager at Creative Scotland said: “Aberdeen Big Sing 2025 is a truly fantastic celebration of creativity, community, and the joy of making music with peers. It’s wonderful to see so many young people coming together through song, building confidence and connection along the way. Through the Youth Music Initiative, we’re proud to support the dedicated vocal team at Aberdeen City Music Service who make events like this possible. Congratulations to all the pupils, teachers and organisers for delivering such an inspiring day.”

The pupils performed eight songs mostly themed around the sea to coincide with the city hosting The Tall Ships Race 2025 (19 July-21 July). Songs included A Sea Journey, My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, and Colour is a Beautiful Thing.

The young singers were accompanied by the Big Sing Band which is made up of Aberdeen City Music Service and Robert Gordon College pupils, Charleston School and Ashley Road School Woodwind Ensembles, and the Robert Gordon College Pipe Band.

Primary Four pupils from five schools in Clermont-Ferrand in France, which is twinned with Aberdeen, participated in the annual event for the first time. The pupils from Ecole de Fournols; Ecole de Saint Georges sur Allier; Ecole élémentaire d’Aydat; Centre élémentaire d’Issoire and Ecole élémentaire Pierre Mendès France had taken part in various singing activities including a ‘live’ lesson and created recordings of their singing, which were broadcast at the event.

Primary Four pupils at Muirfield School commented afterwards on how much they enjoyed being part of Aberdeen Big Sing 2025. One pupil said: “I liked it. It was fun, my favourite song was “Thank You For The Music.”

Another pupil added: “It was scary and exciting being around so many other Primary Fours. I’m Still Standing was fun and I liked dancing to it.”

An estimated 2,500 family members and friends of the young singers attended the event.

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

May 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: NFB animator Co Hoedeman dies at age 84

Source: Government of Canada News

May 27, 2025 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is mourning the passing of distinguished animator and director Co Hoedeman, who died on May 26 in Montreal at the age of 84.

Born in Amsterdam on August 1, 1940, Co was a master of stop-motion animation whose 1977 NFB production The Sand Castle received the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

“Co Hoedeman was a master animator, whose long career at the NFB was distinguished by innovative filmmaking and powerful humanitarian themes. He cared deeply for the well-being of children and was also a fierce defender of the importance of public filmmaking. The NFB and the Canadian animation community have lost a dear friend and colleague. Fortunately for us, we have his legacy of beloved works, which embody so much of his unique spirit,” said Suzanne Guèvremont, Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairperson.

Select biography

Shortly after directing his early films with the NFB, including his award-winning Oddball (1969), Co travelled to Czechoslovakia in 1970 to study puppet animation and then returned to the NFB to begin a series of stop-motion gems.

Tchou-tchou (1972), created with wooden blocks, received the British Academy award (BAFTA) for Best Animated Film.

During the 1970s, Co created a series of acclaimed animated films based on Inuit traditional stories, collaborating closely with artists from Nunavut and Nunavik.

Following his Oscar win for The Sand Castle, he continued to experiment with a range of techniques and themes.

In 1992, he worked with Indigenous inmates at La Macaza Institution to create The Sniffing Bear, a cautionary tale about substance abuse. In 1998, he began work on a beloved children’s series about Ludovic, a young teddy bear, available in the NFB collection Four Seasons in the Life of Ludovic.

After completing his final film with the NFB, Marianne’s Theatre (2004), Co began a busy independent animation career. He collaborated with the NFB on the co-production 55 Socks (2011), a deeply personal project drawing on his childhood memories during a dark period of Dutch history, the Hunger Winter of 1944–45. He would also adapt his Ludovic character into a popular children’s TV series.

In 2003, the Cinémathèque québécoise and the NFB paid tribute to Co and his importance to Quebec cinema with an exhibition entitled “Exposition Co Hoedeman – Les Jardins de l’enfance.” The exhibition was presented the following year at the Musée-Château d’Annecy in France.

Co was interviewed in 2013 for the NFB online anthology Making Movie History and was the subject of the 1980 NFB documentary Co Hoedeman, Animator. All of his NFB films are available online free of charge at nfb.ca.

– 30 –

Stay Connected

Online Screening Room: NFB.ca
NFB Facebook | NFB Twitter | NFB Instagram | NFB Blog | NFB YouTube | NFB Vimeo
Curator’s perspective | Director’s notes

About the NFB

MIL OSI Canada News –

May 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Logic Pro amplifies beat making on Mac and iPad with advanced new capabilities
Source: Apple

Headline: Logic Pro amplifies beat making on Mac and iPad with advanced new capabilities

May 28, 2025

UPDATE

Logic Pro amplifies beat making on Mac and iPad with advanced new capabilities

An enhanced Stem Splitter and new features like Flashback Capture elevate hip-hop and electronic music production to a new level

Apple today introduced new Logic Pro updates for Mac and iPad, supercharging beat making and producing. The innovative Stem Splitter feature now offers even greater audio fidelity, and can separate guitar and piano into stems. With Flashback Capture, users can retrieve and restore inspiring performances they may have forgotten to record. And with energetic new sound packs like Dancefloor Rush, beat makers have fresh loops and kits to fuel their next track.

Stem Splitter Delivers Enhanced Audio Fidelity and New Stems

The updated Stem Splitter extracts greater detail from old recordings and demos, and now offers added support for guitar and piano stems.¹ Producers can easily select common stem variations, such as acapella, instrumental, or instrumental with vocals using presets. Additionally, a new submix feature makes it easy for users to export just the parts of audio they want — for example, removing vocals to create an instrumental track, or pulling out the drums and bass for a custom remix.

Recall Every Moment with Flashback Capture

Flashback Capture allows artists to recover unforgettable performances, even if they forgot to hit record.² Users can quickly restore MIDI and audio performances using a key command or a custom control bar button. By enabling Cycle mode, musicians can improvise multiple takes, and Flashback Capture will automatically organize each pass into a take folder.

New Sound Packs to Amplify Music Production

Logic Pro adds new sound packs to amplify music production. Dancefloor Rush — the latest sound pack for Mac and iPad — features a world of expertly crafted drum-and-bass sounds with over 400 dynamic loops, punchy drum kits, and a custom Live Loops grid. Today’s update also introduces two new sound packs to Logic Pro for Mac: Magnetic Imperfections and Tosin Abasi. Magnetic Imperfections brings an original texture that captures the raw, unpolished essence of analog tape, while the Tosin Abasi sound pack showcases progressive metal guitar with boutique amps, unique effects, distinctive picking techniques, and the artist’s signature riffs.

Learn MIDI Comes to iPad for Seamless Logic Pro Integration

Learn MIDI is now available on iPad, allowing users to get hands-on control by easily assigning their favorite knobs, faders, and buttons on MIDI devices to control plug-ins, instruments, and other automatable parameters within Logic Pro.³ With Learn MIDI’s intuitive interface and real-time visual feedback, users can quickly create custom assignments, view available controls, and stay in their creative flow.

Additional features to enhance creativity on Mac:
- Notepad now features integrated support for Writing Tools, powered by Apple Intelligence, giving users more flexibility and control when they’d like to make their writing more expressive, get help with a rewrite, or even collaborate on song lyrics and more right inline.⁴
- Users can manage large projects with the new search and select feature, which makes it easy to find and choose tracks by their name or track number.
Pricing and Availability
- Logic Pro for Mac 11.2 is available May 28 as a free update for existing users and for $199.99 (U.S.) for new users on the Mac App Store. It is also available as part of the Pro Apps Bundle for Education, which includes Final Cut Pro, MainStage, Motion, and Compressor for $199.99 (U.S.). Logic Pro for Mac requires macOS Sequoia 15.4 or later. For more information, visit apple.com/logic-pro.
- Logic Pro for iPad 2.2 is available May 28 as a free update for existing users, and available on the App Store for $4.99 (U.S.) per month or $49 (U.S.) per year, with a one-month free trial for new users. Logic Pro for iPad requires iPadOS 18.4 or later. For more information, visit apple.com/logic-pro-for-ipad.
1. Stem Splitter requires iPad or Mac with M1 chip or later.
2. Audio support for Flashback Capture requires Logic Pro to be in active play mode.
3. Connecting third‑party external microphones, musical instruments, or MIDI controllers with Logic Pro for iPad requires devices compatible with iOS and iPadOS.
4. Apple Intelligence is available in beta on iPad mini (A17 Pro), and all iPad and Mac models with M1 and later, with Siri and device language set to Chinese (Simplified), English (Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, UK, or U.S.), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), or Spanish, as part of an iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia software update, with more languages coming over the course of the year, including Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. For more details, visit apple.com/apple-intelligence.
Press Contacts

Zachary Kizer

Apple

z_kizer@apple.com

Emily Ewing

Apple

e_ewing@apple.com

Apple Media Helpline

media.help@apple.com
MIL OSI Economics –
May 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: ECB Consumer Expectations Survey results – April 2025
Source: European Central Bank

28 May 2025

Compared with March 2025:
- median consumer perceptions of inflation over the previous 12 months remained unchanged, as did median expectations for inflation three and five years ahead, while median inflation expectations for the next 12 months increased further;
- expectations for nominal income growth over the next 12 months decreased, while expectations for spending growth over the next 12 months increased;
- expectations for economic growth over the next 12 months became more negative, while the expected unemployment rate in 12 months’ time increased;
- expectations for growth in the price of homes over the next 12 months increased, as did expectations for mortgage interest rates 12 months ahead.
Inflation

In April, the median rate of perceived inflation over the previous 12 months remained unchanged for the third consecutive month at 3.1%. This is its lowest level since September 2021. Median expectations for inflation over the next 12 months increased further by 0.2 percentage points to 3.1%, the highest level since February 2024. Expectations for three years ahead remained unchanged at 2.5%. Expectations for inflation five years ahead were unchanged for the fifth consecutive month at 2.1%. For the first time since July 2021, median inflation expectations over the next 12 months did not stay below the level of inflation perceptions over the previous 12 months (both at 3.1%). Uncertainty about inflation expectations over the next 12 months also increased in April, reaching the same level as in June 2024. While the broad evolution of inflation perceptions and expectations remained relatively closely aligned across income groups, over the previous year and a half inflation perceptions and short-horizon expectations for lower income quintiles were, on average, slightly above those for higher income quintiles. Younger respondents (aged 18-34) continued to report lower inflation perceptions and expectations than older respondents (those aged 35-54 and 55-70), albeit to a lesser degree than in previous years. (Inflation results)

Income and consumption

Consumers’ nominal income growth expectations over the next 12 months decreased to 0.9%, from 1.0% in March. Perceived nominal spending growth over the previous 12 months decreased to 4.9%, from 5.0% in March. Conversely, expected nominal spending growth over the next 12 months increased to 3.7% in April, from 3.4% in March. This increase was observed across all income groups. (Income and consumption results)

Economic growth and labour market

Economic growth expectations for the next 12 months became more negative, falling to -1.9% in April from -1.2% in March. Expectations for the unemployment rate 12 months ahead increased to 10.5%, from 10.4% in March. Consumers continued to expect the future unemployment rate to be only slightly higher than the perceived current unemployment rate (9.8%), implying a broadly stable labour market. Quarterly data showed that unemployed respondents reported a lower expected probability of finding a job over the next three months, falling from 25.1% in January to 21.9% in April. Employed respondents reported that their expected probability of job loss over the next three months decreased to 8.4% in April, from 8.6% in January. (Economic growth and labour market results)

Housing and credit access

Consumers expected the price of their home to increase by 3.2% over the next 12 months, up from 3.1% in March. Households in the lowest income quintile continued to expect higher growth in house prices than those in the highest income quintile (3.6% and 3.0% respectively), while the difference between the two groups was smaller than on average in 2024. Expectations for mortgage interest rates 12 months ahead increased to 4.5%, from 4.4% in March. As in previous months, the lowest income households expected the highest mortgage interest rates 12 months ahead (5.1%), while the highest income households expected the lowest rates (4.0%). The net percentage of households reporting a tightening (relative to those reporting an easing) in access to credit over the previous 12 months increased slightly (from 20.2% in March to 21.7% in April), while the net percentage of those expecting a tightening over the next 12 months increased more substantially (from 15.5% in March to 20.8% in April). The share of consumers who reported having applied for credit during the past three months, which is measured on a quarterly basis, increased to 15.6% in April from 15.0% in January. (Housing and credit access results)

The release of the Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) results for May is scheduled for 1 July 2025.

For media queries, please contact: William Lelieveldt, tel.: +49 170 2279090.

Notes
- Unless otherwise indicated, the statistics presented in this press release refer to the 2% winsorised mean. For further details, see ECB Consumer Expectations Survey – Guide to the computation of aggregate statistics.
- The CES is a monthly online survey of, currently, around 19,000 adult consumers (i.e. aged 18 or over) from 11 euro area countries: Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland. The main aggregate results of the CES are published on the ECB’s website every month. The results are used for policy analysis and complement other data sources used by the ECB.
- Further information about the survey and the data collected is available on the CES web page. Detailed information can also be found in the following two publications: Bańkowska, K. et al., “ECB Consumer Expectations Survey: an overview and first evaluation”, Occasional Paper Series, No 287, ECB, Frankfurt am Main, December 2021; and Georgarakos, D. and Kenny, G., “Household spending and fiscal support during the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from a new consumer survey”, Journal of Monetary Economics, Vol. 129, Supplement, July 2022, pp. S1-S14.
- The survey results do not represent the views of the ECB’s decision-making bodies or staff.
MIL OSI Europe News –
May 29, 2025
MIL-OSI NGOs: UN Security Council must renew the arms embargo on South Sudan

Source: Amnesty International –

Free access to weapons would only heighten the ongoing violence in the country.

By Tigere Chagutah

In 2015, as a civil war was raging in South Sudan, the United Nations Security Council imposed the first set of sanctions on the country, including asset freezes and travel bans on various senior officials. Three years later, after a ceasefire agreement was repeatedly violated, the UNSC mustered the votes to impose a full arms embargo. Fragile peace eventually settled in, but the embargo was kept in place and was extended every year.

The review of the embargo is now coming up on May 29 and there is a push from African members of the UNSC – Sierra Leone, Somalia and Algeria – to lift it. On March 18, the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) publicly called for this measure to end.

But lifting the embargo on South Sudan at this moment would be a mistake. Violence has come back to plague the country, killing at least 180 people between March and mid-April, amid deepening divisions between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar, who has been placed under house arrest.

Allowing more weapons to enter the country would only escalate the dire situation. This would not be in the interest of neighbouring countries and the African Union as a whole.

Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa

Under the AU’s development plan, Agenda 2063, the continent set itself an ambitious goal of “Silencing the Guns” by 2020, later extended to 2030. With this, the AU wants to “end all wars and violent conflicts and promote dialogue-based mechanisms for conflict prevention and resolution”.

Yet, the AUPSC’s call for lifting the embargo on South Sudan does not fall in line with these goals. The justification for this stance is that free access to more weapons can enable the unification of government and opposition forces and reform the security sector.

But this logic ignores the growing fractures in South Sudan amid the renewed tensions between Kiir and Machar. Placing more guns in the hands of warring parties involved in serious human rights violations and crimes under international law would only make the situation worse.

South Sudan’s security and defence forces have attacked the very people they are tasked to protect: Civilians. The South Sudanese army, National Security Service and armed opposition forces have been implicated in war crimes and human rights violations for well more than a decade, including by the AU’s Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan and the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan.

Indeed, around the time the AUPSC called for the lifting of the arms embargo, South Sudan’s government reportedly used improvised incendiary weapons in aerial attacks, killing at least 58 people and injuring others, including children.

To be sure, the existence of the arms embargo is not enough – its enforcement is key. That is already faltering after in early March, Uganda sent troops and military equipment to South Sudan without providing notification or receiving special exemption from the UNSC Sanctions Committee. This is a clear violation of the embargo.

South Sudan’s Mi-24 helicopters also seem to be on the move, despite the government’s fleet reportedly being non-functional and grounded since the arms embargo was imposed in 2018. This suggests spare parts have been sourced in violation of the embargo.

If the African Union is serious about silencing the guns, it should back the strict controls prohibiting arms transfers to South Sudan, and the African states in the UNSC should vote to renew the arms embargo.

Tigere Chagutah

On May 4, Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, reported that two helicopter gunships had bombed its medical facility in Old Fangak the day before and fired at the town, killing seven and injuring 20 others. Deliberate attacks on a medical facility performing its humanitarian function violate international humanitarian law and would constitute a war crime. This is yet another indication of why the UNSC must renew the arms embargo and strengthen its enforcement.

If properly implemented and enforced, a renewed UNSC arms embargo would not obstruct security sector reform. Instead, it would block the disorderly and destabilising accumulation of arms in South Sudan, which is spurring the current conflict and contributing to violations against civilians.

If the AU is serious about silencing the guns, it should back the strict controls prohibiting arms transfers to South Sudan, and the African states in the UNSC should vote to renew the arms embargo.

MIL OSI NGO –

May 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Video: UN Ocean Conference: “Curtain Raiser” Briefing | United Nations

Source: United Nations (Video News)

Secretary-General of the Third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) Li Junhua said, “The future of the ocean is not predetermined. It will be shaped by the decisions and the actions we are making now.”

Today (27 May), Li Junhua, together with High-level representatives from France and Costa Rica briefed the press about the upcoming UN Ocean Conference.

He said, “The ocean—our planet’s life-support system—is in a state of emergency. The evidence is overwhelming: rising temperatures, acidifying waters, plastic choking marine life, disappearing habitats, and the relentless overexploitation of resources.”

He continued, “The health of the ocean is declining, and with it, the well-being of the human being. We actually depend on our ocean supply lines. However, there is still time to change our course—if we act collectively.”

He said, “From 9 to 13 June 2025, the global community will gather in Nice, France, for the Third United Nations Ocean Conference, or UNOC3. This will not be just another routine gathering. We hope that it is a pivotal opportunity to accelerate action and mobilize all stakeholders across sectors and borders.”

He also said, “UNOC3 will culminate in the adoption of the “Nice Ocean Action Plan” – a concise, action-oriented declaration, along with new and expanded voluntary commitments. This plan will be our collective blueprint to advance SDG 14: to conserve and sustainably use the ocean, seas, and marine resources.”

He concluded, “The future of the ocean is not predetermined. It will be shaped by the decisions and the actions we are making now. Let us choose a healthy, resilient ocean—for our generation, and also for generations to come.”

French Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont stated, “The goal for this conference in Nice, for France, is a Nice Agreement that would be for the oceans what the Paris Agreement was for the climate ten years ago.”

Maritza Chan Valverde, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations, said, “Accelerating action means cutting decision-making time from years to months, mobilizing all actors, engaging 195 governments, more than 1,000 cities, more 500 corporations and billions of citizens simultaneously. This is an opportunity for the United Nations to be together and to show that we can deliver as one.”

She concluded, “The third United Nations Ocean Conference will either reverse ocean decline by 2030 or document humanity’s failure to act. Five days, one ocean, a unique opportunity.”

The high-level 2025 United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development (the 2025 UN Ocean Conference) will be co-hosted by France and Costa Rica and held in Nice, France, from 9 – 13 June 2025.

The overarching theme of the Conference is “Accelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean”.

The Conference will involve all relevant stakeholders, bringing together Governments, the United Nations system, intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions, other interested international bodies, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector, philanthropic organizations, Indigenous Peoples and local communities and other actors to assess challenges and opportunities relating to, as well as actions taken towards, the implementation of Goal 14.

The Conference will build on the previous UN Ocean Conferences, hosted by Sweden and Fiji in 2017 in New York and by Portugal and Kenya in 2022 in Lisbon.

The Nice Ocean Action Plan, made up of a political declaration and a list of voluntary commitments from stakeholders, will be adopted following international discussions during the Conference.

Website: https://sdgs.un.org/conferences/ocean2025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2Rj3skYyiw

MIL OSI Video –

May 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Protecting consumers when they are automatically connected to non-European telephone networks – E-002062/2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002062/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Maria Grapini (S&D)

Consumer protection should be a major focus for the Commission and the Member States.

Although citizens benefit from roaming within the EU area, there are frequent situations where, even though they are in EU states, their telephones automatically connect to a non-EU country and they are charged extra for mobile data use. For example, in France, telephones are automatically connected to a network in Monaco, in Romania there are connections to a network in Serbia, and the examples go on and on.

1.European legislation places an obligation on mobile telephone operators to notify users by text message when they are connected to a non-European network. Does the Commission not find this measure inadequate to protect users, given that they might read the warning text messages later and thus be charged hundreds of euros extra?

2.What measures could be imposed on mobile telephone operators to increase protection for consumers when they are automatically connected to non-European networks?

Submitted: 22.5.2025
Last updated: 28 May 2025
MIL OSI Europe News –
May 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Strengthening Europe’s chemical industry: EU Critical Chemicals Act initiative – E-002039/2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002039/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Krzysztof Brejza (PPE)

The European chemicals industry is facing severe challenges, exacerbated by high energy costs and fierce competition from non-EU countries benefiting from cheaper energy, including Russian resources. This has led to a widening trade deficit, especially in the production of critical molecules such as sodium carbonates, essential for industries such as glass production, detergents, agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. To address this, the EU Critical Chemicals Act, supported by Member States including France, Spain, Hungary and others, is a crucial step in ensuring the long-term resilience of Europe’s chemical sector. This initiative must focus on modernising chemical plants, reducing emissions and recognising strategic EU molecules, such as sodium carbonates, which are pivotal to Europe’s industrial base.

1.Is the Commission considering proposing an EU Critical Chemicals Act to address challenges facing the European chemicals industry, which will recognise the EU’s strategic molecules – including, among others, sodium carbonates?

2.How does the Commission plan to ensure the modernisation and long-term sustainability of Europe’s chemical industry, particularly by providing flexible funding options for investments aimed at reducing process emissions?

3.What steps will the Commission take to protect EU production of strategic molecules and improve trade defence mechanisms against unfair practices?

Submitted: 21.5.2025
Last updated: 28 May 2025
MIL OSI Europe News –
May 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Implementation of public consultations for national social climate plans – E-002023/2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002023/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Leila Chaibi (The Left)

Under Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2023/955 on the Social Climate Fund, each Member State is required to submit a plan to the Commission following public consultation with local authorities, economic and social partners and civil society.

However, public consultations have been insufficient, or non-existent, in the majority of Member States, including France, which has not organised any consultations despite requests to do so. These consultations are a necessary step to promote transparency and trust in national social climate plans. They help to identify local needs and improve the effectiveness of funding.

In response to this situation, could the Commission answer the following questions:

1.How does it monitor and assess the consultation process on national social climate plans in the Member States?

2.Does it intend to take action against countries which fail to make the necessary arrangements to ensure public consultations in connection with the national social climate plans?

3.As far as France is concerned, what measures does it intend to take to enforce the requirement and to ensure the effective involvement of stakeholders?

Submitted: 21.5.2025
Last updated: 28 May 2025
MIL OSI Europe News –
May 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: France: EIB supports Bordeaux Métropole Énergies’ investment plan for decarbonisation in the Gironde department
Source: European Investment Bank

EIB
- A €90 million loan from the European Investment Bank will enable the company majority-owned by Bordeaux Métropole to strengthen its business as part of its 2024-2028 strategic plan.
- The funding will cover multiple aspects of the plan, ranging from the development of renewable energy in the Gironde to the energy renovation of individual properties and jointly-owned buildings.
- For the EIB, this financing is also part of the European Union’s plan for the continent’s energy and green transition known as Repower EU.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Bordeaux Métropole Énergies (BME) have signed a €90 million loan agreement in support of a strategic plan for this semi-public company which supports the energy transition of local authorities, businesses and individuals in the Gironde department.

This funding aims at supporting BME in four areas of activity:
- development of photovoltaic solutions in urban and rural areas for local authorities or businesses;
- creation and extension of district heating and cooling networks for infrastructure sourced by renewable energy;
- development of biogas production projects via anaerobic digestion and financing of energy efficiency renovation work on individual properties and jointly-owned buildings.
“We are pleased to support Bordeaux Métropole Énergies in its energy transformation plan, which will have a positive impact across the Gironde department,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle.

“Promoting renewable energy, financing innovative solutions and reducing the energy bill of local authorities, businesses and individuals are the goals of the EIB in terms of climate action and the energy transition, so that EU financing can benefit everyone living in local communities.”

“The EIB’s support marks an important step for BME and its enterprises in their ability to play a key strategic and operational role in building a carbon-neutral territory by 2050,” said Claudine Bichet, Chair of BME’s Board of Directors.

“It enables us to step up our investment in energy and low-carbon solutions along with local authorities and companies in the Gironde department,” said BME Managing Director Audrey Dugal.

For BME, this funding will make it possible to implement the commitments set out in its roadmap published in 2024. It boosts the group’s ability to invest in the region to develop solar photovoltaic projects on roofs, car parks and in ground-based power plants, generate renewable heating and cooling networks, produce biogas and increase the energy-efficient renovation of buildings.

For the EIB, this financing is part of a long tradition of supporting local authorities in France. It also forms part of the Bank’s climate action activity, which is one of the EIB’s strategic priorities, as well as supporting the REPowerEU programme, launched by the European Commission in 2022, aimed at reducing Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels and accelerating the green energy transition. By helping people to renovate their homes, this funding ultimately aims to help make the housing sector more low-carbon in France and across the European Union.

Background information

About the EIB

The European Investment Bank is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives in climate action, environment, digitalisation, technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union, and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world.

In 2024 the EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 projects in Europe and across the world. In France, the EIB Group signed more than 100 operations in 2024 for a total amount of €12.6 billion. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.

About the Bordeaux Métropole Energies Group

A major player in local energy transition, Bordeaux Métropole Energies (BME) is a group composed of four subsidiaries (Gaz de Bordeaux, Mixener, Néomix, Regaz-Bordeaux) and two brands (Facirénov and Via33), all committed to decarbonisation. They support local authorities, businesses and individuals in their energy revolution and decarbonisation through energy renovation activities and the construction of a local and diversified energy mix (biogas, solar, heating and cooling, and renewables). BME has been a local semi-public company since 2017 and its shareholding structure comprises public partners such as Bordeaux Métropole (67.9%), private players like Engie (20%), Banque des Territoires (12%) and 13 municipalities of the Bordeaux region (0.1%).

Bordeaux Metropole Eau Potable
EIB supports Bordeaux Métropole Énergies’ investment plan for decarbonisation in the Gironde department
©EIB
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Bordeaux Metropole Eau Potable
EIB supports Bordeaux Métropole Énergies’ investment plan for decarbonisation in the Gironde department
©EIB
Download original
MIL OSI Europe News –
May 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Marseille: 16 arrests in a crackdown on a network with ties to the Sinaloa cartel

Source: Europol

Two main organisers identifiedIn June 2024, the French authorities seized 216 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and arrested two French nationals in connection with the case. The subsequent criminal investigation revealed a criminal network involved in the production and trafficking of synthetic drugs with strong ties to the Mexican Sinaloa cartel as well as to criminal gangs active in Belgium, Spain,…

MIL Security OSI –

May 28, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Full Text: Joint Statement of the ASEAN-China-GCC Summit

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

KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — The following is the full text of the Joint Statement of the Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) and China released on Tuesday:

Joint Statement of the ASEAN-China-GCC Summit

WE, the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, and the People’s Republic of China, gathered on the occasion of the ASEAN-China-GCC Summit on 27 May 2025, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;

ACKNOWLEDGING the long-lasting and deeply-rooted historical and civilizational linkage and economic ties among ASEAN, China and GCC;

RECOGNIZING the close and mutually-beneficial economic collaboration and cooperation among ASEAN, China and GCC;

REAFFIRMING our desire to further promote ASEAN-China-GCC relations, guided by fundamental principles and shared values, norms and commitments, including those enunciated in the United Nations Charter;

UNDERSCORING the importance of regionalism and multilateralism, regional unity and international law in addressing shared challenges, while upholding ASEAN centrality in the evolving regional architecture to foster peace, stability, development and prosperity;

UNDERSCORING the importance of GCC’s critical role to foster peace, security, stability, development, prosperity and dialogue;

APPRECIATING China’s crucial role in promoting peace, stability, prosperity and sustainable development in regional and international affairs;

ENDEAVORING to promote peace, security, stability and prosperity, through mutual respect and cooperation between countries and regions to achieve development and progress based on adherence to international law, including the UN Charter, the principles of good neighbourliness, and respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality and territorial integrity, non-interference in their internal affairs, and refraining from the threat or use of force, and settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful means;

ACKNOWLEDGING the importance of strengthening relations among ASEAN, China and GCC in promoting regional cooperation and economic development in the broader Asia-Pacific and Middle Eastern contexts;

RECOGNIZING that ASEAN, China and GCC encompass diverse and complementary economies which create enormous potential, broad prospects and new opportunities for greater cross-sectoral trade, investment and economic collaboration;

RECOGNIZING the increasing importance of fostering closer economic collaboration among our regions, and reiterating our shared commitment to strengthening our partnerships to promote economic and sustainable development;

RECOGNIZING the need to strengthen confidence in the rules-based multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core to protect businesses, consumers worldwide and livelihoods of people in our regions;

REAFFIRMING our resolve to enhance economic resilience and environmental sustainability, and make economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced, and beneficial to our peoples and future generations;

ACKNOWLEDGING our joint efforts to promote closer cooperation between ASEAN, China and GCC and China’s vision to build a closer China-ASEAN Community with a shared future and a China-Arab Community with a shared future in the new era;

EXPLORING cooperation in preventing and combating transnational crime, cybercrime, counter-terrorism and extremism;

The Leaders expressed grave concerns over the developments in the Middle East and agreed on the following:

— Condemn all attacks against civilians and call for a durable ceasefire and for all concerned parties to ensure the most effective and efficient access for humanitarian aid, and relief supplies and other basic necessities and essential services, as well as the restoration of electricity and water, and allow the unhindered delivery of fuel, food and medicine throughout Gaza;

— Call on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians, refrain from targeting them and to abide by international humanitarian law, particularly the principles and provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949;

— Acknowledge the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on 19 July 2024, which is of the opinion, among others, that the UN, and especially the General Assembly, which requested this opinion, and the Security Council, should consider the precise modalities and further action required to bring to an end as rapidly as possible the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory;

— Support the ongoing efforts to release all hostages and those under arbitrary detention;

— Urge all parties concerned to work towards a peaceful resolution to the conflict with a view to realizing the two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders; in accordance with international law and the relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) and UN General Assembly resolutions, including UNGA resolution A/RES/ES-10/23 on the Admission on New Members to the UN dated 10 May 2024;

— Support the efforts of the global alliance for the implementation of the two-state solution, and note the initiatives of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in cooperation with the Kingdom of Norway and the European Union towards realizing an independent Palestinian state;

— Recognized Qatar’s mediation efforts to reach ceasefire and facilitate aid delivery and China’s efforts towards Palestinian internal reconciliation, particularly its role in facilitating the signing of the Beijing Declaration on Ending Division and Strengthening Palestinian National Unity by Palestinian factions in July 2024 in Beijing;

— Welcome the Resolution of the UN General Assembly adopted on 11 December 2024, in which the General Assembly, inter alia, called for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and called upon all parties to enable the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to carry out its mandate, as adopted by the General Assembly, in all areas of operation with full respect for the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.

With firm resolve, we pledged to advance the spirit of inclusivity, sustainability, resilience and equal partnership, charting a united and collective path toward a peaceful, prosperous and equitable future.

We hereby:

Economic Integration

1. Decide to foster collaboration that promotes economic prosperity, resilience and sustainable development among ASEAN, China and GCC, based on mutual respect, mutual trust, and mutual benefit, and anchored on the principles of inclusivity and sustainability in engaging all interested partners.

2. Commit to enhancing economic cooperation by leveraging the complementarities among ASEAN, China and GCC. Priority will be given to:

(i) Reaffirming the central and indispensable role of the WTO at the core of the rules-based multilateral trading system, which provides a predictable, transparent, non-discriminatory and open global trading system;

(ii) Exploring cooperation, including through the priority areas of the Global Development Initiative and various frameworks or initiatives by ASEAN and GCC, to facilitate the attainment of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

(iii) Promoting free trade and welcoming the full conclusion of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Negotiations, and looking forward to its early signing and entering into force, as well as an early conclusion of the China-GCC Free Trade Agreement negotiations;

(iv) Enhancing industrial and supply chain resilience and fostering sustainable trade practices for new economic opportunities in potential areas in emerging and future-oriented industries such as the digital and green economy and technologies;

(v) Exploring the establishment of a regional business council to facilitate dialogue between businesses from ASEAN, China and GCC in supporting enhanced trade and investment flows and the development of regional value chains;

(vi) Exploring regional financial cooperation, including capital markets, and financial technology among others, while empowering micro, small and medium enterprises;

(vii) Exploring cooperation on local currency and cross-border payments;

(viii) Taking coordinated and comprehensive actions to prevent and fight corruption.

Connectivity

3. Enhance connectivity through:

(i) Promoting high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and seamless connectivity, including through the development of logistics corridors and digital platforms;

(ii) Promoting sustainable infrastructure development in supporting interconnected and seamless economic diversification, growth and sustainability;

(iii) Exploring further cooperation to enhance infrastructure development for seamless and efficient connectivity, including recognizing the importance of maintaining and promoting maritime safety and security, given the importance of oceans and seas as key factors in driving growth and prosperity in the respective regions.

Energy Security and Sustainability

4. Acknowledge the global imperative for sustainable resilience and energy transition with the aim to collaborate on:

(i) Working together towards a sustainable, just, affordable, inclusive and orderly energy transitions in line with the Paris Agreement;

(ii) Supporting global energy market stability and adopting a balanced approach that does not exclude energy sources but instead innovates technologies that enable emissions management and efficient use of all energy sources to facilitate sustainable economic growth for all;

(iii) Working to diversify and secure supply chains globally in line with international best practices, including for critical energy transition minerals, and encourage resource efficiency, while respecting applicable national laws and regulations;

(iv) Recognizing the strategic importance of our cooperation on stable, reliable, and sustainable energy markets to reduce volatility and to enhance the security of energy supply. We recall the urgent need to address climate change and stress the importance of the energy transition;

(v) Exploring new business opportunities, including the development of clean energy;

(vi) Enhancing knowledge exchange and collaboration on renewable energy, clean/green energy, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), biofuel, bio-LNG (liquefied natural gas), low carbon hydrogen, low carbon ammonia, and sustainable fuels, as well as energy efficiency policies, regulatory frameworks, technology and innovations consistent with the national priorities of each country;

(vii) Strengthening training and capacity-building initiatives in areas such as nuclear safety, security and safeguards, reactor technology, nuclear and radioactive waste management, regulatory infrastructure, and civilian nuclear energy development that is guided by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards, guidance and international best practices, and advancements in and energy storage technologies to support informed decision-making and policy development for civilian nuclear energy;

(viii) Driving the strategic development of initiatives on hydrogen and ammonia technologies, oil and LNG supply chains and infrastructure, upstream LNG projects, methane abatement and emissions reduction to support both energy security and the transition to cleaner fuels;

(ix) Encouraging private and public sector investments and partnerships in energy infrastructure development, including subsea power cables, and cross-border transmission projects under related initiatives of ASEAN, China and GCC, to advance multilateral power trade for greater regional energy connectivity, resilience, and market integration, including through renewable energy generation and LNG terminals;

(x) Promoting cooperation on environmental sustainability, including climate action, disaster management, biodiversity conservation, monitoring the state of the marine environment, air and soil quality, industrial inspection, and pollution control by leveraging on new technological advancements, the exchange of knowledge, scientific expertise, technology, and training and strengthening multilateralism and climate solidarity;

(xi) Developing joint research and innovation initiatives on emerging technologies such as direct air capture, enhanced geothermal systems, and next-generation solar and wind technologies to support long-term energy sustainability and low-carbon solutions;

(xii) Sharing of knowledge and best practices on green skills development of workforce to support just transition to renewable energy.

Digital Transformation and Innovation

5. Pursue opportunities in digital innovation and technology by:

(i) Exploring a cross-regional framework to promote the digital economy, in areas such as digital trade, e-commerce, digital payment, fintech, artificial intelligence, start-ups and data security cooperation;

(ii) Exploring partnerships in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, quantum computing, and smart cities development and advanced technological infrastructure;

(iii) Supporting cooperation in the development of digital skills and digital literacy programmes to ensure inclusive participation in the digital age, and promoting platform work with inclusive social protection.

Food and Agriculture

6. Recognize the potential for cooperation in the food and agriculture sector and commit to:

(i) Promoting sustainable agriculture, including through reducing harmful agrochemicals, promoting digitalization, advancing nature-based solutions and fostering public-private partnerships;

(ii) Exploring cooperation in the field of halal food through the exchange of information and sharing of experiences on the basis of mutual respect for each other’s national systems, laws and policies;

(iii) Supporting efforts to strengthen food security, nutrition and distribution, including through enhancing productivity and sustainability efforts, promoting the diversification of food sources, strengthening the quality and variety of food production, and supporting the generation and diffusion of new and sustainable technologies;

(iv) Promoting the trade of food and agricultural products and technologies cooperation.

People-to-People Exchange

7. Foster greater understanding and connectivity among our peoples by:

(i) Promoting high-quality tourism and cross-regional marketing campaigns, including culture and heritage tourism, ecotourism, and meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions tourism, among other segments, and fostering an exchange of best practices in tourism digitalization and tourism destination management;

(ii) Promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations and cultures to advance mutual understanding and friendship as well as respect for diversity and welcoming the adoption of the UN General Assembly Resolution of International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations;

(iii) Exploring opportunities to enhance mutual understanding and friendship while fostering cultural exchanges through art, music and literature programmes, especially among youth and ethnic groups;

(iv) Strengthening cooperation in education through the exchanges of students and educational personnel, scholarships programmes and joint research initiatives, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

8. Implement the Joint Statement through mutually agreed activities among ASEAN, China and GCC, including through existing mechanisms such as the ASEAN-GCC, China-ASEAN and China-GCC mechanisms.

9. Reaffirm our collective resolve to work hand-in-hand to unlock the full potential of our partnership, and to ensure that our cooperation translates into tangible benefits for our peoples and communities.

10. Welcome the third Asia Cooperation Dialogue Summit in Doha on 3 October 2024;

11. Note ASEAN’s initiatives on its priority areas, such as:

— ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future;

— ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP);

— The ASEAN Power Grid;

— Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline (TAGP);

— The Action Plan on Sustainable Agriculture in ASEAN.

12. Note GCC’s initiatives on its priority areas, such as:

— The Global Logistics Forum held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 12-14 October 2024;

— The First Global Food Security Summit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, 25-26 November 2024;

— United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP16), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, December 2024;

— Sustainable Development Week in Abu Dhabi, UAE, January 2025;

— International Conference in Support of Syria 2025;

— The International Conference on Food Security in Yemen, 27-28 October 2025;

— United Nations Water Conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE, December 2026;

— The Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani International Award for Excellence in Combating Corruption;

— The establishment of the Global Water Organization in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;

— High-level international conference for peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue, to be co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, in June 2025;

— Saudi Arabia’s Middle East Green Initiative.

MIL OSI China News –

May 28, 2025
MIL-OSI China: SCIO organizes media trip to Chongqing and Hubei

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

SCIO organizes media trip to Chongqing and Hubei

China SCIO | May 28, 2025

From May 18 to 23, the State Council Information Office (SCIO) organized a media trip to China’s Chongqing municipality and Hubei province. The journalist group attended press briefings there and visited enterprises, ports, logistics parks, and other sites, observing the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

The journalists included foreign correspondents from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Iraq, Qatar, and Japan.

Reporters watch a drone light show in Chongqing, May 18, 2025. [Photo by Liu Jian/China SCIO]

MIL OSI China News –

May 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Banking: Samsung Launches One UI 8 Beta Program: The First-Generation Upgrade Starting With the New Galaxy Foldables

Source: Samsung

One UI 8 is coming, and early access is now available through its beta program — kicking off a new era of software intelligence that brings a true multimodal AI agent designed for various Samsung Galaxy form factors.

One UI is Samsung’s integrated software platform, designed to help Galaxy devices simplify everyday routines and enhance productivity and convenience. Thanks to the mutual partnership between Samsung and Google, One UI 8 will debut on Samsung’s newest foldables this summer and will gradually expand to more Galaxy devices so users can now enjoy an enriched, more personalized mobile experience with the latest version of Android.

Through open communication, Samsung and Google actively shared their respective design systems and real-time feedback with one another, accelerating software development that made One UI 8 one of the first UI platforms to adopt Android 16.

In addition to being the first generation of upgrades to launch alongside new foldable devices, the launch of One UI 8 also initiates a new rhythm for Samsung’s software evolution with major UX and AI updates. You can get a first glimpse of this innovation by signing up for the beta program kicking off today, starting with the Galaxy S25, S25+ and S25 Ultra in Germany, Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Personalized AI for Seamless, Natural Interactions

The official rollout of One UI 8 will introduce an AI experience that will make your everyday smarter and more convenient by enhancing the AI features first introduced in the Galaxy S25 series. There are three main factors that realize this: multimodal capabilities, UX tailored to different device form factors, and personalized, proactive suggestions. Intelligent multimodality enables you to have natural, seamless communication with AI that understands what you’re looking at or watching in the moment. The updated UX is optimized for the unique form factors across the Galaxy product portfolio, boosting your everyday productivity and efficiency. One UI 8 will also recognize your context, offering personalized, proactive suggestions that support your unique daily routine. Features like Now Bar1 and Now Brief2 will deliver even more customized insights and suggestions to help you stay on top of tasks and support your daily routine, through curated AI information.

This intelligent, personalized AI experience did not just come out of nowhere. It is made possible by robust security that safeguards your data. Samsung Knox Vault combines a dedicated secure processor with secure memory to isolate sensitive data from the rest of your user data and ensure that no one else can physically or remotely reach your personal information. One UI 8 also provides settings where you can choose to process data only on the device, as many of our Galaxy AI experiences use both on-device and cloud-based AI processing. With transparency and user choice at its core, One UI 8 will deliver a personalized AI experience without compromising privacy.

Enhanced Everyday Convenience

One UI 8 is not only about providing the AI experience, but also includes convenient, intuitive tools designed to make your day-to-day experiences with your mobile devices even more seamless. Auracast3 — a broadcast audio technology based on Bluetooth LE Audio4 — will support effortless audio connection via QR code scanning and sharing, allowing multiple Auracast devices5 — like Galaxy Buds3 and hearing aids — to join a shared audio stream without the hassle of a complex manual setup. Additionally, customer support at repair centers will be faster and more convenient, thanks to QR- and NFC-enabled support6 accessible right in Samsung Account. You can now register with QR or NFC without having to write any registration forms, reducing wait times and simplifying service requests.

The Reminder app will be your travel supporter with more convenient and intuitive features. If you are planning a trip to New York with your family, you can manage all your reminders in one place as soon as you open the app with a UX that is easy-looking even for first-time users. You can also share a list of to-dos for your trip with the press of a button. When your hands are full of shopping bags, you can use your voice to add reminders on the go as it is voice enabled.

Sharing memories with family and friends will also be easier than ever with enhanced Quick Share.7 A single tap of the Quick Share button in the Quick settings panel will let you instantly send and receive files.

The future of Galaxy AI starts now. Sign up through the Samsung Members app to be among the first to experience the power of One UI 8.

1 Availability of functions supported may vary by country and model. Some functions may require a network connection and/or Samsung Account login.
2 Now Brief feature requires a Samsung Account login. Service availability may vary by country, language, device model or apps. Some features may require a network connection.
3 The quality of the Auracast audio stream may vary depending on the application, network connection and other factors.
4 Available on devices with Bluetooth 5.2 and above that support Auracast.
5 Auracast Transmitter/Assistant supported devices: Samsung Galaxy flagship smartphones, tablets released in 2023 or later with Samsung One UI version 6.1 or above. Auracast Receiver supported devices: Galaxy Buds3, Buds3 Pro, Buds2 Pro. May require software update. Availability may vary by market and model.
6 Available on 36 countries: U.S., Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Türkiye, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam. Availability may vary by country. The feature availability will expand to more countries via further updates. The feature is available in limited number of repair shops, and will be expanded further afterwards. Available on with Android 10 or above, NFC availability may vary by device, Samsung Account app is available on devices with Android 10 or above. Availability may vary by NFC Memory support availability.
7 Bluetooth Low Energy and Wi-Fi connection are both required for Quick Share. Number of devices Quick Share can share to at the same time may vary depending on the Wi-Fi chip hardware of the sharing device. Actual speed may vary depending on device, network condition and user environment.

MIL OSI Global Banks –

May 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: NSU Scientific Library has begun moving to a new building for streaming lecture halls

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

The scientific library has begun moving to a new building of flow auditoriums, which is part of the second stage of the modern NSU campus, built within the framework of the national project “Youth and Children”. In total, over 600 thousand copies of books with a total weight of approximately 180 tons will have to be moved over the summer. In the new building, the library will have a reading room and a book depository with a capacity of up to 1 million copies.

The NSU Scientific Library is located on the first floor of the flow auditorium building and is part of a multifunctional space with an area of about 2.5 thousand square meters. Furniture and multimedia equipment have already been assembled, shelves have been installed in the reading room, so the library has the opportunity to begin moving. It will be necessary to pack all 600 thousand copies, transport them and arrange them in their places in three summer months.

— We will have a modern library that will operate 24/7. The children will be able to use self-service stations to check out books that will appear in the open collection. In the reading room, all literature will also be in open access. In addition, the library will have modern technical capabilities for employees. Publications with open access will be equipped with radio frequency tags that will allow for an automated inventory of this part of the collection, — commented Tatyana Markova, head of the NSU Scientific Library.

The book depositories in the new building will be equipped with mobile shelves with an electric drive and computer control. The compact storage system will allow free placement of the existing library collections.

The library’s special pride is its rare book collection, which was organized and opened in 2008 and contains about 6,000 volumes from the 18th to early 20th centuries. The specially equipped room contains domestic and foreign publications, representing a collection of scientific, popular science, and fiction literature. An important part of this collection is made up of magazines published in the 19th to early 20th centuries.

— Of great value are encyclopedias, encyclopedic publications, and various 19th-century dictionaries. The collection includes such famous publications as the Encyclopedic Dictionary of F. A. Brockhaus and I. A. Efron, the Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Russian Bibliographic Institute Granat, and the Russian Encyclopedia published in 1911 in St. Petersburg. We also have the first Complete Works of Voltaire in French in 92 volumes, published just 7 years after the author’s death. In addition, the collection is the owner of memorable book collections, including the library of Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences V. A. Avrorin, the first dean of the Humanities Faculty of NSU, — said Tatyana Markova.

The most valuable and interesting specimens will be located in a specially designated room where excursions can be conducted, students can be introduced to primary sources, and specialists can work with rare editions.

On the instructions of President Vladimir Putin, a network of modern campuses is being created in Russia. By 2030, a constellation of 25 campuses should appear in the country. Work in this area is being carried out by the Government of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia. Currently, 24 such campuses are being designed and built with the support of the national project “Youth and Children”, by 2036 the number of campuses will increase to 40. The project is financed by federal and regional budgets, as well as by extra-budgetary sources.

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 –

May 28, 2025
Operation Sindoor outreach: Sanjay Jha-led Indian delegation reaches Indonesia

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

The Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Jha-led delegation arrived in Indonesia’s capital city, Jakarta, on Wednesday after successfully wrapping up the Singapore visit, conveying India’s unequivocal stance against terrorism.

“The All-Party Parliamentary Delegation, led by Sanjay Kumar Jha, arrived in Jakarta as part of India’s diplomatic outreach on Operation Sindoor. India stands committed to fighting terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Through this outreach, India sets out to seek understanding and support of its historic friend and Comprehensive Strategic partner,” the Indian Embassy in Jakarta posted on X.

During the course of their stay in Jakarta, the delegation will engage with members of the Indonesian government, parliamentarians, leaders of political parties, the ASEAN Secretary General, resident ambassadors, think tanks, academia, media, and a cross-section of the Indian community in Indonesia.

The delegation led by Jha includes BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Hemang Joshi, and Pradan Baruah, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member John Barittas, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid and Former Indian Ambassador to France Mohan Kumar.

After successfully completing their engagements in Singapore, South Korea, and Japan, the delegates will now highlight the significance of Operation Sindoor and India’s continued fight against Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism to the Indonesian leadership.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Indian parliamentarians met Singaporean Ministers Edwin Tong, Sim Ann and Janil Puthucheary and reaffirmed India’s unwavering commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms.

They also engaged with Singaporean Members of Parliament, senior business and community leaders, representatives of think-tanks, academia, media, and the Indian diaspora.

“During the interactions with Singaporean interlocutors, the delegation conveyed India’s stance on the events since the terror attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor, and the new normal in India’s strategy against terrorism,” the Indian High Commission in Singapore said in a statement.

“They briefed about the new benchmark in India’s fight against terrorism; India will give a fitting reply if there is a terrorist attack on India, India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail, and India will not differentiate between the government sponsoring terrorism and the masterminds of terrorism. The delegation requested continued support from Singapore in the fight against terrorism,” the statement added.

(IANS)

May 28, 2025
MIL-OSI: ADVANT Nctm Selects iManage to Power Flexible, Secure Document and Email Management Across Global Legal Practice

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

CHICAGO, May 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — iManage, the company dedicated to Making Knowledge Work™, today announced that ADVANT Nctm, one of Italy’s leading independent law firms, has selected iManage to transform its approach to document and email management.

Firm cites iManage’s ability to enhance usability, ensure compliance, and support seamless collaboration across teams and geographies as key factors in selection.

ADVANT Nctm chose iManage after a thorough evaluation of leading content management solutions. The firm emphasized the need for a platform that is intuitive for legal professionals, supports structured organization, and integrates smoothly with its macOS-based infrastructure. iManage stood out for its ability to support structured, user-friendly organization of content—while also delivering the advanced capabilities firms need to manage information securely, maintain visibility, and work more efficiently—crucial for efficient collaboration and secure knowledge management.

“ADVANT Nctm has always been characterized by the very high interest in the development of legal tech solutions able of improving the work of lawyers and, consequently, the quality of services offered to clients,” said Patrizia Circosta, lawyer and Knowledge Manager of ADVANT Nctm. “It is with this purpose that the firm has decided to adopt iManage as a document management system to be combined with our iLex platform: we are confident that the integration of the two systems will give excellent results optimizing the quality of our work.”

More than 350 professionals at ADVANT Nctm will use iManage to coordinate across matters, maintain consistent access to content, and ensure compliance with Italy’s rigorous cybersecurity requirements. The firm plans to integrate iManage into its existing identity and access management platform, enabling secure, streamlined access across teams and practice groups.

Ounet Sistemi, iManage’s Italian partner, allowed the customer to evaluate the solution in all its components and placed in the context of the Italian market. Ounet Sistemi, thanks to the experience gained through projects carried out in Italy and abroad, guarantees the customer the support and consultancy necessary for the realization of a successful project.

As part of the ADVANT alliance—with member firms in Germany and France that also use iManage—ADVANT Nctm will benefit from greater alignment in tools and processes, strengthening cross-border collaboration and knowledge sharing. The implementation underscores the firm’s commitment to leveraging trusted, enterprise-grade solutions to drive better business outcomes through secure, centralized knowledge management.

“ADVANT Nctm’s selection of iManage reflects a growing demand across Europe for document and email management solutions that combine user-friendly design with robust governance,” said Suzanne Walmsley, Senior Director of European Sales at iManage. “Our AI-enabled platform is purpose-built to help knowledge workers operate smarter, faster, and safer—making it an ideal fit for firms like ADVANT Nctm that are focused on long-term productivity and client service.”

Meet Us at Future Lawyer Europe – Milan

iManage will be exhibiting at Future Lawyer Europe on May 28–29, 2025, at the Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan. Visit us at Stand #2 to explore how our platform is helping legal professionals modernize knowledge work with smarter, more secure document and email management.

About iManage
iManage is dedicated to Making Knowledge Work™. Our cloud-native platform is at the center of the knowledge economy, enabling every organization to work more productively, collaboratively, and securely. Built on more than 20 years of industry experience, iManage helps leading organizations manage documents and emails more efficiently, protect vital information assets, and leverage knowledge to drive better business outcomes. As your strategic business partner, we employ our award-winning AI-enabled technology, an extensive partner ecosystem, and a customer-centric approach to provide support and guidance you can trust to make knowledge work for you. iManage is relied on by more than one million professionals at 4,000 organizations around the world. Visit www.imanage.com to learn more.

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Press contact:
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press@imanage.com

The MIL Network –

May 28, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Djokovic makes winning start to French Open bid, Medvedev ousted

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

British underdog Cameron Norrie delivered the biggest upset of the 2025 French Open so far in a nail-biting five-set win over former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday.

Ranked 81st in the world, Norrie knocked out 11th seed Medvedev 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 7-5 after three hours and 53 minutes on court.

“It was a crazy match,” said Norrie. “I was really happy with how I handled the match and how I had to fight literally every point to have a chance with him. It was just pure emotion at the end and pure instinct. It was a good throw.”

The 29-year-old Briton, who won the 2021 Indian Wells title and reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2022, called it “one of [his] best wins.”

“For me, outside of [Carlos] Alcaraz, [Jannik] Sinner and Novak [Djokovic], [this] would be probably the fourth-toughest draw for me in terms of matchups and players. Extremely good win, especially my record with [Medvedev] No. 11, in a Slam, beating him in five sets is impressive for me.”

Novak Djokovic returns a shot during the men’s singles first round match between Mackenzie Mcdonald of the United States and Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros, Paris, France, May 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Jing)

While Norrie stole the spotlight, other top seeds advanced with convincing wins. Novak Djokovic, fresh off securing his 100th career title, eased past American Mackenzie McDonald 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. Third seed Alexander Zverev of Germany also cruised through with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win over American Learner Tien.

Not all seeded players progressed. Bulgaria’s 16th seed Grigor Dimitrov was forced to retire from his match against American qualifier Ethan Quinn. Dimitrov had taken a two-set lead (6-2, 6-3) before losing the third 2-6 and withdrawing due to injury.

In the women’s draw, second seed Coco Gauff breezed past Australia’s Olivia Gadecki 6-2, 6-2. The American will next face 18-year-old Czech qualifier Tereza Valentova.

Russia’s sixth-seeded Mirra Andreeva also advanced with a composed 6-4, 6-3 win over Spain’s Cristina Bucsa.

In women’s doubles, China’s Yuan Yue and New Zealand’s Lulu Sun earned a hard-fought first-round victory, defeating Anna Blinkova and Mayar Sherif 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 after more than two hours.

MIL OSI China News –

May 28, 2025
French Open 2025: Djokovic cruises through opener with straight-sets win

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

Novak Djokovic began his 2025 Roland Garros campaign in trademark fashion on Tuesday, defeating American Mackenzie McDonald 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in a confident and composed first-round performance on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The victory came just three days after Djokovic captured his 100th tour-level title at the Geneva Open.

Playing his first ATP head-to-head match against McDonald, Djokovic was in full control throughout the one-hour, 58-minute encounter. The windy conditions early in the match added some unpredictability, but the roof was closed midway through the second set due to rain. By then, the Serbian had already seized momentum, having won six of seven games from 2-2 in the opening set.

The win extended Djokovic’s perfect record in Roland Garros first-round matches to 20-0. He has not dropped a set in an opener at the clay-court major since 2010, when he overcame Evgeny Korolev in four sets.

“I try to enjoy every moment on this very special and beautiful court,” said Djokovic in French in his on-court interview. “I feel good, clearly, even more here because I’m reliving the memories of last year’s Olympics, the last time I played on this court. [They are] beautiful emotions.

McDonald fought to stay competitive and managed one break of serve to narrow the gap in the second set, but Djokovic immediately broke back and closed it out. The 24-time Grand Slam champion converted five of nine breakpoints, according to ATP Stats, and maintained consistent depth from the baseline to stifle McDonald’s offense.

Djokovic, ranked No. 6 in the ATP Rankings, reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in 2024 before a knee injury forced his withdrawal. He returned later in the year to win Olympic gold on the same court.

“History in this sport has given me everything in my life, it means a lot to me. I always try to make history where I can… In all the tournaments I play, all the practises, all the matches, and especially during the biggest tournaments in the world. There is an opportunity to make more history, and that is one of the biggest motivations I have for competitions, for continuing to work and better myself,” the Serbian added.

Djokovic will next face either Corentin Moutet or qualifier Clement Tabur in the second round.

(IANS)

May 28, 2025
Operation Sindoor outreach: After successful France visit, Indian delegation arrives in Italy

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

The all-party Indian parliamentary delegation led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad arrived in Italy early on Wednesday (Indian time) following a successful visit to France, conveying India’s strong anti-terror stance.

The parliamentarians were received by India’s Ambassador to Italy Vani Rao on their arrival in Rome.

“The All-Party Parliamentary Delegation led by Ravi Shankar Prasad, MP, arrived in Rome for wide-ranging interactions. They were received by Ambassador Vani Rao. The delegation will convey India’s firm and united message against cross-border terrorism in the context of Operation Sindoor,” the Indian Embassy in Rome posted on X.

The nine-member delegation includes: Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP), Daggubati Purandeswari (BJP), Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena-UBT), Ghulam Ali Khatana (BJP), Amar Singh (Congress), Samik Bhattacharya (BJP), M. Thambidurai (AIADMK), former Union Minister M.J. Akbar and former Ambassador Pankaj Saran.

In Italy, the delegation will meet several top leaders, academia, think tanks and community members to brief them about Operation Sindoor and India’s ‘new normal’ message against terrorism.

During their engagements in France on Tuesday, the delegation held interactions with senior journalists from leading French and international media outlets.

The conversation focused on India’s firm and unwavering stance against terrorism. The delegates conveyed that India remains resolute in its efforts to counter terrorism and called for greater international solidarity on this critical global challenge.

“Following the media interaction, the delegation held meetings at the French National Assembly with Members of Parliament led by Thierry Tesson, President of the France-India Friendship Group. Later, at the French Senate, they met with Senators from the France-India Friendship Group led by Vice President Jacqueline Eustache-Brinio, along with members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence,” the Embassy said in a statement.

Throughout the meetings, the Ravi Shankar Prasad-led MPs underlined India’s deep commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

“The French parliamentarians expressed strong solidarity with India’s position, and support in the fight against terrorism, and reaffirmed the shared values that underpin the France-India strategic partnership,” the statement added.

Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday took to social media, mentioning the details of the interaction in Paris, in which they highlighted designated terrorists taking shelter in Pakistan and India’s response following the April 22 Pahlagam terror attack.

“Today, along with my delegation colleagues, I interacted with the French media in Paris. We briefed them about India’s actions against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Yesterday, we had a wonderful interaction with a think tank. We also spoke to a large number of Indians staying in Paris and other parts of France. They heard with a great degree of pain about the unfortunate tragedy of innocent Indian lives being killed in a barbaric manner, and the way India has responded. On the issue of terrorism, the whole world needs to speak in one voice,” Prasad posted on X.

Prasad highlighted that there are several UN-designated terrorists in Pakistan, out of whom many were killed during India’s precision strikes. He said that the delegation conveyed India’s message in “very unmistakable terms.”

“This time, we have responded very conclusively with lethal power, attacking terrorist camps and their air force installations. As a result, Pakistan has asked for peace,” Prasad said.

(With inputs from IANS)

May 28, 2025
MIL-OSI China: From wastelands to wonders: China revives abandoned mines for sustainable future

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

Tianchi Lake at Baihu Mountain in east China’s Shandong Province features expansive water shimmering with rippling blue waves, and pale purple paulownia flowers blooming along its steep rocky shores.

It’s hard to imagine that this tranquil and beautiful landscape was once a barren quarry pit. “Windstorms used to whip up dense dust clouds, obscuring the colors of leaves and flowers,” recalled 62-year-old villager Wang Yunhe in Hetaoyuan, a town with 22 mountains and an estimated 1.19 billion tonnes of rock reserves.

As one of the world’s most mineral-rich nations, China contains over 150,000 mines occupying millions of hectares of land. Upholding the concept that clear waters and green mountains are valuable assets, the country has implemented multiple measures to advance the ecological rehabilitation of abandoned mines in recent years, aiming for win-win outcomes in terms of ecological, economic and social benefits.

ECOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION

According to Shang Baoling, a former local official, quarrying had become the dominant industry in Hetaoyuan since the 1990s. Nearly 50 lime kilns were built, with over 2,000 villagers relying on stone mining for their livelihoods.

Rapacious mining boosted local economies temporarily, but later caused significant ecological damage. “These mountains, originally over 180 meters tall, were excavated to depths exceeding 40 meters below ground level — ultimately transforming verdant peaks into desolate quarries,” Shang said.

In 2015, authorities of Juye County, which administers Hetaoyuan, enacted a comprehensive mining ban, shuttering all quarries and lime kilns. Years of dedicated reforestation have since transformed 18,000 mu (1,200 hectares) of mining wastelands and slopes into thriving ecosystems, where crabapple, cherry blossoms, paulownia flowers and other flora now bloom in seasonal cycles.

Many greening workers employed in this effort were former miners from local villages. “Several villagers told me the changes have been tremendous,” Shang added.

Tourists ride sightseeing boats in the Baihu Mountain scenic spot in Hetaoyuan Town of Heze, east China’s Shandong Province, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Zang Dongming/Xinhua)

Such transformations are occurring across China. By the end of 2024, over 333,300 hectares of abandoned mines had been rehabilitated — including 26,200 hectares newly restored in 2024 alone.

This year’s government work report said China will “accelerate the green and low-carbon transition,” listing “strengthening ecological conservation and restoration” as a key priority.

AGRICULTURAL GOLDMINE

Nationwide, abandoned mines with geographical and resource advantages are being repurposed for agricultural and other industrial development, creating new economic opportunities for local residents. Taobei Village in Shandong’s capital city of Jinan, for example, rehabilitated its abandoned quarry, a low-lying area littered with rubble, turning it into a medicinal herb cultivation base several years ago.

“We have developed cultivation of over 10 medicinal herbs, including astragalus and Chinese sage, with an annual production capacity reaching 4 million plants,” said Tao Changguo, director of the village committee.

Local authorities have also introduced specialized planting cooperatives, establishing processing workshops for medicinal herbs, and facilities for sorting, packaging and fresh storage. These initiatives have boosted local employment while generating more than 200,000 yuan (about 27,825.7 U.S. dollars) in additional annual income for the cooperatives.

In 2008, as local environmental restoration efforts began, a long-abandoned mining pit in China’s eastern coastal city of Qingdao found new life as a vineyard and winemaking hub, thanks to its prime location on the same latitude as Bordeaux in France.

“The barren yet well-draining soil here enhances grape acidity and phenolic content, while the scattered rocks in the earth contribute abundant organic minerals,” said Yan Zhigang, deputy general manager of a local wine company.

According to Yan, the company’s vineyard spans approximately 3,000 mu of reclaimed mining land, where grapes are cultivated on former wasteland and abandoned pits have been repurposed into wine cellars. With an annual production volume of nearly 500,000 bottles, their wines are exported to multiple countries and regions including Europe, Southeast Asia and Japan.

TOURISM BOOM

After two decades of relentless efforts, Anji, a small county in east China’s Zhejiang Province, is now successfully transforming its ecological advantage into tangible wealth.

Launched in 2022, Deep Blue Coffeehouse, located on a 300-mu disused mine near a natural lake in Hongmiao Village of Anji, has now become a social media sensation, drawing 600,000 visitors yearly and earning 20 million yuan in its first year.

This aerial photo taken on April 7, 2023 shows the Deep Blue Coffeehouse located near an abandoned mine in Hongmiao Village of Anji County in Huzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang)

This Scandinavian-style outdoor cafe made headlines in 2024 when it set a new national record for single-day sales at an independent coffee shop — serving an impressive 8,818 cups of coffee in just 24 hours.

“It’s less about selling coffee and more about selling the scenery and leisure itself,” said Cheng Shuoqin, owner of the coffee shop.

In recent years, with the deepening integration of ecological restoration and cultural tourism, an increasing number of once-barren industrial sites have been revitalized through scientific planning and innovative design. These transformed spaces now serve not only as eco-parks and tourist destinations but also feature diverse business models, such as countryside-style farm stays, thrilling amusement parks and immersive performance venues.

At the Huaxia City Scenic Area, located in the city of Weihai in Shandong, Zhou Liming was driving tourists through lush forests and flower fields. A resident from a nearby village, Zhou currently works as a sightseeing vehicle operator in the area. According to Zhou, this area was once nothing but a quarry pockmarked with 44 mining pits of various sizes.

Since 2003, Weihai has implemented a comprehensive initiative across abandoned mining zones as a strategy for sustainable development. Through reclaiming nearly 4,000 mu of devastated mountains, constructing 35 reservoirs and planting 12.27 million trees, this transformed landscape ultimately gave birth to a thriving tourist resort.

An aerial drone photo shows a view of the Huaxia City Scenic Area in Weihai, east China’s Shandong Province, May 26, 2025. (Photo by Zhang Hao/Xinhua)

In the scenic area, an abandoned mining ravine has been transformed, featuring masterpieces of Chinese calligraphy from successive dynasties carved into its towering cliff walls on both sides. A preserved mining village and pit relics remind visitors of the importance of ecological conservation. At a rehabilitated mining site, audiences can now watch an immersive live performance aboard a giant ship, with the actual mountains, water and sky forming a breathtaking natural backdrop.

In 2024, the scenic area welcomed 2.04 million visitors, generating total revenue of 124 million yuan. During this year’s May Day holiday alone, it attracted 82,000 tourists with holiday earnings reaching 6.65 million yuan.

“Now, driving a sightseeing vehicle in the scenic area earns me 60,000 yuan annually. This is the good life that our lush mountains and clear waters have brought us!” Zhou said.

MIL OSI China News –

May 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: How ongoing deforestation is rooted in colonialism and its management practices

Source: The Conversation – France – By Justine Loizeau, Postdoctoral research fellow in sustainability and organization, Aalto University

As early as 1917, the Michelin company invested in plantations to produce rubber in what is now Vietnam. Here, hevea trees are seen in Southeast Asia in 1913. W. F. de Bois Maclaren, The Rubber Tree Book.

Half of the world’s forests were destroyed during the 20th century, with three regions mainly affected: South America, West Africa and Southeast Asia. The situation has worsened to the point that, in 2023, the European Parliament voted to ban the import of chocolate, coffee, palm oil and rubber linked to deforestation.

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A long-standing dependence on raw materials

These products are at the heart of our economies and consumption habits. The case of rubber is particularly emblematic. Without this material, there would be no tyres and, thus, no cars, bicycles, sealing joints or submarine communication cables. Industrial rubber production depends on extracting latex, a natural substance that rubber trees such as hevea produce. Under pressure from corporations and states, Brussels last October announced a one-year postponement of its law regulating rubber imports.

This dependence on the rubber industry is not new. Rubber was central to the second industrial revolution, especially with the rise of automobiles and new management methods. While this history often centres on factories, citing contributions from figures such as Frederick Taylor and Henry Ford and industrial giants like Michelin, its colonial roots are less well known.

Indeed, rubber – like the other resources mentioned above – has been and continues to be primarily produced in former colonial territories. In many cases, rubber trees are not native to the regions where they have been cultivated. Rubber seeds from South America, where latex was already extracted by picking, were transported by colonists to empires for the development of plantations. In particular, the French colonial empire, spanning Africa and Southeast Asia, saw a significant expansion of hevea plantations at the expense of primary forests. Monocultures of rubber trees replaced thousands of hectares.

Ford in the Amazon, Michelin in present-day Vietnam

This management model was favoured because it allowed for lower extraction costs from the coloniser’s perspective. For example, in 1928, Henry Ford negotiated an agreement with the Brazilian government granting him a 10,000 km² concession of forest land to establish Fordlandia, a settlement designed to produce the rubber needed for his factories. However, this industrial utopia in the Amazon failed due to resistance from Indigenous people and a fungal disease that ruined the plantations.

Business Insider reports on the Fordlandia fiasco.

Following the same model, Michelin invested in plantations in present-day Vietnam as early as 1917. The plantation model and new management methods reduced the cost of rubber production and accelerated its global distribution. These management practices spread across the British, Dutch and French empires, becoming dominant in Southeast Asia in the early 20th century at the expense of primary forests.

À lire aussi :
Allowing forests to regrow and regenerate is a great way to restore habitat

The ‘Taylorization’ of work and nature

Rubber plantations resulted from applying Taylorism not only to workers – especially colonised workers – but also to nature. Both people and trees were subjected to a so-called “scientific” organisation of labour. In our article, L’arbre qui gâche la forêt The Tree That Spoils the Forest, published in the Revue française de gestion (French Journal of Management) in 2024, we analysed historical archives, including a variety of newspapers from 1900 to 1950, covering national, local, colonial and thematic (scientific, cultural, etc.) perspectives. We show that this organisational model is based on an accounting undervaluation of indigenous people’s labour and of nature. This undervaluation is embodied in the metric of the cost price (i.e. the total cost of production and distribution) and in the shared concern to see it lowered. “Ultimately, it’s the cost price that must determine the fate of rubber,” stated the newspaper L’Information financière, économique et politique on February 1, 1914.

In the eyes of some, Asians who were labelled as “coolies” and Brazilian “seringueiros” comprised a low-cost labour pool, with no mention of their working conditions and despite very high mortality rates. “Coolie” is a derogatory colonial term that refers to agricultural labourers of Asian heritage, while “seringueiros” refers to workers in South American rubber plantations.

“By the way, in the Far East, there are reservoirs of labour (Java Island, English Indies), which supply plantations with workers who, while not the most robust, provide regular work at a very advantageous cost price.” (L’Information financière, économique et politique, November 11, 1922)

Concerning trees, only the plantation costs were considered, silencing the human and ecological costs of primary forest destruction.

“In the first year, some 237 francs will have to be spent on the clearing itself; then the planting, with staking […] and weeding, will represent an expense of 356 francs. […] For the following years, all that remains to be done is to consider the maintenance costs, cleaning, pruning, care, supply of stakes, replacement, etc. This will result in an expenditure of 1,250 francs for the first five years.” (L’Information financière, économique et politique, January 31, 1912)

The ‘Cheapization’ of life

The focus on cost price leads to standardisation of management practices by aligning with what is cheapest, at the expense of ever more intense exploitation of human and non-human workers. In other words, these assumptions about the construction of accounting metrics and the circulation of these metrics play a role in the “cheapization” of human and non-human labour. We borrow the concept of “cheapization” from the environmental historian Jason W. Moore. In his view, the development of capitalism is marked by a “cheapization of Nature”, which includes, within the circuits of capitalist production and consumption, humans and non-humans whose work does not initially have a market value. Living beings are thus transformed into a commodity or factor of production: “animals, soils, forests and all kinds of extra-human nature” are being put to work.

À lire aussi :
What actually makes avocados bad for the environment?

Why does this colonial past matter?

These ways of managing people and nature continue to this day. Many industries still rely on the extraction of natural resources at low cost and in large quantities in the countries of the global south. Rubber is not the only resource whose exploitation dates to the Industrial Revolution: palm oil, sugar, coffee and cocoa have also had, and still have, an impact on the forests of the global south and are based on the work of local people. The exploitation of these resources is also often the fruit of colonial history. In 1911, the Frenchman Henri Fauconnier brought the first palm oil seeds, a plant originally from Africa, to Malaysia. More than a century later, the country remains a leading palm oil producer, a resource largely responsible for the deforestation of primary forests.

Beyond the case of rubber alone, we question the link between the pursuit of profit in formerly colonised territories, the destruction of the environment and the exploitation of local populations on two levels. Not only are primary forests destroyed to feed short-term profits, but habituation to this mode of environmental management is a historical construct. We must remember this when looking at news from countries with colonial pasts. Whether we’re talking about preserving the Amazon rainforest, poisoning soil and human bodies with chlordecone in the Antilles, or building a pipeline in Uganda, we need to take a step back. What are the historical responsibilities? What are the links between creating economic activities here and exploiting ecosystems and local populations there? What role do management theories and tools play in realising or reproducing these exploitative situations?

At a time when the ecological and social emergency is constantly invoked to call for the transformation of management practices and business models, the rubber example invites us to consider the colonial matrix of managerial practices and the Western historical responsibilities that led to this same emergency. And suppose we have to turn to other forms of management tomorrow: who may legitimately decide how to bring about this change? Are former colonisers best placed to define the way forward? Knowledge of colonial history should encourage us to recognise the value of the knowledge and practices of those who were and remain the first to be affected.

The COCOLE project is supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR), which funds project-based research in France. The ANR’s mission is to support and promote the development of fundamental and applied research in all disciplines, and to strengthen dialogue between science and society. To find out more, visit the ANR website.

Antoine Fabre has received funding from the French National Research Agency
via the programme “Counting in a colonial situation. French Africa (1830-1962)” (ANR-21-CE41-0012, 2021-2026).

Pierre Labardin is a professor at La Rochelle University. He has received funding from the French National Research Agency via the programme “Counting in a colonial situation. French Africa (1830-1962)” (ANR-21-CE41-0012, 2021-2026).

Clément Boyer et Justine Loizeau ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur poste universitaire.

– ref. How ongoing deforestation is rooted in colonialism and its management practices – https://theconversation.com/how-ongoing-deforestation-is-rooted-in-colonialism-and-its-management-practices-257578

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

May 28, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Australia could tax Google, Facebook and other tech giants with a digital services tax – but don’t hold your breath

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fei Gao, Lecturer in Taxation, Discipline of Accounting, Governance & Regulation, The University of Sydney, University of Sydney

Tada Images/Shutterstock

Tech giants like Google, Facebook and Netflix make billions of dollars from Australian users every year. But most of those profits are not taxed here.

To address this tax gap, some countries have introduced a new kind of tax called the digital services tax, or DST. It applies to revenue earned from users in a country, even if the company has no physical operations there. Some European Union member countries, the UK and Canada have all introduced such a tax.

In Australia, it is estimated the five largest tech giants recorded A$15 billion in revenue in Australia last year, but combined they paid only $254 million in tax.

Australia has never contemplated imposing a similar tax. New Zealand tried but backed down last week after the United States threatened to impose higher tariffs on New Zealand goods.

So what’s holding Australia back?

How 20th-century tax treaties create 21st-century problems

To understand why Australia thinks its hands are tied on the taxation of the multinational tech giants, we need to step back in time.

About 100 years ago, Australia and other developed nations decided to tax residents on all their income earned worldwide, while non-residents were taxed only on income earned locally.

After the second world war, Australia entered into tax treaties so foreign companies selling to Australian customers would no longer be taxed here. Instead, those companies’ home countries would tax all their profits.

As the world moved to digital products this century, it became easy for giant multinational enterprises offering advertising on social media (such as Facebook and Instagram), advertising on search platforms (Google), and streaming services (Netflix) to provide those services from abroad. Little or no activity is conducted through local branches.

But countries where the sales are made have increasingly questioned the wisdom of having forfeited their taxing rights over income by foreign providers.

The rise of the digital services tax

The obvious solution would have been to renegotiate the treaties. This would restore the right of countries like Australia to tax foreign companies’ profits made from local customers or users.

However, treaty renegotiation is slow and complex. So several European countries, beginning with France in 2019, came up with a short-cut solution.

They introduced a discrete new tax on sales of digital services, called digital services taxes (DSTs). While the specific design varies by country, most DSTs apply a low tax rate, typically between 3% and 5%, on revenue rather than profits. They target large digital platforms that earn money from users within the taxing country, regardless of the company’s location.

Because DSTs are levied on revenue and are structured as separate from income tax, governments argued they could be introduced without breaching income tax treaties.

The new taxes quickly became popular and spread widely.
In Australia, the Greens have called for a DST, but both major parties have remained steadfast in their objection to a new tax. This is due to the concern that the US may impose retaliatory tariffs on Australian goods.

US tech bosses at the inauguration of President Trump: (from left to right) CEO of Meta Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, CEO of Google Sundar Pichai and X CEO Elon Musk.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AFP

How big is the tax loss?

Australians are enthusiastic consumers of digital products. Depending on which companies are included in the calculation, the annual revenues vary between $15 billion and $26 billion a year, but only a fraction of that is taxed here.

At a time when the federal budget is forecasting deficits for the foreseeable future, Australia is foregoing potentially millions in lost revenue from these digital giants.

While Australia has avoided a DST as a solution to the income tax loss, it has been willing to regulate and tax foreign digital companies in other ways.
Australia collects 10% goods and services tax, or GST, on digital services provided to Australian companies, including streaming platforms and app subscriptions.

This helps ensure foreign providers are taxed similarly to domestic ones when it comes to the GST.

Australia has also imposed non-tax obligations on digital giants such as the requirement that digital platforms pay Australian media outlets for using their news content.

Read more:
Australia’s ‘coercive’ news media rules are the latest targets of US trade ire

Serious hurdles for reform

In February, the Trump administration described DSTs as tools used by foreign governments to “plunder American companies” and warned retaliatory tariffs would be imposed in response.

The accompanying White House fact sheet singled out Australia and Canada, arguing the US digital economy dwarfs those countries’ entire economies. It suggested any attempt to tax US tech companies would not go unanswered.

Six weeks later, the US imposed a 10% tariff on most Australian exports to the US and a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium exports.

The US sees its penal tariff plans as a useful negotiating tool to pressure trading partners into retreat on a broad range of peripheral complaints, including the digital services tax.

To date, only two countries have retreated: New Zealand and India. Other countries are standing firm.

In Australia, the Greens have called for the adoption of a DST, but the current and previous governments remain firm in their opposition. There is concern about antagonising the US at a delicate time when our broader trade relations are under scrutiny.

For the foreseeable future, the digital giants will continue to earn billions from Australian users. Most of those profits will remain beyond the reach of Australian tax law.

Richard Krever receives funding from the ARC

Fei Gao 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. Australia could tax Google, Facebook and other tech giants with a digital services tax – but don’t hold your breath – https://theconversation.com/australia-could-tax-google-facebook-and-other-tech-giants-with-a-digital-services-tax-but-dont-hold-your-breath-257251

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

May 28, 2025
Coco Gauff finds groove after forgetting rackets, Medvedev exits French Open

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

Coco Gauff forgot to take her rackets to the court but reminded her rivals of her French Open title ambitions with a commanding first-round win, while Daniil Medvedev was unable to string out his journey beyond the first round on a wet and windy Tuesday.

Three-times champion Novak Djokovic overcame the difficult conditions to begin his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title with a victory after last year’s finalist Alexander Zverev got off to a flier in his hunt for an elusive maiden major trophy.

Former Roland Garros runner-up Gauff provided some early comic relief as the second seed grinned sheepishly and showed her empty bag to her entourage, who scampered to reunite her with her equipment before she beat Olivia Gadecki 6-2 6-2.

“The most important thing is to play with a racket,” said Gauff, who jokingly posted a photo on X later of a to-do list that had ‘put tennis rackets in bag’ unchecked.

“It probably relaxed me going into the match, because it was such a funny thing. I’m just happy to get through. I’ll remember my rackets next time.”

The Madrid and Rome finalist made up for a slightly delayed start to her match on Court Philippe Chatrier by easing through the first three games and wrapped up the opening set with a brave hold after dropping serve earlier.

There was no looking back from there as Gauff tightened her grip on the contest and booked a clash with Tereza Valentova.

On the men’s side, third seed Zverev sealed a comprehensive 6-3 6-3 6-4 victory over Learner Tien, avenging a defeat by the 19-year-old American in Acapulco earlier this year.

Medvedev was not as efficient, losing eight consecutive games after taking a 3-1 lead in the opening set against Cameron Norrie and his frustrations boiled over in a series of animated gestures towards his team during a 7-5 6-3 4-6 1-6 7-5 loss.

Norrie enjoyed every bit of the Russian’s meltdown.

“Every time I played Daniil, he’s never snapped. He’s never said anything. He’s just completely locked in and chops me every time,” Norrie said.

“It was quite nice in the first set to see him freaking out and talking to his box and trying to look for answers.”

Fellow Briton Jack Draper found all the answers after dropping the opening set against Mattia Bellucci, as the world number five prevailed 3-6 6-1 6-4 6-2 after 17th seed Andrey Rublev kept his cool to beat Lloyd Harris 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-1.

SPIRITS LIFTED

Earlier, Dusan Lajovic crashed out 6-2 6-4 7-6(4) to Kazakh lucky loser Alexander Shevchenko while Laslo Djere fell 6-3 6-4 7-6(6) to Australian ninth seed Alex De Minaur, much to the disappointment of the Serbian fans.

Sixth seed Djokovic lifted their spirits, though, as the 38-year-old wrestled Mackenzie McDonald into submission with a dominant 6-3 6-3 6-3 win on the same court where he captured singles gold at the Paris Olympics last year.

“It’s great to return here a year later. I don’t know how many Grand Slams I have left but this is special,” he said.

“I feel good and here even better because I can relive the Olympics. Today it was a solid match throughout all three sets.

“I know I can play at a better level than today but I’m satisfied. There’s the chance to make further history and that is the biggest motivation to work, improve and be here.”

It was the end of the road for Bulgarian veteran Grigor Dimitrov after the 16th seed pulled up with a left thigh injury during his match against Ethan Quinn to exit a fourth straight Grand Slam due to retirement.

In the women’s draw, former runner-up Sofia Kenin advanced to the second round after a 6-3 6-1 win over French number one Varvara Gracheva while Hailey Baptiste beat 2023 semi-finalist Beatriz Haddad Maia 4-6 6-3 6-1.

Former world number one Victoria Azarenka became the oldest woman in the professional era since 1968 to win a singles Grand Slam main-draw match with a 6-0 6-0 scoreline, after the 35-year-old dished out a double bagel to Yanina Wickmayer.

Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, breezed past Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-4 6-4 while sixth seed Mirra Andreeva beat Cristina Bucsa 6-4 6-3 to underline her title credentials after a run to last year’s semi-finals.

Andreeva’s idol Ons Jabeur suffered a shock first round defeat by Magdalena Frech on Court Simonne Mathieu, as the twice quarter-finalist went down 7-6(4) 6-0.

-Reuters

May 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Members agree on 2025 chairpersons for subsidiary bodies of Goods Council

Source: World Trade Organization

Committee on Agriculture

Mr Diego ALFIERI (Brazil)

Committee on Anti-dumping Practices

Mr Hirokazu WATANABE (Japan)

Committee on Customs Valuation

Ms Judith Yu-ying KUO (Chinese Taipei)

Committee on Import Licensing

Mr Tiago SERRAS RODRIGUES (Portugal)

Committee on Market Access

Mr Ninad DESHPANDE (India)

Committee on Rules of Origin

Ms Carol TSANG (Hong Kong, China)

Committee on Safeguards

Mrs Milagros MIRANDA ROJAS (Peru)

Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures

Mrs Maria COSME (France)

Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures

Mr Jungsoo HUR (Korea, Republic of)

Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade

Ms Beatriz STEVENS (United Kingdom)

Committee on Trade Facilitation

Mr Edem KOSSI (Togo)

Committee on Trade-Related Investment Measures

Ms Maryam Abdulaziz ALDOSERI
(Kingdom of Bahrain)

Committee of Participants on the Expansion of Trade in Information Technology Products

Mr George Andrei RUSU (Romania)

Working Party on State Trading Enterprises

Mr Sokheng KONG (Cambodia)

MIL OSI Economics –

May 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Urgent action needed to stop the spread of radical Islam in the EU – P-002042/2025
Source: European Parliament
Priority question for written answer P-002042/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Anna Maria Cisint (PfE)

On 21 May, Le Figaro published a report on a study commissioned by three French Government ministries which highlights a terrifying truth that can no longer be ignored: radical Islam is spreading like wildfire throughout Europe, the result of an elaborate, predetermined plan which makes use of religious dissimulation, one of the main tenets of Islamic fundamentalism.

Widely adopted (including by the EU) and favoured by a number of parties, open-door policies have failed miserably, and do not comprehend that we have values and roots which we must defend, and that fundamentalist conspiracies of any kind cannot be allowed to supplant them. This is the biggest challenge of the future, one that institutions must take seriously, especially at the EU level.

We must put a stop to the widespread dissemination of a worldview that is based on principles that are diametrically opposed to western law and values. Organisations like the Muslim Brotherhood preach violence and anti-Semitism, indoctrinate children and are potentially being funded by terrorist organisations: they are the internal enemy that we must fight if our centuries-old culture is to survive.

In the light of the above:

1.Was the Commission aware of the French Government report’s findings? What measures will the Commission implement to tackle the spread of radical Islam?

2.Will the Commission, as a precautionary measure, suspend all forms of funding for initiatives aimed at spreading the Islamic faith?

Submitted: 21.5.2025
Last updated: 27 May 2025
MIL OSI Europe News –
May 28, 2025