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Category: housing

  • MIL-OSI China: Lenovo launches tech summit featuring latest AI innovations

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Lenovo launched its annual tech summit in Seattle, the U.S. state of Washington, on Tuesday, featuring the latest innovations, devices and solutions in artificial intelligence (AI).

    Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang introduced the company’s innovations and strategies in pursuit of “Smarter AI for all” at the summit, titled “Lenovo Tech World 24.”

    He showcased the technologies making “hybrid AI” a reality for everyone, and everywhere — at home, at work, and on the move.

    “AI is already improving the quality of life for individuals, delivering higher productivity for enterprises, and protecting a more sustainable planet,” Yang said.

    “This is a time of massive productivity gains on the horizon, a time of fundamental paradigm shifts in our industry, and a time to reimagine the future — for AI to work not only in the cloud, but also at our fingertips, and within our own organizations,” he noted.

    Yang defined that future trend as “hybrid AI,” which features private AI — including personal AI and enterprise AI — coexisting with public AI, complementing each other to deliver enhanced outcome for different customer needs.

    Lenovo unveiled a range of new hardware and software solutions designed to help customers more rapidly achieve outcomes from AI, including AI for Good projects, hybrid AI to empower both individuals and enterprises, and ways to fast-track and deploy generative AI.

    The company also discussed its ongoing investment and collaboration with partners to deliver the most advanced and comprehensive AI-ready, AI-enabled, and AI-optimized AI devices, infrastructure, solutions, and services for customers.

    A new AI-powered communication technology was debuted at the summit by Lenovo and the Scott-Morgan Foundation (SMF), a non-profit pioneering innovative assistive tech.

    The new, scalable tech suite combines predictive AI, hyper-realistic avatars, personalized voices, and eye-gaze tracking to help people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other severe disabilities.

    The tech innovation could provide fast, accurate, and personal communication, revealing new possibilities for applying generative AI to accessibility challenges.

    With the technology, people diagnosed with ALS could tell stories and sing songs to others in their own voice, according to a video shown at the tech summit.

    “This is Smarter AI for All: applying transformative technologies to the most pressing human challenges,” said Linda Yao, vice president of AI Solutions and Services at Lenovo.

    Global tech leaders, including Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Lisa Su, highlighted their partnerships with Lenovo, and shared how tech giants are leveraging AI to create a more connected, more accessible, and more sustainable world.

    “AI is truly the most important technology that I’ve seen in my career. And the most amazing part about it is we’re still in the very early days, but what we see is the pace of innovation mission moving faster than anything we’ve ever seen,” Su said at the summit.

    “I view this as an opportunity for us to really bring AI to solve the world’s most important and challenges,” she noted.

    Su hailed AMD-Lenovo partnership in end-to-end AI as well as promoting data center ecosystem.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Interview with Steve Martin, Ballarat Breakfast, ABC Radio

    Source: Australian Treasurer

    STEVE MARTIN:

    It’s not often that I get to talk to the federal Treasurer, and it’s almost never that the federal Treasurer is sitting across from me in the studio. Jim Chalmers, good morning.

    JIM CHALMERS:

    Thanks for having me on your show, Steve.

    MARTIN:

    Why are you here?

    CHALMERS:

    I’m here because Catherine King invited me, and I go where Catherine King tells me to go. She’s a wonderful local member and Cabinet colleague. But more seriously, I wanted to be here to engage with some of the business leaders but also to spend some time at Ballarat High, which I’ll be doing later on this morning.

    But what we try and do as Cabinet Ministers is make sure that we govern for the whole place, and that means spending time in the wonderful regions of this country, including this beautiful region of yours in Ballarat and the South West.

    MARTIN:

    All right. What are you doing at Ballarat High School?

    CHALMERS:

    I’m going to speak to some of the students about the economy. This is one of the most enjoyable things I get to do as Treasurer. I’ve done a lot of it lately actually, because I like the sense that there’s a lot of intergenerational interest in what’s happening in the world. The world’s a difficult place right now. We’ve got a lot of important decisions to make about the future of our own country in that context, and I find knocking around with young people and taking some really often difficult, always smart, intelligent, well‑motivated questions is a really good thing to do when you’re in communities like this one.

    MARTIN:

    Okay. I want to stick with students at the moment, Jim Chalmers. What do they ask you? What do young people want to know about the economy, and are they, broadly speaking, engaged in that sort of part of the political debate?

    CHALMERS:

    More than they get credit for as a generation. People are incredibly engaged at that level. The main questions I get is what’s happening in the world – Russia, Ukraine, the Middle East – what’s happening closer to home in our own region – China and the US – so a lot of really top shelf questions about what’s happening in the world and where we fit.

    But from an economic point of view, like a lot of Australians, they want to know how are we going to get on top of these cost‑of‑living challenges that people are confronting right around the country, every generation, and in particular, housing. They are a big motivation for the tens of billions of dollars that we’re investing as a government in building more homes so that they can find it easier to find somewhere to rent or buy when the time comes.

    MARTIN:

    Is it right that you’re also going to be having a look at some of the properties involved in the First Home Guarantee while you’re in Ballarat? Is that part of your visit?

    CHALMERS:

    That was in prospect, but not on this occasion. I’m looking forward to doing that, but not on this occasion.

    MARTIN:

    Okay. Cost of living does come up endlessly at the moment because things are tough. Do you think that you have made a difference?

    CHALMERS:

    Definitely –

    MARTIN:

    – in what way –

    CHALMERS:

    – but in saying that, I don’t pretend that the fight against inflation is over. I know that people are still doing it tough even at the same time as inflation by some measures has more than halved since we came to office. But I do understand that for people who are under the pump, they don’t want to be told necessarily that everything is fine when it’s not.

    People are still doing it tough. That’s why the tax cuts are so important, the energy bill relief, cheaper early childhood education, cheaper medicines, rent assistance, getting wages moving again. Really our highest priority as a government has been to try and provide that cost‑of‑living help in the most substantial and meaningful way that we can, but also in the most responsible way that we can, which means doing that as well as, not instead of, delivering those couple of surpluses that we’ve been able to deliver at the same time.

    MARTIN:

    I wonder, with the surplus, I recall when that was announced, and generally that would be considered to be good news politically, but to quote Twitter –

    CHALMERS:

    That’s a dangerous practice, Steve.

    MARTIN:

    I know. I realise that, but the most common response it seems on Twitter is, ‘You can’t eat a surplus.’ So while people think that’s great at one end things are happening, but at the business end for most of us it’s not filtering through.

    CHALMERS:

    I’m really grateful you raised that, because we don’t see a surplus as an end in itself either. The fact that we’ve been able to deliver back‑to‑back surpluses for the first time in almost 2 decades in this country is not an end in itself, it’s how we make room to provide all of that cost‑of‑living relief that I just ran through. It’s how we make sure we avoid paying too much interest on all that debt we inherited from our predecessors.

    Also in the context where the global economy is really uncertain, we want to get the budget in much better nick as a bit of a buffer against that global economic uncertainty, because if things do turn down then we want to have more room to respond if we need to. So those are the reasons for the surplus.

    I say to those people who raise that issue that you’ve raised from social media, but I get it out and about in communities like this one, if we were choosing between a surplus or cost‑of‑living help, I would understand that. But we’ve found a way, because of our responsible economic management, to deliver surpluses and cost‑of‑living help, and we think that’s a good thing.

    MARTIN:

    All right. On the SMS Bea has sent this through. As I say, ‘Morning, Steve. Would you ask Jim Chalmers, please, how can we justify $360 billion on a few submarines and $600 million on a PNG rugby league team but struggle to find money to increase mental health services to adequately address demand?’

    CHALMERS:

    Thank you, Bea, for the question and for listening. I think in every budget you’ve got to find room for all of those things. There is mental health funding, of course, in the Budget. There is national security and defence funding. We are interested in investing in our region, particularly when you’ve got all of this global uncertainty, conflict around the world and economic uncertainty around the world, including closer to home. Some of those investments I know, Bea, can be contentious but we think we’ve broadly struck the right balance – huge investments in health at the same time as we invest in our national defence and national security.

    MARTIN:

    All right. I want to ask you about an item in the news today, Treasurer, and that is a crackdown on subscription traps and hidden fees. What’s happening there? What’s the plan from the government?

    CHALMERS:

    We want to crack down on dodgy deals so that we can save Australians money if we can and where we can. Most businesses do the right thing and they’ve got nothing to worry about, but there are these traps which we’re seeing more and more of, whether it’s making it hard to cancel a subscription, different fees at different stages of a purchase, when the price goes up while you’re actually making the transaction, requiring consumers to provide more information than is necessary to buy something, when it’s hard for you to contact the person or the business that’s selling you a good or a service.

    There are a bunch of dodgy practices that we are worried about and we want to crack down on them and so we are looking to ban unfair trading practices, and that’s the announcement that we’re making today.

    MARTIN:

    Okay. So that is with Australian Consumer Law?

    CHALMERS:

    Absolutely. We’ll do some consultation, as we always do, but look to bed it down at the beginning or the first half of next year. We get a lot of feedback about this, Steve. I’m sure you do as well on your SMS line and out and about. A lot of people, for good reason they do a lot of shopping online or in other ways, and there’s just been these practices which have sprung up which we think go too far. We don’t want people to be taken for mugs. We don’t want to see these dodgy business practices, and so we’re going to crack down on them.

    MARTIN:

    So that will come into effect next year, after the next federal election effectively?

    CHALMERS:

    We’ve said the first half of 2025, and we’ll do it as soon as we can. But what we’d like to do is we want to make sure there are no unintended consequences and the like, and so we’ll do a little bit of consultation, but we’ve said today that we’re going to ban unfair trading practices, and we’ll spend the next month or 2 consulting on the best way to go about it.

    MARTIN:

    Twelve minutes to the next news at 8. We’re talking with federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers. I did say earlier this morning, I had a text from Jamie Vogels, who’s a Corangamite Shire Councillor, and this is in relation to the transition of dairy country to blue gum timber land and the practices of the Foreign Investment Review Board when they look at this.

    Now, Jamie Vogels’ question to you directly, Treasurer, is: why aren’t we allowed to know the conditions placed by the Foreign Investment Review Board on the $200 million foreign investment by Munich RE into blue gum plantations that’s replacing that dairy country in Simpson and the Heytesbury? It’s causing economic and job losses, from Jamie Vogels. So why can’t a community know what the Foreign Investment Review Board has and does look at, or is that information publicly available? Because that group sounds like they can’t find out why the decision was made to allow this to happen?

    CHALMERS:

    First of all, thanks to Councillor Vogels for raising it. I know this is an issue, and in that very important part of our national economy there’s a lot of economic opportunity. The dairy industry is important to us and the timber industry is important to us as well, and we’ve got to strike the right balance.

    When it comes to the Foreign Investment Review Board process, we try and be as transparent as we can about the process. But often the fine details for – whether it’s commercial in confidence or other kinds of reasons – often those are kept confidential. So I’ll have another look at that case, I’m confident that we would have provided all of the information that we can. I’m not anticipating that we can provide additional information, but if we can after I have another look, then I’ll do that.

    MARTIN:

    The community concern, though, Treasurer, is that you’ve got prime agricultural land, not just for dairy; it could be used for other things. You have farm workers, you have houses, you have all sorts of activity going on. And when the trees come in, as much as they are needed, in this sort of land where smaller holdings are more common, you’re losing a community because the trees go in and there’s not nearly as many people moving around. Is that social effect on an area looked at by the FIRB?

    CHALMERS:

    It looks at the broader national interest and to be up front with you, typically the focus is more on, national security concerns or concerns around concentration or concerns about one company or another dominating a certain market, and so there are a range of considerations, including the ones that you raise. But primarily, typically, the advice that comes to me, including in this case, the Department of Agriculture was consulted and didn’t raise any issues with this particular transaction, we cast a pretty broad net, but typically the advice is more about managing risks in areas like critical minerals, critical infrastructure, critical data.

    MARTIN:

    Just finally on this, the member for Wannon did ask for a moratorium on additional land being purchased for expansion of the timber industry until some of the concerns raised in the petition he tabled are addressed. Will you consider that, or is the government even looking at that for a moment?

    CHALMERS:

    I think the Agriculture Minister, Julie Collins, is a wonderful colleague of ours. She looks at these sorts of issues all of the time. We know that there are contentious issues in farming communities and we know as our economy changes and demand for different goods change over time that often difficult issues like this pop up. So Julie Collins, being the diligent minister that she is, would have these sorts of considerations in front of her from time to time.

    MARTIN:

    All right. Just on other more general things, I notice that a number of banks are factoring in a rate cut for December. What’s your take on that?

    CHALMERS:

    I try not to pre‑empt decisions taken independently by the independent Reserve Bank. Treasurers of both political persuasions don’t get into the guessing game about future movements in rates.

    My job is to focus on being helpful in the fight against inflation and we have been. Australia’s made really quite considerable progress when it comes to getting on top of the inflation challenge in our economy, less than half what we inherited on the monthly gauge and that’s a good thing.

    But the Reserve Bank will weigh that up, they’ll weigh up what’s happening in the labour market, what’s happening around the world, and they’ll come to a decision independently in due course.

    MARTIN:

    In Queensland, right. I do wonder, just finally, Treasurer, we’ve been through 30‑odd years of pretty good economic times. It started with Hawke and Keating, continued with Howard and Costello, and then, I guess, governments that have followed haven’t been able or as willing to do as much as those 2 governments did all those years ago. That set us up pretty well. There are older people who say we are back to normal, that the current settings we have are more normal. The long‑term interest rate is 7.4 per cent over – I looked this up yesterday, between ’69 and 2004, that’s the long‑term average interest rate in Australia. So has the community got their expectations too high?

    CHALMERS:

    I wouldn’t say that. I wouldn’t blame the community for that. If you think about that longer sweep of history, yes, Hawke and Keating did a remarkable job setting this place up for 3 decades of economic expansion, absolutely outstanding contribution, history‑making contribution.

    If you think about really since the global financial crisis, we’ve had about 15 years of economic upheaval. The global financial crisis in ’08–09, obviously we had COVID, the war in Ukraine sent supply chains basically haywire around the world, and so we’ve had these 3 shocks in 15 years. And so governments of both persuasions, including this one, have been doing their best to manage the here and now – in our case inflation – at the same time as we invest in the future and that’s why our Future Made in Australia agenda, our housing agenda, energy transformation, skills and human capital are so important.

    But what we need to do and what we are doing is working out what does the next generation of prosperity look like. And it won’t be the same as the one that Bob and Paul set up so skilfully in the 1980s. It’s possible to admire their contribution and recognise ours will be different.

    For us the big thing that we’ll be judged on is nailing this energy transformation. That’s the big economic reform opportunity for our generation. And that’s why we call the 2020s the defining decade in the way that the 1980s were, because the situation calls for a new economy, leveraging all of those traditional strengths that we’ve had and will continue to have into the future, but building new strengths in energy, human capital, technology, services and the like.

    MARTIN:

    All right. I was going to let you go, but since you’ve mentioned the energy transformation, one last quick topic: what do you say to communities in this part of the world that are bearing the brunt of that energy transformation, with transmission lines, with wind farms, with very large‑scale change over a very short period of time to communities that are feeling completely and utterly overwhelmed by circumstances beyond their control?

    CHALMERS:

    We are listening to you. We know that the best version of this energy transformation, which is the opportunity of a lifetime for Australia, including for the regions, requires us to take communities along with us. We understand that.

    MARTIN:

    Well, you’re failing at that, because they’re not coming along with those that are pushing this through.

    CHALMERS:

    We can always do better. And even in the most recent Budget I funded, I think $20 million from memory, for better consultation with local communities because we see this as an opportunity for local communities, including regional communities. We need to make sure that we are listening and bringing people along with us. If we can do a better job of that, we will.

    MARTIN:

    Jim Chalmers, thanks for your time.

    CHALMERS:

    Thanks so much, Steve.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE’s speech in delivering “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address” to LegCo (10)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    (C) Take Forward the Construction of Transport InfrastructurePromote Major Transport Infrastructure Development183. The Government is actively following through the Major Transport Infrastructure Development Blueprint for Hong Kong, under which the Hung Shui Kiu Station and the NOL Main Line are to commence construction this year and next year for tentative completion in 2030 and 2034 respectively. In parallel, cross‑boundary railway projects are pressed ahead at full speed, including the Hong Kong‑Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu‑Qianhai) and the NOL Spur Line, to enhance linkage between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.Build Smart and Green Mass Transit Systems184. Devoted to take forward the three smart and green mass transit systems, and for compressing the time required for construction, we invited suppliers and operators to submit expressions of interest for the East Kowloon and Kai Tak projects this August.  We will invite expressions of interest for the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen projects later this year. Through innovative implementation mode and construction methods, we aim to complete the Kai Tak project three years ahead of the original target completion date.(D) Deepen Reform of the Healthcare System185. To enhance the health of the people of Hong Kong, improve healthcare protection and quality, and capitalise on our healthcare professions’ strengths, the Government will conduct a comprehensive review on the positioning and objectives of the healthcare system. The review will cover the following areas: reforming the functions and division of work among the Hospital Authority (HA), the Department of Health (DH) and the Primary Healthcare Commission (PHC Commission), strengthening health promotion and disease prevention in primary healthcare, and improving public healthcare services. In parallel, we will reform private healthcare services in terms of their quality, cost‑effectiveness and price transparency, providing the public with high quality, cost‑effective and affordable healthcare service options. We will also support manpower training and technology innovation, helping to uphold the global standing and regional advantage of Hong Kong’s healthcare professions. This will also be conducive to the development of Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub, an advanced medical service centre in Asia, a place where medical professionals cluster, as well as a bridge for East‑and‑West healthcare exchanges.Advance Primary Healthcare Development186. The Government will promote the development of primary healthcare on all fronts, including:(i) formulating legislation to strengthen the regulatory framework of primary healthcare and authorise the PHC Commission to set up quality assurance and monitoring mechanisms;(ii) developing a community drug formulary and launching a community pharmacy programme to help the public obtain affordable, primary‑healthcare drugs through central purchasing and the community network;(iii) devising health promotion strategies by adopting a life‑course framework to formulate health management plans for the public according to age and health conditions;(iv) revamping maternal and child health and family‑planning services to strengthen pre‑pregnancy counselling and parental education and promote healthy fertility;(v) strengthening the Whole School Health Programme to recommend targeted school‑based measures for physical activities, meals and other matters for each school to improve students’ physical and psychological well‑being;(vi) upgrading more District Health Centre Expresses into District Health Centres (DHCs), and expanding the service network, and integrating the services of Woman Health Centres and Elderly Health Centres;(vii) expanding the Chronic Disease Co‑Care Pilot Scheme to cover blood lipid testing; positioning the HA’s general out‑patient services as the comprehensive, primary healthcare service providers for the underprivileged;(viii) formulating risk‑based screening programmes for prevalent cancers on a gradual basis, including breast cancer screening, exploring the use of AI to assist lung cancer screening, and implementing hepatitis B screening to prevent liver cancer;(ix) launching a Primary Dental Co‑Care Pilot Scheme for Adolescents to encourage the prevention of dental diseases, as well as a Community Dental Support Programme to enhance dental services for underprivileged groups. This would include elderly persons in financial hardship, replacing the Community Care Fund Elderly Dental Assistance Programme, and introducing preventive dental services for pre‑school children; and(x) continuing efforts in tobacco control.Enhance Public and Private Healthcare Services187. The Government will strengthen the HA’s public healthcare services, including:(i) reviewing the structure and levels of the HA’s fees and charges to encourage prudent use of services and direct resources to patients who need them most and for those with serious or critical conditions, while increasing support for patients with financial difficulties and strengthening the financial sustainability of the targeted subsidisation of public healthcare services;(ii) strengthening the centralised procurement of drugs and medical devices by various clusters of the HA system in order to enhance their bargaining power and to expedite, in a more proactive manner, the introduction of new drugs, meeting efficacy and cost‑effectiveness standards to the Drug Formulary;(iii) formulating a directory for inherited and rare diseases by using the Hong Kong Genome Institute’s genomic data, thereby facilitating early diagnosis and treatment by clinical teams, while supporting relevant research and clinical trials to promote precision medicine;(iv) fully integrating the paediatric services of various clusters at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital and developing more advanced healthcare services to make the best use of the Children’s Hospital;(v) finalising the projects and timetable of the Second Hospital Development Plan to dovetail with the development of the Northern Metropolis and to address the needs of local districts;(vi) setting up, in accordance with national accreditation standards, the first stroke centre and the second chest pain centre;(vii) enhancing the triage system and referral arrangements for specialist out‑patient services, including setting up inter‑specialty, integrated, out‑patient clinics to avoid the need for multiple referrals; and(viii) increasing the service capacity for cataract surgeries by at least 20%.188. The Government will also enhance the quality and efficiency of healthcare services, including:(i) establishing a professional platform for developing evidence‑based clinical protocols and exploring the feasibility of devising service quality and efficiency standards for public and private healthcare sectors;(ii) developing quality indicators for public and private healthcare systems and exploring legislating for private healthcare price transparency to enhance service efficiency and address the issue of medical inflation, with the plan to consult the healthcare sector next year; and(iii) amending relevant legislation to require all healthcare providers to deposit essential health data in the personal eHealth accounts of members of the public, enabling the latter to have more complete electronic health records and enhance continuity of medical care.Bring in More Healthcare Professionals189. We will promote the use of the legislation passed earlier to proactively admit more non‑local doctors, nurses and dentists to enhance manpower. The Government will introduce a bill on the admission of qualified non‑locally trained supplementary medical professionals next year.Support Establishment of a Third Medical School190. In addition to increasing training places of the existing two medical schools, the Government supports the plan, by local universities, to establish a third medical school, increasing the number of doctors and supporting the city’s development as an international health‑ and medical‑innovation hub. A task group will be set up, inviting universities interested in establishing the new medical school to submit proposals. The Government will set aside sites in the Northern Metropolis Ngau Tam Mei to develop the new medical school campus and build an integrated medical teaching and research hospital.Promote Development of Chinese Medicine191. To develop Hong Kong into a bridgehead for the internationalisation of Chinese medicine (CM), the Government will make use of Hong Kong’s advantages in its healthcare system, regulatory regime, standard‑setting, clinical research and trade, and other areas. We will publish the CM Development Blueprint next year, and take forward the following measures:(i) exploring the application of big data to foster international research collaboration on herb‑drug interaction to discover more evidence of clinical significance, promoting the internationalisation of CM;(ii) expanding integrated Chinese‑Western medicine services to cover more diseases in which CM has an advantage, including respiratory diseases and knee osteoarthritis, and to progressively extend the cancer care programme to all hospital clusters;(iii) rolling out the first Chinese Medicine Hospital and the permanent premises of the Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute, which are expected to be completed and begin phased operation next year; and(iv) organising the first edition of the Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Cultural Festival to promote the culture of CM in collaboration with the industry.Promote Mental Health192. The Government will extend integrated services based on a medical‑educational‑social collaboration model to promote mental health. Relevant measures include:(i) formulating a stepped care model for mental health – We will develop a multi‑disciplinary framework with tiers, from dealing with general emotional problems in the frontline to handling cases requiring follow‑up and more serious mental illnesses cases.  The framework sets out the roles of different professionals (such as teaching staff, social workers and healthcare workers) and their division of work in the provision of mental health services for cases in each tier, enabling them to work together and perform their respective roles smoothly;(ii) raising community awareness of mental health – An annual promotional theme will be set for the Mental Health Workplace Charter, and recognition will be given to participating organisations for achieving targets. We will also promote the 4Rs Mental Health Charter in schools to promote the mental health of students, teaching staff and parents in a more holistic manner;(iii) enhancing support for children and adolescents – We will extend and enhance the Three‑Tier School‑based Emergency Mechanism, and launch the “Mental Health Literacy” resource packages for senior secondary and lower primary levels. A real‑time, online youth‑emotional‑support platform will be set up in the second quarter of next year;(iv) facilitating the integration of persons in mental recovery into the community – We will set up Transitional Support Service Teams for Persons in Mental Recovery, offering support to discharged patients waitlisted for halfway house service. The Social Welfare Department (SWD) will also set up an additional Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness; and(v) strengthening teacher training and parent education – We will strengthen teachers’ capacity in the early identification of, and support for, students with mental health needs, and assist parents in acquiring the knowledge and skills in addressing children’s mental health.(E) Build a Caring and Inclusive Society193. I attach great importance to building a harmonious and stable community, one that is caring and inclusive, providing targeted assistance to the underprivileged and families in need. Social welfare tops public expenditures of all policy portfolios, with more than $300 million spent on social welfare each day. This underlines the Government’s emphasis on social welfare.Targeted Poverty Alleviation194. The Government has adopted the strategy of targeted poverty alleviation by directing resources to those most in need. This approach is well‑received by the community. We will focus on the following key areas:(i) expanding the Strive and Rise Programme – We will launch the third cohort of the programme this year to recruit 4 000 mentees. We will also encourage youth leaders of the Alumni Club to organise activities for self‑development, enhance training for mentors and related initiatives;(ii) extending the Pilot Programme on Community Living Room (CLR) – We will set up three additional CLRs next year in areas clustered with SDUs. They are expected to benefit about 1 300 target households, serving about 200 000 attendances a year.  Including the four CLRs already launched, they are expected to serve about 3 050 SDU households, drawing about 470 000 attendances a year;(iii) enhancing the School‑based After‑School Care Service Scheme – Beginning this school year, the number of primary schools covered by the Scheme will increase from 50 to over 110, enabling students in need to stay at school outside school hours for care and learning support, allowing their parents to take up jobs. Subject to actual utilisation and outcome of the scheme, we plan to encourage more schools to participate in the scheme, without capping the number of places, in the 2025/26 school year; and(iv) subsidising elderly recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) to reside in residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) in the Guangdong Province – We will launch a three‑year pilot scheme next year to subsidise elderly CSSA recipients retiring in Guangdong to reside in designated RCHEs in the Guangdong Province. Each eligible elderly person will receive a monthly subsidy of $5,000, subject to a quota of 1 000.Care for the Elderly195. The Government attaches great importance to caring for the elderly in need and has been constantly strengthening elderly services.  The total number of vouchers under the Residential Care Service Voucher Scheme for the Elderly will be increased by 20% to 6 000, allowing more frail elderly persons to be admitted to RCHEs of their choice and receive subsidised care services without waiting.196. We will enhance the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong to provide more choices and support for elderly persons who opt to stay in RCHEs in the province. Relevant measures include:(i) increasing the number of participating RCHEs from the existing 4 to 11 in November 2024;(ii) sharing part of the elderly participants’ medical expenses in Guangdong; and(iii) engaging organisations to provide care services for participating elderly persons to help them adapt to living in Guangdong.197. We are providing, through the Special Scheme to Import Care Workers for RCHs, additional manpower support for local residential care homes (RCHs) and enhancing their staff quality. We are also conducting a holistic review of the skill and qualification requirements of RCH staff providing health and rehabilitation services, including the creation of promotion ranks for incumbent health workers and the relaxation of the academic qualification for the Certificate in Progression Training for Care Workers programme. The review is expected to be completed by the end of this year.198. The Government is also discussing with the banking sector possible ways to enable Hong Kong elderly persons retiring in Guangdong and Fujian Provinces to receive portable cash assistance from the Government more conveniently through banks.Support Carers199. The Government is committed to supporting carers. In addition to providing carers’ allowance, respite services, a one‑stop information gateway and the 24‑hour Designated Hotline for Carer Support 182 183, we launched the District Services and Community Care Teams – Pilot Scheme on Supporting Elderly and Carers in Tsuen Wan and Southern District this March. Trained by the SWD, Care Teams of the two districts identify and reach out to households in need, and provide support to the elderly and carers who seek help from the Designated Hotline. The scheme has achieved good results. In the past six months, the Care Teams visited 4 700 families and referred about 900 cases to social welfare organisations for follow‑up. Next year, we will extend the scheme to across the territory, supporting elderly persons and carers in all 18 districts.200. We will also explore the setting up of an inter‑disciplinary and inter‑organisation database. It will cover carers of elderly persons and carers of persons with disabilities (PWDs) and the use of identification tools designed by university teams for the detection of high‑risk cases and early intervention and support.Strengthen Support for Persons with Disabilities201. We will further enhance the rehabilitation services for PWDs, including:(i) establishing 14 Integrated Community Rehabilitation Centres across the city with the provision of 1 280 additional service places, to support PWDs based on their individual needs and rehabilitation progress through an integrated, case‑management approach;(ii) creating 90 additional peer‑support posts to enhance peer assistance for PWDs and their carers;(iii) setting up an additional District Support Centre for PWDs in New Territories East; and(iv) providing about 1 040 additional places for day, residential and pre‑school rehabilitation services, and exploring the establishment of Special Child Care Centres on vacant kindergarten premises.202. To encourage and support PWDs to engage in employment, the Government will introduce the “Caring Employer” medal, commending employers who actively engage PWDs; promote the establishment of more social enterprises engaging PWDs; and enhance the services and training models of sheltered workshops and integrated vocational rehabilitation services centres, building a better vocational rehabilitation and training ladder for PWDs.Promote Women’s Development203. There are many women in Hong Kong playing leading roles. To promote women’s workplace development, we will establish a network run by leading women from all walks of life and launch a mentorship programme “She Inspires”. Under the programme, female university students will be paired with mentors from the senior management of different sectors.Support Working Parents204. To support working parents, I announced the setting up of 10 aided, standalone, child care centres last year. The Government will set up one more child care centre providing 100 additional places for day child care services. Service places under the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project will be increased by 25%, to 2 500, with the estimated number of beneficiaries increasing to 25 000.Protect Children205. The LegCo has enacted the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance to require professionals in the social welfare, education and healthcare sectors to report serious child‑abuse cases. To strengthen parental education, the SWD will launch a pilot scheme to set up four Community Parents and Children Centres to promote parent‑child interaction and pass on positive‑parenting skills to parents through play‑based services, supporting families in need.Provide Support for Ethnic Minorities206. To help ethnic minorities (EMs) better integrate into the community, I announced the setting up of two additional support‑service centres for EMs last year, which will begin operation by the end of this year. The Government will engage one more support service centre to provide interpretation and translation services for EMs next year, reducing language barrier concerns. The EDB will strengthen Chinese learning support and parental assistance for non‑Chinese speaking (NCS) students (including EM students), providing after‑school Chinese‑language courses, enhancing the Online Chinese Language Self‑learning Resources and organising cross‑school, teacher‑learning communities. The EDB will also provide parental education activities for the parents of NCS children.Care Teams207. Care Teams are the Government’s key service teams under the improved district governance structure. Fully launched across the city last year, all 452 Care Teams have been working diligently and providing a wide range of caring and support services for the community. To date, they have visited about 230 000 elderly households and other households in need, and provided over 22 000 counts of simple household care or other support services. Their service have been well‑received by the public. The Government will regularise the funding provision for Care Teams and increase funding by 50% in the next term of service in support of their work.(To be continued.)

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE’s speech in delivering “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address” to LegCo (9)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    VIII. Improve People’s Livelihood in Pursuit of Happiness (A) Housing: Continuously Enhance Speed, Quantity, Quality and EfficiencyIncrease Public Housing Supply157. Housing is an issue of great public concern. Despite the relatively slow pace of creating land for housing development in the past, the problem of back‑loaded public housing supply has started to turn around through the unremitting efforts of the Government. While we have identified land for providing sufficient public housing units to meet the long‑term demand and enhanced the speed as well as efficiency of housing development, land creation and housing construction take time. To bridge the short‑term supply gaps in these few years, I announced in 2022 the introduction of the innovative LPH with the provision of 30 000 units, in order to reduce the Composite Waiting Time for Subsidised Rental Housing (CWT).158. This measure has been bearing fruit. Coupled with LPH, the total public housing supply in the coming five years (2025‑26 to 2029‑30) will reach 189 000 units, which is about 80% higher than that of the first five‑year period since the current‑term Government took office (2022‑23 to 2026‑27). In the past two years, the average waiting time for PRH dropped by half a year, from the peak of 6.1 years to the current 5.5 years. Following the gradual completion of LPH next year, the CWT could be shortened by one and a half years to 4.5 years in 2026‑27.159. I am eager to house PRH applicants as early as possible. The Advance Allocation Scheme I proposed when I took office has so far helped more than 2 000 families move in their flats five to nine months in advance, saving nearly $50 million of rental expenditure on the part of the beneficiaries. By 2027‑28, about 10 000 additional units will be completed, enabling PRH applicants to move in earlier than originally anticipated.160. In addition, the first batch of some 2 100 LPH units, located on Yau Pok Road, Yuen Long, will be completed for intake in the first quarter of next year. We expect to complete a total of about 9 500 units next year, moving towards the target of completing about 30 000 units by 2027‑28.Devise a System on the Renting of Subdivided Units in Residential Buildings to Tackle the Issue161. The Task Force on Tackling the Issue of SDUs has already submitted a report. The Government has decided to put in place, through legislation, a system on the renting of SDUs in residential buildings. SDUs meeting the required standards will be named as Basic Housing Units.162. Current SDUs differ significantly in their conditions regarding fire safety, ventilation, floor area, availability of individual kitchens and toilets and whether they are separated or combined, among others. As such, it is necessary to set minimum standards to eradicate inadequate SDUs. At present, there are some 110 000 households living in SDUs, indicating a genuine demand for these units. As the aggregate rent received from several units subdivided from a single flat is much higher than the rent of one whole flat without subdivision, it gives owners a strong financial incentive to operate rental SDUs. Under appropriate regulation, the market demand for SDUs will be satisfied by Basic Housing Units that meet the required standards.163. Substandard SDUs in residential buildings must be converted into Basic Housing Units that meet the required standards. Upon conversion, these units must be confirmed by professionals their compliance with the required standards and apply for recognition. Otherwise, there would be criminal liability on the part of owners to rent out substandard SDUs, while the tenants concerned will not be held liable. We will allow time for owners of existing SDUs in residential buildings to carry out the necessary works.  A grace period will be prescribed by law, during which enforcement actions will not be taken against the illegal renting of substandard SDUs. To this end, the Government will set up a registration system, enabling registered owners to be entitled to the grace period. The registration system only accepts applications from owners of pre‑existing SDUs in residential buildings under rental. New SDUs entering the market must apply for recognition as up‑to‑standard Basic Housing Units before renting out, hence no grace period is needed for their conversion. Given that only new SDUs recognised as up‑to‑standard Basic Housing Units are allowed to be rented out, and that pre‑existing registered SDUs must be converted into Basic Housing Units in conformity with the required standards or they will face orderly eradication if the owners concerned continue to rent out substandard SDUs illegally after the grace period, the number of substandard SDUs in residential buildings will gradually go down to zero.164. The Government will allow an adequate grace period for pre‑existing SDU owners and households to make necessary arrangements, and handle SDUs in residential buildings by batches in an orderly manner having regard to the market supply of Basic Housing Units and taking into consideration the supply of and policy on public housing. The Secretary for Housing will be empowered by law to decide, upon expiry of the grace period, when to take enforcement actions against substandard SDUs by batches in an orderly manner in light of actual circumstances.165. The Government proposes that the standards of “Basic Housing Units” should include the provision of windows, an individual toilet, a floor area of no less than 8 square metres, etc. The Deputy Financial Secretary and the Secretary for Housing, being the head and deputy head of the Task Force respectively, will announce the details and seek the views of the LegCo and stakeholders for drawing up the legislative proposals and related measures, such as the timetable for registration.Enhance the Housing Ladder166. The HKHA will further enhance the housing ladder in addressing the aspiration of the public for home ownership, including:(i) adjusting the ratio between PRH (including Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH) units) and subsidised sale flats (SSF) – The HKHA is reviewing public housing projects to be completed in the middle or near the end of the next decade, with an aim to gradually adjust the ratio between PRH and SSF from the current 7:3 to 6:4;(ii) increasing the chance of applicants who have made repeated attempts to purchase SSF – Starting from the next GSH and HOS sale exercises, an extra ballot number will be allocated to applicants who failed to purchase an SSF in the last two consecutive sale exercises of the same type of SSF; and(iii) expediting the circulation of PRH units – The HKHA will tighten up the Well‑off Tenants Policies by raising the additional rent and lowering the income limits for well‑off tenants, so that public resources are appropriately allocated to applicants in need. Meanwhile, the ratio between Green Form and White Form in respect of HOS flats will be revised from 4:6 to 5:5 to encourage more PRH tenants to buy HOS flats.Combat Public Rental Housing Tenancy Abuse167. In recent years, the HKHA has been strengthening its efforts to combat PRH tenancy abuse. The number of PRH flats recovered by the HKHA due to tenancy abuse and breach of tenancy agreement or housing policies over the last two years adds up to 5 000, equivalent to building a medium‑sized housing estate. The results are prominent. The HKHA will launch the “Cherish Public Housing Resources Award Scheme” in January next year to offer rewards to persons who provide concrete intelligence that leads to identification of substantiated tenancy abuse of PRH.Take Forward Public Rental Housing Redevelopment168. The HKHA is proceeding with 11 redevelopment projects. We will announce the findings and details of the study on the redevelopment of Choi Hung Estate later this year, and release the redevelopment plans for Sai Wan Estate and Ma Tau Wai Estate next year.Stabilise the Supply of Spade-ready Sites for Private Housing169. According to the Long Term Housing Strategy, the supply target for private housing in the coming decade is projected to be 132 000 units. The Government will make available land over the next five years to provide about 80 000 private housing units.Relax the Maximum Loan-to-Value Ratios of Property Mortgage Loans170. Taking into account the latest economic and financial environment and on the basis that the stability of the banking system is maintained, the HKMA will adjust the maximum loan‑to‑value ratio for residential properties to 70%, regardless of the value of the properties, whether the properties are for self‑use or held by companies, and whether the purchasers are first‑time home buyers, while the maximum debt servicing ratio will be adjusted to 50%. For non‑residential properties, the maximum loan‑to‑value ratio and maximum debt servicing ratio will be adjusted to the respective same levels.Further Improve Building Safety and Building Management171. Through the Building Management Professional Advisory Service Scheme, the Home Affairs Department assisted in the formation of about 100 owners’ corporations in the past two years in nine districts with more “three‑nil” buildings. The scheme has been expanded to cover all districts across the city in mid‑2024, with the contract period extended to three years.172. Next year, the Government will implement a pilot scheme on “joint property management” in selected areas, under which the same property management company will be engaged to provide joint management services for aged building clusters in the vicinity, enabling “three‑nil” and aged buildings to have access to basic property management services at affordable fees.173. To enhance deterrence against failure to comply with notices or orders by required time and against the erection of large‑scale unauthorised building works (UBWs), the Government will put forth proposals to amend the Buildings Ordinance and launch a public consultation later this year. Among other things, we will propose increasing the types of exempted works and minor works under the Buildings Ordinance, so as to handle minor illegal structures of lower risks in a pragmatic manner. The relevant legislative amendment proposals will be introduced in 2026.174. To foster an elderly‑friendly building environment, the Government will put forward a series of proposals on elderly‑friendly building design for phased implementation.(B) Create Land to Build More Housing175. The Government remains determined to sustain efforts in land production. We will assess the situation and take forward various projects in a steady and paced manner. According to the latest forecast, the supply of developable land, i.e. spade‑ready sites, from Government‑led projects will reach about 3 000 hectares in the next decade. The Government will take into account the latest market changes when disposing land, ensuring a stable and healthy development of the market.Cut More Red Tapes and Lower Costs176. The Government is making vigorous efforts in streamlining land development procedures. We have promulgated an internal circular, expressly stating that all approving departments are required to take a facilitating role and strive to streamline the relevant procedures when processing applications. The initiative is well‑received by the industry. We will continue to cut red tapes and streamline procedures. Relevant measures include:(i) leveraging industry resources to enhance speed and efficiency – We will outsource drone inspections of external walls of buildings and UBWs as well as associated analyses, to private companies. We will also engage professionals to handle the vetting work of small‑scale or temporary structures through self‑certification;(ii) reducing construction costs – We will strengthen the role of the Project Strategy and Governance Office under the DEVB to complete a strategic study on construction costs by the end of this year and propose improvement measures such as increasing direct procurement of construction materials and products by the Government, reviewing the building design standards, and facilitating local application of cost‑effective construction materials and technologies from the Mainland and overseas; and(iii) expanding project co‑ordination – We will expand the purview of the Development Projects Facilitation Office under the DEVB to facilitate co‑ordination with departments in expediting the approval of land use and related matters for the development of I&T and other industries in the Northern Metropolis, in addition to vetting of large‑scale private residential and commercial developments.Facilitate R&D and Application of Construction Technologies and Align Hong Kong Standards with Guobiao177. The DEVB established the Building Technology Research Institute (BTRi)  this August. Apart from conducting R&D on innovative materials, construction methods and technologies, the BTRi also devises standards, conducts testing and provides accreditation to spearhead innovation in the industry. A Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) Manufacturer Certification Scheme will also be launched in synergy with production bases in the Mainland, so as to leverage the complementarity of the construction industries in Guangdong and Hong Kong.178. We will also review and enhance Hong Kong’s building standards, which have been in place for many years, through the BTRi by making reference to overseas building standards and Guobiao (GB), with a view to promoting local application of high‑quality and cost‑effective construction materials from the Mainland and overseas. Moreover, when high‑quality GB construction materials and technologies are applied locally, it will also be beneficial for GB to explore international markets. We will also closely liaise with our counterparts in the Guangdong Province to take forward the formulation of the GBA Construction Standards.179. The HKHA will make wider use of MiC 2.0, the second generation MiC approach jointly developed with research institutions, and streamline the on‑site installation procedures to safeguard construction safety. Tender documents will also expressly state the works procedures permissible for the use of construction robotics to enhance site safety and construction efficiency.Commence the Environmental Impact Assessment Process for Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands180. The Government will take forward the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands project in a steady and prudent manner. We will commence the statutory environmental impact assessment (EIA) process for the reclamation works under the project by the end of this year. The target is to complete the relevant approval procedures next year. The related detailed engineering design will commence later this year.Expedite Urban Redevelopment181. The Urban Renewal Authority is conducting planning studies for Tsuen Wan and Sham Shui Po, and will submit renewal master plans in the second half of next year. Meanwhile, the DEVB is examining the use of newly developed land to drive large‑scale urban redevelopment projects, including the cross‑district transfer of plot ratios and the construction of more dedicated rehousing estates, etc. The target is to formulate proposals in the first half of next year.182. To continue encouraging redevelopment and conversion of aged industrial buildings, we will extend an array of measures, which are expiring soon under the revitalisation scheme for industrial buildings, to the end of 2027, continuing to allow an increase in plot ratio of up to 20% for industrial building redevelopment projects.(To be continued.)

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: I&T will drive city’s development: CE

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Delivering his 2024 Policy Address, Chief Executive John Lee said today that Hong Kong must harness new quality productive forces and technological innovation as it seeks to achieve high-quality economic development.

    Mr Lee outlined that in its efforts to become an international centre for innovation and technology (I&T), the city is upgrading and transforming traditional industries, while actively nurturing emerging ones. He vowed that no effort will be spared in developing new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions. 

    Measures announced in Mr Lee’s speech include the drawing up of a development plan for new industrialisation, the setting up of a third InnoHK research cluster, a new round of $1.5 billion in funding under the Research Matching Grant Scheme, a revamping of the Government’s approach to I&T investment, and the launch of an I&T Accelerator Pilot Scheme.

    Besides drawing up a medium to long‑term development plan for new industrialisation, Mr Lee said the Government will also press ahead with the establishment of the Hong Kong New Industrialisation Development Alliance. He explained that this will promote closer collaboration among the Government, industry, academia, and the research and investment sectors, expand financing opportunities, and foster I&T co‑operation between newly‑listed companies and local universities.

    In terms of research and development (R&D), Mr Lee highlighted that preparatory work is underway to establish a third InnoHK research cluster. He mentioned that the existing two such clusters are now home to about 2,500 R&D personnel from Hong Kong and around the world, and iterated that the new cluster will focus on advanced manufacturing, materials, energy and sustainable development. 

    In addition to the new round of funding under the Research Matching Grant Scheme, which encourages organisations to support research endeavours by institutions, Mr Lee pledged that the Government will increase its own investment in I&T industries and guide more market capital to invest in the sector. This will include setting up a $10 billion I&T Industry‑Oriented Fund, a “fund of funds” that will channel market capital to invest in emerging industries of strategic importance, including life and health technology, AI and robotics, semi‑conductors and smart devices, advanced materials, and new energy.

    The Chief Executive added that $1.5 billion from the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund will be redeployed to set up funds that will invest – jointly with the market, on a matching basis – in start‑ups operating in strategic industries. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Investment Corporation will continue to channel and leverage market capital to attract I&T enterprises to establish operations in Hong Kong.

    Announcing plans to allocate $180 million to establish an I&T Accelerator Pilot Scheme, Mr Lee said it will offer institutions government funding on a one-to-two matching basis, with a subsidy ceiling of $30 million. He explained that the scheme will attract professional start‑up service providers to set up accelerator bases in Hong Kong, thereby fostering the robust growth of start‑ups.

    Mr Lee also outlined plans to unlock the potential of Hong Kong’s low-altitude airspace economy. A working group led by the Deputy Financial Secretary will be established to formulate development strategies and action plans for this issue, and will collaborate with Mainland authorities in exploring the joint establishment of low‑altitude cross‑boundary air routes, as well as immigration and customs clearance arrangements. It will also carry out studies and make plans for the establishment of effective systems, networks and infrastructure for managing low-altitude activities.

    With regard to Low Earth Orbit satellites, Mr Lee announced that the Government will conduct a study aimed at streamlining vetting procedures in relation to licence applications for their operation. He also revealed that the Government will set up a research centre to participate in the Chang’E‑8 lunar mission.

    In relation to new energy development, around $750 million under the New Energy Transport Fund will be earmarked to subsidise the taxi trade and franchised bus companies to purchase electric vehicles, and to launch the Subsidy Scheme for Trials of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Heavy Vehicles.

    Mr Lee added that the Government will speed up the reduction of carbon emissions by setting a target for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) consumption, and formulate a long-term plan for the development of SAF and green maritime fuel supply chains. Furthermore, it will support industry in establishing a solar-to-hydrogen demonstration facility, and introduce a bill next year to ensure the safe use of hydrogen fuel. 

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Yumai Township in China’s Xizang turns a new page

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

    Yumai Township in China’s Xizang turns a new page

    Updated: October 16, 2024 13:40 Xinhua
    This combo photo shows a view of Yumai Township in Shannan City, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region on Oct. 26, 2003 (above, photo by Xinhua photographer Sonam Norbu), and the view here on Oct. 14, 2024 (photo by Xinhua photographer Ding Ting). Located at the southern foot of the Himalayas, Yumai Township once had a population of three. Today, the once three-person township is home to over 200 people and oversees two villages. Since 2018, Yumai Township has embarked on the construction of a prosperous border village with steel-framed houses, drainage, schools, and central parks popping up one after another. In 2019, a state investment of over 500 million yuan (about 70.28 million U.S. dollars) completed the reconstruction of the 50-kilometer paved road connecting Yumai to a neighboring township, which ended its pain of being snowbound every year. Additionally, the State Grid extended a 10-kilovolt power transmission line to Yumai, providing stable and secure electricity. In 2023, the per capita annual income in Yumai reached over 40,000 yuan (about 5,622.08 U.S. dollars) with a per capita residential area of 40 square meters. [Photo/Xinhua]
    This photo taken on Oct. 15, 2024 shows a view of Yumai Township in Shannan City, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]
    A drone photo taken on Oct. 14, 2024 shows a view of Yumai Township in Shannan City, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]
    An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 14, 2024 shows a view of Yumai Township in Shannan City, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]
    An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 14, 2024 shows a view of Yumai Township in Shannan City, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]
    This combo photo shows Cedain Zhaxi, a shop owner, organizing products in Yumai Township of Shannan City, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region on Sept. 9, 2009 (above, photo by Xinhua photographer Purbu Zhaxi), and Baima Wangdui, a worker, organizing products at a shop in Yumai Township of Shannan City, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region on Oct. 15, 2024 (photo by Xinhua photographer Ding Ting). [Photo/Xinhua]
    This combo photo shows a view of Yumai Township in Shannan City, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region in September 1997 (above, photo by Xinhua photographer Sonam Norbu), and the view here on Oct. 14, 2024 (photo by Xinhua photographer Ding Ting). [Photo/Xinhua]
    An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 14, 2024 shows roads near Yumai Township in Shannan City, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]
    A drone photo taken on Oct. 14, 2024 shows a view of Yumai Township in Shannan City, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]
    This photo taken on Oct. 15, 2024 shows a view of Yumai Township in Shannan City, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]
    This combo photo shows Zhaxi Norpu (L), a health worker, checking the blood pressure for a resident in Yumai Township of Shannan City, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region on Sept. 9, 2009 (above, photo by Xinhua photographer Purbu Zhaxi), and Zhaxi Norpu (R) talking with a doctor in Yumai Township of Shannan City, southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region on Oct. 15, 2024 (photo by Xinhua photographer Ding Ting). [Photo/Xinhua]

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI: ‘PROJECT 7’ by SLL’s STUDIO SLAM Shatters 100 Million Views across Multiple Platforms

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SEOUL, KOREA, Oct. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The first-ever idol assembly and enhancement audition in Korea, PROJECT 7, has reached a staggering milestone, achieving over 100 million total views across multiple platforms in a phenomenal surge of popularity.

    – STUDIO SLAM, the mastermind behind Culinary Class Wars, proves its global fanbase with PROJECT 7

    – Views skyrocketing on YouTube, Instagram, X, TikTok, and more, igniting an online frenzy

    PROJECT 7 (produced by STUDIO SLAM, SLL) is a groundbreaking idol audition program that introduces the concept of “assembly and enhancement.” It allows viewers to directly vote for and select participants from the very first round, building new teams while watching their favorite contestants grow through each stage. For SLL, PROJECT 7 marks its first venture into the music industry through an investment in the program’s IP, adding even greater significance to its success.

    STUDIO SLAM, the powerhouse behind the global hit survival show Culinary Class Wars, which dominated not only Korea but the world, is responsible for producing PROJECT 7. This has fueled growing anticipation for the show. STUDIO SLAM, a label under the global creative studio SLL, has rapidly evolved into a dominant force in audition entertainment.

    Since the release of the second teaser on September 19, PROJECT 7 has captured audiences’ attention. On October 15, the total number of views for content across YouTube, Instagram, X, TikTok, and other platforms hit a jaw-dropping 100,128,164 views, proving the show’s massive popularity even before its official premiere.

    One of the key drivers of this explosive growth has been the short-form content introducing the contestants, such as the “Up to You Title Song Self-Introduction Shorts,” which showcased the unique appeal of each contestant. These clips racked up the highest number of views across all platforms, igniting momentum. The “Profile Cut Images” of the contestants, who beat fierce competition to secure their spots, also added to the surge in views, highlighting the diverse personalities of the participants.

    In addition, the program’s innovative planning and fresh approach have been demonstrated through the “Personal PR Shorts,” the “Heart Assembly Challenge Shorts,” the “Up to You Title Song” stage performance, and the contestants’ “Personal Fancam Videos,” all of which have recorded overwhelming numbers.

    Not just in Korea, but globally, K-pop fans have been watching PROJECT 7 content on repeat and flooding the comment sections with enthusiastic reactions. With the program’s total view count now surpassing 100 million, all eyes are on how far the skyrocketing popularity of PROJECT 7 will go.

    The production team expressed their gratitude, saying, “We are incredibly thankful for the passionate support and interest in PROJECT 7 even before its premiere. We are doing our best to meet the expectations of fans who love the show. Don’t miss the first broadcast on Friday, October 18.”

    Meanwhile, the first-ever idol assembly and enhancement audition show, JTBC’s PROJECT 7, will air its first and second episodes consecutively on Friday, October 18, starting at 8:50 PM.

    About SLL

    SLL is a complete content studio that oversees the entire value chain of the content business, from story planning and development to production, investment, and distribution, opening new horizons for K-content. From top-tier dramas like SKY Castle, The World of the Married, Reborn Rich, Hellbound, D.P., All of Us Are Dead, Narco-Saints, and Big Bet, to films and variety shows like The Roundup series, Sing Again, and Culinary Class Wars, SLL has led the trends with high-quality works, regardless of platform or format.

    With over 200 key creators and 15 labels, SLL has produced more than 150 pieces of content and continues to expand its global content competitiveness.

    Social Links

    X: https://www.x.com/sll_official_

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sll_official

    Media Contact

    Brand: SLL

    Contact: PR Team

    Email: lee.eunhye2@sll.co.kr

    Website: https://www.sll.co.kr

    SOURCE: SLL

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Politics with Michelle Grattan: ‘It’s going to be a bad result for Labor’ – Antony Green and Michael McKenna on the Qld election

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    Queenslanders vote on October 26 when, according to the polls, the almost decade-long Labor government is expected to be defeated.

    Last year, in a bid to improve its chances, Labor dumped long-time premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in favour of Steven Miles.

    Miles has handed out or promised extensive and expensive cost-of-living support, including $1000 rebates on electricity bills, 50-cent fares, and now promising free school lunches.

    But even all this seems to have failed to drastically change the mood in the electorate.

    To discuss what’s happening on the ground, the potential outcome and what that could mean for the federal Labor government, we’re joined by the ABC’s election specialist, Antony Green and The Australian’s Queensland editor, Michael McKenna.

    Green says:

    The swing has shifted from being catastrophic to just being very bad.[…] the odds are the government’s going to lose.

    All the government’s marginal seats are in the regions, in the regional cities in the north of the state. If it’s a 5 or 6% swing uniform, then all those regional city seats will be knocked out. And once they’ve lost a couple of seats in Brisbane’s belt as well, they’re out of government. So they’re in a very difficult position.

    On what a poor result for the Labor party could mean federally, Green says:

    Labor won the last federal election without doing well in Queensland – [there] was always a view that they couldn’t win an election without doing well in Queensland. They did well in WA instead. Can Labor do worse in Queensland at the next federal election? Well that’s a tough ask, it’s hard to see how. You would have to be back to the level of the defeat of the Whitlam government or the Keating government to do worse in Queensland, and I’m not sure that it’s that level of disaster for the Labor Party. I think there will be a lot of comment on that. But I mean this is a Queensland election and it’s fought on and very much based around sort of Queensland issues.

    Michael McKenna says of the general mood:

    I think for the first time in a few years, I’m seeing a real mood for change in government. Labor is seeking a fourth term on the trot. You can see it in the published polling, which for about the last two years has shown that Labor’s support is sliding and the Liberal National Party has the momentum. I think there’s a real ‘it’s time’ factor.

    What we’ve seen is that Labor’s brand is still seemingly on the nose, particularly in the regions. And Steven Miles, […] he’s given a red hot go, but so far, I’m not seeing much evidence that he’s going to pull out a miracle win.

    McKenna highlights Opposition Leader David Crisafulli’s strategy:

    There’s no doubt that he has adopted a small target strategy to, in one way, focus people’s attention on the failings of a government which has a record of ten years, and there’s always going to be failings and things that are going to make people angry. But I would say that this is arguably the smallest of small target strategies that we’ve ever seen.

    David Crisafulli really only wants to talk […] about the issues that he wants to talk about, and those are crime, particularly youth crime, cost of living, housing and health. But he doesn’t like to be pushed onto any other issues, and he’s done a good job in one sense in that he’s probably the most disciplined conservative party leader I’ve seen in decades in Queensland.

    Michelle Grattan 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. Politics with Michelle Grattan: ‘It’s going to be a bad result for Labor’ – Antony Green and Michael McKenna on the Qld election – https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-its-going-to-be-a-bad-result-for-labor-antony-green-and-michael-mckenna-on-the-qld-election-241478

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Renters in South Carolina Can Apply for FEMA Assistance After Hurricane Helene

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Headline: Renters in South Carolina Can Apply for FEMA Assistance After Hurricane Helene

    Renters in South Carolina Can Apply for FEMA Assistance After Hurricane Helene

    FEMA assistance is available to renters, including students, with uninsured losses from Hurricane Helene in Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Cherokee, Chester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Greenville, Greenwood, Hampton, Jasper, Kershaw, Laurens, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Orangeburg, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Union and York counties and the Catawba Indian Nation.

    FEMA may be able to help renters as well as homeowners with serious needs, displacement, temporary lodging, basic home repair costs, personal property loss or other disaster-caused needs. 

    The quickest way to apply is to go online to DisasterAssistance.gov. You can also apply in person at a Disaster Recovery Center where you can meet with representatives of FEMA, the state of South Carolina and the U.S. Small Business Administration. No appointment is needed. To find center locations, go to fema.gov/drc or text “DRC” and a Zip Code to 43362. 

    You can also apply using the FEMA App for mobile devices or by calling toll-free 800-621-3362. The telephone line is open every day and help is available in many languages. If you use a relay service, such as Video Relay Service (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service. For a video with American Sign Language, voiceover and open captions about how to apply for FEMA assistance, select this link.

    FEMA programs are accessible to survivors with disabilities and others with access and functional needs. 

    kwei.nwaogu

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Enhancement measures on New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         â€‹As announced in the 2024 Policy Address, with effect from October 16, 2024, an applicant under the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (New CIES) is allowed to invest in residential properties, provided that the transaction price of a single property must be HK$50 million or above. The total investment amount in real estate (the aggregate of all residential and non-residential properties) that counts toward fulfilling the minimum investment threshold is subject to an aggregate cap of HK$10 million.

         Invest Hong Kong has updated the Rules for the New CIES and relevant application documents. Details can be found on the New CIES website (www.newcies.gov.hk/en/resources/scheme-rules-and-documents).

         With regard to the details of allowing investment made through an eligible private company wholly owned by the applicant to be counted toward the value of permissible investment with effect from March 1, 2025, Invest Hong Kong will make a further announcement later.

         For more information of the eligibility criteria and relevant details, please visit the New CIES website (www.newcies.gov.hk/en). For enquiries, please call the enquiry hotline at 3904 3001 or email to newcies@investhk.gov.hk.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Govt intensifies super hub strategy

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    While delivering the 2024 Policy Address, Chief Executive John Lee announced today that the Government has made meticulous plans to strengthen Hong Kong’s position as an international hub for trade, aviation and legal services.

    He called attention to the reason behind why his administration is building a high value-added supply chain services centre to serve the Mainland and overseas enterprises, and facilitate their establishment of an offshore trading headquarters in Hong Kong.

    “Hong Kong is home to a deep pool of talent and extensive networks in offshore trading and supply chain management, including production chain management, export credit risk management, trade financing, marketing, testing and certification, accounting and other professional services.”

    He explained that Invest Hong Kong and the Trade Development Council will set up a mechanism and enhance the interface for attracting Mainland enterprises to establish international or regional headquarters in Hong Kong, providing one-stop, diversified professional advisory services for enterprises in Hong Kong looking to go global.

    In an effort to provide greater export protection for enterprises, Mr Lee stated that the Government plans to raise the statutory maximum indemnity percentage of the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation to 95%. It also encourages the China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation to establish a presence in Hong Kong.

    Another goal includes actively promoting the development of a headquarters economy to bring strategic enterprises from outside Hong Kong and extending the validity period of multiple-entry visas to the Mainland for foreign staff of companies registered in Hong Kong to up to five years.

    Additionally, Mr Lee described the Government’s aim of promoting electronic trade financing.

    “The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is experimenting with tokenised electronic bills of lading through its Project Ensemble Sandbox. The goal is to lower fraud risks through the better use of technology and to facilitate the provision of trade financing by financial institutions.

    “The HKMA will work with other jurisdictions on a pilot basis to develop mechanisms for trade information transmission, promoting cross-boundary data transfers and the digitalisation of international trade.

    “It will also allow potential stablecoin issuers to test blockchain use cases, including solutions for cross-boundary payments through the stablecoin issuer sandbox.”

    He added that to enhance financial services with data, the HKMA expects to connect its Commercial Data Interchange with the system of the Land Registry next year to facilitate enhancement of banking services through the better use of data.

    In addition to developing the European and American markets, the Chief Executive stressed that the Government will continue to expand Hong Kong’s economic and trade networks, especially with Belt & Road (B&R) countries.

    It will do so by further opening up trade in services with the Mainland so as to attract more Hong Kong start-ups, overseas enterprises, and talent from around the world to establish their presence in Hong Kong to tap the Mainland market.

    Mr Lee noted that another goal calls for reinforcing the interface of trade mechanisms.

    “We will continue to seek early accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. We are also in investment agreement negotiations with Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, and plan to begin negotiations with Egypt and Peru.”

    To promote liquor trade and boost the development of high value-added industries including logistics and storage, tourism as well as high end food and beverage consumption, the Government will, starting today, reduce the duty rate for liquor with an import price of over $200 from 100% to 10% for the portion above $200, while the duty rate for the portion of $200 and below, as well as liquor with an import price of $200 or below will remain unchanged.

    With the Three-Runway System set to be completed this year, Mr Lee highlighted that Hong Kong’s status as an international aviation hub will be further accentuated.

    He made it clear that Hong Kong will fully utilise the capacity of the Three-Runway System.

    “The Government will step up efforts in expanding our aviation network by supporting Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) to explore new destinations and flights, particularly enhancing co-operation with civil aviation counterparts from B&R countries.

    “In parallel, we will combine the strengths of our airport and Zhuhai Airport to improve the Fly-Via-Zhuhai-Hong Kong direct passenger service and jointly develop international air cargo business for greater synergy.”

    Mr Lee lauded the endeavour of expanding the scale of the Airport City to build a world-leading new landmark.

    “The Government will plan with Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) for expanding the scale of the Airport City by more than double, building a new, world-leading landmark in the Greater Bay Area among the Airport Island, the Hong Kong Port Island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and Tung Chung East New Town.

    “New projects will be developed to promote high-end commercial, tourist and leisure activities. These include creating an ecosystem for the arts industry, building the AsiaWorld‑Expo Phase 2, developing a yacht bay with ancillary facilities, opening a food market for imported fresh food and providing more public spaces.”

    One more important objective of the Government is to expand cargo capacity through the bay area and enhance advantages of the air cargo industry, Mr Lee stated.

    “AAHK is pressing ahead in full steam with the innovative development of a sea-air intermodal cargo‑transhipment mode in collaboration with Dongguan. The initial stage of first-phase construction for the permanent logistics park in Dongguan, the HKIA Dongguan Logistics Park, will be completed by the end of next year, and the cargo-handling capacity will progressively reach one million tonnes per annum.

    “Advance planning will be made to commence the second-phase development, introducing more high value-added logistics, cross-boundary e-commerce and courier service facilities.”

    While expounding on the Government’s consistent work to promote Hong Kong as a regional centre for international legal and dispute resolution services, the Chief Executive specified that training for international legal talent will commence and promotion of mediation services will be stepped up.

    “The International Organization for Mediation will have its headquarters set up in Hong Kong upon adoption and entry into force of the relevant international convention. The Government will enhance the system on local accreditation and disciplinary matters of the mediation profession to further strengthen our role as an international mediation centre.”

    Apart from incorporating mediation clauses in government contracts and encouraging private organisations to make reference to and adopt such clauses, Mr Lee stated that the Pilot Scheme on Community Mediation will also be launched to offer more training opportunities for promoting a mediation culture.

    As an added bonus, he revealed that the Government is thinking about developing a sports dispute resolution system.

    “With the development of sports activities and industry, sports disputes have become increasingly complicated. We will explore establishing a sports dispute resolution system and promote sports arbitration, leveraging the institutional advantages of Hong Kong in dispute resolution.”

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: HK to be hub for health innovation

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Chief Executive John Lee today identified innovation in the health sector, digitalisation across key industries, and an expansion of the city’s Intellectual Property (IP) trading ecosystem as key drivers of new quality productive forces in Hong Kong.

    Delivering his 2024 Policy Address, Mr Lee said the Government will combine technological and institutional innovation to develop Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub, accelerate the development of the digital economy and its integration with the real economy, and take steps to strengthen the city’s position as a regional IP trading centre.

    On the first of these ambitions, the Chief Executive pledged to expedite reforms to the approval mechanism for drugs and medical devices, enhance Hong Kong’s clinical trial capabilities on all fronts, and facilitate the translation of innovative biomedical research into clinical applications.

    With regard to the approval of drugs, the “1+” mechanism will be extended to all new items, including vaccines and advanced therapy products, and refined to speed up the registration process. Meanwhile, preparatory work will be undertaken for the statutory regulation of medical devices, and timetables will be drawn up for establishing a Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation, the adoption of “primary evaluation”, and measures to facilitate research and development (R&D).

    In terms of clinical trial capabilities, Hong Kong will join hands with Shenzhen to establish the Greater Bay Area (GBA) Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform. A Real-World Study and Application Centre will also be established to open up local health and medical databases and promote co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen on the integration of data generated from the “special measure of using Hong Kong-registered drugs and medical devices used in Hong Kong public hospital in the GBA.”

    In addition, Mr Lee set forth a number of policies designed to accelerate the digital transformation of industries and promote integration of the digital economy with the real economy.

    He outlined that the Government will push forward reforms relating to the digitalisation of enterprises and trade. The Commerce & Economic Bureau is developing a Trade Single Window, a one-stop electronic platform that will allow enterprises to lodge import and export trade documents more conveniently and efficiently.

    In the area of fintech, Mr Lee said that the Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau (FTSB) is due to issue a policy statement setting out its position on the application of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the financial market. The FTSB will also complete the second round of a public consultation on regulatory proposals for over-the-counter trading of virtual assets.

    In addition, the Monetary Authority (HKMA) is looking into add-on technology solutions and use cases related to cross-boundary trade settlement on the mBridge platform. It is also exploring the application of real-world asset tokenisation and the use of digital money for interbank settlements, and will work with the FTSB to introduce a bill on the regulation of fiat-referenced stablecoin issuers later this year.

    Mr Lee also mentioned efforts by the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) to promote smart construction and management of public rental housing estates. The HKHA has selected 10 such estates as pilot sites for smart estate management, and plans to introduce digital technologies in daily estate management work.

    Meanwhile, the Department of Justice will set up an Advisory Group on Promoting the Development of Lawtech to formulate policies and measures on the application of lawtech.

    With regard to expansion of Hong Kong’s IP trading ecosystem, Mr Lee highlighted that IP-intensive industries account for about 30% of Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product and total employment. He vowed to strengthen the city’s position as a regional IP trading centre in relation to innovation and technology, as well as the creative industries.

    Specifically, he said a proposal will be put forward next year to enhance the Copyright Ordinance with regard to AI technology development. A consultation will be launched, also in 2025, on the registered designs regime, and legislative amendments to streamline IP litigation processes will be proposed.

    Moreover, the Trade Marks Registry, under the Intellectual Property Department, will next year launch a new AI-assisted image search service for public use.

    Mr Lee added that the Government will continue discussions with patent agents and other stakeholders about introducing regulatory arrangements for local patent agency services, with the aim of nurturing professional talent and enhancing service quality.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: View from The Hill: Albanese would be better off if the story wasn’t ‘all about him’

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    Unless the government pulls up its political socks, Anthony Albanese could find himself spending a good deal of time in his  spectacular new home, with its uninterrupted ocean views, sooner than he wishes.

    This week’s Newspoll has the Coalition moving in front on a two-party basis for the first time, with Labor’s primary vote at 31%.

    Albanese would hope for another full term as prime minister. But if Labor fell into minority government at next year’s election, there would likely be pressure before too long to replace him. He would not be seen as a good bet for the 2028 election.

    If Peter Dutton pulled off a miracle win in a few months, Albanese could be regularly whale watching this time next year.

    Since the PM’s purchase of the $4.3 million house at the wonderfully-named Copacabana, was revealed on Tuesday,  two narratives have contended.

    Critics denounce Albanese as “tone deaf” in his timing during a housing affordability crisis.

    It was more than awkward that just hours after the news broke, Albanese was appearing with minister Clare O’Neil in Queensland to make an announcement about  housing.


    from Realestate.com, CC BY

    The Copacabana house is a story made for that renter-in-perpetuity, Greens spokesman Max Chandler-Mather.

    Dutton, who has bought and sold a few properties in his time, is careful with his words, knowing others will stir the outrage.

    The alternative narrative is that Albanese, marrying for a second time next year, is entitled to a private life. This involves reordering his property arrangements ahead of a wedding.

    Moreover, some observe, the criticism of him is the “politics of envy” or the “tall poppy syndrome”.

    But there’s another narrative. Suddenly, Albanese’s story has become “all about him” again, as it regularly does when he reverts to talking about his humble origins.

    Stressed voters could be forgiven for being impatient, or cynical about Albanese’s protestations this week that although he now has a good income, “I also know what it’s like to struggle”.

    My mum lived in the one public housing that she was born in for all of her 65 years. And I know what it’s like, which is why I want to help all Australians into a home, whether it be public homes or private rentals or home ownership.

    Unfairly or not, the house story will be read by some as a prime minister spending time on his own affairs.

    Buying a house is a major and reasonably time-consuming process, unless it was outsourced it to partner, Jodie Haydon. The Central Coast was chosen because her family lives there.

    The narrative can also be cast to look like Albanese is preparing for his post-political life while he is still the most important individual in politics.

    Whether this is accurate becomes beside the point, in this era when perceptions can be paramount.


    from Realestate.com, CC BY

    Unsurprisingly, he was asked whether he planned to retire at the house. “I’m planning to be in my current job for a very long period of time,” he said.

    In mid-1991 Bob Hawke purchased a property overlooking Sydney Harbour with a jetty and “stunning views”, and a price tag of $1.23 million.

    Hawke’s leadership was already on the decline – by year’s end he was replaced by Paul Keating.

    Apart from the bad publicity for Albanese, the house affair has taken a good deal of attention from what the government wanted to talk about, notably, what it’s doing to protect consumers and the like.

    It has meant his ministerial colleagues are forced to defend him when they are confronted with awkward questions.

    Energy Minister Chris Bowen tried to make the best fist of it that he could, when quizzed during an interview.

    “Every Australian is entitled to buy and sell property. Now Anthony cops it when he sells the property. He cops it when he provides a rent holiday to his tenants. He cops it when he buys a property,” he said.

    “I think most average Australians say, fair enough. You know, this is what aspiration is about, most average Australians say, well, you know, we all buy and sell properties.”

    When you are in the public eye it is not, however, such an ordinary story.

    By the way, when Albanese goes to the G20 in Rio de Janeiro next month, he can get to see the real Copacabana.

    Michelle Grattan 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. View from The Hill: Albanese would be better off if the story wasn’t ‘all about him’ – https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-albanese-would-be-better-off-if-the-story-wasnt-all-about-him-241479

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Doorstop – Social Media Summit, Adelaide

    Source: Australian Executive Government Ministers

    PETER MALINAUSKAS, PREMIER OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA: G’day and welcome to the Adelaide Convention Centre for the second day of the Social Media Summit that is being hosted between the New South Wales Government and the South Australian Government.

    I want to take this opportunity to thank Chris Minns for his leadership. Chris suggested the Social Media Summit, and certainly after a successful day yesterday, we now roll it to the second day of the agenda and look forward to hearing from a range of experts throughout the course of the day. One of them is Professor Simon Wilksch, who will be here a bit later on, who has been a keen advocate for change in this area, and has done an extraordinary amount of research through the Flinders University. I want to thank the professor for his presence here at this press conference. Really looking forward to hearing from Mike Burgess, who, of course, is responsible for ASIO here in Australia to hear about the implications of disinformation and social media and the impact on young people in the context of the future of our democracy here within Australia. I look forward to hearing Mike, along with a range of experts this afternoon.

    But I am very, very grateful that we have representation of the Federal Government here who, of course, has displayed great initiative and leadership to pursue reform that will be applied throughout the country. To that end, I express my particular gratitude to Minister Rowland, who is here from Sydney in Adelaide today, and also Minister Aly, who is the Minister for Youth of course.

    Michelle has been a keen advocate to making sure that the Commonwealth is getting ahead of the curve, to make sure we deal with this global challenge emerging, and whether it be through the age verification trial, the work of the eSafety Commissioner, but most recently a commitment to introduce legislation into the Federal Parliament that will put in place an age restriction for young people’s access to social media.

    It is significant work and I want to thank the Albanese Government, but particularly Minister Rowland for leading this charge. I’m very grateful that she’s able to be with us today on the second day of the Summit.

    We have taken this opportunity, though, as a State Government, to make sure that we’re not just focusing on the institution of an age limit for access to social media, but also doing the work around educating young people around what safe online behaviour looks like. Social media represents only one part of a young person’s access to the internet. There, of course, remains other unregulated areas where we know there is work to be done when it comes to educating children on how best to deal with the challenges that they simply will confront.

    No one is suggesting for a moment that we should keep kids off the internet. Yes, we want to put an age limit in place in terms of their access to social media, but if we’re serious about their safety, we’ve got to make sure that they’ve got the skills and the capability to be able to deal with cyber bullying; to be able to understand what healthy messages are around body images; to understand what is illicit content, and really, is it safe for them, to give them the preparedness to know what to do and who to speak to, and if an online predator comes after them, we want to make sure that in South Australia, we’re leading the way in that regard.

    That’s why today we are announcing that there will be a school based program that applies to all schools throughout the state of South Australia, within the curriculum, that gives access to children, to the knowledge and the tools about how to confront the challenges they’ll experience online. We want to make sure that in the South Australian education system, we’re not just keeping kids off their phones while they’re at school. We want to give them the tools about what they can do to protect themselves from the harms of the internet when they get home from school, and otherwise might get access to it. This is a consequence of evidence-based work. The Department of Education, through Minister Blair Boyer, who is with us as well, has been doing this work now for some months and we are now in a position to commit to this roll out starting next year. So from the school year 2025, children in South Australian schools will start learning, with the resources and tools that are required, what they need to do to be able to go online and do it safely. Without it being at the expense of their mental health, and then in turn their futures. I want to thank the Department, and particularly Blair for his hard work in this regard.

    Chris put on a great show in Sydney yesterday. It was a thoroughly worthwhile exercise, and I just want to thank him for his partnership and his leadership to this end, and invite him to say a few words before we hear from Minister Rowland.

    CHRIS MINNS, PREMIER OF NEW SOUTH WALES: Well, thanks a lot, Peter. It’s a real privilege to be here in Adelaide this morning with you, and Anne, and of course, Michelle as well. This is an important breakthrough when it comes to confronting an issue that’s facing parents, not just across Australia, but right around the world – and that is how do you deal with this creeping use of technology, particularly social media, that’s ubiquitous, that’s comprehensive, that every family has to deal with. When you look at the eSafety Commissioner’s report out earlier this week indicating that most young people are on social media, and the evidence that presented at the Social Media Summit yesterday indicated that 16-year-olds are spending three hours a day on social media. How do we as a community, not just a Government, but how do we as a community come together to protect our children, to protect the next generation? I think it’s been our view for a while now that this is a global, unregulated experiment on young people. This is the first generation that’s gone through this kind of access to social media, and as a result of that access to social media, exposure to what is often harmful content, what is often hurtful content, or bullying behaviour within social groups.

    We need to be able to do something about it, and the two-day Summit has given us an opportunity, with South Australia, to get the issues on the table, to talk directly with parents, to arm people with both the latest facts as well as tips and strategies to get the best out of your kids and ensure that they’ve got the best start in life. I think most crucially, to progress legislative change so that we can deal with rapidly changing technology.

    I want to give full credit to the Commonwealth Government for stepping up here and introducing what will be a globally leading change to regulation in the world. We think it will make a difference and spark or ignite a fire when it comes to a recognition amongst communities that social media is doing harm to young people that could sweep right across the world. It’s been resisted at every gate, at every step by Silicon Valley and the billionaires that own these companies. But that’s not a good enough reason to do nothing. At the end of the day, our obligation is to do no harm for young people, and if we get this right, technology can work for us rather than running and dominating all of our community and family life.

    MICHELLE ROWLAND, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: Thank you so much, Premiers. The safety of our young people is paramount. Not only their wellbeing, but also their mental health. To that end, the Commonwealth sees the safety of children, especially in the online space, as a collective responsibility. 

    The Premiers will know that their frontline services are being impacted by the harmful implications that can arise from social media. Whilst it can be a positive tool in many respects, there are harms that come with it. The Premiers will also tell you that the mobile phone ban in schools, for example, has seen a definite change in behaviours. At the same time, the consequences of the harms of social media are impacting on their education as well as health systems and mental health systems in particular. It’s for this reason that the Commonwealth takes a collective approach, not only right across the Albanese Government, but also with the states and territories as well. All Australians should know that we are working as one towards the safety of our most vulnerable.

    To that end, the Commonwealth has committed that we will introduce legislation this year to mandate a minimum age for access to social media. This is a commitment from the Prime Minister, and I am pleased that today we are announcing the legislative design principles that will underpin this approach. For example, we see the onus as being on the platforms, not on users or their parents when it comes to safety online. It’s important to incentivise the platforms to create less at risk platforms, less at risk apps, less at risk services. To that end, we look forward to working with industry to help achieve this goal. We know through recent developments that the platforms can, and they should, be doing more in this space. We will also be working with eSafety, who will be overseeing this legislative change. Importantly, we will continue to pursue efforts to make sure that the platforms are held to account, and do more. To that end, there won’t be penalties that will be imposed, as I said, on those children or their parents as users. But we will ensure, through our review of the Online Safety Act, that the penalties regime is fit for purpose. It’s important to note here, as I said, that this is a collective responsibility across Government. As I will outline today, this is one step in many that the Albanese Government is taking to keep young Australians safer online. The normative value of this is immense. So many parents are being overwhelmed by the amount of time their children are spending online, and what they can do as parents to help more effectively manage that – the normative value of this will be immense for those parents. So again, I thank the Premiers for convening this. It’s so important that the Australian people know that as one we have their back when it comes to keeping their children safer online.

    PROFESSOR SIMON WILKSCH: Hi, everybody. I’m absolutely delighted to see the collaboration between the Federal and State governments, the respective leaders and the premiers on this issue. We heard this week that 84 per cent of eight to 12-year-olds are on a social media site in Australia. That is entirely unacceptable. I’m a clinical psychologist working with patients with eating disorders – if we wanted to try to create a way of causing eating disorders, it would be to use these kinds of platforms with children that age. We’ve seen a 200 per cent spike in 10 to 14-year-olds experiencing an eating disorder over the last 12 years. As someone who works in the clinics helping these families through this problem, I see the devastation this causes young people; the families, the toll it takes – and these are just in the area of eating disorders. We know across the board with mental health and other areas there is suffering going on caused by these platforms, so I completely support minimum age. I would like to see it get up to 16.

    I also really welcome the announcement of funding towards school-based programs that will prevent these problems and really assist young people to be equipped to handle their online presence and be safe. I have a particular program, named Media Smart, for schools which has a very strong evidence-base. 

    It’s an eight lesson program designed to help young people be informed about those messages they see; to question how social is their experience on social media; just take steps towards taking care of themselves and others. So I’m really hopeful that that type of program can be made available widely, and thank you.

    JOURNALIST: You talked about the onus not being on the users or the parents, but putting it back on the platforms. We’ve seen platforms be reluctant to make that change to ownership of platforms rather than the user itself. How is the Government going to enforce this? Is there going to be big fines? Or what’s the timeline here for platforms to adopt this change?

    ROWLAND: Well, we are looking at a one-year implementation timeframe. But I think it’s important to note that even as we have seen recently with Meta’s announcement of a new Instagram teen product, that the platforms can do more in this space to create less at-risk services. So we want to encourage that. We want to incentivise those better, less risky services that they can actually produce. But the point is very valid when it comes to penalties for the platforms. Currently in the Online Safety Act, the maximum penalties for offences are less than $1 million, and these are actually not reflective of the sometimes litigious nature of these platforms, but also the amount of revenue that’s generated. So this is one of the specific areas that the independent review of the Online Safety Act is looking at, and I expect to have their findings in the upcoming weeks. But we are very mindful of that. We want to incentivise as well as provide that backstop through penalties, appropriate levels of penalties that make the platforms do better.

    JOURNALIST: Are you expecting resistance from these platforms?

    ROWLAND: Well, so two things there. The first is that the Online Safety Act has been in operation now for some years, and the industry is now accustomed to it. By and large, the social media platforms have a high rate of compliance with it. However, there are always instances where there is non-compliance or it is contested, and the fact that is contested again demonstrates that the Government considers that no company, despite its wealth, despite its multinational status, is beyond our laws. We will always assert Australia’s sovereignty in that regard.

    The second point too goes to the fact that we want those platforms to be accountable, by having not only incentives but proper penalties in place, that ensures that transparency and accountability. We do not wish to punish parents or users in this process. That is something that needs to be made very clear. This is about the platforms doing better. We have an Online Safety Act that was basically designed as a complaint-based system about individuals, not the onus being on the platforms. That’s something that we are looking at changing through our review, but it’s something that we are also committed to in the design principles of this legislative change.

    JOURNALIST: Minister Rowland, as part of this legislation, are you going to be advocating for better psychological support for young people who have suffered as a result of these tech platforms? Because hearing from the young people in there, that’s hand in hand with this legislation.

    ROWLAND: Now, that is certainly valid. The other side of that, of course, too, is that a lot of young people do access support services now through social media. So it’s going to be very important for Governments and departments to work together to ensure that young people can still access those services, even if they are below that minimum mandated age. So those two points are very valid.

    JOURNALIST: We’ve seen recent changes to Instagram. Do you think our Government’s push has led to that?

    ROWLAND: It is pleasing to see that these Instagram changes occurred after our Prime Minister made that commitment. Now, whether or not there is causation in there remains to be seen. But we do know that incentivisation does work in this area, and I can give that example from when Minister Amanda Rishworth and I convened the first roundtable to regulate dating apps services, because the level of tech facilitated abuse and death was simply too high as a result of this occurring. 

    Amazingly, these multinational dating app platforms suddenly discovered new safety features that they were able to roll out. So we welcome any safety features that the platforms may be rolling out, but that does not mitigate the need to legislate in this space.

    JOURNALIST: Premier Minns – the announcement today from the South Australian Government in curriculum and an adjustment there – could we see something similar to New South Wales and maybe even the mobile phone bans, etcetera.?

    MINNS: Yeah, we’ve got a proud history of stealing good ideas from Peter, so why should today be any different? It seems like a good initiative to us. We flat out nicked the mobile phone ban from South Australia which was resisted when we were in Opposition. But I saw it in implementation over here, Peter came over to Sydney to talk to us about the positive benefits, and I have to say it’s a reasonably early stage in our Government’s tenure, but I think it’s the best decision that we’ve made. 

    Interestingly, if you speak to kids and parents and teachers, they’ll tell you that the big difference has happened during recess and lunchtime. Where kids put down their phones, they can actually speak with one another, play games, and interact at a human level rather than online. So it’s great initiative. I think this is a good way for federations to work – see something in operation somewhere else, steal it and put it in your own jurisdiction.

    JOURNALIST: So the current plan to adopt more online safety into the curriculum from next year – is that something that New South Wales might be looking at as well?

    MINNS: Yeah. Look, I don’t have an announcement today, but give us a bit of time. I think part of the process for a summit like this is you get the ideas out on the table, you can learn from them, steal them and implement them and ultimately get the facts on the table. These two- this summit, the two days that we’ve had in both Sydney and Adelaide has been, I think, a breakthrough in both policy change, but also getting the facts out on the table and invaluable. So I’d like to see more of it actually.

    JOURNALIST: Is there the opportunity to take this then to National Cabinet as a joint collective then, if you seem interested in the idea to pursue it further, to maybe make it a bit more of a wider national problem, given that social media can happen anyway?

    MINNS: Look, potentially. We’ve got a lot on our plate when it comes to the National Cabinet agenda, and states have to work and operate independently. Public education, the curriculum is a state based responsibility. We take that very seriously. Obviously, that’s our responsibility, but if we can spot a good initiative that’s working somewhere else, I’m not afraid to steal it.

    JOURNALIST:  I’ve got a question for Premier Malinauskas – what kind of fines would you like to see the federal legislation do for this?

    MALINAUSKAS: Look, the Chief Justice French report, I think, lays it out pretty clearly that whatever the fine regime is needs to have a sufficient economic deterrence to make sure we change the behaviour of these social media companies. Now, economic deterrence is an established legal principle, and basically what it means is that capacity to pay should inform the size of the fine. 

    Now, when it comes to these social media companies, my word, they’ve got the capacity to pay. These companies are making an extraordinary amount of money out of the Australian market, which means if they break the law, the Australian jurisdiction, the fine should reflect that. In other words, it’s got to be billions of dollars. We certainly welcome the Federal Government’s not just interest but for the work that is already underway through the Online Safety Act.

    JOURNALIST: Premier, you’re a father of young kids. How do you see this sort of legislation playing out in real time? Won’t kids find a way to get on social media regardless?

    MINNS: It’s a really important question and it’s one that reflects, I think, a public sentiment. It continuously gets raised. Won’t kids find a way around the social media ban? Probably, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be establishing the principle in a law that sets the community standard, that arms the parents with the ability to say to their children, no, you can’t do that because it is against the law. No different to drinking underage or smoking before you’re 18. I mean, we say to kids you shouldn’t drink if you’re under the age of 18 – that’s consistent across the country. Do kids drink underage? Of course they do. Do they sneak behind the shed and have a cigarette? Probably. But what we know is that a lot less kids do that as a result of us having a clear standard and a law that can apply throughout the land. Social media is no different. With even the mobile phone ban at schools, we were the first state to do a proper phone ban in schools, bell to bell, not having them at recess and lunch. Are there examples of kids sneaking mobile phones into school post the mobile phone ban? Yeah, of course there are, but they are the exception to the rule because now the rule is clear. No phones in schools. So we establish rules and principles and standards that- in the full knowledge that someone will break them but that doesn’t mean they’re not worthwhile because the majority of people tend to comply.

    JOURNALIST: Premier, will you be taking this idea to National Cabinet? You’ve been very vocal in youth law and social media spaces

    MALINAUSKAS: Look, I think and Blake and [indistinct]… necessary of it. In that education ministers’ forum, there is a constant sharing of ideas between states and also with the Federal Government around various initiatives that are being undertaken. This will be shared in that context. Chris is right. I mean, I think when it comes to National Cabinet, my view is we’ve got to be a little bit careful that we don’t load up a National Cabinet agenda, so we don’t end up focusing on the main structural challenges that we have within our federation. So I don’t think this will be one that goes through National Cabinet, but it’s certainly an idea that’s clearly going to be shared through the appropriate channels and hopefully gets taken up.

    JOURNALIST: Would you like to see it adopted maybe through the Federal Government then maybe not through National Cabinet at all?

    MALINAUSKAS: As Chris said, what we teach our kids in the schools is the responsibility of states. We’ve got a range of discussions on [indistinct] with the Cabinet at the moment around funding school regimes and the like. This is an initiative that we’re applying here in South Australia, but if it’s relevant and appropriate in other jurisdictions, that would be great.

    JOURNALIST: Premier, what age will this new curriculum be rolled out to? Is it high school students and is it being done elsewhere?

    MALINAUSKAS: Well, it starts next year. I might invite Blair to go into a bit of detail on that.

    BOYER: Thank you, Premier. So it starts next year. It will be delivered at different ages or different year levels in high school, and each one will be adapted in a way to make sure that it’s actually age appropriate as you go up from year seven, year eight, year nine. I think Simon spoke really well about the kind of content that’s in there. Simon’s program is one of the ones already that is on the approved list here in South Australia. So the funding that we are announcing today to provide to schools so they can secure the services of Simon and other programs like that and come in and actually sit down with kids and talk through all these issues that we know come about because of the use of social media. So the important thing to do here, I think, though, is that what is taught and the kind of curriculum and detail in there needs to be different as it goes up from year seven all the way into the senior years, because as kids get older, they are dealing with different issues and the nature of their engagement with social media changes as well.

    We need to make sure it’s evidence based, which Simon’s is, and make sure it’s regularly updated because the other thing I think here that is the real challenge that I’ve observed is that we’re on a burning platform here. I mean as we sit here having this press conference, there’s people outside here who seek to take advantage of young people through social media, whether it’s a scam or harassment or predators, they are constantly thinking of ways to get around the protocols and security features that we put in. Every day they are spending their time trying to get around the things that Governments do to keep our kids safe. So that’s why it’s really important that we use programs like Simon’s to make sure the information we’re giving kids is up to date. It also speaks to why we’re upgrading and updating the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum here in South Australia to make sure that it now includes things like AI, deepfakes and coercive control. We’ve actually done that work with the AFP, with the Australian Centre for Countering Violent Extremism and the eSafety Commissioner to make sure that what’s in our child protection curriculum is fit for the year 2024 and not still based on something that was an issue back in the 1980s.

    JOURNALIST: You mentioned the extra funding to allocate this to bring programs in like Simon, what’s that going to cost? 

    BOYER: I don’t know a specific figure yet because we’ve- we’re going to roll it right out across all schools. That will depend exactly how many sessions that we actually provide. We’ll work with some of the providers like Simon to see that. But we’ll make sure that what we provide is not just age appropriate, but can reach all South Australian students, which I think is important as well. It’s also going to be some work to do there in the future to do that constant updating, because, as I said, those people who are seeking to, you know, get around the things that we are doing to keep kids safe are doing that every, waking minute. So we need to make sure that things that we do are constantly updated. And you know, brought into the year 2024.

    JOURNALIST: So what will it look like in classrooms? Will it be a number of sessions with people and programs like what Simon has? 

    BOYER: So exactly right. So we have an approved provider list for the Department for Education. So there’s a number of providers who offer services like the ones that Simon does and schools are able to choose from that list of those providers and we will be funding them to do that and bring those providers in and sit down with students of all those year levels all the way up to year seven and offer the classes essentially. It’s all one on one basis, talking through all these issues and effective things they can do to protect their own mental health and wellbeing and have all those kind of deeper conversations, which as what we heard from the student panel today is needed, I think. It can’t be kind of a cursory tick and flick kind of part of the curriculum, because what these students are grappling with here is, incredibly complex, really complex stuff and changing all the time. So we need to make sure that the resource materials and support that our schools and teachers get is up to date. What we’re announcing today is making sure they have the financial resources to do exactly that.

    JOURNALIST: What are the indicators here to know that this is starting to get traction and working?

    BOYER: In terms of?

    JOURNALIST: In terms of the application.

    BOYER: Of the program?

    JOURNALIST: Yeah, the program through the school?

    BOYER: Yeah. Yeah. Good question. I mean, I always say that in my job as Education Minister, there’s nothing more powerful than hearing from students and premiers- Premier Malinauskas spoke with you well before I think around why the mobile phone ban was really important, even though it was going to be a very hard thing to do. Although now we’re talking about its success, I remember at the time there were plenty of who thought it was going to be very challenging to put in place. Are there still students who try to get around it? Absolutely they are, but the reason that is starting to drop in terms of the numbers of students we see who are trying to get a way around it, is because as those students this morning said, what they are finding is that when their classroom or the playground is free of mobile phones, they actually like the place more. The most powerful bit of advice I got or feedback I got from- was from a principal out in my way in the north eastern suburbs who said the playground feels like it did in the 1990s. As Kirsty said this morning, it’s kicking the football, playing sport, talking to each other and seeking more activities to do. So I think it’s that kind of feedback that speaks to how the kind of programs that we are funding today actually work and actually succeed and actually make the school and the classroom a place that kids want to be in, a place that kids enjoy.

    JOURNALIST: I suppose just further to Josh’s question, who’s been consulted on these new reforms? Have the kids been part of the discussion?

    BOYER: We’ve done a massive amount of consultation as part of the new Australian curriculum in South Australia, including the adapted South Australian part. I think 12,000 views people have taken into account. It’s the biggest consultation that the education system in South Australia has ever done. Students, classroom teachers, principals, industry groups, the employers, associations like Kirsty is the head of the Principals’ Association about what they want to see. I was fortunate enough to be part of some of the consultation groups that we held here.

    JOURNALIST: Minister Rowland. The flights from Lebanon, how much did they cost? 

    ROWLAND: That’s best directed to the Foreign Affairs Minister. But I will say this, the Australian Government has been saying for some time that Australian citizens need to return to Australia. It is becoming increasingly difficult; the situation is becoming unstable. The Government has made provisions to ensure that Australian citizens are safe but as we have been saying for some time, it’s time to get out.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Govt to launch committee for talent

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Chief Executive John Lee today revealed that the Government will set up a Committee on Education, Technology & Talents to promote Hong Kong as an international hub for high-calibre talent.

    Unveiling a raft of measures aimed at building the city’s capacity in terms of knowledge, talent and opportunities, Mr Lee said in his 2024 Policy Address that “education nurtures our future, technology denotes our strength, and talents lead our development.” Initiatives aimed at promoting Hong Kong’s development as an international centre for post-secondary education and strengthening youth development were also announced.

    The Committee on Education, Technology & Talents will be led by the Chief Secretary and will co-ordinate and drive the integrated development of education, technology and talents, expand connections, formulate policies to attract and cultivate talents, and foster the development of technologies.

    Highlighting that around 160,000 individuals have come to Hong Kong under the talent admission regime, out of more than 380,000 applicants, Mr Lee stressed that various aspects of it needed to be reformed to cover a projected shortfall of around 180,000 workers across different sectors over the next five years.

    Specifically, the Talent List will be updated to cover personnel required for the development of Hong Kong in eight key areas. In addition, the list of universities under the Top Talent Pass Scheme will be expanded to 198 by adding 13 top Mainland and overseas universities. The validity period of the first visas awarded to successful high-income applicants under the scheme will be extended from two to three years.

    The General Employment Policy and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals will be enhanced to attract experienced specialists in specific skilled trades that face acute manpower shortages. A new mechanism will also be introduced under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, allowing high-calibre talent to be proactively invited to come to Hong Kong. Moreover, a pilot arrangement that includes graduates from Greater Bay Area (GBA) campuses of Hong Kong universities under Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates will be extended for two years.

    Meanwhile, Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE) will step up promotion of its online platforms to offer comprehensive information on salaries, taxation, education, visas and more. It will also expand its network of collaborative partners, hold online and in-person job fairs, organise another international talent forum, and conduct overseas promotion.

    With regard to promoting Hong Kong’s development as an international hub for post-secondary education, Mr Lee said the Government will set up a Hong Kong Future Talents Scholarship Scheme for Advanced Studies, beginning in the next academic year. The scheme will offer scholarships each year to up to 1,200 local students enrolling in designated postgraduate programmes.

    The Chief Executive also announced the creation of the “Study in Hong Kong” brand, explaining that this will involve hosting international education conferences and exhibitions, enhanced collaboration and exchanges between local post-secondary institutions and their counterparts around the world, and increased emphasis on attracting overseas students through scholarships and other incentives.

    He added that efforts will be made to improve accommodation for students through a pilot scheme aimed at streamlining the processing of applications to convert hotels and other commercial buildings into student hostels. The Government will also make available suitable sites for the private sector to build new hostels, having regard to market demand.

    Also in the educational realm, Mr Lee said a bill will be introduced next year to improve the regulatory and quality assurance mechanisms of self-financing post-secondary institutions. He added that the Government has earmarked over 80 hectares of land in the Northern Metropolis for a Northern Metropolis University Town, and will encourage local post-secondary institutions to develop branded programmes, research collaboration and exchange projects with renowned Mainland and overseas institutions.

    The Chief Executive highlighted that following recognition of the Hong Kong Metropolitan University as the city’s first university of applied sciences (UAS), a UAS alliance will be established this year. It will embark on joint promotion and strengthen collaboration with UAS institutions around the world. The Government has allocated a startup fund of $100 million for the alliance.

    Mr Lee added that the Government will build a campus for the Vocational Training Council’s newly established Hong Kong Institute of Information Technology.

    Meanwhile, the Education Bureau will establish a Steering Committee on Strategic Development of Digital Education to promote digital education, renew the Junior Secondary Science Curriculum and provide support for teachers in using AI in teaching.

    In terms of broader support for teachers, the Government will allocate $2 billion to set up a Teacher Professional Development Fund to support the long-term development of the profession. About $470 million will be allocated to enhance the learning and teaching of English, Putonghua and other languages.

    Turning to the housing needs of young people, Mr Lee said the Hong Kong Housing Authority will allocate an extra ballot number to young family applicants and one-person applicants under 40 with White Form status for the purchase of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats from the next HOS sale exercise onwards. Starting from the next White Form Secondary Market Scheme (WSM) exercise, the WSM quota will increase by 1,500, with all of the additional places going to young family applicants and one-person applicants under 40.

    Moreover, a “Youth Post” hostel and spaces for cultural and arts exchanges will be created for young people at the Kai Tak Community Isolation Facility, and a physical platform for interaction will be set up for “Youth Link” members at the Nam Cheong District Community Centre.

    The Government will establish a new interactive space and set up a video studio at the Youth Square in Chai Wan, and launch a new round of the Funding Scheme for Youth Life Planning Activities, which invites NGOs to provide enhanced services and national affairs content. The Hong Kong Jockey Club will contribute $300 million to support these initiatives.

    Mr Lee said the GBA Youth Employment Scheme will be enhanced through a relaxation of eligibility requirements, meaning young people aged 29 or under with sub-degrees or higher qualifications will be able to join the scheme. The Youth Employment and Training Programme will also be refined, with the upper age limit for participants rising to 29. Additional workplace attachment opportunities will be provided in the GBA under the programme.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Employers invited to participate in careers fair supporting Changing Futures Navigators

    Source: City of Preston

    On Friday 15 November, 11am – 3pm, Preston Town Hall will host a Careers Fair designed to support Navigators from the Changing Futures programme.

    This Careers Fair will feature a broad range of employers from both the public and private sectors, providing job opportunities, career advice, and valuable insights. Navigators will have the opportunity to meet with recruiters and explore a variety of roles tailored to their skills and experiences.

    Changing Futures is funded by the UK Government’s Shared Outcomes Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund.

    The programme and the Navigators are dedicated to improving the lives of adults facing multiple disadvantages, including homelessness, substance misuse, mental health issues, domestic abuse, and involvement with the criminal justice system.

    Most of the Navigators from the Changing Futures programme have battled and overcome similar issues in their own lives which makes them uniquely equipped to support other people. Their skills, experience and perspective can be of great benefit to other organisations which support the most vulnerable people in society.

    Councillor Zafar Coupland, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, said:

    Navigators from the Changing Futures programme have been instrumental in supporting people across Preston, offering guidance and a helping hand as they navigate the next stage of their lives. 

    This Careers Fair is an opportunity to return the support they’ve given to others, helping them make valuable connections and open doors to future employment as many approach the end of their time on the programme.

    If you are an employer interested in participating in the careers fair, please do get in touch with us.”

    Employers interested in participating in the event and supporting this important initiative are encouraged to email p.griffiths@preston.gov.uk for further details.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE says culture to drive development

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Chief Executive John Lee pledged in this morning’s 2024 Policy Address to promote the integrated development of culture, sports and tourism in Hong Kong, and to foster economic diversification in the city.

    Mr Lee shared plans to enhance Hong Kong’s cultural soft power, promote sports development, build Hong Kong into a centre for international sports mega-events, and revitalise the city’s tourism industry. He also outlined initiatives to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs), develop the “silver economy”, and promote the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s agriculture and fisheries industries.

    The Chief Executive said that in order to enhance Hong Kong’s role as the world’s East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange and boost its cultural confidence, the Government would deepen institutional reforms to the city’s cultural system, and improve its cultural and economic policies.

    Updating the community on the formulation of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau’s (CSTB) Blueprint for Arts and Culture and Creative Industries Development, Mr Lee said the CSTB is due to consult the Culture Commission on it and will promulgate the blueprint later this year.

    He added that the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency, established in June, is incubating cultural and creative projects with potential for commercialisation through the CreateSmart Initiative, and facilitating more registration of cultural and creative products on the Asia IP Exchange Portal. It is also turning Hong Kong Fashion Design Week into an annual signature event, with a view to establishing Hong Kong as a fashion design hub. 

    Mr Lee also iterated that the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) Authority is taking the lead on establishing an industry chain for Hong Kong’s arts, cultural and creative industries. He reported that it will promote the creation of a comprehensive arts trading ecosystem; host more major international cultural, creative and commercial events; export more performing arts programmes and exhibitions to the Mainland and overseas on a commercial basis; and brand the WKCD as a must-visit cultural landmark in collaboration with the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB). 

    On sports development, Mr Lee said the Government will continue to promote sports in the community, support elite sports, enhance the professionalism of Hong Kong athletes and sports teams, maintain Hong Kong as a centre for major international sports events, and develop sports as an industry.

    He mentioned that the Hong Kong Sports Institute is reviewing the mechanism for direct financial support of athletes, including those with disabilities, and has set up a committee to oversee the development of sports medicine and sports science. He added that the Government will provide more sports and recreational facilities, including a new swimming complex suitable for hosting international competitions and a new sports arena with fencing facilities.

    In terms of sports governance, the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China will conclude its review of the governance and operation of national sports associations (NSAs). Mr Lee also outlined that the Government aims to develop Hong Kong as a host city economy and will make use of the new Kai Tak Sports Park (KTSP) and other existing venues to host large-scale international competitions so that Hong Kong athletes and teams can compete on home soil.

    He added that the KTSP, due to open in the first quarter of 2025, will boost sports development and foster the synergistic development of major sports events, innovative entertainment, dining, conventions and exhibitions, and tourism activities.

    With regard to tourism, the Chief Executive said the CSTB will publish its Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0 later this year. It will cover areas such as the development of eco-tourism, and the enhancement of tourism-support measures to encourage more visitor arrivals from the Middle East and Southeast Asia. There will also be efforts to create tourism products around specific themes, such as yachting, pandas and horse racing, build the city’s mega-event tourism economy, promote gastronomy tourism and cruise tourism, and develop “smart tourism” through the application of technologies such as AI (artificial intelligence).

    In addition, Mr Lee said the Government will set up a Working Group on Developing Tourist Hotspots to co-ordinate with the community and develop new tourist hotspots in various districts. It has also proposed to the central authorities that the “multiple-entry” Individual Visit Endorsements for Shenzhen residents be resumed and that the “one trip per week” Individual Visit Endorsements pilot scheme be expanded to cover more cities.

    Mr Lee added that starting from today the Government has relaxed the criteria for nationals of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar in applying for multiple-entry visas for travel or business, and extended the validity period of the visas offered from two years to three.

    The Chief Executive also unveiled a number of support measures to address challenges encountered by SMEs. These include re-launching the principal moratorium, meaning that enterprises that borrow under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme will be allowed to apply for a principal moratorium for up to 12 months. Existing loans already granted under the 80%, 90% and special 100% guarantee products, as well as new loans under the 80% and 90% guarantee products, will be covered.

    In addition, $1 billion will be injected into the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales to help SMEs upgrade their business operations and develop new markets, and the scope of Cyberport’s Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme, which offers SMEs funding for digital transformation on a matching basis, will be expanded to cover the retail and food and beverage sectors.

    Mr Lee said the Hong Kong Trade Development Council will formulate plans to set up more Hong Kong Pavilions at Mainland and overseas exhibitions, while an additional provision of $500 million will be allocated for the launch of the Incentive Scheme for Recurrent Exhibitions 2.0, which aims to attract large-scale international exhibitions to Hong Kong.

    In terms of the development of a silver economy, the Chief Executive said new products and services must be developed in response to the rapid expansion of the elderly market. The Government will set up a “Working Group on Promoting Silver Economy”, led by the Deputy Chief Secretary, to implement measures to boost elderly-related consumption and support elderly consumers.

    Mr Lee reported that the Government will also take forward the Blueprint for the Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Fisheries.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Germany: Issue of Federal Treasury notes – Announcement of auction

    Source: Deutsche Bundesbank in English

    A digital euro would be a digital form of central bank money, specifically the euro. It could be used by the general public in much the same way as cash, only in virtual form. Alongside cash, the Eurosystem would thus supply households with an additional form of central bank money that can be used quickly, easily and securely.

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI German News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Eagleby company and director fined, handed suspended jail term, in one of Queensland’s worst cases of asbestos offences

    Source: Government of Queensland

    Issued: 16 Oct 2024

    Open larger image

    Illegally dumped waste on Eagleby property

    The Beenleigh Magistrates Court has handed down a scathing sentence for one of Queensland’s worst-ever illegal asbestos waste matters, following an extensive investigation by Queensland’s environmental regulator.

    Asbestos Demolition Specialists has been fined $400,000, and the company’s director has copped a $100,000 fine and a suspended jail term after pleading guilty to a number of offences relating to the illegal operation of a waste facility in Eagleby.

    The asbestos removal and demolition company pleaded guilty to nine offences under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 including:

    • two offences for carrying out an environmentally relevant activity without an environmental authority,
    • five offences for wilfully contravening an environmental protection order (EPO),
    • one offence for wilfully and unlawfully depositing a prescribed water contaminant, and
    • one offence for wilfully and unlawfully causing material harm.

    In addition to the $400,000 fine, the company has been ordered to pay a monetary benefit order of $75,544, representing the licence fees for the activity. The company and its director were issued with a rehabilitation order to restore the impacted land.

    The company’s director, Mr Anthony Palmer, pleaded guilty to failing to ensure his company complied with the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act. He was fined $100,000 and sentenced to nine months imprisonment wholly suspended for three years.

    The Court recorded convictions against both defendants and ordered they pay $12,645 each in legal and investigation costs.

    During sentencing, the Court found the offending activities were deliberate and extensive, and noted it was one of Queensland’s largest criminal asbestos waste matters.

    Queensland’s environmental regulator, the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI), began investigating the site in 2020 after officers conducted a series of site inspections and observed large amounts of illegally disposed construction waste, including asbestos.

    Due to the site’s location on the banks of the Albert River and other nearby water bodies, and its proximity to residential properties, the site was not licenced to receive any waste including asbestos-contaminated waste.

    In June 2020, DESI issued the company with a Direction Notice which required it to immediately stop receiving and disposing of waste at the site, and to remove any onsite waste. In July 2021, DESI issued the company with a penalty infringement notice for failing to comply with the Direction Notice, and an EPO.

    Mr Palmer and the company repeatedly failed to comply with the department’s statutory notices, and during follow up site inspections throughout 2020, 2021 and 2022, environmental officers continued to observe old and new waste on site including asbestos.

    Quotes attributable to Brad Wirth, Executive Director, Industry Development and South East Compliance, DESI

    “As the environmental regulator, it is our role to implement and enforce legislation that protects the environment and safeguards our communities.

    “It is vital that operators and individuals comply with the laws and regulations to ensure their activities do not harm our precious environment, and we will take strong action against those who fail to meet these expectations.

    “The repeated and serious nature of these offences, and the lack of action from the company and Mr Palmer is extremely disappointing.

    “The outcome from the Court reflects the seriousness of these offences.

    “The handling, management and disposal of asbestos waste is strictly regulated by the department to protect the health and safety of our communities, and the environment.

    “The Albert River is home to a diverse ecosystem and provides crucial habitat to number of flora and fauna species. Its conservation is essential to the area’s biodiversity, and it is simply unacceptable that Mr Palmer and his company put its health at risk.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Somalia and Turkey are becoming firm allies – what’s behind this strategy

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Federico Donelli, Assistant Professor of International Relations, University of Trieste

    Turkey has ramped up its partnership with Somalia in recent months. It is helping Somalia defend its waters, and has signed a deal to explore for oil and gas off the east African nation’s coast.

    There have also been reports of advanced discussions to have Turkey set up a missile and rocket testing site in Somalia.

    These agreements underscore Turkey’s strategic and economic aspirations in the broader Horn of Africa region.

    Over the past four years, there has been a steady increase in Turkish partnerships and agreements for the export of defence-related products to the region. This has included the use of Turkish drones in conflict zones, such as Libya and Ethiopia.

    I have studied Turkey’s historical and current involvement in Somalia to understand what’s driving Ankara’s policy in the Horn of Africa. In my view, Turkey’s involvement is driven by multiple factors. These include international status-seeking, regional balance and strategic concerns.

    The opening of a training facility in Mogadishu has increased Turkey’s strategic depth in the Horn of Africa, projecting the country towards both sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean. And the use of Turkish drones in Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict has shown Turkish defence arrangements have become a factor in local dynamics.

    Somalia’s appeal

    Turkey’s interest in Somalia dates back to 2010-2011. At the time, Somalia was grappling with the devastating effects of 20 years of civil war, failed international interventions and the emergence of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab terror group. In addition, the country was devastated by a famine that claimed more than 250,000 lives.

    Somalia presented Turkey with several opportunities to establish a footprint in a region of high geostrategic value, and to enhance its image in Africa and globally.

    First, there was a lack of interest in the country from major international players. Apart from anti-piracy initiatives in the Gulf of Aden and the US focus on the war on terror, international players watched Somalia with a certain detachment.

    Turkey saw an opportunity to benefit from taking a leading role in an international crisis scenario.

    Read more: Al-Shabaab is just a symptom of Somalia’s tragedy – the causes are still in place

    Second, the world’s attention focused on the Arab world. The region was facing a wave of pro-democracy protests dubbed the Arab Spring. Somalia and the suffering of the Somali people were quickly forgotten by the international community.

    Turkish policymakers saw the country’s isolation as an opportunity to gain international popularity and visibility on the continent.

    Turkey took a multifaceted approach in Somalia. This encompassed humanitarian aid, diplomatic initiatives and economic investment. Turkey also supported state-building efforts and the reconstruction of Somalia’s security apparatus.

    Internal dynamics

    The financial and political resources that Turkey has invested in Somalia are driven by regional and domestic political considerations.

    Regionally, 2016 to 2021 was a period of tension between Turkey, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Somalia and the competition for influence in its politics became one of the main areas of confrontation.

    Domestically, Turkey has been able to portray its involvement in a way that’s boosted the ruling party’s standing. In addition, engagement in the Horn of Africa meets the demands of various business groups. This includes construction and defence companies that are close to the ruling political elite.

    Intervention in Somalia plays an important role in the narrative of Turkish political elites associated with Turkey’s ruling party, Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party).

    The party is a conservative but non-confessional party with Islamist roots. A significant proportion of the party’s supporters consider voluntary charity (sadaqa) to be the duty of a good Muslim. As a result, Turkey’s foreign and domestic interests converged with the government’s policy to support crisis-stricken Muslim communities. This includes those in Somalia. Here, Turkey has framed its involvement as a political and humanitarian success story. The Turkish public views it as such.

    Read more: Turkey’s foray into Somalia is a huge success, but there are risks

    Turkey has been able to bolster its security and defence ties at a rapid pace. The country’s Savunma Sanayii Başkanlığı (Defence Industry Agency of Turkey) reports directly to the president. Established as a state body in 1985, the agency gained prominence in 2017 when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had it placed under the direct authority of the presidency.

    This has made concluding defence agreements – a key factor of Ankara’s foreign policy – much faster.

    Turkey has also used the opportunity to increase its involvement in the energy sector. Ankara has long aspired to play a pivotal role as a major energy hub in the wider region. It has considered establishing exploration operations off the coast of Somalia. Like all emerging powers, Turkey has a thirst for energy. This explains its July 2024 oil and gas exploration deal with Somalia.

    Turning point

    Ankara’s February 2024 defence agreement marked a significant turning point in Turkey-Somalia cooperation.

    The agreement deepens defence ties between the two countries. Under the deal, Turkey has agreed to train and equip the Somali navy. It will also help patrol Somalia’s extensive 3,333-kilometre coastline. Turkey’s focus is on maritime activities. This is a strategic choice largely influenced by the unstable conditions in Somalia, where exerting control over territory is difficult.

    Read more: Red Sea politics: why Turkey is helping Somalia defend its waters

    The deal is a response to changes in the regional landscape and the ongoing reconfiguration of power dynamics in the Horn of Africa.

    This has included:

    Somalia’s decision to pursue diplomatic ties and defence agreements with Turkey needs to be understood against this backdrop.

    – Somalia and Turkey are becoming firm allies – what’s behind this strategy
    – https://theconversation.com/somalia-and-turkey-are-becoming-firm-allies-whats-behind-this-strategy-240578

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK House Price Index for August 2024

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The UK HPI shows house price changes for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    The August data shows:

    • on average, house prices have risen 1.5% since July 2024
    • there has been an annual price rise of 2.8% which makes the average property in the UK valued at £293,000

    England

    In England the August data shows, on average, house prices have risen by 1.6% since July 2024. The annual price rise of 2.3% takes the average property value to £310,000.

    • Yorkshire and the Humber experienced the most significant monthly increase with a movement of 2.7%
    • The South West saw the greatest monthly price fall, with a fall of -0.3%
    • The North West experienced the greatest annual price rise, up by 4.6%
    • The South West saw the lowest annual price growth, with a rise of 0.8%

    The regional data for England indicates that:

    Price change by region for England

    Region Average price Aug 2024 Annual change % since Aug 2023 Monthly change % since July  2024
    East Midlands £250,000 2.1 1.4
    East of England £344,000 1.4 1
    London £531,000 1.4 2.2
    North East £166,000 1.7 1.5
    North West £225,000 4.6 2.4
    South East £385,000 1.6 1.4
    South West £321,000 0.8 -0.3
    West Midlands £255,000 2.6 1.1
    Yorkshire and the Humber £219,000 4.4 2.7

    Repossession sales by volume for England

    The lowest number of repossession sales in June 2024 was in the East of England.

    The highest number of repossession sales in June 2024 was in the North East.

    Repossession sales June 2024
    East Midlands 12
    East of England 0
    London 8
    North East 18
    North West 6
    South East 8
    South West 6
    West Midlands 7
    Yorkshire and the Humber 7
    England 72

    Average price by property type for England

    Property type Aug 2024 Aug  2023 Difference %
    Detached £466,000 £463,000 0.8
    Semi-detached £299,000 £290,000 3.3
    Terraced £258,000 £251,000 2.5
    Flat/maisonette £257,000 £251,000 2.4
    All £310,000 £303,000 2.3

    Funding and buyer status for England

    Transaction type Average price Aug 2024 Annual price change % since Aug 2023 Monthly price change % since Jul 2024
    Cash £290,000 1.7 1.5
    Mortgage £320,000 2.6 1.6
    First-time buyer £260,000 3.1 2.1
    Former owner occupier £350,000 1.5 1

    Building status for England

    Building status* Average price June 2024 Annual price change % since June 2023 Monthly price change % since May 2024
    New build £443,000 25.9 -1.2
    Existing resold property £300,000 1.1 0.4

    *Figures for the 2 most recent months are not being published because there are not enough new build transactions to give a meaningful result.

    London

    London shows, on average, house prices increased by 2.2% since July 2024. An annual price fall of 1.4% takes the average property value to £531,000.

    Average price by property type for London

    Property type Aug 2024 Aug 2023 Difference %
    Detached £1,036,000 £1,058,000 -2.1
    Semi-detached £687,000 £677,000 1.5
    Terraced £580,000 £573,000 1.1
    Flat/maisonette £443,000 £434,000 2
    All £531,000 £524,000 1.4

    Funding and buyer status for London

    Transaction type Average price Aug 2024 Annual price change % since Aug 2023 Monthly price change % since Jul 2024
    Cash £545,000 0.6 3.2
    Mortgage £526,000 1.7 1.9
    First-time buyer £461,000 2.3 2.8
    Former owner occupier £604,000 0 1.1

    Building status for London

    Building status* Average price June 2024 Annual price change % since June 2023 Monthly price change % since May 2024
    New build £618,000 23 0.2
    Existing resold property £525,000 0 1.1

    *Figures for the 2 most recent months are not being published because there are not enough new build transactions to give a meaningful result.

    Wales

    Wales shows, on average, house prices rose by 2.6% since Jul 2024. An annual price increase of 3.5% takes the average property value to £223,000

    There were 9 repossession sales for Wales in Jun 2024.

    Average price by property type for Wales

    Property type Aug 2024 Aug 2023 Difference %
    Detached £328,000 £323,000 1.7
    Semi-detached £217,000 £208,000 4.1
    Terraced £177,000 £170,000 4.2
    Flat/maisonette £147,000 £140,000 4.7
    All £223,000 £215,000 3.5

    Funding and buyer status for Wales

    Transaction type Average price Aug 2024 Annual price change % since Aug 2023 Monthly price change % since Jul 2024
    Cash £216,000 3.1 3.1
    Mortgage £227,000 3.8 2.4
    First-time buyer £194,000 4.4 2.8
    Former owner occupier £256,000 2.6 2.4

    Building status for Wales

    Building status* Average price June 2024 Annual price change % since June 2023 Monthly price change % since May 2024
    New build £336,000 25.7 -0.9
    Existing resold property £211,000 0.9 0.6

    *Figures for the 2 most recent months are not being published because there are not enough new build transactions to give a meaningful result.

    UK house prices

    UK house prices rose by 2.8% in the year to Aug 2024, up from the revised estimate of 1.8% in the 12 months to July 2024. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 1.5% between July 2024 and Aug 2024, up 0.5% from the same period 12 months ago (July and Aug 2023).

    The UK Property Transactions Statistics showed that in Aug 2024, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions of residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 90,000. This is 5.4% higher than a year ago (Aug 2023). Between July 2024 and Aug 2024, UK transactions decreased by 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis.

    House price monthly increase was highest in Yorkshire & The Humber where prices increased by 2.7% in the year to Aug 2024. The highest annual growth was in the The North West, where prices increased by 4.6% in the year to Aug 2024.

    See the economic statement.

    The UK HPI is based on completed housing transactions. Typically, a house purchase can take 6 to 8 weeks to reach completion. As with other indicators in the housing market, which typically fluctuate from month to month, it is important not to put too much weight on one month’s set of house price data.

    Access the full UK HPI

    Background

    1. We publish the UK House Price Index (HPI) on the second or third Wednesday of each month with Northern Ireland figures updated quarterly. We will publish the September 2024 UK HPI at 9:30am on Wednesday 20 Novemeber 2024. See calendar of release dates.
    2. We have made some changes to improve the accuracy of the UK HPI. We are not publishing average price and percentage change for new builds and existing resold property as done previously because there are not currently enough new build transactions to provide a reliable result. This means that in this month’s UK HPI reports, new builds and existing resold property are reported in line with the sales volumes currently available.
    3. The UK HPI revision period has been extended to 13 months, following a review of the revision policy (see calculating the UK HPI section 4.4). This ensures the data used is more comprehensive.
    4. Sales volume data is available by property status (new build and existing property) and funding status (cash and mortgage) in our downloadable data tables. Transactions that require us to create a new register, such as new builds, are more complex and require more time to process. Read revisions to the UK HPI data.
    5. Revision tables are available for England and Wales within the downloadable data in CSV format. See about the UK HPI for more information.
    6. HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, Land & Property Services/Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and the Valuation Office Agency supply data for the UK HPI.
    7. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Land & Property Services/Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency calculate the UK HPI. It applies a hedonic regression model that uses the various sources of data on property price, including HM Land Registry’s Price Paid Dataset, and attributes to produce estimates of the change in house prices each month. Find out more about the methodology used from the ONS and Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency.
    8. We take the UK Property Transaction statistics  from the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) monthly estimates of the number of residential and non-residential property transactions in the UK and its constituent countries. The number of property transactions in the UK is highly seasonal, with more activity in the summer months and less in the winter. This regular annual pattern can sometimes mask the underlying movements and trends in the data series. HMRC presents the UK aggregate transaction figures on a seasonally adjusted basis. We make adjustments for both the time of year and the construction of the calendar, including corrections for the position of Easter and the number of trading days in a particular month.
    9. UK HPI seasonally adjusted series are calculated at regional and national levels only. See data tables.
    10. The first estimate for new build average price (April 2016 report) was based on a small sample which can cause volatility. A three-month moving average has been applied to the latest estimate to remove some of this volatility.
    11. The UK HPI reflects the final transaction price for sales of residential property. Using the geometric mean, it covers purchases at market value for owner-occupation and buy-to-let, excluding those purchases not at market value (such as re-mortgages), where the ‘price’ represents a valuation.
    12. HM Land Registry provides information on residential property transactions for England and Wales, collected as part of the official registration process for properties that are sold for full market value.
    13. The HM Land Registry dataset contains the sale price of the property, the date when the sale was completed, full address details, the type of property (detached, semi-detached, terraced or flat), if it is a newly built property or an established residential building and a variable to indicate if the property has been purchased as a financed transaction (using a mortgage) or as a non-financed transaction (cash purchase).
    14. Repossession sales data is based on the number of transactions lodged with HM Land Registry by lenders exercising their power of sale.
    15. For England, we show repossession sales volume recorded by government office region. For Wales, we provide repossession sales volume for the number of repossession sales.
    16. Repossession sales data is available from April 2016 in CSV format. Find out more information about repossession sales.
    17. We publish CSV files of the raw and cleansed aggregated data every month for England, Scotland and Wales. We publish Northern Ireland data on a quarterly basis. They are available for free use and re-use under the Open Government Licence.
    18. HM Land Registry is a government department created in 1862. Its vision is: “A world-leading property market as part of a thriving economy and a sustainable future.”
    19. HM Land Registry’s purpose is: “We protect your land ownership and provide services and data that underpin an efficient and informed property market.”
    20. HM Land Registry safeguards land and property ownership valued at £8 trillion, enabling over £1 trillion worth of personal and commercial lending to be secured against property across England and Wales. The Land Register contains more than 26.5 million titles showing evidence of ownership for more than 89% of the land mass of England and Wales.
    21. For further information about HM Land Registry visit http://www.gov.uk/land-registry.
    22. Follow us on @HMLandRegistry, our blog, LinkedIn and Facebook.

    Contact

    Press Office

    Trafalgar House
    1 Bedford Park
    Croydon
    CR0 2AQ

    Email HMLRPressOffice@landregistry.gov.uk

    Phone (Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5:30pm) 0300 006 3365

    Mobile (5:30pm to 8:30am weekdays, all weekend and public holidays) 07864 689 344

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Regulator of Social Housing publishes first C4 grading for the London Borough of Newham

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The Regulator of Social Housing has today issued its first C4 grading to the London Borough of Newham, meaning there are very serious failings and fundamental changes are needed.

    During an inspection of the council, RSH found:

    • Over 9,000 overdue fire safety remedial actions, of which over 8,000 were overdue by more than 12 months and more than 4,000 categorised as high risk.
    • 40% of its 16,000 homes had not had an electrical condition test for more than 11 years.
    • Lack of evidence that it is meeting the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm requirements for any of its homes.
    • A lack of accurate information on stock quality, with 60% of its homes without a survey within the last five years.
    • At least 20% of its homes do not meet the requirements of the Decent Homes Standard.
    • Around 5,400 open repairs, nearly half of which were overdue.
    • Tenant Satisfaction Measure (TSM) surveys not completed on time
    • Very limited meaningful opportunities for tenants to influence and scrutinise the landlord’s strategies, policies and services.

    Although LB Newham has indicated a willingness to address these issues, they failed to refer themselves over key issues and RSH has not yet seen sufficient evidence to assure the regulator of their ability to put matters right.

    Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said:

    The breadth and scale of these failings, including very serious health and safety issues, pose an unacceptable risk to tenants’ well-being.

    Taking accountability is a critical part of the co-regulatory approach and it is extremely concerning that, despite the gravity of these failings, the landlord failed to refer themselves to us over key issues.

    We are now engaging intensively with LB Newham as they work to resolve these issues. While we are not proposing to use our enforcement powers at this stage, this will be kept under review.

    RSH has awarded 35 consumer grades since its new proactive consumer began in April, including 9 C1 grades (the highest grade), 13 C2 grades, 12 C3 grades (of which 10 were self-referrals) and 1 C4 (the lowest grade).

    RSH is carrying out planned inspections of all large social landlords (those with over 1,000 homes) over a four-year cycle. RSH has started to publish the outcomes of these first inspections and will continue to do so over the coming months.

    Notes to editors

    1. On 1 April 2024 RSH introduced new consumer standards for social housing landlords, designed to drive long-term improvements in the sector. It also began a programme of landlord inspections. The changes are a result of the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 and include stronger powers to hold landlords to account. More information about RSH’s approach is available in its document Reshaping Consumer Regulation.
    2. More information about RSH’s responsive engagement, programmed inspections and consumer gradings is also available on its website.
    3. RSH promotes a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver more and better social homes. It does this by setting standards and carrying out robust regulation focusing on driving improvement in social landlords, including local authorities, and ensuring that housing associations are well-governed, financially viable and offer value for money. It takes appropriate action if the outcomes of the standards are not being delivered.
    4. Where we have published C3 judgements, the ten landlords who self-referred themselves were Ashford Borough Council, Bristol City Council, Guildford Borough Council, London Borough of Hackney, North Yorkshire Council, Octavia Housing, Sheffield City Council, South Derbyshire District Council, and Warwick District Council.

    For general enquiries email enquiries@rsh.gov.uk. For media enquiries please see our Media Enquiries page.

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Grave of missing World War Two soldier identified in Italy 80 years after his death

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The grave of a soldier of the Middlesex Regiment who lost his life in Italy during World War Two has been identified and rededicated 80 years after his death.

    Padre David Anderson leads the rededication service for Cpl Owens (Crown Copyright)

    Today’s rededication service for Corporal (Cpl) John Owens was organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also known as the ‘War Detectives’. The service was held at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Anzio War Cemetery in Italy. 

    John Alfred Owens was born in Southwark, London on 16 December 1911 to Harry Owens, a milkman, and his wife Louisa. In 1912 John’s sister Amy was born, and a younger brother – Alfred – followed in 1919.  

    John joined the Territorial Army in 1929; he was 18 years old and working as a tool maker. His army records describe him as having a fresh complexion with brown eyes and dark hair.   

    In 1933 he married Violet Maud Dennis in Brentford, and they had three children – Doreen, Sidney and Barbara. He left the Territorial Army in 1935.  

    Cpl John Alfred Owens with his wife and children (supplied courtesy of his family)

    In 1938 John re-joined the army, and in 1939 following the outbreak of war he was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal, and then Corporal. He was on home defence duties during the early years of the war, until in May 1943 he embarked for North Africa in preparation for the invasion of Italy. His unit, Middlesex Regiment’s 2/7 Battalion were machine gunners supporting infantry troops.    

    By January 1944, John had arrived in Italy, and by the end of the month he was in the Anzio area. On the night of 3 to 4 February 1944 there was a German counterattack during which a small armoured vehicle and gun stores were left behind so the men could safely escape. Early on the morning of the 4th, Cpl Owens, along with another man, Private (Pte) Harris volunteered to recover the gun carrier and other items but went missing in the process. 

    Pte Harris was taken prisoner by the Germans during this action. An Army investigation concluded Cpl Owens had been wounded and taken prisoner, dying in enemy hands on or shortly after the 4 February.  

    Following his death, he was buried near Campoleone station at Aprilla alongside two other men. In August 1944, all three were recovered and moved to the Anzio War Cemetery. The other two men both had personal artefacts which allowed them to be identified, but John could only be identified as a Corporal of the Middlesex Regiment.  

    Recently a team of independent researchers submitted evidence to the CWGC hoping to have located the final resting place of Cpl Owens. This research was reviewed, and extra work was conducted by the National Army Museum and JCCC which concluded that now, 80 years after his death, it was possible to clearly identify where he was buried. 

    Tracy, the granddaughter of Cpl Owens, stands behind his headstone with members of the military party and other dignitaries (Crown Copyright)

    JCCC Caseworker, Alexia Clark, said: 

    Researching Cpl Owens and getting to know his war story has been a fascinating journey. It has been a privilege to have played a part in the conclusion of that stories and to know that his family finally have answers to what happened to him all those years ago.

    Director for Central and Southern Europe at the CWGC, Geert Bekaert, said:  

    We give our heartfelt thanks to the team of researchers, the National Army Museum and of course the JCCC, in working with us to help identify this brave soldier’s grave. We will care for his grave and commemorate all who are buried in the beautiful grounds of Anzio War Cemetery.

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: SNP must provide concessionary ferry rates for young islanders

    Source: Scottish Greens

    16 Oct 2024 Rural Affairs Transport

    Green MSP Ariane Burgess calls on SNP to fulfil promise to young islanders.

    More in Rural Affairs

    SNP ministers must fulfil their promise and provide young people across island communities reduced ferry fares, says Scottish Greens Highlands and Islands MSP Ariane Burgess.

    Last year, Scottish Green MSPs secured a commitment to extend the age range for concessions to all those under 22 in Scottish island communities.

    Under the current scheme previously secured by the Greens, 16-18 year olds have access to ferry concessions on West Coast and Northern Isles services.  

    This scheme currently equates to four free ferry vouchers per year.

    Earlier this week, the Scottish Government announced they would be ending a “fare freeze” on CalMac services with a 10% hike on ticket prices from January 2025.

    Scottish Greens Rural Affairs spokesperson Ariane Burgess said:

    “The increase in ferry fares will further penalise the islanders who rely heavily on these services, making daily commutes expensive and for some, completely unachievable.  

    “The rising cost of living on Scottish islands has seen populations dwindling. Many young islanders are moving from their communities as they cannot afford to rent or buy in their home towns, and commuting to the mainland is becoming impossible.

    “Tourists may budget for increased ferry rates as part of their holiday to bring welcomed custom to our islands, but the locals bear the unseen load on a daily basis. Reform is urgently required to show that the government has not forsaken islanders.  

    “The Bute House Agreement ensured a commitment from the Government to work with ferry operators to create discount and concessionary schemes.  

    “Young people receive free bus travel in Scotland thanks to Scottish Greens and this model has positively impacted their lives socially and financially. Young islanders deserve this positive impact too.

    “Ferries are a vital lifeline for islanders. Provision of an affordable, reliable service will ensure young people feel they can remain living in their community and still have access to opportunity.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Synaptics Launches Veros™ Seamless Intelligent Connectivity with High-Performance Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Zigbee/Thread SoCs

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Synaptics® Incorporated (Nasdaq: SYNA) today launched the Veros™ Seamless Intelligent Connectivity brand with high-performance systems on chip (SoCs) for Wi-Fi® 6E, Bluetooth®, and 802.15.4. Signifying leadership and innovation, Veros encapsulates decades of field-hardened technology and IoT connectivity expertise. It encompasses Synaptics’ entire wireless portfolio of proven solutions characterized by superior performance, interoperability, coexistence, power efficiency, and bill of materials integration.

    The new high-performance SoCs, the SYN4383 and SYN43756E, add to Veros by explicitly targeting devices that demand the highest Wi-Fi throughput and range with seamless network interoperability. The SYN4383 extends Synaptics’ award-winning “Triple Combo” Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/802.15.4 series with real simultaneous dual-band (RSDB) operation and greater system integration. The SYN43756E fortifies Synaptics’ widely adopted 2×2 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo SoCs with a 6E Wi-Fi band and LE Audio.

    Veros features built-in support for Synaptics Astra™, the AI-native compute platform for the IoT, to streamline Edge AI product development and deliver context-aware devices for immersive user experiences across consumer, automotive, enterprise, and industrial applications.

    “The introduction of Veros marks a pivotal moment for Synaptics as we accelerate our ‘Sense, Process, Connect’ and first-to-market innovation strategy for high-performance and broad-market IoT connectivity,” said Venkat Kodavati, Sr. VP and GM of Wireless Products at Synaptics. “By tightly coupling our renowned wireless expertise with scalable AI processing, we allow customers to fully realize the promise of each to enhance the user experience. Our newest wireless SoCs allow customers to more quickly and effectively deliver on that promise.”

    Founded upon an IP base with billions of devices shipped, Veros spans Synaptics’ solutions for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, DECT/ULE, IEEE 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread), GPS/GNSS, and Matter. The SYN4383 and SYN43756E strengthen Veros’ legacy of reducing the space, cost, power, complexity, and time to market for high-performance IoT devices.

    Technical highlights
    The SYN4383 and SYN43756E have features tailored to address the demanding requirements of media-rich applications.

    • The SYN4383 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/802.15.4 triple combo device is the third in the SYN438x series. It integrates tri-band 2×2 Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz), Bluetooth 5.4 (6.0 compatible) with LE Audio and Channel Sounding, and Thread/Zigbee support. Ideal for high-performance multimedia hubs such as TVs, STBs, soundbars, and tablets, the SYN4383’s RSDB capability allows it to operate independent Wi-Fi streams in two bands simultaneously.
    • The SYN43756E Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo device integrates tri-band 2×2 Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) with Bluetooth 5.3 (6.0 compatible), including LE Audio. Setup and operation are seamless with the SYN43756E’s industry-leading throughput, range, and interoperability, making it an ideal and cost-effective option for security devices, STBs, speakers, and other smart home devices that don’t require RSDB or 802.15.4.

    Availability
    The SYN4383 and SYN43756E are available now.

    About Synaptics Incorporated
    Synaptics (Nasdaq: SYNA) is leading the charge in AI at the Edge, bringing AI closer to end users and transforming how we engage with intelligent connected devices, whether at home, at work, or on the move. As the go-to partner for the world’s most forward-thinking product innovators, Synaptics powers the future with its cutting-edge Synaptics Astra™ AI-Native embedded compute, Veros™ wireless connectivity, and multimodal sensing solutions. We’re making the digital experience smarter, faster, more intuitive, secure, and seamless. From touch, display, and biometrics to AI-driven wireless connectivity, video, vision, audio, speech, and security processing, Synaptics is the force behind the next generation of technology enhancing how we live, work, and play. Follow Synaptics on LinkedIn, X, and Facebook, or visit http://www.synaptics.com.  

    Synaptics and the Synaptics logo are trademarks of Synaptics in the United States and/or other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

    Media Contact
    Synaptics Incorporated
    Patrick Mannion
    Director of External PR and Technical Communications
    +1 631-678-1015
    patrick.mannion@synaptics.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: On the main staircase with an orchestra! Polytech launched musical changes

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    Now, in the Polytechnic University, a pop-symphony orchestra plays during breaks between classes! On October 15, the “Musical Break” project was launched at our university. The university’s creative teams will take turns turning the main staircase of the Main Building into a concert hall.

    If the music that greets you at the entrance to the main building is already a familiar thing, then the sound of the orchestra on the main staircase is a surprise even for the Polytechnicians. For all 20 minutes of the big break, the Variety and Symphony Orchestra of SPbPU riveted the students’ attention. Recognizable classics and favorite rock hits, glowing smartphone screens and wide smiles on faces – the musical break at the Polytechnic was a sensation.

    This is great! What kind of orchestra is this? Bravo! Our classmates are playing! How is this possible?! — came from everywhere.

    The musicians, led by Dmitry Misyura, symbolically placed themselves between the busts of the university’s founder S. Yu. Witte and its first director A. G. Gagarin. Witte believed that educating an engineer without humanitarian training was immoral and destructive for the country. Gagarin founded the university’s first symphony orchestra. Thanks to the support of rector Andrei Rudskoy, today our musical group not only continues traditions, but also writes new history.

    “It is great that in the year of the 125th anniversary of the Polytechnic University, the implementation of the concept of developing the university as a cultural territory has begun. “Musical Change” is an important project,” says Boris Kondin, Head of the Directorate of Cultural Programs and Youth Creativity. “Only the Polytechnic University, the only technical university in Russia, implements the tasks of educating students through classical music. Only the Polytechnic University, the only university in the world, organizes “Creative Semesters” for first-year students. No university except the Polytechnic University greets students with classical music from loudspeakers, no university except the Polytechnic University has musical changes.”

    Throughout the first semester (Tuesdays and Thursdays, at 11.40 and 1.40 p.m.), the orchestra, theaters, choirs, vocal and dance studios will take turns putting on unique performances on the main staircase of the Main Building.

    “The idea of “Musical Change” could not help but be born. After all, there are so many creative student groups at the Polytechnic,” notes Dmitry Misyura, artistic director of the Student Club and conductor of the Variety and Symphony Orchestra. “The guys, of course, perform in concerts, go on tour, participate in festivals. But this format, at home, is the most interesting. It is a demonstration of the capabilities and talents among their own. Polytechnicians playing for Polytechnicians! All this is a pleasant surprise, creates a mood and makes you proud of the culture at the Polytechnic.”

    Photo archive

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

    Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    http://www.spbstu.ru/media/nevs/culture/on-the-main-staircase-with-orchestra-polytech-launched-musical-changes/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: UK Prime Minister’s Questions with British Sign Language (BSL) – 16 October 2024

    Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)

    Prime Minister’s Question Time, also referred to as PMQs, takes place every Wednesday the House of Commons sits. It gives MPs the chance to put questions to the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer MP, or a nominated minister.

    In most cases, the session starts with a routine ‘open question’ from an MP about the Prime Minister’s engagements. MPs can then ask supplementary questions on any subject, often one of current political significance.

    The Leader of the Opposition, Rishi Sunak MP, asks six questions and the leader of the second largest opposition party asks two. If another minister takes the place of the Prime Minister, opposition parties will usually nominate a shadow minister to ask the questions.

    Want to find out more about what’s happening in the House of Commons this week? Follow the House of Commons on:

    Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/HouseofCommons
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ukhouseofcommons
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ukhouseofcommons

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45vnYwdYunk

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Video: UK Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) – 16 October 2024

    Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)

    Watch PMQs with British Sign Language (BSL) – https://youtube.com/live/45vnYwdYunk

    Prime Minister’s Question Time, also referred to as PMQs, takes place every Wednesday the House of Commons sits. It gives MPs the chance to put questions to the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer MP, or a nominated minister.

    In most cases, the session starts with a routine ‘open question’ from an MP about the Prime Minister’s engagements. MPs can then ask supplementary questions on any subject, often one of current political significance.

    The Leader of the Opposition, Rishi Sunak MP, asks six questions and the leader of the second largest opposition party asks two. If another minister takes the place of the Prime Minister, opposition parties will usually nominate a shadow minister to ask the questions.

    Want to find out more about what’s happening in the House of Commons this week? Follow the House of Commons on:

    Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/HouseofCommons
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ukhouseofcommons
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ukhouseofcommons

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUngrvSwnE8

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Somalia and Turkey are becoming firm allies – what’s behind this strategy

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Federico Donelli, Assistant Professor of International Relations, University of Trieste

    Turkey has ramped up its partnership with Somalia in recent months. It is helping Somalia defend its waters, and has signed a deal to explore for oil and gas off the east African nation’s coast.

    There have also been reports of advanced discussions to have Turkey set up a missile and rocket testing site in Somalia.

    These agreements underscore Turkey’s strategic and economic aspirations in the broader Horn of Africa region.

    Over the past four years, there has been a steady increase in Turkish partnerships and agreements for the export of defence-related products to the region. This has included the use of Turkish drones in conflict zones, such as Libya and Ethiopia.

    I have studied Turkey’s historical and current involvement in Somalia to understand what’s driving Ankara’s policy in the Horn of Africa. In my view, Turkey’s involvement is driven by multiple factors. These include international status-seeking, regional balance and strategic concerns.

    The opening of a training facility in Mogadishu has increased Turkey’s strategic depth in the Horn of Africa, projecting the country towards both sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean. And the use of Turkish drones in Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict has shown Turkish defence arrangements have become a factor in local dynamics.

    Somalia’s appeal

    Turkey’s interest in Somalia dates back to 2010-2011. At the time, Somalia was grappling with the devastating effects of 20 years of civil war, failed international interventions and the emergence of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab terror group. In addition, the country was devastated by a famine that claimed more than 250,000 lives.

    Somalia presented Turkey with several opportunities to establish a footprint in a region of high geostrategic value, and to enhance its image in Africa and globally.

    First, there was a lack of interest in the country from major international players. Apart from anti-piracy initiatives in the Gulf of Aden and the US focus on the war on terror, international players watched Somalia with a certain detachment.

    Turkey saw an opportunity to benefit from taking a leading role in an international crisis scenario.



    Read more:
    Al-Shabaab is just a symptom of Somalia’s tragedy – the causes are still in place

    Second, the world’s attention focused on the Arab world. The region was facing a wave of pro-democracy protests dubbed the Arab Spring. Somalia and the suffering of the Somali people were quickly forgotten by the international community.

    Turkish policymakers saw the country’s isolation as an opportunity to gain international popularity and visibility on the continent.

    Turkey took a multifaceted approach in Somalia. This encompassed humanitarian aid, diplomatic initiatives and economic investment. Turkey also supported state-building efforts and the reconstruction of Somalia’s security apparatus.

    Internal dynamics

    The financial and political resources that Turkey has invested in Somalia are driven by regional and domestic political considerations.

    Regionally, 2016 to 2021 was a period of tension between Turkey, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Somalia and the competition for influence in its politics became one of the main areas of confrontation.

    Domestically, Turkey has been able to portray its involvement in a way that’s boosted the ruling party’s standing. In addition, engagement in the Horn of Africa meets the demands of various business groups. This includes construction and defence companies that are close to the ruling political elite.

    Intervention in Somalia plays an important role in the narrative of Turkish political elites associated with Turkey’s ruling party, Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party).

    The party is a conservative but non-confessional party with Islamist roots. A significant proportion of the party’s supporters consider voluntary charity (sadaqa) to be the duty of a good Muslim. As a result, Turkey’s foreign and domestic interests converged with the government’s policy to support crisis-stricken Muslim communities. This includes those in Somalia. Here, Turkey has framed its involvement as a political and humanitarian success story. The Turkish public views it as such.



    Read more:
    Turkey’s foray into Somalia is a huge success, but there are risks

    Turkey has been able to bolster its security and defence ties at a rapid pace. The country’s Savunma Sanayii Başkanlığı (Defence Industry Agency of Turkey) reports directly to the president. Established as a state body in 1985, the agency gained prominence in 2017 when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had it placed under the direct authority of the presidency.

    This has made concluding defence agreements – a key factor of Ankara’s foreign policy – much faster.

    Turkey has also used the opportunity to increase its involvement in the energy sector. Ankara has long aspired to play a pivotal role as a major energy hub in the wider region. It has considered establishing exploration operations off the coast of Somalia. Like all emerging powers, Turkey has a thirst for energy. This explains its July 2024 oil and gas exploration deal with Somalia.

    Turning point

    Ankara’s February 2024 defence agreement marked a significant turning point in Turkey-Somalia cooperation.

    The agreement deepens defence ties between the two countries. Under the deal, Turkey has agreed to train and equip the Somali navy. It will also help patrol Somalia’s extensive 3,333-kilometre coastline. Turkey’s focus is on maritime activities. This is a strategic choice largely influenced by the unstable conditions in Somalia, where exerting control over territory is difficult.



    Read more:
    Red Sea politics: why Turkey is helping Somalia defend its waters

    The deal is a response to changes in the regional landscape and the ongoing reconfiguration of power dynamics in the Horn of Africa.

    This has included:

    Somalia’s decision to pursue diplomatic ties and defence agreements with Turkey needs to be understood against this backdrop.

    Federico Donelli is a Senior Research Associate at the Istituto di Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI) in Milan and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Orion Policy Institute (OPI) in Washington D.C.

    – ref. Somalia and Turkey are becoming firm allies – what’s behind this strategy – https://theconversation.com/somalia-and-turkey-are-becoming-firm-allies-whats-behind-this-strategy-240578

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Policy Address: Reform for Enhancing Development and Building Our Future Together

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, today (October 16) announced his third Policy Address entitled “Reform for Enhancing Development and Building Our Future Together”, setting out a range of initiatives to create new impetus for economic development, improve people’s livelihood and enhance their quality of life.         Mr Lee said, “In this Policy Address, I will continue to follow through the ‘four proposals’ put forward by President Xi Jinping in his important speech delivered on July 1, 2022. I will also outline our vision and objectives for reforms and changes, as well as the related key measures and key performance indicators.     “Reform is a continuous process. Over the past two years, my team and I have focused on economic growth and on improving people’s livelihood through development, with the well-being of the people of Hong Kong close to our hearts. This Policy Address will deepen our reforms and explore new growth areas.”Consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international financial, shipping and trade centre      Hong Kong has established strengths as an international centre for finance, shipping and trade, which are closely intertwined and can be developed in a synergistic and complementary manner.     On the financial front, the Policy Address sets out the strategic development of Hong Kong as an international financial centre on all fronts. It strives to reinforce Hong Kong’s status as the world’s largest offshore Renminbi business hub, enhance the asset and securities markets, and develop Hong Kong into an international gold trading market through measures such as building world-class gold storage facilities and strengthening the trading mechanism and regulatory framework. This will in turn drive demand for related services such as collateral and loan businesses, opening up new growth areas of the financial sector.     On the shipping side, the existing Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board will be reconstituted into the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board. Additional funding will be provided to enhance its research capabilities, strengthen its Mainland and overseas promotional work and step up manpower training, encouraging more Mainland and overseas maritime service enterprises to establish presence in Hong Kong, promoting the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s maritime industry. The Government will advance the development of Hong Kong into a green maritime centre, while at the same time exploring the introduction of tax concessions and facilitate international commodity exchanges to set up accredited warehouses in Hong Kong, so as to establish a commodity trading ecosystem, especially for the storage and delivery of non-ferrous metal products, further promoting the development of Hong Kong’s maritime and trading services.     In respect of the trade sector, the Government will establish a high-value-added supply chain service centre. Through measures such as enriching a high value-added supply chain services mechanism and enhancing export credit services, as well as making good use of the new opportunities brought about by the Second Agreement Concerning Amendment to the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) Agreement on Trade in Services, the Government will seek to attract Mainland and overseas enterprises to set up their headquarters or corporate divisions in Hong Kong. The Government will continue to vigorously expand Hong Kong’s global economic and trade networks, with particular emphasis on strengthening Hong Kong’s economic and trade ties with and marketing efforts in emerging markets, so as to enable Hong Kong to exert a greater role in the country’s opening up to the world. Moreover, the Government will reduce the import duty on liquor, fostering trading of liquor and boosting development of high value-added industries.Develop new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions     The core element of new quality productive forces is to achieve high quality economic development through technological empowerment. The Government is striving to expedite Hong Kong’s development into an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre. On top of the additional investment put in over the past two years, a $10 billion I&T Industry-Oriented Fund will be set up to guide more market capital to invest in specified emerging and future industries of strategic importance, including life and health technology and artificial intelligence. The Government will also launch the I&T Accelerator Pilot Scheme to attract professional start-up service providers to set up accelerator bases in Hong Kong, fostering the robust growth of start-ups.     The Policy Address also proposed the establishment of the Working Group on Developing Low-altitude Economy. Starting with projects on low-altitude applications, the working group will designate specific venues for such purposes, draw up regulations and design the institutional set-up,  study and map out plans to develop the required infrastructure and networks, and promote interface with the Mainland, pushing forward development of the low-altitude economy.    At the same time, the Government is committed to promoting new energy development, such as green maritime fuel, sustainable aviation fuel and hydrogen energy. The Government will also expedite the reform of the approval mechanism for drugs and medical devices, establish the Real-World Study and Application Centre, and join hands with Shenzhen to establish the GBA Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform to enhance Hong Kong’s clinical trial capability and accelerate registration of new drugs, developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub.Build Hong Kong into an international hub for high-calibre talents     To boost synergy and effectiveness of policies, the Policy Address introduced the establishment of the Committee on Education, Technology and Talents to co-ordinate and drive the integrated development of education, technology and talents. In addition to reforming various aspects of the talent admission regime to build a quality talent pool for long-term development, the Government will endeavour to create the “Study in Hong Kong” brand to attract overseas students, launch a pilot scheme to support the market to flexibly increase the supply of self-financed and private student hostels, and map out the development plan of the Northern Metropolis University Town. These measures aim to expedite the development of Hong Kong into an international hub for post-secondary education, bringing in more global high-calibre talents.Promote integrated development of culture, sports and tourism and foster economic diversification     Promoting integrated development of culture, sports and tourism is the objective of this term of Government in setting up the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. The Government will reinforce the development of the West Kowloon Cultural District to take a leading role in establishing an industry chain for the arts and culture and creative industries of Hong Kong. The Government will also strive to develop the Kai Tak Sports Park into a sports and mega event landmark, building an international sports mega event hub. The Government will publish the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0, putting emphasis on promoting areas including culture, sports, ecology and mega events, with a view to revitalising Hong Kong’s tourism industry. A Working Group on Developing Tourist Hotspots will be set up to strengthen cross-departmental co-ordination, and to identify and develop tourist hotspots of high popularity and with strong appeal in various districts.     Hong Kong is facing economic restructuring. To assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to cope with the prevailing challenges, the Government will put in place a range of support initiatives. Key measures include: relaunching the principal moratorium to offer SMEs flexibility in managing cash flows; injecting $1 billion into the BUD Fund (Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales) to facilitate upgrading of enterprises; expanding the scope of the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme to cover the industries of tourism and personal services; and launching the Incentive Scheme for Recurrent Exhibitions 2.0. In addition, a Working Group on Promoting Silver Economy will be set up to implement measures in five areas, namely consumption, industry, quality assurance, financial and security arrangements, and productivity, meeting the growing needs of the elderly and help the industry to seize business opportunities.Take forward the Northern Metropolis as growth engine and deepen GBA collaboration     To take forward the development of the Northern Metropolis, it was announced in the Policy Address to explore the establishment of a pilot industrial park in the Northern Metropolis by granting it to a company established and led by the Government. The company will, in accordance with the Government’s industrial policies, be responsible for formulating the park’s development and operation strategies. To expedite the development, the Government will adopt, on a pilot basis, a large-scale land-disposal approach, for collective development by successful bidders. In addition, the Steering Committee on the Hong Kong Shenzhen I&T Park in the Loop, chaired by the Chief Executive, will formulate the overall strategy, planning and layout for the development of the Hong Kong Park. The Development Outline for the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone will be published later this year. Improve people’s livelihood in pursuit of happiness     This year, the Policy Address outlined a number of new measures on different livelihood areas, including land creation and housing construction and healthcare, making Hong Kong a better place to live and enjoy life.     On housing, a system on the renting of subdivided units (SDUs) in residential buildings will be devised, through legislation, to tackle the long-standing problem of SDUs at its roots in an orderly manner. The Government will also enhance the housing ladder to allow more people to realise their aspiration for home ownership.     Regarding healthcare, as noted in the Policy Address, the Government will deepen the reform of the healthcare system, strengthen public and primary healthcare services and promote the development of primary healthcare on all fronts, and boost healthy fertility. The Government also supports the plan, by local universities, to establish a third medical school. The Government will set aside sites in Ngau Tam Mei to build a new campus and an integrated medical teaching and research hospital.     To improve people’s livelihood, the Government will continue to take forward and enhance various measures for targeted poverty alleviation and focusing on different needs of the underprivileged. Meanwhile, the Government will regularise the funding provision for Care Teams and increase funding in the next term of service to strengthen support for their work. The Policy Address also proposed to reform the roles of the Employees Retraining Board to devise skills-based training programmes and strategies for the entire workforce, and lift the restriction on educational attainment of trainees.     Mr Lee concluded, “This Policy Address deepens the reforms that I have introduced since I became Chief Executive. It presents enhanced measures to boost the economy and improve people’s livelihood. It seeks to address the prevailing needs of our people, while mapping our vision and long-term goals for building a brighter future for Hong Kong. I am confident that Hong Kong will continue to go from strength to strength and attain new heights. Through our united efforts to reform and innovate, our economy will go even stronger and our people will lead a better life, making Hong Kong a shining city.”     A Supplement offering more backgrounds and details of various policy measures has been compiled with this year’s Policy Address. For related information and key initiatives of the Policy Address, please visit http://www.policyaddress.gov.hk.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –