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Category: United States of America

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ15: Providing support for non-local students

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    LCQ15: Providing support for non-local students 
    Question:
     
         In recent years, Hong Kong has spared no effort in building the “Study in Hong Kong” brand to develop Hong Kong into an international hub for post-secondary education, and has been gradually enhancing support measures for non-local students while they are studying in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
     
    (1) of the respective numbers of non-local students applying through different ways for studying full-time locally-accredited programmes in Hong Kong who have obtained bachelor’s degrees or higher qualifications and those who have eventually been admitted, as well as the percentages of non-local students in the number of places of the relevant programmes, in each of the past three years;
     
    (2) given that full-time non-local undergraduate and postgraduate students were required to obtain a “No Objection Letter” (NOL(s)) issued by the Immigration Department before they were allowed to take up part-time jobs in Hong Kong in the past, of the number of non-local students who took up part-time jobs after obtaining NOLs in each of the past three years and, among them, the respective numbers of those who were pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate studies;
     
    (3) given that the Government temporarily exempted full-time non-local postgraduate and undergraduate students from the restrictions on taking up part-time jobs in November 2023 and November last year respectively (the temporary exemption arrangements), whether the authorities have compiled statistics afterwards on the number of non-local students who have taken up part-time jobs under the temporary exemption arrangements; if they have not compiled the statistics, whether they will collect the relevant data and review the effectiveness of such measure in future; whether they will consider regularising the temporary exemption arrangements in the long run;
     
    (4) as some non-local students have relayed to me that some local employers are deterred from employing non-local students to take up part-time jobs because they are not clear about the temporary exemption arrangements, how the authorities will publicise and promote the temporary exemption arrangements, and whether they have co-operated with the relevant tertiary institutions to provide non-local students with the relevant employment information and support services; and
     
    (5) as it has been reported that the Chief Executive has indicated earlier that Hong Kong fully welcomes students who suffer from unfair treatment as a result of the policies of the United States to study in Hong Kong, and that he will do his best to provide the most appropriate support and assistance to students in collaboration with the local universities, of the work progress made by the authorities in supporting such students so far; whether they have set up task forces with various local universities to provide one-stop transfer services for such students, e.g. expediting their admission, transfer of credits, as well as urgent support measures such as providing accommodation arrangements, so as to attract more outstanding students to Hong Kong?
     
    Reply:
     
    President,
     
         Hong Kong has sound education infrastructure and our overall competitiveness in education ranked top five in the world. Among others, Hong Kong’s post-secondary education is highly internationalised and diversified, and we boast five of the world’s top 100 universities with outstanding talent in technology and research, making Hong Kong an international hub for exchange and collaboration among high-calibre talent. To fully leverage the distinctive advantages of the post-secondary education sector in Hong Kong under “one country, two systems”, and to develop Hong Kong into an international post-secondary education hub, we strive to build the “Study in Hong Kong” brand and attract more non-local students to study and conduct research in Hong Kong.
     
         After consultation with the Labour and Welfare Bureau, our consolidated replies to Hon Kenneth Leung’s questions are as follows:
     
    (1) In the 2022/23 to 2024/25 Academic Year (AY), the numbers of non-local students pursuing locally-accredited programmes at undergraduate level or above in Hong Kong, and the number of non-local students as a percentage of relevant undergraduate student places are tabulated below:
     

     (Note 2) Non-UGC-funded programmes cover publicly-funded programmes offered by the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) and self-financing programmes offered by UGC-funded universities, the HKAPA, and other institutions. Relevant figures refer to the headcounts of full-time and part-time programmes.
    (Note 3) Referring to non-local student enrolment as a percentage of local student places in UGC-funded undergraduate programmes.
    (Note 4) The percentages of non-local students of non-UGC-funded undergraduate programmes refer to the percentages of intakes of non-local students as a share of the estimated intake places of relevant programmes. Estimated intake places are based on estimates made by institutions for planning purposes and may not necessarily represent the maximum approved intake quotas or admission targets.
     
         In the 2022/23 to 2024/25 AY, the number of applications from non-local students for UGC-funded first-year-first-degree undergraduate programmes ranged between 70 000 and 80 000. The Education Bureau (EDB) does not maintain information on the number of applicants of other taught programmes.
     
    (2), (3) and (4) The Government has temporarily exempted full-time non-local postgraduate students of local programmes from the restriction on taking up part-time jobs since November 2023, and has extended the temporary exemption arrangement to full-time non-local undergraduate students from November 2024 onwards. Since November 2023, the Immigration Department (ImmD) has issued “No Objection Letters” to nearly 150 000 eligible non-local students, who are allowed to take up part-time jobs under the temporary exemption arrangement without making applications. There is no restriction on the number of hours or the location of the part-time employment. The breakdown of the numbers of “No Objection Letters” issued by the ImmD under this arrangement by student category are tabulated below:
     

    Student category(November to December)(as of May) 
         Non-local students benefitting from this arrangement are eligible to apply to stay in Hong Kong after graduation for development through the “Immigration Arrangement for Non-local Graduates”. Allowing them to take up part-time jobs during their studies enables them to gain personal exposure and knowledge for working in Hong Kong, enhances their incentives to stay in Hong Kong for development after graduation, and helps attract more outside students to study in Hong Kong.
     
         Under the temporary exemption arrangement, non-local students are not required to apply to the ImmD or notify their institutions for part-time employment. Therefore, the Government does not maintain statistics of non-local students taking up part-time jobs. According to the institutions, many non-local students have made use of the arrangement to take up various types of part-time jobs, including business support, retailing, and marketing, etc. The institutions generally agree that this arrangement helps attract non-local students to stay in Hong Kong for development after graduation, thereby expanding the city’s potential talent pool.
     
         The Government promotes this temporary exemption arrangement through various channels such as press releases, the ImmD’s website and communications with employers, etc, and introduces the arrangement to chambers of commerce, employers and human resources practitioners through meetings with chambers of commerce, joint meetings of Human Resources Managers’ Clubs, and other occasions. The Government also encourages relevant institutions to assist in enhancing on-campus promotion and providing appropriate support to eligible students. The Government will review the entire temporary exemption arrangement this year.
     
    (5) In the light of the changes in the global higher education landscape, the EDB has promptly called on all universities in Hong Kong to introduce facilitation measures for affected students and scholars with a view to safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests, while attracting top talent in accordance with their diversified admissions and talent policies. The EDB is pleased to see that local universities are responding proactively and closely monitoring the situation, fully utilising the Government’s facilitation initiatives that support the capacity expansion and quality enhancement of post-secondary institutions in Hong Kong.
     
         The EDB will continue to keep a close eye on the development and accordingly consider support measures for them in a holistic approach so as to give full play to Hong Kong’s role as an international post-secondary education hub. Apart from the recruitment measures of the institutions, the Government attracts more top talent to pursue their studies in Hong Kong through a range of initiatives, including doubling the cap on non-local students in publicly funded post-secondary institutions to 40 per cent, increasing scholarship quotas, and gradually increasing the number of places under the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme. We remain committed to pursuing various policies and initiatives, fostering networks and partnerships at the national, regional, and international levels, and will continue to work collaboratively with stakeholders to promote the “Study in Hong Kong” brand. These efforts align with the national strategies to invigorate the country through science and education, cultivate high-calibre talent, and advance innovation and development, thereby contributing to meeting the needs of our nation.
    Issued at HKT 14:58

    NNNN

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ19: Facilitating admission of high-calibre overseas students and scholars to Hong Kong

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         Following is a question by the Hon Tang Fei and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, in the Legislative Council today (June 18):
     
    Question:
     
         It has been reported that the United States (US) Government has recently barred Harvard University from enrolling international students. There are views that, due to political factors, it is expected that more top-tier institutions will face restrictions on international student recruitment in the future. This could lead to significant shifts in the global talent mobility within the higher education sector. As such, Hong Kong, as an international education hub, should seize the opportunity to actively attract and retain high-calibre international students and scholars, so as to consolidate its position as a regional hub for knowledge, innovation and technology. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
     
    (1) whether, in the face of the aforesaid abrupt change in overseas higher education policies, the Government has formulated a systematic plan to assist Hong Kong institutions in attracting high-calibre students affected by the turbulent international situation to pursue studies in Hong Kong, and to ensure that they can stay in Hong Kong for career development after graduation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
     
    (2) how the University Grants Committee (UGC) will avoid resource misallocation and vicious competition in the course of promoting talent competition among the eight UGC-funded universities, and whether UGC will take the lead in establishing a unified platform to foster collaboration among institutions, so as to enhance their overall international competitiveness; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
     
    (3) whether, in the face of the China-US confrontation and competition, the Government will introduce specific policy measures to encourage Hong Kong’s higher education institutions to capitalise on new opportunities arising from the shifting geopolitical landscape, with a view to further strengthening Hong Kong’s position as an international education hub; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
     
    Reply:
     
    President,
     
         Hong Kong’s overall competitiveness in education ranks among the top five in the world, and our post-secondary education is highly internationalised and diversified. To date, five University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities have been ranked among the top 100 in the world, six are ranked among the top 50 in Asia, a number of them have been ranked among the top universities in the most international universities ranking, and they have excellent research talent, which make them attractive to students and scholars from all over the world. Under the leadership of the Committee on Education, Technology and Talents led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Government will continue to promote Hong Kong as an international hub for high-calibre talent, co-ordinate and drive the integrated development of education, technology and talent, expand connections, formulate policies to attract and cultivate talent, and foster the co-ordinated development of technologies, so as to strengthen Hong Kong’s position as an international post-secondary education hub and an international innovation and technology centre.
     
         Our reply to the Hon Tang Fei’s question is as follows:
     
    (1) and (3) In the light of the changes in the global higher education landscape, the Education Bureau (EDB) has promptly called on all universities in Hong Kong to introduce facilitation measures for affected students and scholars with a view to safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests, while attracting top talent in accordance with their diversified admissions and talent policies. The EDB is pleased to see that local universities are responding proactively and closely monitoring the situation, fully utilising the Government’s facilitation initiatives that support the capacity expansion and quality enhancement of post-secondary institutions in Hong Kong.
     
         We will continue to keep a close eye on the development and accordingly consider support measures for them in a holistic approach so as to give full play to Hong Kong’s role as an international post-secondary education hub. Apart from the recruitment measures of the institutions, the Government attracts more top talent to pursue their studies in Hong Kong through a range of initiatives, including doubling the cap on non-local students in publicly funded post-secondary institutions to 40 per cent, increasing scholarship quotas, and gradually increasing the number of places under the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme. We remain committed to pursuing various policies and initiatives, fostering networks and partnerships at the national, regional, and international levels, and will continue to work collaboratively with stakeholders to promote the “Study in Hong Kong” brand. These efforts align with the national strategies to invigorate the country through science and education, cultivate high-calibre talent, and advance innovation and development, thereby contributing to meeting the needs of our country.
     
    (2) The EDB and the UGC have been actively fostering collaboration among the eight UGC-funded universities, including supporting the jointly-established Heads of Universities Committee’s Standing Committee on Internationalisation (HUCOMSCI) to promote the “Study in Hong Kong” brand around the world. We will continue to deepen institutional collaboration through the HUCOMSCI to attract more talent from around the world and accelerate the development of Hong Kong into an international post-secondary education hub.
     
         Each of the eight UGC-funded universities has its own strengths and characteristics, and is making full use of the Government’s facilitation policies and measures to bring their strengths into full play in recruiting and attracting more outstanding students and academics. With the Government increasing the non-local student quota for UGC-funded universities from 20 per cent to 40 per cent from the 2024/25 academic year onwards, the proportion of non-local students enrolled in UGC-funded undergraduate programmes has increased from about 19.9 per cent in 2023/24 academic year to 23.2 per cent. Universities will adopt the principle of meritocracy to attract more non-local students to study in Hong Kong. Non-local students will also make choices of further studies that suit their own strengths and interests.
     
         As for academic staff, the UGC-funded universities have also been actively expanding capacity while enhancing quality by increasing the number of academic staff in the UGC-funded universities from 4 974 in the 2021/22 academic year to 5 398. The universities will continue to recruit top scholars from around the world through various measures to create a favourable environment for scientific research and contribute to the development of our country and Hong Kong.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Chair of the NATO Military Committee visits Türkiye

    Source: NATO

    Ankara, 16-17 June 2025 – The Chair of the NATO Military Committee (CMC), Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, visited Türkiye, upon the invitation of the Chief of the Turkish General Staff, General Metin Gürak.

    During his engagements with General Metin Gurak, the discussions focused on the road to the NATO Summit in The Hague, next week. Among other priorities, Admiral Cavo Dragone underscored in particular the importance for Allies to invest more in deterrence and defence. ​The CMC also praised Türkiye’s significant contributions within the Alliance, highlighting the country’s support and participation in NATO missions and exercise activities. Türkiye devotes more than 2 percent of its GDP in defence, and is channeling significant investment into its defence industrial base, working in close conjunction with countries across Europe and the United States.

    While in Ankara, the Chair paid his respects to the memory of Türkiye’s fallen soldiers, by participating in a wreath-laying ceremony in Antikabir. In addition, he took the opportunity to engage with Turkish defence industry.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Agentic AI integration set to accelerate this year among Gen AI early adopters

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Press contact: 
    Antara Nandy
    Tel.: +91 9674515119  
    Email: antara.nandy@capgemini.com

    Agentic AI integration set to accelerate this year among Gen AI early adopters

    • Two in five organizations expect to achieve positive return on their AI investments in 1-3 years
    • By embedding a targeted set of AI capabilities into core business processes such as procurement, customer service, supply chain optimization, and finance operations, organizations are already achieving significant cost efficiencies

    Paris, June 18, 2025 – A Capgemini Research Institute report published today, ‘AI in action: How Gen AI and agentic AI redefine business operations,’ finds that AI is now driving positive returns on investment (ROI), with the average being nearly a 1.7 times return. The report highlights that this has now laid the groundwork for widespread agentic AI implementation. Among those early adopter organizations that have implemented generative AI (Gen AI), around 30% have already integrated AI agents into their business operations. Agentic AI projects are expected to rise by 48% by the end of 2025. The research also finds that one in five organizations already use AI agents or multi-agent systems, with Gen AI and agentic AI already delivering significant cost savings and operational efficiencies in business functions.

    With businesses planning investments in AI infrastructure, some organizations had expressed concerns about achieving ROI from their large-scale AI and Gen AI rollouts. However, the report finds that these initial concerns are fading fast, as enterprises are now seeing substantial returns, with those surveyed achieving a 1.7 times ROI from their Gen AI and AI investments. As a result, enterprises are increasing their Gen AI investments, with 62% of those surveyed growing their investment in Gen AI this year as compared to last year.

    “Gen AI and agentic AI can truly transform business services – enabling the shift from traditional cost-focused models towards an AI-enabled, value and insight driven business. Those that adopt an integrated approach with data and AI at its core will be set to achieve a truly connected, frictionless enterprise,” said Oliver Pfeil, CEO of Business Services at Capgemini and Member of the Group Executive Committee. “While the research suggests increased adoption of AI agents, organizations still face numerous barriers to implementation at scale. Adopting a pragmatic approach, fostering trust in AI, and creating a strong data foundation will go a long way in transforming business services into a strategic powerhouse to fuel any enterprise.”

    Gen AI adoption has laid the groundwork for agentic AI implementation
    Gen AI is expected to drive improvements in key metrics such as insight accuracy, productivity, time to market, and customer and employee experience over the next three years. As a result, more businesses are seeing the value of Gen AI, with 36% of organizations already implementing it, up from 20% last year. Among those that have adopted Gen AI at a limited or full scale, around 30% have integrated AI agents into their operations.
    The total number of AI agent projects in an average organization are expected to grow 48% in 2025.

    According to the report, AI agents are already delivering significant benefits across business functions, with agents and multi-agent systems reducing errors, improving customer satisfaction levels, increasing operational efficiency, and reducing operational costs. The top five industries adopting AI agents are high tech, industrial manufacturing, consumer products, energy & utilities, and pharma & healthcare.

    Strong leadership and workforce transformation are key to faster returns
    To achieve strong ROI on Gen AI investments, organizations should focus on developing strong leadership, governance, and AI readiness. According to the report, organizations who establish this foundation achieve ROI 45% faster. However, most enterprises currently lack this strong leadership, with only one in three leaders being a strong advocate of Gen AI.

    In addition, organizations must also transform their workforce to derive business value cites the report. In the past two years, enterprises that introduced automation and AI-based use cases have been able to automate 30% of operational tasks, and expect to automate further in the next two years. As responsibilities evolve, organizational upskilling, reskilling, training and job role transitions will feature highly, with almost two-thirds of employees expecting to see their job descriptions altered by 2028. According to the report, employee interaction with AI agents is expected to increase by 2028, so training and upskilling will be needed to prepare workforces for effective human-AI collaboration.

    Report Methodology
    The Capgemini Research Institute conducted a survey of 1,607 executives from organizations with at least $1 billion in global revenue in the last financial year, who are responsible and accountable for one or more AI and gen AI initiatives in business operations. Executives were from supply chain & procurement, finance & accounting, people operations, customer operations, AI leadership and strategy, AI application development and maintenance, AI ethics, regulations, and compliance functions. The executives were from 15 countries across multiple regions and spanning 13 industries. The Institute also interviewed 15 senior executives leading business operations and AI implementation at their respective organizations from across sectors and countries.

    About Capgemini
    Capgemini is a global business and technology transformation partner, helping organizations to accelerate their dual transition to a digital and sustainable world, while creating tangible impact for enterprises and society. It is a responsible and diverse group of 340,000 team members in more than 50 countries. With its strong over 55-year heritage, Capgemini is trusted by its clients to unlock the value of technology to address the entire breadth of their business needs. It delivers end-to-end services and solutions leveraging strengths from strategy and design to engineering, all fueled by its market leading capabilities in AI, generative AI, cloud and data, combined with its deep industry expertise and partner ecosystem. The Group reported 2024 global revenues of €22.1 billion.

    Get The Future You Want | www.capgemini.com

    About the Capgemini Research Institute
    The Capgemini Research Institute is Capgemini’s in-house think-tank on all things digital. The Institute publishes research on the impact of digital technologies on large traditional businesses. The team draws on the worldwide network of Capgemini experts and works closely with academic and technology partners. The Institute has dedicated research centers in India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. It was ranked #1 in the world for the quality of its research by independent analysts for six consecutive times – an industry first.

    Visit us at https://www.capgemini.com/researchinstitute/

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: Sobyanin announced the inclusion of 50 objects in the Unified Register of Cultural Heritage

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    The Unified Register of Cultural Heritage Sites in Moscow has been expanded with 50 architectural monuments. This was reported in its telegram channel Sergei Sobyanin reported.

    “We continue to work on preserving the historical memory of our city. 50 objects have been entered into the Unified Register of Cultural Heritage of Moscow. Among them are buildings that are associated with the fates of famous people and significant events,” the Mayor of Moscow wrote.

    Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @mos_sobyanin 

    The register now contains 3,833 historical buildings and structures. All monuments are under state protection. Their owners and tenants are obliged to ensure the preservation of cultural heritage sites and maintain them in accordance with the approved subject of protection.

    The building of the Hermitage Theatre (Karetny Ryad Street, Building 3, Building 1)

    Among the 50 objects included in the register is the Hermitage Theatre building.

    The history of this building in the Hermitage Garden dates back to December 16, 1894, when the famous Moscow patron and theater figure Yakov Shchukin founded the New Hermitage Theater. In 1897, Savva Mamontov’s private opera performed there. Famous performances were also staged here, one of them being Faust with Fyodor Chaliapin.

    On October 14, 1898, the premiere performance of the Art and Public Theatre of Konstantin Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko (the future Moscow Art Theatre) took place on the stage of the New Hermitage Theatre — Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich with Ivan Moskvin in the leading role. The premiere of Anton Chekhov’s play Three Sisters also took place in this theatre.

    In 1913, the Free Theatre opened here under the direction of Konstantin Mardzhanov and Alexander Sanin. In the 1920s, director Sergei Eisenstein staged the play “The Mexican”, his first theatrical production, on its stage. Then the Mossovet Theatre settled in the Hermitage.

    In 1978, a young director, Mikhail Levitin, began working here and later became its permanent artistic director. Thanks to him, the theater’s repertoire changed from variety to drama, and the stage hosted performances based on the works of Daniil Kharms for the first time.

    The building retained its architectural appearance, which was formed in the 1950s – then it was reconstructed according to the design of architects Mikhail Posokhin and Ashot Mdoyanets. The main façade was decorated with a double colonnade and crowned with a triangular pediment.

    When included in the register of cultural heritage sites in Moscow, the decorative design of the building’s facades will be included in the subject of protection.

    Apartment building of A.V. Krasnogorova – Blinovs (Starosadsky Lane, Building 10, Building 1)

    Now it is a residential building, standing on the corner of Starosadsky Lane and Zabelina Street. The building was erected in two stages. In the 1880s, merchant Akulina Krasnogorova built a two-story apartment building. In 1900, its new owner, merchant Ivan Blinov, who sold candles and incense, added four floors to the building.

    During World War I, the Moscow branch of the Jewish Committee for Aid to War Victims who had fled from their places of settlement in the western provinces was opened here. During the Soviet era, the apartments of the former apartment building were compacted and converted into communal housing.

    In the 1920s and early 1930s, Osip Mandelstam lived in the first entrance in apartment 3 with his brother Alexander. At that time, the poet created several works, and the hero of one of the poems (“Alexander Gertsevich Lived…”) was his neighbor in the communal apartment, amateur pianist Alexander Bekkerman. Mandelstam was visited here by Anna Akhmatova, Arseny Tarkovsky and Boris Klyuyev.

    Mandelstam’s entrance and its ceremonial decoration with stucco, twisted staircase railings, and Mettlach tiles have survived to this day. This house is the poet’s only surviving address in Moscow. There is now a park in front of the building and a monument to Mandelstam.

    When included in the register of cultural heritage sites of Moscow, the subject of protection will include the design of the building’s facades and the first entrance, the fence with a gate and the gatehouse.

    Decorations of the Sofia Embankment: Which Houses Became Cultural Heritage SitesObjects of the old estate in the Yakimanka district are recognized as architectural monuments

    Kokorevskoe Podvorye (Sofia Embankment, Building 34, Building 1)

    This is a unique architectural complex built by order of the famous entrepreneur and philanthropist Vasily Kokorev. The courtyard became the first business center in Russia, combining a luxury hotel with restaurants, shops and warehouses.

    The construction of the courtyard began in 1860 on the site between Sofiyskaya and Bolotnaya embankments, opposite the Kremlin. The project was developed by the architect Ivan Chernik, and the construction was supervised by Anton Bulgarin. The courtyard included seven buildings, including a hotel with 315 rooms, shops, warehouses, a reading room, and a restaurant.

    The hotel building was equipped with the latest technology of the time: steam elevators, oven heating, telegraph and water supply. Technical innovation was combined with the expressive architecture of the hotel in the Russian style, which echoed the appearance of the Kremlin. One of the most striking details of the hotel was the openwork cast-iron gallery with a balcony on elegant pillars, stretching along the entire main facade of the building, facing the Sofiyskaya Embankment.

    The Kokorevskoe Podvorye became the most modern and fashionable hotel in Moscow of its time. In the summer of 1866, a delegation from the United States Congress was accommodated here, having arrived in Russia on an official mission of sympathy regarding the assassination attempt on Emperor Alexander II. This visit was widely covered in the press and was an important stage in strengthening Russian-American relations after the end of the American Civil War.

    At various times, the hotel was home to artists Ivan Kramskoy and Vasily Polenov, and writer Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak. In 1867, Leo Tolstoy stayed here. In addition, Pyotr Tchaikovsky visited here many times during his visits to Moscow.

    During the Soviet period, the building was used by various departments, and in the first half of the 20th century, several floors were added to it, which changed its historical appearance.

    In 2015–2017, a large-scale restoration was carried out: the architectural decoration of the building and its main decoration, the cast-iron gallery, were restored. The work performed was highly praised: the building became a laureate of the Moscow Government’s “Moscow Restoration” competition.

    When included in the register of cultural heritage sites of Moscow, the subject of protection will include the architectural design of the facades at the level of the first four floors and the cast-iron gallery with a balcony.

    Apartment building of Princess A.P. Golitsyna (Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street, Building 24/1)

    The building is located at the intersection of Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street and Khlynovsky Tupik. Since the end of the 18th century, Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street has become a place popular with the nobility, as can be judged by the number of noble estates built on it at that time.

    Manor life did not involve any business activity, but in 1836 the owner of the plot was Princess Alexandra Golitsyna, who was one of the first nobles to decide to use her land to generate income. In 1839, a four-story apartment building with retail space on the ground floor was built specifically for this purpose according to the design of the architect Mikhail Bykovsky, the author of a number of large buildings in Moscow, including the Sheremetev House on Vozdvizhenka.

    The building has retained its original configuration and facade design from the first third of the 19th century. During the Soviet era, only the balconies were lost. The design of the fourth floor is interesting: the severity of the rectangular windows is slightly smoothed out by pilasters with molded capitals, and the side windows have an arched finish. The crowning cornice of the large projection on brackets also attracts attention.

    In the 1860s, the Moscow Conservatory was opened on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street. The proximity of the apartment building to the music school explains why Pyotr Tchaikovsky lived here in 1877, working on the opera Eugene Onegin at the time. This house became the composer’s last refuge in his homeland.

    Another creative name is associated with the A.P. Golitsyna apartment building. In the 1880s, the building housed the studio of fashionable dressmaker Olga Suvorova, who ran a school of cutting and sewing. The future famous couturier Nadezhda Lamanova studied there. Here she also opened a small tailoring establishment — her first work address.

    When the apartment building of Princess A.P. Golitsyna is included in the register of cultural heritage sites of Moscow, the design of the street facades, the vaults in the basement and the cast-iron staircase will be included in the subject of monument protection.

    House of the architect S.M. Goncharov (Trekhprudny Lane, Building 2a)

    The building on the corner of Trekhprudny and Bolshoy Palashevsky Lanes is the mansion of the famous Moscow Art Nouveau architect Sergei Goncharov, which he built on his family plot in 1885.

    Situated near Patriarch’s Ponds, the house stands out for its original design of the main façade, which combines features of two architectural styles – eclecticism and Art Nouveau. The classical portico above the main entrance and rusticated platbands are adjacent to square semi-columns of window openings on the upper floors, interpreted in the spirit of the new era.

    The owners of the house, the Goncharovs, moved to Moscow in 1891 from their estate in the Tula province. Sergei Goncharov’s genealogy is interesting: he was related to Natalia Pushkina – his great-grandfather was her father.

    However, the house is famous not only for Sergei Goncharov and his ancestors. It became the studio of two famous avant-garde artists at once – Natalia Goncharova (the architect’s daughter) and her husband Mikhail Larionov, as well as a kind of center of cultural life, where the entrepreneur and philanthropist Sergei Diaghilev, artists Aristarkh Lentulov, Ilya Mashkov, Pyotr Konchalovsky and others visited.

    The house on Trekhprudny Lane remained a studio until 1915. Avant-garde artists created many famous works, including the paintings “Resting Soldier”, “Spring. From the “Seasons” Cycle”, “Still Life with Pineapple”, and “Emptiness” kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.

    After the return of the wounded Mikhail Larionov from the fronts of the First World War, the family left for Paris forever at the invitation of Sergei Diaghilev to work on the Russian Seasons.

    When the house of the architect S.M. Goncharov is included in the register of cultural heritage sites of Moscow, the design of the street façade will be included in the subject of monument protection.

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    https: //vv.mos.ru/mayor/tkhemes/1295505/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Iran’s long history of revolution, defiance and outside interference – and why its future so uncertain

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University; and Vice Chancellor’s Strategic Fellow, Victoria University

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone beyond his initial aim of destroying Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons. He has called on the Iranian people to rise up against their dictatorial Islamic regime and ostensibly transform Iran along the lines of Israeli interests.

    United States President Donald Trump is now weighing possible military action in support of Netanyahu’s goal and asked for Iran’s total surrender.

    If the US does get involved, it wouldn’t be the first time it’s tried to instigate regime change by military means in the Middle East. The US invaded Iraq in 2003 and backed a NATO operation in Libya in 2011, toppling the regimes of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi, respectively.

    In both cases, the interventions backfired, causing long-term instability in both countries and in the broader region.

    Could the same thing happen in Iran if the regime is overthrown?

    As I describe in my book, Iran Rising: The Survival and Future of the Islamic Republic, Iran is a pluralist society with a complex history of rival groups trying to assert their authority. A democratic transition would be difficult to achieve.

    The overthrow of the shah

    The Iranian Islamic regime assumed power in the wake of the pro-democracy popular uprising of 1978–79, which toppled Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi’s pro-Western monarchy.

    Until this moment, Iran had a long history of monarchical rule dating back 2,500 years. Mohammad Reza, the last shah, was the head of the Pahlavi dynasty, which came to power in 1925.

    In 1953, the shah was forced into exile under the radical nationalist and reformist impulse of the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. He was shortly returned to his throne through a CIA-orchestrated coup.

    Despite all his nationalist, pro-Western, modernising efforts, the shah could not shake off the indignity of having been re-throned with the help of a foreign power.

    The revolution against him 25 years later was spearheaded by pro-democracy elements. But it was made up of many groups, including liberalists, communists and Islamists, with no uniting leader.

    The Shia clerical group (ruhaniyat), led by the Shah’s religious and political opponent, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, proved to be best organised and capable of providing leadership to the revolution. Khomeini had been in exile from the early 1960s (at first in Iraq and later in France), yet he and his followers held considerable sway over the population, especially in traditional rural areas.

    When US President Jimmy Carter’s administration found it could no longer support the shah, he left the country and went into exile in January 1979. This enabled Khomeini to return to Iran to a tumultuous welcome.

    Birth of the Islamic Republic

    In the wake of the uprising, Khomeini and his supporters, including the current supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, abolished the monarchy and transformed Iran to a cleric-dominated Islamic Republic, with anti-US and anti-Israel postures. He ruled the country according to his unique vision of Islam.

    Khomeini denounced the US as a “Great Satan” and Israel as an illegal usurper of the Palestinian lands – Jerusalem, in particular. He also declared a foreign policy of “neither east, nor west” but pro-Islamic, and called for the spread of the Iranian revolution in the region.

    Khomeini not only changed Iran, but also challenged the US as the dominant force in shaping the regional order. And the US lost one of the most important pillars of its influence in the oil-rich and strategically important Persian Gulf region.

    Fear of hostile American or Israeli (or combined) actions against the Islamic Republic became the focus of Iran’s domestic and foreign policy behaviour.

    A new supreme leader takes power

    Khomeini died in 1989. His successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ruled Iran largely in the same jihadi (combative) and ijtihadi (pragmatic) ways, steering the country through many domestic and foreign policy challenges.

    Khamenei fortified the regime with an emphasis on self-sufficiency, a stronger defence capability and a tilt towards the east – Russia and China – to counter the US and its allies. He has stood firm in opposition to the US and its allies – Israel, in particular. And he has shown flexibility when necessary to ensure the survival and continuity of the regime.

    Khamenei wields enormous constitutional power and spiritual authority.

    He has presided over the building of many rule-enforcing instruments of state power, including the expansion of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its paramilitary wing, the Basij, revolutionary committees, and Shia religious networks.

    The Shia concept of martyrdom and loyalty to Iran as a continuous sovereign country for centuries goes to the heart of his actions, as well as his followers.

    Khamenei and his rule enforcers, along with an elected president and National Assembly, are fully cognisant that if the regime goes down, they will face the same fate. As such, they cannot be expected to hoist the white flag and surrender to Israel and the US easily.

    However, in the event of the regime falling under the weight of a combined internal uprising and external pressure, it raises the question: what is the alternative?

    The return of the shah?

    Many Iranians are discontented with the regime, but there is no organised opposition under a nationally unifying leader.

    The son of the former shah, the crown prince Reza Pahlavi, has been gaining some popularity. He has been speaking out on X in the last few days, telling his fellow Iranians:

    The end of the Islamic Republic is the end of its 46-year war against the Iranian nation. The regime’s apparatus of repression is falling apart. All it takes now is a nationwide uprising to put an end to this nightmare once and for all.

    Since the deposition of his father, he has lived in exile in the US. As such, he has been tainted by his close association with Washington and Jerusalem, especially Netanyahu.

    If he were to return to power – likely through the assistance of the US – he would face the same problem of political legitimacy as his father did.

    What does the future hold?

    Iran has never had a long tradition of democracy. It experienced brief instances of liberalism in the first half of the 20th century, but every attempt at making it durable resulted in disarray and a return to authoritarian rule.

    Also, the country has rarely been free of outside interventionism, given its vast hydrocarbon riches and strategic location. It’s also been prone to internal fragmentation, given its ethnic and religious mix.

    The Shia Persians make up more than half of the population, but the country has a number of Sunni ethnic minorities, such as Kurds, Azaris, Balochis and Arabs. They have all had separatist tendencies.

    Iran has historically been held together by centralisation rather than diffusion of power.

    Should the Islamic regime disintegrate in one form or another, it would be an mistake to expect a smooth transfer of power or transition to democratisation within a unified national framework.

    At the same time, the Iranian people are highly cultured and creative, with a very rich and proud history of achievements and civilisation.

    They are perfectly capable of charting their own destiny as long as there aren’t self-seeking foreign hands in the process – something they have rarely experienced.

    Amin Saikal 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. Iran’s long history of revolution, defiance and outside interference – and why its future so uncertain – https://theconversation.com/irans-long-history-of-revolution-defiance-and-outside-interference-and-why-its-future-so-uncertain-259270

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Reps. Cleaver, Harshbarger Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Expand Paramedicine Services Nationwide

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II (5th District Missouri)

    (Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) and Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) have introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen and expand paramedicine services in rural communities across the country. The Community Paramedicine Act of 2025 (CPA) would expand the scope of rural health grants to include mobile integrated health and community paramedicine grantees, enabling Americans in rural communities to receive centralized, mobile, and preventative care through local paramedics, an increasingly popular initiative in healthcare known as Community Paramedicine.

    “Across Missouri, rural communities are struggling to access quality healthcare that is both affordable and convenient, with far too many Missourians having to travel long distances to get the care they need, which can often be as costly as it is frustrating for families,” said Congressman Cleaver. “This challenge requires innovative solutions that help bring physicians directly to the people—and that’s precisely what community paramedicine seeks to do. I’m proud to introduce the Community Paramedicine Act with Congresswoman Harshbarger to expand this popular and growing practice to more communities, so Missouri families can get the care they deserve at lower costs and right at their door.”

    “Mobile Integrated Healthcare-Community Paramedicine is a smart, innovative solution that delivers the right care at the right time — especially for patients with chronic conditions or in rural and underserved areas,” said Rep. Harshbarger. “As co-chair of the Congressional Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus, I’m proud to help introduce this budget-neutral bill, which will empower our emergency medical services professionals and firefighters to build these community programs for reducing unnecessary emergency room visits, improving health outcomes, and potentially saving billions in healthcare costs.”

    “Early medical intervention can save the health care system billions by addressing time-critical issues and preventing costly emergency care and hospitalizations,” said Chief Chris Way, President of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians. “Mobile Integrated Healthcare-Community Paramedicine (MIH-CP) is an innovative way for EMTs and Paramedics to provide patient-centered mobile care outside the hospital to lower health care costs and improve patient outcomes. MIH-CP helps to address the gaps in patient care and prevent acute exacerbations of illness, instead of waiting to provide medical care until patients need 911 response. NAEMT applauds Representative Diana Harshberger (R-TN) and Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) for introducing the Community Paramedicine Act, which would provide funding opportunities for EMS agencies across the nation to provide evidence-based, cost-saving, and innovative ways for EMTs and Paramedics to provide patient-centered care outside of the hospital and improve patients’ health status, in collaboration with other health care professionals and providers. We ask Congress to pass this bill and help create, maintain, and sustain MIH-CP programs across our country.”

    For some patients – including those who are uninsured, underinsured, homebound, medically fragile, or live in rural areas – their access to care relies primarily on 9-1-1, EMTs, and the hospital emergency room. Over 57 million Americans must travel a lengthy distance to reach their nearest physician, with rural Americans experiencing the most travel time, as only 11% of physicians work in rural settings. With a demand for physician services that outpaces available appointments, many residents are currently left medically underserved. 

    Community Paramedicine combats this by improving care accessibility for underserved communities and bringing health care to Americans’ doorsteps. Community Paramedicine programs can provide check-ups, health education, preventative care, and transportation. These services improve patient access to diagnostic testing, specialized service referrals, and transportation to medical appointments. 

    Moreover, studies have shown that Community Paramedicine programs can save thousands of dollars per year per patient by helping people lead healthier lives and decreasing healthcare emergencies. For example, Community Paramedicine visits can help a person living with heart failure, asthma, COPD, or diabetes avoid acute emergencies. A study in eastern Massachusetts showed that their Community Paramedicine model saved over $1,900 per case and nearly $6 million in a year.

    The Community Paramedicine Act of 2025 would expand the scope of rural health grants authorized under Sec. 330A of the Public Health Services Act to include mobile integrated health and community paramedicine grantees. As of now, Rural Health Care Services Outreach Grants, Rural Health Network Development Grants, and Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Grants share the authorization under Sec. 330A. None of these, however, address community paramedicine. The Community Paramedicine Act of 2025 would add a fourth grant program to the existing authorization. The legislation budget neutral and does not authorize any new spending.

    The Community Paramedicine Act of 2025 is endorsed by the American Ambulance Association (AAA), National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), International Association of Fire Chiefs, National Rural Health Association, Mid-America Regional Council Emergency Rescue (MERCER), Missouri Ambulance Association, Missouri Emergency Medical Services Association, Kansas Emergency Medical Services Association, Tennessee Association of EMS Providers.

    Official text of the Community Paramedicine Act of 2025 is available here.

    Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: CEA-Leti and Soitec Announce Strategic Partnership to Leverage FD-SOI for Enhanced Security of Integrated Circuits

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CEA-Leti and Soitec Announce Strategic Partnership to Leverage FD-SOI for Enhanced Security of Integrated Circuits

    Focus Is on Protecting Critical Markets Such as
    Automotive, Industrial IoT, and Secure Infrastructure

    GRENOBLE, France – June 18, 2025 – CEA-Leti and Soitec today announced a strategic partnership to enhance the cybersecurity of integrated circuits (ICs) through the innovative use of fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) technologies. This collaboration aims to position FD-SOI as a foundational platform for secure electronics by leveraging and extending its inherent resistance to physical attacks.
    At the heart of the initiative is a joint effort to experimentally validate and augment the security benefits of FD-SOI—from the substrate level up to circuit design. The project aims to deliver concrete data, practical demonstrations, and roadmap guidance to meet the surging cybersecurity demands in critical markets such as automotive, industrial IoT, and secure infrastructure.
    Combining Expertise to Secure the Future of Electronics
    The partnership, which will utilize GlobalFoundries’ advanced chip manufacturing capabilities, will address a growing need for trusted components in embedded and cyber-physical systems—systems that must deliver security services and withstand both software- and hardware-level attacks. With FD-SOI’s proven advantages against laser fault injection (LFI) attacks due to its thin-film architecture and channel isolation, the technology presents a compelling foundation for next-generation secure IC design.
    Key goals of the partnership include:

    • Highlighting FD-SOI’s existing strengths in cybersecurity.
    • Co-developing innovations across the substrate-design stack to boost physical robustness and meet security requirements in automotive and other embedded systems.
    • Demonstrating empirical security data to reinforce FD-SOI’s credibility in certification contexts such as SESIP and Common Criteria.

    Context: Rising Threats, Rising Demand
    “In an era marked by increasing attacks on connected systems and autonomous vehicles, the need for embedded hardware capable of resisting physical tampering has never been greater,” said CEA-Leti CTO Jean-René Lequepeys. “FD-SOI’s unique combination of performance, energy efficiency, and attack resistance offers an ideal answer for industries that demand both trust and efficiency. This project will leverage research results from the FAMES Pilot Line.”
    FD-SOI’s critical benefits include:

    • Physical attack resistance, enabled by electrical isolation between the channel and substrate.
    • Power-performance optimization, vital for battery-constrained applications like automotive ECUs and industrial sensors.
    • Security design enablement, allowing tailored countermeasures such as fault detection and isolation of sensitive circuit domains.

    Long-Term Vision: Toward a New Cyber-Substrate
    While the initial phase focuses on leveraging existing FD-SOI capabilities, the project sets the stage for long-term innovation. The envisioned next-generation cyber-substrate would expand upon FD-SOI’s strengths by incorporating:

    • Enhanced protection against backside and invasive physical attacks.
    • Embedded anti-tamper features and physical unclonable functions (PUFs) for hardware fingerprinting.
    • Dynamic response mechanisms to detect and counter emerging threats.

    This future-oriented work will address both cyber and supply-chain vulnerabilities—making FD-SOI not only more secure, but also more indispensable.
    Soitec’s Senior Executive Vice President in charge of Innovation and Chief Technology Officer Christophe Maleville said: “This partnership with CEA-Leti reflects our strategic ambition to position FD-SOI as a reference platform for secure and energy-efficient electronics. By combining our substrate innovation capabilities with CEA-Leti’s research excellence, we aim to demonstrate the full potential of FD-SOI in addressing today’s most pressing security challenges. Together, we are paving the way for a new generation of trusted technologies that are essential to the future of connected systems.”
    About CEA-Leti (France)
    CEA-Leti, a technology research institute at CEA, is a global leader in miniaturization technologies enabling smart, energy-efficient and secure solutions for industry. Founded in 1967, CEA-Leti pioneers micro-& nanotechnologies, tailoring differentiating applicative solutions for global companies, SMEs and startups. CEA-Leti tackles critical challenges in healthcare, energy and digital migration. From sensors to data processing and computing solutions, CEA-Leti’s multidisciplinary teams deliver solid expertise, leveraging world-class pre-industrialization facilities. With a staff of more than 2,000 talents, a portfolio of 3,200 patents, 11,000 sq. meters of cleanroom space and a clear IP policy, the institute is based in Grenoble, France, and has offices in Silicon Valley, Brussels and Tokyo. CEA-Leti has launched 76 startups and is a member of the Carnot Institutes network. Follow us on www.leti-cea.com and @CEA_Leti.

    Technological expertise
    CEA has a key role in transferring scientific knowledge and innovation from research to industry. This high-level technological research is carried out in particular in electronic and integrated systems, from microscale to nanoscale. It has a wide range of industrial applications in the fields of transport, health, safety and telecommunications, contributing to the creation of high-quality and competitive products.

    For more information: www.cea.fr/english 

    About Soitec
    Soitec (Euronext – Tech Leaders), a world leader in innovative semiconductor materials, has been developing cutting-edge products delivering both technological performance and energy efficiency for over 30 years. From its global headquarters in France, Soitec is expanding internationally with its unique solutions, and generated sales of 0.9 billion Euros in fiscal year 2024-2025. Soitec occupies a key position in the semiconductor value chain, serving three main strategic markets: Mobile Communications, Automotive and Industrial, and Edge and Cloud AI. The company relies on the talent and diversity of more than 2,200 employees, representing 50 different nationalities, working at its sites in Europe, the United States and Asia. Nearly 4,300 patents have been registered by Soitec.
    Soitec, SmartSiC™ and Smart Cut™ are registered trademarks of Soitec.
    For more information: https://www.soitec.com/en/ and follow us on LinkedIn and X: @Soitec_Official
    Soitec, SmartSiC™ and Smart Cut™ are registered trademarks of Soitec.
    For more information: https://www.soitec.com/en/ and follow us on LinkedIn and X: @Soitec_Official

    Press Contact                                                                                

    CEA-Leti
    Sarah-Lyle Dampoux
    sldampoux@mahoneylyle.com
    +33 6 74 93 23 47

    Soitec
    Relations Media : media@soitec.com
    Relations Investisseurs : investors@soitec.com

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: CEA-Leti and Soitec Announce Strategic Partnership to Leverage FD-SOI for Enhanced Security of Integrated Circuits

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CEA-Leti and Soitec Announce Strategic Partnership to Leverage FD-SOI for Enhanced Security of Integrated Circuits

    Focus Is on Protecting Critical Markets Such as
    Automotive, Industrial IoT, and Secure Infrastructure

    GRENOBLE, France – June 18, 2025 – CEA-Leti and Soitec today announced a strategic partnership to enhance the cybersecurity of integrated circuits (ICs) through the innovative use of fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) technologies. This collaboration aims to position FD-SOI as a foundational platform for secure electronics by leveraging and extending its inherent resistance to physical attacks.
    At the heart of the initiative is a joint effort to experimentally validate and augment the security benefits of FD-SOI—from the substrate level up to circuit design. The project aims to deliver concrete data, practical demonstrations, and roadmap guidance to meet the surging cybersecurity demands in critical markets such as automotive, industrial IoT, and secure infrastructure.
    Combining Expertise to Secure the Future of Electronics
    The partnership, which will utilize GlobalFoundries’ advanced chip manufacturing capabilities, will address a growing need for trusted components in embedded and cyber-physical systems—systems that must deliver security services and withstand both software- and hardware-level attacks. With FD-SOI’s proven advantages against laser fault injection (LFI) attacks due to its thin-film architecture and channel isolation, the technology presents a compelling foundation for next-generation secure IC design.
    Key goals of the partnership include:

    • Highlighting FD-SOI’s existing strengths in cybersecurity.
    • Co-developing innovations across the substrate-design stack to boost physical robustness and meet security requirements in automotive and other embedded systems.
    • Demonstrating empirical security data to reinforce FD-SOI’s credibility in certification contexts such as SESIP and Common Criteria.

    Context: Rising Threats, Rising Demand
    “In an era marked by increasing attacks on connected systems and autonomous vehicles, the need for embedded hardware capable of resisting physical tampering has never been greater,” said CEA-Leti CTO Jean-René Lequepeys. “FD-SOI’s unique combination of performance, energy efficiency, and attack resistance offers an ideal answer for industries that demand both trust and efficiency. This project will leverage research results from the FAMES Pilot Line.”
    FD-SOI’s critical benefits include:

    • Physical attack resistance, enabled by electrical isolation between the channel and substrate.
    • Power-performance optimization, vital for battery-constrained applications like automotive ECUs and industrial sensors.
    • Security design enablement, allowing tailored countermeasures such as fault detection and isolation of sensitive circuit domains.

    Long-Term Vision: Toward a New Cyber-Substrate
    While the initial phase focuses on leveraging existing FD-SOI capabilities, the project sets the stage for long-term innovation. The envisioned next-generation cyber-substrate would expand upon FD-SOI’s strengths by incorporating:

    • Enhanced protection against backside and invasive physical attacks.
    • Embedded anti-tamper features and physical unclonable functions (PUFs) for hardware fingerprinting.
    • Dynamic response mechanisms to detect and counter emerging threats.

    This future-oriented work will address both cyber and supply-chain vulnerabilities—making FD-SOI not only more secure, but also more indispensable.
    Soitec’s Senior Executive Vice President in charge of Innovation and Chief Technology Officer Christophe Maleville said: “This partnership with CEA-Leti reflects our strategic ambition to position FD-SOI as a reference platform for secure and energy-efficient electronics. By combining our substrate innovation capabilities with CEA-Leti’s research excellence, we aim to demonstrate the full potential of FD-SOI in addressing today’s most pressing security challenges. Together, we are paving the way for a new generation of trusted technologies that are essential to the future of connected systems.”
    About CEA-Leti (France)
    CEA-Leti, a technology research institute at CEA, is a global leader in miniaturization technologies enabling smart, energy-efficient and secure solutions for industry. Founded in 1967, CEA-Leti pioneers micro-& nanotechnologies, tailoring differentiating applicative solutions for global companies, SMEs and startups. CEA-Leti tackles critical challenges in healthcare, energy and digital migration. From sensors to data processing and computing solutions, CEA-Leti’s multidisciplinary teams deliver solid expertise, leveraging world-class pre-industrialization facilities. With a staff of more than 2,000 talents, a portfolio of 3,200 patents, 11,000 sq. meters of cleanroom space and a clear IP policy, the institute is based in Grenoble, France, and has offices in Silicon Valley, Brussels and Tokyo. CEA-Leti has launched 76 startups and is a member of the Carnot Institutes network. Follow us on www.leti-cea.com and @CEA_Leti.

    Technological expertise
    CEA has a key role in transferring scientific knowledge and innovation from research to industry. This high-level technological research is carried out in particular in electronic and integrated systems, from microscale to nanoscale. It has a wide range of industrial applications in the fields of transport, health, safety and telecommunications, contributing to the creation of high-quality and competitive products.

    For more information: www.cea.fr/english 

    About Soitec
    Soitec (Euronext – Tech Leaders), a world leader in innovative semiconductor materials, has been developing cutting-edge products delivering both technological performance and energy efficiency for over 30 years. From its global headquarters in France, Soitec is expanding internationally with its unique solutions, and generated sales of 0.9 billion Euros in fiscal year 2024-2025. Soitec occupies a key position in the semiconductor value chain, serving three main strategic markets: Mobile Communications, Automotive and Industrial, and Edge and Cloud AI. The company relies on the talent and diversity of more than 2,200 employees, representing 50 different nationalities, working at its sites in Europe, the United States and Asia. Nearly 4,300 patents have been registered by Soitec.
    Soitec, SmartSiC™ and Smart Cut™ are registered trademarks of Soitec.
    For more information: https://www.soitec.com/en/ and follow us on LinkedIn and X: @Soitec_Official
    Soitec, SmartSiC™ and Smart Cut™ are registered trademarks of Soitec.
    For more information: https://www.soitec.com/en/ and follow us on LinkedIn and X: @Soitec_Official

    Press Contact                                                                                

    CEA-Leti
    Sarah-Lyle Dampoux
    sldampoux@mahoneylyle.com
    +33 6 74 93 23 47

    Soitec
    Relations Media : media@soitec.com
    Relations Investisseurs : investors@soitec.com

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Israel-Iran war ‘more dangerous than we imagine’, says Middle East Eye editor

    Pacific Media Watch

    The Big Picture Podcast host, New Zealand-Egyptian journalist and author Mohamed Hassan, interviews Middle East Eye editor-in-chief David Hearst about the rapidly unfolding war between Israel and Iran, why the West supports it, and what it threatens to unleash on the global order.

    What does Israel really want to achieve, what options does Iran have to deescalate, and will the United States stop the war, or join it as is being hinted?

    Hearst says the war is “more dangerous than we imagine” and notes that while most Western leadership still backs Israel, there has been a strong shift in world public opinion against Tel Aviv.

    He says Israel has lost most of the world’s support, most of the Global South, most African states, Brazil, South Africa, China and Russia.

    Hearst says the world is witnessing the “cynical tailend of the colonial era” among Western states.


    The era of peace is over.             Video: Middle East Eye

    Iran ‘unlikely to surrender’
    Ali Vaez, the Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, says Iran is unlikely to “surrender to American terms” and that there is a risk the war on Iran could “bring the entire region down”.

    Vaez told Al Jazeera in an interview that US President Donald Trump “provided the green light for Israel to attack Iran” just two days before the president’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was due to meet with the Iranians in the Oman capital of Muscat.

    Imagine viewing, from the Iranian perspective, Trump giving the go-ahead for the attack while at the same time saying that diplomacy with Tehran was still ongoing, Vaez said.

    Now Trump “is asking for Iranian surrender” on his Truth Social platform, he said.

    “I think the only thing that is more dangerous than suffering from Israeli and American bombs is actually surrendering to American terms,” Vaez said.

    “Because if Iran surrenders on the nuclear issue and on the demands of President Trump, there is no end to the slippery slope, which would eventually result in regime collapse and capitulation anyway.”

    Most Americans oppose US involvement
    Meanwhile, a new survey has reported that most Americans oppose US military involvement in the conflict.

    The survey by YouGov showed that some 60 percent of Americans surveyed thought the US military should not get involved in the ongoing hostilities between Israel and Iran.

    Only 16 percent favoured US involvement, while 24 percent said they were not sure.

    Among the Democrats, those who opposed US intervention were at 65 percent, and among the Republicans, it was 53 percent. Some 61 percent of independents opposed the move.

    The survey also showed that half of Americans viewed Iran as an enemy of the US, while 25 percent said it was “unfriendly”.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Israel-Iran war ‘more dangerous than we imagine’, says Middle East Eye editor

    Pacific Media Watch

    The Big Picture Podcast host, New Zealand-Egyptian journalist and author Mohamed Hassan, interviews Middle East Eye editor-in-chief David Hearst about the rapidly unfolding war between Israel and Iran, why the West supports it, and what it threatens to unleash on the global order.

    What does Israel really want to achieve, what options does Iran have to deescalate, and will the United States stop the war, or join it as is being hinted?

    Hearst says the war is “more dangerous than we imagine” and notes that while most Western leadership still backs Israel, there has been a strong shift in world public opinion against Tel Aviv.

    He says Israel has lost most of the world’s support, most of the Global South, most African states, Brazil, South Africa, China and Russia.

    Hearst says the world is witnessing the “cynical tailend of the colonial era” among Western states.


    The era of peace is over.             Video: Middle East Eye

    Iran ‘unlikely to surrender’
    Ali Vaez, the Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, says Iran is unlikely to “surrender to American terms” and that there is a risk the war on Iran could “bring the entire region down”.

    Vaez told Al Jazeera in an interview that US President Donald Trump “provided the green light for Israel to attack Iran” just two days before the president’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was due to meet with the Iranians in the Oman capital of Muscat.

    Imagine viewing, from the Iranian perspective, Trump giving the go-ahead for the attack while at the same time saying that diplomacy with Tehran was still ongoing, Vaez said.

    Now Trump “is asking for Iranian surrender” on his Truth Social platform, he said.

    “I think the only thing that is more dangerous than suffering from Israeli and American bombs is actually surrendering to American terms,” Vaez said.

    “Because if Iran surrenders on the nuclear issue and on the demands of President Trump, there is no end to the slippery slope, which would eventually result in regime collapse and capitulation anyway.”

    Most Americans oppose US involvement
    Meanwhile, a new survey has reported that most Americans oppose US military involvement in the conflict.

    The survey by YouGov showed that some 60 percent of Americans surveyed thought the US military should not get involved in the ongoing hostilities between Israel and Iran.

    Only 16 percent favoured US involvement, while 24 percent said they were not sure.

    Among the Democrats, those who opposed US intervention were at 65 percent, and among the Republicans, it was 53 percent. Some 61 percent of independents opposed the move.

    The survey also showed that half of Americans viewed Iran as an enemy of the US, while 25 percent said it was “unfriendly”.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Are Israel’s actions in Iran illegal? Could it be called self-defence? An international law expert explains

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shannon Bosch, Associate Professor (Law), Edith Cowan University

    Israel’s major military operation against Iran has targeted its nuclear program, including its facilities and scientists, as well as its military leadership.

    In response, the United Nations Security Council has quickly convened an emergency sitting. There, the Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon defended Israel’s actions as a “preventative strike” carried out with “precision, purpose, and the most advanced intelligence”. It aimed, he said, to:

    dismantle Iran’s nuclear programme, eliminate the architects of its terror and aggression and neutralise the regime’s ability to follow through on its repeated public promise to destroy the state of Israel.

    So, what does international law say about self-defence? And were Israel’s actions illegal under international law?

    When is self-defence allowed?

    Article 2.4 of the UN charter states:

    All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.

    There are only two exceptions:

    1. when the UN Security Council authorises force, and
    2. when a state acts in self-defence.

    This “inherent right of individual or collective self-defence”, as article 51 of the UN charter puts it, persists until the Security Council acts to restore international peace and security.

    So what’s ‘self-defence’ actually mean?

    The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has consistently interpreted self-defence narrowly.

    In many cases, it has rejected arguments from states such as the United States, Uganda and Israel that have sought to promote a more expansive interpretation of self-defence.

    The 9/11 attacks marked a turning point. The UN Security Council affirmed in resolutions 1368 and 1373 that the right to self-defence extends to defending against attacks by non-state actors, such as terrorist groups. The US, invoking this right, launched its military action in Afghanistan.

    The classic understanding of self-defence – that it’s justified when a state responds reactively to an actual, armed attack – was regarded as being too restrictive in the age of missiles, cyberattacks and terrorism.

    This helped give rise to the idea of using force before an imminent attack, in anticipatory self-defence.

    The threshold for anticipatory self-defence is widely seen by scholars as high. It requires what’s known as “imminence”. In other words, this is the “last possible window of opportunity” to act to stop an unavoidable attack.

    As set out by then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2005:

    as long as the threatened attack is imminent, no other means would deflect it and the action is proportionate, this would meet the accepted interpretation of self defence under article 51.

    As international law expert Donald Rothwell points out, the legitimacy of anticipatory self-defence hinges on factual scrutiny and strict criteria, balancing urgency, legality and accountability.

    However, the lines quickly blurred

    In 2002, the US introduced a “pre-emptive doctrine” in its national security strategy.

    This argued new threats – such as terrorism and weapons of mass destruction – justified using force to forestall attacks before they occurred.

    Critics, including Annan, warned that if the notion of preventive self-defence was widely accepted, it would undermine the prohibition on the use of force. It would basically allow states to act unilaterally on speculative intelligence.

    Annan acknowledged:

    if there are good arguments for preventive military action, with good evidence to support them, they should be put to the Security Council, which can authorise such action if it chooses to.

    If it does not so choose, there will be, by definition, time to pursue other strategies, including persuasion, negotiation, deterrence and containment – and to visit again the military option.

    This is exactly what Israel has failed to do before attacking Iran.

    Lessons from history

    Israel’s stated goal was to damage Iran’s nuclear program and prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon that could be used against it.

    This is explicitly about preventing an alleged, threatened, future attack by Iran with a nuclear weapon that, according to all publicly available information, Iran does not currently possess.

    This is not the first time Israel has advanced a broad interpretation of self-defence.

    In 1981, Israel bombed Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor, which was under construction on the outskirts of Baghdad. It claimed a nuclear-armed Iraq would pose an unacceptable threat. The UN Security Council condemned the attack.

    As international law stands, unless an armed attack is imminent and unavoidable, such strikes are likely to be considered unlawful uses of force.

    While there is still time and opportunity to use non-forcible means to prevent the threatened attack, there’s no necessity to act now in self defence.

    Diplomatic engagement, sanction, and international monitoring of Iran’s nuclear program — such as through the International Atomic Energy Agency — remain the lawful means of addressing the emerging threat posed by Tehran.

    Preserving the rule of law

    The right to self-defence is not a blank cheque.

    Anticipatory self-defence remains legally unsettled and highly contested.

    So were Israel’s attacks on Iran a legitimate use of “self-defence”? I would argue no.

    I concur with international law expert Marko Milanovic that Israel’s claim to be acting in preventive self-defence must be rejected on the facts available to us.

    In a volatile world, preserving these legal limits is essential to avoiding unchecked aggression and preserving the rule of law.

    Shannon Bosch 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. Are Israel’s actions in Iran illegal? Could it be called self-defence? An international law expert explains – https://theconversation.com/are-israels-actions-in-iran-illegal-could-it-be-called-self-defence-an-international-law-expert-explains-259259

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hoyer Tours YMCA Camp Letts, Touts Federal Investments in Maryland

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steny H Hoyer (MD-05)

    EDGEWATER, MD — Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) recently toured the YMCA Camp Letts to hear directly from local leaders about the critical infrastructure needs of the campsite and how they serve Maryland youth. Congressman Hoyer has long championed improvements to the YMCA’s water infrastructure as it continues to improve health outcomes for Maryland’s children and families.

    “Since I came to Congress, one of my top priorities has been to ensure Maryland families have access to clean waters and recreational opportunities,” Congressman Hoyer said. “The good people of YMCA Camp Letts have helped youth develop new skills and a sense of self-confidence that will serve them down the line in good-paying jobs and fulfilling careers. As House Republicans and Donald Trump continue to cut vital programs and services in Maryland, I will continue to help YMCA Camp Letts serve its mission and ensure Maryland families have access to healthy air and clean water.”

    Founded in 1906, YMCA Camp Letts is the area’s oldest residential camp. Since its founding, YMCA Camp Letts has served hundreds of thousands of children and their families. As part of the 2026 Fiscal Year Government Funding Bill, Congressman Hoyer is working to secure $1 million in Community Project Funding for the YMCA to improve HVAC systems, plumbing, and more. Congressman Hoyer solicited requests on his website and submitted 15 projects to the House Appropriations Committee.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: LaMalfa Recognizes Service Academy Appointments from Northern California

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Doug LaMalfa 1st District of California

    Washington, D.C.—Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) announced the appointment of five students selected to attend one of America’s military academies. The service academy appointees from California’s First District are as follows: 

    Nathaniel Brockhoff  – Plumas Lake
    U.S. Naval Academy
    Josiah McCormick – Redding 
    U.S. Air Force Academy 
    Lily Miller – Yuba City
    U.S. Air Force Academy
    Caden Stickney – Chico
    U.S. Air Force Academy 
    Alexander Willingham – Chico
    U.S. Air Force Academy

    Congressman LaMalfa based his nominations on the recommendations of his Military Academy Nomination Selection Committee, which is responsible for reviewing their files, interviewing the applicants, and recommending a slate of nominees. 

    “Being appointed to one of our nation’s Service Academies is a tremendous achievement and a clear reflection of these students’ hard work, character, and dedication to serving our country,” said Rep. LaMalfa. “After a competitive process, they’ve earned the chance to receive a world-class education while preparing to lead in our armed forces. I’m pleased to see such outstanding young people from Northern California take this next step, and I have no doubt they’ll represent our region and our nation well in the years ahead.” 

    From Left to Right: Josiah McCormick , Alexander Willingham , Lily Miller, Caden Stickney

    Any student with a strong desire to serve our nation as an officer in the United States Armed Forces is invited to contact Congressman LaMalfa in the spring of their junior year. Please visit his website www.lamalfa.house.gov for his nomination application and instructions. You may also call his Chico District office and speak with his U.S. Service Academy Advisor at (530) 343-1000.

    Congressman Doug LaMalfa is Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus and a lifelong farmer representing California’s First Congressional District, including Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama and Yuba Counties.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Animal Welfare – WORLD’S BIGGEST INVESTIGATION INTO EGG FACTORY FARMING. NEW ZEALAND CAGES SCRUTINISED

    Source: Animals Aotearoa

    In the largest global investigation ever, The Open Wing Alliance reveals never-before-seen footage of systemic animal abuse and public health risks in cage egg factory farming. Alongside footage from 36 other countries, the exposé includes footage from a colony cage factory farm in New Zealand.

    New Zealand – June 17 2025 –  “The sound of thousands of trapped chickens, the industrial fans cranking and the stench of waste is beyond words”, says a volunteer investigator from Grassroots Campaigns NZ. “It’s hell inside.”

    This is the description animal welfare investigators gave about what they captured at an Auckland colony cage factory farm. Their footage was given to the Open Wing Alliance, a global coalition of nearly 100 organisations established by The Humane League, in collaboration with We Animals and Reporters for Animals International. Together with Animals Aotearoa, the united group has just released the largest ever investigation into industrialised egg farms in 37 countries. In never-before-seen footage, including from New Zealand, supported by an open letter backed by 100 celebrities.

    “The shocking footage exposes widespread abuse of egg-laying hens trapped in filthy, overcrowded cages, with evidence of injured birds, rotting carcasses, disease-ridden conditions, and more. This investigation comes as bird flu sweeps across every continent, jumping from farmed birds to wild animals and even humans”, says Jennifer Dutton, Corporate Relations Specialist at Animals Aotearoa.

    Footage from 37 countries, including:

    Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United States, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

    Key findings from the global exposé include:

    Hens confined in battery and enriched/colony cages, giving each chicken only the space of an iPad, or less, to live their entire life;

    Automated systems leave dead bird carcasses trapped in cages with living hens;

    Live hens abandoned in manure and waste pits, and eggs found in manure before sent to shelves;

    Birds unable to stand upright or spread their wings;

    Unsanitary conditions that promote disease spread, like avian influenza.

    This massive coordinated worldwide campaign is focused on spotlighting multinational brands dragging their heels on fulfilling corporate policy to transition away from cage eggs in their supply chains. The vast majority of food corporations around the world publicly committed, a decade ago, to remove cages from their egg supply chains, with global companies like The Hershey Company, Hormel Foods, Famous Brands, and Barilla already fully cage-free. However, food companies like Walmart, Zensho Holdings and Inspire Brands (parent company of Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins) continue to profit from sourcing eggs from hens raised in outdated, cruel cages. In New Zealand, hospitality giant Best Western Hotel chain was recently targeted by protestors highlighting the multinational’s lack of transparent reporting on its global cage-free progress, supported by a petition.

    Since 2023, when battery cages were outlawed in Aotearoa, there has been a disinformation campaign by the factory farm lobby to mislead caring New Zealanders about the continued domestic production of cage eggs. While battery cages are no longer in use, colony cages are. Eggs sold at retail level from these colony cage systems don’t contain the word ‘cage’ anywhere on the packaging. Following a number of complaints, the Commerce Commission is currently conducting a compliance project to assess whether colony eggs are a breach of the Fair Trading Act.

    In addition to cage eggs being sold under misleading labelling, the import of liquid eggs from battery cages is a significant problem. Over 80% of New Zealand’s liquid eggs, used largely in food manufacture, are imported from China and Australia where egg-laying hens are kept in battery cages. Produced using methods illegal here, they are added into Kiwi foods and quietly sold to the caring public who are unaware.

    Consumers around the world are increasingly demanding transparency and ethical treatment of animals in food production, and they won’t stand for further risks to our global public health. Over 100 celebrity figures signed an open letter urging food corporations to end the use of cages in their global supply chains. This investigation s

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Can a foreign government hack WhatsApp? A cybersecurity expert explains how that might work

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tuffley, Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, Griffith University

    On The Back Of Camera/Shutterstock

    Earlier today, Iranian officials urged the country’s citizens to remove the messaging platform WhatsApp from their smartphones. Without providing any supporting evidence, they alleged the app gathers user information to send to Israel.

    WhatsApp has rejected the allegations. In a statement to Associated Press, the Meta-owned messaging platform said it was concerned “these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them most”. It added that it does not track users’ location nor the personal messages people are sending one another.

    It is impossible to independently assess the allegations, given Iran provided no publicly accessible supporting evidence.

    But we do know that even though WhatsApp has strong privacy and security features, it isn’t impenetrable. And there is at least one country that has previously been able to penetrate it: Israel.

    3 billion users

    WhatsApp is a free messaging app owned by Meta. With around 3 billion users worldwide and growing fast, it can send text messages, calls and media over the internet.

    It uses strong end-to-end encryption meaning only the sender and recipient can read messages; not even WhatsApp can access their content. This ensures strong privacy and security.

    Advanced cyber capability

    The United States is the world leader in cyber capability. This term describes the skills, technologies and resources that enable nations to defend, attack, or exploit digital systems and networks as a powerful instrument of national power.

    But Israel also has advanced cyber capability, ranking alongside the United Kingdom, China, Russia, France and Canada.

    Israel has a documented history of conducting sophisticated cyber operations. This includes the widely cited Stuxnet attack that targeted Iran’s nuclear program more than 15 years ago. Israeli cyber units, such as Unit 8200, are renowned for their technical expertise and innovation in both offensive and defensive operations.

    Seven of the top 10 global cybersecurity firms maintain R&D centers in Israel, and Israeli startups frequently lead in developing novel offensive and defensive cyber tools.

    A historical precedent

    Israeli firms have repeatedly been linked to hacking WhatsApp accounts, most notably through the Pegasus spyware developed by Israeli-based cyber intelligence company NSO Group. In 2019, it exploited WhatsApp vulnerabilities to compromise 1,400 users, including journalists, activists and politicians.

    Last month, a US federal court ordered the NSO Group to pay WhatsApp and Meta nearly US$170 million in damages for the hack.

    Another Israeli company, Paragon Solutions, also recently targeted nearly 100 WhatsApp accounts. The company used advanced spyware to access private communications after they had been de-encrypted.

    These kinds of attacks often use “spearphishing”. This is distinct from regular phishing attacks, which generally involve an attacker sending malicious links to thousands of people.

    Instead, spearphishing involves sending targeted, deceptive messages or files to trick specific individuals into installing spyware. This grants attackers full access to their devices – including de-encrypted WhatsApp messages.

    A spearphishing email might appear to come from a trusted colleague or organisation. It might ask the recipient to urgently review a document or reset a password, leading them to a fake login page or triggering a malware download.

    Protecting yourself from ‘spearphishing’

    To avoid spearphishing, people should scrutinise unexpected emails or messages, especially those conveying a sense of urgency, and never click suspicious links or download unknown attachments.

    Hovering the mouse cursor over a link will reveal the name of the destination. Suspicious links are those with strange domain names and garbled text that has nothing to do with the purported sender. Simply hovering without clicking is not dangerous.

    Enable two-factor authentication, keep your software updated, and verify requests coming through trusted channels. Regular cybersecurity training also helps users spot and resist these targeted attacks.

    David Tuffley 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. Can a foreign government hack WhatsApp? A cybersecurity expert explains how that might work – https://theconversation.com/can-a-foreign-government-hack-whatsapp-a-cybersecurity-expert-explains-how-that-might-work-259261

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: US has full control over the skies over Iran – D. Trump

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    NEW YORK, June 17 (Xinhua) — The United States has full control over Iranian airspace, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday.

    “We now have complete and total control over the Iranian skies,” he said.

    “Iran had good tracking and other defense equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to what was made, designed, and manufactured in America. No one does it better than the good ol’ USA,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

    D. Trump left the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada late Monday, a day earlier than expected, amid an exchange of missile strikes between Israel and Iran.

    Earlier on Tuesday, Trump said he wanted a “real end” to the conflict, not just a truce. He also told the Truth Social website that the United States knows where Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding, calling him an “easy target” and calling for Iran’s “unconditional surrender.”

    “I think they know not to touch our troops,” Trump said of Iran, warning that the United States would not hold back if it had to respond.

    In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, the White House chief said the United States was not involved in Israel’s military strikes on Iran, but did not rule out the possibility.

    Israel has called on the United States to join the conflict with Iran to dismantle its nuclear program, local media reported. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy: Unregulated AI Will Destroy Our Economy and Culture

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

    June 17, 2025

    WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Monday wrote a Substack post sounding the alarm on the existential risks unregulated artificial intelligence pose to America’s economy and collective well-being. Murphy advocated for strong government policy and intervention to ensure that citizens, rather than corporate interests, are managing the transformational effects of this new technology and protected from the worst of its potential harms.
    “A fraud is being perpetuated on the American people and our pliant, gullible political leaders.” Murphy wrote. “If America does not protect its economy and culture from the potential ravages of advanced AI, our nation will rot from the inside out, giving China a free lane to pass us politically and economically.”
    Murphy stressed that unregulated AI will ship jobs overseas, permanently hollow out the American job market, and leave workers with no recourse: “The job displacement will be massive and devastating. That’s just common sense… Not enough jobs will be created to replace the jobs we lose, and even the new jobs likely won’t stay in the United States due to the industry’s insatiable desire to maximize profits… the industry doesn’t really care about creating U.S.-based infrastructure or jobs. They are hunting profits, and to boost return on investment, without any guardrails imposed on them by government, they will use the same labor arbitrage techniques that other industries utilize and ship as many AI jobs as they can to countries with lower labor costs.”
    Speaking from discussions with industry leaders, Murphy slammed the tech companies’ reckless disregard for the human impact of their technology: “The only value that guides the AI industry right now is the pursuit of profit. In all my meetings, it was crystal clear that companies like Google and Apple and OpenAI and Anthropic are in a race to deploy consumer-facing, job-killing AGI as quickly as possible, in order to beat each other to the market. Any talk about ethical or moral AI is just whitewash… They are in such a hurry that they can’t even explain how the large language models they are marketing come to conclusions or synthesize data. Every single executive I met with admitted that they had built a machine that they could not understand or control.”
    Murphy pushed back against the common argument that targeted regulations would undercut innovation and enable China to win the AI race: “This argument assumes, wrongly, that the Chinese will put no constraints on the development and dissemination of their own AI models. We know this isn’t true because as we speak, China is being relatively careful with how it develops and rolls out AI. From 2021 to 2023, China began to build out a governance framework with some of the world’s earliest AI regulations and technical standards, bringing service providers into compliance on issues from ethics, data protection, safety, and security…That China has been actively building towards a national AI law, while producing a cutting-edge model like DeepSeek’s, makes clear that AI regulation and innovation can, and do, co-exist.” 
    Murphy concluded: “I want to beat China in the race for advanced AI. I do. But not at any cost. If we do not use government policy and intervention to control for the job loss and to protect consumers, it won’t matter that we get to AGI before China. Unbounded, AGI could eliminate so many jobs and undermine so many of our values, that China will cheer our decision to rush to AGI in our blind, feverish desire to be first. Ultimately, China could end up winning the race, because we destroy ourselves along the race route.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ20: Carbon emission reduction

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Following is a question by the Hon Adrian Ho and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (June 18):
      
    Question:
     
    In October 2021, the Government announced Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050, which aims to reduce Hong Kong’s carbon emissions by half from the 2005 level before 2035 and outlines four major decarbonisation strategies, namely net-zero electricity generation, energy saving and green buildings, green transport and waste reduction. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
     
    (1) whether it will duly adjust its green policies in response to Hong Kong’s actual carbon emissions in recent years to accelerate the overall pace of decarbonisation in Hong Kong and thus achieve its carbon reduction targets as scheduled;
     
    (2) of the respective performances of various government departments over the past five years in key carbon reduction measures, such as energy saving, emission reduction, consumption and carbon emission reduction, as well as green procurement; whether government departments have set carbon reduction targets and timetables for the series of policy measures implemented in recent years, including the establishment of the Green Technology and Finance Development Committee and the implementation of the Uncertificated Securities Market initiative;
     
    (3) as there are views that the broad participation of businesses in decarbonisation efforts is vital for Hong Kong to achieve carbon neutrality, how many businesses and organisations have, as of May this year, joined the “Green Hong Kong．Carbon Audit” campaign by signing the Carbon Reduction Charter and agreeing to undertake and implement activities in support of reducing greenhouse gas emissions; whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the participating businesses and organisations in formulating and implementing carbon reduction measures;
     
    (4) as it is learnt that the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited established the Hong Kong International Carbon Market Council and subsequently launched an international carbon marketplace “Core Climate” in 2022, whether Government is aware of the current operational status of both the Council and Core Climate, as well as their respective effectiveness in promoting the implementation of decarbonisation measures among businesses in Hong Kong; and
     
    (5) given that green transport is one of the Government’s decarbonisation strategies, which includes achieving zero vehicular emissions and zero carbon emissions in the transport sector before 2050 through promoting the electrification of vehicles, and ceasing new registrations of fuel-propelled and hybrid private cars in or before 2035, whether the Government has assessed if the current progress of such efforts will enable the carbon reduction targets to be achieved on schedule?
     
    Reply:
     
    President,
     
    In consultation with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, the reply to the question raised by the Hon Adrian Ho is as follows:
     
    (1) The Government has proposed four major decarbonisation strategies in the Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050, namely net-zero electricity generation, energy saving and green buildings, green transport and waste reduction, to lead Hong Kong to halve its carbon emissions from the 2005 level by 2035, with a view to achieving carbon neutrality before 2050. With our efforts in recent years in these four decarbonisation strategies, Hong Kong is making steady progress towards the carbon reduction target of 2035.
     
    Hong Kong’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been on a downward trend after reaching its peak in 2014. With the gradual replacement of coal-fired power generation by natural gas and zero-carbon energy, the popularisation of electric vehicles, the reduction of municipal solid waste disposal, and the increased recovery and use of landfill gas for energy generation in Hong Kong, the total GHG emissions in 2023 were reduced by about 20 per cent from the 2005 level and about a quarter from the peak in 2014. The per capita GHG emissions in 2023 was 4.58 tonnes, which is a new low since 1990. It is nearly 30 per cent lower than those in 2005 and 2014, and is about a quarter of that of the United States and 60 per cent of that of the European Union.

    Combating climate change is a long-term task. In line with the spirit of the Paris Agreement, we will review the Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050 about every five years to update the strategies and targets for decarbonisation and other climate actions, and expect to release the review result in 2026.
     
    (2) To enhance the performance of government departments in energy conservation and carbon emissions, the Government has promulgated relevant internal circulars and guidelines to require departments to perform well in the area of environmental protection in their daily operations. Specific measures include energy conservation, adoption of renewable energy (RE), waste reduction and recycling, installation of electric vehicle charging facilities, water conservation and recycling, procurement of green products and services, etc. with a view to reducing carbon emissions. These government circulars and guidelines cover environmental targets for government buildings, carbon emission management, preparation of environmental reports by government departments, as well as green procurement, etc.
     
    The Government strives to improve the overall energy performance of government buildings and infrastructure by more than 6 per cent in 2024-25, compared to the 2018-19 baseline. To this end, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) has requested all bureaux and departments (B/Ds) to provide information on the energy consumption and RE of government buildings and facilities annually, and organised briefing sessions to discuss energy performance, and provides technical advice on energy-saving measures and planning of RE projects. As at 2022-23, the Government’s overall energy performance has improved by about 5.3 per cent. While the data for 2023-24 is still being compiled, based on the recent trends in energy performance, the Government is confident that the target of over 6 per cent improvement can be achieved. The Environment and Ecology Bureau (EEB) will continue to encourage all B/Ds to take measures to enhance energy performance and explore means to leverage innovative technologies to promote cost-effective solutions for improving energy efficiency in government buildings. 
    (3) The Government launched the “Green Hong Kong．Carbon Audit” campaign with a view to encouraging organisations of various sectors to support greenhouse gas emission reduction activities. The participating organisations would, according to their respective situations, formulate and implement carbon reduction measures such as promoting carbon audits, establishing environmental management systems, and installing and replacing energy-efficient office equipment. Currently, over 140 organisations, including property management companies, universities, professional bodies, non-profit-making organisations and other business organisations, have joined the “Green Hong Kong．Carbon Audit” campaign. In addition to raising the awareness of participating organisations in carbon reduction and encouraging these organisations to conduct carbon audits and implement carbon reduction plans, the campaign also helps corporates prepare for addressing new climate-related disclosure requirements.
     
    The Government launched in December last year the Roadmap on Sustainability Disclosure in Hong Kong (Roadmap), injecting new impetus into the carbon management work of large publicly accountable entities (PAEs) (including large listed issuers and non-listed financial institutions carrying a significant weight). As the first step, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) has introduced new climate-related disclosures requirements (New Climate Requirements) which have been developed based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) S2 Climate-related Disclosures. The New Climate Requirements, covering, among others, mandating all listed issuers to disclose scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions, have been implemented in phases starting from January 2025. 
    (4) HKEX launched the Hong Kong International Carbon Market Council (the Council) in July 2022, with members comprising Mainland, Hong Kong, and international corporates and financial institutions, to facilitate the development of an efficient and effective Hong Kong-based international carbon market with best-in-class market infrastructure, products and services, promoting the transition to a low-carbon economy in the region.
     
    Subsequently, HKEX launched the Core Climate, an international carbon marketplace, in October in the same year, facilitating effective and transparent trading of carbon credits and instruments to support the global transition to Net Zero. It offers quality carbon credits from internationally-certified projects in Asia, South America and Africa, covering forestry, solar, wind and biomass initiatives. Core Climate is currently the only carbon marketplace that offers HKD and RMB settlement for the trading of international voluntary carbon credits. The platform’s participant number reached 100 by end of 2024. Core Climate has facilitated carbon credit trading by various corporates through the provision of trustworthy settlement services, enhancing efficiency and mitigating risks, including Cathay Pacific Airways Limited’s settlement of 50 000 tonnes of voluntary carbon credits in December last year, fully demonstrating the important role of Core Climate in supporting corporates on their climate transition journey. 
    (5) The Government is committed to promoting the use of electric vehicles (EV). The Hong Kong Roadmap on Popularisation of Electric Vehicles announced in March 2021 covers policy directions and targets in various areas in promoting the adoption of new energy transport technologies, so as to guide Hong Kong towards zero vehicular emissions before 2050. In recent years, Hong Kong has achieved remarkable results in the popularisation of EV. The number of EV was eightfold from about 14 000 five years ago to about 110 000 at the end of last year. Currently, about seven out of every ten newly registered private cars are electric private cars (e-PC), and the proportion is among the highest in the world, with a good growth momentum.
     
    Charging network is critical to the popularisation of EV. As of March 2025, Hong Kong had nearly 100 000 parking spaces equipped with charging infrastructure. There are 11 180 public charging facilities, of which about 2 000 are quick or fast charging facilities. We will continue to adopt a multi-pronged approach to increase charging facilities, including (i) tightening the exemption measure for calculating the gross floor area of buildings to encourage parking spaces in new private buildings to be equipped with charging infrastructure; and (ii) launching the $3.5 billion “EV-charging at Home Subsidy Scheme” to assist existing private residential buildings and housing estate car parks to install EV charging infrastructure. It is estimated that by mid-2027, more than 200 000 parking spaces in private buildings will be equipped with charging infrastructure.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Booker Statement on Passage of GENIUS Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement following the passage of the bipartisan GENIUS Act:

    “As new technologies and payment systems emerge, it is essential that Congress moves quickly to establish regulatory frameworks that protect consumers from predatory practices, keep our markets safe, and prevent bad actors from exploiting regulatory gaps. Stablecoins, which millions of consumers already use to facilitate digital asset trading, are undeniably a part of the future of the global financial system, but are largely operating outside of the regulatory system or relying on a patchwork of inconsistent state regulations, posing serious risks to businesses and consumers alike. The U.S. should be a leader in setting standards for consumer protection and responsible innovation in the space.  

    “This bill is the result of months of bipartisan negotiations and offers robust guardrails for consumers in the U.S. It offers an important starting point for protecting financial security and our broader economy, closing loopholes on foreign-issued stablecoins that pose risks to national security, strengthening federal oversight over stablecoin issuers, and expanding consumer protections in the event of a stablecoin collapse. The bill also expands ethics requirements on government employees, ensuring special government employees like Elon Musk cannot enrich themselves while serving in government.

    “This bill is the beginning. There is still a significant amount of work to do to ensure that digital assets are operating in a way that protects and benefits consumers and holds industry accountable. I am also deeply concerned by the ongoing corruption by the Trump administration, as President Trump, his family, and other administration officials seek to exploit their roles in order to cut big real estate deals and enrich themselves on memecoin schemes.  I urge my colleagues to continue to work in a bipartisan manner to craft legislation that evolves alongside our changing financial system, and to hold the Trump family accountable.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • Tehran Command Hit, Shadmani Killed: Iran-Israel War Enters Sixth Day

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Israel’s military has confirmed the killing of Ali Shadmani, Iran’s wartime Chief of Staff and a close adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an airstrike on a command center in Tehran. Shadmani had recently assumed leadership of Iran’s Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters following the death of his predecessor during Israel’s initial offensive on Friday.

    Iran’s Cyber Security Command has accused Israel of launching a widespread cyber war targeting its digital infrastructure, reportedly disrupting essential services, according to the state-run IRIB news agency.

    Israel’s air force has struck deep within Tehran, killing one of Iran’s top military officers, Ali Shadmani — a high-ranking adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

    Continuous and intense explosions are being heard in west Tehran, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA, as the conflict enters its sixth day with no signs of abating.

    Iran’s newly appointed army chief has issued a stark warning, saying the strikes carried out against Israel so far were merely a deterrent message.

    In a televised address, the new army chief General Abdolrahim Mousavi declared that punitive action will be carried out soon, signaling further escalation.

    Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump made a social media call for Iran to surrender unconditionally.

    As tensions rise, the Pentagon announced it is speeding up the deployment of the USS Nimitz and other naval hardware to the Middle East, the second carrier strike group to be deployed to the area.

    Calls for restraint are growing louder. Egypt has urged both Iran and Israel to pull back, warning that continued escalation could destabilize the entire region.

    Speaking in Brussels, Jordan’s King Abdullah II addressed the European Parliament, cautioning that Israeli strikes on Iran risk igniting a far wider war.

    The G7 summit in Canada issued a collective call for a de-escalation of hostilities across the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza. However, the group stopped short of directly calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

    Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty urged an immediate cessation of hostilities in phone calls with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Egypt warned the conflict risked igniting broader regional upheaval, a message echoed by Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who, in an address to the European Parliament, stressed the potential for wider instability triggered by continued Israeli strikes on Iran.

    French President Emmanuel Macron revealed that a US-backed ceasefire proposal is on the table, though its contents remain undisclosed. Tehran, however, has reportedly maintained a hardline stance on nuclear negotiations, with some sources indicating Iran may only consider compromise after retaliatory action against Israel is complete.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that ongoing operations have dealt a major blow to Iran’s nuclear program, saying, “I estimate we are sending them back a very, very long time.” Israel has reportedly targeted multiple nuclear facilities and eliminated several senior Iranian military commanders in a tightly coordinated campaign.

  • MIL-OSI USA: Following Reports of USPS Reversing Decision, Cortez Masto, Rosen Demand USPS Recommit to Keeping Local Mail in Nevada

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) sent a letter to Acting U.S. Postmaster General Doug Tulino and the Board of Governors demanding that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) recommit to keeping local letter mail processing in Nevada. Despite announcing last year that local first-class letter mail would continue to be processed in Reno, the USPS has removed the press release containing the announcement from their website, and Nevadans have reported seeing local, first-class letter mail being processed out of state.

    “On April 23, 2024, USPS officially announced its decision to proceed with its misguided plan to downsize and relocate outgoing mail processing operations from Reno, Nevada to Sacramento, California. After immense pushback from members of Congress, local officials, and the public, USPS agreed to keep local, first-class letter mail processing operations in Reno rather than moving forward with its plan to send local letter mail out of state to Sacramento and back again,” wrote the Senators. “In an August 2024 press release that has since been taken down from the USPS website, USPS officials announced that ‘[t]here will be no change to the location for canceling certain origination mail in Reno. In simpler terms, outgoing single piece mail will continue to be processed at its current location.’”

    “We are therefore alarmed to hear concerns from Nevadans that local, first-class letter mail processing operations may indeed move out of state,” they continued. “As such, we would like for the Postal Service to reaffirm its commitment to the public to not proceed with its original misguided plan, and provide us with the official USPS policy at the Reno facility with respect to local, first-class letter mail processing.”

    The full text of the letter can be found here.

    Senator Cortez Masto has consistently pushed to ensure first-class letter mail is processed in Nevada. She fought alongside bipartisan members of the Nevada delegation in an ultimately successful push to ensure former USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy abandon his ill-advised plan to relocate outgoing mail processing operations from Reno to Sacramento. She repeatedly called on DeJoy provide detailed information about the impact of his misguided plan, and she joined a group of over 20 Senators in a letter urging DeJoy to stop any changes or relocations to USPS processing facilities that could hurt mail delivery and kill jobs nationwide. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cortez Masto Statement on Vote to Pass GENIUS Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto

    Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) released the following statement after voting to pass the GENIUS Act, which would create a new regulatory framework for payment stablecoins and incentivize stablecoin issuers to be headquartered in the U.S., while providing a roadmap for more robust regulations and consumer protections. This iteration of the bill includes hard-fought changes negotiated by Democrats to strengthen national security and encourage domestic industry growth.

    “We need to do more to regulate cryptocurrencies and support American businesses, consumers, and our national security,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “If Congress doesn’t act, we risk sidelining ourselves in favor of foreign countries who would gladly take our place in helping shape this growing sector. This bill is the first step to ensure stablecoins issued in the United States are not used to scam or defraud people or facilitate illicit finance, while also providing regulatory clarity our domestic industry needs to innovate here at home.”

    The updated GENIUS Act includes Senator Cortez Masto’s language to ensure payment stablecoin issuers can only issue, redeem, and manage reserves to back up their stablecoins. This change bans issuers from engaging in speculative and high-risk ventures that could increase the likelihood of a failure.

    The negotiated legislation also increases scrutiny for foreign stablecoin issuers, giving Treasury the power to ban shady offshore actors from trading in the U.S. on centralized exchanges. It cracks down on deceptive marketing, allows for the suspension of an issuer’s registration after reckless and willful noncompliance, and prohibits stablecoin issuers from automatically accessing Federal Reserve Master accounts.  

    Senator Cortez Masto has consistently supported measures to rein in big corporations and crack down on fraud and money laundering. She is also pushing for additional legislation to crack down on crypto corruption by banning the President, Vice President, Senior Executive Branch Officials, Members of Congress, and their immediate families from financially benefiting from issuing, endorsing, or sponsoring crypto assets, such as meme coins and stablecoins. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Former SBA Employee from South Florida Headed to Federal Prison After Defrauding COVID-19 Relief Programs

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    Click Here to View the Original U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Press Release

    A former Small Business Administration (SBA) employee who fraudulently obtained COVID-19 relief money to spend on luxury items was sentenced on June 13.

    United States District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II sentenced Malaina Chapman, 38, to 54 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Ruiz further ordered Chapman to pay $1,297,178 in restitution.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, Chapman was employed as a Disaster Relief Specialist with the SBA from September 28, 2020 through March 18, 2021. While employed by the SBA, Chapman became involved in multiple schemes to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, as well as local credit unions and local and state programs designed to assist those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    On February 10, 2021, Chapman submitted an online loan application in the name of Upscale Credit Lounge, LLC to a lender. In support of her application, Chapman submitted a false and fraudulent Schedule C (Form 1040) that reported gross revenues of $103,674 and a tentative profit of $81,860 for 2020. The lender relied upon the representations in Chapman’s application to approve a loan in the amount of $17,052.50.

    On February 19, 2021, Chapman submitted an online PPP loan application with the lender on behalf of DA TRAP, LLC. In her application, Chapman claimed that she had four employees and an average monthly payroll of $14,191.  In support of her application, Chapman submitted a false and fraudulent Employers Quarterly Tax Return (Form 941), which purportedly documented the wages paid by DA TRAP.  Relying on the representations in the application, the lender approved a loan in the amount of $35,477.50.

    In total, Chapman received $230,246 for the loan applications she submitted on her own behalf.

    Chapman also conspired with others to submit false and fraudulent PPP loan applications on their behalf. Six defendants were charged under case number 24-cr-20079. For that conspiracy, Chapman was held accountable for losses of $837,716.

    In addition to defrauding the PPP program, Chapman also took advantage of the State of Florida and the City of Miami’s COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Programs.

    Chapman spent the money on luxury items from Louis Vuitton, Nordstrom, Goyard, Chanel, Fendi, as well as a designer teacup puppy. Chapman also spent over $7,500 on a stay at a Key Largo luxury resort.

    U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Ulrich, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG); Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG), Investigations Division’s Eastern Region; and Special Agent in Charge Mathew Broadhurst of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), Southeast Region, made the announcement.

    This case was investigated by USPS-OIG, SBA-OIG, and DOL-OIG.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Bernstein prosecuted the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabrielle Charest-Turken is handling asset forfeiture.

    In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was enacted. It was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other sources of relief, the CARES Act authorized and provided funding to the SBA to provide EIDLs to eligible small businesses, including sole proprietorships and independent contractors, experiencing substantial financial disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic to allow them to meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could otherwise have been met had the disaster not occurred.  EIDL applications were submitted directly to the SBA via the SBA’s on-line application website, and the applications were processed and the loans funded for qualifying applicants directly by the SBA.

    On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

    On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please click here.

    Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number  24-cr-20321.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: USS Blue Ridge departs Guam following port visit

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    APRA HARBOR, Guam — The U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) and embarked 7th Fleet staff departed Guam following a scheduled port visit, June 14-17. This port visit marked the first time the Blue Ridge has visited Guam since 2020.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: USS Blue Ridge departs Guam following port visit

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    APRA HARBOR, Guam — The U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) and embarked 7th Fleet staff departed Guam following a scheduled port visit, June 14-17. This port visit marked the first time the Blue Ridge has visited Guam since 2020.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Red Flag-Alaska 25-2 begins, enhancing Indo-Pacific readiness

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Red Flag-Alaska 25-2 commenced June 12, bringing together approximately 1,500 participants and more than 70 aircraft from across the United States and allied nations for two weeks of multi-service, multi-platform, coordinated exercises.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Red Flag-Alaska 25-2 begins, enhancing Indo-Pacific readiness

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Red Flag-Alaska 25-2 commenced June 12, bringing together approximately 1,500 participants and more than 70 aircraft from across the United States and allied nations for two weeks of multi-service, multi-platform, coordinated exercises.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI China: Trump’s tax, budget bill to add 2.8 trillion USD to deficit: CBO

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

    U.S. President Donald Trump’s tax and budget bill will increase the deficit by 2.8 trillion U.S. dollars over the next decade, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

    The bill, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” is a core agenda for the Trump administration, encompassing a range of policies including taxation, border control, and artificial intelligence. The bill sparked sharp partisan debate within the United States over whether it would increase the national debt.

    “It’s not only not paying for all of itself, it’s not paying for any of itself,” Marc Goldwein, senior vice president and senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said Tuesday on social media.

    The bill will also increase the wealth gap in the United States, costing the poorest Americans approximately 1,600 dollars per year, while increasing the average annual income of the wealthiest households by 12,000 dollars, according to the report released by the CBO on June 12.

    Due to several reports expressing pessimism about the bill and the government’s economic measures, the CBO has faced criticism from some Republican leaders.

    House Speaker Mike Johnson said the CBO is “notorious for getting things wrong.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the CBO’s projections as “absurd.”

    As Trump urges Congress to approve the bill before July 4, the CBO’s predictions could lead to further controversy between the two parties over the bill. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former SBA Employee from South Florida Headed to Federal Prison After Defrauding COVID-19 Relief Programs

    Source: United States Department of Justice (National Center for Disaster Fraud)

    MIAMI – A former Small Business Administration (SBA) employee who fraudulently obtained COVID-19 relief money to spend on luxury items was sentenced on June 13.

    United States District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II sentenced Malaina Chapman, 38, to 54 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Ruiz further ordered Chapman to pay $1,297,178 in restitution.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, Chapman was employed as a Disaster Relief Specialist with the SBA from September 28, 2020 through March 18, 2021.   While employed by the SBA, Chapman became involved in multiple schemes to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, as well as local credit unions and local and state programs designed to assist those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    On February 10, 2021, Chapman submitted an online loan application in the name of Upscale Credit Lounge, LLC to a lender. In support of her application, Chapman submitted a false and fraudulent Schedule C (Form 1040) that reported gross revenues of $103,674 and a tentative profit of $81,860 for 2020. The lender relied upon the representations in Chapman’s application to approve a loan in the amount of $17,052.50. 

    On February 19, 2021, Chapman submitted an online PPP loan application with the lender on behalf of DA TRAP, LLC. In her application, Chapman claimed that she had four employees and an average monthly payroll of $14,191.  In support of her application, Chapman submitted a false and fraudulent Employers Quarterly Tax Return (Form 941), which purportedly documented the wages paid by DA TRAP.  Relying on the representations in the application, the lender approved a loan in the amount of $35,477.50.

    In total, Chapman received $230,246 for the loan applications she submitted on her own behalf.

    Chapman also conspired with others to submit false and fraudulent PPP loan applications on their behalf. Six defendants were charged under case number 24-cr-20079. For that conspiracy, Chapman was held accountable for losses of $837,716.

    In addition to defrauding the PPP program, Chapman also took advantage of the State of Florida and the City of Miami’s COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Programs. 

    Chapman spent the money on luxury items from Louis Vuitton, Nordstrom, Goyard, Chanel, Fendi, as well as a designer teacup puppy. Chapman also spent over $7,500 on a stay at a Key Largo luxury resort.

    U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Ulrich, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG); Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG), Investigations Division’s Eastern Region; and Special Agent in Charge Mathew Broadhurst of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), Southeast Region, made the announcement.

    This case was investigated by USPS-OIG, SBA-OIG, and DOL-OIG.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Bernstein prosecuted the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabrielle Charest-Turken is handling asset forfeiture.

    In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was enacted. It was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other sources of relief, the CARES Act authorized and provided funding to the SBA to provide EIDLs to eligible small businesses, including sole proprietorships and independent contractors, experiencing substantial financial disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic to allow them to meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could otherwise have been met had the disaster not occurred.  EIDL applications were submitted directly to the SBA via the SBA’s on-line application website, and the applications were processed and the loans funded for qualifying applicants directly by the SBA.

    On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

    On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please click here.

    Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number  24-cr-20321.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –