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Category: Military Intelligence

  • MIL-OSI Security: NATO Committee on Reserves Summer Plenary Meeting

    Source: NATO

    From 24 to 26 June, the NATO Committee on Reserves (NCR) convened its Summer Plenary Meeting in Kirkenes, Norway, at the invitation of the Norwegian military authorities.

    Highlights included a detailed presentation on Norway’s model for border protection, which features close cooperation between national entities such as the Border Commissioner, the Police, and the Armed Forces. Participants also visited the Parsvik Border Station, where they observed highly skilled and motivated young soldiers guarding the Norwegian-Russian border.

    One of the NCR’s key objectives is the sharing of best practices. Norway, Finland and Sweden presented their national approaches to Total Defence. They outlined how they involve the whole of society in conscription, mobilization, recruitment, education and training, with a strong focus on integrating Reserves into regular Armed Forces structures.

    The meeting also provided a timely opportunity to explore the growing strategic importance of NATO’s Nordic Region and the High North. Delegates left Kirkenes with valuable insights and practical knowledge to help further develop national Reserve capabilities. The Committee will reconvene for its Winter Plenary Meeting in Norfolk, USA, from 26 to 29 January 2026.

    The NCR serves as the Military Committee’s standing advisory body on Reserve matters. It is composed of national representatives along with liaison officers from the International Military Staff (IMS), Allied Command Operations (ACO), and Allied Command Transformation (ACT).

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: NATO Committee on Reserves Summer Plenary Meeting

    Source: NATO

    From 24 to 26 June, the NATO Committee on Reserves (NCR) convened its Summer Plenary Meeting in Kirkenes, Norway, at the invitation of the Norwegian military authorities.

    Highlights included a detailed presentation on Norway’s model for border protection, which features close cooperation between national entities such as the Border Commissioner, the Police, and the Armed Forces. Participants also visited the Parsvik Border Station, where they observed highly skilled and motivated young soldiers guarding the Norwegian-Russian border.

    One of the NCR’s key objectives is the sharing of best practices. Norway, Finland and Sweden presented their national approaches to Total Defence. They outlined how they involve the whole of society in conscription, mobilization, recruitment, education and training, with a strong focus on integrating Reserves into regular Armed Forces structures.

    The meeting also provided a timely opportunity to explore the growing strategic importance of NATO’s Nordic Region and the High North. Delegates left Kirkenes with valuable insights and practical knowledge to help further develop national Reserve capabilities. The Committee will reconvene for its Winter Plenary Meeting in Norfolk, USA, from 26 to 29 January 2026.

    The NCR serves as the Military Committee’s standing advisory body on Reserve matters. It is composed of national representatives along with liaison officers from the International Military Staff (IMS), Allied Command Operations (ACO), and Allied Command Transformation (ACT).

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Ms Angie Motshekga tables Budget Vote Speech

    Source: Republic of South Africa (video statements)

    Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Ms Angie Motshekga tables Budget Vote Speech

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhr059JYQng

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Systems Analysis, AI and Big Data: Results of the Scientific Conference at SPbPU

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    The XXIX International Scientific and Practical Conference “System Analysis in Design and Management” (SAEC-2025) was held at the Polytechnic University.

    The event was organized by the scientific and pedagogical school “System Analysis in Design and Management” based on the Higher School of Computer Technologies and Information Systems of the Institute of Computer Science and Cybersecurity of SPbPU with the support of the Southern Federal University and the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.

    The conference was attended by about 300 representatives of universities and research organizations from Russia and 19 foreign countries. 114 reports were presented, in addition to plenary sessions, there were seven scientific sections, two round tables, a discussion track and a visiting session in Taganrog (Southern Federal University).

    The plenary sessions were chaired by Violetta Volkova, professor at the Higher School of Computer Science and Information Technologies, Vladimir Kozlov, professor at the Higher School of Computer Science and Information Technologies, and Svetlana Shchepetova, professor at the Department of Modeling and Systems Analysis at the Financial University.

    On the first day of the conference, its scientific secretary, Associate Professor Svetlana Shirokova read out the opening remarks of the Chairman of the Program Committee, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Igor Kalyaev. Professor Peres Krichtin Fabio Luis, Special Coordinator for International Relations with the Russian Federation, delivered a welcoming speech via video link on behalf of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

    The following people gave reports on global problems of developing the methodology of systems analysis, data dimensionality, spatial planning and design of the environment of the future, system principles of model integration, systems analysis and development of weapons systems, as well as the peculiarities of the development of Russian higher education in modern conditions: President of the Southern Federal University, Academician of the Russian Academy of Education Marina Borovskaya; Head of the Scientific Direction “Mesoeconomics, Microeconomics, Corporate Economics” of the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Scientific Director of the Department of Modeling and Systems Analysis of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Head of the Department of Institutional Economics of the State University of Management, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Georgy Kleiner; Head of the Department of Mathematical Modeling of Nonlinear Processes of the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Full Member of the Academy of Military Sciences; Professor of St. Petersburg State University Vladimir Khalin. The rationale for the need to open the specialty “System Analysis, Management and Information Processing” was presented in the report by Vladimir Kozlov, Violetta Volkova and Associate Professor Artem Efremov.

    At the end of the plenary session, the director of the Center for Technological Support of Education at Moscow Polytechnic University, Ilya Volnov, gave a report entitled “The Method of Analogies and Synthesis of the Sphere Approach.”

    Lively discussions arose in the section “Philosophical, methodological and general theoretical problems of systems theory and systems analysis”. The reports characterizing the current state of the sciences on systems and methods of systems analysis were discussed, including the report of the head of the department of philosophy of information and cognitive processes of the Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Andrei Kolesnikov on arithmotronics; a joint report of professor of the University “Narxoz” (Almaty, Kazakhstan) Mafura Uandykova and professor of the Financial University Svetlana Shchepetova on the problem of interaction between the system and the individual in the era of digitalization; a joint report of professor of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Fabio Luis Peres Krichtin and his colleagues from the Polytechnic School, research laboratories of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the Federal University Fluminense (Niteroi, Brazil).

    On the second day, the following scientific sections were held: “Mathematical Methods and Models of Systems Analysis in Technical and Socio-Economic Systems”, “Information and Cyber-Physical Systems”, “Measuring Information Technologies”, “System Analysis in the Management of Enterprises, Territorial Complexes, Research and Other Organizations”, “Transport Systems”, “System Analysis in the Educational Process and Management of Higher Education”.

    Employees of the SPbPU Digital Engineering School organized two round tables. Under the leadership of Marina Bolsunovskaya, Associate Professor of the Higher School of Computer Science and Information Systems, Head of the Laboratory of Industrial Systems of Stream Data Processing at the SPbPU School, a round table was held on Data Analysis in Complex Technical and Production Systems. Under the leadership of Alexey Gintsyak, Head of the Laboratory of Digital Modeling of Industrial Systems at the SPbPU School of Project Activity and Innovations in Industry, a round table was held on Integration of Methods of Systems Analysis and Artificial Intelligence in Economics and Construction.

    The discussion track on the problem of “Ideology of engineering complex systems in the conditions of increasing chaos of pre-singularity” (the moderator is the methodological director of the National Association of Enterprise Architects, a full member of the RMA Evgeny Zinder) attracted great interest. For example, a student of MIREA – Russian Technological University and junior specialist of the company “Uveon – Cloud Technologies” Nikolay Leonov presented evidence of the usefulness of using the XGBoost method for predicting security incidents in information systems.

    Also giving presentations and participating in discussions were Sergey Vasiliev, a lecturer at the TOP Computer Academy, Roman Khursin, an analyst at Ravelin LLC, Yuri Lyamin, an associate professor at the Department of Applied Informatics and Security at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Elena Romanova, a senior lecturer at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Kirill Skripkin, an associate professor at the Lomonosov Moscow State University, and Maxim Smirnov, a member of the NAAP Council.

    At the final plenary session, Boris Sokolov, Chief Researcher at the St. Petersburg Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, presented a report on the development and use of digital twins of complex objects based on the qualimetry of models and polymodel complexes. Professor Igor Arefyev and Associate Professor Olga Afanasyeva of the St. Petersburg Mining University spoke about the use of artificial intelligence to build cognitive models of weakly structured problems of system analysis. Professor Violetta Volkova, in collaboration with Yuri Cherny, Head of the Center for the Study of Informatics Problems at the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, prepared a report entitled “A Look at the Problem of Big Data from the Point of View of A. A. Denisov’s Philosophy and Theory of the Information Field.”

    The meeting in Taganrog was devoted to the topic “Cognitive Modeling of Complex Systems and Artificial Intelligence”. There, Zinaida Avdeeva, a senior research fellow at the V. A. Trapeznikov Institute of Control Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, expressed an important idea for complex open systems that forecasts should begin with an analysis of the current state of the system, reflected in regulatory documents, and presented a cognitive analysis of the main ones.

    At the end of the conference, its participants proposed organizing a permanent seminar and information portal, where they could continue discussing the development directions of systems sciences, and primarily the problems of target setting, big data and artificial intelligence.

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Israel’s Rafah camp – ‘humanitarian city’ or crime against humanity?

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

    Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has announced a controversial plan to move up to 600,000 Palestinians in Gaza into a designated “humanitarian area” on the ruins of the southern city of Rafah.

    Access to the camp would be through strict security screening to ensure entrants were not Hamas operatives. Once inside, the perimeter would be sealed off by the Israeli military. Palestinians would not be allowed to leave.

    Eventually the camp would house the entire 2.1 million population of Gaza.

    Camp construction would begin during the proposed 60-day ceasefire being negotiated by Israel and Hamas

    ‘Illegal and inhumane’

    The plan is illegal, inhumane and risks worsening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

    The forced displacement and containment of any civilian population in an occupied territory is a violation of international humanitarian law.

    Done on this scale would constitute a war crime and a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute.

    The UN Security Council, UN General Assembly and UN Commission on Human Rights have all condemned instances of forced transfer in armed conflicts.

    So too, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, which have stressed the fundamental prohibition of forced displacement of a civilian population and the need for all parties to respect this prohibition.

    For their own protection?

    Katz is describing the camp as a “humanitarian city”. The Israeli military says Palestinians would only be contained for their own protection.

    As we have seen, civilian displacement is prohibited. But there is an exception if a case can be made either for military reasons or the protection of the population.

    However, this exception only exists for as long as the conditions warrant for it to exist. Anyone subject to such an evacuation must be transferred back to their homes as soon as possible.

    Imperative military reasons never justify the removal of a civilian population in order to persecute it. The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement entrenches the duty of international actors to avoid creating the conditions that might lead to the displacement of people.

    Aid dilemma

    Katz has indicated international organisations would be responsible for managing aid and services inside the area.

    But Israel has a history of defying even orders from the International Court of Justice to allow humanitarian aid to reach the Palestinians in Gaza.

    If international humanitarian agencies were called upon to service the camp, they would face a dilemma.

    They would need to decide whether to cooperate in managing aid under conditions that compromise their neutrality and ethical standards, deny basic human rights and are built on violations of international law.

    Aid groups would risk being complicit in a process that sets up a transit camp for Palestinians before possibly expelling them from Gaza altogether.

    This “humanitarian city” would essentially become an open-air prison. Palestinians would be reliant on international aid under strict Israeli military control.

    Mass expulsion?

    Could the Rafah camp be a precursor to mass expulsion from Gaza and what does international law say about that?

    Katz has been quoted saying Israel aims to implement “the emigration plan, which will happen” – meaning Gazans will eventually be forced to leave for other countries.

    Changing the demographic composition of a territory – ethnic cleansing – achieved through the displacement of the civilian population of a territory is strictly prohibited under international law.

    The idea of displacing Palestinians has long been part of Israeli strategic thinking, but this announcement signals a dangerous escalation and intention to permanently alter Gaza’s demographic landscape through displacement and containment.

    Voluntary exodus?

    According to Katz, Gazans would have the option of “voluntary” emigration.

    Indeed, speaking at the White House this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there would be no forced exodus from Gaza:

    If people want to stay, they can stay, but if they want to leave, they should be able to leave.

    But the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is incomprehensible.

    The population has been displaced multiple times and 90% of homes in Gaza are damaged or destroyed. The healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed.

    On average 100 Palestinians are killed daily as they try to access food.

    These crisis circumstances negate the voluntary nature of any person’s consent to either the transfer to the Rafah camp or ultimately, the departure from Gaza.

    According to Amos Goldberg, historian of the Holocaust at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, what the defence minister laid out was clear plans for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza:

    [it is] a transit camp for Palestinians before they expel them. It is neither humanitarian nor a city.

    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. Israel’s Rafah camp – ‘humanitarian city’ or crime against humanity? – https://theconversation.com/israels-rafah-camp-humanitarian-city-or-crime-against-humanity-260809

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • Over 1.11 lakh pilgrims perform Amarnath Yatra in first six days

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    More than 1.11 lakh devotees have undertaken the annual Amarnath Yatra in just six days since the pilgrimage began on July 3, officials confirmed on Wednesday. Another batch of 7,579 pilgrims departed from Jammu earlier today, continuing the spiritual journey to the holy cave shrine nestled in the Kashmir Himalayas.

    According to officials, a total of 1,11,000 pilgrims have had ‘darshan’ at the sacred cave shrine so far. The latest group left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu in two heavily guarded convoys. The first convoy, comprising 133 vehicles carrying 3,031 pilgrims, departed at 3:25 a.m. en route to the Baltal base camp. The second convoy of 169 vehicles, with 4,548 pilgrims aboard, left at 3:40 a.m. for the Nunwan base camp in Pahalgam.

    Officials from the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), which oversees the yatra, said that in addition to those traveling from Jammu, a significant number of pilgrims have been registering on-site directly at Baltal and Nunwan.

    The Meteorological Department has forecast rainfall across Jammu and Kashmir over the next 24 hours, with the possibility of isolated intense showers and thunderstorms.

    Security arrangements remain at their highest alert level in light of the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadow, where Pakistan-backed terrorists killed 26 civilians. In response, authorities have deployed an additional 180 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), reinforcing existing personnel from the Army, BSF, CRPF, SSB, and local police. All transit camps and routes—from Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar to the base camps and onwards to the shrine—are under multi-tier security coverage.

    Despite the shadow of past violence, the Yatra has witnessed strong local support. Residents have welcomed pilgrims warmly, with many standing at entry points such as the Navyug Tunnel near Qazigund, offering garlands and placards.

    This year’s Amarnath Yatra will run for 38 days, concluding on August 9, coinciding with the sacred festivals of Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan.

    The cave shrine, located 3,888 meters above sea level, is accessible via two primary routes: the traditional 46-km trail from Pahalgam, which passes through Chandanwari, Sheshnag, and Panchtarni; and the shorter 14-km Baltal route, which allows pilgrims to complete the round trip within a single day.

    Due to heightened security concerns, helicopter services have been suspended for this year’s Yatra.

    (With agencies inputs)

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: President Lai meets delegation led by Foreign Minister Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste of Republic of Haiti

    Source: Republic of China Taiwan

    Details
    2025-07-01
    President Lai meets delegation from 2025 Taiwan International Ocean Forum
    On the afternoon of July 1, President Lai Ching-te met with a delegation from the 2025 Taiwan International Ocean Forum (TIOF). In remarks, President Lai noted that the people of Taiwan will continue to work with democratic partners throughout the world in a maritime spirit of freedom and openness to contribute to ocean governance and jointly ensure maritime security. He expressed hope that their visit will help forge stronger friendships between Taiwan and international maritime partners, so that all can work together to spur shared maritime prosperity and sustainable development for the next generation. A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows: I want to thank our guests for coming here to the Presidential Office. The 2025 TIOF will take place tomorrow and the day after, and I thank you all for making the long trip to Taiwan to attend the event and share your valuable insights and experiences. This year’s forum will focus on strategies for strengthening maritime security and pathways to achieving a sustainable blue economy. By attending this forum, our guests are highlighting their commitment to safeguarding the oceans, and beyond that, taking concrete action to demonstrate support for Taiwan. I once again offer deepest gratitude on behalf of the people of Taiwan. Taiwan holds a key position on the first island chain, is one of the world’s top 10 shipping nations, and accounts for close to 10 percent of global container shipping by volume. As such, Taiwan occupies a unique and important position in maritime strategy. For Taiwan, the ocean is more than just a basis for survival and development; it is also an important driver of national prosperity. In my inaugural address last year, I spoke of a threefold approach to further Taiwan’s development. One of these involves further developing our strengths as a maritime nation. Our government must actively help deepen our connections with the ocean, and must continue to promote green shipping, a sustainable fishing industry, marine renewable energy, and other forms of industrial transformation. It must also make use of marine technology and digital innovation to create a new paradigm that balances environmental, economic, and social inclusion concerns. This will help enhance Taiwan’s responsibilities and competitiveness as a maritime nation. Taiwan is surrounded by ocean, and our territorial waters are a natural protective barrier. However, continued gray-zone aggression from China creates serious threats and challenges to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Our government continues to invest resources to deal with increasingly complex maritime security issues. In addition to building coast guard patrol vessels, we must also step up efforts to build underwater, surface, and airborne unmanned vehicles and smart reconnaissance equipment, so as to demonstrate Taiwan’s determination to defend democracy and freedom and commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Oceans are Taiwan’s roots, and provide the channels by which we engage with the world. The people of Taiwan will continue to work with democratic partners throughout the world in a maritime spirit of freedom and openness to contribute to ocean governance and jointly ensure maritime security. The TIOF was first launched in 2020, and has now become an important platform for enhancement of cooperation between Taiwan and other countries. I hope that our distinguished guests will reap great benefits at this year’s forum, and further hope that this visit will help forge stronger friendships between Taiwan and international maritime partners, so that all can work together to spur shared maritime prosperity and sustainable development for the next generation. Chairman of The Washington Times Thomas McDevitt, a member of the delegation, then delivered remarks, noting first that July 4th, this Friday, is Independence Day in America. Independence is a sacred, powerful word which has great meaning in this part of the world, he said. Chairman McDevitt indicated that Taiwan has truly become a global beacon of democracy and a key partner for many nations. He then quoted President Lai’s 2024 inaugural address: “We will work together to combat disinformation, strengthen democratic resilience, address challenges, and allow Taiwan to become the MVP of the democratic world.” Chairman McDevitt went on to say that he appreciated the president’s speech with regard to his philosophical depth, sensitivity, and both moral and political clarity. He said that he was deeply moved by the speech, but within a few days of it, China responded with military activities and many threats. The chairman then emphasized that we are in a civilization crisis. Chairman McDevitt mentioned that President Lai has begun a series of 10 lectures, and remarked that they would help the world to understand the identity and the nature of Taiwan, as well as the situation we are in in the world. On behalf of all the delegation, Chairman McDevitt thanked the president for his leadership in dealing with these issues thoughtfully. Chairman McDevitt concluded with a line from the Old Testament which states that if the people have no vision, they will perish. He said that he believes Taiwan’s president has led the people of Taiwan, and the world, with a vision of how to navigate this great civilization crisis together. The delegation also included Members of the Japanese House of Representatives Kikawada Hitoshi, Aoyama Yamato, and Genma Kentaro, and Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom Gavin Williamson.

    Details
    2025-06-30
    President Lai meets Minister of State at UK Department for Business and Trade Douglas Alexander  
    On the morning of June 30, President Lai Ching-te met with Douglas Alexander, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade of the United Kingdom. In remarks, President Lai thanked the UK government for its longstanding support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, demonstrating that Taiwan and the UK share similar goals. Noting that two years ago, Taiwan and the UK signed an enhanced trade partnership (ETP) arrangement, the president said that today Taiwan and the UK have signed three pillars under the ETP, which will help promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation. He expressed hope of the UK publicly supporting Taiwan’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) so that together we can create an economic and trade landscape in the Indo-Pacific characterized by shared prosperity and development. A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows: First, on behalf of the people of Taiwan, I extend a warm welcome to Minister Alexander and wish a fruitful outcome for the 27th round of Taiwan-UK trade talks later today. Taiwan-UK relations have grown closer in recent years. We have not only continued to strengthen cooperation in such fields as offshore wind power, innovative technologies, and culture and education but also have established regular dialogue mechanisms in the critical areas of economics and trade, energy, and agriculture. The UK is currently Taiwan’s fourth-largest European trading partner, second-largest source of investment from Europe, and third-largest target for investment in Europe. Two years ago, Taiwan and the UK signed an ETP arrangement. This was particularly meaningful, as it was the first institutionalized economic and trade framework between Taiwan and a European country. Today, this arrangement is yielding further results. I am delighted that Taiwan and the UK have signed three pillars under the ETP covering investment, digital trade, and energy and net-zero. This will help promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation and advance industrial development on both sides. I also want to thank the UK government for its longstanding support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. This month, the UK published its Strategic Defence Review 2025 and National Security Strategy 2025, which oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. These not only demonstrate that Taiwan and the UK share similar goals but also show that security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region are inseparable from those of the transatlantic regions. In addition, last November, the House of Commons passed a motion which made clear that United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 2758 neither established the sovereignty of the People’s Republic of China over Taiwan nor determined Taiwan’s status in the United Nations. The UK government also responded to the motion by publicly expressing for the first time its position on UNGA Resolution 2758, opposing any attempt to broaden the interpretation of the resolution to rewrite history. For this, on behalf of the people of Taiwan, I once again want to extend my deepest gratitude. Taiwan and the UK have the advantage of being highly complementary in the technology sector. In facing the restructuring of global supply chains and other international economic and trade developments, I believe that Taiwan and the UK are indispensable key partners for one another. I look forward to the UK publicly supporting Taiwan’s accession to the CPTPP so that together, we can create an economic and trade landscape in the Indo-Pacific characterized by shared prosperity and development. In closing, I wish Minister Alexander a pleasant and successful visit. And I hope he has the opportunity to visit Taiwan for personal travel in the future. Minister Alexander then delivered remarks, saying that it is a great personal honor to meet with everyone today to discuss further deepening the UK-Taiwan trade relationship and explore the many opportunities our two sides can pursue together. He mentioned that he traveled to Taiwan in 2022 when he was a private citizen, a visit he thoroughly enjoyed, so he is delighted to be back to see the strength of the UK-Taiwan relationship and the strengthening of that relationship. He said that relationship is built on mutual respect, democratic values, and a shared vision for open, resilient, and rules-based economic cooperation. As like-minded partners, he pointed out, our collaboration continues to grow across multiple sectors, and he is here today to further that momentum. Minister Alexander stated that on trade and investment, he is proud that this morning we signed the ETP Pillars on Investment, Digital Trade, Energy and Net Zero, which will provide a clear framework for our future cooperation and lay the foundation for expanded access and market-shaping engagement between our two economies. The minister said he believes that together with our annual trade talks, this partnership will help UK’s firms secure new commercial opportunities, improve regulatory alignment, and promote long-term investment in key growth areas, which in turn will also support Taiwan’s efforts to expand high-quality trade relationships with trusted partners. Minister Alexander said that President Lai’s promotion of the Five Trusted Industry Sectors and the UK’s recently published industrial and trade strategies are very well-aligned, as both cover clean energy and semiconductors as well as advanced manufacturing. He then provided an example, saying that both sides plan to invest in AI infrastructure and compute power-creating opportunities for great joint research in the future. By combining our strengths in these areas, he said, we can open the door to innovative collaboration and commercial success for both sides. He mentioned that yesterday he visited the Taiwan Space Agency, commenting that in sectors such as satellite technology, green energy, and cyber security, British expertise and trusted standards can provide meaningful solutions. Noting that President Lai spoke in his remarks of the broader challenge of peace and security in the region, Minister Alexander stated that the United Kingdom has, of course, also continued to affirm its commitment to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, along with its G7 partners. The UK-Taiwan relationship is strategic, enduring, and growing, he stated, and they reaffirm and remain firm in their longstanding position and confident in their ability to work together to support both prosperity and resilience in both of our societies. Minister Alexander said that, as Taiwan looks to diversify capital and build global partnerships, they believe the UK represents a strong and ambitious investment destination, particularly for Taiwanese companies at the very forefront of robotics, clean tech, and advanced industry. He pointed out that the UK’s markets are stable, open, and aligned with Taiwan’s vision of a high-tech, sustainable future, adding that he looks forward to our discussion on how we can further deepen our cooperation across all of these areas and more. The delegation also included Martin Kent, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific at the UK Department for Business and Trade. The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by British Office Taipei Representative Ruth Bradley-Jones.   

    Details
    2025-06-27
    President Lai confers decoration on former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Chairman Ohashi Mitsuo
    On the morning of June 27, President Lai Ching-te conferred the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon upon former Chairman of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Ohashi Mitsuo in recognition of his firm convictions and tireless efforts in promoting Taiwan-Japan exchanges. In remarks, President Lai stated that Chairman Ohashi cares for Taiwan like a family member, and expressed hope that Taiwan and Japan continue to deepen their partnership, bring about the early signing of an economic partnership agreement (EPA), and jointly build secure and stable non-red supply chains as we boost the resilience and competitiveness of our economies and jointly safeguard the values of freedom and democracy. A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows: Every meeting I have with Chairman Ohashi, with whom I have worked side by side for many years, is warm and friendly. I recall that when we met last year, Chairman Ohashi said that he often thinks about what Japan can do for Taiwan and what Taiwan can do for Japan, and that it is that mutual concern that makes us so close. This was a truly moving statement illustrating the relationship between Taiwan and Japan. Chairman Ohashi has also said numerous times that our bilateral relations may very well be the best in the entire world, and that in fact they may serve as a model to other countries. Indeed, Chairman Ohashi is himself an exemplary model for friendly relations between Taiwan and Japan. His spirit of always working tirelessly to promote Taiwan-Japan exchanges is truly admirable. Assuming the position of chairman of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association in 2011, he served during the terms of former Presidents Ma Ying-jeou and Tsai Ing-wen, continuously making positive contributions to Taiwan-Japan relations. Over these past 14 years, Taiwan and Japan have signed over 50 major agreements, spanning the economy and trade, fisheries, and taxes, among other areas. In 2017, the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association and the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association underwent name changes, strengthening the essence and significance of Taiwan-Japan relations. These great achievements were all made possible thanks to the firm convictions and tireless efforts of Chairman Ohashi. On behalf of the people of Taiwan, I am delighted to confer upon Chairman Ohashi the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon to express our deepest thanks for his outstanding contributions. Chairman Ohashi is not just a good friend of Taiwan, but someone who cares for Taiwan like a family member. When a major earthquake struck in 2016, he personally went to Tainan to assess the situation and meet with the city government. This outpouring of friendship and support across borders was deeply moving. As we look to the future, I hope that Taiwan and Japan can continue to deepen our partnership. In addition to bringing about the early signing of an EPA, I also hope that we can expand collaboration in key areas such as semiconductors, energy, and AI, continue building secure and stable non-red supply chains, and boost the resilience and competitiveness of our economies as well as peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. As Chairman Ohashi has said, the close bilateral relationship between Taiwan and Japan is one the world can be proud of. I would like to thank him once again for his contributions to deepening Taiwan-Japan ties. Taiwan will continue to forge ahead side by side with Japan, jointly safeguarding the values of freedom and democracy and mutually advancing prosperous development. I wish Chairman Ohashi good health, happiness, peace, and success in his future endeavors, and invite him to return to Taiwan often to visit old friends. Chairman Ohashi then delivered remarks, first thanking President Lai for his kind words. He stated that the Taiwan-Japan relationship is not only worthy of praise; it can also serve as a superb model in the world for bilateral relations that is worthy of study by other countries. He added that this is the result of the collective efforts of President Lai as well as many other individuals. Chairman Ohashi said that the current international situation is rather severe, with wars and conflicts occurring between many neighboring countries. He said that there is a growing trend of nuclear weapon proliferation, emphasizing that use of such weapons would cause significant harm between nations. He also pointed out that some countries even use nuclear weapons as a threat, leading to instability and impacting the global situation. Chairman Ohashi said that neither Taiwan nor Japan possesses nuclear weapons, which is something to be proud of. That is why, he said, we can declare that a world without nuclear weapons is a peaceful world. He also mentioned that during his tenure as chairman of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, he consistently upheld this principle in his work. Chairman Ohashi said that the mission of the World Federalist Movement (WFM) is to promote world peace. He said that the WFM has branches in countries worldwide, with the WFM of Japan being one of the most prominent, and that it also aspires to achieve the goal of world peace. Having served as chairman of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association for 14 years, he said, he is now stepping down from this role and will serve as the chairman of the WFM of Japan, aiming to promote peace in countries around the world. Chairman Ohashi said that both Taiwan and Japan can take pride in our friendly bilateral relationship, emphasizing that if the good relationship between Japan and Taiwan could be offered as an example to countries around the world, there would be no more wars. He expressed his sincere hope that under President Lai’s leadership, Taiwan and Japan can work together to jointly promote world peace. Also in attendance at the ceremony was Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Taipei Office Chief Representative Katayama Kazuyuki.

    Details
    2025-06-25
    President Lai meets Japan’s former Economic Security Minister Kobayashi Takayuki
    On the afternoon of June 25, President Lai Ching-te met with Kobayashi Takayuki, Japan’s former economic security minister and a current member of the House of Representatives. In remarks, President Lai expressed hope to combine the strengths of the democratic community to build resilient, reliable non-red supply chains, and ensure a resilient global economy and sustainable development. He also expressed hope that Taiwan and Japan can bring about the early signing of an economic partnership agreement (EPA), and that Japan will continue supporting Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), enhancing our own bilateral partnership, as doing so would create win-win situations and further contribute to regional economic security and stability. The following is a translation of President Lai’s remarks: I welcome Representative Kobayashi back to Taiwan for another visit after seven years. During his last visit, he was with a delegation from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Youth Division, and we met at the Executive Yuan. I am very happy to see him again today. Representative Kobayashi has long paid close attention to matters involving economic security, technological innovation, and aerospace policy. He also made a stunning debut in last year’s LDP presidential election, showing that he is truly a rising star and an influential figure in the political sphere. With this visit, Representative Kobayashi is demonstrating support for Taiwan with concrete action, which is very meaningful. Taiwan and Japan are both part of the first island chain’s key line of defense. We thank the many Japanese prime ministers, including former Prime Ministers Abe Shinzo, Suga Yoshihide, and Kishida Fumio, as well as current Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, for the many times they have highlighted the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait at important international venues, and for expressing opposition to the use of force or coercion to unilaterally change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. I hope that Taiwan and Japan can engage in more cooperation and exchanges to promote peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region in all aspects. In particular, China in recent years has been actively expanding its red supply chains, which threaten the global free trade system and advanced technology markets. Taiwan hopes to combine the strengths of the democratic community to build resilient, reliable non-red supply chains. In the semiconductor industry, for example, Taiwan has excellent advanced manufacturing capabilities, while Japan plays an important role in materials, equipment, and key technologies. I am confident that, given the experience that Taiwan and Japan have in cooperating, we can build an industrial supply chain composed of democratic nations to ensure a resilient global economy and sustainable development. I hope that Taiwan and Japan can bring about the early signing of an EPA in order to deepen our bilateral trade and investment exchanges and cooperation. I also hope that Japan will continue supporting Taiwan’s bid to join the CPTPP, enhancing our own bilateral partnership, as doing so would create win-win situations and further contribute to regional economic security and stability. Taiwan and Japan are democratic partners that share the values of freedom, democracy, and respect for human rights. I firmly believe that so long as we work together, we can certainly address the challenges posed by authoritarianism, and bring prosperity and development to the Indo-Pacific region. In closing, I welcome Representative Kobayashi once again. I am certain that this visit will help enhance Taiwan-Japan exchanges and deepen our friendship. Representative Kobayashi then delivered remarks, first thanking President Lai for taking the time to meet with him, and noting that this was his second visit to Taiwan following a trip seven years prior, when he came with his good friend from college and then-Director of the LDP Youth Division Suzuki Keisuke, now Japan’s minister of justice. Representative Kobayashi mentioned a Japanese kanji that he is very fond of – 絆 (kizuna) – which means “deep ties of friendship.” He emphasized that a key purpose of this visit to Taiwan was to reiterate the deep ties of friendship between Taiwan and Japan. In addition to deep historical ties, he said, Taiwan and Japan also enjoy a like-minded partnership in terms of economic, personnel, and friendship-oriented exchanges. He went on to say that at the strategic level, Taiwan and Japan also have deep ties of friendship, and that for Japan, it is strategically important that Taiwan not be isolated under any circumstances. Representative Kobayashi emphasized that cooperation between Taiwan and Japan, and even cooperation among Taiwan, Japan, and the United States, are more important now than ever, and that another important focus of this visit is the non-red supply chains referred to earlier by President Lai. He said that as Japan’s first economic security minister and the person currently in charge of the LDP’s policy on economic security, he is acutely aware of the important impact of economic security on national interests, and therefore looks forward to further exchanging views regarding Taiwan’s concrete steps to build non-red supply chains. The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Deputy Representative Takaba Yo.

    Details
    2025-06-16
    President Lai meets delegation led by Representative Bera, co-chair of US Congressional Taiwan Caucus
    On the morning of June 16, President Lai Ching-te met with a delegation led by Representative Ami Bera, co-chair of the US Congressional Taiwan Caucus. In remarks, President Lai thanked the representatives in Congress for actively voicing support for Taiwan and proposing numerous Taiwan-friendly initiatives to strengthen Taiwan-US ties, helping expand Taiwan’s international space and continuing to place focus on peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. The president said that we will continue to strengthen bilateral investment and industrial cooperation and create a more comprehensive environment for economic and trade exchanges to jointly enhance economic and developmental resilience. A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows: I am delighted to meet with the delegation and welcome Congressman Bera back to the Presidential Office. Last January, he visited after the presidential election, demonstrating the steadfast backing of the US Congress for democratic Taiwan. This time, as head of a delegation of new members of the House Armed Services Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee, he is continuing to foster US congressional support for Taiwan. On behalf of the people of Taiwan, I extend a sincere welcome to Congressman Bera and all our esteemed guests. Over the years, staunch bipartisan US congressional backing of Taiwan has been a key force for steadily advancing our bilateral relations. I thank the representatives in Congress for actively voicing support for Taiwan and proposing numerous Taiwan-friendly initiatives, thereby strengthening Taiwan-US ties, helping expand Taiwan’s international space, and continuing to place focus on peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. I want to emphasize that Taiwan has an unwavering determination to safeguard peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Over the past year, the government and private sector have been working together to enhance Taiwan’s whole-of-society defense resilience and accelerate reform of national defense. The government is also prioritizing special budget allocations to ensure that our defense budget exceeds three percent of GDP this year. I hope that Taiwan-US security cooperation will evolve beyond military procurement to a partnership that encompasses joint research and development and joint production, further strengthening cooperation and exchange in the defense industry. Regarding industrial exchanges, last month, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and Minister of Economic Affairs Kuo Jyh-huei (郭智輝) each visited Texas to see firsthand Taiwan-US collaboration in AI and semiconductors. And the delegation led by Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) sent by Taiwan to this year’s SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, DC, was again the largest of those attending. All of this demonstrates Taiwan’s commitment to working alongside the US to create mutual prosperity. In the future, we will continue to strengthen bilateral investment and industrial cooperation. And I hope that the legislation addressing the issue of Taiwan-US double taxation will become law this year. I want to thank Congressman Bera for co-leading a joint letter last November signed by over 100 members of Congress calling for such legislation. I believe that by creating a more comprehensive environment for economic and trade exchanges, Taiwan and the US can enhance economic and developmental resilience. In closing, I thank you all for making the long journey here to advance Taiwan-US relations. Let us continue working together to promote the prosperous development of this important partnership. Congressman Bera then delivered remarks, saying that on behalf of the delegation, it is an honor for him to be here once again, it being last January that he and Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart visited and congratulated President Lai on his election victory, noting that theirs was the first congressional delegation to do so. Congressman Bera said that this is an important time, not just for the US and Taiwan relationship, but for all relationships around the world. When we look at conflicts in Europe and in the Middle East, he said, it is incumbent upon democracies to hold the peace in Asia. He emphasized that is why it is important for them to bring a delegation of members of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Armed Services Committee, adding that he believes for all of them it is their first trip to Taiwan.  Congressman Bera said that while this is a delegation of Democratic members of Congress, in a bipartisan way all of Congress continues to support the people of Taiwan. As such, in this visit he brings support from his co-chairs on the Taiwan caucus, Congressman Díaz-Balart and Congressman Andy Barr. He also took a moment to recognize the passing of Congressman Gerald Connolly, who was a longtime friend of Taiwan and one of their co-chairs on the caucus. Congressman Bera mentioned that there is always a special bond between himself and President Lai because they are both doctors, and as doctors, their profession is about healing, keeping the peace, and making sure everybody has a bright, prosperous future. In closing, he highlighted that it is in that spirit that their delegation visits with the president. The delegation also included members of the US Congress Gabe Amo, Wesley Bell, Julie Johnson, Sarah McBride, and Johnny Olszewski.

    Details
    2025-05-20
    President Lai interviewed by Nippon Television and Yomiuri TV
    In a recent interview on Nippon Television’s news zero program, President Lai Ching-te responded to questions from host Mr. Sakurai Sho and Yomiuri TV Shanghai Bureau Chief Watanabe Masayo on topics including reflections on his first year in office, cross-strait relations, China’s military threats, Taiwan-United States relations, and Taiwan-Japan relations. The interview was broadcast on the evening of May 19. During the interview, President Lai stated that China intends to change the world’s rules-based international order, and that if Taiwan were invaded, global supply chains would be disrupted. Therefore, he said, Taiwan will strengthen its national defense, prevent war by preparing for war, and achieve the goal of peace. The president also noted that Taiwan’s purpose for developing drones is based on national security and industrial needs, and that Taiwan hopes to collaborate with Japan. He then reiterated that China’s threats are an international problem, and expressed hope to work together with the US, Japan, and others in the global democratic community to prevent China from starting a war. Following is the text of the questions and the president’s responses: Q: How do you feel as you are about to round out your first year in office? President Lai: When I was young, I was determined to practice medicine and save lives. When I left medicine to go into politics, I was determined to transform Taiwan. And when I was sworn in as president on May 20 last year, I was determined to strengthen the nation. Time flies, and it has already been a year. Although the process has been very challenging, I am deeply honored to be a part of it. I am also profoundly grateful to our citizens for allowing me the opportunity to give back to our country. The future will certainly be full of more challenges, but I will do everything I can to unite the people and continue strengthening the nation. That is how I am feeling now. Q: We are now coming up on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, and over this period, we have often heard that conflict between Taiwan and the mainland is imminent. Do you personally believe that a cross-strait conflict could happen? President Lai: The international community is very much aware that China intends to replace the US and change the world’s rules-based international order, and annexing Taiwan is just the first step. So, as China’s military power grows stronger, some members of the international community are naturally on edge about whether a cross-strait conflict will break out. The international community must certainly do everything in its power to avoid a conflict in the Taiwan Strait; there is too great a cost. Besides causing direct disasters to both Taiwan and China, the impact on the global economy would be even greater, with estimated losses of US$10 trillion from war alone – that is roughly 10 percent of the global GDP. Additionally, 20 percent of global shipping passes through the Taiwan Strait and surrounding waters, so if a conflict breaks out in the strait, other countries including Japan and Korea would suffer a grave impact. For Japan and Korea, a quarter of external transit passes through the Taiwan Strait and surrounding waters, and a third of the various energy resources and minerals shipped back from other countries pass through said areas. If Taiwan were invaded, global supply chains would be disrupted, and therefore conflict in the Taiwan Strait must be avoided. Such a conflict is indeed avoidable. I am very thankful to Prime Minister of Japan Ishiba Shigeru and former Prime Ministers Abe Shinzo, Suga Yoshihide, and Kishida Fumio, as well as US President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden, and the other G7 leaders, for continuing to emphasize at international venues that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are essential components for global security and prosperity. When everyone in the global democratic community works together, stacking up enough strength to make China’s objectives unattainable or to make the cost of invading Taiwan too high for it to bear, a conflict in the strait can naturally be avoided. Q: As you said, President Lai, maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is also very important for other countries. How can war be avoided? What sort of countermeasures is Taiwan prepared to take to prevent war? President Lai: As Mr. Sakurai mentioned earlier, we are coming up on the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII. There are many lessons we can take from that war. First is that peace is priceless, and war has no winners. From the tragedies of WWII, there are lessons that humanity should learn. We must pursue peace, and not start wars blindly, as that would be a major disaster for humanity. In other words, we must be determined to safeguard peace. The second lesson is that we cannot be complacent toward authoritarian powers. If you give them an inch, they will take a mile. They will keep growing, and eventually, not only will peace be unattainable, but war will be inevitable. The third lesson is why WWII ended: It ended because different groups joined together in solidarity. Taiwan, Japan, and the Indo-Pacific region are all directly subjected to China’s threats, so we hope to be able to join together in cooperation. This is why we proposed the Four Pillars of Peace action plan. First, we will strengthen our national defense. Second, we will strengthen economic resilience. Third is standing shoulder to shoulder with the democratic community to demonstrate the strength of deterrence. Fourth is that as long as China treats Taiwan with parity and dignity, Taiwan is willing to conduct exchanges and cooperate with China, and seek peace and mutual prosperity. These four pillars can help us avoid war and achieve peace. That is to say, Taiwan hopes to achieve peace through strength, prevent war by preparing for war, keeping war from happening and pursuing the goal of peace. Q: Regarding drones, everyone knows that recently, Taiwan has been actively researching, developing, and introducing drones. Why do you need to actively research, develop, and introduce new drones at this time? President Lai: This is for two purposes. The first is to meet national security needs. The second is to meet industrial development needs. Because Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines are all part of the first island chain, and we are all democratic nations, we cannot be like an authoritarian country like China, which has an unlimited national defense budget. In this kind of situation, island nations such as Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines should leverage their own technologies to develop national defense methods that are asymmetric and utilize unmanned vehicles. In particular, from the Russo-Ukrainian War, we see that Ukraine has successfully utilized unmanned vehicles to protect itself and prevent Russia from unlimited invasion. In other words, the Russo-Ukrainian War has already proven the importance of drones. Therefore, the first purpose of developing drones is based on national security needs. Second, the world has already entered the era of smart technology. Whether generative, agentic, or physical, AI will continue to develop. In the future, cars and ships will also evolve into unmanned vehicles and unmanned boats, and there will be unmanned factories. Drones will even be able to assist with postal deliveries, or services like Uber, Uber Eats, and foodpanda, or agricultural irrigation and pesticide spraying. Therefore, in the future era of comprehensive smart technology, developing unmanned vehicles is a necessity. Taiwan, based on industrial needs, is actively planning the development of drones and unmanned vehicles. I would like to take this opportunity to express Taiwan’s hope to collaborate with Japan in the unmanned vehicle industry. Just as we do in the semiconductor industry, where Japan has raw materials, equipment, and technology, and Taiwan has wafer manufacturing, our two countries can cooperate. Japan is a technological power, and Taiwan also has significant technological strengths. If Taiwan and Japan work together, we will not only be able to safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and security in the Indo-Pacific region, but it will also be very helpful for the industrial development of both countries. Q: The drones you just described probably include examples from the Russo-Ukrainian War. Taiwan and China are separated by the Taiwan Strait. Do our drones need to have cross-sea flight capabilities? President Lai: Taiwan does not intend to counterattack the mainland, and does not intend to invade any country. Taiwan’s drones are meant to protect our own nation and territory. Q: Former President Biden previously stated that US forces would assist Taiwan’s defense in the event of an attack. President Trump, however, has yet to clearly state that the US would help defend Taiwan. Do you think that in such an event, the US would help defend Taiwan? Or is Taiwan now trying to persuade the US? President Lai: Former President Biden and President Trump have answered questions from reporters. Although their responses were different, strong cooperation with Taiwan under the Biden administration has continued under the Trump administration; there has been no change. During President Trump’s first term, cooperation with Taiwan was broader and deeper compared to former President Barack Obama’s terms. After former President Biden took office, cooperation with Taiwan increased compared to President Trump’s first term. Now, during President Trump’s second term, cooperation with Taiwan is even greater than under former President Biden. Taiwan-US cooperation continues to grow stronger, and has not changed just because President Trump and former President Biden gave different responses to reporters. Furthermore, the Trump administration publicly stated that in the future, the US will shift its strategic focus from Europe to the Indo-Pacific. The US secretary of defense even publicly stated that the primary mission of the US is to prevent China from invading Taiwan, maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific, and thus maintain world peace. There is a saying in Taiwan that goes, “Help comes most to those who help themselves.” Before asking friends and allies for assistance in facing threats from China, Taiwan must first be determined and prepared to defend itself. This is Taiwan’s principle, and we are working in this direction, making all the necessary preparations to safeguard the nation. Q: I would like to ask you a question about Taiwan-Japan relations. After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, you made an appeal to give Japan a great deal of assistance and care. In particular, you visited Sendai to offer condolences. Later, you also expressed condolences and concern after the earthquakes in Aomori and Kumamoto. What are your expectations for future Taiwan-Japan exchanges and development? President Lai: I come from Tainan, and my constituency is in Tainan. Tainan has very deep ties with Japan, and of course, Taiwan also has deep ties with Japan. However, among Taiwan’s 22 counties and cities, Tainan has the deepest relationship with Japan. I sincerely hope that both of you and your teams will have an opportunity to visit Tainan. I will introduce Tainan’s scenery, including architecture from the era of Japanese rule, Tainan’s cuisine, and unique aspects of Tainan society, and you can also see lifestyles and culture from the Showa era.  The Wushantou Reservoir in Tainan was completed by engineer Mr. Hatta Yoichi from Kanazawa, Japan and the team he led to Tainan after he graduated from then-Tokyo Imperial University. It has nearly a century of history and is still in use today. This reservoir, along with the 16,000-km-long Chianan Canal, transformed the 150,000-hectare Chianan Plain into Taiwan’s premier rice-growing area. It was that foundation in agriculture that enabled Taiwan to develop industry and the technology sector of today. The reservoir continues to supply water to Tainan Science Park. It is used by residents of Tainan, the agricultural sector, and industry, and even the technology sector in Xinshi Industrial Park, as well as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. Because of this, the people of Tainan are deeply grateful for Mr. Hatta and very friendly toward the people of Japan. A major earthquake, the largest in 50 years, struck Tainan on February 6, 2016, resulting in significant casualties. As mayor of Tainan at the time, I was extremely grateful to then-Prime Minister Abe, who sent five Japanese officials to the disaster site in Tainan the day after the earthquake. They were very thoughtful and asked what kind of assistance we needed from the Japanese government. They offered to provide help based on what we needed. I was deeply moved, as former Prime Minister Abe showed such care, going beyond the formality of just sending supplies that we may or may not have actually needed. Instead, the officials asked what we needed and then provided assistance based on those needs, which really moved me. Similarly, when the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 or the later Kumamoto earthquakes struck, the people of Tainan, under my leadership, naturally and dutifully expressed their support. Even earlier, when central Taiwan was hit by a major earthquake in 1999, Japan was the first country to deploy a rescue team to the disaster area. On February 6, 2018, after a major earthquake in Hualien, former Prime Minister Abe appeared in a video holding up a message of encouragement he had written in calligraphy saying “Remain strong, Taiwan.” All of Taiwan was deeply moved. Over the years, Taiwan and Japan have supported each other when earthquakes struck, and have forged bonds that are family-like, not just neighborly. This is truly valuable. In the future, I hope Taiwan and Japan can be like brothers, and that the peoples of Taiwan and Japan can treat one another like family. If Taiwan has a problem, then Japan has a problem; if Japan has a problem, then Taiwan has a problem. By caring for and helping each other, we can face various challenges and difficulties, and pursue a brighter future. Q: President Lai, you just used the phrase “If Taiwan has a problem, then Japan has a problem.” In the event that China attempts to invade Taiwan by force, what kind of response measures would you hope the US military and Japan’s Self-Defense Forces take? President Lai: As I just mentioned, annexing Taiwan is only China’s first step. Its ultimate objective is to change the rules-based international order. That being the case, China’s threats are an international problem. So, I would very much hope to work together with the US, Japan, and others in the global democratic community to prevent China from starting a war – prevention, after all, is more important than cure.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE AND MILITARY VETERANS TO HOST PRE-BUDGET VOTE BRIEFING

    Source: Republic of South Africa (video statements)

    MINISTRY OF DEFENCE AND MILITARY VETERANS
    Republic of South Africa
    ____________________________________________________________________________
    MEDIA ADVISORY
    08 July 2025
    DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE AND MILITARY VETERANS TO HOST PRE-BUDGET
    VOTE BRIEFING
    The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Ms Angie Motshekga, accompanied by
    Deputy Ministers Maj Gen (Ret) Bantu Holomisa and Mr Richard Mkhungo, and
    supported by the Chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), General
    Rudzani Maphwanya, will host a media briefing ahead of the tabling of the Department’s
    2025 Budget Vote.
    This pre-budget briefing will offer members of the media an opportunity to gain insight
    into the Department’s strategic outlook, key priorities for the 2025/26 financial year, and
    expectations from the Budget Vote presentation. The leadership will also reflect on
    progress made over the past year and share forward-looking commitments aligned with
    the Medium-Term Development Plan (2025–2030).
    Details of the Briefing are as follows:
    Date: Wednesday, 9 July 2025
    Time: 09:00 – 09:45
    Venue: Imbizo Media Room, Parliament, 120 Plein Street, Cape Town

    Ends.

    For media enquiries, please contact:
    Onicca Kwakwa
    Ministry Spokesperson
    Mmaneo.Kwakwa@dod.mil.za
    066 308 2630
    Issued by: Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans

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

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Video: DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE AND MILITARY VETERANS TO HOST PRE-BUDGET VOTE BRIEFING

    Source: Republic of South Africa (video statements)

    MINISTRY OF DEFENCE AND MILITARY VETERANS
    Republic of South Africa
    ____________________________________________________________________________
    MEDIA ADVISORY
    08 July 2025
    DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE AND MILITARY VETERANS TO HOST PRE-BUDGET
    VOTE BRIEFING
    The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Ms Angie Motshekga, accompanied by
    Deputy Ministers Maj Gen (Ret) Bantu Holomisa and Mr Richard Mkhungo, and
    supported by the Chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), General
    Rudzani Maphwanya, will host a media briefing ahead of the tabling of the Department’s
    2025 Budget Vote.
    This pre-budget briefing will offer members of the media an opportunity to gain insight
    into the Department’s strategic outlook, key priorities for the 2025/26 financial year, and
    expectations from the Budget Vote presentation. The leadership will also reflect on
    progress made over the past year and share forward-looking commitments aligned with
    the Medium-Term Development Plan (2025–2030).
    Details of the Briefing are as follows:
    Date: Wednesday, 9 July 2025
    Time: 09:00 – 09:45
    Venue: Imbizo Media Room, Parliament, 120 Plein Street, Cape Town

    Ends.

    For media enquiries, please contact:
    Onicca Kwakwa
    Ministry Spokesperson
    Mmaneo.Kwakwa@dod.mil.za
    066 308 2630
    Issued by: Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans

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

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: A Year On, Guinean Activists Still Missing

    Source: APO – Report:

    .

    Guinea’s military authorities should credibly investigate the disappearances of two political activists, make their whereabouts known, and either charge them with a recognizable crime or release them immediately, Human Rights Watch said today.

    One year ago, security forces arbitrarily detained three members of the opposition coalition National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (Front National pour la Défense de la Constitution, FNDC), Oumar Sylla (known as Foniké Menguè), Mamadou Billo Bah, and Mohamed Cissé, in Conakry, Guinea’s capital, and transferred them to an unidentified location. Human Rights Watch received credible information, confirmed by national and international media, that security forces had tortured the three men. Cissé was released on July 10, 2024, while Sylla and Bah remain missing.

    “It’s been one year since Sylla and Bah went missing, and the Guinean authorities have yet to carry out a credible investigation,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Guinean authorities should thoroughly and independently investigate the disappearances and prosecute those responsible.”

    The authorities have opened an investigation into the disappearance of the three men. But they have denied any responsibility and failed to acknowledge the men’s detention or disclose their whereabouts, despite requests for information by lawyers representing the men, and by international and national human rights organizations.

    On July 9, 2024, dozens of soldiers, gendarmes, and armed men in civilian clothes, stormed Sylla’s home and arbitrarily detained him and the others. The security forces repeatedly beat the three political activists, then took them to the gendarmerie headquarters in Conakry, and then to an army camp on Kassa island, off Conakry’s coast.

    The FNDC has been calling for the restoration of democratic rule in Guinea following a military coup in September 2021. In August 2022, Guinea’s junta, headed by Gen. Mamady Doumbouya, dissolved the FNDC on politically motivated grounds, but it has continued its activities.

    On the morning of his disappearance, Sylla, who is the FNDC coordinator, had urged his supporters to go out and protest on July 11, 2024, against media shutdowns by the authorities and the high cost of living.

    Sylla was one of a number of people arrested in 2022 on charges of “illegal protest and destruction of public and private buildings” following violent demonstrations in Conakry in which at least five people were killed. Bah, the FNDC outreach coordinator, was previously arrested in January 2023 on charges of “complicity in the destruction of public and private property, assault, and battery” for taking part in protests. Both were released in May 2023 and cleared of all charges.

    Since taking power, the junta has suspended independent media outlets, arbitrarily arrested and forcibly disappeared journalists and political opponents. Security forces have used excessive force, including tear gas and gunfire, to disperse peaceful protesters, leading to dozens of deaths since January 2024.

    On June 21, gunmen abducted and tortured Mohamed Traoré, a prominent lawyer and former bar association president, in apparent reprisal against his decision to resign from the National Transitional Council, the junta’s leading transitional body.

    The military authorities promised to hold elections before the end of 2024, but failed to meet the deadline, sparking opposition-led protests in Conakry in January. Following the protests, officials announced a new election timeline. Gen. Doumbouya has set September 21 as the date for a constitutional referendum and Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah announced in May that presidential elections would take place in December.

    “Four years into military rule, the suppression of rights and freedoms has only intensified,” said a prominent FNDC member who is in hiding. “The government has stifled free expression and assembly; it has incapacitated the political opposition through arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearance, harassment, and intimidation. Enough is enough.”

    Enforced disappearances under international law occur when people acting on behalf of the government arrest, detain, or abduct people and then refuse to acknowledge the act or conceal their whereabouts or what happened to them. International law prohibits enforced disappearances, which violate fundamental rights to liberty and security and the right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.

    The International Convention for the Protection on All Persons from Enforced Disappearances provides that “no one shall be subjected to enforced disappearance” and imposes an absolute ban on secret detention. It also requires countries to end abusive practices that facilitate enforced disappearances including arbitrary incommunicado detention, torture, and extrajudicial executions.

    Guinea is not a party to the treaty but is still bound by international human rights law prohibiting unlawful arrests, abduction, arbitrary detention, ill-treatment of detainees, and other due process violations. It guarantees victims of abuse the right to an effective remedy.

    “When authorities deny knowledge of the detentions, they deprive detainees of any protections and make them vulnerable to even worse crimes, like torture,” Allegrozzi said. “The authorities should take immediate, concrete steps by credibly investigating the disappearances and ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.”

    – on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI China: 60 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza

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

    Palestinians mourn over a victim killed in an Israeli airstrike, outside the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, on July 8, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    At least 60 Palestinians, including six freed prisoners and a paramedic, were killed in Israeli airstrikes and gunfire across Gaza on Tuesday, according to Palestinian sources.

    Six people were killed by Israeli shelling on two tents housing displaced persons in Khan Younis, southern Gaza and the town of al-Zawaidain, central Gaza, Spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza Mahmoud Basal told Xinhua.

    Hamas said in a press statement that the six were prisoners released from Israeli prisons and deported from the West Bank to Gaza.

    West of Gaza City, an Israeli airstrike on a gathering of Palestinians in the al-Rimal neighborhood killed six people, including two children and two women, and an Israeli airstrike on a house in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood killed four, including an infant, Basal said.

    Five people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in al-Tuffah, east of Gaza City, whereas three were killed when a bomb dropped by an Israeli drone hit a residential area in the al-Zeitoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City, Basal said, adding that two people, including a child, were killed in an Israeli bombing on al-Tuffah and Sheikh Radwan neighborhoods.

    A vehicle bombing in the city of Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, killed two people, Basal added.

    Meanwhile, Nasser Medical Complex reported in a brief press statement that 25 Palestinians were killed since dawn of Tuesday as a result of separate airstrikes on the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis.

    A paramedic was also killed while performing his duty as a result of Israeli shelling on Al-Mawasi, according to Palestinian medical sources.

    Six Palestinians, including three children, were killed by Israeli army fire near a U.S.-backed aid distribution center in north of Rafah, southern Gaza, said the sources.

    There was no immediate comment from the Israeli side on these incidents.

    Since Israel resumed its military campaign in Gaza on March 18, at least 7,013 Palestinians have been killed and 24,838 others injured, bringing the overall death toll in Gaza since the conflict began in October 2023 to 57,575, with a total of 136,879 people injured, according to data released Tuesday by health authorities in Gaza. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: 60 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza

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

    Palestinians mourn over a victim killed in an Israeli airstrike, outside the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, on July 8, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    At least 60 Palestinians, including six freed prisoners and a paramedic, were killed in Israeli airstrikes and gunfire across Gaza on Tuesday, according to Palestinian sources.

    Six people were killed by Israeli shelling on two tents housing displaced persons in Khan Younis, southern Gaza and the town of al-Zawaidain, central Gaza, Spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza Mahmoud Basal told Xinhua.

    Hamas said in a press statement that the six were prisoners released from Israeli prisons and deported from the West Bank to Gaza.

    West of Gaza City, an Israeli airstrike on a gathering of Palestinians in the al-Rimal neighborhood killed six people, including two children and two women, and an Israeli airstrike on a house in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood killed four, including an infant, Basal said.

    Five people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in al-Tuffah, east of Gaza City, whereas three were killed when a bomb dropped by an Israeli drone hit a residential area in the al-Zeitoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City, Basal said, adding that two people, including a child, were killed in an Israeli bombing on al-Tuffah and Sheikh Radwan neighborhoods.

    A vehicle bombing in the city of Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, killed two people, Basal added.

    Meanwhile, Nasser Medical Complex reported in a brief press statement that 25 Palestinians were killed since dawn of Tuesday as a result of separate airstrikes on the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis.

    A paramedic was also killed while performing his duty as a result of Israeli shelling on Al-Mawasi, according to Palestinian medical sources.

    Six Palestinians, including three children, were killed by Israeli army fire near a U.S.-backed aid distribution center in north of Rafah, southern Gaza, said the sources.

    There was no immediate comment from the Israeli side on these incidents.

    Since Israel resumed its military campaign in Gaza on March 18, at least 7,013 Palestinians have been killed and 24,838 others injured, bringing the overall death toll in Gaza since the conflict began in October 2023 to 57,575, with a total of 136,879 people injured, according to data released Tuesday by health authorities in Gaza. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Can’t fill your ADHD script? Here’s why, and what to do while the shortage persists

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Janetzki, Lecturer in Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of South Australia

    Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses are rising across Australia.

    But after finally getting a diagnosis, many people are discovering the medicine they’ve been prescribed isn’t available at the pharmacy.

    Australia faces a nation-wide shortage of methylphenidate (sold as Concerta and Ritalin).

    What does it mean for people with ADHD?

    ADHD medication shortages have persisted since 2023, with shortages of lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse), and are now affecting more people.

    Many people with ADHD have to call multiple pharmacies to find their medication. They might be put on waiting lists to access their prescribed medications, or have to contact their doctor or their child’s doctor to get a new script for a different medication.

    Some people with ADHD are switching between strengths or changing to different medicines. This can mean starting again with slow dose changes, and can result in poor symptom control and more side effects.

    Some people have had to skip doses or go without medicine altogether, making it hard to concentrate, stay organised and manage emotions.

    Shortages can also increase inequality. People in rural areas with fewer pharmacies, for example, have more difficulty accessing these medications.

    And people with fewer financial resources are less able to access alternative medications that aren’t subsidised.

    Increasing access to diagnosis and treatment

    Around 8% of children and 2.5% of adults in Australia have ADHD. It makes it hard to focus, sit still, and/or control impulses. For many, medication helps manage these symptoms.

    Diagnosis has often involved seeing a specialist such as psychiatrist or paediatrician.

    But from September, GPs in New South Wales will be able to continue ADHD prescriptions without needing specialist approval. In 2026, GPs in South Australia and Western Australia will be able to diagnose ADHD and start treatment.

    However, ongoing shortages may still stop people from getting the medicine they need.

    Why are these medicines running out?

    These shortages are largely due to manufacturing issues – including problems sourcing raw ingredients and production quotas in the United States.

    When one brand runs out, it puts pressure on other brands. This creates a domino effect across the supply chain.

    There is also increasing demand.

    In 2022-2023 almost 470,000 Australians were prescribed ADHD medications. That’s four times the number from nine years earlier.

    From January 2024 to May 2025, the number of prescriptions filled increased further, by 60% for dexamfetamine, 88% for methylphenidate and 140% for lisdexamfetamine.

    Scripts filled for ADHD stimulants from January 2024 to May 2025.
    CC BY

    Shortages of several strengths and brands of menthylphenidate (Concerta and Ritalin) and are expected to continue into late 2025. Both the long-acting and short-acting types are affected.

    Pharmacies can’t always help

    Stimulants to treat ADHD are tightly controlled. Pharmacies can only supply one-month of medicine at a time.

    In some states such as NSW, paper prescriptions for tightly controlled medicines must be filled at the same pharmacy each time. So patients have not been able to get their medicine elsewhere even if it’s in stock.

    In response to the methylphenidate shortages, NSW Health has allowed pharmacies to transfer paper prescriptions to other pharmacists that have stock available. This change is temporary but helpful.

    This rule is different in other states such as Victoria and South Australia, where people are able to visit or call other pharmacies to see if they have stock.

    However, ideally a patient will be able to build a rapport with one main pharmacy – and the pharmacy will know exactly how many regular patients they need to get stock for.

    What are regulators doing about it?

    The national medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has set up a group called the Medicine Shortage Action Groups to respond to the methylphenidate shortage.

    This group includes members from health professional groups and peak bodies. It will give advice to health professionals and are creating resources for patients, families and schools about the shortages and how to reduce disruptions to their or their child’s treatment.

    The TGA has also recently approved the temporary use of some methylphenidate brands from overseas.

    Some of these are now listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which means they are available at a subsidised price.

    The body representing physicians, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, has called for early warnings about shortages. That way, doctors can help patients change to alternatives before it’s too late.

    What can you do if you can’t get a script filled?

    If you’re finding it hard to get your ADHD medicine:

    • talk to your pharmacist. They may be able to order an overseas-registered alternative or suggest a different brand

    • speak with your GP, psychiatrist or your child’s paediatrician. They might adjust your or your child’s dose or suggest a different medication for their ADHD. This might mean changing to another stimulant that is available in a short- or long-acting formulation or by changing to a medicine for ADHD that is not a stimulant. Ask your physician to contact the pharmacy to see what they have in stock while you’re at your appointment

    • check the TGA’s Medicine Shortage Reports Database for updates on when the medicine might become available.

    If you’re calling around to find stock:

    • call mid-morning to see if they’ve got stock. Pharmacies are generally less busy after the morning rush

    • say exactly what medicine, strength and brand you are looking for. If you don’t mind which brand be sure to tell the pharmacist

    • keep a list of pharmacies so you don’t double up

    • if you live in a rural area and find that a pharmacy in a nearby town has stock, ask if they can courier the medication to you.

    Jack Janetzki works for Pharmaceutical Defence Limited and The Barossa Pharmacist in the Mall (Nuriootpa, South Australia). He is a member of Pharmaceutical Defence Limited, the Australasian Pharmaceutical Science Association, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and the Observational Health Data Science Informatics network.

    Lisa Kalisch Ellett is president of the Australasian Pharmaceutical Science Association and a member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.

    – ref. Can’t fill your ADHD script? Here’s why, and what to do while the shortage persists – https://theconversation.com/cant-fill-your-adhd-script-heres-why-and-what-to-do-while-the-shortage-persists-259911

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • India and Brazil reaffirm strategic partnership with roadmap for next decade

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a State Visit to Brazil on Tuesday at the invitation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, with both leaders pledging to deepen ties across a wide range of strategic areas.

    In a joint statement, the two nations reaffirmed their commitment to bolster the India-Brazil Strategic Partnership, describing their shared vision as rooted in common values and aimed at advancing peace, prosperity and sustainable development.

    Defence and Security

    PM Modi and President Lula welcomed growing military collaboration, including joint exercises and senior‐level visits. They noted the recent Agreement on the Exchange and Mutual Protection of Classified Information, and established a Bilateral Cybersecurity Dialogue to share expertise on cyber threats. Both condemned the Pahalgam terror attack and voiced Brazil’s solidarity with India. They condemned all forms of terrorism and agreed to deepen action against UN-designated groups such as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, including measures at the UN and FATF. An agreement to combat international terrorism and organized crime was also signed, and both leaders pledged support for the UN Convention on Cybercrime at its signing in Hanoi next year.

    They called for UN Security Council reform, backing expansion in permanent and non-permanent seats with fair representation for Asia, Africa and Latin America. Brazil reaffirmed support for India’s bid for a non-permanent Council seat in 2028–29, while India endorsed Brazil’s aspiration for permanent membership. The two urged a UN Charter review conference in 2025, marking the Organization’s 80th anniversary.

    On Middle East peace, both leaders urged a return to diplomacy, endorsing a two-state solution alongside safe humanitarian access in Gaza and backing UNRWA’s mandate. They also called for renewed dialogue to end hostilities in Ukraine.

    Food and Nutritional Security

    As leading agricultural producers, India and Brazil agreed to advance sustainable farming, fair trade and public stockholding for food security. They reaffirmed the goal of eradicating hunger by 2030 and pledged support for the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. Joint research on crop productivity, animal genetics and biotechnology will be encouraged through collaboration between national R&D bodies.

    Energy Transition and Climate Action

    The leaders underscored strong collaboration on bioenergy and biofuels, reaffirming their commitment to the Global Biofuels Alliance and exploring sustainable aviation fuel. PM Modi welcomed Brazil’s ‘Tropical Forests Forever Fund’ and India confirmed its support for Brazil’s presidency of COP30 in Belém next year.

    Both sides agreed to step up collaboration on climate finance, sustainable development, and a stronger, fairer international financial system, while urging developed countries to meet their Official Development Assistance commitments.

    Digital Cooperation and Emerging Tech

    Acknowledging the transformative potential of digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and quantum technologies, the two countries signed an MoU to deepen cooperation. India and Brazil pledged to work together on global digital governance and boost direct ties between their innovation ecosystems.

    Industrial Partnerships

    Both leaders noted growing bilateral investment flows and agreed to streamline visa processes to boost business and tourism. They invited closer ties in pharmaceuticals- highlighting Indian API firms in Brazil-aviation, defence equipment, mining, and oil and gas, including carbon capture technologies. A ministerial Commerce and Trade Review Mechanism will oversee the implementation of the 2020 Bilateral Investment Cooperation and Facilitation Treaty and the 2022 Double Taxation Protocol.

  • Death toll from Texas flood hits triple-digits as tally of missing tops 180

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The death toll from the July Fourth flash flood that ravaged a swath of central Texas Hill Country rose on Tuesday to at least 109, many of them children, as search teams pressed on through mounds of mud-encrusted debris looking for scores of people still missing.

    According to figures released by Governor Gregg Abbott, authorities were seeking more than 180 people whose fate remained unknown four days after one of the deadliest U.S. flood events in decades.

    The bulk of fatalities and the search for additional victims were concentrated in Kerr County and the county seat of Kerrville, a town of 25,000 residents transformed into a disaster zone when torrential rains struck the region early last Friday, flooding the Guadalupe River basin.

    The bodies of 94 flood victims, about a third of them children, have been recovered in Kerr County alone as of Tuesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said at a late-afternoon news conference after touring the area by air.

    The Kerr County dead include 27 campers and counselors from Camp Mystic, a nearly century-old all-girls Christian summer retreat on the banks of the Guadalupe near the town of Hunt. The camp director also perished.

    Five girls and a camp counselor were still unaccounted for on Tuesday, Abbott said, along with another child not associated with the camp.

    As of Tuesday, 15 other flood-related fatalities had been confirmed across a swath of Texas Hill Country known as “flash flood alley,” the governor said, bringing the overall tally of lives lost to 109. Reports from local sheriffs’ and media have put the number of flood deaths outside Kerr County at 22.

    But authorities have said they were bracing for the death toll to climb as flood waters recede and the search for more victims gains momentum.

    Law enforcement agencies have compiled a list of 161 people “known to be missing” in Kerr County alone, Abbott said. The roster was checked against those who might be out of touch with loved ones or neighbors because they were away on vacation or out of town, according to the governor.

    ‘FIND EVERY SINGLE PERSON’

    He said another 12 people were missing elsewhere across the flood zone as a whole, a sprawling area northwest of San Antonio.

    “We need to find every single person who is missing. That’s job number one,” Abbott said.

    On Tuesday, San Antonio-born country singer Pat Green disclosed on social media that his younger brother and sister-in-law and two of their children were among those “swept away in the Kerrville flood.”

    Hindered by intermittent thunderstorms and showers, rescue teams from federal agencies, neighboring states and Mexico have joined local efforts to search for missing victims, though hopes of finding more survivors faded as time passed. The last victim found alive in Kerr County was last Friday.

    “The work is extremely treacherous, time-consuming,” Lieutenant Colonel Ben Baker of the Texas Game Wardens said at a press conference. “It’s dirty work. The water is still there.”

    A water-soaked family photo album was among the personal belongings found in flood debris by Sandi Gilmer, 46, a U.S. Army veteran and certified chaplain volunteering in the search operation along the Guadalupe at Hunt.

    “I don’t know how many people in this album are alive or deceased,” she said, flipping through images of two toddlers and a gray-haired man. “I didn’t have the heart to step over it without picking it up and hoping to return it to a family member.”

    MAKINGS OF A DISASTER

    More than a foot of rain fell in the region in less than an hour before dawn last Friday, sending a wall of water cascading down the Guadalupe that killed dozens of people and left mangled piles of debris, uprooted trees and overturned vehicles.

    Public officials have faced days of questions about whether they could have alerted people in flood-prone areas sooner.

    The state emergency management agency warned last Thursday, on the eve of the disaster, that parts of central Texas faced a flash floods threat, based on National Weather Service forecasts.

    But twice as much rain as predicted ended up falling over two branches of the Guadalupe just upstream of the fork where they converge, sending all of that water racing into the single river channel where it slices through Kerrville, City Manager Dalton Rice said.

    Rice has said the outcome was unforeseen and unfolded in a matter of two hours, leaving too little time to conduct a precautionary mass evacuation without the risk of placing more people in harm’s way.

    Scientists have said extreme flood events are growing more common as climate change creates warmer, wetter weather patterns in Texas and other parts of the country.

    At an earlier news briefing on Tuesday, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha rebuffed questions about the county’s emergency operations and preparedness and declined to say who was ultimately in charge of monitoring weather alerts and issuing flood warnings or evacuation orders.

    He said his office began receiving emergency-911 calls between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Friday, several hours after the local National Weather Service station issued a flash-flood alert. “We’re in the process of trying to put (together) a timeline,” Leitha said.

    Abbott said a special session of the Texas legislature would convene later this month to investigate the emergency response and provide funding for disaster relief.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI Russia: 60 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza – sources

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    GAZA, July 9 (Xinhua) — At least 60 Palestinians, including six freed prisoners and a medical worker, were killed in Israeli airstrikes and shelling in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Palestinian sources said.

    Six people were killed in Israeli shelling of two tents housing displaced persons in Khan Younis in southern Gaza and the town of Al-Zawayda in the central part of the enclave, Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bazal told Xinhua.

    Hamas said in a press statement that the six were prisoners released from Israeli jails and deported from the West Bank to Gaza.

    According to M. Bazal, in western Gaza City, an Israeli airstrike on a Palestinian gathering in the Rimal area killed six people, including two children and two women, while an Israeli airstrike on a house in the Tal al-Hawa area killed four, including a baby.

    Five people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in al-Tuffa in eastern Gaza City. Three others were killed when an Israeli drone bomb hit a residential neighborhood in the al-Zeitoun neighborhood in southern Gaza City, Bazal said. He said two people, including a child, were killed in Israeli bombing of the al-Tuffa and Sheikh Radwan neighborhoods.

    A car bombing in the city of Deir el-Balah in the heart of the Palestinian enclave killed two more people, he added.

    Meanwhile, the Nasser Medical Complex said in a brief press statement that 25 Palestinians had been killed since dawn on Tuesday in separate airstrikes on the al-Mawasi area in western Khan Younis.

    According to Palestinian medical sources, a medical worker was also killed while on duty as a result of Israeli shelling in the same area.

    Six Palestinians, including three children, were killed in Israeli shelling near a US-backed aid distribution centre in the northern town of Rafah in the southern enclave, sources said.

    The Israeli side has not yet commented on these incidents. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Ask the ECB Forum: defence, tariffs and AI – insights from top experts

    Source: European Central Bank (video statements)

    Can an increase in defence spending affect investments in green energy and digital infrastructure? What do US tariff threats mean for the ECB? How does the ECB support smaller countries in the Eurosystem? And is AI an opportunity or a risk for the financial future?

    In the last episode of our Sintra series, our host Stefania Secola takes us on a walk around the ECB Forum and gets top experts to answer your questions.

    The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank.

    Published on 9 July 2025 and recorded during the ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra between 30 June and 2 July 2025.

    In this episode:
    02:05 Defence spending
    Can an increase in defence spending affect investments in green energy and digital infrastructure?

    08:08 Tariffs
    How do US tariff threats affect the economy? What do they mean for the ECB? And what are the opportunities for Europe?

    14:14 Smaller vs. bigger economies in the Eurosystem
    Does the ECB prioritise bigger economies over smaller ones? Do smaller countries, such as Slovenia, benefit from the ECB’s monetary policy?

    18:55 Artificial intelligence
    Is AI an opportunity or a risk for the financial future?

    Further readings:
    Gensler, G., Johnson, S., Panizza, U. and Weder di Mauro, B.: The Economic Consequences of The Second Trump Administration: A Preliminary Assessment
    https://cepr.org/publications/books-and-reports/economic-consequences-second-trump-administration-preliminary

    The ECB Podcast: AI: economic game changer or job taker?

    ECB Instagram
    https://www.instagram.com/europeancentralbank/

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40gWLnVP98U

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI USA: LEADER JEFFRIES ON MSNBC: “MY REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUES DON’T WORK FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, THEY WORK FOR DONALD TRUMP”

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)

    Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber where he emphasized that the Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill will gut healthcare and nutritional assistance for millions of hardworking Americans in order to pay for tax breaks for billionaires.

    ARI MELBER: The Democratic Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, joins us now. Good evening, and thanks for joining us at this very busy time.

    LEADER JEFFRIES: Good evening. Great to be with you.

    ARI MELBER: Great to have you. I want to just begin, before we get to any of the Washington politics, with this tragedy down in, of course, Kerr County, Texas. Death toll is over 100. As of tonight, we have the latest reporting, which is 161 people are still missing, including a lot of individuals that, of course, have not been accounted for and the worst is feared in terms of what we’re hearing. What is your response to this ongoing, unfolding tragedy that’s affecting so many? You know, what else can the federal government do?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: Our thoughts and prayers are certainly with all of the families who’ve been impacted by this terrible tragedy, and we’ll continue to stand with them and do everything that we can to try to be there for them as a federal government in terms of the recovery and the rebuilding that will necessarily have to take place. Right now, we’re also appreciative, of course, of the fact that we have first responders who are still engaged in a search and rescue effort to try to hopefully find folks who have not been currently located. I think there will also be a moment where, as a Congress, we need to aggressively ask some questions about what happened? Why did it happen? How do we prevent this type of tragedy from ever happening again? There’s real concern, Ari, with the fact that, you know, the National Weather Service has been decimated by the Trump administration. There’s real concern that Donald Trump and his Homeland Security Secretary have threatened to defund FEMA. And there’s real concern that the Texas State Government may not have necessarily done everything that they could have done in advance of the flooding to protect those communities.

    ARI MELBER: Is this, since you mentioned, an area where you think that defunding at the state or federal level could have played a part in an avoidable level of tragedy?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: That remains to be seen, but certainly we have to ask those questions, and we’re going to have to get those answers, and we’re prepared as Democrats to aggressively do just that.

    ARI MELBER: Yeah. Understood. We showed you speaking on the floor there fighting the budget, I guess you and Cory Booker, I don’t know if you guys trade tips in the hallway about how you go that many hours. And I want to ask you about this, you know. We try to call it straight here and follow the facts, the evidence on all these issues here on this program. And it seems like on this one, Democrats have lost a lot of public skirmishes. It seems like Democrats won the messaging battle, but still didn’t have the votes. So I want to get your response to that, but I’ll put up on the screen the numbers here. Just top line—you have a lot more debt, kicking off over 11 million people from their current health coverage, going after popular programs like Medicaid and, overwhelmingly, as you know, as people learned about this bill, the more they learned, the more they didn’t like it. It’s overwhelmingly opposed. Before I get your answer, I just want to show again. Let’s get out of the coastal national news, let’s get out of the television news of coming out of these, you know, folks who might follow politics every day. We checked the polling. This was going underwater 18 points. And local coverage has actually echoed some of the facts Democrats have mentioned against the bill. Take a look.

    VIDEO 1: It’s going to be a big, beautiful challenge for hospitals.

    VIDEO 2: Rural hospitals could face a loss of medical care and services. Millions of Americans who have Medicaid face losing their healthcare coverage.

    VIDEO 3: They’re anticipating about 500,000 people will be cut, will have their Medicaid benefits cut from the Big Ugly Bill.

    VIDEO 4: There is no spinning this as if there’s a positive thing.

    ARI MELBER: Did you get your message out effectively? And if so, what do you say to people who are frustrated that the bill still passed?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, the One Big Ugly Bill represents the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Hospitals will close, nursing homes will shut down, community-based health clinics will be unable to operate and people are going to die in community after community after community, including in rural America. I think it certainly has been the case that we have successfully communicated across the country the implications of this One Big Ugly Bill. It hurts everyday Americans in order to reward billionaires. And we’re going to continue that effort in state after state after state, in congressional district after congressional district after congressional district. The American people should understandably be frustrated that they clearly have rejected this bill, did not want it to be passed, but Republicans in the House of Representatives have decided to once again be nothing more than a rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s extreme agenda. All we needed were two additional Republicans to join us, and we could have stopped this bill, that’s out of 220.

    ARI MELBER: And what does it mean that Republicans said out loud they oppose the bill, or big parts of it, and still voted for it?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: I spent a lot of time on the House floor, going through a lot of the letters that had been written by my Republican colleagues complaining about the Medicaid cuts, complaining about the cuts to the clean energy tax credits, complaining about the cuts to nutritional assistance and the fact that this bill rips food out of the mouths of children and then they turned around and bent the knee to Donald Trump, because that’s what they do. They don’t work for the American people at this particular point in time. They work for Donald Trump. They act like a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trump administration. It’s an embarrassment. And now that embarrassment will actually result in the American people being hurt in devastating ways.

    ARI MELBER: We also track culture. As you know, sometimes the punchlines give you a sense of where the story is. Here is Jon Stewart.

    JON STEWART (VIDEO): Holly s*** you what? You somehow managed to severely cut the safety net and expand the deficit. That’s impressive. That’s one of those. ‘Hey man, how did you gain all that weight?’ ‘Ozempic.’ That’s something that’s hard to do.

    ARI MELBER: Does this tag the GOP as the fiscally irresponsible party? And where do we go from here? I mean, you’re a pretty young guy by the standards of Washington. Are we going to hear from them when they’re out of power again in however many years that a Democratic White House is growing the deficit? Does that even make sense given their record right now?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: Republicans are complete phonies when it comes to be claiming to be the party of fiscal responsibility. All they have done, administration after administration after administration—they did this during the administration of George W Bush. They did it during Ronald Reagan’s administration. And now, of course, they’re doing it again during Donald Trump’s second administration—is explode the debt and the deficit. Why? In order to provide massive tax cuts for the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected and subsidize the lifestyles of the rich and shameless. Now you’ve got a bill where they actually have combined hurting everyday Americans, largest cut to Medicaid in American history, largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history, hurting veterans, hurting seniors, hurting children and at the same time, exploding the debt and the deficit. We are going to tattoo this disgusting abomination of a bill to the foreheads of every single Republican who voted for it.

    ARI MELBER: Hardball tattoo politics there. All right. I want to ask you about the ongoing abuses of power alleged by Donald Trump. We’ve seen National Guard there in the streets. Democrats have sued over that. We have Marines used on a small basis, but seems like a test case. We have then, related, in the courts, although it might not get as much dramatic attention, certainly not the visuals like you see here. But this report about Trump claiming sweeping powers to literally nullify laws just passed by Congress, supported by Republicans, by the way. Legal experts telling The Times that Trump is claiming this power to immunize private parties to commit otherwise illegal acts and blatantly defying the recent TikTok rule, whether people agree with it or not, and I think you all know there’s some controversy about that TikTok ban. Since when does the President just say, well, we’ll enforce it later, or maybe not at all. And what specifically does your party do about that?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, Donald Trump has launched an all-out assault on the American way of life, on the rule of law and democracy itself. And this is going to require, of course, a Congress that actually functions as a separate and co-equal branch of government. We will not get that from the modern-day Republican Party, although we are still looking for some folks, just a handful, to show Liz Cheney or John McCain levels of courage to push back against the extremism that is coming from the Trump administration. We haven’t seen it so far, and that’s shameful, but we’ll continue to press them to try to achieve it on behalf of the American people. You know, the courts will need to function as a backstop. And unfortunately, we’ve seen, increasingly, an unwillingness by this Supreme Court to actually push back against Donald Trump and some of his executive overreach. At the end of the day, it was said during the founding of the Republic that when the people fear the government, there is tyranny. But when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

    ARI MELBER: Yeah, of course. Yeah.

    LEADER JEFFRIES: And at the end of the day, it’s going to be the people rising up, pushing back against this extremism, showing it in community after community after community and then, ultimately, when it’s time to go to the polls, to send a clear message that America is better than this.

    ARI MELBER: So, let me take exactly where your answer goes. Someone listening might say, wow, that sounds good. I hope Hakeem Jeffries is right, but what if he’s wrong? What if we’re actually past the point where we can just count on free and fair elections when, as you know, and to be fair—you’ve spoken out about this, of course—the person in the office, he won lawfully, he won the Electoral College in what we know to be a free and fair election. But previously, when he lost, he tried to subvert that. We had a convicted sedition. He then freed the sedition convicts, as everybody knows. And so, there’s great concern about not a repeat of 2020, but a more effective version of it. And you’ve heard this concern. It’s not just random, sort of, activist or the most extreme sort of people worrying about it. James Carville, a longtime, sort of, centrist Democratic figure, said this about rigging the midterms.

    JAMES CARVILLE (VIDEO): Actually, your concerns are legitimate. I would never tell anybody that’s worried that no, don’t you worry about that. He’s been trying to do anything that he can possibly to try to extricate himself from what is almost certain to be a humiliating loss in October, November of 2026. So, people should be worried, they should be vigilant, they should watch this.

    ARI MELBER: Is this a legitimate concern? And if so, what are you doing about it?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: We have to be incredibly vigilant to make sure that there are free and fair elections. I think we have to look at what’s in front of us. And this year, of course, there are off-year elections in New Jersey and in Virginia. We’ve got to make sure that the Democratic nominee, Mikie Sherrill, wins in New Jersey, the Democratic nominee, Abigail Spanberger, wins in Virginia. They’re both tremendous public servants, have served this country in a variety of different ways, including in the Congress. And then, of course, be prepared as it relates to the midterm elections. Now, the good news is—to the extent that there’s a silver lining in our electoral system—is that we don’t have a national election system. It’s state by state by state. And in many of the states where there will be competitive gubernatorial elections, and certainly in the overwhelming majority of the states where the House will be decided, there are Democratic Governors, Democratic Attorney Generals and Democratic Secretaries of State. I’d be far more concerned, honestly, Ari, if we were looking at a situation where the fate of the House would be determined in states where Republicans are in charge.

    ARI MELBER: So, you’re saying—to be clear, because it’s a patchwork—you’re saying you’ve studied this, and if there are Republicans trying to play games, they’re not actually overseeing the races that you think would control the House outcome?

    LEADER JEFFRIES: That’s absolutely correct. There are seats in New York, seats in New Jersey, seats in Michigan, seats in California, seats in Wisconsin, seats in Pennsylvania, seats in Arizona that, you know, by way of example, that are going to determine in large measure who controls the House in the aftermath of the midterm election. Every single one of those states have Democratic Governors, there are Democratic Attorney Generals, Democratic Secretaries of State. And so, that’s kind of the landscape that we find ourselves in. And I’ve got trust in those leaders to make sure that there are actual free and fair elections.

    Full interview can be watched here.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S., Thailand Navies reunite to commence CARAT Thailand 2025

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    Sattahip, Thailand (July 7, 2025): The U.S. Navy (USN), Royal Thai Navy (RTN), and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) began the 31st exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Thailand 2025 with an opening ceremony in Sattahip, Thailand, July 7, 2025.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S., Thailand Navies reunite to commence CARAT Thailand 2025

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    Sattahip, Thailand (July 7, 2025): The U.S. Navy (USN), Royal Thai Navy (RTN), and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) began the 31st exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Thailand 2025 with an opening ceremony in Sattahip, Thailand, July 7, 2025.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Moore Announces Over $2 Million Recovered for West Virginians

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Riley Moore (WV-02)

    Washington, D.C. – Congressman Riley M. Moore is proud to announce that he and his team have recovered over $2 million for West Virginians since he took office on January 3, 2025.

    The Congressman’s casework team is based in the Morgantown and Martinsburg district offices. The staff are well-trained in dealing with the federal bureaucracy and stand ready to assist constituents who are having issues with any federal agency.

    Some highlights of funding recovered for constituents include:

    •    Over $1,000,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture 
    •    Over $900,000 from the Internal Revenue Service
    •    Over $320,000 from the Social Security Administration 
    •    Over $25,000 from the Department of Veterans Affairs
    •    Over $20,000 from the Department of Defense 
    •    Over $12,500 from the Office of Personnel Management

    Congressman Moore issued the following statement:

    “My office is eager to help constituents of the Second District in dealing with the frustrations of the federal bureaucracy. I’m so proud of the work we’re doing and am thrilled to report this massive figure only six months into my term.

    “I make sure to tell everyone in the district that if they’re having an issue with the federal government — don’t wait, call us! We are here to help.”

    NEED HELP? Constituents can request assistance by calling Congressman Moore’s team in Morgantown (304-350-6995) or Martinsburg (304-350-6987).

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Trump says US will send more weapons to Ukraine

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

    Members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security team plan to discuss details of shipping weapons to Ukraine on Tuesday, after Trump said the United States would send more weapons to the country, according to media reports.

    “We’re going to send some more weapons. We have to,” Trump said Monday ahead of a dinner with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

    In a statement Monday night, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed the U.S. Department of Defense will provide further defensive military assistance to Ukraine.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday in a post on social media that he had discussed Ukraine’s air defense capabilities in a phone conversation with Trump. They agreed that they would work together to strengthen protecting the skies of Ukraine, he said. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cramer, Rosen Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Recognize Remotely Piloted Aircraft Crew Service in Combat Operations

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the 119th Air Wing “Happy Hooligans” in Fargo operating MQ-9 Reapers and the 319th Reconnaissance Wing in Grand Forks flying RQ-4 Global Hawks, North Dakota plays a critical and growing role in operating Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) and is on the forefront of the next generation of technology.

    Despite flying and conducting missions in combat zones, RPA crews do not have a formal combat identifier in their records due to their remote operational environment. Without this important distinguishment, RPA crew members who are transitioning to other military careers or leaving the service may face barriers to timely, high-quality mental health care services.

    U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), introduced the bipartisan Combat Action Recognition and Evaluation (CARE) for Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Crews Act. The bill will establish a status identifier for RPA crews who conduct combat operations to provide them with the recognition and access to services they deserve.

    “Now more than ever, military missions use airborne ISR platforms to meet our national security objectives,” said Cramer. “Remotely Piloted Aircraft crews, including Fargo’s Happy Hooligans and the airmen from the 319th at Grand Forks, often play an integral role in achieving high-stakes, mission-critical objectives. The CARE for RPA Crews Act recognizes the accomplishments of RPA crews and identifies the appropriate resources to keep our airmen fit for duty.”

    “Remotely Piloted Aircraft crew like those at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada perform combat operations but have no status identifier in their records for having done so, making it challenging to receive the support and care they deserve once they transition,” said Rosen. “That’s why I’m introducing this bipartisan bill to establish a status identifier for these crews in order to help improve the recognition they’ve earned and to ensure their future care. I’ll always fight to support Nevada’s servicemembers.”

    Click here for bill text.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cramer, Rosen Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Recognize Remotely Piloted Aircraft Crew Service in Combat Operations

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the 119th Air Wing “Happy Hooligans” in Fargo operating MQ-9 Reapers and the 319th Reconnaissance Wing in Grand Forks flying RQ-4 Global Hawks, North Dakota plays a critical and growing role in operating Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) and is on the forefront of the next generation of technology.
    Despite flying and conducting missions in combat zones, RPA crews do not have a formal combat identifier in their records due to their remote operational environment. Without this important distinguishment, RPA crew members who are transitioning to other military careers or leaving the service may face barriers to timely, high-quality mental health care services.
    U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), introduced the bipartisan Combat Action Recognition and Evaluation (CARE) for Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Crews Act. The bill will establish a status identifier for RPA crews who conduct combat operations to provide them with the recognition and access to services they deserve.
    “Now more than ever, military missions use airborne ISR platforms to meet our national security objectives,” said Cramer. “Remotely Piloted Aircraft crews, including Fargo’s Happy Hooligans and the airmen from the 319th at Grand Forks, often play an integral role in achieving high-stakes, mission-critical objectives. The CARE for RPA Crews Act recognizes the accomplishments of RPA crews and identifies the appropriate resources to keep our airmen fit for duty.”
    “Remotely Piloted Aircraft crew like those at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada perform combat operations but have no status identifier in their records for having done so, making it challenging to receive the support and care they deserve once they transition,” said Rosen. “That’s why I’m introducing this bipartisan bill to establish a status identifier for these crews in order to help improve the recognition they’ve earned and to ensure their future care. I’ll always fight to support Nevada’s servicemembers.”
    Click here for bill text.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cramer, Rosen Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Recognize Remotely Piloted Aircraft Crew Service in Combat Operations

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the 119th Air Wing “Happy Hooligans” in Fargo operating MQ-9 Reapers and the 319th Reconnaissance Wing in Grand Forks flying RQ-4 Global Hawks, North Dakota plays a critical and growing role in operating Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) and is on the forefront of the next generation of technology.

    Despite flying and conducting missions in combat zones, RPA crews do not have a formal combat identifier in their records due to their remote operational environment. Without this important distinguishment, RPA crew members who are transitioning to other military careers or leaving the service may face barriers to timely, high-quality mental health care services.

    U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), introduced the bipartisan Combat Action Recognition and Evaluation (CARE) for Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Crews Act. The bill will establish a status identifier for RPA crews who conduct combat operations to provide them with the recognition and access to services they deserve.

    “Now more than ever, military missions use airborne ISR platforms to meet our national security objectives,” said Cramer. “Remotely Piloted Aircraft crews, including Fargo’s Happy Hooligans and the airmen from the 319th at Grand Forks, often play an integral role in achieving high-stakes, mission-critical objectives. The CARE for RPA Crews Act recognizes the accomplishments of RPA crews and identifies the appropriate resources to keep our airmen fit for duty.”

    “Remotely Piloted Aircraft crew like those at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada perform combat operations but have no status identifier in their records for having done so, making it challenging to receive the support and care they deserve once they transition,” said Rosen. “That’s why I’m introducing this bipartisan bill to establish a status identifier for these crews in order to help improve the recognition they’ve earned and to ensure their future care. I’ll always fight to support Nevada’s servicemembers.”

    Click here for bill text.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: What Has Australian Macroeconomic Thought Achieved in the Past Century – And Where Can it Contribute in the Next?

    Source: Airservices Australia

    Introduction

    It is a great honour to address you on the 100th anniversary of the Economics Society of Australia.

    It’s an honour because, over that past century, Australian thinkers have helped develop some of the most important building blocks in open economy macroeconomics – the branch of economics that seeks to understand how the global trading economy works.

    Those were significant – sometimes world-leading – intellectual achievements.

    But they were more than just that. Because they also shaped the policies and institutions that helped Australia navigate the global economy of that period so successfully, delivering wealth and stability for its citizens.

    Indeed Australian macroeconomic research has pulled that trick off twice. First, powering the ideas that lifted the country out of the Great Depression to flourish after the Second World War. And, second, helping to design a reform program that rescued the country from the slump of the 1970s, and led to more than a quarter century of recession-free growth.

    Two Golden Ages, marshalling thought into action.

    But to thrive in the next 100 years, Australia’s researchers will need to go for the hat-trick.

    And that’s because the tectonic plates of the global economic system are once more in flux, as free trade is rolled back; geopolitical alliances shift; climate change accelerates; and productivity growth slows to a crawl in most developed countries.

    Simply coping with such changes will take skill. Turning them to Australia’s advantage – identifying and exploiting new trading structures and sources of growth – will require rich new thinking from Australian academia.

    The good news is that many of today’s policy problems lie at the very heart of Australia’s intellectual comparative advantage. The challenge is whether we can relearn the lessons of the past – drawing in our best talent, strengthening the incentives for policy-relevant research, and forging deep links between academics and policymakers.

    In my remarks today I want to look back at some of those successes of the past century, before posing some questions for the future.

    What is Australian macroeconomic thought?

    But before doing so, I should try to clarify what I mean by Australian macroeconomic thought.

    Is it macroeconomic research about Australia? By Australians? Conducted in Australia? It could be any of the above. But if you wanted a ‘vibe’, in the great Australian tradition of The Castle, I’d suggest three defining features:

    • First, an emphasis on small open economy macroeconomics, with a particular role for the commodities and energy sectors. That reflects the nature of our economy and the challenges we face. But it also has global application: our context is also our comparative advantage.
    • Second, a focus on solving practical real-world policy issues, rather than pushing forward more abstract frontiers. Many influential Australian macroeconomists have also served as senior public policymakers.
    • Third, a world-leading capacity to develop the analytical tools necessary to drive successful economic policy – in particular small open economy quantitative macro-models and macroeconomic data.

    The past 100 years: Two ‘Golden Ages’ of Australian economic thinking

    To illustrate how these themes played out over the past 100 years, I’m going to split the period into two halves. The first lies either side of the Second World War; the second straddles the economic reforms starting from the 1980s. Each in its own way can legitimately be called a Golden Age, in which Australian ideas both advanced the global knowledge frontier and delivered prosperity for Australia.

    The first Golden Age

    The first period, from the birth of the ESA in the 1920s to the late 1960s, saw Australia pull itself out of the depths of the Depression and navigate a world war.

    Australia’s response to these challenges was shaped by its economic context as a small commodity exporter. For much of the period, the growth model relied on expanding exports of raw materials (primarily agricultural), using huge quantities of imported labour and capital. The central question in such an economy was how to maintain both internal and external balance, in the face of external shocks. To achieve these goals, the authorities relied primarily on centralised control. The exchange rate was pegged to sterling; credit volumes and interest rates were typically administratively set, and wage-setting was heavily institutionalised. Tariffs were used actively, in an attempt to protect and foster domestic industry, lift employment and reduce the economy’s reliance on volatile global commodity markets.

    Many great Australian thinkers helped shape this first Golden Age – but today I will focus on just two.

    The first is Lyndhurst Giblin.

    Giblin was a model Accidental Economist. He devoted his first 45 years to everything but the subject: he was part of the Klondike gold rush, served as a Tasmanian MP and received the Military Cross for gallantry on the Western Front. Yet little more than a decade after the First World War, Giblin had developed one of the most important building-blocks of macroeconomics.

    As Government Statistician for Tasmania and later Ritchie Professor of Economics at the University of Melbourne, Giblin had a ringside seat for the Great Depression – which in Australia began in 1928 as commodity prices fell, accelerating in 1929 with the global slump. Giblin saw that sharp declines in world prices for agricultural produce – Australia’s main export – would not only lower Australian farmers’ incomes, but would also cause them to spend less. And that in turn would lower incomes for others, causing a slump to ripple out through the wider economy. That rippling could be far larger than the first-round impact alone, amplifying the domestic repercussions of a global shock.

    Giblin set out this startlingly simple but revolutionary idea – the modern-day multiplier in all but name – in a 1930 lecture. That’s a year before Richard Kahn’s seminal Economic Journal paper, and six years before Keynes’ General Theory. What is today known universally as the ‘Keynesian multiplier’ could and perhaps should be called the ‘Giblin-Keynes multiplier’. Yet neither Kahn nor Keynes made any reference to Giblin’s work, or even appeared aware of its existence.

    Giblin, however, was far less interested in global acclaim than he was in working out how Australia could rescue itself from the Depression – and that was a hotly contested question. The then Premier of New South Wales, Jack Lang, had a simple answer: default on state and Commonwealth debt to the United Kingdom and use the savings to stimulate domestic activity. But default risked destroying Australia’s future borrowing capacity, rendering its economic model unworkable.

    The Bank of England, in the form of the widely disliked Otto Niemeyer, had a different proposal: cut wages and balance the budget. Based partly on his multiplier analysis, Giblin worried that approach would be too deflationary. With Douglas Copland, Leslie Melville and others, he helped prepare the 1931 ‘Premiers Plan’, which argued that Australia should accompany lower wages and a balanced budget with monetary easing to ‘spread the loss’. A sharp devaluation against the British pound, executed the same year, provided further support to external competitiveness. Giblin framed the challenge as tackling an ‘outside problem which is causing an inside problem’ – concepts that years later would be formalised as external and internal balance.

    Although Giblin used what would come to be thought of as a ‘Keynesian’ analytical tool (the multiplier), his policy prescriptions were decidedly un -Keynesian: this was no debt-financed fiscal expansion. Writing in the Melbourne Herald in 1932, Keynes himself recognised the plan ‘saved the economic structure of Australia’. But he advised against its wider use, arguing that competitive devaluation or wage deflation would leave no-one better off, and advocating ‘public works’ rather than ‘further pressure on money wages or a further forcing of exports’.

    Giblin’s thinking evolved in the same direction over time, and by the end of the Second World War he favoured using government spending to stabilise the economy and keep unemployment low. That view informed Australia’s position at the Bretton Woods conference, where it argued that relaxing trade protections – a key goal of the United States – without also committing to full employment could leave countries like Australia badly exposed to external shocks. And it formed the core of the 1945 Full Employment White Paper, developed by Giblin alongside Melville and ‘Nugget’ Coombs – later the first Governor of the RBA – which set the basis for policy in much of the post-war period.

    My second case study is Trevor Swan – regarded by many as Australia’s greatest economist.

    Swan made not one but two key contributions. The first is summarised in the ‘Swan diagram’, and extended in the ‘Salter-Swan’ model developed with fellow Australian Wilfred Salter. The model is designed to help think about policy coordination and trade-offs in a small economy like Australia, with trade and a fixed exchange rate. The model elegantly demonstrated many of the issues the country faced in the first Golden Age trying to achieve both internal and external balance. And it illustrated how different combinations of macroeconomic tools – including fiscal, wage, exchange rate and trade policy – might be used to maintain both in the face of international shocks.

    Swan’s second seminal contribution was aimed at thinking through how to foster longer term economic growth. Swan showed that medium-term growth in real per capita labour income depends on the rate of technical progress, growth in the labour supply, and growth in the capital stock. This was a crucial insight for Australia, which relied heavily on high rates of immigration. Swan’s framework showed that, in such circumstances, sustained growth in real incomes also required rapid growth in productive capital and technical progress. Without that, real incomes would stagnate or fall. Important messages for policymakers at the time – and still relevant today.

    Swan’s personal story is fascinating. Amongst other things, he was a perfectionist, and that – combined with his preference for supporting Australian economics – led him to publish his work slowly (if at all), and exclusively in local journals. As a consequence, much of the credit for his pioneering ideas on growth, including a Nobel prize, went to Robert Solow rather than Swan. But like Giblin, Australia mattered more to him than global fame. Alongside his role as ANU’s first Professor of Economics, Swan was Chief Economist to the Prime Minister’s Department (in the 1950s) and a member of the RBA Board (from 1975–1985).

    The second Golden Age

    The second Golden Age – from ideas to action – straddles either side of the deep economic reforms of the 1980s and 1990s.

    The reforms overturned the paradigm of the first Golden Age. The exchange rate was floated. High tariffs were replaced with much freer trading arrangements. Constraints on the financial sector were released; and, in time, the central bank was made independent and asked to hit an inflation target. Of course, there was good luck too, as huge new export markets opened up in Asia. But taken together, these changes ushered in an extended period of prosperity for Australia.

    The intellectual groundwork for the reforms was laid years earlier, as recognition dawned that frameworks of centralised control and protectionism were undermining, rather than protecting, competitiveness, productivity growth and living standards. This was far from unique to Australia, of course. But Australian thinkers again made important contributions to the evolving global consensus – perhaps most notably on the case against trade protection, through the work of Max Corden. Corden showed that the economic costs of tariffs were much larger than previously recognised, once general equilibrium effects were accounted for. His work, including the concept of ‘net effective rates of protection’, which captured the impact of tariffs on imported inputs as well as outputs, remains widely cited – and, sadly, is highly topical again today.

    Like his earlier compatriots, Corden did not just push forward academic thinking – he also rolled up his sleeves and got stuck into policymaking for Australia. His work had a profound impact on the enquiries led by John Crawford over the 1960s and 1970s calling for a rationalisation of tariffs. And it led, through the advocacy of Fred Gruen, to the Whitlam government’s across-the-board 25 per cent cuts in tariffs in 1973, which began the long and winding road to free trade. The Tariff Board was renamed the Industries Assistance Commission – and two decades later became the Productivity Commission: quite a journey!

    The reforms of the Second Golden Age reflected a dawning recognition that – subject to safeguards – flexible market prices could facilitate adjustment to both internal and external shocks more effectively than administrative controls. These were not uniquely Australian ideas (Ross Garnaut called it ‘the Washington consensus come to Australia’). But strong advocacy by the government and wider public institutions helped them take root. And the overlay of specifically Australian policies – including the 1983–1996 Prices and Incomes Accord – helped maintain social and political support for reform. The strength of such equity considerations, familiar from Giblin’s work in the 1930s, remains an important feature in Australian macroeconomic policy debates to the present day.

    Across both Golden Ages, Australia also had a world-leading role in two areas of practical policymaking: quantitative macro-modelling; and economic data.

    Australia’s first general equilibrium macro-econometric model was developed in the early 1940s by – who else – Trevor Swan! Indeed Swan’s model has a decent claim to be among the first globally, coming after Jan Tinbergen’s 1936 model of the Netherlands but more than a decade before Lawrence Klein and Arthur Goldberger’s model of the United States. Once again, Tinbergen and Klein both received Nobel prizes; Swan (who didn’t even publish his model during his lifetime) did not. From the early 1970s, the Treasury and RBA built a suite of state-of-the-art open economy macro-econometric models. ORANI, one of the most advanced large-scale computable general equilibrium models of the time, was used in the Crawford enquiries. And in the 1990s, Warwick McKibbin and Peter Wilcoxen developed the global hybrid DSGE/CGE model, ‘G-Cubed’, used most recently to provide widely cited assessments of the impact of US tariffs.

    The strength of Australia’s economic data has an even longer pedigree. As the first Government Statistician of New South Wales from 1886, Sir Timothy Coghlan produced a series of yearbooks that set global standards for the measurement of aggregate income and occupational classification in national censuses. Half a century later, Keynes’ disciple Colin Clark helped bring modern national income accounting to Australia. And there have been many other examples of methodological trailblazing since then – including early adoption of survey sampling approaches and an integrated business register; and pioneering use of satellite imaging and integrated data sets. The critical importance of effective data gathering to Australia’s economic success was reflected: in its independent institutional setting at the heart of government; in its job titles – the head economic adviser to government was for some time known as the ‘Chief Statistician’; and in its ability to attract some of Australia’s top minds, from Giblin, Sir Roland Wilson and Charles Wickens right up to today.

    Before I leave this brief stroll through the past, I should acknowledge the key role that the ESA itself played in this history. Many of those I’ve talked about today were presidents of the Society; and many of their ideas appeared in its publications. Like Australian macroeconomics in general, a defining feature of the Society has been its focus on ideas that can be implemented, not just admired. Douglas Copland, ESA’s first President, encouraged members to involve themselves in the practical affairs of government and business – a principle captured in the Society’s aim ‘to encourage the teaching and study of economics and its application to Australia’. The RBA has long been an active supporter of that program. Bernie Fraser held the Presidency of the Society while he was RBA Governor in the early 1990s, hosting central council meetings in the Bank’s boardroom in Martin Place. And two of our current Department Heads played leading roles more recently: Jacqui Dwyer was an executive adviser on economics education; and Penny Smith was President of the NSW branch, supporting the launch of the Society’s Women in Economics Network.

    Will there be a third Golden Age? The worry … and the call to arms

    By any standards, then, the past century has been an extraordinary story – of world-leading thinking, deployed by the country’s best academic minds, working hand-in-hand with policymakers, helping to pull the economy from the jaws of global turmoil and setting it on the path to prosperity.

    So the killer question is this: can Australian macroeconomic thinking do it again, as the world economy is once more in flux?

    Ask that question of the macro research community today, and some seem worried:

    • about Australia’s ability to attract, retain and grow top academic talent;
    • about diminished academic incentives to work on issues of greatest policy relevance to Australia; and
    • about perceptions of a weakened partnership between academia and policymakers.

    Views differ on how serious those worries are. The best Australian research remains world-class. And we don’t need to solve everything ourselves: the scope to draw on global thinking, adopting and adapting it to Australian conditions, is far greater than in Giblin’s day.

    But, where there are concerns, they should be seen as a call to arms, not a cause for despondency. And that’s because the defining macroeconomic challenges of our age – the rolling back of free trade; the implications of shifting geopolitical alliances; climate change; and the need to reinvigorate productivity growth globally – lie right in our areas of comparative advantage.

    The question is how to leverage that advantage. Let me break that into three sub-questions.

    How can we build on Australia’s historical strength in open economy macro?

    The long arc back to a more regionalised, less open, international trading system, coupled with the realities of climate change, poses fundamental questions for Australian macroeconomic research along at least three dimensions:

    • First, how will the composition and geographical location of our export markets change in response to evolving trade policies and geopolitical alliances? What implications will those shifts have for domestic output, investment, labour markets and pricing? And how do we harness our natural and human resources to take advantage of those shifts?
    • Second, how will global commodity demand change over time? How long will markets for ‘traditional’ minerals including coal, gas and iron ore – mainstays of the economic model in Australia today – persist? Will markets for ‘new economy’ minerals and renewable energy sources take their place, and how can Australia best position itself to take advantage of such trends?
    • And, third, how will these and other structural shifts change the sorts of shocks that stabilisation policy, including monetary policy, needs to respond to? How will that influence optimal policy design? And how might we need to adjust our thinking about trade-offs, across the different policy goals and tools available?

    Understanding the macroeconomic risks, and opportunities, from these structural changes is a vital priority for research – to protect the economy, but also to ensure a clear path for future growth. The good news is there is a rich history of Australian macro research and modelling to draw on. The challenge is that this will only take us so far: dealing with tomorrow’s world will require us to apply and extend that research to answer new questions.

    How can we deepen the links between academia and policymakers?

    Second, how can we deepen the links between academia and policymakers – the secret sauce of the first two Golden Ages?

    There are certainly some great examples today. Several Commissioners at the Productivity Commission are current or former academics, including Catherine de Fontenay, ESA’s President. The Treasury’s competition review has an expert advisory panel, including academics. And many of our top universities and think-tanks have groups focused on fostering engagement on macroeconomic policy issues.

    One of the most profound issues of our time is how to reverse the productivity slowdown. This is by no means a uniquely Australian challenge – but the Second Golden Age demonstrated the power of harnessing academic ideas and policy to drive a long-term recovery in productivity. Important work is underway on this topic in the public sector, some of it in conjunction with academia: for example, researchers at the Productivity Commission, Treasury and RBA have analysed the causes of the productivity slowdown, its links to competition, innovation and dynamism, and the implications for the wider economy. And the Commission currently has five separate inquiries underway into potential practical reforms, which among other things will serve as inputs to the Government’s Economic Reform roundtable in August.

    A lot of research in this space makes use of Australia’s excellent microdata. The availability, quality and breadth of Australian de-identified datasets on business and individuals is comparable to anywhere in the world – due in no small part to the excellent work of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as well as the Australian Tax Office and Department of Social Services. Being at the forefront in this space offers scope for researchers to do globally relevant and frontier work, in an Australian context: the best of both worlds. For example, at the RBA we are currently using it to assess frontier questions around how monetary policy affects labour supply, and how pricing dynamics changed during the recent increase in inflation.

    How can we communicate the urgency of the challenge?

    Third, what can we do as a community to communicate the urgency of the challenge, to show its importance and draw new talent into this vital work? Bringing academics, policy economists and policymakers together can help us reach a common understanding, of both the problems and the potential solutions. In that context, conferences like this one can be extremely powerful, as can the work of the ESA more generally. But it is crucial that both sides – policy and academia – buy in. And we need to focus, as a profession, on how we communicate our thinking. The Golden Ages were full of people like Giblin who specialised in translating big ideas into simple language. As Danielle Wood argued at last year’s APS Economist conference, it has never been more crucial for economists to speak directly and plainly.

    The role of the RBA

    Many of those I spoke with in preparing this speech emphasised the leading role that the RBA could play, as one of the most prominent consumers and producers of Australian macro research; and as a training ground. The RBA has a rich history at the leading edge of central bank research – and we remain engaged across a wide range of issues today. But as I’ve already noted navigating the complex and unpredictable world of tomorrow will pose big new challenges.

    That’s why, spurred on by the findings of the RBA Review, the Bank will be refreshing its research strategy, with a new set of priorities, identifying the big questions that need to be answered to support future policymaking. We’ll use those priorities to hold ourselves to account – but we’ll need external help too. Part of that will involve deeper collaboration on specific research topics, building on the centres of excellence here in Australia. And part of it will involve finding new ways to come together collectively, building on our existing workshops and conferences, and our six-monthly academic advisory panel. Here too there is more than an element of ‘back to the future’ – it was nearly 75 years ago when Coombs, as head of the Commonwealth Bank, the de facto central bank, first conceived of convening senior academics to critique the exercise of policy. As we face into a more complex world, we need that support and challenge more than ever.

    Conclusion

    Let me conclude.

    A 100th birthday is always a cause for celebration.

    For Australian macroeconomics that is true with bells on.

    Two Golden Ages, forged in response to fundamental shifts in the global paradigm – powered by world-class thinking, ruthlessly applied to a single end – improving the lot of the Australian people.

    As the global paradigm shifts again, the challenge is to go for the hat trick.

    The good news is the policy questions facing us, and the world, lie four-square in Australia’s areas of comparative advantage.

    But to exploit that advantage, we need to relearn the lessons of the past – drawing in our best talent, strengthening the incentives for policy-relevant research, and deepening the links between academics and policymakers.

    As a trading economy reliant on world markets, we have no choice but to respond. But we can go one better: by marshalling our best brains we can turn this challenging environment to our advantage.

    At the RBA, we stand ready to play our part in this great endeavour.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hoyle, Merkley Fight Back Against Trump Funding Cuts with Renewed Effort to Reduce Wildfire Risk, Boost Economic Opportunities in Forest-Dependent Communities

    Source: US Representative Val Hoyle (OR-04)

    July 08, 2025

    For Immediate Release: July 8, 2025 

    EUGENE, OR –  As the Trump Administration illegally cuts and withholds funding for wildfire mitigation projects, Oregon’s U.S. Representative Val Hoyle (OR-04) and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley teamed up to introduce the Wildfire Resilient Communities Act in Congress. This legislation would provide dedicated federal support to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires in Oregon and across the West, while also empowering communities to prepare for wildfires.

    “I’m proud to join Senator Merkley in introducing this bill to reduce wildfire risk and strengthen forest-dependent communities,” said Hoyle. “Year after year, wildfires have devastated our towns, economies, and forests. This legislation invests in prevention, resilience, and local jobs—because protecting our communities shouldn’t stop at putting out fires. It starts with smart, proactive stewardship, and that’s exactly what this bill delivers.”

    “You can’t get ready after the fire starts,” said Merkley. “Our bill would ensure communities can seize every moment to prepare for and mitigate wildfires by supercharging investments in critical hazardous fuels projects. Increasingly extreme wildfire seasons fueled by climate chaos are not cooling down anytime soon, and we need a considerable increase in federal resources—not cuts—to make our forests, timber economies, and communities healthier and more resilient.”

    Merkley and Hoyle’s Wildfire Resilient Communities Act would double down on essential efforts to boost wildfire preparedness by creating a $30 billion fund to allow the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and other land management agencies to increase catastrophic wildfire reduction projects; reauthorize and triple funding up to $3 billion for the Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program; permanently reauthorize the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration (CFLR) Program, which is critical for the five collaboratives in Oregon; and create a County Stewardship Fund that would provide payments to counties for stewardship contracts on federal land.

    As Ranking Member of the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees funding for federal land management agencies, Merkley has been leading the charge to sound the alarm over federal funding freezes and cuts to critical wildfire mitigation work ahead of another extreme wildfire season, leading a series of actions to demand the Trump Administration restore funding for critical projects and reverse course on reckless reorganization efforts.

    The Wildfire Resilient Communities Act is cosponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Adam Schiff (D-CA).

    The bicameral bill is endorsed by Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Sustainable Northwest, Silvix Resources, and Lomakatsi Restoration Project.

    “Southern Oregon has been hard hit by the health and economic impacts of smoke and fire,” said Pam Marsh, Oregon State Representative, House District 5. “Senator Merkley’s legislation will help us jumpstart the collaborative forest projects that will protect our communities, while rewarding counties for their support of stewardship agreements.  This is how we’ll start the work that will help us respond to changing conditions.”

    “The Wildfire Resilient Communities Act supports the critical fuels reduction work that is being done in our communities,” said Paul Anderes, Chair of Union County Board of Commissioners. “This bill will expand upon the progress that has been made in so many landscapes to make our fire prone communities safer.”

    “Through focused investments in forest restoration and community protection we can prepare our communities and landscapes for wildfires,” said Michael Dotson, Executive Director of Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center. “Our forests were more adapted to fire before we cut down so many of the large, fire resistant trees. We replaced too many of our old growth forests with flammable second growth forests. We need to fund the kind of work that can restore our forests and help build more fire and climate resilient landscapes and communities, and Sen. Merkley’s bill would help us do that.”

    “The need for increased investment in our federal forests and rural communities has never been more urgent,” said Dylan Kruse, President at Sustainable Northwest. “We can’t afford to keep playing catch up. This bill takes immediate action to address the massive management backlog on our forests, and expands effective programs to prepare for the future. We commend Senator Merkley for his bipartisan leadership and introducing legislation that will make a real difference with resources that meet the scale of need.”

    “Senator Merkley is to be commended for reintroduction of the Wildfire Resilient Communities Act, which will provide important funding for community preparedness and wildfire risk reduction on federal lands, in addition to reauthorizing the phenomenally successful Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program and providing the funding necessary to continue this important forest health work,” said Susan Jane Brown, Principal, Silvix Resources.

    “Under Senator Merkley’s leadership, this Act would provide much needed, long-term funding for collaborative, science-based strategies to reduce wildfire risk while increasing forest health and supporting local economies. It elevates stewardship-based forestry, an ecologically-centered approach to restoration that Lomakatsi has championed and utilized for two decades to build ecosystem and community resilience across the landscape, with agency, tribal, and non-profit partners, in close coordination with the communities we serve,” said Marko Bey, Executive Director, Lomakatsi Restoration Project.

    Full text of the Wildfire Resilient Communities Act can be found by clicking here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • India–Brazil bilateral trade to touch $20 billion over next five years: PM Modi in Brasilia

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India and Brazil will work to expand cooperation in trade, clean energy, defence, Artificial Intelligence, and digital public infrastructure, underlining that both countries share a common vision for inclusive development and a people-centric approach to innovation.

    Speaking at a joint press statement alongside Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, PM Modi expressed his gratitude for being conferred with Brazil’s highest national honour — ‘The Grand Collar of the National Order of the Southern Cross’.

    “Today, being honoured with Brazil’s highest national award by the President of Brazil is a moment of great pride and emotion not just for me, but for 140 crore Indians. I sincerely thank the President, the Brazilian government, and the people of Brazil for this honour,” PM Modi said.

    Calling President Lula his “best friend” and “Chief Architect of the Strategic Partnership between India and Brazil,” the PM said every meeting with him has motivated him to work harder for the well-being of both nations. “I dedicate this honour to his strong commitment to India and to our enduring friendship,” he said.

    Trade and energy cooperation

    PM Modi said India and Brazil have agreed to raise bilateral trade to USD 20 billion over the next five years. “Football is Brazil’s passion, just as cricket is loved by the people of India. Whether it’s sending the ball past the boundary or into the goal, when both are on the same team, a USD 20 billion partnership is not difficult to achieve,” he said, adding that both sides will also work to expand the India–MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).

    The Prime Minister stressed that cooperation in the energy sector was steadily growing and highlighted the new agreement signed to boost collaboration on clean energy and sustainable development.

    PM Modi also extended best wishes to Lula for the upcoming COP-30 Summit to be hosted by Brazil later this year.

    Defence, AI and digital linkages

    On defence ties, PM Modi said, “Our growing cooperation in the field of defence reflects the deep mutual trust between our two countries. We will continue our efforts to connect our defence industries and strengthen this partnership further.”

    He pointed to ongoing collaboration in Artificial Intelligence and supercomputing, describing it as part of the shared goal of “inclusive development and human-centric innovation.” India’s UPI digital payments platform is also set to be adopted in Brazil, the PM said, adding that India would gladly share its experience in digital public infrastructure and space technology.

    Health, Ayurveda and people-to-people ties

    Highlighting ties in agriculture and health, PM Modi noted that cooperation in agriculture and animal husbandry spans several decades, and both sides are now working together in agricultural research and food processing too. “In the health sector too, we are enhancing our win-win collaboration. We have also emphasized the expansion of Ayurveda and traditional medicine in Brazil,” he said.

    Underscoring the importance of people-to-people connections, the Prime Minister said that the shared passion for sports — cricket and football — brings India and Brazil closer. “We wish for India–Brazil relations to be as vibrant as Carnival, as passionate as football, and as heart-connecting as Samba — all without the long visa counter queues! With this spirit, we will work together to ease people-to-people exchanges between our two nations, especially for tourists, students, sportspersons, and businessmen,” he said.

    On global issues

    PM Modi said India and Brazil have always worked in close coordination on global issues and stressed that their partnership is relevant to the Global South and the wider world. “We firmly believe that it is our moral responsibility to bring the concerns and priorities of the Global South to the forefront of the global stage,” he said.

    Calling for disputes to be resolved through “dialogue and diplomacy,” the PM said the India–Brazil partnership stands as an “important pillar of stability and balance” amid global tensions and uncertainty. He also reiterated both nations’ “zero tolerance and zero double standards” approach on terrorism, saying, “We strongly oppose both terrorism and those who support it.”

    The Prime Minister also extended an invitation to Lula to visit India and said, “Once again, on behalf of 1.4 billion Indians, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to you for this highest national honour and for your enduring friendship.”

    Earlier in the day, Lula welcomed PM Modi at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, where he was given a ceremonial reception featuring a 114-horse escort for his car. The two leaders then held a restricted-format meeting, followed by delegation-level discussions and the signing of agreements.

  • MIL-OSI Security: New York Man Charged with Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NEWARK, N.J. – A New York man has been charged for engaging in a scheme to defraud multiple lenders by using the personally identifiable information of a Hudson County man to submit fraudulent loan applications to obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars of loans, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

    Humza Khan, 28, of New York, New York, is charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Khan appeared on July 2, 2025, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacey D. Adams in Newark federal court and was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.

    According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

    Around December 2020, Khan submitted loan applications to secure a $150,000 accounts receivable finance loan on behalf of a Florida-based specialty pharmacy in which Khan had a financial interest. Khan used the personal information of an elderly individual who lived in Hudson County, New Jersey—including their name and social security number—in the loan application without permission, in order to conceal that Khan was receiving the loan proceeds.  Based on those fraudulent misrepresentations, the victim lenders provided Khan with approximately $150,000. 

    The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. The aggravated identity theft count carries an additional consecutive mandatory minimum term of two years in prison and a maximum fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

    U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen, Philadelphia Division; special agents of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer Piovesan in Newark; and special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, with the investigation leading to the charges.

    The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney George Brandley of the Health Care Fraud and Opioids Enforcement Unit in Newark.

    The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

                                                     ###

    Defense counsel:  Zach Intrater, Esq. and Daniela Manzi, Esq.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Vasquez Introduces Standalone Legislation Ahead of NDAA to Prioritize New Mexico Communities

    Source: US Representative Gabe Vasquez’s (NM-02)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) introduced two standalone bills to address critical healthcare gaps affecting military families and deliver recognition to New Mexico’s Downwinders. The bills, which have been introduced ahead of the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) markup, reflect Rep. Vasquez’s continued push to ensure New Mexico communities are prioritized in national defense policy.

    “As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I’m making sure New Mexico’s voices are heard, our families are respected, and our contributions are recognized in national policy,” said Vasquez. “By introducing these bills, I’m making clear that honoring our Downwinders and supporting our military families aren’t afterthoughts — they’re priorities. These efforts are about fairness, justice, and delivering real results for southern New Mexico.”

    The two bills include:

    • The TRICARE Travel Improvement Act, which reduces the travel reimbursement threshold under TRICARE Prime from 100 miles to 50 miles for active-duty servicemembers and their families. Currently, families stationed at White Sands Missile Range and Holloman Air Force Base who travel nearly 100 miles to El Paso for medical care are denied reimbursement due to being just under the threshold. This bill would ensure fairness for military families serving in remote areas.
    • The Downwinder Commemoration Act, which directs the Departments of Defense and Interior to place commemorative plaques in publicly accessible areas at White Sands Missile Range and Holloman Air Force Base. These plaques will recognize the harm endured by New Mexico’s Downwinders following the 1945 Trinity Test — the first nuclear detonation in U.S. history. Despite their exposure to radioactive fallout, Downwinder families were excluded from the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) until Rep. Vasquez’s successful push to reauthorize and expand RECA to include New Mexico’s Downwinders. This bill helps deliver long-overdue recognition by permanently commemorating their suffering while preserving their legacy for future generations. 

    By introducing these bills independently, Rep. Vasquez is working to ensure these local priorities are protected as the NDAA advances through the legislative process.

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    MIL OSI USA News –